MLB Player News

Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco went 1 for 3 with a walk and a three-run home run in his team's 11-1 win over the Blue Jays Saturday.

Mesoraco has now rattled off home runs in three straight games as he begins to heat back up with the bat, going 8 for 19 over his last five games. He has hit .310/.365/.628 with 12 home runs and 34 RBI in 145 at-bats.

Catcher Travis d'Arnaud is torrid at Triple-A Las Vegas. It remains to be seen if he can carry his hot bat back to the Mets.

d'Arnaud believes it was in his head. "It was all mental," he told the Las Vegas Review-Journal about his poor production before a demotion and concussion. "Just focusing in on every at-bat like it's my last at-bat. Not thinking about a hundred different things. Just focusing on one thing and keeping a solid approach on each and every pitch. I kind of went away from that."

The 25-year-old d'Arnaud is expected to return to the Mets early next week. He was hitting just .180 before getting sent down, but is batting .432 with six home runs and 15 RBI in just 11 games with Las Vegas.

Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco ended a 10-game homerless streak with a big shot late in Thursday's game against the Pirates.

Mesoraco was hitless before stepping to the plate in the ninth inning, but he sent the game into extra innings with his first hit, a solo home run off closer Jason Grilli. He finished the game 1 for 4 with a walk in addition to the one run driven in via home run.

Mesoraco has been in a slump in the month of June, hitting .200 with two home runs and four RBI in 13 games. Despite that, he is hitting .304/.358/.587 for the season. 

Phillies catcher Cameron Rupp has been promoted to the majors Thursday.

Rupp appeared briefly with the club last season, but has not been up in 2014. He's hitting .167 over 108 at-bats in Triple-A. 

The Mets have tentative plans to promote catcher Travis d'Arnaud during a two-game series against the A's that begins on June 24, ESPNNewYork.com reports.

D'Arnaud was optioned to the minors earlier in June after struggling to a .180/.271/.273 line in 128 at-bats. He's found his stroke at Triple-A Las Vegas, hitting .395 with five home runs and 10 RBI in 38 at-bats.

The Marlins announced after Wednesday's game against the Cubs they optioned reliever Dan Jennings to Triple-A New Orleans and catcher Jacob Realmuto to Double-A Jacksonville. They replaced both players on the roster by recalling reliever Kevin Gregg and activating catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia (concussion) off the 15-day disabled list.

Mets catcher Travis d'Arnaud has 38 at-bats at Triple-A Las Vegas in his rehab from a concussion that has sidelined him since June 6. That has led the team to declare to the New York Post that he will be back with the big league club "soon."

d'Arnaud has been tearing it up at that level with a stat line of .395/.452/.868. He already has five home runs.

Even if the Braves are considering calling up Christian Bethancourt to play catcher, as MLB.com recently reported, all it would mean for Fantasy owners is an increase in Evan Gattis' playing time. True, with Gattis moving to left field, B.J. Upton would be out of a job, but it's not like anyone's still holding out hope for a rebound from him.

Bethancourt is only a prospect because of his defense. He doesn't offer enough offensive potential to move the needle in Fantasy, particularly at a deep position. Even with a recent hot streak at Triple-A Gwinnett that has him batting .312 over his last 37 games, he's still batting just .274 with a .672 OPS overall. He did show so improvement with a .277 batting average and 12 home runs in 358 at-bats at Double-A Mississippi last year, but his step back this year shows his bat is still far from major league ready.

Maybe he could put up numbers along the lines of a Tyler Flowers or, in a best-case scenario, a Welington Castillo, but that would make him no more than a desperation option in two-catcher leagues.

With Braves catcher prospect Christian Bethancourt on a roll offensively at Triple-A Gwinnett, Atlanta has started toying with the idea of shaking up their lineup, according to MLB.com.

The lineups moves would include moving catcher Evan Gattis to left field, Justin Upton to right field, Jason Heyward to center field and struggling outfielder B.J. Upton to the bench. The lineup changes would create an opening for Bethancourt to start at catcher.

Bethancourt has always been lauded for his defense, but the 22-year-old catcher is beginning to improve offensively. He is batting .312 with a .764 OPS in his last 37 games at Triple-A.

"We're hearing [Bethancourt] right now," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "We're paying attention."

Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco tried to break out of his hitting slump Sunday at Milwaukee, going 3 for 5 with one RBI and one run. All three of his hits were singles.

Mesoraco entered Sunday's game mired in a 4-for-33 slump in June and is batting .139 (10 for 72) in his last 21 games since collecting four hits May 18 at Philadelphia.