MLB Player News

Perez is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the White Sox.

Geovany Soto will spell Perez behind the plate for Wednesday. Perez has gotten off to a slow start this season, batting .194 with one RBI and one extra-base hit through his first nine games. Soto's presence behind the plate Wednesday may have more to do with the early afternoon start time of the game than Perez's slow offensive start, however. Perez figures to draw back into the lineup for Thursday's series finale.

Perez homered, his second, as part of a 2-for-4 game with five RBI in Tuesday's win over Detroit.

Perez has a hit in five of his past six games and has raised his batting line from .208/.240/.375 to .256/.283/.512 in that span. Perez has never been an on-base machine (.305 OBP lifetime) and never will be, but his power stroke looks like it has officially shown up for 2016.

Nicholas is in the lineup and batting ninth for Tuesday's game against the Astros.

This will be his second straight start after Monday's game was postponed. The 27-year-old is 3-for-11 with one double and three runs scored through three games with the Rangers.

Vazquez is not in the lineup Tuesday against the Rays.

Vazquez started three of the first four games since being recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket -- hitting .300 in that span -- so he appears to still be the team's preferred option behind the plate. He'll get a day off though Tuesday, as Ryan Hanigan will handle the catching duties and bat eighth.

Vazquez is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Blue Jays, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Since being recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket prior to the weekend, Vazquez looks to have positioned himself atop the Red Sox's depth chart at catcher. He's started the previous two games while going 3-for-7 at the dish, and will only be out of the lineup Sunday for maintenance purposes with the Red Sox playing a day game. Ryan Hanigan will spell Vazquez in the series finale.

Casali will get the start at catcher and bat seventh in the order Sunday against the White Sox, Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune reports.

On at least a temporary basis, Casali seems to have usurped Hank Conger for regular duties behind the plate, as this marks his third straight start. Casali is slashing just .176/.222/.235 on the season and bats in the bottom third of the Rays' order, so he doesn't seem to have a particularly high ceiling for meaningful fantasy production.

Lavisky was transferred to the 7-day DL on Saturday with a right ankle sprain.

The 25-year-old is an organizational soldier at catcher and should not be on the radar of fantasy owners in most formats.

Perez is out of the lineup Saturday against the Athletics.

Manager Ned Yost alluded to the possibility of giving Perez an off day earlier in the week, so it's not entirely surprising that the All-Star catcher is out of the lineup Saturday. Drew Butera will take his place behind the plate Saturday, but Perez figures to draw back in Sunday following his off day.

Vazquez went 2-for-4 with two runs scored in Friday night's 5-3 win over the Blue Jays.

Vazquez made an immediate impact for Boston, both as a hitter and as a catcher. Against a powerful Toronto lineup, he guided Rick Porcello through 6.1 innings, including a stretch in which the right-hander retired 13 straight. Vazquez also showed off his arm, picking off Troy Tulowitzki at first base in the second inning when the Blue Jays nicked Porcello for a run after Boston had taken an early lead. His bat won't consistently impact games as it did Friday, but all those defensive skills -- controlling the running game, blocking pitches, game calling -- will improve Boston's starters. That's why Boston optioned Blake Swihart, a much better hitter than Vazquez, to Triple-A Pawtucket.

Vazquez will catch and bat eighth Friday against the Blue Jays, Tim Britton of the Providence Journal reports.

After being activated by the Red Sox, Vazquez will slot in immediately to catch for starter Rick Porcello, with whom he worked well during spring training. Vazquez and Ryan Hanigan figure to split time behind the plate fairly evenly with Blake Swihart optioned down to Triple-A Pawtucket.