MLB Player News

Barrera is not in the lineup Friday against the Padres, Matt Weyrich of NBC Sports Washington reports.

Barrera has been seeing plenty of action with Yan Gomes (oblique) and Alex Avila (calf) sidelined, but he won't start the first game of the second half. Rene Rivera signed with the Nationals earlier in the day and will start Friday. Barrera and Rivera should split playing time behind the plate until Gomes or Avila is healthy.

Realmuto is not in the lineup for the first game of Friday's doubleheader against the Marlins.

Realmuto was never likely to start both games of the twin bill, so he'll be on the bench for the matinee. He should be back in the lineup for the nightcap, while Andrew Knapp starts behind the plate in his place.

Alvarez has hit .231/.350/.479 with seven homers, 20 RBI, 21 runs and a 20:35 BB:K across 37 games since being promoted to High-A Brooklyn.

His strikeout rate has more than doubled from his stint in Low-A earlier this year (from 10.4 percent to an even 25 percent), but Alvarez has also had some bad batted-ball luck, so it's fair to expect his average to climb. Considering that he's still 19 years old -- a full four years younger than the average player in the High-A East league -- he's doing great. His stats have been hurt significantly by a recent slump, as Alvarez has gone 1-for-32 over his last eight games. Before that, he was hitting .286/.389/.571 with Brooklyn. Alvarez is a ways off from the majors, but he's one of the most exciting catching prospects in the game.

Knizner wrapped up the first half of the season with a .178/.267/.222 slash line, four doubles, two RBI, nine walks and 11 runs across 101 plate appearances over 36 games.

Heading into the season, the company line was that ageless backstop Yadier Molina would finally begin to cut down on his typically voluminous workload to a degree, which would lead to more consistent opportunities for Knizner. That said, while Knizner has already doubled up on his previous career high of 18 games, it's worth noting at least 14 of his appearances thus far have been a direct result of Molina's injury-related absences, and Knizner finished the first half logging only two starts from June 22 onward. However, Molina did skip the All-Star Game to rest a nagging foot injury, so there may be opportunities for Knizner to draw some starts early in the second half.

Bart was optioned back to Triple-A Sacramento following Sunday's win over Washington, Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic reports.

Bart was brought up to the 26-man roster Saturday and notched two singles, one RBI and a run scored in Saturday's win. He'll now continue to get reps in Sacramento while the big club is on break. It's possible that the backstop rejoins the 26-man roster for Friday's game against the Cardinals, but that decision will likely depend on whether Buster Posey (thumb) is ready to be activated from the injured list.

Casali went 1-for-2 with a three-run home run, two walks and a strikeout in a 3-1 win against the Nationals on Sunday.

Casali accounted for all three San Francisco runs with his second-inning shot to center off Nationals' starter Erick Fedde and later walked in both the third and sixth innings. The backstop has been performing admirably in the absence of Buster Posey and concludes the first half with a .220/.336/.404 slash line in 42 games. Moreover, his 11.6 BB% would be among the league leaders if Casali had enough at-bats to qualify.

Perez went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's 6-5 win over the Mets.

Making his third start in the last four games, Perez contributed a fifth-inning solo shot with his only hit. The 28-year-old is up to six homers, 13 RBI and 10 runs scored despite a .140/.216/.333 slash line through 125 plate appearances. He will likely continue to serve as Jacob Stallings' backup at catcher.

Nola (knee) played seven innings at first base in the second game of his rehab assignment with Triple-A El Paso, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego-Union Tribune reports.

Nola has taken the field at first base in each of his two rehab games thus far, going a combined 3-for-5 with a run, an RBI and a walk. The backstop has ample experience playing the infield throughout his career, but the decision to have him start at first base rather than at catcher during the beginning of his assignment with the Triple-A club is a clear indication that he's not quite ready to test his sprained left knee behind the plate. He'll almost certainly need to progress to getting in some games at catcher before he's deemed ready to return to the big-league club.

Contreras is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cardinals.

The 29-year-old has gone 1-for-4 in four consecutive games en route to a .286 average with one RBI in 29 at-bats this month. Robinson Chirinos will catch and bat eighth in Sunday's series finale.

Stallings is not starting Sunday's series finale against the Mets, Jake Crouse of MLB.com reports.

The 31-year-old has gone deep in consecutive games and is now hitting .261 in 23 at-bats this month. Michel Perez will catch and bat eighth Sunday.