MLB Player News

Vazquez went 4-for-4, finishing a home run shy of a cycle, and added two runs and two RBI in Tuesday's 8-1 win over the Orioles.

A big night for Vazquez, who is not known for his hitting, but is 5-for-5 to start the season. In addition to his offense, Vazquez guided Drew Pomeranz through six strong innings. Try not to be swayed by his hot start; Vazquez is a career .244 hitter that made the roster primarily becuase he's out of minor-league options.

D'Arnaud went 3-for-4 with a double, a homer, a walk and three RBI in Tuesday's 14-4 rout of the Phillies.

After a big spring, d'Arnaud opened the season slowly, going just 2-for-14 heading into Tuesday. However, there were positive signs here even before this effort, as he'd struck out just a single time. While d'Arnaud is coming off a bad, injury-shortened campaign, he's still a talented hitter who's put in a lot of work to find his stroke again. Don't dismiss him in deeper formats.

McCann supplied all the offense the Tigers would need Tuesday, going 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in a 2-1 win over the Twins.

He put the first pitch he saw from Hector Santiago in the fifth inning into the seats in left-center for his third homer of the season. McCann only has four hits so far through six games, but he's making some very loud contact when he does get his bat on the ball. The 26-year-old catcher will likely remain a batting average risk, but given his hot start he might have no trouble topping last year's career-high 12 home runs.

Manager Bryan Price said he anticipates Mesoraco (hip) to return sometime around April 17-20, Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Mesoraco was scheduled to catch a full game at Double-A Pensacola on Monday, and apparently it went off without a hitch. The Reds have been extremely methodical about the 28-year-old's return while working to build up his durability, though it appears he is close to a return after playing in just 39 games over the past two years.

Leon is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Orioles, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald reports.

After going hitless in Monday's series finale with the Tigers, Leon will get a day of rest Tuesday and cede the start behind the dish to Christian Vazquez. Despite the tough outing Monday, Leon is off to a good start at the plate, batting .368 with a home run in five games.

Grandal reached base three times Monday, going 2-for-3 with a walk in a loss to the Cubs.

Manager Dave Roberts has stuck to his word and has been using Grandal in a more traditional role, giving him regular rest on day games following night games as opposed to a strict platoon where he sits against lefties. Monday's start came against the Cubs southpaw Jon Lester, and the switch-hitting catcher came through with a solid offensive line. Grandal is batting just .200 (4-for-20) early on, but with two home runs and three walks through six games, he is doing a great job of replicating his breakout 2016 season.

Murphy (forearm) recently underwent a CT scan, but the Rockies haven't disclosed the results, Nick Groke of The Denver Post reports.

Murphy was forced to open the season on the 10-day disabled list after he fractured his right hand when it made contact with the bat of the Cubs' Kris Bryant in a March 11 Cactus League game. The 26-year-old is still using a brace to protect the hand, but he could be cleared to remove it in the coming days if the scan revealed that he's healing as expected. Once the brace is off, Murphy would still likely require multiple weeks to test out the hand in fielding and throwing drills, batting practice and rehab games before the Rockies would consider activating him from the 10-day disabled list.

Realmuto won the NL Player of the Week Award after slashing .500/.542/.909 with two home runs, six RBI and six runs scored through five games, Tim Healey of the Sun-Sentinel reports.

The 26-year-old has all the tools to be an elite catcher both in real life and for fantasy purposes, and at least through the first week of the season Realmuto is delivering. Perhaps the most impressive thing about his hot start has been his plate discipline. After striking out 100 times against only 28 walks in 2016, he has a 2:1 BB:K through his first 24 plate appearances of 2017.

Hedges is out of the lineup Monday against the Rockies, Jenny Cavnar of Root Sports reports.

Following six games and 22 plate appearances, Hedges is still hitless with six strikeouts. With Hedges heading to the bench, Luis Torrens will make his first major-league start behind the dish.

Manager Joe Girardi said Sanchez will be out around four weeks with a Grade 1 strain of a muscle behind the biceps, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Sanchez was transferred to the 10-day DL after straining the muscle while fouling off a ball in Saturday's game. With the young backstop expected to miss around a month with the injury, Austin Romine will likely take over the bulk of the catching duties; Kyle Higashioka will figure in as the backup.