MLB Player News

Barnes was recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City on Saturday, J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles Daily News reports.

Barnes was recalled to serve as the backup catcher while Russell Martin is on the bereavement list. His time with the big-league club figures to be short, as Martin can miss a maximum of seven games. In his stint with the Dodgers earlier this season, Barnes managed only a .196/.288/.328 line across 233 plate appearances.

Contreras (hamstring) did throwing drills prior to Saturday's game, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Contreras was seen throwing from behind the plate to the edge of the outfield grass. While his return is likely still a couple weeks away, Contreras continues to slowly make progress towards his eventual return.

Casali (hamstring) was activated from the injured list Saturday.

Casali had been on the injured list since July 18, originally due to a knee injury. However, he suffered a hamstring strain in his rehab assignment and had been working back from that most recently. Casali should return to his backup role behind Tucker Barnhart.

Knizer is 6-for-8 with a double, three home runs, four RBI, a walk and five runs for Triple-A Memphis over his last two games.

That tally includes a 4-for-4, two-homer night Friday versus Omaha. The 24-year-old backstop slashed an unsightly .190/.261/.310 with the Cardinals during a 13-game cup of coffee earlier in the season, but he's hitting a solid .290 (9-for-31) since returning to the Redbirds on Aug. 12.

Nido left Friday's game against the Braves after getting hit in the head by a Josh Donaldson back swing, Justin Toscano of The Bergen Record reports.

Nido was able to remain in the contest after being examined by team trainers, though he was ultimately lifted and is likely being evaluated for a concussion. Wilson Ramos replaced Nido behind the dish.

Contreras (hamstring) hopes to be able to ramp up baseball activities next week, Tony Andracki of NBC Sports Chicago reports.

He is still working through a strengthening routine but will travel with the team to New York next week, which is when he may be able to ramp up activities. Manager Joe Maddon said everyone in the organization is optimistic, but it still seems like Contreras is at least a couple weeks away from game action.

Diaz went 0-for-4 with a strikeout against Washington on Thursday.

His struggles both in the field and at the plate have proven perplexing. Even in the absence of former starting catcher Francisco Cervelli, Diaz has ceded time to Jacob Stallings. After posting a .286 batting average with 10 homers and .792 OPS in 252 at-bats last season, Diaz has hit .243 with one homer and .606 OPS in 251 at-bats this year. He's gone just 4-for-27 with no extra-base hits in August.

Caratini is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Nationals.

Caratini started the last two contests and will take a seat Friday as he is 3-for-24 with nine strikeouts in his last nine games. Jonathan Lucroy will start behind the plate and bat seventh in his absence.

Smith is not in Thursday's lineup against the Blue Jays, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

Smith has been a godsend for fantasy owners since his callup. He is hitting .306 with seven home runs in 15 games this month. Russell Martin will get a start behind the dish and hit eighth.

Stallings is not in Thursday's lineup against the Nationals.

Elias Diaz (head) returns behind the plate and will bat eighth. In related news, Francisco Cervelli (concussion) was released by the Pirates earlier in the day, so it is officially Stallings and Diaz's show behind the plate going forward.