MLB Player News

Mets catcher Travis d'Arnaud will have his broken foot re-examined May 17.

He could begin a rehab assignment shortly after that date based on how well his exam goes. The initial diagnosis had d'Arnaud out until June, which still seems like the most likely scenario. 

Padres catcher Nick Hundley did not have positive things to say about teammate Yasmani Grandal. 

Grandal is set to return from his suspension in three weeks, and could usurp the starting role from Hundley.

When asked about Grandal Wednesday, Hundley responded by calling out the young catcher. "You want to talk about a guy who is unproven and had a good couple months on steroids, go ahead."

Hundley added that he hasn't thought about losing playing time once Grandal comes back. Hundley is hitting .270/.302/.450 in 100 at-bats this year.

Manager Bud Black said both catchers will get playing time once Grandal returns. He said the starting job will be based on performance. 

The Indians have been extremely happy with the production and ability of catcher Yan Gomes to this point, MLB.com reports Wednesday. The 25-year-old has impressed manager Terry Francona. 

"This spring we were really pleased, because we didn't quite know [what to expect]," Francona said. "We wanted to see him catch, because we thought we had a chance for an everyday catcher. You never pass up that opportunity. That's why we sent him to Triple-A [to start the season]. He's getting better fast. It's very exciting."

Entering Wednesday, Gomes had logged 84 innings behind the dish and Cleveland pitchers have posted a combined 2.89 ERA over that span. They are 10-2 when Gomes appears. 

Gomes is batting .212 on the year with two homers and four RBI over 33 at-bats. 

Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco chose a good time to hit his first home run of 2013. He entered Tuesday's contest against the Braves in the ninth inning with his team trailing by one and launched a game-tying, solo shot off closer Craig Kimbrel.

Shin-Soo Choo would follow with a solo homer to give Cincinnati the 5-4 win.

Mesoraco is batting .237 with eight RBI through 20 games.

Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco is not in the team's starting lineup Tuesday.

Mesoraco has received a large portion of playing time with Ryan Hanigan on the disabled list. Corky Miller will take his place behind the plate and bat eighth. In 58 at-bats, Mesoraco is hitting .224/.319/.293.

It's nice to see Royals catcher Salvador Perez stringing together hits. Many Fantasy owners took a big stake in Perez during the preseason and have yet to see the rewards, so for Perez to provide a promising batting average is encouraging.

While Perez is batting .338 (23 for 68) in his last 19 games, I still caution Fantasy owners to keep expectations in check. As I wrote in the preseason, I didn't believe in Perez's home run numbers early in his MLB career and I still don't. Perez was more of a gap hitter in the minors and his 13.1 percent home run to fly ball ratio last season, per FanGraphs.com, was definitely high for him. This season, Perez's HR/FB ratio is 5.6 percent, which is definitely closer to what can be expected.

Perez can be serviceable as a low-end starter in deep mixed leagues. But I'm not shocked by his lack of power through the first month of the season.

Yankees catcher Chris Stewart smacked his second home run of the season on Saturday afternoon during a 4-2 win over Oakland. Stewart went 1 for 3 and is batting .275.

Stewart went deep off starter Bartolo Colon in the third inning for a solo shot. He has homered twice in his last 10 games with four RBI over that span. Stewart has four RBI this year. He is the team's every-day catcher with Francisco Cervelli injured and Austin Romine not yet ready to see consistent starts. 

Royals catcher Salvador Perez is starting to heat up at the plate, posting two straight multi-hit games for the first time this season. However, he has struck out 19 times in 93 plate appearances after totalling just 27 strikeouts in 305 plate appearances last season.

Perez has hit .278/.290/.378 with a 19:1 K:BB ratio this season.

The Giants optioned catcher Hector Sanchez to Triple-A Fresno on Friday to clear a spot on the active roster for outfielder Francisco Peguero. In 11 games with San Francisco, Sanchez posted a .150 average while driving in just one run.

The Brewers will start Martin Maldonado at first base for the third straight game Tuesday against Pittsburgh, the club announced.

Maldonado has now started at first in four of the past six games. Tuesday marks his seventh start at the position in 2013. Maldonado has been iffy defensively, but Alex Gonzalez's struggles at the plate (.459 OPS) have made the move a necessity for Milwaukee. Maldonado is hitting .214/.267/.405 and a robust .250/.318/.550 in his last six games.