MLB Player News

Maldonado is out of the lineup Friday against the Rangers, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Maldonado started the past six games behind the plate and will receive a well-earned day off Friday. Jason Castro will catch for Houston.

Grandal is not in the lineup Friday against the Yankees.

Grandal is 4-for-17 with three homers, eight walks, seven RBI and eight runs over his past seven games, but he'll take a seat for the second straight contest Friday. Zack Collins will receive another start behind the plate for Chicago.

Higashioka is out of the lineup Friday against the White Sox.

Higashioka finds himself on the bench for the second straight day, while Gary Sanchez has now started five of the past seven games behind the plate.

McCann is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Marlins, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.

McCann finds himself on the bench for the third time in four games. It's no surprise to see him starting to lose playing time given his poor .202/.269/.242 slash line. Tomas Nido will start behind the plate in his absence.

Realmuto (hand) landed on the 10-day injured list Friday, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

The Phillies held off on such a move for several days despite the fact that he hasn't played since Saturday. The transaction can only be backdated by three days, so Realmuto will still have to miss another full week. Andrew Knapp will be the primary catcher in his absence.

Contreras will sit Friday against the Pirates.

Contreras should remain Atlanta's starting catcher for most of the season while Travis d'Arnaud recovers from thumb surgery. He's done an impressive job through his first 15 games, hitting .255/.364/.574 with four homers, but he'll get a rest Friday with Kevan Smith taking over in his absence.

Rortvedt was optioned to Triple-A St. Paul on Friday, Brandon Warne of Access Twins reports.

The 23-year-old received his first big-league promotion at the end of April and went 4-for-25 in 12 games during his first stint in the majors. Rortvedt could rejoin the Twins for catching depth later in the season, but Mitch Garver and Willians Astudillo will handle the work behind the plate for now.

Stallings went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run and a walk in Thursday's 6-4 win over Atlanta.

Stallings hit a two-run home run off Drew Smyly with two outs in the first inning. The catcher is one of five Pirates with four homers this season. He is slashing .257/.371/.467 with 17 RBI and 12 runs in 124 plate appearances. Stallings has a solid 0.72 BB/K that trails only Adam Frazier for Pittsburgh.

Smith went 2-for-3 with a home run, RBI, two runs and a strikeout in Los Angeles' 3-2 win over Arizona on Thursday.

Smith recorded an infield single in the second before parking a Merrill Kelly offering over the left field fence for a decisive home run to break a 2-2 tie. This was Smith's fifth homer of the year and third straight start with two hits, a stretch that his raised his slash line to .274/.375/.504.

Contreras went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run in Atlanta's 6-4 loss to the Pirates on Thursday.

Contreras hit a three-run home run off Wil Crowe in the second inning. It was the fourth long ball of the season and career for the catcher. The 23-year-old is slashing .255/.364/.574 in 55 plate appearances this season. He is Atlanta's primary catcher moving forward as Travis d'Arnaud (thumb) is out long term.