MLB Player News

Maile (neck) is back in the lineup Friday against the Rays.

Maile had been battling neck stiffness and hadn't played in a week. He's just 2-for-10 in limited action at the plate this season.

Sanchez (calf) hopes to be able to return after the minimum 10-day stay on the injured list, Meredith Marakovits of YES Network reports.

Sanchez is eligible to return as soon as April 21. An MRI taken Thursday revealed a minor calf strain, which surprised the catcher as he'd evidently felt fine. He'll be shut down for five days before resuming baseball activities.

Sanchez was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left calf strain Friday.

Sanchez wasn't in the lineup Wednesday due to the injury, but he did appear off the bench and said that he wasn't particularly worried about the issue. The Yankees evidently decided the problem was bad enough to keep Sanchez out for at least a brief stretch, so he'll join the team's lengthy injured list. The assignment is backdated to Thursday, so he could return as soon as April 21, though the team hasn't released a specific timeline. Kyle Higashioka was called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in a corresponding move and will back up Austin Romine until Sanchez returns.

Davis was called up from Triple-A Iowa on Friday, Patrick Mooney of The Athletic reports.

Victor Caratini will undergo surgery on his fractured left hand and be out 4-to-6 weeks, prompting Davis to be recalled. The 29-year-old has played in 13 games with the Cubs over the last two seasons, and is now set to serve as the team's No. 2 catcher behind Willson Contreras.

Caratini will undergo surgery on his fractured left hamate bone Monday, Bruce Levine of 670TheScore.com reports.

Caratini suffered the injury in his final at-bat Thursday against the Pirates. He's expected to be out 4-to-6 weeks. He'll head to the injured list, with Taylor Davis called up from Triple-A Iowa to back up Willson Contreras.

Caratini is scheduled for further tests Friday morning after injuring his left hand in his final at-bat Thursday against the Pirates, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports. He went 2-for-3 with two doubles and an RBI prior to departing.

Caratini might have suffered a fracture to his hamate bone, per Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune, although the Cubs won't know the severity of the injury until his CT scan Friday morning. He'd be looking at a 3-to-4-week recovery period if the bone is indeed fractured, according to Gonzales. The injury certainly puts a damper on a solid day at the plate for the backup catcher, as he turned in a multi-hit performance and drove in his fifth run of the season in a 2-0 victory for the Cubs.

Higashioka was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Thursday, Conor Foley of The Times-Tribune reports.

The club has yet to announce a corresponding move, although Gary Sanchez, who's been nursing some leg tightness of late, could be headed to the injured list as a result. Higashioka has gone 3-for-16 with a double and two RBI in four games this season with the RailRiders.

Mejia is out of the lineup against the Diamondbacks on Thursday.

Mejia continues to share work with Austin Hedges, as he'll head to the bench after starting two straight games. Neither backstop is hitting particularly well to start the season, and they should be expected to continue to split duty unless one starts to separate from the other with some more consistent offensive output.

Hedges is catching and hitting eighth for San Diego's game against the Diamondbacks on Thursday.

Hedges will slide back into the lineup after sitting two out of the last three games. He's hitting .200 over 25 at-bats and is 1-for-17 over his five starts in the month of April, so he'll look to get on track at the plate in this contest against Diamondbacks starter Zack Godley.

Kelly is not in the lineup Thursday against the Padres.

Caleb Joseph will get his first start of the year behind the plate and will hit eighth in Kelly's place. Alex Avila (quadriceps) was placed on the 10-day injury list Sunday, leaving the catcher spot open to Kelly, Joseph and John Ryan Murphy. Kelly has started four out of the 12 games this year and should continue to see limited playing time as long as Arizona chooses to carry three backstops.