MLB Player News

Contreras went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 6-1 loss to the Mets.

He spoiled New York's shutout bid by taking Tylor Megill deep in the fifth inning, but not much else went right for St. Louis in this one. Contreras had gone just 3-for-30 to begin June, and the multi-hit performance was his first since May 18. The veteran catcher does have eight homers and five steals in 64 games this season, but his .204/.296/.363 slash line has him on pace for career-worst numbers in all three categories.

Amaya went 1-for-3 with a walk and a solo home run in Friday's win over the Orioles.

Yan Gomes and Tucker Barnhart remain the Cubs' primary catchers, but manager David Ross has been getting Amaya involved when he can. The rookie has been paired up with Kyle Hendricks the last two times through the rotation and has garnered a few starts at DH against left-handed starters. Amaya's offensive upside has been on display, but as long as Gomes and Barnhart are healthy, he won't get enough at-bats to crack fantasy relevancy in standard leagues.

Fortes isn't in the Marlins' lineup Friday against the Nationals, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

After going 2-for-7 with a home run and two RBI in Miami's previous series against Seattle, Fortes will get a day off Friday. Jacob Stallings will instead start behind the plate and bat eighth.

Alvarez isn't in the Mets' lineup Friday against the Cardinals.

Alvarez has been in a slump as of late, slashing just .143/.182/.286 over his past five games. He'll get Friday off to regroup, allowing Omar Narvaez to start behind the dish and bat ninth.

Murphy is not in the starting lineup Friday versus the Rockies.

Murphy will get a day off Friday after he went 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored Thursday. Travis d'Arnaud will take over behind the plate and bat cleanup against Colorado.

Murphy went 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored in Thursday's win over Colorado.

Murphy had been slumping a bit coming into Thursday's contest, going 4-for-26 (.154) over his last eight games -- his three-hit effort was his first multi-hit game since June 3. Overall, the 28-year-old backstop is still slashing a strong .285/.384/.535 with 12 homers, 33 runs scored and 42 RBI through 232 plate appearances in his first season with Atlanta.

Diaz went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Thursday's loss to Atlanta.

Diaz opened the scoring with a solo shot off AJ Smith-Shawver in the second inning. It's the catcher's seventh homer of the year and first since May 25. The 32-year-old has cooled off after a red-hot start to the season, batting just .170 (9-for-53) with a .549 OPS in his last 14 games. Through 235 plate appearances on the season however, Diaz is still slashing an impressive .294/.349/.467 with 34 RBI and 23 runs scored.

Moreno went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored in Thursday's 5-4 loss to the Phillies.

Moreno played a big part in Arizona's four-run third inning, driving in Jake McCarthy with a single then coming home on Ketel Marte's three-run home run. Moreno returned to the lineup after getting three days off, a decision manager Torey Lovullo attributed to the young catcher being "a little fatigued," per Jesus Cano of MLB.com. The move appeared to have the desired effect of recharging Moreno, as he had batted .192 over his prior 18 games. The break also gave Lovullo a chance to reintegrate Carson Kelly, who was activated off the 60-day injured list Monday, into the lineup. The duo will share catching duties while both are healthy, but as yet the split in playing time between them isn't clear.

Ruiz went 3-for-5 with a solo home run and an additional RBI in Thursday's 4-1 extra-inning win against the Astros.

Offense wasn't exactly abundant in the contest -- neither team scored until the ninth frame -- but Ruiz still finished with a big night at the plate. He accounted for the game's first run with a solo blast off Ryan Pressly in the top of the ninth, and after Houston countered with a run in the bottom of the frame, the backstop capped a three-run 10th for Washington with an RBI single. Ruiz finished with his fifth three-hit performance of the campaign, and the long ball gave him eight homers, establishing a single-season career high.

Colorado optioned Serven to Triple-A Albuquerque on Thursday.

Jorge Alfaro has been brought up by the Rockies in a corresponding roster move to help at catcher and mix in at DH. Serven, 28, is batting just .130 with a .304 OPS in 23 plate appearances this year at the major-league level.