MLB Player News

Mejia is not in the starting lineup Friday against the Orioles, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Mejia will get a day off after he went 1-for-4 with a double and a run scored in Wednesday's loss to the Brewers. Christian Bethancourt will take over at catcher and bat seventh in the series opener.

Maldonado went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run Thursday against the Rangers.

Maldonado went yard in the second inning to open the scoring for Houston. He now has 12 homers on the season, four of which have come in his last 18 games. Despite Houston's acquisition of Christian Vazquez, Maldonado has started seven out of the 10 games since the trade deadline, but even with his relatively strong recent stretch he's still slashing only .187/.252/.370 across 285 plate appearances on the season.

Grandal went 3-for-5 with a two-run home run Thursday against the Royals.

Grandal took Jose Cuas yard in the eighth inning to tally his third homer of the season. It was his first long ball since May 16, and he has only four extra-base hits -- including Thursday's effort -- across 123 at-bats in that span. That has led to a disappointing .204/.300/.265 line for Grandal across 263 plate appearances on the season.

Casali (oblique) was activated from the 10-day injured list Thursday, Shannon Drayer of Seattle Sports 710 AM reports.

Casali was dealt to the Mariners at the trade deadline but has yet to make his debut with the team. Cal Raleigh is likely to remain the top catcher for Seattle, though Casali will get plate appearances as the backup after Luis Torrens was designated for assignment. Across 126 plate appearances on the season, Casali is hitting .231/325/.370 with four home runs and 14 RBI.

Vazquez is not in the starting lineup for Thursday's series finale against the Rangers.

Vazquez will be on the bench for a second straight game. He has gone 2-for-12 with no extra-base hits since joining the Astros at the beginning of the month. Martin Maldonado will start behind the plate and bat ninth versus Texas.

Hedges will sit Thursday versus the Tigers.

Hedges will get a breather after he went 1-for-7 with an RBI in the first two games of the series. Luke Maile will take over at catcher and bat eighth in the series finale.

Haase is not in the starting lineup for Thursday's series finale with the Guardians, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Haase will be on the bench Thursday for the fourth time in six games after he went 1-for-4 with an RBI double Wednesday. Tucker Barnhart will get the start at catcher and bat eighth in the series finale.

Sanchez went 1-for-3 with a solo home run, a walk and an additional run scored in Wednesday's loss to the Dodgers.

When Sanchez swatted a 400-foot solo shot in the fifth inning, it marked his first long ball in over a month. The backstop slashed a miserable .174/.255/.196 with only one extra-base hit during the drought. Sanchez is far removed from his peak days as one of the game's premier power hitters.

Perez went 3-for-5 with a double, two RBI and a run scored in Wednesday's win versus the White Sox.

Perez ripped an RBI double in the bottom of the sixth inning and came around to score on a Michael Massey single later in the frame. He later added two singles, including one that drove in a run in the eighth frame. Perez has compiled a .259 batting average with five homers, two doubles, 16 RBI and seven runs over 13 games since returning from the 10-day injured list July 29.

Heim isn't starting Wednesday against the Astros.

Heim went 0-for-5 with three walks and a strikeout over the last two games but will head to the bench Wednesday. Meibrys Viloria will start behind the plate and bat sixth.