MLB Player News

Realmuto is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Cardinals.

The Phillies and Cardinals will face a quick turnaround with opening pitch for the series finale set for 1:05 p.m. EDT, so Realmuto will get a breather after starting behind the plate the previous two days. Andrew Knapp will check in at catcher and bat seventh.

Barnes has resumed workouts and his slight groin strain is improving, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

The backstop is currently on the 10-day injured list, but he's ramping up his activity level, and seems to be on track to spend the minimum amount of time on the IL. Prospect Will Smith was called up in Barnes' absence and bagged a pair of hits in his MLB debut Tuesday, so it will be interesting to see what manager Dave Roberts opts to do at the position should Smith continue to rake. Barnes was slashing .231/.345/.393 with four homers and 15 RBI over 117 at-bats while sharing duties with Russell Martin before the injury.

Perez is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Red Sox, Bill Koch of The Providence Journal reports.

Perez has a .908 OPS with four homers over his last 11 games. Kevin Plawecki starts behind the plate in his absence.

Gomes is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Braves.

Gomes will sit for a second straight game as Kurt Suzuki, who is hitting .292/.333/.542 with three homers and nine RBI in May, picks up another start behind the dish in his stead.

D'Arnaud is not in the lineup Wednesday against Toronto.

D'Arnaud has gone hitless in 18 of the 23 games in which he's appeared this season and is certainly not making a great case to stick around once Mike Zunino (quadriceps) and Michael Perez (oblique) return from the injured list. Erik Kratz starts behind the plate Wednesday.

Narvaez is not in the lineup Wednesday against Texas, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

Narvaez has improved on his .275/.366/.429 slash line from last season, posting a .294/.366/.477 line through 45 games this year. That's kept him in the lineup for more than two thirds of the Mariners' games this season, but he'll sit Wednesday, with Tom Murphy getting the call behind the plate.

Barnhart is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Padres.

Barnhart was behind the plate for all nine innings of Tuesday's 11-6 win, finishing the night 1-for-4 with three RBI. He'll put his season-long seven-game hitting streak on hold while Curt Casali gets a turn at catcher in the series finale.

Sanchez is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Padres, Erik Boland of Newsday reports.

Sanchez will receive a routine breather for the day game after the night game, allowing backup Austin Romine to get a turn behind the dish. The 26-year-old has enjoyed a huge May, slugging nine home runs and driving in 15 while batting .287.

Kirk went 3-for-3 with a walk, two doubles, a run scored and four RBI for High-A Dunedin on Tuesday.

The 20-year-old catcher is enjoying a breakout campaign. After slashing .299/.427/.519 through 21 games for Low-A Lansing to begin the season, Kirk's found another gear since a promotion to the Florida State League, posting a .367/.456/.551 line in 15 contests. Even more impressive has been his control of the strike zone -- he's compiled a 26:15 BB:K between the two levels. There are still questions about whether he'll be able to stick behind the plate as he moves up the ladder, but reports of his defensive performance at rookie ball last year offered some glimmers of optimism. If he keeps hitting like this, the Jays will make sure to find a home for Kirk somewhere on the diamond.

Narvaez went 2-for-3 with a walk and a run in a loss to the Rangers on Tuesday.

His throwing error in the first inning did get matters off on the wrong foot for the Mariners, but Narvaez continued with his strong contributions at the plate. The 27-year-old's seventh multi-hit effort of May snapped a two-game, 0-for-8 funk and pushed his average during the month to an impressive .299.