MLB Player News

Grandal is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Tigers.

Grandal started the past five games and will take a seat Sunday after going 5-for-16 with a home run, two RBI, two runs and four walks during that stretch. Seby Zavala will work behind the plate and bat eighth in the series finale versus Detroit.

Heim went 3-for-5 with two doubles, an RBI and a run scored in a 7-4 win over the Mariners on Saturday.

Heim had a productive night at the plate, rapping out a couple of doubles to give him 18 on the season. Heim's performance could be a sign that he is about to come out of a terrible August slump which had seen him slash .074/.242/.185 over 27 at-bats this month entering Saturday's game. The 27-year-old catcher is still in the midst of a productive season and has a 2.7 WAR, according to Baseball-Reference.

Vazquez will sit Saturday against Oakland, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Vazquez doesn't appear to have claimed the starting catcher job just yet after moving to Houston at the deadline, as he's now been on the bench for three of the last four games. Martin Maldonado will make another start behind the plate Saturday.

Plawecki will be on the bench Saturday against the Yankees, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Plawecki has emerged as Boston's primary catcher after the team sent Christian Vazquez to Houston at the trade deadline, though he's not far above Saturday's starter Reese McGuire on the depth chart. He may not even be ahead at all, as both backstops have started five times in the last 10 games.

Hedges isn't starting Saturday against the Blue Jays.

Hedges went 0-for-3 with a run and a walk during Friday's series opener but will get a breather Saturday. Luke Maile is starting behind the dish and batting eighth.

Perez went 1-for-4 with a two-RBI home run in an 8-3 loss to the Dodgers on Friday.

After a miserable start to the season which was then exacerbated by injury, Perez has started showing signs of life. The power-hitting catcher has hit six homers since returning from thumb surgery on July 29. Perez is now slugging .540 in August and has 17 homers on the season. He has hit over 20 home runs in every full season of play dating back to 2015 and is on pace to extend the streak again this season if he can avoid re-aggravating his thumb.

Rutschman went 1-for-3 with a solo home run, a sacrifice fly and a walk in Friday's 10-3 win over the Rays.

Rutschman got the scoring started in the first inning with his solo shot, which was his first long ball since July 16. He'd gone seven games without an extra-base hit entering Friday, but he's still been solid by going 10-for-32 (.313) with a 13:4 BB:K through 10 games in August. The catcher is slashing .251/.365/.439 with six homers, 21 RBI, 42 runs scored, two stolen bases, 22 doubles and a triple through 65 contests overall.

Sanchez will sit Friday against the Angels, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.

Sanchez has a .794 OPS with one homer in six games so far this August. Sandy Leon will get the start behind the plate in his absence.

Jansen isn't starting Friday against the Guardians.

Jansen is out of the lineup for a second consecutive game after he went 2-for-10 with an RBI, two walks and two strikeouts over his last four matchups. Alejandro Kirk will start behind the plate and bat third.

Moreno hasn't played at Triple-A Buffalo since Aug. 5 due to right thumb soreness, Mitch Bannon of SI.com reports.

Although Moreno hasn't been able to participate in games over the last week, he's been cleared to resume a hitting progression. The 22-year-old hasn't been placed on the injured list, so he should be considered day-to-day for now.