MLB Player News

Maldonado is out of the lineup Friday against the Cardinals.

Despite the big night Thursday, Maldonado will get another night off. Manny Pina will assume catching duties in his place.

Contreras is not in the lineup for Friday's matchup with the Astros.

Contreras will head to the bench in favor of David Ross, Jon Lester's personal catcher. Manager Joe Maddon seems to be content rotating time between Contreras, Ross, and Miguel Montego, so it's unclear how soon Contreras will slot back into the lineup during their current interleague series.

Barnhart is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Pirates.

Barnhart caught the past four games, so he'll head to the bench to rest for a day. Ramon Cabrera will fill in behind the dish in his stead.

Murphy went 2-for-4 with his second home run Wednesday in a win against the Giants.

Through his first 11 at-bats in the majors this year, Murphy's racked up six hits. He made a strong debut last season, and any Rockies hitter is worth owning when he's in the lineup consistently. Unfortunately, Murphy's just one man in a three-catcher rotation right now, so he'll need to win more regular starts before meriting a pickup for the stretch run.

A more extensive X-ray on Perez's right wrist Wednesday confirmed that he did not suffer a fracture, and he hopes to return to the lineup Friday in Chicago, the Kansas City Star's Rustin Dodd reports.

Perez said he feared that he suffered a broken wrist when he was hit by a pitch and forced to exit Tuesday's game, but fortunately tests confirmed that he simply suffered a bruise. The Royals have an off day Thursday, so the soonest Perez could return would be Friday, but it would not be surprising if he needed another day or two. Drew Butera is starting behind the dish and hitting ninth Wednesday.

Grandal is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Diamondbacks.

The Dodgers are clearly loading Wednesday's lineup with righties against southpaw Robbie Ray, as lefties have give them trouble all season long. To that end, Carlos Ruiz will start behind the dish and hit sixth Wednesday.

Maldonado is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cubs.

Maldonado is just 1-for-13 (.077) at the plate this month, so manager Craig Counsell decided to give him a day off Wednesday. Manny Pina will serve as the Brewers' catcher in Maldonado's place.

Gomes (shoulder) is scheduled to catch five innings at Triple-A Columbus on Wednesday night, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Gomes has been on rehab with Columbus since Friday, but this will mark his first action behind the plate after previously serving only as the DH. The 29-year-old isn't eligible to return from the DL until September 16, so regardless of how he looks Wednesday, he'll likely make at least one or two more appearances before returning to Cleveland.

Diaz has been shut down for the rest of the season due to a bacterial infection in his leg that required surgery, the Pittsburgh Tribune's Travis Sawchik reports.

At best, Diaz could have served as the third or fourth catcher for the Pirates in September. Instead, he will take time to recover from surgery to take care of a bacterial infection. It sounds like he will be ready to go when pitchers and catchers report to spring training.

Rupp is not in the lineup Wednesday for the second straight day, according to CSN's Jim Salisbury.

Rupp has been in a prolonged slump at the plate that has dropped his average from .277 on Aug. 14 to .259 as of Wednesday, so manager Pete Mackanin decided to give him back-to-back days off for the second time in a week. A.J. Ellis will start behind the plate again Wednesday in Rupp's place.