MLB Player News

Leon is out of Tuesday's lineup against the Orioles, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

He is hitting just .118 (4-for-34) over his last 10 games, but has been Boston's unquestioned No. 1 catcher over that stretch, sitting just twice since July 8. Blake Swihart will start behind the dish, hitting ninth and catching Drew Pomeranz in a MLB game for the first time in his career.

Contreras is not in the lineup Tuesday against the Diamondbacks.

Contreras will sit for the third time in seven games since the All-Star break. Victor Caratini will get the nod behind the plate in his place.

Sanchez was placed on the disabled list Tuesday after an MRI confirmed that he reinjured his groin, Buster Olney of ESPN reports.

This makes sense, given that Sanchez dogged a couple plays in Monday's game in a manner that hinted at him being limited with a lower-body injury. It is unclear how much time he will miss, but he was sidelined for 20 games with his last groin injury (a Grade 1 strain). Kyle Higashioka will likely be recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to serve as the backup catcher while Tuesday's starter, Austin Romine, serves as the go-to backstop.

Sanchez is out of Tuesday's lineup against the Rays, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

He had two well-publicized lack-of-hustle plays in Monday's game, so in that sense it's not surprising to see him out of the lineup. However, there was also a report from Jon Heyman of FancredSports.com that Sanchez could have reinjured his groin, hence the lack of effort. More news should trickle out if he did indeed reinjure himself. Austin Romine will start behind the dish and hit ninth.

Barnhart is not in the lineup Tuesday against the Cardinals.

Barnhart will sit in favor of Curt Casali for the second time in four games. Casali's .298/.377/.489 line easily outpaces Barnhart's .249/.329/.350, though he's done it in a small sample of just 54 plate appearances. Barnhart has the clear edge in terms of defense behind the plate.

Sanchez may have reinjured his groin in Monday night's loss to the Rays, Jon Heyman of FancredSports.com reports.

Sanchez certainly looked slow late in the game, when he failed to run out a groundball. The incident appeared at first to be just a lack of hustle, though an injury would provide a believable alternative explanation. The catcher just returned from the disabled list after missing nearly a month with a groin strain. If he is indeed injured again and unable to run out grounders, another trip to the DL is a distinct possibility. The situation should become clearer in the next few days.

Grandal batted cleanup and went 1-for-4 with his 14th home run of the season in Monday's 7-6 win over the Phillies.

Grandal has experienced peaks and valleys offensively this season, but the overall numbers are strong -- he's posted a .255/.354/.472 slash line and 14 homers over 316 plate appearances -- especially for a catcher. The switch hitter will continue to sit in favor of Austin Barnes against southpaws.

McCann went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI in Monday's win over the Royals.

McCann has been struggling in July, as he entered this game slashing just .204/.250/.347 this month, and this was the catcher's first three-hit performance since June 15. Maybe this strong performance will get the 28-year-old going as it's generally been a disappointing campaign to date.

Narvaez is out of the lineup versus the Angels on Monday.

Narvaez will remain on the bench for a second straight game while Kevan Smith gets the start for the series opener in Los Angeles. Across 54 games this year, Narvaez is hitting .294/.365/.425 with 17 RBI.

Contreras went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored in Sunday's 7-2 victory over St. Louis.

Fresh off his first All-Star appearance, Contreras continues swinging a hot bat. He's raised his batting average from .269 to .282 since the start of July with a couple homers and seven RBI during that span. On the year, the Venezuelan backstop has just eight home runs and 37 RBI after hitting 21 homers and 74 RBI in just 117 games last season.