MLB Player News

Nationals manager Dave Martinez said Sunday that Gomes (oblique) was able to do some baserunning work and jogging out of the batter's box, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.

The activity marks another step forward in the rehab process for Gomes, who is on the mend from a left calf strain. If he continues to increase the intensity of his workouts in the next few days, he could be cleared to begin a minor-league rehab assignment by the end of the week. With Alex Avila (calves) also currently on the shelf, Tres Barrera has taken over as Washington's No. 1 catcher.

Stephenson went 3-for-3 with a pair of walks, an RBI and a run scored in Sunday's 10-6 loss to St. Louis.

The catcher has recorded multiple hits in four of his last six starts, although the other two games in that sample were 0-fers. All three of Stephenson's hits Sunday were singles. The 24-year-old is slashing .288/.378/.419 with five home runs, 27 RBI and 39 runs scored across 251 plate appearances. He remains the favorite for playing time behind the dish versus left-handed pitching, but he has drawn starts four times versus right-handers in the last eight games.

Perez is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Giants.

Perez has rewarded the Pirates with three extra-base hits (one triple, two doubles) between his last two starts, but he remains Pittsburgh's clear No. 2 catcher behind Jacob Stallings. Stallings will be in the lineup for the sixth time since the All-Star break, while Perez has picked up only three starts over the same stretch.

Casali will start at catcher and bat eighth in Sunday's game against the Pirates.

Casali will be checking back into the starting nine for the first time since Wednesday after Buster Posey's recent return from the injured list bumped Casali back to the No. 2 spot on the depth chart. Expect Casali to pick up about one or two starts per week the rest of the season while Posey is healthy.

Nola is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Marlins.

After being activated from the injured list Thursday, Nola started behind the plate in two of the Padres' subsequent three contests, going hitless with two walks across eight plate appearances. Though he'll sit in favor of Victor Caratini for the second time in the series, Nola should see the larger share of playing time between the two over the final two months of the season.

McCann is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Blue Jays.

McCann is likely just getting a maintenance day as New York wraps up its series with Toronto. Tomas Nido will work in a battery with starting pitcher Rich Hill on Sunday.

Barrera is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Orioles, Jessica Camerato of MLB.com reports.

Barrera gets a much-needed day off after he went 7-for-23 with three extra-base hits (one home run, two doubles) while catching in each of the Nationals' last six games. Rene Rivera will replace him behind the dish Sunday, but Barrera should continue to see the bulk of the starts at the position until one of Yan Gomes (oblique) or Alex Avila (calf) returns from the injured list.

Stephenson will start at catcher and bat third Sunday against the Cardinals.

He'll crack the lineup for the second time in the series after going 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI in Friday's 6-5 win. Most of Stephenson's starts in recent weeks have come against left-handed pitching, but he'll take aim at a right-hander (Johan Oviedo) while top backstop Tucker Barnhart sits for the day game after a night game.

Barnhart is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cardinals.

Barnhart will get a breather for the second time in the series, allowing Tyler Stephenson to pick up a turn behind the plate. Cincinnati should continue to hand Barnhart the bulk of the starts against right-handed pitching for the foreseeable future, though he could fall into more of a timeshare at the position with Stephenson if the 51-47 Reds start to fade in the National League playoff picture.

Barnes went 2-for-3 with a solo home run in a 1-0 triumph over Colorado on Saturday.

Barnes went deep off Colorado starter Kyle Freeland in the second for the game's single run and provided two of only seven hits in the contest. It was the backstop's first home run since June 22 and he's now 5-for-9 over his last three games.