MLB Player News

Diaz and Drew Butera were making an argument for the Rockies to break camp with three catchers due to their impressive spring performances, Thomas Harding of MLB.com reports.

While Diaz and Butera are in camp on minor-league contracts, they outperformed Tony Wolters and Dom Nunez, who are on the 40-man roster. Diaz hit .429 with a double, a triple, two walks and one strikeout in 21 spring at-bats. He also saw the most playing time of the four candidates. Wolters' spot as the primary catcher would seem to be safe, but Nunez, who hit .200 with six strikeouts in 15 spring at-bats, has minor-league options remaining, so he could open the year at Triple-A.

Despite struggling this spring, slashing .118/.318/.118 in 22 plate appearances, Casali's roster spot for Opening Day was secured when the Reds optioned Tyler Stephenson to Triple-A Louisville.

This was never really a job battle, at least to start. But Casali could be at risk later in the season should Stephenson thrive at Louisville. There are some rumors, however, that MLB will expand rosters to account for an accelerated return to action, which would then allow the Reds to carry three catchers and possibly promote Stephenson to the big-league squad.

Trevino (finger) was given rehabilitation instructions as the Rangers disbanded camp, but a scheduled follow-up is on hold, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports.

Both Trevino and Jeff Mathis (hamstring) are rehabbing injuries suffered during Cactus League action, so their depth-chart status is unclear during the delay necessitated by the coronavirus pandemic. In terms of roster management, Trevino has minor-league options left, so the Rangers may go with the veteran Mathis as the backup to Robinson Chirinos once the regular season begins.

Hedges is likely to make the Padres' Opening Day roster, but the amount of playing time he'll receive has not yet been decided, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Hedges led Padres backstops with 102 games last season, but he posted a paltry .176 batting average while striking out 109 times in 312 at-bats. His elite defense is likely to keep Hedges on the big-league roster, but he could see considerably less playing time if Francisco Mejia is able to complement his superior bat with improved skills behind the plate. Luis Torrens is also in contention for a roster spot but remains a longshot, per Cassavell.

Higashioka appears to have won the No. 2 backstop role behind Gary Sanchez, George A. King III of the New York Post reports.

After toiling in the minors for the better part of 12 seasons, Higashioka is in line to assume a spot on the Opening Day roster of a major-league team for the first time in his career. Though the 29-year-old has hit only .164 across 146 big-league at-bats, he slugged 20 homers while hitting .278 in only 70 Triple-A games in 2019 and was enjoying a strong spring, batting .276 with three home runs over 29 Grapefruit League at-bats.

Leon is a lock to begin the season on the roster, Joe Noga of Cleveland.com reports.

This doesn't come as any surprise given that the Indians don't have much talent at the position at the upper levels of the organization. What remains more difficult to project is just how much playing time Leon will receive behind presumed starter Roberto Perez. Leon is regarded as a strong framer behind the plate, which could help him earn extra at-bats when the season gets underway.

McGuire is set to begin the season in a time share with Danny Jansen behind the plate.

While the Jays have given no official indication that either catcher would handle a lead role in that arrangement, all signs point to Jansen being the de facto No. 1. In addition to McGuire's own off-field legal issues, Jansen had been on fire at the plate when the Grapefruit League schedule was put on pause, leading the circuit with a 1.953 OPS through 20 plate appearances compared to McGuire's paltry .638 OPS in 21 PAs. On the bright side, McGuire's spot in the majors seems secure -- the organization has no other catchers on the 40-man roster, and top prospects like Alejandro Kirk are still in the low minors.

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.