MLB Player News

Ruiz went 3-for-5 with a double, an RBI and a run scored in Friday's 9-8 loss to Colorado.

The 23-year-old recorded the first two three-hit efforts of his career in his last two games. Ruiz is now batting .224 with a home run, six RBI, four runs scored and a pair of doubles in 18 games between the Nationals and the Dodgers this year. He figures to see the bulk of the playing time behind the plate, while Riley Adams and Alex Avila compete for the backup role.

Diaz went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 9-8 win over Washington.

The catcher has homered three times in his last seven games, giving him 18 long balls on the year. Diaz's .236/.304/.469 slash line isn't anything special, but he's enjoying a career year when it comes to power thanks to playing half his games at Coors Field. He's added 40 RBI, 50 runs scored and 15 doubles across 96 contests.

Fortes had his contract selected by the Marlins on Friday, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

Jorge Alfaro (calf) landed on the injured list Friday, and Miami opted to promote both Fortes and Payton Henry from Triple-A Jacksonville. There's now four catchers on the active roster, with Alex Jackson and Sandy Leon rounding out the group. Playing time may be difficult to predict given all the options, but Henry will receive the start Friday versus Pittsburgh.

Realmuto (elbow) will be in the lineup Friday against the Mets, Matt Breen of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Realmuto's availability was in doubt after he was hit by a pitch on the left elbow Thursday, but he'll still be in the lineup for Friday's series opener in New York. The 30-year-old is 8-for-18 with a homer, a double, three walks, five RBI, four runs and two stolen bases across his past five games.

Contreras went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, two runs scored and two RBI in Thursday's loss to the Phillies.

Contreras missed some time recently due to a knee injury, but he's still been able to reach 19 home runs in 115 games of action. If the catcher pops one more long ball down the stretch, he'll hit the 20-homer mark for the third time in his six-year MLB career. His career high is 24 home runs, which he recorded across just 105 games back in 2019. Contreras should have a few more chances to go deep this year, though the 66-81 Cubs will likely give him some rest days too as they turn their attention to 2022.

Realmuto exited late in Thursday's game against the Cubs after being hit by a pitch in the left elbow and triceps area, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.

Manager Joe Girardi described Realmuto as sore after the game, though X-rays did come back negative. Girardi was non-committal regarding Realmuto's availability to play Friday, so it's possible that Andrew Knapp starts behind the plate. Prior to exiting Thursday's contest, Realmuto had gone 1-for-4 with two RBI.

Nola went 3-for-3 with a run scored and a walk Thursday against the Giants.

Nola logged his second consecutive multi-hit game and his third in nine September starts. That hasn't translated into tremendous counting stat production, though he does have four runs scored and two RBI in that span. For the season, Nola has maintained a .267/.341/.354 line with 13 runs scored and 28 RBI across 182 plate appearances.

Stallings will sit Thursday against the Reds.

Stallings has hit a respectable .289/.349/.368 in 10 games so far in September. Michael Perez takes over behind the plate Thursday, catching Connor Overton.

Adams went 0-for-3 with two walks, one run and one RBI in Wednesday's 8-6 loss to the Marlins.

Though Adams appeared to supplant Tres Barrera as Washington's top catcher in the second half of August, the 25-year-old's stay atop the depth chart proved short lived, as Keibert Ruiz has taken over as the team's preferred backstop since his Aug. 30 promotion. Adams made what was just his second start in the Nationals' last eight games Wednesday, and he demonstrated the sort of plate discipline that made him an intriguing prospect coming up through the Toronto system. While he likely won't see his opportunities behind the plate pick up over the final two and a half weeks of the season, Adams has been working out at first base of late and could end up getting a look in a short-side platoon role behind the lefty-hitting Josh Bell, according to Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com.

Barnhart is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Pirates.

Most of the lefty-hitting Barnhart's off days typically come when Cincinnati opposes lefty starting pitchers, but he'll take a seat Thursday against right-hander Connor Overton in the series finale due to the Reds and Pirates getting together for a day game after a night game. Tyler Stephenson will bat sixth and catch for Tyler Mahle.