MLB Player News

Perez went 2-for-5 with a home run and five RBI in Friday's win over the Twins.

Perez connected on a game-winning grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning to give his team the 8-4 victory, as the Royals offense exploded for five runs in the final frame. The veteran catcher now has homers in back-to-back games, and he has hit a total of 26 home runs on the season to go along with 75 RBI.

Narvaez went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Friday's 8-6 win over Baltimore.

Narvaez launched a two-run blast over the fence in center field to hand the White Sox a four-run lead in the third inning. The 26-year-old has put up decent numbers through 87 games this season, sporting a .272/.361/.420 slash line with 22 extra-base hits and 27 RBI.

Hedges is not in the lineup Friday against the Rangers.

Since Francisco Mejia became part of the mix at catcher in early September, he's made four starts behind the plate compared to three for Hedges, with each of them also appearing once at designated hitter. Mejia will get the start Friday, but the playing time split looks to be relatively even going forward.

Contreras isn't in the starting lineup for Friday's game against Cincinnati.

Contreras will take a seat for the second straight day, with Victor Caratini slated to take over behind the dish and bat sixth. Contreras has gone 2-for-10 with a double and an RBI over his previous five games.

Garver is not starting Friday against the Royals, LaVelle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Garver left Wednesday's game against the Yankees after taking a foul ball off his mask. He avoided a concussion but remains out of the lineup, with Willians Astudillo getting the call behind the plate.

Barnhart is not in the lineup against the Cubs on Friday, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Barnhart will retreat to the bench for a standard day off after going 0-for-2 with a pair of strikeouts during Wednesday's loss to the Dodgers. Curt Casali will handle the catching duties and hit seventh in the order.

Jansen is on the bench Friday against the Yankees.

Jansen has had the edge in playing time behind the plate in September, but he hardly has a monopoly on the position. He's made six starts there this month, with Luke Maile starting four times and Reese McGuire receiving three starts. Maile will take his turn Friday.

Plawecki is out of the lineup against the Red Sox on Friday.

Plawecki will receive a breather after starting the first game of Thursday's doubleheader versus Miami. In his place, Tomas Nido will catch Noah Syndergaard and bat ninth in the order.

Leon is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Mets, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.

Leon will sit for the second straight game as he is 0-for-25 with one walk in his last 12 games. Blake Swihart will start behind the plate and bat ninth as the Red Sox continue to utilize a heavy rotation at catcher, with Christian Vazquez now back in the mix as well.

Perez went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run Thursday against the Twins.

Perez took Alan Busenitz deep in the sixth inning to record his 25th home run of the season. He's now hit four home runs in his past 10 games and is on pace to surpass his 27 long balls from the 2017 season. While his batting average (.235) and on-base percentage (.274) are poor, Perez has produced strong counting stats relative to others eligible at catcher.