MLB Player News

The Angels signed Porter to a minor-league contract Friday, Ari Alexander of 7 News Boston reports.

Porter was designated for assignment by the Giants on Monday. He elected free agency after being outrighted to Triple-A Sacramento, and he'll get a new opportunity with the Angels and report to Triple-A Salt Lake. Porter has spent the entire 2026 season in the minors, where he is slashing .241/.292/.362 with 10 RBI and four extra-base hits across 65 plate appearances.

Jansen is not in the Rangers' starting lineup against the Guardians on Friday.

Jansen will be on the bench for the start of Friday's contest while Kyle Higashioka starts behind home plate and bats eighth while catching pitches from Kumar Rocker. Jansen has gone 7-for-56 (.125) with one steal, two home runs and five RBI since May 1.

Langeliers went 2-for-4 with a pair of home runs and three total RBI in a loss to the Cubs on Thursday.

Langeliers socked a solo home run in the fourth inning before tallying an inside-the-park homer two innings later on a misplay in center field. It was still officially the third multi-homer game of the campaign for Langeliers, who leads MLB backstops with 16 long balls and ranks fifth with 33 RBI. Langeliers had batted just .145 with no multi-hit performance over his previous 16 games coming into Thursday, though five of his nine hits during that span had gone for extra bases. Despite that recent downturn, Langeliers seems to have a strong chance of earning his first All-Star bid, as he's posting a .915 OPS through 56 contests.

The Astros selected Price's contract from Triple-A Sugar Land on Thursday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Price will receive his first promotion to the majors after slashing .235/.360/.476 with 10 homers, 26 RBI and 19 runs in 47 games at Sugar Land. Cesar Salazar was designated for assignment in a corresponding move, so the door is open for Price to work as Houston's backup catcher until Yainer Diaz (oblique) returns from the injured list.

Valenzuela isn't in the lineup for Thursday's game against Atlanta.

Valenzuela will step out of the starting nine Thursday after going 1-for-6 with a solo homer and three strikeouts across the first two games of the series. Tyler Heineman will fill in as Toronto's catcher and bat eighth.

Diaz (oblique) has been hitting, throwing and catching bullpen sessions during workouts this week and is close to heading out on a rehab assignment, MLB.com reports.

The Astros haven't offered up an official timeline for Diaz's return from the left oblique strain that sent him to the injured list May 5, but if he's cleared to join a minor-league affiliate within the next few days, he could have a realistic shot at rejoining the big club by the middle of June. Since Diaz was deactivated, Christian Vazquez has taken over as the Astros' No. 1 catcher, with Cesar Salazar serving as Vazquez's backup.

Wells is absent from the lineup for Thursday's contest against the Guardians.

After starting each of the last four games at catcher, Wells will get a well-earned break during Thursday's matinee. J.C. Escarra will be behind the plate and bat eighth for the Yankees.

Bailey is not in the lineup for Thursday's tilt versus the Yankees.

Bailey started at catcher in the first two games of the series, so it will be Austin Hedges behind the dish for the Guardians on Thursday afternoon. Since arriving in Cleveland via trade, Bailey has made 12 starts at catcher, while Hedges has started 11 games and David Fry has started one.

Gasper is not in the lineup for Thursday's game versus the Orioles.

Gasper had started the previous three games and six of the last eight tilts, but he'll take a seat for Thursday's matinee. Carlos Narvaez is doing the catching for the Red Sox in the rubber match.

Gasper went 1-for-4 with a walk, a triple, two RBI and a run scored in Wednesday's 8-1 win over Baltimore.

Gasper took advantage of Orioles outfielder Blaze Alexander losing a ball in the twilight and reached third base for his first MLB triple and his first three-base hit at any level since 2022. He started at catcher for the fifth time in the last eight games and extended a hit streak to six consecutive contests. Gasper's been elevated to the primary backstop against right-handers and is 17-for-48 (.354) against them this season.