MLB Player News

Garver will start at catcher and bat seventh Sunday against the Tigers, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

While Jason Castro's status as the Twins' top defender behind the plate allowed him to enter the season atop the depth chart, Garver's impressive performance at the dish has made it hard for manager Rocco Baldelli to justify keeping Garver on the bench. Garver will draw his third start in four games Sunday after going a combined 6-for-9 with three home runs, three RBI and five runs over his previous two outings.

Jansen will start at catcher and bat ninth Sunday against the Rays.

Jansen was excluded from the lineup for the past two days in favor of Luke Maile, who went 3-for-6 with a home run and two RBI in those contests. The Blue Jays still appear to favor Jansen as their primary catcher, but the youngster hasn't provided the sort of impact at the dish the team was likely counting on heading into the season. Entering the series finale, Jansen has managed only five hits in 35 at-bats while striking out 25.6 percent of the time.

Realmuto is not in the lineup for Sunday's series finale against the Marlins, Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Realmuto started off the season 4-for-25 but has picked things up a bit since receiving his first day out of the lineup last Saturday. The 28-year-old has seen a heavy workload for a catcher thus far with 12 starts in 14 games. Andrew Knapp will start behind the plate and bat eighth Sunday.

Vazquez went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and four RBI in Saturday's 9-5 loss to Baltimore.

In a rare display of power, Vazquez nearly accounted for all of Boston's offense. The nine-hole hitter is not known for this type of production and is hitting just .229 after the eruption.

Perez is not starting Saturday against the Royals, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.

Perez has just four hits in 27 at-bats this season. Kevin Plawecki gets the call behind the plate.

Jansen remains on the bench Saturday against the Rays.

Jansen started nine of the Blue Jays' first 13 games but has now sat for two straight. It's not out of the question that his playing time could take a hit, as he's hit just .143/.231/.171 on the season. Luke Maile gets the call for the second straight time behind the plate.

Gomes is not starting Saturday against the Pirates.

Gomes remains the primary catcher in Washington, starting eight of 13 games. He's hit a respectable .265/.306/.412 on the year. Kurt Suzuki starts in his place.

Diaz (illness) went 3-for-5 for Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday, giving him eight hits in 17 at-bats during his rehab stint split between two minor-league levels.

He must be activated by April 24 and with Pittsburgh struggling to create offense, it wouldn't be surprising to see him recalled prior the deadline. General manager Neal Huntington previously mentioned that Diaz needs a building-up period but added that the script could change if the catcher shows he is ready sooner.

McCann went 1-for-3 with a walk, a solo home run and two runs scored in Friday's 9-6 win over the Yankees.

McCann extended a hitting streak to five games with his first home run of the season. The 28-year-old backstop is hitting .318 over six games. He and Welington Castillo are splitting playing time at catcher, with McCann serving as the battery mate for starters Carlos Rodon and Lucas Giolito.

Contreras went 3-for-4 with two solo homers in a 5-1 victory over the Angels on Friday.

The day off Thursday apparently did some good, as Contreras was 1-for-11 this week before his three-hit game to start the weekend series. The catcher is off to a very strong start this season, going 11-for-33 (.333) with five homers, nine RBI and 11 runs in 12 games. Behind five extra-base hits and seven walks, his OPS is a whopping 1.312.