MLB Player News

Perez (eye) was activated from the 10-day injured list Friday and will start against the Pirates, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports.

The veteran backstop has been sidelined since Aug. 17 while recovering from blurred vision in his left eye, but he's good to rejoin the Royals on Friday. Perez has a .307/.326/.511 slash line with four homers through 22 games and should reclaim the everyday role behind the plate now that he's healthy.

Narvaez is not starting Friday against the Cubs.

Narvaez sits for the second game in a row and the fourth time in the last six contests. Jacob Nottingham starts behind the plate in his absence.

Barnhart remains on the bench Friday in St. Louis.

Barnhart is hitting just .184/.271/.342 on the season, so he could sit fairly frequently down the stretch, especially as the Reds have three catchers on the active roster. Tyler Stephenson got the nod behind the plate Thursday, but it will be Curt Casali manning the position Friday.

Trevino (wrist) is not in the lineup Friday against the A's.

The 27-year-old sustained a left wrist sprain Wednesday and will be sidelined for the second consecutive contest. Sam Huff will start behind the plate and bat eighth in his major-league debut Friday.

Bart is out of the lineup Friday against the Padres, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Bart started the past four games and will take a seat after going 4-for-14 with three runs, one RBI and seven strikeouts during that stretch. Chadwick Tromp will serve as the catcher for Johnny Cueto for the third straight outing.

Grandal is not in the lineup Friday against the Tigers.

Grandal has a modest six-game hit streak and is 9-for-23 with two homers, two doubles, six runs ans seven RBI during that stretch, but he'll receive a breather Friday. James McCann will start behind the plate in the series opener versus Detroit.

Contreras went 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles, a walk, an RBI and two runs in a victory over the Reds on Thursday.

Contreras reached base five times in the win, tying his career high with four hits. The offensive display continued a strong month for the backstop, who is hitting .457 (16-for-35) with 10 runs scored and eight RBI in September.

Smith went 4-for-4 with a double during Thursday's loss to the Diamondbacks.

Smith set a new career high by tallying four hits in a single game, including a double in the fourth inning against Madison Bumgarner. The 25-year-old backstop improved his batting line to .279/.425/.603 with six home runs and four doubles on the year.

Realmuto went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, a double and two RBI in Thursday's loss to Miami.

Realmuto kicked off the scoring in the contest with a run-scoring groundout in the first inning and contributed a solo homer in the fifth. The long ball was his 11th of the season, tops among MLB catchers. He also ranks first among backstops with 29 RBI while slashing .266/.354/.547.

Caratini is not in Thursday's lineup against the Reds.

While Caratini still figures to get a decent amount of starts at designated hitter and catcher now that Jose Martinez was optioned to South Bend, he will sit in favor of David Bote in this one. Caratini is also slumping, hitting .121 with zero extra-base hits over his last 33 at-bats.