MLB Player News

Maldonado was activated from the bereavement list Tuesday. He is starting at catcher and hitting eighth against the Rockies.

Maldonado is back with the Angels after spending the weekend away from the team on the bereavement list. The backstop, who is hitting .213/.306/.307 through 23 games this season, will face Jon Gray in his first game back. Juan Graterol was sent to the minors in a corresponding move.

Mejia was removed from Tuesday's game with Triple-A Columbus after being hit by a pitch on the left forearm, John Wagner of The Toledo Blade reports.

Mejia initially remained in the game after taking a pitch off his forearm in the top of the eighth inning, but he was replaced behind the dish prior to the bottom half of the frame. He'll undergo further evaluation Wednesday.

Garver is not in the lineup Monday against the Cardinals, Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Garver was expected to handle the bulk of catching duties with Jason Castro (knee) on the disabled list, but he'll head to the bench for a second straight game while Bobby Wilson picks up another start behind the dish Monday. It's unclear if Garver is dealing with an injury or if the Twins expect to proceed with Wilson as their primary backstop until Castro is healthy, but it may be something worth monitoring. The 27-year-old is hitting .250/.302/.450 with two homers through 43 plate appearances this season.

Perez went 0-for-3 in Sunday's 6-1 loss to Boston.

Perez was claimed off waivers late last week and made his Rangers' debut against Chris Sale, one of the toughest left-handers in the game. There's little in Perez's offensive track record to excite fantasy owners, so even against pitchers not in the same class as Sale, we're not expecting much production.

Leon went 2-for-3 with a walk, a home run, three RBI and a run scored Sunday against the Rangers.

Leon is off to a slow start this season, but he was able to increase his batting average from .111 to .154 after recording two hits Sunday. He also delivered his first long ball of the season in the sixth inning, a three-run blast that put the Red Sox up 5-0. Leon will look to build off this success moving forward, although he figures to see inconsistent playing time as the team's No. 2 backstop.

Vazquez is out of the lineup Sunday against the Rangers, Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston reports.

Vazquez and Sandy Leon have alternated starts at catcher the last six games, and that trend seems likely to continue all season unless one of the two backstops catches fire at the plate. Though he has contributed more offensively than Leon so far, Vazquez's .193 average and zero home runs in 96 plate appearances have made it difficult to justify rostering him outside of AL-only or two-catcher mixed leagues.

Garver is out of the lineup Sunday against the White Sox, Dan Hayes of The Athletic Minnesota reports.

For at least the next week and a half, Garver looks like he'll be the Twins' primary catcher following Jason Castro's (knee) placement on the 10-day disabled list Saturday due to a partially torn meniscus. If Castro is unable to avoid surgery like the Twins are hoping he will, Garver's run as the No. 1 backstop could last multiple weeks, if not months. Garver will only sit out the series finale for routine maintenance after logging all nine innings behind the dish in Saturday's win, going 1-for-4 with a walk and an RBI in that contest.

McCann is out of the lineup Sunday against the Royals.

With McCann getting a breather following six consecutive starts behind the dish, Grayson Greiner, who was called up from Triple-A Toledo on Saturday, will make his first MLB appearance behind the dish. Neither Greiner nor John Hicks remains a serious threat to McCann's status as the Tigers' No. 1 catcher, especially with McCann having turned in five multi-hit efforts within the past two weeks.

Maile will start at catcher and bat eighth Sunday against the Rays, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.

It's the third starting assignment in four games for Maile, who has earned the extra work by slashing a blistering .319/.407/.404 in limited action this season. Maile has struck out in 29.6 percent of his plate appearances and owns a .484 BABIP, so it's difficult to envision him sustaining much offensive success for the long haul. Once Maile's bat predictably cools off, his starting opportunities should fall by the wayside, allowing Russell Martin to take on a larger portion of the playing time behind the plate.

Gomes is out of the lineup against the Yankees on Saturday.

Gomes will receive a standard day off for maintenance purposes after going 1-for-3 with two runs scored during Friday's loss. Roberto Perez will take his place behind the dish for Saturday's matinee.