MLB Player News

Diaz went 3-for-6 with two doubles and one RBI in Thursday's 14-0 win over the Cardinals.

Diaz has six multi-hit efforts over 20 games in June, and he's batting .313 (25-for-80) for the month. His strong hitting has helped him force his way into the lineup on a regular basis, splitting time between designated hitter and catcher. Diaz has maintained a .275/.287/.500 slash line with seven home runs, 11 doubles, 17 RBI and 16 runs scored over 150 plate appearances. His walk rate remains low at 2.0 percent, which may make his recent success hard to sustain.

Smith is not in the lineup Thursday against the Rockies.

This appears to be a routine night off for Smith, who handled the catching duties in the first two games of the Dodgers' three-game set at Coors Field and drew a trio of walks Wednesday. Austin Barnes will start behind the plate and bat ninth in Thursday's series finale.

Maldonado is not in the lineup Thursday at St. Louis.

Yainer Diaz will catch and bat fifth versus the Cardinals and right-hander Adam Wainwright. Bligh Madris is serving as the Astros' designated hitter and batting seventh.

Contreras is not in the lineup Thursday against the Mets.

Victor Caratini will start behind the plate and bat sixth after Contreras handled catching duties in the first three games of the Brewers' four-game set at Citi Field.

Toronto activated Kirk (hand) from the 10-day injured list Thursday.

It was a minimum stay on the IL as Kirk recovered from a laceration and bruise on his left hand. Maybe the time off can function as a reset of sorts for the 24-year-old catcher and designated hitter, who has posted an underwhelming .253/.337/.331 slash line with three home runs and 21 RBI through 59 games this season.

Toronto optioned Heineman to Triple-A Buffalo on Thursday.

Alejandro Kirk (hand) is back from the 10-day injured list, so Heineman was no longer needed as depth at the catcher position. The 32-year-old holds a weak .217/.290/.277 career batting line in 266 major-league plate appearances.

Langeliers is absent from the lineup Thursday against the Yankees, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

Langeliers will sit out the afternoon tilt after catching Wednesday night's loss which saw the Athletics become the victim of a perfect game. Carlos Perez will catch Hogan Harris.

Naylor is not in the lineup for Thursday's game in Kansas City.

It's a day game after a night game and Naylor had started each of the previous four contests behind the plate, so he'll get a breather for this one. Cam Gallagher will do the catching for Shane Bieber.

Murphy went 3-for-3 in a loss to the Nationals on Wednesday.

The veteran backstop drew the start against left-hander Patrick Corbin and authored his first three-hit game of the season and seventh multi-hit effort overall. Murphy's appearance in the starting nine was only his second in the last 10 games as Cal Raleigh continues to command the majority of playing time behind the dish. However, Murphy has been progressively more productive in recent opportunities, now having hit safely in four of his last five starts and raising his average 44 points to .259 in the process.

Haase is not in the lineup for Thursday's tilt versus the Rangers, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Haase started 12 of the Tigers' first 13 games against left-handers this season but has since been in the lineup just twice the last five times they've faced southpaws. After putting up a .778 OPS versus lefties in 2022, he's managed just a .522 OPS so far against them in 2023. Jake Rogers will catch Thursday and Matt Vierling will play left field.