MLB Player News

Blue Jays catcher Josh Thole smashed his first home run of the season Wednesday night in New York. Although the Jays lost the game, Thole's homer tied the score at two in the fourth inning.

Thole finished 1 for 3 in the contest and is batting .146 on the year for Toronto. He added a sacrifice. The backstop has just six RBI all season over 82 at-bats.

Yankees catcher Chris Stewart hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the sixth inning Tuesday, propelling New York to a 8-4 win against the Blue Jays in the first game of a doubleheader. It was Stewart's fourth home run.

Stewart extended his hitting streak to five games. He's batting .350 (7 for 20) with one double, one home run and seven RBI in his last five games.

Royals catcher Salvador Perez hit his fifth home run in a loss Saturday against Detroit.

Perez finished 2 for 4 with a run scored, two RBI and a walk to go with the home run. It was Perez's first home run since returning from the disabled list Aug. 11. He is hitting .273/.308/.379.

I assume Yan Gomes is the main reason the Indians let Mark Reynolds go. They probably know as well as anyone that the former Diamondbacks and Orioles slugger has another power surge in him, but why suffer through this crippling cold spell when they can just go with Gomes and live happily ever after?

That's basically what they've done in five games since, starting Gomes at catcher in four of them. With Reynolds out of the picture, first base and DH are all the more available for Carlos Santana, their opening day catcher who they've never really treated as a catcher.

Gomes has a .314 batting average and .893 OPS. Granted, those numbers are inflated by recent hot streak that has him hitting .500 (21 for 42) with two homers over his last 13 games, but with more regular playing time, his streaks might not be so exaggerating moving forward.

And with more regular playing time, he's a legitimate Fantasy asset. I've moved him all the way up to 20th at catcher in my rankings, but if you prefer the upside play, you could make a case for him as high as 16th.

Royals catcher Salvador Perez was out of the team's starting lineup Tuesday against the Marlins, but it was not because of any lingering effects from his recent return from a concussion. Manager Ned Yost is just looking to get him a day of rest with the Royals stuck in a tough stretch in the schedule.

"We're 14 days into a stretch where we play 44 games in 44 days," Yost said. "With a day game coming tomorrow, give him a break where you can afford to give him a break."

Perez had appeared in consecutive games since returning from the concussion DL, and he should be back in the lineup Wednesday. He has switched to a hockey-style mask to try to give him some extra protection against stray foul balls, and he will stick with that for the time being. 

Yankees catcher Chris Stewart said his hand is fine and he's just getting a day off so Austin Romine can get some more playing time Tuesday, The Journal News reports. 

Stewart's production and playing time have dropped off recently and Romine has shown improvement. 

"I've talked about playing Ro a little bit more, and you will see him a little bit more," manager Joe Girardi said. "But Stew is still going to catch a lot."

Stewart, batting .219 on the year, has gone just 7 for 58 (.121) over his last 21 games. He has three RBI over that stretch. 

Indians catcher Yan Gomes moved into the sixth spot in the lineup Monday against the Twins for the fourth time this season.

"I think he's earned it," manager Terry Francona said, per The Plain Dealer. "Especially with what he's done against left-handers."

Gomes is batting .324 with a .603 slugging percentage and .963 OPS against left-handed pitchers in 2013. Overall, he's batting .310 with a .532 slugging percentage and .885 OPS in 52 games.

"Early in the year, I was trying to protect him because we'd pinch-hit for him early," Francona said. "Now we've gotten to the point where we're not going to do that. He's been swinging the bat really well."

Royals catcher Salvador Perez will make his second consecutive start Monday against the Marlins. 

Perez missed time with concussion issues, and there was a question of how he would handle catching once he returned. Perez apparently felt fine following Sunday's game, and earned another start. He's hitting .278/.311/.382 in 338 at-bats. 

Royals catcher Salvador Perez went 1 for 3 with a walk in his return from the disabled list Sunday as the Royals beat the Red Sox, 4-3. Perez also committed a throwing error while raising his season line to .278/.311/.382 in 338 at-bats.

The Royals activated catcher Salvador Perez from the seven-day disabled list Sunday, and Perez is slated to bat fifth while playing catcher in Sunday's game against the Red Sox.

Perez wound up missing the minimum amount of time on the concussion disabled list. He has hit .278/.309/.382 with four home runs and 43 RBI in 335 at-bats.