MLB Player News

Garver is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Pirates, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports.

Garver already received a day off in Tuesday's 7-3 win, but the backstop will sit again while the Twins wrap up their series with Pittsburgh with a day game after a night game. Alex Avila gets the nod behind the plate Thursday, catching for starting pitcher Kenta Maeda.

McCann started at catcher and went 0-for-3 in Wednesday's 1-0 loss to the Brewers.

McCann was part of a lineup tweak that covered for the loss of Edwin Encarnacion (shoulder). Primary catcher Yasmani Grandal took over at designated hitter for Encarnacion while McCann made his fifth start of the season. If Encarnacion misses more time, we could also see Zack Collins fill in at DH.

Manager Aaron Boone was "a little bit" concerned Sanchez could be forced to miss a game or two if his elbow stiffened up after being hit by a pitch Wednesday, Marly Rivera of ESPN.com reports.

Sanchez went 0-for-2 with two strikeouts in Game 2 and never exited the contest, but a stiff elbow could obviously impact his ability to work behind the plate. The 27-year-old should be considered day-to-day, and his availability is likely to be determined by how the elbow responds Thursday.

Murphy (foot) is feeling better but doesn't have a timeline for his return, Lauren Smith of The Tacoma News Tribune reports.

The 29-year-old has apparently been able to take part in some light catching work, but it doesn't sound as though he's participating in rigorous workouts. Austin Nola should continue to see the bulk of the work behind the plate until Murphy can return from the left foot fracture.

Hernandez cleared waivers and was outrighted to the Royals' alternate training site Wednesday.

The 27-year-old was designated for assigment over the weekend and will remain in the organization after going unclaimed on waivers. Hernandez will continue to provide catching depth in the 60-man pool, but he's unlikely to rejoin the roster if Salvador Perez, Cam Gallagher and Meibrys Viloria remain healthy.

Murphy is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Rangers.

Murphy started the past two contests and will return to the bench after going 1-for-6 with two runs, two walks and four strikeouts. Austin Allen will bat ninth and catch for Sean Manaea on Wednesday.

Perez (shoulder) resumed throwing Wednesday, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.

Perez also did some hitting after taking a week off with a strained right shoulder. The backstop is technically eligible to return this weekend, though it's unclear when he'll be ready to go. Sandy Leon and Beau Taylor should continue to handle catching duties in his absence.

Perez went 0-for-2 with a run scored Tuesday in the Rays' 5-1 win over the Red Sox.

Starting for just the third time in 11 games, Perez cracked the lineup while Mike Zunino received a day off. Though Perez came around to score after being hit by a pitch, he continued the general trend of Rays catchers offering little production at the plate. Zunino is hitting just .087 on the season, while Perez has gone hitless through his first six at-bats of the campaign.

Sanchez will sit for the first half of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Phillies.

It's hardly a surprise to see that the catcher won't be tasked with catching two games on one day. Kyle Higashioka takes over behind the plate for the afternoon game, but Sanchez should return to the lineup for the nightcap.

Nola went 2-for-3 with an RBI single, a run-scoring triple and a walk in a loss to the Angels on Tuesday.

Nola was nearly a one-man offense Tuesday save for Dylan Moore's solo home run, with the backstop opening the scoring for the Mariners with his sixth-inning three-bagger and adding his timely single in the eighth. Nola has been able to start five straight games after missing a pair of contests with a knee injury last week, and he's now sandwiched his first two multi-hit efforts of this season around a pair of hitless performances thus far in August.