MLB Player News

Mejia notched his fifth straight multi-hit game for Double-A Akron on Sunday, going 4-for-5 with a home run.

The top prospect is hitting .369/.412/.631 through 38 games, leading the Eastern League in batting average and OPS. Cleveland hasn't expressed interest in bringing up the catcher in 2017, but his performance in the minors shows he's not far from being ready.

Ice (wrist) was activated from the minor-league disabled list Monday.

Ice was sidelined 11 days due to the wrist injury, but it seems like everything is back in working order at this point. Prior to the injury, the second-year catcher was batting .212 with a 21:29 BB:K in 132 at-bats with Low-A Lake County.

Perez (ribs) was removed from Sunday's game for precautionary reasons, and he's expected to be in the lineup Tuesday against the Giants, Rustin Dodd of The Kansas City Star reports.

The catcher experienced some tightness in his right side, but by all indications, there's nothing for fantasy owners to fret. "[Perez] took a swing and felt a little tightness in here," manager Ned Yost said, pointing to his left side. "He didn't say nothing, and we kept prying, and he said: 'Yeah, it's a little tight.' I'm not taking any chances." After the game, Perez downplayed the issue and said he'd be ready for the three-game set in San Francisco this week.

Perez exited Sunday's game against the Padres with tightness in his rib cage, Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star reports.

Fortunately, the club does not believe that Perez's ailment to be serious, so there's a chance he'll be back in the lineup when the Royals return to action Tuesday against the Giants. However, if manager Ned Yost opts to give Perez an extra day off, Drew Butera would draw in behind the plate for the Royals.

Sanchez went 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBI in Saturday's win over the Orioles.

Following a somewhat disappointing start to the season, Sanchez got demoted from second to sixth in the lineup before Wednesday's tilt in Boston, and it looks to have been just the jolt the catcher needed. In the four games since then, Sanchez is 8-for-16 with a pair of walks, hitting two doubles and three home runs while driving in nine runs and scoring eight times himself. He obviously won't be able to sustain that pace over the long run, but it bodes well for those expecting numbers more in line with the way he played last season.

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

It's little more than a routine off day for Gomes, who was behind the plate for the first two games of the series, going 1-for-5 with two walks and two RBI. With Gomes sitting out, Roberto Perez will handle catching duties.

McCann is batting eighth and starting behind the dish Friday against the Red Sox.

In his first game back from the disabled list, McCann will get the nod at backstop over Alex Avila as the Red Sox send southpaw Brian Johnson to the mound. McCann is batting .286 against left-handed pitchers this season compared to Avila's .100 mark, so he should at least see regular starts against southpaws moving forward.

McCann (hand) was activated from the disabled list Friday.

As expected, McCann is back with the Tigers after missing the last two weeks with a hand injury. Alex Avila has been mashing while filling in for McCann behind the dish, so it's unclear how big of a role the 26-year-old will play now that he is healthy again. John Hicks was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move.

Vazquez is out of the lineup for Friday's series opener against the Tigers, Evan Drellich of CSN New England reports.

Vazquez continues to split time with Sandy Leon, who is behind the dish for Friday's contest and batting eighth in the order. In the two games Vazquez started against the Yankees, he went 0-for-7 at the plate with three strikeouts, but he has clearly been an upgrade over Leon thus far in 2017.

Perez (thumb) is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Astros, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports.

Perez suffered a slight thumb sprain during Wednesday's game that forced the catcher to come out of the contest in the eighth inning. Manager Ned Yost stated that he was not concerned about the injury, but it seems as though the Royals will be cautious with Perez and give him the night off in favor of Drew Butera before heading to San Diego this weekend.