MLB Player News

Murphy was traded to the Mariners from the Giants on Friday, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.

Murphy was claimed off waivers by the Giants at the start of this week but didn't make the Opening Day roster and was designated for assignment shortly thereafter. The only other catchers on Seattle's 40-man roster are Omar Narvaez and David Freitas -- who was optioned to Triple-A -- so Murphy will now have a chance to serve as the backup catcher. According to Greg Johns of MLB.com, Murphy will draw his first start in a Mariners uniform on Sunday in the series finale against the Red Sox.

McCann started at catcher Opening Day and went 0-for-3 in a 5-3 loss to the Royals.

McCann was the battery mate for Carlos Rodon, who worked well with the catcher during spring training, according to Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. It's not clear if McCann will be the personal catcher for Rodon, or if the decision was borne out of McCann having a stronger arm than Welington Castillo against the speedy Royals.

Narvaez is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Red Sox, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

Narvaez will head to the bench for Thursday's home-opener as the Red Sox look to stack right-handed hitters against lefty Chris Sale. In his place, David Freitas will start behind the dish and hit eighth.

Perez went 1-for-2 with a two-run home run in a 9-3 exhibition win over the Tigers on Tuesday.

Perez's 386-foot blast to right in the fourth inning was his first round tripper of the exhibition slate. The 24-year-old backstop finished spring play with a .235 average, although half of his eight hits went for extra bases. Perez will serve as a left-handed complement to Mike Zunino behind the dish during the coming season after slashing .284/.304/.392 across his first 80 major-league plate appearances in 2018.

The Angels reassigned Thaiss to minor-league camp Wednesday.

Thaiss stuck around for the entirety of the Angels' big-league camp, slashing .372/.413/.674 with nine extra-base hits across 46 plate appearances this spring. The 23-year-old should get the call to the majors at some point in 2019 but could have trouble finding regular at-bats if all of Shohei Ohtani (elbow), Albert Pujols and Justin Bour are on the active roster.

Perez started behind the plate and played four innings in the Indians' exhibition finale Tuesday against the Rangers, finishing 1-for-2 with a base hit and a strikeout.

Injuries to Jose Ramirez (knee), Francisco Lindor (calf) and Jason Kipnis (calf) leave the Tribe lineup in flux heading into Thursday's season opener in Minnesota, but Perez looks on track to be included in the starting nine and hit somewhere in the bottom half of the order. Perez wrapped up the spring with a .279 average and two home runs in 43 plate appearances, but his career .205/.298/.340 regular-season slash line is a better representation of what to expect from the backstop in 2019. He'll earn starts on the strength of his defense, with the Indians viewing anything he provides as a hitter as a bonus.

Rupp accepted an assignment to Triple-A Toledo on Tuesday.

Rupp was the odd man out in the Tigers' catcher contest, falling third behind Grayson Greiner and John Hicks. He'll head to the minors and wait for an injury to open up playing time.

Leon was outrighted to Triple-A Pawtucket on Tuesday, Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reports.

Leon, who passed through waivers without being claimed Tuesday, has 48 hours to accept his assignment to Triple-A or elect free agency. Should he choose to stick in the Red Sox's organization and report to the PawSox, it would allow the backstop to retain his $2.475 million salary for 2019.

Leon passed through waivers without being claimed Tuesday, Evan Drellich of WEEI Boston reports.

Leon has a good reputation as a pitch framer, but no team felt like creating a roster spot for a player who hit .177/.232/.279 last season. By all accounts Leon is expected to head to Triple-A Pawtucket and wait for an injury to open up an opportunity to return to the big leagues.

Wynns (oblique) was placed on the 10-day injured list Monday.

As expected, Wynns will be out for at least the first week of the season. It's unclear when he's expected to return, but he's returned to batting practice in recent days, so his absence may not be too long. Pedro Severino and Jesus Sucre will open the season as the team's catchers.