MLB Player News

Bethancourt is out of the lineup Friday at Houston.

Rene Pinto will start behind the plate and bat ninth versus the Astros and right-hander Cristian Javier. Bethancourt had started at catcher in the Rays' previous three games with Francisco Mejia (knee) on the IL.

Heim (wrist) is not in the lineup Friday against the Padres.

Heim was lifted from Wednesday's series finale versus Houston after an awkward swing triggered soreness in his left wrist, and it's still bothering him after Thursday's team off day. Mitch Garver is starting at catcher for the Rangers on Friday and Robbie Grossman will serve as the designated hitter.

O'Hoppe (shoulder) is scheduled to take live batting practice Saturday, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

O'Hoppe has also been doing some catching with a pitching machine as he works his way back from April surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder. It's looking like the 23-year-old catcher might be able to return to the Angels sometime in late August. He had posted an .886 OPS with four homers and 13 RBI in 16 games prior to the early-season injury.

Houston traded Lee (oblique) to the White Sox on Friday in exchange for Kendall Graveman, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

Lee has been on the minor-league injured list since early July because of a strained oblique, but he should be able to join up with the Triple-A affiliate of the White Sox sometime in August. When healthy this season, the 25-year-old catcher has slashed .283/.328/.406 with five homers and 12 steals across 68 games in the Pacific Coast League. He batted .160/.192/.240 over 12 major-league games (26 plate appearances) for the Astros in 2022.

Grandal isn't in the White Sox's lineup Friday against Cleveland, Vinnie Duber of AllCHGO.com reports.

After going 1-for-4 with a run scored during Thursday's loss to the Guardians, Grandal will take a seat to begin Friday's contest. Seby Zavala will take over behind the dish and bat ninth.

Naylor went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a steal in Thursday's victory over the White Sox.

Naylor picked up his first major-league stolen base after singling in the sixth inning. While speed hasn't been a major part of his game this year, he did steal 20 bags last season in the minors. The rookie backstop is now 11-for-31 (.344) with a 1.136 OPS in his last 10 games following an 0-for-16 stretch in his prior five contests. Overall, Naylor is slashing .227/.284/.427 with four homers, 12 RBI and 11 runs scored through his first 81 plate appearances this season.

Thaiss is out of the lineup for the first game of Thursday's doubleheader with the Tigers.

Chad Wallach will catch for starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani in the early game, but expect Thaiss to check back in behind the plate for the nightcap. Thaiss remains atop the depth chart at catcher, but he's endured a rough July with a .156/.291/.289 slash line and only two extra-base hits on the month.

Fry went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer in Wednesday's 8-3 win over the Royals.

Fry's now hit three homers over his last eight games while going 8-for-24 (.333) with a 1.176 OPS in that span. Overall, the 27-year-old Fry is slashing an impressive .288/.342/.493 with four homers, 13 RBI, 10 runs scored and two steals across his first 79 plate appearances. While Bo Naylor will see the majority of reps behind the plate, Fry should be able to earn fairly regular at-bats thanks to his ability to play multiple infield and outfield positions.

Rutschman went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run in Wednesday's 6-4 loss to the Phillies.

He opened the scoring in the top of the third inning by taking Ranger Suarez deep, but the game was just about all Philly after that. Rutschman set a new career high in homers in the process with 14, topping the 13 he hit as a rookie in 2022, and his heavy workload this season doesn't seem to be wearing down the 25-year-old -- through 20 games in July, he's slashing a solid .269/.337/.462 with three home runs, 11 RBI and 12 runs.

Rogers is not in the lineup for the first game of Thursday's doubleheader against the Angels.

Eric Haase will do the catching for Michael Lorenzen. Presumably, Rogers will be behind the plate for the second tilt.