MLB Player News

Perez homered and drove in three runs in a 3-for-5 game in Sunday's win over the Angels.

Perez is red-hot in June, now with nine extra-base hits including three home runs over 13 games this month. He now has extra-base hits in four consecutive starts and is slugging a ludicrous .667 this month.

Sanchez (groin) will start at catcher and bat second Sunday against the Athletics.

Sanchez returns to the lineup for the first time since the series opener after the sore groin had relegated him to the bench for the previous two contests. With the Yankees optioning third catcher Kyle Higashioka back to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre ahead of Sunday's contest, it would seem the club doesn't have much concern about Sanchez's health heading into the upcoming week.

Higashioka was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Sunday.

Higashioka was called up to the Yankees earlier in the weekend with Gary Sanchez (groin) hurting, but with Sanchez set to rejoin the lineup Sunday, the team had no further need for a third catcher. The Yankees activated closer Aroldis Chapman (shoulder) from the disabled list to take Higashioka's spot on the 25-man roster.

Maldonado is out of the lineup Sunday against the Royals, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports.

It's a routine day off for Maldonado after the veteran backstop was behind the plate for the previous three games. Juan Graterol will serve as the Angels' catcher in the series finale.

Gomes is out of the lineup Sunday against the Twins, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Gomes will cede catching duties to Roberto Perez in the series finale. With six hits in 27 at-bats over eight games, Gomes has gotten off to a rather rough start to June but still appears poised to see the bulk of the starts behind the dish.

Narvaez is out of the lineup Sunday against the Blue Jays, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Manager Rick Renteria continues to deploy a timeshare at catcher with Narvaez and Kevan Smith, but Narvaez seems to have moved ahead in the pecking order, at least temporarily. Though he'll rest Sunday, Narvaez had been behind the plate in four of the previous five games, collecting three hits during that span. Even if he ends up taking on a greater number of starts at catcher, Narvaez's lack of offense doesn't make him much of a consideration outside of AL-only and deeper mixed leagues that start two catchers.

Sanchez (groin) went 0-for-1 with a strikeout after entering as a pinch hitter in Saturday's loss to the A's.

Sanchez was held out of the lineup Saturday for a second consecutive day, but it's an encouraging sign that he was able to play in some capacity late in the contest. He could return behind the plate Sunday, but with a scheduled off day Monday, the club could decide to hold Sanchez out one more game in order to give him a couple extra days of rest.

Perez is not in the lineup Saturday against the Angels, Rustin Dodd of The Kansas City Star reports.

Despite riding a nine-game hitting streak, Perez will head to the bench for the night game ahead of Sunday's matinee contest. Drew Butera will draw the start behind the dish, while Perez should slot back into the lineup for the series finale.

Sanchez (groin) is out of the lineup for Saturday's game against the A's.

This will be Sanchez's second consecutive missed game as he continues to recover from a groin injury suffered Thursday. Austin Romine will take over behind the plate and bat ninth in the order. Sanchez's next chance to return will come Sunday, but it's unclear whether he'll be ready to get back into the lineup by then.

Perez is starting behind the plate and hitting eighth for Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader in Minnesota.

The reserve catcher is hitting just .152 with a 24.7 percent strikeout rate. Perez is nothing more than a punt play in daily formats Saturday afternoon.