MLB Player News

Jeffers (thumb) will head to Florida to begin baseball activities, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

Jeffers continues to set his sights on a return during the team's final homestand of the 2022 regular season, which runs from Sept. 27 to Sept. 29 against the White Sox. His progress over the next few weeks will likely dictate whether he can meet this goal. Jeffers has been on the 10-day IL since undergoing surgery to repair an avulsion fracture of his right thumb July 20.

Heineman is no longer in the starting lineup for Monday's game against Milwaukee, Mike Persak of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Heineman was initially penciled into the starting lineup behind the dish, but he's since been removed due "manager's discretion," per Persak. Jason Delay will handle the catching duties and bat ninth as a result.

Trevino (foot) is in the lineup for Monday's game against the Angels.

Trevino sat out the last two days after being struck by a pitch on the foot in Friday's game, but he is ready to return to action. He will line up behind the plate and hit seventh Monday night.

Stassi isn't starting Monday against the Yankees, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports.

Stassi has lost out on some playing time recently and will head to the bench for the fourth time in the last five games. Matt Thaiss is starting at catcher and batting eighth.

Sanchez isn't in the lineup Monday against the Red Sox.

Sanchez is out of the lineup for the second time in the last three games after he went 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts Sunday. Sandy Leon is starting behind the plate and batting ninth.

Plawecki is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Twins, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Plawecki is on the bench for the second game in a row, as Reese McGuire will handle catching duties in the series opener in Minnesota after going 1-for-3 with a walk and a double in Sunday's 12-4 loss to the Rays. The two backstops will likely continue to share work behind the plate until one clearly separates himself from the other from a performance standpoint.

Fortes is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Dodgers, Paige Leckie of MLB.com reports.

Fortes will take a seat after he started in three of the past four games -- twice at catcher and once at designated hitter -- while going 2-for-12 with a solo home run and a walk. Jacob Stallings is behind the plate Monday, while Garrett Cooper is serving as the Marlins' DH.

Fermin was named the International League Player of the Week on Monday.

Fermin was a force for Triple-A Omaha. In six games versus Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the catcher delivered six home runs, 12 RBI and nine runs scored, batting .368 (7-for-19). The impressive week nearly doubled his power output for the year -- he's up to 13 homers, 47 RBI, 34 runs scored and a .274/.376/.511 slash line through 68 contests at the Triple-A level. He's still no higher than fourth on the Royals' organizational catching depth chart.

Perez went 3-for-5 with a two-run home run and an additional run scored in a 15-7 win over the Padres on Sunday.

Perez went deep to left-center for his 18th home run of the 2022 campaign. He got off to a terribly cold start this season and was sidelined on a couple of occasions mid-season due to a thumb injury that eventually required surgery. Perez has been better since coming off the IL, and he came into the game slashing .280/.318/.430 with four home runs in August. He has hit at least 20 home runs in each full season of play dating back to 2015 and looks to be on the precipice of achieving that feat once again this year.

Hedges went 1-for-3 with a stolen base in Sunday's 4-0 loss to the Mariners.

Hedges singled and stole second as the Guardians attempted a rally in the sixth inning, but Mariners starter Robbie Ray was able to escape trouble. The steal was Hedges' second of the year, his most in any season since 2018. The catcher is batting .214 (9-for-42) with two doubles in August. That's a little better than his .183/.263/.277 slash line for the season through 80 contests. Luke Maile has been the better hitter of the Guardians' backstops in August, but Hedges' defense keeps him in the No. 1 role.