MLB Player News
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Tucker Barnhart C | ARI
Diamondbacks' Tucker Barnhart: Resting Thursday
Barnhart is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Twins.
Barnhart had started behind the plate in three of the past four games but will get a breather for the day game after the night game. Jose Herrera will handle the catching duties Thursday, but Barnhart looks poised to serve as the Diamondbacks' top backstop until Gabriel Moreno (thumb) is back from the injured list.
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Patrick Bailey C | SF
Giants' Patrick Bailey: Receiving afternoon off
Bailey is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Cubs, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Bailey will get a breather for Thursday's day game after he started behind the plate in both of the first two games of the series. Curt Casali will spell him at catcher, forming a battery with starting pitcher Jordan Hicks.
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Martin Maldonado C | CHW
White Sox's Martin Maldonado: Filling in for resting Lee
Maldonado will start at catcher and bat ninth in Thursday's game against Atlanta.
Top backstop Korey Lee is getting a breather for the day game after he started at catcher in each of the previous days, so Maldonado will get a turn behind the plate. Maldonado is valued for his defense, but with an .088/.140/.132 slash line and a minus-24 wRC+, he's been the league's least-productive hitter among all players with at least 100 plate appearances this season.
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Connor Wong C | BOS
Red Sox's Connor Wong: Returns from paternity list
The Red Sox reinstated Wong (personal) from the paternity list Thursday, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.
Wong missed the maximum three games while on paternity leave and will rejoin the Red Sox ahead of Friday's series opener versus the Padres. Tyler Heineman was optioned to Triple-A Worcester to clear room on the active roster for Wong, who should settle back in as Boston's No. 1 catcher while Reese McGuire serves as his backup.
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Kyle McCann C | OAK
Athletics' Kyle McCann: On base three times Wednesday
McCann went 1-for-2 with two walks in a loss to the Angels on Wednesday.
McCann made one of his relatively infrequent appearances in the starting nine and once again contributed, qualifying as the only Athletics batter to reach safely on three occasions. However, he was part of an unfortunate sequence in the second inning, when he stumbled and failed to touch home plate when attempting to score and was subsequently called out due to Armando Alvarez making contact with him in an attempt to steer McCann back to the plate. That gaffe notwithstanding, the rookie backstop has now reached safely in four consecutive games dating back to June 16, and he sports a formidable .278 average and .804 OPS across 91 plate appearances (30 games) this season.
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Elias Diaz C | COL
Rockies' Elias Diaz: Not close to return
Manager Bud Black said that Diaz (calf) will be out for at least another week Tuesday, MLB.com reports.
Diaz has resumed baseball activities but is not sprinting at full speed and is still experiencing soreness. The Rockies have stressed the importance of Diaz returning at full strength, so his absence could extend into the middle of July. Jacob Stallings should remain the team's primary catcher in the meantime.
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Cesar Salazar C | HOU
Astros' Cesar Salazar: Productive in backup duties
Salazar went 1-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a run scored Wednesday against the Rockies.
Salazar was recalled June 11 to serve as depth behind the plate as Houston dealt with injuries to their top two catchers. With Victor Caratini (hip) likely sidelined through the All-Star break, Salazar should get a few starts per week for the foreseeable future. He's gone 5-for-11 with three runs scored and four RBI since being promoted.