MLB Player News

Perez went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in a 4-1 loss to Seattle on Friday.

Perez took Seattle starter Chris Flexen deep to left in the sixth to account for Kansas City's lone run in the game. The backstop's power spree has carried over into 2022 as he's one of five players with five home runs thus far, though he's batting just .222 with only one walk.

Perez went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and two additional RBI during Friday's 4-2 win against the Cubs.

The veteran backstop delivered a two-run single during the second inning and followed with a solo homer in the fifth to power Pittsburgh's offense. Perez was 0-for-10 with six strikeouts over his past five games entering the series in Chicago, but he's 3-for-6 with a home run, a walk, three RBI and two runs through two games versus the Cubs.

According to Yankees manager Aaron Boone, Rortvedt (oblique) is "doing pretty well, but [is] not ready to play in any games yet," Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Rortvedt's oblique strain was a known issue prior to the Yankees trading for him in mid-March, and he has gradually been working his way back from the injury since that time. The backstop has been cleared fully for defensive work and recently underwent imaging that showed no trace of the strain, but he was briefly backed off his hitting work after experiencing discomfort. Boone indicated Friday that Rortvedt is "over the injury now," so he could progress to batting-practice drills soon. A return in early May appears to be plausible but not certain.

Sanchez was scratched from Friday's game against the White Sox with abdominal tightness and is awaiting the results of an MRI, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.

The 29-year-old was a late scratch from Friday's lineup due to the abdominal issue, and his availability going forward remains in question. Ryan Jeffers is poised to work as Minnesota's primary catcher should Sanchez be forced to miss any time. The team would also need to add another catcher to the 40-man roster to fill the backup role.

Sanchez was scratched from Friday's lineup against the White Sox, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.

Sanchez was slated to work behind the plate and bat seventh Friday, but he was removed from the starting nine shortly before first pitch for unspecified reasons. Ryan Jeffers will enter the lineup at catcher in his place for the Twins.

Pinto was recalled from Triple-A Durham on Friday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Pinto missed out on Tampa Bay's Opening Day roster and has a .729 OPS through 12 games at Triple-A this season. He'll join the Rays for Friday's series opener with the Red Sox after Francisco Mejia tested positive for COVID-19 and was placed on the injured list. Pinto should operate as the backup to Mike Zunino and appears likely to make his major-league debut in the next couple days.

Mejia was placed on the COVID-19 injured list Friday after testing positive for the virus, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Mejia went 2-for-3 with a home run, a double, three RBI and two runs Wednesday against the Cubs, and he'll now be unavailable coming off Thursday's scheduled off day. Mike Zunino should continue to work as Tampa Bay's primary catcher, and Rene Pinto was promoted to serve as the backup.

Garver is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the A's.

Garver has started behind the plate in only seven of Texas' 12 games so far, but he also has three starts at designated hitter. He'll receive the day off Friday with Jonah Heim catching and Willie Calhoun as the DH.

Grandal isn't starting Friday's game against the Twins.

Grandal will get a chance to reset after he went just 1-for-21 with two RBI, a walk and five strikeouts in his last six appearances. Reese McGuire will start behind the dish and bat eighth.

Bart (hand) is starting Friday's game against the Nationals, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Bart was hit by a pitch Wednesday against the Mets and missed two games, but he'll be back in action for Friday's series opener. He's hitting .207 with two homers, a double, four runs, four RBI and a stolen base this year.