Grandal went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk Thursday against the Guardians.

Grandal went deep in the fourth inning to tally his fifth home run of the season. Two of those long balls have come in his last nine starts, during which time he's also hit .250 with five RBI and four runs scored. However, that's hardly enough to cover up his disappointing .207/.309/.281 line across 330 plate appearances on the season.

Jeffers (thumb) will report to Triple-A St. Paul for a rehab assignment Friday, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.

There is still no target date in place for Jeffers to return from surgery on his right thumb, but moving his rehab assignment to Triple-A is a good sign and leaves room for a possible return before the end of the season. He is scheduled to serve as St. Paul's designated hitter Friday.

Langeliers isn't starting Thursday against the Astros.

Langeliers started the last two games and went 2-for-7 with a run, a walk and four strikeouts. Stephen Vogt will serve as the designated hitter and bat sixth Thursday.

Maldonado isn't starting Thursday against Oakland.

Maldonado has hit just .091 with a run, an RBI, a walk and six strikeouts over eight games since the start of September, and he'll take a seat for the third time in the last five matchups. Christian Vazquez is starting behind the dish and batting eighth.

Kirk, who is not in the lineup Thursday against the Rays, is dealing with left hip tightness, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca reports.

It was a bit puzzling that Kirk was held out of the lineup Thursday for a second straight day, but the hip issue explains the his absence. Kirk is considered day-to-day and could be available off the bench if needed.

Moreno is in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Rays.

Moreno has not appeared in a game since being brought back up earlier this month, but he will get a chance to play a full nine innings Thursday. He will line up behind the plate and hit eighth in Toronto's batting order.

Jansen is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Rays.

Jansen has been handling the bulk of the catching duties of late, but he will be held out Thursday with the Blue Jays playing a day game following a night game. Gabriel Moreno will replace Jansen behind the plate.

Kirk is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Rays.

Kirk did not appear in Wednesday's game, and he will open on the bench for a second straight day. No injury has been reported, so as things stands it appears he is just getting a couple days off amid a 4-for-23 stretch at the plate.

Heim went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in Wednesday's loss to the Athletics.

Heim entered the contest with no homers over 30 games since Aug. 3, but he snapped that skid with a 427-foot, two-run shot in the fifth inning. The long ball was his 14th of the season, tied for fifth-most among AL catchers despite the lengthy drought. Heim also has 46 RBI and a .232/.309/.406 slash line on the campaign.

Quero wrapped the 2022 regular season at High-A Inland Empire with a .312/.435/.530 batting line, 17 homers and 12 steals through 111 games.

There are few -- if any -- flaws to be found in Quero's stat line this season. He led the 66ers in average, homers, RBI (75) and runs (86), and he did so while putting up a terrific 73:91 BB:K. To highlight just how special this season was for the 19-year-old Quero, when J.T. Realmuto was his age, he hit .175 in rookie ball. Switch-hitting catchers with both power and speed -- not to mention the polish to put up a .965 OPS in full-season ball at 19 -- pretty much don't exist, so while Quero has gotten shockingly little hype in dynasty circles thus far, he won't fly under the radar for long. Of course, he's still several years removed from the big leagues.