MLB Player News
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Tom Murphy C | SF
Giants' Tom Murphy: Limited to rehab for next two weeks
Murphy will receive a second epidural shot this week to address a mid-back disc herniation and will be limited strictly to rehab work for the next two weeks following the injection, Justice delos Santos of The San Jose Mercury News reports.
Murphy can safely be ruled out from being ready for Opening Day, which had already been expected after he had yet to appear in any Cactus League games before being diagnosed with the disc issue in late February. Given that he missed most of the 2024 season after suffering a sprained MCL in his left knee, Murphy will likely be eased along slowly in his rehab program for his back injury once he's cleared to resume baseball activities. With Murphy set to begin the season on the shelf, Sam Huff or non-roster invitee Max Stassi could break camp as the Giants' No. 2 catcher behind Patrick Bailey.
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Nick Fortes C | TB
Marlins' Nick Fortes: Making return Monday
Fortes (groin) will start at catcher and bat second in Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Nationals.
Fortes will rejoin the lineup for the first time since last Wednesday, when he sustained a groin contusion after being struck by a foul ball while catching. The missed time shouldn't put Fortes at any risk of not being ready for the start of the season, when he'll project to serve as Miami's No. 1 backstop.
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Jose Herrera C | TEX
Diamondbacks' Jose Herrera: Exits early Sunday
Herrera exited Sunday's contest against the Rangers early with right wrist soreness.
Herrera was forced out of the game in the top of sixth inning after a bang-bang play at home plate. The catcher finished his day having gone 1-for-4 with an RBI double and a run scored. More information on Herrera's status will likely be provided in the near future.
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Carlos Perez C | HOU
Cubs' Carlos Perez: Sent out to minor-league camp
The Cubs reassigned Perez to minor-league camp Sunday, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Perez's dismissal from big-league camp leaves Carson Kelly, Miguel Amaya and Reese McGuire as the catchers who are likely competing for two spots on the Cubs' season-opening roster. The 34-year-old Perez has seen big-league action in parts of five seasons but spent the entire 2024 campaign with the Athletics' Triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas, where he slashed .260/.344/.544 over 468 plate appearances.
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Miguel Amaya C | CHC
Cubs' Miguel Amaya: Stays hot Saturday
Amaya went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Saturday's Cactus League game against the Mariners and is now batting .524 this spring with a 1.450 OPS.
Amaya has gone 11-for-21 across seven contests with two doubles and two home runs. The 26-year-old has more upside than the Cubs' other catcher, veteran Carson Kelly, and Amaya could seize a majority of the playing time as the season progresses if he delivers on his promise at the plate.
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Francisco Alvarez C | NYM
Mets' Francisco Alvarez: Out with hand fracture
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said that Alvarez has been diagnosed with a fractured hamate bone in his left hand and will be sidelined 6-to-8 weeks after he undergoes surgery Monday, Tim Healey of Newsday reports.
Alvarez last saw Grapefruit League action Friday against the Nationals, but it's unclear exactly how he suffered the injury. The 23-year-old missed over seven weeks in 2024 due to a torn UCL in his left thumb, and he struggled to find much consistency when healthy with 11 home runs and a .237/.307/.403 slash line over 100 regular-season games. Making his 2025 debut in late April is likely the best-case scenario while coming back from a fracture in his glove hand, but there's a real chance Alvarez doesn't return from the injured list until May. Luis Torrens is poised to take over as the No. 1 catcher in the interim, though the Mets could look outside the organization to bolster their depth behind the plate.
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Riley Adams C | WAS
Nationals' Riley Adams: Scratched from lineup
Adams was scratched from the lineup ahead of Saturday's Grapefruit League game versus St. Louis due to a right wrist injury, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.
Adams took a pitch off his wrist Friday, and although X-rays came back negative immediately afterward, the Nationals opted to give him Saturday to recover. He should be back in the lineup within a few days.
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Drake Baldwin C | ATL
Braves' Drake Baldwin: Staking claim to Opening Day role
Baldwin appears to be the favorite to begin the season as Atlanta's starting catcher with Sean Murphy (ribs) sidelined, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.
The organization's top prospect seemed likely to make his MLB debut at some point in 2025 anyway, but Murphy's injury in camp could accelerate that timeline. Baldwin might have pushed his way onto the Opening Day roster anyway given how he's performed this spring -- both pitchers and coaches have been impressed by his work behind the plate, and the 23-year-old is batting .375 (6-for-16) so far in camp with an eye-popping 4:0 BB:K. Murphy could be back by mid-April, giving Baldwin a small window to establish himself in the majors should he break camp with the club.
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Keibert Ruiz C | WAS
Nationals' Keibert Ruiz: Launches two homers Thursday
Ruiz went 2-for-4 with two home runs and three RBI in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Cardinals.
Neither blast came against a particularly noteworthy pitcher -- he took Tekoah Roby deep for a two-run shot in the fourth inning before lofting a solo homer off Leonardo Taveras in the sixth -- but it was still a strong showing from Ruiz. The 26-year-old backstop may have worn down last season, stumbling to a .229/.260/.359 slash line with 13 homers in 127 regular-season games, but the Nats made no move to add a backup in the offseason who could potentially take some of the workload off him.
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Agustin Ramirez C | MIA
Marlins' Agustin Ramirez: Goes yard Thursday
Ramirez went 1-for-2 with a solo home run in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against Atlanta.
Liam Hicks got the start at catcher for Miami, but Ramirez's first long ball of the spring still came against a reliever with a good chance of breaking camp on Atlanta's 26-man roster in Angel Perdomo. Ramirez is expected to begin the campaign back at Triple-A Jacksonville, where he slashed .270/.368/.461 in 39 games last season after being acquired from the Yankees in the Jazz Chisholm trade, but Nick Fortes (groin) has been banged up early in camp and offers very little with his bat even when he's healthy. If Ramirez has a quick start to the year in Jacksonville, he should make his big-league debut this summer, and a more serious injury for Fortes could accelerate that timeline even further.