MLB Player News

Maldonado went 3-for-3 with two runs scored in Monday's 3-1 win over the Athletics.

In addition to the strong offensive showing, Maldonado called a great game behind the plate, aiding Angels starter Andrew Heaney to a career-high 10 strikeouts on the night. The three base knocks were the greater takeaway from a fantasy perspective, however, as Maldonado was able to end a four-game slide where he had gone 0-for-11. The backstop is still slashing an unremarkable .188/.258/.286, but his standing as the Angels' top catching option seems to be secure.

Hedges isn't in the lineup for Monday's game against the Giants.

Hedges will gave way to Hector Sanchez on Monday. The young backstop is sporting a batting average of just .212 over 66 at-bats in August, but Hedges is still in line to take the majority of the starts for the Padres down the stretch.

Wallach was optioned to Triple-A Louisville on Monday.

Wallach is no longer needed as catching depth with Stuart Turner back from the paternity list, so he'll head back to Louisville for the time being. He went 0-for-4 in the only game he appeared in for the Reds, which was also his big-league debut. The 25-year-old will now focus on improving his unimpressive .226/.280/.398 line in 64 games with Louisville this season.

D'Arnaud isn't in the lineup for the second game of Sunday's doubleheader against the Nationals, Matt Ehalt of The Record reports.

D'Arnaud served as catcher for the Mets' earlier Sunday, so they'll give him the night off and use Kevin Plawecki as their backstop. D'Arnaud struggled in Game 1 and went 0-for-4 at the plate.

Narvaez is out of the lineup Sunday against the Tigers.

Narvaez will head to the bench after starting two of the previous three games at catcher, going 2-for-9 with six strikeouts. Kevan Smith will settle in as the battery mate for rookie Lucas Giolito, who will be making his second start with the White Sox.

Leon will start at catcher and bat ninth Sunday against the Orioles, Evan Drellich of CSN New England reports.

Leon will start for the sixth time in nine games, but that shouldn't be taken as evidence that he's usurped Christian Vazquez as the Red Sox's primary catching option. Manager John Farrell has gone with a timeshare behind the plate all season, with the distribution of starts often difficult to predict week to week. Leon is at least providing value for those in AL-only formats or deeper mixed two-catcher formats for those that have kept him active of late, driving in seven runs over his last seven starts.

Garver is out of the lineup Sunday against the Blue Jays, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Garver heads back to the bench following three consecutive starts, during which he went 2-for-9 with four strikeouts. With Jason Castro (concussion) and Miguel Sano (shin) on the disabled list, Garver should be in store for semi-regular work at either catcher or designated hitter until one of the two players is activated.

Barnhart is out of the lineup Sunday against the Pirates.

Barnhart will receive a breather after drawing starts behind the plate in the previous three games. Chad Wallach, who was recalled from the minors Friday after backup catcher Stuart Turner hit the paternity list, will draw his first MLB start as the batterymate for Tyler Mahle, who he had previously caught at Triple-A Louisville.

McCann is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the White Sox.

After going 1-for-10 during his previous three starts, McCann will give way to John Hicks behind the plate for Sunday's game against Lucas Giolito and the White Sox. Expect to see McCann back in the starting nine Monday against the Rockies.

Vazquez is not in the lineup Sunday against Orioles, Evan Drellich of CSN New England reports.

Vazquez continues to split time behind the plate with fellow catcher Sandy Leon. Despite the fact that he's hitting .341 during the month of August, Vazquez will concede the start to Leon for the sixth time in the past nine games.