MLB Player News

Realmuto went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI in Thursday's victory over the Marlins.

Realmuto took Johnny Cueto deep for a solo shot in his first trip to the plate to give the Phillies an early 2-0 lead. The catcher later tacked on a single to give him his first multi-hit game since July 7 against these same Marlins. He's now hit safely in five of his last six games, slightly raising his batting average to .246 on the season.

Stephenson is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Cubs.

Stephenson has a .547 OPS in 14 games since the All-Star break and will head to the bench Thursday after starting the previous two contests. Luke Maile will work behind the plate and bat ninth in the series finale at Chicago.

Contreras is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Twins, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

Contreras started the first two games of the series versus Minnesota and went 2-for-4 with a stolen base Wednesday, but he'll take a seat for Thursday's finale. Andrew Knizner will step in behind the plate to catch for Matthew Liberatore.

Contreras went 2-for-4 with a stolen base and a run scored in Wednesday's 7-3 win over the Twins.

This was Contreras' third multi-hit effort in his last 10 games, a span in which he's gone 9-for-24 with an .865 OPS. The catcher is up to a career-high six steals this season. He's maintained a .249/.344/.423 slash line with 11 home runs, 40 RBI, 38 runs scored and 22 doubles through 92 contests.

Alvarez is not in the lineup Thursday at Kansas City.

Omar Narvaez will start behind the plate and bat seventh for the visiting Mets as Alvarez grabs a bit of rest. The 21-year--old catcher boasts a .997 OPS with nine home runs and 18 RBI in 22 games (86 plate appearances) since the beginning of July.

Fortes is out of the lineup Thursday versus the Phillies.

Fortes has claimed a larger share of the catching duties in Miami over the last several weeks, but he'll grab a seat Thursday as Jacob Stallings takes a turn behind the dish. Both backstops have struggled offensively this year.

Realmuto (hand) is batting sixth and starting behind the plate Thursday against the Marlins.

He was scratched from Tuesday's lineup with a cut on his hand and was also held out Wednesday. Realmuto is hitting .240 with four home runs, 14 runs, 14 RBI and two steals in his last 75 at-bats.

Sanchez went 3-for-5 with two homers and four RBI in Wednesday's win over Colorado.

Sanchez now has two multi-homer games in his last four contests. He took Kyle Freeland deep to extend San Diego's lead to 4-1 in the sixth inning before launching a 440-foot bomb off Daniel Bard in the ninth. Sanchez drove in two more runs with a base hit later in the frame, capping the Padres' seven-run inning. Sanchez now has seven homers, 15 RBI and a 1.045 OPS in his last 15 games. His slash line is up to .214/.289/.491 with 14 homers, 36 RBI and 26 runs scored across 194 plate appearances this season while getting the majority of starts behind the plate in San Diego.

The Mets optioned Perez to Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday.

Perez was only up in the majors for one day and did not make an appearance. The 30-year-old catcher has batted .210/.326/.318 with four homers and 17 RBI in 48 games this season at the Triple-A level.

Stubbs will start at catcher and bat eighth in Wednesday's game against the Marlins.

He'll pick up a second consecutive start in place of J.T. Realmuto, who is nursing a hand injury after getting spiked by a Marlins player in Monday's 4-2 win. The Phillies haven't suggested that Realmuto is at risk of landing on the 10-day injured list, so Stubbs may not be in line for an extended run as the team's No. 1 backstop. Despite being on the active roster all season, Stubbs enters Tuesday's contest with just 70 plate appearances to his name while Realmuto has been one of the majors' more heavily-used catchers.