MLB Player News

Jansen went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Monday's 4-1 win over the Nationals.

The catcher took Anibal Sanchez deep in the fourth inning for his first homer of the year. Jansen has started three of the Jays' first four games, going 4-for-11, and he figures to get the majority of the work behind the plate this season.

Maldonado will sit Monday against the Mariners, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Maldonado started each of the season's first three games but will get a rest Monday. Dustin Garneau gets the nod behind the plate in his absence.

Gallagher (illness) remains on Kansas City's COVID-19 injured list, but he's joined the team in Detroit ahead of Monday's series opener with the Tigers and is listed as a member of the taxi squad, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports.

Gallagher's presence with the team suggests he's been fully cleared of the coronavirus after testing positive for COVID-19 earlier this month, but he may need to complete a few more workouts before the Royals are comfortable activating him. Once he's officially added to the 30-man active roster, Gallagher should serve as the top backup to No. 1 catcher Salvador Perez.

Maldonado went 1-for-3 with two RBI in Sunday's 7-6 loss to Seattle.

Maldonado has been productive out of the nine-hole to start the season, driving in two runs in each of the first three games. A .219 career hitter entering the season, Maldonado is 5-for-11 overall and 4-for-5 with men in scoring position.

Vazquez went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's loss to the Orioles.

Vazquez didn't appear in Saturday's contest, but he returned with another strong performance and smacked his first home run of the season. The 29-year-old has gone 4-for-7 with two RBI over his first two games this year.

Murphy went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Sunday's 6-4 win over the Angels.

The Angels had cut the Athletics' lead to one run prior to Murphy's sixth-inning blast off reliever Noe Ramirez. The 25-year-old Murphy seems to be in line for the majority of the playing time behind the dish this year. In 2019, he managed four homers and eight RBI across 53 at bats in a limited role.

Plawecki went 1-for-3 with an RBI in Saturday's 7-2 loss to Baltimore.

Boston manager Ron Roenicke plans to rest starters early in the season, per Ian Browne of MLB.com, so Plawecki replaced Christian Vazquez on Saturday. That could mean Plawecki is the top backup, ahead of Jonathan Lucroy, who appeared as a fill-in for Vazquez in the season-opening blowout win over the Orioles on Friday. Expect Plawecki and Lucroy to get their chances over the first few weeks of the season in a battle for the backup role before roster cut-downs.

Sanchez is not in the lineup for Sunday's game at Washington.

Sanchez is 0-for-7 with four strikeouts through the first two games of the season and will head to the bench for the series finale. Kyle Higashioka will take over behind the plate and bat eighth Sunday.

Garver isn't in the lineup for Sunday's game against the White Sox, LaVelle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Garver started behind the plate for the first two games of the season, so he'll receive the day off Sunday. Alex Avila will bat ninth and catch for Kenta Maeda in the series finale.

Nola is not in Sunday's lineup against the Astros.

He is 2-for-7 with one double and two strikeouts through two games. Joe Hudson will start behind the dish and hit ninth.