MLB Player News

Maldonado (forearm) is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rangers, Joel Goldberg of FOX Sports Kansas City reports.

Maldonado was forced to exit Saturday's 6-2 loss early due to forearm tightness, resulting in backup Cam Gallagher entering the contest in his stead. Gallagher will pick up a start behind the dish Sunday, but Maldonado downplayed the injury and said he expects to rejoin the lineup Tuesday against the Red Sox coming off a team off day, per Lynn Worthy of The Kansas City Star. With a meager .211/.309/.289 slash line over 163 plate appearances this season, Maldonado brings most of his value to the Royals on the defensive end.

Plawecki is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the White Sox.

Since top backstop Roberto Perez returned last weekend after a brief absence due to a concussion, Plawecki has settled into the clear No. 2 role behind the plate. After starting in Saturday's 5-2 win, Plawecki will head to the bench for the fifth time in seven games.

Stubbs will start against Oakland on Sunday with Gerrit Cole on the mound, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

This will be Stubbs' second start since being called up from Triple-A Round Rock as a replacement for the injured Max Stassi (knee). He had a pair of hits, including a double, and an RBI in his previous start, which was his MLB debut. Robinson Chirinos, who has started seven of the last eight games, gets a well-deserved break.

Knizner will make his major-league debut Sunday versus the Cubs, catching and batting eighth.

Knizner had his contract purchased from Triple-A Memphis on Friday after Yadier Molina (thumb) landed on the injured list, and he only had to wait a couple days to enter the big-league lineup. The 24-year-old was slashing .286/.355/.450 with five home runs prior to his promotion from Triple-A.

Grandal is out of the lineup for Sunday's game at Pittsburgh.

Grandal started the last 14 games behind the dish for the Brewers, so it's no surprise to see him get the day off after playing all 13 innings of Saturday's victory. Manny Pina will serve as the catcher for Zach Davies and bat eighth.

Garver (ankle) was activated from the 10-day injured list and will start at catcher and bat leadoff Sunday against the Rays, Kevin Gorg of Fox Sports North reports.

The Twins haven't announced a corresponding move to open up a spot on the active roster for Garver, but long reliever Zack Littell's absence from the lineup card suggests he may have been optioned to Triple-A Rochester. Prior to suffering a left high ankle sprain May 14, Garver had emerged as the Twins' top catcher after showing improved defense while slashing an impressive .329/.418/.747 through his first 91 plate appearances. Jason Castro and Willians Astudillo remain relevant in the Twins' catching timeshare, but Garver profiles as the most interesting of the three for fantasy purposes, as he'll likely see the most starts and occupy a more prominent spot in the batting order when he plays.

D'Arnaud is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Twins, Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

D'Arnaud was behind the plate for Saturday's 6-2 loss, but he's set to see his opportunities decline considerably after the Rays activated top catcher Mike Zunino (quadriceps) from the 10-day injured list Friday. Since being acquired from the Dodgers on May 10, d'Arnaud has slashed a pedestrian .186/.265/.233 in 49 plate appearances.

Diaz is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against Milwaukee.

Diaz went 3-for-7 with a double and four RBI in Saturday's 13-inning loss, and it's no surprise to see him take a seat after catching all 276 pitches in the extra-inning affair. Jacob Stallings will take over behind the plate and bat seventh in the series finale.

Gomes is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Reds.

Gomes will retreat to the bench after starting behind the plate in the first two games of the series. Kurt Suzuki will catch for starting pitcher Max Scherzer in the final game in Cincinnati.

Smith went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Saturday's 4-3 win over the Phillies.

Smith saved his hit for the bottom of the ninth inning, raking his homer down the left-field line to give the Dodgers the win. Smith has gone 4-for-14 in four games, seeing the majority of the playing time behind the dish while Austin Barnes is out with a groin injury. Smith is expected to return to Triple-A Oklahoma City when Barnes is activated, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.