MLB Player News

According to Yankees manager Aaron Boone, Wells won't work out at any position besides catcher during spring training, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

It's not yet clear who will be the Opening Day catcher for the Yankees, as Jose Trevino provides better defense than Wells but swings a less potent bat and is currently managing a calf strain. Even if Trevino recovers quickly, Wells could very feasibly win the role of primary backstop with a strong spring, and he already showed off his power upside with four homers in 70 at-bats during his first taste of the majors last season. Given the contrasting strengths of Wells and Trevino, it's possible the pair of backstops splits starts behind the plate, which would dent the fantasy value of both players.

Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said Wednesday that the club is considering carrying three catchers on the Opening Day roster, putting Huff in contention for a spot, Jeff Wilson of RangersToday.com reports.

Jonah Heim will start and Andrew Knizner would appear to be the heavy favorite to back him up, but Huff also looks to be in the mix. Working in Huff's favor is that he can also play first base and could bring enough thump offensively to draw the occasional start at designated hitter. Huff does have an option year remaining, so Texas could still hang on to him even if he's not on the Opening Day roster.

Sanchez hasn't officially signed a one-year deal with the Brewers, but the two sides are close to finalizing a contract as of Tuesday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

Jon Heyman of the New York Post was first to report Feb. 7 that Sanchez had reached an agreement with the Brewers, but the deal has been put on hold temporarily after Milwaukee expressed concern about Sanchez's right wrist following a physical. It's possible that Sanchez's wrist issues will result in him signing for less than the $7 million salary that was originally reported, but he may still be able to reach that figure via incentives. The 31-year-old catcher is expected to see significant time at designated hitter in 2024 while serving as top backstop William Contreras' backup.

Dingler (elbow) is scheduled to throw to bases this week as part of his rehab program for the arthroscopic right elbow procedure he underwent in the offseason, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

The Tigers are easing the young catcher along in his throwing program as he ramps back up from the elbow procedure, but he's otherwise able to perform all baseball activities. With that in mind, Dingler could be able to make his spring debut early in the Tigers' Grapefruit League schedule as a designated hitter, though it's unclear when he'll be ready to catch in games.

The Twins plan to about equally split playing time behind the plate this season even with Jeffers' ascension late last year that saw him start every playoff game, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli told Dan Hayes of The Athletic.

The Twins like to utilize two catchers to reduce wear and tear, so this isn't a big surprise. However, Jeffers surged at the plate last season with a career-high .858 OPS and a .928 OPS in the second half. Meanwhile, Christian Vazquez struggled by hitting .223 with little power (.095 ISO) and a paltry .280 OBA. Jeffers could still see a majority of the playing time, but Baldelli's comments should give pause for any fantasy manager looking for a significant increase in his counting stats.

Vazquez worked at Driveline Baseball in the offseason to improve his bat speed and has his weight down to 208 pounds from 215 pounds as he seeks improved fitness entering the spring, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports.

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said the Twins plan to about equally split playing time at catcher even with Vazquez's disappointing 2023 season at the plate, according to the report. Vazquez hit just .223 with little power (.095 ISO) and a paltry .280 OBA last season. Some hope for a rebound can be gleaned from the fact that he's alternated productive and abysmal seasons at the plate throughout his career.

Stephenson is preparing to be the Reds' primary catcher in 2024, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

That's essentially what Stephenson was in 2023, but a series of injuries in 2022 limited him to 50 games that season and had a cascading effect the following year. The most serious injury was to his collarbone, which may have contributed to Stephenson losing 150 points of OPS. The injuries also caused lost time behind the plate that he could have used to gain game-calling experience. That lost experience led to more starts during the Reds' postseason push for Luke Maile in 2023. The plan for 2024 is different than last spring, when manager David Bell tried creating a rotation of three catchers that had Stephenson working as a designated hitter -- he started 42 games at DH. The trick for the 27-year-old Stephenson is to maintain a middle-of-the-order bat while improving behind the plate and working with pitchers.

Sanchez did not report to Brewers camp Wednesday with the rest of the team's pitchers and catchers, Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

He has still not arrived as of Friday and there's no word on when or if his reported one-year, $7 million contract will be finalized. Rosiak speculated Wednesday that negotiations might still be ongoing. Assuming the deal does eventually become official, Sanchez is expected to see plenty of action at designated hitter as well as backing up William Contreras at catcher.

Adams (wrist) appears to be fully recovered from hamate bone surgery in his wrist and has no restrictions to begin spring training, Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports reports.

The catcher underwent surgery in September, ending his 2023 campaign prematurely. Adams had something of a breakout at the plate in 2023, slashing .273/.331/.476 in 158 plate appearances, but the 27-year-old remains firmly behind Keibert Ruiz on the Nationals' depth chart.

Sabol will likely get a look at first base in spring training, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Sabol, a natural catcher, is behind at least Patrick Bailey and Tom Murphy at that position. He also saw time in left field last season, but manager Bob Melvin wants to add more versatility to Sabol's profile. The 26-year-old had to stay on the major-league roster all of last season after being acquired in the Rule 5 draft from the Reds, but Sabol will be able to be optioned to the minors if he can't carve out at least a utility role in 2024.