MLB Player News

Realmuto will make $2.9 million in 2018 after losing his arbitration case, Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reports.

Realmuto proposed a figure of $3.5 million. The catcher is set for his fourth season as the primary catcher for Miami, and although he didn't maintain his batting average from 2016, he did end up with better slugging numbers last season. In total, he compiled a slash line of .278/.332/.451 with 17 home runs and 65 RBI in 141 games, while also sprinkling in eight stolen bases. He should have solid value heading into this upcoming season, although his RBI numbers may come down a tad given the state of the club's current roster.

Smith has been invited to the Dodgers' major-league camp this spring, J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles Daily News reports.

Smith will join fellow catching prospect Keibert Ruiz at big-league camp, though both backstops are expected to open the 2018 campaign in the minors given the trio of catchers already on the Dodgers' 40-man roster. The 22-year-old spent most of his season with High-A Rancho Cucamonga, hitting .232/.355/.448 with 11 homers in 72 games before earning a promotion to Double-A Tulsa. He appeared in just one game for the Drillers, as he was hit by a pitch on the hand and forced to miss the remainder of the season. Smith should return to Tulsa to start the season.

Ruiz has been invited to the Dodgers' major-league camp this spring, J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles Daily News reports.

Ruiz earned himself an invitation to major-league spring training with a stellar 2017 -- he was the club's minor-league player of the year. The switch-hitting backstop, who is just 19 years old, excelled in A-ball last season, hitting .317/.372/.423 in 63 games with Low-A Great Lakes while posting an equally impressive .315/.344/.497 line in 38 games with High-A Rancho Cucamonga. Ruiz, who is touted as one of the best catching prospects in the game, will likely spend most of 2018 between High-A and Double-A Tulsa

D'Arnaud agreed to a one-year, $3.475 million deal with the Mets on Friday, avoiding arbitration, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet reports.

He gets a healthy raise over the $1.875 million he received in his first year of arbitration. Save for an impressive but injury-shortened 2015 season, d'Arnaud has been a pretty big disappointment, relative to his prospect pedigree. He will enter spring training in a competition with Kevin Plawecki for the starting catcher job, and in all likelihood, the two will split time pretty evenly this season.

Grandal and the Dodgers avoided arbitration by agreeing on a one-year, $7.9 million contract Thursday, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.

Despite the two parties agreeing on a contract for next season, it's still unclear where Grandal stands with the Dodgers' brass at this point. The backstop served as the team's starting catcher for most of the season, but his second-half struggles saw the hot-hitting Austin Barnes step into the starting role down the stretch. Still, Grandal hit a respectable .247/.308/.459 with 22 homers in 482 plate appearances (129 games), and given the fact that Barnes can play other positions, he should see his fair share of starts behind the dish, especially against right-handed pitching.

Rupp agreed to a one-year, $2.05 million contract with the Phillies on Wednesday, avoiding arbitration, Matt Gelb of the Philly Inquirer reports.

Rupp slashed .217/.299/.417 with 14 home runs and 34 RBI in 88 games for the Phillies last season. The catcher will likely take on a reserve role in 2018, as Jorge Alfaro is assumed to hold down the starting spot. With Andrew Knapp also on the roster, Rupp may receive even less playing time, but that will depend on new manager Gabe Kapler's stance on keeping two or three active catchers. For fantasy purposes, Rupp is unlikely to make much of an impact barring an injury to Alfaro, and could be competing for a roster spot come spring training.

Bethancourt signed a minor-league contract with the Brewers on Monday which includes an invitation to spring training.

Bethancourt has spent parts of each of the previous two seasons as a two-way player for the Padres, though he hasn't found much success in either role. The 26-year-old hit just .225/.261/.360 across 211 plate appearances with San Diego over the past two seasons while allowing nine runs (six earned) on six hits and eight walks across 5.1 innings over that same span. It's unclear if the Brewers will continue to use Bethancourt as a two-way player at this point, but at the very least, look for him to offer organizational catching depth in 2018.

Rosario signed a minor-league contract with the Diamondbacks, Matt Eddy of Baseball America reports.

Rosario played in 50 games for Triple-A Memphis in the Cardinals' system in 2017, but also appeared in 23 games for the big-league club during the past two seasons. The soon-to-be 31-year-old hasn't been able to find any success during his brief opportunities in the majors, but he will provide organizational depth for the Diamondbacks heading into 2018. Last season at Triple-A, he slashed .247/.291/.279 with 23 RBI and six extra-base hits.

Sanchez agreed to a minor-league deal with the Giants on Thursday, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Sanchez will return to the Giants' organization, where he spent the first nine years of his career before appearing with the White Sox and Padres in 2016 and 2017. Buster Posey and Nick Hundley have the catching duties locked down at the major-league level, so Sanchez will kick things off in the minors in 2018.

Davis signed a minor-league contract that includes an invitation to spring training with the Cubs on Friday, Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Davis was recently non-tendered by the Cubs at the beginning of the month, but the club will bring him back on a minor-league deal after he spent most of the 2017 season with Triple-A Iowa. During that time, he slashed .297/.357/.429 with six home runs and 62 RBI. He wound up playing in eight games for the big-league team as well, but there won't be much use for him at the major-league level with Willson Contreras and Victor Caratini on the roster.