MLB Player News

Diaz will start at catcher and bat eighth in Monday's game versus the White Sox.

Diaz is earning a second start in a row after homering in Sunday's win over the Angels. It's the first time since Danny Jansen returned from the injured list last week that either he or Diaz has started two straight tilts. Logan O'Hoppe is also on the Rangers' active roster, and the club could continue to rotate the three players in the catcher spot.

Hicks is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Tigers, Ryan Bass of Rays.tv reports.

The Rays will keep Hicks on the bench along with fellow left-handed hitters Richie Palacios and Cedric Mullins while the Tigers send lefty Framber Valdez to the bump for the series opener. Nick Fortes will spell Hicks behind the plate and will bat seventh.

Fortes will start at catcher and bat seventh in Monday's game against the Tigers, Ryan Bass of Rays.tv reports.

With lefty Framber Valdez on the hill for the Tigers, the Rays will send the left-handed-hitting Liam Hicks to the bench to open up a start for Fortes behind the plate. So long as Hicks is healthy, Fortes is likely to see the bulk of his playing time versus lefties, against whom he's slashing .254/.321/.339 across 133 plate appearances on the season.

Serven went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run in Sunday's 7-6 win over the Astros.

Serven put the Athletics on the board in the fifth inning, launching a three-run homer off Cristian Javier that chased the right-hander from the game and jump-started an eventual six-run comeback. Serven hasn't hit for much average since being recalled July 26, going just 9-for-39 (.231) across 13 games, but he's provided plenty of power. Four of his nine hits have left the yard, and he's driven in 11 runs during that span.

Diaz went 1-for-2 with a home run and two RBI in Sunday's 5-3 win over the Angels.

Diaz brought home a run with a sacrifice fly in his first trip to the plate before taking Yusei Kikuchi deep for a solo homer in the fifth inning. The performance snapped a rough stretch for the veteran catcher, who entered Sunday in a 3-for-20 slump without an RBI during that span. Through 172 plate appearances this season, Diaz is slashing .233/.253/.399 with six homers, nine doubles, 22 RBI and 15 runs scored, and he faces a tough battle to get regular playing time with Danny Jansen healthy and Logan O'Hoppe now on the big-league roster.

The Rays will promote Bodine from Double-A Montgomery to Triple-A Durham during the upcoming week.

The 22-year-old catcher will jump up to the highest rung of the minors after slashing .316/.397/.447 with five home runs and five steals in 179 plate appearances at Montgomery. Liam Hicks is locked in as the Rays' primary backstop at the big-league level for the foreseeable future, but Bodine could be a candidate to work in tandem with him at some point in 2027.

Jeffers is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Padres.

Jeffers will get a rest Sunday after he started behind the plate for the first two contests of the series in San Diego. Victor Caratini will assume catching duties for the Twins in the finale.

Bailey is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rockies.

Bailey will be rested after starting the previous three contests. Austin Hedges will handle catching duties for the series finale in Colorado.

The Rangers recalled O'Hoppe from Triple-A Round Rock on Sunday. He'll start at designated hitter and bat seventh in the series finale versus the Angels.

O'Hoppe will be making his Rangers debut against his former Angels squad, after he was traded in late July and subsequently optioned to Round Rock, where he slashed .292/.386/.556 with three home runs over 84 plate appearances. Though he'll serve as the DH on Sunday, he's not expected to be anything more than a short-side platoon option at that spot. O'Hoppe will primarily be vying with Danny Jansen for playing time behind the dish.

Diaz is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Athletics.

Diaz will head to the bench after starting the first two contests of the series. Christian Vazquez will handle catching duties in the finale.