MLB Player News

Haase may work on the short side of a platoon with Akil Baddoo to begin the season, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

The Tigers traded for Austin Meadows on Monday, which adds some new wrinkles to the outfield. Both Meadows and Baddoo are left-handed bats, and one or both may sit out against southpaws. In such a scenario, Haase along with Victor Reyes are options for more at-bats. Even with the addition of Meadows, Haase should see plenty of playing time, as he's versatile enough to play in the outfield, at first base and behind the plate.

The Blue Jays reassigned Heineman to minor-league camp Tuesday, Mitch Bannon of SI.com reports.

Heineman was attending camp as a non-roster invitee and was behind at least Danny Jansen, Alejandro Kirk, Zack Collins and Gabriel Moreno on the organizational depth chart at catcher, so he never had much hope of earning a spot on the Blue Jays' Opening Day roster. The 30-year-old backstop is expected to report to Triple-A Buffalo, where he'll likely serve as Moreno's primary understudy.

Orioles general manager Mike Elias confirmed Monday that Rutschman (triceps) won't be ready for Opening Day or the start of the minor-league season, Dan Connolly of The Athletic reports.

That being said, Rutschman is said to be making good progress in his recovery from a right triceps strain, an injury that resulted in him being shut down March 16 for an estimated 2-to-3 weeks. He's already resumed baseball activities, with Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com relaying that Rutschman has been hitting off a tee and doing some light throwing. Elias said that he expects the 24-year-old to resume participating in games in a matter of weeks, though the GM isn't certain if Rutschman will immediately report to Triple-A Norfolk or begin playing at a lower-level affiliate. Rutschman is still expected to make his MLB debut at some point in 2022, though it doesn't appear likely to happen until at least May.

Jansen went 0-for-3 with a strikeout in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Yankees.

The whiff was only his second of the spring in 17 at-bats, and while Jansen hasn't made a lot of contact in camp, it's been loud contact -- he has two doubles and a homer among his four hits. The 26-year-old catcher figures to split time with Alejandro Kirk behind the plate this season for the Blue Jays, but if Kirk gets extensive work at DH, it would open up more playing time for Jansen. This season could provide his last chance to prove he has a place in the Jays' future plans before the arrival of top prospect Gabriel Moreno.

Bethancourt was reassigned to Triple-A Las Vegas on Monday.

The catcher signed a minor-league contract with the Athletics in November, playing in 13 games this spring and producing a .381 batting average along with two extra-base hits and five RBI. Bethancourt will begin the season with Las Vegas, but his spring performance could make it more likely he gets called up at some point in the coming months.

Godoy was designated for assignment by the Twins on Monday, Dustin Morse of the Twins Communications reports.

After being claimed off waivers by the Twins March 17, the catcher played in seven games this spring, producing two hits and three RBI over eight at-bats. Godoy will now do one of three things, get claimed by another team, report to Triple-A St. Paul or he'll be released outright. In 16 games with the Mariners in 2021, the 27-year-old struggled to a .162 average while striking out 14 times in 37 at-bats.

Heim went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored in Sunday's spring training game against the Brewers.

Heim had multiple hits for a third straight Cactus League game Sunday and is batting .368 (7-for-19) with one home run, two RBI and four runs scored. The bat potential is what separated him from Jose Trevino, who the Rangers traded to the Yankees on Saturday and then announced Heim would be the backup to starting catcher Mitch Garver. There's potential for Heim to get into a lot of games. The 31-year-old Garver hasn't played more than 103 games in a season (2018), and manager Chris Woodward has already indicated he'll limit him to 90-100 games behind the dish. In an effort to preserve Garver for the long haul, the manager will also use him at first base and designated hitter.

Collins was traded from the White Sox to the Blue Jays in exchange for Reese McGuire on Sunday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

Collins was informed by the White Sox on Friday that he wouldn't break camp with the club, and he'll now attempt to carve out a role in the Blue Jays organization. Collins appeared in 78 games for the White Sox last year and hit .210 with four home runs, 26 RBI and 25 runs. He still has one option remaining, so it seems likely that he'll begin the year at Triple-A Buffalo. However, he'll be available to provide depth behind the dish if Danny Jansen or Alejandro Kirk deal with injuries.

The White Sox acquired McGuire from the Blue Jays on Sunday in exchange for catcher Zack Collins, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.

McGuire was expected to begin the season as Toronto's No. 3 catcher behind Danny Jansen and Alejandro Kirk, but he should have a better chance at moving up a spot on the depth chart as he heads to Chicago. Yasmani Grandal will operate as the clear No. 1 backstop for Chicago, but McGuire could pick up at least a start or two per week when Grandal is resting or serving as a designated hitter or first baseman. McGuire owns an unremarkable .687 OPS over 400 career MLB plate appearances and likely wouldn't have much fantasy appeal outside of leagues that start two catchers if Grandal were to miss extended time for some reason in 2022.

Higashioka went 2-for-3 with a pair of home runs and three RBI in a Grapefruit League win over Atlanta on Saturday.

The backstop slugged a two-run homer in the third inning and followed with a solo shot in the fifth. With seven long balls in just nine games, Higashioka has gone deep more than any other player this spring. He's also slashing .478/.500/1.391 and has knocked in 11 runs. Higashioka was initially expected to split time behind the plate with Ben Rortvedt (oblique), but with the latter expected to begin the campaign on the injured list and Higashioka swinging the bat so well, he could get an opportunity to lock down a larger share of playing time if he's able to extend the hot hitting into the regular season.