MLB Player News

Barrera was optioned to Triple-A Fresno on Thursday, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.

This isn't all too surprising, as Barrera is buried behind a trio of veterans (Yan Gomes, Kurt Suzuki and Welington Castillo) on the depth chart. The backstop spent most of the 2019 season with Double-A Harrisburg, slashing .249/.323/.381 with eight home runs in 101 games.

Heineman was competing with Rob Brantly for the backup catching job before spring training was suspended, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Expected backup catcher Aramis Garcia underwent labrum surgery on his hip in early February and is out at least six months , leaving the Giants with a hole behind starter Buster Posey. Heineman didn't make a great case in spring training with a .489 OPS in 11 games, though Brantly also struggled in his own right.

Chicago manager David Ross said he has a "ton of confidence" in Caratini, Patrick Mooney of The Athletic reports.

Ross praised Caratini's ability to provide quality at-bats despite not playing every day and said he's one of the team's most valuable reserves. Willson Contreras is blocking the 26-year-old behind the plate and Anthony Rizzo has first base secured, but Caratini can capably spell either player. And if an injury opened up a more regular role, Caratini would have instant fantasy appeal.

Diaz and Drew Butera were making an argument for the Rockies to break camp with three catchers due to their impressive spring performances, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.

While Diaz and Butera are in camp on minor-league contracts, they outperformed Tony Wolters and Dom Nunez, who are on the 40-man roster. Diaz hit .429 with a double, a triple, two walks and one strikeout in 21 spring at-bats. He also saw the most playing time of the four candidates. Wolters' spot as the primary catcher would seem to be safe, but Nunez, who hit .200 with six strikeouts in 15 spring at-bats, has minor-league options remaining, so he could open the year at Triple-A.

Despite struggling this spring, slashing .118/.318/.118 in 22 plate appearances, Casali's roster spot for Opening Day was secured when the Reds optioned Tyler Stephenson to Triple-A Louisville.

This was never really a job battle, at least to start. But Casali could be at risk later in the season should Stephenson thrive at Louisville. There are some rumors, however, that MLB will expand rosters to account for an accelerated return to action, which would then allow the Reds to carry three catchers and possibly promote Stephenson to the big-league squad.

Hedges is likely to make the Padres' Opening Day roster, but the amount of playing time he'll receive has not yet been decided, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Hedges led Padres backstops with 102 games last season, but he posted a paltry .176 batting average while striking out 109 times in 312 at-bats. His elite defense is likely to keep Hedges on the big-league roster, but he could see considerably less playing time if Francisco Mejia is able to complement his superior bat with improved skills behind the plate. Luis Torrens is also in contention for a roster spot but remains a longshot, per Cassavell.

Wallach is expected to begin the season at Triple-A Wichita, but he was making a strong case for a big-league roster spot when spring training was suspended, going 7-for-18 (.389) with two home runs and a double.

The 28-year-old took full advantage of the Grapefruit League opportunities opened up by Jorge Alfaro's strained oblique, but the delayed start to the regular season should give Alfaro more than enough time to recover and cut off Wallach's path to the 26-man roster. Even if Alfaro is healthy for Opening Day, Francisco Cervelli has a lengthy concussion history, and the odds are good Wallach will be needed in the bigs at some point.

Knizner was hitting .154 (4-for-26) before spring training was suspended, and while he's slated to start the season at Triple-A Memphis, he hopes his next big-league opportunity arrives promptly, Corey Miller of KSDK.com reports. "Where I'm at now, where my skills are at, I feel great about where my body is at, so physically, mentally and skills-wise, I feel really good," Knizner said. "I think the point I'm at now in my career is needing that big league experience. I need that consistent playing time in the big leagues to continue to grow and be that consistent producer."

As his Grapefruit League numbers indicate, the 25-year-old backstop was scuffling at the plate, but he remains the heir apparent to Yadier Molina. However, Molina is projected for another heavy workload this season, while Matt Wieters was re-signed on a one-year deal to be the backup for a second straight season. Knizner will thus get regular playing time in Memphis, where he has logged a combined 83 games over the last two seasons. He did get his first taste of big-league regular-season action last season, slashing .226/.293/.377 across 58 plate appearances over 18 games.

D'Arnaud will split playing time behind the plate with Tyler Flowers for Atlanta and is expected to receive a majority of the starts.

After signing a two-year deal with Atlanta in the offseason, d'Arnaud immediately moved to the top of the depth chart. The 31-year-old's extensive injury history -- he's seen more than 400 plate appearances in a season only once in his career -- does give the club plenty of incentive to make sure he's well rested, however, and the split with Flowers could end up being closer to 50-50. D'Arnaud had gone just 3-for-16 (.188) this spring before the Grapefruit League schedule was suspended, but one of the hits left the yard and his 3:4 BB:K was sharp.

While Stallings' defensive prowess is the reason he's set to serve as Pittsburgh's primary catcher, he's also hit for a decent batting average with Triple-A Indianapolis in recent seasons, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.

The 30-year-old batted .291 (in 523 at-bats) over his last three minor-league campaigns with nine homers and two steals, and slashed .262/.325/.382 with five doubles, six home runs and 13 RBI in 210 plate appearances last season with Pittsburgh. Stallings led all major-league catchers in DRS per inning (minimum 450 innings), finishing with an overall plus-14 DRS in 463.1 innings played. He spent the offseason strengthening the back that bothered him last summer and hit .300 in 20 Grapefruit League at-bats. His top priority remains his defense, but he's shown an ability to hit for a higher batting average than he posted in 2019.