MLB Player News
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Patrick Bailey C | CLE
Giants' Patrick Bailey: Gets Monday off
Bailey isn't in the starting lineup for Monday's game against the Dodgers, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Bailey has collected two hits in two of his first three games of the season, but he'll get a breather in the first game of the series against LA unless he's called upon to pinch hit. Tom Murphy draws the start behind the dish and will bat sixth in Bailey's place.
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Logan O'Hoppe C | LAA
Angels' Logan O'Hoppe: Gets first day off
O'Hoppe is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Marlins, Erica Weston of Bally Sports West reports.
He'll give way to Matt Thaiss behind the dish after catching each of the Angels' first three games of the season while going 3-for-7 with a pair of walks, an RBI and a run scored. Angels manager Ron Washington said in spring training that he's hopeful to get O'Hoppe between 125 to 135 starts at catcher this season, and the 24-year-old is roughly on pace thus far with three starts through four games.
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Jeferson Quero C | MIL
Brewers' Jeferson Quero: Dealing with shoulder subluxation
Brewers general manager Matt Arnold said Monday that Quero has been diagnosed with a right shoulder subluxation, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.
Quero suffered the injury in Triple-A Nashville's first game of the season Friday while diving back into first base on a pickoff attempt. The Brewers are waiting for the inflammation in his shoulder to calm down before they reassess the catcher and develop a treatment plan.
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Nick Fortes C | TB
Marlins' Nick Fortes: On bench Monday
Fortes is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Angels, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.
The Marlins have embraced a timeshare behind the plate so far this season, with Fortes making two starts to Christian Bethancourt's three. Fortes is off to an 0-for-6 start at the dish and will likely need to pick up the pace offensively if hopes to capture a larger share of the work at catcher.
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Tyler Stephenson C | CIN
Reds' Tyler Stephenson: On bench Monday
Stephenson is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Phillies.
Stephenson and Luke Maile have now made two starts apiece at catcher through the Reds' first two games, but the former still appears to be viewed as the team's No. 1 option behind the dish.
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Shea Langeliers C | ATH
Athletics' Shea Langeliers: Solid start to season
Langeliers went 3-for-6 with a hit-by-pitch and a sacrifice fly over his last two games against the Guardians on Friday and Sunday.
The starting catcher started the season with an 0-for-3 showing on Opening Day before rapping out a pair of singles Friday, then getting on base two more times via another hit and the plunking Sunday in his return from a day off. Langeliers flashed some promising power a season ago with 22 home runs and 45 extra-base hits overall, and he also managed to lace seven (four doubles, one triple, two homers) of his 11 Cactus League hits for extra bases this spring.
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Martin Maldonado C | SD
White Sox's Martin Maldonado: Looking for first hit
Maldonado will start at catcher and bat eighth in Monday's game against Atlanta.
After resting in Sunday's 3-2 loss to the Tigers, Maldonado will be back behind the dish for the series opener versus Atlanta while backup catcher Korey Lee retreats to the bench. While starting the first two games of the season, Maldonado went 0-for-5 with a walk and two strikeouts in losses to the Tigers. Despite coming off a season in which he posted a lowly .606 OPS over 407 plate appearances for Houston, Maldonado should see the majority of the starts at catcher for the White Sox in 2024 thanks mainly to his reputation as a defender and game caller.
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Chadwick Tromp C | ATL
Braves' Chadwick Tromp: Could be Sale's personal catcher
Tromp got the start Sunday with Chris Sale on the mound for Atlanta, and he could wind up being the veteran southpaw's personal catcher while he's in the majors, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.
Sale was very complimentary of Tromp's work behind the plate after the game, in which he struck out seven batters and walked two over 5.1 innings. If Atlanta wants to keep 35-year-old Travis d'Arnaud from breaking down while Sean Murphy (oblique) is on the shelf, Tromp will likely start more than once even five days or so, but having a pitcher like Sale talk up his game-calling skills can only help his outlook for playing time. Whether he offers anything as a hitter is another question, though -- the 29-year-old backstop went 0-for-2 on Sunday, and he slashed .210/.336/.384 with 10 homers over 65 games for Triple-A Gwinnett in 2023.
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Ali Sanchez C | BOS
Ali Sanchez: Elects free agency
Sanchez elected to become a free agent Sunday.
Sanchez cleared waivers after the Pirates removed him from their 40-man roster, but he had the ability to decline an outright assignment and has done just that. The veteran catcher will now look to latch on in another organization that's seeking depth behind the plate.
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Tucker Barnhart C | TEX
Diamondbacks' Tucker Barnhart: Makes first start
Barnhart went 1-for-2 with a walk, a stolen base and one run in Sunday's 5-1 win over the Rockies.
Barnhart made his first start of the regular season, giving Gabriel Moreno a day off in the final game of the season-opening four-game set against Colorado. Moreno made 99 starts behind the plate in 2023 and should see a similar workload this season.