MLB Player News

Stewart may go on a rehab assignment by the end of the week, Bill Brik of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

The team has increased Stewart's baseball activities over the past days, with the hope of having him playing rehab games by the weekend. However, it's unclear if Stewart will become the primary backup once he returns or if the team will opt to use him as added depth behind Eric Fryer.

Sanchez could be called up as early as Wednesday, Jack Curry of YES Network reports.

Sanchez has been hitting well at Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre, where he owns a .285/.340/.473 line with 10 home runs, 21 doubles and seven stolen bases. The Yankees treated this like a lost season at the trading deadline, and a call-up for Sanchez would be yet another indication the Yankees are playing for the future in 2016.

Maldonado is in the lineup Monday against the Padres.

Now that Jonathan Lucroy has officially been traded, Maldonado will be seeing a lot more time behind the plate. Maldonado is hitting just .202 this season, but will be in a favorable matchup Monday night against struggling Padres starter Jarred Cosart.

McGuire was traded to the Blue Jays on Monday, Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

McGuire was acquired in a deal that sent Drew Hutchison to Pittsburgh. The 21-year-old McGuire has spent the season at Double-A Altoona, where he's posted a .259/.337/.346 line. He'll likely join Toronto's Double-A affiliate in New Hampshire.

Heim has been traded to Tampa Bay for Steve Pearce, Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal reports.

Despite a .344 slugging percentage at High-A Fredrick, Heim has swatted seven homers in 329 plate appearances this season. The switch-hitting catcher is just 21 years old, so it's possible that he'll repeat High-A to begin 2017 if he doesn't show improvement at the plate during the final month-plus of the minor league season.

McCann went 1-for-3 with a walk and a grand slam in Sunday's win over the Astros.

His first-inning blast set the tone for what ended up being an 11-0 rout. McCann now has eight home runs on the season, a new career high, but his lackluster .204/.254/.345 slash line leaves him stuck in a time share behind the plate with Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

Realmuto went 2-for-3 with a walk and two RBI in Sunday's win over the Cardinals.

He continues to enjoy a strong month of July and Realumto is now hitting .337 (29-for-86) with 15 runs scored and six steals since the calendar flipped over. With a .315/.349/.415 slash line on the season, he's been a key part of the Marlins' surprisingly successful year to date.

Barnes was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Sunday, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

Barnes had been acting as a utility player and emergency third catcher during his latest stint with the big club, but with the versatile Enrique Hernandez (ribs) cleared to return from the DL, there was no need for the Dodgers to keep both players on the 25-man roster. The 26-year-old Barnes was with the Dodgers for just over a week, recording one hit across four at-bats.

Leon is out of the lineup Sunday against the Angels, Tim Britton of the Providence Journal reports.

Leon will sit out for the second time in the four-game series, giving way to Ryan Hanigan behind the plate. The backstop doesn't appear to be conceding ground as the Red Sox's primary catching option, as he's built off his June success with a .297/.333/.541 batting line across 40 plate appearances since the All-Star break.

Barnes was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Sunday, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

Barnes went 1-for-4 at the plate during his latest stint with the big club, but with Enrique Hernandez returning from DL, it was time for Barnes to return to Oklahoma City. Barnes has put together a solid season at Oklahoma City where he's hitting .299/.383/.454.