MLB Player News

Leon went 1-for-4 with two RBI in Friday's loss to the Rays.

It was a productive night for Leon, who now has seven RBI in his last four games. Don't continually expect this kind of consistent offensive production, however; his career .681 OPS is well below this month's 1.181 mark, and some regression to his career norm is likely.

McCann is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Angels.

The Tigers are giving McCann the night off Friday after he made four consecutive starts behind the plate. Alex Avila will handle catching duties for Jordan Zimmermann as Detroit takes on Matt Shoemaker and the Angels. Look for McCann to draw back into the lineup Saturday against Ricky Nolasco.

Gomes (illness) is in the lineup for Friday's game against the Twins.

An illness forced Gomes from Wednesday's game but apparently he's shaken the bug. After a rough start to the season, Gomes has flashed glimpses of his 2015 form in recent weeks, going 8-for-18 with a home run, three doubles and a 4:1 BB:K to begin May. He should continue to start two out of every three games for Cleveland.

Vazquez is not in the starting lineup for Friday's series opener against the Rays, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

The 26-year-old is 4-for-6 in his career against Alex Cobb, the projected starter for Tampa Bay, but Sandy Leon will get the start instead. Despite Vazquez's outstanding defensive abilities, he continues to split time behind the plate with his power-hitting counterpart, a trend unlikely to subside within the near future.

Mejia was placed on the 7-day disabled list at Double-A Akron on Thursday due to groin soreness.

One of the top catching prospects in all of baseball, Mejia's bat has been up to par in his first taste of the Double-A level, and with some further refinement behind the plate, it's not entirely out of the question for him to surface at the big-league level in the second half of 2017. The groin issue represents a setback in his development, but so long as it doesn't prove to be a multi-month concern, it shouldn't dim his long-term outlook too much.

Gomes' manager, Terry Francona, said the catcher was removed from Wednesday's game because of "intestinal turmoil," the Associated Press reports.

Francona mentioned Gomes ate something prior to the contest that didn't settle well. Fantasy owners can read between the lines on this one. The good news is -- with the Tribe being off Thursday -- Gomes shouldn't have a problem being ready for Friday against the Twins.

Gomes exited Wednesday's game against the Blue Jays early with an illness, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Gomes was 1-for-2 with a double before being replaced by Roberto Perez behind the dish. It's unclear how long the illness will keep Gomes sidelined, though the removal could have been precautionary given Thursday's off-day. More should be known about his status after Wednesday's contest.

Leon is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Brewers, Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Leon will return to the bench following a three-game run as the starter, but he may have done enough during that time to reestablish himself as the primary backstop over Christian Vazquez, who will be behind the dish Wednesday. Leon went 5-for-14 with three homers and five RBI over the three games, raising his OPS 183 points in the process.

Maile will start at catcher and bat ninth in the order Wednesday against the Indians, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Maile will pick up his second start behind the plate in three games since Russell Martin (shoulder/neck) hit the disabled list Monday. Martin acknowledged that the injury has been bothering him since spring training and isn't comparable to an issue he's dealt with before, so there's a good possibility the veteran backstop will miss more than the minimum 10 days. While Maile will stand to benefit if that's the case, he'll need to show some more offense before moving up in the lineup. Maile has gone 1-for-13 at the dish in five games with the Blue Jays this season.

Maldonado is out of Wednesday's lineup against the A's.

After catching the last five games, he will take a seat in the day game against righty Andrew Triggs. Juan Graterol will get the start behind the dish and hit ninth.