MLB Player News

Realmuto is out of the lineup Thursday against the Giants, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports.

With the Marlins playing a day game after a night game, Realmuto will receive a breather following six consecutive starts behind the plate. Bryan Holaday will relieve Realmuto at catcher and bat eighth in the series finale.

Grandal is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rangers.

Grandal will head to the bench for a breather after going 2-for-5 with a pair of RBI in Tuesday's win over the Rangers -- his fourth start in five games. Austin Barnes will set up behind the dish and hit eighth in his stead.

Barnhart is not starting Wednesday against the Royals.

Barnhart is hitting a capable .259/.342/.381 on the season, with four homers in 56 games. Curt Casali will start in his place.

Contreras is not in the lineup versus Milwaukee on Wednesday.

Contreras will take a seat following a pair of starts as Chris Gimenez gets the nod for the series finale. Over his past 10 games, Contreras is hitting .294 with a .714 OPS and two RBI. Expect him back in the lineup Friday in St. Louis.

Barnhart went 2-for-5 with a home run and two runs scored in Tuesday's extra-inning win over the Royals.

Barnhart clubbed a solo home run -- his fourth of the year -- off Royals closer Kelvin Herrera in the ninth to tie the game at 1-1. The backstop is now hitting .259/.342/.381 with 20 RBI and 21 runs on the year. Barnhart doesn't hit for much power -- he hit seven home runs in 370 at-bats last year -- but he gets on base and doesn't strike out at a very high rate (19.5 percent this year).

Murphy joined the Rockies on Tuesday and is starting behind the plate against the Phillies, batting eighth, Kyle Newman of the Denver Post reports.

The 27-year-old will make his 2018 big-league debut after raking to the tune of .289/.359/.642 with 16 homers in 49 games with Triple-A Albuquerque to open the season. It's not clear what Murphy's role will be right out of the gates, but it's possible he pushes Chris Iannetta for regular playing time with Iannetta struggling to provide much value with the bat (.403 SLG), especially outside of Colorado. Certainly in two-catcher leagues, Murphy has some appeal, and he may even be worth a speculative add in one-catcher mixed leagues given the Coors upside.

Realmuto went 3-for-4 with a double, a home run, three runs scored and two RBI in Monday's win over the Giants.

The catcher snapped out of an 0-for-11 mini-slump in his prior three games in impressive fashion, launching his seventh homer of the season. Realmuto now sports a .301/.369/.528 slash line on the season, adding more than 100 points to last year's career-high OPS.

Hedges (elbow) will begin a minor-league rehab assignment with High-A Lake Elsinore on Tuesday, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Hedges has been on the shelf since the end of April with an elbow injury. It's unclear how many rehab appearances Hedges will need to make before rejoining the big club, but the Padres figure to proceed cautiously with the backstop given he was pulled off his previous rehab stint after aggravating the issue.

Murphy is slashing .295/.366/.656 with 16 home runs and 45 RBI through 48 games with Triple-A Albuquerque this season.

When the Rockies signed Chris Iannetta over the offseason, it effectively put Murphy and Tony Wolters into a competition to be the backup backstop for Colorado. Wolters won the job out of spring training, but things may have worked out better for Murphy as a result. He's striking out over nine percent less at Triple-A than last season, and he's walking at his highest rate since 2015. To add onto that, the .360 ISO he produced to start the season is his best mark at any level with more than 50 plate appearances. Iannetta and Wolters are better receivers behind the plate, but Murphy offers significantly more upside with the bat. With nothing more to prove at Triple-A, the 27-year-old may get a shot at big-league catching duties at some point later this season, especially if the Rockies fall out of playoff contention.

Barnhart went 1-for-3 with one RBI, two walks and a run scored during Sunday's 6-3 win over the Cardinals.

Barnhart drove in Billy Hamilton with a single to right field in the fourth inning to tie the score at two. The 27-year-old backstop has put together a .255/.341/.365 batting line with a .706 OPS through 55 games this season.