MLB Player News

Jeffers is out of the lineup for Monday's game against Cleveland.

Jeffers will take a seat after starting four of the last six games behind the plate. While his heavier workload of late would suggest that he's leapfrogged Mitch Garver on the depth chart, Jeffers is far from locked in as the No. 1 option due to his abysmal start to the season as a hitter. Jeffers' .393 OPS places ahead of only four other catchers (Danny Jansen, Luis Campusano, Martin Maldonado and Elias Diaz) with at least 30 plate appearances in 2021.

Perez (thumb) will start at catcher and bat third Tuesday in Pittsburgh.

Perez looked like a strong candidate to receive his first day off of the season Tuesday after he exited Monday's 3-2 win over the Tigers with a jammed thumb, but he'll keep his ironman streak intact, as the injury was apparently only a minor concern. The 30-year-old backstop has played an integral role in the Royals' MLB-best 14-7 start to the season, posting a .771 OPS while shepherding a pitching staff that has exceeded expectations thus far.

Perez went 0-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base in Monday's 5-3 extra-inning win over the Twins.

Speed isn't part of Perez's game -- his only other major-league stolen base came in 2018. The catcher got aboard with a walk in the seventh inning and stole second base. The 32-year-old has a .167/.333/.375 slash line with three home runs, nine RBI and six runs scored across 60 plate appearances as Cleveland's primary catcher.

Murphy went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run in Monday's 2-1 win over the Rays.

He took Rich Hill deep in the fourth inning, giving Sean Manaea and the A's bullpen all the offense they would need. Murphy is still climbing out of his 0-for-14 slump to begin the season, but over his last 11 games he's gone a somewhat more palatable 8-for-36 (.222) with two homers and seven RBI.

Murphy, who went 1-for-3 with an RBI double and a run in a loss to the Red Sox on Sunday, was 0-for-17 with a walk and two runs over the previous six games.

The veteran backstop's season slash sits at an anemic .128/.171/.231 across 41 plate appearances heading into Monday night's series opener against the Astros. Murphy has just two total extra-base hits when factoring in Sunday's double as well, but his 41.7 percent hard hit rate and atypically low .174 BABIP imply the hits could start falling more often as the season unfolds. The saving grace for Murphy and his fantasy managers at the moment is that platoon mate Luis Torrens isn't offering much more with his bat, posting a .176/.236/.216 line in his own right across 55 PAs.

Mejia is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Athletics, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports.

Mike Zunino will get a turn behind the plate after Mejia had caught in three of the last four games. Zunino remains the superior defensive option of the two, but Mejia appears to have shown enough improvement in that area early on during his first season in Tampa Bay to turn the Rays' catching situation into more of a timeshare than it has been in recent years. Both backstops have gotten off to strong starts with the bat as well, but Zunino's track record offers less hope that he can maintain his hot start than Mejia.

Garver is out of the lineup for Monday's game against Cleveland, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

With Ryan Jeffers behind home plate for the fourth time in six games, Garver may be Option 1B at catcher for the Twins at this point. Though Jeffers is only a modest upgrade from Garver defensively, that may be enough to give him the edge in playing time while Garver's struggles at the dish from 2020 have carried over to the new season. Garver has struck out in 24 of his 53 plate appearances (45.3 percent), and his 5.7 percent walk rate would be the lowest mark of his career.

Perez was removed in the bottom of the sixth inning of Monday's game against the Tigers after jamming his thumb earlier in the contest, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports. He went 1-for-3 with a double before departing.

The thumb injury resulted in a disappointing end to Perez's 1,000th career game in the big leagues. Per Rogers, Perez appeared to suffer the injury during a play at the plate in the third inning, but he was initially able to stay in the game after being evaluated by a team trainer. Cam Gallagher ended up replacing Perez three innings later, however, and the 30-year-old backstop's status for the remainder of the week is now uncertain. The Royals will presumably send Perez in for further tests on his thumb before an update on his condition is provided ahead of the team's two-game series in Pittsburgh that begins Tuesday.

Jeffers will start at catcher and bat ninth Monday against Cleveland, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Set to make his fourth start in six games, Jeffers appears to have at least temporarily supplanted Mitch Garver as Minnesota's top catcher. Jeffers isn't a dramatic upgrade over Garver from a defensive standpoint, so he'll likely need to show some improvement at the plate to ensure he remains atop the depth chart on a long-term basis. Jeffers enters Monday's contest with a .442 OPS and 48.5 percent strikeout rate in 33 plate appearances on the season.

Collins went 3-for-3 with a walk and a run scored in Sunday's 8-4 win over the Rangers.

All three of Collins' hits were singles, but it was his third-inning walk that got him on base before he scored on a Nick Madrigal triple. Collins has one home run, five RBI, three runs scored and a .206/.289/.324 slash line across 38 plate appearances. He entered Sunday in an 0-for-15 skid.