MLB Player News

Knizner went 1-for-3 with a home run, two walks, two RBI and an additional run Wednesday in the Cardinals' 14-8 win over the Pirates.

Knizner connected on his first career home run during the Cardinals' big nine-run second inning, which proved to be the difference in the high-scoring contest. The rookie has been working as the No. 2 catcher behind Matt Wieters lately, but Knizner will likely be optioned to Triple-A Memphis when Yadier Molina (thumb) likely returns from the 10-day injured list at some point in August.

Diaz is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Cardinals.

With the Pirates facing a quick turnaround for the series finale with St. Louis, Diaz will just be getting a routine breather for the final game of the homestand. Jacob Stallings will serve as the Pirates' catcher Thursday, working in a battery with Joe Musgrove.

Hedges is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Mets.

Hedges will give way to Francisco Mejia in the series finale after manning the catcher spot in Wednesday's 7-2 win and going 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI and a run scored. The Padres seemed to be running more of a timeshare behind the dish coming out of the All-Star break, but Mejia appears to have since recaptured primary catching duties. Mejia will pick up his third start in four games while Hedges sits.

Gomes went 2-for-3 with a solo home run Wednesday in the second game of a doubleheader against the Rockies.

Gomes took Jake McGee deep in the seven inning to record his fourth home run of the season. It marked his first homer since June 21 and just his fourth multi-hit game since May 1. His line for the campaign remains a poor .212/.306/.311 across 219 plate appearances.

Realmuto went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 4-0 win over the Tigers.

His fourth-inning shot opened the scoring and proved to be all the offense Vince Velasquez and the Phillies bullpen would need on the afternoon. Realmuto is now slashing .267/.318/.434 on the year with 12 homers and 46 RBI in 96 games.

Mejia is not starting Wednesday against the Mets.

Mejia has started seven out of 11 games since the All-Star break, posting an .873 OPS over that stretch. Austin Hedges gets the start behind the plate in his absence.

Maldonado is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Giants.

With starts in four of the Cubs' previous seven games, Maldonado appeared to overtake Victor Caratini as the team's primary backstop, but both should see their roles decline considerably moving forward. Chicago reinstated two-time All-Star Willson Contreras (foot) from the 10-day injured list Wednesday and inserted him into the lineup behind the plate for the series finale. Assuming Contreras makes it out of the contest OK, he'll likely shoulder a heavy workload at catcher the rest of the way.

Contreras (foot) was reinstated from the 10-day injured list ahead of Wednesday's game against the Giants, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports. He'll bat fifth and start at catcher in the series finale.

As anticipated, Contreras was able to make it back from the IL in the minimum amount of time while making a speedy recovery from the strained right foot. Though Contreras' shaky health motivated the Cubs to acquire some extra catching insurance in the form of Martin Maldonado, the two-time All-Star is fully expected to take on the overwhelming share of starts behind the dish now that he's back on the active roster. The Cubs optioned infielder Addison Russell to Triple-A Iowa in a corresponding move.

Gomes is out of the lineup for the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader with the Rockies.

After reaching base three times and working behind the dish in the series opener Tuesday, Gomes will take a seat with the Nationals facing a quick turnaround for the front end of the twin bill. Kurt Suzuki will handle catching duties for the afternoon contest, but expect Gomes to check back into the lineup for the second game.

Barnes isn't in the starting lineup for Tuesday's game against the Angels.

Barnes will retreat to the bench after taking the collar in Sunday's series finale against the Marlins (0-for-4). Russell Martin is starting behind the dish and batting eighth with Barnes out of the equation.