MLB Player News

Perez is not in the Royals' lineup Thursday, 610 Sports Radio KC reports.

Drew Butera will slide in behind the dish to give Perez a break. The club has decided not to use Perez as a designated hitter anymore in order to preserve his health more effectively. Fantasy players should expect to get a little less work out of him, and this decision cuts into his value a bit. Still, he's one of the more reliable names at his position.

D'Arnaud is not in the lineup Thursday against Arizona.

Following three starts in the past four games, d'Arnaud will get the matinee off in favor of Kevin Plawecki. Since the beginning of August, the catcher is batting .207/.230/.310 with one home run and five RBI.

Perez won't be used as the designated hitter for the rest of the season, the Associated Press reports.

Perez has been the DH for 13 games this year, but manager Ned Yost believes that role is too risky for his All-Star backstop moving forward. An intercostal strain has hampered the veteran for a while now, and he missed 15 games after aggravating the ailment in early August. "When you're catching, you're staying loose and you're staying mobile," said Yost. "When you're [the DH], you have an at-bat and then sit." Although a slight reduction in at-bats will put a small dent in his value, Perez remains a top option across all formats.

Sanchez went 2-for-5 with a home run, two runs scored and three RBI in Wednesday's 10-2 win over the Tigers.

His mammoth August continues, and Sanchez is now slashing .311/.376/.757 through his last 20 games with 10 homers and 21 RBI. While he hasn't quite matched the production from his explosive 2016 debut, the 24-year-old's 26 home runs, 72 RBI and .892 OPS on the season still lead all starting catchers.

Stassi went 1-for-2 with a solo homer and two walks in Wednesday's 6-1 win over the Nationals.

Stassi's just 3-for-14 this season, but two of his hits have left the yard. The catcher also has an impressive 1:3 K:BB over that span, and should continue to get a sizable chunk of playing time with Houston battling the injury bug behind the plate.

Contreras (hamstring) participated in agility drills and caught for teammate Jake Arrieta on Wednesday, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.

Contreras' workout Wednesday included sprints and additional running drills. He did a similar workout Tuesday, so seeing him be able to increase his level of activity in such a short amount of time is certainly promising. If he keeps his current pace, a mid-September activation from the disabled list should be in order for Contreras. Until then, Alex Avila and Rene Rivera will share time in the Cubs' lineup.

Grandal is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Pirates, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

Grandal will have the night off while Austin Barnes gets the nod to start behind the dish. Grandal will likely rejoin the Dodgers' lineup for their series finale against Chad Kuhl and the Pirates.

McCann is not in the lineup against the Yankees on Wednesday.

McCann will get the day off following Tuesday's start behind the plate, when he went 1-for-3 with a run scored in a loss. In his place, John Hicks draws the start, batting seventh.

Barnhart is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Cubs, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Barnhart will get the day off after starting four consecutive games. Stuart Turner will serve as the Reds' backstop Wednesday while Barnhart gets some rest.

Perez went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI in Tuesday's 3-2 win over the Rockies.

The All-Star catcher showed no rust in his return to action from an oblique strain that cost him 16 games. Perez will need to be a big part of the Royals' offense down the stretch if the team wants to remain in the AL playoff picture, but his career-high .514 SLG and .824 OPS on the year suggest he's up to the task.