MLB Player News

Manager Charlie Montoyo said Tuesday that Kirk (hip) is "100 percent healthy" but will remain on his rehab assignment for now, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Kirk had been dealing with left hip flexor discomfort since the start of May, and he's gone 5-for-13 with a home run, a double, four walks, three RBI and four runs across five rehab games at Triple-A Buffalo. The catcher will remain on the 60-day injured list for now to get some extra plate appearances in the minors, but he should be available to return to the Blue Jays in the near future.

Stallings isn't starting Tuesday's game against Atlanta.

Stallings will get a breather after he went 2-for-5 with a double, two runs and two strikeouts in Monday's series opener. Michael Perez will start behind the plate and bat seventh.

Grandal (calf) is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Twins.

The catcher was seen with crutches following Monday's contest, so it's no surprise he isn't playing Tuesday. It remains unclear how severe this calf injury is, but with the All-Star break nearing, an IL stint for Grandal seems likely. Zack Collins is catching Tuesday and will likely do so as long as Grandal is out.

McCann isn't in the lineup for Tuesday's game against Milwaukee, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

McCann had started each of the last two games, and he went 1-for-5 with a walk and three strikeouts. Tomas Nido will start behind the dish and bat eighth.

Barnhart isn't starting Tuesday's game against the Royals.

Barnhart went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI in Sunday's series finale against the Cubs, but he'll be excluded from the lineup for the third time in the last four games. Tyler Stephenson will start behind the plate and bat second.

Heim is not in the starting lineup Tuesday against the Tigers.

Heim will get a breather a day after blasting his fourth homer of the season. John Hicks will get the start behind the plate and bat fifth against right-hander Jose Urena.

Contreras isn't starting Tuesday's game against the Pirates.

Contreras has gone 0-for-12 with a walk and six strikeouts across his last four appearances, and he'll retreat to the bench for the second time in the last four games. Kevan Smith will start behind the dish and bat eighth.

Narvaez went 1-for-2 with a solo home run and a walk in Monday's 4-2 loss to the Mets.

The backstop took Tylor Megill deep in the fourth inning to produce the game's first run. Narvaez continues to put together a career-best campaign, and he's slashing .301/.422/.494 since the beginning of June -- a span in which he's hit four of his eight homers on the year.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said after Monday's 5-4 win over the Angels that Vazquez would be out of the lineup Tuesday for rest purposes, Bill Koch of The Providence Journal reports.

Vazquez has caught each of the past four days, so his planned absence comes as little surprise. Reserve backstop Connor Wong is slated to step in for Vazquez behind the dish, catching for probable starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi.

Heim batted fifth and went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Monday's 7-3 loss to Detroit.

Heim went deep in the ninth inning for his fourth home run of the season. This was the second consecutive game hitting out of the five hole, which has featured six different batters over the last nine games. Manager Chris Woodward is trying to find a solution there, and Heim is the latest to get a shot. At various times, the Rangers have batted Nate Lowe and Adolis Garcia fifth, but they have since settled into second and third, respectively. The other 10 players to hit fifth this season have a combined slash of .193/.267/.287.