MLB Player News

Vazquez made his first start of the season at designated hitter Monday and went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored in Boston's 10-8 extra-inning win over Baltimore.

September's roster expansion allows for such luxuries as using a hot-hitting catcher at DH. Vazquez has maintained a credible bat all season, but in the second half is slashing a hefty .344/.387/.508. Those numbers far outpace his career marks, and have led manager John Farrell to move Vazquez up in the batting order.

Collins finished the 2017 at Double-A Birmingham, posting an .893 OPS over 12 games with the Barons.

Collins came out of college with a reputation as a sure-thing bat with questions surrounding his defense -- however, his season played out the opposite way. He batted just .224 while striking out 27.3 percent of the time over his 471 plate appearances. It's not uncommon for young catchers to experience an initial dip in offense as they learn the defensive aspects of such a demanding position at the professional level. One noteworthy item that stands out is Collins walked in 18.5 percent of his plate appearances to post a .370 on-base percentage. There's nobody blocking him at the major-league level, so Collins could reach Chicago as a regular by 2019 if his defense remains on the same trajectory.

Realmuto is not in the lineup for Monday's game against the Mets, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports.

Realmuto will get the day off after starting four straight games behind the dish. Tomas Telis will start at catcher in his place, batting second.

Grandal is not in the lineup for Monday's game against the Phillies, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

Despite going 1-for-3 with a walk in Sunday's contest, Grandal is still hitting an awful .054/.200/.135 in 45 plate appearances this month, so he'll head to the bench as he continues to split time with Austin Barnes behind the dish. Barnes will start and bat fifth Monday.

Perez (side) is expected to return Tuesday for the series opener in Toronto, The Associated Press reports.

The catcher sat out three straight games to end the week after aggravating an intercostal injury Thursday. Time is running out on Kansas City's season, as they sit a handful of games out of the final wild-card spot, so manager Ned Yost will certainly get Perez back in the lineup as soon as possible. At the same time, should the club be eliminated from postseason contention, Perez could very well be shut down before the campaign officially ends.

Gonzalez was outrighted to Double-A Birmingham on Sunday, Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune reports.

Gonzalez was already assigned to Birmingham, so the move was made to open up a spot on the 40-man roster. Gonzalez played 71 games with Birmingham this season, over which he hit .208/.306/.301.

Hedges is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rockies.

Hedges is hitting just .162 during the month of September and was removed early from Saturday's blowout loss against the Rockies. He'll receive a full day of rest Sunday with Hector Sanchez filling in behind the plate and batting fourth in his stead.

Narvaez is out of the lineup Sunday against the Tigers.

With the left-handed Matt Boyd starting for Detroit, Narvaez will head to the bench. Rob Brantly will serve as Chicago's backstop and hit ninth.

D'Arnaud is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Braves, Marc Carig of Newsday reports.

D'Arnaud exited Thursday's game with a knee injury and sat out Friday before returning to the lineup Saturday. After going 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored, he'll head back to the bench in favor of Kevin Plawecki behind the plate.

Contreras' suspension has been reduced to one game, Carrie Muskat of MLB.com reports. He will serve his suspension Sunday.

Contreras initially received a two-game suspension from MLB following his ejection from Friday's game against the Cardinals. The backstop appealed the ruling and will now only be forced to sit out one game. He'll serve his suspension Sunday with Alex Avila filling in behind the plate in his absence.