MLB Player News

Contreras is out of the lineup for Friday's matchup against the Dodgers.

With Contreras sitting out, the Cubs will opt to start Miguel Montero behind the dish. Contreras will likely return to the lineup Saturday when Chicago continues their series against Los Angeles.

Grandal is out of Friday's lineup against the Cubs.

The newly-acquired Carlos Ruiz will start behind the plate as Grandal sits out. Grandal owns a batting average of just .231 for the season and is just 9-for-45 over the last 14 days, so it's highly likely that he'll see much less time in the lineup moving forward, now that Ruiz is a Dodger.

Maldonado is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Pirates.

Maldonado will get a night off after starting three straight games behind the plate. Manny Pina will get the start at catcher in Maldonado's place.

D'Arnaud is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Cardinals, according to Adam Rubin of ESPN.com.

As has been the case every few days of late, d'Arnaud will open the game on the bench and Rene Rivera will get the start behind the plate. D'Arnaud went 0-for-3 Wednesday, but he has seen the ball well of late, going 11-for-29 (.379) in eight games since Aug. 12.

Barnhart is not in the lineup for Wednesday's matchup against the Rangers.

Barnhart had a solid showing Tuesday night, going 1-for-3 with a double and a RBI. He has started Cincinnati's last three games, so they'll give him the night off and put Ramon Cabrera behind the plate.

Stewart's knee has been responding well so far in his rehab assignment and he will continue to play nine innings every other day with Double-A Altoona, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Bill Brink reports.

He began the rehab assignment on Aug. 12, and likely won't rejoin the Pirates until rosters expand in September, at which point he might get one start per week for the big league club. Stewart is 2-for-14 with five walks in six games with Altoona.

Maldonado went 2-for-4 with an RBI in Tuesday's game against the Rockies.

The catcher hit a pair of doubles Tuesday to push his average back up above the Mendoza Line. After a lackluster first half in which he played the backup role to Jonathan Lucroy, Maldonado has shown improvement in recent weeks since getting the starting gig after Lucroy was traded. He already has more at-bats post All-Star break (69) than he did prior to the Midsummer Classic (66), and Maldonado's .261 second-half batting average is greatly improved from the .152 he posted in the first half of 2016.

Murphy, 25, is hitting .366 with two home runs and seven RBI over his last 10 games for Triple-A Albuquerque.

Murphy is having a stellar 2016 campaign, slashing .322/.352/.648 with 17 home runs and 54 RBI in 71 contests. Nick Hundley and Tony Wolters have been adequate behind the plate at the big league level, but Murphy could get called up in September if the Rockies need an extra power bat.

Stephenson (wrist) will have season-ending surgery.

An injury-riddled year ends on a disappointing note for Stephenson, one of Cincinnati's most valued prospects. In 39 games for Single-A Dayton, he hit .216 with three home runs and 16 RBI. Stephenson will likely ease back into baseball activities following the surgery, as he likely eyes another stint in Single-A to start the 2017 season.

Contreras is not in the lineup for Monday's game against the Padres.

As is typically the case whenever Jon Lester starts, David Ross will open the game behind the plate, and Contreras will come off the bench. Contreras is seeing more time off now than he was when he originally joined the Cubs in June, but he has remained effective with the bat, posting a .275/.351/.431 slash line this month.