MLB Player News

The Giants placed catcher Hector Sanchez on the 7-day concussion disabled list Saturday, after a foul tip caught him on the catcher's mask Friday. He will be out until at least next week while recovering, but will have to clear the league's concussion protocol before he can be cleared for action. 

Giants catcher Hector Sanchez was diagnosed with a mild concussion Friday, after taking a ball off his mask.

Sanchez took a foul tip off the bat of Adrian Gonzalez in the third inning, and manager Bruce Bochy confirmed the diagnosis after the game. Sanchez will be placed on the 7-day concussion disabled list Saturday, and the team is expected to make a roster move to call up a replacement before that evening's game. 

Giants backup catcher Hector Sanchez was forced out of Friday's game against the Dodgers after taking a foul ball off the mask in the top of the fourth inning. He was replaced by Buster Posey.

Sanchez owns a .196/.237/.301 slash line with three homers and 163 at-bats. His status remains uncertain for Saturday's clash with the Dodgers.

The Marlins recalled catcher Jacob Realmuto from Double-A Jacksonville Friday, after sending Anthony DeSclafani down.

Realmuto appeared in seven games earlier in the season for the Marlins, driving in five runs while hitting just .200 in 20 at-bats. He was hitting .301/.368/.474 at Jacksonville.  

The Braves optioned catcher Christian Bethancourt to Triple-A Gwinnett to make room for Evan Gattis' return from the disabled list. Bethancourt batted .240 with three RBI in 50 at-bats.

Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco slugged his 16th home run Friday against the Pirates. 

Mesoraco's big fly sparked the team's eighth inning comeback. He worked a four-pitch at-bat from Tony Watson. On the final pitch, Mesoraco belted a 96 mph fastball out to left for the solo shot. He finished 1 for 4, with one run scored and one RBI. 

The Reds optioned catcher Tucker Barnhart back to Triple-A Louisville Friday, just a few days after he was called up. He appeared in two games, going 2 for 5. 

It's too early to tell anything -- most any player can go off for a two-week stretch -- but the timing of this particular hot streak and the history of the player in question make it too enticing to ignore.

In 13 games since returning from the minors, Mets catcher Travis d'Arnaud is hitting .300 (15 for 50) with three home runs and a .900 OPS.

No, his plate discipline hasn't been especially good -- he has 13 strikeouts to just three walks during that stretch -- but that wasn't exactly his calling card in the minors either. He was just a good hitter, routinely hitting well over .300 with plus power.

It's worth noting he hit .436 (24 for 55) with six home runs and a 1.384 OPS during his stint in the minors, but that was at Triple-A Las Vegas of the Pacific Coast League, a level he dominated while in the Blue Jays organization as well. Still, it all plays into d'Arnaud's theory that he was simply trying to do too much in his previous stints in the majors.

So a former top prospect who struggles to find his footing in the majors gets sent down, rediscovers his stroke and comes back to put up the numbers everyone from him all along. Again, it's not an open-and-shut case, but if you need a catcher (perhaps if you lost Yadier Molina), it's reason enough to act.

Mets catcher Travis d'Arnaud went 1 for 3 with a two-run home run in his team's 4-1 win over the Braves Wednesday.

d'Arnaud has picked up at least one hit in 12 of his 13 games since returning from the minor leagues, and Wednesday's home run was his third in that span. He has hit .213/.289/.354 with six home runs and 19 RBI in 178 at-bats.

Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said Wednesday that the team has no plans to move Evan Gattis to a different position when he returns, meaning Christian Bethancourt will likely be sent back to the minors when Gattis is activated, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

An excellent defensive catcher, Bethancourt has hit .281/.324/.313 in 32 at-bats over eight games since joining the Braves. There was speculation the team could be entertaining a positional shift of Gattis even before his back injury. However, it appears the Braves will stick with Gattis behind the plate and let Bethancourt continue to develop at the Triple-A level.