MLB Player News

Vazquez pinch hit for Mitch Moreland and drilled his 16th home run in Tuesday's 5-4 win over the Rays.

Vazquez broke a 2-2 tie with a 403-foot solo blast to left field. The catcher, who has hit more homers this season than in his previous four campaigns combined, is on pace for 25 in 2019.

Sanchez will have an MRI on his left groin Wednesday after leaving Tuesday's win over the Twins in the eighth inning after running to first base, George A. King III of the New York Post reports.

It sounds like Sanchez could be headed to the injured list. Sanchez appeared to sustain the injury while running to first base on a groundout to close the eighth inning. The 26-year-old slowly walked off the field with manager Aaron Boone and the athletic trainer.

Sanchez was removed from Tuesday's game at Minnesota with an apparent lower-leg injury, Coley Harvey of ESPN.com reports.

Sanchez appeared to sustain the injury while running to first base on a groundout to close the eighth inning. The 26-year-old slowly walked off the field with manager Aaron Boone and the athletic trainer after the out was secured, but the specifics of the issue remain unclear. Sanchez went 0-for-5 prior to leaving the game.

Barnes isn't in the starting lineup for Tuesday's game against the Angels.

Barnes will retreat to the bench after taking the collar in Sunday's series finale against the Marlins (0-for-4). Russell Martin is starting behind the dish and batting eighth with Barnes out of the equation.

Garver is not starting Tuesday against the Yankees.

Garver has hit five homers in his last five games, but the Twins will continue rotating their catchers rather than riding the hot hand. Jason Castro gets the start in his absence.

Vazquez is not starting Tuesday against the Rays.

Vazquez's offensive surge hasn't slowed down, as he's recorded a .907 OPS over his last 17 games. Sandy Leon will take over behind the plate as he typically does with Chris Sale on the mound.

Jansen is not starting Tuesday against Cleveland.

Following a stretch in which he recorded an OPS of 1.173 over 16 games, Jansen has just a single hit in his last six contests. Luke Maile starts behind the plate in his absence.

McCann is not in the lineup Tuesday against the Marlins.

McCann sits after starting four straight games. Welington Castillo starts behind the plate in his absence.

Contreras (foot) will likely be activated from the 10-day injured list ahead of Wednesday's game against the Giants, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports. "Everything feels fine," Contreras said Monday, regarding his recovery from a strained right foot.

In what likely amounted to a final test of his health before a potential return from the IL, Contreras caught Jon Lester's between-starts bullpen session Monday and took part in a series of defensive drills with no complications. The Cubs will presumably check in on Contreras and see how he's feeling Tuesday before rendering a decision on his status for the series finale. After acquiring Martin Maldonado from the Royals while Contreras was on the mend, the Cubs are expected to keep three catchers moving forward and instead drop an infielder from the active roster to open up a spot for Contreras.

D'Arnaud went 2-for-4 with an RBI double, a walk and a run in a loss to the Red Sox on Monday.

The slugging backstop continued to enjoy success out of the top of the order, with Monday's production pushing his season average out of that slot to a solid .275 (46 plate appearances). The 30-year-old has now logged at least one plate appearance out of every spot in the order except fourth, and what was his fourth multi-hit effort over the last 10 games pushed his July average to an impressive .340.