MLB Player News

Barnhart is out of Saturday's lineup against the Padres.

Since the start of May, Barnhart is hitting .287/.340/.402 with one home run in 87 at-bats. Curt Casali is starting behind the dish and hitting seventh.

Barnes went 1-for-4 with a walk and a pair of runs scored in Friday's win over the Rockies.

Yasmani Grandal got the night off against left-hander Tyler Anderson, allowing Barnes to make his second start of the week. The 28-year-old has been unable to reproduce the breakout numbers he posted in 2017, which has limited his fantasy utility in the first third of the season. Barnes is still receiving occasional starts as a backup at both catcher and second base, so the opportunity is there for him to rebound if his bat wakes up as the weather heats up.

Grandal is out of Friday's lineup in Colorado.

He has cooled off a bit, hitting .171/.286/.257 with one home run and 12 strikeouts over his last 10 games (35 at-bats). Austin Barnes will start behind the dish and hit seventh.

Contreras is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Mets.

Contreras will take a breather after starting 10 of the last 11 games for the Cubs. Chris Gimenez will start at catcher and bat eighth against Zack Wheeler and the Mets on Friday.

Plawecki is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Cubs.

Plawecki will take a seat for the second consecutive game, and the Mets also recalled Jose Lobaton to serve as the team's third catcher. Devin Mesoraco will get another start behind the plate and bat fourth against the Cubs on Friday.

Hedges (elbow) was cleared to resume throwing Thursday, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Hedges got the OK from doctors to pick up a throwing program after being shut down last week with renewed discomfort in his injured elbow. He'll continue to ramp up his baseball activities in the coming days before eventually heading back out on a minor-league rehab assignment. A.J. Ellis and Raffy Lopez will continue to fill in behind the dish for the Padres while Hedges is on the shelf, likely until at least mid-June.

Casali was traded from the Rays to the Reds on Thursday.

The 29-year-old backstop figures to head to the big leagues after Cincinnati demoted Tony Cruz to Triple-A Louisville. Casali put together a .274/.327/.453 slash line with four homers and 20 RBI over 28 games at Triple-A Durham this season.

Grandal is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Phillies.

Grandal will get the night off after starting the previous three games behind the dish. Austin Barnes will start at catcher and hit eighth in his stead Tuesday.

Plawecki is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Braves.

Plawecki will give way to the hot-hitting Devin Mesoraco behind the dish after collecting a trio of hits and catching all nine innings in his first game back from the disabled list Monday. The two will likely settle into a timeshare behind the plate now that Plawecki is healthy.

Barnhart's last five starts have come with him batting second in the lineup, where he has been 8-for-25, albeit with no walks against four strikeouts.

Typically Barnhart is a pretty patient hitter, as he carries an 11.0% walk rate this year, though many of his walks in the past have come when he's been batting eighth in the lineup. If he can remain in this spot in the lineup, however, he should score more runs batting in front of Joey Votto and Scooter Gennett.