MLB Player News

Barnes is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Reds, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

Barnes busted out with two hits in each of the past two games but will nonetheless take a seat for the series finale. Russell Martin will start behind the plate and bat eighth in his stead.

Casali will catch and bat eighth in Sunday's series finale against the Dodgers.

The start is Casali's third in the last four games as Tucker Barnhart continues to struggle at the plate (.081 average in May). Casali is 10-for-30 over his last 12 games, helping lead to more opportunities.

Barnhart is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Dodgers.

Barnhart's Gold Glove-caliber defense hasn't been enough to keep him in the lineup lately, as he'll sit for the third time in four games. Over 122 plate appearances, Barnhart is batting a career-low .163 while striking out 25.4 percent of the time, a seven-point increase from his 2018 mark. Curt Casali will once again replace Barnhart behind the plate.

Diaz collected three hits, including an RBI single, in a 7-2 win over the Padres on Saturday.

The big game lifted his batting average over the .200 mark (.204) for the first time in 2019. Diaz started his third straight game Saturday. Given his improved recent play -- he's 5-for-12 with a walk since Thursday -- the catcher could move into a timeshare with starter Francisco Cervelli in a setup similar to 2018. Diaz is still looking for his first home run after hitting 10 homers last season.

Bart (hand) is about 10 days from getting into an extended spring training game, Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic reports.

Bart fractured his left hand in mid-April, but he's been progressing nicely and should return to game action in just over a week. The Giants are unlikely to rush one of their top prospects back before he's ready, so don't be surprised if they exercise caution with the backstop.

Contreras went 4-for-5 with a two-run home run and a walk Friday night against the Nationals.

Contreras joined the party in the ninth inning with a two-run blast to right center, extending Chicago's lead to 10. The 27-year-old leads National League catchers with 11 homers, and he's driven in 29 through 39 games this season.

Stallings (neck) ended his rehab assignment and was outrighted to Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports.

Stallings completed his rehab assignment and went unclaimed on the waiver wire before being sent to the minors. Geoff Hartlieb was added to the 40-man roster and called up from Triple-A in a corresponding move.

Gomes is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Cubs, Brittany Ghiroli of The Athletic reports.

Gomes will remain on the bench for the second straight contest as he is 0-for-17 with six strikeouts over his last six games. Kurt Suzuki will start behind the plate and bat sixth Friday.

Barnhart remains on the bench Friday against the Dodgers.

Barnhart finds himself on the bench in consecutive games for the first time all season, with Curt Casali again getting the call. Barnhart hasn't been reportedly dealing with any injury, but some time out of the lineup may do him good, as he has just two hits in his last 14 games.

Mejia (knee) has started baseball activities and could be in line for a rehab assignment soon, Bill Center of Padres.com reports.

The 23-year-old backstop has been out since May 11 with a sprained knee, but manager Andy Green said Thursday he's started catching again, indicating he's progressing from the injury. "If he feels good and is moving well, at some point in the near future we'll talk about a rehab assignment for him and let him go catch some games to make sure that knee is holding up," Green said. "Structurally, it is sound, it's just been sore for him a good portion of the year." Mejia was hitting just .167 over 54 at-bats before going down with the injury.