MLB Player News

Blue Jays manager John Schneider said that Kirk (thumb) could be available to return from the 60-day injured list as soon as Friday, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

Kirk is nearing the finish line of a long recovery from left thumb surgery, which has kept him on the shelf since April 4. The 27-year-old began a rehab assignment last week at Single-A Dunedin, making two starts at designated hitter and one at catcher while going 2-for-9 with a solo home run, two walks and an additional run. He'll get a couple days of rest before shifting his rehab assignment to Triple-A Buffalo on Tuesday, when he's expected to serve as a designated hitter. Schneider added that Kirk is then in line to start at catcher for Buffalo on Wednesday, and if all goes well, the two-time All-Star will rejoin the Blue Jays for Friday's series opener versus the Yankees.

Rutschman is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Mariners.

The Orioles will give Rutschman a well overdue day off after he started at either catcher or designated hitter in each of the last 11 games, going 13-for-42 (.310 average) with one home run, seven walks, 10 RBI and seven runs during that span. With Rutschman resting, the Orioles will turn to Sam Huff behind the plate, while Gunnar Henderson gets a day off from playing shortstop but sticks in the lineup at DH.

Basallo is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Mariners.

After being lifted from Friday's 13-3 win over the Blue Jays due to right abdominal discomfort, Basallo was held out of the lineup for Saturday but came off the bench to make a pinch-hit appearance in Baltimore's 6-4 loss. He then returned to the lineup for Sunday's series finale, starting at catcher while going 0-for-3 with two strikeouts in the Orioles' 6-4 loss. The Orioles haven't provided any indication that Basallo suffered a setback during his return to the starting nine, so his absence Monday may just be maintenance-related. Baltimore will go with Sam Huff behind the plate and Gunnar Henderson at designated hitter in the series opener with Seattle.

Fortes will start at catcher and bat eighth in Monday's game against the Red Sox, Ryan Bass of Rays.tv reports.

Fortes will stay in the starting nine for the fourth time in five games, with three of those starts having come against right-handed pitching. At least for the time being, Fortes appears to have moved out of the short side of a platoon at catcher and seems to have leapfrogged Hunter Feduccia on the depth chart.

Feduccia is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Red Sox, Ryan Bass of Rays.tv reports.

Feduccia will be on the bench while the Red Sox send southpaw Connelly Early to the bump, but the left-handed-hitting catcher had been left out of the lineup in three of the previous four matchups versus right-handed pitchers. Rather than opting for a platoon at catcher, the Rays may be moving toward leaning more heavily on Nick Fortes behind the dish.

Wells (headaches) is scheduled for an MRI on Thursday, per MLB.com.

Wells was placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday due to cervical headaches. He's already received a negative concussion test, but the Yankees want to send him in for imaging in order to further evaluate the issue. Wells isn't traveling with the team on its current road trip, and it remains to be seen if he'll need more than a minimum IL stay.

Rivero went 5-for-5 with a double, six RBI and a run scored in Sunday's 13-5 win over the Dodgers.

Rivero was unstoppable at the bottom of the Angels' lineup, logging career highs in both hits and RBI while serving as an instrumental piece in the club's offensive explosion. The performance comes as a surprise given that the 27-year-old entered Sunday hitting .133 with a .344 OPS and two RBI across 49 plate appearances. With Travis d'Arnaud (foot) shelved, Rivero has served as the primary backup to Logan O'Hoppe behind the plate, though the latter is hitting just .192 with a .548 OPS in 147 plate appearances.

Valenzuela went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and an additional RBI during Toronto's 6-4 win over Baltimore on Sunday.

Valenzuela contributed to the Blue Jays' five-run sixth inning with an RBI groundout before giving his team an insurance run in the eighth with a solo homer. The rookie catcher has been scorching at the plate recently, having smacked three homers over his last four outings, and his eight long balls are second-most on the Blue Jays behind Kazuma Okamoto (13). Valenzuela is up to an .822 OPS with 16 RBI and 12 extra-base hits over 135 plate appearances this season. It remains to be seen whether he'll remain on the Blue Jays' 26-man roster once Alejandro Kirk (thumb) is cleared to return from the 60-day injured list.

O'Hoppe is not in the Angels' starting lineup against the Dodgers on Sunday, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

O'Hoppe will get a rest while Sebastian Rivero starts behind home plate and bats ninth. O'Hoppe has gone 1-for-14 with one RBI and five strikeouts since June 1.

Perez is not in Sunday's lineup against the Twins due to a right thumb injury, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

Perez sustained the injury on a wild pitch that hit him in the thumb Friday. He'll end up sitting for the last two games of the series against Minnesota, but with an offday Monday, the veteran backstop could be back in action for Tuesday's series opener against Texas. Carter Jensen will start at catcher Sunday.