MLB Player News

Maldonado is not in the lineup for Game 3 of the ALCS against the Red Sox on Tuesday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Maldonado will hit the bench after going 1-for-6 with a pair of runs and a pair of strikeouts in the first two games of the series. Brian McCann will start behind the dish and hit eighth in his stead.

Vazquez is not in the lineup for Game 1 of the ALCS against Houston on Saturday, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.

Vazquez sat for the first two games of the ALDS but started the last two games. Sandy Leon starts behind the plate and bats ninth Saturday, catching Chris Sale.

Maldonado is not in the lineup for Game 3 of the ALDS in Cleveland on Monday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Maldonado is 1-for-7 with a solo homer so far in the postseason. Brian McCann will take over catching duties in his absence.

The White Sox recently re-signed Gonzalez to a minor-league contract, Matt Eddy of Baseball America reports.

Gonzalez reached the big leagues for the first time in his career this past May, appearing in three games with Chicago before being optioned to Triple-A. Though he's no longer a member of the 40-man roster, Gonzalez will stick around in the organization and likely earn an invite to big-league spring training. It's likely that he'll open the 2019 campaign at Double-A Birmingham with the White Sox expected to deploy Zack Collins and Seby Zavala at Triple-A Charlotte.

Vazquez remains out of the lineup for the second game of the ALDS against the Yankees on Saturday, Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston reports.

Vazquez's 42 wRC+ is nowhere close to good, though it's better than the 33 wRC+ posted by Sandy Leon. Leon has nevertheless gotten the start in each of the first two playoff games and could remain the preferred option going forward.

Vazquez is not in the starting lineup in Game 1 of the ALDS versus New York on Friday, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.

Sandy Leon will handle the catching duties for the first game of the series while Vazquez gets the night off. Look for Vazquez to set up behind the plate in Game 2 with David Price on the mound.

Higashioka isn't included on the 25-man roster for the ALDS against the Red Sox, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.

Higashioka was an active member of the team for the AL Wild Card Game, but he won't take the field for the Yankees' upcoming series. He's yet to receive any playing time in the 2018 postseason.

Manager Terry Francona said that Gomes will start Game 1 of the ALDS versus Houston on Friday and will not have any restrictions in his throwing hand after requiring a two stitches in his right thumb last weekend, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Fortunately for Gomes, the stitches weren't placed in a spot that will impact his throwing or hitting. The backstop was able to throw to the bases during a workout session in Houston and didn't appear to have any issues, so consider him ready to go for this series.

Gomes (thumb) is not playing in Tuesday's intrasquad scrimmage but expects to be ready to go for the start of the ALDS on Friday, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Gomes missed the final game of the season after getting stitches in his thumb Saturday. He should be ready to be the starter behind the plate for the first game against the Astros. Roberto Perez will get the call if Gomes needs another day to recover.

Perez will undergo lateral collateral ligament reconstruction on his thumb Tuesday, Joel Goldberg of FOX Sports Kansas City reports.

The veteran catcher finished 2018 batting a career-low .237 with a .719 OPS that was 73 points lower than his 2017 mark. There's no word yet on how long Perez's rehab will be at this time, but that figures to come into focus after his procedure.