MLB Player News

Wong is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Blue Jays, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Reese McGuire will do the catching for Brayan Bello in this one. Wong went 0-for-7 with four strikeouts during the Red Sox' last series versus the Yankees.

Alvarez isn't in the Mets' lineup Friday against Cincinnati, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Alvarez will get a day off Friday despite collecting a hit in each of his last three games -- including a home run Tuesday. Omar Narvaez will start behind the plate and bat ninth while Alvarez sits.

Murphy isn't in Atlanta's lineup Friday against Miami, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

Travis d'Arnaud will start behind the dish for Atlanta in Friday's series opener after Murphy has failed to record a hit in his last eight trips to the plate.

Contreras (hand) is at catcher and batting fifth Friday versus the Phillies in his return to the lineup, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

Contreras exited Tuesday's game and didn't play Wednesday because of a bruised right hand, but he's back in there following Thursday's off day. The 31-year-old carries a .940 second-half OPS into play Friday.

Heim went 2-for-5 with a solo home run in Thursday's 9-2 win over the Blue Jays.

Heim homered in the third inning, giving him RBI in four straight contests. He went 6-for-18 with two home runs and eight RBI during the four-game sweep of Toronto. Heim's wrist injury has hurt his production, but his performance against the Blue Jays is an encouraging sign. The injury has not impacted his playing time, however, as he's started at catcher for 11 of 13 games during the month of September,

Wells is not in the lineup for the second game of Thursday's doubleheader against the Red Sox.

Wells went 0-for-4 with a strikeout in the early tilt, a 5-0 loss for the Yankees, and he is now slashing just .103/.156/.138 through his first 33 major-league plate appearances. Kyle Higashioka will start at catcher and bat ninth in the nightcap.

Wong isn't in the Red Sox's lineup for Game 2 of Thursday's doubleheader against the Yankees, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald reports.

Wong will sit out the nightcap after going 0-for-3 with two strikeouts during the first game of Thursday's twin bill. Reese McGuire will start behind the dish instead and bat eighth.

Pinto is not in the lineup Thursday against the Orioles.

Pinto has posted an impressive .818 OPS with five home runs in 26 games (71 plate appearances) since being called up from Triple-A Durham in late July, but it'll be Christian Bethancourt handling the catching duties for the Rays on Thursday in Baltimore.

Jeffers is not in the lineup Thursday against the White Sox.

Christian Vazquez will catch and bat ninth for the visiting Twins. Jeffers has enjoyed a productive second half overall and hit a double Wednesday versus the Rays, but he is essentially sharing starts with Vazquez here in mid-September.

Arizona optioned Herrera to Triple-A Reno on Thursday.

Gabriel Moreno was activated from the paternity list Thursday and Seby Zavala will stay on as his backup. Herrera, 26, has slashed just .208/.296/.257 in 120 major-league plate appearances this season.