Alvarez went 2-for-4 with a three-run homer and an additional run scored in Friday's 11-3 win over the Phillies.

Alvarez snapped a scoreless tie in the fifth inning, blasting an Aaron Nola curveball off the left-field foul pole for a three-run homer. Alvarez has now gone deep in consecutive games after going 18 games without a long ball -- he went just 7-for-49 (.143) with a .379 OPS in that span. The 22-year-old backstop is now slashing .237/.305/.383 with eight homers, 37 RBI and 32 runs scored across 302 plate appearances this season.

Del Castillo is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Brewers.

Del Castillo will give way to Jose Herrera for the fourth time in six games. Although two of those occurrences came against left-handed pitching, the Brewers are starting right-hander Freddy Peralta on Friday, a strong sign that Del Castillo's playing time is trending downward.

Realmuto (knee) is catching and batting fifth Friday against the Mets.

Realmuto hasn't played since Sept. 6 after fouling a ball off his left knee and suffering a contusion. Before the injury, Realmuto had gone 6-for-13 with a homer and a stolen base during a brief four-game hitting streak.

Ruiz is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Marlins.

After catching four straight games, Ruiz will get some rest Friday. Instead, Drew Millas will form a battery with DJ Herz. Ruiz is 7-for-21 (.333) with five doubles in his last five games.

Bailey isn't in San Francisco's lineup for Thursday's game versus the Brewers, Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Bailey will catch a breather after going 3-for-4 with a run scored during Wednesday's blowout victory. Curt Casali will catch instead for right-hander Hayden Birdsong and bat eighth.

Bailey went 3-for-4 with a double and one run scored in Wednesday's 13-2 win over the Brewers.

Bailey has gone 8-for-25 (.320) in September, though he's been held hitless in five of his nine games this month. The catcher is slashing .235/.298/.340 with seven home runs, 42 RBI, 41 runs scored and three stolen bases through 108 contests overall. He should continue to handle a starting role behind the dish with Curt Casali as his backup.

Smith went 2-for-5 with a solo home run, an additional run and a double in Wednesday's 10-8 win over the Cubs.

Smith hit the middle of back-to-back-to-back homers for the Dodgers in the first inning and added a double in the seventh, subsequently scoring the go-ahead run. The All-Star catcher went through a prolonged rough stretch at the plate following the break, beginning the second half of the season by batting .165 with a 24.4 percent strikeout rate over his first 28 games. Smith has shown signs of bouncing back since then, however, slashing .278/.316/.500 with two home runs, two doubles, four runs and seven RBI across his past nine contests.

Atlanta optioned Tromp to Triple-A Gwinnett on Thursday.

Tromp was up with Atlanta for the club's last three games while Travis d'Arnaud (personal) was away from the team on paternity leave, but Tromp will head back to the minors now that d'Arnaud has been reinstated to the 28-man active roster. Atlanta didn't use Tromp during his abbreviated stay with the big club, as Sean Murphy started all three games at catcher.

Atlanta reinstated d'Arnaud (personal) from the paternity list Thursday.

D'Arnaud will rejoin Atlanta ahead of its four-game home series against the Dodgers that begins Friday after he missed each of the team's three games earlier this week while welcoming a new addition to his family. Atlanta optioned No. 3 catcher Chadwick Tromp to Triple-A Gwinnett to clear room on the 28-man active roster for d'Arnaud.

Contreras (finger) will be re-evaluated Monday as the Cardinals plan out his potential return, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

Contreras had the splint on his fractured right middle finger removed a week ago and should be cleared to increase activities Monday. There's not much time for him to ramp things back up, but Contreras could make it back for the final week or so of the season if all goes well.