MLB Player News

Raleigh (mouth) will start at catcher and bat third in Thursday's game versus the Rangers.

Raleigh missed Wednesday's 5-1 loss following a dental procedure, but he'll be back in action for Thursday's series finale. The switch-hitting catcher enters play Thursday having slugged home runs in four of his last five games.

Jansen is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Royals.

Jansen will get a breather for the day game after he caught eight innings of Wednesday's 3-2 loss while going 1-for-3 with a walk. Alejandro Kirk gets the nod behind the dish for Toronto in the series finale in Kansas City.

Heim is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Mariners.

Heim looks to be receiving some routine maintenance as the Rangers and Mariners wrap up their series with a day game after a night game. Andrew Knizner will get the starting nod behind the plate.

Wong is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Guardians.

Wong will get a breather for the day game after he powered the Red Sox to an 8-0 win Wednesday by going 4-for-4 with two home runs and three RBI while also reaching base on a hit by pitch. Reese McGuire will get the nod behind the plate Thursday, but the hot-hitting Wong appears to have clearly supplanted him as the Red Sox's preferred option at catcher.

Naylor is out of the lineup for Thursday's contest versus the Red Sox.

Naylor started each of the previous three games at catcher for the Guardians, but he'll be given some rest for the Thursday afternoon tilt. David Fry will draw the start at catcher for Cleveland.

Maldonado is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Twins.

Maldonado finds himself on the bench for a second straight day, ending a stretch of eight consecutive contests in which he and Korey Lee alternated turns behind the dish. With the White Sox sitting on a 3-21 record and the 37-year-old Maldonado having recorded just two hits in 42 at-bats on the season, it's possible that the organization will begin to start phasing him out to open up more opportunities for the 25-year-old Lee.

Lee went 1-for-2 with a solo home run during Wednesday's 6-3 loss to the Twins.

Lee reached safely in two of his three plate appearances Wednesday, tagging Joe Ryan for a solo home run in the third inning and working a walk in the fifth. He stole second after the free pass, marking his first-career steal in the big leagues. After batting .077 and .160 over small samples in 2023 and 2022, respectively, Lee is off to a much better start to 2024, slashing .256/.310/.462 with five RBI and five runs scored.

Wong went 4-for-4 with a pair of homers and three total RBI in Wednesday's 8-0 victory over the Guardians.

It's the second two-homer game of Wong's career while his four hits matched a personal best. The 27-year-old catcher has been on fire lately, going 13-for-31 with four home runs in his last eight games while taking over the primary catching job in Boston. Wong's now slashing a solid .320/.327/.520 with three home runs (six shy of a career high), eight RBI and five runs scored across 51 plate appearances to open the campaign.

Maldonado is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Twins.

Maldonado has fallen into a timeshare behind the dish with Korey Lee, with both backstops having now made four starts apiece over the past eight games. Even in AL-only leagues, Maldonado won't retain much fantasy value while he's hitting .048 on the season and not even playing on a regular basis.

Raleigh isn't starting Wednesday against the Rangers after undergoing an emergency procedure to remove one of his teeth, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

Raleigh reportedly played with a broken tooth during Tuesday's win and had it removed early Wednesday. Seby Zavala will start behind the plate for Seattle and bat ninth while Raleigh is sidelined.