MLB Player News

The Phillies enter spring training with a severe lack of depth behind starting catcher Carlos Ruiz, who is 36 and could be trade bait to a contender at the July deadline, reports Philly.com. "We're short there," general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. admitted.

Cameron Rupp is the current backup. He batted .183 in 60 at-bats last year.

Tommy Joseph is the only other catcher on the 40-man roster. The highly-touted 23-year-old prospect is coming back from August wrist surgery and might start the season at Double-A. He took his first batting practice a couple weeks ago.

“We’d be in trouble if Chooch goes down, so we have to continue to keep an eye on that,” Amaro said recently. “We’ve had some dialogue with some clubs about possible trades to add depth there, too. We’ll see. I think that may be something that gets more resolved in spring training than anything else.”

Mets catcher Travis d'Arnaud said being more comfortable at the plate helped him surge during the second half, according to the New York Post. 

The 25-year-old got off to a slow start last season, hitting just .180 in his first 39 games. After a brief demotion, d'Arnaud returned and hit .272 for the rest of the year. When asked what changed, d'Arnaud said he wasn't "scared to go up to the plate anymore. "I wanted to be up at the plate in certain situations, and I felt so much more relaxed and free at the plate."

D'Arnaud has been working out since December, and said his goal for 2015 is to stay healthy. "For me, it’s going to help me stay healthy and going into the season being the strongest I’ve ever been," d’Arnaud said.

D'Arnaud hit .242/.302/.416 over 385 at-bats last year.

New Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal said Monday he is willing to allow time to be split between he and A.J. Ellis if it means the team wins more this season.

"A.J. couldn't put it any better: He said, 'Whatever it takes to win,'" Grandal said. "If that day, A.J. is the man for the job behind the plate and we are going to get a win with A.J. behind the plate, that's going to be him. At the end of the day, if we get a ring, that's going to be a team win and we all have rings. Twenty years from now, I get to show that ring off and say, 'Hey, I won a World Series.'"

Grandal, who hit .225 with 15 home runs and 49 RBI for the Padres in 2014, was traded to Los Angeles in the offseason in exchange for Matt Kemp among other players.

"I think both teams got what they wanted," Grandal said. "The Dodgers were looking for a catcher. The Padres were looking for a big-time bat. That's what Kemp brought to the table and that's what I brought to the table."

Reds manager Bryan Price indicated catcher Devin Mesoraco could see a lot more time behind the plate in 2015, per the Dayton Daily News. He appeared in 114 games in 2014, starting 109 at catcher.

“I’ve been asked that question a lot about Mesoraco playing first base,” Price said. “How much would he play? Only if (Joey) Votto was injured. Realistically, I see him as a Yadier Moilina-type guy, who is going to catch 145 games a year, more so than I see him catching 110 a year and playing 20 or 30 at first base.

“It stood out more last year because I linked up Johnny Cueto with (Brayan) Pena catching. I anticipate Mesoraco catching a lot more games this year, especially if he stays healthy. We won’t pair Pena with Cueto as much. Devin did a real nice job with Johnny the times he caught him.”

The Reds agreed to a four-year, $28 million contract extension with catcher Devin Mesoraco, according to CBSSports.com Baseball Insider Jon Heyman. Mesoraco was in his first year of arbitration, so the deal covers all three years of arbitration and his first year of free agency.

Mesoraco was a first-time All-Star in 2014, when he hit .273 with 25 doubles, 25 home runs and 80 RBI in 114 games. He has a career .245/.315/.432/.747 slash line in 289 games.

Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco has filed for $3.6 million in aribtration, while the team has offered $2.45 million, CBSSports.com baseball insider Jon Heyman reports.

Mesoraco is eligible for arbitration for the first time this offseason. He hit .273/.359/.534 with 25 home runs and 80 RBI in 384 at-bats in 2014.

Diamondbacks general manager Dave Stewart confirmed once again to MLB.com on Thursday that the team's search for a catcher is over. The team will head to camp with Tuffy Gosewisch as the starter, Rule 5 pick Oscar Hernandez as the backup and prospect Pete O'Brien on the cusp of making the major-league roster.

"We sat back and thought about it and talked to our guys internally, our coaching staff, and we're not going do to anything," Stewart said. "Tuffy Gosewisch has never had the opportunity to be a front-line guy, but we do know he's capable of handling the [pitching] staff. If we get some offense from him, it would be great.

"The kid Hernandez we know, through our scouting reports, is a good catch-and-throw guy. And we're not expecting any offense from him. So if we get it, that would be great. But even more importantly, we think that Peter O'Brien is going to be ready. Our coaching staff says he has a chance to break with us from spring training. And if not spring training, we expect to see him by May or June."

Pirates catcher Chris Stewart avoided arbitration on Friday, agreeing to a $1,225,000 contract for 2015, according to CBSSports.com Baseball Insider Jon Heyman. He hit .294 with 10 RBI in 49 games last season for Pittsburgh.

The Brewers announced Thursday they avoided arbitration with catcher Martin Maldonado, agreeing to a two-year contract.

The 28-year-old Maldonado hit .234 with four home runs and 16 RBI in 52 games last season. He is a career .225 hitter with 16 home runs and 68 RBI in 200 MLB games.

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said he hasn't given much thought yet to how he is going to divide up playing time between catchers Yasmani Grandal and A.J. Ellis, per the Los Angeles Times.

Ellis, who started a team-high 89 games at catcher in 2014, has been the team's primary catcher since 2012. Grandal is in his first season with Los Angeles following an offseason trade with San Diego.

“Just knowing that Yasmani was a guy that at the end of the year, we didn’t really like being up there with men in scoring position. He’s got a big upside offensively we think, and really comfortable with him behind the plate," Mattingly said Wednesday. “What makes that easier for me is dealing with A.J. Talking to A.J. [Tuesday], knowing that could be a little bit of a sticky situation, his first response was, 'I just want to win.' That’ll work itself out.”

Mattingly added he is not looking to match up his catchers with certain starting pitchers.

“I’m not really comfortable any time we talk about just one guy catching that certain pitcher every time because that it really gets you caught in the middle,” Mattingly said. “I can’t say that I really favor that. The catching situation, we’ll work it out.”