MLB Player News

D'Arnaud is out of the lineup Thursday against the Rockies, ESPN's Adam Rubin reports.

He started the last two games, but will take a seat for Thursday's day game, making way for Rene Rivera behind the dish. D'Arnaud is hitting .246/.299/.333 with two home runs in 137 plate appearances this season, but there is more upside in his bat than he has shown so far and he should still be rostered in the majority of formats.

Stewart (knee) ran the bases on Wednesday and will increase his baseball activities this weekend, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

There is still no timetable for Stewart's return to Pittsburgh. In his absence, Eric Fryer has been serving as the backup catcher for the Pirates. With Fryer playing well, it's unclear whether Stewart will reclaim his spot in Pittsburgh upon his return from the disabled list.

Contreras is out of the lineup Wednesday against the White Sox.

This will be the second day in a row that Contreras is absent from the starting lineup. Miguel Montero will be behind the plate Wednesday, batting fifth.

Grandal is not in Wednesday's lineup against Tampa Bay, J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group reports.

Grandal is just getting a normal day off, despite his recent power surge. A.J. Ellis will take over behind the plate and will bat eighth.

Grandal went 1-for-3 with his 14th home run of the season Tuesday against the Rays.

That's eight homers in the past month for Grandal, who is just two shy of last season's career-high total. The recent power surge has raised the catcher's slugging percentage to .430, but a dismal .227 BABIP has suppressed his average to a meager .211 mark.

Barnhart is not in the Reds lineup on Tuesday against the Giants, Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Barnhart should be back in the lineup on Wednesday when the Reds take on left-hander Madison Bumgarner and the Giants. The 25-year-old has continued to get better each month, hitting a very respectable .308 in 52 July at-bats. Ramon Cabrera will get the start behind the plate for the Reds on Tuesday.

Contreras is not in the starting lineup for the Cubs on Tuesday.

It looks to be just a regular day off for Contreras, who is hitting only .229 over his past 10 games. The Cubs will return home Wednesday to play the final two games of the series against the White Sox. Contreras' time with the big club has been split fairly evenly between the catcher and left field, with two appearances at first base.

Realmuto is not in the lineup for Tuesday's contest with Philadelphia, Andre Fernandez of the Miami Herald reports.

Realmuto will get his third game off in the Marlins' last 12 as Jeff Mathis fills in behind the dish, batting seventh. While Realmuto has collected hits in seven of his nine starts since the start of the second half, he's failed to record an RBI in any of those contests and is hitting just .237 during that span.

Diaz was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis on Tuesday, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports.

Diaz was called up to the majors when backup catcher Eric Fryer was placed on the paternity list. Fryer was reinstated from the list on Tuesday, meaning Diaz will head back to Indianapolis. The 25-year-old only played in one game with the Pirates in his short major league stint.

Diaz, who went 0-for-4 with an RBI ground out in his major league debut behind the plate Sunday, impressed manager Clint Hurdle with his defense. "I thought Diaz caught a fantastic game," Hurdle told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

A game after Philadelphia stole five bases with Francisco Cervelli catching, Diaz picked off a runner at second base and nailed the only would-be base stealer. It remains to be seen whether Pittsburgh will keep Diaz after backup Eric Fryer returns from paternity leave, but he's already left a positive impression with his manager.