MLB Player News

Gomes is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Astros.

Gomes will head to the bench for Thursday's series opener after starting four of the past five games behind the dish. Roberto Perez will start behind the dish and hit eighth in his stead.

Castillo had his contract purchased from the independent Long Island Ducks on Thursday.

Castillo was hitting .308/.400/.492 with two homers across 19 games with the Ducks prior to latching on with the Yankees. The 34-year-old has appeared in just 22 big-league games over his 15-year career, and none since 2009, so don't expect him to serve as anything more than organizational catching depth with the Yankees.

Vazquez is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Rays, Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston reports.

Despite extending his hitting streak to four games with a 1-for-4 showing at the plate Wednesday, Vazquez will give way to Sandy Leon behind the dish for the series finale. The two have fallen into more of an equal timeshare recently with Leon heating up at the dish in May (.320/.414/.480 across nine games), as both have seen four starts in the Red Sox's past eight games.

Sanchez (calf) struck out as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning of Wednesday's 12-10 loss to the Rangers.

The Yankees held Sanchez out of the lineup a day after he experienced cramping in his right calf. The fact that Sanchez was able to come off the bench for an at-bat suggests that the calf issue isn't anything overly worrisome, making it likely that he'll reenter the starting nine Friday against the Angels as the Yankees' catcher or designated hitter.

Plawecki (hand) played five innings behind the plate and went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in his first rehab game at Triple-A Las Vegas on Wednesday.

Plawecki will probably need to log a full nine-inning game behind the plate in addition to picking up some more at-bats before the Mets bring him back from the 10-day disabled list. Once that happens, Plawecki will likely unseat Devin Mesoraco as the Mets' primary backstop, but the 27-year-old doesn't project as a major fantasy asset outside of leagues that count on-base percentage as a category.

Narvaez will serve as the White Sox's No. 1 catcher after Welington Castillo was suspended for 80 games, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Castillo's ban for violating the joint drug agreement was formally announced Thursday, and it will be Narvaez who sees the bulk of the playing time in his absence with Alfredo Gonzalez working behind him in the backup role. Narvaez has very little pop to speak of and he's been striking out more early on this season, but he takes his walks and that helps him in OBP leagues (.373 on-base percentage last season).

Barnhart is not in Thursday's lineup against the Pirates.

Barnhart gets the day off and will be replaced by Tony Cruz, who's slated to bat eighth. The 27-year-old backstop is hitting .266 with three home runs and 14 RBI through 42 games this season.

Gonzalez was called up from Triple-A Charlotte on Thursday.

Gonzalez will surface in the big leagues for the first time in his career after MLB suspended Welington Castillo for 80 games and Leury Garcia was placed on the disabled list. He figures to share playing time behind the plate with Omar Narvaez moving forward, as Castillo won't be eligible to return until mid-August.

Grandal is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rockies.

Grandal will get a breather for the series finale after starting the previous five games behind the dish. Austin Barnes is starting at catcher and hitting second in his stead Wednesday.

Sanchez (calf) is not a part of Wednesday's starting lineup against the Rangers, Mike Mazzeo of the New York Daily News reports.

Sanchez exited Tuesday's matchup with calf cramps in the sixth inning, but the Yankees don't believe it's a serious issue. The 25-year-old backstop should be good to go for the weekend series against the Angels following a scheduled off day Thursday -- he'll be available off the bench Wednesday if need be. Austin Romine will draw the start behind the dish and bat eighth during Wednesday's series finale.