MLB Player News

Heim is starting at catcher and batting ninth Friday in Game 5 of the ALCS versus the Astros.

He's part of the shakeup in the bottom half of the Rangers' batting order, as he previously has hit sixth eight times and fifth once in Texas' first nine games this postseason. Heim collected exactly one hit in each of those first seven contests but is hitless his last two times out.

Wallach elected free agency Tuesday.

Wallach had been outrighted off the Angels' 40-man roster. The 31-year-old saw his most extensive big-league action to date in 2023 but produced just a .635 OPS in 65 contests for the Halos.

Perez cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Las Vegas on Thursday.

The Athletics did some housecleaning with their 40-man roster Thursday and Perez is one of the players to lose his spot. He'll remain in the organization and represent catching depth.

Diaz is not in the lineup Wednesday for Game 4 of the ALDS against the Twins.

Diaz takes a seat after going 0-for-5 with four strikeouts as the Astros' designated hitter Tuesday in Game 3. Yordan Alvarez will fill the DH role Wednesday in Game 4, with Michael Brantley patrolling left field and Martin Maldonado again handling the catching duties.

Diaz will start at designated hitter in Game 3 of the ALDS versus the Twins on Tuesday, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Diaz had an excellent rookie season for the Astros but has been limited to one pinch-hitting appearance in the first two games of the ALDS. Presumably, his start in Game 3 will come at the expense of Michael Brantley, with Yordan Alvarez playing left field.

Vazquez is absent from the lineup Wednesday for Game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series versus the Blue Jays.

Vazquez and Ryan Jeffers basically alternated starts at catcher during the regular season, but it's been Jeffers behind the plate for each of the first two games of the postseason. The only tweak the Twins made in their lineup from Game 1 to Game 2 was flip-flopping Jeffers and Matt Wallner in the batting order, with the former moving down to eighth and the latter up to seventh.

Bethancourt is not in the lineup Wednesday for Game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series against the Rangers.

Bethancourt also began Game 1 on the bench, although he did enter at catcher late after Rene Pinto was lifted for a pinch hitter. The Rays began leaning toward Pinto over Bethancourt behind the plate in September and that has carried over into the playoffs.

Heineman went 2-for-3 with a triple, a walk, three RBI and a run scored in Sunday's 12-8 loss to the Rays.

Heineman opened up the scoring for the Blue Jays with a two-run triple in the second and then added on with an RBI single in the sixth. Sunday was Heineman's second multi-hit game of the year and his first RBI of the season. For now, he's the team's backup catcher with Danny Jansen (finger) working his way back from a fractured right middle finger, but Heineman may lose his roster spot, with Jansen expressing optimism he could return for a potential postseason run.

Gallagher played in just eight games in September, going 1-for-20 (.050).

Gallagher's usage declined with Bo Naylor earning the starting role behind the dish and David Fry settling in as backup. Over 149 plate appearances this season, Gallagher slashed a terrible .126/.154/.168 with six doubles, seven RBI, six runs scored and no home runs. He's still a fine defensive catcher, but there's likely little future for him in Cleveland.

Kirk is not in Sunday's lineup against the Rays.

This was essentially a certainty after Toronto clinched a spot in the postseason, as Kirk started 10 of the prior 11 games and could really use a breather. He hit .231 with two home runs, nine runs and 10 RBI in 27 September games.