MLB Player News

Barnes was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City on Friday.

The 26-year-old has posted excellent numbers in the Pacific Coast League in recent seasons, but he has struggled in the big leagues in a small sample (63 plate appearances). He has an excellent approach, and what seems to be an above average hit tool, although that has yet to manifest itself against big league pitching. Primarily a catcher, Barnes also plays second base, third base and the outfield corners, so he will occupy a minor utility role for the Dodgers down the stretch.

Murphy was recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque on Friday, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post reports.

Murphy kicked the door in at Albuquerque, slashing .327/.361/.647 with 19 homers in just 80 games (322 plate appearances). The 25-year-old does come with some injury concerns, having dealt with shoulder issues and more recently an oblique strain, but he will continue to play in a favorable hitting environment and could end up wrestling away a sizable chunk of the workload from Nick Hundley.

D'Arnaud is out of the lineup Friday against the Nationals.

D'Arnaud has started two consecutive games behind the dish, so he'll get the night off. He'll give way to Rene Rivera at catcher, who will hit ninth against A.J. Cole.

Plawecki was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas on Thursday.

At one point a couple years ago, Plawecki was seen as a quality catching prospect with an above average hit tool. Now, after 401 big league plate appearances, he sports just a .210/.288/.283 slash line with four home runs. The Mets have obviously soured on him, but his standing on the 40-man roster made him an obvious September call-up candidate to provide catching depth down the stretch.

Contreras is not in the lineup Friday for the second day in a row.

Fellow catcher David Ross is getting two starts in a row, which has put Contreras on the bench on consecutive days. Expect both players, along with Miguel Montero, to continue sharing the catching duties the rest of the way.

Sanchez went 2-for-4 with a solo homer in Thursday's loss to Atlanta.

Making his first start since being recalled from Triple-A, Sanchez looked good again, continuing his positive results in a small MLB sample. He's now 7-for-21 (.333) with a pair of homers as a Padre -- and considering Sanchez's star turn with the bat in the minors this year (.324/.392/.636 in 55 games), there may be some sustainability to his performance if he can steal at-bats from Derek Norris. Considering Norris is hitting .185, that certainly doesn't seem inconceivable.

Contreras is not in Thursday's lineup against the Giants.

Following a 1-for-4 showing Wednesday, Contreras will head to the bench for the third time in the last five games. David Ross will once again take over behind the plate and bat eighth against Jeff Samardzija.

Realmuto is not in Thursday's lineup against the Mets, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports.

Realmuto was behind the plate in the last four contests -- racking up seven hits in that span -- so he'll get what looks to be just an ordinary day off Thursday. Jeff Mathis will handle the catching duties in his stead and bat seventh against Mets starter Jacob deGrom.

Plawecki will be recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas on Thursday, Marc Carig of Newsday reports.

Plawecki has had a solid showing with Las Vegas this season, as he's hit .300/.348/.484 over 55 games. Upon his return to the Mets, he'll look to improve his poor MLB line of .194/.301/.258.

Barnhart (hand) is out of the lineup for Wednesday's matchup against the Angels, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Barnhart will continue to sit out while Ramon Cabrera starts behind the dish. The Reds have Thursday off, so consider Barnhart day-to-day heading into Friday's series opener against the Cardinals.