MLB Player News

Maldonado is out of the lineup Sunday against the Twins, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

With a .270 average, four homers and 15 RBI in 152 at-bats this season, Maldonado isn't lighting the world on fire, but he's quietly become a reliable option in deeper two-catcher and AL-only leagues. He'll be guaranteed the bulk of the starts behind the dish for the Angels, though manager Mike Scioscia will give Maldonado a day off in the series finale. Juan Graterol replaces Maldonado behind the plate.

Perez is out of the lineup Sunday against the Indians, Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com reports.

With Perez batting just 4-for-31 (.129 average) while starting each of the last eight games, manager Ned Yost decided it was an opportune time to rest the oft-used backstop. Backup Drew Butera will fill in for Perez behind the plate.

Gomes is out of the lineup Sunday against the Royals, Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com reports.

Gomes will receive a routine day off after starting at catcher in the first two games of the series, going 2-for-7 with a double in those contests. Roberto Perez will spell him behind the dish.

Vazquez is out of the lineup Sunday against the Orioles, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Vazquez has been the Red Sox's top-performing catcher this season, but he's still locked into a timeshare with Sandy Leon, who receives the nod behind the plate Sunday. It's unclear what more Vazquez needs to do in order to capture a larger portion of the starts behind the plate, as he's a capable defender and his .373 on-base percentage is nearly 100 points better than Leon's.

Narvaez went 3-for-4 in Saturday's 10-1 loss to the Tigers.

Narvaez, whose three hits tied a career high, found himself in the lineup for the first time in five games. Having made the major-league roster out of spring training, Narvaez had been considered the team's primary catcher, so it was odd not to see him in the lineup over the previous four games. Manager Rick Renteria indicated that was due to opposing pitcher matchups, so it would seem Narvaez and Kevan Smith are still in a job-share of sorts despite Smith's run of four consecutive starts.

McCann (hand) got his stitches out and will hit Saturday with the anticipation that he could come off the DL on Tuesday, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

This is in line with the original timetable for McCann, but he will have to make it through his hitting and throwing sessions fine before it becomes official. Alex Avila has been surprisingly solid on the whole this season, but he's hitting just .143 with a 48.5 percent strikeout rate over his last 28 at-bats, so McCann may be able to slowly overtake him if he plays well upon his activation.

Sanchez is out of Saturday's lineup against the Blue Jays, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports,

He is 7-for-23 with two home runs over his last five games, during which he has built up a five-game hitting streak. Austin Romine will get the start behind the dish and hit eighth against righty Joe Biagini.

Narvaez is not in the lineup Friday against the Tigers.

It seemed like he and Kevan Smith were locked in a platoon behind the dish, but Narvaez is sitting out against right-hander Michael Fulmer on Friday. This also marks the fourth game in a row that the 25-year-old is watching from the bench, which could signal a change in the catching pecking order on the South Side.

Vazquez went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run during Thursday's loss to Baltimore.

The backstop is in the midst of a mini heater with a 12-for-28 stretch at the dish that includes four doubles, six RBI and four runs through his past eight games. Vazquez sports a rock-solid .348/.378/.467 slash line for the campaign and has settled into a near 50-50 timeshare with Sandy Leon behind the plate. Still, Vazquez has failed to deliver much punch in the counting stats with just 11 RBI and eight runs over 98 plate appearances.

Higashioka is on the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre disabled list with a rib-cage injury, the New York Post reports.

Higashioka hasn't played in a game for the Triple-A squad since May 14, so it's unclear how much longer he'll be sidelined for. The 27-year-old got his first taste of the majors earlier this year when starter Gary Sanchez hit the DL, but went hitless in 18 at-bats while striking out six times. It's possible he gets another promotion at some point this season, but even if he does, it's unlikely Higashioka will make much of an impact in the big leagues in 2017.