MLB Player News

Royals general manager Dayton Moore said Sunday that swelling has "vacated" Perez's sprained left knee, and the catcher is expected to "get back a little bit before" the 4-to-6-week recovery timeline established March 28, Josh Vernier of 610 Sports reports.

Since Perez has yet to resume baseball activities, it's too early to predict with much confidence that he'll be ready to go by the end of April, as Moore seems to be forecasting. In any case, the fact Perez has healed a little faster than anticipated counts as positive news and may convince any owners with limited bench spots who were thinking of cutting him to think twice. The Royals will likely provide additional updates on Perez's condition over the next few weeks before a firmer return date is sussed out.

McCann is out of the lineup Sunday against the White Sox.

McCann will receive a routine rest after starting the first two games of the series and going 1-for-8 at the dish. John Hicks will settle in behind the plate, catching for Mike Fiers.

Sanchez (calf) is out of the lineup Sunday against the Orioles, Erik Boland of Newsday reports.

Sanchez will be held out for the second straight day with a calf issue, which he first experienced during the Yankees' extra-inning loss Friday in the series opener. The injury was initially categorized as a cramp, but the back-to-back absences suggest that Sanchez could be dealing with some lingering soreness. There's been no indication that Sanchez will be bound for the disabled list, so the Yankees are hopeful that two more days of rest -- the team is off the schedule Monday -- will be enough for the backstop to reenter the lineup Tuesday in Boston.

Maldonado is not in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Athletics, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Maldonado heads to the bench Saturday after starting the last two games for the Angels. The 31-year-old has yet to start more than two consecutive games this season and will yield to Rene Rivera behind the plate Saturday.

Gomes is not in the starting nine for Saturday's game against Kansas City.

Gomes will head to the bench in favor of Roberto Perez after starting the past two games behind the dish. Through five starts this season, Gomes is hitting .118 with one home run and three RBI.

Sanchez (calf) is out of the lineup against the Orioles on Saturday, Pete Caldera of The Bergen Record reports.

It would've been surprising to see Sanchez in the lineup after he left Friday's contest with a calf injury in the 14th inning. Though the injury appears to be just a cramp, according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, the team will take it easy on its star backstop, especially after he caught 256 pitches Friday night. Consider him day-to-day for Sunday's series finale. Austin Romine will draw the start in his stead Saturday.

Vazquez is out of Saturday's lineup against the Rays, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports.

This will only be his second day off this season. He is hitting .227 with zero home runs in six games (22 at-bats). Sandy Leon will start behind the dish and hit ninth.

Sanchez exited in the 14th inning of Friday's game against the Orioles with a calf injury, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Sanchez reached for his right calf with Adam Jones at the plate in the 14th inning and was replaced by Austin Romine. The severity of the injury is unclear -- although it looked as though it could have been a cramp or a similar injury -- which wouldn't be surprising given the 24-year-old had already caught 256 pitches in the contest. The Yankees' catcher should be considered day-to-day and will have his status updated as he is further evaluated, but at this point he seems unlikely to take the field Saturday.

Sanchez went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer Wednesday against the Rays.

The homer, which was his first of the season, snapped an 0-for-17 skid dating back to the season opener. Hopefully this will get Sanchez going, as the backstop is just 2-for-23 (.087) to start the year after hitting .278/.345/.531 with 33 home runs and 90 RBI in 2017.

Gomes is not in the lineup Tuesday against the Angels, Zack Meisel of The Athletic Cleveland reports.

Gomes is expected to regularly share time behind the dish with Roberto Perez, so it's not terribly surprising that he'll have the day off after starting Monday's game. Gomes has started three games this season, over which he's gone 2-for-9 (.222) with a home run, three walks and five strikeouts.