MLB Player News

Stewart (knee) is healthy entering spring training after undergoing knee surgery in September, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.

The Pirates are purposely giving Stewart a light workload during camp in an effort to preserve the 34-year-old for the regular season. At this point in his career, he offers little in the way of offense. Stewart slashed .214/.319/.286 in 113 plate appearances in 2016.

Manager Dave Roberts said Friday that Grandal will be the Dodgers' primary starting catcher against both lefties and righties, as opposed to platooning with another player Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register reports.

Coming off a season in which he hit a career-high 27 home runs, the Dodgers will be hoping Grandal can continue to establish himself as an all-star-caliber catcher in his third full season with the team. The 28-year-old recently avoided arbitration by signing a one-year, $5.5 million deal this offseason. If he can stay healthy, Grandal could be in for a stellar offensive season.

Rockies manager Bud Black said that Murphy and Tony Wolters will have "shared duties" behind the plate in 2017, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post reports.

Murphy certainly has more offensive upside than Wolters, but Black was insistent that both offense and defense would play a big role in who would play on a given day. Black also added that it's unrealistic to expect either catcher to put together a 130-game season, so fantasy owners should expect a fairly flexible timeshare behind the plate heading into 2017, which may decrease both backstops' values.

Mets manager Terry Collins told d'Arnaud that the team wants him to play about 100 games this season, the New York Post reports.

That doesn't seem like a particularly high target, but d'Arnaud's career high in games played is 108, set in 2014, due to his inability to stay healthy. If he does regain the form he showed a couple of years ago he could be a sleeper, but the 28-year-old carries too much risk to be anything more than an endgame option at catcher in most fantasy formats.

Contreras will be Jon Lester's personal catcher this season, Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago reports.

The news comes as no surprise, as Contreras was already expected to be the everyday catcher for the Cubs moving forward. The 24-year-old hit .282/.357/.488 in his rookie season and will have a chance to improve on those numbers with more consistent playing time. David Ross, who served as Lester's battery mate the past two seasons, will help coach Contreras in spring training, according to manager Joe Maddon.

Barnhart will split catching duties with Devin Mesoraco, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Manager Bryan Price says he expects Mesoraco to play no more than "50 to 60 percent on the front end of the season," which could spell good news for Barnhart. The young catcher failed to capitalize on his opportunities last season, slashing .257/.323/379 in 115 games behind the plate. Nonetheless, with Mesoraco easing back into catching activities, Barnhart should have further chances to impress in a part-time role.

Mesoraco will split primary catching duties with Tucker Barnhart, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

The move is likely precautionary, as manager Bryan Price plans on not rushing Mesoraco into a heavy workload. "I don't think I would anticipate him playing more than 50-60 percent on the front end of the season," Price said. The 28-year-old catcher has played a total of 39 games over the last two seasons while dealing with a slew of injuries. Unless circumstances change, don't presume Mesoraco as an everyday player right away.

Realmuto is expected to see some action at first base in 2017, The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports.

He'll still be the Marlins' primary catcher, but if the team elects to carry an extra arm in their bullpen, they'll likely forego having a regular platoon partner for Justin Bour at first base and instead have Realmuto spell him on occasion against tough lefties. The 25-year-old backstop is athletic enough to pick up the new defensive assignment and is coming off a career season in which he posted a .771 OPS, so it makes sense for the Marlins to find ways to keep his bat in the lineup. Realmuto played in 137 games and received 509 at-bats in 2016, though, so don't expect a big increase in his playing time, even with the added responsibility.

Hedges is projected to be the starting catcher for the Padres this season, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

With the club shipping Derek Norris to Washington, Hedges is next in line to start games behind the dish. He hasn't done much offensively in his two brief stints in the majors, slashing .161/.206/.236 in 178 plate appearances. That being said, batting .326/.353/.597 with 21 homers and 82 RBI with Triple-A El Paso last season shows that there is some potential in his bat at the major league level. Even is Hedges doesn't hit out of the gates, his defensive abilities should keep him in the lineup on a regular basis.

Bethancourt is targeting early March for his Cactus League pitching debut, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

The Padres have been working with the catcher on his pitching mechanics, and recently clocked his fastball at 97 mph during a Panama Winter League game. Although the Padres have been unclear about his role going forward, his powerful arm could see him in the bullpen more often than expected. Last year with the Padres, the 25-year-old pitched 1.2 scoreless innings in two games and slashed .228/.265/.368 in 204 plate appearances.