MLB Player News

McCann has an opportunity secure the No. 2 catcher job behind Shea Langeliers in the wake of Tyler Soderstrom's demotion to Triple-A Las Vegas, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

McCann was a fourth-round pick in the 2019 First-Year Player Draft, and he's steadily ascended in the organizational ranks since that point. The 26-year-old spent the entirety of the 2023 season with Las Vegas, producing a solid .270/.351/.474 slash line with 35 extra-base hits and 57 RBI across 97 games. McCann hasn't been anywhere near as successful this spring -- he sports a .211 average across 23 Cactus League plate appearances -- but manager Mark Kotsay implies McCann remains in contention with veteran Carlos Perez for the No. 2 job and has complimented McCann for "continuing to grow and make improvements to challenge for that opportunity."

Perez's chances of securing the No. 2 catcher job have increased significantly with the recent demotion of Tyler Soderstrom to Triple-A Las Vegas to start the season, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

The veteran returned to Oakland on a minor-league contract with an invite to spring training on Jan. 5 after serving as Shea Langeliers' backup for the majority of the 2023 season. Perez made some serviceable offensive contributions in the process, generating a career-high six home runs and .650 OPS across 68 games. However, Perez has only posted a .111 average over 30 Cactus League plate appearances, and he still has to beat out Kyle McCann, a fourth-round pick in the 2019 First-Year Player Draft who hit well at Triple-A last season.

Kelly is expected to receive a significant amount of playing time at catcher for the Tigers this season, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.

Kelly may not be part of a full-on timeshare with Jake Rogers, but the veteran backstop has impressed the club this spring after making offseason swing changes. The 29-year-old cranked his second Grapefruit League home run Wednesday and is currently sitting on an .897 OPS in 12 games. Kelly has slashed just .210/.281/.320 over the last two seasons but had a .768 OPS in the three seasons prior to that.

Sabol (groin) will return to action Wednesday for the Giants' Cactus League contest against the Angels, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Sabol is not in the lineup but will come off the bench and play some left field. It will be the 26-year-old's first game appearance since March 5, as he's been plagued by a right adductor strain. Sabol should be ready in time for Opening Day but appears ticketed for Triple-A Sacramento to start the season.

Bailey (hand) is starting at catcher and batting seventh for the Giants in Wednesday's Cactus League game versus the Angels, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Bailey went more than a week in between games after taking a foul tip off his right hand, but he's fully recovered now. The young catcher is 2-for-11 with one home run and a 4:4 K:BB over six contests this spring.

The Padres optioned Sullivan to Triple-A El Paso on Tuesday.

Sullivan logged seven hits in 25 at-bats this spring, but he will ultimately lose out on the backup catcher job to Kyle Higashioka. Sullivan slashed .328/.401/.517 in Triple-A last season, and he could return to San Diego in 2024 if he starts the minor-league season off in similar fashion at El Paso.

Wong started at catcher and went 2-for-3 with with a two-run home run in Monday's spring game against the Twins.

Wong went deep for the second time in as many games, upping his spring line to .433/.469/.833 with eight extra-base hits and eight RBI over 30 Grapefruit League at-bats. The spring production is a sign that offseason adjustments have worked, per Ian Browne of MLB.com. "He's made adjustments," manager Alex Cora said. "It started towards the end of the [2023] season. And in the offseason, [hitting coach] Pete [Fatse] came down here to Fort Myers. They started cleaning up a few things with the leg kick and all that." Wong said he's shorter to the baseball and trying to eliminate the swing-and-miss and choose better pitches overall. In 2023, Wong struck out 134 times in 403 plate appearances (33.3 K%).

Moreno started at catcher and went 1-for-3 in Monday's spring game against the Athletics.

Moreno was back in the lineup after being scratched last Thursday due to lower back tightness. In all, it was his first Cactus League game in a week. He's locked in as the Diamondbacks' primary catcher.

Godoy was reassigned to minor-league camp Monday.

Godoy put pen to paper on a minor-league contract that included an invitation to spring training in February, and he made the most of his chances before being sent down. He went 5-for-13 with three RBI, two walks and one run scored over 12 contests.

Bailey (hand) will return to Cactus League action in the next day or two, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Bailey got his right hand banged up on a foul tip nearly a week ago, but he looks to be back at or near 100 percent. The young catcher is 2-for-11 with one home run in six games so far this spring.