MLB Player News

Jansen hit a pinch hit, two-run home run in Saturday's loss against the Yankees.

Jansen came up clutch in the eighth inning with a two-run shot of Wandy Peralta that tied the scored at 2-2. That's the first homer of the season for the backup backstop, and his first runs driven in since April 15 against the Rays. Jansen was solid with the bat in 2022 with an .855 OPS over 215 at-bats, but his .139/.244/.222 slash even with that homer against the Yankees on Saturday gives an indication of just how much he's struggled over the first few weeks of 2023.

Bethancourt will be on the bench Saturday against the White Sox, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Bethancourt has been the primary backstop in Tampa Bay this season, but not by a wide margin. He's started 12 games behind the plate, while Saturday's starter Francisco Mejia will be getting the call for the ninth time.

Ruiz will sit Saturday against the Twins.

Ruiz has handled a very heavy workload behind the plate this season, starting 17 of the team's first 19 games. Riley Adams will get the nod in Game 20.

Gomes will sit Saturday against the Dodgers, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Gomes will be on the bench against Dustin May, meaning he's now sat against the last four righties the Cubs have faced. He was starting against righties early in the year, but it's possible he could continue to find himself primarily starting against southpaws going forward. Gomes' .671 OPS in 12 games isn't particularly good, though it's better than Saturday's catcher Tucker Barnhart's .486 OPS.

Grandal went 2-for-4 with a double, a walk and two runs scored Friday against the Rays.

Grandal reached base in each of his first two plate appearances and came around to score on each occasion. He now has five multi-hit performances across 16 games this season, which has led to a strong .279 average. Grandal has homered only once but also has seven doubles, allowing him to tally six RBI and five runs scored across 68 plate appearances.

Heim went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run and a walk in Friday's 5-4 loss to the Athletics.

Heim was part of a four-run outburst in the first inning, but starter Jon Gray gave it all back, and Texas dropped the first game of the series. It was the second straight at-bat with a three-run home run for Heim, who finished off Thursday's win over the Royals with a ninth-inning homer. He has four homers and 14 RBI through 14 games. With news that Mitch Garver (knee) will need at least another month, Heim will continue on as the primary catcher. He thrived last season in the role until slumping after July when he reached a career high in plate appearances.

Texas general manager Chris Young said Friday that Garver (knee) will be out at least another month, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports.

There has been mixed and unclear messaging since Garver landed on the injured list after tweaking his left knee during a game April 8. At that time, it was believed to be a minor injury, but then an MRI exam revealed a more significant sprain. Earlier this week, manager Bruce Bochy said Garver would need about four weeks to recover. The Rangers' official site provided an update Friday, attributed to Bochy, that Garver will be out for five to six weeks, and it's unclear if that's five to six weeks from the time of the injury or from the most recent update. It's looking like a mid-May return at the earliest for Garver. In the meantime, Jonah Heim and Sandy Leon will hold down catching duties.

Bethancourt went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's 8-7 win over the White Sox.

With the Rays down 7-5 heading into the bottom of the ninth and staring at their first home loss of the season, Bethancourt kicked off the game-winning rally by squeaking an opposite-field shot just over the right-field wall. It's the catcher's third long ball as part of his six-game hitting streak, and he's now hitting .268 (11-for-41) on the year with four homers, seven RBI and nine runs in 12 contests.

Moreno went 3-for-4 with three RBI and a run scored in Friday's 9-0 win over San Diego.

Moreno delivers with runners in scoring position. The catcher is 7-for-17 with a 1.036 OPS when given an opportunity to plate runners. This week alone, he's driven in seven runs and vaulted to the team lead with 12 RBI over 16 games while batting in the lower third of the order.

Wallach went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in Friday's victory over the Royals.

Wallach was called up after Logan O'Hoppe (shoulder) was placed on the 10-day injured list. In his first big league appearance of 2023, he provided the only offense of the night with his two-run shot. The 30-year-old is a .199 career hitter with five homers in 91 career games, however.