MLB Player News

Perez is getting a day off Friday to rest a sore knee, MLB.com's Jeffrey Flanagan reports.

He was a late scratch Friday, and now we know why. With the Royals eliminated from postseason contention, it's possible that Perez could receive an extra day off or two down the stretch, but he is expected to be back in the lineup Saturday. Drew Butera is starting in his place Friday.

Perez was a late scratch Friday against the Tigers.

It is unclear why the Royals' starting catcher was scratched Friday, but his status will be updated when the team provides a reason. Drew Butera is starting behind the dish and hitting ninth in his stead.

Maldonado is not in the lineup Friday against the Reds.

Maldonado has acted as the primary catcher since Jonathan Lucroy's departure, but the 29-year-old will take the evening off to get some rest before the final week of the season. Andrew Susac will slot in behind the dish to replace him.

Leon is out of the lineup Friday against the Rays, the Boston Globe's Pete Abraham reports.

He is still getting the bulk of the starts behind the dish for the Red Sox, but regression has come hard and fast for Leon. Over his last nine games he is hitting .097/.125/.129 with 10 strikeouts. Bryan Holaday will start at catcher and hit ninth Friday.

Casali went 1-for-3 with a double in Thursday's 2-0 victory over the Yankees.

It was only the 27-year-old's second hit of September in 17 at-bats, bringing his slash line for the month to a paltry .118/.167/.176. Casali has found playing time hard to come by while in a platoon with Bobby Wilson and Luke Maile, who have both performed appreciably better overall at the plate. Although Casali's bat has provided some modest pop again in 2016 with eight two-baggers and seven homers, his average has seen a precipitous 75-point drop from last season's .238 figure.

Grandal went 4-for-4 with a pair of home runs, a double and five RBI in Thursday's win over the Rockies.

Grandal was the hero Thursday, as he launched a solo home run to start the Dodgers' comeback after they went down early, then smacked a grand slam in the seventh inning that gave his team the lead for good. Grandal has had a career year in 2016, as he has now set personal bests in hits (86), homers (27), RBI (69) and slugging percentage (.491).

Leon went 0-for-4 with a run scored in Wednesday night's win over Baltimore. He is now hitless in his last 17 at-bats.

Leon's average has dipped to .322, which is still about 140 points higher than his career average (.187) entering the season. The batting-average correction is something we all expected to happen, though probably a lot sooner than this, but Leon still leads Boston's backstops in catcher's earned run average. As such, he's positioned himself to be the No. 1 catcher through the end of the regular season and into the postseason should Boston qualify. Long term, the catching job belongs to Christian Vazquez and/or Blake Swihart.

Sanchez continued to crush balls Wednesday, going 3-for-5 with a pair of homers, three runs scored and five RBI.

Sanchez has been the best player in baseball since being called up in August, now with a .337 average and 19 home runs in 43 games this season. He's now the fastest player in major league history to 19 home runs (45 career games), and is showing no signs of slowing down. He's made a strong case for AL Rookie of the Year despite playing less than two months, and will certainly be a sought-after player in 2017 fantasy drafts.

Hedges was recalled from Triple-A El Paso on Wednesday.

Long known as one of the best young defensive catchers in professional baseball, it has taken awhile for Hedges to develop himself into a competent hitter. It remains to be seen how much of his 2016 production should be attributed to the advantageous hitting conditions of the Pacific Coast League, but on paper it looks to be a breakout campaign. Hedges hit .326/.353/.597 with 21 home runs and a 15.3 percent K-rate in 334 plate appearances with El Paso. He has a chance to be the Padres' starting catcher heading into 2017, and if a fragment of his offensive production carries over against big league pitching he could be useful in a wide range of formats next year. Look for him to start a handful of games down the stretch, offering the potential for a home run or two by season's end.

McCann went 1-for-4 with a three-run homer in Tuesday's win over the Twins.

With Victor Martinez (knee) out, McCann made his first career start as a designated hitter, and swung like it. After striking out and fouling out in his first two at-bats, McCann chased Twins' starter Hector Santiago from the game by pouncing on a hanging sinker for a tape-measure three-run homer to the second deck in left, projected by Statcast at 439 feet. The blast was the catcher's 12th of the season, and his first since Aug. 25, also against the Twins. Overall, McCann's .222/.274/.366 slash line is a disappointing drop off from last season's .264/.297/.387.