MLB Player News
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Cal Raleigh C | SEA
Mariners' Cal Raleigh: Produces as in-game replacement
Raleigh entered Sunday's loss to the Athletics as a pinch hitter in the sixth inning and remained in the game at catcher, going 2-for-2 with an RBI double, another two-bagger and a run.
Raleigh ignited a two-run rally for the Mariners upon entering in the sixth inning, lacing a pinch-hit double to deep left that plated Dylan Moore. The hot-hitting backstop followed it up with his 17th two-bagger of the season and 36th extra-base hit overall in the ninth, only to be left stranded by Julio Rodriguez and Ty France to end the game. Factoring in Sunday's production, Raleigh now boasts a .306 average and 1.069 OPS across the 40 plate appearances encompassing his last 11 games.
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Shea Langeliers C | ATH
Athletics' Shea Langeliers: Three hits Sunday
Langeliers went 3-for-4 with a double, a triple, one RBI and one run scored in Sunday's win over Seattle.
Langeliers got the start at catcher Sunday and made the most of it with the first multi-hit game of his young career. The rookie is now slashing .316/.300/.737 since being called up Aug. 16. It has not been all great for the rookie, however, as with another strikeout Sunday, he has struck out in each of the five games he has started and failed to record a walk, leading to his average being higher than his on-base percentage.
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Sean Murphy C | ATL
Athletics' Sean Murphy: Two hits in win
Murphy went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI in Sunday's 5-3 victory over the Mariners.
The 27-year-old continued his torrid August with two more hits Sunday to improve his average to .328 in the month. This stretch has pushed Murphy to second among all catchers in hits and third in RBI. Murphy continues to prove that he is an upper-tier backstop, and it will be interesting to see how the Athletics split playing time between him and emerging rookie Shea Langeliers, especially as Murphy is several years removed from free agency.
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Yasmani Grandal C | PIT
White Sox's Yasmani Grandal: Avoids major injury
Grandal is expected to return from the 10-day injured list in 10-to-14 days after an MRI on Sunday revealed no acute damage to the ligaments, tendons or cartilage around the catcher's strained left knee.
The White Sox had reason to fear that Grandal may have suffered a season-ending injury in Saturday's 2-0 win over the Guardians after he was spotted on crutches following a home-plate collision, but the veteran backstop is facing a more favorable prognosis than expected after getting sent in for additional testing. According to the team, Grandal is still dealing with inflammation caused by a hyperextension of the knee, so he'll at least need some time off for the swelling to subside. Seby Zavala is expected to serve as the White Sox's primary catcher for the duration of Grandal's stay on the 10-day injured list.
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Reese McGuire C | CHW
Red Sox's Reese McGuire: Resting again Sunday
McGuire is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Orioles, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.
After a string of four consecutive starts behind the plate, McGuire now finds himself on the bench for the second day in a row. He still looks to be part of a timeshare behind the dish with Kevin Plawecki, who is being rewarded with another start after going 2-for-4 with a run in Saturday's 4-3 win.
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Cal Raleigh C | SEA
Mariners' Cal Raleigh: Gets breather Sunday
Raleigh is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Athletics.
He'll be getting a breather for the series finale in Oakland, paving the way for Curt Casali to pick up a turn behind the plate. Raleigh is hitting just .208 in August, but he's maintained value for fantasy managers by slugging four home runs in 15 games on the month.
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Francisco Mejia C | TB
Rays' Francisco Mejia: Gets maintenance day
Mejia is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Royals, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Christian Bethancourt will step in behind the dish while Mejia is likely getting some routine maintenance for the afternoon game. Mejia caught both of the last two games, going 2-for-8 with a run scored.
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Gary Sanchez C | MIL
Twins' Gary Sanchez: Part of timeshare at catcher
Sanchez is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rangers.
Sanchez will sit in favor of Sandy Leon, with the two catchers having now alternated starts over the past 12 games. With Sanchez regarded as the inferior defender, he'll likely need to show improvement at the dish to work his way out of the timeshare. Since the All-Star break, Sanchez is slashing an unremarkable .224/.333/.306 in 16 games.
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Eric Haase C | SF
Tigers' Eric Haase: Heads to bench
Haase is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Angels.
Haase will head to the bench after he went 2-for-10 with a double, a walk, an RBI and a run while starting each of the last three games, two at catcher and one at designated hitter. Tucker Barnhart will step in behind the plate Sunday, while Kerry Carpenter handles DH duties in the series finale.
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Danny Jansen C | TEX
Blue Jays' Danny Jansen: Rests Sunday
Jansen is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Yankees, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.
The Blue Jays won't have the designated-hitter spot available for Alejandro Kirk on Sunday while outfielder Teoscar Hernandez (foot) is eased back into action in a non-defensive role, so Kirk will pick up a start behind the plate while Jansen rests. Jansen went 0-for-6 with a walk, an RBI and a run between starts in the previous two contests.