MLB Player News

McCann is not in the lineup Tuesday against the Marlins.

McCann sits after starting four straight games. Welington Castillo starts behind the plate in his absence.

Contreras (foot) will likely be activated from the 10-day injured list ahead of Wednesday's game against the Giants, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports. "Everything feels fine," Contreras said Monday, regarding his recovery from a strained right foot.

In what likely amounted to a final test of his health before a potential return from the IL, Contreras caught Jon Lester's between-starts bullpen session Monday and took part in a series of defensive drills with no complications. The Cubs will presumably check in on Contreras and see how he's feeling Tuesday before rendering a decision on his status for the series finale. After acquiring Martin Maldonado from the Royals while Contreras was on the mend, the Cubs are expected to keep three catchers moving forward and instead drop an infielder from the active roster to open up a spot for Contreras.

D'Arnaud went 2-for-4 with an RBI double, a walk and a run in a loss to the Red Sox on Monday.

The slugging backstop continued to enjoy success out of the top of the order, with Monday's production pushing his season average out of that slot to a solid .275 (46 plate appearances). The 30-year-old has now logged at least one plate appearance out of every spot in the order except fourth, and what was his fourth multi-hit effort over the last 10 games pushed his July average to an impressive .340.

Nola went 2-for-3 with a three-run home run and two runs scored to help the Mariners to a 7-3 win over the Rangers on Monday.

Nola continues to swing a hot bat in part-time duty, as he checked in with his third long ball of the season with this second-inning three-run blast off Adrian Sampson. The 29-year-old now has a robust .349/.405/.605 slash line over 43 at-bats.

Garver went 3-for-4 with two solo homers and three runs scored in Monday's 8-6 win over the Yankees.

Entering this season Garver had seven long balls in 348 career at-bats. In 2019 alone, he's launched 19 in just 181 at-bats. The 28-year-old backstop owns a terrific 1.059 OPS and has drilled seven homers this month.

Caratini is not in the lineup Monday against the Giants.

Caratini and Martin Maldonado had been alternating starts, but Maldonado is now starting Monday for the second game in a row. Caratini has a solid .790 OPS on the season but just a .579 mark over his last 21 games.

D'Arnaud went 1-for-3 with a grand slam Sunday against the White Sox.

D'Arnaud was responsible for all four of his team's runs, as he belted a grand slam in the second inning to give his team an early lead. The 30-year-old backstop has clubbed four homers over his last five contests, though three of those long balls came Monday against the Yankees.

Ruiz was promoted to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Sunday, Eric Stephen of TrueBlueLA.com reports.

He turned 21 on Saturday, so this is a nice little birthday present for one of the game's top catching prospects. Ruiz hit .254/.329/.330 with four home runs in 310 plate appearances at Double-A. He was better at Double-A in 415 plate appearances last year (100 wRC+) than he has been this year, and his dynasty-league stock has taken a bit of a hit. It hasn't helped that Will Smith has passed him as a catching prospect within his own organization. Look for Ruiz to reach the majors at some point next season.

Grandal is not in the lineup Sunday against the Diamondbacks.

Grandal will get a routine day off with the Brewers playing a day game after a night game. Manny Pina will take his place behind the dish and bat fifth.

Thaiss is not in Sunday's lineup against the Mariners, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

With the Angels facing southpaw Yusei Kikuchi, the left-hitting Thaiss heads to the bench. David Fletcher will start at third base while Luis Rengifo starts at the keystone.