MLB Player News

Bart (groin) ran on the field in Mexico on Friday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The Giants have a rare Friday off with the team playing a two-game series in Mexico starting Saturday against the Padres, but it's a positive sign that Bart was able to participate in some pregame activities. The backstop has been out of action with tightness in his right groin strain, and he has a chance to return to the lineup against San Diego over the weekend.

D'Arnaud (concussion) is traveling with Atlanta and taking regular batting practice, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

There remains no estimated timetable for his activation from the concussion IL, but d'Arnaud continues to take positive steps forward. He's been on the shelf since April 9 and figures to head out on a minor-league rehab assignment at some point because of the growing length of his absence.

Barnhart is not in the starting lineup Friday against Miami.

Barnhart will take a seat as the Cubs face off against left-hander Jesus Luzardo, with Yan Gomes behind the plate and batting eighth. Barnhart has produced just two hits over his last 18 at-bats while striking out nine times, so it's possible that Gomes, who's batting .257 with two homers and seven RBI over 35 at-bats versus righties this year, sees his workload increase.

Alvarez (head) is starting at catcher and batting ninth Friday versus Atlanta, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

Alvarez was lifted from Thursday's series finale against the Nationals after getting hit in the head by a couple of swings, but he checked out fine after the game and will make a second straight start behind the plate for the Mets. Tomas Nido is on the bench.

Stallings is not in the starting lineup Friday versus the Cubs, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

Stallings will take a seat as the Marlins elect to have Nick Fortes catch for Jesus Luzardo. Stallings has gone 0-for-10 over his last three starts, so he'll hope the day off will help him get right at the plate.

Smith (concussion) is expected to be activated from the injured list ahead of the Dodgers' game against the Cardinals on Friday, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

Manager Dave Roberts had said earlier this week that the catcher probably wouldn't be back until at least Saturday, but now the skipper says Smith will be in Friday's lineup at designated hitter as long as he is cleared and gets through live batting practice with no issues. Part of the reasoning for bringing him back a day earlier is that J.D. Martinez (back) is still banged up. Smith hasn't played since April 12 due to a concussion but has been symptom free for about a week.

Barnes went 1-for-3 with a stolen base in Thursday's loss against the Pirates.

Barnes led off the fifth inning with a base hit before swiping his second bag of the year, matching his total from all of last season. The 33-year-old catcher has been the Dodgers' primary option behind the plate with Will Smith (concussion) sidelined. While Barnes can run a bit better than a typical catcher, he hasn't offered much with the bat, going just 3-for-38 with no extra-base hits to start the year.

Alvarez exited Thursday's game against the Nationals after being hit in the head by two swings, Tim Britton of The Athletic reports.

Alvarez exited the game in the ninth inning, though manager Buck Showalter said he checked out okay after the game. Alvarez's availability for Friday's game against Atlanta is currently unclear. Prior to departing, he went 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored.

Alvarez is starting at catcher and batting ninth Thursday against the Nationals.

Alvarez is just 5-for-31 (.161) with one home run in 31 plate appearances since his April 7 promotion from Triple-A Syracuse, but he is at least drawing more starts now over Tomas Nido. The 21-year-old has been in the Mets' lineup three of the last four games, including Thursday night's series finale versus Washington.

Contreras is not in the starting lineup Thursday at San Francisco.

This would appear to be a routine breather for Contreras as the Cardinals wrap up a four-game set at Oracle Park. He started the previous 10 games, with eight of those starts coming behind the plate. Andrew Knizner is catching and batting eighth Thursday. Nolan Gorman is serving as the designated hitter and hitting third.