MLB Player News

Perez will start at catcher and bat ninth Saturday against the Red Sox, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Perez will be behind the plate for the second day in a row following Mike Zunino's placement on the paternity list. Zunino is scheduled to rejoin Tampa Bay no later than Monday, so Perez's heightened workload will come to an end quickly.

Barnes is not starting Saturday against Milwaukee.

Barnes has just three hits in his last 10 games. Rocky Gale gets the start in his absence.

Perez is out of the lineup for the first game of Saturday's doubleheader with the Braves.

The Indians will have Kevin Plawecki catch the afternoon contest, while Perez presumably checks in behind the plate for the nightcap. Perez is slated to work in a battery with Trevor Bauer for that contest.

Grandal is not starting Saturday against the Dodgers.

Grandal has had a heavy workload for a catcher, starting 17 of 22 games. He's certainly earned the playing time, hitting .339 with five homers. Manny Pina gets the call in his place.

Jansen is out of the lineup for Saturday's game against the Athletics.

Luke Maile draws the start at catcher after Jansen was behind the plate for both of the Jays' previous two contests. After a disappointing start to the season offensively, Jansen has begun to show signs of a breakthrough lately, posting exactly one hit in each of his last four starts.

Vazquez is not starting Saturday against the Rays.

Vazquez sits after homering in each of the last two games. He and Sandy Leon, who starts Saturday, have each started twice since Leon's promotion.

Narvaez went 1-for-2 a solo home run and two walks in a win over the Angels on Friday.

Narvaez's career-best run at the plate shows no sign of abating for the moment, with Friday already marking his sixth multi-hit effort in his first 18 games. The veteran backstop has also homered in three of his past four games, leaving him just four round trippers short of the career-high nine he notched in 2018 as a member of the White Sox.

Gallagher will start at catcher and bat eighth Saturday against the Yankees.

Gallagher is picking up just his fifth start of the season, as manager Ned Yost has ridden top backstop Martin Maldonado heavily early on. Unless Maldonado falls victim to injury or is traded, Gallagher probably won't be in store for primary duties behind the plate at any point in 2019.

Pineda went 2-for-4 with two walks, two doubles, two runs scored and an RBI for Low-A Hagerstown on Friday.

The 19-year-old collected just one hit in his first 16 at-bats to begin the season but has started to find a rhythm at the plate, going 9-for-34 (.265) with a homer and five RBI over his last nine games. Pineda is a long way from the majors, but after a solid debut in the NY-Penn League last year, another strong campaign could have him moving up prospect lists quickly.

The Yankees are expected to reinstate Sanchez (calf) from the 10-day injured list ahead of Wednesday's game against the Angels, Lindsey Adler of The Athletic reports.

Sanchez will have a one-game rehab assignment Monday with Low-A Charleston before flying out to California on Tuesday to join the big club. Assuming that Sanchez receives positive feedback from team doctors when he has his strained left calf reevaluated, he should step back in as the team's everyday catcher. Expect the Yankees to send Kyle Higashioka back to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to clear a spot on the active roster for Sanchez.