MLB Player News

The Tigers announced Monday that Briceno reported right wrist soreness coming out of his most recent spring appearance Saturday and is undergoing further medical evaluation, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

Briceno is one of the Tigers' top prospects, but the 21-year-old catcher isn't on the 40-man roster and will be ticketed for Double-A Erie when healthy.

Langeliers went 2-for-2 with a home run, a double, three total RBI, an additional run scored and was hit by a pitch in Sunday's Cactus League win over the Reds.

Langeliers opened the scoring, launching an Andrew Abbott curveball to the opposite field for a two-run homer in the first inning before following it up with a blistering 111.8 mph RBI double to left field in the third inning. Through 14 plate appearances this spring, the catcher is slashing .333/.429/.750 with two doubles, one homer and three RBI. Coming off a breakout 2025 campaign in which he posted an .861 OPS with 32 doubles and 31 homers across 123 games, the 28-year-old will look to carry that momentum into the 2026 regular season.

Fortes went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against Atlanta.

Fortes has now gone 3-for-10 with a walk and two runs scored covering five spring outings. The right-handed-hitting backstop is lined up as Tampa Bay's primary catcher, but the lefty-hitting Hunter Feduccia is a threat to Fortes' reps behind the plate as well. Fortes slashed just .213/.307/.348 with three homers, three doubles, and 11 RBI across 101 regular-season plate appearances after being traded from the Marlins to the Rays at last year's deadline, and he'll likely slot somewhere into the lower part of the lineup to open 2026.

Higashioka (back) will start at catcher and bat third in Sunday's Cactus League game against the Mariners.

The veteran backstop had been out of the spring lineup for the past four days due to a back issue but appears to be good to go moving forward. Heading into his second season in Texas, Higashioka is likely to be part of a timeshare with Danny Jansen behind the dish.

Basallo (abdomen) is starting at catcher and batting cleanup in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Red Sox, Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun reports.

The 21-year-old departed Thursday's spring game due to abdominal discomfort, but he's ready to retake the field after getting a couple days off. The fact that Basallo is immediately working behind the plate rather than being eased back in as the designated hitter is a good indication that the injury wasn't a serious concern.

Rutschman went 2-for-2 with a solo home run and an additional run scored during Saturday's Grapefruit League game against Atlanta.

It was the first big fly of spring training for Rutschman, who's now gone 4-for-15 (.267) with a double and two walks over his first 15 at-bats of the spring. The switch-hitting backstop was a big disappointment in 2025, as evidenced by a career-worst .673 OPS across 365 regular-season plate appearances, but Rutschman is all set to reprise his role as Baltimore's top catcher in 2026. Although top prospect Samuel Basallo (abdomen) does present some competition for action behind the dish, he's more likely to serve as the Orioles' primary designated hitter.

Basallo (abdomen) will start at catcher in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against Boston, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.

Abdominal discomfort forced Basallo out of Thursday's game early, but he was never brought in for imaging and is now set to return behind the plate after a two-day break. The 21-year-old backstop has begun the spring 2-for-8 with three runs scored through four contests.

Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said Friday that Higashioka will be out of the lineup until Sunday due to a back injury, Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reports.

The veteran backstop, who turns 36 years old in April, is projected to split catching duties with Danny Jansen this season. Higashioka slashed .241/.291/.403 with 11 home runs, a career-best 47 RBI, 33 runs scored and a 20:72 BB:K across 327 plate appearances last season for Texas.

Basallo (abdomen) believes he'll be ready to return to Grapefruit League play this weekend, Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun reports.

Basallo was pulled from Thursday's game against the Tigers due to right-side abdominal discomfort, but he thinks it was merely cramping and imaging was deemed unnecessary. Consider the young slugger day-to-day.

Dingler (elbow) is batting fifth as the designated hitter in Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Phillies, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.

The 27-year-old catcher is coming back from arthroscopic surgery in January on his right elbow, and he's still working through his throwing progression. Dingler has been fully participating in all other baseball activities, so he'll enter the lineup Friday as the DH. He could gain full clearance within the next week and should be good to go for the start of the regular season.