MLB Player News

Nicholas agreed to a minor-league deal with the White Sox earlier this month, Kegan Lowe of Baseball America reports.

Nicholas attended spring training with the Rockies but was released from the organization at the conclusion of camp. With top catching prospects Zack Collins and Seby Zavala both on hand at Triple-A Charlotte, the White Sox may elect to send Nicholas to Double-A Birmingham.

Maile is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Twins.

With top backstop Danny Jansen struggling in the early going, Maile has seen his opportunities pick up. Though he'll return to the bench for the series finale, Maile had started four of the past six games, going 3-for-13 with a home run during that span.

Thaiss is starting at third base for Triple-A Salt Lake on Wednesday, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

The Angels have a logjam at first base and designated hitter with Albert Pujols and Justin Bour -- while Shohei Ohtani (elbow) is also nearing his return -- so Thaiss will attempt to increase his positional versatility. The 23-year-old slashed .372/.413/.674 during his time in major-league camp this spring.

Jansen is not starting Wednesday against the Twins, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Luke Maile has gotten the call at catcher in four of the last six games, though Jansen has also started once as a designated hitter in that stretch. Jansen could continue to have a smaller role than expected until he turns around his .152/.235/.174 slash line.

Sanchez (calf) has been running and catching and will take batting practice Thursday, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Sanchez believed his calf strain wouldn't require anything more than a minimum stay on the injured list, and he remains on target to return when first eligible Sunday. The Yankees will have more certainty about his return date once he resumes swinging.

Wynns (oblique) was activated from the 10-day injured list and optioned to Triple-A Norfolk on Wednesday.

Wynns' 81 wRC+ last year was certainly unimpressive, but it led all Orioles catchers, so he seemed to have a shot at fairly regular playing time this season. That playing time won't come right away, with Pedro Severino and Jesus Sucre holding onto their roster spots for now. Neither active catcher is above .273 in any triple-slash category, so it's possible Wynns gets his chance soon.

Murphy went 3-for-4 with an RBI single and two doubles in a loss to the Indians on Tuesday.

Murphy drew a somewhat rare start and made very good use of it, posting his second multi-hit effort of the season. The 28-year-old has mostly capitalized on his opportunities thus far in 2019, hitting safely in four of the five occasions in which he's been in the starting nine. Omar Narvaez is still slated to continue logging the majority of starts behind the dish and is also performing well at the plate, but Murphy could progressively carve out more frequent playing time if his bat remains as hot as it's been during the early going.

Maldonado (illness) is starting at catcher and hitting eighth Wednesday against the White Sox, Lynn Worthy of The Kansas City Star reports.

Maldonado is feeling better after missing Tuesday's game due to an illness. The backstop is hitting just .195/.298/.268 through 13 games this season.

Leon went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in Tuesday's 8-0 loss to the Yankees.

Leon had his contract purchased Tuesday in a move designed to help Boston's struggling rotation improve. After Tuesday's game, Boston's starters have a league-worst 7.18 ERA. Whether Leon's arrival means he'll get more starts than Christian Vazquez is unclear, but with either catcher, don't expect much offense.

Perez is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Mariners.

Perez started behind the plate the last two games and went 2-for-7 with a double and a walk. Kevin Plawecki will catch right-hander Shane Bieber and bat eighth in his absence.