MLB Player News

The Pirates expect Diaz (leg) to be ready for the start of spring training, GM Neal Huntington said during his Sunday radio show.

After working through an elbow injury, Diaz came down with an unrelated cause of cellulitis on his leg. Although the catcher missed an opportunity for playing time in 2016, Huntington remains encouraged about his future, saying Diaz's arm strength is the best in the system and his offense is coming along. Given Francisco Cervelli's checkered history of spotty health, Diaz could easily work his way into the mix behind the plate.

Sanchez went 3-for-5 with a solo home run in Sunday's 5-4 loss to the Red Sox.

Sanchez homered for the second straight game as part of his first three-hit performance in September, narrowly missing a second homer on a ball that hit near the top of the Green Monster. The 23-year-old has continued his assault on MLB pitching in September after posting a 1.239 OPS in August, smacking five home runs in 16 games this month. With his latest long ball, Sanchez became the second-fastest player to 16 career homers since 1900. The slugging backstop is slashing .327/.393/.698 in 159 at-bats this year.

Leon is out of the lineup Sunday against the Yankees, Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald reports.

Leon will get the day off following four consecutive starts behind the plate. Bryan Holaday will man the backstop in his stead, making his first start at catcher since Sept. 5.

Grandal (elbow) is not in the lineup Sunday against Arizona, Andy McCullough of the LA Times reports.

Grandal will sit for the second straight day as he continues to battle soreness in his right elbow, an ailment that's plagued him for much of the season. The expectation seems to be that Grandal will continue to play through the discomfort down the stretch, but he could require periodic rest.

Realmuto is out of the lineup Sunday against the Phillies.

Realmuto had been behind the plate for six days in a row, so he's due for a day off in the series finale. Jeff Mathis will replace Realmuto behind the plate and bat seventh in the order.

Contreras is not in the lineup Sunday against the Brewers.

Contreras caught the last two games, going 3-for-8 with two doubles in that span, but he'll take the day off Sunday to rest now that the division title is already locked up. Miguel Montero will take over behind the plate in his stead.

Sanchez went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer in Saturday's 6-5 loss to the Red Sox.

Although he struck out in half of his plate appearances, Sanchez also managed his fourth homer in the last nine games when he took David Price deep for a 436-foot shot over the Green Monster in the third, plating Brett Gardner. The 23-year-old has cooled off in September, but has now hit safely in four of his last five games.

McGuire, who was acquired from Pittsburgh on Aug. 1, hit .254/.335/.332 with 42 RBI and 34 runs over 92 games in the Double-A Eastern League.

The catcher was part of the deal that included pitcher Francisco Liriano. McGuire played in just 15 games for the Jays' Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats, and his performance there (.226/.328/.264) was a disappointing drop-off from what he'd done in 77 games for Double-A Altoona (.259/.337/.346). Widely considered the top catching prospect in the Pirates' system, McGuire will likely get a good look in spring training next year with the Jays.

Hernandez was recalled from Double-A Mobile on Saturday.

Hernandez will provide the Diamondbacks with an insurance policy behind the plate with Welington Castillo battling some quad tightness in recent days. The 23-year-old's offensive numbers fell off dramatically after he made the jump from High-A Visalia to Mobile, with his OPS falling nearly 260 points between levels.

Grandal is out of the lineup Saturday due to lingering soreness in his right elbow, Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times reports.

This is the first word of any arm troubles for Grandal since April, but manager Dave Roberts suggested this issue has been bothering Grandal for awhile. There has been no indication that Grandal won't be able to continue playing through the discomfort, but it seems the injury may be affecting his performance at the plate (.191 average this month).