MLB Player News

Barnhart is out of the lineup Thursday against the Cardinals, C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

After six consecutive starts behind the plate, Barnhart will take a seat for the early matchup Thursday. Ramon Cabrera will man the backstop in his stead.

Sanchez signed a minor-league contract with the Giants, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation reports.

Sanchez posted a poor line of .201/.292/.309 over 45 games with Toronto's Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo before being released on July 28. With Buster Posey at catcher for the Giants, the chances of Sanchez making it up to The Show this season are very slim. In the meantime, he'll simply provide depth behind the plate at Triple-A Sacramento.

Grandal is not in the starting lineup for the Dodgers on Wednesday.

A.J. Ellis will get the start behind the dish for the Dodgers at Coors Field on Wednesday. Grandal is swinging a hot bat over his last 10 games, hitting .313 with three home runs and six RBI in 32 at-bats. He should be back in the lineup on Thursday as the Dodgers face Rockies starter Tyler Chatwood.

Sanchez is starting at DH and hitting eighth Wednesday against the Mets.

The Yankees have insisted that they will not buy out the remainder of Alex Rodriguez's contract, but it nonetheless seems that Sanchez could be in line for semi-regular duty at DH now that the Yankees have traded Carlos Beltran. Of course, there is also the possibility that Sanchez just received the call because the Yankees are facing lefty Steven Matz on Wednesday, and he could be sent back down with a run of righties due up next. Either way, Sanchez's catcher eligibility makes him worth a roster spot in two-catcher formats on the chance that he stays up for the rest of the season. He has the most advanced bat in the Yankees' farm system, and should hit enough to profile at any position.

D'Arnaud is not in the starting lineup for the Mets on Wednesday.

D'Arnaud will give way to catcher Rene Rivera on Wednesday. Expect d'Arnaud back in the Mets lineup on Thursday as they face Nathan Eovaldi at Yankee Stadium. On the season, d'Arnaud is hitting .250/.296/.371 with three home runs in 116 at-bats against right-handed pitchers.

Mejia, 20, is batting .337 with two home runs and 19 RBI in 20 games since being promoted to High-A.

The switch-hitting backstop continues to tear the cover off the ball despite the bump in levels. Between Low-A and High-A he has an absurd 44-game hitting streak. James McOwen had a 45-game hitting streak in 2009 at High-A. Mejia's stock continues to rise as he has shown immense improvement in his approach at the dish in 2016.

Rupp went 1-for-5 with a three-run homer in Tuesday's 13-8 win over the Giants.

Rupp's eighth-inning blast put the game out of reach for good, transforming a tenuous two-run lead into a commanding five-run advantage. The catcher has been moved around in the lineup a lot lately, but perhaps hitting a homer in the clean-up spot will convince manager Pete Mackanin to keep him there long-term. Rupp's RBI potential would experience a nice uptick if that were to be the case.

Barnhart hit his sixth homer of the year in Tuesday's win over the Cardinals. He also drew two walks.

For the season Barnhart is now hitting .254/.320/.389, which is still somewhat underwhelming, yet an improvement and decent enough at a watered down catcher's position. He's been roughly around the 20th most valuable catcher this season, according to RotoWire's Earned Auction Value tool.

Perez went 1-for-4 with a homer in Tuesday's game against the Rays.

Perez's two-run blast in the seventh inning completed the 3-2 comeback victory and gave the catcher 16 homers on the year. Playing in his sixth MLB season, Perez is on now pace to break his career-high mark in home runs (21) while challenging his best years in RBI and total hits.

Sanchez was promoted from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday, Shane Hennigan of the Scranton Times-Tribune reports.

One of the Yankees' premiere prospects, Sanchez has been hitting .285/.340/.473 at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre thus far in 2016 and could be in the lineup for Wednesday's contest with the Mets. Sanchez could see time between the DH spot, behind the plate and even some first base with the major league club. The 23-year-old spent one day with the Yankees earlier this season and is 0-for-6 with two strikeouts in his career at the highest level.