MLB Player News

Grandal will start at catcher and bat seventh in Sunday's game against the Guardians, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

After sitting out a stretch of three straight games from last Sunday through Wednesday, Grandal has now picked up starts behind the plate in four straight contests. Though Grandal is holding down an unremarkable .688 OPS for the season, the White Sox still appear to be viewing him as a superior option at catcher than Seby Zavala.

Zavala is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Guardians, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Beginning July 26, Zavala began a stretch in which he made six starts behind the dish in seven games, but he's now been on the bench for four consecutive contests. With Zavala having mustered a lowly .439 OPS since the beginning of July, the White Sox appear to have pulled the plug on him as their primary catcher and have turned those duties back over to Yasmani Grandal.

Heim (wrist) played catch Saturday, his first activity since landing on the injured list, MLB.com reports.

Heim's injury may eventually require surgery, but the Rangers are hoping a period of rest will allow him to come back in a couple of weeks and put off surgery until the offseason. The switch-hitting Heim may be limited to hitting from the left side when he returns.

Jeffers went 3-for-4 with a pair of home runs, a double and four total RBI in a 12-1 rout of the Diamondbacks on Saturday.

Jeffers' big offensive game included a two-run homer in the second inning, a run-scoring double in the third and a solo shot in the fifth. The backstop has gone deep three times in his past two contests, driving in six runs over that stretch. Jeffers remains in a timeshare with Christian Vazquez behind the plate, but the former's hot bat may result in him being in the lineup more often. Since the All-Star break, Jeffers is batting .421 (16-for-38) with four homers, nine runs, 11 RBI and three stolen bases over 13 contests.

Jansen was scratched from the lineup for Saturday's game against the Red Sox with right wrist inflammation.

As Mike Wilner of the Toronto Star notes, Jansen was plunked on his wrist by a Shintaro Fujinami pitch during Wednesday's game. It would seem Jansen is still dealing with some lingering effects, which brings his availability for the rest of the weekend into question. Jansen has an .853 OPS and four homers in 16 games since the All-Star break.

Garver is out of the lineup for Saturday's game against the Marlins.

Garver started the previous nine games and will receive a day off after he posted a 1.172 OPS with three homers during that stretch. Austin Hedges will take over behind the plate for Saturday's contest.

McCann went 3-for-3 with a walk, a double, a run scored, five RBI and a stolen base in Friday's 10-3 win over the Mets.

Facing the team that traded him this winter, McCann came through with his best performance of the season. He opened the scoring in the fourth inning with a two-run single, before adding a two-run double in the sixth and a final RBI single in the seventh as the Orioles pulled away. The veteran catcher had a tough first few months with Baltimore, but since returning from an ankle injury in early July he's batting .270 (10-for-37) with five doubles, five runs, eight RBI and a surprising two steals in 13 games.

Raleigh went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in Friday's 9-7 win over the Angels.

Raleigh continues to pummel the ball -- four of his five hits over his last five games have gone over the fence. He remains tied with Julio Rodriguez for the team lead in homers (18), which is also enough for Raleigh to lead all American League catchers. The 26-year-old is slashing .230/.309/.451 with 46 RBI, 52 runs scored, 16 doubles and a triple through 95 contests.

Diaz went 1-for-5 with a three-run home run in Friday's win over the Yankees.

After spending most of his recent games batting in the bottom third of the order, Diaz was moved up to fifth in the lineup and delivered early, as his first inning shot off of struggling Yankees starter Luis Severino gave the Astros a lead they would not relinquish. The 24-year-old catcher is now up to 14 home runs on the season and has blasted four of those homers since the All-Star break. He continues to split time behind the plate with Martin Maldonado, but his superior offensive production could continue to lead to more at-bats as the Astros battle for the AL West crown.

Jeffers went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer in Thursday's 5-3 victory over the Cardinals.

Jeffers opened the scoring Thursday with a two-run blast off Matthew Liberatore in the second inning. The 26-year-old backstop has been swinging the bat well, going 10-for-25 (.400) with two homers and a 1.144 OPS over his last eight games. Jeffers' hot stretch has granted him an increased role in Minnesota -- he's started over Christian Vazquez at catcher in three of the Twins' last six contests. Overall, Jeffers is slashing an impressive .281/.385/.455 with six homers, 26 runs scored, 18 RBI and three steals across 199 plate appearances this season.