MLB Player News

Contreras (hamstring) was able to play catch Friday for the first time since landing on the disabled list, Carrie Muskat of MLB.com reports.

This step marks the beginning of a lengthy recovery for Contreras, who was officially shut down for two weeks when he landed on the DL on Aug. 11. Although it's only been a week without physical exertion thus far, it's expected that the catcher will go another week with minimal activity before beginning to ramp up his rehab efforts. The optimistic timeline for Contreras still seems to be a mid-September return, while Alex Avila continues to get a majority of the starts behind the plate in his stead.

Manager Pete Mackanin said Rupp will catch Aaron Nola and Jerad Eickhoff exclusively while Andrew Knapp (hand) is sidelined, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

Mackanin will mix in playing time for Rupp and rookie Jorge Alfaro when the Phillies' other three starters are pitching. Rupp has started four of the last seven games behind the dish. The catching rotation will become a little more complicated next month when Knapp is expected to return from the disabled list and Alfaro will be able to remain with the team due to roster expansion.

D'Arnaud is making his first career start at third base and hitting fifth Wednesday against the Yankees.

This is a pretty shocking turn of events, but with Wilmer Flores and Jose Reyes each late scratches with sore ribs, the Mets were put in a tough spot. D'Arnaud doesn't even hit enough (75 wRC+) to be a solid offensive option at catcher, so at third base he carries almost no value with his bat or glove, so this doesn't really change things from a fantasy perspective.

Grandal is out of Wednesday's lineup against the White Sox, Eric Stephen of TrueBlueLA.com reports.

While Grandal is a switch hitter, the Dodgers will flood the lineup with righties against southpaw Carlos Rodon. Austin Barnes starts behind the dish and will hit sixth.

Sanchez went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in Tuesday's win over the Phillies.

A couple errors in the fifth extended the inning, and Sanchez made Philadelphia pay with a two-run homer which put the Padres ahead 8-2. It was his eighth home run of the season. Sanchez was hit in the mask by a foul ball earlier this month and he hasn't played much since, but it would seem he's safely out of the woods with that issue.

Mesoraco (broken foot) will miss the next 3-to-6 weeks, Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

He was placed on the DL with a broken foot, and this timetable is essentially what was to be expected. His season is in jeopardy, but there is a chance he returns at some point in September. Given his mediocre performance (.213/.321/.390) when healthy -- staying healthy has been a struggle once again for Mesoraco -- he can be cut loose in the majority of single-season formats. Tucker Barnhart should see the bulk of the starts behind the dish going forward.

Hedges is out of Tuesday's lineup against the Phillies.

He is hitting .250/.262/.475 with two home runs over his last 40 at-bats. Hector Sanchez gets the start behind the dish and will hit seventh against righty Mark Leiter.

Diaz was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis on Tuesday, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.

Francisco Cervelli is day-to-day with a hand injury, so the Pirates summoned Diaz to provide some immediate catching depth. Diaz is hitting .266/.298/.339 with two home runs and three steals in 57 games at Triple-A, and has a career .247 average with one home run and one steal in 33 big-league games. He is the definition of organizational depth.

Mesoraco (foot) was placed on the 10-day disabled list on Tuesday.

He was hit on the foot by a pitch in Monday's game, and the result is a small foot fracture and DL stint. Depending on severity of the fracture, Mesoraco could conceivably return this season, but the smart money is probably on the Reds taking a conservative approach and holding him out as they play out the string. Mesoraco hit .213/.321/.390 with six home runs in 165 plate appearances, as injuries once again dominated the narrative for the talented catcher. Tucker Barnhart and Stuart Turner will serve as the Reds' options behind the plate for the foreseeable future, with Barnhart in line to see the bulk of the starts.

Hedges went 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI, a stolen base and a run scored in Monday's victory over the Phillies.

The Padres caught Jerad Eickhoff napping in the fourth inning when Hedges and Cory Spangenberg executed a successful double steal. Monday's stolen base was the catcher's second of the season, but he did tally 14 steals in the minors way back in 2012, so he may be more fleet-footed than your standard backstop. While the occasional thievery is nice perk for fantasy owners, Hedges' value is derived from his ability to go deep. His 15 home runs on the season rank fifth among all major-league catchers.