MLB Player News

Gomes is not in the starting lineup Thursday against the Athletics, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Gomes and Roberto Perez have now alternated starts in the last six games. It will be Perez manning the backstop for the series finale, catching Corey Kluber (back) in his return from the DL.

Vazquez went 1-for-4 with a two-run double that provided the cushion in Wednesday's 4-1 win over the White Sox.

Savvy fantasy owners understand that Vazquez, a career .233 hitter entering 2017, will not sustain the lofty .341 average he currently possesses this season. But even as the average corrects itself going forward, Vazquez will continue to get turns as the primary batterymate for two of Boston's starters: Drew Pomeranz has a 3.45 ERA in nine starts with Vazquez behind the plate, and Eduardo Rodriguez has a 2.82 ERA in nine Vazquez starts.

Leon is out of the lineup Wednesday against the White Sox, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Christian Vazquez will substitute in behind the plate for Leon, who had started three of the previous four games. Manager John Farrell's continued usage of the catching timeshare makes it difficult to predict what Leon's workload will look like any given week, but both backstoppers are still worth owning in AL-only leagues until one emerges as the clear top option.

Sanchez is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Orioles.

Manager Joe Girardi is handing Sanchez a routine day off on the heels of four straight starts behind the plate. With Sanchez on the bench, Austin Romine will catch for starter Masahiro Tanaka, while center fielder Aaron Hicks moves up from seventh to second in the order.

Narvaez is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Red Sox.

With the White Sox facing their third left-handed starter in as many days, Narvaez will sit out once again, opening catching duties for Kevan Smith. It appears the two backstops will be stuck in a platoon until further notice, with Narvaez set to receive the majority of the starts as the left-handed hitter.

Maldonado is not in the lineup Tuesday against the Braves, Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Maldy has just four hits over the past seven games, so he'll head to the bench after four straight starts. Juan Graterol will take over behind the dish in his place.

Narvaez is not in the lineup Tuesday against the Red Sox.

This marks the second game in a row that Narvaez will watch from the bench. Kevan Smith tallied an RBI double in Monday's contest, so he'll pick up the start behind the plate.

Gomes is not in the lineup Tuesday against the Athletics.

Gomes has come back to Earth as of late, collecting just two hits over his past seven games. He'll cede Tuesday's start behind the plate to Roberto Perez, who will bat eighth in his stead.

Narvaez is out of the lineup Monday against the Red Sox.

Narvaez caught all nine innings of Sunday's game against the Tigers, so manager Rick Renteria will give him a breather with another day game on tap. Kevan Smith will handle the catching duties in the series opener.

Vazquez is out of the lineup Sunday against the Mariners, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Despite turning in a multi-hit effort in his last two starts to lift his season batting average to .350, Vazquez will still find himself on the bench for the fourth time in six contests. Vazquez's offensive numbers have been far more impressive than fellow backstop Sandy Leon, but manager John Farrell seems committed to getting both catchers regular work. For that reason, Vazquez may only be worth keeping active in deeper mixed or AL-only leagues.