MLB Player News

Pentecost, who missed the entire 2015 season due to shoulder surgeries, is beginning to see more time at catcher now that he's back to full health, Sportsnet.ca reports.

The No. 11 overall pick in 2014 had been serving as the DH and playing some first base while his shoulder regained strength. However, catching is still Pentecost's primary position, and he's arguably the best backstop in Toronto's system. Through 67 games with High-A Dunedin, the 24-year-old is hitting .285 and is tied for second on the team with nine home runs.

Manager John Farrell said Leon (knee) is lined up to make his next start Sunday against the White Sox, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Leon has been held out recently due to a sore right knee, but it appears he'll be good to go for Sunday's series finale. He was available off the bench for Wednesday's game, so he'll likely be a substitute option in the coming days as well.

Leon (knee) is available off the bench Wednesday, and is on the verge of returning to the lineup to spell Christian Vazquez within the next couple days, Jason Mastrodonato of The Boston Herald reports.

Leon hasn't played since Saturday while recovering from a swollen right knee. Although Vazquez typically nabs most of the starts, Leon has been in the lineup more recently since the All-Star break. The 28-year-old will likely be back behind the plate before the weekend begins.

Gomes is out of the lineup for Wednesday's series finale against Boston.

Gomes will receive a standard day off after starting the past two games of this series, going 0-for-5 with two runs scored. In his place, Roberto Perez draws the start behind the plate.

Narvaez is not in the lineup for Wednesday's series finale against the Blue Jays.

Narvaez retreats to the bench after going 1-for-4 with a double and two RBI during Tuesday's loss. In his place, Kevan Smith sets up behind the plate for the third time in the past four days, while batting in the cleanup position.

Vazquez went 3-for-5 with a double, three runs scored and a walk-off three-run home run in Tuesday's wild 12-10 win over Cleveland.

The homer was just his second of the year but he made it count, taking Cody Allen deep to straightaway center field on a 3-1 fastball after Mitch Moreland struck out for what should have been the final out of the game but reached on a wild pitch. Vazquez now has four straight multi-hit games, and with Sandy Leon nursing a sore knee the 26-year-old catcher should remain a fixture in the Boston lineup in the short term.

Leon has been nursing a swollen right knee the last few days and is out of the lineup Tuesday against the Indians, Evan Drellich of CSN New England reports.

Christian Vazquez will pick up his fourth straight start behind the plate Tuesday and will serve as the batterymate for Chris Sale for the first time all season with Leon, the left-hander's personal catcher, unavailable. Leon's injury is believed to have stemmed from his slide into home plate for the game-winning run Saturday against the Royals. According to Scott Lauber of ESPN.com, Leon is still available to catch in an emergency Tuesday, so the expectation is that he'll be back to full strength within a few days.

McCann will start at catcher and bat eighth Monday against the Yankees.

After fellow backstop Alex Avila was traded to the Cubs earlier Monday, McCann looks bound to see regular duties behind the plate for the final two months of the season. The 27-year-old season line of .242/.319/.456 is rather modest, but he's elevated his production since the All-Star break, going 14-for-33 (.424 average) with five extra-base hits and five RBI. With his playing time looking stable the rest of the way, McCann could make for a decent pickup in deeper mixed leagues or two-catcher formats where he's still available.

Narvaez is not in the lineup for Monday's game against the Blue Jays.

Narvaez will take a seat for the second game in a row after having started four of the previous five contests. Despite his .320/.433/480 triple slash coming out of the All-Star break, the 25-year-old still appears to be stuck in a timeshare with Kevan Smith.

Higashioka (back) has been on the 7-day DL at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre since June 22.

Higashioka has gotten a couple chances with the big-league squad this year, but he got hurt just two games after heading back to the minors and has been out over a month. While the catcher went 0-for-18 in the majors, he's slashing .286/.340/.490 at Triple-A, so whenever healthy, Higashioka figures to be the first man up if the Yankees need catching depth.