MLB Player News

Rupp went 2-for-4 with an RBI single, two-run homer and a walk in Friday's 4-0 victory over the Pirates.

The slugging backstop capped the scoring for the Phillies with a 415-foot shot in the ninth that plated Andres Blanco. It was Rupp's first homer since July 10, and he's now slashing .292/.358/.542 in July while also reaching double digits in RBI in a month for the first time this season.

Diaz was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis on Saturday, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Stephen Nesbitt reports.

Eric Fryer was placed on the paternity list, so Diaz was summoned to provide short-term catching depth behind Francisco Cervelli. Diaz was reinstated from the 60-day DL a couple days ago and optioned to Triple-A after missing the first three-plus months of the season with an elbow injury. He figures to be sent back to Triple-A once Fryer rejoins the Pirates.

Murphy, 25, is slashing .296/.320/.640 with 13 homers and a 59:7 K:BB in 186 at-bats with Triple-A Albuquerque this season.

He is putting on quite the power display in the Pacific Coast League this year, although his 31.1-percent strikeout rate is troublesome. A catching prospect who can sustain a .335 ISO at Triple-A warrants monitoring in deeper formats, but it's unclear when the Rockies will be willing to recall Murphy, or if his hit tool will allow his impressive power to play against big league pitching.

Barnhart went 1-for-3 with a solo homer and a walk Friday against the Diamondbacks.

Branhart's fifth bomb of 2016 extended the Reds' lead to 4-2 in the sixth inning of a home win. He's now homered in back-to-back starts, and he's slashing .266/.328/.402 in 231 at-bats on the year.

Barnes has been recalled by the Dodgers on Friday.

The 26-year-old catcher/infielder has been seeing the ball well at Triple-A Oklahoma City, hitting .333 with two home runs and eight RBI in his last 10 games. Barnes has also compiled 17 stolen bases for Triple-A in 63 games this season. Barnes will play a utility role for the Dodgers while Yasiel Puig is banged up as well as Enrique Hernandez, Trayce Thompson and Andre Either on the disabled list.

Realmuto is out of the lineup for Thursday's contest against Philadelphia, Craig Davis of the Sun Sentinel reports.

It's just a routine day off for Realmuto who is giving way to Jeff Mathis after making three straight starts behind the dish. Realmuto has two multi-hit performances in five games since the start of the second half, going 6-for-21 (.286) during that span.

Grandal is out of the lineup Thursday against the Nationals, Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Grandal has started seven of the last eight games overall, but manager Dave Roberts won't allow him to start an early-afternoon game immediately following an evening contest. In his stead, A.J. Ellis will take over behind the plate to catch starter Julio Urias.

Gosewisch went 2-for-4 with a three-run homer in Wednesday's loss to Toronto.

The 32-year-old catcher hit just the third home run of his career Wednesday, and first this season. Gosewisch has played in five games since being called up July 1, but notched an RBI or extra-base hit through his first 15 at-bats until his meaningless homer in the ninth inning of Wednesday's 10-4 loss. With backup catcher Chris Herrmann (hamstring) hitting the 15-day DL, Gosewisch will stick around with the big league club for now, but he holds minimal fantasy value outside of being a value play when he earns a spot start.

Stephenson (wrist) is back in action at Low-A Dayton, where he went 4-for-4 on Tuesday night.

Stephenson was used as the DH in this one, while second-round pick Chris Okey stayed behind the plate. At some point the organization will probably put Stephenson and Okey on separate teams to allow both to catch regularly.

Diaz has been reinstated from the 60-day disabled list and optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis.

During the final 10 games of his rehab assignment, Diaz hit .324 with only four strikeouts in 34 at-bats. He hasn't exactly provided stellar production across the board in his eight years in the minors, but the Pirates may call on Diaz at some point in the second half to spell Francisco Cervelli occasionally behind the plate.