MLB Player News

Stassi went 1-for-2 with a solo home run in a loss to Seattle on Wednesday.

Stassi provided the first run of the game with a 425-foot blast to center field in the third inning. The backstop has been a surprising source of power for the Angels this season, collecting three homers and six RBI in 18 at-bats. By comparison, Stassi hit only one long ball in 132 at-bats between the Astros and Angels in 2019.

Leon is not in the starting lineup Thursday against the Reds.

Leon will head to the bench after starting three straight games behind the dish, going 0-for-8 with a 2:4 BB:K in the process. Beau Taylor is starting at backstop in this one.

Thaiss was optioned to the team's alternate camp site Thursday.

Thaiss has appeared in five games for the Angels this season (starting three), going 2-for-10 with a pair of runs scored. He'll move to Los Angeles' satellite camp with the team shaving its roster size down to 28.

Heineman is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Rockies.

Heineman operated as the Giants' clear No. 1 catcher during the July portion of the team's schedule, but he's settled into more a timeshare behind the plate since Chadwick Tromp replaced Rob Brantly as the other backstop on the active roster. Tromp has offered more fantasy-friendly numbers thus far than Heineman, who is slashing .222/.323/.259 with one-extra base through 31 plate appearances.

Nola is not starting Thursday against the Angels.

Nola will head to the bench for Thursday's matinee contest after playing all nine innings during Wednesday night's win, going 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles, two RBI and a run scored in the process. Joe Hudson is starting behind the dish in Thursday's series finale.

The Rangers optioned Trevino to their alternate training site Thursday.

Robinson Chirinos is locked in as the Rangers' No. 1 catcher and the team values veteran Jeff Mathis' skills as a pitch framer and game caller, so Trevino predictably found himself on the chopping block with Texas needing to reduce its roster from 30 to 28 men ahead of Thursday's deadline. Trevino only appeared in two of the Rangers' first 10 games, going 1-for-4 with a walk and an RBI.

The Braves optioned Jackson to their alternate training site Thursday.

Jackson's latest stint with the Braves lasted all of one day, as his status as the team's No. 3 catcher made him an obvious choice for a demotion with teams needing to reduce their 30-man rosters to 28 ahead of Thursday's deadline. He'll likely move back up to the big club if either Tyler Flowers or Travis d'Arnaud is forced to miss time at any point.

Stallings is out of the lineup Thursday against the Twins.

Stallings will sit for the second time in three days, but he's picked up three starts in the Pirates' last five contests and still looks like the team's preferred backstop. John Ryan Murphy will get a turn behind the plate in Thursday's series finale, catching for JT Brubaker in the latter's first MLB start.

Garver is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Pirates, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports.

Garver already received a day off in Tuesday's 7-3 win, but the backstop will sit again while the Twins wrap up their series with Pittsburgh with a day game after a night game. Alex Avila gets the nod behind the plate Thursday, catching for starting pitcher Kenta Maeda.

Contreras went 1-for-4 with a single, an RBI and a stolen base in Wednesday's 6-1 win over the Royals.

Batting cleanup as the DH, Contreras drove in a run in the eighth and then stole second off Gabe Speier and Salvador Perez, matching his stolen-base total from all of last season. Contreras also has a couple homers already and is batting north of .300 through 11 games.