MLB Player News

Contreras will sit for the third straight game Saturday against the Mariners.

Contreras' playing time has been cut through no fault of his own, as Ronald Acuna's nagging knee troubles mean he's been limited to the designated hitter spot that Contreras had previously occupied. Atlanta has elected not to split time evenly between Contreras and Travis d'Arnaud behind the plate while Acuna remains unable to take the field, instead using d'Arnaud as the clear primary option.

Nola was activated from the paternity list and is starting Saturday against the Dodgers, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Nola landed on the paternity list Friday but will rejoin the Padres after spending just one day away from the team. He's starting behind the dish and batting eighth during Saturday's matchup.

Hedges isn't starting Saturday against Minnesota.

Hedges went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a strikeout during Friday's series opener against the Twins, but he'll head to the bench for the second time in the last three games. Luke Maile will take over at catcher and bat eighth.

Stassi (undisclosed) is starting Saturday against the Astros, Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Stassi exited Friday's matchup against Houston as a precautionary measure, but he'll start behind the dish and bat eighth a day later. Over four games since the start of September, he's gone 1-for-10 with a run, an RBI, three walks and two strikeouts.

Delay isn't in the lineup Saturday against the Cardinals.

Delay started the last two games and went 1-for-7 with a run and five strikeouts. Tyler Heineman will take his place behind the dish and bat ninth Saturday.

Heim will sit Saturday against Toronto.

Heim finds himself on the bench for the third time in four games. He still owns a respectable .710 OPS on the season, but his .063/.182/.083 line over his last 17 games could cause him to continue to sit more frequently down the stretch. Sam Huff will start behind the plate.

Realmuto isn't starting Saturday against the Nationals.

Realmuto started the last eight games and slashed .308/.419/.577 with two home runs, a double, seven RBI and five runs. Garrett Stubbs will take over behind the plate and bat seventh Saturday.

McGuire isn't in the lineup Saturday against Baltimore.

McGuire has lost out on playing time recently and will head to the bench for the fifth time in the last six games. Kevin Plawecki is starting behind the plate and batting ninth.

Hedges went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 7-6 win over the Twins.

Hedges has hit safely in three of his last four games, and he's added three RBI in that span. The catcher is up to seven homers, 26 RBI, 24 runs scored and a pair of stolen bases while slashing .189/.267/.287 through 281 plate appearances.

Grandal (back) is starting Saturday against the Athletics, Sonja Chen of MLB.com reports.

Grandal was out of the lineup for the last three games, and the team revealed Friday that he was dealing with back tightness. However, he'll start behind the dish and bat eighth Saturday.