MLB Player News

McGuire's court date in Clearwater has been postponed to June 25, Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic reports.

The catcher was originally scheduled to appear in a Pinellas County courtroom March 16 regarding his misdemeanor charge of exposure, but the hearing has been postponed twice due to the coronavirus pandemic. There's been no indication McGuire is facing additional league discipline due to the February incident, so it's likely his legal issues won't impact his availability once baseball is ready to resume play. The 25-year-old is expected to work in a timeshare behind the plate with Danny Jansen this season, although McGuire is more likely to be on the short end of it.

Knizner would be a surefire addition to the Cardinals' roster were it to be expanded to 30 players for the 2020 regular season, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch opines.

Goold's assessment comes within a response to a reader question of which players would benefit if there were an extra four roster spots at manager Mike Shildt's disposal. Under such a scenario, Knizner would be the third catcher behind Yadier Molina and Matt Wieters on paper. However, if the minor-league season were canceled altogether, it's conceivable the Cardinals would treat Knizner as more of a "2A" option alongside Wieters in order to continue giving the projected backstop of the future semi-regular at-bats. Knizner's Grapefruit League body of work this year underscored that he could use the reps against big-league arms, as he hit just .154 (4-for-26) before spring training was suspended.

It's unclear when Rogers may be recalled to the majors, as the Tigers wanted to get him a few hundred at-bats in Triple-A first, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

Had play not been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, Rogers was likely headed for a few months at Triple-A Toledo before returning to Detroit. But without that luxury and with no clear timeline for the season to begin, the 25-year-old catcher might be looking at a 2021 return to the majors. He still figures to be the team's backstop of the future, as the current starter appears to be 31-year-old Austin Romine, who is only on a one-year deal.

Huff hit a combined .278/.335/.509 with 28 home runs between Low-A Hickory and High-A Down East over 127 games in 2019.

Huff was a big mover in the organization, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. He was off the radar prior to 2019, but his power warranted an early promotion to Down East, and he won the MVP at the All-Star Futures Game in July. He moved to the second-ranked Rangers prospect per MLB Pipeline while Baseball America pegs him at No. 99 on their top-100 list. The big-time power is the skill that grabs the most attention, but he strikes out a ton and is still a work in progress as a receiver, particularly at 6-foot-5 and 235 pounds. That's big for a catcher. The Rangers plan to have him open at Double-A Frisco, where he will be managed by former MLB catcher Bobby Wilson.

Murphy hit .375 (3-for-8) with a double, a home run, two RBI, two walks and two runs across four Cactus League games before spring training was suspended.

The young backstop didn't see his first game action this spring until March 2 after offseason knee surgery, an October meniscal debridement procedure that Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports should help prevent Murphy's left knee issues from resurfacing. The 25-year-old is entrenched as the starting catcher to open the 2020 season after slashing .245/.333/.566 across 60 plate appearances over his first 20 big-league games in 2019.

Nola hit .308 (8-for-26) with a triple, an RBI, two walks and two runs across 10 Cactus League games before spring training was suspended.

Greg Johns of MLB.com reported earlier this spring that Nola was projected to receive about 45 percent of the starts behind the plate alongside Tom Murphy in the coming season, and the former's spring performance helped to further solidify his standing. Nola's long trek to the big leagues culminated in 2019, when he slashed a solid .269/.342/.454 across 267 plate appearances while logging time at every defensive position except shortstop and center field. Although he only made four starts behind the dish, Nola is expected to fully focus on catching in 2020 unless injuries potentially necessitate his use elsewhere on the field.

Murphy, one of the team's most diligent players with respect to fitness and this season's projected starting catcher, continues to work out in a variety of ways at home in West Monroe, New York while spring training is suspended, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

The 29-year-old backstop headed home to the Empire State after the Mariners closed down their Peoria, Arizona spring training facility and continues to work out with the help of a weight room in his basement and outdoor regimens on his expansive property. Murphy did struggle at the plate during Cactus League play -- he hit just .176 (3-for-17) across nine exhibitions -- but he has the full confidence of manager Scott Servais due to his work ethic and the .273/.324/.535 line he generated during his 2019 debut campaign in Seattle. "I think everybody understands who Murph is," Servais said this spring. "Murph's about business, about bringing 100% effort every day. He does all the things you love your catcher to do, because right or wrong everybody is always looking at the catcher. He knows that and welcomes that."

Higashioka has been getting in swings by hitting off a pitching machine at his home in Oregon, Brendan Kuty of NJ Advance Media reports.

In a video posted to his personal Instagram account Thursday, Higashioka can be seen hitting bombs off a machine loaded by his wife at their home. The 2020 campaign figures to be the most important of the backstop's career as he is expected to open the season as the Yankees' No. 2 catcher for the first time.

Sanchez has been continuing to develop a one-legged catching stance during the MLB hiatus, Brendan Kuty of NJ Advance Media reports.

Sanchez began working on the new stance during the early stages of camp in an effort to improve his pitch framing. With spring training suspended, players have mostly been left to train on their own. That hasn't stopped Sanchez from continuing to work on the stance, as he revealed in a video recently posted to his Instagram account.

Heim was in a tight battle with Austin Allen for the backup catcher job when spring training was suspended, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

Gallegos notes Heim was considered an underdog to Allen in the job battle as spring camp began, but the 24-year-old made up plenty of ground by hitting .320 (8-for-25) with two doubles, five RBI, one walk and four runs across 12 Cactus League contests. The stellar showing was generated over an admittedly small sample, but it nevertheless served as an encouraging encore to the .358/.412/.557 line he produced over 35 games at Triple-A Las Vegas to close out the 2019 season. With some type of ramp-up period expected prior to an eventual start to the regular season, Heim could have an opportunity make a final push to stick on the major-league roster.