MLB Player News

Delay will start at catcher and bat ninth in Tuesday's game against the Marlins.

Delay will be rewarded with his third start in a row behind the plate after he went 4-for-8 with a pair of doubles and a run scored between the previous two contests. All three of the righty-hitting Delay's starts have come against left-handed pitchers, so it's too early to conclude that he's usurped the lefty-hitting Michael Perez as the Pirates' preferred catcher.

Perez is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Marlins.

The lefty-hitting Perez is on the bench for the third game in a row with the Pirates set to face yet another southpaw starter (Daniel Castano). Jason Delay will get another turn behind the plate at Perez's expense.

Nido is not in the starting lineup for Tuesday's game against Atlanta, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

Nido will take a seat Tuesday after he went 0-for-4 with a strikeout in Monday's win. Patrick Mazeika will start at catcher and bat ninth against Atlanta. Nido will likely continue to garner the lion's share of work behind the plate while James McCann (oblique) is on the 10-day injured list.

Stallings is not in the starting lineup for Tuesday's contest against the Pirates, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

Stallings will get a breather after he went 0-for-6 with two strikeouts over the last two games. Nick Fortes will get the start at catcher and bat ninth Tuesday versus the Pirates.

Knizner will start at catcher and bat ninth in Monday's game against the Phillies.

Though Knizner sat three times during a four-game stretch last week, he appears to have taken back the Cardinals' primary catcher role from Austin Romine. Knizner will be included in the lineup for the third time in four contests despite having produced an .096 batting average dating back to the start of June.

General manager Dave Dombrowski said that Realmuto will be placed on the restricted list Tuesday ahead of the Phillies' two-game series in Toronto, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

Realmuto, third baseman Alec Bohm and starting pitchers Aaron Nola and Kyle Gibson will all be deactivated Tuesday since none of the four are eligible to cross the Canadian border due to their vaccination statuses. Before the Toronto trip, the Phillies will wrap up their four-game series in St. Louis on Monday, and Realmuto will start at catcher and bat fifth in that contest.

Perez is not in the starting lineup Monday against the Marlins.

Perez will sit for a second game in a row Monday as the Pirates face lefty Trevor Rogers. Jason Delay will start again at catcher and bat ninth in the series opener.

Nido will start at catcher and bat ninth in Monday's game in Atlanta, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Nido will make his second consecutive start and should act as the Mets' No. 1 catcher for the foreseeable future after James McCann was placed on the 10-day injured list Sunday with an oblique strain that manager Buck Showalter said will keep the veteran backstop sidelined for "weeks." With that being the case, it wouldn't be surprising if the Mets looked outside of the organization for catching help ahead of the Aug. 2 deadline, as Nido is probably best suited for a backup role. Though he draws praise for his abilities as a game caller and pitch framer, Nido has been a well below league-average hitter (51 wRC+) over parts of six seasons in the majors.

Contreras is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Mets.

Though he was named to the National League's All-Star team Sunday, Contreras remains a part-time player for Atlanta. With Travis d'Arnaud locked in as Atlanta's No. 1 catcher and with Marcell Ozuna secure as the team's everyday designated hitter now that the team is back to full strength in the outfield, Contreras could struggle to receive more than three or four starts during Atlanta's final seven games before the All-Star break.

Alvarez will continue his development in the minors and isn't an option to replace James McCann (oblique) on the major-league roster, The New York Daily News reports.

The 20-year-old was only recently promoted to Triple-A, where he's gone 2-for-16 with a double through his first five games. Alvarez's bat will probably wake up before long at Syracuse, but the Mets are more concerned with his development and long-term outlook than in rushing the young catcher to the majors to plug a hole in the roster. Prior to his promotion, the team's top prospect slashed .277/.368/.553 through 67 games for Double-A Binghamton with 18 home runs.