MLB Player News

Pinto was recalled from Triple-A Durham on Friday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Pinto missed out on Tampa Bay's Opening Day roster and has a .729 OPS through 12 games at Triple-A this season. He'll join the Rays for Friday's series opener with the Red Sox after Francisco Mejia tested positive for COVID-19 and was placed on the injured list. Pinto should operate as the backup to Mike Zunino and appears likely to make his major-league debut in the next couple days.

Mejia was placed on the COVID-19 injured list Friday after testing positive for the virus, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Mejia went 2-for-3 with a home run, a double, three RBI and two runs Wednesday against the Cubs, and he'll now be unavailable coming off Thursday's scheduled off day. Mike Zunino should continue to work as Tampa Bay's primary catcher, and Rene Pinto was promoted to serve as the backup.

Garver is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the A's.

Garver has started behind the plate in only seven of Texas' 12 games so far, but he also has three starts at designated hitter. He'll receive the day off Friday with Jonah Heim catching and Willie Calhoun as the DH.

Grandal isn't starting Friday's game against the Twins.

Grandal will get a chance to reset after he went just 1-for-21 with two RBI, a walk and five strikeouts in his last six appearances. Reese McGuire will start behind the dish and bat eighth.

Hedges isn't starting Friday's game against the Yankees.

Hedges has gone 3-for-10 with a run, an RBI and a strikeout in his last three starts, and he'll retreat to the bench for the second time in the last three games. Bryan Lavastida will start behind the dish and bat eighth.

Higashioka will sit Friday against Cleveland.

Higashioka sits for the second straight game, marking the first time he's been on the bench for back-to-back games this season. His .097/.125/.129 slash line suggests that he could find himself on the bench more often going forward. Jose Trevino remains the starter behind the plate.

Murphy went 3-of-4 with a home run, a double and three RBI in Thursday's 6-4 win over the Orioles.

Murphy not only turned in a great day at the plate, he was instrumental on defense in a questionable call that led to the ejection of Trey Mancini and Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde. Backing up the throw to first, Murphy tagged Mancini out after he ran past first base and allegedly made a move toward second, leading the catcher to smartly tag him out. Murphy has exceeded expectations early this season but had settled into a bit of an offensive slump in the series with Baltimore, going 0-for-10 leading into Thursday's game.

Raleigh isn't starting Thursday's game against the Rangers.

The Mariners haven't utilized a primary catcher early in the year, instead opting for a three-man committee. Raleigh will retreat to the bench for the third time in the last four games, while Tom Murphy takes over behind the plate.

Bethancourt was officially added to Oakland's 40-man roster Thursday, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

Bethancourt's contract was selected by the Athletics last week to serve as a fill-in option while several players were sidelined. However, he'll remain on the 40-man roster after he hit .250 with a double, three runs, an RBI and a stolen base in six appearances with the Athletics. He'll serve as the designated hitter and bat fifth in Thursday's matchup against Baltimore.

Sanchez will sit Thursday against the Royals, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.

Sanchez's Twins career hasn't gotten off to a great start, as he's hit .216/.275/.378 with a 32.5 percent strikeout rate through 40 plate appearances. Ryan Jeffers starts behind the plate Thursday, with Byron Buxton returning from a knee injury to serve as the designated hitter.