MLB Player News

Heim is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Royals.

Heim started at catcher the last two days, so he will get a breather during Thursday's matinee. Brian Serven will be behind the dish for the Athletics.

Kirk went 2-for-5 with a home run and two RBI in Wednesday's loss to the Rays.

The backstop got the Jays on the board with a solo shot off Drew Rasmussen in the top of the fourth inning. Kirk has left the yard in consecutive games and three times in the last five as part of an eight-game hitting streak. Over that heater, he's produced a .424/.500/.758 slash line with two doubles, five runs, nine RBI and a 5:2 BB:K.

Jensen is absent from the lineup for Thursday's game versus the Athletics.

Jensen -- who is sporting a .178/.302/.346 batting line in the second half -- will get a routine breather after starting the last four contests. Luke Maile is grabbing a start at catcher for the Royals.

Hicks is not in the lineup for Thursday's contest versus the Blue Jays.

Hicks started at catcher in each of the last three games, so he will be given some rest during Thursday's afternoon tilt. Nick Fortes will do the catching in the rubber match.

Vazquez went 1-for-2 with a solo home run and a walk in Wednesday's 3-2 win over the Angels.

Vazquez has homered in his last two games and now has seven long balls on the year. His blast in the third inning opened the scoring Wednesday. The veteran catcher is hitting .219 with a .628 OPS, 25 RBI, 21 runs scored, one stolen base and seven doubles over 233 plate appearances. Vazquez has seen a slight uptick in playing time lately while Yainer Diaz is stuck in a 3-for-23 slump.

Heineman is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Astros, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Heineman will hit the bench after he started behind the plate in three of the Halos' previous four contests. Moises Ballesteros will handle catching duties Wednesday.

Jansen is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Nationals.

Jansen made his return from the 60-day injured list and picked up his first start for the Rangers since June 1 in Tuesday's 5-0 win, going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts while playing nine innings behind the dish. The 31-year-old will likely see the majority of the starts at catcher now that he's healthy again, but he'll give way to Elias Diaz on Wednesday.

Flores went 2-for-2 with two solo home runs in Wednesday's 4-3 win over the Tigers.

The Pirates tried to give the red-hot Flores a breather by keeping him out of the lineup Wednesday, but the 25-year-old was summoned off the bench to pinch hit for Henry Davis in the seventh inning and took Jacob Waguespack deep to make it a 3-2 game. Two frames later, Flores homered again to tie it, this time off Detroit closer Kenley Jansen, setting the stage for Brandon Lowe's walk-off blast. Flores has gone yard five times in the last seven games, a sizzling stretch in which he's batting .435 (10-for-23) with 10 RBI.

Feduccia (illness) isn't in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rockies, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

Feduccia left Tuesday's game in the seventh inning due to an ailment, and the Dodgers will give him another day to recover while Ben Rortvedt starts behind the plate Wednesday.

Trevino will start at catcher and bat eighth in Wednesday's game against the Cardinals.

Trevino will crack the lineup for the second time in three games, and though he doesn't project to unseat Tyler Stephenson as the Reds' No. 1 backstop anytime soon, he could see a slight uptick in playing time while Cincinnati carries a third catcher on the roster (Will Banfield). The presence of Banfield will allow Trevino and Stephenson to be a part of the same lineup for the first time all season, as Stephenson will serve as the designated hitter Wednesday.