MLB Player News

Feduccia isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against Miami, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Feduccia will retreat to the bench for a third consecutive game Saturday while Nick Fortes starts at catcher and bats ninth. Feduccia may have dropped down a spot on the depth chart, though neither of Tampa Bay's backstops have performed well enough offensively this season to warrant consistent playing time.

Basallo (abdomen) isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against Toronto.

Basallo will officially miss a start after exiting Friday's game with right abdominal discomfort. Sam Huff was selected from Triple-A Norfolk on Saturday to provide depth at catcher in case Basallo needs to spend time on the injured list, though it remains unknown whether that will be necessary. Taylor Ward will work as Baltimore's DH in place of Basallo on Saturday, opening up left field for Blaze Alexander.

Higashioka went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Friday's 3-2 win over Cleveland.

Higashioka ignited Texas' three-run sixth inning with a leadoff homer, his fourth of the season. The blast also extended a hit streak to four games, during which he's 7-for-13 with three extra-base hits, two RBI and five runs scored. He's appeared in 32 games and is essentially sharing catching duties with Danny Jansen (41 games), but Higashioka has been the better hitter. He's has a .712 OPS compared to Jansen's .586 OPS.

Perez isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against Minnesota.

Perez will take a seat on the bench to begin Saturday's contest after going 1-for-8 with a sacrifice fly over the first two games of the series. His absence will put Carter Jensen behind the plate, giving Maikel Garcia a start at DH and Josh Rojas a turn at third base.

Teel (hamstring/knee) has begun hitting off a tee and doing catching drills, MLB.com reports.

Teel resumed running at the end of May, so he has made progress toward a return. However, manager Will Venable stated that none of the drills were being done at a high intensity, suggesting Teel isn't particularly close to returning. Teel will likely need a fairly lengthy rehab assignment, so his absence may stretch into July.

Diaz signed a major-league contract with the Rangers on Friday, Daniel Alvarez-Montes of ElExtraBase.com reports.

Diaz was DFA'd by the Royals on May 22 after going 5-for-22 with two homers, five RBI and an additional run scored in 10 games with the big club. It didn't take long for him to land his next opportunity after electing free agency Wednesday, and he will now report directly to the big-league club. It's unclear how the Rangers will divide playing time between Diaz, Danny Jansen and Kyle Higashioka, but Diaz's hot start to the season could buy him an occasional start behind the dish.

Rutschman went 4-for-4 with a walk, two doubles, a home run and five RBI during the Orioles' 13-3 win over the Blue Jays on Friday.

Rutschman got the Orioles on the board early with a solo home run off Trey Yesavage in the first inning. Rutschman kept his foot on the gas, tying things up at 3-3 in the sixth inning with a two-run double before adding another two runs on a double to center field in the ninth. His four hits were a season high, and his five RBI were his most in a game since April 24 against the Red Sox (six). Rutschman is slashing .273/.352/.506 with eight home runs and 36 RBI over 196 plate appearances this season.

Valenzuela went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in Friday's 13-3 loss to the Orioles.

Valanzuela handed the Blue Jays a 3-1 lead after taking Brandon Young deep to right-center field for a 417-foot, two-run home run. Valanzuela has gone deep in back-to-back games and is up to six homers on the season. He has stepped up as the Blue Jays' primary catcher ahead of Tyler Heineman, but Valenzuela could soon see his workload drop dramatically, as Alejandro Kirk (thumb) is trending toward returning from the 60-day IL early next week, per Mitch Bannon of The Athletic.

The Yankees will recall Sanchez from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Saturday, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic reports.

The Yankees sent J.C. Escarra down to Triple-A shortly after Friday's game, so Sanchez will join the active roster to take over as New York's backup catcher. The 29-year-old owns just a .454 OPS across 133 plate appearances in his big-league career but has slashed .227/.327/.375 with six homers, 11 RBI and 18 runs in 40 games at Triple-A this year.

The Yankees optioned Escarra to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after Friday's loss to the Red Sox.

Escarra has slashed just .177/.235/.258 across 68 plate appearances while operating as the Yankees' backup catcher. No longer satisfied with his performance, the team will send the 31-year-old down to Triple-A to right the ship and promote Ali Sanchez to take Escarra's spot on the bench.