MLB Player News

Sanchez signed a minor league deal with the Blue Jays on Friday, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Sanchez was released by the Pirates last month but will have a chance to catch on with the Blue Jays, as the deal includes an invite to spring training. The 27-year-old, a former first-round pick, appeared in only three major league games last season, spending the bulk of the year at Triple-A Indianapolis. It seems likely that he'll wind up with the Blue Jays' Triple-A affiliate (Buffalo) to begin the year, though Toronto is relatively thin at catcher so he could be summoned should there be an injury to Russell Martin, Josh Thole, or A.J. Jiminez.

Acosta signed a minor league contract with the Rays on Thursday and will be invited to major league camp, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Acosta was with the Rays organization last season, but played sparingly and elected to be a free agent after the conclusion of the season. He'll return to the team and act as no more than a third-string catcher while Justin O'Conner is sidelined with a back injury.

Stassi is working with Astros manager A.J. Hinch to improve his framing, receiving and stance behind the plate this spring, Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle reports.

"If he makes our team, I want our pitching staff to be comfortable throwing to him," Hinch said of the 24-year-old. "We're going to put in a little bit of work to make sure that his mechanics behind the plate are where they should be, that his body positioning and his hand position are where they should be. He's hungry to get better." Stassi is the favorite to win the Astros' backup catcher job behind starter Jason Castro, but Alfredo Gonzalez, Roberto Pena and Tyler Heineman loom as other internal options for the role, albeit with considerably less experience.

Vazquez (elbow) has been throwing to bases at Boston's spring-training facility in Fort Myers (Fla.), the Boston Globe reports. "He's probably at about 90 percent," manager John Farrell said. "But it's there. You can see that. He'll only get better."

Prior to undergoing Tommy John surgery, Vazquez was known for his arm strength and his ability to control the running game. As such, the Red Sox are closely monitoring his velocity and accuracy. On Friday, Vazquez showed off the accuracy in what was another productive day in his return from the injury. Despite what has been an encouraging rehab, Vazquez is expected to start the season at Triple-A Pawtucket where he can get some game experience before joining the major-league roster.

Rodriguez signed a minor league contract with the Yankees on Friday that includes an invitation to spring training Friday, Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal reports.

The 30-year-old backstop split time between Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last season, but couldn't hit above the Mendoza line at either stop. Because of that, he'll likely head back to the minors after spring training concludes.

Vazquez (elbow) is throwing up to 150 feet and will throw to bases this coming week, WEEI.com reports.

Vazquez was on hand for the Red Sox Winter Weekend event at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, looking noticeably trimmer after having lost 25 pounds during the offseason. He said there's been no setbacks with the elbow and anticipates being 100 percent for spring training. Vazquez is hoping to be ready for Opening Day, but there's a good chance the Red Sox have Vazquez start the season at Triple-A Pawtucket while Blake Swihart and Ryan Hanigan handle the catching chores at the major-league level.

Sanchez (ankle) signed with the White Sox on Monday, Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish reports.

With the offseason acquisitions of fellow catchers Dioner Navarro and Alex Avila, it's unclear where Sanchez will fit into the mix. He split time between the majors and minors last season, and could be reduced to a similar role with his new club.

Thole re-signed with the Blue Jays on a one-year, $800,000 deal Friday, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet reports.

Thole had just been non-tendered by the Blue Jays on Thursday, but he's coming back to the team after being a free agent for just a day. The 29-year-old had a disappointing campaign last season, hitting just .204/.250/.245, but he should get the chance to earn the backup role behind Russell Martin out of spring training.

Sanchez is well positioned to be the Yankees' backup catcher in 2016 after John Ryan Murphy was traded to the Twins in exchange for Aaron Hicks on Wednesday.

Sanchez has 20-plus homer upside and the arm to stick behind the plate, so if something were to happen to Brian McCann, he could be useful in most formats. The Yankees may opt to keep Sanchez at Triple-A so that he can get regular at-bats, but he should be seen as the No. 2 catcher on the organizational depth chart at this point.

Royals catcher Salvador Perez (thumb) is in the lineup Sunday for the regular season finale.

Perez indicated he was fine after dealing with thumb swelling Thursday, but he returned to the lineup Saturday and is again playing Sunday. He'll bat sixth as the Royals attempt to clinch home field advantage throughout the playoffs.