MLB Player News

Rutschman is not in the starting lineup Friday versus the Twins.

Rutschman will get a breather after he went 14-for-42 with a homer, two doubles, five RBI and six runs scored while starting the last 10 games. James McCann will draw the start at catcher and bat eighth in the series opener with Minnesota.

Contreras will sit Friday versus the White Sox, Bally Sports Midwest reports.

Contreras will get a breather after he went 9-for-15 with a homer, four doubles, three RBI and four runs scored over four games against Miami. Ivan Herrera will take over behind the plate and bat eighth in the series opener with Chicago.

Stephenson isn't in the Reds' lineup Friday against the Brewers.

Stephenson is 5-for-16 with a homer, four RBI and six runs scored since the beginning of July. He'll catch a breather Friday while Luke Maile starts behind the dish and bats ninth, and Will Benson will serve as Cincinnati's designated hitter.

Naylor is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Royals.

It's a day off for Naylor, who is just 7-for-47 so far at the plate for the Guardians this season. Cam Gallagher will catch Aaron Civale.

Lee was diagnosed with a right oblique strain Friday, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Lee has yet to be placed on the injured list by Triple-A Sugar Land. The 24-year-old catcher sustained the injury Tuesday and has been sitting out since. Before straining his oblique, Lee was slashing .283/.328/.406 across 302 plate appearances for Sugar Land, though his numbers have been on the decline.

Fortes isn't in the Marlins' lineup Friday against the Phillies, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

Fortes is just 2-for-34 across his last 13 games and will take a seat Friday as Miami searches for more production behind the dish. Jacob Stallings will start at catcher and bat eighth.

Adams went 3-for-4 with two doubles in Thursday's extra-inning loss to the Reds.

It's the second three-hit effort in Adams' last five starts, although that period stretches back to June 22 and he went 0-for-11 in between the two big performances. The 27-year-old catcher is slashing .282/.346/.535 on the season with 10 of his 20 hits going for extra bases (five doubles, two triples and three homers) while seeing inconsistent playing time behind Keibert Ruiz.

Heim went 2-for-3 with a walk, double and two RBI in Thursday's 10-6 loss to the Red Sox.

Heim upped his RBI total to 58, tops among MLB catchers, over 77 games. That's 10 more runs driven than he had last season in 127 contests. Heim is showing no signs of wearing down as he did last season, but it should be noted it wasn't until August that his bat stopped producing.

Alvarez went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run and an additional RBI in Thursday's 9-0 win over the Diamondbacks.

Alvarez has homered in four of his last five games, giving him 16 long balls on the year. He's also collected seven RBI in that span. The catcher's up to a .227/.285/.505 slash line with 33 RBI and 28 runs scored through 213 plate appearances. He should continue to see steady playing time as long as he's squaring up the ball well.

Gomes went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Thursday's loss to the Brewers.

Gomes hit his eighth home run of the season in the eighth inning, which tied the game at 5-5. It was the catcher's first long ball since June 4 as he's slowed down a bit after a hot start. The veteran has still been good overall with a .732 OPS for the season, which is more than 100 points higher than his OPS from a year ago. He also matched his 2022 home run total with his Thursday blast.