MLB Player News

Maldonado is not in the lineup Sunday for the second time in three days.

Maldonado has seen the majority of the starts behind the plate since Jonathan Lucroy's departure, but fellow backstop Manny Pina has hit the ball far better than Maldonado this month, and is starting to cut into Maldonado's playing time.

Perez is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Twins, according to Josh Vernier of 610 Sports Radio.

Perez showed signs of life with the bat the last few days after struggling for much of August, but manager Ned Yost still decided to hold him out Sunday for the second time in five games. Drew Butera will get the start behind the plate in Perez's place.

Rupp is out of the lineup for Sunday's matchup against the Cardinals.

Carlos Ruiz will start at catcher and bat fifth as Rupp gets the day off. Rupp will likely be back in the lineup when the Phillies return to action against the White Sox on Tuesday.

Sanchez went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Saturday's win over the Angels.

Moved up to third in the order, Sanchez went deep in the first inning and gave the Yankees a lead they wouldn't relinquish. The young catcher now has five home runs in the last six games and is hitting 12-for-22 (.545) in that span. The 23-year-old figures to continue playing on a near-every day basis for the remainder of the season and could continue being one of the better hitting catcher options going forward.

Vazquez may not return to Boston when rosters expand next month, Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald reports.

Vazquez, who is in his first season following Tommy John elbow surgery, has held up well in 2016, though his bat cost him a regular gig with Boston. For Triple-A Pawtucket, he's been making more consistent at the plate, hitting .265 with a .722 OPS in 33 games. If he could hit like that while maintaining his elite defensive abilities in the majors, he'd be Boston's everyday catcher.

Contreras is out of the lineup Saturday against the Rockies.

With Mike Montgomery on the mound in a fill-in situation, the Cubs will deploy veteran catcher Miguel Montero to take control of the game behind the plate. Contreras has cooled off considerably after an unsustainably hot start, but he still has a .730 OPS since the start of July, which is pretty impressive for a rookie catcher.

Grandal is not in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Reds.

A.J. Ellis will take over behind the plate, affording Grandal a day to rest his legs after five consecutive starts. Grandal has rewarded patient fantasy owners after a rough first three months of the season, as he's totaled 13 home runs since the calendar flipped to July. He's tied with Jonathan Lucroy for the most home runs among catchers (20).

Realmuto slugged his sixth home run of the season as part of a 3-for-3 night at the dish in a win over the Pirates on Friday.

The hot-hitting catcher also drew a walk on the evening, bringing his overall line to .312/.355/.418 on the year. He's also provided 23 doubles and 11 steals while scoring 45 runs and driving in 34 over 414 at-bats.

D'Arnaud is out of Friday's lineup versus the Giants, Marc Carig of Newsday reports.

The Mets will opt to start Rene Rivera over d'Arnaud for the second time in the last four days. D'Arnaud has been fantastic at the plate recently, having gone 9-for-17 with a home run over the last seven days.

Rupp is out of the lineup Friday against the Cardinals.

Carlos Ruiz will get the nod to start behind the plate for Friday's series opener against St. Louis. Rupp has improved at the plate in recent outings, posting a .314/.385/.600 line with three home runs over the last 14 games.