MLB Player News

Bethancourt (arm) recorded one at-bat during Monday's game against the Dodgers.

Bethancourt left Saturday's game after being hit by a pitch, but returned Monday to go 0-for-1 at the plate. Although it's likely he'll begin the season in the minor leagues, it's still good to see the 26-year-old catcher back out on the field. Manny Pina and Jett Bandy look to be the two backstops that will make Milwaukee's Opening Day roster with Stephen Vogt likely on the DL.

Sanchez was cut from major-league camp Monday, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

After reporting to minor-league camp, Sanchez will likely be assigned to Triple-A Sacramento. Sanchez missed much of the Giants' games this spring as he had to tend to a hamstring injury. With Buster Posey and Nick Hundley poised to serve as the team's catchers this season, Sanchez will provide organizational depth.

The Phillies have been shopping Rupp to other teams during spring training, two sources informed Matt Gelb of The Athletic Philadelphia.

After serving as the Phillies' Opening Day catcher in 2017, Rupp fell to third on the organizational depth chart at the position before the end of the season following the graduations of Jorge Alfaro and Andrew Knapp to the big leagues. In addition to the added competition behind the plate, Rupp saw his offensive performance dip last season, hitting just .217 while striking out in a career-high 34.4 percent of his plate appearances. Rupp isn't a special defender either, so it's unlikely he would get the opportunity to compete for a No. 1 role if he lands with a new club before the start of the season.

Caratini is likely to begin the season at Triple-A Iowa, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

The Cubs appear to be favoring veteran Chris Gimenez for the backup role behind Willson Contreras. Caratini hit an unremarkable .254/.333/.356 in 66 plate appearances for the Cubs last season. He has little left to prove as a hitter at the Triple-A level, however, having hit .342/.393/.558 in 326 plate appearances with Iowa last year, but the extra reps behind the plate could help him become more reliable defensively. He's unlikely to receive regular playing time at the big-league level this year unless Contreras suffers an injury.

D'Arnaud went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and three RBI in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Orioles.

The 29-year-old could be in line to lose playing time behind the plate to Kevin Plawecki under new manager Mickey Callaway, but d'Arnaud is certainly making a positive impression on his new bench boss this spring, going 10-for-31 with three doubles, two homers and a 6:5 BB:K. Perhaps most importantly, d'Arnaud has looked healthy so far in camp, and if he can avoid the lengthy DL stints and lingering injuries that have plagued his career to date, he could still have some upside left in his bat.

In his second full spring training working with Jon Lester, Contreras is drawing high marks from the veteran left-hander, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Last spring, there was some uncertainty over who would catch Lester after the retirement of David Ross, who had served as the lefty's personal catcher. While Lester's ERA did jump from 2.44 in 2016 with primarily Ross behind the plate to 4.33 last year, Contreras was able to catch 12 of the 31 runners who tried to steal against Lester. Contreras also tied for the MLB lead with six catcher pickoffs. "As far as working with him and the way he goes about it, I love everything he does back there," Lester said. This bodes well for the young catcher's playing time outlook, as he won't be sitting every time Lester starts, though the team will no doubt still look to find regular rest opportunities for Contreras to keep him fresh.

Realmuto (back) is scheduled to play catch Monday and remains on track to be ready for Opening Day, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports.

The backstop is healing a little slower than anticipated after sustaining a lower-back contusion March 11, but the Marlins believe he'll be able to return to the Grapefruit League lineup soon and get in enough at-bats before spring training ends. If his throwing session Monday goes without a hitch, Realmuto could add more baseball activities to his ledger in the next few days before the Marlins clear him to catch in games.

Sanchez (hamstring) is listed as an available bench player for the Giants in Sunday's Cactus League game against the Rockies, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Sanchez looks to be reasonably healthy after the hamstring injury had kept him out of Cactus League action since Feb. 28, but his remote chances of winning an Opening Day roster spot are likely dashed at this point. The Giants appear poised to enter the season with Buster Posey and Nick Hundley as their two backstops.

Caratini (knee) drove in a run and scored a run in Saturday's Cactus League game against the Indians.

Caratini was able to get back onto the field after briefly dealing with a sore left knee. The 24-year-old backstop is currently battling Chris Gimenez for Opening Day reserve catching duties. Caratini is hitting .241 (.405 OBP) with one home run and four RBI this spring.

Murphy (head) is starting at catcher and batting eighth in Sunday's Cactus League game against the Giants, Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post reports.

Murphy is set to re-enter the lineup after being lifted from Thursday's contest after taking a shot to the head for an opposing batter. The issue was never deemed serious, so he'll head back to the field where he'll battle with Tony Wolters for reserve catching duties on the Opening Day roster.