MLB Player News

Diaz (elbow) underwent elbow debridement surgery this week and is expected to miss seven-to-nine weeks, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports.

The young catching prospect has been battling elbow issues since late in spring training, and while it looked for a while like he might have been able to avoid surgery with just rest and rehab, the Pirates opted to go the surgical route this week. Fortunately, the procedure he underwent was a debridement rather than Tommy John, so the club is optimistic that Diaz will be able to return in early July.

Plawecki is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Braves.

Plawecki will be held out in favor of Rene Rivera with the Mets playing a day game following a night game. A day off could do Plawecki some good, as he tallied only three hits over his last six starts and is hitting just .176 on the season.

Barnhart is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Giants, Jamie Ramsey of the Reds' front office reports.

Barnhart started the last five games behind the plate, but he will get the day off Wednesday with the Reds and Giants playing a day game following a night game. Ramon Cabrera will get the start Wednesday in Barnhart's place.

Rupp said work he did on his swing path this offseason has been paying off for him at the plate, Joe Harris of MLB.com reports.

Rupp said he made an alteration to his swing, "working more down towards the ball." He is hitting .250/.274/.417 with a home run in 60 at-bats while splitting time behind the plate with Carlos Ruiz. He has benefited from a .359 BABIP thus far and his strikeout rate has jumped nearly 10 points compared to last season, so Rupp's average may be headed downward despite the improvements to his swing.

Stassi (wrist) will join Triple-A Fresno on Tuesday, Angel Verdejo Jr. of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Manager AJ Hinch indicated Stassi will play every other day, so it looks as though the club will play it cautiously with the catcher after suffering a fracture in the spring. It remains to be seen whether he'll stay in the minors or join the major league club once healthy, but he'll likely need a decent length rehab after sitting out six weeks.

D'Arnaud (shoulder) will not likely come off the disabled list when he's first eligible to return, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

All d'Arnaud has done since going on the disabled list is rest and receive treatment on his shoulder, so he seems to be a ways away from returning to the field considering he hasn't even progressed to baseball activities yet. A timetable for his return should become clearer once he is able to begin throwing and using his shoulder for baseball activities. Kevin Plawecki should see most of the starts while d'Arnaud is on the shelf.

Vazquez is not in the lineup Tuesday against the White Sox, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports.

With Vazquez just over a year removed from Tommy John surgery, Boston will continue to give him regular days off behind the plate. Ryan Hanigan will take over the catching duties in his stead and bat eighth.

Perez (thumb) will be re-examined Thursday, Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Perez suffered a broken thumb over the weekend and surgery remains a possibility pending the results of the follow up examination. The catcher has already been placed on the 15-day DL, but it sounds as though he'll need to miss more than the minimum two weeks.

McCann is in Tuesday's lineup against the Indians.

McCann was activated off the disabled list earlier in the day, but it wasn't clear yet at the time if he'd been joining the lineup immediately. He'll handle the catching duties Tuesday and bat seventh against Cleveland starter Josh Tomlin.

McCann (ankle) was officially activated from the disabled list Tuesday.

As expected, McCann will rejoin the Tigers on Tuesday, but it's unclear at this point if he'll be available for the evening's matchup with Cleveland. Jarrod Saltalamacchia has served as Detroit's primary catcher with McCann on the DL, and the two could end up splitting duties, assuming Salatalmacchia, who has six home runs in 60 at-bats, regresses to the mean as a power source.