MLB Player News

Realmuto is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Pirates, Andre Fernandez of the Miami Herald reports.

After catching the past 11 games, it appears Realmuto is receiving a scheduled day of rest during Sunday's afternoon tilt. A.J. Ellis will draw the start in his absence. Expect Realmuto to be back in the lineup Monday against the Rays.

Murphy (forearm) underwent a CT scan Friday and could resume baseball activities Monday if the results are promising, Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post reports.

The catching prospect has been out since mid-March due to a hairline fracture in his right forearm, but a little over a month of rest seems to have done the trick for the healing process. Murphy will likely need a decent number of rehab innings prior to his return due to how early in the spring the injury occurred, but this news seems to show that he's on track to return within the four-to-six-week timetable initially offered by team doctors.

Rupp is not in the starting lineup for Saturday's game against the Dodgers.

It's a regular day off for the veteran backstop and allows Andrew Knapp to get some playing time. Rupp is hitting just .180 this season, in addition to a .340 slugging percentage and 20 strikeouts.

D'Arnaud was hindered by some back tightness during Saturday's game, but will get Sunday's game off with Noah Syndergaard on the rubber, James Wagner of The New York Times reports.

The tightness was bad enough to warrant a mid-game meeting with trainers, but d'Arnaud stayed in throughout the entirety of the contest, going 0-for-3 with an RBI and a run. Consider him day-to-day heading into the off day.

Contreras is out of Saturday's lineup against the Red Sox.

Miguel Montero will get the start behind the dish and hit seventh with John Lackey on the mound for the Cubs. Contreras is hitting .254/.309/.413 with two home runs and a 29.4 percent strikeout rate through 63 at-bats.

D'Arnaud went 2-for-3 with a walk, two home runs and five RBI in Friday's 7-5 win over the Nationals.

Impressively, both homers came off Max Scherzer. With four homers and 15 RBI on the season, d'Arnaud has already matched last year's power production in 56 fewer games.

Rupp's average exit velocity is down to 89.9 mph this season after averaging 92.2 mph last year, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

Rupp said he has been missing too many good pitches this season. He has more than doubled his walk rate from 2016, but he thinks that may actually be problematic. "I'm seeing the ball," Rupp said. "I feel I need to be more aggressive when I get my pitches to hit as opposed to maybe falling deeper into counts. I think I had success last year swinging earlier. I don't want to get to two strikes and start seeing 95 mph sliders." Rupp has been getting an opportunity to work his way out of his early-season slump, but he could start to lose playing time to Andrew Knapp if he fails to get his bat going soon. The Phillies also have top catching prospect Jorge Alfaro at Triple-A, and he could be an option to come to the majors later this year.

Mesoraco will play in half of the team's next 10 games so that he will have the chance to catch each of the Reds' starting pitchers, C. Trent Rosencrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Although this only a concrete plan for the next 10 games, Rosencrans also reported that he could continue to platoon with Tucker Barnhart going forward. However, if Mesoraco can show signs of the potential he displayed in his breakout 2014 season, regaining his status as everyday catcher is not out of the realm of possibility.

Mesoraco is batting seventh and catching Friday against the Cardinals.

It will be a long-awaited debut for Mesoraco, who last played in a major-league game on April 27 of last year. The 28-year-old backstop will likely be eased into the everyday catcher role ahead of Tucker Barnhart, but will need to show consistency at the plate after hitting just .170 in 13 rehab games for Double-A Pensacola.

Realmuto is catching and batting leadoff Friday against the Pirates.

With Dee Gordon getting the day off, Realmuto slides to No. 1 in the order for just the second time this season. The 26-year-old doesn't have blazing speed, but owns a .340/.373/.456 career slash line as a leadoff hitter, providing a consistent threat at the top of the lineup. He carries a seven-game hitting streak into Friday night's matchup against Jameson Taillon.