MLB Player News

Gosewisch was claimed off waivers by the Braves on Friday, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation reports.

The 33-year-old split time between the majors and minors last season, and although he saw little success with the Diamondbacks, he mashed with their Triple-A affiliate, amassing a .952 OPS in 58 games. Tyler Flowers still seems to be the top backstop in Atlanta, but Gosewisch's power and historically good contact rate could help him garner a backup role over Anthony Recker.

Mesoraco (hip, shoulder) will begin catching drills in mid-to-late January.

The Reds fully expect Mesoraco to spend the season behind the plate, rather than moving him to a corner outfield spot. However, it wouldn't be a surprise if he carried less of a workload than was expected prior to his injuries, given both his injury history and the development of Tucker Barnhart. This is all offseason speculation of course - let's see how he does with actual catching activity before locking in any estimate of playing time.

Moore was outrighted to Triple-A Columbus on Monday.

Moore went hitless in his brief stint with Cleveland in September, and given his inauspicious showing in the minors, it was only a matter of time before the journeyman catcher was cast off the 40-man roster. The 32-year-old will likely go on to act as organizational depth next season.

Sanchez was outrighted to Triple-A Sacramento on Thursday, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Sanchez split the 2016 season between two organizations, those being the Blue Jays and the Giants. He played with each clubs' respective Triple-A affiliate, but failed to make much of an impact. Over 61 games, he hit just .201/.351/.399 and posted a 22 percent K-rate.

Garver is hitting .262 with four home runs in 11 games in the Arizona Fall League. He hit .329 with a .815 OPS in 22 games after he was promoted to Triple-A Rochester.

Garver hit just .257 with a .753 OPS at Double-A in 95 games, so he's had a late surge in the plate in a small sample size. His fall performance is better than his minor league career that has featured power but just a .764 OPS. At age 25, he's not a top prospect but could find a role in the majors in 2017 with the Twins very thin at catcher.

Stallings was outrighted to Triple-A Indianapolis on Wednesday, Adam Berry of MLB.com reports.

The Pirates trimmed down their 40-man roster by outrighting three players Wednesday, including Stallings. The 26-year-old Stallings did not have particularly good odds at sticking on the major league roster this offseason with Francisco Cervelli and Chris Stewart seemingly locked into two catcher spots for the Pirates.

The Mets plan "to at least keep their eye open for external options for their top catcher role," Adam Rubin of ESPN.com reports.

Injury issues continued to haunt d'Arnaud in 2016, with elbow and shoulder problems forcing him to miss most of the first half. It's hard to blame the Mets for being open to finding a more durable option, but it could be difficult to find a catcher on the market that can match d'Arnaud's upside and his price.

Contreras is out of the lineup Sunday for Game 5 of the World Series against the Indians, Carrie Muskat of MLB.com reports.

As has been the case throughout the season, David Ross will start at catcher with battery mate Jon Lester on the mound, forcing Contreras to head to the bench. Contreras, who is batting 9-for-33 (.273) with one home run in 33 postseason at-bats, could be called upon as a pinch hitter if the right matchup presents itself.

Bethancourt will pitch in the Panama Winter League soon, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

The Padres have been working with the catcher on his pitching mechanics, and he recently had his fastball clocked at 97 miles per hour. Bethancourt is even developing a changeup, although the Padres are still insisting that he is not fully converting to the mound. His role for the 2017 season should become clearer once he logs some innings in Panama, although his high-octane arm could push him to the bullpen more frequently if all goes well over the winter.

Mesoraco (hip, shoulder) was activated from the disabled list Thursday.

Mesoraco's 2016 season was one to forget, as he went 7-for-50 (.140) over 16 games before missing the remainder of the year with injuries. However, he'll have another chance to play at catcher this coming season and try to display the promise he did in 2014, when he hit .273/.359/.534.