MLB Player News

Ohlman will start at catcher Monday against the Braves, Steve Buffery of the Toronto Sun reports.

Manager John Gibbons said the rookie will start to give Luke Maile a break. The latter is just 1-for-31 (.032) over 10 games, so Ohlman could grab the attention of his skipper with a big day at the plate (and, of course, solid defense behind the dish). Ohlman has played in one game, going 0-for-3 with a strikeout, since joining the club last week when Russell Martin (shoulder) landed on the DL. At best, the 26-year-old is an extreme punt play in daily formats when he's in the lineup.

Grandal went 3-for-4 with an RBI in a 9-6 loss to the Rockies on Sunday.

Grandal has been unconscious at the plate of late, batting .462 (18-for-29) with 10 RBI over his last 10 contests, raising his season average to .292 in the process. While the hot streak has definitely pleased his owners, the streaky catcher hasn't reproduced the tremendous power he displayed last season. His current 16.0 HR/FB ratio is closer to his 17.8 percent career mark, so 15-20 homers may be a more realistic expectation as opposed to the 27 homers we saw last year (25.2 HR/FB).

Mesoraco left Sunday's game early with hamstring tightness, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Mesoraco said he could have kept playing through the tightness, so his removal seems simply precautionary. Mesoraco will rest up on the Reds' off day Monday with the hopes of being ready to go for Tuesday's series opener against the Cubs.

Rupp is out of the lineup for the second game of Sunday's doubleheader against Washington.

Rupp was productive at the plate in Game 1. He went 2-for-4 and scored a route during Philadelphia's victory over the Nationals. However, he'll be withheld from the lineup for Game 2 as Andrew Knapp is set to start behind the plate.

Perez is out of the lineup Sunday against the Orioles, 610 Sports reports.

With the Royals off the schedule Monday, Perez will benefit from an extended rest, marking the first time since April 23 that he hasn't started. Perez hasn't wilted while assuming massive workloads in previous seasons, and with 34 games already under his belt in 2017, he looks poised to again rank as one of baseball's more heavily used catchers. Drew Butera will spell him behind the plate Sunday.

Stephenson continues to hit well at Low-A Dayton, hitting .287/.400/.435 in 135 plate appearances. Despite his strong start, the Reds intend to keep Stephenson at Dayton for the bulk of the season, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

The good news is that Stephenson's surgically repaired wrist is fully healed and he's performing at the level the Reds once hoped for when they took him in the first round of the 2015 draft. As Enquirer writer Zach Buchanan points out, at age 20 Stephenson is still young for the level at Low-A.

Sanchez isn't in the lineup for the first game of Sunday's doubleheader with the Astros.

The Yankees will save Sanchez for the nationally televised matchup with the Astros later in the evening, affording Austin Romine a start behind the plate in Game 1. Since being activated from the disabled list May 5, Sanchez has picked up where he left off last season, batting 8-for-26 with a homer and five RBI over seven games.

Leon is out of the lineup Sunday against the Rays, Chad Jennings of the Boston Herald reports.

The Red Sox are still deploying a timeshare at catcher with Leon and Christian Vazquez, but Leon seems to have the upper hand of late with starts in five of the last eight games. During those contests, Leon has gone 7-for-19 with three homers, seven RBI and seven runs, rewarding fantasy owners who decided to keep him in their lineups in spite of his murky playing-time outlook.

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

Despite the fact that he's collected three hits (including two home runs) over his past two contests, Contreras will head to the bench for Sunday's series finale against the Cardinals. Miguel Montero will take over behind the plate.

Gomes is out of the lineup Sunday against the Twins, Zack Meisel of Cleveland.com reports.

Gomes recently got over an illness and worked behind the plate in four consecutive games, so he'll receive a needed rest Sunday afternoon. Roberto Perez will handle catching duties and bat ninth.