MLB Player News

Manager Bud Black said that Murphy (forearm) is "closer than you think" to returning from the disabled list, Nick Groke of The Denver Post reports.

He hasn't progressed to catching bullpen sessions yet, but this vote of confidence is still a promising sign for the prospect catcher. Given how much time he's missed, Murphy will likely need to go on a rehab assignment once he's gotten back to baseball activities, and although no official timetable has been revealed, Black's comments seem to point toward a return date sometime in the next couple weeks.

Trevino is back in action with Double-A Frisco after being placed on the temporary inactive list May 4.

The 24-year-old has gone just 2-for-15 since rejoining Frisco, though he's still sporting a respectable .273/.324/.333 slash line through 18 games.

Vazquez went 2-for-4 to improve his batting average to .364 during Sunday's loss to Tampa Bay.

Coming through the minor leagues, it was Vazquez's defensive prowess that garnered the attention, but his bat has also been a real asset to start 2017. His current .364/.407/.491 slash line is impressive. However, splitting time with Sandy Leon hasn't enabled Vazquez to complement the strong ratios with serviceable counting stats. The 26-year-old backstop has just four runs and four RBI, which makes him a low-end fantasy option at best.

Ohlman will start at catcher Monday against the Braves, Steve Buffery of the Toronto Sun reports.

Manager John Gibbons said the rookie will start to give Luke Maile a break. The latter is just 1-for-31 (.032) over 10 games, so Ohlman could grab the attention of his skipper with a big day at the plate (and, of course, solid defense behind the dish). Ohlman has played in one game, going 0-for-3 with a strikeout, since joining the club last week when Russell Martin (shoulder) landed on the DL. At best, the 26-year-old is an extreme punt play in daily formats when he's in the lineup.

Grandal went 3-for-4 with an RBI in a 9-6 loss to the Rockies on Sunday.

Grandal has been unconscious at the plate of late, batting .462 (18-for-29) with 10 RBI over his last 10 contests, raising his season average to .292 in the process. While the hot streak has definitely pleased his owners, the streaky catcher hasn't reproduced the tremendous power he displayed last season. His current 16.0 HR/FB ratio is closer to his 17.8 percent career mark, so 15-20 homers may be a more realistic expectation as opposed to the 27 homers we saw last year (25.2 HR/FB).

Mesoraco left Sunday's game early with hamstring tightness, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Mesoraco said he could have kept playing through the tightness, so his removal seems simply precautionary. Mesoraco will rest up on the Reds' off day Monday with the hopes of being ready to go for Tuesday's series opener against the Cubs.

Rupp is out of the lineup for the second game of Sunday's doubleheader against Washington.

Rupp was productive at the plate in Game 1. He went 2-for-4 and scored a route during Philadelphia's victory over the Nationals. However, he'll be withheld from the lineup for Game 2 as Andrew Knapp is set to start behind the plate.

Perez is out of the lineup Sunday against the Orioles, 610 Sports reports.

With the Royals off the schedule Monday, Perez will benefit from an extended rest, marking the first time since April 23 that he hasn't started. Perez hasn't wilted while assuming massive workloads in previous seasons, and with 34 games already under his belt in 2017, he looks poised to again rank as one of baseball's more heavily used catchers. Drew Butera will spell him behind the plate Sunday.

Stephenson continues to hit well at Low-A Dayton, hitting .287/.400/.435 in 135 plate appearances. Despite his strong start, the Reds intend to keep Stephenson at Dayton for the bulk of the season, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

The good news is that Stephenson's surgically repaired wrist is fully healed and he's performing at the level the Reds once hoped for when they took him in the first round of the 2015 draft. As Enquirer writer Zach Buchanan points out, at age 20 Stephenson is still young for the level at Low-A.

Sanchez isn't in the lineup for the first game of Sunday's doubleheader with the Astros.

The Yankees will save Sanchez for the nationally televised matchup with the Astros later in the evening, affording Austin Romine a start behind the plate in Game 1. Since being activated from the disabled list May 5, Sanchez has picked up where he left off last season, batting 8-for-26 with a homer and five RBI over seven games.