MLB Player News

Sanchez is dealing with groin soreness, Erik Boland of Newsday reports.

Sanchez exited Thursday's game prematurely after enduring a collision with Chad Pinder at home plate, and given that Kyle Higashioka is meeting the team in Oakland in time for their weekend series with the Athletics, it seems like Sanchez won't be available for the evening. No official roster moves have been made at this time, although more information on the severity of this ailment should come forth once the team makes a formal announcement. Consider Sanchez day-to-day for now.

Higashioka will join the big-league club in Oakland, Sweeny Murti of Sports Radio 66 WFAN reports.

The 27-year-old catcher has been tearing up Triple-A pitching this season, as he currently holds a .941 OPS with two home runs and 11 RBI in his brief time in the minors. The fact that he's heading to the majors seems to indicate that Gary Sanchez (undisclosed) isn't available for Friday's contest, although no official word has come out on that front yet. Higashioka will likely vie for time with Austin Romine behind the dish until Sanchez is back in action.

Sanchez finished 3-for-3 with two walks and two RBI against the A's on Thursday before leaving the game early.

Sanchez collided with Oakland's Chad Pinder at second base to force him from the game, but as the weather has heated up, so has Sanchez, who is now hitting .340 this month with seven home runs and 21 RBI in 56 plate appearances in June. He tied the game twice Thursday, with a double in the seventh and a single in the ninth. Sanchez has brought his slash line to .297/.382/.525 in 165 plate appearances on the season.

Sanchez departed Thursday's game after colliding with Oakland's Chad Pinder on a slide at second, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

No word yet on the nature of the injury to the Yankees' stud catcher, and given the game will end quite late there may not be more specifics until Friday morning. This could be a costly game for the Yanks no matter the result, as Aaron Hicks also left late in the contest.

Gomes is not in the Indians' lineup Thursday,

Roberto Perez takes his spot behind the plate, working with Josh Tomlin, and bats seventh. Cleveland will continue to divvy up catcher playing time almost evenly between Gomes and Perez.

Sanchez went 3-for-4 with a three-run home run and two runs scored during Wednesday's loss to the Angels.

The backstop has posted a 1.181 OPS with seven homers, 19 RBI and 14 runs through 11 June games. Providing those numbers from the catcher position makes Sanchez all the more valuable. Additionally, despite being limited to just 160 plate appearances this season, he already has 11 homers, 31 RBI and 28 runs with a .282/.363/.542 slash line for the season.

Maldonado is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Yankees, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Maldonado will head to the bench after catching all 11 innings in Tuesday's win over the Yankees. Juan Graterol will take over behind the dish, batting ninth.

Vazquez is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Phillies, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

After reaching base three times Tuesday, Vazquez's on-base percentage now sits a .356 for the season, but that's still not enough for him to secure a larger portion of the timeshare at catcher. He'll hit the bench for the fourth time in six games, clearing the way for Sandy Leon to make another start behind the dish.

Perez is out of Wednesday's lineup against the Giants, Joel Goldberg of Fox Sports Kansas City reports.

He has started 15 of the last 17 games behind the dish, hitting .271 with two home runs over that stretch. Drew Butera will start at catcher and hit eighth.

Perez went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Tuesday's loss to the Dodgers.

Not only was it Perez's first long ball of 2017, but it was hit off the best pitcher in baseball, Clayton Kershaw. Still, the homer can't hide the reserve catcher's awful .147/.226/.213 slash line through 23 games.