MLB Player News

Rodriguez (hip) is starting behind the plate and batting seventh Friday against the Marlins.

The 26-year-old exited Wednesday's game against the Dodgers due to left hip discomfort but is ready to rejoin the lineup for Friday's series opener versus the Marlins. Since going 2-for-4 with a double and a homer June 2, Rodriguez has just one hit in 16 at-bats over his past seven contests.

Atlanta released Handley on Friday.

Handley was claimed off waivers from Baltimore on May 21 and was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett, where he played in five games over the past couple weeks. The journeyman catcher has a .324/.415/.382 slash line in 41 plate appearances in the minor leagues this season.

The Blue Jays designated Heineman for assignment Friday.

Alejandro Kirk (thumb) is back from the injured list, and the Blue Jays have elected to keep Brandon Valenzuela around as his backup rather than Heineman. Heineman is hitting only .154/.205/.205 this season and could clear waivers, though if that happens he would have the ability to elect free agency.

The Blue Jays activated Kirk (thumb) from the 60-day injured list Friday.

A broken left thumb sent Kirk to the injured list just five games into the season, but he's ready to rejoin the Blue Jays after fully recovering from surgery to repair the fracture. The 27-year-old went 3-for-18 with a homer and a double during his six-game rehab assignment and should immediately reclaim the starting job behind the plate for Toronto. Brandon Valenzuela will fill the backup job with Tyler Heineman being designated for assignment as part of Friday's transactions.

Gasper will start at designated hitter and bat leadoff in Friday's contest versus the Rangers.

Regular leadoff man Jarren Duran has been moved down to the No. 5 spot in the Boston lineup. Gasper is making his sixth straight start, but he's just 2-for-19 at the dish in the first five of those contests.

Baldwin (oblique) will report to Triple-A Gwinnett on Saturday to begin a rehab assignment, Barrett Sallee of 680 The Fan Atlanta reports.

The 25-year-old catcher was able to progress to taking live batting practice this week and has now been cleared for game action after recovering from the oblique strain that sent him to the injured list in mid-May. Assuming all goes well with Gwinnett, Baldwin could be back in Atlanta for the start of the team's next homestand, which begins Tuesday versus the Giants.

Crooks went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer in Thursday's 5-4 loss to the Mets.

Crooks put the Cardinals ahead 4-3 in the second inning with his 374-foot blast off Christian Scott, his first long ball this season. Since he was called up May 29, Crooks has been part of a committee behind the plate with Ivan Herrera and Pedro Pages, going 4-for-22 (.182) with a .614 OPS across seven games. Crooks appeared in 15 games with St. Louis in 2025, slashing .133/.152/.244 with one home run.

Flores went 2-for-3 with a solo home run, a double, a second RBI and a walk in Thursday's 8-6 loss to the Dodgers.

Flores got the start behind the plate as the Pirates deal with a bit of a crisis at catcher. Endy Rodriguez (hip) was banged up from Wednesday's game, while Henry Davis (paternity) and Joey Bart (foot) were both unavailable. This was just the ninth game of Flores' big-league career, and he delivered a homer in the fifth inning to get Pittsburgh on the board. His stay in the majors is likely to be short, but he could get another game or two before heading back to Triple-A Indianapolis.

Rutschman went 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, three RBI and one run scored in Thursday's 7-5 win over the Mariners.

Rutschman had missed three games with left hamstring tightness before returning as the designated hitter Thursday. He is batting .393 (11-for-28) over seven contests in June, so getting his bat back in the lineup is big for Baltimore. The catcher is hitting .273 with an .848 OPS, eight home runs, 39 RBI, 26 runs scored, 15 doubles and a triple over 49 games this season.

Kelly went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Thursday's 9-3 win over the Rockies.

A day after getting a break from the starting lineup, Kelly returned with his third home run of the season. The Chicago catcher has been a steady enough hitter with a .282 batting average and .731 OPS across 51 games, though Thursday's long ball was his first since April 18. The power has been noticeably down from 2025, when Kelly went deep 17 times in 111 regular-season contests.