MLB Player News

Jansen isn't in the Blue Jays' lineup Thursday against the Yankees.

Jansen broke an 0-for-12 skid with a double during Wednesday's victory, and he'll now get a breather for Thursday's series opener. Alejandro Kirk will start behind the dish and bat eighth.

Maldonado will start at catcher and bat ninth in Thursday's game against Atlanta.

Top backstop Korey Lee is getting a breather for the day game after he started at catcher in each of the previous three days, so Maldonado will get a turn behind the plate. Maldonado is valued for his defense, but with an .088/.140/.132 slash line and a minus-24 wRC+, he's been the league's least-productive hitter among all players with at least 100 plate appearances this season.

Lee is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against Atlanta.

Lee will get a breather for Thursday's day game after he caught all three of the White Sox's games versus the Dodgers earlier this week. Martin Maldonado checks in for Lee behind the plate.

The Red Sox reinstated Wong (personal) from the paternity list Thursday, Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic reports.

Wong missed the maximum three games while on paternity leave and will rejoin the Red Sox ahead of Friday's series opener versus the Padres. Tyler Heineman was optioned to Triple-A Worcester to clear room on the active roster for Wong, who should settle back in as Boston's No. 1 catcher while Reese McGuire serves as the backup.

McCann went 1-for-2 with two walks in a loss to the Angels on Wednesday.

McCann made one of his relatively infrequent appearances in the starting nine and once again contributed, qualifying as the only Athletics batter to reach safely on three occasions. However, he was part of an unfortunate sequence in the second inning, when he stumbled and failed to touch home plate when attempting to score and was subsequently called out due to Armando Alvarez making contact with him in an attempt to steer McCann back to the plate. That gaffe notwithstanding, the rookie backstop has now reached safely in four consecutive games dating back to June 16, and he sports a .278 average and .804 OPS across 91 plate appearances (30 games) this season.

Salazar went 1-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a run scored Wednesday against the Rockies.

Salazar was recalled June 11 to serve as depth behind the plate as Houston dealt with injuries to their top two catchers. With Victor Caratini (hip) likely sidelined through the All-Star break, Salazar should get a couple starts per week for the foreseeable future. He's gone 5-for-11 with three runs scored and four RBI since being promoted.

Heim went 2-for-3 with a solo home run during Wednesday's 6-5 loss to Milwaukee in 10 innings.

Heim and Nathaniel Lowe hit back-to-back homers in the fourth inning, snapping a 12-game homerless streak for Heim. The outing was also Heim's first multi-hit game since June 5. The catcher is slashing .234/.288/.344 with seven home runs across 244 at-bats in 2024.

Diaz went 3-for-4 with two RBI in Wednesday's 7-1 win over the Rockies.

The 25-year-old backstop extended his hitting streak to seven games, a stretch in which he's batting .407 (11-for-27) with seven RBI. Diaz has yet to go yard since taking a foul tip off his finger and missing a few games earlier this month, but his current hot stretch has pushed his slash line on the season up to .271/.298/.415 with seven homers, 32 runs and 40 RBI in 69 contests.

Fermin went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI in Wednesday's 5-1 win over the Marlins.

The Royals' offense was stuck in neutral until the eighth inning, but Fermin capped a five-run outburst with a two-run single. The 29-year-old had been on the bench the prior three games with Michael Massey serving as the DH in his return from a lower-back strain, which kept Salvador Perez behind the plate. But playing time should open up for Fermin again once Massey is ready to resume defensive duties at second base. On the season, Fermin is slashing .294/.340/.434 with four homers, 18 RBI and 21 runs in 48 contests.

Jeffers is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Diamondbacks.

The 27-year-old and Christian Vazquez have alternated starts over Minnesota's past 21 games, and that trend will continue after Jeffers went 1-for-3 with a three-run homer Tuesday.