MLB Player News

Contreras is not in the lineup Tuesday against the Diamondbacks.

Contreras will sit for the third time in seven games since the All-Star break. Victor Caratini will get the nod behind the plate in his place.

Barnhart is not in the lineup Tuesday against the Cardinals.

Barnhart will sit in favor of Curt Casali for the second time in four games. Casali's .298/.377/.489 line easily outpaces Barnhart's .249/.329/.350, though he's done it in a small sample of just 54 plate appearances. Barnhart has the clear edge in terms of defense behind the plate.

Grandal batted cleanup and went 1-for-4 with his 14th home run of the season in Monday's 7-6 win over the Phillies.

Grandal has experienced peaks and valleys offensively this season, but the overall numbers are strong -- he's posted a .255/.354/.472 slash line and 14 homers over 316 plate appearances -- especially for a catcher. The switch hitter will continue to sit in favor of Austin Barnes against southpaws.

Contreras went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored in Sunday's 7-2 victory over St. Louis.

Fresh off his first All-Star appearance, Contreras continues swinging a hot bat. He's raised his batting average from .269 to .282 since the start of July with a couple homers and seven RBI during that span. On the year, the Venezuelan backstop has just eight home runs and 37 RBI after hitting 21 homers and 74 RBI in just 117 games last season.

Diaz went 1-for-5 with an RBI double Sunday against the Reds.

He's served as Pittsburgh's cleanup hitter nine times in the month of July, going 12-for-34. Speaking on his Sunday radio show, general manager Neal Huntington said the team is considering giving starting catcher Francisco Cervelli (concussion) occasional time at first base to keep Diaz's bat in the lineup. Given Cervelli's precarious status, fantasy owners might want to pick up Diaz for both the near term and future, especially now that Pittsburgh seems to have confidence in the 27-year-old. He's hitting .287 with seven homers and 25 RBI in 174 at-bats, but just keep in mind Diaz was a career .259 hitter in parts of nine minor-league seasons.

Hedges is out of the lineup for the second game of Sunday's doubleheader with the Phillies.

Unsurprisingly, Hedges will head to the bench after he went 0-for-4 while playing all nine innings behind the plate in the Padres' 10-2 win in Game 1. A.J. Ellis will handle the catching duties in the nightcap.

Grandal is out of the lineup Sunday against the Brewers, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports.

He'll give way to Austin Barnes behind the plate with lefty Brent Suter on the mound for the Brewers. Though he's a switch hitter, Grandal has been far more productive versus right-handed pitching (.270/.362/.515 batting line, 139 wRC+) than southpaws (.206/.329/.302, 82 wRC+) this season.

Murphy recorded a solo home run in his only at-bat Saturday in a win over Diamondbacks.

Murphy entered the game in the eighth inning as a pinch hitter and delivered the go-ahead run on his first home run of the season. He remains the backup catcher behind Chris Iannetta, seeing just 55 at-bats in 20 appearances as a result. He has recorded seven extra-base hits in his limited playing time, hinting at what he may be capable of if he's given full-time at-bats.

Casali went 1-for-3 with a two-run homer in Saturday's 6-2 loss to the Pirates.

In 19 games since joining the Reds. Casali is slashing .304/.385/.500 with two homers. His career production doesn't suggest he'll be able to keep up this pace for long, but GMs in deep NL-only formats can probably find a use for any catcher while he's hot at the plate.

Barnhart is not starting Saturday against the Pirates.

Barnhart is hitting a modest .249/.329/.353 with five home runs through 81 games this season. Curt Casali will draw the start behind the plate in his absence.