MLB Player News

Casali went 3-for-5 with a double and four RBI in Friday's 12-1 win over the Cardinals.

The Reds hit five homers in the game, but it was Casali who led the team in RBI thanks to a single in the fourth inning and a bases-loaded two-bagger in the ninth. The catcher is slashing a robust .306/.342/.444 through 16 games, but he's still looking for his first homer and had driven in only one run prior to Friday.

Gomes went 3-for-4 with a two-run home run in a 4-3 loss to the Padres on Friday.

Hopefully this three-hit performance means Gomes is breaking out of his slump. He came into the night just 2-for-21 (.095) in the last six games. With that dry spell, Gomes went from hitting .300 to .216. He is now batting .255 with two homers, eight RBI and five runs in 55 at-bats this season.

Barnhart is not in the lineup for Friday's game at St. Louis.

Barnhart will head to the bench after starting the last three games and going 1-for-10 with a solo home run and four strikeouts. Curt Casali will start behind the plate and bat seventh in his stead.

Stallings (neck) was cleared to resume light baseball activities Wednesday, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports.

Stallings was diagnosed with cervical neck strain and was placed on the 10-day injured list over the weekend. The transaction coincided with fellow catcher Elias Diaz's (illness) activation from the IL, so Stallings with be a clear No. 3 in the organizational pecking order at the position once he's healthy again.

Barnes is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Dodgers, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

Barnes had been behind the plate for each of the past three games, so he'll be granted a routine maintenance day in the series finale. The time off could prove useful for Barnes, who has seen his season average plummet to .190 while recording one hit in 29 at-bats over his last 10 games.

Contreras went 1-for-3 with a double, a walk, three RBI and a run in Tuesday's 7-2 win over the Dodgers.

Contreras padded his RBI total with a bases-clearing double in the first inning, staking the Cubs to an early lead in the wire-to-wire victory. After an ugly second half in 2018, Contreras has re-emerged as a top-flight fantasy catcher through the early portion of the current season. Entering play Tuesday, Contreras' six home runs, 16 RBI, 14 runs and .322 average all rank no worse than third among all backstops who have logged at least 50 plate appearances.

Gomes is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Rockies.

Gomes will head to the bench for Wednesday's series finale after starting the previous two games and going 0-for-7 with a pair of strikeouts in the process. Kurt Suzuki is starting behind the dish and hitting fifth in this one.

Hedges is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Mariners.

Hedges remains the clear starter behind the plate in San Diego, getting the call 16 times compared to nine for Francisco Mejia. Mejia starts Wednesday but has yet to start in back-to-back contests this season, so expect Hedges back in action Friday against the Nationals.

Hedges went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in a 6-3 win over the Mariners on Tuesday.

It was the second straight game with a long ball and fourth homer of the season for the 26-year-old backstop. Hedges is hitting just .208 through 53 at-bats, but he's clearly outperforming Francisco Mejia, who is hitting .161 with no homers, so he should command the majority of the starts behind the dish, especially if he can build on this recent power surge.

Diaz collected his first RBI of the season Monday, going 1-for-4 against the Diamondbacks.

He batted seventh in the lineup but figures to move up in the order as he adjusts to major-league pitching. Diaz made several mental mistakes, including his failure to cover home plate on a bases-loaded bunt. Overall, he had a fairly rough season debut after returning from an unknown virus, but at least he's back and will provide fantasy owners with a decent option at catcher.