MLB Player News

Jansen was removed from Wednesday's game against the Rays with an apparent injury, Mike Wilner of the Toronto Star reports.

Jansen might have tweaked something while running out a grounder in the top of the fifth inning, as he didn't come back out for defense in the bottom of the frame. The Blue Jays should have more on the catcher's status soon.

Narvaez (calf) will begin a minor-league rehab assignment Thursday with High-A Brooklyn, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Narvaez will probably remain at Brooklyn through the weekend before advancing to Triple-A Syracuse. He needs a lot of rehab at-bats because he's been out since early April due to a severe calf strain, but the 31-year-old catcher is pushing for a return to the Mets around early-to-mid June. It'll be a complicated situation in Queens if Francisco Alvarez, Gary Sanchez and Tomas Nido are all healthy and performing well at that juncture.

Jeffers went 1-for-2 with two walks and a solo home run in Wednesday's 7-1 win over the Giants.

With Christian Vazquez getting a day off, Jeffers drew the start at catcher and hit eighth. He walked in his first at-bat, lined out in his second and hit a solo home run in his third, which extended Minnesota's lead to 7-1. Jeffers has been solid when called upon and is slashing .246/.395/.426 across 26 appearances (61 at-bats) with two home runs and five RBI, but Vazquez remains the everyday backstop. The home run was Jeffers' first since April 3.

Fortes is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rockies, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

Jacob Stallings will get a turn behind the dish Wednesday after Fortes started at catcher in three of the past four games. Fortes is beginning to heat up at the plate and now owns a poor -- but improving -- .557 OPS, which is still nearly 200 points above Stallings' mark (.364).

Rogers is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game in Kansas City.

Rogers will receive a breather in the series finale after he served as Detroit's starting catcher in three of the previous four games. Eric Haase will check in behind the dish in place of Rogers, who has gone 0-for-13 with six strikeouts over his last four starts to bring his batting average down to .163 for the season.

Gomes is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Mets.

Gomes will give way to Tucker Barnhart behind the dish after previously starting at catcher in three of the Cubs' last four games. Since coming off the 7-day injured list May 10 after recovering from a concussion, Gomes is hitting .286 with a home run and six RBI in eight games.

Perez is not in the starting lineup Wednesday versus the Tigers.

Perez is presumably getting a routine maintenance day in the series finale after catching 10 innings Monday and another full game Tuesday. Freddy Fermin will start behind the plate and bat seventh for the Royals on Wednesday.

Casali remains out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cardinals.

Casali has now started in just two of the Reds' last 10 games, and he's recorded just one hit in 22 at-bats dating back to April 19. The 34-year-old appears to have slipped to third on the Reds' depth chart at catcher behind Tyler Stephenson and Luke Maile.

Nola is not in the starting lineup for Wednesday's game against the Nationals, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Nola has hit just .103/.212/.103 in May over 29 at-bats, and he continues to see his playing time decrease. Brett Sullivan is starting behind the plate and hitting ninth against the Nationals on Wednesday.

Kirk is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Rays.

Now on the bench for the fourth time in six games, Kirk looks like he'll be stuck in a part-time role between catcher and designated hitter until he can begin to catch fire at the plate. Though he's getting on base at a strong .353 clip thus far in 2023, Kirk isn't hitting the ball with much authority, as his ISO of .090 is down 40 points from last season. Since Danny Jansen remains the superior defender behind the plate, he'll likely continue to get the bulk of the starts at catcher at Kirk's expense.