MLB Player News

Raleigh is out of the lineup for Sunday's game versus Boston.

Raleigh started behind the plate in the first three games of the season and will take a seat for the series finale Sunday afternoon. Seby Zavala will start at catcher and bat ninth in his place.

Fry went 1-for-2 with two walks, two RBI, a stolen base and a run scored in Saturday's 12-3 win over the Athletics.

Fry has been in the lineup against both southpaws the Athletics have started so far, playing at designated hitter on Opening Day and at first base in Saturday's contest. He offers a right-handed option at catcher and first, though he could push for more playing time given his hot start. Fry has gone 4-for-6 with three RBI, a steal and two walks over 11 plate appearances while hitting in the middle of the order versus southpaws.

D'Arnaud is out of the lineup for Sunday's game at Philadelphia.

The 35-year-old is now operating as Atlanta's No. 1 catcher after Sean Murphy suffered an oblique strain Opening Day, but d'Arnaud will take a seat for Sunday afternoon's season finale. Chadwick Tromp will step in behind the plate for Atlanta.

Kelly went 3-for-5 with two RBI in Saturday's 7-6, 10-inning win over the White Sox.

Kelly started at catcher and batted seventh in the contest with Jake Rogers getting the day off. That's one start apiece for the two catchers, and it will be worth monitoring the playing time split moving forward. Kelly seems to be the backup at the moment, though he could seize a larger role if he outplays Rogers. Both players could also start at the same time against southpaws with one of them serving as the DH.

Smith went 3-for-5 with two RBI in Saturday's extra-inning loss to St. Louis.

Smith came through twice in run-scoring opportunities, knocking in a run with a single in the fifth inning and repeating the feat in the seventh. The All-Star catcher is off to a nice start to the campaign, collecting at least one hit in each of his first five games and slashing .455/.500/.545 with four RBI through 22 plate appearances. He's yet to sit out a contest and should have plenty of opportunities to produce this season while batting cleanup behind Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman.

Sanchez cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Indianapolis on Saturday.

The 27-year-old was designated for assignment by Pittsburgh ahead of the season opener but will stick in the organization after passing through waivers unclaimed. Sanchez will provide catching depth at Indianapolis.

Realmuto went 2-for-3 with a walk, a solo home run and a second run scored in Saturday's 12-4 loss to Atlanta.

The 33-year-old catcher tagged Jesse Chavez for his first long ball of the season in the third inning, but the Phillies were already in a 7-3 hole before he'd even stepped into the batter's box. Realmuto's .762 OPS last year was his lowest mark since 2015, his first full season in the majors, while his 25.7 percent strikeout rate was a career worst. Even so, he still delivered 20 homers and 16 steals in 135 games, and unless the bottom completely falls out for him in 2024, Realmuto should be one of the top fantasy options behind the plate.

Vazquez started at catcher and went 1-for-4 with an RBI in Saturday's win at Kansas City.

Vazquez struggled at the plate last season by hitting just .223 with little power (.095 ISO) and a paltry .280 OBA, so it was good to see him have a good first game of the season with a key RBI late in the game. He also threw out Bobby Witt on a steal attempt late in the game. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said the plan is to roughly split playing time at catcher with Ryan Jeffers as the Twins aim to keep both players fresh.

McCann started at catcher in his major-league debut Saturday against the Guardians, going 0-for-2 with a bases-loaded walk, another base on balls and a run in the 12-3 loss.

McCann's patience with the bases loaded in the third inning paid off, as his free pass brought home Zack Gelof to snap a 2-2 tie and give Oakland what would be its final run of the day. The rookie backstop will need to curb his bloated strikeout rate significantly to have long-term success against big-league arms, but he did combine those poor contact rates in the minors with double-digit walk rates in all but his 2023 stint at Triple-A Las Vegas (9.8 percent). McCann is slated to spell Shea Langeliers behind the dish on occasion for the foreseeable future after beating out Carlos Perez for the No. 2 job this spring.

Ruiz went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI in Saturday's 7-6 win over the Reds.

Ruiz drove in the game's first run in the fourth inning, hit his first home run of the season in the eighth and drove in the game-tying run on a hit-by-pitch in the ninth. His long ball snuck just inside the right-field foul pole and was estimated at 397 feet. Now 25 years old, Ruiz will attempt to build on a strong 2023 season in which he hit 18 homers with 67 RBI.