MLB Player News

Caratini was optioned to Triple-A Iowa on Sunday, Carrie Muskat of MLB.com reports.

The Cubs claimed Rene Rivera off waivers Saturday to serve as the backup catcher, so naturally Caratini was optioned as a corresponding move. He has hit .268/.318/.415 with one home run in 44 big-league plate appearances in his rookie campaign. Look for him to be back up when rosters expand in September, but his playing time will be extremely limited.

Grandal is out of Sunday's lineup against the Tigers, Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times reports.

He has started five of the last six games, but will take a seat in the day game. Austin Barnes, who will start behind the dish and hit eighth against righty Justin Verlander, leads all big-league catchers (minimum 100 plate appearances) with a 148 wRC+.

Grandal went 1-for-3 with walk and a solo home run in Saturday's 3-0 win over the Tigers.

The 28-year-old got off to a slow start in the month of August (.184/.295/.421 in 11 games), but he has picked things up in the power department over his last four contests with a double and two homers. Grandal now has 16 home runs on the campaign, and while his 7.4 walk rate is well below last year's 14.0 percent mark, he has replaced those free passes with base hits (.264 batting average compared to .228 last season). He will continue to see regular starts behind the dish against right-handed pitchers down the stretch.

Plawecki went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run during Saturday's win over Miami.

Plawecki should stick with the Mets for the remainder of the season after Rene Rivera was claimed off waivers by the Cubs. With Travis d'Arnaud likely to receive the bulk of starts behind the plate, Plawecki's fantasy value is likely to remain limited to cavernous settings. He projects start a couple of games a week to give d'Arnaud a breather, though.

D'Arnaud is not in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Marlins.

D'Arnaud will head to the bench for a breather after starting four straight games, going 2-for-15 (.133) over that span. Kevin Plawecki will draw a start behind the dish in his stead, batting eighth.

Plawecki was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas on Saturday.

The Mets' backup catcher, Rene Rivera, was claimed off waivers by the Cubs, so they had to add a second catcher, and Plawecki was the obvious option. He hit .328/.375/.514 with nine home runs and a 13.8 percent strikeout rate in 275 plate appearances in the Pacific Coast League, although a lot of that production can be attributed to favorable hitting conditions. There is a chance he becomes useful in two-catcher formats, but he will likely only start two or three times per week initially.

Realmuto went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer in Friday's 3-1 win over the Mets.

His second-inning shot off Chris Flexen proved to be all the offense Justin Nicolino and the Marlins bullpen would need, Realmuto has already set new career highs in homers (14) and RBI (50) on the year, but his .196/.242/.339 slash line in August suggests he may be fading down the stretch as he continues to play nearly every day behind the plate.

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.