MLB Player News

D'Arnaud homered twice and drove in four runs in a 2-for-4 game Friday against the Nationals.

This marks the second time d'Arnaud has launched two homers in 2017, and remarkably enough, both came against the Nationals. He now has 15 home runs, good for a career high. The catcher's batting line sits at .245/.292/.442 as his power numbers have been the brightest spot of an otherwise mediocre season.

Contreras is not in the lineup against the Brewers on Friday.

Contreras receives a standard day off following Thursday's start, going 0-for-4 at the plate during the Cubs' victory. He also took a foul ball off the right knee during the series opener, which caused him to limp around in pain for a short period of time. Although he remained in the game, manager Joe Maddon is likely giving Contreras the night off partially due to this happenstance. In his place, Alex Avila will set up at catcher and bat fifth in the order.

The Reds signed Barnhart to a four-year, $16 million extension Friday with a $7.5 million club option in 2022 ($500,000 buyout), Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

He also received a $1.75 million signing bonus. Barnhart's chief value rests outside the fantasy realm, as he's thrown out 44 percent of the runners trying to steal a base on him this year. That's the best percentage in the National League and the second-highest in the majors, per Sheldon. He's been a valuable backup to talented but injury-prone Devin Mesoraco, and Barnhart now lines up to be in the Reds' plans, in some form, for the next few years.

Hedges is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Diamondbacks.

Hedges receives a breather following a pair of starts behind the plate for the first two games of this series. In his place, Rocky Gale will handle the catching duties.

Grandal is out of the lineup against the Phillies on Wednesday, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

Grandal gets the day off following a 1-for-3 performance with a solo home run during Tuesday's game. Austin Barnes will handle the catching duties while batting sixth in the order.

D'Arnaud is out of the lineup against the Marlins on Wednesday, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Following a pair of starts behind the plate, d'Arnaud will grab a seat on the bench for Wednesday's series finale while Kevin Plawecki handles the catching duties. Since the beginning of the month, d'Arnaud is hitting .293/.333/.610 with three home runs and nine RBI.

Realmuto is not in the lineup against the Mets on Wednesday, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports.

Realmuto will receive a standard day off after going 3-for-5 with one home run and a double during Tuesday's comeback victory. In his place, AJ Ellis sets up behind the plate to catch Jose Urena.

D'Arnaud went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run in Tuesday's loss to the Marlins.

The 28-year-old catcher has now tied his previous career high with 13 homers. D'Arnaud can never seem to stay healthy for long, but he's shown this season he's still capable of supplying a bit of power when he is on the field.

Realmuto went 3-for-5 with a double and a walkoff solo homer against the Mets on Tuesday. He scored two runs.

Although Realmuto is currently sitting on what's easily a new career-high homer total, he'd gone 21 straight appearances without one before this little breakout, a span in which he hit just .209/.244/.326 with a 2:21 BB:K. The big night may serve to get him going again, so Realmuto's fantasy owners can only hope that he bounces back to showing off his strong hit tool and decent pop in short order.

Grandal went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Tuesday's 6-2 loss at Philadelphia.

Grandal opened the scoring with a third-inning solo shot to left, taking advantage of Citizens Bank Park's league-leading 1.4 home run park factor. He also demonstrated a patient approach against talented right-hander Aaron Nola, tying for a team high with 17 pitches faced. The catcher has now reached the 20-homer mark in consecutive seasons.