MLB Player News

Vazquez is back behind the plate Tuesday against Texas, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Vazquez had only caught one of the last five games, though he'd also appeared twice as a designated hitter. He owns a poor .196/.237/.304 slash line over his last 18 games.

Vazquez will sit Monday against the Rangers, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.

Sandy Leon has caught four of the last five games for the Red Sox, including Monday's contest. Vazquez sat on two of those occasions but has also filled in for J.D. Martinez (back) as the designated hitter in two games.

D'Arnaud went 2-for-4 with a double and a sacrifice fly in a win over the Red Sox on Sunday.

The veteran backstop's blistering hot June continued in impressive fashion Sunday, with d'Arnaud generating his third consecutive two-hit effort. After a 1-for-19 start to his Rays career following a May 10 trade from the Dodgers, d'Arnaud is hitting .394 (13-for-33) with three doubles, three home runs, 11 RBI, four walks and nine runs over the subsequent 10 games. The surge was enough to prompt the Rays to option Michael Perez, who opened the season splitting time with Mike Zunino behind the dish prior to suffering an oblique injury, down to Triple-A Durham upon his activation Monday. That leaves d'Arnaud to serve as Zunino's new platoon partner in a yet-to-be-determined playing time split for the time being.

Murphy went 2-for-5 with a pair of home runs and three RBI in the Mariners' 9-3 win over the Angels.

Though Omar Narvaez has handled the bulk of the starts behind the dish this season, Murphy's recent production may have the Mariners' catching situation trending into more of a timeshare. After Sunday's monstrous performance, Murphy is now sitting on a nine-game hitting streak and has slugged five home runs in his last five starts. Murphy's surge has prompted manager Scott Servais to alternate starts between the two backstops over the past six games, a pattern that could continue until the 28-year-old's bat cools off.

Perez (oblique) was activated from the 10-day injured list and optioned to Triple-A Durham on Monday, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

It had seemed likely that Perez would reclaim his roster spot as the backup catcher behind Mike Zunino once healthy, but he won't get the chance to do that just yet. Travis d'Arnaud, who owns a .256/.323/.481 slash line in 19 games with the Rays, will keep the job instead, with Perez seemingly waiting for an injury to open up a spot on the roster.

Narvaez is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Angels.

Tom Murphy will check in behind the dish for the second time in the series after Narvaez went hitless in four at-bats in Saturday's 12-3 loss. Narvaez is stuck in a 6-for-36 rut at the plate over his last 11 outings, resulting in his season average dropping from .291 to .275.

Plawecki is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Yankees.

Plawecki surprisingly drew starts behind the plate in the first two games of the series, going hitless Friday before hitting a solo home run and driving in another on a sacrifice fly in Saturday's 8-4 win. Despite that quality showing, Plawecki still maintains a lackluster .171/.263/.343 slash line for the season and looks like the clear No. 2 backstop behind Roberto Perez, who rejoins the lineup Sunday.

Maile is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Diamondbacks.

Maile heads to the bench after starting two of the past three games behind the plate. He remains stuck in a rough timeshare at catcher with Danny Jansen, with neither backstop seemingly gaining much ground in the job battle. Both are hitting under .180 for the season and have combined for only four home runs.

Leon will start at catcher and bat eighth Sunday against the Rays, Bill Koch of The Providence Journal reports.

Leon has seen a mild spike in his workload of late, as he'll draw his third start of the series Sunday. It's worth noting, however, that top backstop Christian Vazquez has filled in as designated hitter for the injured J.D. Martinez (back) in two of those contests. Once Martinez is back in commission, Leon's usage could take a hit.

D'Arnaud went 2-for-4 with a three-run homer in Tampa Bay's 9-2 win over the Red Sox in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader.

D'Arnaud provided the Rays' first three runs with a home run off Josh Smith in the second inning. The 30-year-old backstop hit his first two home runs of the season Thursday and has raised his batting average to .240. If his hot streak continues, he might be able to earn a solid split of playing time with Mike Zunino.