MLB Player News

Jeffers went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run and an additional run scored in a 7-1 win against Toronto on Thursday.

The veteran backstop opened the scoring for Minnesota with a two-run blast off Kevin Gausman in the fourth inning. The long ball extended Jeffers' hitting streak to six games, during which he's batting .364 (8-for-22) with two home runs, six runs, eight RBI and a stolen base. The 28-year-old has been a productive part of the Twins' lineup throughout the season, slashing .291/.411/.494 with four homers, 17 runs, 20 RBI and a theft through 24 contests.

Kirk (thumb) has begun a throwing program at the Blue Jays' complex in Florida, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

Kirk has spent the past several weeks recovering from a procedure he underwent in early April to repair his fractured left thumb. He was given a six-week return timeline following the operation, which would put him in line to be activated sometime around mid-May, though an updated estimate will likely emerge as he continues to check off boxes in his rehab program.

Contreras went 4-for-4 with a home run, a double, a walk, four RBI and three runs scored in Thursday's 13-1 win over the Diamondbacks.

Contreras was at the center of Milwaukee's offensive explosion, opening the scoring with an RBI double in the first inning before launching a 419-foot, two-run homer in the third to extend the lead. He added another RBI with a single in the fourth. The catcher finished with a perfect day at the plate, reaching base five times. The homer was his third of the season and his first since April 11. Contreras is now slashing .279/.355/.423 with seven doubles, 20 RBI and 18 runs scored across 124 plate appearances.

Heineman isn't in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Twins.

Heineman will take a seat for a second consecutive game after logging just one hit in his last 22 at-bats. Brandon Valenzuela will fill in behind the dish and bat ninth.

Bailey isn't in the lineup for the second game of Thursday's doubleheader against the Phillies, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Bailey went 1-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts during the Giants' Game 1 loss, and he'll now move to the bench while Eric Haase starts at catcher and bats eighth.

Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said Thursday that Murphy (hip) will likely rejoin the club for its series early next week in Seattle, Chad Bishop of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Murphy got a late start to the season after having hip surgery last September, but he's nearly ready to break back into the Atlanta lineup. The veteran catcher has yet to get rolling offensively on his rehab assignment, going 5-for-32 with a 2:8 BB:K. He feels healthy, though, and is slated to catch all nine innings in back-to-back games with Triple-A Gwinnett before being activated. Murphy should handle the lion's share of starts at designated hitter for Atlanta and will also be worked in behind the plate as the team's No. 2 catcher.

Rutschman isn't in the lineup for the second game of Thursday's doubleheader against the Astros, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.

Rutschman went 2-for-4 with a grand slam and an additional run scored during Baltimore's 10-3 win in Game 1, and he'll get a chance to rest his legs during the second half of Thursday's festivities. Samuel Basallo will do the catching instead for starter Brandon Young.

Sanchez is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Diamondbacks.

Sanchez will hit the bench for the fourth time in the Brewers' last five matchups versus a right-handed starting pitcher. Christian Yelich (groin) remains on the shelf, but Tyler Black appears to have moved ahead of Sanchez on the depth chart as Milwaukee's preferred option at designated hitter against righties. Even though he no longer looks to be a full-time player, Sanchez still carries some appeal in leagues that start two catchers. He's compiled a .230 average to go with five home runs, 14 RBI and 10 runs across 77 plate appearances on the season.

Ruiz is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Mets.

Ruiz will hit the bench for the fourth time in six games while the Nationals go with Drew Millas behind the dish. Though the playing time has been tilting in Millas' favor of late, Ruiz has been the better producer at the plate by a narrow margin. Ruiz has turned in a .516 OPS over 58 plate appearances, while Millas has provided a .422 OPS across 55 plate appearances.

Triple-A Columbus placed Ingle on the 7-day injured list April 24 with right hip inflammation.

Ingle seemed to be en route to forcing a promotion to the majors, as he was slashing .394/.630/.788 at the time of his injury, while walking 37 percent of the time and striking out at a modest 16.7-percent clip. Assuming Ingle returns in the coming days/weeks, he could supplant Bo Naylor, who has a -0.5 fWAR in 23 games.