MLB Player News

Sanchez is not in Saturday's lineup against the Orioles.

Perhaps no player in recent memory has gotten off to as hot a start to a career as Sanchez, but he's now fallen into a slump to close out the season. He is hitting .094/.189/.219 with one home run and 12 strikeouts over his last 37 plate appearances. Austin Romine will start behind the dish and hit seventh.

Perez is out of the lineup Saturday against the Indians, MLB.com's Jeffrey Flanagan reports.

He will sit for the third game in a row, as the Royals seem to be giving their franchise catcher a chance to rest his aches and pains as the team plays out the string. Drew Butera will start at catcher and hit ninth.

Rupp went 2-for-3 with a sacrifice fly in Friday's 5-1 loss to the Mets.

The 28-year-old backstop drove in the Phillies' only run of the night with a second-inning sacrifice fly that opened the scoring for both teams. Rupp has been swinging a hot bat over his last six games, with three multihit outings, a .320 average and five RBI over that span.

Grandal is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Giants.

Grandal will come off the bench for the second straight day with the Dodgers facing another left-hander. Carlos Ruiz will receive another start behind the plate Friday night.

Gomes (wrist) was activated from the disabled list Friday.

It appeared that Gomes would almost certainly miss the rest of the season after fracturing his wrist a couple weeks ago, but he will be available for the final few games of the regular season, and the Indians will give him a chance to show if he is healthy enough to be included on the team's postseason roster.

Gomes (wrist) will be activated from the disabled list Friday night, MLB.com's Jordan Bastian reports.

Gomes will not start Friday, but he will be available for the first time since breaking his wrist July 17.

Perez is not in the lineup Friday for the second straight day, according to Joel Goldberg of FOX Sports Kansas City.

Perez has hit just .199 since the All-Star break and the Royals have been eliminated from playoff contention, so manager Ned Yost decided to give his regular catcher two days off in a row. Drew Butera will get another start behind the plate Friday night.

Grandal is not listed in Thursday's starting lineup against the Padres, Eric Stephen of True Blue LA reports.

Carlos Ruiz is suiting up in his place as the talented young catcher is likely just receiving a break before the weekend series. Look for him again Friday.

Hedges is not in the starting lineup Thursday against the Dodgers.

The 24-year-old was called up last Wednesday and had started five of the six games for which he's been with the club. Tonight, he'll give way to Derek Norris, who's hitting sixth. Known primarily as a defense-first prospect before this year, Hedges enjoyed a smashing season at Triple-A El Paso (.326/.353/.597, with 21 home runs in 334 plate appearances). Catchers often take a bit longer to grow into their hitting tools as they progress through a system, and even during their big-league career. He can contribute some last-ditch counting stats if you're struggling at the end of this season. Hedges also now boasts an intriguing package that could vault him into the Pads' starting backstop role -- and starting consideration in two-catcher fantasy leagues -- out of the gate next season.

Leon is out of Thursday's lineup against the Yankees, Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald reports.

Although he's notched a .312/.370/.482 line for the season, Leon's production at the plate has been rather forgettable as of late. Over the last 14 games, he's gone just 3-for-38 (.067) with 13 strikeouts. Ryan Hanigan will start at catcher for Boston when they face CC Sabathia on Thursday.