MLB Player News

Sanchez went 1-for-3 with a two-run homer and a walk in Tuesday's 6-4 win over the Red Sox.

Sanchez hit his 20th homer in just his 51st career major league game, tying Wally Berger in 1930 as the fastest player to reach that milestone. His first-inning blast set the tone in a game that saw three Yankees to go deep off Red Sox starter David Price. The youngster has a remarkable .316/.390/.701 line this season.

Thole has just four at-bats in September, far fewer than in any other month this season.

With R.A. Dickey seemingly moved to the bullpen for good, Thole -- Dickey's personal catcher -- is no longer needed to make spot starts behind the plate. His role on the team has been reduced to its lowest point of the season, and considering he lacks fantasy relevance even when seeing regular time, it's hard to imagine a fantasy league where Thole's worth owning.

Perez (knee) is back in the lineup Saturday against the Tigers, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports.

Perez got the day off Friday to rest his troublesome knee, but the absence looks to have been more precautionary than anything else. He'll return to his usual spot behind the plate Saturday and bat fifth in the order against Detroit's Daniel Norris.

Gomes (wrist) has resumed throwing recently less than a week after being ruled out for the remainder of the season, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Gomes has responded well in his first week since fracturing his wrist but it's far too soon to know if he'll be able to make it back in time should the Indians make a lengthy postseason run.

Sanchez went 2-for-4 with a double in Friday's 9-0 loss to the Blue Jays.

It was a miserable night overall for the Yankees offense, but Sanchez seems to be virtually immune to any struggles at the moment. The two-hit effort was his fourth multi-hit outing in the last eight games, and also represented the seventh contest overall in which he'd hit safely over that span. Sanchez's stellar rookie season includes a .337/.413/.738 line, along with 19 homers and 38 RBI.

Perez is getting a day off Friday to rest a sore knee, MLB.com's Jeffrey Flanagan reports.

He was a late scratch Friday, and now we know why. With the Royals eliminated from postseason contention, it's possible that Perez could receive an extra day off or two down the stretch, but he is expected to be back in the lineup Saturday. Drew Butera is starting in his place Friday.

Perez was a late scratch Friday against the Tigers.

It is unclear why the Royals' starting catcher was scratched Friday, but his status will be updated when the team provides a reason. Drew Butera is starting behind the dish and hitting ninth in his stead.

Leon is out of the lineup Friday against the Rays, the Boston Globe's Pete Abraham reports.

He is still getting the bulk of the starts behind the dish for the Red Sox, but regression has come hard and fast for Leon. Over his last nine games he is hitting .097/.125/.129 with 10 strikeouts. Bryan Holaday will start at catcher and hit ninth Friday.

Casali went 1-for-3 with a double in Thursday's 2-0 victory over the Yankees.

It was only the 27-year-old's second hit of September in 17 at-bats, bringing his slash line for the month to a paltry .118/.167/.176. Casali has found playing time hard to come by while in a platoon with Bobby Wilson and Luke Maile, who have both performed appreciably better overall at the plate. Although Casali's bat has provided some modest pop again in 2016 with eight two-baggers and seven homers, his average has seen a precipitous 75-point drop from last season's .238 figure.

Leon went 0-for-4 with a run scored in Wednesday night's win over Baltimore. He is now hitless in his last 17 at-bats.

Leon's average has dipped to .322, which is still about 140 points higher than his career average (.187) entering the season. The batting-average correction is something we all expected to happen, though probably a lot sooner than this, but Leon still leads Boston's backstops in catcher's earned run average. As such, he's positioned himself to be the No. 1 catcher through the end of the regular season and into the postseason should Boston qualify. Long term, the catching job belongs to Christian Vazquez and/or Blake Swihart.