MLB Player News

Mejia (illness) is scheduled to rejoin the Rays in Seattle for their upcoming four-game series, and he's expected to be activated from the COVID-19 injured list either Thursday or Friday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

After clearing all COVID-19-related protocols over the weekend, Mejia reported to the Rays' spring facility in Port Charlotte, Fla. to appear in a pair of simulated games. Mejia has apparently looked good since resuming baseball activities, but the Rays will see how he's feeling Thursday before deciding whether to activate him for the start of the series or to give him an extra day of rest. Whenever he's formally reinstated, Mejia will replace Rene Pinto as the No. 2 option behind top catcher Mike Zunino.

Murphy is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Astros.

Murphy started in three of the past four games, but he went 0-for-7 with five strikeouts and two walks over that stretch to drop his season average to .323. He should see a slight uptick in opportunities following the recent demotion of Cal Raleigh to Triple-A Tacoma, but Luis Torrens looks like Option 1A behind the plate for the Mariners at this time.

Maldonado isn't in the lineup Wednesday against the Mariners, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Maldonado has gone 0-for-9 with four strikeouts over the last three games, and he'll get a breather in Wednesday's series finale. Jason Castro will start behind the dish and bat eighth.

Perez is not in the lineup for Wednesday's series finale versus the Cardinals.

The star catcher will get the day off Wednesday as MJ Melendez slots in behind the plate and will bat seventh. Perez is currently in the middle of a 2-for-34 slump at the plate with 14 strikeouts over that stretch. He'll look to use the extra day of rest to readjust and will presumably be back in the lineup Friday against the Orioles.

Hedges is out of the lineup for the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader with the Padres, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Hedges is expected to re-enter the lineup for the nightcap Wednesday, but Luke Maile will catch Zach Plesac in the first game of the twin bill.

McGuire went 1-for-3 with an RBI on Tuesday against the Cubs.

McGuire has seen an uptick in playing time of late as Yasmani Grandal has regularly served as the designated hitter due to leg soreness. McGuire had failed to take advantage of the increased opportunity, as he entered Tuesday's action with zero hits across his last 13 at-bats. However, he chipped in with an RBI on a sacrifice bunt in the second frame, and he reached base on an infield single in the ninth inning. McGuire is a defense-first catcher, but he could remain in line for more playing time so long as the team looks to lighten Grandal's workload.

Jeffers went 1-for-3 with a three-run homer, a walk and two runs in Tuesday's win over the Orioles.

The 24-year-old walked and scored in the top of the fifth inning on a Jorge Polanco single before launching a three-run home run in the top of the sixth frame, scoring Gary Sanchez and Trevor Larnach. The long ball was his third of the season and it gave the Twins a 5-2 lead. Jeffers has operated as Minnesota's main option behind the plate this year, producing a .228 batting average with nine RBI over 57 at-bats. With Sanchez finally healthy again, however, it will be interesting to see how the playing time gets divvied up.

Heim went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, a walk and an additional run scored during Tuesday's 6-4 win at Philadelphia.

The 26-year-old started behind the plate and took Ranger Suarez deep during the fourth inning, and he also singled and scored in the sixth. Mitch Garver is clearly operating as Texas' No. 1 catcher, but Heim has still started 10 games with Garver also seeing regular time at designated hitter. Heim has taken advantage of those early opportunities and has a .364/.475/.697 slash line to go with three home runs, 10 RBI and 10 runs.

Garver went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run during Tuesday's 6-4 win over the Phillies.

Garver started the scoring Tuesday with a 400-foot shot to left center field with a runner on during the first inning, but he was unable to produce in his other three at-bats. It's his second homer in his past five games, and he's gone 5-for-20 during that stretch. Overall, it's been tough going early in the season for Garver with a .183/.272/.310 slash line through 20 games.

Higashioka is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Blue Jays.

After picking up three starts in a four-game stretch to close out the weekend, Higashioka now finds himself on the bench for the second day in a row. The Yankees are expected to ride the hotter bat between Higashioka and Jose Trevino at catcher, though neither is doing much to separate himself from the other. Higashioka owns a .386 OPS on the season, while Trevino's mark sits at a similarly feeble .463.