MLB Player News

Kirk isn't starting the first game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Rays.

Kirk drew starts in the last three games and went 2-for-11 with a double, three runs, an RBI and a walk. He'll get a breather in Saturday's matinee while Gabriel Moreno starts behind the dish and Cavan Biggio enters the lineup at first base.

Mejia isn't starting the first game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Blue Jays, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Mejia went 2-for-12 with five strikeouts over his last four games and will take a seat for a second consecutive game. Rene Pinto is starting at catcher and batting seventh.

Ruiz went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Friday's 6-3 loss to the Marlins.

The backstop took Dylan Floro deep in the sixth inning, but the Nationals were already in a 6-1 hole at that point. All three of Ruiz's homers this season have come from the left side of the plate, but the switch hitter's splits remain fairly balanced (.654 OPS vs. LHP, .681 vs. RHP).

Barnes went 1-for-4 with an RBI and a stolen base in Friday's 5-1 win over the Padres.

Barnes has logged a stolen base in each of his last two games after not swiping a bag all year. The catcher also supplied an RBI on a groundout in Friday's win. He appeared in just eight games in June, going 2-for-22 (.091) with nine walks. Barnes is slashing .190/.323/.380 with four home runs, 12 RBI and 14 runs scored in 96 plate appearances. Will Smith is likely to start most games behind the dish, but when he moves to designated hitter as he did Friday, Barnes can fill in.

Murphy went 3-for-5 with a solo home run, a double and two total RBI in Friday's 3-1 win over the Mariners.

Murphy opened the scoring with an RBI single in the fifth inning and added a solo shot in the seventh to restore a two-run lead. This was his fourth multi-hit game in his last nine, but he hadn't posted an extra-base hit in that span prior to Friday. The catcher is slashing .224/.297/.406 with nine homers, 32 RBI, 29 runs scored, a stolen base and 17 doubles through 283 plate appearances.

Sanchez (heel) replaced an injured Ryan Jeffers (hand) in the third inning and went 0-for-2 in Friday's 3-2 victory over the Orioles.

Sanchez had exited Thursday's game early due to a heel injury, but he was able to get behind the plate Friday. He'll likely start Saturday's game with Jeffers having a sore hand.

Jeffers left Friday's win over Baltimore after the third inning because of a contusion on his right thumb, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

He was replaced in the game by Gary Sanchez, who had left Thursday's game with a heel injury. The Twins may need to call up a third catcher this weekend.

Casali will be on the bench for Friday's game against the White Sox, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Casali has started back-to-back games just once in the Giants' last 17 contests. Austin Wynns starts behind the plate Friday.

Lee was called up by the Astros on Friday, Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Lee is a fairly interesting prospect, with an excellent arm and good raw power, but there are questions about his hit tool. He hasn't had success at the Triple-A level, hitting .226/.285/.419 for Sugar Land through 64 games, good for just a 71 wRC+. He's presumably set to back up Martin Maldonado with Jason Castro (knee) landing on the injured list.

Raleigh will sit Friday against Oakland, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

Raleigh had a double and a triple in Thursday's series opener, but he'll hit the bench here after starting four straight games behind the plate. Andrew Knapp will make his first start as a Mariner in his place.