MLB Player News

With Riley Greene (foot) and Derek Hill (hamstring) both out to begin the regular season, Haase may see more playing time in the outfield, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

Haase has been preparing for a versatile role. He can play behind the plate as well as in the outfield and potentially at first base. He should move around plenty this season, but his services may be needed in the outfield in the short term due to the injuries. The playing time should be there no matter where he slots in, so Haase remains a decent fantasy option at the catcher position.

D'Arnaud went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run in Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Twins.

The veteran catcher took Chris Archer deep in the third inning, giving d'Arnaud his second homer this spring. He's slashing .357/.400/.786 through 15 Grapefruit League plate appearances, and while he likely won't come to that batting average during the regular season, the 33-year-old should be a solid power source after slugging 16 home runs and 60 RBI through 104 games over the last two seasons.

Plawecki hit a two-run home run in his only plate appearance in Friday's spring training game against the Rays.

Plawecki launched his first spring homer in the final inning of a blowout loss. He's expected to once again serve as Christian Vazquez's backup. The 31-year-old backstop hasn't hurt fantasy teams during his two-year stay in Boston, slashing .305/.364/.414 over 262 plate appearances. If an auction/draft strategy involves not having a catcher hurt the fantasy team, Plawecki is a decent choice.

McGuire will likely begin the season on the big-league roster, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

The 27-year-old catcher is out of minor-league options and sits third on the depth chart behind Danny Jansen and Alejandro Kirk, but the decision to allow 28-man rosters through April gives McGuire a reprieve for now and saves him from being placed on waivers. He's gone 2-for-20 (.100) this spring with zero extra-base hits and 0:4 BB:K.

Raleigh, who's hitting .278 with a home run and three RBI in nine Cactus League games, could be one of three catchers to make the Opening Day roster, Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reports.

The 25-year-old backstop has shown some solid improvement at the plate this spring after producing a .180/.223/.309 slash line across his first 148 big-league plate appearances in 2021. Raleigh does have solid pedigree as an offensive player, highlighted by a stellar season at Triple-A Tacoma a year ago that saw him produce a .324 average and .985 OPS in 199 plate appearances. Kramer also notes Raleigh has worked well with the entire pitching staff this spring and already produced above-average defensive metrics during his first majors stint.

Realmuto has hit .308/.355/.498 with one homer through nine spring games.

Spring stats shouldn't move the needle on a player's value very much, but it's still good to see that Realmuto looks fully ready to go as he heads into his ninth major-league season. His .263 batting average last season represented his lowest mark since 2015, but his .782 OPS and 17 homers were still quite good for a catcher. He also helped his fantasy value with 13 steals, a career high and the highest for any catcher since Russell Martin stole 18 bases in 2008.

Knizner is expected to start at catcher more frequently in 2022, John Denton of MLB.com reports.

Knizner's increased role is designed in part to afford 39-year-old Yadier Molina more rest in his last major-league campaign. While the plan is to have Knizner play more, he'll have to hit better than the .174/.281/.236 slash line he compiled in 185 plate appearances last season to maintain the added time. The 27-year-old still shouldn't be expected to play enough to make much impact in fantasy outside of two-catcher formats.

Rortvedt (oblique) isn't expected to be ready to play in any spring training games, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

Rortvedt was acquired in a trade with the Twins at the start of camp but has battled an oblique strain all spring. He's expected to eventually compete with Kyle Higashioka for starts behind the plate, but Higashioka appears to be penciled in as the primary catcher to start the season, with Rortvedt likely heading to the injured list.

Collins was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte on Friday.

Collins' poor defense behind the plate has led the White Sox to prefer Seby Zavala as Yasmani Grandal's backup. As a prospect, Collins was once thought to have enough pop in his bat to have a shot at carving out a role as a designated hitter even if he couldn't stick behind the plate, but his .195/.315/.330 career slash line suggests that won't be happening.

Lee was reassigned to Houston's minor-league spring training Friday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Lee was in camp with the big-league club but was never a likely bet to make the Opening Day roster. He hit .254/.320/.443 with eight home runs and 27 RBI in 50 games for Double-A Corpus Christi before receiving a September promotion to Triple-A Sugar Land, where he's likely to open 2022.