MLB Player News

Stassi started at catcher in Friday's Cactus League game versus Arizona, playing four innings and drawing a walk in his only plate appearance.

Stassi has been working his way back from the hip surgery he underwent last October, and he was consequently limited to DH duty prior to Friday. Now that he has returned to the field, Stassi should have adequate time to prepare for his role as the Angels' primary catcher this season.

Grandal (knee) will make his Cactus League debut Saturday against the Angels, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

It was originally announced that Grandal would appear in "B" games Friday and Saturday, but the White Sox changed course and will have the injured catcher appear in Saturday's main game. He served as the designated hitter Friday and went 1-for-4 and will follow up as the DH on Saturday against Los Angeles' Shohei Otani. There have been no announced plans for when Grandal will start behind the plate, although manager Tony La Russa said Grandal has been participating in catching drills and is "on time" in terms of his rehab.

Grandal (knee) will serve as the designated hitter in a pair of B games Friday and Saturday, James Fegan of The Athletic reports.

Grandal has been dealing with knee inflammation since late February. The White Sox have been cautious with him, and it's still not clear exactly when he'll get back behind the plate. He should still have time to get up to game speed by Opening Day as long as he begins getting defensive reps soon, however.

Perez has focused on being more patient at the plate and taking more pitches this spring, Lynn Worthy of The Kansas City Star reports.

Perez has a career 3.4 percent walk rate and walked only 1.9 percent of the time across 156 plate appearances in 2020. His attempts to scale back his aggressiveness have yielded some results so far, as he's already earned two free passes through 20 plate appearances in spring training. The approach may not last into the regular season, as Perez said that his primary focus will be continuing to make plenty of hard contact.

Grandal (knee) took swings during a simulated game Wednesday, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

Grandal continues to work his way back from right knee inflammation, and he looked good once again in Wednesday's sim game. Manager Tony La Russa remains encouraged by Grandal's progress, but it's not yet clear when he'll be able to appear in spring games.

Murphy (lung) doesn't have a timetable for his return to game action but is taking batting practice, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Murphy underwent surgery over the offseason to address a collapsed lung. He's behind the rest of his teammates this spring, but Murphy has been doing at least some baseball activities since late February, including taking batting practice against the Athletics' coaching staff since the start of this week. He's considered close to ready for game action, which should give him a chance to get up to speed by Opening Day.

Stassi (hip) could start at catcher within the next couple days, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

He's started at designated hitter twice in the last week, most recently on Wednesday, but Stassi's hip injury has prevented him from starting behind the dish. It sounds like that could change this weekend. In the meantime, Kurt Suzuki has been serving as the primary catcher.

Maldonado went 1-for-2 with a double and a run scored in Tuesday's spring game against the Nationals.

Maldonado is 3-for-9 with an RBI and two runs scored in five Grapefruit League games. He experienced an uptick in offense in 2020 -- his .728 OPS was his best since 2012 -- but he's on the team for his defense and ability to manage the pitching staff.

Murphy, who missed all of 2020 due to a foot injury, is 1-for-11 with a walk and four strikeouts across his first five Cactus League games.

The veteran backstop understandably has some rust to shed after last seeing seeing game action during the early stages of last year's summer camp. Murphy is projected to fill the slightly longer side of a platoon behind the dish alongside Luis Torrens, with the former initially expected to log a bit more than half the playing time at catcher.

The Rangers announced Tuesday that Huff (hamstring) has recently resumed light baseball activities, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

Huff still appears to be a ways off from taking full batting practice and defensive drills, so he could be placed on the 10-day injured list when the Rangers set their Opening Day roster. If that's the case, Jose Trevino and Jonah Heim would likely break camp as the Rangers' top two catchers.