MLB Player News

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.

Hedges collected three hits, including a home run and four RBI, for Triple-A El Paso Tuesday.

Hedges continues to swing a hot bat, hitting .361 with three home runs and nine RBI in his last 10 games. Hedges, not really known for his hit tool, should see time behind the plate with the Padres at some point this season. In limited time with the Padres last season, Hedges hit only .168 with three home runs and 11 RBI in 137 at-bats.

Realmuto is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game with the Braves.

Realmuto will get the day off after catching the last two games. Jeff Mathis will start behind the plate in his stead and bat eighth.

D'Arnaud is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Royals, according to Adam Rubin of ESPN.com.

D'Arnaud will be the Mets' regular catcher again now that he is back from the disabled list, but he will be held out of Wednesday's lineup with the Mets playing a day game following a night game. Rene Rivera will get the start behind the plate in d'Arnaud's place.

Grandal went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run, his sixth of the season, in Tuesday's 3-2 win over the Nationals.

Grandal let his emotions loose rounding the bases after his go-ahead three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning propelled his team to a comeback victory. The catcher had hit the ball hard all month, yet entered the game with a .167 average in 36 June at-bats. His heroic home run gave Grandal 26 RBI on the season, and while he has been a disappointment all year, Grandal is on pace to set a career high in RBI in 2016.