MLB Player News

Perez is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Nationals, according to Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon Journal.

Perez started the last three games behind the plate, but he will be held out Wednesday with the Indians playing a day game following a night game. Chris Gimenez will serve as the Indians' catcher in Perez's place.

Grandal went 1-for-3 with his 14th home run of the season Tuesday against the Rays.

That's eight homers in the past month for Grandal, who is just two shy of last season's career-high total. The recent power surge has raised the catcher's slugging percentage to .430, but a dismal .227 BABIP has suppressed his average to a meager .211 mark.

Perez went 4-for-5 with a double, a solo homer and three runs Tuesday at the Royals.

Perez launched his fifth homer of 2016 in the sixth inning to give the Angels a 4-0 lead in a road victory. He now has a modest three-game hitting streak, and he slashing .221/.249/.357 on the year.

Leon will start behind the plate Tuesday against the Tigers after Ryan Hanigan was scratched due to illness, Tim Britton of the Providence Journal reports.

Leon will bat eighth while catching knuckleballer Steven Wright during Tuesday's contest. Wright has normally been caught by Hanigan throughout the season, but Leon will slide back into the lineup after going 2-for-4 with an RBI on Monday.

Barnhart is not in the Reds lineup on Tuesday against the Giants, Zach Buchanan of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Barnhart should be back in the lineup on Wednesday when the Reds take on left-hander Madison Bumgarner and the Giants. The 25-year-old has continued to get better each month, hitting a very respectable .308 in 52 July at-bats. Ramon Cabrera will get the start behind the plate for the Reds on Tuesday.

Contreras is not in the starting lineup for the Cubs on Tuesday.

It looks to be just a regular day off for Contreras, who is hitting only .229 over his past 10 games. The Cubs will return home Wednesday to play the final two games of the series against the White Sox. Contreras' time with the big club has been split fairly evenly between the catcher and left field, with two appearances at first base.

McCann is not in the Tigers lineup Tuesday.

This is a normal day off for the catcher, who has been struggling over his last 16 games, slashing .176/.236/.196 in that span. Jarrod Saltalamacchia will replace him behind the dish despite having his own struggles at bat this year.

Leon is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Tigers.

The Red Sox will deploy Ryan Hanigan behind the dish Tuesday to catch knuckleballer Steven Wright. With that, Leon will get the night off Tuesday, marking his second absence from the lineup in the last three days. He figures to rejoin the lineup Wednesday to catch for lefty Eduardo Rodriguez.

Realmuto is not in the lineup for Tuesday's contest with Philadelphia, Andre Fernandez of the Miami Herald reports.

Realmuto will get his third game off in the Marlins' last 12 as Jeff Mathis fills in behind the dish, batting seventh. While Realmuto has collected hits in seven of his nine starts since the start of the second half, he's failed to record an RBI in any of those contests and is hitting just .237 during that span.

Diaz was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis on Tuesday, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports.

Diaz was called up to the majors when backup catcher Eric Fryer was placed on the paternity list. Fryer was reinstated from the list on Tuesday, meaning Diaz will head back to Indianapolis. The 25-year-old only played in one game with the Pirates in his short major league stint.