MLB Player News

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.

Hedges is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Red Sox.

Luke Maile will draw the starting nod behind the plate in place of Hedges, who caught each of the Guardians' last four games. Hedges has opened the Guardians' post-All-Star-break schedule by going 3-for-14 with home run and two RBI over six games.

Delay isn't starting Thursday against the Phillies.

Delay has alternated starts behind the plate recently and will head to the bench for the third time in the last five games. Tyler Heineman is starting at catcher and batting ninth.

Realmuto is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Pirates.

Realmuto will sit for the second time in the second half after he was behind the dish for all three games of the Phillies' series with Atlanta earlier this week. Garrett Stubbs will check in behind the dish for Thursday's series opener, but expect Realmuto to start at either catcher or designated hitter for the remaining three games in Pittsburgh.

Rogers (elbow) took live batting practice Tuesday against rehabbing lefty Joey Wentz (shoulder) at the Tigers' spring training complex in Florida, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

Rogers remains on track to come off the 60-day injured list at some point before the season ends, but resuming full catching work will be the final test he needs to pass in his rehab from last September's Tommy John surgery before the Tigers activate him. Even if he's not ready to catch within the next couple of weeks, the Tigers could still send him out on a minor-league rehab assignment to pick up at-bats as a designated hitter.

Fortes went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 5-3 loss to the Reds.

Fortes hasn't yet overtaken Jacob Stallings for the Marlins' No. 1 catching job, but his playing time looks like it'll be on the upswing coming out of the All-Star break while Garrett Cooper's (wrist) absence creates an opening at designated hitter. Lewin Diaz and Jesus Aguilar should share the DH spot and first base in most games, but Fortes should rank as the Marlins' preferred option at DH against left-handed pitching when he's not filling in behind the plate. Stallings, who received Wednesday off, will be back in at catcher for Thursday's series finale while Fortes rests, per Christina De Nicola of MLB.com.

Rutschman is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Rays, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

Rutschman will be one of three Orioles regulars on the bench as the team closes its series against Tampa Bay with a game that begins at 12:35 p.m. local time. Robinson Chirinos will check in behind the dish for Rutschman, who has gone 7-for-17 with three doubles, a 6:4 BB:K, four runs and one RBI in his six starts since the All-Star break.

Bethancourt is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Orioles, Neil Solondz of the Rays Radio Network reports.

Bethancourt looks like he'll be option 1A behind the plate for the Rays after Francisco Mejia (shoulder) recently joined Mike Zunino (shoulder) on the injured list, but Bethancourt could still be part of a timeshare at catcher with Rene Pinto, who will get the nod behind the plate in Thursday's series finale. Since being acquired from the Athletics on July 9, Bethancourt has gone 4-for-21 with a home run and a walk through his first seven games with the Rays.