MLB Player News

Alvarez is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's tilt versus the Phillies, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

Alvarez had started six straight but will get a breather Wednesday. Tomas Nido will step in behind the plate, catching for starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco.

Murphy is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Athletics.

Murphy will get a breather for the matinee game after he was behind the plate for the first two contests of the series versus his former team. Travis d'Arnaud will handle catching duties Wednesday.

Langeliers is not in the starting lineup Wednesday versus Atlanta, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

Langeliers will get a breather after he went 4-for-13 with a double, three RBI and a run scored while starting the last four games. Carlos Perez will draw the start at catcher and bat fifth as the Athletics go for the sweep over Atlanta.

Murphy went 1-for-1 with a double and a walk in Tuesday's loss to the Yankees before being ejected for arguing a strike call in the sixth inning.

The veteran backstop was upset about a check-swing that was called a strike and was tossed for yelling at the first base umpire. Murphy has logged 66 plate appearances across 21 games while ceding the bulk of playing time behind the dish to Cal Raleigh, and Tuesday marked the third time in his last four starts that he'd reached safely.

Gomes is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rays.

Gomes will take a seat for the second time in the series while the Cubs wrap up their three-game set versus Tampa Bay with a matinee contest. Tucker Barnhart will form a battery with starting pitcher Justin Steele on Wednesday.

Haase is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rangers.

Haase will get a breather in the day game after a night game, paving the way for Jake Rogers to pick up a turn behind the plate. While catching or starting in left field in each of the Tigers' last four contests, Haase went 1-for-14 with two walks, a stolen base and two RBI.

Garver (knee) served as the designated hitter and went 0-for-4 with a walk for Triple-A Round Rock on Tuesday.

This was the first time during his rehab that Garver has played a full game, albeit as a DH. Texas manager Bruce Bochy said Garver would play another two or three games while on rehab this week, per Matthew Postins of SI.com, citing a report in the Dallas Morning News. The club would like to see him play a nine-inning game, presumably in the field, before activating him. Garver's activation is lining up for when the Rangers return from a road trip to open a weekend series against Seattle on Friday.

Heim went 2-for-4 with a double and four RBI in Tuesday's 10-6 win over Detroit.

Heim, who is working on a nice little four-game hit streak, delivered runners in scoring position on three consecutive at-bats, raising his RBI total to 38 over 46 games. The 27-year-old catcher is 19-for-40 (.475) when presented with RISP.

Ruiz went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Tuesday's 9-3 loss to the Dodgers.

Ruiz has gone 7-for-30 (.233) with two homers and seven RBI over his last nine games. The catcher continues to handle a starting role, though his season numbers are a bit lackluster. He's batting .225 with a .649 OPS, five homers, 20 RBI, 14 runs scored and seven doubles over 46 contests.

Contreras went 1-for-2 with two walks and a two-run home run in Tuesday's 7-2 loss to the Blue Jays.

The 25-year-old gave the Brewers a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning by taking Yusei Kikuchi deep, but it was all the offense Milwaukee could muster. Contreras is up to six homers on the season, but half of them have come in his last six starts -- a stretch in which he's gone 6-for-20 (.300) with seven RBI.