MLB Player News

Maldonado is not in the lineup for Saturday's game against Oakland, Jeff Fletcher of the Southern California News Group reports.

Maldonado will get the day off after setting up behind the plate in back-to-back days to start the 2018 season. In his place, Rene Rivera will catch Matt Shoemaker and bat ninth in the order.

Realmuto will likely miss the first two or three weeks of the 2018 season while recovering from a back contusion, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports.

He has yet to swing a bat since suffering the injury during a Grapefruit League game March 11. Realmuto has played catch over the past couple weeks, but manager Don Mattingly doesn't want to rush the 27-year-old into action until he's fully operational. In his absence, Chad Wallach has started the first two games of the season while Tomas Telis and Bryan Holaday are also on the active roster.

McCann is not in the lineup against the Pirates on Saturday, Chris McCosky of the Detroit News reports.

McCann will head to the bench after going 2-for-6 with a double and two RBI during Friday's extra-inning contest. In his place, John Hicks will set up behind the plate and bat sixth in the order.

Stassi went 1-for-4 with a double and knocked in a run in Friday's 5-1 loss to the Rangers.

The Astros had chances Friday -- they were 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position -- but only Stassi broke through with a man in scoring position. Stassi, who will be the primary backup to the 34-year-old Brian McCann, got the call for the second game of the season. McCann's unlikely to get much more than 100 starts, so Stassi's in line for a significant amount of plate appearances. His framing and game-calling have improved, so there are no qualms about having him on the field. If he maintains any semblance of offense -- manager A.J. Hinch raved about his improvement at the plate during training camp -- Stassi could be a pleasant sleeper at catcher.

Leon will make his first appearance in the starting lineup this season against the Rays on Saturday, Ryan Hannable of WEEI.com reports.

Leon didn't make an appearance during the Red Sox's Opening Day loss and wasn't in the lineup for Friday's contest, but manager Alex Cora stated that the 29-year-old will be behind the plate when Rick Porcello takes the mound Saturday. With Christian Vazquez the primary catcher, it seems likely that Leon will only see marginal playing time this season.

Wallach is catching and batting eighth Friday against the Cubs, Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Wallach was expected to back up Tomas Telis in the absence of injured starter J.T. Realmuto (back), but Wallach has now been named the starter for the opening two games of the season. Starting the right-handed Wallach over the switch-hitting Tomas Telis in the opener against Jon Lester could have been explained as simply a move to gain a platoon advantage, as Telis has hit poorly against lefties in his career, but Wallach remaining in the lineup against the right-handed Kyle Hendricks suggests it's he who is the interim starter. Regardless of the unexpected playing time, nothing in Wallach's profile suggests he'll be a significant fantasy asset, but in leagues deep enough to roster one of the Marlins' catchers, he appears to be the one to grab.

Wallach went 0-for-3 with a walk and three strikeouts in Thursday's 8-4 loss to the Cubs.

Getting the start and hitting eighth, Wallach's Opening Day performance ended up being pretty forgettable. The 26-year-old may not get much of a chance to redeem himself -- the Marlins are carrying three catchers on the roster while they wait for J.T. Realmuto (back) to get healthy, and Tomas Telis and Bryan Holaday could easily see the rest of the starts until Realmuto comes off the disabled list. Wallach's minor-league track record doesn't suggest much fantasy upside even if he does see more action.

Plawecki went 2-for-3 with a double, two walks, two runs scored and an RBI in Thursday's 9-4 win over the Cardinals.

Hitting seventh in front of the pitcher's slot, Plawecki made a surprising impact on Opening Day. The 27-year-old is expected to split the workload about equally with Travis d'Arnaud behind the plate this season, but if Plawecki keeps getting on base, he could be tough to pull out of the lineup.

Perez is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Mariners.

With Perez situated on the bench, Yan Gomes will draw the start behind the dish for the Indians' season opener. Perez and Gomes are expected to split time behind the plate in 2018.

The Royals officially placed Perez on the 10-day disabled list Thursday, MLB.com reports.

The transaction comes one day after the Royals revealed that Perez was dealing with a Grade 2 tear of the MCL in his left knee, which he sustained while carrying a suitcase up a flight of stairs. The injury is projected to sideline Perez for 4-to-6 weeks, leaving Drew Butera to act as the team's primary backup. The Royals recalled Cam Gallagher from Triple-A Omaha in a corresponding move to provide depth behind Butera.