MLB Player News

McCann is not in the lineup against the A's on Wednesday.

McCann will receive a typical day off following a pair of starts behind the plate, including a 2-for-5 showing with a triple and three RBI during Tuesday's affair. John Hicks is set to handle the catching duties in his stead.

McCann went 2-for-5 with a triple, three RBI and a run in Tuesday's loss to Oakland.

It's been a bit of an up-and-down season for McCann, but he's already set a new career mark in homers (13), while Tuesday's effort brought his RBI total to a career-high-tying 48. The 27-year-old catcher has improved his stats across the board this season, and it's not out of the question to expect further growth next season as he continues settling into the No. 1 role behind the plate in Detroit.

Perez (intercostal) is in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Blue Jays, Mike Wilner of Sportsnet 590 The Fan reports.

Perez has not taken the field since tweaking his side injury last Thursday, but he was expected to return to action Tuesday, and the Royals' lineup confirms he will indeed do just that. Perez is an ironman when healthy, but the Royals may look to take it easy with him the rest of the way, particularly if they are eliminated from playoff contention.

Vazquez made his first start of the season at designated hitter Monday and went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored in Boston's 10-8 extra-inning win over Baltimore.

September's roster expansion allows for such luxuries as using a hot-hitting catcher at DH. Vazquez has maintained a credible bat all season, but in the second half is slashing a hefty .344/.387/.508. Those numbers far outpace his career marks, and have led manager John Farrell to move Vazquez up in the batting order.

Collins finished the 2017 at Double-A Birmingham, posting an .893 OPS over 12 games with the Barons.

Collins came out of college with a reputation as a sure-thing bat with questions surrounding his defense -- however, his season played out the opposite way. He batted just .224 while striking out 27.3 percent of the time over his 471 plate appearances. It's not uncommon for young catchers to experience an initial dip in offense as they learn the defensive aspects of such a demanding position at the professional level. One noteworthy item that stands out is Collins walked in 18.5 percent of his plate appearances to post a .370 on-base percentage. There's nobody blocking him at the major-league level, so Collins could reach Chicago as a regular by 2019 if his defense remains on the same trajectory.

Perez (side) is expected to return Tuesday for the series opener in Toronto, The Associated Press reports.

The catcher sat out three straight games to end the week after aggravating an intercostal injury Thursday. Time is running out on Kansas City's season, as they sit a handful of games out of the final wild-card spot, so manager Ned Yost will certainly get Perez back in the lineup as soon as possible. At the same time, should the club be eliminated from postseason contention, Perez could very well be shut down before the campaign officially ends.

Gonzalez was outrighted to Double-A Birmingham on Sunday, Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Gonzalez was already assigned to Birmingham, so the move was made to open up a spot on the 40-man roster. Gonzalez played 71 games with Birmingham this season, over which he hit .208/.306/.301.

Narvaez is out of the lineup Sunday against the Tigers.

With the left-handed Matt Boyd starting for Detroit, Narvaez will head to the bench. Rob Brantly will serve as Chicago's backstop and hit ninth.

McCann is not in the lineup Sunday against the White Sox.

McCann had a fantastic game Saturday. He went 3-for-4 with a double, a triple and two RBI. However, Saturday marked the third straight game that McCann had started, so he'll get Sunday off. Bryan Holaday will serve as Detroit's catcher Sunday.

Perez (side) is not in the lineup Sunday against the Indians.

Perez will miss his third straight game Sunday as he continues dealing with an intercostal injury. Cam Gallagher will serve as the Royals' backstop Sunday with Perez being withheld from the lineup.