MLB Player News

Kirk isn't in the Blue Jays' lineup for Saturday's game against the Angels.

Kirk will get a breather after recording four hits and three RBI through the first two games of the series. Brian Serven will start behind the plate instead and bat ninth.

Bart went 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored Friday against the Reds.

Bart has seven multi-hit performances across 18 starts in August, which has translated to a .304/./351/.565 line. He also has five home runs, 14 RBI and 14 runs scored in that span and should continue to serve as Pittsburgh's primary catcher to close the season.

Jansen will be the catcher Monday when the continuation of a suspended game between the Red Sox and Blue Jays resumes, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports. The two teams will continue a game that was suspended June 27.

If the continuation goes off as planned, Jansen will become the first player in MLB history to appear in the same game for both teams. Jansen, who was traded from Toronto to Boston on July 27, was at the plate for the Blue Jays with one out and an 0-1 count in the top of the second inning when play was halted. The game will be part of a day-night doubleheader.

Jeffers was pinch hit for in the ninth inning of Friday's loss to St. Louis due to a sore hand, Patrick Borzi of MinnPost.com reports. Jeffers went 2-for-3 with a run scored before departing.

Jeffers took balls off his hand twice while behind the plate but was able to continue playing defense. He couldn't grip a bat later in the game, however. It's not clear if Jeffers will undergo testing, but he already wasn't set to catch Saturday. Should he need additional time off, Christian Vazquez would step into a bigger workload.

Higashioka went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run, three RBI and two total runs scored in Friday's 7-0 win over the Mets.

Over his previous nine games, Higashioka had gone just 3-for-24 (.125) with two RBI. The catcher made a bigger impact in this series-opening game, hitting a two-run homer in the second inning and plating another run in the third with his second double in three contests. Higashioka is up to a .226/.271/.516 slash line with 15 homers, seven doubles, 42 RBI, 24 runs scored and one stolen base over 200 plate appearances this season, but his recent slump has dropped him back into a timeshare behind the plate with Luis Campusano.

Amaya went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and two runs in Friday's 6-3 win against the Marlins.

Amaya went deep in consecutive games for the first time in his career after hitting a grand slam in Thursday's win over the Tigers. The 25-year-old has taken over as the Cubs' regular catcher, starting 15 of 19 games in August while slashing .271/.286/.563 with four of his seven home runs on the season, and 13 RBI of his 31 RBI.

Stephenson went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, a walk and an additional run scored in Friday's 6-5 loss to the Pirates.

Stephenson launched his sixth August home run 436 feet in the top of the first inning. The catcher has hit safely in nine of his past 10 games, going deep three times and driving in seven runs. On the season, he is hitting .254 with 17 homers, 51 RBI and 56 runs scored across 393 plate appearances.

Bailey (oblique) will resume baseball activities this weekend, Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic reports Friday.

Bailey is expected to return from the 10-day injured list before the calendar flips to September, but a clearer idea of where he is in the recovery process is now emerging. Bailey becomes eligible for activation Aug. 29.

Casali isn't in the Giants' lineup for Friday's game against Seattle, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Casali will get a breather Friday after going 3-for-9 with an RBI and three runs scored during San Francisco's last series against the White Sox. While he rests, the newly signed Andrew Knapp will catch for Hayden Birdsong and bat ninth.

The Giants signed Knapp to a major-league contract Friday, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. He's catching and batting ninth against the Mariners on Friday.

Knapp hasn't seen any MLB action since 2022, spending the 2023 season at the Triple-A level in the Astros and Tigers organizations and appearing in 81 games for the Rangers' Triple-A affiliate this season before opting out of his minor-league deal July 1. He slashed .294/.383/.457 at Triple-A this year and will serve as the backup to Curt Casali while Patrick Bailey (oblique) is on the shelf. Bailey is expected to return by the end of August.