MLB Player News

Gallagher will start at catcher and bat seventh Sunday against the Rangers, Joel Goldberg of FOX Sports Kansas City reports.

Gallagher will pick up his 16th start of the season with top backup Martin Maldonado dealing with forearm tightness, which forced his early departure in Saturday's 6-2 loss. Maldonado expects to be good to go following Monday's off day, so Gallagher likely won't be in store for a major boost in playing time in the near future. Gallagher is hitting just .161 over 61 plate appearances this season and probably won't provide much fantasy value even if he ascends into a full-time role at some point.

Maldonado (forearm) is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rangers, Joel Goldberg of FOX Sports Kansas City reports.

Maldonado was forced to exit Saturday's 6-2 loss early due to forearm tightness, resulting in backup Cam Gallagher entering the contest in his stead. Gallagher will pick up a start behind the dish Sunday, but Maldonado downplayed the injury and said he expects to rejoin the lineup Tuesday against the Red Sox coming off a team off day, per Lynn Worthy of The Kansas City Star. With a meager .211/.309/.289 slash line over 163 plate appearances this season, Maldonado brings most of his value to the Royals on the defensive end.

Plawecki is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the White Sox.

Since top backstop Roberto Perez returned last weekend after a brief absence due to a concussion, Plawecki has settled into the clear No. 2 role behind the plate. After starting in Saturday's 5-2 win, Plawecki will head to the bench for the fifth time in seven games.

Stubbs will start against Oakland on Sunday with Gerrit Cole on the mound, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

This will be Stubbs' second start since being called up from Triple-A Round Rock as a replacement for the injured Max Stassi (knee). He had a pair of hits, including a double, and an RBI in his previous start, which was his MLB debut. Robinson Chirinos, who has started seven of the last eight games, gets a well-deserved break.

Garver (ankle) was activated from the 10-day injured list and will start at catcher and bat leadoff Sunday against the Rays, Kevin Gorg of Fox Sports North reports.

The Twins haven't announced a corresponding move to open up a spot on the active roster for Garver, but long reliever Zack Littell's absence from the lineup card suggests he may have been optioned to Triple-A Rochester. Prior to suffering a left high ankle sprain May 14, Garver had emerged as the Twins' top catcher after showing improved defense while slashing an impressive .329/.418/.747 through his first 91 plate appearances. Jason Castro and Willians Astudillo remain relevant in the Twins' catching timeshare, but Garver profiles as the most interesting of the three for fantasy purposes, as he'll likely see the most starts and occupy a more prominent spot in the batting order when he plays.

D'Arnaud is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Twins, Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

D'Arnaud was behind the plate for Saturday's 6-2 loss, but he's set to see his opportunities decline considerably after the Rays activated top catcher Mike Zunino (quadriceps) from the 10-day injured list Friday. Since being acquired from the Dodgers on May 10, d'Arnaud has slashed a pedestrian .186/.265/.233 in 49 plate appearances.

Perez (oblique) took batting practice against teammate Anthony Banda (elbow) in Port Charlotte on Saturday, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

Perez made steady progress throughout the last few days, and Saturday was another step towards getting back into game action. Assuming there are no setbacks stemming from his latest activity, the young backstop could begin a brief rehab assignment with High-A Charlotte as soon as Sunday.

Maldonado left Saturday's game against the Rangers with right forearm tightness, Joel Goldberg of FOX Sports Kansas City reports.

Maldonado's removal was reportedly precautionary. If he's forced to miss an extended period, Cam Gallagher would take over as the Royals' primary catcher.

Narvaez will remain on the bench against the Angels on Saturday.

Narvaez will sit for the second game in a row and the third time in four contests. He's gone just 2-for-15 in his last five games but still has a strong .287/.362/.465 line on the season, so it would be a surprise to see him lose his starting job. Tom Murphy will start behind the plate again.

Vazquez is not in the lineup Saturday against the Yankees, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.

Vazquez will sit for two games in a row for the first time all season. Sandy Leon will get the nod behind the plate.