MLB Player News

Contreras will spend most of his time in the outfield or at designated hitter over the next couple of weeks, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

Contreras has been seen as a bat-first catcher throughout his career, but to see the Cardinals go from giving him five years and $87.5 million over the winter to not trusting him at all behind the plate a little over a month into his first season is quite a surprise. His framing numbers have been subpar this season, but presumably that's not a shock to St. Louis, as that's nothing new. It remains to be seen how often he'll play until he regains his team's trust as a catcher, since the Cardinals already have a depth chart crunch in the corner outfield and at designated hitter. Expect Andrew Knizner to see an uptick in playing time behind the plate in the meantime.

Barrera's contract was selected by the Cardinals on Saturday.

Barrera is a 28-year-old backstop with a career .231/.317/.315 slash line in 51 major-league games. The Cardinals didn't send down any catchers as part of the series of moves which accompanied Barrera's call-up, but with the team moving Willson Contreras out from behind the plate for at least the near future, Barrera may serve as Andrew Knizner's backup.

Rogers will be on the bench Saturday against the Cardinals.

Rogers has seen a marginal uptick in playing time lately, but his off day means he leads Eric Haase in starts behind the plate by the narrowest of margins, starting 16 games to Haase's 15. Rogers has hit .200/.313/.418 with three homers this year, while Haase has homered twice while slashing .278/.337/.405.

Garver (knee) took batting practice Friday, Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News reports.

Garver, who was placed on the 10-day injured list April 10 with a left knee sprain, has ramped up his activity of late. Texas manager Bruce Bochy is targeting a May 23 return date.

Heim went 2-for-5 with a stolen base in Friday's 5-4 extra-inning loss to the Angels.

Heim has gone 10-for-24 (.417) at the plate over his last six contests, adding two home runs, five RBI and six runs scored in that span. While he didn't generate any scoring Friday, he was able to record his first steal of the campaign. The catcher is slashing .300/.373/.578 with six homers, 23 RBI, 18 runs scored and seven doubles through 102 plate appearances.

Knizner went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Friday's 5-4 loss to the Tigers.

Knizner got the Cardinals on the board in the third inning with his solo shot, which was his first homer and fifth hit of the season. He's supplied his two RBI over his last two games, and he's also added three runs scored while hitting .156 across 35 plate appearances. With Willson Contreras getting most of the starts behind the dish, it's tough to see Knizner getting consistent playing time.

Haase went 1-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base in Friday's 5-4 win over the Cardinals.

Haase has hit safely in four straight games, going 6-for-15 (.400) with two home runs and six RBI in that span. His steal was his second of the season, though the catcher/outfielder shouldn't be counted on for much speed. He's been solid so far with a .278/.337/.405 slash line, two homers, 11 RBI, six runs scored and four doubles over 86 plate appearances.

Rortvedt (shoulder) had his minor-league rehab assignment moved from Double-A Somerset to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday.

Since moving to Triple-A, Rortvedt has seen action in three contests, going 3-for-10 with a double, a run and an RBI. The catcher appears to finally be getting healthy after dealing with multiple injuries since being acquired by New York in March of last year. Rortvedt was initially expected to compete for a starting role but has yet to play in a regular-season contest for the big club.

Murphy went 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBI in Friday's loss to Baltimore.

Murphy poked an RBI single to put Atlanta on the board in the first inning. He later drilled a three-run shot in the eighth, but it wasn't enough for the team to mount a comeback. Murphy has been incredible to begin the 2023 campaign, slashing .296/.439/.653 with nine homers, eight doubles and 28 RBI through 121 plate appearances. All of those long balls have come during the last 22 games, during which he's hitting .333 (26-for-78).

Campusano (thumb) began catching pitches Friday for the first time since he went on the injured list, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

It's a significant step forward for Campusano, who has been on the shelf since mid-April because of a left thumb sprain. He was cleared to start swinging a bat earlier this week and seems to be tracking toward a return to the Padres sometime in mid-May. Austin Nola and Brett Sullivan are currently serving as the catching tandem for San Diego.