MLB Player News

Bart will start at catcher and bat eighth in Sunday's game against the Padres.

Bart was on the bench for four of the Giants' last five games and appeared to be moving into the No. 2 role behind the plate, but he should now have some temporary security atop the depth chart after Curt Casali (concussion) was placed on the 7-day injured list Saturday. For the season, Bart is batting a disappointing .169 with four home runs in 86 plate appearances.

Diaz is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Mets, Patrick Lyons of TheDNVR.com reports.

Though he rested for the second half of Saturday's doubleheader, Diaz will remain on the bench for the series finale. Rockies manager Bud Black is likely rewarding No. 2 backstop Brian Serven will a second consecutive start after the rookie went 2-for-4 with two home runs and four RBI in Saturday's 11-3 win in Game 2.

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

Smith will get some maintenance after he caught each of the Dodgers' last three games while going 3-for-11 with a home run, a double, three walks and two runs during that stretch. Austin Barnes replaces Smith behind the dish in the series finale in Philadelphia.

Contreras (hamstring) is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Diamondbacks.

Per Bruce Levine of 670TheScore.com, Contreras is considered day-to-day after straining his right hamstring in Saturday's 7-6 loss, but the Cubs had enough concern about the backstop's health to call up another catcher (P.J. Higgins) from Triple-A Iowa ahead of Sunday's series finale. Higgins will draw the start behind the plate in place of Contreras, who will hope to return at some point during the Cubs' upcoming four-game series in Cincinnati that begins Monday.

Realmuto is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Dodgers, Alex Coffey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Realmuto will take a seat for the second Sunday in a row, ending a stretch of five consecutive starts for the 31-year-old. Garrett Stubbs will check in behind the plate in place of Realmuto.

Perez is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cardinals.

Perez will hit the bench after he caught both of the Pirates' first two games of the series with the Cardinals, going hitless across seven at-bats. Tyler Heineman will replace Perez behind the dish in the series finale.

Smith went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and a walk in Saturday's 7-4 win over the Phillies.

The Dodgers trailed by one run entering the sixth inning before Smith cranked a solo shot to right field to tie the score. The long ball was his second during his modest four-game hitting streak. Smith has gone 4-for-15 during the stretch with three walks and three runs in addition to the pair of solo homers.

Barnes went 1-for-1 with a solo home run and scored an additional run in Saturday's 7-4 victory against Philadelphia.

Barnes came into the game as a pinch runner in the eighth inning and came around to score on a Gavin Lux single. Barnes remained in the contest and got a chance to bat in the ninth, lifting a solo homer to left field. Though Will Smith is firmly entrenched as the Dodgers' primary backstop, Barnes has hit well this season, slashing .267/.353/.578 with four homers, nine RBI and a 5:8 BB:K.

Contreras went 2-for-3 with a pair of solo home runs and a walk in Saturday's 4-3 win over Miami.

Contreras got the scoring started in the contest with his solo homer to right field in the fifth inning, and he knocked another solo shot in the seventh. This was his second multi-homer performance of the campaign despite the fact that he has played in only 10 games. Contreras is tied for the league lead among catchers with six long balls on the season, and he has essentially split time behind the plate with Travis d'Arnaud over the past week.

Serven went 2-for-4 with a pair of two-run home runs during an 11-3 win against the Mets on Saturday.

Making his second career start, Serven launched home runs in the second and sixth innings after going hitless in his debut Wednesday. The 27-year-old hit five home runs in 23 games at Triple-A Albuquerque, so the power could be legitimate, although it's uncertain how long Serven will stick with the team.