MLB Player News
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William Contreras C | MIL
Brewers' William Contreras: Dealt with knee sprain in playoffs
Brewers general manager Matt Arnold revealed Thursday that Contreras playing through a minor knee sprain during the team's wild-card series loss to the Mets, Jack Stern of BrewerFanatic.com reports.
Contreras didn't have to miss any time because of the injury, but it did force a move from catcher to the designated hitter spot in Game 3 of the series. He will not require surgery on the knee and is expected to be fine by the time spring training rolls around with an offseason of rest.
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Bo Naylor C | CLE
Guardians' Bo Naylor: Out of Game 2 lineup
Naylor is absent from the lineup Monday for Game 2 of the ALDS versus the Tigers, Zack Meisel of The Athletic reports.
He went hitless but caught a shutout in Game 1. With left-hander Tarik Skubal on the hill for the Tigers, Naylor will yield to Austin Hedges at catcher.
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Rob Brantly C | TB
Rob Brantly: Chooses to become free agent
Brantly elected free agency Saturday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Brantly had a brief stint in the majors last season, playing in three games and going 1-for-9 with the Rays in late August. That MLB action was his first since the 2022 campaign, and he's played in just 12 contests in the big leagues overall since 2017 while spending time with six different organizations. Brantly would likely need to accept a minor-league deal in order to latch on with a new squad.
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Travis d'Arnaud C | ATL
Braves' Travis d'Arnaud: Option will be picked up
Atlanta president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said Friday that the team plans to exercise d'Arnaud's $8 million club option for 2025, Grant McAuley of 92.9 The Game Atlanta reports.
Between that and Sean Murphy's $15 million salary, Atlanta will be paying a healthy $23 million to its catching duo in 2025. D'Arnaud usurped Murphy as the club's preferred starter down the stretch this season and finished with a .238/.302/.436 batting line and 15 home runs in 2024. He and Murphy could share the catching duties pretty evenly in 2025, but the latter might also reclaim the starting job if he rebounds from a career-worst .636 OPS.
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Travis d'Arnaud C | ATL
Braves' Travis d'Arnaud: Sitting for Game 2
D'Arnaud isn't in the lineup Wednesday for Game 2 of the National League Wild Card Series against San Diego.
After starting Game 1 of the series and going 1-for-4 with a double, d'Arnaud will now take a seat on the bench while Sean Murphy catches for Max Fried, batting eighth.
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Reese McGuire C | BOS
Reese McGuire: Elects free agency
McGuire elected free agency Monday.
McGuire initially remained in the Boston organization after being outrighted to Triple-A Worcester back in August, but with the minor-league season over, he's now on the free-agent market. The veteran catcher is a career .252/.300/.364 hitter over parts of seven big-league seasons.
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James McCann C | BAL
Orioles' James McCann: Starting at catcher in Game 1
McCann will start at catcher and bat ninth Tuesday in Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series versus the Royals, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.
With left-hander Cole Ragans toeing the slab for the Royals, the Orioles are going with McCann behind the plate and Adley Rutschman at designated hitter in Game 1. McCann closed out the regular season on a high note with a 1.087 OPS and four home runs in September.
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Alex Jackson C | TB
Alex Jackson: Elects free agency
Jackson has elected free agency, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Jackson initially remained in the Rays' organization after being outrighted off their 40-man roster last month, but he's now exercised his right to free agency. The catcher has a career .456 OPS over parts of five major-league seasons.
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Francisco Alvarez C | NYM
Mets' Francisco Alvarez: Breather in second game
Alvarez is out of the lineup for the second game of Monday's doubleheader in Atlanta, Tim Britton of The Athletic reports.
Perhaps Alvarez would have gotten the start had the Mets failed to capture the first game, but since they did win that contest it makes it an easy decision to rest him for this one. Luis Torrens will catch and bat eighth.
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Korey Lee C | CHW
White Sox's Korey Lee: Struggles to close season
Lee went 1-for-5 with two RBI and a stolen base Sunday against the Tigers.
Lee has split time with Chuckie Robinson in September after struggling for the second half of the campaign. Since the All-Star break, he has maintained just a .242 wOBA and .558 OPS. Top prospect Edgar Quero could be ready to challenge Lee for playing time early next season.