MLB Player News

Caratini is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against Pittsburgh.

Caratini has been a regular starter through the first nine games of the season but will head to the bench Sunday. He's 5-for-23 with seven strikeouts in 25 plate appearances. Josh Phegley will serve as the designated hitter in the series finale.

Casali is out of the lineup for the first game of Sunday's doubleheader with the Tigers.

After starting behind the dish in each of the Reds' first five games, Casali has predictably taken a back seat since Tucker Barnhart was activated from the paternity list Tuesday. Though Casali will be on the bench for a third straight contest, he'll likely catch in the second game of the doubleheader later in the day.

Stallings isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Cubs.

Stallings is hitting .118/.167/.176 with a double, two RBI and five strikeouts while starting in five of the Pirates' first seven games. However, John Ryan Murphy will take over as the team's catcher Saturday, batting ninth.

D'Arnaud isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Mets.

D'Arnaud plated five runs in Friday's comeback win, but manager Brian Snitker said that he wants to limit his workload early after his return from the injured list, especially in the heat. As a result, Tyler Flowers will start at catcher Saturday, batting ninth.

D'Arnaud went 3-for-4 with a double, five RBI, one walk and one strikeout in Friday's win against the Mets.

In just his second appearance since being activated from the injured list, d'Arnaud smacked a two-run double in the bottom of the eighth inning to complete the Braves' comeback bid in their 11-10 win. The 31-year-old has two doubles and six RBI over seven at-bats to begin the season but should continue to split catching duties with Tyler Flowers going forward.

Heineman is not in the lineup Friday against the Rangers, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Heineman is the clear primary catcher in San Francisco through the first eight games. He's started five times, with Rob Brantly starting once and Chadwick Tromp, who starts Friday, getting the nod twice.

Smith is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Diamondbacks, Eric Stephen of TrueBlueLA.com reports.

Smith and Austin Barnes have split time evenly behind the plate so far this season, with each catcher starting four times. Smith doesn't have a hit in any of his four starts, with his lone base knock coming off the bench in the third game of the season.

Mejia will not start Friday's game against the Rockies.

Through eight games, there doesn't appear to be any clear starter behind the plate for the Padres. Mejia started Opening Day but will now sit for the fourth time, with Austin Hedges again getting the nod.

Bart has been taking grounders at first base at the alternate training site and could be called up Friday, Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic reports.

Teams can now call up prospects without the player accruing a full year of service time. The Giants have said in the past that they want Bart to learn another defensive position before joining the major-league roster, and it turns out he's been working at first base with the club in West Sacramento. With no minor-league games this season, the 23-year-old could be at risk of stagnating in his development if he's not competing regularly in a live setting.

Stephenson will be on the taxi squad for the Reds' weekend series, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

Stephenson homered in his first major-league at-bat Monday but was optioned to the team's alternate training site Wednesday to make room for Mike Moustakas on the active roster. However, the 23-year-old catcher will be available as an emergency option over the weekend as the Reds prepare for their first road series of the season.