MLB Player News

Barnhart will be on the bench for Tuesday's game against the Cubs.

The Reds continue to rotate Barnhart and Tyler Stephenson heavily behind the plate. Stephenson starts there Tuesday, meaning both backstops have now caught eight games so far this month.

Barrera is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Blue Jays.

Barrera will be on the bench for the second straight game, but since he caught each of the previous three contests before that, he at least appears to be in a timeshare behind the dish with Riley Adams. Since rejoining Washington in late July, Barrera has gone 6-for-34 (.176 average) with three RBI and a run in 11 games.

Barnhart went 2-for-4 with a home run, a double, three RBI and a strikeout in Monday's 14-5 win over the Cubs.

Barnhart remained in the lineup for a second straight contest after he hit a double Sunday, and he was productive once again in the series opener against the Cubs. The 30-year-old has split playing time with Tyler Stephenson recently, but Barnhart has his .294 with three homers, three doubles, nine RBI and six runs in nine games since the start of August.

Contreras (knee) played catch and went through some agility drills before Monday's game against the Reds.

Contreras first sustained his knee sprain during pregame catching drills Thursday, so it's good to see him get in some activity before a game, even if it's light. The catcher will be out until next week at least, and with the team squarely outside of the playoff hunt, they likely won't rush him back into a heavy workload anytime soon.

Nelson has been promoted to High-A Dayton by the Reds, where he made his debut Saturday. Unfortunately, he was hit by a pitch in his final plate appearance Saturday and did not play Sunday, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

Nelson spent a good chunk of time at the Reds' complex in Arizona after getting drafted 30th overall in July, playing just two games in rookie ball before this weekend. It's a strong vote of confidence for the team to allow him to skip Low-A altogether, especially considering his defensive position and the fact that strikeouts were his main weakness at Florida State.

Nido was placed on the 10-day injured list with a sprained left thumb Monday, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.

Nido had been out of the lineup in three of the last four games, and he's apparently dealing with a thumb injury that will force him to miss at least 10 days. Patrick Mazeika was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse to serve as catching depth behind James McCann.

Smith isn't starting Monday's game against the Pirates, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

Smith was dominant during the Dodgers' weekend series against the Mets, as he went 4-for-12 with three homers, seven RBI and three runs during the three-game span. Austin Barnes will take his place at catcher and bat eighth.

Jackson is not in the lineup Monday against Atlanta, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

Jackson has a .162/.225/.432 slash line in 12 games since being acquired by the Marlins, and he finds himself on the bench for the second straight contest. Jackson has been working as Miami's primary catcher with Jorge Alfaro seeing regular action in left field, but the return of Jesus Sanchez (COVID-19 injured list) may return in Jackson and Alfaro seeing a more even split behind the plate.

Smith went 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBI and a walk in Sunday's 14-4 win over the Mets.

Smith blasted a solo home run in the first inning off Carlos Carrasco. The catcher homered for the third day in a row. In addition, he added an eighth-inning single that drove in a pair of runs. On the season, he is slashing .266/.377/.502 with 18 long balls, 59 RBI and 53 runs scored in 368 plate appearances.

Stephenson went 1-for-1 with a two-run homer in Sunday's 7-4 win over the Phillies.

Stephenson was out of the lineup for the second time in the last three games, but he entered the contest in the eighth inning and blasted his ninth home run of the season. The 24-year-old is in the midst of a power surge across his last three appearances, and he's gone 5-for-9 with three home runs, four RBI and four runs during that time.