MLB Player News

Maldonado was placed on the bereavement list Wednesday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Maldonado will be away from the team for at least three games, while Garrett Stubbs will take his place on the active roster. Jason Castro is starting at catcher in Wednesday's game against the Orioles, and he could serve as the primary catcher while Maldonado is sidelined.

Murphy will serve as the Mariners' designated hitter and bat seventh Wednesday against the Blue Jays.

After going 2-for-3 with a walk in Tuesday's 9-3 loss, Murphy will stick in the lineup for the third game in a row, but he had started in just four of the Mariners' nine contests prior to Sunday. Murphy appears to have at least temporarily moved behind Luis Torrens on the depth chart at catcher, though Murphy should still pick up a handful of starts per week.

Royals manager Mike Matheny said Sunday that Gallagher (shoulder) has resumed playing catch and is "moving in a good direction" in his recovery, MLB.com reports.

Since Gallagher has yet to resume full baseball activities, he's unlikely to return from the 10-day injured list this weekend, but he could still have a chance at being ready to play before the All-Star break. Gallagher posted a .471 OPS in 56 plate appearances before landing on the shelf June 20 with an inflamed right shoulder.

Contreras isn't starting Wednesday's game against the Mets.

Contreras went 0-for-2 with a walk in Tuesday's loss, and he'll take a seat for the second time in the last three games. Kevan Smith will start behind the dish and bat eighth.

Perez will start at catcher and bat seventh Wednesday against the Rockies.

No. 1 backstop Jacob Stallings is getting the afternoon off after making three straight starts behind the dish, so Perez will check into the lineup for the 23rd time this season. Perez has delivered five extra-base hits in his limited opportunities in June, but he doesn't appear likely to move ahead of Stallings on the depth chart anytime soon.

Stallings is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rockies.

Stallings will head to the bench for the series finale after he logged starts at catcher in each of the past three contests while going a collective 2-for-10 with a walk and four strikeouts. Michael Perez will check in for Stallings behind the dish.

Diaz is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Pirates, AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain reports.

After he was behind the plate for each of the Rockies' last three games, Diaz will cede catching duties to Dom Nunez in the series finale. With Diaz having homered in back-to-back games and recorded at least one hit in four straight contests, he appears to have solidified his spot atop the depth chart for the time being.

While Garver (groin) has resumed baseball activities, he's not expected to return from the injured list until after the All-Star break, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. "Some of what Garv is dealing with right now does go beyond baseball and being a baseball injury," said manager Rocco Baldelli.

Garver underwent surgery for a groin contusion June 2 and was placed on the 10-day injured list. He's been playing catch and doing other baseball activity, but there hasn't been a timetable for any rehab assignment. It's possible he may not return until August.

Heim went 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored in Tuesday's 5-4 win over Oakland.

Heim started a second straight game, as primary backstop Jose Trevino is dealing with a forearm injury. Trevino is listed as day-to-day, so Heim should fill in until the team's top backstop is ready to return. Heim is 12-for-28 (.429) with five extra-base hits, six RBI and five runs scored over his last nine games.

Vazquez went 1-for-4 with a stolen base in Tuesday's 7-6 win over the Royals.

Vazquez managed just one hit but reached base twice after he was safe on a fielder's choice in the seventh. He would end up taking second for his eighth stolen base of the year, which already represents a season high in steals for him. The 30-year-old backstop is slashing .266/.310/.365 with four homers, 32 RBI, 28 runs scored and a 16:51 BB:K over 261 plate appearances.