MLB Player News

Raleigh is absent from the lineup for Thursday's contest in Milwaukee.

Raleigh is slashing just .104/.271/.229 in August as his season-long offensive struggles continue. Jhonny Pereda will fill in at catcher for the Mariners in the series finale while Raleigh regroups.

Heim is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Royals.

Heim started at catcher the last two days, so he will get a breather during Thursday's matinee. Brian Serven will be behind the dish for the Athletics.

Kirk went 2-for-5 with a home run and two RBI in Wednesday's loss to the Rays.

The backstop got the Jays on the board with a solo shot off Drew Rasmussen in the top of the fourth inning. Kirk has left the yard in consecutive games and three times in the last five as part of an eight-game hitting streak. Over that heater, he's produced a .424/.500/.758 slash line with two doubles, five runs, nine RBI and a 5:2 BB:K.

Jensen is absent from the lineup for Thursday's game versus the Athletics.

Jensen -- who is sporting a .178/.302/.346 batting line in the second half -- will get a routine breather after starting the last four contests. Luke Maile is grabbing a start at catcher for the Royals.

Hicks is not in the lineup for Thursday's contest versus the Blue Jays.

Hicks started at catcher in each of the last three games, so he will be given some rest during Thursday's afternoon tilt. Nick Fortes will do the catching in the rubber match.

Vazquez went 1-for-2 with a solo home run and a walk in Wednesday's 3-2 win over the Angels.

Vazquez has homered in his last two games and now has seven long balls on the year. His blast in the third inning opened the scoring Wednesday. The veteran catcher is hitting .219 with a .628 OPS, 25 RBI, 21 runs scored, one stolen base and seven doubles over 233 plate appearances. Vazquez has seen a slight uptick in playing time lately while Yainer Diaz is stuck in a 3-for-23 slump.

Heineman is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Astros, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Heineman will hit the bench after he started behind the plate in three of the Halos' previous four contests. Moises Ballesteros will handle catching duties Wednesday.

Jansen is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Nationals.

Jansen made his return from the 60-day injured list and picked up his first start for the Rangers since June 1 in Tuesday's 5-0 win, going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts while playing nine innings behind the dish. The 31-year-old will likely see the majority of the starts at catcher now that he's healthy again, but he'll give way to Elias Diaz on Wednesday.

The Orioles activated Basallo (shoulder) from the 10-day injured list, Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun reports. He'll start at first base and bat cleanup in Wednesday's game against the Yankees.

Basallo went 1-for-9 with a double and a 0:2 BB:K in two rehab games, and that was evidently enough to convince the Orioles he was ready to return to the active roster. The 22-year-old had been shelved for most of the second half due to right shoulder inflammation.

Diaz is out of the lineup for Wednesday's contest versus the Angels.

Diaz started the last two games, which was preceded by a stretch with three straight contests on the bench. He'll retreat to the pine Wednesday while Christian Vazquez handles the catching duties for the Astros.