MLB Player News

Murphy, one of the team's most diligent players with respect to fitness and this season's projected starting catcher, continues to work out in a variety of ways at home in West Monroe, New York while spring training is suspended, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

The 29-year-old backstop headed home to the Empire State after the Mariners closed down their Peoria, Arizona spring training facility and continues to work out with the help of a weight room in his basement and outdoor regimens on his expansive property. Murphy did struggle at the plate during Cactus League play -- he hit just .176 (3-for-17) across nine exhibitions -- but he has the full confidence of manager Scott Servais due to his work ethic and the .273/.324/.535 line he generated during his 2019 debut campaign in Seattle. "I think everybody understands who Murph is," Servais said this spring. "Murph's about business, about bringing 100% effort every day. He does all the things you love your catcher to do, because right or wrong everybody is always looking at the catcher. He knows that and welcomes that."

Higashioka has been getting in swings by hitting off a pitching machine at his home in Oregon, Brendan Kuty of NJ Advance Media reports.

In a video posted to his personal Instagram account Thursday, Higashioka can be seen hitting bombs off a machine loaded by his wife at their home. The 2020 campaign figures to be the most important of the backstop's career as he is expected to open the season as the Yankees' No. 2 catcher for the first time.

Sanchez has been continuing to develop a one-legged catching stance during the MLB hiatus, Brendan Kuty of NJ Advance Media reports.

Sanchez began working on the new stance during the early stages of camp in an effort to improve his pitch framing. With spring training suspended, players have mostly been left to train on their own. That hasn't stopped Sanchez from continuing to work on the stance, as he revealed in a video recently posted to his Instagram account.

Heim was in a tight battle with Austin Allen for the backup catcher job when spring training was suspended, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

Gallegos notes Heim was considered an underdog to Allen in the job battle as spring camp began, but the 24-year-old made up plenty of ground by hitting .320 (8-for-25) with two doubles, five RBI, one walk and four runs across 12 Cactus League contests. The stellar showing was generated over an admittedly small sample, but it nevertheless served as an encouraging encore to the .358/.412/.557 line he produced over 35 games at Triple-A Las Vegas to close out the 2019 season. With some type of ramp-up period expected prior to an eventual start to the regular season, Heim could have an opportunity make a final push to stick on the major-league roster.

Stassi is locked in as the Angels' No. 2 catcher due largely to his ability to frame pitches, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

The Angels have emphasized pitch framing in recent seasons because of the boost it can give to their pitching staff. As such, the team employs two of the league's top pitch framers in Stassi and Jason Castro. While Stassi has yet to attain a primary catcher role in the big leagues, he ranks 11th in pitch framing among backstops who have caught at least 1,000 innings over the last four years, per FanGraphs.

Trevino (finger) is two weeks away from being full-go in his baseball activities, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports.

He was set to open the year on the injured list with a hairline fracture on his right index finger, but the delayed start to the season means he will have time to make a full recovery without missing games. He is competing for the second catcher spot behind Robinson Chirinos.

Perez was the leading candidate to win the Rays' No. 2 catcher job on the Opening Day roster before the MLB suspended its season March 12, Josh Tolentino of The Athletic reports.

Mike Zunino entered spring training secure as the Rays' top backstop, leaving Perez to battle with non-roster invitees Kevan Smith and Chris Herrmann for the backup gig. Though both Smith and Herrmann boast more MLB experience, their statuses as non-roster players likely work against them as they attempt to unseat Perez for the No. 2 job. Additionally, Perez is helped by the fact that he bats from the left side, offering the Rays more flexibility if manager Kevin Cash wants to play matchups in the late innings rather than having the right-handed Zunino play the full game.

Haase and fellow catcher Grayson Greiner could both make the team behind starter Austin Romine when the regular season is able to begin, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

Haase seems to have the leg up on Greiner for the backup catcher role, but with a compacted schedule on the horizon and rosters likely being expanded to include as many as 30 players, many teams may opt to carry three catchers. It remains to be seen how playing time will shake out once the regular season is able to begin, but Haase won't have a ton of fantasy value unless he's starting more often than not.

The Red Sox may keep both Plawecki and Jonathan Lucroy if MLB expands rosters from 26 to 29 players for the first month of an abbreviated season, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.

Red Sox interim manager Ron Roenicke had wavered on the notion of keeping three catchers before the coronavirus pandemic forced MLB to halt baseball. He first said he couldn't envision a scenario where the Red Sox retained three catchers, then said he was open to the idea. If MLB adopts the roster expansion as expected, Boston will have the luxury of carrying two backup catchers over the first month of the season, giving Roenicke time to evaluate which is the best fit to back up Christian Vazquez.

Ice informed the Indians of his intention to retire Sunday, Andersen Pickard of MLBDailyDish.com reports.

Ice will finish his five-year minor-league career with a .206/.309/.313 slash line, 18 home runs and 101 RBI. The 24-year-old played in a total of 271 games and spent the entire 2019 season with Double-A Akron, where he hit just .180/.294/.255. The switch-hitting catcher was selected 72nd overall in the 2016 first-year player draft by the Indians following a successful three-year stint at Oregon State.