MLB Player News

Maldonado is not starting Thursday's game against the White Sox, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

He receives a day off after going 2-for-4 with a homer in Wednesday's series finale against the Rangers. Lefty-hitting Jason Castro will start behind the dish against White Sox righty Dylan Cease.

The Astros recalled Stubbs from Triple-A Sugar Land on Thursday, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic reports.

The 28-year-old joins Martin Maldonado and Jason Castro on the Astros' catching depth chart, but he can also offer some outfield depth while Kyle Tucker (illness) misses time on the COVID-19 list. Stubbs has gone 3-for-15 in five games with the big-league club this season.

Perez (finger) could be ready to go on a rehab assignment in the next week or so, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.

Perez has been throwing for over a week, but it's unclear how much progress the catcher has made in his throwing program. Since he's on the 60-day injured list, the catcher isn't eligible to return until mid-July at the earliest.

Hedges was placed on the 7-day concussion injured list Thursday, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports.

Hedges was scratched from Wednesday's lineup against the Orioles due to an illness, and the backstop is apparently dealing with a concussion that will force him to miss at least a week. Rene Rivera should see increased playing time behind the dish in his absence, while Ryan Lavarnway's contract was selected in a corresponding move to provide depth at catcher.

Jeffers went 2-for-4 with a home run and an additional RBI in Wednesday's win over the Mariners.

Jeffers launched his fourth homer of the season in the fifth inning off Justus Sheffield, and the backstop has now extended his hitting streak to three games as a result. He's also gone deep twice in that span and is hitting a decent .282 across 39 at-bats this month while assuming most of the playing time behind the plate while Mitch Garver (groin) is on the injured list.

Sanchez went 1-for-2 with a two-run home run in Wednesday's 3-2 win over the Blue Jays.

Entering the game as a pinch hitter for Kyle Higashioka in the seventh inning, Sanchez played hero by taking Ross Stripling deep for the final runs of the night. The 28-year-old catcher has caught fire in June, batting .302 (13-for-43) in 11 games with four doubles and four of his 10 homers on the year.

Collins went 2-for-4 with two RBI in Wednesday's 8-7 extra-inning win over Tampa Bay.

Collins finished off the scoring in the White Sox's four-run fourth inning with a two-run single, giving him six RBI over his last seven games. The backup catcher has hit safely in six of those seven contests, going 8-for-22 (.364) and raising his season average to .222.

Maldonado went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a double in Wednesday's 8-4 win over Texas.

The catcher pushed Houston to a 4-0 lead with a solo homer in the second inning. The long ball was his fifth of the campaign and accounted for his 18th RBI. Maldonado is batting a meager .178 on the season but has been better of late, hitting .280 (7-for-25) with three extra-base hits and four RBI over his past seven games.

Garver (groin) has been doing some light movement but has not yet started participating in baseball activity, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports. He has not had the stitches removed yet from the surgery on his groin.

The team hopes Garver could begin baseball activity next week. It sounds like he's still several weeks away from returning despite the recent progress.

Vazquez was removed from Wednesday's game against the Braves in the seventh inning with a stomach illness, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

In an odd scene at Truist Park, Vazquez went to the clubhouse mid-inning immediately after a flyout and was promptly replaced by Kevin Plawecki. More details about his condition figure to come out following the game.