MLB Player News

Perez went 1-for-3 with a solo homer, a walk and two runs in Saturday's 5-3 victory over the Mariners.

The veteran backstop went deep off reliever Vidal Nuno in the seventh to make it two games in a row with a homer. After a 1-for-19 start to July over his first five games, Perez has gone 5-for-10 over his first three contests versus Seattle, with two homers, four RBI, a pair of walks and five runs scored.

Casali (head) is back in the lineup for Saturday's game against Boston, Bill Chastain of MLB.com reports.

Casali is back in the lineup after suffering a bruise during Wednesday's game against the Angels. He ended up missing two games as Hank Conger got the starts at catcher the past two days, but will return behind the plate for Saturday's matchup.

McCann is out of the lineup for Saturday's game against the Blue Jays.

McCann will get a regular day off after starting the past two games behind the plate. In his place, Jarrod Saltalamacchia will be in the catcher's position with Matt Boyd on the mound for Detroit.

Perez went 1-for-3 with a solo home run, a walk and an additional run scored in Friday's loss to Seattle.

Kansas City ultimately ended up dropping the game, but Perez offered a glimmer of hope when he took Steve Cishek deep in the ninth inning to bring his club within one. Perez broke out of a slump with a 3-for-4 performance Thursday, and Friday's follow-up indicates that he's beginning to get back in a groove, although it remains to be seen if the All-Star break will affect this development.

Perez was optioned to Triple-A after Friday's game, the Los Angeles Times' Pedro Moura reports

He had started roughly half the Angels' games over the past two weeks, collecting eight hits in his last 25 at-bats. Geovany Soto was activated from the DL as a corresponding move. Soto should share time behind the dish with Jett Bandy going forward while Perez serves as organizational depth.

Casali (head) is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Red Sox, The Tampa Bay Times' Marc Topkin reports.

Casali appeared to have suffered a bruise after getting hit with a back swing in the head during Wednesday's matchup with the Angels. He is not in the lineup for Friday's game, but the Rays have been going back and forth with him and Hank Conger. Casali could be back in the lineup this weekend, but the Rays could choose to have him sit out until after the All-Star break as a precaution.

Perez finished 3-for-4 with a double, two RBI and a run scored in Thursday's 4-3 win over the Mariners.

Perez entered Thursday's contest having gone hitless in his last 23 at-bats, but he delivered his first three-hit effort in roughly three weeks, the last of which came in the form of a walk-off, two-run double in the bottom of the ninth. Perez's average still sits at a respectable .280 after ending his slide, and he will look to generate some further momentum before what should be an enjoyable All-Star break.

Perez (thumb) will move his rehab to Single-A Lake County next week, MLB.com reports.

Perez is working his way back from a thumb injury and is thus in the early stages of his rehab assignment. He's likely to return as Cleveland's backup catcher once he's able to get back to full health.

Gomes is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Yankees.

Gomes -- batting .103 over his last eight games -- will sit for a second game in a row in favor of Chris Gimenez who gets the start behind the dish. Gomes and Gimenez have been splitting time evenly at catcher recently, seeing 33 and 27 at-bats, respectively, since June 22.

Casali (head) appears to have suffered no more than a bruise after getting hit with a back swing in Wednesday's loss to the Angels, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The 27-year-old's medical evaluation seemed to go reasonably well, with manager Kevin Cash reporting that "[Casali] seems to be okay, he's a little beat up." Casali sat in favor of Hank Conger for Thursday's series finale against the Angels and remains day-to-day.