MLB Player News

The Angels have recalled catcher Carlos Perez from Triple-A Salt Lake and designated Drew Butera for assignment, the team announced Monday.

Perez appeared in 17 games for Salt Lake with a .361 average and 12 RBI in 72 at-bats. Butera is hitting .190 in 21 at-bats this season. 

The Mets will promote catcher Johnny Monell prior to Tuesday's game against the Orioles. It is unknown what the corresponding move will be.

The 29-year-old Monell is batting .397 (23 for 58) with a .455 on-base percentage, .638 slugging percentage and 1.092 OPS in 17 games for Triple-A Las Vegas. He also has two doubles, four home runs and 15 RBI.

Blue Jays catcher Russell Martin received the day off Monday against the Yankees after catching the last four games. Martin has been a nice addition for Toronto, both offensively and defensively. He has five home runs and 15 RBI through his first 23 games of the season.

Josh Thole replaced Martin behind the dish on Monday, as he typically does when knuckleballer R.A. Dickey is on the mound. Expect Martin to return to action on Tuesday. 

The Padres have officially called up catching prospect Austin Hedges from Triple-A El Paso and designated catcher Wil Nieves for assignment, the team announced Monday.

Hedges hit .343 with two home runs and 15 RBI in 67 at-bats in Triple-A. He has spent the first four-plus seasons of his career in the Padres' farm system and is considered the No. 4 prospect in the organization, according to Baseball America.

Manager Bud Black said Monday Hedges will make a start during their series against San Francisco.

Nieves was hitting just .077 with one home run and four RBI in 13 at-bats this season.

Red Sox catcher Blake Swihart is out of the starting lineup, with Sandy Leon slotted behind the plate, according to the Boston Herald.

Swihart started the last two games after being called up when Ryan Hanigan went down with an injury. Christian Vazquez didn't think Swihart would get the call Monday to catch Clay Buchholz because of his independence on the mound, according to the report.

"I think he's the tough one to get on the same page with because he runs his game," Vazquez said. "He likes to run his game. But we talk a lot about that and get on the same page to not shake too much last year. It got better."

Leon will make his seventh start and is hitting .200 with two RBI in 20 at-bats. The Red Sox are currently the favorites (-134) against Tampa Bay.

After hitting a walk-off home run to defeat the Diamondbacks on Sunday, Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal said he hopes recent changes to his approach are starting to pay off, reports the Los Angeles Times.

"I've been trying to be more aggressively lately," he said.

Along with a shoulder issue, Grandal said his approach at the plate also led to his batting average dropping to .179 before raising it to .230.

"You have to look behind and who's hitting behind you," he said. "If you just get on first and you let the guy do his job, we're going to be good."

The Padres are set to call up their top prospect catcher Austin Hedges, according to CBSSports.com Baseball Insider Jon Heyman.

Hedges was hitting .343 with two home runs and 15 RBI in 67 at-bats for Triple-A El Paso. Hedges was one of the final cuts for San Diego in spring training, going 2 for 13 with a walk.

Yasmani Grandal led off the bottom of the 13th inning Sunday with a home run to break a scoreless game and send the Dodgers over the Diamondbacks.

Grandal entered the game as a pinch hitter in the 10th inning and stayed in to catch.

Diamondbacks reliever Evan Marshall (0-2) served up the walk-off blast.

Red Sox rookie catcher Blake Swihart is being thrown right into the fire after his recent call-up, as he was in the starting lineup for Sunday's game against the Yankees with plans to keep the youngster behind the plate for the foreseeable future, per the Providence Journal. 

Manager John Farrell said that Swihart will get the bulk of the starts, with Sandy Leon taking over the backup role. 

"We want to get to Blake in the flow of things as quickly as we can and yet recognizing and being a little bit sensitive when there may be a need for a breather," Farrell said. 

Indians starter Corey Kluber hasn't looked like the pitcher that won last season's Cy Young Award. Part of the reason may be the other half of the battery.

Catcher Yan Gomes has been on the disabled list with a knee injury, and Kluber is still adjusting to work with Roberto Perez. 

"There's obviously a difference," Kluber said, per MLB.com. "Whether it be myself with Yan, or somebody that gets traded, for example, there's always a period where you've got to work to know what each other wants to do. I think that's normal for any player to go through. It's not just Roberto and myself."

"There's no secret how comfortable Klubes and Gomer were," manager Terry Francona said. "That was a pretty special relationship that you want. ... When a guy like Gomes goes down, you don't have a Gomes sitting on the bench. I think we're pretty fortunate where we are, but they're not going to have that same sync. It's impossible."