MLB Player News

Grandal is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Mets.

Grandal will take a seat for the second day in a row while Joey Bart garners another start behind the dish. Though Grandal has been the Pirates' nominal No. 1 catcher when available this season, he's slashed a lowly .182/.213/.298 over 128 plate appearances on the campaign. In light of his struggles, Grandal could be falling into more of a timeshare with Bart.

The Pirates reinstated Davis (concussion) from the 7-day injured list Sunday and optioned him to Triple-A Indianapolis.

Davis had made the last three of his five rehab appearances at Indianapolis, so he'll stick around with the affiliate since the Pirates didn't have a spot for him on the 26-man active roster. Joey Bart will continue to serve as the top backup to No. 1 catcher Yasmani Grandal, though with Grandal on an expiring contract and having mustered a lowly .511 OPS over 128 plate appearances on the season, it wouldn't be surprising if he was eventually designated for assignment to make room for Davis at some point after the All-Star break.

Alvarez (elbow) will start at catcher and bat fifth in Sunday's game against the Pirates.

Alvarez was held out for Saturday's 5-2 win after he was struck in the left elbow by a fastball in Friday's 14-2 loss in the series opener, but the day off was apparently all the young catcher needed to overcome the soreness he had been experiencing. Since returning from the injured list June 11, Alvarez has slashed .338/.413/.600 with three home runs, 15 RBI and eight runs.

Ruiz is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cardinals.

Ruiz will get a breather for the day game after he started behind the plate in the first two games of the series with St. Louis, going 4-for-9 with a home run, a double, a walk, four RBI and two additional runs between those contests. Riley Adams will get the nod at catcher Sunday.

McCann entered Saturday's win over the Orioles as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning and hit a two-run home run in his one plate appearance.

McCann's blast ironically came off namesake and fellow backstop James McCann, who was in as a reliever at that point with the Orioles down 17-6. McCann's homer plated Max Schuemann with the final runs of the night for the Athletics and served as his first time leaving the yard since May 7, a span of 21 games for the occasional fill-in catcher. The rookie has been impressive at the plate overall during his first taste of big-league action this season, with Saturday's production pushing his slash line to a stellar .291/.390/.465 across 100 plate appearances.

Stubbs will start at catcher and bat eighth in Sunday's game against Atlanta.

After sitting out in three of the past four games, Stubbs is back behind the dish for the series finale in Atlanta. In two of those three games that the lefty-hitting Stubbs didn't start, the Phillies opposed left-handed pitchers, so Stubbs would still seem to have a hold on the larger portion of a timeshare at catcher with the switch-hitting Rafael Marchan. Both backstops will see their opportunities decline once J.T. Realmuto (knee) returns from the injured list.

Murphy is out of the lineup for Sunday's game versus the Phillies.

Murphy was on the bench for Friday's series opener and will also sit for Sunday's finale after going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in Saturday's contest. Travis d'Arnaud will step in behind the plate to catch for righty Reynaldo Lopez.

Rogers is starting at catcher and batting eighth in Sunday's game against the Reds.

Rogers was out of the lineup Saturday, marking his third absence in the last four games, but he's back in there Sunday in place of Carson Kelly. Based on the recent playing time, it seems Kelly has pulled ahead as Detroit's top catching option, though Rogers could swing things back in his favor if he starts driving the ball over the wall more frequently.

Smith went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run in Saturday's 5-3 win against Milwaukee.

After belting three solo homers Friday, Smith smashed a two-run shot in his first at-bat Saturday. Per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, the backstop became the first Dodger to homer in four straight at-bats since Adrian Gonzalez in 2015 and the first major leaguer to do so since Jose Altuve in September of last season. Smith's two-game power surge has pushed him to 15 long balls on the campaign, tied for third among MLB catchers.

Kelly is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Reds.

With eight hits -- including three home runs -- in 28 at-bats over his last eight starts, Kelly seems to have at least temporarily overtaken Jake Rogers as the Tigers' preferred catcher. Though Rogers gets the nod behind the dish Sunday, Kelly had started in three of the previous four contests.