MLB Player News

Sabol will serve as the Giants' designated hitter and No. 7 hitter in Thursday's game against the Rockies, Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Sabol will pick up his fourth start in five games, though he'll be filling a non-defensive role Thursday after each of the prior three starts came at catcher. The 26-year-old should continue to see the bulk of the action behind the dish while both Patrick Bailey (concussion) and Tom Murphy (knee) are on the injured list. Sabol has gone 6-for-12 with a double and a walk since being called up from Triple-A Sacramento last weekend.

Stephenson is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Diamondbacks.

Stephenson was behind the plate for both of the past two days and the Reds are closing out their series in Arizona with an afternoon game, so he'll receive a breather Thursday. Luke Maile will serve as the Reds' starting catcher in his place.

Diaz went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI in Wednesday's loss to the Giants.

Diaz drove in Colorado's third run of the game with an infield single in the bottom of the fifth and later added a two-run shot in the ninth to bring his team back within two runs of the Giants, though his effort would fall short. It marked the catcher's third multi-hit game already this month, and he's now hit safely in five of his last six contests. The home run was only Diaz's third of the season, though he's now batting .348 in May with four RBI and three extra-base hits.

Soderstrom went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run in the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader split with the Rangers.

Getting the start at first base in the nightcap and batting eighth in his MLB season debut, Soderstrom got hold of a cutter by Jack Leiter and drove it over the fence in left-center field in the fourth inning. Soderstrom's power is legit -- he has two 20-homer campaigns in the minors, and he'd clubbed seven long balls in 27 games for Triple-A Las Vegas prior to his promotion Wednesday -- but Oakland prefers Shea Langeliers' defense behind the plate, and the team's 1B/DH situation is crowded. Playing time could be hard for Soderstrom to come by, even if he does stick around on the big-league roster.

Langeliers went 5-for-9 with a double, a triple, two home runs, a third run scored and eight RBI across both games of Wednesday's doubleheader split with the Rangers.

The 26-year-old backstop fell a single short of a cycle in the matinee while driving in five runs, and Langeliers then launched his second long ball of the day in the second inning of the nightcap off Jack Leiter. Langeliers' eight RBI were the most ever by an Oakland player in a doubleheader, breaking the record of seven set by Reggie Jackson in 1969. Langeliers has produced multiple hits with a homer in three of his last four games, but the surge has only brought his batting average up to .209 (24-for-115). He is supplying some big-time power, however. Through 34 contests, he's slugged nine homers with 24 RBI.

Heim went 2-for-7 with a walk, two runs scored and four RBI across both games of Wednesday's doubleheader split with the A's.

After going 0-for-3 with a sacrifice fly as the DH in the matinee, Heim moved behind the plate for the nightcap and drove in three more runs. The 28-year-old catcher has four multi-hit performances in his last seven games, a surge that has boosted his slash line on the season to .300/.341/.425 with four homers, 18 runs and 26 RBI through 33 contests.

Moreno is absent from the lineup for Thursday's game in Cincinnati.

Moreno returned to action Wednesday after missing one game due to illness, but he'll begin Thursday's afternoon tilt on the bench. Tucker Barnhart will pick up the start at catcher.

Trevino is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Astros.

Though he'll give way to Austin Wells behind the plate Wednesday, Trevino appears to be the Yankees' preferred option at catcher for the moment. Trevino started in each of the past three games, with two of those starts coming against right-handers.

Rortvedt is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the White Sox, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The White Sox are bringing a right-hander (Chris Flexen) to the mound, but Flexen has been far more effective against lefties (.314 wOBA) than righties (.372 wOBA) for his career, which likely explains why the lefty-hitting Rortvedt is on the bench. Alex Jackson will fill in for Rortvedt behind the plate.

Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said Wednesday that Murphy (oblique) has progressed to hitting in the batting cage, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

Murphy's recovery from a Grade 1 left oblique strain has inched along at a snail's pace, but he's finally making noteworthy progress. Given that he's already missed nearly six weeks of action, he will no doubt require a handful of minor-league rehab games before returning from the 10-day injured list.