MLB Player News

Sanchez is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rangers.

Sanchez will sit in favor of Sandy Leon, with the two catchers having now alternated starts over the past 12 games. With Sanchez regarded as the inferior defender, he'll likely need to show improvement at the dish to work his way out of the timeshare. Since the All-Star break, Sanchez is slashing an unremarkable .224/.333/.306 in 16 games.

Haase is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Angels.

Haase will head to the bench after he went 2-for-10 with a double, a walk, an RBI and a run while starting each of the last three games, two at catcher and one at designated hitter. Tucker Barnhart will step in behind the plate Sunday, while Kerry Carpenter handles DH duties in the series finale.

Diaz (wrist) was activated from the 10-day injured list Sunday.

Diaz had been sidelined since Aug. 11 with a left wrist sprain and will return without embarking on a rehab assignment. He's expected to split time with Brian Serven behind the plate for the remainder of the season, though Diaz will be out of the lineup for Sunday's series finale with the Giants, per Patrick Lyons of TheDNVR.com. Dom Nunez was optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque in the corresponding move.

Jansen is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Yankees, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.

The Blue Jays won't have the designated-hitter spot available for Alejandro Kirk on Sunday while outfielder Teoscar Hernandez (foot) is eased back into action in a non-defensive role, so Kirk will pick up a start behind the plate while Jansen rests. Jansen went 0-for-6 with a walk, an RBI and a run between starts in the previous two contests.

McCann is not in Sunday's lineup against the Phillies, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports.

McCann was also out of the lineup Friday prior to splitting the team's doubleheader with Michael Perez on Saturday. Perez will take over behind the dish again Sunday while hitting ninth.

Contreras is not starting Sunday against the Astros, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

Contreras is out of the lineup for the third time in the last four games. On Sunday, Ronald Acuna will start at designated hitter with Robbie Grossman taking over in right field. Contreras isn't losing at-bats due to his level of play, as he has maintained a .270 average with three homers, six RBI and eight runs scored across 16 games in August.

Hedges (ankle) is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the White Sox.

Though Hedges isn't expected to land on the 10-day injured list after spraining his right ankle Friday, he'll be confined to the bench for the second straight game nonetheless. Luke Maile will receive another turn behind the plate for the series finale, but the Guardians are seemingly hopeful that Hedges will be ready to go following Monday's team off day.

The White Sox selected Perez's contract from Triple-A Charlotte on Sunday.

Perez will head to the big leagues for the first time in his career after a nine-year stay in the minors. The 25-year-old backstop is expected to settle in as the No. 2 option behind Seby Zavala, who will ascend to the No. 1 role with Yasmani Grandal (knee) landing on the injured list in a corresponding move. Perez produced a .257/.319/.446 slash line to go with 17 home runs and two stolen bases across 389 plate appearances for Charlotte in 2022.

The White Sox placed Grandal on the 10-day injured list Sunday with a left knee strain.

Grandal sustained the injury while attempting to avoid a tag at home plate in Saturday's 2-0 win. A timeline for Grandal's return isn't yet known, as he's scheduled to undergo an MRI on Sunday as the team looks to determine the extent of the damage to his knee, per Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. In any case, the White Sox's decision to immediately place him on the IL suggests the veteran backstop is in line to miss more than the minimum 10 days. Seby Zavala is expected to take over as the White Sox's top catcher in Grandal's stead, while Carlos Perez was called up from Triple-A Charlotte to provide depth behind Zavala.

Zavala will start at catcher and bat ninth in Sunday's game against the Guardians, James Fegan of The Athletic reports.

Yasmani Grandal isn't included on Chicago's lineup card for the series finale and is likely to land on the injured list after suffering a left knee injury during a play at the plate in Saturday's 2-0 win, so Zavala should have a clear path to the No. 1 role at catcher for the foreseeable future. Zavala had already begun to encroach on the struggling Grandal's playing time after producing a solid .721 OPS through his first 143 plate appearances on the season. Zavala looks worthy of a pickup in all leagues that start two catchers.