MLB Player News

Contreras is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's contest versus the Diamondbacks.

Contreras returned to action Tuesday after missing two games with a hip issue, but he'll take a seat Wednesday for the day game after a night game. Andrew Knizner will catch for starting pitcher Jack Flaherty.

Stallings will start at catcher and bat eighth in Wednesday's game against the Rays, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

Stallings will pick up his third start in four games and may have usurped Nick Fortes as the Marlins' preferred option behind the plate. Neither Stallings (.538 OPS) nor Fortes (.547 OPS) has done much offensively to create excitement for fantasy purposes, and even in mixed leagues that start two backstops, both profile as low-end options at catcher.

Fortes is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rays, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

Fortes is on the bench for the third time in four games and may have ceded No. 1 catching duties to Jacob Stallings. Though Fortes holds a minor edge over Stallings in terms of OPS (.547 to .538) this season, Stallings has a longer track record as a reliable defender behind the plate.

Diaz is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Nationals.

The Rockies and Nationals are concluding their series with a day game after a night game, so Diaz will take a seat after he started behind the plate while going 3-for-4 with two RBI and a run in Tuesday's 6-5 loss. Austin Wynns will pick up the start at catcher Wednesday.

Sanchez went 3-for-4 with a double, a home run and three RBI in Tuesday's 5-1 win over the Pirates.

Sanchez posted his second three-hit game of the campaign and had his first multi-hit effort since June 30. The 30-year-old is batting just .208 in July but has hits in four of his past five games, going 6-for-16 with two homers and six RBI.

Contreras went 2-for-4 in Tuesday's 3-1 loss to the Diamondbacks.

Contreras missed a couple of games while tending to right hip tightness. He was the only Cardinal to log multiple hits in this contest, though they had just five as a team. The catcher is batting .442 (19-for-43) in July, a surge that has him up to a .248/.343/.429 slash line with 11 home runs, 40 RBI, 37 runs scored and five stolen bases through 87 games overall.

Alvarez was removed from Tuesday's game against the Yankees after getting hit in the right hand by a pitch during the ninth inning, and X-rays came back negative after the game, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Alvarez said his concern level is "zero" and doesn't believe further testing will be necessary. Even though his X-rays came back clean, it's possible Alvarez is held out of the lineup for a game or two in order to recover.

Contreras (hip) is starting at catcher and batting fifth Tuesday versus Arizona, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

Contreras will return to the lineup after he missed the last two contests with right hip tightness. The 31-year-old has gone 6-for-20 with a homer, two doubles, four RBI and two runs scored over seven contests since the All-Star break.

Fortes is not in the lineup Tuesday versus the Rays.

Jacob Stallings will do the catching for the Marlins and hit eighth. He and Fortes have basically been splitting starts at the position and neither has produced much offensively.

Stephenson is not in the lineup Tuesday versus the Brewers.

Luke Maile will catch Andrew Abbott in what has become a regular tandem. Stephenson carries a relatively unremarkable .252/.334/.365 batting line through 94 games (368 plate appearances) this season with Cincinnati.