MLB Player News

Thaiss was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake on Monday, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

The 26-year-old was promoted from Salt Lake last week and will return there after appearing in only two games for the Angels. He was expected to help fill in at first base with Jared Walsh (chest) on the injured list, but Thaiss will instead make a quick return to the minors. Phil Gosselin should continue to dominate the work at first base until Walsh is healthy.

Perez is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Blue Jays.

Since returning from the 60-day injured list July 3, Perez has settled into a near-equal timeshare with Austin Hedges after previously serving as Cleveland's clear No. 1 catcher. In Cleveland's last 24 games with both backstops active, Perez has picked up 13 starts, while Hedges will be behind the plate Monday for the 11th time during that stretch. Expect the starts between the two catchers to remain relatively equitable the rest of the way.

Heim went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's 4-3 win over Seattle.

What a series for the 26-year-old Heim, who homered in three consecutive games against the Mariners and went 5-for-12 with four long balls and six RBI. That, however, takes a back seat to the theatrics provided. Sunday's solo shot in the ninth inning was the second walk-off blast in two days.

Gomes went 2-for-5 with a home run and three RBI in Sunday's 8-3 win over the Angels.

Gomes made his Athletics debut Sunday, homering in his second at-bat for his new team. In addition, he knocked in Jed Lowrie on a single in the fifth frame. The catcher is slashing .274/.325/.791 with 10 long balls, 38 RBI and 31 runs scored in 230 plate appearances. He has been hot on offense, batting .435 with two homers and eight RBI over his last seven games.

Stassi went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run in Sunday's 8-3 loss to the Athletics.

Stassi homered off Daulton Jefferies in the first inning to give the Angels a 2-0 lead. In addition, he added a single in the ninth inning. The catcher is slashing .310/.385/.555 with 10 long balls, 24 RBI and 30 runs in 174 plate appearances this season. He is 10-for-22 with three homers over his last six games. His ability to get on base has earned him the cleanup spot in the batting order.

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

Murphy will receive some maintenance after he caught each of the last six games. While he remains atop the depth chart in the aftermath of the trade deadline, Murphy could cede more work to newly acquired backup Yan Gomes than Oakland's previous No. 2 option in Aramis Garcia, who has since been optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas.

Hedges is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the White Sox.

Though he'll be taking a seat in favor of Roberto Perez for the series finale, Hedges appears to have emerged as Cleveland's preferred backstop. After going 2-for-4 with a home run in Saturday's 12-11 win, Hedges is batting .280 since the All-Star break.

Zavala will start at catcher and bat ninth Sunday against Cleveland.

Fresh off Saturday's historic three-homer performance -- which marked the first three long balls of his MLB career -- Zavala will be rewarded with his fourth start in five games. He looks to have moved ahead of Zack Collins on the depth chart at catcher, but both backstops will see their opportunities dwindle whenever Yasmani Grandal (knee) is deemed fit to return from the 10-day injured list.

Kirk is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Royals.

Kirk will get a breather after he caught both of the Blue Jays' past two games, during which he went 2-for-5 with a walk and a run. Reese McGuire will be behind the dish in the series finale.

Heim went 2-for-4 with two home runs and four RBI in Saturday's 5-4 extra-inning win over the Mariners.

He got the Rangers on the board with a two-run shot in the fifth inning off Tyler Anderson, then walked it off in the 10th with another two-run blast off Spencer Patton. Heim has gone yard three times in the last two games to boost his homer total on the season to seven, but he's slashing just .189/.211/.459 through 10 games since the All-Star break. Jose Trevino, or eventually Sam Huff, remain threats to his playing time.