MLB Player News

Higashioka tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

Higashioka was placed in the COVID-19 protocols Thursday while awaiting the test results, and he's one of six Yankees who have tested positive for the virus. He'll be sidelined for at least the next 10 days. The Yankees will need to add another catcher to the roster to serve as the backup to Gary Sanchez behind the plate.

Garver (groin) is 4-for-11 with two walks in three games for Triple-A St. Paul during a rehab assignment.

It's not clear when Garver will be activated from the injured list, but he could return at some point in the next week. Garver has been out since the start of June due to a groin injury that required surgery.

Grullon was traded to White Sox from the Rays on Thursday for cash considerations, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Grullon has been a member of several organizations this season, including the Reds, Rays and Mets. He'll now land with the White Sox, who are in need of organizational depth at the position with Yasmani Grandal (knee) set to miss at least a few more weeks. Grullon has not logged a major-league plate appearance this season and is hitting .194/.282/.456 across 117 plate appearances at Triple-A.

Higashioka has been placed in the league's COVID-19 protocols while he awaits a confirmation of a positive test for the virus, Buster Olney of ESPN

Higashioka is one of three Yankees who reportedly received a positive test for COVID-19, but the Yankees are awaiting a second test to make sure that the initial result isn't a false positive. If his positive test is confirmed, the catcher will be away from the team at least 10 days.

Alvarez has hit .231/.350/.479 with seven homers, 20 RBI, 21 runs and a 20:35 BB:K across 37 games since being promoted to High-A Brooklyn.

His strikeout rate has more than doubled from his stint in Low-A earlier this year (from 10.4 percent to an even 25 percent), but Alvarez has also had some bad batted-ball luck, so it's fair to expect his average to climb. Considering that he's still 19 years old -- a full four years younger than the average player in the High-A East league -- he's doing great. His stats have been hurt significantly by a recent slump, as Alvarez has gone 1-for-32 over his last eight games. Before that, he was hitting .286/.389/.571 with Brooklyn. Alvarez is a ways off from the majors, but he's one of the most exciting catching prospects in the game.

Soderstrom is hitting .315/.400/.575 with 10 homers, two steals, 43 RBI and 36 runs across 50 games for Low-A Stockton.

The No. 26 overall pick from last year's draft, Soderstrom is just 19 years old -- two years younger than the average player in the Low-A West league -- but he's already showing an impressively advanced approach at the plate in his first pro season. He's drawing walks at a 10.9 percent clip, has kept the strikeouts low enough (23.5 percent) and is hitting the ball to all fields with authority. Soderstrom made a great impression in major-league spring training this year, and he seems poised to rocket through the organization -- particularly if the A's elect to move him off the catcher position, which would be a boon to his fantasy value while accelerating his timeline. They haven't said anything about doing so just yet, but Soderstrom's prospect profile isn't all that different from the likes of Bryce Harper and Wil Myers, who were both catchers at the outset of their careers. Accordingly, it may not be long until Soderstrom is routinely mentioned among the top few prospects in the game.

Knizner wrapped up the first half of the season with a .178/.267/.222 slash line, four doubles, two RBI, nine walks and 11 runs across 101 plate appearances over 36 games.

Heading into the season, the company line was that ageless backstop Yadier Molina would finally begin to cut down on his typically voluminous workload to a degree, which would lead to more consistent opportunities for Knizner. That said, while Knizner has already doubled up on his previous career high of 18 games, it's worth noting at least 14 of his appearances thus far have been a direct result of Molina's injury-related absences, and Knizner finished the first half logging only two starts from June 22 onward. However, Molina did skip the All-Star Game to rest a nagging foot injury, so there may be opportunities for Knizner to draw some starts early in the second half.

Perez (back) will start at catcher and bat seventh for the American League in Tuesday's All-Star Game at Coors Field, Steve Greenberg of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Perez dealt with back tightness in Saturday's 2-1 loss to Cleveland and sat out Sunday's series finale as a result, but the injury won't prevent him from taking part in the Midsummer Classic. The 31-year-old backstop earned his seventh All-Star nod after slashing .275/.300/.501 with 21 home runs, 53 RBI and 41 runs in 89 first-half games.

Bart was optioned back to Triple-A Sacramento following Sunday's win over Washington, Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic reports.

Bart was brought up to the 26-man roster Saturday and notched two singles, one RBI and a run scored in Saturday's win. He'll now continue to get reps in Sacramento while the big club is on break. It's possible that the backstop rejoins the 26-man roster for Friday's game against the Cardinals, but that decision will likely depend on whether Buster Posey (thumb) is ready to be activated from the injured list.

Murphy went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's 4-1 win over the Rangers.

Murphy popped a home run in his second straight game as part of a four-homer day for the Athletics. The 26-year-old catcher has showcased some nice power and ended the weekend with an RBI in three consecutive games. He'll head into the All-Star break slashing .222/.313/.427 with 12 homers, 31 runs scored and leading all players at his position with 43 RBI.