MLB Player News

Contreras went 3-for-5 with a double, two-run home run and three RBI on Thursday against the Pirates.

Contreras delivered his 18th home run of the season in the third inning, taking Jordan Lyles deep. He collected his third RBI of the contest on a groundout in sixth inning, putting the Cubs up 10-3. It was the second consecutive multi-hit effort for Contreras, and he's now hitting .294/.386/.571 across 293 plate appearances for the season.

Mejia remains on the bench Thursday against the Dodgers.

Mejia owns an .861 OPS in 11 games since returning from the minors, dragging his season mark up to .615. Austin Hedges and his .557 OPS will start behind the plate Thursday.

Barnes is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Padres.

Barnes went 2-for-7 with a double in the last two games but will head to the bench for the series opener. Russell Martin will start behind the plate and bat eighth Thursday.

Garver is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the A's.

Garver will take a seat in favor of Jason Castro after starting Wednesday -- alternating starts is pretty much standard procedure for these two. With a .286 average, 12 homers, 30 runs and 34 RBI, Garver has been a top-10 catcher in earned fantasy value so far this season.

Plawecki will start at catcher and bat seventh Thursday against the Royals.

He'll be spelling top backstop Roberto Perez, who is receiving a maintenance day after three consecutive turns behind the dish. Perez's quality defense and surprising emergence as a power source this season should keep him locked into a heavy volume of starts every week, leaving minimal opportunities available for Plawecki.

Perez is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Royals.

Perez went 2-for-3 with a home run, triple, walk, two RBI and two runs Wednesday in the Indians' 4-0 win over the Royals. Now up to 15 home runs on the campaign, Perez has almost doubled up his previous career-best total (eight) from any of his prior five seasons in the majors. His 28.5 percent strikeout rate will continue to make him a batting-average risk, but the power he provides behind the plate is enough to make him a worthy roster option even in most leagues that start only one catcher. Kevin Plawecki will step in as the Indians' backstop in the series finale in what amounts to a maintenance day for Perez.

Maldonado is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Indians.

Maldonado will be getting a much-needed breather after starting each of the past six games behind the plate and going 6-for-21 with a pair of solo home runs and three doubles during that stretch. Cam Gallagher will work in a battery with Homer Bailey in the series finale.

Contreras went 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored in Wednesday's 6-5 loss to the Pirates.

Contreras finished June in an 0-for-12 slump, but after getting a day off Monday, he's responded with a 3-for-8 start to July. The All-Star catcher is having a strong season with a .287/.382/.555 slash line.

Gomes is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Marlins.

Gomes will be getting a routine breather with the Marlins and Nationals beginning their Fourth of July game bright and early at 11:05 a.m. EDT. No. 2 backstop Kurt Suzuki will check in behind the plate after Gomes started the previous two days.

Caratini went 2-for-4 with two home runs and three RBI in a 6-5 loss against the Pirates on Wednesday.

The 25-year-old doubled his home-run total with this performance, as he came into the night with two round trippers this year. His four homers this season represent a career high. The backup catcher is batting .298 with 11 extra-base hits overall, 16 RBI and 14 runs in 84 at-bats this season.