MLB Player News

Realmuto went 2-for-5 with his second stolen base of the season in Friday's loss to the Nationals.

The young backstop has been seeing time out of the leadoff spot against left-handed pitching and is batting .306/.316/.432 on the year. The speed is legit -- Realmuto topped out with 18 steals back in 2014 in the minors -- and he's a threat to pile up double-digit swipes as a catcher.

Grandal is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Cardinals.

Manager Dave Roberts gave Grandal the nod over A.J. Ellis on Thursday because he liked the matchup for Grandal against Mets right-hander Bartolo Colon. It proved to be the right call, as Grandal drove in three of the Dodgers' five runs with a home run, his second in as many games and third of the year. Ellis will take over behind the dish Friday.

Murphy (oblique) has returned to action with Triple-A Albuquerque, and is slashing .273/.304/.591 with one home run through six games.

Murphy was a trendy cheap catcher in two-catcher formats this year, and he still has time to make good on that flyer. With Nick Hundley (oblique) on the big league DL, Tony Wolters and Dustin Garneau are manning the catcher position for the Rockies, so Murphy should get a shot fairly soon if he continues to hit at Triple-A

Grandal went 1-for-4 with a three-run homer against the Mets on Thursday.

The first-inning blast provided more than enough offense for his battery mate, Clayton Kershaw, who spun a shutout. Grandal's now homered in consecutive games, and after a season-opening DL stint, he's pretty much delivering what's expected of him -- promising pop, good plate discipline and unimpressive batting average.

Barnhart had a double and a triple in Wednesday's loss to the Pirates, raising his line to .279/.329/.426 over 68 at-bats.

With Devin Mesoraco out for the season, Barnhart will be the Reds' primary catcher, with little in the organization on the way to unseat him. He slugged just .326 last year, with only 12 extra-base hits in 242 at-bats. He now has seven extra-base hits already this year.

Grandal went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's loss to the Mets.

The homer, Grandal's second of the season, put the Dodgers up temporarily against flamethrower Noah Syndergaard. He's been slumping to begin May, but Grandal is still batting .250 with a .355 OBP, as he's been able to maintain a walk rate right around 15 percent. It would be nice to see Grandal loft the ball more consistently, but the power upside is still there, and that's not easy to find at the catcher position.

Bethancourt went 2-for-3 with a solo homer, accounting for the only run in the nightcap of Wednesday's doubleheader sweep against the Cubs.

The 24-year-old catcher has now slugged homers in three of his last four starts, and with Derek Norris hitting .187 (though he did have three hits in the afternoon game Wednesday), it wouldn't be a huge surprise to see Bethancourt start picking up some more action behind the plate. It's worth remembering that he was considered a top-100 prospect with the Braves as recently as last preseason and looked like he made major strides with the bat in Triple-A last year. That's not to say he's a star in the making, but there's seemingly some help to be found here for owners in two-catcher leagues.

Sanchez was claimed by the Padres off of Waivers on Wednesday, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Sanchez was designated for assignment by the White Sox on Monday, and the Padres decided to claim him off waivers. He will serve as a reserve catcher behind starter Derek Norris.

Plawecki is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Dodgers.

Plawecki has gotten a hit in five straight starts, but the Mets seem content to give him a day off to rest. Rene Rivera will slot in behind the dish Wednesday.

Mesoraco (shoulder) underwent surgery Tuesday and manager Bryan Price said that the damage was worse than initially thought, C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. He's expected to miss six months.

This is disheartening news for the promising young catcher as Tuesday's announcement from Price suggests that Mesoraco will have his season cut short for a second straight year. Mesoraco had surgery Tuesday to repair the torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder, and Price told reporters that his timetable to return has been pushed back to a six-month window, which would end his season if he follows on that timeline. Tucker Barnhart and Jordan Pacheco figure to handle most of the catching duties for the remainder of the season with Mesoraco sidelined.