MLB Player News

Jansen isn't in Toronto's lineup for the first game of Thursday's doubleheader against the White Sox.

Jansen is 3-for-13 with an RBI across his last four games, and he'll get a breather for the first game of Thursday's twin bill. Alejandro Kirk will take over behind the dish and bat eighth.

Contreras went 3-for-4 with a double, a walk, two RBI and two runs scored in Wednesday's 10-9 loss to the Marlins.

Contreras has rattled off three straight multi-hit efforts, going 8-for-12 with three doubles and a home run in that short span. The catcher has shown brief flashes of breaking out at times this season, but his valleys in production have tended to be much longer than his peaks. For the season, he's at a .234/.324/.401 slash line with nine home runs, 34 RBI, 34 runs scored, 19 doubles and five stolen bases through 77 contests. Contreras may actually face more of a challenge for playing time while Andrew Knizner (groin) is out, as prospect Ivan Herrera will need some at-bats while in the big leagues.

Manager Mark Kotsay said Thursday that Perez will not require surgery on his fractured left thumb, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

He will, however, need to wear a splint for at least two weeks. There is no timetable for Perez's return to the Athletics' active roster.

Contreras is absent from the lineup Thursday against the Cubs.

It's a routine day of rest for Contreras, who had started at either catcher or DH in each of the Brewers' last four games. Victor Caratini is behind the plate Thursday and Jesse Winker is serving as Milwaukee's designated hitter.

Rogers is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Athletics.

The Tigers and Athletics are wrapping up their three-game series with a day game after a night game, so Rogers will get a breather after catching the last two contests. Eric Haase will form a battery with starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen.

Raleigh went 2-for-3 with a double in a loss to the Giants on Wednesday.

Raleigh's two-bagger was his first extra-base hit since June 25 and first double since June 14. The backstop has been inching his offensive numbers forward for the better part of the last month, however, producing a .270 average and .758 OPS across his last 18 games. That sample includes three home runs, seven RBI and a 23.9 percent strikeout rate, an improvement on the 26.3 percent figure he went into the stretch with.

Langeliers is absent from the lineup for Thursday's game in Detroit, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

It's a day game after a night game, so it's a natural spot for Langeliers to get a breather. Manny Pina is catching Hogan Harris.

Jeffers went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and a second run scored in Wednesday's 5-0 win over the Royals.

The backstop took Taylor Clarke deep in the seventh inning for his fourth home run of the year. Jeffers snapped a 19-game homer drought with the blast, a stretch in which he hit .255 (14-for-55) with five doubles, three RBI and five runs. Christian Vazquez has done little at the plate this season, posting a .566 OPS compared to Jeffers' .801, but the former's defensive chops have kept him in the starting role.

Thaiss went 1-for-2 with a solo home run and a walk against the Padres in Wednesday's loss.

Thaiss briefly tied the game in the seventh inning with a 424-foot blast, but San Diego came back to pull out the win. Between Thaiss' previous homer June 24 against Colorado and his long ball Wednesday, he had gone just 3-for-22 with no extra-base hits. Nonetheless, he's worked his way back atop the Angels' catching depth chart due largely to the even greater struggles of Chad Wallach, who hasn't logged a hit since mid-June and has gone 0-for-26 with 15 strikeouts over his past 11 contests.

Alvarez went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 2-1 win over the Diamondbacks.

Alvarez went deep four times over 24 games in June, and he already has three homers across four contests in July. His blast Wednesday came in the ninth inning to tie the game at 1-1. The catcher is up to 15 homers, 30 RBI, 27 runs scored and a .221/.276/.487 slash line through 62 contests. His playing time should stay steady as long as his bat is warm.