MLB Player News

Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco began his minor-league rehab assignment on Thursday at Double-A Pensacola.

Mesoraco, recovering from a left oblique strain, caught Mat Latos for five innings and drew a walk in each of his first two at-bats. He is scheduled to catch seven innings Friday and nine innings Saturday, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

"I think the biggest test will be tomorrow, after I get out there and get moving, running around and take some swings and see how it responds tomorrow and see how everything feels," Mesoraco said. "But I don't expect any problems."

Giants catcher Hector Sanchez made his first start of the season Thursday, and he made a solid impact in an 8-5 win over the Diamondbacks.

Sanchez went 1 for 3 before being pulled late for a pinch-runner, driving in two runs in the game. He drove in one on a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning and then sparked a rally with his eighth-inning RBI double.

Sanchez is 2 for 4 on the season, with both of his hits going for doubles, halfway to his 2013 total, when he hit .248 for the season.  

Padres catcher Yasmani Grandal isn't ready to catch back to back games yet, according to MLB.com.

Grandal said he wanted to return by opening day, but was even more focused on being back for the upcoming series against Miami. Grandal has family in the area, and wants them to see him back on the field. He was able to catch all nine innings Tuesday, but won't be allowed to catch consecutive games just yet. The Padres are currently carrying three catchers, so there's no need to push Grandal at this point in his recovery. Grandal is coming back from an ACL injury.

Reds catcher Tucker Barnhart is expected to get the start behind the plate Thursday in what would be his major-league debut, MLB.com reports.

"We know he can receive and throw, block. He calls a good game," manager Bryan Price said. "Our pitchers enjoy throwing to him. ... We would've loved to allow him to get some seasoning at Triple-A, get used to catching more veteran, experienced pitchers and seeing what it's like to hit off those same types of pitchers in Triple-A. That being said, there's no reluctance whatsoever to have him on our team working with our pitching staff. I think he'll do a phenomenal job and give us great support until we get Devin [Mesoraco] back."

Barnhart spent last season with Double-A Pensacola, hitting .260/.348/.348 with three home runs and 44 RBI in 339 at-bats.

The Nationals recalled catcher Sandy Leon from Double-A Harrisburg after placing catcher Wilson Ramos (hand) on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday.

Leon could be with the Nationals for a long stretch, as Ramos is expected to miss 4-5 weeks, but Jose Lobaton is expected to get the bulk of work in Ramos' absence.

The Giants plan to be proactive with catcher Buster Posey's rest, and manager Bruce Bochy already has his first day off lined up. Bochy told MLB.com Tuesday he will rest Posey Thursday against the Diamondbacks, in the day game after a night game, which should be his usual pattern.

The improvements made by backup Hector Sanchez should help make finding off days for Posey easier, a fact Bochy readily acknowledged.

"[It] is going to make it a little bit easier to give Buster a few days [off] here and there," Bochy told MLB.com. "Both of them will benefit from it."

Posey may get his second day off at some point during the team's three-game weekend series with the Dodgers. Any extra-inning games might make the decision easier for Bochy, as well.

"We'll see how the games go. That plays a part in it," Bochy said

Sanchez appeared in 63 games last season, with Posey spending part of his season at first base. Posey still appeared in 148 games, 121 behind the plate. 

Padres catcher Yasmani Grandal made it into the starting lineup for Tuesday's game against the Dodgers after Rene Rivera started the season opener Sunday. It was Grandal's first start since hurting his knee July 6 against the Nationals. 

Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco will catch for Mat Latos and get some at-bats in Thursday's home opener for Double-A Pensacola, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Mesoraco was placed on the disabled list with an oblique issue to begin the season, but if he comes out of Thursday's game healthy, he could be activated soon after and still see some playing time in the regular season's first week. He was only able to get 29 at-bats this spring while dealing with the injury.

Padres catcher Yasmani Grandal will not start Sunday night against Los Angeles.

Grandal has been recovering from knee surgery during camp, but was healthy enough to make the club's opening day roster. While he's expected to eventually earn the starting job, Grandal will likely receive spot starts early in the year in order to make sure he doesn't reinjure himself.

An oblique injury has forced Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco to the 15-day disabled list.

Mesoraco has been making progress, but the team wants to take a cautious approach. The stint is backdated to March 21. Brayan Pena will receive the bulk of the playing time with Mesoraco out of action. He will hopefully return in early April.