MLB Player News

Contreras went 2-for-2 with a two-run home run, a walk and a hit-by-pitch in Sunday's 4-3 extra-inning win over the White Sox.

Contreras missed two games while recovering from a tooth procedure and made a big impact in his return. After a tumultuous first three months in his Cardinals tenure, he went 11-for-17 (.647) over his last five contests heading into the All-Star break. The surge has him up to a respectable .240/.334/.419 slash line with 10 homers, 36 RBI, 35 runs scored, five stolen bases and 20 doubles through 79 contests overall.

Rutschman went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run, a walk and an additional run scored in Sunday's 15-2 win over the Twins.

Rutschman has hit safely in seven of nine games in July, going 11-for-35 (.314) to begin the month. The All-Star catcher is up to 12 homers in 86 contests overall, one long ball shy of matching his total from 113 games a year ago. He's added 39 RBI, 44 runs scored, 13 doubles and a .273/.376/.423 slash line this season while maintaining a 14.4 percent walk rate and 15.4 percent strikeout rate.

Moreno is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Pirates, Jody Jackson of Bally Sports Arizona reports.

Moreno will receive a breather in Arizona's final contest before the All-Star break after he caught each of the team's last three games. Carson Kelly will replace Moreno behind the dish.

Barnhart is starting at catcher and batting ninth in Sunday's game against the Yankees.

Barnhart will start the final game before the All-Star break with Yan Gomes getting a breather. The former is struggling in a reserve role with a .189 batting average and .508 OPS across 36 games, and he's not really on the fantasy radar at this point, particularly with Miguel Amaya also on the roster as another option behind Gomes.

Contreras (mouth) will start at catcher and bat cleanup in Sunday's game against the White Sox.

Contreras sat out both of the past two days while recovering from a tooth procedure, but he'll check back into the starting lineup for the final game before the All-Star break. Ivan Herrera will return to the bench to make room in the starting nine for Contreras.

Zavala will start at catcher and bat eighth in Sunday's game against the Cardinals.

Though the White Sox recently added a third catcher (Carlos Perez) to the active roster, his addition hasn't prompted manager Pedro Grifol to make major use of Yasmani Grandal or Zavala at designated hitter. Instead, it's been Zavala who has emerged as the primary backstop, while Grandal has lost out on playing time. Zavala will be behind the dish for the sixth time in eight games Sunday and has earned the extra work by supplying a 1.117 OPS since June 28. At least until his bat cools down, Zavala looks like he'll continue to operate as Chicago's preferred catcher.

Grandal is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cardinals.

Grandal is on the bench for the second straight day and for the fifth time in seven games, perhaps signaling that there's been a changing of the guard atop the depth chart at catcher. Seby Zavala will pick up another turn behind the dish in place of Grandal, who has turned in an underwhelming .594 OPS since the beginning of June and has also taken a step back defensively in 2023.

Murphy is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rays, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Murphy started the past three games and homered in each contest, but he'll receive a breather Sunday for the final game before the All-Star break. Travis d'Arnaud will take over behind the plate to catch for Bryce Elder.

Rogers is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Blue Jays.

Rogers has started behind the plate in nine of Detroit's past 13 games, but he finds himself on the bench Sunday for a second straight contest. Eric Haase will step in to catch for Tarik Skubal.

Naylor is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Royals.

Naylor will get a breather for the series and first-half finale after he caught in three of the Guardians' previous four contests. Cam Gallagher will spell him behind the dish.