MLB Player News

Bethancourt's teammate Austin Hedges will likely start the season with Triple-A El Paso, the Union-Tribune's Dennis Lin reports.

Coming off October surgery to repair a torn meniscus, Bethancourt appears to have beaten out Hedges for the backup catcher's job, with both players posting surprisingly strong batting numbers this spring. Bethancourt and Hedges are defense-first prospects, whereas top backstop Derek Norris provides most of his value with the bat.

Hedges will likely start the season with Triple-A El Paso, the Union-Tribune's Dennis Lin reports.

Christian Bethancourt apparently beat out Hedges for the backup catcher's job behind starter Derek Norris. Hedges owns a .300/.391/.650 slash line through 23 plate appearances in the Cactus League, but he posted an ugly .168/.215/.248 line over 152 plate appearances with the Padres last season.

Acosta went 2-for-2 with two doubles, three RBI and two runs scored in Wednesday's 5-2 spring victory over the Twins.

With many of the Rays regulars unavailable due to a delayed return from Havana, the backup catcher received some rare playing time and fully capitalized. His seventh-inning, two-run double tied the game, and Acosta subsequently scored the lead run on a two-out throwing error by Twins shortstop Eduardo Nunez. He added a ninth-inning RBI on his second two-bagger of the afternoon. Acosta has only six exhibition at-bats to date, and is essentially serving as a spring-training body after signing a minor-league contract on Feb. 18 and receiving an invite to camp.

Gomes was out of action Wednesday due to flu-like symptoms, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

Gomes should be back by the weekend and this shouldn't be anything that will impact his readiness for the start of the regular season.

The Pirates are still evaluating the injury to Diaz (elbow) but believe it may not be too serious. "We're not overly concerned with that compartment at this time," trainer Todd Tomczyk told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

"This is more of a chronic thing," Tomczyk said. "We are in a pause and a holding pattern from games played." Diaz is refraining from using his right arm to throw the ball but is still participating in non-throwing drills.

Lino was reassigned to minor league camp Wednesday, Stephen Gross of The Morning Call reports.

The Phillies trimmed their number of catchers in big league camp from five to four Wednesday by sending Lino down to minor league camp. The 22-year-old catching prospect has time to develop, but he needs to work on his bat after going 0-for-8 in limited action this spring. He'll likely be a catching option at Double-A Reading or Triple-A Lehigh Valley this season and is unlikely to see the majors this year with the Phillies flush with catching depth at that level.

Grandal has been sent for additional tests on his forearm, Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times reports.

While Grandal said that he will play Thursday, the team has not yet confirmed a return date. Manager Dave Roberts said the lingering discomfort in Grandal's forearm is "disconcerting," and it seems the club wants to get a better idea of what the problem is exactly. Grandal recently suggested the soreness was the result overworking in the batting cages.

Grandal (forearm) will return to spring training action Thursday, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

Grandal visited with a doctor Monday after experiencing soreness in his right forearm, but it appears the ailment was a relatively minor one. Barring any further setbacks once he returns to Cactus League games, the 27-year-old should be set to go for the start of the regular season as the club's starting catcher.

Grandal (forearm) had a doctor's appointment Monday, but the team has not revealed the extent of his injury and he'll be rested until at least Thursday, the Los Angeles Times reports.

The same injury slowed Grandal earlier in camp, so the Dodgers may opt to take extra time now if they believe added rest will prevent the ailment from becoming a recurring problem throughout the year. A.J. Ellis will pick up extra playing time, along with Austin Barnes, if Grandal ends up on the shelf when the regular season begins.

Diaz will rest for the next week with lateral right-elbow discomfort and then be reevaluated, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.

The injury sounds as though it could be fairly serious. Diaz, who's batting .421 in 19 spring-training at-bats, hit .271/.330/.382 in 363 plate appearances for Triple-A Indy last year. He's currently ranked third among catchers on the depth chart. Ed Easley would likely serve as Pittsburgh's third option to start the season if Diaz is forced to miss time.