MLB Player News

Grandal is not in the lineup Saturday against Pittsburgh.

Grandal, having started the Dodgers' last four games behind the plate, will get a breather in place of A.J. Ellis, who'll get his first start since June 19. While Grandal does have six RBI in his last six games, he's also only recorded just one multi-hit game in his last 39 games and has batted .150 during that time.

Contreras went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, three RBI and a run in Friday's 5-4 victory over the Marlins.

The rookie continued the outstanding start to his major league career, extending his hitting streak to six games while tallying his first multi-hit effort at the big league level. Contreras now has three homers over the last six contests as well, and although his current .412/.474/.941 line is unsustainable, he's certainly provided a tremendous boost to the Cubs offense.

Barnhart is out of the lineup for Saturday's contest with San Diego, Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Barnhart has been the everyday catcher for the Reds this season, but after starting five of the last six games, he'll get a breather Saturday. In his place, 26-year-old Ramon Cabrera will assume duties behind the plate. Barnhart, who is hitting just .133 over his last nine games, will likely be back out there Sunday for the final game of the series.

Sanchez cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A El Paso on Friday.

Sanchez -- designated for assignment on June 14 -- went unclaimed by another club during his waiver period and will remain with Triple-A El Paso. The 26-year-old slashed .143/.200/.393 with the White Sox Triple-A affiliate before being picked up off waivers by the Padres in May.

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

Stallings was brought up by the Pirates on Sunday and went 1-for-8 at the plate with a double during his time with the club. Prior to being called up, he had been hitting .199/.242/.340 with four home runs and 21 RBI for Indianapolis this year.

Barnhart is not in Thursday's lineup against the Padres.

Barnhart has started the past four games, and will get a day off Thursday as Ramon Cabrera will man the catching duties. He had a rough road trip, going 3-for-27 at the plate, but the 25-year-old has provided a consistent presence behind the plate for the Reds this season.

Contreras will make his first major league start at first base, batting fourth, against Miami on Thursday, Carrie Muskat of MLB.com reports.

Contreras has generated plenty of excitement since his call up on June 17, smashing two homers and driving in five runs in only nine at-bats. He'll bring a four game hit streak into Thursday's game as he faces off against Miami hurler, Wei-Yin Chen.

Rupp is out of the lineup Thursday against the Twins, Meghan Montemurro of The News Journal reports.

He had started the last four games, and seven of the last nine, so Carlos Ruiz will get the nod in the day game following Wednesday's night game. Rupp has surprisingly returned solid value so far, especially when factoring in how much of a wasteland the catcher position has been this season. His .262 average may not be sustainable, but he should be able to hit double-digit homers this year for the first time since he hit 10 in High-A back in 2012.

Rupp went 1-for-4 with a solo homer Wednesday at the Twins.

Rupp's sixth bomb of the year tied the game at one in the second inning of a game the Phillies would go on to lose. He's now homered in back-to-back games to raise his slash line to .262/.291/,458.

Diaz (elbow) has resumed more of his normal baseball activities including hitting and catching, and will begin to throw to bases in the near future, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Diaz started throwing at 120 feet last week and seems to be progressing well from a right elbow injury that has caused him to miss all of the 2016 season thus far. He decided to undergo surgery in early May and is still on pace to return just after the All-Star break around mid-July.