MLB Player News

Plawecki was placed on the paternity list prior to Friday's game against the Giants, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Plawecki will be away from the team for Friday's contest and could miss up to three games while with his family. Devin Mesoraco will fill in behind the plate in his stead.

Mesoraco (neck) will catch and bat sixth against the Giants on Friday, Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group reports.

Mesoraco hasn't played since Aug. 23 after suffering a neck sprain. It appears as though he's fully recovered heading into a three-game set with San Francisco.

Stewart was traded from the Braves to the Diamondbacks on Thursday, Robert Murray of The Athletic Wisconsin reports.

Stewart appeared in just five games for the Braves before being traded, struggling to an unsightly .214/.250/.214 slash line. He put together a similarly poor line with Triple-A Gwinnett, slashing .219/.299/.277 across 47 games. The veteran backstop should serve as organizational catching depth for Arizona.

Grandal is out of the lineup versus the Diamondbacks on Thursday.

Grandal will receive a standard day off for the series opener after starting the past two games. In his place, Austin Barnes will catch Rich Hill and bat eighth.

Casali will start at catcher and bat sixth Thursday against the Brewers, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic Cincinnati reports.

After starting at first base Wednesday and finishing 3-for-5 with an RBI in the Reds' 13-12 loss in 10 innings, Casali will move behind the plate for the series finale with regular backstop Tucker Barnhart receiving the day off. The absence of Joey Votto (lower leg) has allowed Casali and Barnhart to rotate duties at catcher and first base over the last several games, but with Votto returning from the DL on Thursday, the two will likely be limited almost exclusively to catching duties going forward. Expect Barnhart, a 2017 Gold Glove winner, to see the overwhelming share of starts at catcher in the season's final month, leaving few opportunities left over for Casali.

Barnhart is out of the lineup against the Brewers on Thursday, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

Barnhart will get a standard day off with a day game after a night game. The backstop, who had made 16 consecutive starts at either catcher or first base, turned in one of his better performances of the second half in Wednesday's 13-12 loss in 10 innings, finishing 2-for-3 with a home run, double, two walks and three runs. With the Reds activating Joey Votto from the disabled list Thursday, it's expected that Barnhart will see scant duties at first base going forward, which will result in Curt Casali losing out on time behind the plate.

Grandal went 1-for-2 with a solo home run, a walk and a strikeout in Wednesday's win over the Rangers.

Grandal provided an insurance run with his one-out homer in the eighth, giving the Dodgers a three-run lead in the eventual 3-1 win. The 29-year-old leads all National League catchers with 22 long balls, and now with 60 RBI he sits within striking distance of topping his previous career bests in both home runs (27) and RBI (72).

Caratini went 1-for-2 with a two-run homer in Wednesday's loss to the Reds.

After entering the game in the seventh inning as a defensive replacement, Caratini blasted a two-run homer in the ninth inning, though the game was already lost. It was his first homer in 55 games this season.

The Braves outrighted Stewart to Triple-A Gwinnett on Tuesday.

Stewart lost his spot on the Braves' active and 40-man rosters after Kurt Suzuki overcame a short-term absence due to a triceps injury. Atlanta later brought in Rene Rivera on a waiver claim to serve as the organization's No. 3 catching option.

Realmuto went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run in Tuesday's loss to the Red Sox.

His eighth-inning blast off Matt Barnes gave the catcher 17 homers on the year, tying last year's career high. Realmuto appears to be wearing down at the end of a long season, slashing .188/.290/.325 through 22 games in August, but he's still provided some fantasy value with three homers, 11 RBI and two steals on the month.