MLB Player News

Narvaez (elbow) went 1-for-2 in his spring debut Friday against the Dodgers.

Narvaez was hampered with a bout of tennis elbow at the end of 2017, but it seems like that issue is now behind him. The 26-year-old batted .277 in 90 games as a part-time catcher with the White Sox. At this point, Narvaez seems to be competing for backup catching duties now that Welington Castillo is in town.

Caratini has a chance to open the season as Chicago's backup catcher but may also spend more time at Triple-A to develop further, Carrie Muskat of MLB.com reports.

This is a tough situation for the Cubs, as the young catcher already proved he can rake at Triple-A. In 292 at-bats with the I-Cubs, he slashed .342/.393/.558 with 10 homers and 61 RBI. That said, some think that it would hurt his development if he only played once or twice per week, as he would if he was in the big leagues backing up Willson Contreras. Caratini held his own in 59 MLB at-bats, hitting .254 with a home run, but with veteran Chris Gimenez in camp as a non-roster invitee, the Cubs can afford to keep Caratini in the minors a bit longer. This situation should become clearer as spring training rolls along, but Caratini certainly has done enough to warrant a spot on the big-league roster.

Barnes is set to DH for the first week of Cactus League games after experiencing elbow discomfort heading into spring camp, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

Manager Dave Roberts explained that Barnes is currently on a throwing program, but that he would be able to catch and throw if the season started today. At this point, it appears that the Dodgers are being cautious with the 28-year-old, which makes sense for any sort of ailment sustained in February. Barring any setback, Barnes should be back behind the plate in early March and at full health well before Opening Day.

Perez is competing with Yan Gomes for the Indians' starting catching job, though manager Terry Francona noted both backstops are expected to play in 2018, Chris Assenheimer of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram reports. "(It's like) when we play Kansas City, (Salvador Perez) catches a lot, and then you see (Drew) Butera catch the odd game here or there," the manager said. "We're never going to be like that. Our guys are too close together where we need them to play more than that, so they will."

Francona noted that even though both catchers will see their fair share of playing time, the shakeout won't necessarily be an even split. That said, playing time could prove similar to last year, when the starter appeared in around 100 games while the backup saw action in around 70. Perez, who opened the 2017 season as the Indians' backup, hit .207/.291/.373 with eight homers in 248 plate appearances, while Gomes posted a .232/.309/.399 line with 14 homers in 383 plate appearances. Both graded out similarly on the defensive end, so whoever performs better throughout spring will likely enter the season as the team's starter. Even in a slightly larger role, however, Perez wouldn't be more than a second catcher in deeper or AL-only formats given he's a career .216/.309/.362 hitter.

Mejia is expected to open the 2018 season with Triple-A Columbus, Chris Assenheimer of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram reports. ""He's a really well thought of young catcher," manager Terry Francona said of Mejia. "I don't think he's even been to Triple-A, so there's nothing wrong with him getting some seasoning there."

With Roberto Perez and Yan Gomes expected to split catching duties again for the Indians this season, Mejia will open the year as the starter for Triple-A Columbus. Francona didn't rule out a possible promotion for Mejia if either Gomes or Perez were to go down with an injury, but at this point it sounds like the highly-touted 22-year-old will spend most of the 2018 campaign continuing his development in the minors.

Gomes is competing with Roberto Perez for the starting catching job, though manager Terry Francona noted both catchers are expected to see their fair share of playing time in 2018, Chris Assenheimer of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram reports. "(It's like) when we play Kansas City, (Salvador Perez) catches a lot, and then you see (Drew) Butera catch the odd game here or there," the manager said. "We're never going to be like that. Our guys are too close together where we need them to play more than that, so they will."

That said, Francona didn't say the two would split time evenly. Depending on who wins the starting gig in spring, it sounds like the playing time could shake out similar to last year; Gomes, who entered the season as the starter, appeared in 105 games, while Perez, the backup, appeared in 73 contests. The two were pretty similar defensively in 2017, with Gomes throwing out 42 percent of attempted base stealers compared to Perez's 43 percent mark. Gomes did hold the slight offensive advantage, however, as he hit .232 with 14 homers in 383 plate appearances last season while Perez finished the year with a .209 average and eight homers in 248 trips to the plate. Gomes will look to retain his starting role with a strong spring, though his fantasy value could take a slight hit if Perez emerges as the team's No. 1 option behind the dish.

Wynns is in the conversation to be the Orioles' backup catcher in 2018, Eduardo Encina of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Although he's in the competition, the 27-year-old is a long shot to actually garner a big-league roster spot. Wynns hit well in the minors last season, producing a .796 OPS with 10 homers with Double-A Bowie, but Chance Sisco and Andrew Susac (illness) both have major-league experience to their name. Wynns, meanwhile, has just eight games of Triple-A experience under his belt, so he'll likely head to the minors for more seasoning unless he puts together an absurdly good spring.

Sanchez signed a minor-league contract with the Reds on Wednesday, John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

Sanchez has appeared in 52 major-league games to date, but only four in the last three seasons. During the 2017 campaign, he slashed .272/.355/.374 with four home runs and 40 RBI at the Triple-A level, which is where he will likely find himself at the beginning of this year. The 29-year-old will provide added organizational depth for the Reds, with little chance to make much of a fantasy impact.

Grandal worked on his swing this offseason with the intention of increasing his launch angle, The Athletic reports.

Grandal is attempting to join the launch angle revolution. Notable success stories among those who have attempted to improve their slugging percentage by hitting more balls in the air include Josh Donaldson, J.D. Martinez, and Grandal's teammate Justin Turner, though not everyone has benefited from changing their swing. Rob Arthur of FiveThirtyEight found that only about half of the hitters who increased their launch angle saw the desired improvements. Don't assume that Grandal will automatically be better this season, but there's at least a chance that he finds some untapped power in 2018.

Deglan (undisclosed) re-signed a minor-league contract with the Yankees, Baseball America reports.

Deglan is a former first-rounder who gained prominence in the British Columbia Premier Baseball League before graduating high school. Since then, he has yet to rise higher than Double-A and he missed all of 2017 with an undisclosed injury. Still, Deglan is only 25 years old, and the year off may be just what he needs to improve on his .194/.256/.332 slash line from 2016.