MLB Player News

Stassi (illness) will begin a rehab assignment at Single-A Inland Empire on Saturday, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports.

Stassi has been on the COVID-19 injured list for a week and a half and said that he felt sick for three or four days last week. However, he rejoined the Angels on Friday and participated in workouts. He expects to play in at least two rehab games, and it seems likely that the backstop will be activated from the injured list early next week.

Nola isn't starting Friday against the Giants.

Nola went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts in Thursday's win over the Phillies, and he'll take a seat for the second time in the last three games. Jorge Alfaro will start behind the plate and bat ninth.

Moreno's elbow injury was confirmed to be a minor one after tests Friday, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Moreno left his game with Triple-A Buffalo on Thursday after getting hit by a pitch, but imaging was negative Friday, and the Blue Jays don't appear to be overly concerned. He may have to wait a few days for swelling and soreness to subside, but the issue shouldn't significantly impact his push for a big-league roster spot.

Murphy (shoulder) has suffered a setback in his recovery process, Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN Seattle reports.

The Mariners were hopeful that Murphy would be able to return from the injured list during the team's weekend series in Boston since the backstop recently took swings in the batting cage and caught a bullpen session. However, he won't be back in action this weekend following his setback. It's not yet clear whether Murphy will be in the mix to be activated once the Mariners return home early next week.

Ruiz isn't starting Friday against the Brewers, Matt Weyrich of NBC Sports Washington reports.

Ruiz will get a breather after he went 3-for-3 with two doubles, a run, an RBI and two walks in Wednesday's win over Miami. Riley Adams will start behind the plate and bat seventh.

Jeffers will sit Friday against the Royals, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.

Jeffers is the clear number one option behind the plate in Minnesota this season, starting 23 games compared to 15 for Gary Sanchez. When you factor in the pair's starts at the designated hitter spot, though, Sanchez now has the edge in total games in the lineup, getting the nod 28 times to Jeffers' 27 after his inclusion as Friday's starting catcher.

Kirk will be on the bench Friday against the Reds.

Kirk has held onto regular playing time even after Danny Jansen returned from an oblique injury, starting twice behind the plate and twice as the designated hitter through six games. He's hitting .311/.373/.467 with more walks (five) than strikeouts (four) over his last 14 games, but he'll hit the bench here with Jansen behind the plate and George Springer serving as the designated hitter.

Heim is expected to get most of the starts behind the plate with Mitch Garver expected to serve only as a designated hitter for the foreseeable future, per Kennedi Landry of MLB.com.

Garver was activated off the injured list this week after recovering from a right forearm strain. He was the DH on Thursday while Heim went 1-for-4 as the starting catcher. It's uncertain when Garver will be cleared to begin a throwing program, which means Heim should get most of the opportunities behind the plate over the next few games, although Sam Huff also remains on the big-league roster as another catching option.

Garver started at designated hitter and went 0-for-3 with a walk in Thursday's 5-1 loss to Houston.

Garver, who served time on the injured list with a right forearm strain, is expected to serve as the DH for the foreseeable future, per Kennedi Landri of MLB.com. He has yet to begin a throwing program, and there currently is no plan to use him in the field until he's cleared to throw. Jonah Heim should soak up most of the starts behind the plate until Garver is deemed ready.

Maldonado went 1-for-4 with a double and three RBI on Thursday against the Rangers.

Maldonado smacked a three-RBI double in the eighth inning to put the Astros up 5-1. Though he has a disastrous .122/.308/.244 line for the season, Maldonado has at least one hit in five of his last seven starts. He's delivered five RBI and four runs scored in that span.