MLB Player News

Nola will not start Sunday's game against Colorado.

Nola and Jorge Alfaro have now alternated starts behind the plate for 18 straight games. Alfaro gets the nod Sunday, but Nola should start Monday at Wrigley Field if the pattern continues.

Diaz will sit Sunday against the Padres, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Diaz and Brian Serven have alternated starts behind the plate over the last six games. Serven gets the nod Sunday, but Diaz should return for Tuesday's game against the Guardians if the pattern continues.

Stallings will sit for the second straight game Sunday against the Astros.

Stallings has been on the bench for back-to-back games on just one previous occasion this season, though there haven't been reports that his absence Sunday is due to injury. Nick Fortes will get another start behind the plate, catching for Edward Cabrera.

Heineman will sit Sunday against Atlanta.

Heineman, who owns a .486 OPS in 24 games this season, has now been on the bench for three of the last five games. It's not clear that he's meaningfully ahead of Sunday's starter Michael Perez on the catcher depth chart at the moment.

D'Arnaud will sit for the second straight game Sunday against the Pirates.

D'Arnaud missed a pair of games early this season with forearm soreness, but he returned to start both Thursday and Friday before being on the bench for both weekend contests. It's possible his absence is due to a recurrence of the injury, but it's also possible it's simply a routine rotation of Atlanta's two backstops. William Contreras remains the starter behind the plate Sunday.

Smith went 3-for-5 with a run in a loss to San Francisco on Saturday.

Smith was the only player in the contest to collect three base knocks, and he scored the Dodgers' first run of the game in the eighth inning. The catcher extended his hitting streak to seven games with the performance. During the streak, Smith is slashing .370/.393/.630 with two homers, three RBI and four runs.

Realmuto went 0-for-3 with a steal in Saturday's victory over Arizona.

Although Realmuto went hitless Saturday, he was able to reach base on a walk and swipe his sixth bag of the year. The veteran catcher has seen his batting average drop over his last six games as he's gone hitless in four of them. He's slashing just .238/.315/.360 on the season, which is certainly not what the Phillies or fantasy managers were expecting from him this season.

Casali is dealing with a hamstring injury, though it hasn't prevented him from playing, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

While Casali is banged up, the issue isn't expected to send him to the injured list. It may decrease his short-term fantasy value, however, something that wasn't particularly large to begin with given his uninspiring .227/.296/.398 slash line.

Fortes went 0-for-4 with a stolen base and a run scored in Saturday's 5-1 win over the Astros.

Fortes got aboard on an error and stole second in the second inning. Speed typically isn't a big component of a catcher's game -- this was Fortes' first steal in six contests this season, and he's never had more than six in a season in the minors. The 25-year-old has been limited to 24 plate appearances, but he's racked up seven hits, including two home runs, six RBI and 10 runs scored through six contests this season. Continued success at the plate could see Fortes begin to chip away at Jacob Stallings' playing time.

Heineman went 0-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch, a stolen base and a run scored in Saturday's 10-4 loss to Atlanta.

Heineman is not known for speed -- he had just one career stolen base and no triples entering Saturday. He was plunked in the fifth inning and promptly stole second before scoring on a Bryan Reynolds double. With Roberto Perez (hamstring) out for the year, the playing time's been there for Heineman recently, but he's failed to seize the opportunity by going 2-for-19 (.105) in six games in June. Overall, the catcher is hitting .182/.250/.236 with no home runs, two RBI and eight runs scored in 24 contests between the Pirates and the Blue Jays.