MLB Player News

O'Hoppe will be on the bench for the first half of Saturday's doubleheader against Tampa Bay, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

O'Hoppe returned Friday from a shoulder injury which at one point seemed likely to keep him out for the entire season. The Angels are no doubt thrilled to have the young catcher back in action, but he was never going to be asked to start two games in one day even if he hadn't just returned from injury. Matt Thaiss starts behind the plate in the matinee, but O'Hoppe will likely return to the lineup for the nightcap.

O'Hoppe went 0-for-5 in a loss to the Rays on Friday.

O'Hoppe made a quicker-than-expected return to the majors Friday following a stay on the 60-day injured list due to a torn labrum in his left shoulder. The 23-year-old showed some rust with the hitless performance, though that shouldn't prevent him from working as the Angels' primary catcher moving forward. The team designated Chad Wallach for assignment upon O'Hoppe's return, and backup backstop Matt Thaiss has struggled thus far in August, going 4-for-31 at the plate.

Higashioka finds himself on the bench for the second time in three games Saturday against the Red Sox.

Higashioka has started just two of the last six games, though that follows a stretch in which he started three straight. His .230/.267/.378 slash line isn't exactly starting catcher material, so he'll likely continue to split time with Ben Rortvedt down the stretch with Jose Trevino (wrist) done for the year.

Rutschman went 3-for-4 with a double, a walk and a run scored in Friday's 9-4 win over the Athletics.

Rutschman recently endured a 1-for-21 skid, but he's collected five hits over his last two games to get back on track. The catcher is slashing .272/.367/.430 with 16 home runs, 58 RBI, 61 runs scored, 21 doubles and a triple over 117 contests. He's been hitting out of the leadoff spot lately, even with speedier options like Cedric Mullins and Gunnar Henderson available.

Garver went 1-for-3 with a solo home run, a walk and two runs scored in Friday's 9-8 loss against the Brewers.

Garver's fourth-inning home run was his ninth of the season. He handled the starting role behind the plate while Jonah Heim spent more than two weeks on the shelf with a wrist injury, and Garver is continuing to see a consistent role as the Rangers ease Heim back into the lineup. Garver has rewarded the Rangers by hitting safely in all but two of his last 17 starts with an on-base percentage of .458, four home runs and 12 RBI during that stretch.

Rogers is absent from the lineup for the second game of Friday's doubleheader in Cleveland, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

Rogers cranked a solo home run and added a single in the first game, but even with that big performance he was never going to catch both ends of a doubleheader. Eric Haase will be behind the dish for Joey Wentz.

Jeffers was scratched from the lineup Friday due to back soreness, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.

Christian Vazquez will instead start at catcher and bat eighth for the Twins as they open a three-game weekend series versus Pittsburgh. Jeffers boasts a .328/.430/.597 slash line in 20 games (80 plate appearances) since the All-Star break and should be considered day-to-day.

The Angels activated O'Hoppe (shoulder) from the 60-day injured list Friday.

O'Hoppe will start at catcher and bat fifth against the Rays following a four-month absence to heal a torn labrum in his left (non-throwing) shoulder. The young backstop had posted an .886 OPS with four homers and 13 RBI in 16 games (53 plate appearances) prior to the April 20 injury, and he slashed .375/.464/.500 across 28 plate appearances on his recent eight-game minor-league rehab assignment.

Wallach was designated for assignment Friday.

Wallach has played 10 games in August, going 3-for-18 in 19 plate appearances. Only one of those hits went for extra bases, and his last home run came on the final day of July. In a corresponding move, Logan O'Hoppe was reinstated from the 60-day injured list.

Jansen remains out of the lineup Friday versus the Reds.

Alejandro Kirk will make a third straight start at catcher for the Blue Jays as they open a three-game weekend series at Great American Ball Park. There's no word of any new injury for Jansen, though he did miss a bit of time last week because of a right hand contusion.