MLB Player News

Manager Joe Girardi said Sanchez was held out of Friday's game due to a stiff neck, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Sanchez is back behind the plate for Saturday's game, so it doesn't appear the issue was anything major. The 24-year-old phenom has already missed time this season with a biceps strain, but he'll avoid an extended stay on the bench this time around. Sanchez will look to build on his four-game hitting streak as the Yankees face Matt Andriese and the Rays on Saturday.

Vazquez is not in the lineup Friday against the Athletics, Tim Britton of The Providence Journal reports.

Vazquez is batting below the Mendoza line in his past seven games, so he'll get a night off to get back on track. Sandy Leon will assume catching duties for the evening.

Gomes is not in the lineup Friday against the Astros.

Despite batting .375 over his past 14 games, Gomes will head to the bench for his second consecutive game off. Roberto Perez will fill in for him behind the plate.

Sanchez is not in the lineup Friday against the Rays, Roger Mooney of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Sanchez has been scorching hot since returning from the disabled list (.994 OPS since May 5), but he'll take a night off after catching the past four games. Austin Romine will take over behind the plate in his stead.

Narvaez is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Angels.

Narvaez will alternate starts behind the plate with Kevan Smith for the sixth straight game, and may continue to do so until one of the two backstops provides some semblance of offense. Narvaez has yet to hit a home run and is batting just .217, but he's shown impressive plate discipline, drawing 14 walks and striking out just 10 times.

Vazquez is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Cardinals, Evan Drellich of CSN New England reports.

Though he went hitless in his start Tuesday, Vazquez remains a surprising source of offense for a potent Red Sox attack, upholding a .345/.381/.466 line over 63 plate appearances. Unfortunately for Vazquez, Sandy Leon has begun to wake up at the plate and has thrust himself back into the timeshare at catcher. Leon will swap into the lineup Wednesday following back-to-back starts by Vazquez.

Gomes is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Rays, MLB.com's Jordan Bastian reports.

After catching nine innings and recording a pair of hits Tuesday night, Gomes will get a breather in the series finale due to the quick turnaround. Roberto Perez checks in as the Indians' backstop for the day.

Sanchez went 2-for-4 with a walk and a three-run home run in Tuesday's 7-1 win over the Royals.

His third-inning blast to straightaway center field, which traveled an estimated 428 feet, opened the scoring and gave CC Sabathia all the offense he would need. It's Sanchez's second homer in five games and third of the season, and he's now hitting a massive .353/.476/.559 since coming off the DL.

Perez is hitting just .159/.208/.182 through 14 games and 48 plate appearances this season.

Yan Gomes (.733 OPS) has outperformed Perez at every turn, yet the latter is on pace to play in 60-plus games for the third straight year. Despite his uninspiring play, manager Terry Francona seems committed to keeping the 28-year-old Perez involved in the action. At this point, however, it's become obvious -- contrary to some preseason expectations -- that the backup catcher will not participate in anything close to an equal timeshare.

Gosewisch went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts in Monday's 6-5 win over the A's.

After being called up May 5, Gosewisch has just one hit and 10 strikeouts in 19 at-bats for a .053 average. He will continue serving as the backup to Carlos Ruiz, at least until the M's feel Mike Zunino is ready for another go-around at major league pitching.