MLB Player News

Stephenson is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Phillies.

Stephenson and Luke Maile have now made two starts apiece at catcher through the Reds' first two games, but the former still appears to be viewed as the team's No. 1 option behind the dish.

Langeliers went 3-for-6 with a hit-by-pitch and a sacrifice fly over his last two games against the Guardians on Friday and Sunday.

The starting catcher started the season with an 0-for-3 showing on Opening Day before rapping out a pair of singles Friday, then getting on base two more times via another hit and the plunking Sunday in his return from a day off. Langeliers flashed some promising power a season ago with 22 home runs and 45 extra-base hits overall, and he also managed to lace seven (four doubles, one triple, two homers) of his 11 Cactus League hits for extra bases this spring.

Maldonado will start at catcher and bat eighth in Monday's game against Atlanta.

After resting in Sunday's 3-2 loss to the Tigers, Maldonado will be back behind the dish for the series opener versus Atlanta while backup catcher Korey Lee retreats to the bench. While starting the first two games of the season, Maldonado went 0-for-5 with a walk and two strikeouts in losses to the Tigers. Despite coming off a season in which he posted a lowly .606 OPS over 407 plate appearances for Houston, Maldonado should see the majority of the starts at catcher for the White Sox in 2024 thanks mainly to his reputation as a defender and game caller.

Tromp got the start Sunday with Chris Sale on the mound for Atlanta, and he could wind up being the veteran southpaw's personal catcher while he's in the majors, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

Sale was very complimentary of Tromp's work behind the plate after the game, in which he struck out seven batters and walked two over 5.1 innings. If Atlanta wants to keep 35-year-old Travis d'Arnaud from breaking down while Sean Murphy (oblique) is on the shelf, Tromp will likely start more than once even five days or so, but having a pitcher like Sale talk up his game-calling skills can only help his outlook for playing time. Whether he offers anything as a hitter is another question, though -- the 29-year-old backstop went 0-for-2 on Sunday, and he slashed .210/.336/.384 with 10 homers over 65 games for Triple-A Gwinnett in 2023.

Sanchez elected to become a free agent Sunday.

Sanchez cleared waivers after the Pirates removed him from their 40-man roster, but he had the ability to decline an outright assignment and has done just that. The veteran catcher will now look to latch on in another organization that's seeking depth behind the plate.

Barnhart went 1-for-2 with a walk, a stolen base and one run in Sunday's 5-1 win over the Rockies.

Barnhart made his first start of the regular season, giving Gabriel Moreno a day off in the final game of the season-opening four-game set against Colorado. Moreno made 99 starts behind the plate in 2023 and should see a similar workload this season.

Campusano went 3-for-5 with a three-run home run and an additional RBI in Sunday's 13-4 win over the Giants.

Campusano notched his third multi-hit game of 2024 and launched his first homer of the campaign. The long ball came as part of a five-run first inning, plating Manny Machado and Ha-Seong Kim. Campusano is tied for the team lead in hits (nine) and trails only Machado and Jake Cronenworth in RBI (seven) across 23 at-bats.

Perez went 3-for-5 with a three-run homer, four RBI and two runs scored in Sunday's 11-0 win over the Twins.

Perez started off the game with a splash, launching a three-run home run off Minnesota starter Bailey Ober in the first inning, driving in teammates Bobby Witt and Vinnie Pasquantino in the process. He later added an RBI single in the second inning and another base knock in the third frame. Perez came into Sunday hitless through the first two games of the season, so he'll look to build off his impressive performance moving forward.

Contreras went 2-for-5 with two doubles, an RBI and a run scored in Sunday's 4-1 win over the Mets.

Contreras also struck out twice and has already whiffed five times through 14 plate appearances after striking out at a 20.6 percent clip last season, but he's been productive the past two games with five hits. The 26-year-old tied for eighth in MLB last season with 38 doubles, and his pair of two-baggers Sunday were his first of the young campaign.

Smith is out of the lineup for Sunday's game versus the Cardinals.

Smith has at least one hit in each of the first five games of the season and is coming off a three-hit performance Saturday, but he'll receive a breather in the series finale against St. Louis. Austin Barnes will step in behind the plate and bat ninth Sunday.