MLB Player News

Ruiz is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Marlins, per Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com.

Despite launching a two-run homer during Thursday's series finale against Colorado, Ruiz will ride the pine for Friday's series opener against Miami. Harry Ford will handle the catching duties and bat seventh for Washington.

Rutschman (elbow) is back in the lineup for Boston's matchup with the Yankees on Friday.

Rutschman sat out the final two games of the series against the Marlins but will start behind the plate for Friday's series opener. The 28-year-old has struggled since coming over to Boston, batting .146/.255/.244 with one homer and four RBI over 47 plate appearances. The switch hitter will bat fifth for the Red Sox as Connor Wong moves back to the bench Friday.

Kirk is absent from the lineup for Friday's contest versus the Mariners.

It's a routine day off for Kirk, who started at catcher the last two days for the Blue Jays. Brandon Valenzuela will be behind the dish and will bat ninth in the series opener.

Jensen went 1-for-2 with a solo home run, an additional run scored and three walks in Thursday's 13-2 win over the Blue Jays.

From the leadoff spot, Jensen opened the scoring with a 421-foot blast off Spencer Arrighetti in the first inning. The young catcher has hit just .167 across 22 August games, though he's been better of late, going 9-for-32 (.281) with two homers over his past 10 contests. On the year, Jensen is slashing .224/.310/.410 with 18 homers, 59 RBI, 60 runs and two stolen bases across 125 tilts.

The Red Sox signed Nido to a minor-league contract Thursday, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.

Nido spent the first four months of this season at Triple-A Toledo in the Tigers organization before being released in late July. The 32-year-old has a career .560 OPS over parts of nine big-league seasons and will give the Red Sox some experienced catching depth at Triple-A Worcester.

Ruiz went 2-for-5 with a two-run homer and a double in Thursday's 7-1 win over the Rockies.

The backstop capped the scoring by taking Jimmy Herget deep in the eighth inning, Ruiz's ninth homer this season. The 28-year-old has been hot since the start of August, going 20-for-53 (.377) with a pair of homers and a .978 OPS in his last 16 games. Overall, he's slashing .281/.320/.453 with 45 RBI, 41 runs scored and a pair of stolen bases across 306 plate appearances this year.

Baldwin went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Thursday in a 1-0 win against the Dodgers.

Baldwin slugged Yoshinobu Yamamoto's first pitch of the contest over the right-field wall to give Atlanta a quick lead. That ended up being the only run scored by either team, as Yamamoto and Chris Sale squared off in a pitchers' duel. Baldwin extended his on-base streak to a modest five games with the homer, and over that stretch he's reached base in 10 of 21 plate appearances. However, his power has been mostly absent of late -- prior to Thursday, he had gone deep just once over his previous 30 contests.

Rodriguez said Thursday that he's suffered a setback with his elbow neuritis, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Rodriguez began a rehab assignment at Triple-A on Sunday, but the Giants paused his assignment after one game due to the setback. He's scheduled to see a specialist within the next few days, and a clearer picture of his return timeline should emerge following his doctor's visit. In the meantime, Drew Cavanaugh and Andrew Knizner will continue to split reps behind the plate for the Giants.

Feduccia is not in the lineup for Thursday's contest against Atlanta.

He has been the Dodgers' primary catcher since Dalton Rushing (elbow) joined Will Smith (neck) on the injured list, but Feduccia will exit the lineup Thursday after starting the previous three games. Ben Rortvedt will be behind the plate.

Goodman is not in the lineup for Thursday's contest versus the Nationals.

Goodman homered in each of the first two games of the series after returning from the injured list, but he will get a breather during Thursday's afternoon tilt. Brett Sullivan will step in at catcher for the Rockies.