MLB Player News

The Blue Jays designated Heineman for assignment Friday.

Alejandro Kirk (thumb) is back from the injured list, and the Blue Jays have elected to keep Brandon Valenzuela around as his backup rather than Heineman. Heineman is hitting only .154/.205/.205 this season and could clear waivers, though if that happens he would have the ability to elect free agency.

The Blue Jays activated Kirk (thumb) from the 60-day injured list Friday.

A broken left thumb sent Kirk to the injured list just five games into the season, but he's ready to rejoin the Blue Jays after fully recovering from surgery to repair the fracture. The 27-year-old went 3-for-18 with a homer and a double during his six-game rehab assignment and should immediately reclaim the starting job behind the plate for Toronto. Brandon Valenzuela will fill the backup job with Tyler Heineman being designated for assignment as part of Friday's transactions.

Gasper will start at designated hitter and bat leadoff in Friday's contest versus the Rangers.

Regular leadoff man Jarren Duran has been moved down to the No. 5 spot in the Boston lineup. Gasper is making his sixth straight start, but he's just 2-for-19 at the dish in the first five of those contests.

Rutschman went 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, three RBI and one run scored in Thursday's 7-5 win over the Mariners.

Rutschman had missed three games with left hamstring tightness before returning as the designated hitter Thursday. He is batting .393 (11-for-28) over seven contests in June, so getting his bat back in the lineup is big for Baltimore. The catcher is hitting .273 with an .848 OPS, eight home runs, 39 RBI, 26 runs scored, 15 doubles and a triple over 49 games this season.

Dingler went 3-for-5 with a double and a run scored in Thursday's 11-0 win over the Twins.

Dingler enjoyed the series against Minnesota, as he went 8-for-15 with two home runs, four runs scored and five RBI during the three-game set. Overall, it's been a great start to the season for the Detroit catcher with 16 long balls and 49 RBI across 62 contests. The homer total is third among all MLB catchers, while Dingler leads his position group in RBI.

Romo isn't in the lineup for Thursday's game against Atlanta.

Romo will move to the bench for a second consecutive game after going 0-for-9 with a walk and two strikeouts across his last three contests. Edgar Quero will fill in as Chicago's catcher and bat seventh.

Basallo (wrist) will start at catcher and bat fifth in Thursday's tilt versus the Mariners.

Basallo has been out of the lineup for the past three games as he deals with a bony growth in his left wrist, but he had a few plate appearances off the bench during that stretch and is now ready to return to the Orioles' lineup. The 21-year-old has collected a .801 OPS with nine home runs across 199 plate appearances for Baltimore this season.

Rutschman (hamstring) will start at designated hitter and bat third in Thursday's game versus the Mariners.

Rutschman has missed each of the last three games with left hamstring tightness, but he feels well enough to at least hit in Thursday's contest. The switch hitter has been better against righties (.876 OPS) than lefties (.760 OPS) this season and will take on Seattle righty Bryan Woo in the series finale.

Higashioka is not in the lineup for Thursday's tilt in Kansas City.

Higashioka started the first two games of the series at catcher, so he'll get a break during Thursday's afternoon tilt. Elias Diaz will be behind the dish and bat eighth for the Rangers.

Perez is absent from the lineup for Thursday's game against the Rangers.

Perez was in the lineup the last two days after missing the previous two contests with a thumb injury. He will take a seat for Thursday's afternoon tilt in what looks to be a routine day off. Carter Jensen is catching and Jac Caglianone is getting a day at designated hitter for the Royals.