MLB Player News

Stassi was placed on the seven-day injured list with a concussion Thursday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Stassi ran into a stanchion trying to track down a foul ball on Tuesday, though he remained in the game. However, he was out of Wednesday's lineup, so Tuesday's play could be the cause of his stint on the injured list. During Stassi's absence, Kurt Suzuki should serve as the team's primary backstop.

Heim went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and another run scored during Thursday's win over the Twins.

With the Rangers trailing by one in the seventh frame, Heim stepped up to the plate with two outs and evened the score with a long ball against Hansel Robles. The Rangers eventually pulled ahead with an extra-innings victory in the 10th. Across 12 games, the 25-year-old backstop has hit two homers while batting .125/.182/.325.

Mejia isn't in the lineup Thursday against the Angels, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Mejia will be out of the lineup for the second time in the last three games after he went hitless with a strikeout in three at-bats Wednesday. Mike Zunino will start behind the plate and bat seventh.

Murphy went 2-for-4 with an RBI single and a run-scoring double in a loss to the Blue Jays on Wednesday.

Murphy filled the designated hitter role in Wednesday's contest and certainly did his part with the bat, driving in half of the Athletics' runs on the night. The 26-year-old is still sporting a lackluster .213 average, but that figure's actually been climbing of late; factoring in Wednesday's production, Murphy is hitting .320 (8-for-25) with a double, two home runs, four RBI, three walks, two hit by pitches and four runs over his last eight games.

Kirk (hip) is expected to return in four weeks, Hazel Mae of Sportsnet reports.

Previous reports indicated that Kirk could miss as much as six weeks with his strained left hip flexor, but it looks as though his timeline has been revised to be slightly more optimistic. The young catcher's injury was poorly timed, as he was just starting to heat up at the plate, going 5-for-13 with a pair of homers in his last five games after hitting just .148 in his first 12 contests.

Vazquez isn't starting Thursday's game against the Tigers.

Vaquez had started each of the last two games and went 4-for-9 with a double, two RBI, a run, a walk and three strikeouts during that time. Kevin Plawecki will start behind the dish and bat eighth.

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

Garver had gone 3-for-7 with a solo home run, a walk and a strikeout in the last two games. Ben Rortvedt will start behind the dish and bat ninth.

Maldonado (shoulder) will catch and bat ninth Thursday against the Yankees, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Maldonado missed Wednesday's game after leaving Tuesday's contest with a bruised trapezius following a collision at home plate. He's back in action after a brief absence and will look to improve on his awful .091/.167/.136 season slash line, though he may have a tough time doing so with Gerrit Cole on the mound for the Yankees.

Vazquez moved from catcher to second base after Christian Arroyo left Wednesday's game with a hand injury.

Arroyo was hit by a pitch on his left hand but stayed in the game to run before being removed as a fielder. Vazquez has played second base before during his career, but his deployment Wednesday should be viewed as a stopgap measure. He's not expected to fill in at the position should Arroyo need multiple days off. The Red Sox can easily have Enrique Hernandez or Marwin Gonzalez, both of whom were already in Wednesday's game, play the keystone.

Garver went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk Wednesday against the Rangers.

Garver provided the Twins with their lone run of the game when he smacked his sixth home run of the season in the second inning. He's started to heat up at the dish, as he's now managed four home runs in his last five starts while also tallying three multi-hit games in that span. With Ryan Jeffers currently at Triple-A Rochester, Garver should have a clear path to regular at-bats for the Twins behind the dish. To this point, he's managed a .208/.250/.500 line with 13 RBI and eight runs scored across 76 plate appearances.