MLB Player News

Perez is in the starting lineup Monday against Detroit.

Perez will shoulder the catching duties for a second straight day, proving his hot bat is being noticed by manager Terry Francona. The 28-year-old is more than capable of holding his own defensively, so contributing offensively like he has lately should allow Perez to see more playing time down the stretch.

Gomes is out of the lineup Monday against Detroit.

Gomes will take a seat for a second straight day while Roberto Perez handles the backstop duties. The latter has been heating up at the dish, and with Francisco Mejia part of the expanded roster, Gomes may very well see his playing time cut significantly down the stretch.

Sanchez will begin serving a three-game suspension Monday for his role in a brawl between the Yankees and Tigers on Aug. 24, Sweeny Murti of Sports Radio 66 WFAN reports.

Sanchez was originally slapped with a four-game suspension, but it was appealed down to three games. He'll be eligible to return for the weekend series against the Rangers on Friday. In the meantime, Austin Romine and Erik Kratz will share duties behind the dish.

Perez went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a walk in Sunday's 11-1 shellacking of the Tigers.

Much like he did last year, the backup catcher is heating up late in the campaign. Since the start of August, Perez is hitting .317 with three home runs and 14 RBI through 15 games. His lack of consistent playing time makes him unusable in most leagues, but Perez is worth deploying in daily formats as long as he remains hot.

Stassi (hand) will be activated from the 10-day disabled list Monday, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Stassi wrapped up a three-game rehab assignment Friday with Double-A Corpus Christi, during which he recorded four hits -- including two home runs -- in nine at-bats. Suffice to say, his left hand doesn't appear to be presenting any issues and shouldn't impact his availability when he rejoins the Astros, though it's unlikely Stassi will see much usage behind No. 1 catcher Brian McCann.

Vazquez is out of the lineup Sunday against the Yankees, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.

He'll cede catching duties to Sandy Leon after starting three of the previous four contests. With a .330/.382/.489 batting line since the All-Star break, Vazquez is finally starting to gain a little separation in the job battle with Leon.

Gomes is out of the lineup Sunday against the Tigers.

Gomes is simply getting a breather for the day game after a night game, allowing Roberto Perez to pick up a start behind the plate. The Indians recalled top catching prospect Francisco Mejia on Friday when rosters expanded, but he has yet to start in any of the Tribe's four games since his promotion and doesn't look like he's a serious threat to Gomes' spot atop the depth chart just yet.

McCann is out of Saturday's lineup against the Indians.

He will take a seat for the second straight game. McCann is hitting .287/.347/.414 with three home runs over his last 25 games. Bryan Holaday will get the start behind the dish, hitting seventh.

Pentecost will participate in the Arizona Fall League, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

The catcher's innings have been strictly managed this season as the team takes it slowly with Pentecost, who missed all of 2015 due to shoulder surgeries. In 71 games for High-A Dunedin this year, the 24-year-old prospect slashed .276/.332/.434 with nine home runs and 54 RBI. Toronto's front office remains hopeful Pentecost is the organization's catcher of the future.

Perez was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake on Friday, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Perez made the Opening Day roster but went just 1-for-13 before being sent down. While he went on to post a .352/.423/.502 line with Salt Lake, his track record at the big-league level suggests that was more to do with the friendly hitting environments in the PCL rather than any significant skills growth. Perez's playing time figures to be limited behind Martin Maldonado and Juan Graterol.