MLB Player News

Vazquez was recalled from his Triple-A rehab assignment Friday, Tim Britton of the Providence Journal reports.

The Red Sox optioned Blake Swihart to Triple-A as a corresponding move, making it clear that they prefer Vazquez behind the plate moving forward. The 25-year-old was tearing the cover of the ball in Triple-A to start the year, hitting .462/650/.538 with two RBI and one stolen base through five games and will now join the Red Sox where he will likely split time with Ryan Hanigan.

Manager Ned Yost said that Perez will likely sit out of Saturday's game against the A's, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports.

Perez is one of the most durable catchers in the major leagues, but it appears that Yost wants to get him a bit of rest in the early going so that the backstop is a bit fresher as the season rolls along. If this report holds true, Drew Butera will likely get the start behind the plate Saturday.

Vazquez (elbow) is set to be activated for Friday's game against the Blue Jays, the Boston Herald's Evan Drellich reports.

Blake Swihart gets the edge over Vazquez as a hitter, but Swihart's defense so far this year has been well below average, sailing a throw to second base and failing to catch fairly routine foul pop-ups. Vazquez will not be the magic elixir that fixes all the issues with Boston's rotation, but he will definitely help matters, as he is one of the best defensive catchers in the game. It is unclear if Swihart or Ryan Hanigan will be the roster casualty, but odds are the Red Sox will want Swihart getting regular at-bats, which probably won't happen with Vazquez on the active roster.

Gomes is out of the lineup Thursday against the Rays.

Gomes has started every game for the Tribe this season, as his only other scheduled day off came on a day where the game was rained out. He'll take a seat Thursday afternoon following a night game, giving way to Roberto Perez behind the plate.

Casali is out of the lineup Thursday against the Indians, Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune reports.

Casali continues to switch off with Hank Conger on a game-by-game basis, as it will be Conger tasked with catching Chris Archer on Thursday.

Perez went 1-for-3 with a two-run homer in the eighth inning of Wednesday's 4-2 win against the Astros.

His first homer of the year was a huge one, as it snapped a 2-2 tie against ace reliever Ken Giles. Perez has started the year a little slow, but should continue rounding into form as one of the top few backstops in fantasy.

Casali doubled in a run during Wednesday's 4-1 loss to the Indians.

The 27-year-old is battling Hank Conger for playing time, and has fared better so far this season. Wednesday's performance could help him keep his slight lead as Tampa's starting catcher. Casali showed great power last season, blasting 10 home runs in just 38 games. Fantasy owners are still waiting for him to break out his first dinger of this season.

Casali is back in the lineup Wednesday, Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune reports.

Casali ceded the start to Hank Conger on Tuesday, but he'll reclaim the starting spot Wednesday after Conger went hitless once again. Casali appears to be getting a small edge in the playing time department over his switch-hitting counterpart, although Casali will have to continue hitting better than Conger in order to keep it that way.

Perez will start behind the plate and bat eighth Wednesday against the A's, Pedro Moura of the LA Times reports.

After getting Tuesday night off, Perez will draw back into the lineup on Wednesday afternoon. Perez is off to a rocky start at the plate, going just 3-for-17 thus far after a promising rookie season. He'll replace Geovany Soto behind the plate.

Vazquez is 6-for-13 with seven walks and just two strikeouts in five games played for Triple-A Pawtucket.

The catcher coming off Tommy John elbow surgery has caught four of those games, including 18 innings the past two nights. The starting pitchers' collective ERA when Vazquez has been behind the plate is 2.04, a number that stands in stark contrast to Boston's starters, a group that is last in MLB at 7.32 through seven games. If that sort of production continues at the major league level and Vazquez shows no limitations at Pawtucket, it's a good bet he'll be activated off the disabled list when his rehabilitation stint is up.