MLB Player News

McCann will start at catcher and bat ninth Tuesday in Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series versus the Royals, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

With left-hander Cole Ragans toeing the slab for the Royals, the Orioles are going with McCann behind the plate and Adley Rutschman at designated hitter in Game 1. McCann closed out the regular season on a high note with a 1.087 OPS and four home runs in September.

Lee went 1-for-5 with two RBI and a stolen base Sunday against the Tigers.

Lee has split time with Chuckie Robinson in September after struggling for the second half of the campaign. Since the All-Star break, he has maintained just a .242 wOBA and .558 OPS. Top prospect Edgar Quero could be ready to challenge Lee for playing time early next season.

McCann went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run Sunday against the Twins.

McCann's three-run shot provided the winning runs for the Orioles and gave him eight home runs on the year. Over his final 14 games spanning 49 at-bats, McCann contributed a .265 batting average with five homers and 15 RBI. He'll continue to play a key role off the bench for the Orioles as they begin their postseason push Tuesday at home against the Royals.

Raleigh went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and an additional run scored in Sunday's 6-4 win over the Athletics.

Raleigh set the major-league record for most homers by a catcher over his first four seasons when he went yard in the fifth inning. That blast was the margin of victory Sunday, and it also secured a 100-RBI campaign for the 27-year-old. Raleigh finished the year with a .220/.312/.436 slash line, 34 homers, 73 runs scored, six stolen bases and 16 doubles over 153 games, though he hit a much more impressive .286 (28-for-98) in September while homering in four of his last seven games.

O'Hoppe is not in Sunday's lineup against the Rangers.

Matt Thaiss will start behind the dish in O'Hoppe's place, batting sixth. O'Hoppe ended the season on a high note, batting .478 (11-for-23) with three doubles and a homer over his last six games.

Caratini is absent from Sunday's lineup against Cleveland.

Cesar Salazar will start behind home plate and bat ninth in the Astros' regular-season finale while Yainer Diaz is the DH. Since Sept. 1, Caratini has slashed .261/.329/.377 with two home runs and eight RBI across 76 plate appearances.

Perez is not in the starting lineup for Sunday's game against Atlanta.

Freddy Fermin will start behind home plate and bat seventh in the Royals' regular-season finale. Unless Perez comes in to pinch hit Sunday, he'll end the regular season with a slash line of .271/.330/.456 with 27 home runs and 104 RBI across 651 plate appearances.

Langeliers went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run and a walk in an extra-inning loss to the Mariners on Saturday.

Langeliers erased a 4-3 deficit in the ninth inning via a two-out, 357-foot shot off Collin Snider with Max Schuemann and JJ Bleday aboard to give the Athletics a temporary 6-4 lead. It was the slugging backstop's first homer in eight games and put him at 29 for the season, while also pushing his September RBI total to an impressive 16 over 23 contests. It's been a season of across-the-board improvement for Langeliers at the plate, and all three components of his .224/.288/.450 slash line heading into the final day of the regular season qualify as career bests.

Heim is absent from Saturday's lineup against the Angels.

Heim will get a breather Saturday after going 1-for-4 with three strikeouts in Friday's 5-2 win over the Halos. Carson Kelly will start behind home plate and bat seventh.

Thaiss is absent from Saturday's lineup against Texas, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

The lefty-hitting Thaiss will retreat to the dugout Saturday with the Rangers sending southpaw Andrew Heaney to the mound. Brandon Drury will serve as the designated hitter and bat fifth.