MLB Player News

Barnhart is not starting Monday against Milwaukee.

Barnhart has started 10 of 16 games behind the plate in September. Curt Casali will get the call for Monday's game.

Mejia went 1-for-4 with a grand slam in Sunday's 7-3 win over the Rangers.

Mejia's first career grand slam capped off a five-run ninth inning that sent the fans in San Diego home happy. The 22-year-old has provided some thump since joining the majors this month, slashing .259/.333/.630 in 29 plate appearances. Manager Andy Green has stayed true to his word, splitting playing time between Mejia and Austin Hedges evenly. It will be interesting to see how the Padres' catching situation unfolds next season, as Mejia possesses tremendous offensive upside at the shallow position.

Hedges is not in the lineup Sunday against the Rangers.

Hedges and top catching prospect Francisco Mejia have been sharing catching duties pretty evenly over the past couple weeks, and on Sunday, Hedges will watch from the bench. Hedges has been hot as of late, though, producing a .987 OPS over the past 14 games.

Diaz (hamstring) caught a bullpen session Saturday and could return to action as soon as this week, Rob Biertempfel of The Athletic reports.

Diaz has been out since late August due to hamstring discomfort, but it seems like he's finally turning a corner in his recovery process. With the expanded rosters in September, Diaz can return to the roster easily, but his playing time may not be plentiful with Francisco Cervelli handling starting duties while Jacob Stallings and Ryan Lavarnway also compete for playing time as backups. Diaz still seems like the clear No. 2, but with the Pirates' playoff chances becoming slimmer and slimmer, the team may not force the 27-year-old backstop to play too much after missing over two weeks of action.

Realmuto is not in the lineup Sunday against the Phillies, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports.

Realmuto caught each of the past five days but only went 2-for-16 in that span. He'll get a day off to rest Sunday, allowing Bryan Holaday to slide in for a turn behind the plate.

Contreras is not in the lineup Sunday against the Reds.

Contreras drove in the Cubs' only run Saturday night, but he'll get a day off for the second time in the series. Victor Caratini will fill in for him at catcher for the series finale.

Contreras went 2-for-3 with an RBI in Saturday's 1-0 win over the Reds.

Contreras had half of his team's hits, and his second knock of the day was huge, as he drove in Javier Baez in the bottom of the sixth inning for the only run off the game. It was a bright spot in what's been a down season for the 26-year-old catcher, as he's now tallied nine home runs and 51 RBI in 127 games after posting 21 home runs and 74 RBI in 117 games a year ago.

Hedges is not in the lineup Friday against the Rangers.

Since Francisco Mejia became part of the mix at catcher in early September, he's made four starts behind the plate compared to three for Hedges, with each of them also appearing once at designated hitter. Mejia will get the start Friday, but the playing time split looks to be relatively even going forward.

Contreras isn't in the starting lineup for Friday's game against Cincinnati.

Contreras will take a seat for the second straight day, with Victor Caratini slated to take over behind the dish and bat sixth. Contreras has gone 2-for-10 with a double and an RBI over his previous five games.

Barnhart is not in the lineup against the Cubs on Friday, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Barnhart will retreat to the bench for a standard day off after going 0-for-2 with a pair of strikeouts during Wednesday's loss to the Dodgers. Curt Casali will handle the catching duties and hit seventh in the order.