MLB Player News

Grandal (foot) will begin baserunning drills in the coming days, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.

Grandal has been participating in simulated games as he works his way back from plantar fasciitis in his left foot. He wouldn't appear too far off from a rehab assignment if baserunning goes well, setting up the veteran catcher to potentially return before the end of April.

Herrera went 1-for-3 with a solo home run, a walk and two total runs scored in Monday's 5-3 extra-inning loss to the Phillies.

Herrera has gotten an extended run of playing time while Willson Contreras (hand) remains out of the lineup. Over his last five contests, Herrera has gone 7-for-20 with two homers and four RBI. The 23-year-old gives the Cardinals another option for the designated hitter spot when the team is at full health, and he may force his way into the lineup even Contreras is healthy if he continues to hit well.

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Monday that he's confident Contreras (hand) will be ready to return to the lineup Tuesday, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

Marmol also revealed that Contreras wasn't actually scratched from Monday's lineup, but rather he was never meant to be included in the lineup that was ultimately released. However, while he will sit out a fourth straight game with a sore left hand, it sounds like he should be ready to go Tuesday. Ivan Herrera is getting another start at catcher Monday.

Realmuto is not in the lineup for Monday's game at St. Louis.

Realmuto went 0-for-3 with a walk Sunday to end a six-game hit streak during which he went 9-for-24 with two homers, and he'll hit the bench for Monday against the Cardinals. Garrett Stubbs will start at catcher and bat eighth in the series opener.

Contreras (hand) has been scratched from the Cardinals' lineup Monday, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

Conteras had appeared set to return from a three-game absence with left hand soreness, but evidently he's still not quite ready. Consider him day-to-day still for the time being. Ivan Herrera will sub in again at catcher.

Contreras (hand) will start at catcher and bat third in Monday's game against the Phillies, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

Contreras missed the entirety of the Cardinals' three-game series against the Marlins with soreness in his left hand, but he's ready for the series opener versus the Phillies. The 31-year-old boasts a .979 OPS with two home runs in his first six contests this season.

Davis is absent from the lineup for Monday's tilt versus the Tigers.

Joey Bart will do the catching for Mitch Keller, marking Bart's second start in the last three games. Davis is just 4-for-30 so far at the plate in the early going and could continue to yield some starts to Bart if he doesn't pick it up.

Davis went 0-for-2 with an RBI on Sunday against the Orioles.

Davis is hitless in five straight games spanning 16 plate appearances. He's also struck out 43.8 percent of the time in that span, though he had a brief bright spot on Sunday when he drove in a run on a sacrifice fly. With Yasmani Grandal (foot) and Jason Delay (knee) both out, Davis faces diminished competition for plate appearances. However, Joey Bart made quite an impression in his debut with the Pirates and could start to see his playing time tick up.

Contreras went 4-for-5 with two homers, five RBI and three runs scored in Sunday's 12-4 win over the Mariners.

One day after receiving his Silver Slugger Award, Contreras hit his first and second home runs of the season to help him achieve a career-best five RBI in one game. All four of his hits had an exit velocity of 104 mph or higher, as he's seeing the ball very well to start the year. Contreras his now slashing .387/.444/.677 with a 1.121 OPS through 36 plate appearances.

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said Sunday that nothing "particularly new" has changed with regard to where Delay stands in his recovery from right knee inflammation, Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Delay was placed on the 10-day injured list Wednesday and doesn't seem to have made any notable progress in his recovery since. He looks set to spend more than the minimum 10 days on his shelf, and whenever he's ultimately activated, Delay could be optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis to play on a more frequent basis.