MLB Player News

Barnhart is not in the starting lineup Sunday against the Nationals.

Barnhart started the first two games of the year for the Reds, going 1-for-7 at the plate. He'll now be held out for what appears to be just a regular maintenance day, giving way to Devin Mesoraco behind the plate.

Contreras is out of the lineup Sunday against the Marlins.

Contreras has been behind the plate for each of Chicago's first three games, going a combined 4-for-17 (.235) with seven strikeouts. He'll take a seat for the series finale, however, giving way to Victor Caratini at catcher.

D'Arnaud is out of the lineup Sunday against the Cardinals, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

He'll give way to Kevin Plawecki behind the plate for the second time in three games. Mets manager Mickey Callaway indicated earlier in the spring that d'Arnaud would see fewer at-bats against right-handed pitching in 2018 than he has in seasons past, and it appears that plan has come to pass thus far. While D'Arnaud won't be relegated to the short side of a platoon, it appears the starts could be divvied up fairly evenly between the two catchers.

Perez was traded to the Braves by the Angels on Saturday for infielder Ryan Schimpf, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation reports. Atlanta is expected to clear roster space to add Perez to the 25-man roster Monday, Grant McAuley of 929 The Game reports.

Tyler Flowers (oblique) is expected to need a lengthy stay on the disabled list, and Kurt Suzuki (hand) was hit by a pitch on his hand Friday, so the Braves needed depth behind the plate. Perez, who was designated for assignment by the Angels earlier in the week, could step into immediate playing time, at least in a part-time role, depending on Suzuki's availability, which may give him some NL-only fantasy interest. Atlanta still has Chris Stewart in tow, though, and most fantasy players in deep mixed leagues should wait for strong evidence from Perez's plate work that he deserves a pickup, though two-catcher competitors have more of a reason to consider him.

Grandal is not in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Giants.

After starting the first two games of the season, Grandal will head to the bench while Austin Barnes takes over behind the dish. The two are expected to split time at backstop in 2018, with Grandal seeing most plate appearances against right-handed pitchers.

Realmuto will likely miss the first two or three weeks of the 2018 season while recovering from a back contusion, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports.

He has yet to swing a bat since suffering the injury during a Grapefruit League game March 11. Realmuto has played catch over the past couple weeks, but manager Don Mattingly doesn't want to rush the 27-year-old into action until he's fully operational. In his absence, Chad Wallach has started the first two games of the season while Tomas Telis and Bryan Holaday are also on the active roster.

Wallach is catching and batting eighth Friday against the Cubs, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Wallach was expected to back up Tomas Telis in the absence of injured starter J.T. Realmuto (back), but Wallach has now been named the starter for the opening two games of the season. Starting the right-handed Wallach over the switch-hitting Tomas Telis in the opener against Jon Lester could have been explained as simply a move to gain a platoon advantage, as Telis has hit poorly against lefties in his career, but Wallach remaining in the lineup against the right-handed Kyle Hendricks suggests it's he who is the interim starter. Regardless of the unexpected playing time, nothing in Wallach's profile suggests he'll be a significant fantasy asset, but in leagues deep enough to roster one of the Marlins' catchers, he appears to be the one to grab.

Wallach went 0-for-3 with a walk and three strikeouts in Thursday's 8-4 loss to the Cubs.

Getting the start and hitting eighth, Wallach's Opening Day performance ended up being pretty forgettable. The 26-year-old may not get much of a chance to redeem himself -- the Marlins are carrying three catchers on the roster while they wait for J.T. Realmuto (back) to get healthy, and Tomas Telis and Bryan Holaday could easily see the rest of the starts until Realmuto comes off the disabled list. Wallach's minor-league track record doesn't suggest much fantasy upside even if he does see more action.

Plawecki went 2-for-3 with a double, two walks, two runs scored and an RBI in Thursday's 9-4 win over the Cardinals.

Hitting seventh in front of the pitcher's slot, Plawecki made a surprising impact on Opening Day. The 27-year-old is expected to split the workload about equally with Travis d'Arnaud behind the plate this season, but if Plawecki keeps getting on base, he could be tough to pull out of the lineup.

Plawecki will get the Opening Day start for the Mets behind the plate, Mike Puma of The New York Post reports.

He's expected to split the workload fairly evenly with Travis d'Arnaud this season, but Opening Day starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard preferred working with Plawecki last season, which likely played into manager Mickey Callaway's thinking on his initial lineup. The 27-year-old slashed .260/.364/.400 with three home runs through 37 games in the majors last season, and he could be sneakily useful in deep OBP leagues with increased playing time.