MLB Player News

Stephenson isn't starting Wednesday against the Brewers.

Stephenson returned from a concussion in Tuesday's series opener against Milwaukee and went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts. Aramis Garcia will start behind the dish and bat ninth.

Kirk isn't starting Wednesday against the Yankees.

Kirk started in the last four games and went 3-for-13 with a double, a run, a walk and three strikeouts. Tyler Heineman will start behind the dish and bat eighth.

Narvaez isn't starting Wednesday against the Reds.

Narvaez started in the last two games and went 1-for-6 with a run, a walk and a strikeout. Victor Caratini will start behind the dish and bat ninth.

Jeffers is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Orioles.

Jeffers started the past two days behind the dish, so he'll be getting some routine maintenance Wednesday while Gary Sanchez picks up a start at catcher. Thanks to the injuries to Miguel Sano (knee), Alex Kirilloff (wrist) and Kyle Garlick (calf), the Twins have been able to find more opportunities to keep Jeffers and Sanchez in the lineup simultaneously, with Sanchez often picking up starts as the designated hitter.

Mejia (illness) is scheduled to rejoin the Rays in Seattle for their upcoming four-game series, and he's expected to be activated from the COVID-19 injured list either Thursday or Friday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

After clearing all COVID-19-related protocols over the weekend, Mejia reported to the Rays' spring facility in Port Charlotte, Fla. to appear in a pair of simulated games. Mejia has apparently looked good since resuming baseball activities, but the Rays will see how he's feeling Thursday before deciding whether to activate him for the start of the series or to give him an extra day of rest. Whenever he's formally reinstated, Mejia will replace Rene Pinto as the No. 2 option behind top catcher Mike Zunino.

Ruiz went 3-for-5 with a double and three RBI in Tuesday's 10-2 win over the Rockies.

The young catcher continues to find his groove at the plate. Over his last 11 games, Ruiz is slashing .324/.390/.405 with five multi-hit performances, and while he's still looking for his first homer of 2022, he's showing why he was a key piece of last year's Trea Turner-Max Scherzer deal with the Dodgers.

Murphy is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Astros.

Murphy started in three of the past four games, but he went 0-for-7 with five strikeouts and two walks over that stretch to drop his season average to .323. He should see a slight uptick in opportunities following the recent demotion of Cal Raleigh to Triple-A Tacoma, but Luis Torrens looks like Option 1A behind the plate for the Mariners at this time.

Maldonado isn't in the lineup Wednesday against the Mariners, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Maldonado has gone 0-for-9 with four strikeouts over the last three games, and he'll get a breather in Wednesday's series finale. Jason Castro will start behind the dish and bat eighth.

Perez isn't starting the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Tigers.

Perez started in the last two games and went 2-for-7 with a run, an RBI and two strikeouts. Andrew Knapp will start behind the plate and bat ninth in Wednesday's matinee.

Stallings is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Diamondbacks, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

After starting each of the last three games behind the dish -- including the 5-4 loss Tuesday night -- Stallings will take a seat Wednesday as the Marlins wrap up their series against the Diamondbacks with a day game. Payton Henry will pick up the start at catcher, working in a battery with Elieser Hernandez.