MLB Player News

Sanchez will likely come off the bench in Tuesday's AL Wild Card Game against the Red Sox, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Manager Aaron Boone said Monday that Kyle Higashioka will start behind the dish with Gerrit Cole on the mound Tuesday, and Sanchez will likely be available off the bench rather than serving as the designated hitter. The 28-year-old appeared in each of the final five games of the regular season and went 0-for-11 with two walks and eight strikeouts.

Higashioka will start Tuesday's AL Wild Card Game against the Red Sox, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Higashioka will draw the start in Tuesday's winner-take-all contest with Gerrit Cole on the mound for the Yankees. The 31-year-old went 1-for-10 with two RBI and four strikeouts across his final three appearances of the regular season.

Fortes went 1-for-2 with a two-run home run and an additional run in a 5-4 victory against Philadelphia on Sunday.

Fortes scored after pinch running for Sandy Leon in the second inning and launched a two-run homer in the fourth to break a 3-3 tie. The 24-year-old backstop saw action in only 14 games in 2021 but posted an impressive .290/.353/.677 slash line with four home runs, six runs and seven RBI in the limited run.

Diaz is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Diamondbacks, Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post reports.

Though Diaz took over as Colorado's primary catcher in late June, he'll close the campaign with back-to-back days off as Dom Nunez picks up another turn behind the dish. Unless he replaces Nunez later in the contest or is used as a pinch hitter, Diaz will finish the 2021 season with a .246 average, 18 home runs, 52 runs and 44 RBI over 106 games.

Caratini is not in the lineup Sunday against the Giants.

Caratini started the first two games of the season but will take a seat for the final game of the season. Barring an appearance off the bench, the 28-year-old will end his first year in San Diego with a .224/.307/.321 slash line with seven homers, 38 RBI and 32 runs in 355 plate appearances.

Fortes is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Phillies.

Fortes will close the 2021 campaign with three straight turns on the bench while the Marlins elect to go with Sandy Leon behind the plate Sunday. Following his Sept. 17 promotion to the big club, Fortes went 8-for-29 (.276 average) with three home runs, five RBI and a stolen base.

McCann is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against Atlanta.

McCann will head to the bench for the final game of the season after starting the previous five contests. It's been an underwhelming first season with the Mets for the 31-year-old, as he's set to finish the year with a .232/.294/.349 slash line, 10 homers, 46 RBI and 29 runs in 412 plate appearances after inking a four-year, $40.6 million contract in the offseason.

Stassi is on the bench for Sunday's game against the Mariners.

Kurt Suzuki catches and bats cleanup in the regular-season finale. Stassi, barring a plate appearance Sunday, slashed .241/.326/.426 with 13 home runs and 35 RBI in 2021.

The Cubs placed Contreras (hip) on the 10-day injured list Sunday, Russell Dorsey of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Chicago called up Tyler Payne from Triple-A Iowa to provide catching depth behind starter Erick Castillo in Sunday's season finale in St. Louis. Though he'll close the campaign on the shelf, Contreras' inflamed right hip shouldn't provide any major complications during his offseason training program heading into 2022. Contreras remained one of the top fantasy options at catcher this season, batting .237 with 21 home runs, 61 runs, 57 RBI and five stolen bases across 483 plate appearances.

Ruiz is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Red Sox, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.

Ruiz will get a breather for the season finale after he caught the first two games of the series with Boston, going 2-for-7 with two walks and a run. With Ruiz sitting out Sunday, Alex Avila will get a turn behind the plate in what's expected to be the final game of his MLB career.