MLB Player News

Diaz will start at catcher and bat eighth in Monday's game versus the White Sox.

Diaz is earning a second start in a row after homering in Sunday's win over the Angels. It's the first time since Danny Jansen returned from the injured list last week that either he or Diaz has started two straight tilts. Logan O'Hoppe is also on the Rangers' active roster, and the club could continue to rotate the three players in the catcher spot.

Mullins is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Tigers, Ryan Bass of Rays.tv reports.

The Rays will keep Mullins on the bench along with fellow left-handed hitters Liam Hicks and Richie Palacios while the Tigers send lefty Framber Valdez to the bump for the series opener. Jonny DeLuca will spell Mullins in center field and will bat cleanup.

Palacios is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Tigers, Ryan Bass of Rays.tv reports.

The Rays will keep Palacios on the bench along with fellow left-handed hitters Liam Hicks and Cedric Mullins while the Tigers send lefty Framber Valdez to the bump for the series opener. Jorge Mateo will fill in for Palacios at second base and will bat sixth.

Hicks is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Tigers, Ryan Bass of Rays.tv reports.

The Rays will keep Hicks on the bench along with fellow left-handed hitters Richie Palacios and Cedric Mullins while the Tigers send lefty Framber Valdez to the bump for the series opener. Nick Fortes will spell Hicks behind the plate and will bat seventh.

Fortes will start at catcher and bat seventh in Monday's game against the Tigers, Ryan Bass of Rays.tv reports.

With lefty Framber Valdez on the hill for the Tigers, the Rays will send the left-handed-hitting Liam Hicks to the bench to open up a start for Fortes behind the plate. So long as Hicks is healthy, Fortes is likely to see the bulk of his playing time versus lefties, against whom he's slashing .254/.321/.339 across 133 plate appearances on the season.

The Tigers designated Vanasco for assignment Monday, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.

The transaction frees up a spot on the 40-man roster for the addition of new signee Tyler Kinley. Vanasco has made five appearances for Detroit this season, getting tagged for 12 runs (11 earned) with a 4:6 K:BB over 6.1 innings.

The Tigers optioned Madden to Triple-A Toledo on Monday, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.

Madden boasts a 3.46 ERA and 40:13 K:BB over 39 innings, but he had been scored upon in five consecutive outings. His spot on the roster and in the bullpen will be absorbed by Tyler Kinley, who was signed by the Tigers on Monday.

The Tigers signed Kinley to a one-year contract, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.

Kinley was released by Atlanta last week after posting a 6.00 ERA and 7:7 K:BB over his first nine innings of the second half. The right-hander has been decent overall this season, collecting a 4.01 ERA and 42:20 K:BB over 42.2 innings. Kinley should operate in middle relief for Detroit.

Torres is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Rays.

Detroit will give Torres a breather after he had started every game dating back to July 28 and slashed .247/.330/.412 with four home runs, 17 RBI and 16 runs over a stretch of 23 contests. Hao-Yu Lee will take Torres' spot in the infield, covering second base while slotting in as the Tigers' No. 2 hitter.

Lee will start at second base and bat second in Monday's game against the Rays.

Lee will stick in the starting nine for a fifth straight game after he went 5-for-13 with a home run, a double, two walks, five runs and two RBI over his last four games to bring his slash line up to .281/.321/.439 for the season. The hot-hitting rookie appears to have played his way into a near-everyday role for the time being, but he could find himself as the odd man out of the lineup as soon as the Tigers are able to get both Kerry Carpenter (foot) and Riley Greene (hamstring) back from the injured list.