MLB Player News

Speaking on his Sunday radio show, GM Neal Huntington gave no timetable for a return by Stewart (knee).

Huntington only said that Stewart was in the process of testing his knee. It might be premature to suggest that Stewart's season is over, but the Pirates seem to be hurrying Francisco Cervelli (hand) and Elias Diaz (elbow) back into the fold.

Diaz will move up from Double-A to Triple-A to continue his rehab assignment, Pirates Prospects reports.

GM Neal Huntington said Sunday that Diaz would head to Triple-A as soon as fellow rehabbing catcher, Francisco Cervellli, was ready to return in Pittsburgh. Unless Cervelli suffers an injury Sunday then he'll likely be back Tuesday with the Pirates following Monday's day off. Huntington said he's gotten good reports on Diaz, who's gone 11-for-30 in Altoona.

Grandal is out of the lineup Sunday against the Diamondbacks.

Dating back to before the All-Star break, Grandal has started a total of five consecutive games behind the plate. He'll get a regular rest day Sunday, giving way to backup A.J. Ellis.

D'Arnaud is out of the lineup Sunday against the Phillies.

D'Arnaud has been behind the plate for the first two games of the series, but will take a seat in favor of Rene Rivera for Sunday's afternoon finale.

Realmuto is out of the lineup Sunday against the Cardinals.

Realmuto has started the first two games of the series, and six straight overall dating back to before the All-Star break, so he was likely due for a regular day of rest. Jeff Mathis will take over for him behind the plate.

Rupp is out of Saturday's lineup, MLB.com's Todd Zolecki reports.

Rupp has started roughly 70 percent of the time behind the dish over the past month, remaining ahead of Carlos Ruiz on the depth chart. He will take a seat Saturday, however, as Ruiz slots in as the No. 7 hitter against the Mets.

Barnhart is not in Saturday's lineup against Milwaukee.

Barnhart gets a day off every couple of days, so being out of Saturday's lineup isn't anything unusual. Ramon Cabrera will be taking over his spot behind the plate and batting eighth.

Diaz went 3-for-4 with a homer for High-A Bradenton on Thursday as part of his rehab stint.

He's batting .391/.464/.522 in his first 28 plate appearances as he comes back from elbow surgery. Diaz could factor into the second half of Pittsburgh's catching situation if he can prove his elbow is healthy.

Realmuto went 1-for-5 with a run scored, an RBI and two steals in Sunday's win over the Reds.

He stole both second and third off rookie pitcher Cody Reed in his one trip around the bases, giving him nine steals on the season. Realmuto is enjoying life at the top of the Marlins' batting order, hitting .360/.377/.480 in 50 at-bats from the leadoff spot, so expect him to remain there after the All-Star break -- at least until Dee Gordon is back from his suspension -- and continue supplying excellent SB numbers for a catcher.

Rupp went 4-for-5 with a two-run homer, four RBI and a run in Sunday's 10-3 win over the Rockies.

The slugging backstop was a one-man wrecking crew Sunday, posting RBI singles in both the third and fifth frames before launching a 451-foot shot to center in the seventh that plated Cody Asche. Held out of the lineup Saturday after going 0-for-10 over the previous three games, Rupp returned with a vengeance to post his third multi-hit game of July. He's now matched the career-high nine homers he managed in 2015, and is well on pace to blow past the 28 RBI total from last season that also serves as his personal best in that category.