MLB Player News

Grandal is out of the lineup Saturday against the Diamondbacks.

Veteran Carlos Ruiz will take over behind the plate to catch for Brock Stewart, pushing Grandal to the bench following three straight starts. Grandal has smacked four homers in September and ranks second among catchers with 25 on the year, but he's hitting just .191 this month.

Barnhart is out of the lineup Friday against the Pirates.

He has started 10 of the last 13 games behind the dish for Cincinnati. Ramon Cabrera will get the start at catcher and hit eighth Friday.

Contreras is not in the lineup Thursday against the Brewers.

The Cubs have been rotating their catchers fairly regularly, so this seems to be a regular night off for Contreras. Miguel Montero will take over behind the plate for the evening.

D'Arnaud, who is out of the lineup Wednesday, appears to have been passed on the depth chart by Rene Rivera.

Rivera has started three of the last four games, and appears to be the go-to option behind the dish for the Mets down the stretch. D'Arnaud, who entered the year as a consensus top-10 catcher for fantasy purposes, has had a brutal season at the plate, slashing .253/.309/.332 with four home runs in 250 plate appearances. Typically he has carried the label of "good when healthy," but he failed to live up to that billing this season. It could simply be chalked up to an off year in a small sample size. The Mets will likely head into spring training next year with d'Arnaud as the unquestioned starter at catcher, so he'll make for a cheap bounce-back option in drafts next season.

Diaz (leg) was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis and placed on the 60-day DL on Tuesday.

This amounts to nothing more than a paper move to free up a spot on the 40-man roster. Diaz had already been ruled out for the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery to clean up a bacterial infection in his leg. The 25-year-old also missed significant time with elbow troubles and hit just .266/.289/.298 in 25 games with Indianapolis.

Stewart was placed on the 60-day disabled list Tuesday with a knee injury.

Stewart's knee began acting up again, so the Pirates opted to give him the rest of the season off. The veteran catcher will end the season with a meager .214 batting average as Pittsburgh's backup catcher, which likely won't help him garner a larger role moving into next season. Jacob Stallings was called up from Triple-A Indianapolis to take his spot on the roster.

Stallings had his contract selected from Triple-A Indianapolis on Tuesday.

With Chris Stewart (knee) being placed back on the disabled list, the Pirates needed a third catcher on the big league roster. Stallings will fill the void, although it'll be tough for him to crack the lineup very frequently given his struggles with the bat at Triple-A this season.

Grandal is out of the lineup Tuesday against the Yankees.

Grandal will take another day off after only collecting two hits over the past four games. Carlos Ruiz will take over behind the plate for the evening.

Rupp is not in the lineup for Tuesday's matchup with the Pirates, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Enquirer reports.

Rupp has been the primary catcher for much of the season, but the Phillies are hoping to get catching prospect Jorge Alfaro into the lineup more down the stretch, so Rupp will take Tuesday's game off to comply. The 27-year-old will likely see a few more days off in the next few weeks in order to give Alfaro more time to show his skills.

D'Arnaud is not in the lineup Tuesday against the Nationals, Adam Rubin of ESPN New York reports.

Despite going 2-for-4 in Monday's series opener, d'Arnaud will head back to the bench for another day off. Rene Rivera will slot in for him behind the plate.