MLB Player News

Barnhart is not in the lineup Monday against the Brewers, C. Trent Rosencrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

It appears to be just a normal day off for Barnhart. The 26-year-old catcher has gotten off to a decent start this season while filling in for the injured Devin Mesoraco, slashing .275/.327/.333 in 57 plate appearances. He'll most likely be back behind the plate by the end of the series.

Perez (neck) will catch and bat fifth in the order Monday against the White Sox, Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune reports.

The Royals held Perez out of the last two games while he battled a stiff neck, but the team never felt he was at risk of landing on the disabled list. The couple days off were all Perez needed to get over the issue, so he should be in line for a full slate of starts behind the plate this week.

Contreras is out of the lineup Monday against the Pirates.

Manager Joe Maddon will rest Contreras for the second consecutive day, as Miguel Montero draws another start behind the plate. It's still expected that Contreras will take on the bulk of the catching duties going forward, so fantasy owners shouldn't read too much into the second-year player receiving two games off in a row. Contreras has gotten off to a fine start to the new season, hitting .269 with two homers, four doubles and 10 RBI.

Mejia has dedicated himself to improving defensively at Double-A Akron, SB Nation's Brian Hemminger reports.

Mejia is hitting .356/.404/.511 through 12 games with the Rubber Ducks this season, but his ability with the bat has never been in question. The catcher understands that, and he's taking the necessary steps to ascend through the ranks. So far this year, Mejia has gunned down five of six attempted base stealers while also picking off four runners at first base. Akron manager Mark Budzinski said the organization's No. 1 prospect continues to develop his pitch framing, game calling and even his attitude. Although the 21-year-old still has some climbing to do, Mejia appears to be making positive strides that could lead to his MLB debut coming sooner rather than later.

Gomes' defensive prowess behind the plate has impressed manager Terry Francona, who had high praise for the veteran before Sunday's game, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Gomes' exchange times (length between catch and throw) against attempted base stealers have been elite early in the 2017 campaign. Francona called one of Gomes' recent gun-downs "Santiago-esque," a reference to former MLB standout Benito Santiago. The backstop's eye-popping defense should buy him plenty of time to overcome a slow start at the plate. Gomes is slashing a paltry .171/261/.268 through 47 plate appearances.

Smith started at second base and homered twice Sunday for High-A Rancho Cucamonga against Inland Empire.

Rancho Cucamonga is carrying three catchers on the active roster right now, affording the club the luxury of moving Smith -- a first-round pick in 2016 -- to another position. Smith is now hitting .333/.421/.625 in 58 plate appearances.

Thaiss went 4-for-5 with his third homer of the season Sunday for High-A Inland Empire.

After a big spring training, Thaiss has started the minor-league season slowly, as his four-hit game finally brought his batting average over .200. He's now hitting .212/.333/.364 with 11 walks and 13 strikeouts in 78 plate appearances. His squad is full of slumping players right now, so Thaiss is getting pitched around frequently. The Angels' first-round pick in 2016, Thaiss is walking more and striking out more than he did last year.

Perez went 0-for-2 and drew his first walk of 2017 in Sunday's loss to the White Sox.

The early-season woes continued for the backup catcher Sunday, as he's now just 3-for-23 on the year. Tribe manager Terry Francona is committed to Yan Gomes as the team's routine backstop even though he didn't open the season in top form. Perez simply isn't receiving enough volume, and with no change coming in the foreseeable future, he's practically irrelevant outside of a punt play in daily formats.

Grandal went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Sunday's win over the Diamondbacks.

Sunday's homer was just the switch-hitting catcher's fifth extra-base hit of the season and first long ball since going deep twice in the season opener. That said, with a .250 batting average and three homers, fantasy owners should have little to complain about from the catcher position.

D'Arnaud (wrist) is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Nationals.

It was recently reported that d'Arnaud was still dealing with wrist pain, so he'll remain out of the lineup Sunday. With d'Arnaud out, the Mets will start Kevin Plawecki behind the dish. There's yet to be any indication that d'Arnaud will land on the DL, so consider him day-to-day for the time being.