MLB Player News

Garver is not in the lineup Sunday against the Royals, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Garver is in a bit of a slump at the plate, collecting just three hits in his last 18 at-bats. He'll get another day off Sunday as a result, allowing Willians Astudillo to take a turn behind the dish Sunday.

Caratini went 1-for-4 with a grand slam Saturday in the Cubs' 6-5 loss to the Nationals in the second game of a doubleheader.

After failing to leave the yard over his first 54 appearances of the season, Caratini has now gone deep twice over his last four starts. In addition to supplying most of Chicago's offense in the second half of the twin bill, Caratini added two base hits off the bench in the team's 10-3 loss in the first game.

Perez went 2-for-4 with a walk, a homer, a double, four RBI and two runs scored in Saturday's win over the Blue Jays.

Perez did all of his damage in a seven-run fifth inning, leading off with a homer before knocking a three-run double later in the frame. The big day at the plate accounted for one third of his RBI on the season. He's hitting just .157/.254/.252 with two homers over 55 games.

Maldonado went 2-for-3 with a walk and a solo homer in Saturday's win over the Red Sox.

Maldonado helped chase starter Eduardo Rodriguez in the fourth inning with a solo shot that put the Astros up 4-1. The homer was his ninth of the season after he hit a career-high 14 long balls across 138 games in 2017. Maldonado should continue to see a few starts per week backing up Brian McCann.

Contreras is not in the lineup for Game 2 of Saturday's doubleheader against the Nationals.

Contreras will retreat to the bench for Game 2 of Saturday's twin bill after going 1-for-3 with an RBI in the first contest. In his place, Victor Caratini will be behind the dish.

Perez (hamstring) expects to be able to return before the end of the season, Steve Carney of Sports Radio 620 WDAE reports.

Perez has been out since late August with a left hamstring strain. In his absence, Nick Ciuffo has claimed the Rays' starting catcher role. A clear return date for Perez has not yet been established, but according to J. Scott Butherus of MLB.com, the rookie still feels some pain when he squats in a catching position, lending further credence that he's still a few days away from activation.

Sanchez is out of the lineup for Saturday's game against the Mariners, Greg Johns of MLB.com reports.

Sanchez will head to the bench after starting the previous six games since coming off the disabled list last Saturday, and going 3-for-22 with a home run in 25 plate appearances over that span. Austin Romine will start behind the plate and bat eighth for the Yankees.

Grandal is not in the lineup Saturday against the Rockies.

Grandal has just one hit in his last eight games. Austin Barnes will start behind the plate in his place.

Narvaez is not in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Angels.

Narvaez heads to the bench Saturday and has started only one of the last four games. Kevan Smith will start behind the plate and Welington Castillo will be the designated hitter, as the White Sox continue to heavily rotate their catchers since Castillo returned from the disabled list last weekend.

Plawecki is not starting Saturday against the Phillies.

Plawecki took a pitch off his ribs in Wednesday's game and was forced to exit, but he was able to start Friday. There's no indication that Saturday's day off is anything other than a routine one. Tomas Nido will get the start behind the plate.