MLB Player News

Stubbs (hamstring) was activated Sunday from the 7-day disabled list at Double-A Corpus Christi, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports.

The 23-year-old appeared in only four games for Corpus Christi before succumbing to the hamstring injury, which kept him sidelined for two weeks. It shouldn't be a major setback in the development of Stubbs, who remains the Astros' top catching prospect.

Nicholas (knee) will begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Round Rock on Monday, Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

Nicholas has seemingly recovered from the knee surgery he required in early March, but after being sidelined for much of spring training, he may need multiple weeks worth of games to get his conditioning in order. Once he's activated from the disabled list, Nicholas will likely remain with Round Rock, as Jonathan Lucroy and Robinson Chirinos are the clear top two catchers in the organization.

Perez (neck) remains out of the lineup Sunday against the Rangers, Rustin Dodd of The Kansas City Star reports.

Perez is still battling some neck stiffness that resulted in him being scratched ahead of Saturday's game, so manager Ned Yost will give the backstop a second consecutive day off with the hope that it helps remedy the issue. According to Dodd, Yost noted that Perez was showing improvement Sunday, so it doesn't seem as though the Royals are concerned that Perez will require a trip to the disabled list.

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

The red-hot Hedges, who has hit a home run in three consecutive games, will head to the bench Sunday and be replaced by Luis Torrens. The young catcher should be back in the lineup Monday against the Diamondbacks.

Gomes is out of the lineup Sunday against the White Sox.

Gomes will likely have to wait until Tuesday's series opener against the Astros to try and extend his hitting streak to five games, as Roberto Perez will be behind the plate for Sunday's matinee. With Gomes beginning to wake up from his early-season slumber, it's beginning to look as though he's no longer at much risk of falling into a timeshare at catcher with Perez and may only sit out a couple times per week.

McCann is out of the lineup Sunday against the Twins, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

Though he was behind the plate for the first two games of the series, McCann remains stuck in a timeshare at catcher with Alex Avila, who receives the nod Sunday. McCann has warmed up lately with a homer and four walks over the last four games, so he at least seems to have the upper hand in the competition between the two backstops.

Mesoraco (hip, shoulder) got knocked in the knee a couple of days ago in a game at Double-A Pensacola, and the team is monitoring his status with that in addition to his hip and shoulder before activating him from the DL, Zach Buchanan from the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

On the bright side, Mesoraco was able to catch a full game the day after the incident. On the down side, Mesoraco isn't hitting very well against Double-A pitching during his rehab assignment, with a .167/.268/.250 line over 41 plate appearances. While we can say stats don't matter on a rehab assignment, it's been over two years since Mesoraco has had a healthy season in the majors, so his performance off of his breakout 2014 season is far from guaranteed.

Leon is out of the lineup Sunday against the Orioles, Peter Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

After recording five hits in 10 at-bats in the Red Sox's first two games of the season, Leon has experienced a major slump at the dish, going 4-for-36 (.111 average). Leon's ongoing struggles may have paved the way for Christian Vazquez to turn the catching situation into a timeshare, as Vazquez will now pick up his third start in the last six games.

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

Rupp has settled into a routine of starting two-to-three consecutive games before receiving a scheduled day of rest. After starting the team's past two contests, Rupp will head to the bench Sunday in favor of backup catcher Andrew Knapp.

Jackson is hitting .338/.358/.677 with six home runs for High-A Florida.

Jackson has moved back behind the plate as he's played seven games at catcher and nine at DH. The former first-round pick has been a disappointment in his minor-league career so far with just a career .753 OPS. However, it looks like a switch of organizations and positions my revitalize his career.