MLB Player News

Narvaez was scratched from the lineup for Tuesday's exhibition game against Team Puerto Rico due to back spasms, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reports.

Narvaez experienced the back spasm Monday and is expected to return to action Wednesday after taking a day to recover. The 27-year-old is expected to open 2026 as Boston's No. 1 catcher after posting a .725 OPS with 15 home runs as a rookie in 118 regular-season games last year.

Narvaez was scratched from the lineup for Tuesday's exhibition game versus Team Puerto Rico for unspecified reasons, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald reports.

It's unclear if Narvaez is dealing with an injury, but he's been removed from the starting nine after initially being penciled in as the designated hitter. The 27-year-old backstop underwent a left knee meniscectomy early in the offseason but entered camp fully healthy.

Quero is likely to get the majority of his starts at catcher against left-handed pitching, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

While manager Will Venable stopped short of calling the White Sox's catcher situation a straight platoon, he did acknowledge that Kyle Teel will start behind the plate against most right-handed pitching. That leaves Quero on the short end of playing time, though he's also likely to get at least some plate appearances at DH. While the playing time situation is a bit murky, Queto has picked up nine hits across his first 17 at-bats -- three of which have gone for extra bases -- early in Cactus League action, after working at Driveline to improve his swing this winter.

Teel will catch on most days when the White Sox face a right-handed pitcher, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

The White Sox have a crowded depth chart at catcher, with Teel and Edgar Quero leading the way. Teel earned the majority of playing time at the position across the second half of 2025 and looks to be in line to maintain that role. Manager Will Venable stopped short of calling the distribution of playing time a platoon, though Quero will draw most of his starts behind the dish against lefties while also getting some additional plate appearances at designated hitter. Meanwhile, Teel will look to build off of a solid rookie season, when he hit .273 with eight homers and three stolen bases across 297 plate appearances.

Contreras batted third and went 2-for-2 with a double, a three-run home run and an additional run scored in Sunday's spring game against Baltimore.

Contreras belted his second Grapefruit League homer in six games, a hopeful sign for a team projected to lack pop. He should find a home in the order at third or cleanup. Contreras is now headed to the World Baseball Classic and will join Team Venezuela.

Dingler (elbow) is scheduled to advance to throwing to bases Tuesday, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Dingler has been eased into a throwing program in Tigers camp after having arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow in January. The 27-year-old has seen action in a couple Grapefruit League contests as a designated hitter, but it's unclear when he will be ready to catch in a spring training game. As long as he continues to progress without setbacks, Dingler is expected to be ready for Opening Day.

The Tigers announced Monday that Briceno reported right wrist soreness coming out of his most recent spring appearance Saturday and is undergoing further medical evaluation, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

Briceno is one of the Tigers' top prospects, but the 21-year-old catcher isn't on the 40-man roster and will be ticketed for Double-A Erie when healthy.

Langeliers went 2-for-2 with a home run, a double, three total RBI, an additional run scored and was hit by a pitch in Sunday's Cactus League win over the Reds.

Langeliers opened the scoring, launching an Andrew Abbott curveball to the opposite field for a two-run homer in the first inning before following it up with a blistering 111.8 mph RBI double to left field in the third inning. Through 14 plate appearances this spring, the catcher is slashing .333/.429/.750 with two doubles, one homer and three RBI. Coming off a breakout 2025 campaign in which he posted an .861 OPS with 32 doubles and 31 homers across 123 games, the 28-year-old will look to carry that momentum into the 2026 regular season.

Fortes went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against Atlanta.

Fortes has now gone 3-for-10 with a walk and two runs scored covering five spring outings. The right-handed-hitting backstop is lined up as Tampa Bay's primary catcher, but the lefty-hitting Hunter Feduccia is a threat to Fortes' reps behind the plate as well. Fortes slashed just .213/.307/.348 with three homers, three doubles, and 11 RBI across 101 regular-season plate appearances after being traded from the Marlins to the Rays at last year's deadline, and he'll likely slot somewhere into the lower part of the lineup to open 2026.

Higashioka (back) will start at catcher and bat third in Sunday's Cactus League game against the Mariners.

The veteran backstop had been out of the spring lineup for the past four days due to a back issue but appears to be good to go moving forward. Heading into his second season in Texas, Higashioka is likely to be part of a timeshare with Danny Jansen behind the dish.