MLB Player News

Kirk will start at catcher and bat sixth Wednesday against the Orioles.

Kirk was on the bench for Tuesday's 4-2 loss, which coincided with Danny Jansen (hamstring) making his return from the 10-day injured list. Though Jansen is the top defender among the three catchers on Toronto's active roster, his underwhelming .635 OPS means he likely won't dominate the playing time behind the plate in September. Look for Kirk and Reese McGuire to remain part of a timeshare at catcher with Jansen until one of the three clearly separates himself from the others in the competition for at-bats.

Jansen is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Orioles.

In his return from the 10-day injured list in Tuesday's 4-2 loss, Jansen started at catcher and went 1-for-1 with a walk and a solo home run. The Blue Jays haven't committed to Jansen immediately taking over as the team's No. 1 catcher now that he's healthy again, so both Alejandro Kirk and Reese McGuire could be included in a three-man timeshare behind the dish.

Murphy will start at catcher and bat ninth Wednesday against the Astros.

The right-handed-hitting Murphy typically sees most of his opportunities against left-handed pitching these days, but he'll draw a start behind the dish with a right-hander (Jake Odorizzi) on the mound for Houston. Neither Murphy nor top backstop Cal Raleigh found much success at the plate in August; Murphy compiled a .589 OPS while striking out in 42.2 percent of his plate appearances, while Raleigh delivered a .467 OPS and struck out 34.8 percent of the time.

Raleigh is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Astros.

After going 0-for-3 in Tuesday's 4-0 win to drop his season average to .173, Raleigh will take a seat for the second time in the series. Tom Murphy will step in behind the dish for Raleigh.

Trevino will start at catcher and bat ninth Wednesday against the Rockies.

Trevino will be back in the lineup after sitting in both of the Rangers' last two games, but his time as the team's No. 1 catcher appears to be over. Jonah Heim returned from the COVID-19 injured list Tuesday and will likely see the majority of the starts behind the plate in September.

Heim isn't starting Wednesday's game against the Rockies.

Heim returned from the COVID-19 IL on Tuesday and went 0-for-4 with a strikeout. Jose Trevino will start behind the plate and bat ninth.

Sanchez went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 6-4 loss to the Angels.

Sanchez hit a solo home run off Jaime Barria in the fifth inning, cutting the Angels' lead in half. It was the catcher's first long ball since July 20. He batted just .208 in 14 games in the month of August. On the season, he is slashing .213/.320/.433 with 18 homers, 43 RBI and 47 runs scored in 363 plate appearances.

Jansen went 1-for-1 with a walk and a solo home run in Tuesday's 4-2 loss to the Orioles.

In his first at-bat since being activated from the IL, Jansen got the Jays on the board by taking Keegan Akin deep in the third inning. The homer was his sixth of the season in 50 games, but the 26-year-old's .183/.270/.365 slash line doesn't make a strong case for consistent playing time behind the plate in September.

Grandal went 1-for-2 with a solo home run and two walks in Tuesday's win versus the Pirates.

The catcher has been red hot since he returned from the injured list Friday, crushing four home runs and driving in 11 runs over four games. He has now launched 18 long balls this season, but Grandal has struggled to a .210 batting average, which would represent a career low for the 32-year-old.

Jansen (hamstring) was reinstated from the 10-day injured list Tuesday. He is set to start Tuesday's game against Baltimore behind the plate and bat ninth.

Jansen landed on the injured list July 23 with a right hamstring strain. He began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Buffalo on Aug. 24 and wound up going 4-for-15 with a homer, four RBI and three runs scored across five games. He's set to start Tuesday against left-hander Keegan Akin, but Jansen may have a hard time carving out a large role with catchers Alejandro Kirk and Reese McGuire also on the active roster.