MLB Player News

Salazar was optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land on Monday.

As expected, Salazar will head back to Triple-A on Monday, returning to Sugar Land after he went 0-for-7 with three strikeouts in the month of May as the Astros' third catcher. Grae Kessinger had his contract selected from Sugar Land and will replace Salazar on the major-league roster.

Maldonado is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Blue Jays.

Maldonado looks to be receiving a routine off day after he was behind the dish in each of the Astros' last three games. Yainer Diaz will pick up a start at catcher and bat eighth in place of Maldonado.

Garver will bat seventh as Texas' designated hitter in Monday's game against the Cardinals.

Garver will serve as the Rangers' DH for the third straight game and looks as though he'll be the team's favored option at that spot in the lineup over Robbie Grossman, who is on the bench for the third time in five contests. The Rangers are carrying Sandy Leon as a third catcher on the roster, so even while he's seeing steady playing time, Garver won't necessarily be manager Bruce Bochy's first choice to spell Jonah Heim behind the plate.

Jansen (groin) did some sprints pregame Monday at Rogers Centre, Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun reports.

The activity would seem to bode well for Jansen being ready to start a minor-league rehab assignment soon, if the Blue Jays think he needs one. The catcher is eligible to return from a left groin strain, which has kept him out of commission for the last week and a half.

Langeliers is not in the starting lineup Monday versus the Pirates.

Langeliers will take a seat after he went 3-for-10 with a double, an RBI, a run scored and four strikeouts while starting all three games of the team's series with the Marlins. Carlos Perez will take over behind the plate and bat fifth in the series opener with Pittsburgh.

Bethancourt is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Red Sox, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Bethancourt will take a seat for the series finale in Boston after he was behind the dish for three of the Rays' previous four games. Francisco Mejia will catch for starting pitcher Shane McClanahan on Monday.

Diaz went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a double in Sunday's 2-1 loss to the Twins.

The Astros mustered up just five hits on the afternoon with Diaz accounting for two of them, including the team's only two extra-base hits. The 24-year-old's path to more consistent playing time hinges on a Martin Maldonado injury or trade, but he has notched five hits and three RBI over his last three games, with three of those hits going for extra bases. For the year, he's slashing .246/.267/.435 with three homers, seven RBI and 11 runs over 75 plate appearances.

The Astros plan to option Salazar to Triple-A Sugar Land on Monday, Mark Berman of Fox 26 reports.

Salazar began the 2023 season on the Astros' major-league roster, but he's played in just 10 games and has hit .143 with a run. The 27-year-old should have an opportunity to see more consistent playing time in the minors.

McCann went 1-for-2 with a solo home run, a walk and two total runs scored in Sunday's 8-3 win over the Giants.

McCann has seen little playing time as backup to Adley Rutschman this year. In that limited action, McCann has struggled to make an impact, though this is the third time in his last four games he's knocked an extra-base hit. The veteran catcher is slashing just .195/.244/.364 with three homers, six RBI, nine runs scored and a stolen base over 82 plate appearances this season.

Heim went 2-for-4 with a home run and five RBI in Sunday's 12-3 win over the Mariners.

Heim opened the scoring with a two-run single in the first inning and closed out the Rangers' offense with a three-run blast in the sixth. The catcher is hot with four multi-hit efforts and 13 RBI during his active eight-game hitting streak, during which he's gone 12-for-30 (.400). He's up to an excellent .293/.345/.478 slash line with seven homers, 46 RBI, 31 runs scored, 13 doubles and two stolen bases through 50 contests overall.