MLB Player News

O'Hoppe is not in the Angels' starting lineup Tuesday night against the Mariners.

Matt Thaiss will start at catcher and bat eighth versus the Mariners and ace right-hander Luis Castillo. O'Hoppe is 4-for-14 (.286) with one home run and six RBI through four games played this season.

Langeliers isn't in Oakland's lineup Tuesday against the Guardians.

After starting 3-for-15 at the plate through Oakland's first four games, Langeliers will get the day off Tuesday. Carlos Perez will take over behind the plate and bat eighth.

Quero is set to open the season with Double-A Rocket City, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports.

This is surprising, even for the aggressive Angels, as Quero, who turns 20 this week, has never played above Single-A and his defense behind the plate is widely panned by scouts. Granted, Rocket City is the team's preferred developmental hub over Tri-City (too pitcher-friendly) and Salt Lake (too hitter-friendly). If Quero handles the aggressive assignment offensively, he could possibly be fast-tracked as a first baseman.

Murphy is hitting eighth and serving as the designated hitter for Tuesday's tilt against the Angels.

Murphy has gone hitless in his first six plate appearances of 2023, but he does have a history of success versus left-handed pitchers and gets the starting nod against southpaw Jose Suarez.

Kirk isn't in the lineup for Toronto's game against the Royals.

Kirk has logged a hit in each of the three games he's played in thus far, but he will take a seat Tuesday in order to rest. Danny Jansen will take his place behind the dish and bat seventh.

Heim is out of the lineup Tuesday versus the Orioles.

He'll take a seat while Mitch Garver catches for Andrew Heaney. Heim is 2-for-10 with two RBI so far this season.

Jeffers hit a solo home run in his only at-bat Monday in an 11-1 victory versus Miami.

With the Twins running away in a rout, Jeffers was brought on in the ninth inning to pinch hit for Byron Buxton. Jeffers took advantage of the opportunity, slamming a 417-foot solo homer off Marlins catcher-turned-reliever Jacob Stallings. Jeffers has played in just two games so far this season, but he's gone 3-for-6 with three RBI.

O'Hoppe went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run in a 6-0 victory against Oakland on Sunday.

O'Hoppe broke a scoreless tie in the top of the fourth inning with a 391-foot, three-run shot off Ken Waldichuk. The blast was his first long ball as a big-leaguer, and it extended his streak of games to begin the season with at least one RBI to three. The rookie catcher was originally slated to begin the campaign in the minors, but Max Stassi's hip injury and consequent placement on the IL has resulted in O'Hoppe starting all three games for the Angels so far. He's seized the opportunity, going 4-for-10 with six RBI through 11 plate appearances.

McCann (oblique) was spotted running the bases Monday, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.

McCann remains on the 10-day injured list, but the fact that he traveled with the Orioles to Arlington for the team's three-game series with the Rangers is a sign that he's tracking toward a brief stint on the shelf. Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com noted Sunday that McCann has already been cleared for full baseball activities, so the catcher may even have a chance at being activated when first eligible Thursday if the Orioles don't think he requires a minor-league rehab assignment beforehand.

Higashioka went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Sunday in a 6-0 win against the Giants.

Higashioka saw action for the first time this season Sunday while Jose Trevino got a breather. The backup backstop took advantage of the opportunity, belting a solo shot to left field in the fourth inning. Higashioka has shown moderate power by hitting 10 homers each of the past two seasons, but he's firmly behind Trevino on the Yankees' catcher depth chart for the time being.