MLB Player News

Kirk is out of the lineup Friday against the Twins.

Kirk is 3-for-23 in his past six games and will head to the bench Friday. Danny Jansen will take over behind the plate for the Blue Jays.

Sanchez is not in the lineup Friday against Cleveland.

Sanchez is mired in a 2-for-25 slump and will take a seat in Friday's series opener. Kyle Higashioka will work behind the plate in his place for New York.

Heim is not starting Friday against the White Sox.

Heim has seen a relatively even split in the catching duties with Jose Trevino in recent weeks, but he'll now sit for the fourth time in five games. Trevino gets the nod Friday and will bat eighth against right-hander Dylan Cease.

Realmuto (elbow) will be in the lineup Friday against the Mets, Matt Breen of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Realmuto's availability was in doubt after he was hit by a pitch on the left elbow Thursday, but he'll still be in the lineup for Friday's series opener in New York. The 30-year-old is 8-for-18 with a homer, a double, three walks, five RBI, four runs and two stolen bases across his past five games.

Garver (back) is beginning a rehab assignment with Triple-A St. Paul on Friday, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

The catcher should require at least a few games of rehab, considering the fact he's been sidelined with a back strain since Aug. 24. The injury came at a bad time for Garver, who hit .303 with three doubles and a home run in his last 10 games. He figures to take the roster spot of backup catcher Ben Rortvedt once activated.

Perez went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer in Thursday's 7-2 loss to Oakland.

Perez served as the DH for Thursday's matinee and supplied the only runs on the day for the Royals, taking Oakland starter Paul Blackburn deep in the first inning. It was the 45th homer of the season for Perez, moving him into a tie with Vladimir Guerrero for the major-league lead. Perez has gone yard in three consecutive games, going 6-for-13 at the plate during that stretch. He's hitting .300/.348/.650 with seven homers and 18 RBI since the start of September.

Contreras went 2-for-4 with a solo home run, two runs scored and two RBI in Thursday's loss to the Phillies.

Contreras missed some time recently due to a knee injury, but he's still been able to reach 19 home runs in 115 games of action. If the catcher pops one more long ball down the stretch, he'll hit the 20-homer mark for the third time in his six-year MLB career. His career high is 24 home runs, which he recorded across just 105 games back in 2019. Contreras should have a few more chances to go deep this year, though the 66-81 Cubs will likely give him some rest days too as they turn their attention to 2022.

Realmuto exited late in Thursday's game against the Cubs after being hit by a pitch in the left elbow and triceps area, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.

Manager Joe Girardi described Realmuto as sore after the game, though X-rays did come back negative. Girardi was non-committal regarding Realmuto's availability to play Friday, so it's possible that Andrew Knapp starts behind the plate. Prior to exiting Thursday's contest, Realmuto had gone 1-for-4 with two RBI.

Nola went 3-for-3 with a run scored and a walk Thursday against the Giants.

Nola logged his second consecutive multi-hit game and his third in nine September starts. That hasn't translated into tremendous counting stat production, though he does have four runs scored and two RBI in that span. For the season, Nola has maintained a .267/.341/.354 line with 13 runs scored and 28 RBI across 182 plate appearances.

Heim isn't in the lineup for Thursday's game against Houston.

Heim went 0-for-3 in Wednesday's matchup and will head to the bench for the third time in the last four games. Yohel Pozo will start behind the plate and bat seventh.