MLB Player News

Leon has been nursing a swollen right knee the last few days and is out of the lineup Tuesday against the Indians, Evan Drellich of CSN New England reports.

Christian Vazquez will pick up his fourth straight start behind the plate Tuesday and will serve as the batterymate for Chris Sale for the first time all season with Leon, the left-hander's personal catcher, unavailable. Leon's injury is believed to have stemmed from his slide into home plate for the game-winning run Saturday against the Royals. According to Scott Lauber of ESPN.com, Leon is still available to catch in an emergency Tuesday, so the expectation is that he'll be back to full strength within a few days.

McCann will start at catcher and bat eighth Monday against the Yankees.

After fellow backstop Alex Avila was traded to the Cubs earlier Monday, McCann looks bound to see regular duties behind the plate for the final two months of the season. The 27-year-old season line of .242/.319/.456 is rather modest, but he's elevated his production since the All-Star break, going 14-for-33 (.424 average) with five extra-base hits and five RBI. With his playing time looking stable the rest of the way, McCann could make for a decent pickup in deeper mixed leagues or two-catcher formats where he's still available.

Narvaez is not in the lineup for Monday's game against the Blue Jays.

Narvaez will take a seat for the second game in a row after having started four of the previous five contests. Despite his .320/.433/480 triple slash coming out of the All-Star break, the 25-year-old still appears to be stuck in a timeshare with Kevan Smith.

Higashioka (back) has been on the 7-day DL at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre since June 22.

Higashioka has gotten a couple chances with the big-league squad this year, but he got hurt just two games after heading back to the minors and has been out over a month. While the catcher went 0-for-18 in the majors, he's slashing .286/.340/.490 at Triple-A, so whenever healthy, Higashioka figures to be the first man up if the Yankees need catching depth.

Gomes is out of the lineup Sunday against the White Sox, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

It'll just be a routine day off for Gomes after he started the first two games of the series behind the plate, going 2-for-8 with three RBI. Roberto Perez will handle catching duties Sunday.

Narvaez is out of the lineup Sunday against the Indians.

Kevan Smith will receive a start for just the second time in six games as Narvaez retreats to the bench. The catching timeshare seems to be tipping in Narvaez's favor of late with the 25-year-old backstop opening the second half with an 8-for-25 showing at the dish while getting on base at a .433 clip.

Sanchez is out of the lineup Sunday against the Rays.

After extending his hitting streak to four games with a home run and a double Saturday, Sanchez will receive a breather for the series finale before presumably rejoining the lineup when the Yankees resume their homestand Monday against the Tigers. Austin Romine will spell Sanchez behind the plate.

Vazquez went 3-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored in Saturday's 9-8 extra-inning win over Kansas City.

Vazquez singled, doubled and tripled Saturday, his best offensive game in weeks. He entered the game having gone 4-for-37 (.108) over the past 14 games. Hitting is always the concern with Vazquez, who had held his own over the first half with a .267 average. He's a prime candidate for regression in the second half of the season.

Garver is hitting .272 with 15 home runs and a .897 OPS at Triple-A Rochester. He's also thrown out 30 percent of runners and is a candidate for a September call-up, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Garver showed promise last season with a .753 OPS at Double-A, but wasn't considered a top prospect since he was already 25. He's improved his power, drawn more walks, and is said to have improved his defense at Triple-A. He should contend for the backup role with the Twins next season as a result and could surprise. The recent trade of John Ryan Murphy makes him the top catcher in Rochester.

Perez (ribs) went 1-for-4 with a solo homer Friday against the Red Sox.

Perez blasted his 21st homer of the season off Rick Porcello to put the Royals on the board in the second inning of a road victory. He's now hit at least 21 homers in each of the last three seasons, but he's easily on his way to a breakout season in the power department with his .531 slugging percentage.