MLB Player News
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Reese McGuire C | CHW
Red Sox's Reese McGuire: Undergoing imaging on hand
McGuire is undergoing X-rays on his hand after Saturday's game to the Brewers, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports. He went 0-for-2 in the loss.
McGuire came in as a pinch-hitter for Connor Wong and it's unclear when he picked up the injury during Saturday's contest. The backstop should be considered day-to-day at this point.
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Danny Jansen C | TEX
Blue Jays' Danny Jansen: Hits pinch-hit homer in loss
Jansen hit a pinch hit, two-run home run in Saturday's loss against the Yankees.
Jansen came up clutch in the eighth inning with a two-run shot of Wandy Peralta that tied the scored at 2-2. That's the first homer of the season for the backup backstop, and his first runs driven in since April 15 against the Rays. Jansen was solid with the bat in 2022 with an .855 OPS over 215 at-bats, but his .139/.244/.222 slash even with that homer against the Yankees on Saturday gives an indication of just how much he's struggled over the first few weeks of 2023.
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Christian Bethancourt C | CHC
Rays' Christian Bethancourt: Out of lineup
Bethancourt will be on the bench Saturday against the White Sox, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Bethancourt has been the primary backstop in Tampa Bay this season, but not by a wide margin. He's started 12 games behind the plate, while Saturday's starter Francisco Mejia will be getting the call for the ninth time.
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Yasmani Grandal C | PIT
White Sox's Yasmani Grandal: Multi-hit effort against Rays
Grandal went 2-for-4 with a double, a walk and two runs scored Friday against the Rays.
Grandal reached base in each of his first two plate appearances and came around to score on each occasion. He now has five multi-hit performances across 16 games this season, which has led to a strong .279 average. Grandal has homered only once but also has seven doubles, allowing him to tally six RBI and five runs scored across 68 plate appearances.
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Jonah Heim C | ATH
Rangers' Jonah Heim: Homers again
Heim went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run and a walk in Friday's 5-4 loss to the Athletics.
Heim was part of a four-run outburst in the first inning, but starter Jon Gray gave it all back, and Texas dropped the first game of the series. It was the second straight at-bat with a three-run home run for Heim, who finished off Thursday's win over the Royals with a ninth-inning homer. He has four homers and 14 RBI through 14 games. With news that Mitch Garver (knee) will need at least another month, Heim will continue on as the primary catcher. He thrived last season in the role until slumping after July when he reached a career high in plate appearances.
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Mitch Garver DH | SEA
Rangers' Mitch Garver: Timeline extended
Texas general manager Chris Young said Friday that Garver (knee) will be out at least another month, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports.
There has been mixed and unclear messaging since Garver landed on the injured list after tweaking his left knee during a game April 8. At that time, it was believed to be a minor injury, but then an MRI exam revealed a more significant sprain. Earlier this week, manager Bruce Bochy said Garver would need about four weeks to recover. The Rangers' official site provided an update Friday, attributed to Bochy, that Garver will be out for five to six weeks, and it's unclear if that's five to six weeks from the time of the injury or from the most recent update. It's looking like a mid-May return at the earliest for Garver. In the meantime, Jonah Heim and Sandy Leon will hold down catching duties.
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Christian Bethancourt C | CHC
Rays' Christian Bethancourt: Pops fourth homer
Bethancourt went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 8-7 win over the White Sox.
With the Rays down 7-5 heading into the bottom of the ninth and staring at their first home loss of the season, Bethancourt kicked off the game-winning rally by squeaking an opposite-field shot just over the right-field wall. It's the catcher's third long ball as part of his six-game hitting streak, and he's now hitting .268 (11-for-41) on the year with four homers, seven RBI and nine runs in 12 contests.
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Chad Wallach C | ATH
Angels' Chad Wallach: Cranks homer in season debut
Wallach went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in Friday's victory over the Royals.
Wallach was called up after Logan O'Hoppe (shoulder) was placed on the 10-day injured list. In his first big league appearance of 2023, he provided the only offense of the night with his two-run shot. The 30-year-old is a .199 career hitter with five homers in 91 career games, however.
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Chad Wallach C | ATH
Angels' Chad Wallach: Promoted, starting Friday
The Angels selected Wallach from Triple-A Salt Lake on Friday, Erica Weston of Bally Sports West reports.
The 31-year-old backstop will take the place of Logan O'Hoppe (shoulder), who landed on the 10-day injured list Friday. Wallach doesn't have a strong track record at the plate, but he's slashed .361/.442/.556 in Triple-A through 43 plate appearances this season, so perhaps he can carry his hot streak up to the big leagues.
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Logan O'Hoppe C | LAA
Angels' Logan O'Hoppe: Placed on IL with shoulder injury
O'Hoppe was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left shoulder injury by the Angels on Friday, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.
O'Hoppe left Thursday's game against the Yankees after an awkward swing attempt in the ninth inning. The backstop will sit for at least 10 days while Chad Wallach is coming up from Triple-A Salt Lake to take O'Hoppe's place on the roster.