MLB Player News

Murphy is out of the lineup for Game 2 of Saturday's doubleheader against the Astros.

Murphy started the first game and went 0-for-2, so it's hardly a surprise he's on the bench for the nightcap. Jonah Heim will work behind the plate in Game 2 for the A's.

Sanchez is not in the starting lineup against the Mets on Saturday.

Sanchez is hitting just .130 with 37 strikeouts across 77 at-bats and will receive a routine day off Saturday. Erik Kratz will get the nod behind the dish in his place.

Jeffers is not in the starting lineup for Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader with the Twins

It is quite unusual for Jeffers to be out of the lineup against a southpaw, in this case Matt Boyd, but the Tigers are also starting a lefty in game 2. Jeffers figures to be reinserted into the lineup for the second half of the twin bill while Alex Avila gets the nod behind the plate in the first game.

Gallagher isn't in Saturday's lineup against the White Sox.

Gallagher went hitless in three at-bats Friday, and he'll take a seat for Saturday's contest. Meibrys Viloria will start at catcher.

Perez isn't in Saturday's lineup against the Cardinals.

Perez reached base four times and knocked in one run Friday, but he'll retreat to the bench for the second game of the series. Sandy Leon will start behind the dish.

Grandal went 2-for-5 with a solo home run in Friday's 6-5 win over the Royals.

Grandal mashed a walkoff homer to give the White Sox the victory, which elevated them to a first-place tie with the Twins in the AL Central. If not for an incident in the top of the ninth inning, in which the catcher was involved, Grandal's bottom-of-the-ninth heroics would not have been required. Following a rundown, first baseman Jose Abreu threw home to nail Bubba Starling trying to score, but Grandal wasn't expecting the throw, believing the play was dead. He more than made up for his mental miscue with his fourth home run.

Perez went 3-for-5 with an RBI single in Friday's 14-2 win over the Cardinals.

All three of Perez's hits were singles, and the one he had in the sixth inning scored Carlos Santana. The 31-year-old Perez is slashing only .167/.318/.167 with two RBI and a run scored in 11 games. He will typically share catching duties with Sandy Leon.

Perez (eye) visited an eye specialist this week and remains without an official timeline for his return, Lynn Worthy of The Kansas City Star reports.

The 30-year-old was diagnosed with central serious chorioretinopathy (fluid accumulation under the retina) after landing on the injured list Aug. 18, but there's been no indication of when he may be able to rejoin the team. Perez is eligible to be activated off the injured list Friday, but he should be considered out indefinitely until the team indicates otherwise. Cam Gallagher and Meibrys Viloria should continue to split catching duties during his absence.

Higashioka (oblique) took at-bats and caught in a simulated game at the Yankees' alternate training site Thursday, Conor Foley of the Scranton Times-Tribune reports.

Higashioka has been out since Aug. 8 with a strained right oblique. Manager Aaron Boone indicated Aug. 19 that the backstop wasn't close to returning, but an additional week of recovery seems to have pushed Higashioka to the brink of rejoining the team. Assuming Thursday's session went off without a hitch, Higashioka should come off the injured list in the near future. He would presumably resume his backup role to Gary Sanchez upon his return.

Trevino started at catcher and batted third, going 1-for-4 in Wednesday's 3-1 loss to the Athletics.

Trevino, who started the season batting in the lower third of the order, was moved up the three hole, a spot where the Rangers need production. The team's No. 3 hitters went into Wednesday's game slashing .137/.183/.205. He posted an .893 OPS in eight games while batting eighth or ninth, so Trevino became the sixth No. 3 hitter tried this season. Joey Gallo would appear to solve the issue for the Rangers, but manager Chris Woodward told T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com that he doesn't feel comfortable there. "I'm hoping that we eventually get to that point, where he feels really, really comfortable about being in that spot," Woodward said. "Maybe it isn't the best spot for him. There is a comfort factor, obviously, when you're a major league hitter."