MLB Player News

Vazquez is out of the lineup for Monday's game in Houston.

Ryan Jeffers will check in at catcher for Vazquez, who was behind the plate for Sunday's 3-0 loss to the Blue Jays. The two backstops have now made three starts apiece over the past six games and could be moving into more of a timeshare arrangement with Vazquez slashing just .223/.296/.250 through his first 125 plate appearances with the Twins.

Gomes is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Rays.

He'll retreat to the bench for the day game at Wrigley Field after catching in both of the Cubs' last two contests. Tucker Barnhart will step in behind the dish, forming a battery with starting pitcher Marcus Stroman.

Rutschman is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Guardians, Nathan Ruiz of The Baltimore Sun reports.

With the Orioles and Guardians kicking off their series with a matinee game, Rutschman will head to the bench in what appears to be a routine maintenance day. James McCann will check in behind the dish in place of Rutschman, who started at either catcher or designated hitter in each of the Orioles' previous 13 games.

Fortes went 3-for-4 with a solo home run, a double and a stolen base in Sunday's 2-0 win over the Angels.

Fortes came up a triple shy of the cycle while logging his first three-hit effort of the season. The catcher has done well lately, going 12-for-33 (.364) over his last nine contests. Fortes is up to three homers, nine RBI, nine runs scored and three steals while slashing .243/.283/.336 through 113 plate appearances. He's still Miami's primary catcher over Jacob Stallings.

Alvarez went 1-for-5 with a three-run home run in Sunday's 11-10 loss to the Rockies.

Alvarez was moved up to the two hole in the batting order for the first time Sunday, and he put an exclamation point on the Mets' six-run fourth inning. The homer was his fifth during his eight-game hitting streak, a span in which he's added 13 RBI while batting .400 (12-for-30). The young slugger is up to eight homers, 19 RBI, 14 runs scored and a .269/.327/.558 slash line through 33 contests this season.

Higashioka went 3-for-4 with two doubles, two RBI and a run scored in Sunday's 10-7 win over the Padres.

It's the first multi-hit game of the season for Higashioka, who'd been stuck in a 1-for-18 slump coming into Sunday's contest. The 33-year-old backstop is now slashing .203./259/.380 with three homers and 13 RBI in 85 plate appearances this season. Higashioka should continue to see the majority of starts behind the plate while Jose Trevino (hamstring) is sidelined, though Trevino could return as soon as Tuesday against Seattle.

Maldonado is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Athletics.

After starting behind the plate in each of Houston's last three games, Maldonado will get a respite in the series finale. Yainer Diaz will form a battery with starting pitcher Cristian Javier on Sunday.

Thaiss is back in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Marlins, starting at catcher and batting seventh.

According to J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles Daily News, manager Phil Nevin said Thaiss has been dealing with a minor hip issue, which may explain why the backstop was out of the lineup each of the past three games. Assuming he comes out of Sunday's contest no worse for the wear, Thaiss should see the bulk of the starts at catcher over Chad Wallach heading into the Angels' upcoming seven-game week.

Wallach is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Marlins.

Wallach was behind the dish for each of the Angels' last three games and went 1-for-5 with three walks and two runs, but he still appears to be the No. 2 option at catcher behind Matt Thaiss. According to J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles Daily News, Angels manager Phil Nevin noted prior to Sunday's contest that Thaiss had been battling a minor hip issue, which may have explained Wallach's increased usage of late.

Perez went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Saturday's 4-2 loss to the Nationals.

Perez has three homers and seven RBI over his last six games while batting .360 (9-for-25) in that span. The catcher is over halfway to matching his 23 homers from last season -- he now has 12 through 47 contests. He's also been one of the few reliable bats in the Royals' lineup, slashing .288/.327/.549 with 32 RBI, 26 runs scored and 12 doubles while primarily batting near the top of the order.