MLB Player News

Vazquez went 2-for-4 to improve his batting average to .364 during Sunday's loss to Tampa Bay.

Coming through the minor leagues, it was Vazquez's defensive prowess that garnered the attention, but his bat has also been a real asset to start 2017. His current .364/.407/.491 slash line is impressive. However, splitting time with Sandy Leon hasn't enabled Vazquez to complement the strong ratios with serviceable counting stats. The 26-year-old backstop has just four runs and four RBI, which makes him a low-end fantasy option at best.

Ohlman will start at catcher Monday against the Braves, Steve Buffery of the Toronto Sun reports.

Manager John Gibbons said the rookie will start to give Luke Maile a break. The latter is just 1-for-31 (.032) over 10 games, so Ohlman could grab the attention of his skipper with a big day at the plate (and, of course, solid defense behind the dish). Ohlman has played in one game, going 0-for-3 with a strikeout, since joining the club last week when Russell Martin (shoulder) landed on the DL. At best, the 26-year-old is an extreme punt play in daily formats when he's in the lineup.

Perez is out of the lineup Sunday against the Orioles, 610 Sports reports.

With the Royals off the schedule Monday, Perez will benefit from an extended rest, marking the first time since April 23 that he hasn't started. Perez hasn't wilted while assuming massive workloads in previous seasons, and with 34 games already under his belt in 2017, he looks poised to again rank as one of baseball's more heavily used catchers. Drew Butera will spell him behind the plate Sunday.

Sanchez isn't in the lineup for the first game of Sunday's doubleheader with the Astros.

The Yankees will save Sanchez for the nationally televised matchup with the Astros later in the evening, affording Austin Romine a start behind the plate in Game 1. Since being activated from the disabled list May 5, Sanchez has picked up where he left off last season, batting 8-for-26 with a homer and five RBI over seven games.

Leon is out of the lineup Sunday against the Rays, Chad Jennings of the Boston Herald reports.

The Red Sox are still deploying a timeshare at catcher with Leon and Christian Vazquez, but Leon seems to have the upper hand of late with starts in five of the last eight games. During those contests, Leon has gone 7-for-19 with three homers, seven RBI and seven runs, rewarding fantasy owners who decided to keep him in their lineups in spite of his murky playing-time outlook.

Gomes is out of the lineup Sunday against the Twins, Zack Meisel of Cleveland.com reports.

Gomes recently got over an illness and worked behind the plate in four consecutive games, so he'll receive a needed rest Sunday afternoon. Roberto Perez will handle catching duties and bat ninth.

Narvaez is not in the lineup Saturday against the Padres.

Narvaez has picked up the bulk of the catching duties with Geovany Soto (elbow) landing on the disabled list, but the young backstop will get the night off after consecutive starts. Kevan Smith will catch Saturday.

Leon went 1-for-4 with two RBI in Friday's loss to the Rays.

It was a productive night for Leon, who now has seven RBI in his last four games. Don't continually expect this kind of consistent offensive production, however; his career .681 OPS is well below this month's 1.181 mark, and some regression to his career norm is likely.

McCann is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Angels.

The Tigers are giving McCann the night off Friday after he made four consecutive starts behind the plate. Alex Avila will handle catching duties for Jordan Zimmermann as Detroit takes on Matt Shoemaker and the Angels. Look for McCann to draw back into the lineup Saturday against Ricky Nolasco.

Gomes (illness) is in the lineup for Friday's game against the Twins.

An illness forced Gomes from Wednesday's game but apparently he's shaken the bug. After a rough start to the season, Gomes has flashed glimpses of his 2015 form in recent weeks, going 8-for-18 with a home run, three doubles and a 4:1 BB:K to begin May. He should continue to start two out of every three games for Cleveland.