MLB Player News

D'Arnaud (illness) is starting behind the plate and batting sixth Thursday against the Mets.

The 33-year-old was held out of Wednesday's contest due to a stomach bug but is back in the lineup a day later. D'Arnaud is hitting .190 since the start of July and has been ceding playing time to William Contreras at catcher, even prior to Wednesday's absence.

Contreras isn't in the lineup Thursday against the Mets.

Contreras started the last four games and went 4-for-14 with two homers, three runs and three RBI. However, Travis d'Arnaud (illness) will take over behind the plate and bat sixth.

Nido is on the bench for Thursday's game against Atlanta.

With the Mets activating James McCann (oblique) from the injured list Thursday and inserting into the lineup, Nido's reign as the team's No. 1 catcher will come to an end. Though McCann has operated as the Mets' top option behind the plate when healthy during his two seasons with the team, manager Buck Showalter said Wednesday that McCann and Nido are likely to be used in a near-50/50 timeshare at catcher in the short-term future, according to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. Once McCann's oblique injury is further behind him, however, expect him to eventually get the lion's share of the starts.

McCann (oblique) was reinstated from the 10-day injured list Thursday.

McCann's activation was expected, and he's slated to start behind the dish during Thursday's series opener against Atlanta. The 32-year-old is expected to be in a near-even timeshare at catcher with Tomas Nido to help ease McCann back into action, but McCann should have a chance to reclaim his job as the primary backstop down the stretch. McCann struggled prior to his absence, slashing .183/.250/.293 with two home runs, 11 RBI, eight runs and a stolen base over 30 games.

Pinto isn't starting Thursday against the Tigers, Neil Solondz of the Rays Radio Network reports.

Pinto went 1-for-3 with a strikeout Wednesday against the Blue Jays and will take a seat for the second time in the last three games. Christian Bethancourt will take over behind the plate and bat ninth.

Higashioka went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run and a double in Wednesday's loss to Seattle.

The Yankees weren't able to muster much offense in the contest, so Higashioka's seventh-inning two-run shot made only a small dent in a big Seattle lead. Nonetheless, it was a positive development for the catcher, whose previous homer came nearly a month ago. Higashioka has six long balls on the season, four of which came during a four-game stretch in mid-June.

Stassi is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Athletics, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

He'll take a seat as the Angels wrap up their series versus Oakland with a matinee game, paving the way for Kurt Suzuki to get a turn behind the dish. Stassi went 1-for-3 with a double and a walk in Wednesday's 3-1 loss.

The Reds optioned Kolozsvary to Triple-A Louisville on Thursday.

Kolozsvary lost his spot on the 26-man active roster to fellow catcher Austin Romine, whom the Reds acquired from the Cardinals on Tuesday. During his latest stint in the big leagues, Kolozsvary saw scant action behind No. 1 backstop Michael Papierski, who should face a stiffer challenge for the top job from Romine.

Diaz isn't starting Thursday against the Padres.

Diaz started the last two games and went 0-for-7 with a walk and three strikeouts. Brian Serven will take over behind the dish and bat ninth.

Delay will start at catcher and bat ninth in Thursday's game against the Brewers.

Delay had started just once in the Pirates' last six games, but he looks set to tentatively take over as the team's No. 1 backstop. Per Alex Stumpf of DKPittsburghSports.com, the Pirates placed top catcher Tyler Heineman (groin) on the 10-day injured list Thursday and called up Taylor Davis from Triple-A Indianapolis to add depth behind Delay.