MLB Player News

Realmuto will start at catcher and bat cleanup Wednesday against the Orioles.

Realmuto will bat out of the cleanup spot for the eighth game in a row after he went 2-for-4 with a pair of extra-base hits -- a triple and a double -- to go with a stolen base, two RBI and run in Tuesday's 3-2 win. Over the previous seven contests, he's slashing .310/.355/.552 with a home run, seven RBI and three stolen bases.

Contreras isn't in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Twins.

Contreras went 2-for-3 with a homer, two RBI, a walk and a strikeout in Tuesday's loss to the Twins, but he'll retreat to the bench for the second time in the last three games. Robinson Chirinos will start at catcher and bat sixth.

Ruiz is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Marlins.

Ruiz is getting some routine maintenance for the series finale in Miami after he started behind the plate in four of the Nationals' last five games. Alex Avila will step in for Ruiz, who has gone 11-for-21 with six RBI and four runs in his most recent five starts.

Perez isn't starting Wednesday's game against the Reds, Jake Crouse of MLB.com reports.

Perez went 2-for-8 with a run, an RBI and two strikeouts across the last two games. Taylor Davis will start behind the dish and bat eighth.

Stallings (concussion) recently resumed baseball activities, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.

Stallings landed on the 7-day concussion injured list Monday, but his symptoms have subsided recently. He's playing catch and will attempt to ramp up his workload in time to return to the Pirates for the final few days of the regular season.

Barnhart isn't in the lineup for Wednesday's game against Pittsburgh.

Barnhart had started each of the last five games, and he went 3-for-18 with an RBI and five strikeouts during that time. Tyler Stephenson will return to the lineup at catcher and bat seventh.

Kolozsvary was optioned to Triple-A Louisville on Wednesday.

Kolozsvary was called up Monday to serve as catching depth, but he didn't make his major-league debut. He'll head back to Louisville after Tyler Stephenson (undisclosed) was reinstated from the COVID-19 injured list.

Stephenson (undisclosed) was reinstated from the COVID-19 injured list Wednesday.

Stephenson landed on the COVID-19 IL on Monday, but his brief absence suggests that he didn't test positive for the virus. The 25-year-old is in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Pirates, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

Nola went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a strikeout in a 6-5 loss to the Giants on Tuesday.

Nola singled in the third inning and knotted the score at 5-5 with a sixth-inning homer to left, only his second long ball this season and first since May 15, though it's worth noting he did miss a chunk of time due to a knee injury. The backstop had 17 homers in 127 career games prior to 2021 but is still slashing a respectable .272/.340/.376 this year while going 9-for20 with four extra-base hits over his last five games.

Contreras went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, a walk and an additional RBI against Minnesota in a loss Tuesday.

The backstop put Chicago on the board in the first inning with a sacrifice fly, and he gave the Cubs their first lead two innings later with a solo shot to left field. The homer was his 21st of the campaign, good for second among National League catchers behind Will Smith. Contreras has blasted three long balls in his past five games, going 5-for-16 with six RBI over that span.