MLB Player News

Knizner went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Saturday's spring game against Arizona.

Knizner swatted his second Cactus League home run and is 6-for-23 (.261) with four extra-base hits and 10 RBI over eight spring games. He entered the game in the fourth inning as the designated hitter, but Knizner's shaping up to be the primary backup at catcher to Jonah Heim.

McGuire (illness) is starting behind the plate and batting fifth in Sunday's split-squad game against Atlanta, Christopher Smith of The Springfield Republican reports.

The 29-year-old was scratched from Thursday's starting nine due to an illness but will return to action after resting up over the past couple days. McGuire had a .688 OPS in 202 plate appearances last season and is poised to open 2024 as the primary backup to Connor Wong at catcher.

Moreno (back) is expected to return to the Diamondbacks' lineup Sunday against the Angels, Theo Mackie of The Arizona Republic reports.

Moreno has been unavailable for a couple days with lower-back tightness but has evidently made enough progress that his return to action is imminent. The young catcher is 4-for-17 with one home run and a 2:3 K:BB over 20 plate appearances for Arizona this spring.

Raleigh will not play in Saturday's Cactus League game against the White Sox due to a bruised heel sustained in Thursday's contest against the Brewers, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.

Michael Papierski will get the start at catcher with Raleigh held out. The move is a precautionary one, with Divish noting that Raleigh would've played if it was a regular-season game. Raleigh is slashing .400/.520/1.000 with three home runs and 10 RBI over 20 at-bats in spring training.

Bethancourt went 0-for-3 in Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Cardinals.

The veteran catcher is expected to split work behind the plate with Nick Fortes this season for the Marlins, but Bethancourt has done little in camp to attract attention from fantasy GMs. He's batting .217 (5-for-23) through 10 games with a 1:7 BB:K, and a double stands as his only extra-base hit. Bethancourt has slugged exactly 11 homers each of the last two seasons, but his .239/.268/.395 slash line offers little appeal even as an endgame dart for those not wanting to invest heavily at catcher.

Gallagher was scratched from the Phillies' lineup ahead of Saturday's spring training game versus Miami due to a right knee contusion.

Gallagher will presumably get a few days off as a result of his injured knee. The 31-year-old backstop entered camp looking to win a roster spot as J.T. Realmuto's backup, though Gallagher has gone just 2-for-13 across six games this spring.

Sabol (groin) will begin baseball activities and a running progression Friday, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.

Sabol suffered a right adductor strain earlier this month but has been cleared to being ramping things back up. A timeline for his return to game action isn't clear, but it would seem a stint on the injured list to start the season could be in the cards.

Serven went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Twins.

One day after Danny Jansen suffered a broken bone in his wrist, Serven got the start at catcher and took Bailey Ober deep in the first inning for his third long ball of the spring. The former Rockie appears to be in line to back up Alejandro Kirk at catcher to begin the season, batting .313 (5-for-16) in camp with all five hits going for extra bases, but it's highly unlikely that kind of offensive performance will carry forward should he get significant playing time. In 228 big-league plate appearances, more than half of which came at Coors Field, Serven has a meager .195/.248/.314 slash line.

Bailey (hand) will begin light baseball activities in 1-2 days, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.

Bailey took a foul tip off his right hand during a Cactus League game Tuesday and has been resting while the swelling in his hand goes down. He should be ready to return to games by next week, and his availability for Opening Day doesn't seem to be in question.

Jansen was diagnosed with a broken bone in his wrist Friday and is expected to be sidelined for at least the next two weeks, Hazel Mae of Sportsnet reports.

Jansen suffered the injury on a hit-by-pitch Wednesday, and it now appears he'll be sidelined for Opening Day. Manager John Schneider indicated the club is hoping his absence would be limited to about two weeks, per Jayson Stark of The Athletic, which would allow the 28-year-old backstop to return during the first weekend of the regular season. Given where the fracture happened, however, that timeline seems overly optimistic, and a stint on the injured list to open the campaign is likely. Alejandro Kirk should serve as Toronto's primary catcher in the meantime, with Brian Serven or Payton Henry the likely backup.