MLB Player News

Sanchez is not starting Friday against the Athletics.

Sanchez will get his first breather since last Saturday after going 1-for-3 with a walk in Thursday's win. Kyle Higashioka is set to catch Gerrit Cole and bat ninth.

Jeffers (heel) is starting Friday's game against the Brewers.

Jeffers sustained a heel injury against the Red Sox on Thursday, but he'll start behind the plate and bat sixth Friday. As long as his injury doesn't linger, the 24-year-old will take over as the team's primary catcher while Mitch Garver (back) is on the 10-day injured list.

Garver was placed on the 10-day injured list with a lower back strain Friday, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.

Garver had missed five of the last seven games due to a back injury, and he'll have additional time to recover on the 10-day IL. Ryan Jeffers (heel) is in line to serve as the primary catcher, while Willians Astudillo will be available in a depth role.

Raleigh isn't starting Friday's game against the Royals.

Raleigh went 1-for-4 with a double and two strikeouts in Thursday's contest, but he'll retreat to the bench for the second time in the last three games. Tom Murphy will start at catcher and bat seventh.

Grandal is starting Friday against the Cubs after being activated from the injured list.

Grandal was activated from the injured list earlier Friday after missing close to two months with a knee injury. The backstop will resume his season with an underwhelming .188/.388/.436 slash line, but he should get the bulk of the starts while Seby Zavala spells him behind the plate.

Collins was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte on Friday.

Collins served as Yasmani Grandal's backup early in the year, but it wound up being Seby Zavala who took over the starting role after Grandal underwent knee surgery in early July. With Grandal now back in action, Zavala remains with the team while Collins heads to the minors, though he'll have a good chance to return once rosters expand at the start of September.

Grandal (knee) was activated off the injured list as expected Friday.

Grandal has been out since early July while recovering from knee surgery. Prior to his injury, he owned a very strange yet productive .188/.388/.436 slash line. He walked nearly twice as often as he recorded a hit (60 to 34), but over 40 percent of his hits were homers (14). He's been a similar low-average, high-walk, high-power hitter throughout much of his career, but he'll need to do less damage to fantasy teams' batting averages down the stretch if he's to be a quality option in standard setups. Zack Collins was optioned to clear space for him on the roster, so Seby Zavala will serve as Grandal's backup for now.

Grandal (knee) will be activated off the injured list Friday, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.

Grandal has been out since early July after undergoing surgery to repair a torn tendon in his left knee. He's gotten into a full 11 rehab games and has looked good, hitting .303. He should return to his role as the primary catcher down the stretch, though the White Sox likely won't want to overwork his surgically repaired knee, so he could get more days off than usual over the next few weeks.

Perez went 1-for-5 with a grand slam in a 6-4 victory over Seattle on Thursday.

Perez stepped to the plate against reliever Joe Smith with Kansas City down 4-1 and the bases juiced, and he crushed a 418-foot bomb to left that gave the Royals the lead for good. The blast was the backstop's fifth in seven games and gives him 35 on the season, nine more than any other catcher.

Murphy went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and three strikeouts in Thursday's 7-6 loss to the Yankees.

Murphy's back-to-back blasts with Matt Chapman in the third inning ignited a six-run comeback, though the backstop wasn't productive in his other at-bats. The 26-year-old is in a timeshare with trade deadline acquisition Yan Gomes, which has actually benefitted both players, evidenced by Murphy's improved .256/.385/.512 slash line this month.