MLB Player News

Stubbs reported to training camp weighing 10 pounds heavier than when he finished playing in the Arizona Fall League last November, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Stubbs, the organization's seventh-ranked prospect according to RotoWire, is the catcher closest to the major leagues after reaching Double-A Corpus Christi in 2016. Between High-A Lancaster and his time with the Double-A Hooks, he slashed /304/.391/.469/.860 and was actually better after leaving the hitter-smooching High-A California League. The Astros want to see the slight-framed catcher bulk up to better handle the rigors of catching long term. He'll reach Triple-A this season and is on schedule for MLB in 2018 or 2019.

Perez will begin the 2017 season as the backup catcher to Yan Gomes, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Manager Terry Francona made it clear Thursday morning that there will be no competition between Perez and Gomes for the primary job behind the plate. The skipper added that he'll look for opportunities to work Perez into the mix as often as possible. Even as the backup, the 28-year-old should see a fair amount of innings. Gomes has played in fewer than 100 games in four of his five professional seasons, and he hit a career-low .167 in 251 at-bats last year. If he struggles early or suffers another injury, Perez, who's already a decent fantasy asset in deep leagues, becomes an immediate option across most formats.

Manager Mike Scioscia said that he will let his catcher situation play out this spring and Perez isn't guaranteed to be a backup, the Orange Country Register reports.

It was thought that Martin Maldonado would see the majority of starts behind the dish when the club acquired him this offseason, and while that may end up happening, it appears Perez will get a chance to prove himself this spring. Neither option offers much from an offensive standpoint, so a timeshare would ultimately end what little fantasy value both catchers would have had if there was a full-time starter.

Manager Mike Scioscia said he will let his catcher situation play out this season, the Orange County Register reports.

Initial thinking was that Maldonado would get the lion's share of starts behind the dish with his new club, but Scioscia may have other ideas regarding how he splits up starts behind the plate. He brought up a good point in that Maldonado has never caught 100 games in a season before. Scioscia even hinted at a potential 50-50 split in playing time between he and fellow catcher Carlos Perez. Neither catcher had much offensive value in the first place, but a timeshare would almost assuredly render both useless in even deep formats.

McCann has simplified his approach at the plate in an effort to cut down on strikeouts, MLive.com reports.

McCann struck out 29.2 percent of the time last season, which was the highest rate of his MLB career. McCann's batting average also dropped to a career-worst .221. "Last year was really the first year that I struck out at the rate that I did," he said. "I think the changes that I've made will impact that area directly." McCann figures to be Detroit's primary catcher in 2017, although Alex Avila figures to snag some playing time as well.

Gomes will remain the starting catcher ahead of Roberto Perez to open the 2017 campaign, MLB.com's Jordan Bastian reports.

In 2014, Gomes hit 21 homers with a .785 OPS and won the AL Silver Slugger award for backstops. He declined in 2015 and then the bottom fell out last season. Gomes hit .167/.201/.327 and his postseason playing time was usurped by Roberto Perez. After suffering a separated right shoulder that cost him more than two months in 2016, the 29-year-old says he feels 100 percent healthy entering this season. Cleveland has invested a lot in Gomes, who is signed through 2019 with team options for the '20 and '21 seasons, so they'll give the catcher plenty of leeway to find his stride in the upcoming campaign.

Leon enters spring training as Boston's starting catcher, according to manager John Farrell, Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe reports.

Farrell recognizes the breakout season Leon enjoyed in 2016, when he had an .845 OPS and seven homers, but it doesn't take an advanced degree in statistics to expect a massive correction for the catcher that had a career OPS of .483 prior to 2016. If Leon's bat resembles what we saw in September -- he hit .216/.280/.257/.537 during the month -- he'll lose the starting job to either Christian Vazquez or Blake Swihart.

Vazquez picked up an additional 122 at-bats in 37 games during winter league ball in the Roberto Clemente League in Puerto Rico.

Vazquez caught several games a week in Puerto Rico, getting a chance to test his throwing arm, which underwent Tommy John elbow surgery in 2015. He reported not feeling the lingering discomfort he felt last season. The 26-year-old catcher is looking for a fresh start in 2017 after last season's odyssey of stops and starts that eventually led to an extended stay in Triple-A. He's out of options this season, which works in his favor as the Red Sox can stash Blake Swihart in the minors while Vazquez and Sandy Leon handle the major-league pitching staff. Of course, Vazquez's bat will be a factor. He worked on rehabilitating his swing late last season with hitting coach Rich Gedman and had an .805 OPS during the month of August, but that dropped to .653 during the regular season in Puerto Rico.

Sanchez announced Tuesday that he will not play in the upcoming World Baseball Classic, Pete Caldera of the Bergen Record reports.

Sanchez had been planning to play for the Dominican Republic but ultimately changed his mind. He wants a full spring with his teammates to prepare for the start of the regular season. His power pace from last season (20 homers in 229 plate appearances) is not sustainable, but he is arguably the Yankees' best hitter (171 wRC+) and it seems likely he will be in the three-hole four days a week at a minimum.

Perez spent most of January training with Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina, an eight-time Gold Glove Award winner, on the mental aspects of catching, Zack Meisel of Cleveland.com reports.

Perez will compete with Yan Gomes for playing time in 2017. With the latter having dealt with lingering shoulder issues, strong defense could be Perez's path to more playing time. Perez has dealt with his own health problems though, as a broken thumb cost the 28-year-old nearly half the 2016 campaign. The battle for starting catcher duties will be one to monitor this spring, as the draft value of both Perez and Gomes is strongly tied to the fight. Barring injury, the most likely scenario is that the pair breaks camp in some sort of platoon, limiting both of their stocks to begin 2017.