MLB Player News

D'Arnaud (foot) is no longer wearing a walking boot, and he played catch on the field Wednesday, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

It's a notable step for d'Arnaud, who landed on the 10-day injured list May 8 due to plantar fasciitis in his right foot. The veteran backstop has since been transferred to the 60-day IL, so he isn't eligible to return until early July. With Sebastian Rivero currently sidelined due t a left hamate fracture, Logan Porter is working as the backup catcher behind Logan O'Hoppe.

White Sox manager Will Venable said Friday that Teel (knee/hamstring) will embark on a rehab assignment soon and is working toward returning from the 60-day injured list in the next few days, Bruce Levine of 670TheScore.com reports.

Levine relays that Teel's hamstring strain has fully healed, and the catcher's right knee strain is close to full recovery. Teel will go on a rehab assignment in the minor leagues in the coming days, and if all goes well, he could be cleared to make his 2026 regular-season debut by late June. His return would mean less reps available for both Edgar Quero and Drew Romo.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Friday that the team will wait until after the weekend series against the Blue Jays before deciding whether Wells (head) will be activated off the 10-day injured list or embark on a rehab assignment, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic reports.

Wells landed on the 10-day IL this past Saturday due to cervical headaches and was cleared for baseball activities Wednesday. How he progresses in his recovery will determine whether he'll be activated from the IL ahead of Tuesday's home series opener against the White Sox. J.C. Escarra and Ali Sanchez will both continue to see increased reps behind home plate for as long as Wells is sidelined.

The Blue Jays designated Heineman for assignment Friday.

Alejandro Kirk (thumb) is back from the injured list, and the Blue Jays have elected to keep Brandon Valenzuela around as his backup rather than Heineman. Heineman is hitting only .154/.205/.205 this season and could clear waivers, though if that happens he would have the ability to elect free agency.

The Blue Jays activated Kirk (thumb) from the 60-day injured list Friday.

A broken left thumb sent Kirk to the injured list just five games into the season, but he's ready to rejoin the Blue Jays after fully recovering from surgery to repair the fracture. The 27-year-old went 3-for-18 with a homer and a double during his six-game rehab assignment and should immediately reclaim the starting job behind the plate for Toronto. Brandon Valenzuela will fill the backup job with Tyler Heineman being designated for assignment as part of Friday's transactions.

Gasper will start at designated hitter and bat leadoff in Friday's contest versus the Rangers.

Regular leadoff man Jarren Duran has been moved down to the No. 5 spot in the Boston lineup. Gasper is making his sixth straight start, but he's just 2-for-19 at the dish in the first five of those contests.

Rutschman went 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, three RBI and one run scored in Thursday's 7-5 win over the Mariners.

Rutschman had missed three games with left hamstring tightness before returning as the designated hitter Thursday. He is batting .393 (11-for-28) over seven contests in June, so getting his bat back in the lineup is big for Baltimore. The catcher is hitting .273 with an .848 OPS, eight home runs, 39 RBI, 26 runs scored, 15 doubles and a triple over 49 games this season.

Dingler went 3-for-5 with a double and a run scored in Thursday's 11-0 win over the Twins.

Dingler enjoyed the series against Minnesota, as he went 8-for-15 with two home runs, four runs scored and five RBI during the three-game set. Overall, it's been a great start to the season for the Detroit catcher with 16 long balls and 49 RBI across 62 contests. The homer total is third among all MLB catchers, while Dingler leads his position group in RBI.

Romo isn't in the lineup for Thursday's game against Atlanta.

Romo will move to the bench for a second consecutive game after going 0-for-9 with a walk and two strikeouts across his last three contests. Edgar Quero will fill in as Chicago's catcher and bat seventh.

Basallo (wrist) will start at catcher and bat fifth in Thursday's tilt versus the Mariners.

Basallo has been out of the lineup for the past three games as he deals with a bony growth in his left wrist, but he had a few plate appearances off the bench during that stretch and is now ready to return to the Orioles' lineup. The 21-year-old has collected a .801 OPS with nine home runs across 199 plate appearances for Baltimore this season.