MLB Player News

Perez is not in Sunday's lineup against the Royals.

He is 1-for-6 with four strikeouts, one walk and one run through two games. Sandy Leon will start behind the dish and hit eighth.

McGuire went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Saturday's loss to Tampa Bay.

McGuire produced the only run of the game for Toronto with a solo shot to right field in the seventh inning. He looks to be in a timeshare with Danny Jansen to begin the season, though either player could seize a full-time role with a strong start to the campaign.

McCann went 3-for-4 with a solo home run, two runs scored and two RBI in Saturday's 10-3 win over the Twins.

The 30-year-old started behind the plate Saturday with Yasmani Grandal receiving the day off, and he took advantage of the opportunity to help break the game open in the sixth and seventh innings. Grandal should rejoin the starting nine Sunday as McCann operates as the White Sox's secondary backstop this season.

Murphy is not in the lineup Saturday against the Angels.

Murphy started behind the plate in the opener but will sit in favor of Austin Allen this time around. The exact playing-time split between the pair remains to be seen, though there hasn't been any indication that Murphy will be anything less than a true starter.

Jansen isn't in the lineup Saturday against the Rays, Hazel Mae of Sportsnet reports.

Jansen was able to score a run Friday, but he'll play a bench role in Saturday's contest. In his absence, Reese McGuire will start behind the plate, batting eighth.

Vazquez isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Orioles.

Although Vazquez had a dominant stat line in the team's Opening Day win Friday, manager Ron Roenicke elected to exclude him from the starting lineup for Saturday's day game to prevent any injuries during the shortened season. Kevin Plawecki will start behind the dish Saturday, batting eighth.

Grandal is not in the lineup Saturday against the Twins.

Grandal will get a day off Saturday in a day game following Friday's night game, likely to preserve his long-term health. James McCann will start at catcher, batting eighth.

Vazquez went 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a run scored in Friday's 13-2 win over the Orioles.

Vazquez slotted in at sixth in the batting order, which was his primary slot in 2019, when he posted career highs in home runs (23) and OPS (.798). While it looks like he's trending up as a hitter, Vazquez has been up and down since becoming Boston's primary catcher.

Maldonado went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored in Friday's 8-2 win over Seattle.

Maldonado helped pick up the lineup that didn't get much output from its top stars -- George Springer, Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman and Carlos Correa went a combined 3-for-17. As a career .219, Maldonado is not expected to carry much of the offense on this stacked roster.

Perez went 1-for-4 with three strikeouts during Friday's 2-0 loss against the Indians.

Perez landed on the IL after testing positive for COVID-19 earlier this month, but he recovered in time to start behind the plate in the season debut. In fact, he was only one of four Royals to record a hit in a game where the entire offense struggled. Perez hit for .235 with 27 homers and 80 RBI last season, and he has cleared the 20-homer plateau in each of the past four campaigns.