MLB Player News

Maldonado isn't starting Monday against the Rangers.

Maldonado will get a day off after he went 1-for-8 with a double, two runs, two walks and seven strikeouts in his last three appearances. Jason Castro will start behind the dish and bat eighth.

Plawecki (illness) is back with the Red Sox on Monday after a stint on the COVID-19 injured list, Ian Browne of MLB.com reports.

Plawecki tested positive for the virus last Monday, but he's evidently now over his symptoms and has tested negative. He'll return to his role as Christian Vazquez's backup behind the plate.

Jansen (oblique) has begun baseball activities but is not yet ready to swing, Scott Mitchell of TSN.ca reports.

Jansen has been out for two weeks with an oblique strain that will reportedly cost him an extended absence. He's reportedly slightly behind Teoscar Hernandez (oblique), who's expected to begin live batting practice within the next few days. That leaves Jansen with a timeline that's still somewhat ambiguous, but he's at least taking steps in the right direction.

Rutschman (triceps) will begin a minor-league rehab assignment with High-A Aberdeen this week.

Rutschman's recovery has gone smoothly so far, with the catcher making enough progress to get into game action. He remains assigned to Triple-A Norfolk as he continues to heal. Rutschman, the Orioles' top prospect, will likely need multiple games to get back up to speed, and he'll likely see a little more time with Norfolk before presumably making his major-league debut sometime this season.

Collins went 2-for-5 with a three-run homer in Sunday's 8-7 loss to the Astros.

Collins poked a single in the second inning but did all of his damage in the sixth, taking Luis Garcia deep for a three-run shot to tie the game at 5-5. The 27-year-old is enjoying a strong start to the year, slashing .303/.324/.636 with three home runs and seven RBI through 34 plate appearances.

Maile (hamstring) has gone 9-for-16 with two home runs, two doubles and four walks through the first six games of his rehab assignment at Triple-A Columbus.

After sustaining the left hamstring injury in the penultimate week of spring training, Maile missed out on the Guardians' Opening Day roster. He was cleared to return to action in the minors April 15 and has proven his health as a hitter, but the Guardians may still want him to log some more innings behind the plate before bringing him back from the 10-day injured list. Whenever he's activated, Maile will likely replace Bryan Lavastida as the top backup behind No. 1 catcher Austin Hedges.

Perez (hand) will serve as the Royals' designated hitter and will bat third in Sunday's game against the Mariners.

Perez will be limited to a non-defensive role for the series finale after he was hit in the left hand by a pitch in Saturday's 13-7 loss, though the 31-year-old was probably due for a day off behind the plate anyway after catching each of the previous three days. Assuming Perez's hand provides no complications while he swings the bat Sunday, he should be a fixture in the Kansas City lineup during the team's upcoming six-game week.

Murphy went 2-for-4 with a double, a walk and two runs in a win over the Royals on Saturday.

The veteran backstop continued to rip the cover off the ball in Saturday's 13-run breakout, authoring his first multi-hit effort since his first start of the season. Murphy has made the most of his seven appearances thus far, producing a .421 average and 1.174 OPS across his first 24 plate appearances.

Bethancourt is out of the lineup for Sunday's game agains the Rangers.

After being added to the roster as a COVID-19 replacement April 15, Bethancourt made six consecutive starts, but he's since moved into more of a part-time role as the Athletics have gotten more players back from the injured list. He'll be on the bench for the second time in three games and is likely to see his opportunities grow scarcer from here on out.

The Twins scratched Jeffers from the lineup ahead of Sunday's game against the White Sox due to a left knee contusion, Megan Ryan of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Though Jeffers is available off the bench, the Twins will likely plan to have fill-in starter Jose Godoy catch all nine innings while Minnesota's other backstop, Gary Sanchez, is out of the lineup for a fourth straight game with abdominal tightness. The Twins will hope to have at least one of Jeffers or Sanchez healthy enough to check back in behind the plate for Tuesday's series opener with the Tigers.