MLB Player News

Diaz is absent from the lineup for Thursday's game against the Twins.

Diaz started at catcher in each of the three games this week against the Giants, but he will take a day off in the series opener versus the Twins. Victor Caratini will do the catching and bat sixth Thursday.

O'Hoppe went 1-for-4 with a grand slam in Wednesday's loss to St. Louis.

O'Hoppe's seventh-inning grand slam gave the Angels a 5-3 lead, but the Cardinals racked up nine runs the rest of the way to turn the outcome into a rout. O'Hoppe's long ball was his first hit since Opening Day, when he also went deep. The backstop belted 20 homers last year but also had a 29.7 percent strikeout rate, and he's fanned 37.5 percent of the time to go along with his two home runs through 16 plate appearances so far this season.

Vazquez is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Astros.

In what was a familiar trend last season, Vazquez and Ryan Jeffers have alternated turns behind the plate through Minnesota's first seven games of 2025. While Vazquez should be in line for more work than most No. 2 backstops around the league, he's still unlikely to see a high enough volume of plate appearances to warrant intrigue in fantasy outside of AL-only leagues or deeper mixed leagues that start two catchers.

Wong is absent from the lineup for Thursday's game in Baltimore.

Wong will be given some rest in Thursday's matinee after he did the catching in Wednesday's night game. Carlos Narvaez will be behind the plate and bat eighth for Boston.

Sanchez will start at catcher and bat sixth in Wednesday's game against the Red Sox.

Sanchez will draw his second start through the Orioles' first six games of the season. With Adley Rutschman likely to shoulder one of the heavier workloads among catchers league-wide this season, Sanchez's playing time could be sporadic so long as Rutschman maintains good health.

Basallo (elbow) has appeared in four games for Triple-A Norfolk so far this season, batting 2-for-12 with a solo home run and a walk.

Basallo has been limited to designated-hitter duties while he recovers from elbow inflammation, but the fact that he avoided a stint on the injured list to begin the season suggests he could be ready to resume catching duties in the coming weeks. The 20-year-old has returned to Norfolk after struggling in his first exposure to the International League late in the 2024 season, when he slashed .222/.267/.370 over 86 plate appearances following his promotion from Double-A Bowie.

Kirk is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Nationals.

Kirk caught Tuesday's night game, so he'll receive a breather for Wednesday's afternoon tilt. Tyler Heineman will do the catching for the series finale.

Jansen is not in the lineup for Wednesday's contest versus the Pirates, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The Rays are playing a day game after a night game, so Jansen will get a breather. Ben Rortvedt will start at catcher and bat eighth for the matinee.

Jeffers is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the White Sox.

It's a routine day off for Jeffers, who has now been in the lineup for four of the first six contests of the season. The Twins will roll with Christian Vazquez at catcher and in the ninth spot in the batting order for Wednesday's game.

O'Hoppe is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Cardinals, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

O'Hoppe is 0-for-4 with four strikeouts in his past two games and will head to the bench for Tuesday's contest. Travis d'Arnaud will step in behind the plate to catch for veteran righty Kyle Hendricks.