MLB Player News

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.

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.