MLB Player News

Realmuto is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Pirates, Andre Fernandez of the Miami Herald reports.

After catching the past 11 games, it appears Realmuto is receiving a scheduled day of rest during Sunday's afternoon tilt. A.J. Ellis will draw the start in his absence. Expect Realmuto to be back in the lineup Monday against the Rays.

Vazquez started Saturday's game, making it the first time this season he's caught consecutive games, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Vazquez, who went 1-for-4 Saturday, is 14-for-31 (.452) in his first nine starts with the Red Sox, winning six of them. He may soon be Boston's primary catcher instead of Sandy Leon, who is 2-for-34 over his last 10 games. He's caught all three starts of Eduardo Rodriguez, who is scheduled to throw Sunday, so we anticipate a third straight start for Vazquez.

Maldonado went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts in the Angels' loss to the Rangers on Saturday.

The 30-year-old seized the primary catching duties earlier in the month by getting off to a solid start at the plate, but since the demotion of fellow backstop Carlos Perez, Maldonado is batting just .182 with seven strikeouts in 22 at-bats. Neither Perez nor current backup Juan Graterol have proven to be competent hitters in the major leagues, but Maldonado will need to pick things up if he wants to avoid becoming part of a timeshare with his younger counterparts.

Murphy (forearm) underwent a CT scan Friday and could resume baseball activities Monday if the results are promising, Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post reports.

The catching prospect has been out since mid-March due to a hairline fracture in his right forearm, but a little over a month of rest seems to have done the trick for the healing process. Murphy will likely need a decent number of rehab innings prior to his return due to how early in the spring the injury occurred, but this news seems to show that he's on track to return within the four-to-six-week timetable initially offered by team doctors.

Rupp is not in the starting lineup for Saturday's game against the Dodgers.

It's a regular day off for the veteran backstop and allows Andrew Knapp to get some playing time. Rupp is hitting just .180 this season, in addition to a .340 slugging percentage and 20 strikeouts.

D'Arnaud was hindered by some back tightness during Saturday's game, but will get Sunday's game off with Noah Syndergaard on the rubber, James Wagner of The New York Times reports.

The tightness was bad enough to warrant a mid-game meeting with trainers, but d'Arnaud stayed in throughout the entirety of the contest, going 0-for-3 with an RBI and a run. Consider him day-to-day heading into the off day.

Sanchez (biceps) could return in time for next weekend's series against the Cubs, MLB.com's Bryan Hoch reports.

He threw to the bases Saturday in full catching gear and will begin a rehab assignment Tuesday with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. It would be a little risky to deploy him next week in hopes of cashing in on a couple starts in that series at Wrigley Field, but it does sound like he could return against the reigning World Series champs.

Leon is not in the lineup Saturday against the Cubs, Evan Drellich of CSNNE reports.

Leon will sit in back-to-back games for the first time all year, as Christian Vazquez takes over behind the dish. Leon hasn't recorded a hit in his last five games (0-for-16), while Vazquez is riding a three-game hitting streak. With the two catchers trending in opposite directions, it appears Leon may be losing his grasp on the starting role.

Contreras is out of Saturday's lineup against the Red Sox.

Miguel Montero will get the start behind the dish and hit seventh with John Lackey on the mound for the Cubs. Contreras is hitting .254/.309/.413 with two home runs and a 29.4 percent strikeout rate through 63 at-bats.

Vazquez went 2-for-4 with an RBI in Friday's 5-4 win over the Cubs.

Vazquez has caught all four of Pomeranz's starts and all three of Eduardo Rodriguez's starts this season and could be in line for more work. Sandy Leon, the team's primary catcher, has slumped with just two hits over his last 35 plate appearances while Vazquez has hit safely in seven of his eight starts.