MLB Player News

Stassi is not in the lineup Thursday against the Astros.

Stassi has started each of the Angels' last two games, during which he's collected one hit and one walk across eight plate appearances. Kurt Suzuki will take over behind the dish and hit seventh in Stassi's place.

Kirk is out of the lineup again Thursday.

The catcher will sit for the second consecutive contest. Over his last 11 games, Kirk has batted .094 with only one home run and two RBI in 32 at-bats. Danny Jansen will start behind the plate and bat ninth.

Hedges went 1-for-3 with a solo home run during Game 2 of Thursday doubleheader against the White Sox.

Hedges took Reynaldo Lopez deep with a 367-foot shot in the first game of the twin bill to chase the right-hander. The 29-year-old backstop is now facing limited playing time due to a split role with Roberto Perez, who recently returned from the injured list. Across 83 games, Hedges is batting .176/.218/.300 with nine long balls.

Murphy will sit Thursday against Oakland.

Murphy has settled in as the Mariners' primary catcher down the stretch and owns a .294/.375/.471 slash line over his last 12 games. He'll sit here after starting three straight games behind the plate, with Cal Raleigh set to catch Yusei Kikuchi.

Perez isn't starting the first game of Thursday's doubleheader against the White Sox.

Perez has gone 3-for-7 with a homer, two RBI and two strikeouts across his last two appearances, but he'll be out of the lineup for a second straight game. Austin Hedges will start behind the plate and bat ninth.

Sanchez launched a pinch-hit two-run homer in Wednesday's win over the Rangers.

The catcher was sent to the plate with two outs in the eighth inning and took reliever Spencer Patton deep, driving in teammate Gio Urshela. It was his 23rd home run of the season and second in three contests. Sanchez has batted .191 with five homers and 11 RBI this month.

Maldonado is out of the lineup Wednesday against the Angels, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Maldonado started the past four games and will receive a day off after going 5-for-13 with two homers, three walks, four RBI and three runs during that stretch. Jason Castro will catch Wednesday for right-hander Luis Garcia.

Gomes is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Mariners.

Gomes started the last three games and will take a breather after going 3-for-10 with a solo home run and a walk. Sean Murphy will start behind the plate in his place Wednesday.

Jeffers will start at catcher and bat seventh Wednesday against the Cubs.

Though he'll get the starting nod behind the dish in the series finale in Chicago, Jeffers is expected to see a drop in playing time over the final week and a half of the season after No. 1 backstop Mitch Garver was reinstated from the injured list Tuesday. While Garver was on the shelf, Jeffers slashed .156/.206/.281 with two home runs, seven runs and five RBI over a stretch of 21 games.

Garver is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cubs.

Garver returned from a month-long stay on the injured list to start behind the plate in Tuesday's 9-5 win, going 3-for-5 with an RBI. He's expected to serve as Minnesota's No. 1 catcher for the final week and a half of the season, but Garver will cede his spot in the lineup Wednesday to Ryan Jeffers.