MLB Player News

McCann is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Dodgers.

McCann will head to the bench for a breather after starting eight of the last nine games behind the dish, a stretch over which he's gone 10-for-32 (.313). John Hicks will take over for him at backstop, batting seventh.

Grandal went 1-for-3 with walk and a solo home run in Saturday's 3-0 win over the Tigers.

The 28-year-old got off to a slow start in the month of August (.184/.295/.421 in 11 games), but he has picked things up in the power department over his last four contests with a double and two homers. Grandal now has 16 home runs on the campaign, and while his 7.4 walk rate is well below last year's 14.0 percent mark, he has replaced those free passes with base hits (.264 batting average compared to .228 last season). He will continue to see regular starts behind the dish against right-handed pitchers down the stretch.

Plawecki went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run during Saturday's win over Miami.

Plawecki should stick with the Mets for the remainder of the season after Rene Rivera was claimed off waivers by the Cubs. With Travis d'Arnaud likely to receive the bulk of starts behind the plate, Plawecki's fantasy value is likely to remain limited to cavernous settings. He projects start a couple of games a week to give d'Arnaud a breather, though.

Gomes is out of Saturday's lineup against the Royals, Josh Vernier of 610 Sports reports.

He just barely plays enough to be considered the starting catcher, but it's essentially a pretty even timeshare with Roberto Perez. Gomes has six RBI and four hits in his last two games, but Perez will start behind the dish and hit ninth.

Vazquez is out of Saturday's lineup against the Yankees, Scott Lauber of ESPN.com reports.

He has started three of the last four games and is coming off a 3-for-3 effort in which he hit a home run and scored three times. Sandy Leon will start behind the dish and hit eighth.

D'Arnaud is not in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Marlins.

D'Arnaud will head to the bench for a breather after starting four straight games, going 2-for-15 (.133) over that span. Kevin Plawecki will draw a start behind the dish in his stead, batting eighth.

Plawecki was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas on Saturday.

The Mets' backup catcher, Rene Rivera, was claimed off waivers by the Cubs, so they had to add a second catcher, and Plawecki was the obvious option. He hit .328/.375/.514 with nine home runs and a 13.8 percent strikeout rate in 275 plate appearances in the Pacific Coast League, although a lot of that production can be attributed to favorable hitting conditions. There is a chance he becomes useful in two-catcher formats, but he will likely only start two or three times per week initially.

Higashioka (back) was activated off the 7-day DL at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Friday.

The catcher ended up missing just about two months with the ailment, and after a brief rehab assignment at the lower levels of the minors, he was back behind the plate Friday for the Triple-A squad. Higashioka is hitting .333 with seven home runs in 19 games at all levels of the minors this season, and he figures to remain the top replacement option behind the plate if the Yankees need an extra catcher.

Realmuto went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer in Friday's 3-1 win over the Mets.

His second-inning shot off Chris Flexen proved to be all the offense Justin Nicolino and the Marlins bullpen would need, Realmuto has already set new career highs in homers (14) and RBI (50) on the year, but his .196/.242/.339 slash line in August suggests he may be fading down the stretch as he continues to play nearly every day behind the plate.

Sanchez went 1-for-5 with a solo homer Friday against the Red Sox.

Sanchez ripped his 23rd bomb of the year to pull the Yankees even in the seventh inning of a divisional loss. He's absolutely on fire, as he's homered six times over his last 10 games, and his yearly totals continue to make him an extremely valuable fantasy option at the catcher position.