MLB Player News

McGuire cleared waivers and was assigned to the alternate training site Sunday, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

There had been a lot of handwringing over the Jays potentially losing McGuire if he didn't make the team, as he was out of options, but he stays put. He should serve as the third catcher on the depth chart this season.

Hedges went 1-for-4 with a solo homer in Sunday's victory over the Tigers.

The right-handed hitter smashed a solo shot in the ninth inning off Tyler Alexander. The 28-year-old slashed .145/.231/.290 in 2020 and looks to turn his hitting around in 2021.

Garver went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Sunday's 8-2 win over the Brewers.

Garver had a brutal Opening Day -- 0-for-5, three strikeouts -- but he put together a much better stat line in his second game of the year. He restored the Twins' lead at 2-1 with his fifth-inning solo shot. The catcher had just two homers, five RBI and eight runs scored in 23 games in 2020, so he's looking to rebound this year. Garver's split of the playing time with Ryan Jeffers has yet to be determined, thus the former will need to hit well to earn his spot in the lineup.

Perez went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Sunday's 7-3 loss to the Rangers.

Perez got the Royals on the board with his big fly in the sixth inning, which was all the scoring they mustered against Rangers starter Jordan Lyles. The 30-year-old Perez had been mostly quiet while the Royals racked up 25 runs over their first two games. The catcher has collected four runs and two RBI in three games, and he figures to see most of the work behind the dish after signing a four-year, $82 million contract extension March 21.

Heim went 1-for-3 with a stolen base, a double, a walk and a run scored in Sunday's 7-3 win over the Royals.

Heim drew a walk in the fourth inning and stole second base as part of a double-steal with Brock Holt. They both came around to score on Isiah Kiner-Falefa's two-run single. The 25-year-old Heim is expected to be limited to the backup catcher role behind usual starter Jose Trevino. Heim had a modest .211/.268/.211 slash line with five RBI and five runs scored across 41 plate appearances for the Athletics in 2020.

Maldonado is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Athletics, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Jason Castro will pick up his first start of the season while Maldonado heads to the bench after catching each of the last three days. Though the Astros put up 26 runs in the first three games of the series, Maldonado didn't get in on the act, going just 1-for-13 with six strikeouts over that stretch.

Updating a previous report, Murphy (wrist) will remain out of the lineup for a third straight game Sunday against the Astros, according to Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

Though an initial lineup released on MLB.com listed Murphy as the Athletics' starting catcher, those duties will instead fall to Aramis Garcia while Murphy remains on the mend from a bruised right wrist. Per Alex Coffey of The Athletic, manager Bob Melvin said that Murphy didn't feel 100 percent while swinging in the batting cage, but the Athletics think the 26-year-old backstop will need only one more day off before checking back into the lineup. Oakland opens a three-game home series with the Dodgers on Monday.

Murphy (wrist) will start at catcher and bat sixth Sunday against the Astros.

He'll check back into the starting nine for the first time since Opening Day after missing consecutive games due to a right wrist contusion. Provided he comes out of Sunday's contest without issue, he should be in line to make the majority of the starts behind the dish during the Athletics' upcoming six-game week.

Jansen is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Yankees.

After going 1-for-6 with a walk and a run scored through the first two games of the series, Jansen will cede catching duties to Alejandro Kirk on Sunday in what amounts to a rest day for the former. The upgrade Jansen provides defensively should be enough to keep him atop the depth chart for now, but he may need to show improvement at the plate in his fourth MLB season in order to hold off Kirk for the long haul.

Trevino is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Royals.

Jonah Heim will catch Jordan Lyles in the series finale in Kansas City while Trevino presumably gets a routine breather after starting behind the plate in Texas' first two games. Trevino recorded four hits in nine at-bats between those contests, likely strengthening his hold on the No. 1 job in the process.