Crooks could split time at catcher for the Cardinals next season with Ivan Herrera, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

Herrera is slated to return to catcher in 2026 after serving as the team's primary designated hitter for the final few months of 2025. He is not expected to be used behind the plate full-time, though, leaving some reps at catcher open. Per Woo, that playing time is likelier to go to Crooks than Pedro Pages, who is a trade candidate. Crooks struggled in a cup of coffee with the Cardinals in 2025, going 6-for-45 with a 0:17 BB:K. However, the 24-year-old has been productive in the minors, having slashed .274/.337/.441 with 14 home runs last season at Triple-A Memphis.

Pages could be the odd man out at catcher for the Cardinals next season, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

Pages has led the team in starts behind the plate each of the last two seasons. However, the Cardinals plan to use a combination of Ivan Herrera and Jimmy Crooks at catcher next season, leaving Pages without a clear path to playing time. The 27-year-old has minor-league options remaining, but prospect Leonardo Bernal is expected to serve as the primary catcher at Triple-A Memphis in 2026. As a result, Pages could be a trade candidate this offseason.

The Brewers declined Jansen's $12 million mutual option for 2026 on Monday, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

He'll be given a $500,000 buyout instead. Jansen slashed .215/.321/.399 with 14 home runs over 98 regular-season contests between the Rays and Brewers in 2025 and the 30-year-old catcher will now enter the free-agent market.

Garver will become a free agent after the Mariners declined the $12 million mutual option in his contract Sunday.

Garver will be paid a $1 million buyout and enter the free-agent market. The 34-year-old slashed only .187/.290/.341 across 201 regular-season games during his two seasons in Seattle. Garver is a career .255/.358/.474 hitter against left-handed pitching, so he should be able to land a job as a short-side platoon bat this winter.

Smith went 2-for-6 with a solo home run and an additional run scored Saturday in a 5-4 extra-innings win in Game 7 of the World Series versus Toronto.

Smith scored Los Angeles' first run of the game in the fourth inning when he led off the frame with a double and eventually came home on a Teoscar Hernandez sacrifice fly. The All-Star catcher then came through with the biggest hit of his career in the top of the 11th inning, clubbing a two-out solo homer that proved to be the winning run as the Dodgers repeated as champions. Smith ended up catching all 73 innings of the series, setting a World Series record. He recorded at least one hit in six of the seven contests, batting .267 overall with two home runs, two doubles, six RBI and four runs scored.

Kirk (hand) will start at catcher and bat sixth Saturday in Game 7 of the World Series against the Dodgers.

Kirk made an early exit from Game 6 on Friday after getting hit on his left hand by a pitch. X-rays on his hand came back negative shortly after the game, and he'll officially remain in the starting nine for the final game of the World Series. Kirk has slashed .265/.361/.482 with five homers, 13 RBI and 13 runs scored across 77 plate appearances this postseason.

Kirk will undergo X-rays on his left hand after getting hit by a pitch in Game 6 of the World Series on Friday, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports.

Kirk took an 85-mph splitter off his hand in the ninth inning of Friday's contest and was immediately replaced on the bases by a pinch runner. The Jays are optimistic that the 26-year-old backstop avoided a significant injury, but they'll send him in for imaging as a precaution. If Kirk is unable to start in the final game of the World Series on Saturday, Tyler Heineman would get the nod at catcher.

Alfaro elected to become a free agent Friday.

The Nationals removed Alfaro from their 40-man roster, and the veteran catcher declared free agency rather than accepting an outright assignment. Alfaro slashed .256/.256/.308 in 14 games with the Nats this season and will likely have to settle for a minor-league contract this winter.

The Tigers re-signed Nido to a minor-league contract Thursday with an invitation to spring training.

Nido finished the 2025 season with the Tigers after stops with the Mets and Cubs. A career .215/.249/.310 hitter over parts of nine big-league seasons, the 31-year-old Nido is slated to begin the 2026 season as experienced catching depth at Triple-A Toledo.

Stubbs cleared waivers Wednesday and was sent outright to Triple-A Rochester.

Stubbs played in his first career MLB game in 2025, though most of his time was spent in the minors, where he slashed .169/.293/.316 across 266 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A. The Nationals already have four other catchers on their 40-man roster, so Stubbs will end up as the odd man out and likely open 2026 as organizational depth.