MLB Player News

Red Sox catcher Christian Vazquez seems to be very happy with the lessons he is learning from former Red Sox catcher and captain Jason Varitek.

"Great, great teacher," Vazquez said of Varitek, per MLB.com. "I call him the Google of baseball. It's so great to have somebody like him. It's a pleasure.

"Right now, we're working on receiving and getting the ball to travel more and just let it breathe. That's helped me. Varitek tells me I need to talk to each pitcher about what he likes, what he doesn't like. It's very important to get that trust. I'm like a manager now. I need to be in charge, calling games.

"I'm ready to help this team to win and help my teammates. We have a great group of pitchers here and we're trying to win this year and get to the playoffs. I'm here to win and helping the team. I'm excited to be here."

Angels pitcher Atahualpa Severino and catcher Carlos Perez did not report to camp due to visa issues, according to MLB.com.

Both players joined the team during the offseason, and will compete for spots during camp. It's unclear how soon either player will be able to report. 

Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski said Tuesday he has all the faith in the world catcher James McCann can be a starter in the majors.

"He's a guy we look forward to being an everyday starter at the major league level," Dombrowski said. 

McCann appeared in nine games for Detroit in 2014, hitting .250 in 12 at-bats with two runs scored. McCann is currently the third catcher on the Tigers' roster, behind Alex Avila and Bryan Holaday.

Red Sox catcher Christian Vazquez wasn't overly impressive at the plate as a rookie in 2014, batting .240 with one home run in 55 games. However, the Red Sox hardly feel Vazquez will be just a defensive option for the team.

"Setting aside the batting average, there's the ability to handle the bat," Red Sox manager John Farrell said, per MLB.com. "He can execute the small game. He can hit to the situation. He's a very good situational hitter, including being able to sacrifice with great consistency."

Vazquez is in line to be Boston's primary catcher in 2015. And if the 24-year-old catcher had it his way, he'd never take a game off.

"He wants to play every day," Farrell said. "He's adamant about it. When he's not in the lineup, he's respectful of it, but he makes it known that he wants to catch every day."

The Diamondbacks selected catcher Oscar Hernandez from the Rays in Thursday's Rule 5 draft. 

The 21-year-old Hernandez hit .249 with nine home runs, 18 doubles and 63 RBI in 94 games for Class A Bowling Green in 2014. He has a career .275/.358/.469/.827 slash line in 292 minor-league games.

Tigers manager Brad Ausmus has indicated catcher Alex Avila could see a lighter workload behind the plate in 2015, which means more work for rookie James McCann. Avila was behind the plate for 122 games in 2014.

"It's certainly open at this point," Ausmus said, per The Detroit News. "Clearly Alex has shown he has the ability to be an everyday catcher. He works well with the pitchers, they trust him. But I also think a guy like McCann has a very bright future. I like the way he catches."

Ausmus added Avila has no health limitations after enduring several concussions last season.

"A decision on who's No. 1 or No. 2 won't be made until spring training, or even if there is a No. 1 and a No. 2," Ausmus said. "Maybe there will be a split. I can't give you a full answer. All I can say is Alex is an established big-league catcher and I really like McCann. And (Bryan) Holaday did a really nice job as a backup last season. But a decision won't be made until March."

The Royals will seek to lighten the load of catcher Salvador Perez next season. He led the majors in 2014 with 146 games behind the plate.

"I can't catch Sal 150 games again," Ned Yost told CBSSports.com baseball writer Matt Snyder. "I'll kill the kid."

Including the postseason, Perez caught 161 games last year.

The Tigers plan to maintain Alex Avila as their starting catcher next season despite his issues with concussions and declining production since his peak season of 2011, but they will likely allow Avila to walk in free agency after the year in favor of promising James McCann, per the Detroit News.

Avila finished 2014 with a meager stat line of .218/.327/.359. His 61 walks in 390 at-bats and continued strength behind the plate were two pluses.

After appearing in 146 games behind the plate in 2014, the Royals might be inclined to give catcher Salvador Perez more starts at DH in 2015 in an attempt to preserve his knees, a source told the Philadelphia Daily News.

Perez made four appearances at DH in 2014, but the team is considering their DH options for 2015 since Billy Butler is a free agent. There is a report the Royals might consider trading for Ryan Howard to be the primary DH. Although, it doesn't seem Howard is high on the Royals' priority list, per the Daily News.

The Astros have acquired veteran backup catcher Hank Conger from the Angels for fellow catcher Carlos Perez and right-hander pitcher Nick Tropeano.

Conger compiled a .221/.293/.325 stat line in 2014 with four home runs and 25 RBI.