MLB Player News

Yankees manager Joe Girardi chose to start Francisco Cervelli behind the plate on opening day against the Red Sox. Giradi added, however, he expects an "even split" with Chris Stewart at catcher and will use the first month of the season to evaluate the position. 

Stewart appeared in 17 games at catcher this spring, which was second most on the team at the position behind Bobby Wilson's 19 appearances. Stewart hit .239 (11 for 46) with one homer, two doubles and six RBI.

The Diamondbacks reassigned catcher Tuffy Gosewisch to minor-league camp Friday. He hit .308/.438/.308 in 16 plate appearances this spring.

Gosewisch hit .216/.278/.345 with the Triple-A affiliates of the Phillies and Blue Jays in 2012.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy told the Contra Costa Times that catcher Hector Sanchez caught six innings in a minor league game Friday and appears ready for opening day.

Sanchez was shut down earlier in the spring due to a sore shoulder, but he hit a home run Friday and is not expected to have any trouble playing when the regular season begins.

Sanchez was the backup catcher for the Giants last season and will likely fill the same role this season. He batted .280 in 218 at bats, with three home runs and 34 RBI. 

Royals catcher Salvador Perez was part of an offensive explosion in his teams' 9-9 tie Wednesday night, hitting his first home run of the season -- one of four home runs for the Royals in the game. Perez also added a single in his five at-bats to raise his spring line to .377/.375/.528. Perez checks in with the rarely-seen phenomenon of an OBP lower than his batting average by virtue of having just one walk this spring while adding two sacrifice flies.

Reds manager Dusty Baker refused to reveal his plans for the team's rotation at catcher this season between Ryan Hanigan and Devin Mesoraco.

"I’ll let you know," Baker said, per the Cincinnati Enquirer. "It will vary. (Ryan) Hanigan caught (Jonny) Cueto seven (innings) last night. It’s Mesoraco’s turn to catch (Wednesday). Day after night. That’s going to happen sometimes. You want to keep them both sharp. You don’t want to pair them up too much. What happens if your guy can’t hit a guy or day after night? It’s a long season. You look at that calendar with that schedule. When they fire that gun to go, there ain’t no stopping for a long time.”

Clearly, my colleague Michael Hurcomb isn't as optimistic, but I sense Dusty Baker's perception of Devin Mesoraco has changed enough that the 24-year-old former prospect could begin to realize his potential for the Reds this year.

He's had a good spring, for whatever that's worth, but more notable is Baker's acknowledgement of his good spring and recognition that he's improved since last season.

True, Mesoraco is still the backup to Ryan Hanigan to begin the year, but if he hits well enough in that role, I have a feeling the situation will sort itself out.

Then again, it's Baker we're talking about.

With the Reds offering catcher Miguel Olivo a $100,000 retention bonus to accept a minor-league assignment, the move essentially means Devin Mesoraco will make the 25-man roster, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. Mesoraco is batting .361 (13 for 36) with two homers, three doubles and 11 RBI in 19 spring games.

"It’s not like he didn’t deserve it," manager Dusty Baker said of Mesoraco. "He did play well. (Monday), he had a bad game, but other than that he’s been great. You hope he’s gotten to the point -- and he says he has -- where he’s mature enough to realize it’s only a bad game and forget about it, then work on it, which he did yesterday.”

Giants manager Bruce Bochy told Comcast SportsNet Bay Area that he remains confident catcher Hector Sanchez will be ready for opening day. Sanchez, who battled a shoulder injury earlier this spring, played in a simulated game Tuesday morning and was able to make clear throws to bases without any pain. 

Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco could have hit 20 homers this spring and I don't think it would have made much of a difference in terms of his playing-time projection in 2013. We all know Mesoraco has a world of potential and is considered the future behind the plate for the Reds. But "future" is the key word.

While Mesoraco's spring surge might land him a spot on the 25-man roster, Ryan Hanigan's presence will prevent Mesoraco from being an everyday catcher, so don't move Mesoraco up Fantasy draft boards.

Reds manager Dusty Baker is a huge fan of Hanigan's because of Hanigan's defensive presence. The Reds are built to contend, so Hanigan's handling of the team's pitching staff is going to play a huge part in how Baker splits up the playing time behind the plate. It would be beneficial for the Reds to keep Mesoraco on the roster and have him continue to acclimate playing at the major-league level, but the catcher position isn't all about offensive production and Baker knows that. Mesoraco is still best left for deeper NL-only and Rotisserie formats that start two catchers.

Despite going 0 for 4 Monday, Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco is batting .361 this spring with two homers and 11 RBI. He has also slugged a solid .611 through 19 Cactus League games.

Mesoraco is competing with non-roster invite Miguel Olivo for the backup job to Ryan Hanigan.

"I feel like I came in with a good plan and came in prepared," Mesoraco told MLB.com. "I knew it was going to be a little bit different thing than last year. I had to prove myself. I'm happy with the way I've played and with the way things have turned out."