MLB Player News

Thaiss went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in Friday's loss to the Orioles.

Thaiss launched his second career home run, a two-run shot off Asher Wojciechowski to put the Angels on the board in the fifth inning. Despite getting the start, the 24-year-old has struggled to land a consistent spot in the lineup. Through 30 at-bats, Thaiss is hitting just .133/.212/.367.

Murphy went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and a double in Friday's 3-2 win over the Tigers.

Murphy provided the biggest hit of the night for the Mariners with his game-tying homer in the seventh inning helping to set the stage for Mallex Smith's walkoff single in the ninth. Murphy is up to 10 homers, 24 RBI and 15 runs scored in 42 games this season. He has hit safely in his last six games, going 8-for-22 with a homer and three doubles in that span.

Narvaez isn't in the starting lineup for Friday's game against the Tigers, Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN Seattle reports.

Narvaez will head to the bench after going 3-for-16 with two RBI over his last four contests. Tom Murphy is slated to handle the catching duties and bat fifth in Narvaez's absence.

Perez isn't in the starting lineup for Friday's game against the Royals.

Perez is in line for another day off, his second in the last three games. Kevin Plawecki is set to handle the catching duties and will bat eighth in Perez's absence.

Garver is not in the lineup Friday against the White Sox.

Garver will retreat to the bench after starting the past two games and going 0-for-8 with a walk and a trio of strikeouts. In his place, Jason Castro is starting behind the dish and hitting eighth.

Perez was recalled from Triple-A Durham on Friday, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

Perez is taking the roster spot of Blake Snell (elbow), who was placed on the 10-day injured list Thursday. The 26-year-old will provide the Rays will additional depth at catcher, as Travis d'Arnaud has seen playing time at first base as of late. Perez was slashing .256/.370/.385 in 46 plate appearances in the majors before being sent down June 10.

Perez is expected to be recalled from Triple-A Durham prior to Friday's game against the Blue Jays, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.

Perez will likely serve as the backup catcher behind Mike Zunino, especially with Travis d'Arnaud seeing more playing time at first base. Perez has put together a .231/.317/.481 slash line with seven homers and 27 RBI over 32 games at Triple-A this season.

Leon launched a two-run home run his only at-bat during Thursday's victory over the Yankees.

Pinch hitting for Mookie Betts, Leon launched his fourth homer of the season, this time a two-run blast off Austin Romine in the eighth inning. The 30-year-old, who serves as the backup catcher to Christian Vazquez, is hitting .207/.273/.328 with four home runs, 15 RBI and 10 runs scored over 116 limited plate appearances this season.

Higashioka went 1-for-3 with a home run in Thursday's loss to the Red Sox.

Higashioka hit his first homer of the season with a solo shot off Rick Porcello in the fifth inning. The 29-year-old was recalled prior to Wednesday's game and will be serving as Austin Romine's backup with Gary Sanchez on the injured list (groin). Through 18 plate appearances this season, Higashioka is batting .222/.211/.500.

Murphy (knee) was added to the active roster at Triple-A Las Vegas on Wednesday, Melissa Lockard of The Athletic reports.

The 24-year-old has been out since tearing his meniscus in early May, but Murphy is now back and will presumably take over behind the plate for the Aviators against El Paso on Thursday. He will look to build on the strong .324/.402/.459 line he posted in 19 games with Las Vegas before going down with the injury. If he does that, Murphy, arguably a top-12 catching prospect in all of baseball, could get his first big-league callup in September.