MLB Player News

Contreras went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, a walk and three RBI in Monday's 7-2 win over the Marlins.

Contreras has been on fire to begin the season, as he now has six home runs, 12 RBI and a 1.300 OPS through 15 games. The 26-year-old catcher had just 10 home runs and 54 RBI in a down 2018 campaign, and he seems poised to easily surpass those numbers in 2019 if he stays healthy.

Caratini underwent successful surgery on his fractured left hamate bone Monday, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Caratini suffered the injury during Thursday's game against the Pirates and is expected to miss the next 4-to-6 weeks. Taylor Davis will serve as the Cubs' backup catcher in the meantime.

Grandal is not in the lineup Monday against the Cardinals.

Grandal has been locked in at the plate recently, going 10-for-20 with a trio of homers, six RBI and a 4:2 BB:K in his last six contests (all starts). Manny Pina will check in behind the dish in place of Grandal for Monday's series opener.

Casali will start at catcher and serve as the Reds' leadoff hitter in Monday's game against the Dodgers.

With a .305 on-base percentage and zero career steals to his name, Casali is an out-of-the-box choice at the top of the lineup. Casali's usage as the leadoff hitter is probably an indictment of the Reds' lack of appealing right-handed hitters more than anything, but he'll nonetheless try to spark the Cincinnati offense as the Dodgers counter with ace southpaw Clayton Kershaw. Casali will likely head back to the bench Tuesday, when top catcher Tucker Barnhart should return to the lineup after a rest day.

Barnhart is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Dodgers.

Barnhart had started behind the plate in both of the past two days, so he'll just be receiving a breather in the series opener. Curt Casali will get the nod at catcher and serve as the Reds' leadoff hitter.

Hedges is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Diamondbacks.

Hedges returns to the bench after starting the last three games and going 1-for-11 with a home run and three RBI. Francisco Mejia will start behind the plate and bat sixth for the Friars in the series finale.

Realmuto is not in the lineup for Sunday's series finale against the Marlins, Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Realmuto started off the season 4-for-25 but has picked things up a bit since receiving his first day out of the lineup last Saturday. The 28-year-old has seen a heavy workload for a catcher thus far with 12 starts in 14 games. Andrew Knapp will start behind the plate and bat eighth Sunday.

Gomes is not starting Saturday against the Pirates.

Gomes remains the primary catcher in Washington, starting eight of 13 games. He's hit a respectable .265/.306/.412 on the year. Kurt Suzuki starts in his place.

Diaz (illness) went 3-for-5 for Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday, giving him eight hits in 17 at-bats during his rehab stint split between two minor-league levels.

He must be activated by April 24 and with Pittsburgh struggling to create offense, it wouldn't be surprising to see him recalled prior the deadline. General manager Neal Huntington previously mentioned that Diaz needs a building-up period but added that the script could change if the catcher shows he is ready sooner.

Contreras went 3-for-4 with two solo homers in a 5-1 victory over the Angels on Friday.

The day off Thursday apparently did some good, as Contreras was 1-for-11 this week before his three-hit game to start the weekend series. The catcher is off to a very strong start this season, going 11-for-33 (.333) with five homers, nine RBI and 11 runs in 12 games. Behind five extra-base hits and seven walks, his OPS is a whopping 1.312.