MLB Player News

Leon is out of the lineup versus the Twins on Thursday, Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston reports.

Leon will receive a standard day off for maintenance purposes after starting Wednesday's game before it got suspended due to inclement weather. In his absence, Blake Swihart will catch Brian Johnson and bat seventh.

Narvaez is out of the lineup against the Angels on Thursday.

Narvaez will receive a breather after starting the past two games behind the plate. In his place, Kevan Smith will catch Dylan Covey and bat ninth in the order.

Maldonado was traded from the Angels to the Astros on Thursday, Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group reports. In return, the Angels received left-hander Patrick Sandoval and international bonus pool money.

Maldonado will add quality defense behind the dish for an Astros team that has been one of the worst at throwing out opposing baserunners, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Coming out of Wednesday's series finale with Colorado, Houston ranked 22nd in the big leagues with a caught-stealing percentage of 24.6, so Maldonado's 37.0 percent (second in the MLB) will certainly help in that area. Across 78 games with the Angels this year, Maldonado has slashed .223/.284/.332 with five home runs and 32 RBI. He will likely split time with Max Stassi while Brian McCann (knee) continues to recover from surgery.

Maile went 3-for-5 with a steal and a pair of RBI in Wednesday's loss to the Twins.

Maile hit a two-run single as part of a game-tying rally in the eighth inning, though the Jays would go on to lose the game. He also picked up his second steal of the year, though he's stolen just three bags in 152 career games, so don't expect a whole lot more where that came from.

Garver went 4-for-6 with a pair of runs and five RBI in Wednesday's extra-innings win against the Blue Jays.

Garver was trouble for the Jays throughout the game. He grabbed an RBI single in the second, a solo homer in the sixth, another RBI single in the eighth and a two-RBI double in the 11th. The game increased his OPS by 40 points, up from .727 to .767. He's started to look like a solid offensive catcher in his first full season, hitting .270 with five homers in 64 games.

Moore will be designated for assignment by the Rays prior to Thursday's game against the Orioles, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Moore will wind up having gotten into just one game for the Rays, going hitless in three at-bats. New acquisition Michael Perez will jump ahead of him on the catcher depth chart, backing up Jesus Sucre until Wilson Ramos returns from his hamstring injury. It will now likely take another injury for Moore to return to the big leagues.

Perez will be called up by the Rays prior to Thursday's game against the Orioles, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The 25-year-old had yet to reach the big leagues with his former organization, the Diamondbacks, but he'll head straight there after being shipped to Tampa Bay on Thursday as part of the package for Matt Andriese. He'll replace Adam Moore as the backup to Jesus Sucre, but will likely be sent down to the minors soon, with Wilson Ramos nearing a return from his hamstring injury. He could earn more playing time if Ramos is traded at the deadline or if he ends up beating out Sucre, who is hitting just .218/.261/.245 on the season.

Hedges went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 6-4 loss to the Mets.

It was only his fifth homer of the year, but three of them have come in July. Hedges isn't going to come close to last year's 18 homers without a monster second half, and with Francisco Mejia now in the organization behind him, Hedges could see his playing time take a hit down the stretch if the Padres decide to give the former Cleveland prospect a long look.

Maldonado is not in the lineup Wednesday against the White Sox.

Maldonado is hitless in his last six games and is batting just .128 with a .366 OPS in the month of July. Jose Briceno gets the nod behind the plate in his place.

Perez was shipped to Tampa Bay alongside Brian Shaffer in exchange for Matt Andriese on Wednesday, Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times reports.

Perez will provide extra catching depth for the Rays after spending the entirety of the 2018 season with Arizona's Triple-A affiliate. Across 58 games with Reno, he slashed .284/.342/.417 with six home runs and 29 RBI. At this point in his career, the 25-year-old has yet to play in a major-league game.