MLB Player News

Perez was removed in the bottom of the eighth inning of Monday's game against Cleveland with an apparent injury, Lynn Worthy of The Kansas City Star reports. He went 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI and a run before exiting.

An official reason for Perez's departure wasn't provided, but Worthy noted that the backstop was evaluated by trainers in the seventh inning after taking a foul ball off his mask. Perez stayed in the game and finished out the inning behind the plate before Cam Gallagher checked in for him to begin the bottom of the eighth. Kansas City may have just pulled Perez as a precaution, but manager Mike Matheny should provide more details on the star catcher's condition after the game.

Perez is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Royals.

With Monday's make-up game beginning at 1:10 p.m. ET, Perez will get a breather for the day game after he was behind the dish for three of the team's past four contests. Austin Hedges checks in at catcher in place of Perez, who went 1-for-10 with a double and a run scored during Cleveland's weekend series with the White Sox.

Jansen went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run in Sunday's 5-2 win over the Twins.

Jansen took Griffin Jax deep to left in the second inning for a three-run home run to put the Blue Jays on the board. It was his first long ball in just over two weeks and his ninth of the year. The 26-year-old is slashing .218/.296/.441 with 20 extra-base hits, 23 RBI, 27 runs scored and 17:41 BB:K over 190 at-bats. He and Alejandro Kirk should continue to split backstop duties in the coming week as the Blue Jays battle for a playoff spot.

Grandal went 3-for-4 with one RBI and a walk in Sunday's 5-2 victory over Cleveland.

Grandal knocked three singles in the win, including an RBI hit in the first inning. He's gone 5-for-10 (.500) with three walks over the last three games, improving his season slash line to .241/.420/.521 through 351 plate appearances. He's driven in 61 runs with 29 extra-base hits.

Stassi is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Mariners.

The 30-year-old backstop gets an afternoon off after going 0-for-3 with a pair of walks Saturday and hitting .179 with three RBI in his last 10 games. Kurt Suzuki starts behind the dish.

Maldonado is on the bench for Sunday's game against the Athletics, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Three consecutive hitless performances have lowered Maldonado's average to .155 since the beginning of September. Jason Castro starts behind the dish in Sunday's series finale.

Kirk is on the bench for Sunday's game against the Twins.

Kirk rests after starting consecutive games and going 1-for-6. Danny Jansen starts behind the dish for Sunday's series finale.

Heim is on the bench for Sunday's game against the Orioles.

Jose Trevino gears up to catch once again while Heim, hitting 0-for-17 in his last five games, rides the bench for a second straight game.

Plawecki had X-rays on his foot come back negative after being hit by a pitch during Saturday's 5-3 loss to the Yankees, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.

Plawecki delivered a productive performance by going 2-for-2 with a solo home run and a walk before being hit by a pitch during the ninth inning, prompting his exit. The 30-year-old appears to have avoided a serious injury, and he should have a couple days to get healthy since primary catcher Christian Vazquez figures to rejoin the lineup for Sunday's series finale versus the Yankees.

Plawecki went 2-for-2 with a solo home run and a walk in Saturday's 5-3 loss to the Yankees.

Plawecki opened the scoring in the third inning with a solo homer off New York starter Nestor Cortes, the third long ball of the year for the backup catcher, who also singled and drew a walk. The 30-year-old Plawecki is hitting .289/.353/.395 in 168 plate appearances this season.