MLB Player News

Raleigh went 0-for-2 with a walk, a stolen base and a run in a win over the Athletics on Thursday.

The slugging backstop played some small ball Thursday, recording his first steal since 2022. Raleigh is in a 13-game homer drought, and he has only one extra-base hit, a double, over his last 44 plate appearances.

Wong went 2-for-4 with a walk, two RBI and three runs scored in Thursday's 14-2 win over the White Sox. He was also hit by a pitch.

Wong, who is enjoying a breakout campaign, raised his batting average to .327 and OBP to .382. Those career-best marks are heavily influenced by a .387 BABIP, making the backstop a strong sell-high candidate. Per MLB's Statcast, Wong's expected batting average is only .255.

Rutschman went 2-for-4 with a pair of home runs and three total RBI in Thursday's 6-5 loss to the Blue Jays.

Rutschman was responsible for the Orioles' first three runs Thursday, launching a solo shot off Yusei Kikuchi in the sixth inning before adding a two-run homer off Zach Pop in the eighth. Rutschman came into the day with just one home run in his previous 17 contests, though he's now hit safely in 10 straight games, going 15-for-42 (.357) in that span. The 26-year-old backstop is slashing .307/.345/.490 through 258 plate appearances this season with 12 homers, 43 RBI and 34 runs scored.

Jeffers isn't in the Twins' lineup Thursday against the Yankees.

Jeffers has gone 0-for-11 with four strikeouts over his last three games, and he'll get a day to regroup Thursday. Christian Vazquez will instead start behind the dish and bat ninth.

Langeliers isn't in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Mariners.

Langeliers has received more days off than usual of late, as he's now started just three of the last six games for the Athletics. He doesn't appear to be dealing with any sort of injury, however. Kyle McCann will get the start at catcher for Oakland on Thursday.

Diaz went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 4-2 loss to the Cardinals.

Diaz got Houston on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning, smacking a solo shot off Miles Mikolas the opposite way to cut the Astros deficit to 3-1. It's the third straight game with a home run for Diaz, who's up to six long balls on the season. The 25-year-old backstop is now slashing .250/.278/.397 with 29 RBI and 21 runs scored across 216 plate appearances this year.

Heim went 3-for-5 with a home run, a double, two total runs and two total RBI in a 9-1 win against Detroit on Wednesday.

Heim's biggest contribution was a two-run shot to right field in the third inning that gave Texas a 4-0 lead. The backstop added a double and a single to finish with just his second three-hit performance of the season. Heim's pace has slowed a bit after he tallied a career-best 18 homers and 95 RBI last year, but he's still giving solid production from the catcher position with a .251/.296/.372 slash line, six homers, 31 RBI, 22 runs and a stolen base through 199 plate appearances.

Jansen is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Orioles.

Jansen started at catcher in each of Toronto's last three games, so he's likely just getting some maintenance Wednesday. Alejandro Kirk will sub in for Jansen behind the dish.

Brannon (knee) was reinstated from Single-A Salem's 60-day injured list and went 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored while catching nine innings in Tuesday's 6-5 win over Down East.

Brannon made his 2024 debut for Salem after opening the season on the IL while he completed his recovery from arthroscopic left knee surgery. Before making his return to Salem, Brannon went 4-for-23 at the plate over eight rehab games in the rookie-level Florida Complex League.

Wong is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's game against Atlanta, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald reports.

The Red Sox are playing a day game Wednesday after losing to Atlanta on Tuesday night, so Wong will be getting a maintenance day. Reese McGuire will pick up the start at catcher while Wong rests.