MLB Player News

Vazquez is not in Friday's lineup against the Orioles, WEEI.com's Evan Drellich reports.

Vazquez will give way to Sandy Leon for the second straight game, and fifth time in the last seven contests. Since July 29, Vazquez is hitting .412/.455/.627 with two home runs and seven RBI, and figures to be back in the lineup for Saturday's affair.

McCann went 1-for-3 with a solo home run, a walk and three runs scored in Thursday's win over the Yankees. He also got a scare when he took a Dellin Betances fastball to the helmet, but he remained in the game.

Betances hit McCann with a 98 mph fastball in the seventh inning, and McCann remained on the ground for a few moments. After the benches had already cleared in a wild brawl an inning earlier, the beaning brought both benches onto the field again, though there was no second brawl. McCann stayed in the game and got the last laugh when he launched his home run in the eighth inning. Getting hit in the head is always a serious matter, so even though he remained in the game, McCann will likely get evaluated further and could get some time off in the near future.

Perez went 3-for-4 with a double, a walk and two RBI against the Red Sox on Thursday.

Perez was one of six Cleveland batters to finish with multiple hits in the 13-6 rout. The backup catcher has mustered seven RBI in his past three games after driving in only 17 runs in his first 48.

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

Maldonado will get the series finale off after starting the first three games of the series and going 4-for-13. Juan Graterol will take over behind the dish, batting eighth.

Gomes is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Red Sox.

Gomes is hitless over his last 11 at-bats, so he'll get the day off to gather himself after starting three of the past four games at backstop. In his place, Roberto Perez will take over behind the dish, batting eighth.

Vazquez is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Indians, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald reports.

Vazquez went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in Wednesday's contest, so he'll hit the bench for the second time in three games as Sandy Leon draws another start behind the dish. The Red Sox will continue to deploy Vazquez and Leon in what is seemingly an unpredictable timeshare.

Perez is not in the Royals' lineup Thursday, 610 Sports Radio KC reports.

Drew Butera will slide in behind the dish to give Perez a break. The club has decided not to use Perez as a designated hitter anymore in order to preserve his health more effectively. Fantasy players should expect to get a little less work out of him, and this decision cuts into his value a bit. Still, he's one of the more reliable names at his position.

Perez won't be used as the designated hitter for the rest of the season, the Associated Press reports.

Perez has been the DH for 13 games this year, but manager Ned Yost believes that role is too risky for his All-Star backstop moving forward. An intercostal strain has hampered the veteran for a while now, and he missed 15 games after aggravating the ailment in early August. "When you're catching, you're staying loose and you're staying mobile," said Yost. "When you're [the DH], you have an at-bat and then sit." Although a slight reduction in at-bats will put a small dent in his value, Perez remains a top option across all formats.

Sanchez went 2-for-5 with a home run, two runs scored and three RBI in Wednesday's 10-2 win over the Tigers.

His mammoth August continues, and Sanchez is now slashing .311/.376/.757 through his last 20 games with 10 homers and 21 RBI. While he hasn't quite matched the production from his explosive 2016 debut, the 24-year-old's 26 home runs, 72 RBI and .892 OPS on the season still lead all starting catchers.

Stassi went 1-for-2 with a solo homer and two walks in Wednesday's 6-1 win over the Nationals.

Stassi's just 3-for-14 this season, but two of his hits have left the yard. The catcher also has an impressive 1:3 K:BB over that span, and should continue to get a sizable chunk of playing time with Houston battling the injury bug behind the plate.