MLB Player News

Contreras was ejected from Tuesday's game against the Pirates after arguing about the strike zone, Justice delos Santos of MLB.com reports.

Contreras struck out swinging to end the top of the seventh inning with the bases loaded, though he appeared to be upset about a call earlier in the at-bat. Andrew Knizner took over behind the dish in his place.

Fermin is not in the lineup Tuesday versus the Athletics.

Fermin will sit for the second time in the past three games. Prior to that, he had made four consecutive starts, going 3-for-10. With Nick Pratto still on the injured list, Salvador Perez will move back to catcher Tuesday and Matt Duffy will start at first base.

Diaz was a late addition to Tuesday's lineup against the Red Sox, starting at designated hitter and batting cleanup, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Yordan Alavarez injured his left index finger in his door at home Tuesday, so he was a late scratch, with manager Dusty Baker expressing hope that he would be back in the mix Wednesday. Diaz has been playing pretty regularly at first base, designated hitter and catcher, and he is hitting .321 with five home runs in 16 games this month.

Diaz is not in the lineup Tuesday versus the Red Sox.

After drawing into the starting lineup in four straight games, Diaz will be on the bench Tuesday. The 24-year-old went 7-for-18 with five extra-base hits during his aforementioned quartet of starts, and his night off will result in Jon Singleton sliding into the DH role.

Gomes is not in the lineup Tuesday against the Tigers.

Miguel Amaya will catch and bat ninth for the visiting Cubs. Gomes hit a double in Monday's series opener versus Detroit, but he's slashing just .182/.229/.296 through 48 total plate appearances so far in August.

Jeffers is not in Tuesday's lineup against the Brewers.

Jeffers is hitting .256 with four home runs and 15 strikeouts in 13 games this month, but he's now sat out four times in five games. Christian Vazquez will get the start at catcher Tuesday and appears to have overtaken Jeffers on the depth chart.

Murphy is not in the lineup Tuesday against the Mets.

Travis d'Arnaud will start at catcher and bat seventh after Murphy went 0-for-8 with two strikeouts between Sunday's series finale against the Giants and Monday's series opener versus New York. Despite the recent struggles, Murphy still boasts an overall .903 OPS in 362 total plate appearances this season with the runaway NL East leaders.

Fry (hamstring) resumed running at 85 percent effort and had started to take swings in the batting cage as of last Thursday, MLB.com reports.

Fry is on the mend from a left hamstring strain, an injury he sustained while playing first base and stretching for a throw in an Aug. 4 game against the White Sox. He could be ready to resume full sprinting and change-of-direction running at some point this week, but he'll probably require a brief minor-league rehab assignment before returning from the 10-day injured list. Once the righty-hitting Fry is activated, he could settle into the short of a platoon at catcher with Bo Naylor, at first base with Kole Calhoun or in right field with Will Brennan.

Knizner went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Monday's 11-1 loss to the Pirates.

Knizner's fifth-inning blast was all the offense the Cardinals could put on the board. He reached the 10-homer mark for the first time in his career, and five of them have come in 17 games since the All-Star break, a span in which he's hitting .345 (19-for-55). The catcher has added 28 RBI, 26 runs scored, eight doubles, one stolen base and a .267/.313/.497 slash line over 52 contests this year.

Langeliers went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in a win over the Royals on Monday.

Langeliers connected for his 12th homer in style, launching a 456-foot to left center in the sixth inning to extend the Athletics lead to 4-2 at the time. The 25-year-old has a solid .280 average and .773 OPS over the 27 plate appearances covering his last seven games, but Monday marked his first time leaving the yard since Aug. 2.