MLB Player News

Jansen is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Tigers.

Jansen will get a breather Sunday after he made starts at catcher in the first two games of the series. Kyle Higashioka will step in behind the plate and will form a battery with starting pitcher Jack Leiter.

Okamoto went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer in Sunday's 4-3 loss to the Twins.

Okamoto made things interesting in the ninth inning with his two-run blast off Justin Topa, cutting the Blue Jays' deficit to one. Okamoto has been on a tear at the plate, hitting four homers in his last three games. He's boosted his slash line to .236/.319/.472 through 138 plate appearances with nine home runs and 22 RBI this season.

Heineman relayed after Sunday's 4-3 loss to the Twins that he was removed from the game in the sixth inning as a "manager's decision" rather than due to any sort of physical issue, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

After taking an at-bat with the bases loaded in the top half of the sixth, Heineman was lifted from the game in the bottom of the frame in a move that seemed to signal that the veteran backstop was dealing with an injury. Instead, manager John Schneider said that he opted to pull Heineman from the game due to the poor at-bat, which ended with a weak flyout after the 34-year-old swung at a first-pitch breaking ball. Heineman had already begun to lose out on playing time to Brandon Valenzuela, and his 0-for-3 showing prior to exiting Sunday's game won't help Heineman's case for regaining work.

Yesavage (1-1) took the loss Sunday against the Twins, allowing a run on five hits and three walks over four innings. He struck out six.

It wasn't a bad outing overall for Yesavage, as he held the Twins to a lone run on a two-out single in the opening frame, though he managed to make it through only four innings, throwing 82 pitches. In two starts since returning from the IL, the 22-year-old Yesavage has given up just one run on nine hits while striking out nine over 9.1 innings. Yesavage is tentatively lined up to face the Angels at home his next time out.

Hays is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Padres.

Since being activated from the 10-day injured list Monday, Hays has started just twice in the White Sox's ensuing six games. Even with Everson Pereira (pectoral) landing on the IL on Wednesday, Hays looks like he may be limited to a part-time role in the Chicago outfield while he's struggled to a .233/.250/.326 slash line through 44 plate appearances on the season.

Nimmo (hamstring) is batting leadoff as the designated hitter Sunday against the Tigers.

The veteran outfielder was held out of Saturday's lineup after exiting Friday due to a nagging hamstring issue, but he'll return for the series finale in a non-defensive role. The Rangers have a scheduled team day off Monday, and Nimmo's quick return to the lineup rather than stacking days off indicates the injury isn't a serious concern.

Topa picked up the save in Sunday's 4-3 win over the Blue Jays despite allowing two runs on four hits in the ninth inning.

It didn't come easy for Topa on Sunday after the right-hander entered with a three-run lead. He gave up four hits in the frame, including a two-run homer to Kazuma Okamoto, though he ultimately coaxed a double play off the bat of Lenyn Sosa to strand the tying and go-ahead runs on base. It's Topa's second save this season and his first since April 7. His ERA sits at 4.70 with a 1.63 WHIP and 9:6 K:BB across 15.1 innings.

Quero is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Padres.

Drew Romo will handle catching duties in the series finale while Quero rests after working behind the plate for all nine innings on Saturday's 4-0 win while going 1-for-4 with an RBI.

Vargas is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Padres.

Vargas appears to be receiving a routine day off after he had started in every game dating back to April 12. With Vargas on the bench for the series finale, Colson Montgomery will fill in at third base.

Refsnyder (undisclosed) will start at designated hitter and will bat leadoff in Sunday's game against the Royals.

Refsnyder is typically included in the lineup against left-handers, but he took a seat versus southpaw Cole Ragans in the series opener Friday while he contended with a couple minor injuries. The Mariners felt comfortable enough with Refsnyder's health to use him off the bench in Saturday's 3-2 extra-inning win, and after checking out fine afterward, he'll get the green light to start Sunday versus Royals lefty Kris Bubic.