MLB Player News

Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco is expected back at some point over the weekend against the Cardinals, according to MLB.com. Mesoraco took part in batting practice, but was not included in the lineup on Friday. He has been sidelined since Saturday with inflammation in his left hip. Manager Bryan Price told reporters he's listed as day to day, and is available to pinch-hit on Friday, per the Cincinnati Enquirer.

"He has a little bit of inflammation in there, so we have to be sensitive to that and don't want to aggravate it and set him back any further, but he's available to hit," Reds manager Bryan Price said, per MLB.com. "If we had to put him back there, we could, but we have other alternatives now with Tucker Barnhart here."

The Reds recalled Tucker Barnhart and optioned catcher Kyle Skipworth down to Triple-A Louisville on Friday.

Barnhart batted .313 with three doubles and two RBI in 16 at-bats this season in the minors. Skipworth has yet to appear in a game this season for the Reds.

With catcher Travis d'Arnaud receiving the night off, the Mets moved center fielder Juan Lagares into the No. 2 hole in New York's lineup against the Marlins on Friday, per ESPN. Lagares is hitting .231/.268/.231 with three RBI in 10 games.

D'Arnaud has assumed the No. 2 hole after the Mets placed David Wright on the disabled list. Anthony Recker will take his spot behind the plate for the night and will bat eighth. D'Arnaud is hitting .294 (10 for 34) with a double, a triple, a home run and eight RBI in nine games.

The Pirates recalled catcher Chris Stewart from his rehab assignment and reinstated him from the 15-day disabled list prior to Friday's game against Milwaukee, per the team's official website. Tony Sanchez was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis to clear roster space for Stewart's arrival.

Stewart injured his hamstring on March 9, which caused him to start the year on the DL. He batted .333 (6 for 18) with two RBI in five total rehab games between Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis.

Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto is in the starting lineup for the second straight day, batting seventh in his team's game against the Mets.

Realmuto drew his first start of the season Wednesday and responded by going 2 for 3 with a double, a walk and two runs scored. He's getting rewarded with another start Thursday, so Jarrod Saltalamacchia will be available off the bench for a second straight game.

"There’s no doubt Salty’s been grinding, the idea is to give him a couple of days just to kind of regroup and we’ll go from there," manager Mike Redmond said, per the Palm Beach Post. "J.T. is a guy that has played a lot in the minor leagues. With young guys you want to be careful not to sit them on the bench for an extended period of time. So we’ll try to get him in there as much as we can. We’ll see how we go from there."

The Marlins are slight underdogs (-102) against the Mets Thursday.

Mets catcher Travis d'Arnaud moved into the No. 2 spot in the batting order Wednesday against the Phillies after the team placed David Wright, who hit second in the first eight games on the disabled list. At least for one night, d'Arnaud proved he can handle the responsibility of hitting near the top of the batting order.

d'Arnaud hit his first home run of the season, and went 2 for 4 with two runs and one walk in a 6-1 win.

"I thought Travis did a great job," manager Terry Collins said, per NJ.com. "Everybody's wondering who you hit in David's spot and Travis went in there and did a great job."

Collins also praised d'Arnaud for the turnaround he's experienced since returning from a demotion to the minors last summer.

"I think one thing that helped Travis in the second half, and I'm going to give him all the credit, he figured out what he has to do to have success here," Collins said. "One of the things is to be aggressive early. We've seen what he can do when he hits. You've got to coincide that with making sure your pitch selection is pretty good, but after the second half last year I think he has confidence in his own ability."

Mets catcher Travis d'Arnaud hit his first home run of the 2015 season in Wednesday's 6-1 win over the Phillies. 

D'Arnaud's homer came in the bottom of the third inning. He finished the game 2 for 4 and had a single. He also drew a walk. D'Arnaud now holds a slash line of .333/.364/.533. 

Mets first baseman hit his first home run of the 2015 season during Wednesday's 6-1 win over the Phillies. 

Duda hit the solo home run in the bottom of the fifth inning. Duda also hit an RBI double to left center in the bottom of the sixth. He knocked in Travis d'Arnaud for the Mets' sixth and final run of the game. Duda finished the game 2 for 5. 

"I believe Lucas Duda’s makeup has changed the last couple of years," Mets manager Terry Collins said, via the New York Daily News. "He knows he belongs and he can hit and put up big numbers here."

Duda now has four doubles and seven RBI this season.

Duda's slash line is now .353/.405/.559. 

The Reds gave one thumbs up and one thumbs down to ailing position players for their Wednesday night game against the host Cubs.

Catcher Devin Mesoraco remains out with a hip injury, but second baseman Brandon Phillips will remain in the lineup despite having taken a blow to a head in a collision Tuesday night. Phillips passed a concussion test, allowing him to play.

The Reds are hoping to have catcher Devin Mesoraco back in the lineup in a week or less, manager Bryan Price said, per the Cincinnati Enquirer. He has missed three straight games with a hip injury and remains in Cincinnati receiving treatment.

"We have to see how he comes through the treatment," Price said. "I think he was a bit better (Tuesday). Certainly Dr. (Tim Kremchek and (physical therapist) Christy (Sweeney) back in Cincinnati will have a lot more to say about it, but at least the initial report was it wasn't something that was going to necessitate a disabled-list deal.

"In my opinion, that's because you think it's going to be a week or less. If it's going to be week or longer, you have to consider the DL because that's a long time to play a man short."