MLB Player News

Vazquez is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Royals, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Vazquez will retreat to the bench for Wednesday's night contest with a matinee game on the docket for Thursday. In his place, Sandy Leon is starting at catcher and hitting ninth.

Sanchez (elbow) is starting at catcher and hitting third Wednesday against the Blue Jays.

As expected, Sanchez won't be forced to miss any time after getting hit by Lourdes Gurriel's bat in Tuesday's 4-3 loss to the Blue Jays. The backstop, who is hitting .273/.341/.584 with seven homers and 14 RBI in his last 20 appearances, will face right-hander Trent Thornton in this one.

Garver is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Indians.

Garver has started each of the past two games after returning from the injured list over the weekend, going 1-for-7 with an RBI and a run scored in those contests. Jason Castro is starting behind the dish and hitting eighth in place of Garver on Wednesday.

Sanchez admitted that he was dealing with some pain in his elbow after being hit by Lourdes Gurriel's bat in Tuesday's 4-3 loss to the Blue Jays but still expects to play Wednesday, Marly Rivera of ESPN.com reports.

Rivera notes that Sanchez's elbow was red from the icing and treatment he required after the contest, but the incident didn't force him to exit the game early. The Yankees will presumably re-examine Sanchez on Wednesday before determining his status. Even if the Yankees aren't comfortable clearing Sanchez to catch, it's possible he sticks in the lineup as the designated hitter.

McCann is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Nationals, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

With the White Sox and Nationals wrapping up their series with an afternoon game, McCann will take a seat after starting at catcher in Tuesday's 9-5 loss, Welington Castillo will step in behind the plate and slot into McCann's usual cleanup spot.

Perez (oblique) went 2-for-3 in High-A Charlotte's loss to Dunedin on Tuesday.

Earlier Tuesday, the Rays announced Perez would remain on his rehab assignment for a few additional days due to some lingering discomfort in his oblique. However, the backstop took another positive step back toward full health with Tuesday's effort, which saw him log another seven full frames behind the dish before being replaced by Joey Roach. If he remains free of any setbacks, Perez could potentially find himself back with the big-league club at some point this coming weekend or early next week.

Perez is expected to remain on a rehab assignment for a while longer, as his oblique issue is still lingering, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Perez looked decent at the plate in his first rehab game Sunday with High-A Charlotte, but the Rays have no intention of rushing him back, especially considering his oblique strain is still giving him some problems. Mike Zunino and Travis d'Arnaud will continue to handle the catching duties until Perez is activated.

Maldonado (forearm) is catching and batting eighth Tuesday against the Red Sox.

Maldonado was held out of Sunday's series finale against the Rangers due to forearm tightness, but he's right back in the mix following a scheduled off day. He's 8-for-25 with a homer and four RBI over his last 10 games at the plate.

Manager AJ Hinch suggested Sunday that Stassi could report to extended spring training this week to begin rehabbing his left knee injury, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Stassi is eligible to come off the 10-day injured list in the middle of the week, but it doesn't sound as though he's made enough progress in his recovery from the sore knee to realistically return in the minimum amount of time. That said, Stassi doesn't look to be on track for a long-term absence, especially if he's able to resume baseball activities within the next few days. Garrett Stubbs will continue to serve as the primary understudy to top catcher Robinson Chirinos until Stassi is deemed ready to rejoin the big club.

Perez (oblique) went 1-for-2 with a run in High-A Charlotte's loss to St. Lucie on Sunday.

Perez played five innings behind the dish before being replaced by Joey Roach. The 26-year-old backstop may need only one more rehab game before potentially being activated for the start of a three-game road series against the Tigers on Tuesday.