MLB Player News

The Blue Jays have called up catcher Josh Thole Friday.

Thole was acquired in the R.A. Dickey trade this offseason, but has been in the minors the entire season. The team has designated Henry Blanco for assignment to make room for Thole. Thole was performing well in Triple-A, hitting .322, and he also has experience catching Dickey.

Padres catcher Yasmani Grandal is not in Thursday's lineup against the Rockies. He has started seven of his team's last nine games at catcher since returning from a 50-game suspension.

Grandal is just 3 for 27 with two RBI and four runs this year.

Royals catcher Salvador Perez hit in the third spot Wednesday.

Manager Ned Yost asked the front office to crunch the numbers and compile an optimal lineup and decided to test it out Wednesday. The big difference in the lineup was first baseman Eric Hosmer moving to the two-spot and catcher Salvador Perez being put in the three-hole. Yost said Perez's contact-heavy approach was the reason for the change. 

He finished 2 for 3 and the team won, so it will be interesting to see whether Yost makes the switch permanent. 

Royals catcher Salvador Perez went 2 for 3 Wednesday against the Twins.

Perez had missed nine games after the death of his grandmother. He went hitless in his first game back and Wednesday's game marked his first hit since May 23. Perez singled twice and walked once. He's hitting .312/.331/.408 in 157 at-bats. 

Indians catcher Yan Gomes slugged his sixth home run Wednesday against the Yankees in a losing effort.

The home run, a two-run shot off CC Sabathia, was Gomes's only hit. He hasn't shown much patience in Cleveland (.302 OBP), but he hasn't had to: his slugging percentage is a massive .610, and it's time to wonder if Cleveland will start getting creative to get his bat in the lineup.

Yes, he's been a dud, but after only 21 at-bats, so was Carlos Gomez. It doesn't mean Yasmani Grandal needed PEDs to perform like he did as a rookie and wouldn't have been able to lift the bat from his shoulder otherwise. It just means his season has just started.

Granted, we'd have an easier time assessing him if he homered in his first game and doubled twice in his second, but rarely is baseball so convenient. Knowing his upside -- and yes, he was considered one of the best hitting prospects at the catcher position well before he ever failed a drug test -- he has the potential to be a game-changer at a relatively weak position. If Chris Iannetta or Erik Kratz is the best you can do off the waiver wire, then you should be willing to suffer through a couple down weeks for the sake of Grandal's potential.

What's a resonable expectation for him the rest of the way? Well, expecting some regression from last year but also accounting for the reduced size of the Padres' home park, I have him 10th among catchers in my rest-of-season rankings, ahead of notables Jonathan Lucroy, Jason Castro and, yes, Evan Gattis.

Royals catcher Salvador Perez returned to the lineup Tuesday against the Twins for the first time since May 24. Perez, who had missed the last nine games, had been away from the team after the passing of his grandmother.

The Yankees said catcher Chris Stewart (head) is available if needed for Monday's game against Cleveland, MLB.com reports.

Stewart had to leave his last game Saturday due to dizziness and did not play Sunday.

After undergoing testing at a hospital Sunday and Monday, Stewart was declared ready to play.

Mets catching prospect Travis d'Arnaud was not cleared by team doctors to remove a protective boot from his left foot after an examination Monday, the New York Daily News reports.

d'Arnaud has no timetable to remove the boot, and the team will not provide an official update on his status Monday, according to the Daily News.

Doctors have cleared Mets catching prospect Travis d'Arnaud to begin limited workouts, the New York Post reports. But d'Arnaud is unsure when he'll be able to remove his protective boot and was expected to receive clearance to begin working out two weeks ago.

"A couple of weeks ago when I found out it was still broken it was real tough to take," d'Arnaud said. "But there was nothing I could do except go home and relax and make sure my foot healed, and that's what I did."

d'Arnaud has been out since mid-April with a broken left foot.