MLB Player News

Jansen is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the Tigers.

Jansen started the past two games and will take a seat Friday after going 1-for-6 with an RBI. Alejandro Kirk will move behind the plate while Zack Collins serves as the designated hitter.

Delay isn't starting Friday against Philadelphia.

Delay has had inconsistent playing time behind the dish following the All-Star break and will retreat to the bench for the fourth time in the last six games. Tyler Heineman is starting at catcher and batting ninth.

Perez (thumb) was reinstated from the 10-day injured list Friday.

Perez was given an eight-week recovery timeline after undergoing surgery to repair the UCL in his left thumb June 24, but he'll instead rejoin the active roster after spending only five weeks on the IL. The 32-year-old appeared in three games during his rehab assignment with Triple-A Omaha this week, and he apparently showed enough to gain full clearance. Perez will bat third as the designated hitter in his first game back with the Royals.

Trevino isn't starting Friday against the Royals.

Trevino started three of the last four games and went 5-for-12 with a double, a run, an RBI and three strikeouts. Kyle Higashioka is taking over behind the plate and batting ninth.

Smith went 2-for-5 with a double, a run and three RBI in Thursday's 13-0 rout of the Rockies.

Smith played his part in a big offensive game for Los Angeles, knocking in a run with a second-inning double and plating two more with a single in the fourth. The backstop had been struggling coming into the contest, going 1-for-25 over his previous seven games. Smith hasn't homered in over two weeks, but he is still tied for the lead among MLB catchers with 14 long balls on the campaign.

Herrera was optioned to Triple-A Memphis on Friday.

The 22-year-old joined the Cardinals for the two-game series against the Blue Jays this week and will now return to Triple-A. Herrera didn't appear in either contest for St. Louis and is unlikely to be a factor in the majors the rest of the year. He has a .295/.385/.432 slash line with three home runs and 21 RBI in 37 games for Memphis this season.

Heineman went 1-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored Thursday against the Phillies.

Heineman did all of his damage during a five-run rally in the ninth inning by delivering a two-run single, before coming around to score himself. Since the All-Star break, he has settled into a near-even timeshare with Jason Delay behind the plate, collecting three hits across 10 at-bats. Overall, Heineman has a .218/.269/.267 slash line across 110 plate appearances on the season.

Kirk went 2-for-3 with a walk, a double and an RBI in Thursday's win over the Tigers.

The 23-year-old hasn't let his first career All-Star appearance go to his head. Kirk has five multi-hit performances in his last 11 games dating back to July 12, batting .356 (16-for-45) over that stretch with two doubles and two homers to boost his slash line on the season to .316/.394/.490. Danny Jansen will likely see the majority of starts behind the plate now that he's healthy again, but Kirk will still be a fixture in the Blue Jays lineup while splitting his time between catcher and DH.

Bart (illness) went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in Thursday's 4-2 win over the Cubs.

Bart missed one game due to an illness. He's down to a .224 batting average with 21 strikeouts in 18 contests in July. While the 25-year-old is likely to see most of the starts behind the dish, his .180/.288/.331 slash line and 43.8 percent strikeout rate remain discouraging. Curt Casali (oblique) began a rehab assignment Wednesday, and he could threaten Bart's place on the 26-man roster once he returns, as the Giants may want their catcher of the future to work on his swing at Triple-A Sacramento rather than in the big leagues.

Bart (illness) is starting Thursday against the Cubs, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Bart left Tuesday's game early due to an illness and sat out Wednesday's series finale in Arizona. However, he'll start behind the dish and bat eighth during Thursday's game against the Cubs.