MLB Player News

Murphy (oblique) has returned to action with Triple-A Albuquerque, and is slashing .273/.304/.591 with one home run through six games.

Murphy was a trendy cheap catcher in two-catcher formats this year, and he still has time to make good on that flyer. With Nick Hundley (oblique) on the big league DL, Tony Wolters and Dustin Garneau are manning the catcher position for the Rockies, so Murphy should get a shot fairly soon if he continues to hit at Triple-A

Grandal went 1-for-4 with a three-run homer against the Mets on Thursday.

The first-inning blast provided more than enough offense for his battery mate, Clayton Kershaw, who spun a shutout. Grandal's now homered in consecutive games, and after a season-opening DL stint, he's pretty much delivering what's expected of him -- promising pop, good plate discipline and unimpressive batting average.

Stassi was optioned to Triple-A Fresno following Thursday's game, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Stassi was called up for a few days while Jason Castro was on paternity leave, but he will head back to Triple-A with Castro set to rejoin the team Friday. Stassi will garner consideration next time the Astros decide to bring up a catcher from the minors.

Sanchez will be called up by the Yankees, according to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre beat writer Shane Hennigan.

The Yankees have not announced Sanchez's promotion just yet, but it appears they will do so in the near future, as this report comes from the team's Triple-A squad. Sanchez is one of the Yankees' best prospects, and he posted an .872 OPS with five home runs and 20 RBI in 26 games with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this season. This may just be a temporary promotion for Sanchez, but he could see some action the next couple days with the Yankees scheduled to face two left-handers.

Pentecost (shoulder) was activated from the disabled list Thursday and was sent to Class-A Lansing.

The road to recovery was long, but it seems that the former first-round draft pick is back to full health and ready for regular game action. As long as he remains healthy, Pentecost could still prove why he is regarded as a valuable catching prospect in the Blue Jays organization.

Barnhart had a double and a triple in Wednesday's loss to the Pirates, raising his line to .279/.329/.426 over 68 at-bats.

With Devin Mesoraco out for the season, Barnhart will be the Reds' primary catcher, with little in the organization on the way to unseat him. He slugged just .326 last year, with only 12 extra-base hits in 242 at-bats. He now has seven extra-base hits already this year.

Grandal went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Wednesday's loss to the Mets.

The homer, Grandal's second of the season, put the Dodgers up temporarily against flamethrower Noah Syndergaard. He's been slumping to begin May, but Grandal is still batting .250 with a .355 OBP, as he's been able to maintain a walk rate right around 15 percent. It would be nice to see Grandal loft the ball more consistently, but the power upside is still there, and that's not easy to find at the catcher position.

Bethancourt went 2-for-3 with a solo homer, accounting for the only run in the nightcap of Wednesday's doubleheader sweep against the Cubs.

The 24-year-old catcher has now slugged homers in three of his last four starts, and with Derek Norris hitting .187 (though he did have three hits in the afternoon game Wednesday), it wouldn't be a huge surprise to see Bethancourt start picking up some more action behind the plate. It's worth remembering that he was considered a top-100 prospect with the Braves as recently as last preseason and looked like he made major strides with the bat in Triple-A last year. That's not to say he's a star in the making, but there's seemingly some help to be found here for owners in two-catcher leagues.

Perez hit his fifth homer of the season -- a three-run shot -- in the first inning of Wednesday's 7-3 victory over the Yankees.

The catcher is struggling with a .234 batting average, but the five home runs and 18 RBI are nice. He was struggling earlier, but now has a four-game hit streak after going 1-16 in the last five games. The Royals are not afraid to use Perez, so he'll get plenty of chances to produce this season.

Sanchez was claimed by the Padres off of Waivers on Wednesday, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Sanchez was designated for assignment by the White Sox on Monday, and the Padres decided to claim him off waivers. He will serve as a reserve catcher behind starter Derek Norris.