MLB Player News

Murphy is not starting Friday against the Giants, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Murphy has yielded catching duties against left-handers to Yan Gomes since Gomes was acquired at the trade deadline, and that will remain the case Friday against Alex Wood.

Stassi will be on the bench for Friday's game in Cleveland.

Stassi hits the bench after making a pair of starts. He's been in a bit of a slump over his last nine games, going 4-for-32 with 17 strikeouts. Kurt Suzuki takes over behind the plate in his absence.

Perez exited Friday's win over the Cubs due to posterior neck soreness, Josh Vernier of 610 Sports Kansas City reports.

Perez was productive early in Friday's matchup, as he went 2-for-3 with a pair of solo home runs. However, he was replaced by a pinch hitter in the eighth inning. The catcher was apparently evaluated for a concussion after the game but was ultimately diagnosed with a neck injury. The 31-year-old should be considered day-to-day, but Cam Gallagher would likely take over behind the dish if Perez is forced to miss additional time.

Hedges is not in the lineup Friday against the Angels.

Hedges leads Cleveland's catchers with 61 starts this season and should continue to see regular time with Roberto Perez (shoulder) sidelined, but he doesn't provide any fantasy value with a .485 OPS. Wilson Ramos will work behind the plate Friday in the series opener.

McGuire is not starting Friday against the TIgers.

McGuire will take a seat to begin the series in Toronto after starting three of the previous four games behind the plate. Alejandro Kirk will catch Robbie Ray and bat sixth.

Stubbs suffered a right ankle sprain during Thursday's game with Triple-A Sugar Land, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

It remains to be seen if the ankle injury will end up sending Stubbs to the injured list, but he seems likely to miss at least a game or two. He's spent the bulk of the season at Triple-A, but he has logged eight games with the Astros, recording four hits across 22 at-bats.

Stassi went 2-for-5 with a home run, two runs scored and three RBI during Thursday's win over the Tigers.

With the Angels trailing in the eighth, Stassi cranked a go-ahead two-run homer against Michael Fulmer. The long ball was the 11th of the season for the backstop, who was riding a 2-for-30 drought prior to Thursday's contest.

Higashioka went 2-for-3 with a home run, three RBI and two runs scored in Thursday's 7-5 win over the Twins.

Higashioka slammed a two-run homer off Danny Coulombe in the fourth inning. In addition, he drove in Andrew Velazquez on a double in the third inning. The catcher is back to splitting time behind the plate with teammate Gary Sanchez (illness) after Sanchez returned from the injured list Aug. 17. Higashioka is slashing just .181/.256/.403 with eight long balls, 20 RBI and 17 runs scored in 160 plate appearances.

Murphy went 1-for-2 with a solo home run and two walks Thursday against the White Sox.

Murphy kicked off the scoring for the Athletics with his 14th home run of the season. Though it was first homer since July 27, Murphy has produced plenty of late. Across his last eight games, he has seven RBI and four runs scored while also logging four doubles. For the season, Murphy has a .222/.319/.422 line with 37 runs scored and 54 RBI across 370 plate appearances.

Garver is not in the lineup Thursday against the Yankees.

Garver has a .733 OPS and 37 percent strikeout rate through 12 games in August, and he finds himself on the bench for the second consecutive contest. Ryan Jeffers will work behind the plate for the Twins in the series opener.