MLB Player News

Soderstrom has three home runs in his last five games for Triple-A Las Vegas and carries an .835 OPS over 221 plate appearances for the Aviators.

Soderstrom continues to put together a convincing case for a promotion during his most extensive stint at the Triple-A level yet. The promising 21-year-old has played slightly more at catcher (27 games) than first base (20 games), and it's the latter where Soderstrom is believed to have a clearer path to playing time at the big-league level. However, rookie Ryan Noda has made a solid case for himself at the position with the Athletics thus far by generating an outstanding .410 on-base percentage and impressive .462 slugging percentage over his first 60 big-league games.

Langeliers went 1-for-3 with a double, a walk and a run in a loss to the Brewers on Friday.

Langeliers extended his on-base streak to six games with his solid night at the plate, one that saw him match his 2022 rookie-season tally of 17 extra-base hits via his double. Langeliers' .219 average and .690 OPS still have plenty of room for improvement, but he's in the midst of his best offensive stretch of the season with a .286/.375/.457 slash line across the last 11 games.

Haase will sit for the second straight game Saturday against Arizona.

Haase seemed to be moving ahead of Jake Rogers on the Tigers' catching depth chart, starting seven of 10 games during a stretch which ran from May 24 through June 3. In the six games since then, however, it's been Rogers who's started four times. Rogers has now made 33 starts behind the plate to Haase's 29 this season, but Haase still has more playing time overall thanks to his 10 starts in left field and two at designated hitter.

Rogers went 3-for-4 with two solo home runs in Friday's 11-6 loss against the Diamondbacks.

Rogers has appeared in 39 games (120 plate appearances) and continues to be an all-or-nothing offensive player while operating as the backup catcher behind Eric Haase. The former has just 18 hits on the season, but 12 of those have gone for extra-bases, including eight home runs. Friday's performance was the first multi-homer game of Rogers' big-league career.

Grandal went 3-for-4 with a solo homer in Friday's win over Miami.

Grandal's second-inning home run opened the game's scoring and was his first long ball since May 23. In nine games since between then and Friday, he was stuck in a 4-for-31 (.129) rut. The veteran catcher is now slashing .263/.330/.404 with 14 extra-base hits and 17 RBI through 188 plate appearances.

Salazar was called up from Triple-A Sugar Land on Friday, Julia Morales of AT&T SportsNet Southwest reports.

After being sent down to Sugar Land on Monday, Salazar will return to the big leagues and replace Yordan Alvarez (oblique) on the 26-man roster after Alvarez was placed on the 10-day injured list Friday. Salazar has gone 2-for-14 with a run scored over limited action with the Astros this season and he'll likely operate as an additional bat off the bench while drawing an occasional start behind the plate. His addition to the roster could be a sign Houston plans to give Yainer Diaz more time at DH while Alvarez is sidelined.

Diaz is starting at designated hitter and batting eighth Friday in Cleveland.

If you want to squint for a silver lining following the Yordan Alvarez (oblique) injury, it's that Diaz should see more opportunities in the DH spot. He's already been catching more of late and has a 1.029 OPS, with all three of his home runs coming in his last 35 plate appearances.

Haase isn't starting Friday against the Diamondbacks.

Haase's slump at the plate has begun to cost him significant playing time, as he's been phased out of the picture in left field and DH while splitting starts behind the plate with Jake Rogers. Rogers will start Friday and bat eighth.

Kirk is out of the starting lineup Friday against the Twins.

Tyler Heineman will catch and bat ninth versus the Twins and right-hander Sonny Gray. Kirk has posted a relatively disappointing .260/.350/.351 slash line with three home runs and 18 RBI through 51 games (177 plate appearances) this season for the Blue Jays.

Rutschman went 2-for-5 with a run scored in Thursday's 6-3 victory over Milwaukee.

The 25-year-old is now batting .372 (16-for-43) with a .903 OPS over his last 11 games. Rutschman has played nearly every day in his sophomore campaign, serving as the DH when taking a break from catching duties. He's slashing .283/.399/.425 with eight homers, 21 runs scored and 28 RBI while tallying more walks (45) than strikeouts (38).