MLB Player News

Smith is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Padres.

Smith will get a chance to rest after starting and picking up hits in the first two games of the series against San Diego. Austin Barnes will be behind the plate for the Dodgers and hit ninth in the series finale.

Realmuto (finger) will start at catcher and bat sixth in Sunday's game against the Rockies.

Realmuto returns to the lineup after he missed Saturday's 7-4 win over the Rockies while tending to a sprained right pinkie finger. The backstop has performed well in May, slashing .296/.310/.556 through his first eight games of the month.

Murphy is out of the lineup for Sunday's game at Toronto.

Murphy went 0-for-12 with four strikeouts in the past three games and will take a seat for Sunday's series finale versus the Blue Jays. Travis d'Arnaud will step in behind the plate and bat fifth.

Gomes is starting at catcher and batting eighth in Sunday's game against the Twins.

Gomes sat out Saturday but will return following the one-game absence, bumping Tucker Barnhart to the bench. Gomes has been outstanding so far with a .324 batting average, .935 OPS and six home runs across 21 games, making him a surprise fantasy standout at this point in the season.

Realmuto (finger) will sit Saturday against the Rockies.

Realmuto left Friday's series opener with a sprained right pinky, and while he isn't expected to miss much time, manager Rob Thomson indicated that at least one day off was to be expected. Garrett Stubbs will catch Ranger Suarez on Saturday, but Realmuto may have a chance to return Sunday.

Moreno is not in Saturday's lineup against the Giants.

Moreno is hitting .333 with zero home runs and one steal in 27 at-bats this month. Jose Herrera will start behind the dish and bat ninth.

Alvarez will sit Saturday against the Nationals.

With Tomas Nido (eye) joining Omar Narvaez (calf) on the injured list this week, Alvarez has handled a heavy workload behind the plate, starting six consecutive games. Michael Perez will take over Saturday.

Contreras will be back behind the plate Monday to catch Jack Flaherty against the Brewers, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

The Cardinals publicly criticized Contreras' catching last week and moved him to the designated hitter spot for an unclear amount of time while he worked on his defense. He's evidently shown enough improvement already that the team is comfortable returning him to his natural position. The Cardinals have allowed 5.4 runs per game since moving Contreras out from behind the plate, up from 5.1 runs per game prior to that point, so it's not clear that the decision had the desired effect.

Gomes will sit Saturday against Minnesota.

Gomes returned from a concussion Wednesday and went 4-for-8 with a homer, two walks and three RBI across a pair of starts. Tucker Barnhart will take over behind the plate Saturday.

Contreras went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in Friday's 8-6 win over the Red Sox.

Contreras had gone 19 games without a homer, hitting. 275 with six doubles and nine RBI in that span. His long ball Friday helped spark the Cardinals' rally in the sixth inning. He's slashing .263/.340/.406 with three homers, 18 RBI, 18 runs scored, two stolen bases and 10 doubles over 37 contests this season.