MLB Player News

Wallach is expected to begin the season at Triple-A Wichita, but he was making a strong case for a big-league roster spot when spring training was suspended, going 7-for-18 (.389) with two home runs and a double.

The 28-year-old took full advantage of the Grapefruit League opportunities opened up by Jorge Alfaro's strained oblique, but the delayed start to the regular season should give Alfaro more than enough time to recover and cut off Wallach's path to the 26-man roster. Even if Alfaro is healthy for Opening Day, Francisco Cervelli has a lengthy concussion history, and the odds are good Wallach will be needed in the bigs at some point.

Knizner was hitting .154 (4-for-26) before spring training was suspended, and while he's slated to start the season at Triple-A Memphis, he hopes his next big-league opportunity arrives promptly, Corey Miller of KSDK.com reports. "Where I'm at now, where my skills are at, I feel great about where my body is at, so physically, mentally and skills-wise, I feel really good," Knizner said. "I think the point I'm at now in my career is needing that big league experience. I need that consistent playing time in the big leagues to continue to grow and be that consistent producer."

As his Grapefruit League numbers indicate, the 25-year-old backstop was scuffling at the plate, but he remains the heir apparent to Yadier Molina. However, Molina is projected for another heavy workload this season, while Matt Wieters was re-signed on a one-year deal to be the backup for a second straight season. Knizner will thus get regular playing time in Memphis, where he has logged a combined 83 games over the last two seasons. He did get his first taste of big-league regular-season action last season, slashing .226/.293/.377 across 58 plate appearances over 18 games.

D'Arnaud will split playing time behind the plate with Tyler Flowers for Atlanta and is expected to receive a majority of the starts.

After signing a two-year deal with Atlanta in the offseason, d'Arnaud immediately moved to the top of the depth chart. The 31-year-old's extensive injury history -- he's seen more than 400 plate appearances in a season only once in his career -- does give the club plenty of incentive to make sure he's well rested, however, and the split with Flowers could end up being closer to 50-50. D'Arnaud had gone just 3-for-16 (.188) this spring before the Grapefruit League schedule was suspended, but one of the hits left the yard and his 3:4 BB:K was sharp.

While Stallings' defensive prowess is the reason he's set to serve as Pittsburgh's primary catcher, he's also hit for a decent batting average with Triple-A Indianapolis in recent seasons, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.

The 30-year-old batted .291 (in 523 at-bats) over his last three minor-league campaigns with nine homers and two steals, and slashed .262/.325/.382 with five doubles, six home runs and 13 RBI in 210 plate appearances last season with Pittsburgh. Stallings led all major-league catchers in DRS per inning (minimum 450 innings), finishing with an overall plus-14 DRS in 463.1 innings played. He spent the offseason strengthening the back that bothered him last summer and hit .300 in 20 Grapefruit League at-bats. His top priority remains his defense, but he's shown an ability to hit for a higher batting average than he posted in 2019.

Garver could get fewer starts than originally anticipated if MLB comes out with a condensed schedule with fewer off days, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic speculates.

It's a double-edged sword, as the Twins' new-school approach to days off and workload management would point toward fewer starts for Garver if a 162-game season were condensed in a shorter period of time. However, it seems unlikely that there will be a 162-game season, and if it is a shorter season, he could possibly play a greater percentage of the Twins' games if it is more of a sprint than a marathon. Regardless of what the schedule ends up being, Garver is one of the top players at his position. He hit .250 with five strikeouts, five walks and zero extra-base hits in 25 plate appearances this spring before the shutdown.

Jeffers really impressed on both sides of the ball in big-league camp, Mike Rosenbaum of MLB.com reports. "He's a total pro with his plate discipline, with how he manages counts," said assistant general manager Jeremy Zoll. "He's a really physical guy, and we think that his advanced approach is going to allow him to hit, and hit for power."

Zoll says Jeffers has been one of the best receivers in the minors since he was drafted with the 59th overall pick in 2018 and has really started to excel at managing a pitching staff and calling a game. He has also started to tap into a promising offensive profile. Prior to the season getting delayed, there seemed to be a chance that Jeffers could help the big-league club this summer, but if the season is shortened significantly, he may not finish his minor-league development in time to make his big-league debut in 2020.

Langeliers will open at either High-A or Double-A, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

O'Brien notes that Langeliers has likely passed William Contreras as the team's catcher of the future. The No. 9 overall pick in 2019 was seen as a glove-first catcher out of Baylor, and he impressed the big-league staff and the veteran players with his work behind the dish this spring. In a tiny sample, he hit .429 with one home run, three strikeouts and one walk in 15 plate appearances in big-league spring training. His glove and arm will likely get him significant playing time someday in the majors, but it remains to be seen how much damage he will do offensively.

Thaiss is expected to claim a roster spot as the Angels' backup first baseman, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com reports.

Thaiss entered spring training in a competition with Jared Walsh to back up Albert Pujols. While Walsh hit just .150 in Cactus League play, Thaiss batted .269 and drove in five runs. That figures to make him the favorite to land one of the club's final two roster spots, especially since Tommy La Stella -- initially expected to spend some time at first base this season -- did not log any reps at the position during spring training.

Gallagher is poised to begin the season as Kansas City's No. 2 catcher after Meibrys Viloria was optioned to Triple-A Omaha on March 10, Lynn Worthy of The Kansas City Star reports.

Salvador Perez missed the entire 2019 campaign while recovering from Tommy John surgery, but the team signed Martin Maldonado -- who has since been traded to Houston -- and Gallagher received only 145 plate appearances in 45 games. Following the demotion of Viloria, Gallagher is the only backstop on the major-league roster besides Perez and figures to serve as the backup catcher. Gallagher had a .292/.320/.375 slash line with two doubles in nine contests prior to the suspension of spring training.

Perez made his spring debut behind the plate Feb. 28 against San Francisco and started multiple games in the field before spring training was eventually suspended.

The 29-year-old was initially limited to serving as the designated hitter as he made his return from Tommy John surgery -- which cost him the entirety of 2019 -- and he ended up totaling five starts in the field. Perez appeared in 13 Cactus League games overall and had a .250/.342/.375 slash line with one home run in 32 at-bats, and he's poised to reclaim his everyday role once the season eventually begins.