MLB Player News

Grandal is out of the lineup Friday against the Rockies.

Grandal has started three consecutive games behind the dish, over which he's gone 1-for-12 and struck out five times. He'll get the night off as Austin Barnes is set to hit seventh and serve as the Dodgers' backstop.

Contreras (hamstring) is participating in his last rehab game Friday night, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.

After completing his rehab assignment, Contreras will join the team and have his hamstring evaluated. If all goes according to plan, he could be activated from the disabled list in the near future. Contreras has been out since Aug. 9, but had been putting on a show before getting hurt. Over the last 10 games he played before hitting the DL, Contreras mashed five home runs while hitting .316 with a 1.113 OPS.

Sanchez (suspension) is back in the lineup Friday against the Rangers, catching and batting third against lefty Martin Perez, Erik Boland of Newsday reports.

He served his suspension during the Orioles series after Major League Baseball reduced his ban from four to three games. Sanchez was disciplined for his role in an Aug. 24 brawl between the Yankees and Tigers. The 24-year-old is batting .250/.330/.530 with eight homers and 20 RBI in 100 at-bats against left-handed pitching this season.

Gomes is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Orioles.

Gomes will head to the bench after starting two of the past three games behind the plate, including a 2-for-5 day during Thursday's win over the White Sox. In his place, Roberto Perez will handle the catching duties.

Contreras (hamstring) went 0-for-2 in his first rehab game Thursday for High-A Myrtle Beach, but the Carolina League playoffs are ending Friday due to Hurricane Irma, and the Cubs must decide another plan to get him at-bats, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

The season has ended for all Cubs minor-league affiliates besides short-season Eugene, so the decision may be just to call up Contreras to the current 40-man major-league roster or send him to the Northwest League Finals, which begin a best-of-five series Saturday. Chicago faces the Brewers this weekend in an important playoff-relevant series, so having him aboard may be their most desired course.

D'Arnaud is not in the lineup Thursday against the Reds.

D'Arnaud retreats to the bench following a pair of starts behind the plate, including a 2-for-3 day at the plate, with a home run and two RBI during Wednesday's affair. In his place, Kevin Plawecki draws the assignment.

Barnhart is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Mets.

Barnhart will head to the bench for a breather after starting three straight games behind the dish. In his place, Stuart Turner will take over at backstop, batting eighth.

Higashioka began a rehab assignment Wednesday after he had been on the 7-day DL at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre with a shoulder strain, DJ Eberle of the Wilkes Barre Times-Leader reports.

Higashioka missed just about two months with a back injury and his return lasted just one day, as the shoulder ailment popped up in mid-August right after he returned to the Triple-A club. It appears as though the 27-year-old catcher is nearing his way back again, but with time running out on the season, the injury setbacks could hurt his chance of receiving a September callup.

Perez went 2-for-4 with a pair of homers, three RBI and a walk against the Tigers on Wednesday.

With this performance, Perez has now set a new career best in home runs with 24 and tied the second-highest RBI total of his career with 70. The 27-year-old backstop had been cold since coming off the DL in the latter part of August, going just 6-for-43 (.140) with a single homer and 13 strikeouts over a 12-game span, so this has to be a relief for Perez's fantasy owners. After all, he was a major force through the end of July, only to offer a combination of injury and ineffectiveness since then.

D'Arnaud went 2-for-3 with his 11th home run -- a two-run shot -- in Wednesday's rain-shortened win over the Phillies.

He's been ceding nearly every other start to Kevin Plawecki of late, and while d'Arnaud has put up three extra-base hits in the last two games, he's been far too inconsistent with the bat to utilize outside of two-catcher or NL-only formats.