MLB Player News

Ruiz is hitting .125 (2-for-16) so far in Grapefruit League action with one double and a 1:2 BB:K.

The contact is nice to see, but it's not a surprise after Ruiz posted a 9.4 percent strikeout rate in 96 big-league plate appearances between the Dodgers and Nationals last season. The 23-year-old is being counted on to seize the top catching job in Washington this season, and a handful of spring at-bats won't jeopardize his spot on the depth chart after he slashed .310/.377/.616 with 21 homers and a 30:33 BB:K across 72 games at Triple-A in 2021.

Adams should open the season as the Nationals' backup catcher behind Keibert Ruiz, Jessica Camerato of MLB.com reports.

Acquired from Toronto last season in a trade for Brad Hand, Adams posted an .887 OPS in 90 plate appearances with Washington after slashing .239/.371/.487 with seven homers in 35 games for Triple-A Buffalo last year prior to the trade. The 25-year-old's power and patience profile could give him some modest fantasy value in deep NL-only formats.

Herrera was optioned to Triple-A Memphis on Thursday.

Herrera spent the majority of the 2021 season with Double-A Springfield, where he hit .231/.346/.408 across 437 plate appearances. He was promoted to Triple-A Memphis to close the campaign, though he appeared in only one game at the level. Given that, it's no surprise that he isn't starting the season in St. Louis, but he could be in line for his big-league debut if either Yadier Molina or Andrew Knizner suffer an injury.

Barnhart said he would be open to an extension with the Tigers, though no formal contract talks have taken place, Jason Beck of MLB.com reports.

Barnhart was traded to the Tigers in November, and the team then exercised his club option for 2022. However, the catcher is open to sticking around past this season, and the organization has expressed some interest in finding a deal as well. For the time being, Barnhart will look to make a good first impression with his new team in the hopes of increasing the value of a potential new contract.

Leon exercised an opt-out clause in his contract Thursday, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.

Leon went 0-for-9 with an RBI, a walk and three strikeouts across six spring games this year, and he was informed Thursday that he wouldn't make the Guardians' Opening Day roster. Rather than reporting to the minors, the 33-year-old will become a free agent ahead of the regular season in hopes that he'll be able to land a spot elsewhere on a major-league roster.

The Phillies optioned Sands to minor-league camp Thursday.

Philadelphia will have two extra active roster spots available through May 1 due to the compressed spring training, but Sands won't stick around as the team's No. 3 catcher behind J.T. Realmuto and Garrett Stubbs. Rather than Sands, Rafael Marchan looks to be the next man up at catcher if something should happen to the top two options on the organizational depth chart.

Perez went 3-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored in Wednesday's 9-5 loss to the Giants.

The three-hit game lifted Perez's spring slash line to .348/.375/.565 with a home run, two doubles, four RBI and five runs scored in eight games. The 31-year-old catcher appeared in a career-high 161 games last season, posting an eye-popping 48 homers, 121 RBI, 88 runs scored and a .273/.316/.544 slash line. He's likely to be a near-everyday presence either behind the dish or as the designated hitter, as Perez remains one of the top catchers in the league even with the threat of regression looming.

Texas manager Chris Woodward said Wednesday that Garver will catch between 90 and 100 games and also play some at designated hitter and first base, Jack Magruder of MLB.com reports.

Woodward acknowledged Garver's injury history as a reason to limit his playing time behind the plate. The catcher sustained groin and back injuries while with Minnesota in 2021, a season which Garver described was "wrecked by injuries." Jonah Heim and Jose Trevino are competing for the backup job.

Vazquez went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in Wednesday's spring training game against Atlanta.

Vazquez has had a quiet spring, going 3-for-15 through six Grapefruit League games. It's not going to impact his role as Boston's primary catcher, but the spring results are continuation of down season in 2021. He strung together a couple of good seasons in 2019 and 2020, when his bat was good enough to slot in at designated hitter at times, but his ISO fell to .094 last year.

Tromp was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett on Wednesday.

Tromp inked a minor-league deal with Atlanta in mid-March and will unsurprisingly begin the season at the Triple-A level. He appeared in nine big-league games last year for San Francisco and could receive a promotion in 2022 if Atlanta deals with any injuries behind the plate.