MLB Player News

Contreras is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Mets.

Contreras will take a breather after starting 10 of the last 11 games for the Cubs. Chris Gimenez will start at catcher and bat eighth against Zack Wheeler and the Mets on Friday.

Plawecki is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Cubs.

Plawecki will take a seat for the second consecutive game, and the Mets also recalled Jose Lobaton to serve as the team's third catcher. Devin Mesoraco will get another start behind the plate and bat fourth against the Cubs on Friday.

Hedges (elbow) was cleared to resume throwing Thursday, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Hedges got the OK from doctors to pick up a throwing program after being shut down last week with renewed discomfort in his injured elbow. He'll continue to ramp up his baseball activities in the coming days before eventually heading back out on a minor-league rehab assignment. A.J. Ellis and Raffy Lopez will continue to fill in behind the dish for the Padres while Hedges is on the shelf, likely until at least mid-June.

Casali was traded from the Rays to the Reds on Thursday.

The 29-year-old backstop figures to head to the big leagues after Cincinnati demoted Tony Cruz to Triple-A Louisville. Casali put together a .274/.327/.453 slash line with four homers and 20 RBI over 28 games at Triple-A Durham this season.

Grandal is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Phillies.

Grandal will get the night off after starting the previous three games behind the dish. Austin Barnes will start at catcher and hit eighth in his stead Tuesday.

Plawecki is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Braves.

Plawecki will give way to the hot-hitting Devin Mesoraco behind the dish after collecting a trio of hits and catching all nine innings in his first game back from the disabled list Monday. The two will likely settle into a timeshare behind the plate now that Plawecki is healthy.

Barnhart's last five starts have come with him batting second in the lineup, where he has been 8-for-25, albeit with no walks against four strikeouts.

Typically Barnhart is a pretty patient hitter, as he carries an 11.0% walk rate this year, though many of his walks in the past have come when he's been batting eighth in the lineup. If he can remain in this spot in the lineup, however, he should score more runs batting in front of Joey Votto and Scooter Gennett.

Plawecki went 3-for-4 with a walk, two runs scored and an RBI in a win over the Braves during the second game of Monday's doubleheader.

After being activated from the disabled list earlier in the day, Plawecki quickly demonstrated that he's 100 percent after recovering from a fracture in his left hand. Devin Mesoraco has looked good since joining the Mets in Plawecki's absence, posting a .261/.358/.630 slash line with five homers in 15 games, so the 27-year-old should split time behind the plate equally with his new teammate -- just as Plawecki was doing with Travis d'Arnaud (elbow) before both catchers got hurt.

Mesoraco went 2-for-3 with a home run, two RBI, two runs scored and a walk in the first game of Monday's doubleheader versus Atlanta.

Mesoraco drove in a run the easy way during the first inning by walking with the bases loaded. He also homered in the ninth to give the Mets a 3-2 lead that the bullpen would later surrender. Mesoraco has been on a hot streak of late, reaching base in each of his last five games and lifting his batting average to .241. He was batting a dismal .203 as of May 18.

Realmuto is out of Monday's lineup against the Padres, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports.

The Marlins aren't trotting out a very fierce lineup against lefty Eric Lauer, with Bryan Holaday starting behind the dish and hitting eighth while Brian Anderson moves to the No. 2 spot in the lineup. Despite a lack of lineup protection, Realmuto is hitting .323/.380/.546 with six home runs and one stolen base in 130 at-bats this season.