MLB Player News

The Cardinals reassigned Heineman on Sunday.

As anticipated, the Cardinals will begin the season with Andrew Knizner as their No. 2 catcher behind Yadier Molina, leaving no room for Heineman on the 26-man roster. Heineman served as the Giants' Opening Day catcher last season, but he was cast off the 40-man roster in November after slashing .190/.292/.214 across his 50 plate appearances during the abbreviated 60-game campaign.

Kirk was informed Sunday that he would be part of the Blue Jays' Opening Day roster, Scott Mitchell of TSN.ca reports.

After mashing over his nine games with the Blue Jays as a rookie late in the 2020 season, Kirk hasn't cooled off so far this spring, posting a .917 OPS in 24 at-bats. While Danny Jansen's superior defense should keep him locked in as the Blue Jays' top catcher to begin 2021, Toronto likely wouldn't have carried the 22-year-old Kirk on the Opening Day roster if he wasn't in line for a fair share of at-bats. It's reasonable to expect a 60-40 percent split of the playing time at catcher between Jansen and Kirk, with the latter perhaps occasionally factoring into the mix at designated hitter as well. That should be enough to make Kirk a draftable option in AL-only leagues and deeper mixed leagues that start two catchers.

Contreras was informed Saturday that he won't be included on Atlanta's Opening Day roster, with the club instead keeping Alex Jackson as the backup catcher behind Travis d'Arnaud, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

Contreras (1.089 OPS over 18 at-bats in Grapefruit League play) handily outperformed Jackson (.512 OPS in 28 at-bats), but Atlanta prefers the 23-year-old to play on an everyday basis at Triple-A Gwinnett rather than just once or twice a week behind d'Arnaud. If the historically injury-prone d'Arnaud should miss time at any point, however, Contreras could immediately leapfrog Jackson on the depth chart if Atlanta calls him up.

The Phillies released Bethancourt on Sunday.

Bethancourt wasn't on track to beat out Andrew Knapp for the No. 2 catcher job on the Phillies' Opening Day roster, and he presumably wasn't interested in sticking around at the organization's minor-league camp. As a result, Bethancourt will now be given the opportunity to explore his options elsewhere. The 29-year-old last appeared in the big leagues in 2017 as a member of the Padres.

The Phillies optioned Marchan (hamstring) to their minor-league camp Sunday.

Marchan missed most of spring training with a hamstring injury, but he was at least able to make his return to game action Friday against the Blue Jays, going 0-for-2 while serving as the backup catcher behind J.T. Realmuto. Though the hamstring issue seems to be behind him, Marchan's absence from most of camp was enough to prevent him from making a serious run at unseating Andrew Knapp for the No. 2 spot on the depth chart. Expect Marchan to begin the 2021 season at Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Manager Alex Cora said Sunday that Vazquez (eye) has "a really good chance" of being ready for Opening Day, Alex Speier of The Boston Globe reports.

Vazquez is back with the team after recently leaving camp to tend to a personal matter, but he's still in the process of recovering from the left eye contusion and laceration he suffered last week. He appears to have made good progress on that front, with Cora indicating that Vazquez could be ready to appear in a "B' game Monday. If that's the case, Vazquez would likely be on track to catch Nathan Eovaldi in the April 1 season opener versus Baltimore.

Manager Dusty Baker said Sunday that Stubbs will remain away from the team for at least one or two days while waiting to clear COVID-19 health and safety protocols, Jake Kaplan of The Athletic reports.

After being hit in the head by a pitch in a March 22 game, Stubbs was held out of the lineup for two days before returning to action in a reserve capacity Thursday. While he looks to be in the clear for the start of the season from an injury standpoint, his entry into the health and safety protocol suddenly makes his status for Opening Day murkier. As the clear No. 3 catcher on the depth chart behind Martin Maldonado and Jason Castro, Stubbs won't see much work even if Houston elects to carry him on its 26-man active roster to begin the season.

Jackson will open the season as Atlanta's backup catcher, Gabe Burns of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Jackson beat out William Contreras for the role of Travis d'Arnaud's understudy. That may not actually indicate good things for Jackson's future, however, as Contreras will get to continue his development while playing regularly at the Triple-A level while Jackson plays infrequently in the big leagues. If d'Arnaud gets hurt at any point this season, there's no guarantee it will be Jackson and not Contreras who earns the majority of the starts in his absence.

Perez was reassigned to minor-league camp Saturday.

Perez made a strong case for the backup catcher job during spring training this year, but Aramis Garcia was informed Saturday that he'll make the Opening Day roster after Perez was sent to the minors. Perez hit .304 with a double, three runs and two RBI in 14 Cactus League games this spring and will begin the season at Triple-A Las Vegas.

Vazquez (personal/eye) returned to camp Saturday and looks better, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

Vazquez was away from the team while attending to a personal matter, and he's also dealing with an eye contusion and laceration after being hit in the face during batting practice earlier in the week. Manager Alex Cora is confident that Vazquez will be available for Opening Day, and the catcher reportedly looked better following his brief absence from camp.