MLB Player News

Barnhart went 2-for-3 with a walk, a double and an RBI in Sunday's win over the Padres.

His big April is a distant memory, and Barnhart is now hitting just .247/.314/.351 on the season, but as the Reds' starting catcher, he still chips in just enough offense to have value in deeper formats.

Perez will be behind the plate and bat eighth in the order Sunday against the Athletics, Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Perez had missed each of the last four games, as manager Mike Scioscia elected to give Jett Bandy an opportunity to audition for the starting role. While Perez is back in the lineup, Sundays are usually days in which managers prefer to deploy their backup catchers, suggesting that Perez may settle back into a more limited role heading into the coming week. Perez is batting just .186 with three homers in 161 at-bats for the season, so even if he's officially dropped from a starting role, it's unlikely to hurt fantasy owners.

Vazquez is out of the lineup Sunday against the Rangers, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Vazquez will hit the bench following a stretch of three starts in as many days at catcher. As expected, the backstop has handled the pitching staff well and has halted the running game by throwing out 7-of-18 would-be base stealers this season, but he's sitting on an ugly .212/.261/.298 line for the season. With that in mind, Vazquez could be at risk of a demotion once Ryan Hanigan (neck) returns from the DL, likely at some point this week.

Rupp is out of the lineup Sunday against the Giants, MLB.com's Todd Zolecki reports.

Rupp was the hero Saturday night, hitting a two-run homer that proved to be the difference in the contest. Despite the solid offensive performance, manager Pete Mackanin did note that he would like to see improvement with the backstop's game calling. Until that happens, Rupp will likely still surrender a few days of playing time each week to Carlos Ruiz, although it is worth noting that Rupp has started six of the last seven games for Philadelphia.

D'Arnaud is out of the lineup Sunday against the Braves.

The Mets will rest d'Arnaud after he spent the last three games behind the plate, allowing Rene Rivera to pick up a start behind the plate. D'Arnaud hasn't been able to get much going since returning from a shoulder injury earlier last week, going 2-for-15 with three RBI.

Realmuto is out of the lineup Sunday against the Cubs.

The Marlins will roll out a regular lineup Sunday, with the exception of both Realmuto and Marcell Ozuna (wrist). Jeff Mathis will get the start behind the plate for what is presumably a regular day of rest of Realmuto.

McCann is out of the lineup Sunday against the Indians.

This looks to be a normal respite for McCann, who had been behind the plate each of the previous three days. Jarrod Saltalamacchia will handle the catching duties and bat seventh in the order.

Contreras will make a second straight start in left field and bat fifth in the order Sunday against the Marlins.

Just eight games into his MLB career, Contreras has already made a compelling case for full-time duty, going 8-for-20 with three homers, a double and nine RBI. While he was initially expected to log only a few starts a week at catcher, Contreras has also picked up a start at first base for a resting Anthony Rizzo, and could start to see more frequent time in a corner outfield spot if he's able to acquit himself well defensively. Kyle Schwarber (knee) is out for the season, Jorge Soler (hamstring) is on the DL, and Dexter Fowler (hamstring) recently joined him, creating opportunities in the outfield for several Cubs. Jason Heyward is the only healthy regular locking into an everyday spot in the outfield, so it looks like manager Joe Maddon will have to decide between three players (Contreras, Chris Coghlan and Albert Almora) for two spots in most games.

Manager Pete Mackanin indicated Saturday that Rupp's game calling needs to improve, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Rupp is likely going to lose some playing time to Carlos Ruiz, at least in the short term. Ruiz will catch Aaron Nola on Sunday, and has recently become Jared Eickhoff's personal catcher. If Nola has success Sunday, it could lead to more playing time for Ruiz. Rupp, who hit his seventh homer of the season Saturday, will still be the primary option behind the dish for the Phillies because he offers more with the bat.

Contreras went 1-for-3 with an RBI double, two walks and a run in Saturday's 9-6 loss to the Marlins.

The dynamic rookie plated Kris Bryant in the ninth, giving him at least one RBI in five of the seven games in which he's recorded an at-bat. Taking the pair of walks into account, Contreras is now boasting a .400/.500/.900 line over 20 at-bats.