MLB Player News

Contreras went 2-for-4 with a double, a solo home run and a second run scored in Sunday's win over the Pirates.

The young backstop continues to push his way into a regular role for Atlanta. Contreras has started eight of 11 games in June, splitting work behind the plate with Travis d'Arnaud while also spotting in at DH, and he's slashed .323/.400/.645 through 35 plate appearances during that time. Through 27 games in the majors this season, Contreras is batting .292 with nine homers, 17 runs and 17 RBI.

Casali will be on the bench Sunday against the Dodgers, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.

Casali is playing through a hamstring issue and expects to for some time, but he isn't expected to wind up on the injured list. Austin Wynns will take over behind the plate Sunday.

Nola will not start Sunday's game against Colorado.

Nola and Jorge Alfaro have now alternated starts behind the plate for 18 straight games. Alfaro gets the nod Sunday, but Nola should start Monday at Wrigley Field if the pattern continues.

Diaz will sit Sunday against the Padres, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Diaz and Brian Serven have alternated starts behind the plate over the last six games. Serven gets the nod Sunday, but Diaz should return for Tuesday's game against the Guardians if the pattern continues.

Stallings will sit for the second straight game Sunday against the Astros.

Stallings has been on the bench for back-to-back games on just one previous occasion this season, though there haven't been reports that his absence Sunday is due to injury. Nick Fortes will get another start behind the plate, catching for Edward Cabrera.

Heineman will sit Sunday against Atlanta.

Heineman, who owns a .486 OPS in 24 games this season, has now been on the bench for three of the last five games. It's not clear that he's meaningfully ahead of Sunday's starter Michael Perez on the catcher depth chart at the moment.

D'Arnaud will sit for the second straight game Sunday against the Pirates.

D'Arnaud missed a pair of games early this season with forearm soreness, but he returned to start both Thursday and Friday before being on the bench for both weekend contests. It's possible his absence is due to a recurrence of the injury, but it's also possible it's simply a routine rotation of Atlanta's two backstops. William Contreras remains the starter behind the plate Sunday.

Smith went 3-for-5 with a run in a loss to San Francisco on Saturday.

Smith was the only player in the contest to collect three base knocks, and he scored the Dodgers' first run of the game in the eighth inning. The catcher extended his hitting streak to seven games with the performance. During the streak, Smith is slashing .370/.393/.630 with two homers, three RBI and four runs.

Realmuto went 0-for-3 with a steal in Saturday's victory over Arizona.

Although Realmuto went hitless Saturday, he was able to reach base on a walk and swipe his sixth bag of the year. The veteran catcher has seen his batting average drop over his last six games as he's gone hitless in four of them. He's slashing just .238/.315/.360 on the season, which is certainly not what the Phillies or fantasy managers were expecting from him this season.

Casali is dealing with a hamstring injury, though it hasn't prevented him from playing, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

While Casali is banged up, the issue isn't expected to send him to the injured list. It may decrease his short-term fantasy value, however, something that wasn't particularly large to begin with given his uninspiring .227/.296/.398 slash line.