MLB Player News

Perez (quadriceps) will start at catcher and bat seventh Sunday against the Nationals.

Perez was withheld from action in Saturday's 6-4 win due to a bruised left quad, but he may have been scheduled to get a rest day anyway after he started both of the Pirates' previous two contests. The day out of the lineup was apparently enough to resolve Perez's quad issue, as he'll check back in behind the dish for the series finale while forming a battery with starting pitcher Jose Quintana.

Nido isn't included in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Diamondbacks.

Nido picked up his fourth start of the season Saturday, going 0-for-2 with two strikeouts in the Mets' 3-2 loss. No. 1 backstop James McCann will be back behind plate for the series finale, resulting in Nido moving back into his typical bench role. Nido has gone 3-for-13 at the dish through his four starts.

Vazquez is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Red Sox, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

Vazquez started the past three contests and will take seat for the day game in Sunday's series finale. Kevin Plawecki will work behind the plate in his place.

Jeffers is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Red Sox.

Jeffers will take a seat for the third time in six games while Gary Sanchez gets a turn behind the plate. Though his superior defense should be enough to earn him at least a handful of starts per week, Jeffers isn't yet offering much from a fantasy standpoint. He's gone hitless with five strikeouts in 10 at-bats over his past three games and is slashing .158/.238/.158 on the season.

Caratini went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in a loss to the Cardinals on Saturday.

Caratini provided all of Milwaukee's offense with his solo shot in the eighth inning. It was the first long ball for the backstop as a Brewer after he hit seven homers for the Padres last season. Caratini is slashing .308/.400/.615 on the campaign, and he has split time behind the plate with Omar Narvaez thus far.

Maldonado went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run and a walk in a 4-0 victory over the Mariners on Saturday.

After going hitless in his first 15 at-bats of the season, Maldonado finally connected for a two-run shot off Seattle starter Chris Flexen to triple Houston's early lead. Maldonado is in the lineup for his defense and is a career .211 batter.

Perez (quadriceps) is expected to return to the lineup Sunday, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Perez was hit in his left quadriceps by a foul ball Friday and was out of the lineup Saturday. That move was made out of precaution due to the lack of catching depth within the organization. The issue is not believed to be serious. Andrew Knapp would be the playing time beneficiary if Perez is out longer than expected, or if the team opts to give him continued rest.

Murphy went 2-for-4 with a double, a two-run home run and a second run scored in Saturday's 7-5 win over the Blue Jays.

The backstop took Hyun Jin Ryu (forearm) deep in the third inning, giving the A's a 5-1 lead they nearly squandered. Murphy is on a tear, going 7-for-19 (.368) over the last four games with three doubles, two homers and six RBI.

Smith isn't starting Saturday's game against Cincinnati, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

Smith started the last two games and went 3-for-8 with a homer, four RBI and a strikeout. Austin Barnes will start behind the dish and bat ninth.

Murphy went 1-for-2 with two walks and three runs in a win over the Astros on Friday.

The hot-hitting catcher pushed his average and on-base percentage to .500 and .636, respectively, with his highly active day at the plate and on the basepaths. The sample size of 11 plate appearances on the season for Murphy is miniscule, but it's nevertheless encouraging to see the veteran backstop hit safely in each of his first three games after producing a disappointing .202/.304/.350 slash line across 97 games a season ago.