MLB Player News

Jansen is out of the lineup for Saturday's game against the Athletics.

Luke Maile draws the start at catcher after Jansen was behind the plate for both of the Jays' previous two contests. After a disappointing start to the season offensively, Jansen has begun to show signs of a breakthrough lately, posting exactly one hit in each of his last four starts.

Vazquez is not starting Saturday against the Rays.

Vazquez sits after homering in each of the last two games. He and Sandy Leon, who starts Saturday, have each started twice since Leon's promotion.

Narvaez went 1-for-2 a solo home run and two walks in a win over the Angels on Friday.

Narvaez's career-best run at the plate shows no sign of abating for the moment, with Friday already marking his sixth multi-hit effort in his first 18 games. The veteran backstop has also homered in three of his past four games, leaving him just four round trippers short of the career-high nine he notched in 2018 as a member of the White Sox.

Gallagher will start at catcher and bat eighth Saturday against the Yankees.

Gallagher is picking up just his fifth start of the season, as manager Ned Yost has ridden top backstop Martin Maldonado heavily early on. Unless Maldonado falls victim to injury or is traded, Gallagher probably won't be in store for primary duties behind the plate at any point in 2019.

The Yankees are expected to reinstate Sanchez (calf) from the 10-day injured list ahead of Wednesday's game against the Angels, Lindsey Adler of The Athletic reports.

Sanchez will have a one-game rehab assignment Monday with Low-A Charleston before flying out to California on Tuesday to join the big club. Assuming that Sanchez receives positive feedback from team doctors when he has his strained left calf reevaluated, he should step back in as the team's everyday catcher. Expect the Yankees to send Kyle Higashioka back to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to clear a spot on the active roster for Sanchez.

Maldonado is out of the lineup for Saturday's game against the Yankees.

Maldonado is getting a routine breather after catching each of the Royals' past three games. Cam Gallagher will step in behind the plate as a battery mate for starting pitcher Heath Fillmyer.

Vazquez went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in a 6-4 victory over the Rays on Friday.

Like a lot of Red Sox hitters, Vazquez has struggled early this year, but he does appear to be coming on a bit, going 3-for-8 with two homers in the last two games. Vazquez also has four RBI in the last couple of contests. He is batting .224 with four homers, 10 RBI, eight runs and a steal in 49 at-bats.

Higashioka is catching and hitting eighth against the Royals on Friday.

Austin Romine will take a seat as Higashioka starts behind the dish for the first time in three games. The 28-year-old has just five at-bats since getting called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, and he could get sent back down soon with Gary Sanchez progressing from the calf injury that landed him on the injured list.

Sanchez (calf) is expected to come off the IL during the Yankees' upcoming west coast road trip, which begins Monday against the Angels, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Sanchez is eligible to return Sunday but he will apparently require a little extra time before being activated. According to Lindsey Adler of The Athletic, manager Aaron Boone also said Sanchez will likely need one or two rehab games before rejoining the lineup, which makes an early week activation seem fairly improbable.

Narvaez went 3-for-4 with a three-run home run, four RBI, three runs and two walks in the Mariners' 11-10 victory over the Angels on Thursday.

The backstop was all over the place in this contest, reaching base five times and launching a three-run bomb off Jake Jewell in the seventh inning for his fourth long ball of the season. The big day at the dish boosts the 27-year-old's slash line up to a solid .297/.348/.500 over 64 at-bats.