MLB Player News

Garver (knee) will serve as the designated hitter and bat third Monday night against the Rays.

Garver was held out of Sunday's series finale against Oakland due to soreness in his left knee, but he's been cleared to return for Monday's matchup. He's 6-for-26 with three homers, four RBI and four runs scored over his last seven games.

Murphy went 1-for-3 with an RBI double, two walks and a run in a win over the Rangers on Sunday.

One day after seeing an eight-game hitting streak snapped with an 0-for-5, four-strikeout tally, Murphy bounced back by reaching safely in three of five plate appearances. The 27-year-old still has plenty of work to do on his .207/.280/.391 slash line, but he owns an improved .275 average and .791 OPS across his last 10 games.

Sanchez is starting at catcher and batting fourth in Monday's matchup with the Tigers, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reports.

After missing Sunday's contest with a heat-related illness, Sanchez is back in the lineup Monday. The 29-year-old went 5-for-12 and scored a run in the series against the Royals, but he has not gone deep since May 17.

Maldonado went 1-for-3 with a double Sunday against the Mariners.

Maldonado hit a one-out double in the seventh inning, but he was pinch run for and was denied the opportunity to score. It was only his third double and sixth extra-base hit of the season. Maldonado has maintained an unimpressive .123/.203/.236 line across 120 plate appearances for the campaign.

Stassi went 4-for-5 with a home run and three RBI in Sunday's 11-10 loss to the Blue Jays.

Stassi's two-run single tied the game at 6-6 in the third inning, and he added a solo shot in the seventh for the Angels' last run. Sunday's big game gave the catcher three multi-hit efforts in his last five contests since returning from the COVID-19 injured list. He's up to a .250/.330/.417 slash line with four homers, 11 RBI, 14 runs scored and a pair of doubles through 24 games this season.

Kirk went 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI, a walk and four runs scored in Sunday's 11-10 win over the Angels.

Kirk has scored eight runs in his last five games, a span in which he's gone 8-for-17 with three doubles. The catcher has played well for much of the season, but his recent uptick in offense has lifted his slash line to .289/.371/.372 with a home run, nine RBI, 15 runs scored and seven doubles in 140 plate appearances. If Danny Jansen (hip) is forced to miss any more time, Kirk would logically pick up the slack behind the dish.

Jansen wasn't in Sunday's lineup against the Angels due to a minor hip injury, Gregor Chisholm of the Toronto Star reports.

The 27-year-old had started in three of the last four games prior to Sunday's matchup, and manager Charlie Montoyo didn't sound too concerned about Jansen's injury following the win. The backstop should tentatively be considered day-to-day prior to Tuesday's series opener against the White Sox.

Kirk will start at catcher and bat cleanup in Sunday's game against the Angels.

Kirk will get a turn behind the plate in the series finale while fellow backstop Danny Jansen takes a seat. Though he's been swinging a hot bat of late by going 6-for-13 with two doubles, a walk, four runs and an RBI over his last four games, Kirk has faded into more of a part-time role following Jansen's return from the injured list earlier this month. Kirk is starting Sunday for just the fifth time in nine games.

Bethancourt went 2-for-4 with a run in a loss to the Rangers on Saturday.

The reserve backstop reached safely for the fourth time in five games and generated his second multi-hit effort in that span. Bethancourt continues to be an occasional contributor at the plate, but it remains to be seen how much longer his stint on the big-league roster will last with Stephen Vogt (knee) kicking off his rehab assignment Saturday and therefore likely to return to action relatively soon.

Jansen is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Angels.

Jansen started three of the past four games and will take a seat after going 4-for-14 with three home runs, five RBI and four runs during that stretch. Alejandro Kirk will work behind the plate in Sunday's series finale.