MLB Player News

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.

Leon went 1-for-3 with a homer and a walk in Boston's 4-3 loss to Detroit on Thursday.

Leon's improbable season continues unabated. The catcher, who entered the season with a career .187 batting average and one homer in 209 at-bats and was seemingly buried at Triple-A Pawtucket, is hitting .382 with a career-high seven homers and 24 RBI in 136 at-bats. He's been a fantasy find and probably has made a difference in the fortunes of some fantasy owners, but we're all waiting for a market correction in the Leon bubble.

Realmuto is not in the lineup for Thursday's series finale against the Reds, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Since his 11-game hitting streak ended Aug. 10, Realmuto has gone just 4-for-21 at the plate with one extra-base hit (a double). He'll get his regularly scheduled day off Thursday, with Jeff Mathis taking duties behind the plate and batting seventh, but Realmuto should rejoin the lineup Friday.

Barnhart is not on the lineup card for Thursday's series finale against the Marlins.

Likely just a scheduled day off for Barnhart, he will cede duties behind the plate Thursday to Ramon Cabrera, who will bat seventh for the Reds. Barnhart should rejoin the lineup Friday when Cincinnati welcomes the Dodgers to town.

Leon went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer in Wednesday's rain-shortened game against the Orioles.

Leon's fifth-inning blast was his sixth of the year, and the catcher's fifth since the All-Star break. He's scored 15 runs since the Midsummer Classic, good for second best among all catchers (one behind Russell Martin), and has notched 14 RBI during that time, which is second-most among AL backstops. Leon has emerged as one of the better catchers to own heading toward the fantasy playoff season.