MLB Player News

McCann went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI in Monday's win over the Royals.

McCann has been struggling in July, as he entered this game slashing just .204/.250/.347 this month, and this was the catcher's first three-hit performance since June 15. Maybe this strong performance will get the 28-year-old going as it's generally been a disappointing campaign to date.

Narvaez is out of the lineup versus the Angels on Monday.

Narvaez will remain on the bench for a second straight game while Kevan Smith gets the start for the series opener in Los Angeles. Across 54 games this year, Narvaez is hitting .294/.365/.425 with 17 RBI.

Contreras went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored in Sunday's 7-2 victory over St. Louis.

Fresh off his first All-Star appearance, Contreras continues swinging a hot bat. He's raised his batting average from .269 to .282 since the start of July with a couple homers and seven RBI during that span. On the year, the Venezuelan backstop has just eight home runs and 37 RBI after hitting 21 homers and 74 RBI in just 117 games last season.

Diaz went 1-for-5 with an RBI double Sunday against the Reds.

He's served as Pittsburgh's cleanup hitter nine times in the month of July, going 12-for-34. Speaking on his Sunday radio show, general manager Neal Huntington said the team is considering giving starting catcher Francisco Cervelli (concussion) occasional time at first base to keep Diaz's bat in the lineup. Given Cervelli's precarious status, fantasy owners might want to pick up Diaz for both the near term and future, especially now that Pittsburgh seems to have confidence in the 27-year-old. He's hitting .287 with seven homers and 25 RBI in 174 at-bats, but just keep in mind Diaz was a career .259 hitter in parts of nine minor-league seasons.

Hedges is out of the lineup for the second game of Sunday's doubleheader with the Phillies.

Unsurprisingly, Hedges will head to the bench after he went 0-for-4 while playing all nine innings behind the plate in the Padres' 10-2 win in Game 1. A.J. Ellis will handle the catching duties in the nightcap.

Narvaez is out of the lineup Sunday against the Mariners.

Narvaez will give way to Kevan Smith after starting the first two games of the series behind the plate. With a .421/.463/.618 batting line over 24 games since the beginning of June, Narvaez seems to have overtaken Smith as the club's preferred backstop.

Stassi is out of the lineup Sunday against the Angels.

It's a routine rest for Stassi, who started at catcher and went 2-for-7 with a run scored during the first two games of the weekend. Tim Federowicz will serve as the batterymate for Houston starter Lance McCullers in the series finale.

Maldonado is out of the lineup Sunday against the Astros, Jeff Miller of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Maldonado will receive his first breather of the second half after he was behind the plate for the first two games of the weekend. Jose Briceno checks in behind the plate, catching for Andrew Heaney.

Grandal is out of the lineup Sunday against the Brewers, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports.

He'll give way to Austin Barnes behind the plate with lefty Brent Suter on the mound for the Brewers. Though he's a switch hitter, Grandal has been far more productive versus right-handed pitching (.270/.362/.515 batting line, 139 wRC+) than southpaws (.206/.329/.302, 82 wRC+) this season.

Narvaez went 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored Saturday against the Mariners.

Narvaez has emerged as the primary catcher for the White Sox and extended his hitting streak to a modest seven games. That has pushed his average up to .294, though his counting stats are unlikely to be noteworthy due to his position in the bottom third of the batting order and the poor White Sox offense.