MLB Player News

Vazquez (elbow) is throwing up to 150 feet and will throw to bases this coming week, WEEI.com reports.

Vazquez was on hand for the Red Sox Winter Weekend event at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, looking noticeably trimmer after having lost 25 pounds during the offseason. He said there's been no setbacks with the elbow and anticipates being 100 percent for spring training. Vazquez is hoping to be ready for Opening Day, but there's a good chance the Red Sox have Vazquez start the season at Triple-A Pawtucket while Blake Swihart and Ryan Hanigan handle the catching chores at the major-league level.

Sanchez (ankle) signed with the White Sox on Monday, Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish reports.

With the offseason acquisitions of fellow catchers Dioner Navarro and Alex Avila, it's unclear where Sanchez will fit into the mix. He split time between the majors and minors last season, and could be reduced to a similar role with his new club.

Thole re-signed with the Blue Jays on a one-year, $800,000 deal Friday, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet reports.

Thole had just been non-tendered by the Blue Jays on Thursday, but he's coming back to the team after being a free agent for just a day. The 29-year-old had a disappointing campaign last season, hitting just .204/.250/.245, but he should get the chance to earn the backup role behind Russell Martin out of spring training.

Sanchez is well positioned to be the Yankees' backup catcher in 2016 after John Ryan Murphy was traded to the Twins in exchange for Aaron Hicks on Wednesday.

Sanchez has 20-plus homer upside and the arm to stick behind the plate, so if something were to happen to Brian McCann, he could be useful in most formats. The Yankees may opt to keep Sanchez at Triple-A so that he can get regular at-bats, but he should be seen as the No. 2 catcher on the organizational depth chart at this point.

Royals catcher Salvador Perez (thumb) is in the lineup Sunday for the regular season finale.

Perez indicated he was fine after dealing with thumb swelling Thursday, but he returned to the lineup Saturday and is again playing Sunday. He'll bat sixth as the Royals attempt to clinch home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Rays catcher Curt Casali (hamstring) will be out for the remainder of the season, the Tampa Tribune reports.

Casali has been out since Aug. 25 with a strained left hamstring, and it appears he just ran out of time to return this season. His 2015 campaign will end with a surprisingly productive year in the power department, hitting 10 homers in just 38 games and boasting a .594 slugging percentage.

Indians catcher Roberto Perez went 2 for 4 with a two-run homer Thursday against the Twins.

Unfortunately for the Indians, that one swing generated their only runs on the day. Perez hasn't offered much in fantasy, but he's now homered in two of his last three starts and has seven hits in 20 at-bats (a .350 average) over his last six starts, so he's closing things out on a high note.

Royals catcher Salvador Perez (thumb) indicated after Thursday's game that he's fine, the Kansas City Star reports.

Perez was likely removed from Thursday's contest for precautionary reasons, as it appears he will be good to go moving forward. Given the current situation with the Royals and the impending playoff run on tap, it's possible the Royals will rest their injured players for the weekend series, depending on how much they value home field advantage. If that's the case, Drew Butera seems the likely candidate to receive starts behind the plate.

Royals catcher Salvador Perez left Thursday's game with a swollen right thumb, Joel Goldberg of Fox Sports Kansas City reports.

In a nightmare night for the Royals, Perez becomes the fourth player to earn a day-to-day tag on the team, though Lorenzo Cain's existed prior to Thursday. Fortunately, none of the injuries to this point appear serious, so it's quite possible the club is being cautious. Perez will join Cain, Kendrys Morales and Alex Rios as day-to-day, but the club may elect to rest them, which could mean starts for either Drew Butera or Francisco Pena if Perez sits.

Rays catcher Curt Casali (hamstring) worked out on the field prior to Sunday's game, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. 

Casali did some running and a few other general exercises, but it's not clear if the Rays plan on having him back in the final week of the regular season. The team has been splitting the playing time at catcher fairly equitably of late between J.P. Arencibia and Luke Maile.