MLB Player News

Maldonado is not in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Athletics, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Maldonado heads to the bench Saturday after starting the last two games for the Angels. The 31-year-old has yet to start more than two consecutive games this season and will yield to Rene Rivera behind the plate Saturday.

Grandal will be on the bench for Saturday's game against the Giants, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

Grandal will now have started five of the team's first eight games, a fairly normal workload for a starting catcher, despite the presence of Austin Barnes, one of the best backup catchers in the league. Barnes will catch and hit seventh Saturday. Grandal is off to a hot start, hitting .350/.432/.550 in his first 23 plate appearances.

Gomes is not in the starting nine for Saturday's game against Kansas City.

Gomes will head to the bench in favor of Roberto Perez after starting the past two games behind the dish. Through five starts this season, Gomes is hitting .118 with one home run and three RBI.

Sanchez (calf) is out of the lineup against the Orioles on Saturday, Pete Caldera of The Bergen Record reports.

It would've been surprising to see Sanchez in the lineup after he left Friday's contest with a calf injury in the 14th inning. Though the injury appears to be just a cramp, according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, the team will take it easy on its star backstop, especially after he caught 256 pitches Friday night. Consider him day-to-day for Sunday's series finale. Austin Romine will draw the start in his stead Saturday.

Vazquez is out of Saturday's lineup against the Rays, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports.

This will only be his second day off this season. He is hitting .227 with zero home runs in six games (22 at-bats). Sandy Leon will start behind the dish and hit ninth.

Sanchez exited in the 14th inning of Friday's game against the Orioles with a calf injury, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Sanchez reached for his right calf with Adam Jones at the plate in the 14th inning and was replaced by Austin Romine. The severity of the injury is unclear -- although it looked as though it could have been a cramp or a similar injury -- which wouldn't be surprising given the 24-year-old had already caught 256 pitches in the contest. The Yankees' catcher should be considered day-to-day and will have his status updated as he is further evaluated, but at this point he seems unlikely to take the field Saturday.

Caratini is playing first base Friday against the Brewers, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.

With Anthony Rizzo scratched due to back tightness, Caratini will be plugged into emergency duty for Friday's matchup. The switch-hitter will look to garner his first hit of the season against Brewers' starter Brandon Woodruff.

Barnhart is out of the lineup against the Pirates on Friday, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.

Barnhart will occupy a spot on the bench in favor of Devin Mesoraco. Through the first week of the season, Barnhart has gone 4-for-12 with one double and three walks.

Stewart was outrighted to Triple-A Gwinnett on Friday, David O'Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Stewart received unexpected playing time in the opening week of the season with Tyler Flowers (oblique) and Kurt Suzuki (hand) both out injured. With Suzuki now able to return and Carlos Perez in the fold, Stewart was no longer needed, so he'll return to being organizational depth at the Triple-A level.

Nicholas was traded to the Padres on Friday in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations.

Nicholas will report to Triple-A El Paso. The 29-year-old failed to crack the Rangers' Opening Day roster out of spring training and was taken off the club's 40-man in early March. Nicholas has played in 37 major-league games over the past two years and will serve as organizational depth for San Diego this season.