MLB Player News

Mets catcher and recent call up Kevin Plawecki delivered his first career major league home run on Saturday against the Yankees .

Plawecki, the Mets 2012 first-round draft pick, was called up mid-week following the fractured-finger injury to regular catcher Travis d'Arnaud.

Plawecki became the first player to hit his first MLB homer in a Subway Series game.

"It was a special day in many ways," Plawecki said.

Brett Hayes will get his second start of the season at catcher on Saturday. Hayes is batting eighth in the Indians' lineup. 

Hayes' start gives Roberto Perez a rest after starting nine of the last 10 games. 

The Indians are +105 money line underdogs at Detroit. 

Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco was held out of the starting lineup again on Saturday against the Cubs.

Mesoraco has not been in the starting lineup since April 12 because of a left hip impingement, and has only made one pinch-hit appearance in that period. He remains hopeful of catching a bullpen session in the next few days, which could lead to his return as a starter. Mesoraco is hitting .091 (2 for 22) to start the season.

Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas and catcher Salvador Perez have good track records against White Sox starting pitcher Jose Quintana, who will be on the mound for Friday's AL Central showdown.

Moustakas is batting .345 (10 for 29) with two doubles, two home runs, three RBI, two walks and seven strikeouts in his career against the left-hander, while Perez is batting .364 (12 for 33) with one triple, two home runs, three doubles, seven RBI, two walks and five strikeouts.

Both players are also doing well against lefties in 2015. Moustakas, who bats left-handed, is batting .355 (11 for 31) with one home run, three doubles and three RBI against lefties, while Perez -- who bats right-handed -- is batting .296 (8 for 27) with one double, one home run and five RBI.

Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco was not in the starting lineup Friday night against the Cubs, per MLB.com. Mesoraco has been out of the starting lineup since April 12 because of a left hip impingement, but made a pinch-hit appearance on Tuesday against Milwaukee. He is hoping to catch a bullpen in the next few days, per the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Brayan Pena batted seventh in his place again.

Cincinnati is an underdog (+100) at home against Chicago, per VegasInsider.com.

Reds speedster Billy Hamilton had been successful on all nine of his stolen bases this season until Brewers catcher Martin Maldonado threw him out in the sixth inning Thursday.

It marked the first time all year that a Cincinnati steal attempt was thwarted. The team was 17-for-17 before Hamilton was nailed.

Blue Jays manager John Gibbons told reporters that knuckleballer R.A. Dickey will not have a designated personal catcher while Dioner Navarro is on the 15-day disabled list with a hamstring injury, per the National Post.

Navarro was Dickey's battery mate this season. Toronto called up Josh Thole from Triple-A, who is familiar with Dickey's work. He caught the majority of the knuckleballer's starts during his run with the Mets. Gibbons said he's leaning on having Thole behind the plate catching Dickey on Friday, per Sportsnet.ca.

Veteran A.J. Pierzynski is not supposed to be the starting catcher for the Braves. But maybe he is. Sort of.

The ambiguity is coming from Pierzynski himself, who seems to be wresting the job away from Christian Bethancourt. The former not only played Wednesday night, but also in an afternoon game Thursday.

Pierzynski has simply outperformed Bethancourt at the plate. His three-hit game Wednesday raised his average to .391 with three home runs, five RBI and an .826 slugging percentage. He's on a six-game hitting streak and is one start on the year behind Bethancourt, who was the declared starter before the season began.

"He's swinging it," Fredi Gonzalez told the Atlanta Journal Constitution. "...He's not your normal prototypical catcher-backup guy that'll only catch 20, 30 games a year."

The Blue Jays have promoted catcher Josh Thole from Triple-A Buffalo. Thole will serve as the backup to Russell Martin while Dioner Navarro is on the mend.

Thole batted .248 with no home runs in 133 at-bats for Toronto a year ago.

One regular has returned, but another is getting a day off Thursday for the Pirates.

Shortstop Jordy Mercer is back in the lineup against the Cubs after being sidelined since Monday with a rib injury. He hopes to bring a hotter bat - he is in a 1-for-15 slump

Meanwhile, starting catcher Francisco Cervelli is catching a break for a day game following a night game. Chris Stewart will squat behind the plate instead.