MLB Player News

Mesoraco is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Giants, C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Mesoraco is off to a slow start since returning from the DL, going 6-for-27 with one home run. On a positive note, he has held up to catching back-to-back games and should continue to see the lion's share of the playing time behind the plate for Cincinnati.

McCann is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Angels.

The Tigers are giving McCann the night off Friday after he made four consecutive starts behind the plate. Alex Avila will handle catching duties for Jordan Zimmermann as Detroit takes on Matt Shoemaker and the Angels. Look for McCann to draw back into the lineup Saturday against Ricky Nolasco.

Gomes (illness) is in the lineup for Friday's game against the Twins.

An illness forced Gomes from Wednesday's game but apparently he's shaken the bug. After a rough start to the season, Gomes has flashed glimpses of his 2015 form in recent weeks, going 8-for-18 with a home run, three doubles and a 4:1 BB:K to begin May. He should continue to start two out of every three games for Cleveland.

Vazquez is not in the starting lineup for Friday's series opener against the Rays, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

The 26-year-old is 4-for-6 in his career against Alex Cobb, the projected starter for Tampa Bay, but Sandy Leon will get the start instead. Despite Vazquez's outstanding defensive abilities, he continues to split time behind the plate with his power-hitting counterpart, a trend unlikely to subside within the near future.

Grandal is not in Thursday's lineup against the Rockies, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.

Grandal has been hitting the ball very well lately. He's started three consecutive game and gone 8-for-13 with five RBI over that span. However, he'll get the night off while Austin Barnes starts behind the dish.

Mejia was placed on the 7-day disabled list at Double-A Akron on Thursday due to groin soreness.

One of the top catching prospects in all of baseball, Mejia's bat has been up to par in his first taste of the Double-A level, and with some further refinement behind the plate, it's not entirely out of the question for him to surface at the big-league level in the second half of 2017. The groin issue represents a setback in his development, but so long as it doesn't prove to be a multi-month concern, it shouldn't dim his long-term outlook too much.

Gomes' manager, Terry Francona, said the catcher was removed from Wednesday's game because of "intestinal turmoil," the Associated Press reports.

Francona mentioned Gomes ate something prior to the contest that didn't settle well. Fantasy owners can read between the lines on this one. The good news is -- with the Tribe being off Thursday -- Gomes shouldn't have a problem being ready for Friday against the Twins.

Grandal went 3-for-3 with a double, a run scored, a walk, and an RBI in Wednesday's win over Pittsburgh.

It's been an extremely productive week for Grandal. He finished the series against Pittsburgh 8-for-13, including a pair of three-hit games and 5 RBI. The 28-year old catcher is now slashing .268/.345/.454 on the season.

Gomes exited Wednesday's game against the Blue Jays early with an illness, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Gomes was 1-for-2 with a double before being replaced by Roberto Perez behind the dish. It's unclear how long the illness will keep Gomes sidelined, though the removal could have been precautionary given Thursday's off-day. More should be known about his status after Wednesday's contest.

Leon is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Brewers, Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Leon will return to the bench following a three-game run as the starter, but he may have done enough during that time to reestablish himself as the primary backstop over Christian Vazquez, who will be behind the dish Wednesday. Leon went 5-for-14 with three homers and five RBI over the three games, raising his OPS 183 points in the process.