MLB Player News

Haase is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against Cleveland.

Haase will be on the bench against a right-handed pitcher (Triston McKenzie) for the second day in a row, which seemingly suggests that the Tigers aren't prepared to hand him a full-time role just yet. The righty-hitting Haase should still draw regular starts against left-handed pitching while filling in at either catcher or left field when he's included in the lineup.

Murphy isn't in the lineup Wednesday against Seattle, Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN Seattle reports.

Murphy had gone 0-for-7 with three strikeouts across the last two games. Aramis Garcia will serve as the starting catcher and bat ninth.

Godoy will start at catcher and bat ninth Wednesday against the Athletics.

After spending nearly a decade in the minors before earning his first promotion to the big leagues last week, Godoy appears to have made a positive early impression with the Mariners' coaching staff. He'll be awarded his third start in four games Wednesday while the struggling Tom Murphy (.507 OPS, 34.8 percent strikeout rate on the season) sits. Godoy hasn't done much damage at the plate either, but the Mariners may be inclined to go with the better defensive option until Murphy's bat heats up.

Murphy is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Athletics.

On the bench for the third time in four games, Murphy doesn't seem to have as much of a stranglehold on the No. 1 catching job as expected following Luis Torrens' demotion to Triple-A Tacoma last week. Jose Godoy will instead get another start behind the plate over the struggling Murphy, who is sitting on a .185 on-base average over 92 plate appearances on the season.

Trevino isn't starting Wednesday's game against the Angels.

Trevino will be out of the lineup for the second time in the last three games. Jonah Heim will take over behind the plate and bat ninth.

Garver isn't in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Orioles.

Garver had gone 4-for-9 with three doubles, three runs, two RBI and four walks in the last three games. Willians Astudillo will start at catcher and bat seventh.

Grandal is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cardinals.

Manager Tony La Russa will park Grandal on the bench for the second game in a row while the veteran backstop is stuck in a prolonged slump at the plate. Though he's ridden a sky-high 30.2 percent walk rate to a stellar .391 on-base average, Grandal has struggled to find holes in the defense when he's been able to make contact. He's sitting on a .136 batting average for the season, and his .120 BABIP and .177 XBA would seem to suggest that he hasn't been particularly unlucky. Zack Collins will be behind the plate for the second game in a row, but he doesn't appear to have unseated Grandal for the No. 1 catching job. In fact, La Russa told James Fegan of The Athletic that he plans to have Grandal start three games in a row beginning Thursday.

Higashioka went 2-for-4 with an RBI in Tuesday's loss to the Blue Jays.

Higashioka got the start at catcher with Gary Sanchez operating as the designated hitter Tuesday, and the backup backstop made his presence felt with his first multi-hit outing of the month. The 31-year-old veteran is only hitting .200, though, and with Sanchez ahead of him, steady playing time will remain hard to come by.

Stassi (concussion) is expected to begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Salt Lake this week and could rejoin the active roster next week, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports.

The 30-year-old has been sidelined by a concussion since early April, but he recently resumed baseball activities and could soon rejoin the Halos. Drew Butera and Kurt Suzuki should continue to split time behind the plate until Stassi is fully cleared.

Grandal is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Cardinals.

Grandal is hitting just .136 on the season but is a solidly above-average hitter according to his 126 wRC+. He's far more valuable in leagues that use on-base percentage, as an incredible 29.5 percent walk rate has helped him to an excellent .391 mark in that category despite his awful batting average. He'll get a rest Tuesday with Zack Collins starting behind the plate.