MLB Player News

Gomes is not in the lineup Tuesday against the Astros.

Gomes had started the last four games, but an 0-for-12 showing in that time dropped his season average down to a measly .170. Chris Gimenez will draw the start behind the plate in his place and bat ninth against Chris Devenski.

Mesoraco (shoulder) underwent surgery Tuesday and manager Bryan Price said that the damage was worse than initially thought, C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. He's expected to miss six months.

This is disheartening news for the promising young catcher as Tuesday's announcement from Price suggests that Mesoraco will have his season cut short for a second straight year. Mesoraco had surgery Tuesday to repair the torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder, and Price told reporters that his timetable to return has been pushed back to a six-month window, which would end his season if he follows on that timeline. Tucker Barnhart and Jordan Pacheco figure to handle most of the catching duties for the remainder of the season with Mesoraco sidelined.

Stassi was recalled to the majors Tuesday.

Jason Castro was placed on the paternity list earlier in the day, so Stassi will come up to serve as catching depth. He's just 2-for-14 at the Triple-A thus far this year, so he'll likely serve as Erik Kratz's backup while Castro is away.

Rupp is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Braves, Meghan Montemurro of The News Journal reports.

Manager Pete Mackanin was considering giving Carlos Ruiz more starts, and this appears to be the beginning of that trend. Rupp is hitting .250 through 19 games but owns an abysmal 31.1 percent strikeout rate.

Vazquez is out of Tuesday's lineup against the A's, Tim Britton of the Providence Journal reports.

Boston continues to give their young catcher regular days off, as Vazquez will head to the bench for the third time in six games. Ryan Hanigan will do the catching and hit eighth against southpaw Sean Manaea.

Maile is 10-for-48 (.208) with four RBI and three runs scored through 13 games with Triple-A Durham this season.

Maile missed the last half of April with a hamstring injury, but he returned to action May 1 and has played nearly every day since. He is not hitting much but would garner consideration along with Carlos Corporan if the Rays needed to call up a catcher.

Despite his struggles, Thole is unlikely to be demoted as long as R.A. Dickey remains on the roster, Baseball Prospectus reports.

Many in Toronto's fanbase have called for an upgrade at the backup spot to Russell Martin. But even with Dickey having had his typically putrid April, the knuckleballer is unlikely to go anywhere -- meaning Thole isn't going anywhere either. The 29-year-old should be deployed merely as a punt-play when Dickey is on the hill.

Pentecost (shoulder) is currently playing in extended spring training games and is moving toward activation from the disabled list, Sportsnet reports.

Pentecost, highly regarded for both his bat and defense, looked set to zip through the Blue Jays system before his injury woes hit. Despite having a third shoulder surgery, the organization still believe the 11th overall pick in 2014 has a promising future behind the plate. Pentecost could see some time at first base or designated hitter for a period of time in order to protect his shoulder. "The hope is that he'll be able to get full season at-bats pretty soon," says Blue Jays director of player development Gil Kim. "The main goal is that he gets at-bats since he has had so much time off. For now, it's getting at-bats and building that throwing back up better than it used to be."

Plawecki hit his first home run, a solo blast, in Monday's win over the Dodgers.

Plawecki has started three consecutive games now and is making the most of it. He has gone 4-11 with four extra-base hits (three doubles and a homer) in those three starts and raised his batting line from .189/.189/.333 to .229/.351/.354. He won't be taking the job from Travis d'Arnaud in the long term, but his discipline and power combination make him a tolerable replacement while the Mets wait for their starter to return from a rotator cuff injury.

After an examination with team doctor David Altchek, d'Arnaud's diagnosis remains a rotator cuff strain, Adam Rubin of ESPN New York reports. "It's just going to take more time...Clearly he's not ready yet," said assistant GM John Ricco on Monday.

Altchek doesn't believe that d'Arnaud requires surgery and has prescribed rest, but the catcher will receive a PRP injection in the near future. In the meantime, d'Arnaud has been shut down from hitting, which effectively puts him in a holding pattern for the foreseeable future.