MLB Player News

Heineman was reassigned to minor league camp Monday.

Heineman hit .217 over 23 Grapefruit League at-bats and will likely report to Triple-A Fresno to open 2016.

Grandal (forearm) received clearance to throw and take "dry swings" Monday, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register reports.

Grandal's tosses consisted of catching Scott Kazmir's (abdomen) bullpen session, which build upon mere defensive drills in recent days. With Grandal's absence from game action extending to within a week of Opening Day, the likelihood of a DL stint to begin the season grows significantly, but back-dating would result in his availability as soon as he's healthy in the initial stanzas of the coming campaign.

Stewart went 0-for-3 with a walk on Monday against the Twins.

Stewart batted .289/.320/.340 during 172 plate appearances in 2015. His career batting average is .238 but his numbers last season indicate what Stewart brings to the Pirates' offense. He doesn't quite have the pop of other players (his last home run came in 2013) but he provides great defense and improves the play of his pitchers, especially Gerrit Cole who went 12-4 with a 2.24 ERA with Stewart as his battery mate.

Realmuto continued his hot spring Sunday against the Cardinals, driving in two runs and scoring a run while going 2-for-3 at the plate.

The 25-year-old catcher is batting .324/.350/.378 over 37 Grapefruit League at-bats, mostly hitting seventh in the batting order. He has yet to show much pop this spring, but Realmuto offers double digit power potential and can also chip in a handful of stolen bases. If Realmuto can carry his spring success into the regular season, he will have no problem topping the solid .259/.290/.406 batting line he posted as a rookie last season.

d'Arnaud failed to reach base (0-for-3) during Monday's game against the Cardinals.

The 27-year-old is batting .184/.273/.237 this spring with only two extra-base hits and eight RBI. d'Arnaud will look to build upon his 2015 campaign as Opening Day rolls around, as he hit .268/.340/.485 last season. He will most likely split some of his catching duties with Kevin Plawecki throughout the season, but a bigger concern for fantasy owners is d'Arnaud's health. He only played in 67 games last year and has battled injuries throughout his time in the MLB.

Unless the Astros make a move for outside catching help, Pena is likely to open 2016 as the No. 2 catcher behind Jason Castro, Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Pena lacks experience above Double-A and is hitting just .192 over 28 Grapefruit League plate appearances. If he does open 2016 with the Astros, his stay in Houston may be short-lived, as it's widely assumed the team will make a move for outside catching help with Max Stassi (wrist) on the shelf until May at the earliest.

Gomes played in back-to-back games Friday and Saturday after being sidelined last week by an illness.

He homered in Saturday's game against the Reds, and should be ready to go as Cleveland's Opening Day catcher.

Leon was assigned to minor league camp Monday.

The moves comes as no surprise, as Leon was expected to start the year at the Triple-A level all along. He'll battle with Dan Butler, who was also reassigned Monday, for a potential call-up later in the year in the event of an injury or performance drop-off.

Vazquez (elbow) will begin the season on the disabled list.

Vazquez did not experience any issues related to his 2015 Tommy John surgery this spring, but he is apparently still completing his recovery, and will be eased into regular season action. He will be an option for the big club once the Red Sox determine he is back at 100 percent.

Casali has hit .316 and tallied four RBI over 19 exhibtion at-bats during 2016 spring training.

The third-year pro displayed some considerable pop at the plate last season, blasting 10 homers in just 101 at-bats. Casali has had a productive enough spring, but fellow backstop Rene Rivera has also been solid (.321 average over 28 at-bats). Veteran offseason acquisition Hank Conger has considerably struggled at the plate (.154 average) to date, and manager Kevin Cash has mused about the possibility of keeping three catchers on the major league roster in the season's early going, brightening Casali's prospects for the time being.