MLB Player News

Mesoraco is not in the lineup Monday against the Pirates.

Mesoraco is out of the lineup for the second straight game, though he did notch two at-bats and work a couple of innings behind the plate in Sunday's win over the Cardinals. The 28-year-old is on a strict playing-time schedule after appearing in just 39 games over the past two seasons, so seeing him get back-to-back days off shouldn't be too surprising. Tucker Barnhart will take over behind the dish for Mesoraco as the two continue to split time.

Perez sprinted out of the gate in 2017, hitting .272 with six home runs and 12 RBI through the season's first month.

The Royals' backstop leads AL catchers in home runs and is tied with Baltimore's Welington Castillo with 22 total hits. Perez's .837 OPS also tops the charts among that group. What's even more encouraging is that the veteran's .271 BABIP is uncharacteristically low, suggesting increased production is attainable.

Grandal went 3-for-4 with his fourth double of the season and a run scored in Sunday's 5-3 win over the Phillies.

Grandal has mostly gone downhill after his two-homer game on Opening Day, but Sunday's performance marked his first three-hit game of the season and helped him raise his average to .225. The 28-year-old's 30-homer power makes him a top-10 fantasy catcher, but unless they hold him in OBP leagues, his owners also will have to put up with prolonged slumps and a low average. His fantasy owners are hoping his three-hit Sunday will spark him going forward.

Rupp went 3-for-4 with two doubles and a run scored in Sunday's 5-3 loss to the Dodgers.

It was Rupp's first three-hit game of the season and helped him raise his season slash line to .222/.328/.407. Rupp has decent power (16 homers in 105 games last year) but won't help fantasy owners out with a high average or decent on-base percentage. While he's Philly's main catching option, he's only worth owning in two-catcher mixed and deep NL-only leagues.

Sanchez hit a game-tying, pinch-hit, two-run home run in the ninth inning in Sunday's 5-2 win over the Giants.

Sanchez tied the score at two with his clutch dinger off Giants closer Mark Melancon in the ninth. The home run was just his second hit of the season, however, and he'll remain the backup to Austin Hedges. The switch-hitter doesn't have much fantasy value at all while his playing time is inconsistent.

Leon will regularly be held out of Boston's lineup for the foreseeable future, Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal reports.

Sandy Leon has underperformed since the start of the year. He's hitting just .180 with a .476 OPS after having appeared in 14 games. Manager John Farrell said that moving forward, Leon will be the team's catcher when Chris Sale and Rick Porcello are scheduled to start, but Christian Vazquez figures to be the go-to backstop the rest of the time.

Vazquez is in line to start the majority of Boston's games moving forward, Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal reports.

Manager John Farrell said that Vazquez is going to start behind the plate when Drew Pomeranz, Steven Wright and Eduardo Rodriguez take the mound for the Red Sox. Meanwhile, Sandy Leon will start when Rick Porcello and Chris Sale head to the hill. Through 10 games this season, Vazquez is hitting .452/.485/.645.

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

For the third consecutive game, Leon will be held out of the starting lineup and give way to Christian Vazquez behind the plate. Leon owns a poor .180/.196/.280 line and has steadily lost playing time to Vazquez since the start of the season.

Gomes is out of the lineup Sunday against the Mariners.

Gomes went 0-for-6 in the first two games of the series, putting an end to a recent hot streak during which he'd recorded seven hits in 15 at-bats. Despite his lack of success against the Mariners, Gomes should still be in line for the bulk of the starts behind the plate heading into the new week. Roberto Perez will spell him Sunday, however.

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

McCann remains in a timeshare with Alex Avila at catcher, but with his batting average sinking to .164 for the season following an 0-for-3 showing Saturday, it may not be long before McCann becomes the clear backup at the position. Avila, meanwhile, is slashing .364/.488/.788 over 41 plate appearances on the season and could make for a decent pickup in AL-only or two-catcher formats until he cools down.