MLB Player News

Sanchez was traded to the Rangers on Monday for a player to be named later or cash considerations.

Sanchez will report to Triple-A Round Rock on Wednesday. The 29-year-old backstop spent the majority of 2017 with Triple-A Salt Lake, hitting .272/.355/.374 with four home runs in 284 plate appearances. He should provide organizational catching depth for the Rangers.

Perez (knee) went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in his first rehab appearance for Double-A Northwest Arkansas on Sunday.

Perez started at catcher and played only four innings, so he'll likely need to play a full game or two behind the plate during his rehab assignment before the Royals are comfortable activating him and reinserting him as their everyday backstop. While Perez has spent the entire season on the 10-day disabled list, the Royals have gotten little production out of the two catchers on their active roster, Drew Butera and Cameron Gallagher. The duo has combined for eight hits -- no home runs -- in 43 at-bats (.186 average).

Mejia's transition to the outfield is a work in progress, The Athletic reports.

Mejia has played left field twice in his first seven games for Triple-A Columbus this season. The Indians are reluctant to call him up until they feel more comfortable with him in the outfield, which may take some time. He may not be up with the big club until September, barring injuries to the Indians' primary catchers, Yan Gomes and Robert Perez.

Perez (knee) will begin his rehab assignment with Double-A Northwest Arkansas on Sunday, Maria Torres of The Kansas City Star reports.

He will be deployed as the catcher for three-to-five innings and will then be the designated hitter the next day. The Royals plan to take things day by day, as his knee allows. He could return to the big leagues before the end of April.

Maldonado is out of Saturday's lineup against the Royals, 610 Sports Radio Kansas City reports.

He will sit for the fifth time in 16 games this season. Rene Rivera will start behind the dish and hit ninth. Maldonado is hitting .256/.341/.308 with a 13.6 percent strikeout rate in 39 at-bats.

McCann went 2-for-3 with three RBI and his first home run of the season in Friday's loss to the Yankees.

McCann has been scuffling to start the season, as even after the two-hit night he's still hitting just .189. Perhaps the good performance will get him going. McCann hit a career-high 13 home runs last year, and fantasy owners are hoping he can eclipse that mark this season with more regular playing time now that Alex Avila is gone.

Vazquez is not in the starting nine Saturday against Baltimore, Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports reports.

Vazquez heads back to the bench after going 0-for-3 with a walk during Friday's victory to start the series against the Orioles. In his place, Sandy Leon will catch and bat seventh.

Manager Ned Yost said that Perez (knee) is currently experiencing no pain and could begin a rehab assignment as soon as this weekend, Rustin Dodd of The Athletic reports.

Perez has been out since the beginning of the regular season after suffering a Grade 2 MCL tear on the eve of Opening Day. At the time of his injury an initial timetable put him about 4-to-6 weeks away from returning to the big leagues, though it appears that he could be back in action a little sooner, especially if he's able to begin a rehab assignment this weekend. In his absence, Drew Butera and Cameron Gallagher continue to split time behind the plate.

Leon went 1-for-4 with an RBI in Thursday's 6-3 win over the Yankees.

This was Leon's third start in 12 games, all with Rick Porcello on the bump. Seeing that Porcello is 3-0 with just one walk and zero home runs allowed over 19.2 innings, it's a good bet Leon will continue as his batterymate. That doesn't mean you can count on Leon to deliver at the plate. His surprise 2016 season, when he posted an .845 OPS, is an outlier in a career of mediocre hitting.

Sanchez went 1-for-3 with a double and three RBI Thursday against the Red Sox.

Sanchez is now 4-of-9 with seven RBI over his past two games after going just 1-for-31 during his prior eight games. His strikeout rate has been well down to start the season and his low average was largely the result of a .063 BABIP entering Thursday's game. Although his hard hit rate has dipped in the early going, there's no reason to panic over Sanchez's slow start and he already seems to be working out of it.