MLB Player News

Mesoraco (knee) is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Pirates.

Although his removal from Saturday's contest was considered precautionary, Mesoraco will now have missed three straight games due to the issue. Tucker Barnhart will assume catching duties in his stead.

Contreras is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Diamondbacks.

Contreras started the past five contests, so he'll hit the bench for a night off despite collecting tow hits and two RBI Tuesday night. Alex Avila will pick up his first start in Chicago to replace him behind the plate.

Narvaez is not in the lineup for Wednesday's series finale against the Blue Jays.

Narvaez retreats to the bench after going 1-for-4 with a double and two RBI during Tuesday's loss. In his place, Kevan Smith sets up behind the plate for the third time in the past four days, while batting in the cleanup position.

Vazquez went 3-for-5 with a double, three runs scored and a walk-off three-run home run in Tuesday's wild 12-10 win over Cleveland.

The homer was just his second of the year but he made it count, taking Cody Allen deep to straightaway center field on a 3-1 fastball after Mitch Moreland struck out for what should have been the final out of the game but reached on a wild pitch. Vazquez now has four straight multi-hit games, and with Sandy Leon nursing a sore knee the 26-year-old catcher should remain a fixture in the Boston lineup in the short term.

Hedges went 2-for-3 with a double and a two-run homer against the Twins on Tuesday.

After going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts upon his return from a DL stint due to a concussion Sunday, Hedges found his batting stroke in the Padres' very next game. His 14 homers and 43 RBI are relatively credible stats from the catcher position, but Hedges' .220 average is a major drag. However, we're talking about a 24-year-old who hit .326 with 21 homers and 82 RBI in 82 games at the Triple-A level last year -- numbers suggestive of high-end upside that he could yet realize in coming seasons.

Leon has been nursing a swollen right knee the last few days and is out of the lineup Tuesday against the Indians, Evan Drellich of CSN New England reports.

Christian Vazquez will pick up his fourth straight start behind the plate Tuesday and will serve as the batterymate for Chris Sale for the first time all season with Leon, the left-hander's personal catcher, unavailable. Leon's injury is believed to have stemmed from his slide into home plate for the game-winning run Saturday against the Royals. According to Scott Lauber of ESPN.com, Leon is still available to catch in an emergency Tuesday, so the expectation is that he'll be back to full strength within a few days.

Caratini was optioned to Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.

Caratini didn't play much during his first cup of coffee on the north side, but he certainly made the most of his few chances, ripping three of his five hits for extra bases. He was expendable with Alex Avila arriving to the team via trade, so the 23-year-old will head back to the minors for further development. Caratini will likely find his way back to the majors when rosters expand in September, but he'll be hard-pressed to find as much playing time.

Mesoraco (knee) is not in the lineup Tuesday against the Pirates.

Despite Monday's off-day, Mesoraco's knee still isn't feeling well enough to allow him to get back behind the plate. Tucker Barnhart will continue to assume regular catching duties until the embattled catcher is healthy again.

McCann will start at catcher and bat eighth Monday against the Yankees.

After fellow backstop Alex Avila was traded to the Cubs earlier Monday, McCann looks bound to see regular duties behind the plate for the final two months of the season. The 27-year-old season line of .242/.319/.456 is rather modest, but he's elevated his production since the All-Star break, going 14-for-33 (.424 average) with five extra-base hits and five RBI. With his playing time looking stable the rest of the way, McCann could make for a decent pickup in deeper mixed leagues or two-catcher formats where he's still available.

Narvaez is not in the lineup for Monday's game against the Blue Jays.

Narvaez will take a seat for the second game in a row after having started four of the previous five contests. Despite his .320/.433/480 triple slash coming out of the All-Star break, the 25-year-old still appears to be stuck in a timeshare with Kevan Smith.