MLB Player News

Murphy (lung) was cleared to take batting practice Monday, Shayna Rubin of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Murphy's initial BP session will come against Oakland's coaching staff, but if all goes well, he could be cleared to face live pitching by the end of the week. The 26-year-old backstop is beginning to ramp up his activities following offseason surgery to address a collapsed lung, and the Athletics seemingly remain optimistic that he'll be ready to go for Opening Day.

Grandal (knee) had another successful hitting session Sunday, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Grandal has yet to see game action during spring training while dealing with right knee inflammation, but he's making progress in his recovery while taking swings on the side. Manager Tony La Russa was encouraged by the progress that the 32-year-old is making but emphasized that he's being brought along slowly. "Slow play as they say," La Russa said. "But he's doing more and more. That's a good sign." It's not yet clear when Grandal will be able to make his spring debut.

Raleigh is 2-for-7 with a double, an RBI and a run across his first three Cactus League games.

The promising catcher doesn't have a clear path to an Opening Day roster spot with Tom Murphy and Luis Torrens expected to form a platoon behind the dish to open the season, but it's been previously speculated Raleigh is slated to make his big-league debut at some point in the 2021 campaign. Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN Seattle reports manager Scott Servais was especially pleased with Raleigh's work at the plate in Friday's tie with the White Sox, during which the 24-year-old knotted up the score at 2-2 in the third with a two-out single on a full count. A third-round pick in the 2018 first-year player draft, Raleigh has steadily progressed through the organizational ranks and posted a 22-homer, 66-RBI campaign as part of a .261/.336/.535 slash at High-A Modesto back in 2018.

Realmuto (thumb) still expects to be ready to play on Opening Day, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

Realmuto's cast on his fractured thumb was removed Friday. He hasn't been able to hit and throw since he suffered the injury, which occurred when he tried to block a pitch in the dirt a few days before camp officially opened, but he's been able to take part in some simulated action. Whether or not his optimism is shared by the team remains to be seen, but it sounds as if any absence to start the year will likely be a brief one. If he does wind up heading to the injured list, Andrew Knapp would step into a temporary starting role.

Sanchez has hit two home runs and performed well behind the plate so far in spring training, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

These are promising signs for Sanchez, who struggled both offensively and defensively last season. It is also worth noting that the backstop has struck out only twice in eight plate appearances thus far -- not an earth-shattering rate for most players or even a big sample size, but a promising one for Sanchez given his 36.0 strikeout percentage last season. The 2021 campaign figures to be an important one for Sanchez, who lost his starting job in the playoffs last season and could test the patience of the organization if he gets off to a slow start.

Stassi (hip) is expected to see his first spring action behind the plate early next week, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

While Stassi has yet to play the field this spring, he has logged two at-bats as DH, striking out each time. The 29-year-old underwent hip surgery last October and was not guaranteed to be ready for the start of the 2021 campaign, but it now appears that he has a good chance of being behind the plate for the Angels on Opening Day.

Knizner, who went 2-for-3 with two runs in a Grapefruit League loss to the Nationals on Friday, is 4-for-8 with a double, two RBI and four runs overall across three spring games.

Knizner finally appears to have a clear path to the primary backup role at catcher with veteran Matt Wieters, who effectively blocked him the last two seasons, no longer on the roster. Consequently, the 26-year-old's strong early start is reason for cautious optimism, especially since Knizner has a relatively extensive minor-league track record of success at the plate to support the notion he could thrive with extended opportunity. Through his first 75 major-league plate appearances over the last two seasons, Knizner has generated a .232/.280/.362 slash with five extra-base hits (three doubles, two home runs), 11 RBI, four walks, two steals and eight runs.

Ruiz (not injury related) has arrived in Arizona and is undergoing intake testing, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.

Ruiz wasn't present to begin spring training due to visa issues, but he'll be able to join the team for workouts in the coming days if he clears intake testing. The 22-year-old worked hard on his own to stay in shape while he was away from the team, and manager Dave Roberts said that he hopes to get Ruiz into game action at some point next week.

Perez (not injury related) is batting sixth and playing catcher in Saturday's spring game against Seattle, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Perez's arrival at camp was delayed by visa issues, but he'll make his spring debut behind the dish Saturday. He should be in line for a solid allotment of reps during spring training going forward.

Manager Tony La Russa said Grandal (knee) is swinging in the batting cage Friday but won't see game action this weekend, James Fegan of The Athletic reports.

The 32-year-old twisted his right knee during drills last week and has yet to see game action this spring while dealing with the resulting inflammation. The injury doesn't appear to be a serious concern, but it's worth keeping an eye on Grandal's status as spring training progresses. Injury issues to open the season for a catcher in his 30s could be problematic for the White Sox, especially following the offseason departure of a starting-caliber backup in James McCann.