MLB Player News

Smith will be on the bench Saturday against the Giants.

Smith sits for the second time in three days, with the Dodgers seemingly prioritizing rest in the final week of the regular season. He's one homer shy of his third straight 20-homer campaign but will have to wait until the final game of the season to try for it, unless he appears as a pinch hitter Saturday. Austin Barnes will start behind the plate in Smith's absence, catching for Clayton Kershaw.

Wells will sit Saturday against the Royals, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.

Wells has three homers and eight RBI across his last four games, but his slash line through his first 18 big-league contests still sits at an unimpressive .197/.229/.439. Kyle Higashioka will crouch behind the plate Saturday.

The Padres placed Campusano on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a right ankle sprain.

Campusano's injury could help explain why he's missed each of the Padres' last four games, and it will officially keep him out for the final two. The 25-year-old backstop put up a .319/.356/.491 slash line through 174 plate appearances in 2023, and he projects as San Diego's primary catcher for 2024.

Wong will be on the bench Saturday against Baltimore, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Wong hits the bench after starting three games in a row behind the plate. Near the end of his first season as a big-league regular, the 27-year-old owns a .237/.290/.390 slash line. Reese McGuire will get the nod behind the plate.

Rutschman (illness) is starting at catcher and batting second Saturday against Boston.

Rutschman was scratched from the lineup ahead of Friday's game due to illness, but the issue seems to have subsided ahead of Saturday's contest. The 25-year-old backstop has gone 7-for-17 with a homer and four RBI over his last five games and will attempt to remain hot as the Orioles prepare for a postseason run.

Alvarez will sit for the first half of Saturday's doubleheader against the Phillies, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Alvarez won't be asked to start twice in one day but could still get one or two more starts in before the end of the year. After hitting .238/.295/.514 in the first half, he's managed just a .168/.263/.305 line since the break, though his overall 93 wRC+ and 23 homers makes for a more than adequate performance from a 21-year-old catcher. Omar Narvaez will crouch behind the plate Saturday afternoon.

The Mets recalled Perez from Triple-A Syracuse on Saturday.

Perez will come up from the minors to give the Mets a bench bat as Brandon Nimmo (shoulder) lands on the injured list. Perez played two games with the Mets in May, going 4-for-7 with a run scored. With Francisco Alvarez and Omar Narvaez already on the big-league roster, Perez's chances of starting one of New York's final games are low.

Stephenson went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run and an additional run in Friday's 19-2 win over St. Louis.

Stephenson's 13th home run of the season was the Reds' third of the fourth inning and sixth and final long ball of the night, leaving the team one shy of matching a single-game franchise record. Though the Reds are one of the few teams in baseball still competing for a playoff spot in the final series of the regular season, Stephenson isn't necessarily a lock to start behind the dish Saturday and Sunday. He and Luke Maile have been splitting work at catcher of late, with the latter starting four games to Stephenson's three over the past seven contests.

Ruiz went 2-for-5 with a solo home run and two additional runs in Friday's 10-6 win over Atlanta.

Ruiz extend his hit streak to five games with a single in the fourth inning, then kicked off the scoring in the Nationals' three-run sixth inning with his 18th home run of the season. The young backstop has rebounded from a slow start to the season to emerge as a low-end No. 1 catcher or high-end No. 2 catcher in most 12-team mixed leagues -- roughly in line with how he had been valued heading into the season. He's hitting .291 in the second half and has provided nine of his 18 home runs and 32 of his 63 RBI since the All-Star break.

Kirk went 2-for-5 with a solo home run and two additional RBI in Friday's 11-4 win over the Rays.

Kirk got the scoring started in the bottom of the second inning with his eighth long ball of the season and added a single an inning later to give him his second two-hit game in as many contests. With Danny Jansen (finger) landing on the injured list Sept. 2 and still without a clear timeline for a return, Kirk has been locked in as the Blue Jays' No. 1 catcher for most of the month. He's posted a .732 OPS to go with 10 RBI and eight runs over 26 games in September.