MLB Player News

Perez isn't in Saturday's lineup against the Cardinals.

Perez reached base four times and knocked in one run Friday, but he'll retreat to the bench for the second game of the series. Sandy Leon will start behind the dish.

D'Arnaud isn't in Saturday's lineup against the Phillies.

D'Arnaud reached base twice in Friday's contest, but he'll get a breather Saturday. Tyler Flowers will start behind the plate in his absence.

Grandal went 2-for-5 with a solo home run in Friday's 6-5 win over the Royals.

Grandal mashed a walkoff homer to give the White Sox the victory, which elevated them to a first-place tie with the Twins in the AL Central. If not for an incident in the top of the ninth inning, in which the catcher was involved, Grandal's bottom-of-the-ninth heroics would not have been required. Following a rundown, first baseman Jose Abreu threw home to nail Bubba Starling trying to score, but Grandal wasn't expecting the throw, believing the play was dead. He more than made up for his mental miscue with his fourth home run.

Perez went 3-for-5 with an RBI single in Friday's 14-2 win over the Cardinals.

All three of Perez's hits were singles, and the one he had in the sixth inning scored Carlos Santana. The 31-year-old Perez is slashing only .167/.318/.167 with two RBI and a run scored in 11 games. He will typically share catching duties with Sandy Leon.

Contreras went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Friday's loss to the Reds.

Cincinnati's Robert Stephenson threw a high fastball in the ninth -- not too high for Contreras, who put the ball out to center field on a line drive. Contreras' season numbers are not impressive, but he now has two home runs in his last three games and we're still at the point where a few big games can change the narrative quickly.

Caratini is catching and batting eighth in Friday's game against the Reds.

The Cubs will deploy Willson Contreras as the DH Friday, which opens up catching duties for Caratini. The 27-year-old has played regularly so far this season, posting a .270/.361/.349 slash line in 23 games to date. He's still looking for his first home run after popping 11 in 95 games last year.

Contreras is the designated hitter and batting fifth in Friday's game against the Cubs.

Contreras will get a night off behind the plate, with Victor Caratini handling catching duties. After a strong summer camp, Contreras has yet to really get going for the Cubs, as he's slashing just .207/.321/.370 with three home runs and 10 RBI in 29 games so far.

Gomes is not in the lineup Friday at Boston.

Gomes and Kurt Suzuki have alternated starts over the past week, and that trend continues Friday after Gomes went 2-for-4 with a strikeout during Wednesday's contest.

Perez (eye) visited an eye specialist this week and remains without an official timeline for his return, Lynn Worthy of The Kansas City Star reports.

The 30-year-old was diagnosed with central serious chorioretinopathy (fluid accumulation under the retina) after landing on the injured list Aug. 18, but there's been no indication of when he may be able to rejoin the team. Perez is eligible to be activated off the injured list Friday, but he should be considered out indefinitely until the team indicates otherwise. Cam Gallagher and Meibrys Viloria should continue to split catching duties during his absence.

Narvaez went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in a 6-1 loss to the Reds during the first game of Thursday's doubleheader.

His sixth-inning shot off Nate Jones ruined a combined shutout bid by the Cincy staff. Narvaez only has two homers on the season to go along with a tepid .175 batting average, but they've both come in the last three games, and he's gone 5-for-14 over his last four with two doubles in addition to the two blasts.