MLB Player News

Perez was optioned to Triple-A after Friday's game, the Los Angeles Times' Pedro Moura reports

He had started roughly half the Angels' games over the past two weeks, collecting eight hits in his last 25 at-bats. Geovany Soto was activated from the DL as a corresponding move. Soto should share time behind the dish with Jett Bandy going forward while Perez serves as organizational depth.

Casali (head) is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Red Sox, The Tampa Bay Times' Marc Topkin reports.

Casali appeared to have suffered a bruise after getting hit with a back swing in the head during Wednesday's matchup with the Angels. He is not in the lineup for Friday's game, but the Rays have been going back and forth with him and Hank Conger. Casali could be back in the lineup this weekend, but the Rays could choose to have him sit out until after the All-Star break as a precaution.

Perez finished 3-for-4 with a double, two RBI and a run scored in Thursday's 4-3 win over the Mariners.

Perez entered Thursday's contest having gone hitless in his last 23 at-bats, but he delivered his first three-hit effort in roughly three weeks, the last of which came in the form of a walk-off, two-run double in the bottom of the ninth. Perez's average still sits at a respectable .280 after ending his slide, and he will look to generate some further momentum before what should be an enjoyable All-Star break.

Perez (thumb) will move his rehab to Single-A Lake County next week, MLB.com reports.

Perez is working his way back from a thumb injury and is thus in the early stages of his rehab assignment. He's likely to return as Cleveland's backup catcher once he's able to get back to full health.

Gomes is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Yankees.

Gomes -- batting .103 over his last eight games -- will sit for a second game in a row in favor of Chris Gimenez who gets the start behind the dish. Gomes and Gimenez have been splitting time evenly at catcher recently, seeing 33 and 27 at-bats, respectively, since June 22.

Casali (head) appears to have suffered no more than a bruise after getting hit with a back swing in Wednesday's loss to the Angels, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The 27-year-old's medical evaluation seemed to go reasonably well, with manager Kevin Cash reporting that "[Casali] seems to be okay, he's a little beat up." Casali sat in favor of Hank Conger for Thursday's series finale against the Angels and remains day-to-day.

Casali left Wednesday's game early after getting hit by a back swing, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Time reports.

Casali was hit by a back swing behind the plate earlier in the game, and was eventually forced to leave. He was 0-for-2 before being replaced by Hank Conger. The severity of the injury is currently unknown, but consider him day-to-day until more information is released.

Leon is out of Wednesday's lineup, the Boston Globe's Pete Abraham reports.

This comes on the same day that it was reported Leon would be the primary catcher going forward, but of course he had caught the last three contests so he was due for a day off. Ryan Hanigan will start behind the dish and hit ninth Wednesday, but Leon is expected to get around four starts per week going forward.

Mejia, 20, is 10-for-29 (.345) in seven games since being promoted to High-A Lynchburg.

Mejia has continued to hit even with the jump in levels. He had a 30-game hitting streak earlier this year en route to tearing up Low-A. At that level he slashed .347/.384/.531 with seven home runs and 51 RBI in 60 games. The switch-hitting backstop still has some way to go as far as development behind the dish, but his bat should certainly draw rave reviews at this time, particularly due to his age.

Sanchez, 23, is batting .319 with two home runs, seven RBI and two steals over the last 10 games for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

In most other organizations, Sanchez would already be in the big leagues. However, the presence of Brian McCann has forced him to stay in the minors to get everyday at-bats. Through 54 games at Triple-A, Sanchez is batting .281/.319/.491 with nine home runs, 37 RBI and five steals. He will play in the Futures Game this weekend.