MLB Player News

Contreras went 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles, a walk, an RBI and two runs in a victory over the Reds on Thursday.

Contreras reached base five times in the win, tying his career high with four hits. The offensive display continued a strong month for the backstop, who is hitting .457 (16-for-35) with 10 runs scored and eight RBI in September.

Smith went 4-for-4 with a double during Thursday's loss to the Diamondbacks.

Smith set a new career high by tallying four hits in a single game, including a double in the fourth inning against Madison Bumgarner. The 25-year-old backstop improved his batting line to .279/.425/.603 with six home runs and four doubles on the year.

Realmuto went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, a double and two RBI in Thursday's loss to Miami.

Realmuto kicked off the scoring in the contest with a run-scoring groundout in the first inning and contributed a solo homer in the fifth. The long ball was his 11th of the season, tops among MLB catchers. He also ranks first among backstops with 29 RBI while slashing .266/.354/.547.

Caratini is not in Thursday's lineup against the Reds.

While Caratini still figures to get a decent amount of starts at designated hitter and catcher now that Jose Martinez was optioned to South Bend, he will sit in favor of David Bote in this one. Caratini is also slumping, hitting .121 with zero extra-base hits over his last 33 at-bats.

D'Arnaud is not in Thursday's lineup against the Nationals.

He is hitting .297/.381/.541 with three home runs over his last 10 games. Tyler Flowers will start behind the dish and bat ninth.

Barnhart is not in Thursday's lineup against the Cubs.

He is hitting .179 with 10 strikeouts and two home runs over his last 10 games. Rookie Tyler Stephenson will get his first big-league start and second MLB appearance at catcher while hitting seventh.

D'Arnaud went 2-for-7 with a home run, three RBI and two runs Wednesday in the Braves' 29-9 win over the Marlins.

D'Arnaud got involved in the 11-run second inning rally with a three-run homer that just cleared the left-field wall. The veteran backstop is hitting .312/.361/.550 this season with seven home runs and 25 RBI, clearly entrenching himself as Atlanta's No. 1 catching option after operating in more of a timeshare with Tyler Flowers over the first couple weeks.

Caratini will start at catcher and will bat sixth in Wednesday's game against the Reds.

Chicago has largely been splitting catching and designated-hitter duties with Willson Contreras and Caratini this season, but the latter looked like he was on track to get squeezed out of DH opportunities after the Cubs acquired Jose Martinez on Aug. 30. However, after going hitless in his first 14 at-bats with Chicago, Martinez was optioned to the Cubs' alternate site Tuesday, which seemingly leaves Caratini in line to pick up more regular work. Caratini's lack of power and speed limits his overall fantasy upside, but he boasts decent enough contact skills to provide a non-toxic batting average from the second catcher spot in leagues that start two backstops.

Narvaez is not in Wednesday's lineup against the Tigers.

With southpaw Matthew Boyd on the hill, Narvaez will retreat to the bench. Jacob Nottingham will start behind the dish and bat ninth.

Nola went 1-for-4 with a home run, another run scored and four RBI in Tuesday's win over the Rockies.

He was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the first inning and then hit a three-run blast in the second inning to help San Diego score 10 runs in the first two frames alone. Nola now has two home runs and five RBI over his last two games.