MLB Player News

Jansen went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run in Thursday's win over the A's.

His fourth-inning blast helped chase Mike Fiers from the game. It was Jansen's first homer of the year in his 22nd game, but with Alejandro Kirk (hip) out for a month or more, Jansen should see a big workload in May despite his feeble .083/.167/.150 slash line.

McCann went 2-for-4 with an RBI walk in a 4-1 win over the Cardinals on Thursday.

McCann had two singles, but his bases-loaded walk is what drove in a run Thursday. The catcher has struggled at the plate, slashing .222/.291/.264 in 79 plate appearances. Multiple Mets bats are underperforming to start the season, and McCann is one that they hope to get going soon. Thursday was just his second multi-hit game.

Maldonado went 3-for-4 with a two-run home run Thursday against the Yankees.

Maldonado entered the game with only two extra-base hits across 72 plate appearances this season. He did manage his first homer of the campaign Thursday when he took Justin Wilson yard in the ninth inning. Maldonado will need several more strong performances to pull up his poor .129/.197/.214 line across 76 plate appearances to this point.

Stassi was placed on the seven-day injured list with a concussion Thursday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Stassi ran into a stanchion trying to track down a foul ball on Tuesday, though he remained in the game. However, he was out of Wednesday's lineup, so Tuesday's play could be the cause of his stint on the injured list. During Stassi's absence, Kurt Suzuki should serve as the team's primary backstop.

Heim went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and another run scored during Thursday's win over the Twins.

With the Rangers trailing by one in the seventh frame, Heim stepped up to the plate with two outs and evened the score with a long ball against Hansel Robles. The Rangers eventually pulled ahead with an extra-innings victory in the 10th. Across 12 games, the 25-year-old backstop has hit two homers while batting .125/.182/.325.

Mejia isn't in the lineup Thursday against the Angels, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Mejia will be out of the lineup for the second time in the last three games after he went hitless with a strikeout in three at-bats Wednesday. Mike Zunino will start behind the plate and bat seventh.

Leon isn't starting Thursday's game against the Diamondbacks, Joe Frisaro of ManOnSecondBaseball.com reports.

Leon had started each of the last three games and went 1-for-11 with a run and a strikeout. Chad Wallach will start behind the plate and bat seventh.

Murphy went 2-for-4 with an RBI single and a run-scoring double in a loss to the Blue Jays on Wednesday.

Murphy filled the designated hitter role in Wednesday's contest and certainly did his part with the bat, driving in half of the Athletics' runs on the night. The 26-year-old is still sporting a lackluster .213 average, but that figure's actually been climbing of late; factoring in Wednesday's production, Murphy is hitting .320 (8-for-25) with a double, two home runs, four RBI, three walks, two hit by pitches and four runs over his last eight games.

Caratini went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in Wednesday's win over Pittsburgh.

The backstop put the Padres on the board with 401-foot blast in the third inning. The homer was Caratini's second this season and accounted for his 12th RBI. He is slashing .217/.313/.333 overall.

Kirk (hip) is expected to return in four weeks, Hazel Mae of Sportsnet reports.

Previous reports indicated that Kirk could miss as much as six weeks with his strained left hip flexor, but it looks as though his timeline has been revised to be slightly more optimistic. The young catcher's injury was poorly timed, as he was just starting to heat up at the plate, going 5-for-13 with a pair of homers in his last five games after hitting just .148 in his first 12 contests.