MLB Player News

McCann will start at catcher Sunday against the White Sox and bat eighth in the lineup.

Though McCann is behind the plate for Sunday's game, he had sat out the previous three contests in favor of Jarrod Saltalamacchia. McCann has followed up a promising rookie year with a dud of season in 2016, slashing just .197/.245/.303 across 205 plate appearances. Until he turns a corner offensively, he may have to settle for a timeshare at catcher with Saltalamacchia.

Perez is out of the lineup Sunday against the Rangers, Josh Vernier of 610 Sports Radio reports.

It's a well-earned day off for Perez, who has been in the lineup for every game since July 4. Drew Butera will fill in for him behind the plate. The time to rest and recover could prove helpful with Perez stuck in a 2-for-23 slump over his last six contests.

Rupp (head) is out of the lineup Sunday against the Pirates.

Rupp was hit in the head with a fastball from erratic right-hander Tyler Glasnow on Saturday, which ultimately forced his exit from the game. Although he did not show any concussion symptoms, Rupp had caught three straight for the Phillies and was likely in line for a day off Sunday anyway. Whether it's injury-related or not, Carlos Ruiz will take over behind the plate for the afternoon contest. Consider Rupp day-to-day heading into Monday's series opener against the Marlins.

D'Arnaud is out of the lineup Sunday against the Marlins, Adam Rubin of ESPN.com reports.

After starting three consecutive games, the Mets opted to give d'Arnaud the day off and put Rene Rivera behind the plate. Like many of his teammates, d'Arnaud's batting has been rather subpar this season, as he's hitting just .246/.302/.339. However, he's shown improvement as of late and has gone 4-for-11 over his last three starts.

Leon is out of the lineup Sunday against the Twins, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Leon had gone 0-for-7 while starting the first two games of the series, but with his batting line still sitting at a magnificent .395/.439/.658 for the season, he'll be secure in his role as the Red Sox's primary catcher until more significant regression occurs. He'll just be getting Sunday off for rest, with Ryan Hanigan spelling him behind the plate in the series finale.

Barnhart is out of the lineup Sunday against the Diamondbacks.

After starting behind the plate the previous two days, Barnhart will get the afternoon off in the series finale, as Ramon Cabrera assumes catching duties. Barnhart is in the midst of a productive July, during which he's hit .313 to go with three homers, 12 RBI and a stolen base.

Rupp was evaluated for a concussion after leaving Saturday's game, but did not show any symptoms, Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

This is certainly encouraging, but concussion symptoms don't always surface right away, so the Phillies may be inclined to give Rupp a couple days off and have him undergo several more tests before returning him to action. Rupp was hit on the helmet by a 90-mph pitch from Tyler Glasnow a day after he hit his 10th home run of the season.

Rupp left Saturday's game in the top of the third inning after getting hit in the side of the head by a fastball from Tyler Glasnow.

It was a scary moment, as Rupp couldn't get out of the way and the pitch hit him square in the part of his helmet that was covering his left ear. He'll now go through the concussion protocol, and it would not be surprising to see him land on the 7-day concussion DL in the coming days. Carlos Ruiz figures to start behind the dish Sunday, and the Phillies may have to call up a catcher from the minors if Rupp ends up needing to miss a week or more.

Rupp went 2-for-4 with an RBI single, two-run homer and a walk in Friday's 4-0 victory over the Pirates.

The slugging backstop capped the scoring for the Phillies with a 415-foot shot in the ninth that plated Andres Blanco. It was Rupp's first homer since July 10, and he's now slashing .292/.358/.542 in July while also reaching double digits in RBI in a month for the first time this season.

Perez was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake on Saturday.

Perez apparently used his demotion on July 8 as motivation as he went 11-for-31 (.355) with seven runs and nine RBI in his last seven games for Salt Lake. The 25-year-old will get the start behind the dish in his first game back Saturday, catching for Jered Weaver.