MLB Player News

Maldonado went 2-for-4 with an RBI in Tuesday's game against the Rockies.

The catcher hit a pair of doubles Tuesday to push his average back up above the Mendoza Line. After a lackluster first half in which he played the backup role to Jonathan Lucroy, Maldonado has shown improvement in recent weeks since getting the starting gig after Lucroy was traded. He already has more at-bats post All-Star break (69) than he did prior to the Midsummer Classic (66), and Maldonado's .261 second-half batting average is greatly improved from the .152 he posted in the first half of 2016.

Perez is out of the lineup for Tuesday's matchup against Oakland.

Chris Gimenez will start behind the plate and bat ninth for Tuesday's contest. For the season, Perez is hitting a bleak .096/.244/.137 and owns a 21 percent strikeout rate.

Murphy, 25, is hitting .366 with two home runs and seven RBI over his last 10 games for Triple-A Albuquerque.

Murphy is having a stellar 2016 campaign, slashing .322/.352/.648 with 17 home runs and 54 RBI in 71 contests. Nick Hundley and Tony Wolters have been adequate behind the plate at the big league level, but Murphy could get called up in September if the Rockies need an extra power bat.

Sanchez homered twice and drove in three runs in 3-for-4 game in Monday's loss to Seattle.

Sanchez's white hot start to his career continues, as he now has eight home runs, 15 RBI and an absurd .384/.429/.831 batting line in his first 70 plate appearances. Even if Sanchez reverts to something like his numbers at Triple-A -- .282/.339/.468 with 10 home runs in 71 games -- he'll be among the better offensive options at catcher, so there shouldn't be anything stopping you from hopping on the Sanchez bandwagon at this point.

Stephenson (wrist) will have season-ending surgery.

An injury-riddled year ends on a disappointing note for Stephenson, one of Cincinnati's most valued prospects. In 39 games for Single-A Dayton, he hit .216 with three home runs and 16 RBI. Stephenson will likely ease back into baseball activities following the surgery, as he likely eyes another stint in Single-A to start the 2017 season.

McCann's home run Saturday was his 10th of the season.

Just 15 catchers have hit double-digit home runs, but McCann's slash line of .211/.264/.356 makes him a one category wonder for fantasy purposes.

Gomes (shoulder) played catch at 100 feet and increased his hitting volume in the batting cage Monday, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

This is a big step in the right direction for the Brazilian, as he is on track to return in early September. Gomes was struggling before suffering the separated AC joint with a .165 batting average in 262 plate appearances.

Contreras is not in the lineup for Monday's game against the Padres.

As is typically the case whenever Jon Lester starts, David Ross will open the game behind the plate, and Contreras will come off the bench. Contreras is seeing more time off now than he was when he originally joined the Cubs in June, but he has remained effective with the bat, posting a .275/.351/.431 slash line this month.

Gomes (shoulder) will travel with the Indians on their upcoming road trip, but his return date is still unclear, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Gomes' most optimistic return date was initially set for the first part of September, but he may be slipping a bit beyond that, as he's only recently begun to participate in light baseball activities.

D' Arnaud is not in the lineup for Sunday's series finale against the Giants, Matt Ehalt of The Record reports.

This should be considered regular rest for d' Arnaud, who sits more than the average catcher due to his mediocre play. He's been heating up a bit at the dish recently, collecting a hit in five of his last six games and batting .455/.520/.591 over that span.