MLB Player News

Deglan (undisclosed) re-signed a minor-league contract with the Yankees, Baseball America reports.

Deglan is a former first-rounder who gained prominence in the British Columbia Premier Baseball League before graduating high school. Since then, he has yet to rise higher than Double-A and he missed all of 2017 with an undisclosed injury. Still, Deglan is only 25 years old, and the year off may be just what he needs to improve on his .194/.256/.332 slash line from 2016.

Sanchez said Sunday that he spent the winter focusing on improving his flexibility, which he believes will help him from a defensive standpoint, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.

After a dominant showing at the dish in his two-month stint with the big club as a rookie in 2016, Sanchez erased any doubt that he's one of the majors' premier offensive talents at catcher during his first full season in pinstripes, finishing with a .278/.345/.531 line to go with 33 home runs, 90 RBI and 79 runs. He again shapes up as an elite fantasy option at his position in 2018, though Sanchez will likely need to make more strides defensively in order to stick behind the plate permanently. For what it's worth, new Yankees manager Aaron Boone said that he's been pleased with the defensive form Sanchez has shown in the early stages of camp drills, but the 25-year-old will need to do a better job of curbing passed balls in the games that count before his skeptics are silenced.

Stassi is looking to claim the final available roster spot for the Astros, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

With little drama in spring training for the World Series champs, we're left watching the one available spot for a position player. Does manager A.J. Hinch keep a third catcher, like Stassi, or an extra infielder/outfielder, such as Tyler White or Tony Kemp? Stassi's out of options, so he'll need to clear waivers if Houston wants him at Triple-A Fresno. That gives him an edge, but Hinch would feel more comfortable if Stassi continues to hit as he did in 2017 for the Grizzlies (12 HR, .856 OPS). Having a third catcher on the roster allows Hinch the flexibility to deploy Evan Gattis as the designated hitter, but it all comes down to Stassi's offense.

Garver enters spring training as the leading candidate to win the backup catcher role behind starter Jason Castro with last year's backup Chris Gimenez signing with the Cubs in free agency, MLB.com reports.

He'll compete against Bobby Wilson and Willians Astudill for the backup catcher role, but the job is his to lose after a breakout season at Triple-A, where he hit 17 home runs with a .928 OPS. Garver will need to show he can hold his own with his defense. If he wins the job, he could get more at-bats than Gimenez had last year since he's both a right-handed hitter (Castro is a lefty) and can play first base or the outfield in a pinch.

Murphy has received an invitation to the Athletics' spring training as a non-roster invitee, Jane Lee of MLB.com reports.

Murphy was drafted in the third round of the 2016 draft and was able to work his way up to Double-A Midland last season. The young backstop struggled at the plate, slashing .209/.288/.309 in his 217 plate appearances. The 23-year-old still has some refining of his game left to do before he's major-league ready.

Romanski was handed a 100-game suspension after testing positive for amphetamine for the second time in as many offseasons, Emily Waldon of The Athletic reports.

Romanski was initially given a 50-game suspension last December and will start off consecutive seasons on the shelf. The catcher split time between the Double- and Triple-A level in 2017, and hit .286/.298/.304 during 15 games with Pawtucket.

Thaiss was invited to attend spring training as a non-roster invitee, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports.

Thaiss started the 2017 season at High-A Inland Empire, where he played 84 games before earning a promotion to Double-A Mobile. He impressed with Mobile, where he posted an outstanding .412 on-base percentage over 49 games. Between the two levels, the 22-year-old combined to slash .274/.375/.395.

Moore signed a minor-league contract with the Rays on Saturday which includes an invitation to spring training, ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick reports.

Moore will serve as organizational depth at the catching position for the Rays, although he will likely spend most of the season at the Triple-A level barring an injury. In 2017, he played in 76 games for Triple-A Columbus within the Indians' system, slashing .238/.313/.369 with eight home runs and 33 RBI. Moore has appeared in just 30 major-league games over the last seven seasons.

Rogers has been invited to the Tigers' major-league camp this spring.

Rogers, who was one of three prospects the Tigers received in exchange for Justin Verlander last August, spent most of the 2017 campaign at High-A, slashing a combined .263/.355/.450 with 12 homers and 13 stolen bases in 85 games with Buies Creek (Astros) and Lakeland (Tigers). He'll likely report to High-A or Double-A to open the 2018 season.

Collins worked on fixing a hitch in his swing over the winter, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Collins had some areas of development in 2017, getting on base at a .370 clip and hitting 19 home runs at High-A Winston-Salem and Double-A Birmingham, but some of his prospect sheen took a hit under the weight of a .224 batting average and 129 strikeouts (27.3 percent K%). As reported last October by Josh Norris of Baseball America, an area of focus for Collins during the Fall Instructional League was his body position and posture as a hitter. The goal was to make his swing less busy and get him in position to hit the ball quicker. The White Sox feel the 2016 first-round pick came along defensively, particularly in controlling the running game. However, they acknowledge areas of improvement, in terms of blocking balls and game calling. The organization can take its time with the soon-to-be 23-year-old catcher after inking Welington Castillo to a two-year deal this offseason. Improving the hit tool and making the necessary strides as a backstop will improve his prospect profile.