MLB Player News

Perez exited Tuesday's game early with right side rib tightness.

The Royals are saying that Perez's removal was simply precautionary and that he's a day-to-day case. It doesn't sound like the star catcher will miss much time, but Drew Butera will fill in behind the plate in the mean time.

Perez was removed early from Tuesday's game against the Tigers, Joel Goldberg of Fox Sports Kansas City reports.

The reason for Perez's early departure is not currently known, but he was replaced by Drew Butera prior to the bottom of the fifth inning. Perez was 1-for-2 with a strikeout prior to his exit. An update on his status should follow Tuesday's contest.

Sanchez is not in the lineup for Tuesday's matchup with the Reds.

Sanchez caught the past six games, but he has just a .462 OPS to his name in that span. He'll hit the bench for a night off as a result, allowing Austin Romine to assume catching duties for the evening.

Perez went 2-for-4 with a solo home run during Monday's win over Detroit.

Perez is well on his way to a career year with 20 homers, 62 RBI, 43 runs and a .284/.315/.525 slash line. Both his fantasy ceiling and floor benefit from seeing more at-bats than the majority of catchers around the league -- a benefit of the Royals utilizing Perez as their designated hitter more than ever this season.

Pena (undisclosed) was activated from the disabled list at Triple-A Charlotte on Monday, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Pena has been sidelined since the beginning of July, but it appears the three-plus-week absence was enough to get him back to full health. That said, his uninspiring slash line with the Triple-A club has him locked into an organizational depth role for the foreseeable future.

Nicholas was recalled from Triple-A Round Rock on Monday, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports.

The Rangers are labeling backup catcher Robinson Chirinos as day-to-day after X-rays on his sprained left ankle came back negative, but Nicholas will still earn his first call-up of the season to act as insurance behind the plate. Jonathan Lucroy is slated to handle the bulk of the duties at catcher, so Nicholas won't be in line for more than a start or two a week even if it's determined that Chirinos will require a trip to the disabled list. Nicholas is batting .311/.353/.469 over 293 plate appearances this season at Round Rock.

Gomes is out of the lineup Monday against the Reds.

Gomes will retreat to the bench following two straight turns behind the dish, allowing Roberto Perez to draw the start at catcher. In six appearances since the All-Star break, Gomes has gone 4-for-21 with a home run and two RBI.

Vazquez is out of the lineup Sunday against the Angels, Scott Lauber of ESPN.com reports.

With a .177 batting average since the beginning of June, Vazquez's hot start to the season has looked like a distant memory, and may have allowed Sandy Leon to carve out a larger portion in the timeshare at catcher. Leon will be behind the plate Sunday for the fourth time in six games.

Mejia, 21, is day-to-day at Double-A Akron with a hip strain, Chris Assenheimer of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram reports.

He has not played since Thursday, but it sounds like he may not require a stint on the 7-day DL for the RubberDucks. Mejia, the best catching prospect in the game, is hitting .320/.368/.525 with 10 home runs and five steals in 270 plate appearances. He has an exemplary 35:19 K:BB, despite being much younger than the typical player in the Eastern League.

McGuire (knee) was removed from Double-A New Hampshire's disabled list to begin a rehab assignment at the Jays complex in Dunedin.

The catcher had surgery in May to repair a meniscus tear in his right knee. McGuire, 22, scorched an RBI double during his first rehab game Friday in the Gulf Coast League. A first-round pick in 2013 by the Pirates, McGuire has yet to break through offensively over 370 career at-bats in Double-A, but he's still considered one of the organization's top catching prospects.