MLB Player News

Sanchez went 3-for-4 with a double, two solo home runs and four runs scored in Sunday's 16-7 win over the Rangers.

Sanchez and teammate Aaron Judge went deep twice in this one. Serving a three-game suspension for his role in a brawl against Detroit did little to slow down the scorching slugger, who has mustered multiple hits in two of three games since his return after producing multi-hit efforts in three of his last four contests prior to sitting out. Sanchez now has 30 home runs in 106 games this year after slugging 20 in 53 games last season.

Vazquez is not in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Rays, Tim Britton of The Providence Journal reports.

Vazquez will get the day off after starting three of the past four games behind the plate and going 3-for-10 over that stretch. Sandy Leon will start behind the dish in his stead.

Sanchez (suspension) is back in the lineup Friday against the Rangers, catching and batting third against lefty Martin Perez, Erik Boland of Newsday reports.

He served his suspension during the Orioles series after Major League Baseball reduced his ban from four to three games. Sanchez was disciplined for his role in an Aug. 24 brawl between the Yankees and Tigers. The 24-year-old is batting .250/.330/.530 with eight homers and 20 RBI in 100 at-bats against left-handed pitching this season.

Gomes is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Orioles.

Gomes will head to the bench after starting two of the past three games behind the plate, including a 2-for-5 day during Thursday's win over the White Sox. In his place, Roberto Perez will handle the catching duties.

Higashioka began a rehab assignment Wednesday after he had been on the 7-day DL at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre with a shoulder strain, DJ Eberle of the Wilkes Barre Times-Leader reports.

Higashioka missed just about two months with a back injury and his return lasted just one day, as the shoulder ailment popped up in mid-August right after he returned to the Triple-A club. It appears as though the 27-year-old catcher is nearing his way back again, but with time running out on the season, the injury setbacks could hurt his chance of receiving a September callup.

Perez went 2-for-4 with a pair of homers, three RBI and a walk against the Tigers on Wednesday.

With this performance, Perez has now set a new career best in home runs with 24 and tied the second-highest RBI total of his career with 70. The 27-year-old backstop had been cold since coming off the DL in the latter part of August, going just 6-for-43 (.140) with a single homer and 13 strikeouts over a 12-game span, so this has to be a relief for Perez's fantasy owners. After all, he was a major force through the end of July, only to offer a combination of injury and ineffectiveness since then.

Maldonado is not in the lineup for Wednesday's matchup against the A's, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

After starting 11 consecutive games, Maldonado will get a well-deserved day off. Over said games Maldonado pieced together a disappointing .211 batting average, but mashed three home runs. Juan Graterol will fill in at catcher and hit eighth Wednesday.

Maldonado went 2-for-4 with a pair of home runs and three RBI in Monday's win over the Athletics.

The veteran backstop has put together a solid week -- by his standards -- with a .259 batting average and three homers over his last seven contests. His overall numbers leave much to be desired (.227/.288/.385), but Maldonado's career-high 14 homers put him on the map in two-catcher leagues.

Stassi (hand) was activated from the 10-day disabled list Monday.

Stassi was sidelined for just over the minimum amount of time with left hand inflammation and was cleared to return after a successful three-game rehab assignment with Double-A Corpus Christi. With Brian McCann's top backup at catcher, Evan Gattis (wrist), on track to return from the DL by the weekend, Stassi and Juan Centeno won't be in store for much work behind the plate -- if any -- before the season concludes.

Mejia will serve as the Indians' designated hitter and bat eighth Monday against the White Sox.

Both of the Tribe's top two catchers, Yan Gomes and Roberto Perez, have struggled at the dish for the balance of the season, but Perez in particular has heated up of late to become a key part of the Indians' 11-game winning streak. As a result, it's not expected that Mejia, one of the top catching prospects in all of baseball, will be in store for much duty behind the plate in September, but with Edwin Encarnacion receiving the day off to rest, manager Terry Francona will hand the 21-year-old his first career start in the majors. Mejia had previously appeared as a pinch hitter in two contests, going 0-for-2 with a run scored.