MLB Player News

Grandal is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cardinals.

Manager Tony La Russa will park Grandal on the bench for the second game in a row while the veteran backstop is stuck in a prolonged slump at the plate. Though he's ridden a sky-high 30.2 percent walk rate to a stellar .391 on-base average, Grandal has struggled to find holes in the defense when he's been able to make contact. He's sitting on a .136 batting average for the season, and his .120 BABIP and .177 XBA would seem to suggest that he hasn't been particularly unlucky. Zack Collins will be behind the plate for the second game in a row, but he doesn't appear to have unseated Grandal for the No. 1 catching job. In fact, La Russa told James Fegan of The Athletic that he plans to have Grandal start three games in a row beginning Thursday.

Higashioka went 2-for-4 with an RBI in Tuesday's loss to the Blue Jays.

Higashioka got the start at catcher with Gary Sanchez operating as the designated hitter Tuesday, and the backup backstop made his presence felt with his first multi-hit outing of the month. The 31-year-old veteran is only hitting .200, though, and with Sanchez ahead of him, steady playing time will remain hard to come by.

Stassi (concussion) is expected to begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Salt Lake this week and could rejoin the active roster next week, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports.

The 30-year-old has been sidelined by a concussion since early April, but he recently resumed baseball activities and could soon rejoin the Halos. Drew Butera and Kurt Suzuki should continue to split time behind the plate until Stassi is fully cleared.

Grandal is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Cardinals.

Grandal is hitting just .136 on the season but is a solidly above-average hitter according to his 126 wRC+. He's far more valuable in leagues that use on-base percentage, as an incredible 29.5 percent walk rate has helped him to an excellent .391 mark in that category despite his awful batting average. He'll get a rest Tuesday with Zack Collins starting behind the plate.

Haase is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against Cleveland.

Two of Haase's last three starts have come in left field, but he'll likely see most of his work behind the plate for the foreseeable future after Wilson Ramos (back) joined Grayson Greiner (hamstring) on the 10-day injured list Monday. Jake Rogers will get a turn behind the dish Tuesday while Haase rests after he caught all nine innings in Monday's 6-5 loss while going 0-for-5 with three strikeouts.

Murphy isn't in the starting lineup for Monday's game against the Athletics.

The Mariners will turn to a left-handed bat in Jose Godoy against a right-hander hurler Monday evening, resulting in a second straight day off for Murphy. Godoy is batting seventh in Murphy's absence.

Hedges isn't starting Monday's game against the Tigers.

Hedges had started each of the last five games and went 2-for-15 with a run, an RBI, two walks and five strikeouts during that time. Rene Rivera will start behind the dish and bat ninth.

Haase is serving as the starting catcher in Monday's game against Cleveland.

Haase had started in seven of the last eight games, as he saw increased playing time in left field. Wilson Ramos (back) was placed on the injured list Monday, so Haase will likely serve as the primary catcher while Ramos and Grayson Greiner (hamstring) are sidelined. In his last seven games, Haase has gone 8-for-27 with two home runs, a double, four RBI, three runs and seven strikeouts.

Godoy went 1-for-4 with an RBI single in a loss to the Padres on Sunday.

Just recalled from Triple-A Tacoma on Thursday, Sunday's lopsided loss saw Godoy garner his first major-league RBI via his first career hit in the ninth inning. The 26-year-old catcher has put together some solid offensive performances over various minor-league stops in both the Cardinals' and Mariners' organizations, so it will be interesting to track his development now that he's finally made it to the highest level.

Jansen is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Rays.

Jansen will cede catching duties to Reese McGuire in the series finale after he was behind the plate Saturday and Sunday. After going 0-for-5 between those two starts, Jansen's season-long batting average sits at .137, the lowest mark in MLB among all players with at least 100 plate appearances.