MLB Player News

Diaz went 2-for-4 with a walk, an RBI and two runs scored Saturday against the Angels.

Diaz was out of the lineup for Houston's first game after the All-Star break, but he returned to hit seventh and serve as the designated hitter Saturday. He entered the game in a short-term slump, having hit just .216 across his previous 10 contests and 37 at-bats. Diaz has shown some impressive power across 193 plate appearances this season by maintaining a .224 ISO. However, he boasts just a 2.6 percent walk rate, limiting him to a .285 on-base percentage. It remains to be seen whether that will be enough to keep him in the lineup regularly as the catcher once Yordan Alvarez (oblique) is able to return.

O'Hoppe (shoulder) hit off a tee Saturday, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

O'Hoppe began taking dry swings July 4 and has now taken another step forward. A return before the end of August is considered a best-case scenario for the rookie catcher, although it's possible the Angels will hold him out for the rest of the season if they're not in playoff contention. O'Hoppe is coming back from surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left (non-throwing) shoulder.

Trevino will sit Saturday against the Rockies.

Trevino was on the bench for the final game of the first half and hasn't started either of the first two games after the break. Trevino is hitting just .211/.255/.316 (good for a 57 wRC+) on the season, which makes Kyle Higashioka's .236/.275/.400 line and 84 wRC+ look good. Trevino has only made four more starts than Higashioka behind the plate this season and hasn't shown anything to suggest he's about to move into a true starting role.

Rogers isn't in the Tigers' lineup Saturday against Seattle.

After going 1-for-4 in the first game back from the All-Star break, Rogers will get a day off Saturday. In his place, Eric Haase will get the nod to start behind the plate and bat ninth.

Vazquez will sit Saturday against the Athletics.

Vazquez has made 19 more starts behind the plate than Ryan Jeffers this season, but the pair has had a much more even split in recent weeks. Vazquez continues to struggle offensively, posting a .551 OPS for the year and a .433 OPS over his last 22 games.

Langeliers will sit Saturday against the Twins.

Langeliers has handled a heavy workload this season, sitting tied for fifth with 68 starts behind the plate and starting seven more games as the designated hitter. The arrival of fellow catcher Tyler Soderstrom may cut into his at-bats down the stretch, however. Langeliers caught while Soderstrom served as the DH in the first game of the second half Friday, but it will be Soderstrom behind the plate and Seth Brown at DH on Saturday.

Naylor will sit Saturday against Texas.

Naylor kicked off the second half by going 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, but his reward will be a trip to the bench. The Guardians have been hesitant to start him against southpaws, so it will be Cam Gallagher who gets the nod against Andrew Heaney.

Jansen will be on the bench for Saturday's game against the Diamondbacks.

Jansen opened the second half behind the plate but will turn things over to Alejandro Kirk on Saturday. Both backstops have dropped off at the plate this season after excellent production last year, though Jansen's 101 wRC+ (the product of a .227/.281/.459 slash line) beats Kirk's 78 wRC+ by a wide margin.

Naylor went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in Friday's 12-4 loss to the Rangers.

Naylor was heating up just before the All-Star break and kept it going Friday with his second career homer. The catcher is 6-for-11 with five RBI over his last three contests. Through 60 plate appearances this season, he's slashing .218/.283/.364 with two long balls, seven RBI and nine runs scored. If Naylor can hit more consistently, he may be able to take a more definite edge in playing time over Cam Gallagher -- the two backstops have mostly worked in a platoon so far.

Soderstrom, whose contract was selected from Triple-A Las Vegas earlier in the day, went 0-for-3 with a walk in his big-league debut Friday against the Twins.

Soderstrom didn't slot in at either catcher or first base, instead filling the designated hitter role in his big-league debut. The 21-year-old is expected to provide some solid power numbers in time, and he should be in line for regular opportunities given his ability to fill up to three positions.