MLB Player News

Higashioka will start at catcher and bat eighth Thursday against the Mariners.

For the second straight day, Higashioka will be starting at catcher in place of Gary Sanchez, who was placed on the COVID-19 injured list Thursday after testing positive for the coronavirus. Assuming Sanchez's positive result is confirmed by a lab-based test, he'll be sidelined for at least 10 days, giving Higashioka a week-and-a-half-long run as the Yankees' No. 1 catcher. Higashioka, who tested positive for the virus himself coming out of the All-Star break, is batting .196 with six home runs and 12 RBI across 114 plate appearances on the season.

Manager Aaron Boone said the Yankees will place Sanchez on the COVID-19 injured list Thursday after he tested positive for the coronavirus via rapid test, Brendan Kuty of The Newark Star-Ledger reports.

Boone provided the news of Sanchez's positive test just minutes after he was excluded from the Yankees' lineup released prior to Thursday's game against the Mariners. According to Kuty, Sanchez felt under the weather Wednesday and early Thursday before the positive test result emerged. The Yankees plan to confirm the result with a lab-based test, and if that also returns positive, Sanchez would have to remain on the IL for at least 10 days. The Yankees called up Rob Brantly from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to replace Sanchez on the active roster and provide catching depth behind Kyle Higashioka.

Sanchez is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Mariners.

Sanchez's absence from the lineup is conspicuous, given that he received the day off in Wednesday's 10-3 win over the Orioles. Manager Aaron Boone still felt comfortable enough using Sanchez off the bench, with the 28-year-old going 1-for-1 with a walk and two runs. Unless the Yankees say otherwise, fantasy managers can assume Sanchez is healthy and is just getting some extra maintenance.

Raleigh is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Yankees.

After a string of four consecutive starts behind the dish, Raleigh will remain on the bench for a second straight day while Tom Murphy receives another turn behind the dish. Though Murphy's .654 OPS is more than 200 points below his 2020 mark, he's still threatening Raleigh's status as the Mariners' No. 1 backstop. Since his July 11 call-up from Triple-A Tacoma, Raleigh has slashed .152/.200/.261 while striking out in 32 percent of his plate appearances.

Vazquez is not starting Thursday's series finale in Detroit, Christopher Smith of The Springfield Republican reports.

The 30-year-old has hit well in his last six games, going 9-for-24 with only two strikeouts. That being said, only one of Vazquez's hits in that span went for extra bases, and he still hasn't hit a home run since June 27. Kevin Plawecki is catching and batting sixth Thursday.

Perez went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in Wednesday's 9-1 win over the White Sox.

The backstop hit the second of three long balls against Chicago starter Lucas Giolito to give Kansas City a 5-0 lead in the third inning. The long ball was his 27th of the campaign, tying his career-high mark set in both 2017 and 2018. Perez has hit six homers in his past 11 games.

Maldonado is not starting Wednesday's game against the Dodgers, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Maldonado has enjoyed a solid stretch offensively, hitting .290 with a pair of home runs, three doubles and four RBI in his last 10 games. Jason Castro will start at catcher and bat eighth Wednesday.

McGuire will start at catcher and bat ninth Wednesday against Cleveland.

He'll find himself in the lineup for the third time in four games, with each of those starts coming against right-handed pitching. For the time being, McGuire appears to have the edge over Alejandro Kirk on Toronto's No. 1 catcher role.

Perez was scratched from Wednesday's lineup against the Blue Jays with back spasms, Joe Noga of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Austin Hedges enters the lineup to catch in lieu of Perez, who should be considered day-to-day until further updates from the team become available.

Stassi is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Rangers.

Stassi started the past three games and will receive a breather while in the midst of an eight-game hit streak. He's gone 12-for-30 with three homers, a double, a triple, seven RBI and five runs during that stretch. Kurt Suzuki will work behind the plate in his place.