MLB Player News

Vazquez is out of the lineup Sunday against the Astros, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald reports.

Vazquez hasn't started on back-to-back days since being activated from the 10-day disabled list Sept. 1, and that trend doesn't appear to let up anytime soon. Vazquez and Leon have been equally anemic offensively this season, with the former owning a .558 OPS compared to the latter's .549.

Grandal is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rockies, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

Grandal will sit for the second straight game as left-hander Tyler Anderson takes the mound for the Rockies. Austin Barnes will start behind the plate as Grandal is slashing .091/.262/.182 in 42 plate appearances over his last 15 games.

Perez is not in the lineup Sunday against the Twins, Rustin Dodd of The Athletic reports.

Perez started the past two games, but considering he missed seven contests before that due to a thumb injury, the Royals seem to be easing him back into full-time duty. Cameron Gallagher will replace him behind the dish Sunday.

Narvaez is not in the lineup Sunday against the Angels, Brian Sandalow of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Narvaez is hitting just .184 against lefties this season, so he'll ride the pine while southpaw Andrew Heaney starts for Los Angeles. Welington Castillo will slide behind the dish to replace him.

Jansen is not in the lineup Sunday against the Indians, Hazel Mae of Sportsnet reports.

After going 11-for-32 (.344) in August, Jansen has just two hits in the month of September. As a result, he'll head to the bench for the third time in the past four games. Reese McGuire will take a turn behind the dish to replace him.

Garver is not in the lineup Sunday against the Royals, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Garver is in a bit of a slump at the plate, collecting just three hits in his last 18 at-bats. He'll get another day off Sunday as a result, allowing Willians Astudillo to take a turn behind the dish Sunday.

Caratini went 1-for-4 with a grand slam Saturday in the Cubs' 6-5 loss to the Nationals in the second game of a doubleheader.

After failing to leave the yard over his first 54 appearances of the season, Caratini has now gone deep twice over his last four starts. In addition to supplying most of Chicago's offense in the second half of the twin bill, Caratini added two base hits off the bench in the team's 10-3 loss in the first game.

Perez went 2-for-4 with a walk, a homer, a double, four RBI and two runs scored in Saturday's win over the Blue Jays.

Perez did all of his damage in a seven-run fifth inning, leading off with a homer before knocking a three-run double later in the frame. The big day at the plate accounted for one third of his RBI on the season. He's hitting just .157/.254/.252 with two homers over 55 games.

Maldonado went 2-for-3 with a walk and a solo homer in Saturday's win over the Red Sox.

Maldonado helped chase starter Eduardo Rodriguez in the fourth inning with a solo shot that put the Astros up 4-1. The homer was his ninth of the season after he hit a career-high 14 long balls across 138 games in 2017. Maldonado should continue to see a few starts per week backing up Brian McCann.

Contreras is not in the lineup for Game 2 of Saturday's doubleheader against the Nationals.

Contreras will retreat to the bench for Game 2 of Saturday's twin bill after going 1-for-3 with an RBI in the first contest. In his place, Victor Caratini will be behind the dish.