MLB Player News

Murphy is not in the lineup Tuesday against the Mets.

Travis d'Arnaud will start at catcher and bat seventh after Murphy went 0-for-8 with two strikeouts between Sunday's series finale against the Giants and Monday's series opener versus New York. Despite the recent struggles, Murphy still boasts an overall .903 OPS in 362 total plate appearances this season with the runaway NL East leaders.

Fry (hamstring) resumed running at 85 percent effort and had started to take swings in the batting cage as of last Thursday, MLB.com reports.

Fry is on the mend from a left hamstring strain, an injury he sustained while playing first base and stretching for a throw in an Aug. 4 game against the White Sox. He could be ready to resume full sprinting and change-of-direction running at some point this week, but he'll probably require a brief minor-league rehab assignment before returning from the 10-day injured list. Once the righty-hitting Fry is activated, he could settle into the short of a platoon at catcher with Bo Naylor, at first base with Kole Calhoun or in right field with Will Brennan.

Knizner went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Monday's 11-1 loss to the Pirates.

Knizner's fifth-inning blast was all the offense the Cardinals could put on the board. He reached the 10-homer mark for the first time in his career, and five of them have come in 17 games since the All-Star break, a span in which he's hitting .345 (19-for-55). The catcher has added 28 RBI, 26 runs scored, eight doubles, one stolen base and a .267/.313/.497 slash line over 52 contests this year.

Langeliers went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in a win over the Royals on Monday.

Langeliers connected for his 12th homer in style, launching a 456-foot to left center in the sixth inning to extend the Athletics lead to 4-2 at the time. The 25-year-old has a solid .280 average and .773 OPS over the 27 plate appearances covering his last seven games, but Monday marked his first time leaving the yard since Aug. 2.

Rodriguez went 3-for-4 with an RBI, a walk and two runs scored in Monday's win over the Cardinals.

Rodriguez was on the basepaths all night, collecting three singles and drawing a walk in Pittsburgh's blowout victory. In 29 games since earning the promotion from Triple-A on July 17, the rookie catcher has posted a slash line of .267/.337/.430 with two home runs, eight RBI and 13 runs scored across 95 plate appearances. Rodriguez has showcased an impressive average exit velocity of 90.4 mph and an above-average walk rate of 9.5 percent. However, his 27.4 percent strikeout rate may impact his overall productivity.

Raleigh went 3-for-5 with two homers, a double, six RBI and three runs scored in Monday's win over the White Sox.

Raleigh knocked a solo homer in the fifth inning followed by a three-run shot in the eighth. He's gone deep 10 times in the last 20 games, giving him 24 on the year. However, he's hitting just .213 (16-for-75) during that stretch. Raleigh improved his season slash line to .225/.301/.467 with 61 RBI and 44 extra-base hits through 110 games.

Soderstrom was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas on Monday.

Soderstrom posted just a .484 OPS over 93 plate appearances in his first stint in the big leagues, so he will head back to Las Vegas for the time being and try to get back on track at the plate. If he can, chances are Soderstrom will get another look at the top level before the campaign comes to a close.

Wong is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Astros, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

On the bench for the third time in four games, Wong's status as the Red Sox's No. 1 catcher could be on shaky ground. Wong's downturn in playing time comes while he's turned in a .189/.231/.378 slash line through 15 games in August. Meanwhile, Reese McGuire owns a .739 OPS so far this month, and the Red Sox could be inclined to ride the hot bat of the two backstops if Wong's performance continues to lag behind.

Alvarez is out of the lineup for Monday's game against Atlanta, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Alvarez is on the bench for the second game in a row, but the Mets haven't suggested that the young backstop is dealing with an injury. Instead, Alvarez's consecutive absences are likely part of a predetermined management plan, as manager Buck Showalter acknowledged over the weekend that the Mets intend to keep a close eye on the 21-year-old's workload heading into the final month of the season, per James O'Connell of the New York Daily News. Alvarez is still expected to remain the Mets' nominal No. 1 catcher down the stretch, though veteran Omar Narvaez could end up cracking the lineup more frequently than he has been for most of the season.

Higashioka went 1-for-2 with a solo home run and a walk in Sunday's loss to Boston.

Higashioka got the start behind the dish and put the Yankees on the board with his third-inning, game-tying solo shot. The Yankees don't seem to have committed to either Higashioka or Ben Rortvedt as their primary catcher, as they've both seen spurts of starts followed by consecutive contests on the bench recently. Between the pair, Higashioka is putting up better offensive numbers in August, slashing .250/.323/.464 with two homers and seven RBI compared to Rortvedt's .077/.200/.192 slash that includes one homer and just one RBI.