MLB Player News

Caratini is playing first base Friday against the Brewers, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.

With Anthony Rizzo scratched due to back tightness, Caratini will be plugged into emergency duty for Friday's matchup. The switch-hitter will look to garner his first hit of the season against Brewers' starter Brandon Woodruff.

Barnhart is out of the lineup against the Pirates on Friday, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

Barnhart will occupy a spot on the bench in favor of Devin Mesoraco. Through the first week of the season, Barnhart has gone 4-for-12 with one double and three walks.

Stewart was outrighted to Triple-A Gwinnett on Friday, David O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Stewart received unexpected playing time in the opening week of the season with Tyler Flowers (oblique) and Kurt Suzuki (hand) both out injured. With Suzuki now able to return and Carlos Perez in the fold, Stewart was no longer needed, so he'll return to being organizational depth at the Triple-A level.

Nicholas was traded to the Padres on Friday in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations.

Nicholas will report to Triple-A El Paso. The 29-year-old failed to crack the Rangers' Opening Day roster out of spring training and was taken off the club's 40-man in early March. Nicholas has played in 37 major-league games over the past two years and will serve as organizational depth for San Diego this season.

Okey (wrist) will open the year on the disabled list at High-A Daytona, MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo reports.

He tried to play through left hand and wrist injuries last season, which led to horrific numbers at High-A (.185/.266/.250 slash line). This year it's his right wrist that is acting up. He is expected to be ready for game action in a few weeks.

Contreras went 3-for-4 with a double, a walk and a run scored in Thursday's win over the Brewers.

Contreras came into the night with just four hits in his first 21 at-bats of the season, but maybe the three-hit performance will get him going. The young catcher should continue to get ample opportunities from the heart of Chicago's lineup.

Wallach is out of Thursday's lineup against the Phillies, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports.

He has been the de facto starter while J.T. Realmuto (back) has been on the disabled list, but should be an afterthought in the majority of fantasy formats. Wallach is 2-for-19 at the plate (.105 average) through five games. Bryan Holaday will start behind the dish and hit eighth.

Nola cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A New Orleans, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports.

Nola has spent time at Triple-A in each of the past three seasons, so he is developing a reputation as a career minor leaguer. If the Marlins suffer some injuries at the major-league level this season, he could finally make his big-league debut, but will more likely continue to offer organizational depth at New Orleans.

D'Arnaud is out of the lineup Thursday against the Nationals, Tim Britton of The Athletic New York reports.

With d'Arnaud on the bench for a second straight day, he's now started just twice in the Mets' first six games. While manager Mickey Callaway indicated in spring training that the Mets would deploy more of a timeshare behind the plate in 2018, it was assumed that d'Arnaud, the team's primary starter the past four seasons, would still receive a slight edge in playing time. However, Kevin Plawecki seems to be the favored option at this time and may continue to top the depth chart thanks to his superior on-base skills, which may be more beneficial to the Mets than d'Arnaud's power in the bottom half of the order.

Plawecki will start at catcher and bat seventh Thursday against the Nationals, Tim Britton of The Athletic New York reports.

It's the second straight start for Plawecki and his fourth in six games, suggesting that he may have usurped Travis d'Arnaud as the preferred option behind the plate for the time being. Both backstops have been productive offensively this season, but Plawecki's exceptional plate discipline probably gives him a higher floor than d'Arnaud, who has delivered sub-.310 on-base percentages in four of his five big-league campaigns. So long as d'Arnaud stays healthy and his performance doesn't take a major dip, he'll likely see at least two or three starts per week, making it unlikely that Plawecki sees a workload comparable to most No. 1 catchers around the league.