MLB Player News

Kirk went 3-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 3-2 win over the Mariners.

The catcher became the first player this season to take Luis Castillo deep when he launched his second homer of the year in the second inning. Kirk has appeared in 20 of Toronto's 26 games so far while splitting his time between DH and catcher, posting a .263/.419/.386 slash line with seven runs and 10 RBI.

Raleigh went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI in Friday's 3-2 loss to the Blue Jays.

The catcher took Alek Manoah deep for a solo shot in the second inning before adding an RBI single in the third. Raleigh hasn't quite found his power stroke yet in 2023, producing a .205 ISO through 87 plate appearances after posting a .278 mark last season, but he's maintained a decent fantasy floor by batting .231 with three homers, 11 runs and 14 RBI in 22 games.

Perez went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI in Friday's loss to Minnesota.

Perez opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly in the first inning before knocking a 416-foot solo shot in the sixth. He later added an RBI base hit in the seventh. He's produced three straight multi-hit games, bumping his season slash line to .266/.307/.436 with 10 extra-base hits and 12 RBI through 101 plate appearances. Perez was back in the lineup Friday after missing the previous two games due to a back issue.

Thaiss is out of the starting lineup against the Brewers on Saturday, Erica Weston of Bally Sports West reports.

Thaiss will sit against southpaw Wade Miley after starting the last two games and going 3-for-7. Chad Wallach will be the starting backstop for Los Angeles and hit eighth.

Trevino isn't in the Yankees' lineup for Friday's game against Texas.

After going 3-for-4 with a home run Thursday, Trevino bought himself a day off Friday. As a result, Kyle Higashioka will pick up a start behind the plate and bat ninth.

Grandal is not in the White Sox' lineup for Friday's game versus the Rays.

Grandal returned to action Thursday after missing one game with a back issue, although it's not clear whether his absence Friday is injury-related. Seby Zavala will catch Lucas Giolito.

Murphy, who played for the first time since last Friday in Thursday's loss to the Phillies and went 2-for-3 with a double, has logged only 29 plate appearances and appeared in nine of the Mariners' first 25 games.

The veteran is healthy after appearing in just 14 games in 2022 due to a shoulder injury, but he's seen Cal Raleigh draw 20 starts overall, with 19 of those coming behind the dish. That's left few opportunities for Murphy, and his timing at the plate unsurprisingly seems to be suffering. Even factoring in his first multi-hit effort of the season Thursday, Murphy is slashing just .138/.138/.207.

Wong will sit Friday against the Guardians, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald reports.

Wong will get a breather after he went 1-for-3 with two walks, a run scored and three strikeouts over two starts during a three-game series with the Orioles. Reese McGuire will take over behind the plate and bat eighth in the series opener with Cleveland.

Perez (back) has returned to the Royals' lineup for Friday's game in Minnesota, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Perez is ready to go after missing two games when he took a fastball off the back during Tuesday's game versus the Diamondbacks. He's catching and batting third against Pablo Lopez.

Fermin was optioned to Triple-A Omaha on Friday.

After being called up one week ago, Fermin went 1-for-7 at the plate with two strikeouts while making two starts at catcher for the Royals. With Salvador Perez (back) expected to be available Friday, there is no longer a need for Fermin on the big-league roster. Nick Pratto was called up from Omaha to replace him.