MLB Player News

Jeffers was scratched from the lineup Friday due to back soreness, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.

Christian Vazquez will instead start at catcher and bat eighth for the Twins as they open a three-game weekend series versus Pittsburgh. Jeffers boasts a .328/.430/.597 slash line in 20 games (80 plate appearances) since the All-Star break and should be considered day-to-day.

The Angels activated O'Hoppe (shoulder) from the 60-day injured list Friday.

O'Hoppe will start at catcher and bat fifth against the Rays following a four-month absence to heal a torn labrum in his left (non-throwing) shoulder. The young backstop had posted an .886 OPS with four homers and 13 RBI in 16 games (53 plate appearances) prior to the April 20 injury, and he slashed .375/.464/.500 across 28 plate appearances on his recent eight-game minor-league rehab assignment.

Wallach was designated for assignment Friday.

Wallach has played 10 games in August, going 3-for-18 in 19 plate appearances. Only one of those hits went for extra bases, and his last home run came on the final day of July. In a corresponding move, Logan O'Hoppe was reinstated from the 60-day injured list.

Jansen remains out of the lineup Friday versus the Reds.

Alejandro Kirk will make a third straight start at catcher for the Blue Jays as they open a three-game weekend series at Great American Ball Park. There's no word of any new injury for Jansen, though he did miss a bit of time last week because of a right hand contusion.

Haase is not in the lineup for the first game of Friday's doubleheader versus the Guardians.

Jake Rogers will do the catching for Tarik Skubal in the afternoon contest. That makes it virtually guaranteed that Haase will be behind the plate for the nightcap with Matt Manning on the mound.

Ruiz went 3-for-3 with a walk, a double and a run scored in Thursday's win over the Red Sox.

The backstop extended his hitting streak to seven games with the big performance, a stretch in which he's batting .464 (13-for-28) with two doubles, three homers, seven RBI, eight runs and a 3:1 BB:K. Ruiz has taken a big step forward as a hitter in his second full season with the Nationals, posting a .741 OPS with 15 homers in 102 contests, but the 25-year-old switch hitter may not have hit his ceiling yet.

Barnes went 2-for-3 with a solo home run Thursday in a 1-0 victory against Milwaukee.

Barnes chose a prime time for his first long ball of the season, as his solo shot to left field in the seventh inning accounted for the lone run in LA's 11th straight win. The catcher added a single in the contest, giving him his first multi-hit performance in 43 games this season. Though he's valued for his work with pitchers as Will Smith's backup behind the plate, Barnes has endured a difficult campaign with the bat, slashing a measly .136/.216/.176 over 141 plate appearances.

Moreno went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in a 3-1 victory versus the Padres on Thursday.

Moreno swatted a solo shot to right field in the fifth inning to give Arizona a 3-0 lead. It was just his fourth homer of the season and his first since returning from the injured list this past Sunday. Moreno has never displayed much pop -- his high mark for homers as a pro is 12 in A-ball in 2019 -- but his .268/.311/.370 slash line on the campaign is adequate enough for him to be locked in as Arizona's primary catcher.

Smith will start at designated hitter and bat cleanup Thursday versus the Brewers, Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Smith was set to get a day off Thursday, but J.D. Martinez (groin) was a late scratch, so Smith will instead just receive a break behind the plate. The 28-year-old has gone 3-for-8 with two RBI and a run scored over the first two games of the series.

Sanchez is out of the lineup Thursday against the Diamondbacks.

Sanchez started at catcher in the final two games of the Padres' previous three-game set against the Orioles. Luis Campusano will get the call behind the plate in Thursday's series opener versus Arizona. Manny Machado is occupying the DH role as Ha-Seong Kim covers third base.