MLB Player News

Smith is not in Tuesday's lineup against the Rockies, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Smith is hitting .299/.347/.563 with six home runs in 22 games this month. Austin Barnes will start behind the dish and hit ninth.

Stallings is not in Tuesday's lineup against the Cardinals, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

Stallings is hitting .164/.220/.218 with one home run in 55 at-bats this month. Nick Fortes will get the start behind the dish, hitting ninth.

Contreras is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Phillies, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

Even though Ronald Acuna (foot) will miss his second straight game, Contreras will take a seat for the series opener in Philadelphia while manager Brian Snitker hands Mike Ford his first start as a member of Atlanta. While serving as a designated hitter or catcher in four of the past five games, Contreras went 1-for-14 with three walks, a stolen base, one RBI and one run.

Knizner remains out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Marlins, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

Knizner is on the bench for the third game in a row and looks as though he'll serve as the Cardinals' No. 2 catcher even while top backstop Yadier Molina (knee) faces an uncertain timeline to return from the 10-day injured list. Per Jones, manager Oliver Marmol said he intended to give Ivan Herrera a trial as the Cardinals' primary catcher, so Knizner may be asked to make only a start or two per week if Herrera performs well enough to hang on to the No. 1 role.

Herrera will start at catcher and bat ninth in Monday's game against the Marlins, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

Since Yadier Molina (knee) remains without a clear timeline to return from the injured list and with Andrew Knizner sitting on a lowly .525 OPS through 136 plate appearances on the season, the Cardinals may be ready to give Herrera glimpse as their primary catcher. The 22-year-old rookie will pick up his second straight start after going 2-for-3 with a walk in Sunday's 6-5 loss to the Cubs. Prior to being called up from the minors following Molina's placement on the IL, Herrera showcased a dash of pop (.145 ISO) and strong plate discipline (12.7 percent walk rate, 14.7 percent strikeout rate) over his 129 plate appearances with Triple-A Memphis.

Knizner isn't starting Monday against Miami, Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat reports.

Knizner went 0-for-7 with two strikeouts over his last three games and will be out of the lineup for a second consecutive matchup. Ivan Herrera is starting behind the plate and batting ninth.

Contreras went 2-for-5 with three RBI in a 6-5 extra-inning victory over the Cardinals on Sunday.

Contreras continued his excellent first half with a three-RBI performance to give him 31 total on the year. His two-RBI single in the fourth tied the game at 5-5, and then he put the Cubs ahead for good with an RBI single in the 10th inning. The Cubs' starting catcher was playing DH in this day game, as manager David Ross likes to keep Contreras' dependable bat in the lineup any way possible. Contreras has five home runs and is slugging .426 over the past 15 days.

Herrera went 2-for-3 with a walk in a 6-5 extra-inning loss to the Cubs on Sunday.

The rookie catcher picked up his first major-league hit with a single off Alec Mills in the second inning. He later walked and singled again to make it a two-hit game. The Cardinals recalled the backstop from Triple-A Memphis on Friday when Yadier Molina was sidelined with knee inflammation. Herrera and Andrew Knizner are both in the mix for at-bats while Molina is out, and it is worth monitoring if either one of them can make a statement with the newfound opportunity.

Nola went 1-for-4 with two RBI and a run in Sunday's 8-5 loss to the Phillies.

Though Jorge Alfaro's hot bat has earned him a near-everyday role at catcher or designated hitter, Nola hasn't completely fallen out of the lineup as a result. In fact, Sunday marked Nola's fourth start in five games, He's gone 6-for-15 with a double, five RBI and three runs over those four starts and should continue to hold down at least a part-time role with the Padres while he's swinging a hot bat.

Fortes went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and a strikeout during Sunday's 3-2 win over the Mets.

Fortes failed to record a hit in his first three at-bats Sunday, but he hit a walkoff home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. The 25-year-old has had sporadic playing time for the Marlins and has slashed .250/.341/.556 with three homers, two doubles, 14 runs, seven RBI and two stolen bases over 12 games since the start of June.