MLB Player News

Salazar was optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land on Thursday, Julia Morales of AT&T SportsNet Southwest reports.

Salazar has been back and forth between the majors and Triple-A several times this season, notching two hits in 18 total at-bats with the big club. Houston will operate with two catchers (Martin Maldonado and Yainer Diaz) for the time being.

Vazquez is not in Thursday's lineup against the Red Sox.

Vazquez is hitting .206 with one home run, three runs and five RBI in 14 games this month. Ryan Jeffers will start behind the dish and hit seventh.

Naylor is not in Thursday's lineup against the Athletics.

Naylor picked up his first big-league hit and also drew a walk and scored twice in Wednesday's game. Cam Gallagher will start behind the dish and bat ninth Thursday.

Murphy (hamstring) is not in Thursday's lineup against the Phillies but could still return this weekend in Cincinnati, Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports.

According to Bowman, Chadwick Tromp would have caught Thursday if Atlanta's game Wednesday hadn't been rained out, and Travis d'Arnaud will instead get the start for the day game. A stint on the injured list has not been ruled out for Murphy, and he should be considered questionable for this weekend's series.

McGuire was placed on the 10-day injured list Thursday with a right oblique strain, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

This move seemed inevitable once McGuire was designated with a strained oblique Wednesday. Caleb Hamilton was added to the roster to serve as Connor Wong's backup while McGuire is sidelined for at least a couple weeks.

Moreno is not in Thursday's lineup against the Nationals.

Carson Kelly gets his second start in the last three games, although Moreno had started four of the five games prior. Moreno is hitting .182 with a 33.3 percent strikeout rate in 15 games this month.

Diaz went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run in Wednesday's 10-8 win over the Mets.

Making his fourth straight start at DH, Diaz drove a first-pitch fastball from Dominic Leone onto the concourse beyond the Crawford Boxes in the fourth inning, giving the Astros a 9-6 lead they wouldn't relinquish. The 24-year-old rookie has taken full advantage of the absence of Yordan Alvarez (oblique), hitting safely in five straight games to continue a hot stretch that has seen Diaz slash .339/.344/.729 over his last 16 contests with six of his seven homers on the season.

Heim went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run and an additional run scored in Wednesday's 6-3 win over the White Sox.

Heim has homered three times over his last five contests, but this was his first multi-hit effort since June 13. The catcher's power surge has him up to 10 homers on the year, six shy of matching his total from last year. He's enjoyed a breakout year with a .276/.327/.465 slash line, 54 RBI, 38 runs scored and two stolen bases through 65 contests as a fairly regular part of the lineup for a strong offense.

Fermin went 3-for-4 with two doubles, two RBI and one run scored in Wednesday's 9-4 loss to the Tigers.

After failing to record a double through his first 70 plate appearances in 2023, Fermin smacked two of them Wednesday and came around to score for the first time since May 12. The multi-hit effort was just his third of the campaign and his first since May 11. His performance snapped a cold spell -- he had collected just four hits over his prior 36 at-bats (.111).

McGuire was removed from Wednesday's game against the Twins due to a right oblique strain, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Still no word on the severity of McGuire's injury, but manager Alex Cora said a stint on the injured list is likely, per Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican. With McGuire presumably set to miss multiple weeks, the Red Sox could select Caleb Hamilton from Triple-A Worcester to temporarily serve as Connor Wong's backup.