MLB Player News

Perez isn't starting Wednesday's game against the Reds, Jake Crouse of MLB.com reports.

Perez went 2-for-8 with a run, an RBI and two strikeouts across the last two games. Taylor Davis will start behind the dish and bat eighth.

Stallings (concussion) recently resumed baseball activities, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.

Stallings landed on the 7-day concussion injured list Monday, but his symptoms have subsided recently. He's playing catch and will attempt to ramp up his workload in time to return to the Pirates for the final few days of the regular season.

Barnhart isn't in the lineup for Wednesday's game against Pittsburgh.

Barnhart had started each of the last five games, and he went 3-for-18 with an RBI and five strikeouts during that time. Tyler Stephenson will return to the lineup at catcher and bat seventh.

Kolozsvary was optioned to Triple-A Louisville on Wednesday.

Kolozsvary was called up Monday to serve as catching depth, but he didn't make his major-league debut. He'll head back to Louisville after Tyler Stephenson (undisclosed) was reinstated from the COVID-19 injured list.

Stephenson (undisclosed) was reinstated from the COVID-19 injured list Wednesday.

Stephenson landed on the COVID-19 IL on Monday, but his brief absence suggests that he didn't test positive for the virus. The 25-year-old is in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Pirates, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

Maldonado went 1-for-2 with two walks, a solo home run and a second run scored in Tuesday's 10-5 win over the Angels.

Maldonado showed off his power stroke once again against the Angels, homering in the first two games of the series. Houston's catcher is on a modest roll, hitting in four straight games while going 5-for-13 with two home runs and four RBI.

Nola went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a strikeout in a 6-5 loss to the Giants on Tuesday.

Nola singled in the third inning and knotted the score at 5-5 with a sixth-inning homer to left, only his second long ball this season and first since May 15, though it's worth noting he did miss a chunk of time due to a knee injury. The backstop had 17 homers in 127 career games prior to 2021 but is still slashing a respectable .272/.340/.376 this year while going 9-for20 with four extra-base hits over his last five games.

Contreras went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, a walk and an additional RBI against Minnesota in a loss Tuesday.

The backstop put Chicago on the board in the first inning with a sacrifice fly, and he gave the Cubs their first lead two innings later with a solo shot to left field. The homer was his 21st of the campaign, good for second among National League catchers behind Will Smith. Contreras has blasted three long balls in his past five games, going 5-for-16 with six RBI over that span.

Perez went 0-for-4 with a strikeout in Monday's 9-5 loss to the Reds.

The catcher, who figures to see steady playing time with Jacob Stallings (concussion) on the injured list, is 2-for-51 with a 6:16 BB:K since Aug. 3. Not surprisingly, he's hitless in two at-bats and has grounded into a double play against Tuesday starter Tyler Mahle. For the season, Perez is slashing .135/.212/.297 with seven homers in 203 plate appearances. Recently-acquired Taylor Davis will serve as the team's backup catcher.

Moreno (thumb) will be activated from the 7-day injured list and promoted to Triple-A Buffalo on Wednesday, Gregor Chisholm of the Toronto Star reports.

Moreno has been rehabbing in the Florida Complex League in recent weeks after being sidelined since late June with a thumb fracture. With his rehab assignment set to end, the backstop will also be receiving his first promotion to Triple-A after slashing an impressive .373/.441/.651 to begin the campaign with Double-A New Hampshire. A strong start with Buffalo could go a long way in boosting Moreno's case for an early-2022 big-league call-up.