MLB Player News

Grandal will get the start at catcher Wednesday, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

After starting the season on the disabled list due to a forearm injury, Grandal will be making his first start of the year Wednesday. He'll immediately get the start behind the plate and he'll bat sixth in the order behind Adrian Gonzalez and Yasiel Puig. In his career, Grandal has collected two hits and two walks in six at-bats against Arizona starter Rubby De La Rosa.

Rupp is back in the lineup for Wednesday's game against San Diego, batting fifth.

Rupp will take back over behind the plate for the Phillies Wednesday after receiving the day off for Game 2 of their series with the Padres. Both Rupp and Carlos Ruiz have had a pretty even split in terms of playing time at catcher this season, with each backstop tallying 16 plate appearances thus far in 2016. Rupp carries more upside, but Ruiz will continue to see regular playing time as well.

Diaz has been shut down again due to persistent soreness in his elbow, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports.

The Pirates' catching prospect continues to deal with what the team is referring to as "lateral elbow soreness" and he will be shut down from baseball activities yet again. There was optimism in spring training that he'd avoid undergoing surgery, but Berry reports that the team is now seeking a second opinion on Diaz's injured elbow. Diaz remains on the disabled list and his timetable to return won't become clear until team doctors reassess his elbow.

Casali is back in the lineup Wednesday, Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune reports.

Casali ceded the start to Hank Conger on Tuesday, but he'll reclaim the starting spot Wednesday after Conger went hitless once again. Casali appears to be getting a small edge in the playing time department over his switch-hitting counterpart, although Casali will have to continue hitting better than Conger in order to keep it that way.

Mesoraco is not in the lineup Wednesday, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

After getting off to a horrific start at the plate, Mesoraco will get another day off Wednesday. Tucker Barnhart will take his spot behind the dish.

Perez will start behind the plate and bat eighth Wednesday against the A's, Pedro Moura of the LA Times reports.

After getting Tuesday night off, Perez will draw back into the lineup on Wednesday afternoon. Perez is off to a rocky start at the plate, going just 3-for-17 thus far after a promising rookie season. He'll replace Geovany Soto behind the plate.

Plawecki is in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Marlins.

Plawecki will get the nod in place of Travis d'Arnaud on Wednesday with the Mets playing a day game following a night game. He will hit eighth against Marlins southpaw Adam Conley.

D'Arnaud is not in the starting lineup Wednesday against the Marlins.

Kevin Plawecki will make a spot start against Miami left-hander Adam Conley with the Mets in action for a matinee following a night game Tuesday.

Vazquez is 6-for-13 with seven walks and just two strikeouts in five games played for Triple-A Pawtucket.

The catcher coming off Tommy John elbow surgery has caught four of those games, including 18 innings the past two nights. The starting pitchers' collective ERA when Vazquez has been behind the plate is 2.04, a number that stands in stark contrast to Boston's starters, a group that is last in MLB at 7.32 through seven games. If that sort of production continues at the major league level and Vazquez shows no limitations at Pawtucket, it's a good bet he'll be activated off the disabled list when his rehabilitation stint is up.

Perez is out of Tuesday's lineup against the A's, Pedro Moura of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Perez is hitting just .188 to start the season, but if it's offensive excellence the Angels are looking for out of the catching position, they will be left disappointed, given the options on the roster. Geovany Soto will start behind the dish and hit eighth Tuesday against righty Kendall Graveman.