MLB Player News

Perez (knee) is in Sunday's lineup against Cleveland, Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star reports.

Perez wasn't expected to play Sunday, so his presence in the lineup comes as a bit of a surprise. However, he won't be starting behind the dish. Instead, he'll serve as the Royals' designated hitter and hit cleanup.

Vazquez is a candidate to be the backup catcher, ahead of Ryan Hanigan and Bryan Holaday, for the Red Sox in their postseason series against the Indians, Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe reports.

A couple of factors have Boston manager John Farrell considering Vazquez, who seemingly fell out of favor during the regular season when his offense didn't match his defense. The catcher has thrown out 45.1 percent of would-be base-stealers during his career, a skill that might be useful against a Cleveland team that leads the American League with 134 steals. A second factor is his work with Eduardo Rodriguez, presumed to be the team's third or fourth starter in the playoffs. In the left-hander's last two starts, which featured Vazquez as his battery mate, Rodriguez has struck out 22 batters in 10.1 innings.

Perez (multiple injuries) is not expected to play Sunday, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports.

He has not started a game since the Royals were eliminated from postseason contention Wednesday, and it sounds like Perez is indeed done catching for the year. Manager Ned Yost revealed Saturday that Perez has a sore knee and a hamstring strain, so he will get a head start on his offseason and rest his legs for a few months before pitchers and catchers report.

Sanchez is not in Saturday's lineup against the Orioles.

Perhaps no player in recent memory has gotten off to as hot a start to a career as Sanchez, but he's now fallen into a slump to close out the season. He is hitting .094/.189/.219 with one home run and 12 strikeouts over his last 37 plate appearances. Austin Romine will start behind the dish and hit seventh.

Perez is out of the lineup Saturday against the Indians, MLB.com's Jeffrey Flanagan reports.

He will sit for the third game in a row, as the Royals seem to be giving their franchise catcher a chance to rest his aches and pains as the team plays out the string. Drew Butera will start at catcher and hit ninth.

Gomes (wrist) was activated from the disabled list Friday.

It appeared that Gomes would almost certainly miss the rest of the season after fracturing his wrist a couple weeks ago, but he will be available for the final few games of the regular season, and the Indians will give him a chance to show if he is healthy enough to be included on the team's postseason roster.

Gomes (wrist) will be activated from the disabled list Friday night, MLB.com's Jordan Bastian reports.

Gomes will not start Friday, but he will be available for the first time since breaking his wrist July 17.

Perez is not in the lineup Friday for the second straight day, according to Joel Goldberg of FOX Sports Kansas City.

Perez has hit just .199 since the All-Star break and the Royals have been eliminated from playoff contention, so manager Ned Yost decided to give his regular catcher two days off in a row. Drew Butera will get another start behind the plate Friday night.

Leon is out of Thursday's lineup against the Yankees, Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald reports.

Although he's notched a .312/.370/.482 line for the season, Leon's production at the plate has been rather forgettable as of late. Over the last 14 games, he's gone just 3-for-38 (.067) with 13 strikeouts. Ryan Hanigan will start at catcher for Boston when they face CC Sabathia on Thursday.

Perez is not in the lineup for Thursday's matchup against the Twins.

Perez has managed to go just 2-for-17 over the last four games, bringing his batting average down to .245 for the season. Drew Butera will start behind the dish while Perez gets the night off.