MLB Player News

Ruiz is not in the starting lineup for Sunday's game versus the Phillies, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.

Ruiz went just 1-for-8 in the first two games against Philadelphia over the weekend, but his spot on the bench is about maintenance and not related to performance. The switch-hitting backstop takes a seat with Riley Adams starting behind the plate and hitting eighth.

Kirk is not in the starting lineup for Sunday's game versus the Mets.

Kirk has swung the bat well as of late and went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a walk in the Blue Jays' win over the Mets on Saturday, but he'll get a day of rest for the series finale against New York. Tyler Heineman is starting behind the plate in Kirk's absence.

Contreras is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Pirates.

Contreras had started behind the dish in each of the Cardinals' last four games, so he'll be getting a breather Sunday with the series finale beginning at 11:35 a.m. ET. Andrew Knizner will step in as St. Louis' starting catcher, working in a battery with Miles Mikolas.

Garver started at designated hitter and went 2-for-5 a solo home run and an additional run scored in Saturday's 16-6 win over the Mariners.

Garver made his first appearance with the Rangers since April 8 after being activated off the injured list Friday. Between serving as a designated hitter and operating as a backup option at catcher behind Jonah Heim, Garver should be able to hold down at least a semi-regular role now that he's healthy again. Depending on fantasy league rules, Garver may not yet qualify as a catcher in 2023 after logging only 14 starts behind the plate in 2022 and three so far this season.

Contreras went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Saturday's 4-3 loss to the Pirates.

He took Luis Ortiz deep in the second inning to get the Cardinals on the board. It was a welcome sight for those with Contreras shares, as the veteran catcher had gone a miserable 2-for-40 (.050) over his prior 11 games. The 31-year-old's first campaign with St. Louis has not gone according to plan so far, and through 55 contests he carries a career-worst .215/.301/.365 slash line with six homers, four steals, 22 runs and 26 RBI.

Murphy went 3-for-5 with a double in Saturday's 5-2 win over Arizona.

While Murphy had no direct involvement in the run production, he kept his bat hot with his second three-hit effort in his last five games. The catcher is batting .353 (18-for-51) over his last 13 contests, hitting safely in 12 of them, though just four of his knocks in that span have gone for extra bases. The surge has him up to a .294/.400/.553 slash line with 11 home runs, 38 RBI, 29 runs scored and 11 doubles through 48 games, putting him on pace for a career year nearly across the board.

St. Louis designated Barrera for assignment Saturday, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

Barrera will move off the 40-man roster after appearing in six games with St. Louis following his May 6 promotion from Triple-A Memphis. He went hitless in his two at-bats with the club. The Cardinals will announce a corresponding transaction before Sunday's game against the Pirates.

Amaya was recalled from Triple-A Iowa by the Cubs on Saturday, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Amaya will grab the roster spot opened up by Justin Steele (forearm) being placed on the injured list. In his previous stint with the Cubs, Amaya went 3-for-13 (.213 average) with a pair of RBI over six MLB contests.

Gomes is out of the lineup for Saturday's tilt against the Padres.

Gomes will get a day of rest against San Diego in the middle game of the three-game set against the Padres. Tucker Barnhart is behind the plate and hitting ninth.

Bethancourt will be on the bench for the nightcap of Saturday's doubleheader against Boston, Ryan Bass of Bally Sports Sun reports.

Bethancourt hits the bench after going 1-for-10 with a run scored in the first game of the day. Francisco Mejia will take over behind the plate. Bethancourt still has the clear edge in playing time on the season, starting 35 games to Mejia's 25, though he's yet to make more than two starts in a row at any point this season.