MLB Player News

Manager Joe Girardi revealed Thursday that Realmuto recently suffered a fractured right thumb, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.

Realmuto's thumb will be immobilized for two weeks, and he'll be re-evaluated after that time. While the catcher will miss several spring games due to the injury, the Phillies are still hopeful that he'll be ready for Opening Day. Andrew Knapp, Rafael Marchan and Jeff Mathis should compete for the backup catcher job while Realmuto is sidelined.

Stassi (hip) is ramping up slowly to begin camp but is expected to be ready for Opening Day, Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register reports.

Stassi underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left hip in October. Once he's fully ready to go, he'll split time in some capacity with Kurt Suzuki. Exactly how the time will be split remains to be seen. Stassi hit an excellent .278/.352/.533 in 105 plate appearances last year, but he came nowhere close to that in 486 trips to the plate prior to 2020, hitting just .204/.285/.326.

Mejia was delayed getting into the country but should be able to join team workouts on Tuesday, Neil Solondz of the Rays Radio Network reports.

Similar logistical delays may pop up for a few players around the league given the difficulties of starting the season during a global pandemic. Mejia's teammate Diego Castillo's arrival has been delayed for the same reason. Both players won't be able to join their teammates until completing a mandatory quarantine, but they should have plenty of time to prepare for the start of the regular season, barring further delays.

Campusano has reported to Padres camp and the team is said to "feel good" about his legal situation, Darnay Tripp of NBC San Diego reports.

Campusano was charged with felony marijuana possession in Georgia last October, casting a cloud over his status for the 2021 campaign. However, the catcher's presence in camp suggests that San Diego expects him to be able to compete this season. Nonetheless, his path to an Opening Day roster spot is clouded by the presence of Austin Nola and Victor Caratini ahead of him on the depth chart.

Athletics manager Bob Melvin said Wednesday that Murphy will be delayed to begin spring training after the catcher required offseason surgery to address a collapsed lung, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

Though Murphy won't be in attendance for the start of workouts, Melvin said he still expects the 26-year-old to be ready to go for Opening Day. Assuming Murphy endures no setbacks in his recovery from surgery, he could take on an even heavier workload behind the dish in 2021 after the Athletics traded his top backup, Jonah Heim, to the Rangers over the winter. Murphy finished with a subpar .233 average in 140 plate appearances in 2020, but he showed above-average power (seven home runs, five doubles) and drew walks at a 17.1 percent rate.

Contreras heads into spring training with a chance to win the No. 2 catching job for Atlanta, Gabriel Burns of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

At the moment, starter Travis d'Arnaud is the only catcher with significant experience on the roster, leaving prospects Contreras and Alex Jackson to fight for the backup spot. The 23-year-old Contreras made his big-league debut last year on an emergency basis, going 4-for-10 with four strikeouts before spending the rest of the season at the team's alternate training site. His 2019 performance at the plate at High-A and Double-A wasn't particularly impressive, but Contreras still has the potential to emerge as a solid big-league asset. Atlanta could still elect to bring in a veteran such as Tyler Flowers to fill out the depth chart, but barring an outside addition, Jackson might be the front-runner for the job, if only because Contreras is more likely to be a long-term piece for the team and could use more minor-league development.

Jackson heads into spring training with a chance to win the No. 2 catching job for Atlanta, Gabriel Burns of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

At the moment, starter Travis d'Arnaud is the only catcher with significant experience on the roster, leaving prospects Jackson and William Contreras to fight for the backup spot. Jackson is two years older and has shown an impressive power stroke in the minors, launching 28 homers in 85 games for Triple-A Gwinnett in 2019, but he's had significant issues making contact and has struck out in nine of his 22 career big-league PAs. Atlanta could still elect to bring in a veteran such as Tyler Flowers to fill out the depth chart, but barring an outside addition, Jackson might be the front-runner for the job, if only because Contreras is more likely to be a long-term piece for the team and could use more minor-league development.

Plawecki was placed on the COVID-19 injured list Wednesday, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

While it's not clear whether Plawecki has tested positive for COVID-19, he'll begin spring training on the injured list with pitchers and catchers reporting Wednesday. The 29-year-old returned to the Red Sox on a one-year deal in early December and should serve as Christian Vazquez's backup once he's available.

Rogers and Grayson Greiner will likely compete this spring to serve as the backup catcher in Detroit behind new addition Wilson Ramos, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

The Tigers signed Ramos to a one-year deal in January, and although the veteran had a down 2020 campaign, he is set to serve as the top backstop in Detroit. That leaves Rogers to battle with Greiner, unless the team opts to carry three catchers, which seems unlikely at this point. Rogers didn't make an appearance for the Tigers last year, but he did play in 35 games in 2019, slashing .125/.222/.259 with four home runs.

Langeliers was invited to big-league camp Monday.

Langeliers will get the chance to catch Atlanta's big-league arms for a few weeks, though he probably won't be joining them on a permanent basis this year. The 2019 ninth-overall pick played 54 games at the Low-A level that season but was prevented from advancing up the ladder last year due to the canceled minor-league campaign.