MLB Player News

Vazquez is out of the lineup Sunday against the Orioles, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Vazquez has been the Red Sox's top-performing catcher this season, but he's still locked into a timeshare with Sandy Leon, who receives the nod behind the plate Sunday. It's unclear what more Vazquez needs to do in order to capture a larger portion of the starts behind the plate, as he's a capable defender and his .373 on-base percentage is nearly 100 points better than Leon's.

Realmuto is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Diamondbacks.

It appears that Realmuto is simply getting a scheduled day of rest against Braden Shipley and the Diamondbacks. The 26-year-old has been solid at the plate again this year, slashing .295/.365/.428 over the first two months of the season. He also added his second stolen base of the season Saturday. A.J. Ellis will draw the start behind the plate.

Mesoraco is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Braves, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Mesoraco continues to receive ample time off this season and will again head to the bench while Tucker Barnhart draws the start in his stead.

Hedges went 1-for-3 with a solo home run during Saturday's loss to the Rockies.

It was the third home run in three games for Hedges and his 11th of the campaign. The backstop sports an underwhelming .218 batting average and .270 on-base percentage, but his 11 homers, 28 RBI, 20 runs and .455 slugging percentage are moving the needle. Power is usually hard to mine from the catcher position, and not only is Hedges providing pop, but he's also playing regularly with 179 plate appearances this season.

Narvaez went 3-for-4 in Saturday's 10-1 loss to the Tigers.

Narvaez, whose three hits tied a career high, found himself in the lineup for the first time in five games. Having made the major-league roster out of spring training, Narvaez had been considered the team's primary catcher, so it was odd not to see him in the lineup over the previous four games. Manager Rick Renteria indicated that was due to opposing pitcher matchups, so it would seem Narvaez and Kevan Smith are still in a job-share of sorts despite Smith's run of four consecutive starts.

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

D'Arnaud has raised his batting average from .190 to .241 over his last five starts, but the Mets still want to keep him fresh, so he will get a day off after starting the previous two contests. Rene Rivera will get the nod behind the plate in d'Arnaud's place.

Grandal went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in Friday's win over the Brewers.

The catcher's ninth-inning home run extended the game and allowed the Dodgers to win in extras. It was just Grandal's sixth long ball of the season, putting him on pace to finish closer to the mid-teen power we were used to prior to his 27-homer outburst last season. The decreased power has been offset by a .282 batting average, but that is being inflated by a career-high .351 BABIP. Assuming his average dips back down to its usual level and his power isn't what was expected, Grandal will still hold standard-league value based on the general lack of productive options at the catcher position.

McCann (hand) got his stitches out and will hit Saturday with the anticipation that he could come off the DL on Tuesday, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

This is in line with the original timetable for McCann, but he will have to make it through his hitting and throwing sessions fine before it becomes official. Alex Avila has been surprisingly solid on the whole this season, but he's hitting just .143 with a 48.5 percent strikeout rate over his last 28 at-bats, so McCann may be able to slowly overtake him if he plays well upon his activation.

Rupp is out of Saturday's lineup against the Giants, Ryan Lawrence of PhillyVoice.com reports.

He is hitting .241/.313/.414 with three home runs over his last 17 games (58 at-bats), which makes him relevant in standard leagues, given the dearth of useful options at the catching position. Andrew Knapp will start behind the dish and hit seventh.

Diaz went 2-for-5 with a double, a home run and six RBI against the Mets on Friday.

A last-minute replacement for starter Francisco Cervelli (illness), Diaz smacked both a three-run double and three-run dinger. He's better known for defense, but his offense has improved over his last several seasons of minor-league play. Although he's stuck behind Cervelli and Chris Stewart on the depth chart, his stock is on the rise and he figures to see a tick up in playing time, especially with Stewart on the disabled list. Diaz remains the team's long-range catcher of the future.