MLB Player News

Vazquez is not in the lineup against the Yankees on Thursday, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Vazquez will occupy a seat on the bench after setting up behind the plate the past three games. In his absence, Sandy Leon will catch Rick Porcello and bat eighth in the order. Expect to see Vazquez back in the lineup for Friday's series opener against Baltimore.

McCann is not in the lineup against the Indians on Thursday.

Following three straight starts behind the plate, McCann will retreat to the bench in favor of John Hicks for the series finale. Over the course of nine games this season, McCann has hit just .147/.237/.176 with five RBI in 38 plate appearances.

Gomes is out of the lineup against Detroit on Thursday.

Gomes will receive a night off after going 1-for-4 with one run and a pair of strikeouts during Wednesday's victory. Roberto Perez is set to fill in behind the dish while batting seventh in the order.

Contreras is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Pirates.

Contreras will receive a standard maintenance day following a pair of starts behind the plate. In his place, Victor Caratini will catch Kyle Hendricks and bat sixth in Thursday's matinee. Over the course of the first two weeks of the 2018 campaign, Contreras is slashing .326/.408/.488 with six extra-base hits and one RBI.

Grandal went 3-for-4 with a double, a home run and a pair of RBI in Wednesday's loss to the Athletics.

Grandal was the only Dodger bat to do significant damage to Oakland starter Daniel Mengden in a rough loss. The 29-year-old owns a .625 slugging percentage despite tallying just four extra-base hits so far, which is a reminder of the strict platoon that limits him to starts against right-handed pitchers. Grandal won't see as many plate appearances as traditional starting backstops, but he should provide enough pop (49 homers over the last two seasons) to help out fantasy owners at the catcher position.

Sanchez went 3-for-5 with a double, two home runs, three runs scored and four RBI in Wednesday's 10-7 win over the Red Sox.

The catcher came into the game hitting .056 (2-for-36) with just one homer and three RBI, so Wednesday's offensive explosion was a welcome sight for anyone with fantasy shares in Sanchez. Don't be surprised if the 25-year-old goes on a tear now that the pressure of his early-season slump seems to be off his shoulders.

X-rays on Plawecki's hand came back negative Wednesday, Matt Ehalt of The Bergen Record reports.

Plawecki was hit by a pitch on his hand during the eighth inning Wednesday. While he was initially able to stay in the contest, Plawecki was pinch hit for later in the inning when his turn came up again. Fortunately, initial tests indicate the backstop avoided any breaks in his hand. This is certainly a relief for the Mets, who lost starting catcher Travis d'Arnaud earlier in the day to a partially torn UCL. Consider Plawecki day-to-day for now; with an off day Thursday, he may not be forced to miss any action.

Maldonado is out of the lineup against Texas on Wednesday, TR Sullivan of MLB.com reports.

Maldonado will receive a standard day off following three straight starts, including a 3-for-5 night with two RBI during Tuesday's victory. In his place, Rene Rivera will catch Jaime Barria and bat ninth in the order.

Plawecki is in line to be the Mets' primary catcher moving forward with Travis d'Arnaud (elbow) potentially out for the season, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Plawecki entered the season in a timeshare behind the plate with d'Arnaud, but with the latter now possibly going under the knife to repair a partially torn UCL, Plawecki could spend the remainder of the season as the main starter. The 27-year-old is off to a bit of a slow start at the plate, collecting just three hits in his first 19 at-bats, but he batted .260 in 100 at-bats last season. At the very least, he's worth rostering in two-catcher formats now that he'll have a full workload for the rest of 2018.

Nido was called up to the big leagues Wednesday to replace the injured Travis d'Arnaud (elbow), Tim Britton of The Athletic New York reports.

D'Arnaud has a partially torn UCL which could require Tommy John surgery, in which case Nido could be in the majors for a long time. The 23-year-old has an unremarkable profile and doesn't project to be much more than a backup catcher. He went 3-for-10 in a brief stint in the majors last season, but spent the majority of the year at Double-A Binghamton, where he hit .232/.287/.354 in 404 plate appearances.