MLB Player News
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James McCann C | ARI
Tigers' James McCann: Expects to return Monday
McCann (ribs) could be back in time for Game 2 of Monday's doubleheader, Evan Woodbery of Mlive.com reports.
McCann exited Sunday's game after suffering an intercostal spasm, but he thinks he'll be good to go Monday. Detroit will re-examine McCann on Monday to see if he'll be able to suit up behind the dish. If he's unable to play, John Hicks is the only other catcher available, so the Tigers could call up Grayson Greiner from Triple-A Toledo to help out.
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Oscar Hernandez C | BOS
Red Sox's Oscar Hernandez: Returns from suspension
Hernandez (suspension) was added to Triple-A Pawtucket's active roster Thursday and has appeared in two games with the club, going 1-for-7 with four strikeouts.
Hernandez was handed a 50-game suspension in spring training following a violation of minor league baseball's drug policy. Now that the ban has lapsed, Hernandez will likely serve as a depth option behind the plate for Pawtucket this season. Hernandez spent the 2017 campaign at Double-A Jackson in the Arizona organization, slashing .197/.257/.348 across 255 plate appearances.
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James McCann C | ARI
Tigers' James McCann: Exits with intercostal spasm
McCann was lifted from Sunday's game against the Blue Jays in the seventh inning with a left intercostal spasm, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.
John Hicks, who had recently transitioned into a bench role following Miguel Cabrera's return from the disabled list earlier this week, was pressed into action after McCann's departure. More information regarding the severity of McCann's injury should be available in the near future, but it's an untimely setback with the Tigers set to play a doubleheader Monday against the Yankees. The Tigers were planning on deploying Sandy Baez, their projected Game 2 starting pitcher, as the 26th man for the twin bill, but McCann's injury could instead prompt Detroit to use that spot for an extra catcher.
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Christian Vazquez C | HOU
Red Sox's Christian Vazquez: Heads to bench Sunday
Vazquez is not in the lineup Sunday against the Astros, Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston reports.
Vazquez blasted a solo homer in Saturday's contest but will give way to Sandy Leon behind the plate in this one. Vazquez is hitting just .191 on the season with a lowly 3.4 percent walk rate.
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Martin Maldonado C | SD
Angels' Martin Maldonado: Heads to bench Sunday
Maldonado is out of the lineup Sunday against the Rangers, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic Los Angeles reports.
It will be a routine day off for Maldonado after he was behind the dish for both of the first two games of the series. Jose Briceno will pick up his third start of the season with the Angels while Maldonado takes a seat.
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Mitch Garver C | SEA
Twins' Mitch Garver: Dealing with leg bruise
Garver is dealing with some bruising near his quadriceps on his left leg and is out of the lineup Sunday against the Indians, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.
Garver took a foul tip to the leg in Saturday's 7-1 win but still ended up playing all nine innings, finishing 0-for-4 with a run scored. After giving way to Bobby Wilson behind the plate for the series finale and taking advantage of some additional rest time with Monday's off day, Garver is hopeful to rejoin the lineup for one half of Tuesday's doubleheader against the White Sox.
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Christian Vazquez C | HOU
Red Sox's Christian Vazquez: Provides key hit Saturday
Vazquez went 1-for-3 with a walk and a solo home run in Saturday's 5-4 win over the Astros.
Vazquez, who entered the game hitting .188, was the unlikely trigger in Boston's come-from-behind win. His seventh-inning home run, his first of the season, tied the game before Andrew Benintendi delivered the go-ahead runs two batters later with a two-run bomb. Vazquez has recently been losing playing time to backup Sandy Leon primarily due to a season-long slump that's kept his batting average below .200 for the last 28 days. Leon, meanwhile, has emerged from his slump and is hitting .253.
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Luke Maile C | KC
Blue Jays' Luke Maile: Cranks solo homer Saturday
Maile went 2-for-2 with a solo homer, a double, a walk and an additional run scored in Saturday's loss to the Tigers.
Maile doubled and scored in the third inning to tie the game at 1-1 before putting the Blue Jays up 3-2 in the fifth inning with a solo shot, his third homer of the season. He broke out of an 0-for-20 skid with his two-hit performance Saturday, and he's now hitting .272 with an .813 OPS through 29 games this season.
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Yan Gomes C | CHC
Indians' Yan Gomes: Out of lineup Saturday
Gomes will take a seat for Saturday's matchup against the Twins, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.
Gomes will get a breather Saturday after three straight starts behind the dish for the Indians, ceding the duties to Roberto Perez. He seems a good bet to rejoin the starting nine for Sunday's series finale, looking to heat up a bat that has gone stagnant in the past couple of weeks.