MLB Player News

Stassi is not starting Sunday against the Mariners.

Stassi went hitless across six at-bats during the first two games of the series. He'll hand the catching duties to Kurt Suzuki for the series finale.

Nola (knee) played seven innings at first base in the second game of his rehab assignment with Triple-A El Paso, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego-Union Tribune reports.

Nola has taken the field at first base in each of his two rehab games thus far, going a combined 3-for-5 with a run, an RBI and a walk. The backstop has ample experience playing the infield throughout his career, but the decision to have him start at first base rather than at catcher during the beginning of his assignment with the Triple-A club is a clear indication that he's not quite ready to test his sprained left knee behind the plate. He'll almost certainly need to progress to getting in some games at catcher before he's deemed ready to return to the big-league club.

Raleigh was selected from Triple-A Tacoma on Sunday. He is catching and batting sixth in the series finale against the Angels.

Raleigh has been stellar with Tacoma this season, hitting .324 with nine homers and 36 RBI in 176 at-bats. One of the organization's higher-ranked prospects, the 24-year-old will be making his MLB debut Sunday.

McGuire is not starting Sunday against Tampa Bay.

McGuire is out of the starting for the second straight game despite hitting a double off the bench Saturday. McGuire has just two hits in his last 20 at-bats, so it wouldn't be surprising if Sunday's starting backstop Danny Jansen is given increased time behind the plate following the All-Star break.

Heim is not starting Sunday against the Athletics.

Heim had a nice day at the plate in Saturday's loss, driving in a pair of runs while logging two singles across five at-bats. He'll get a rest Sunday as John Hicks works behind the dish and bats fifth.

Contreras is not in the lineup for Sunday's game against the Cardinals.

The 29-year-old has gone 1-for-4 in four consecutive games en route to a .286 average with one RBI in 29 at-bats this month. Robinson Chirinos will catch and bat eighth in Sunday's series finale.

Stallings is not starting Sunday's series finale against the Mets, Jake Crouse of MLB.com reports.

The 31-year-old has gone deep in consecutive games and is now hitting .261 in 23 at-bats this month. Michel Perez will catch and bat eighth Sunday.

Perez is not starting Sunday's series finale against the Royals.

Perez enjoyed his best game of the season Saturday, going 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBI and two runs scored. Homers in consecutive games have the 32-year-old at five heading into the All-Star break, though he's primed for a bigger second half after being limited to only 24 games by a finger injury. Austin Hedges is catching and batting eighth Sunday.

Perez (back) is not in the lineup for Sunday's game in Cleveland, Joel Goldberg of Bally Sports Kansas City reports.

Back tightness shortened Perez's Saturday and will keep him out of the series finale Sunday. This is the Royals' first lineup of 2021 that does not include Perez, who has been a model of durability the past couple years. It will be interesting to see if the 31-year-old will still participate in the Home Run Derby, or if he'll use the All-Star break to rest and resolve the back issue before Friday's series opener against Baltimore. Sebastian Rivero is catching and batting ninth Sunday.

Collins is not starting Sunday's series finale against the Orioles.

An 0-for-3 effort Saturday dropped Collins' average to .263 in 19 at-bats this month. Seby Zavala will bat ninth Sunday and catch Dylan Cease for the first time.