MLB Player News

Perez is not in the lineup for Thursday's matchup against the Twins.

Perez has managed to go just 2-for-17 over the last four games, bringing his batting average down to .245 for the season. Drew Butera will start behind the dish while Perez gets the night off.

Realmuto is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Mets.

Jeff Mathis will take over behind the plate as Realmuto sits for the first time since Sept. 18. Realmuto's contact rate has dipped this year and that dip has not come with much of an uptick in power, but the 25-year-old has routinely found holes (.360 BABIP) and he runs more than any other player at the position. He's done enough across the board to be a top-5 catcher in terms of earned fantasy value this season.

Casali homered, in a 2-for-4 game with two runs scored Tuesday against the White Sox.

Casali has an atrocious .175/.257/.327 batting line but has shown real power this season. He has eight home runs in 81 games after mashing 10 homers in just 38 games last season for the Rays. He strikes out too much to ever hit for average, but a catcher with his pop is likely to find work for quite a while.

Sanchez went 1-for-3 with a two-run homer and a walk in Tuesday's 6-4 win over the Red Sox.

Sanchez hit his 20th homer in just his 51st career major league game, tying Wally Berger in 1930 as the fastest player to reach that milestone. His first-inning blast set the tone in a game that saw three Yankees to go deep off Red Sox starter David Price. The youngster has a remarkable .316/.390/.701 line this season.

Sanchez was recalled from Triple-A Sacramento on Tuesday, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Sanchez's performance at the Triple-A level this season left much to be desired. Between Triple-A Buffalo and Sacramento, Sanchez posted a .201/.298/.317 line over 61 games and recorded a 21.6-percent strikeout rate.

Thole has just four at-bats in September, far fewer than in any other month this season.

With R.A. Dickey seemingly moved to the bullpen for good, Thole -- Dickey's personal catcher -- is no longer needed to make spot starts behind the plate. His role on the team has been reduced to its lowest point of the season, and considering he lacks fantasy relevance even when seeing regular time, it's hard to imagine a fantasy league where Thole's worth owning.

Contreras went 2-for-4 with a solo homer in Saturday's 10-4 loss to the Cardinals.

The rookie backstop smacked a solo homer to left in the ninth with the Cubs on the wrong end of a 10-3 score. Contreras now has a five-game hitting streak, with a pair of solo homers over that span. His solid campaign includes a .270/.346/.473 line with 11 homers and 32 RBI.

Rupp is out of the lineup Saturday against the Mets.

He has continued to start five days a week since roster expansion, but will make way for Jorge Alfaro on Saturday.

Stallings had a game-winning RBI single as a pinch hitter in the 11th inning in Friday's 6-5 victory over the Nationals.

Recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis on Sept. 13, Stallings came through with the game-winning hit in what was his first at-bat since returning to the big league club. The 22-year-old has slashed .222/.222/.333 in a scant nine major league at-bats in 2016 and is essentially on the roster to serve as the third catcher for the balance of the campaign.

Perez (knee) is back in the lineup Saturday against the Tigers, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports.

Perez got the day off Friday to rest his troublesome knee, but the absence looks to have been more precautionary than anything else. He'll return to his usual spot behind the plate Saturday and bat fifth in the order against Detroit's Daniel Norris.