MLB Player News

Garver (back) is beginning a rehab assignment with Triple-A St. Paul on Friday, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

The catcher should require at least a few games of rehab, considering the fact he's been sidelined with a back strain since Aug. 24. The injury came at a bad time for Garver, who hit .303 with three doubles and a home run in his last 10 games. He figures to take the roster spot of backup catcher Ben Rortvedt once activated.

Perez went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer in Thursday's 7-2 loss to Oakland.

Perez served as the DH for Thursday's matinee and supplied the only runs on the day for the Royals, taking Oakland starter Paul Blackburn deep in the first inning. It was the 45th homer of the season for Perez, moving him into a tie with Vladimir Guerrero for the major-league lead. Perez has gone yard in three consecutive games, going 6-for-13 at the plate during that stretch. He's hitting .300/.348/.650 with seven homers and 18 RBI since the start of September.

Contreras went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, two runs scored and two RBI in Thursday's loss to the Phillies.

Contreras missed some time recently due to a knee injury, but he's still been able to reach 19 home runs in 115 games of action. If the catcher pops one more long ball down the stretch, he'll hit the 20-homer mark for the third time in his six-year MLB career. His career high is 24 home runs, which he recorded across just 105 games back in 2019. Contreras should have a few more chances to go deep this year, though the 66-81 Cubs will likely give him some rest days too as they turn their attention to 2022.

Realmuto exited late in Thursday's game against the Cubs after being hit by a pitch in the left elbow and triceps area, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.

Manager Joe Girardi described Realmuto as sore after the game, though X-rays did come back negative. Girardi was non-committal regarding Realmuto's availability to play Friday, so it's possible that Andrew Knapp starts behind the plate. Prior to exiting Thursday's contest, Realmuto had gone 1-for-4 with two RBI.

Nola went 3-for-3 with a run scored and a walk Thursday against the Giants.

Nola logged his second consecutive multi-hit game and his third in nine September starts. That hasn't translated into tremendous counting stat production, though he does have four runs scored and two RBI in that span. For the season, Nola has maintained a .267/.341/.354 line with 13 runs scored and 28 RBI across 182 plate appearances.

Heim isn't in the lineup for Thursday's game against Houston.

Heim went 0-for-3 in Wednesday's matchup and will head to the bench for the third time in the last four games. Yohel Pozo will start behind the plate and bat seventh.

Stallings will sit Thursday against the Reds.

Stallings has hit a respectable .289/.349/.368 in 10 games so far in September. Michael Perez takes over behind the plate Thursday, catching Connor Overton.

Gomes isn't in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Royals.

Gomes has gone 1-for-12 with a homer, three runs and two walks across his last four appearances. Sean Murphy will start behind the plate and bat seventh.

Grandal isn't in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Angels, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

Grandal will get a breather after he went 6-for-16 with a homer, three runs and three RBI across the last four games. Zack Collins will start behind the dish and bat eighth.

Adams went 0-for-3 with two walks, one run and one RBI in Wednesday's 8-6 loss to the Marlins.

Though Adams appeared to supplant Tres Barrera as Washington's top catcher in the second half of August, the 25-year-old's stay atop the depth chart proved short lived, as Keibert Ruiz has taken over as the team's preferred backstop since his Aug. 30 promotion. Adams made what was just his second start in the Nationals' last eight games Wednesday, and he demonstrated the sort of plate discipline that made him an intriguing prospect coming up through the Toronto system. While he likely won't see his opportunities behind the plate pick up over the final two and a half weeks of the season, Adams has been working out at first base of late and could end up getting a look in a short-side platoon role behind the lefty-hitting Josh Bell, according to Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com.