MLB Player News

Contreras is not in Thursday's lineup against the Padres.

He is hitting .316 with two home runs this month but is 0-for-11 over his last three games. Victor Caratini starts behind the dish and will hit fifth.

Sanchez is not in the lineup for Game 1 of Thursday's doubleheader against the Tigers, Lindsey Adler of The Athletic reports.

He is hitting .217 with two home runs in 23 at-bats this month. Look for him to be back in the lineup for Game 2. Austin Romine is behind the dish and will hit ninth in the matinee.

Grandal went 0-for-1 with two runs scored and four walks in Wednesday's win over the Marlins.

The 30-year-old was 4-for-9 with a double, a home run and three RBI through the first two games of the series, and the Marlins looked like they wanted no part of him Wednesday and instead pitched to Mike Moustakas, who delivered two homers. Grandal has exploded over the last nine games, going 12-for-34 (.353 average) with five home runs, two doubles, 11 runs scored and nine walks.

Stassi has been dealing with a sore oblique, Maria Torres of the Los Angeles Times reports.

The report sheds some light on the nature of Stassi's injury, which had previously been mentioned only as an unspecified side issue. Recovery timelines on oblique injuries tend to be unpredictable, hence the lack of clarity on a potential return date. Stassi has not played since Sept. 3.

Perez is not starting Wednesday against the Angels.

Perez went hitless Tuesday after hitting .409 over his previous six contests. Kevin Plawecki gets the start behind the plate in his absence.

Barnhart is not in Wednesday's lineup against the Mariners.

He is hitting .150 with zero extra-base hits in 20 at-bats this month. Curt Casali will start behind the dish and hit ninth.

McCann is not starting Wednesday against the Royals.

McCann owns a poor .491 OPS over his last 12 contests, though his season OPS remains quite strong (especially for a catcher) at .785. Welington Castillo starts behind the plate in his absence.

Garver will sit Wednesday against Washington.

Garver has started every other game at the plate over the last six games, adding a start as a designated hitter as well. Jason Castro gets the call behind the plate Wednesday.

Murphy went 3-for-5 with two home runs, three runs scored and four RBI in Tuesday's 21-7 rout of the Astros.

The rookie has been impressive to begin his big-league career, going deep three times in his first three starts and slashing .357/.400/1.000 through 15 plate appearances. Murphy remains in a timeshare with Josh Phegley behind the plate for now, but if he keeps raking he could overtake the veteran as Oakland's No. 1 catcher with the club pulling out all the stops in an effort to make the postseason.

Maldonado went 2-for-3 with a pair of solo home runs in Tuesday's 21-7 loss to the Athletics.

Maldonado is hitting just .226 since joining the Astros but has homered five times in 62 at-bats. Slugging is not typically a part of his repertoire, so view this stretch as an anomaly.