MLB Player News

Perez underwent surgery to repair the UCL in his left thumb Friday and is expected to be sidelined about eight weeks, Josh Vernier of 610 Sports Kansas City reports.

The 32-year-old was placed on the injured list earlier Friday, and the team wasted little time getting him in for the procedure. Perez spent 10 days on the injured list with a thumb sprain in May, but he's now set to be sidelined for the next two months. MJ Melendez should operated as Kansas City's primary catcher in the meantime, with Cam Gallagher filling the backup role.

Barnhart is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Diamondbacks.

Barnhart is 3-for-22 over his past nine games and will head to the bench Friday for the second time in Detroit's past three contests. Eric Haase will start behind the plate and bat ninth.

Sanchez is out of the lineup for Friday's game against Colorado.

Sanchez started the past seven games and will head to the bench Friday after going 5-for-26 with a home run, two RBI and five runs during that stretch. Ryan Jeffers will work behind the plate while Jose Miranda serves as the designated hitter.

Bethancourt will sit Friday against the Royals, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Bethancourt may be falling into a small-side platoon role, as his off day here against Zack Greinke means he's now sat against the last three righties Oakland has faced. That followed a run of five straight starts against righties, however. Sheldon Neuse will be the first baseman Friday.

Maldonado will be on the bench Friday against the Yankees.

Maldonado has typically handled a heavy workload behind the plate, but he now finds himself on the bench for the third time in the last five games. Despite his defensive prowess, it's tough to be an everyday player when you hit .147/.221/.282. Jason Castro will again start at catcher Friday.

Trevino isn't starting Friday against the Astros.

Trevino started in the last two games and went 3-for-9 with a homer, two runs and two RBI. Kyle Higashioka is starting behind the plate and batting ninth.

Bethancourt went 1-for-3 with an RBI single and a walk in a 2-1 loss to the Mariners on Thursday.

Bethancourt's first-inning single plated Sheldon Neuse to give the Athletics some early momentum, although the end result was another low-scoring loss for Oakland. The 30-year-old had been mired in a 2-for-21 funk that had encompassed the previous six games, but the backstop has still produced a solid .269 average and excellent .577 slugging percentage over 15 games in June.

Mejia is not starting Friday's contest versus the Pirates, Neil Solondz of the Rays Radio Network reports.

Mejia will sit after going 1-for-8 with a double over the last two contests. Rene Pinto will get the start at catcher and bat eighth Friday.

Perez (thumb) will undergo surgery to repair the ulnar collateral ligament on his left thumb and was placed on the 10-day injured list Friday.

Perez will be out for an extended period of time following his operation, but the Royals expect him to return at some point this season. He suffered the injury in Tuesday's victory over the Angels, aggravating the same thumb he hurt earlier this season. MJ Melendez will take over as the primary option behind the plate, backed up by Cam Gallagher, while Edward Olivares (quadriceps) was activated from the 10-day injured list Friday. With the Royals out of playoff contention, the team will likely work Perez back slowly to avoid any sort of setback.

Rutschman went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and an RBI double in Thursday's 4-0 win over the White Sox.

Rutschman opened the scoring with his fourth-inning blast, and he added the RBI double as insurance in the sixth. The top prospect is starting to put bat to ball effectively, as he's notched two homers and five doubles in his last seven contests while going 9-for-25 (.360) in that span. The surge has lifted his season slash line to .222/.287/.394 with a pair of homers, seven RBI, 12 runs scored, nine doubles and a triple through 108 plate appearances.