MLB Player News

Contreras went 2-for-4 with two solo home runs in Friday's 3-2 win over the Cardinals.

He nearly cost the Cubs the lead in the ninth inning, dropping strike three to Kolten Wong on what would have been the final out of the game and then throwing the ball away to allow Randal Grichuk to score from second, but Wade Davis bailed him out with one more whiff. Contreras is hitting just .228/.297/.406 on the season, but his four homers and 15 RBI through 31 games are in line with expectations and Friday's performance may be a sign he's finding his rhythm at the plate.

Hedges went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI in Friday's 6-3 win over the White Sox.

The jack was Hedges' eighth of the season. The catcher is certainly an asset in the power department, but not much more than that -- he holds a .196/.250/.458 slash line. Of note, however, is his .178 BABIP, a sign that he'll likely he'll get over the Mendoza Line at some point soon.

Leon went 1-for-4 with two RBI in Friday's loss to the Rays.

It was a productive night for Leon, who now has seven RBI in his last four games. Don't continually expect this kind of consistent offensive production, however; his career .681 OPS is well below this month's 1.181 mark, and some regression to his career norm is likely.

Realmuto went 1-for-5 with a two-run homer in Friday's loss to the Braves.

Realmuto smacked a two-run homer in the seventh inning of a losing effort. Although this is his first homer since April 6, he has an outstanding batting average, making him a solid fantasy option at catcher.

Mesoraco is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Giants, C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Mesoraco is off to a slow start since returning from the DL, going 6-for-27 with one home run. On a positive note, he has held up to catching back-to-back games and should continue to see the lion's share of the playing time behind the plate for Cincinnati.

McCann is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Angels.

The Tigers are giving McCann the night off Friday after he made four consecutive starts behind the plate. Alex Avila will handle catching duties for Jordan Zimmermann as Detroit takes on Matt Shoemaker and the Angels. Look for McCann to draw back into the lineup Saturday against Ricky Nolasco.

Gomes (illness) is in the lineup for Friday's game against the Twins.

An illness forced Gomes from Wednesday's game but apparently he's shaken the bug. After a rough start to the season, Gomes has flashed glimpses of his 2015 form in recent weeks, going 8-for-18 with a home run, three doubles and a 4:1 BB:K to begin May. He should continue to start two out of every three games for Cleveland.

Vazquez is not in the starting lineup for Friday's series opener against the Rays, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

The 26-year-old is 4-for-6 in his career against Alex Cobb, the projected starter for Tampa Bay, but Sandy Leon will get the start instead. Despite Vazquez's outstanding defensive abilities, he continues to split time behind the plate with his power-hitting counterpart, a trend unlikely to subside within the near future.

Grandal is not in Thursday's lineup against the Rockies, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.

Grandal has been hitting the ball very well lately. He's started three consecutive game and gone 8-for-13 with five RBI over that span. However, he'll get the night off while Austin Barnes starts behind the dish.

Mejia was placed on the 7-day disabled list at Double-A Akron on Thursday due to groin soreness.

One of the top catching prospects in all of baseball, Mejia's bat has been up to par in his first taste of the Double-A level, and with some further refinement behind the plate, it's not entirely out of the question for him to surface at the big-league level in the second half of 2017. The groin issue represents a setback in his development, but so long as it doesn't prove to be a multi-month concern, it shouldn't dim his long-term outlook too much.