MLB Player News

Leon went 0-for-4 with a run scored in Wednesday night's win over Baltimore. He is now hitless in his last 17 at-bats.

Leon's average has dipped to .322, which is still about 140 points higher than his career average (.187) entering the season. The batting-average correction is something we all expected to happen, though probably a lot sooner than this, but Leon still leads Boston's backstops in catcher's earned run average. As such, he's positioned himself to be the No. 1 catcher through the end of the regular season and into the postseason should Boston qualify. Long term, the catching job belongs to Christian Vazquez and/or Blake Swihart.

Sanchez continued to crush balls Wednesday, going 3-for-5 with a pair of homers, three runs scored and five RBI.

Sanchez has been the best player in baseball since being called up in August, now with a .337 average and 19 home runs in 43 games this season. He's now the fastest player in major league history to 19 home runs (45 career games), and is showing no signs of slowing down. He's made a strong case for AL Rookie of the Year despite playing less than two months, and will certainly be a sought-after player in 2017 fantasy drafts.

Hedges was recalled from Triple-A El Paso on Wednesday.

Long known as one of the best young defensive catchers in professional baseball, it has taken awhile for Hedges to develop himself into a competent hitter. It remains to be seen how much of his 2016 production should be attributed to the advantageous hitting conditions of the Pacific Coast League, but on paper it looks to be a breakout campaign. Hedges hit .326/.353/.597 with 21 home runs and a 15.3 percent K-rate in 334 plate appearances with El Paso. He has a chance to be the Padres' starting catcher heading into 2017, and if a fragment of his offensive production carries over against big league pitching he could be useful in a wide range of formats next year. Look for him to start a handful of games down the stretch, offering the potential for a home run or two by season's end.

McCann went 1-for-4 with a three-run homer in Tuesday's win over the Twins.

With Victor Martinez (knee) out, McCann made his first career start as a designated hitter, and swung like it. After striking out and fouling out in his first two at-bats, McCann chased Twins' starter Hector Santiago from the game by pouncing on a hanging sinker for a tape-measure three-run homer to the second deck in left, projected by Statcast at 439 feet. The blast was the catcher's 12th of the season, and his first since Aug. 25, also against the Twins. Overall, McCann's .222/.274/.366 slash line is a disappointing drop off from last season's .264/.297/.387.

Hedges will be recalled from Triple-A El Paso, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Hedges and five others will be rewarded with callups with El Paso's long postseason run coming to an end Tuesday night. He's no longer a prospect after playing in 56 games with the Padres a year ago, but the 24-year-old Hedges is still developing and he took a major step forward offensively this season (.326/.353/.597, 21 homers). With elite skills behind the plate, Hedges profiles as the possible Opening Day catcher in 2017, but it's not entirely clear how much he'll play over the remainder of this season.

Maldonado homered, a solo shot, in a 2-for-4 game Tuesday against the Pirates.

Maldonado is in the majors for his excellent defense, not his bat, but he has been showing some solid power this season. He tied a career high with his eighth home run Tuesday and is now slugging .351 despite just a .194 batting average. Unfortunately, Maldonado has managed an OPS over .700 just twice in five MLB seasons and is unlikely to provide much fantasy value aside from running into the occasional home run.

Sanchez went 1-for-3 with a walk and a three-run homer in Tuesday's game against the Rays.

Sanchez continues his hot hitting with the go-ahead blast in the seventh inning Tuesday. The catcher has now homered in three straight games, giving Sanchez six this month and 17 for the season. Over his last five games, the 23-year-old is 8-for-22 (.364), with five extra-base hits, eight RBI and four runs.

Stewart (knee) underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Tuesday, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports.

Given that the Pirates had ruled him out for the season, Stewart decided to get a head start on his recovery process and undergo surgery prior to the end of the campaign. The recovery time for this procedure is typically 6-to-8 weeks, so as long as everything goes as planned, the veteran backstop should be back in time for spring training.

Grandal (elbow) is in the lineup for Monday's game against the Giants.

Grandal will return to action Monday after missing the last couple games with his elbow injury. He will be behind the plate and hit seventh in the Dodgers' batting order.

D'Arnaud is not in the lineup for Monday's game against the Braves, according to MLB.com's Anthony DiComo.

D'Arnaud has spent plenty time on the bench of late, and that will again be the case Monday, as Rene Rivera will start for the fourth time in six games.