MLB Player News

Thaiss remains on the bench Friday against Cleveland.

Thaiss owns a .244/.306/.600 slash line with five homers in his first 15 career games. He'll sit for the second straight game Friday, with David Fletcher at third base and Luis Rengifo at second.

Zavala was recalled from Triple-A Charlotte on Friday.

Zavala made his major-league debut in late May and went 1-for-9 during his three-game stint in the big leagues. The 25-year-old will serve as the reserve backstop to James McCann with Welington Castillo headed to the bereavement list.

Barnhart is not in the lineup for Friday's game in Atlanta.

Barnhart started four of the last five games but will make way for Kyle Farmer behind the plate Friday. The 28-year-old is 6-for-15 with one double and three RBI in five games since returning from the injured list.

Maldonado started Thursday and went 1-for-5 with a run scored in a 7-1 win over the Indians.

Maldonado, who made his first start since the Astros acquired him, is expected to be the second catcher behind Robinson Chirinos. Per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle, Astros manager AJ Hinch confirmed Chirinos will catch the majority of games.

Realmuto went 3-for-5 with a three-run home run and three runs in a 10-2 victory against the Giants on Thursday.

The 28-year-old has rediscovered his power stroke, as he's hit four home runs in his last seven games. Realmuto also has two doubles along with 10 RBI during that stretch, and because of this recent surge, he's closing in on topping last season's career high of 21 homers. He is batting .274 with 15 home runs, 55 RBI, 65 runs and four steals in 372 at-bats this season.

Jansen went 3-for-5 with a three-run home run in a win against Baltimore on Thursday.

Jansen had gone 19 games without a long ball before walloping a 430-foot homer to left field in the sixth inning. He also contributed a pair of singles to notch his first multi-hit game in over two weeks. Despite the recent struggles, Jansen has remained Toronto's primary option behind the plate, slashing .211/.282/.361 with nine home runs and 35 runs batted in over 295 plate appearances this season.

Smith went 2-for-4 with a grand slam and a double in Thursday's win over the Padres.

Smith crushed a 405-foot grand slam in the sixth inning off reliever Trey Wingenter to give the Dodgers a 5-2 lead that would last the rest of the way. The 24-year-old catcher also doubled in the eighth inning to cap off another successful night at the plate. Smith has now gone 8-for-17 with four doubles, three home runs and 13 RBI since rejoining the Dodgers last weekend.

Vazquez is not in the lineup Thursday due to a bruised knee, Bill Koch of The Providence Journal reports.

Vazquez apparently took a pitch off his knee Wednesday and will miss at least one game as a result. Sandy Leon is starting behind the dish and hitting ninth in his place.

D'Arnaud is not starting Thursday against the Red Sox.

D'Arnaud is slashing .333/.412/.733 with seven home runs and 22 RBI in 15 games since the All-Star break. He'll give way to Mike Zunino behind the dish for Thursday's series finale.

Vazquez is not in the lineup Thursday against the Rays, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.

Vazquez will head to the bench for Thursday's series finale after starting the previous two games behind the dish and going 1-for-9 with a double and three strikeouts. In his place, Sandy Leon is starting at catcher and hitting ninth.