MLB Player News

Moreno is out of the lineup for Saturday's game against San Diego.

Moreno had started in four straight games since being activated from the injured list and will yield to Jose Herrera behind the dish Saturday. Moreno owns a .714 OPS and a 15.3 percent K-rate across 235 plate appearances this season.

Cardinals manager Oli Marmol said Saturday that Herrera (back) experienced no pain after Friday's rehab outing with Triple-A Memphis, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

As the designated hitter Friday, Herrera went 1-for-3 with one home run, three RBI and one walk. Marmol noted that Herrera will start behind home plate soon, and a return to the majors will hinge on the 24-year-old's ability to start at catcher on back-to-back days. Before landing on the injured list June 22 with lower-back tightness, Herrera was slashing .279/.340/.378 with three home runs and 19 RBI over 191 major-league plate appearances.

Manager Craig Counsell said Saturday that the Cubs are giving Amaya extra time off to work through his struggles at the plate, Taylor McGregor of Marquee Sports Network reports.

Amaya is slashing .186/.249/.256 with two home runs and 15 RBI this season, but since June 1 those numbers have dipped to .167/.231/.200. Tomas Nido is starting behind home plate Saturday, and he figures to see more full-time work moving forward while Amaya works on things offensively.

Alvarez (elbow) is not in the starting lineup for Saturday's game against the Pirates.

Alvarez went 1-for-3 in Friday's 14-2 loss to Pittsburgh, and he was also struck in the left elbow by a 99 mph fastball from Paul Skenes in the fourth inning, per Pat Ragazzo of SI.com. Luis Torrens will start behind home plate Saturday and bat sixth against Pirates southpaw Bailey Falter.

Amaya isn't in the Cubs' lineup for Saturday's game versus the Angels.

Saturday will mark the fourth time in five games that Amaya has sat down in favor of Tomas Nido, who will draw the start at catcher and bat ninth. The two backstops are still likely to split reps behind the plate going forward, though it appears Nido has emerged as the preferred option.

Smith went 3-for-3 with three solo home runs, two walks and four total runs scored in Friday's 8-5 win over the Brewers.

Smith hit just two homers in June, so he's already off to a fantastic start in July. The catcher went to the opposite field for his first-inning blast before pulling his solo shots in the third and seventh innings. Smith is up to a .276/.349/.502 slash line with 14 homers, 53 RBI, 45 runs scored, 18 doubles and one triple over 73 contests this season.

Grandal went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and two runs scored Friday against the Mets.

Grandal has provided very little offensive punch this season, and his solo home run in the eighth inning was his first long ball since May 13. It was also just his fourth multi-hit performance of the campaign. Despite his struggles, Grandal remains a fixture in the lineup, having started five of Pittsburgh's last seven games.

Higashioka went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI in Friday's 10-8 win over the Diamondbacks.

Higashioka has launched five of his 10 homers this season over his last nine games. He went deep in the sixth inning of this contest to stretch the Padres' lead to 7-2. The catcher is at a .220/.254/.541 slash line with 25 RBI, 15 runs scored, three doubles and a triple over 114 plate appearances. Higashioka's playing time is likely to decrease with Luis Campusano (thumb) getting activated from the injured list Friday, but the former played well enough in the latter's absence to justify a timeshare role behind the dish.

Contreras went 2-for-5 with a home run and two RBI in a 7-6 win over the Nationals on Friday.

Contreras hit an RBI single in the fifth inning and tied the game with a solo home run in the ninth. The catcher went just 4-for-23 in June after returning from the injured list but has five hits and two home runs in his past four games. On the season, he is hitting .265 with eight home runs, 17 RBI and 25 runs scored over 178 plate appearances.

The Padres reinstated Campusano (thumb) from the 10-day injured list Friday.

A bruised thumb has kept Campusano on the IL since June 22, though he's managed to go 2-for-15 with four RBI in four rehab games at Single-A. He'll take a seat Friday while Kyle Higashioka catches for Randy Vasquez, but Campusano is slated to return behind the plate Sunday.