MLB Player News

Contreras is not in the lineup Thursday versus the Rays.

This looks to be a routine day of rest for Contreras, who has slashed .394/.482/.662 with four homers and seven doubles over his last 23 games (85 plate appearances) dating back to July 3. Andrew Knizner is catching and Nolan Arenado is serving as the Cardinals' designated hitter. Taylor Motter will play third base.

Jansen was removed from Thursday's game against the Guardians after taking a pitch off his right wrist, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

Jansen got hit by a 87.7-mph Noah Syndergaard changeup in the top of the sixth inning. He ran for himself before the Blue Jays called on Alejandro Kirk to replace him at catcher for the bottom of the sixth. Jansen finished the day 0-for-1 with a walk, the HBP and a run scored.

Fermin went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 4-3 loss to the Red Sox.

Fermin is 9-for-28 (.321) with three homers, two doubles and five RBI over seven games in August. With Salvador Perez seeing more time at first base, Fermin has been able to carve out a larger role behind the plate. The catcher is slashing a strong .303/.339/.542 with nine long balls, 27 RBI, 22 runs scored, eight doubles and a triple over 166 plate appearances this season, suggesting his recent success is more than a flash in a pan. That said, Fermin has a .342 BABIP on the year, so he's also had a decent share of good luck.

Murphy is not in the lineup for Thursday's contest in Pittsburgh, Justin Toscano of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Murphy and Travis d'Arnaud have split starts at catcher pretty evenly over the last couple weeks. It's also a day game after a night game, so d'Arnaud will be behind the plate after Murphy caught Wednesday.

Raleigh went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in Wednesday's 6-1 win over the Padres.

Raleigh broke things open with a go-ahead blast in the eighth inning that sparked a five-run rally for the Mariners. The catcher has gone a modest 7-for-31 (.226) over his last nine games, but he has five homers and eight RBI in that span. For the season, Raleigh is slashing .227/.311/.448 with 19 long balls, 49 RBI, 53 runs scored, 16 doubles and a triple over 99 contests.

Sanchez is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Mariners.

Luis Campusano will start at catcher and Ji-Man Choi will serve as the Padres' designated hitter. Sanchez went 0-for-3 with a strikeout in Tuesday's loss at Seattle, but he's registered a strong .812 OPS with 15 homers and 36 RBI across 54 games since joining San Diego on a waiver claim from the Mets in late May.

Mejia (knee) could resume on-field activities Friday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

If all goes well this weekend, Mejia could play in minor-league rehab games early next week. Rays manager Kevin Cash suggested the catcher could then rejoin the major-league roster by the tail end of the club's upcoming road trip or when the team returns home Aug. 22. Mejia, who has a .658 OPS and five home runs this season, figures to operate as the clear No. 2 behind Christian Bethancourt upon his return.

Grandal (knee) will start at catcher and bat seventh in Wednesday's game against the Yankees.

Grandal was lifted after five innings in Tuesday's 7-1 loss due to a sore left knee, but the injury won't be significant enough to keep him on the bench for the series finale. The veteran backstop will take a .683 OPS -- the second-lowest mark of his career -- into Wednesday's contest.

Gomes is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Mets.

Miguel Amaya will get the start at catcher and bat ninth. Gomes takes a seat after going 2-for-4 with a double in the Cubs' win over New York on Tuesday.

Perez (thumb) filled the designated hitter role in Triple-A Las Vegas' win over Sacramento on Tuesday, going 0-for-4 with an RBI groundout before being pinch-hit for in the eighth inning.

Perez jumped back into game action for the first time since July 1 and appeared to get through his four plate appearances without issue. The veteran will likely test out his recovering thumb on defense as the next step in his rehab assignment and could be back up with the big-league club before the middle of August.