MLB Player News

Collins will be on the White Sox's Opening Day roster as expected, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

Collins' path appeared to be clear after the White Sox released Jonathan Lucroy, and he will indeed open the year as Yasmani Grandal's backup. Fellow bat-first catcher Yermin Mercedes has also made the team. Both Collins and Mercedes could spend time at designated hitter if the White Sox go forward with their plan of using Andrew Vaughn in left field.

The Tigers reassigned Haase on Tuesday to their alternate training site in Toledo.

Haase will be joined at the alternate site by fellow backstop Dustin Garneau after both players missed out on winning either of the available catching jobs with Detroit this spring. Both Haase and Garneau are expected to be part of the Triple-A Toledo roster when the minor-league season begins in May.

Stubbs cleared the health and safety protocols and returned to workouts Tuesday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Stubbs was informed Monday that he won't be on the Opening Day roster, but that was seemingly unrelated to his temporary quarantine. Martin Maldonado and Jason Castro will be the Astros' primary catchers this season, with Stubbs filling in whenever there's an injury.

Huff (hamstring) is progressing and entering the final stages of rehab, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.

Huff will undergo one more MRI before ramping up to full activity. The power-hitting catching prospect made his MLB debut during the shortened 2020 season but skipped Double- and Triple-A to do it. The Rangers may have Huff start the season in the minors while Jose Trevino and Jonah Heim handle catching duties for Texas.

Vazquez (eye) remained out of the lineup for Monday's Grapefruit League game against Atlanta, but he was able to catch teammate Eduardo Rodriguez's (arm) bullpen session, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

Vazquez isn't quite back to 100 percent after he suffered an eye laceration and contusion last week that required stitches, but the Red Sox remain fairly confident that he'll be ready to go for Thursday's season opener versus the Orioles. The backstop will have his stitches removed early in the day Thursday, and if that extraction goes as planned, he should be cleared to catch Opening Day starter Nathan Eovaldi.

Stubbs (COVID-19 health and safety protocols) was informed Monday that he wouldn't be included on the Astros' Opening Day roster, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Stubbs recently began a quarantine period away from the team due to contact-tracing concerns, but that likely didn't play a factor in him missing out on the Opening Day roster. Instead, Martin Maldonado and Jason Castro had been locked in all spring as the Astros' top two catchers, leaving no room for Stubbs. Once he clears all COVID-19 protocols, Stubbs will report to the Astros' alternate site before likely heading to Triple-A Sugar Land when the minor-league season begins in May.

Garver (hand) will start at catcher and will bat second in Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Pirates.

Garver will rejoin the lineup for the Twins' penultimate spring game after a bruised left hand kept him out of action for three days. The 30-year-old looks set to begin the season as Minnesota's No. 1 catcher, though Ryan Jeffers could push for more work if Garver's 2020 offensive struggles carry over into the new season.

Kirk was informed Sunday that he would be part of the Blue Jays' Opening Day roster, Scott Mitchell of TSN.ca reports.

After mashing over his nine games with the Blue Jays as a rookie late in the 2020 season, Kirk hasn't cooled off so far this spring, posting a .917 OPS in 24 at-bats. While Danny Jansen's superior defense should keep him locked in as the Blue Jays' top catcher to begin 2021, Toronto likely wouldn't have carried the 22-year-old Kirk on the Opening Day roster if he wasn't in line for a fair share of at-bats. It's reasonable to expect a 60-40 percent split of the playing time at catcher between Jansen and Kirk, with the latter perhaps occasionally factoring into the mix at designated hitter as well. That should be enough to make Kirk a draftable option in AL-only leagues and deeper mixed leagues that start two catchers.

Manager Alex Cora said Sunday that Vazquez (eye) has "a really good chance" of being ready for Opening Day, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.

Vazquez is back with the team after recently leaving camp to tend to a personal matter, but he's still in the process of recovering from the left eye contusion and laceration he suffered last week. He appears to have made good progress on that front, with Cora indicating that Vazquez could be ready to appear in a "B' game Monday. If that's the case, Vazquez would likely be on track to catch Nathan Eovaldi in the April 1 season opener versus Baltimore.

Manager Dusty Baker said Sunday that Stubbs will remain away from the team for at least one or two days while waiting to clear COVID-19 health and safety protocols, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic reports.

After being hit in the head by a pitch in a March 22 game, Stubbs was held out of the lineup for two days before returning to action in a reserve capacity Thursday. While he looks to be in the clear for the start of the season from an injury standpoint, his entry into the health and safety protocol suddenly makes his status for Opening Day murkier. As the clear No. 3 catcher on the depth chart behind Martin Maldonado and Jason Castro, Stubbs won't see much work even if Houston elects to carry him on its 26-man active roster to begin the season.