MLB Player News

Diaz is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Brewers.

Diaz started the first two games of the series but will receive a breather Sunday after going 2-for-10. Jacob Stallings will take over behind the plate and bat eighth for the Pirates.

Maile is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Orioles.

Maile had fallen into a timeshare behind the plate with Danny Jansen for much of June, but the former looks like the clear No. 2 backstop these days. With Jansen slashing .375/.390/.950 over his last 11 games dating back to June 23, the Blue Jays look set to ride his hot bat for as long as it lasts. Maile will thus find himself on the bench for the seventh time in eight games to close out the first half.

Leon is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Tigers.

Leon was behind the plate for each of the past three games but managed only one hit across 11 at-bats. Even with the recent uptick in action, Leon has still been included in the lineup just four times over the last 13 contests. He's the clear No. 2 backstop behind Christian Vazquez.

Vazquez started at designated hitter and went 2-for-5 with a double, two RBI and a run scored in Saturday's 10-6 win over the Tigers.

Vazquez has been a hitting machine over the past month, and manager Alex Cora is looking to get his bat in the lineup. The 28-year-old catcher has slashed .350/.357/.625 with six home runs and 17 RBI over the last 19 games. With J.D. Martinez getting an off day, Vazquez served as the DH and hit in Martinez's third spot in the order. The catcher entered the season with a career .632 OPS, but his hot stretch leaves him at .844 as the season closes in on the All-Star break.

Casali is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Indians.

Casali started behind the dish in each of the Reds' last three games, going hitless with four strikeouts in eight at-bats. He'll cede catching duties to Kyle Farmer on Sunday as the Reds and Indians wrap up their first-half schedules.

Nido went 2-for-4 with a double and three RBI in Saturday's 6-5 win over the Phillies.

His bases-loaded double in the fifth inning proved to be the game-winning hit for the Mets. Nido's picked up two hits in three of his last four starts and is slashing .333/.357/.481 over his last seven games, but that's a span that stretches all the way back to June 18 as he remains behind Wilson Ramos on the depth chart.

Smith (oblique) has been activated from the 7-day injured list, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

The 24-year-old backstop rejoined Triple-A Oklahoma City on Sunday, going 1-for-1 with an RBI. Manager Dave Roberts said he wants to give Smith regular at-bats he might not see with the big club, which could keep him in Triple-A for the moment. However, he's been tearing up the Pacific Coast League and has fared well in his brief stints at the big-league level this season, so it wouldn't be a surprise to see him get called back up at some point.

D'Arnaud went 3-for-4 with a walkoff home run, two RBI and two runs in a 4-3 victory over the Yankees on Saturday.

The catcher's power surge continued Saturday, as he now has six homers in 153 plate appearances this season. D'Arnaud started the year 2-for-24, but since joining the Rays he's batting .254 with 11 extra-base hits, 20 RBI and 18 runs in 114 at-bats.

Perez went 4-for-5 with a two-run homer in a 7-2 win over the Reds on Saturday.

Perez's home run in the eighth inning provided the Indians with a 4-2 lead, and they tacked on a few insurance runs in the following frame for good measure. The 30-year-old went into Wednesday's game in 4-for-24 slump with 13 strikeouts, but he has six hits -- including two homers and a triple -- in his last two contests.

Barnes is not starting Saturday against San Diego.

Barnes has a hit in each of his last three games, following a stretch in which he went hitless for eight straight. Russell Martin takes over behind the plate in his absence.