MLB Player News

Murphy has a broken bone in his foot and will begin the season on the injured list, Jen Mueller of ROOT Sports Northwest reports.

The 29-year-old was poised to begin the season as the Mariners' starting catcher, but he fouled a ball off his foot on two separate occasions in summer camp and won't be available for Opening Day. GM Jerry Dipoto said he doesn't believe it will be a significant absence, but Murphy doesn't have an official timeline for his return. Austin Nola is set to take over the starting role in the meantime.

Murphy's ankle isn't responding to treatment, which could impact his availability for Opening Day, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

Murphy was limited during camp after fouling two balls off his foot, and he could miss time to begin the regular season since his ankle isn't responding to treatment as the team had hoped. If the 29-year-old is unable to suit up for Opening Day, Austin Nola will likely serve as the primary catcher, with Joe Hudson or a current free agent as a potential backup.

Heim won't make the A's Opening Day roster but will be included on the team's three-man taxi squad.

The 25-year-old lost the backup catcher's job to Austin Allen, and Oakland apparently doesn't plan on opening the season with three catchers despite the expanded 30-man roster. However, Heim won't be far from the team and could quickly join the active roster once the season begins.

Rogers was reassigned to the Tigers' alternate training site Monday.

Both Rogers and Eric Haase were sent to the alternate site in Toledo, which clears the way for Austin Romine and Grayson Greiner to break summer camp on the active roster. Rogers could have a role on the team's three-player taxi squad for road games, as one spot needs to be used on a catcher, but the 25-year-old is otherwise on the outside looking in at the moment.

General manager Mike Elias said Monday that Rutschman could get called up this season but only "if we're heading toward a possible playoff berth," Joe Trezza of MLB.com reports.

Anything is possible, especially in a 60-game season, but it certainly seems as though Rutschman's chances of debuting this year are quite low given that the Orioles aren't expected to be anywhere close to competitive. That's hardly a surprise, as even a player of his considerable talent needs more than 37 professional games before making his big-league debut. The young catcher's presence in the team's player pool will give him the best possible development environment this season, but it's highly unlikely to lead to anything more than that.

The Tigers optioned Haase to their alternative training site Monday.

The transaction officially ends Haase's bid for a spot on the active 30-man Opening Day roster, and the backstop could be at risk of losing his spot on the 40-man roster as well if the Tigers add other players before the start of the season. Detroit appears set to proceed with Austin Romine and Grayson Greiner as its top two catchers.

Thole has been assigned to the Yankees' alternate training site.

Given Thole's place at the bottom of New York's catching depth chart, it comes as no surprise that he won't be part of the big-league roster to begin the season. He'll instead provide a veteran presence as part of the Yankees' satellite camp.

Haase could potentially lose his spot on the 40-man roster as the Tigers add players before the start of the season, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

Haase was thought to have the inside track on being the backup catcher during spring training, but Woodbery notes that Grayson Greiner will fill that role. That could put Haase's 40-man spot in jeopardy as the Tigers might need spots for the likes of Jordy Mercer, Jorge Bonifacio and a handful of pitchers. If Haase does get squeezed out of a regular roster spot, he could still end up on the team's three-player taxi squad for road trips as MLB rules stipulate that at least one taxi squad player is a catcher.

While Garver may get a higher percentage of starts behind the plate due to the shorter 60-game season, manager Rocco Baldelli told Aaron Gleeman of TheAthletic.com that he still plans to give him rest. "I would anticipate getting Mitch out there as much as we can, but Mitch is also going to get his days off. Alex [Avila] is going to get a fair amount of time as well. We're going to get into a rotation," Baldelli said.

Garver said his goal is to play 40-45 games during the 60-game season, but the coaching staff may limit him more to keep him fresh. The Twins made a concerted effort to keep their catchers well rested last season and didn't alter the plan even with Garver's breakout performance at the plate, so that trend could continue even in a shortened season.

Thaiss told reporters Thursday that his late arrival to summer camp was due to a positive test for the coronavirus in June, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Thaiss noted that he was asymptomatic during the length of his self-quarantine, but it took nearly 30 days for him to register negative tests at least 24 hours apart. That kept him from reporting to summer camp until July 12, and the reserve infielder has been attempting to make up for lost time since. While Thaiss indicated that he was very limited in terms of baseball activity while isolated in his apartment, he also expressed optimism about his ability to be ready to play by Opening Day. The 25-year-old is expected to serve primarily as a backup to Albert Pujols at first base this season.