MLB Player News

The Royals optioned Nola to Triple-A Omaha on Friday, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.

As long as Salvador Perez and Freddy Fermin were healthy, Nola was always destined for Omaha to begin the season. He'll provide veteran catching depth in the minors.

Jansen (wrist) said Thursday he hopes to begin throwing this weekend, Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet.ca reports.

The small fracture Jansen was diagnosed with nearly a week ago was in his right hand, so it would seem to be a good sign that he's nearly ready to throw. A stint on the injured list to begin the season would appear to be a virtual certainty, but the hope is that Jansen won't need to miss much time.

The Astros optioned Salazar to Triple-A Sugar Land on Thursday, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.

Salazar was always destined for Sugar Land as long as Yainer Diaz and Victor Caratini were healthy. He'll see regular starts behind the plate with the affiliate.

Grandal (foot) won't be cleared to run until at least next week, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

He's able to do some other baseball activities, but Grandal's plantar fasciitis is still preventing him from running. Given that Opening Day is just a week away and he has just three Grapefruit League plate appearances under his belt, Grandal could very well be looking at a trip to the injured list. Henry Davis is poised for the lion's share of catching duties while Grandal is out.

Campusano went 3-for-6 with two doubles, two runs and two RBI in a 15-11 win against the Dodgers on Thursday in the second game of the Seoul Series.

Campusano was part of a big first inning for San Diego, knocking in a run with a double to stake the team to a 4-0 lead. He added another RBI double in the sixth and finished the game with three knocks. This was the second time in his career that Campusano has had multiple extra-base hits in a contest, with the other being his two-homer performance against the Dodgers in August of 2023. He's set to be the Padres' primary backstop this season after posting a promising .319/.356/.491 slash line with seven homers and 30 RBI over 174 plate appearances last year.

Smith went 4-for-6 with a double, a run and two RBI in Thursday's loss to the Padres in the second game of the Seoul Series.

After the Padres went ahead 5-0 in the top of the first inning, Smith put the Dodgers on the board with an RBI double in the bottom of the frame. He collected three singles the rest of the way -- including an RBI base knock in the seventh -- as he and Mookie Betts combined for half of the Dodgers' 16 total hits. Smith went 5-for-10 over the two-game, season-opening set in South Korea and appears to be fully recovered from the back issue that caused him to be scratched from Los Angeles' final Cactus League game March 13.

Murphy went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Blue Jays.

The catcher took Bowden Francis deep in the sixth inning for his first long ball of the spring. Murphy has been making good contact in camp despite the lack of power, batting .292 (7-for-24) through nine Grapefruit League games with a 0:3 BB:K, and he seems just about ready for Opening Day.

The Tigers reassigned Bemboom to minor-league camp Thursday.

Bemboom was in camp as another catcher to throw to, but he wasn't going to make the roster as long as Jake Rogers and Carson Kelly were healthy. The 34-year-old will provide some experienced depth at Toledo.

Gallagher (knee) has appeared in each of the Phillies' last three Grapefruit League games, going a collective 1-for-4 with an RBI.

Gallagher was scratched from the Phillies' lineup ahead of last Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Marlins due to a right knee contusion, but he needed only a few days to move past the issue. The 31-year-old is battling Garrett Stubbs for the Phillies' No. 2 catcher job this spring.

Carson Kelly is expected to play often this season, per Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic, which could cut into Rogers' role.

Rogers should still see the majority of the playing time behind the plate after clubbing 21 home runs a season ago, but he may be at risk of sitting fairly regularly, especially if Kelly plays well. Even in something of a timeshare, Rogers offers fantasy upside due to his power potential, though he's unlikely to contribute much in the batting average category given his free-swinging approach.