MLB Player News

The Pirates traded Hedges to the Rangers on Tuesday in exchange for international bonus pool money, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

Hedges had limped to a .180/.237/.230 slash line across 186 plate appearances with the Pirates. He'll presumably fill in as a depth piece at catcher behind Mitch Garver until Jonah Heim (wrist) returns from the injured list.

Realmuto was scratched from the lineup Tuesday due to a cut on his right hand, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.

Realmuto, per Gelb, suffered a "huge gash" on his right (throwing) hand during a recent slide into a base and is still having some issues with it. Garrett Stubbs will now start at catcher for the Phillies on Tuesday night against the Marlins.

Smith (elbow) is starting at catcher and batting third Tuesday against Oakland.

Smith took a pitch off his left elbow in Sunday's series finale versus the Reds, but X-rays turned up negative and he's ready to rock for the Dodgers in their series opener versus the Athletics. The 28-year-old has posted an .862 OPS with 13 homers and 52 RBI through 80 games this season.

Vazquez is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game at St. Louis, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.

Vazquez started the past two games but will take a seat for Tuesday's series opener. Ryan Jeffers will step in behind the plate to catch for righty Pablo Lopez.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Monday that McGuire will be activated from the 10-day injured list at some point during the team's series in Seattle to begin the week, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

McGuire made the trip with the Red Sox to Seattle after he spent the past weekend at Triple-A Worcester, with whom he went 2-for-10 with a double and a walk during his three-game rehab assignment. Cora indicated everything went well for McGuire on the rehab assignment, but the Red Sox's decision not to activate him Monday may have been designed to give the team as much roster flexibility as possible leading into Tuesday's deadline. Assuming McGuire is reinstated Tuesday or Wednesday, he'll unseat Jorge Alfaro as the top backup to No. 1 catcher Connor Wong.

Wallach went 3-for-4 with a solo home run, a double and two total runs Monday in a 4-1 win against Atlanta.

In Wallach's previous start (Thursday against Detroit), he hit a single to snap a brutal 0-for-38 slump. The backstop made a much bigger impact Monday, contributing a massive 441-foot solo shot in the sixth inning and finishing with his second three-hit game of the campaign. Wallach's recent hitless stretch resulted in him losing playing time and falling behind Matt Thaiss on the catcher depth chart, but Thaiss has been struggling too -- he's batting .146 with a 33.3 percent strikeout rate since the All-Star break -- so Wallach could find himself with more opportunities if he's able to build upon Monday's performance.

Raleigh went 2-for-4 with a pair of solo home runs in Monday's 6-2 win over the Red Sox.

Raleigh's pair of homers came against Boston starter Nick Pivetta. This was Raleigh's second multi-homer game of July, and he finished the month batting .239 (17-for-71) with five long balls and 10 RBI. The catcher is up to a .231/.306/.442 slash line with 16 homers, 43 RBI, 49 runs scored and 16 doubles over 91 contests this season.

Gomes went 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored in Monday's loss to the Reds.

Gomes extended his hitting streak to nine games as his resurgent season continues. The veteran is now batting .286 with a .785 OPS. By comparison, Gomes batted just .235 with a .625 OPS last year. Due to his strong play, the 36-year-old should remain locked in as the Cubs' clear No. 1 catcher, ahead of Miguel Amaya and Tucker Barnhart.

Thaiss is out of the lineup for Monday's game against Atlanta, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Thaiss will give way to Chad Wallach after catching each of the Halos' last four games. Unless he makes an appearance off the bench Monday, Thaiss will wrap up a disappointing July with a .150/.297/.250 slash line to go with two home runs, five RBI, four runs and one stolen base over 20 games.

Higashioka is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Rays.

Ben Rortvedt will get the nod behind the plate while Higashioka rests for the series opener. Higashioka started at catcher in the final two games of the Yankees' series with the Orioles over the weekend, going 4-for-8 with a solo home run and an additional run.