MLB Player News

Stassi is on the bench for Sunday's game against the Mariners.

Kurt Suzuki catches and bats cleanup in the regular-season finale. Stassi, barring a plate appearance Sunday, slashed .241/.326/.426 with 13 home runs and 35 RBI in 2021.

The Cubs placed Contreras (hip) on the 10-day injured list Sunday, Russell Dorsey of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Chicago called up Tyler Payne from Triple-A Iowa to provide catching depth behind starter Erick Castillo in Sunday's season finale in St. Louis. Though he'll close the campaign on the shelf, Contreras' inflamed right hip shouldn't provide any major complications during his offseason training program heading into 2022. Contreras remained one of the top fantasy options at catcher this season, batting .237 with 21 home runs, 61 runs, 57 RBI and five stolen bases across 483 plate appearances.

Ruiz is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Red Sox, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.

Ruiz will get a breather for the season finale after he caught the first two games of the series with Boston, going 2-for-7 with two walks and a run. With Ruiz sitting out Sunday, Alex Avila will get a turn behind the plate in what's expected to be the final game of his MLB career.

Stalling is out of the lineup Sunday against the Reds, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Stallings will head to the bench for the season finale after going 2-for-3 with a pair of walks Saturday. The 31-year-old has a .246/.335/.369 slash line with eight homers, 53 RBI and 38 runs in 112 games this season. Michael Perez will start behind the plate in the season finale.

Realmuto is not in the lineup Sunday at Miami.

Realmuto will be on the bench Sunday as the Phillies close out 2021 against the Marlins. Unless he makes an appearances off the bench, the 30-year-old will finish the season with a .783 OPS, 17 homers, 73 RBI, 64 runs and 13 stolen bases in 133 games. Andrew Knapp will work behind the plate in Game 162.

Murphy is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Angels, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

Cal Raleigh starts behind the dish in a must-win game for the Mariners, who still have a chance at a wild card berth. Murphy will be available off the bench as a potential pinch hitter or defensive replacement.

Garver is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Royals.

Ryan Jeffers catches and bats ninth while Garver rests on the final day of the regular season.

Perez is on the bench for Sunday's season finale against the Rangers.

Perez has gone 0-for-6 in his last two games and 6-for-31 in his last 10. Assuming he doesn't enter Sunday's game, he finishes 2021 with an abysmal .149/.245/.319 slash line in 161 plate appearances. Austin Hedges is catching Sunday.

Stallings went 2-for-3 with a pair of walks in Saturday's 8-6 win over Cincinnati.

It's encouraging that the catcher's late-season concussion kept him sidelined for just nine days, and it appears that he'll head into the offseason healthy. Stallings has five hits in his last 11 at-bats, lifting his batting average to .246 -- his highest mark since May 25. The 31-year-old figures to serve as the team's primary catcher again in 2022.

Heim is not starting Sunday's game against Cleveland.

Heim hit his 10th home run of the season Saturday and will finish 2021 hitting .196 with 32 RBI, unless of course he pinch hits Sunday. Jose Trevino is catching and batting eighth.