MLB Player News

Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Kirk will undergo surgery Tuesday to repair his fractured left thumb, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Kirk landed on the 10-day injured list this past weekend after being diagnosed with a fracture, and a visit with Dr. Thomas Graham on Monday led to a recommendation of surgery. The fact that Kirk needed an operation to fix the fracture could lead to a longer absence, but a formal timetable for the catcher's return won't be known until after surgery is completed. According to Mitch Bannon of The Athletic, the typical timeline for players to return from thumb surgery ranges from 3-to-6 weeks.

Jeffers is not in the lineup for Monday's tilt against the Tigers.

Victor Caratini will be behind the dish in Monday's series opener. Jeffers is off to a slow start offensively this season, going 4-for-24 without an RBI across his first seven contests. He'll get a day to regroup and should be back in the lineup Tuesday.

Fortes will start at catcher and bat sixth in Monday's game against the Cubs, Ryan Bass of Rays.tv reports.

After taking a seat in favor of Hunter Feduccia in both of the Rays' previous two games, Fortes will be back behind the dish Monday in the team's home opener. Fortes has been the more productive of the Rays' two catchers in the early going, producing a .967 OPS over 27 plate appearances.

Soderstrom went 1-for-4 with a three-run triple, three runs scored and two walks in Sunday's 12-10 win over the Astros.

With the bases loaded in the fifth inning, Soderstrom cleared them with a three-run triple. It was just the second triple of his career. He scored on a Brent Rooker sacrifice fly one batter later. Soderstrom then walked and scored in the seventh and 10th innings. The left fielder is slashing .212/.316/.333 with three extra-base hits, six RBI, five runs scored and a 5:11 BB:K across 38 plate appearances to begin the season but is still looking for his first home run.

Jansen isn't in the Rangers' starting lineup Sunday versus the Reds.

Jansen started behind the plate each of Texas' past four games, and he'll get a well-deserved rest Sunday. The veteran catcher has performed well to begin the season, slashing .250/.250/.458 with a home run and six RBI through 24 plate appearances. Kyle Higashioka is behind the dish for the Rangers in Sunday's series finale.

Rutschman is not in Baltimore's starting lineup Sunday versus Pittsburgh.

Rutschman was behind the plate for four of the previous five games and will get a breather Sunday. Samuel Basallo is doing the catching for Baltimore in the series finale against Pittsburgh.

Perez went 1-for-2 with a solo home run, two walks and an additional run scored in Saturday's Game 2 win over Milwaukee.

The homer was Perez's second of the young season, and he also drew a season-high two walks. He also started Game 1 and went 0-for-4 with a strikeout. The veteran backstop has hit safely in six of his first eight games, though he's without any multi-hit efforts to this point. Perez has hit cleanup in each of Kansas City's first eight contests, so he should have plenty of RBI chances moving ahead.

Fortes isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against Minnesota, Ryan Bass of Rays.tv reports.

Fortes has logged a base hit in six of the seven games he's played in thus far, but the Rays will keep him on the bench Saturday with Hunter Feduccia set to do the catching for lefty Steven Matz

Basallo isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against Pittsburgh.

Basallo will get a day off to regroup after going just 4-for-23 (.174) through his first six games. His absence will put Taylor Ward in the DH spot while Dylan Beavers, Leody Taveras and Colton Cowser form Baltimore's outfield trio.

Jensen isn't in the lineup for the first game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Brewers.

Jensen has gone 2-for-16 with a home run and eight strikeouts to begin the season, and he'll now begin Saturday's festivities on the bench. Starling Marte will occupy the DH spot instead and bat sixth.