MLB Player News

Narvaez developed a good rapport with several of the White Sox's starters in 2016, something that gives him an edge to claim a roster spot when the team heads north.

Narvaez was decent (.267) in his introduction to the majors, but his presence was felt behind the plate more, a notion reinforced by Carlos Rodon's 3.45 ERA in 12 starts with Narvaez as his battery mate. If the future ace of the staff is comfortable throwing to Narvaez, you can bet he'll have a spot on the 25-man roster. Unfortunately for fantasy players, there's little in Narvaez's minor-league profile to suggest he'll be anything more than a .250-hitter with little pop.

Rupp played through much of last season with an undisclosed arm injury, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The injury didn't seem to impact Rupp at the plate as his .447 slugging percentage put him among the top catchers in baseball. It did hurt his ability to slow down the run game, however, as he threw out just 27 percent of possible base stealers after averaging 38 percent his previous two seasons. The Phillies want to see Rupp improve on his game calling and pitch framing this season after he struggled in both areas last year. Phillies' bullpen coach John McLaren, who also works with the catchers, said Rupp needs to improve his focus during games. It will be important for Rupp to further develop defensively this season with top prospect Jorge Alfaro in Triple-A Lehigh Valley this year. He could start pushing for Rupp's job as soon as midseason if he gets off to a strong start in the minors.

Diaz has recovered from the cellulitis which ended his 2016 campaign early and is taking part in spring training activities.

The 26-year-old missed a golden opportunity to see his first significant action at the big league level in 2016 due to a host of ailments. He enters 2017 with a chance to eventually get that playing time he missed last year, essentially because of the fragile nature of the two catchers ahead of him, Francisco Cervelli and Chris Stewart. Diaz's prospect status dimmed a bit last year but it seems as though he's finally set to show what he can do in the majors.

Stewart (knee) is healthy entering spring training after undergoing knee surgery in September, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.

The Pirates are purposely giving Stewart a light workload during camp in an effort to preserve the 34-year-old for the regular season. At this point in his career, he offers little in the way of offense. Stewart slashed .214/.319/.286 in 113 plate appearances in 2016.

Collins will have to prove he can catch at the major-league level, according to scouts, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Collins, the White Sox's fourth-ranked prospect according to RotoWire, says he uses those scouting assessments as fuel to improve as a catcher. The White Sox also have acknowledged the need to develop his defensive skills, having him primarily focus on that area of the game during the Arizona Fall League. There's a lot on a young catcher's plate -- blocking balls, calling pitches, controlling baserunners, framing pitches -- those are the areas Collins needs to develop over the next few seasons ahead of his 2019 ETA.

Stubbs reported to training camp weighing 10 pounds heavier than when he finished playing in the Arizona Fall League last November, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Stubbs, the organization's seventh-ranked prospect according to RotoWire, is the catcher closest to the major leagues after reaching Double-A Corpus Christi in 2016. Between High-A Lancaster and his time with the Double-A Hooks, he slashed /304/.391/.469/.860 and was actually better after leaving the hitter-smooching High-A California League. The Astros want to see the slight-framed catcher bulk up to better handle the rigors of catching long term. He'll reach Triple-A this season and is on schedule for MLB in 2018 or 2019.

Perez will begin the 2017 season as the backup catcher to Yan Gomes, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Manager Terry Francona made it clear Thursday morning that there will be no competition between Perez and Gomes for the primary job behind the plate. The skipper added that he'll look for opportunities to work Perez into the mix as often as possible. Even as the backup, the 28-year-old should see a fair amount of innings. Gomes has played in fewer than 100 games in four of his five professional seasons, and he hit a career-low .167 in 251 at-bats last year. If he struggles early or suffers another injury, Perez, who's already a decent fantasy asset in deep leagues, becomes an immediate option across most formats.

Manager Dave Roberts said Friday that Grandal will be the Dodgers' primary starting catcher against both lefties and righties, as opposed to platooning with another player Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register reports.

Coming off a season in which he hit a career-high 27 home runs, the Dodgers will be hoping Grandal can continue to establish himself as an all-star-caliber catcher in his third full season with the team. The 28-year-old recently avoided arbitration by signing a one-year, $5.5 million deal this offseason. If he can stay healthy, Grandal could be in for a stellar offensive season.

Rockies manager Bud Black said that Murphy and Tony Wolters will have "shared duties" behind the plate in 2017, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post reports.

Murphy certainly has more offensive upside than Wolters, but Black was insistent that both offense and defense would play a big role in who would play on a given day. Black also added that it's unrealistic to expect either catcher to put together a 130-game season, so fantasy owners should expect a fairly flexible timeshare behind the plate heading into 2017, which may decrease both backstops' values.

Manager Mike Scioscia said that he will let his catcher situation play out this spring and Perez isn't guaranteed to be a backup, the Orange Country Register reports.

It was thought that Martin Maldonado would see the majority of starts behind the dish when the club acquired him this offseason, and while that may end up happening, it appears Perez will get a chance to prove himself this spring. Neither option offers much from an offensive standpoint, so a timeshare would ultimately end what little fantasy value both catchers would have had if there was a full-time starter.