MLB Player News

Vazquez is out of the lineup Sunday against the Rangers, Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston reports.

Vazquez and Sandy Leon have alternated starts at catcher the last six games, and that trend seems likely to continue all season unless one of the two backstops catches fire at the plate. Though he has contributed more offensively than Leon so far, Vazquez's .193 average and zero home runs in 96 plate appearances have made it difficult to justify rostering him outside of AL-only or two-catcher mixed leagues.

Garver is out of the lineup Sunday against the White Sox, Dan Hayes of The Athletic Minnesota reports.

For at least the next week and a half, Garver looks like he'll be the Twins' primary catcher following Jason Castro's (knee) placement on the 10-day disabled list Saturday due to a partially torn meniscus. If Castro is unable to avoid surgery like the Twins are hoping he will, Garver's run as the No. 1 backstop could last multiple weeks, if not months. Garver will only sit out the series finale for routine maintenance after logging all nine innings behind the dish in Saturday's win, going 1-for-4 with a walk and an RBI in that contest.

McCann is out of the lineup Sunday against the Royals.

With McCann getting a breather following six consecutive starts behind the dish, Grayson Greiner, who was called up from Triple-A Toledo on Saturday, will make his first MLB appearance behind the dish. Neither Greiner nor John Hicks remains a serious threat to McCann's status as the Tigers' No. 1 catcher, especially with McCann having turned in five multi-hit efforts within the past two weeks.

Maile will start at catcher and bat eighth Sunday against the Rays, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.

It's the third starting assignment in four games for Maile, who has earned the extra work by slashing a blistering .319/.407/.404 in limited action this season. Maile has struck out in 29.6 percent of his plate appearances and owns a .484 BABIP, so it's difficult to envision him sustaining much offensive success for the long haul. Once Maile's bat predictably cools off, his starting opportunities should fall by the wayside, allowing Russell Martin to take on a larger portion of the playing time behind the plate.

Gomes is out of the lineup against the Yankees on Saturday.

Gomes will receive a standard day off for maintenance purposes after going 1-for-3 with two runs scored during Friday's loss. Roberto Perez will take his place behind the dish for Saturday's matinee.

Sanchez is out of the lineup for Saturday's game against Cleveland.

Sanchez will retreat to the bench following 13 straight starts in the lineup as Austin Romine will handle the assignment behind the plate for Sonny Gray. Over 29 games this season, Sanchez is hitting .205/.288/.518 with nine home runs and 28 RBI.

Maldonado was placed on the bereavement list Friday, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

This explains why Maldonado isn't in the lineup Friday. MLB rules require a three-day minimum absence, with seven days being the longest absence allowed. He'll be replaced on the active roster by Juan Graterol.

Maldonado is not in the lineup against the Mariners on Friday.

Maldonado will get the day off after starting the past three games behind the plate. In his place, Rene Rivera will catch and bat ninth in the order. Expect Maldonado back in the lineup Saturday.

Vazquez is out of the lineup against the Rangers on Friday, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Vazquez will receive a standard day off after going 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI during Thursday's loss. In his place, Sandy Leon will catch and bat ninth. Expect Vazquez back in the lineup Saturday.

Vazquez has a three-game hitting streak after going 2-for-4 with an RBI and run scored in Thursday's 11-5 loss to the Rangers.

The three-game run pushed Vazquez back up to the Mendoza Line (.200), as the catcher is making nowhere near the impact he did in 2017. His BABIP has tanked this season, so fantasy owners can hang a hat on good luck coming back to Vazquez, but there's also the real possibility that he isn't the .290 hitter we saw in 2017 and closer to the .233 hitter the previous two seasons. At any rate, Vazquez will continue to play regularly, per Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald, as manager Alex Cora indicated no changes are coming for Boston's catchers, which rank last in MLB with a -0.7 WAR.