MLB Player News

Catcher Brayan Pena is out of the starting lineup for the Reds game on Saturday. Pena has started 40 games this season, including the last four, and six of the last seven. 

Tucker Barnhart will replace Pena behind the plate for the 16th time this year. Barnhart is hitting seventh in the lineup. 

Pirates catcher Francisco Cervelli is not in the team's starting lineup on Saturday. It's the second time in the last 10 games that he'll get a rest. 

Replacing Cervelli behind the plate is Chris Stewart, who gets the call for the 14th time this season. He'll bat eighth in the order. 

Mets catcher Kevin Plawecki will miss his fifth straight start at catcher on Saturday. 

Plawecki was scratched from Tuesday's lineup with dizziness, and he hasn't played since. 

Travis d'Arnaud will start at catcher for the 14th time this year and third time in four days. 

Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto gets a rest in Saturday's game. Realmuto, who has 44 starts behind the plate this year, will be replaced by Jeff Mathis. 

Mathis is starting his fifth game and second in the last four. He'll bat seventh in the lineup. 

Rays catcher Curt Casali will get his first start of the season on Saturday.

Casali, who was just recalled from Triple-A Durham, is in the Rays' lineup, playing catcher and batting ninth. 

Casali will be playing his first MLB game since last Septemer 24. He played in 30 games with the Rays at the end of the 2014 season. He's hitting .205 with four home runs and 13 RBI at Durham this season.

The Rays have recalled catcher Curt Casali from Triple-A Durham, according to the Tampa Bay Times. Casali appeared in 30 games for the Rays in 2014, but has spent this season with Durham.

Casali was batting .205/.326/.348 with four home runs and 13 RBI in 32 games at Triple-A.

Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto made sure his team would walk away with a win against the Rockies on Friday. With the Marlins leading 2-1, the rookie catcher blasted a three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning, as the Marlins were victorious 5-1.

The home run was Realmuto's third of the season, and is only hit of the game. He owns a .433 batting average over his last eight games. 

After starting four straight games behind the plate, Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal will get a rest on Friday, as he is being held out of the starting lineup against the Padres. Grandal recently returned from a brief stint on the disabled list with a concussion, and has hit .237 (9 for 38) in the 12 games since his return.

He will cede the catching duties to A.J. Ellis with Clayton Kershaw on the mound for the Dodgers.

Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco has been taken off his rehab assignment with Triple-A Louisville after suffering a setback with his hip injury Wednesday, manager Bryan Price said Friday, per MLB.com. 

Mesoraco will return to Cincinnati for rehab work and will be reassessed after the team's road trip. Mesoraco, who hasn't caught since April 12, is trying to make the transition to the outfield.

"We thought he could transition back to the outfield and it hasn't gone as well as we had hoped from a physical standpoint," Price said.

Mets catcher Travis d'Arnaud has caught all 18 innings in the two games since returning from a seven-week trip to the disabled list. And, the young backstop has three hits, including two doubles, over the two contests. 

But, manager Terry Collins is planning on giving d'Arnaud a much-deserved rest on Friday.

"He's pretty sore ... but his presence in the lineup changes the look of things," Collins said, per ESPN.com. "It just spreads things out a little bit. He's dangerous. He can get a hit. He can hit a double. He can hit a homer. And, to be honest, for a guy that hasn't caught in a long time, I thought he's handled the ball behind the plate outstanding."

It's not clear if Kevin Plawecki, who has been dealing with dizziness due to clogged sinuses, will be available to catch Friday's series-opener against the Braves.