MLB Player News

Gomes' recent approach at the plate has impressed manager Terry Francona, Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com reports.

The backstop has been plagued by injuries in recent seasons, and he's far removed from the Silver Slugger Award he captured in 2014. However, Gomes has continued to play well when healthy behind the dish, affording himself steady at-bats. After a terrible offensive start to his sixth MLB season, the 29-year-old's bat is beginning to shows signs of life: Gomes is slashing .353/.463/.471 over his last 13 games. "No. 1, he's using the whole field," manager Terry Francona said. "He's shot some balls to right field, which is always a good sign. When you hit the ball hard the other way, you've got to be on balance. No. 2, I think he's been on time (with his swing) more and he's pulled some balls through the hole. I think with some confidence, you'll start to see some better swings." Gomes opened the season best suited for AL-only leagues, but his recent efforts make him worthy of a roster spot in some mixed formats as well.

Leon went 2-for-4 with a pair of two-run home runs during Sunday's win over Minnesota.

Leon started the final two games of the series against Minnesota, and he went 5-for-9 with three home runs, five RBI and four runs. He's also started four of seven May games, and Leon should continue to receive plenty of starts against right-handed hurlers. Christian Vazquez is the superior defender, and he's off to a solid start at the plate with an .828 OPS. Barring an injury or other struggles for Vazquez, Leon isn't likely in line to see an uptick in playing time, regardless of how well he fares at the dish.

McCann went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Sunday's loss to the Athletics.

McCann has been essentially alternating starts with Alex Avila behind the plate, which limits the appeal of both players in standard leagues. McCann is also hitting just .149 this season, but he does now have six home runs.

Perez (forearm) is in the starting lineup Sunday against the Indians, Joel Goldberg of FOX Sports Kansas City reports.

Perez left Saturday's game in the eighth inning after taking a foul ball off his left forearm, but the heavily used backstop won't miss any time as a result. He'll bat fifth and start behind the plate for the fifth straight game.

Narvaez is out of the lineup Sunday against the Orioles.

Narvaez was behind the plate for the first two games of the series, but he'll take a seat in favor of Geovany Soto for Sunday afternoon's finale.

Perez left Saturday's game after taking a foul ball off his left forearm, Josh Vernier of 610 Sports Radio Kansas City reports.

The incident occurred in the eighth inning, and Drew Butera replaced Perez behind the plate in the ninth. Perez went 1-for-3 prior to exiting the game. It would make sense if the Royals scheduled an X-ray to determine the full extent of the injury.

Vazquez is out of the lineup Saturday against the Twins, Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal reports.

Vazquez has started the last three games and is 1-for-14 over the past week, yet still has a solid .333 average on the season. He gives way to Sandy Leon behind the plate in what appears to be a routine day off.

Narvaez went 2-for-4 with a run in Friday's 4-2 loss to the Orioles.

Narvaez (14 games) and Geovany Soto (12 games) have been splitting the catching duties fairly evenly. Narvaez is the lesser-known commodity, but has managed to handle major-league pitching (.264 career average) since being called up in 2016 despite only 188 at-bats above High-A. There's not a lot of power to his bat, but Narvaez is hitting a serviceable .279 in 43 at-bats this season.

Gosewisch was recalled from Triple-A Tacoma on Friday.

Gosewisch hasn't been particularly great for Tacoma, where he owns a .240/.339/.320 batting line over 17 games, but Mike Zunino's struggles were getting to be too much for Mariners brass to handle. The former Diamondbacks catcher will hold down the backup spot until Zunino proves he's ready to handle the show once again. Expect Carlos Ruiz to get most of the starts at catcher over Gosewisch.

Gomes is not in the lineup Friday against the Royals, 610 Sports Radio KC reports.

Despite coming off consecutive multi-hit games, Gomes will head to the bench as Roberto Perez gets the start behind the dish. Gomes' recent efforts at the plate have brought his slash line to a slightly more respectable .224/.318/.328 through 20 games this season.