MLB Player News

Let's not mince words here: If you're starting Buster Posey, Carlos Santana, Joe Mauer, Yadier Molina, Matt Wieters, Mike Napoli, Brian McCann or maybe Wilin Rosario at catcher, you're probably not picking up the Padres' Yasmani Grandal in anticipation of his return from a 50-game suspension Tuesday. If you're starting anyone else, you probably are.

Or at least, you probably should. The .863 OPS he compiled over the three months or so that he was in the big leagues last year would have ranked fourth among full-time catchers if he had done it over a full season, placing him ahead of Santana and Mauer, among others. Now, you could argue the OPS was artificially enhanced by the PEDs he was using, and maybe it was. But it's not like he was some out-of-nowhere minor-league journeyman putting up those numbers. He was the 12th overall pick in 2010 -- a legit prospect with big-time potential.

Plus, his batting eye was as responsible for his impressive debut as anything else. As long as that wasn't a fluke, I'd bank on the reduced fences at PETCO Park allowing Grandal to produce at near the level he did last year.

Yankees catcher Chris Stewart was back in action Monday night against the Mets.

Stewart, who missed seven of his previous eight games with a groin injury, recorded a single in the seventh inning for his only hit of the night. He finished 1 for 3 in a 2-1 defeat. He is hitting .276/.313/.395 with three home runs and seven RBI in 76 at-bats.

The Padres are set to activate catcher Yasmani Grandal Tuesday, as his 50-game performance-enhancing drug suspension has come to a close. The team plans to option John Baker to Triple-A Tucson to make room for Grandal.

Grandal appeared in nine minor-league games prior to his activation, batting .306 without a home run. He is expected to be the team's primary catcher. 

Padres catcher Yasmani Grandal 's 50-game drug suspension is nearly over, and the team expects him back in the next few days. Grandal could return as early as Tuesday in Seattle, according to U-T San Diego.

He has been playing at Triple-A Tucson, where he has a .731 on-base plus slugging percentage in nine games. 

Yankees catcher Chris Stewart returned to the starting lineup Monday against the Mets despite a lingering groin injury. Stewart sat out Sunday after returning Friday and missing seven of the previous eight games due to the issue. 

Stewart entered Monday batting .274 with seven RBI over 26 games. 

Yankees catcher Austin Romine was behind the plate for the seventh time in eight games Sunday at Tampa Bay because starting catcher Chris Stewart continues to deal with a groin injury, according to MLB.com. Stewart returned to the lineup Friday after missing five straight games, but he hasn't started the last two games.

The Royals placed catcher Salvador Perez on the bereavement list Saturday. He is expected to be out for a minimum of three to a maximum of seven games.

Perez is hitting .419 with five RBI in his last nine games played.

Yankees catcher Chris Stewart returned to the lineup Friday after missing a week with a groin injury, getting two hits in four at-bats while scoring a run and driving in a run.

The two-hit game gives Stewart his highest batting average since the end of April. He has hit .278/.316/.403 with three home runs in 72 at-bats.

Soon after his two-homer game Monday, I said Yan Gomes wasn't worth the trouble in Fantasy because he's a backup catcher. But he has homered once since then and seems to be getting more playing time, having started four of the Indians' last seven games.

Now, part of the reason was because Nick Swisher missed three games for the birth of his daughter. But Gomes clearly made an impression in Swisher's absence, and manager Terry Francona was singing his praises even before then.

Given the versatility up and down their lineup -- from Swisher to Carlos Santana to Mark Reynolds to Gomes himself -- the Indians could find creative ways to keep giving Gomes at-bats, perhaps sitting Drew Stubbs or Michael Brantley occasionally for him. He's most likely looking at no more than 3-4 starts per week, but as a poor man's Evan Gattis, he could factor in leagues that require starting two catchers.

Yankees catcher Chris Stewart will return to the lineup Friday against Tampa Bay, the Journal News reports. Stewart has been out since May 16 with a groin injury. He will split time with catcher Austin Romine.