MLB Player News

Raleigh, who's hitting .278 with a home run and three RBI in nine Cactus League games, could be one of three catchers to make the Opening Day roster, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.

The 25-year-old backstop has shown some solid improvement at the plate this spring after producing a .180/.223/.309 slash line across his first 148 big-league plate appearances in 2021. Raleigh does have solid pedigree as an offensive player, highlighted by a stellar season at Triple-A Tacoma a year ago that saw him produce a .324 average and .985 OPS in 199 plate appearances. Kramer also notes Raleigh has worked well with the entire pitching staff this spring and already produced above-average defensive metrics during his first majors stint.

Rortvedt (oblique) isn't expected to be ready to play in any spring training games, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Rortvedt was acquired in a trade with the Twins at the start of camp but has battled an oblique strain all spring. He's expected to eventually compete with Kyle Higashioka for starts behind the plate, but Higashioka appears to be penciled in as the primary catcher to start the season, with Rortvedt likely heading to the injured list.

Collins was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte on Friday.

Collins' poor defense behind the plate has led the White Sox to prefer Seby Zavala as Yasmani Grandal's backup. As a prospect, Collins was once thought to have enough pop in his bat to have a shot at carving out a role as a designated hitter even if he couldn't stick behind the plate, but his .195/.315/.330 career slash line suggests that won't be happening.

Lee was reassigned to Houston's minor-league spring training Friday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Lee was in camp with the big-league club but was never a likely bet to make the Opening Day roster. He hit .254/.320/.443 with eight home runs and 27 RBI in 50 games for Double-A Corpus Christi before receiving a September promotion to Triple-A Sugar Land, where he's likely to open 2022.

Barnhart said he would be open to an extension with the Tigers, though no formal contract talks have taken place, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

Barnhart was traded to the Tigers in November, and the team then exercised his club option for 2022. However, the catcher is open to sticking around past this season, and the organization has expressed some interest in finding a deal as well. For the time being, Barnhart will look to make a good first impression with his new team in the hopes of increasing the value of a potential new contract.

Perez went 3-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored in Wednesday's 9-5 loss to the Giants.

The three-hit game lifted Perez's spring slash line to .348/.375/.565 with a home run, two doubles, four RBI and five runs scored in eight games. The 31-year-old catcher appeared in a career-high 161 games last season, posting an eye-popping 48 homers, 121 RBI, 88 runs scored and a .273/.316/.544 slash line. He's likely to be a near-everyday presence either behind the dish or as the designated hitter, as Perez remains one of the top catchers in the league even with the threat of regression looming.

Texas manager Chris Woodward said Wednesday that Garver will catch between 90 and 100 games and also play some at designated hitter and first base, Jack Magruder of MLB.com reports.

Woodward acknowledged Garver's injury history as a reason to limit his playing time behind the plate. The catcher sustained groin and back injuries while with Minnesota in 2021, a season which Garver described was "wrecked by injuries." Jonah Heim and Jose Trevino are competing for the backup job.

Vazquez went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in Wednesday's spring training game against Atlanta.

Vazquez has had a quiet spring, going 3-for-15 through six Grapefruit League games. It's not going to impact his role as Boston's primary catcher, but the spring results are continuation of down season in 2021. He strung together a couple of good seasons in 2019 and 2020, when his bat was good enough to slot in at designated hitter at times, but his ISO fell to .094 last year.

The Angels reassigned Wallach to minor-league camp Wednesday.

The 30-year-old didn't have much hope of making the Angels' Opening Day roster as a backup catchers, as the Angels are expected to move forward with Max Stassi and Kurt Suzuki as their two backstops, while fellow non-roster invitee Austin Romine also probably ranks ahead of Wallach in the organizational pecking order at the position. Wallach, who saw action in 23 games at the big-league level with Miami in 2021, is expected to open the upcoming season at Triple-A Salt Lake.

Thaiss was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake on Wednesday.

Thaiss appeared in five Cactus League games this spring and went 2-for-10 with a home run, three RBI, two runs and two strikeouts. However, he'll likely spend most of the season in Salt Lake.