MLB Player News

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.

The White Sox optioned Lee to Triple-A Charlotte on Wednesday.

The 25-year-old hit well during spring training with a 1.280 OPS in 26 plate appearances, but veterans Martin Maldonado and Max Stassi will begin the campaign as Chicago's two big-league catchers. Lee struggled to a .077/.143/.138 slash line in his first 24 MLB games last season but should receive another look with the big club at some point in 2024.

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.