MLB Player News

Stephenson is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cubs.

With four starts in the Reds' previous six games, Stephenson has seen an uptick in playing time lately, but that's mostly been a byproduct of Cincinnati facing a lefty-heavy slate. Stephenson will be on the bench for the second game in a row with the Reds matching up another righty (Alec Mills) in the series finale, affording No. 1 backstop Tucker Barnhart a turn behind the plate.

Smith went 4-for-4 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in a 7-2 win over St. Louis on Tuesday.

The backstop logged his first four-hit game of the campaign and drilled his fifth homer in his past 10 games. Smith has cemented his place among the top catchers in the game this season, slashing .273/.381/.518 across 431 plate appearances. He leads National League backstops with 23 homers, 68 RBI, 61 runs and 52 walks.

Casali will start at catcher and bat eighth Wednesday against the Rockies.

Casali should make for an appealing streaming option in season-long leagues with daily lineup moves, given that he'll have the benefit of hitting at high altitude in Colorado. Beyond Wednesday, however, Casali won't provide much fantasy value, given that he typically starts only once or twice per week while No. 1 catcher Buster Posey is healthy. Posey is merely getting some routine maintenance Wednesday with the Giants playing a day game after a night game.

Contreras went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in a loss to the Reds on Tuesday.

The homer was Contreras' first since July 29 and it came in his fourth game back from a knee injury. He was batting leadoff against a lefty, which should be expected to be the norm down the stretch. While it's been a disappointing season overall for Contreras, only Will Smith of the Dodgers has more home runs among NL catchers.

Diaz isn't starting Tuesday's game against the Giants, AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain reports.

Diaz will be out of the lineup for the second time in the last three games after he went 0-for-3 with a walk Monday. Dom Nunez will start behind the dish and bat eighth.

Stallings will sit Tuesday against the Tigers.

Stallings sits after starting seven of the last eight games behind the plate. Michael Perez will catch for Dillon Peters this time around.

Ruiz (knee) remains on the bench for Tuesday's game against Atlanta, Pete Kerzel of MASNSports.com reports.

Ruiz fouled a ball off his knee Saturday against the Mets and hasn't appeared in a game since then. Riley Adams will catch for Paolo Espino this time around.

McCann will be on the bench for Tuesday's game against the Marlins, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.

McCann has disappointed at the plate for most of the season, but he's been particularly poor over his last 15 games, hitting .146/.180/.229. Patrick Mazeika will take over behind the plate Tuesday.

Marchan remains out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Brewers.

Marchan had caught six consecutive games from Aug. 28 through Sept. 3, but he'll be on the bench for the third contest in a row as the Phillies begin their series in Milwaukee. Now that J.T. Realmuto has been cleared to resume catching duties after recently battling ankle and shoulder injuries, Marchan's playing time will likely be scarce the rest of the way.

Smith will sit Monday against the Cardinals, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

Smith has just two hits in his last four games, though that follows a five-game stretch in which he went 9-for-18 with four homers. He'll get a rest for Monday's afternoon game, with Austin Barnes taking over behind the plate.