MLB Player News

Sanchez (calf) hopes to be able to return after the minimum 10-day stay on the injured list, Meredith Marakovits of YES Network reports.

Sanchez is eligible to return as soon as April 21. An MRI taken Thursday revealed a minor calf strain, which surprised the catcher as he'd evidently felt fine. He'll be shut down for five days before resuming baseball activities.

Sanchez was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left calf strain Friday.

Sanchez wasn't in the lineup Wednesday due to the injury, but he did appear off the bench and said that he wasn't particularly worried about the issue. The Yankees evidently decided the problem was bad enough to keep Sanchez out for at least a brief stretch, so he'll join the team's lengthy injured list. The assignment is backdated to Thursday, so he could return as soon as April 21, though the team hasn't released a specific timeline. Kyle Higashioka was called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in a corresponding move and will back up Austin Romine until Sanchez returns.

Higashioka was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Thursday, Conor Foley of The Times-Tribune reports.

The club has yet to announce a corresponding move, although Gary Sanchez, who's been nursing some leg tightness of late, could be headed to the injured list as a result. Higashioka has gone 3-for-16 with a double and two RBI in four games this season with the RailRiders.

Vazquez is not in the lineup Thursday against the Blue Jays.

Vazquez remains the primary catcher behind the plate in Boston, starting eight games to Blake Swihart's five. Swihart is doing what he can to change that, hitting .353 while Vazquez is hitting just .185, and the pair has been alternating starts over the last eight games. The balance could continue to shift in Swihart's favor should that pattern continue.

Perez is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Tigers.

He'll retreat to the bench on getaway day, affording Kevin Plawecki a turn behind the plate for the first time in the series. Relatively speaking, Perez has been wielding a hot bat of late with four hits -- including a home run -- and three RBI over 12 at-bats, but his career .205/.297/.340 slash line offers a more accurate picture of what to expect from him moving forward.

Narvaez is not in Thursday's lineup against the Royals, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

He had started the last four games and will get a rest during Thursday's matinee. Narvaez is hitting .342 with two home runs over his last 38 at-bats. Tom Murphy will start behind the dish, hitting eighth.

Sanchez (legs) is available to pinch hit Wednesday against the Astros, Coley Harvey of ESPN.com reports.

Sanchez has been dealing with some tightness in his leg recently, which explains why he was limited to DH duties Tuesday and left out of the lineup altogether Wednesday. The backstop didn't seem too worried about the issue -- a notion confirmed by his availability off the bench -- and said he expects to return to the lineup Friday against the White Sox, per Meredith Marakovits of YES Network. In the meantime, Austin Romine is starting at backstop and hitting eighth.

Sanchez is not in the lineup Wednesday against Houston.

Sanchez was the designated hitter in Tuesday's game due to unspecified tightness, James Wagner of The New York Times reports. It's unclear whether that's the cause of his absence Wednesday or if he's simply due for a routine day off. With no game Thursday and seemingly no serious injury worries, Sanchez should be considered likely return to the lineup Friday against the White Sox.

Maldonado is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Mariners.

Maldonado will head to the bench for Wednesday's night game with an afternoon contest on the docket Thursday. The backstop, who is 6-for-31 (.194) through nine games this season, will give way to Cameron Gallagher behind the dish in this one.

Garver went 4-for-5 with three runs scored and two solo home runs in Tuesday's 14-8 win over the Mets.

Garver hit a pair of long home runs off Jacob deGrom during the second and third innings as the Twins roughed up the reigning NL Cy Young winner for six runs. The 28-year-old had only seven home runs in 335 plate appearances last season, making Tuesday's power surge all the more unexpected. Garver is likely to continue splitting time behind the plate with Jason Castro and Willians Astudillo. The Twins have yet to start the same catcher in consecutive games.