MLB Player News

Narvaez is making progress in his return from a left hamstring strain, Will Sammon of The Athletic reports.

Narvaez landed on the injured list at the start of May and was expected to miss two weeks. He resumed running recently and is expected to start catching over the weekend, so he appears to be roughly on that same schedule. Manny Pina (toe) should return from the injured list within the next two days and will spend a brief time as the team's starting catcher until Narvaez returns.

Grandal is not in the lineup Friday against the Royals.

Grandal started the last two games and will take a seat for Friday's series opener. Zack Collins will work behind the plate for the White Sox.

Higashioka is not in the lineup Friday against the Nationals.

Higashioka will take a seat for the second time in the past three games while mired in a 1-for-16 slump. Gary Sanchez will start behind the plate and bat sixth Friday for New York.

Perez had three pins inserted into his right ring finger Friday and will be sidelined 8-to-10 weeks, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.

The 32-year-old was originally expected to try and play through the injury, but he instead underwent surgery to address the fracture Friday. Perez is now slated to be out until the second half of the season with the All-Star break little more than two months away. Austin Hedges should serve as Cleveland's primary catcher in the meantime, with Rene Rivera handling backup duties.

Rogers was recalled from Triple-A Toledo on Friday.

The 26-year-old lost the backup job in spring training to Grayson Greiner, but he'll head to the majors Friday with starter Wilson Ramos (back) landing on the injured list. Greiner likely will take over primary duties behind the plate, but Rogers should see occasional opportunities until Ramos can return.

Perez underwent surgery to repair his fractured ring finger Friday, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.

Previous reports had indicated that Perez intended to play through the injury. He or his team evidently changed those plans, however, as he landed on the injured list Wednesday and underwent surgery two days later. His expected return date is not yet clear. Austin Hedges and Rene Rivera will split time behind the plate in his absence.

Jansen went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run in Thursday's win over the A's.

His fourth-inning blast helped chase Mike Fiers from the game. It was Jansen's first homer of the year in his 22nd game, but with Alejandro Kirk (hip) out for a month or more, Jansen should see a big workload in May despite his feeble .083/.167/.150 slash line.

McCann went 2-for-4 with an RBI walk in a 4-1 win over the Cardinals on Thursday.

McCann had two singles, but his bases-loaded walk is what drove in a run Thursday. The catcher has struggled at the plate, slashing .222/.291/.264 in 79 plate appearances. Multiple Mets bats are underperforming to start the season, and McCann is one that they hope to get going soon. Thursday was just his second multi-hit game.

Maldonado went 3-for-4 with a two-run home run Thursday against the Yankees.

Maldonado entered the game with only two extra-base hits across 72 plate appearances this season. He did manage his first homer of the campaign Thursday when he took Justin Wilson yard in the ninth inning. Maldonado will need several more strong performances to pull up his poor .129/.197/.214 line across 76 plate appearances to this point.

Stassi was placed on the seven-day injured list with a concussion Thursday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Stassi ran into a stanchion trying to track down a foul ball on Tuesday, though he remained in the game. However, he was out of Wednesday's lineup, so Tuesday's play could be the cause of his stint on the injured list. During Stassi's absence, Kurt Suzuki should serve as the team's primary backstop.