MLB Player News

Maldonado was traded from the Cubs to the Astros in exchange for Tony Kemp on Wednesday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

Maldonado appeared in just four games for the Cubs before being traded for the second time this month. He'll wind up as an Astros midseason acquisition for the second straight year after hitting .231/.257/.398 down the stretch for Houston last season. He'll likely remain in a bench role with his new team, backing up Robinson Chirinos.

D'Arnaud went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and a walk in a win over the Red Sox on Tuesday.

The slugging veteran kick-started the Rays' comeback from a 3-1 deficit with his 453-foot blast to left center in the fifth, his fourth round tripper in the last eight games. It's been an outstanding July for d'Arnaud overall, one that's now seen him generate eight multi-hit efforts, 24 RBI and an eye-popping .338/.427/.732 line across 82 plate appearances.

Murphy reinjured the same knee he had surgery on in May during Tuesday's game for Triple-A Las Vegas, Melissa Lockard of The Athletic reports.

The A's are awaiting further testing before providing a timetable. Murphy was arguably the hottest hitter in the minors, having swatted five home runs in his last four games with eight hits and 13 RBI over that stretch.

Gomes went 1-for-5 with a three-run home run in Tuesday's loss to Atlanta.

His eighth-inning blast came with the Nats down 11-2, kick-starting a late rally that closed the gap to three runs before the team ran out of time. Gomes now has six homers on the year, but half of them have come in July. However, his .184/.354/.421 slash line on the month still puts a significant damper on his fantasy value.

Jansen is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Royals.

After appearing to turn a corner offensively at the beginning of the month, Jansen will close out July with a whimper. Over his 16 second-half games, Jansen is slashing a putrid .167/.259/.188 with no home runs across 53 plate appearances. Though Reese McGuire will check in behind the dish for the series finale, the Blue Jays seem committed to sticking with Jansen as their top backstop.

Thaiss went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI in a victory versus Detroit on Tuesday.

Thaiss opened the scoring with a two-run homer in the second inning, then plated the final run of the game with a single in the seventh. After posting a .111 average through his first nine games, the rookie has now collected at least one hit in his last five outings, going 8-for-17 with four homers and eight runs batted in over that stretch.

Rogers went 2-for-4 with an RBI in a loss to the Angels on Tuesday.

In his major-league debut, Rogers drove home the only run of the game for Detroit, knocking in Victor Reyes with a single in the seventh inning. The 24-year-old batted only .250 over two minor-league stops this season but showed some pop, slugging 14 home runs and driving in 52 runs in 252 at-bats.

Sanchez (groin) is doing better than anticipated but likely won't be able to return when first eligible Saturday, Lindsey Adler of The Athletic reports.

Sanchez has been out for a week due to a groin strain. He's resumed running and hitting but will apparently require more than four more days before he's ready to go. Austin Romine and Kyle Higashioka have split time behind the plate in his absence.

Stallings will start at catcher and bat eighth Tuesday in Cincinnati.

Since the beginning of July, Stallings has slashed .273/.333/.394 in 36 plate appearances. He's also started nine of the team's last 17 games, earning at least an equal timeshare behind the plate with Elias Diaz. Stallings offers little in the way of power or speed, but he does feature a career .303 batting average in 142 at-bats.

Smith isn't in the starting lineup for Tuesday's game against the Rockies.

Smith has collected five base knocks over his last three contests, including four extra-base hits. He'll take a seat for the second matchup of the series, opening the door for Russell Martin to handle the catching duties.