MLB Player News
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Twins' Christian Vazquez: Goes deep in win
Vazquez went 2-for-2 with a solo home run and two walks in Tuesday's 8-3 win over Cleveland.
Breaking out of a 1-for-22 slump that had encompassed his previous seven games, Vazquez reached base in all four plate appearances Tuesday, including a sixth-inning solo shot that tied the game at 3-3. The 33-year-old backstop is now hitting .222 with six home runs, 28 RBI and 30 runs scored across 88 games (304 plate appearances) on the season.
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Ryan Jeffers C | MIN
Twins' Ryan Jeffers: Taking seat Tuesday
Jeffers is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Guardians.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli has alternated starts for his two catchers over the last week, and it's Christian Vazquez's turn after Jeffers was behind the plate for Monday's 20-6 win. Jeffers has a hit in each of his three games so far in September after finishing August going 0-for-13 with 10 strikeouts in his final three tilts.
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Christian Bethancourt C | CHC
Rays' Christian Bethancourt: Cedes start to Pinto
Bethancourt is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Red Sox.
Bethancourt will retreat to the bench after he caught all nine innings of Monday's 7-3 loss in the series opener while striking out in each of his three plate appearances. Rene Pinto will get a turn behind the plate while he and Bethancourt continue to work in a near-even timeshare at catcher.
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Austin Wells C | NYY
Yankees' Austin Wells: Sitting out Tuesday
Wells is absent from the lineup for Tuesday's contest against the Tigers.
Ben Rortvedt has been catching Gerrit Cole and will do so again Tuesday. Wells started each of the first three games after his recent promotion, going 2-for-10 with two RBI. He should be back in the lineup for Wednesday's contest.
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Yainer Diaz C | HOU
Astros' Yainer Diaz: Homers, playing time in question
Diaz went 1-for-5 with a three-run home run and two total runs scored Monday against the Rangers.
Diaz drew the start behind the plate and has been in the lineup in four of six games since Michael Brantley returned, with one of those appearances coming at designated hitter. Even though he's continued to hit well, the path to playing time for Diaz may be closing as the team looks to protect the health of both Brantley and Yordan Alvarez -- making it likely that one of the duo will occupy the designated hitter role. Meanwhile, the Astros have yet to show the desire to move away from Martin Maldonado behind the dish, which could give Diaz an uphill battle for playing time moving forward.
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Adley Rutschman C | BAL
Orioles' Adley Rutschman: Resting Monday
Rutschman is not in Monday's lineup against the Angels.
Rutschman is hitting .289 with one home run, five runs and five RBI over his last 10 games. James McCann will start behind the dish, batting eighth.
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Danny Jansen C | TEX
Blue Jays' Danny Jansen: Will visit specialist
Jansen (finger) will visit a hand specialist Wednesday in Pennsylvania, after which the Blue Jays hope to have a clearer timetable for the catcher, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.
Jansen landed on the injured list over the weekend after being diagnosed with a fractured right middle finger. It's an injury which figures to keep him out most, if not all, of the remainder of the regular season, but more will be known following Wednesday's exam.
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Seby Zavala C | LAD
White Sox's Seby Zavala: Loses 40-man spot
The White Sox activated Zavala (oblique) from the 10-day injured list and designated him for assignment Monday.
The move comes as somewhat of a surprise, as Zavala had been seeing the bulk of the starts at catcher prior to straining his oblique in early August. However, the White Sox are prepared to go with Korey Lee and Yasmani Grandal as their catching duo down the stretch. Zavala has a career .613 OPS over parts of four big-league seasons, but with so many teams looking for catching depth, it's possible he gets claimed on waivers.
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Kyle Teel C | CHW
Red Sox's Kyle Teel: Headed to Double-A
Teel has been promoted by the Red Sox from High-A Greenville to Double-A Portland, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald reports.
The No. 14 overall pick in the 2023 Draft, Teel played three games in rookie ball before hitting .377/.485/.453 in 14 contests for Greenville to earn a quick rise to Double-A. Teel played some outfield in college at Virginia but has been used exclusively at catcher so far in the Red Sox system.