MLB Player News

Perez was removed from Sunday's game against the Rays in the second inning with left hamstring discomfort, Joel Goldberg of Bally Sports Kansas City reports.

Perez went from first to home on an MJ Melendez double in the first inning, and it would seem he injured himself in the process. The veteran backstop will undergo testing to determine the full extent of the injury. Perez has been with Kansas City his entire career and remains under contract for two more years. Royals GM J.J. Picollo told Anne Rogers of MLB.com last month that he has "no intention" of trading Perez at this year's deadline.

Perez was removed from Sunday's game against the Rays in the second inning, Joel Goldberg of Bally Sports Kansas City reports.

Perez singled in the first inning and went from first to home on an MJ Melendez double. It's unclear if he injured himself on the play, but Perez was lifted for a pinch hitter the next inning. The game was delayed by an hour due to rain in Kansas City.

Rogers is starting at catcher and batting eighth in Sunday's game against the Mariners.

Rogers will end up starting the bookends of the weekend series, with Eric Haase having picked up the Saturday start behind the plate. If this is any indication, Rogers looks like he still has a slight edge over Haase to begin the post-break part of the schedule, though Haase can also play some in the outfield.

Perez is slated to have his fractured left thumb evaluated by a doctor at some point this coming week, the team's official site reports.

Perez has been on the shelf since July 4 with the fracture, and it was subsequently determined he would not require surgery. If the veteran's progress is deemed to be sufficient during his evaluation, he could be cleared to begin strengthening activities as the next step in his recovery.

Naylor isn't in the Guardians' lineup Sunday versus Texas, Andre Knott of Bally Sports Ohio reports.

Naylor will take a seat Sunday versus left-hander Martin Perez, allowing David Fry to start behind the dish and bat sixth.

Bethancourt isn't in the Rays' lineup Sunday against the Royals, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Bethancourt has essentially alternated starts with Francisco Mejia all season, and Sunday will bring up Mejia's turn behind the plate. Bethancourt is slashing just .167/.211/.167 across 19 plate appearances since the beginning of July.

Mejia went 2-for-5 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored across both games of Saturday's doubleheader against the Royals.

Mejia drew the start in the first game of the doubleheader and blasted his fourth homer of the season -- three of which have come in his last 16 games. However, he's hit only .200 in that span and has started only five of the Rays' last 15 games while losing out on playing time to Christian Bethancourt.

Perez went 5-for-8 with a double over both games of Saturday's doubleheader versus Tampa Bay.

Perez was a perfect 4-for-4 in Game 1, notching his first four-hit effort of the campaign. It was a promising start to the second half after the veteran catcher sputtered to a 4-for-43 mark and failed to hit a home run over his final 12 games before the All-Star break. Perez's double in the matinee of the twin bill was his first extra-base hit of any kind since he slugged a long ball June 23 against the Rays.

Diaz went 2-for-4 with a walk, an RBI and two runs scored Saturday against the Angels.

Diaz was out of the lineup for Houston's first game after the All-Star break, but he returned to hit seventh and serve as the designated hitter Saturday. He entered the game in a short-term slump, having hit just .216 across his previous 10 contests and 37 at-bats. Diaz has shown some impressive power across 193 plate appearances this season by maintaining a .224 ISO. However, he boasts just a 2.6 percent walk rate, limiting him to a .285 on-base percentage. It remains to be seen whether that will be enough to keep him in the lineup regularly as the catcher once Yordan Alvarez (oblique) is able to return.

O'Hoppe (shoulder) hit off a tee Saturday, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

O'Hoppe began taking dry swings July 4 and has now taken another step forward. A return before the end of August is considered a best-case scenario for the rookie catcher, although it's possible the Angels will hold him out for the rest of the season if they're not in playoff contention. O'Hoppe is coming back from surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left (non-throwing) shoulder.