MLB Player News

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

It appears Hedges is simply receiving a scheduled day of rest ahead of Sunday's tilt against Jake Junis and the Royals. Luis Torrens will draw the start behind the plate.

Sanchez went 3-for-4 with a home run and four RBI in Saturday's win over the Orioles.

Following a somewhat disappointing start to the season, Sanchez got demoted from second to sixth in the lineup before Wednesday's tilt in Boston, and it looks to have been just the jolt the catcher needed. In the four games since then, Sanchez is 8-for-16 with a pair of walks, hitting two doubles and three home runs while driving in nine runs and scoring eight times himself. He obviously won't be able to sustain that pace over the long run, but it bodes well for those expecting numbers more in line with the way he played last season.

D'Arnaud is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Braves.

D'Arnaud sat out Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader and will again be relegated to the bench for Sunday's matinee against Jaime Garcia and the Braves. Rene Rivera will draw the start in his stead.

Gomes is out of the lineup Sunday against the White Sox, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

It's little more than a routine off day for Gomes, who was behind the plate for the first two games of the series, going 1-for-5 with two walks and two RBI. With Gomes sitting out, Roberto Perez will handle catching duties.

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

Contreras continues to underperform at the plate, as he's hitting just .231 with no extra-base hits over 26 at-bats in June. He'll take a seat Sunday with Miguel Montero drawing the start.

Diaz reached base four times Saturday, going 3-for-3 with a walk.

He's hitting .367 in 30 at-bats with a homer and eight RBI. The Pirates have been forced to use him regularly with both Francisco Cervelli (concussion) and Chris Stewart (hamstring) on the disabled list and so far the results have been encouraging. The 26-year-old has improved at the plate in recent minor-league seasons and seems capable of batting somewhere in the .270 range as a major leaguer. With both Cervelli and Stewart prone to injury, Diaz could find himself with ample playing time throughout the summer and beyond.

D'Arnaud is out of the lineup for the first game of Saturday's doubleheader, Newsday's Marc Carig reports.

Although the doubleheader is the likely reason for d'Arnaud's absence, the catcher could likely use some rest after starting the past four games behind the plate. In his place, Rene Rivera will catch for Robert Gsellman.

Mesoraco is not in the lineup Friday against the Dodgers.

This marks the second straight game that Mesoraco will watch from the bench. The Reds really seem to be taking things very cautiously with the oft-injured catcher, although he also has just two hits in his past 21 at-bats. Tucker Barnhart will assume catching duties for the evening in his place.

McCann is batting eighth and starting behind the dish Friday against the Red Sox.

In his first game back from the disabled list, McCann will get the nod at backstop over Alex Avila as the Red Sox send southpaw Brian Johnson to the mound. McCann is batting .286 against left-handed pitchers this season compared to Avila's .100 mark, so he should at least see regular starts against southpaws moving forward.

McCann (hand) was activated from the disabled list Friday.

As expected, McCann is back with the Tigers after missing the last two weeks with a hand injury. Alex Avila has been mashing while filling in for McCann behind the dish, so it's unclear how big of a role the 26-year-old will play now that he is healthy again. John Hicks was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move.