MLB Player News

Casali went 1-for-4 with a two-run double and a run in a win over the Tigers on Thursday.

Casali's fourth-inning two-bagger brought home J.P. Crawford and Sam Haggerty with the fourth and fifth runs of the day for the Mariners. The veteran backstop has only appeared in five games since making his Seattle debut Aug. 14, a sample during which he's hit just .133 (2-for-15).

Amaya (finger) returned to the Double-A Tennessee lineup Tuesday and has started at designated hitter in each of the club's last three games, going 3-for-12 with a double, a walk, an RBI and a run.

Amaya was out of action for nearly two weeks while recovering from a dislocated ring finger on his left hand, but it's apparently no longer an issue for him, at least while swinging a bat. The 23-year-old will be limited to DH duty for Tennessee the rest of the season as he also underwent Tommy John surgery last winter, but the Cubs expect him to resume his duties behind the plate in the Arizona Fall League, per Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Daily Herald.

Langeliers went 2-for-5 with a double, a home run and three RBI on Thursday against the Nationals.

Langeliers led off the fifth inning with his third career homer. Five frames later, he delivered a two-RBI double that gave Oakland a short-lived lead. Entering the game, Langeliers was hitless across his last 13 at-bats with seven strikeouts. In 58 big-league plate appearances, Langeliers has maintained a .232/.241/.518 with a 43.1 percent strikeout rate.

Narvaez isn't starting Thursday against Arizona, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

Narvaez started three of the last four games and went 1-for-9 with two runs, an RBI, three walks and a strikeout. He'll get a breather while Victor Caratini takes over at catcher and bats eighth.

Diaz's contract was selected from Triple-A Sugar Land on Thursday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Diaz has been productive at Sugar Land this season but has been particularly dominant at the plate over the last two weeks. He's put together eight multi-hit performances over the last 12 games and has slashed .393/.443/.661 with four home runs, three doubles, 17 runs and 14 RBI over that stretch. The 23-year-old will provide catching depth for the Astros, but he also has experience at first base and the corner-outfield spots.

Sands was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Thursday.

The 26-year-old catcher will make his first appearance in the big leagues as rosters expand to 28 players in September. He's slashed .308/.413/.428 in Triple-A this season and figures to serve as depth behind the plate for Philadelphia.

Contreras is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Rockies.

After a recent three-game absence due to soreness in his surgically repaired right knee, Ronald Acuna has been eased back into the lineup the last two days as Atlanta's designated hitter. As a result, Atlanta won't have room in the starting nine for both Contreras and Travis d'Arnaud, who gets the nod behind the plate Thursday. Contreras caught in Wednesday's 3-2 win over Colorado while d'Arnaud sat out, finishing with two base hits in three at-bats to lift his season-long average to .272.

The Red Sox recalled Wong from Triple-A Worcester on Thursday.

Wong becomes the Red Sox's third catcher on the 28-man active roster, joining Reese McGuire and Kevin Plawecki. With neither of the other two backstops having established himself as Boston's clear No. 1 catcher, it wouldn't be surprising if Wong received an extended look at some point while the team remains out of contention for a playoff spot. Wong produced an .832 OPS over his 355 plate appearances at Worcester.

The Mets announced Thursday that Alvarez has been diagnosed with a loose body in his right ankle but won't need surgery to address the injury, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Alvarez, who hasn't played for Triple-A Syracuse since Aug. 23, will instead receive a pain-killing injection in the ankle with the hope of resuming baseball activities in 3-to-4 days. If the injection yields the desired effect and Alvarez responds well to workouts, he could slot back into the Triple-A lineup by mid-September. The time that Alvarez has missed in addition to his lackluster numbers at Syracuse since receiving a promotion from Double-A Binghamton in early July makes it unlikely that he'll get the call up to the Mets before the end of the season, even though the big club has received little production from catchers James McCann and Tomas Nido.

McGuire isn't starting Thursday against the Rangers, Bill Koch of The Providence Journal reports.

McGuire has recorded hits in each of his last five games but will head to the bench for a second consecutive matchup. Kevin Plawecki is starting behind the plate and batting ninth.