MLB Player News

Jeffers is not in the lineup for Thursday's game in Cleveland.

It's an afternoon game Thursday after Jeffers started at catcher Wednesday night, so the Twins' starting backstop will get a breather. Christian Vazquez is behind the dish and batting ninth in the series finale.

Pages is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Reds.

Pages went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and an RBI groundout while catching all nine innings of the Cardinals' 9-1 win Wednesday night in the second game of a doubleheader, but he'll get a breather Thursday while St. Louis and Cincinnati conclude their series with a game that begins at 12:40 p.m. ET. Yohel Pozo will handle the catching duties for St. Louis.

Bart is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Cubs.

Bart will get a breather for the day game after he went 1-for-2 with a double, two walks and a run scored while catching eight innings of the Pirates' 4-3 win Wednesday night. Henry Davis will check in for Bart behind the dish in the series finale.

Diaz went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in Wednesday's 5-3 win over the Giants.

Diaz extended San Diego's lead to 2-0 in the third inning with a homer off Landen Roupp, his second this season. Following a rough 1-for-20 stretch, Diaz has now recorded back-to-back two-hit games, boosting his slash line to .214/.313/.339 with five RBI and eight runs scored across 65 plate appearances this year.

Stephenson (oblique) went 0-for-3 with two walks and a run scored for Triple-A Louisville on Wednesday.

Stephenson started at catcher and caught nine innings for the third time this week, including back-to-back days Tuesday and Wednesday. He's expected to make at least one more start during the Bats' doubleheader Thursday before the Reds make a decision regarding his activation, MLB.com reports. Stephenson is up to 28 plate appearances while on his rehab assignment.

Realmuto went 2-for-4 with a solo homer and an additional run scored in Wednesday's win over the Nationals.

It was the first home run since April 15 for Realmuto, who has now reached base safely in 14 of his last 15 games. During this stretch, the veteran backstop has still gone a relatively quiet 14-for-58 (.241) with two homers, three doubles, five RBI and seven runs scored. On the bright side, Realmuto has already doubled his steals output from 99 contests in the 2024 regular season with four stolen bases in just 26 outings this year.

Garver went 0-for-2 with a run scored and two walks in Wednesday's 9-3 win over the Angels.

The veteran slugger made his ninth start at catcher this season, giving primary backstop Cal Raleigh a break behind the plate while he served as the designated hitter. Garver has reached base safely in seven consecutive appearances, during which he's batting .300 with one home run, six RBI, five walks and one stolen base over 20 at-bats. With Luke Raley (oblique) on the injured list, Garver is a candidate for an increase in playing time if the Mariners can find ways to get his bat into the lineup, whether it be at catcher, first base or as the DH.

Kirk went 2-for-5 with a solo home run and an additional RBI in Wednesday's extra-inning win over Boston.

Kirk snapped a 10-game homerless drought Wednesday, also recording multiple hits for the third time in his last four outings. Despite batting just .233 with two long balls, two doubles and eight RBI over 73 at-bats in April, Kirk has remained Toronto's primary backstop. It's worth noting that backup catcher Tyler Heineman is hitting .448 with four extra-base hits and five RBI across his 29 at-bats this year, so Kirk appears to have some legitimate competition on the depth chart.

Narvaez went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Wednesday's extra-inning loss to Toronto.

Narvaez has now logged at least one hit in five of his last six outings. Over his last nine games, the backstop is batting a healthy .265 (9-for-34) with three homers, one double, four RBI and seven runs scored. Although Connor Wong (wrist) is nearing a return from the injured list, Narvaez's performance in his stead may have helped him create a timeshare behind the dish for the Red Sox once the former is healthy.

Naylor went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run in Wednesday's 4-2 win over the Twins.

The Guardians generated all four of their runs in the seventh inning, highlighted by Naylor's three-run home run off Brock Stewart. Naylor is now up to four home runs on the season (two of which have come over his last two games), and he has an .842 OPS with one stolen base, seven runs scored and nine RBI over his last 15 games.