MLB Player News

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

Maldonado will get just his second day off this month with the Angels playing an early-afternoon affair following Friday's night game. Juan Graterol will get the start behind the plate in Maldonado's place.

Perez was removed from Friday's game for precautionary reasons after he took a foul tip in the jaw while catching, Joel Goldberg of FOX Sports Kansas City reports.

Perez was 2-for-3 at the time, and with a 6-2 lead, it probably seemed safe to put in Drew Butera for the rest of the game. Unfortunately, the Royals promptly gave up five runs in the bottom of the fourth inning after Perez was taken out. Expect Perez back in the lineup at some point this weekend, but consider him day-to-day for now.

Gomes is out of the lineup Friday against the Mariners.

Friday will mark the fourth time over the last five games that Gomes has been withheld from the starting lineup. Since the start of September, Gomes has appeared in just 10 of Cleveland's 20 games. Roberto Perez will draw another start behind the dish as Gomes returns to the bench.

Perez went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer and a run-scoring groundout against Toronto on Wednesday.

After three games out of the lineup with an intercostal issue, Perez has looked healthy back in the batter's box over his two games since returning. The potential for the injury to crop up again is concerning, but with Perez sitting on a career-high 26 homers and coming up on his career high in RBI (79; he's three short), he's got to be locked into fantasy lineups as long as the Royals are deploying him.

Gomes is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Angels.

Gomes will head to the bench for a third straight game as Roberto Perez draws another start behind the dish in his stead. There has been no word of any injury at this point, so it's possible manager Terry Francona is simply riding the hotter bat. The 30-year-old backstop is hitting .250/.270/.361 with one homer in 36 at-bats this month, while Perez is slashing .314/.368/.743 with four homers in 35 at-bats over the same stretch.

Vazquez is out of the lineup Wednesday against Baltimore, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Coming off an 0-for-4 outing Tuesday, the Red Sox will give Vazquez the night to rest. Sandy Leon will serve as the team's backstop and hit eighth while Vazquez heads to the bench.

McCann is not in the lineup against the A's on Wednesday.

McCann will receive a typical day off following a pair of starts behind the plate, including a 2-for-5 showing with a triple and three RBI during Tuesday's affair. John Hicks is set to handle the catching duties in his stead.

McCann went 2-for-5 with a triple, three RBI and a run in Tuesday's loss to Oakland.

It's been a bit of an up-and-down season for McCann, but he's already set a new career mark in homers (13), while Tuesday's effort brought his RBI total to a career-high-tying 48. The 27-year-old catcher has improved his stats across the board this season, and it's not out of the question to expect further growth next season as he continues settling into the No. 1 role behind the plate in Detroit.

Perez (intercostal) is in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Blue Jays, Mike Wilner of Sportsnet 590 The Fan reports.

Perez has not taken the field since tweaking his side injury last Thursday, but he was expected to return to action Tuesday, and the Royals' lineup confirms he will indeed do just that. Perez is an ironman when healthy, but the Royals may look to take it easy with him the rest of the way, particularly if they are eliminated from playoff contention.

Vazquez made his first start of the season at designated hitter Monday and went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored in Boston's 10-8 extra-inning win over Baltimore.

September's roster expansion allows for such luxuries as using a hot-hitting catcher at DH. Vazquez has maintained a credible bat all season, but in the second half is slashing a hefty .344/.387/.508. Those numbers far outpace his career marks, and have led manager John Farrell to move Vazquez up in the batting order.