MLB Player News

Realmuto went 2-for-4 with two walks, a double and two runs scored in Sunday's win over the Reds.

The catcher is the latest player to get a look at the top of the Marlins' order, and while Realmuto's .326 career OBP isn't ideal for a leadoff hitter, his .328/.406/.557 slash line through 16 games to begin 2018 makes him one of the few viable candidates available to manager Don Mattingly. If Realmuto sticks in the role, he'll have a chance to top last season's career-best 68 runs, even in an offense as weak as Miami's.

Perez went 0-for-3 in Sunday's 6-1 loss to Boston.

Perez was claimed off waivers late last week and made his Rangers' debut against Chris Sale, one of the toughest left-handers in the game. There's little in Perez's offensive track record to excite fantasy owners, so even against pitchers not in the same class as Sale, we're not expecting much production.

Barnhart went 2-for-4 during Sunday's 8-5 loss to the Marlins.

Barnhart recorded his first multi-hit performance since April 17 against Milwaukee. He's batting .236 with seven extra-base hits and 17 walks in 29 games this season.

Leon went 2-for-3 with a walk, a home run, three RBI and a run scored Sunday against the Rangers.

Leon is off to a slow start this season, but he was able to increase his batting average from .111 to .154 after recording two hits Sunday. He also delivered his first long ball of the season in the sixth inning, a three-run blast that put the Red Sox up 5-0. Leon will look to build off this success moving forward, although he figures to see inconsistent playing time as the team's No. 2 backstop.

Contreras will bat leadoff for the Cubs on Sunday against the Cardinals.

This will be the third time in his career that Contreras has batted atop the order and marks the fifth different leadoff man Joe Maddon has used this year, according to Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com. Though six players on the Chicago roster have an on-base percentage greater than Contreras' .328 mark entering Sunday, he's seen success batting first in the past, as the backstop is 3-for-9 with a home run in his two previous games leading off.

Sanchez was recently placed on the 7-day disabled list at Triple-A Sacramento due to a concussion, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Sanchez missed time last season due to a concussion and had seen his development stall a bit earlier in his career in part because of head injuries, so expect the Giants to proceed cautiously with the backstop before clearing him to resume working behind the plate. The Giants signed veteran catcher Ryan Hanigan to offer depth for the Triple-A club while Sanchez is sidelined.

Vazquez is out of the lineup Sunday against the Rangers, Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston reports.

Vazquez and Sandy Leon have alternated starts at catcher the last six games, and that trend seems likely to continue all season unless one of the two backstops catches fire at the plate. Though he has contributed more offensively than Leon so far, Vazquez's .193 average and zero home runs in 96 plate appearances have made it difficult to justify rostering him outside of AL-only or two-catcher mixed leagues.

Grandal is out of the lineup Sunday against the Padres.

Grandal hasn't recorded a base hit in the month of May, and went 0-for-8 at the dish while starting the first two games of the series. He'll get what appears to be a regular day off to clear his head, with Austin Barnes in line to man the backstop.

Garver is out of the lineup Sunday against the White Sox, Dan Hayes of The Athletic Minnesota reports.

For at least the next week and a half, Garver looks like he'll be the Twins' primary catcher following Jason Castro's (knee) placement on the 10-day disabled list Saturday due to a partially torn meniscus. If Castro is unable to avoid surgery like the Twins are hoping he will, Garver's run as the No. 1 backstop could last multiple weeks, if not months. Garver will only sit out the series finale for routine maintenance after logging all nine innings behind the dish in Saturday's win, going 1-for-4 with a walk and an RBI in that contest.

McCann is out of the lineup Sunday against the Royals.

With McCann getting a breather following six consecutive starts behind the dish, Grayson Greiner, who was called up from Triple-A Toledo on Saturday, will make his first MLB appearance behind the dish. Neither Greiner nor John Hicks remains a serious threat to McCann's status as the Tigers' No. 1 catcher, especially with McCann having turned in five multi-hit efforts within the past two weeks.