MLB Player News

Bart was promoted to Double-A Richmond on Thursday, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The 22-year-old catcher hit .265/.315/.479 with 12 home runs in 251 plate appearances in the California League. Double-A will be a fair test for Bart, as he was a little old for High-A. He will clearly hit for power and will clearly stick at catcher, but the jury is still out on whether he will be capable of posting high batting averages and on-base percentages against MLB pitchers. If he fares well in the upper levels of the minors, Bart could make his big-league debut next summer.

Barnhart is not in the lineup Thursday against the Cubs.

Barnhart has started the past four games behind the dish and gone 5-for-14 with three home runs and a 3:1 BB:K. Kyle Farmer is starting at catcher and hitting eighth in place of Barnhart in this one.

Ruiz was put on the seven-day IL at Triple-A Oklahoma City with a broken pinky, J.P. Hoornstra of The Orange County Register reports.

Ruiz broke his finger when he was hit on the hand by a pitch on Saturday. The move is retroactive to Sunday, though the 21-year-old catcher figures to miss extended time with the significant injury. Ranked as the 36th best prospect in baseball by MLB.com, Ruiz hit .261 with six home runs and 34 RBI in 314 at-bats between Double-A Tulsa and Oklahoma City this season.

Barnes went 2-for-4 with a solo blast for the Oklahoma City Dodgers on Wednesday and has now homered in five straight games.

Barnes has responded well to his demotion to the minors, hitting .333 (11-for-33) with five homers and 11 runs batted in over eight games. With top catching prospect Keibert Ruiz potentially out for the season with a broken finger, Barnes figures to get the bulk of the starts with Oklahoma City. We may see him in the majors again this season, but Will Smith's emergence as an offensive force since joining the big club means that Barnes' days as the primary catcher for the Dodgers are likely numbered.

Davis was optioned to Triple-A Iowa on Wednesday, Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic reports.

Davis is no longer needed with the big club, as Jonathan Lucroy, who signed with the Cubs on Wednesday, is set to join the team ahead of Thursday's series opener in Cincinnati. The backstop went hitless in three at-bats during his most recent stint with Chicago.

Diaz is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Brewers.

Diaz has started the past two games and has gone 1-for-6 with a run scored and a 2:2 BB:K. Jacob Stallings is starting behind the dish and hitting eighth in this one.

Smith is not starting Wednesday against the Cardinals, J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles Daily News reports.

Smith owns an excellent .293/.354/.707 slash line with six homers in nine games this season. The rookie will sit in favor of veteran Russell Martin on Wednesday.

Barnhart went 2-for-3 with two solo home runs, three runs scored and a walk Tuesday against the Angels.

Barnhart delivered late offense for the Reds, going yard in the sixth and eighth innings. He now has eight home runs on the season, three of which have come in his last three games. While he has clear run for playing time while Curt Casali (knee) remains on the injured list, Barnhart is hitting just .220/.318/.377 across 221 plate appearances for the season.

Realmuto went 1-for-4 with a double, a walk, a stolen base, an RBI and a run scored Monday in the Phillies' 7-3 win over the Diamondbacks.

The 12 steals Realmuto racked up his age-24 campaign in 2015 will likely go down as a career-high total, but he's still a plus source of speed relative to most catchers. His stolen base in Monday's contest was his fifth of the season, tops among all backstops in baseball.

Contreras is expected to miss four weeks due to his strained right hamstring, a source tells Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com.

When Contreras was placed on the 10-day injured list Sunday, Bruce Levine of 670TheScore.com speculated that the backstop would likely be sidelined for at least three weeks with the injury. Rogers' report adds more definition to Contreras' recovery timeline, though the Cubs aren't expect to confirm the four-week estimate and are likely viewing the backstop as a out indefinitely. For however long Contreras is ultimately sidelined, Victor Caratini is expected to serve as Chicago's primary catcher. Though he can't match Contreras' power, Caratini's .264/.357/.446 slash line and solid plate discipline (12.3 BB%, 22.1 K%) should at least make him a usable option in leagues that start two catchers each week.