MLB Player News

Plawecki and Jonathan Lucroy are competing to back up Christian Vazquez, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports.

Lucroy was initially left off the player pool while the Red Sox re-worked the language in his contract, which had an opt-out clause at the end of March. With the new language in place, Boston added him to the player pool, where Plawecki and Lucroy will resume the battle behind Vazquez. Both catchers had strong springs, and manager Ron Roenicke was believed to be trending toward keeping both on the roster.

Thole has been named part of the Yankees' 60-man roster.

Thole joined the Yankees on a minor-league deal in January and now finds himself filling the role of organizational depth behind the plate. The veteran has not logged a major-league at-bat since 2016, so he's unlikely to see much, if any, playing time this season.

Kirk will be a part of the Blue Jays' 60-man roster.

Kirk spent the majority of 2019 with High-A Dunedin, hitting .288/.395/.446 with four home runs and 36 RBI, which was good enough to earn him a spot in major-league camp this spring. The 21-year-old was effective in spring training in a limited sample, going 4-for-8 with four runs and two RBI before play was suspended. He'll get the chance to develop on the 60-man roster to begin the 2020 campaign.

Adams will be a part of the Blue Jays' 60-man roster.

Adams has progressed through the Blue Jays' minor-league system over his first three seasons since he was a third-round draft pick in 2017, and he was able to serve as a non-roster invitee this spring. While playing in big-league camp, the 24-year-old went 3-for-11 with three RBI and five strikeouts. He'll get the chance to further his development with the team's 60-man roster in 2020.

Rogers, who was added to the Tigers' 60-player pool Sunday, could get some MLB playing time in relief of Austin Romine and Eric Haase this season, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.

Rogers was optioned to Triple-A Toledo in March, and it seemed like he was destined to spend much of if not all of the 2020 season there. However, the 25-year-old is now technically back in the majors, and with 60 games coming up in just 66 days, the Tigers may end up needing three catchers. It still wouldn't be wise to expect much from Rogers in 2020 with Romine and Haase around, and 2020 draftee Dillon Dingler complicates his future outlook behind the plate in Detroit.

Perez is part of the Athletics' 60-man player pool that will report to summer camp, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports.

The veteran backstop will be one of five catchers in camp, but he's clearly no better than No. 4 on the positional depth chart behind Sean Murphy, Jonah Heim and Austin Allen. That trio is expected to make the 30-man Opening Day roster, which means Perez, who's on a minor-league contract, appears destined for the additional pool of up to 30 players that won't have active status but will continue to train in a separate location during the season.

Jeffers was added to the 60-man player pool ahead of training camp, MLB.com reports.

Jeffers made a strong impression in spring training before MLB was shut down due to the pandemic. After a breakout season at Double-A, he's a candidate to contribute in the majors this season if the Twins need a catcher. He'll likely begin the season at Minnesota's alternate training site.

Wong was added to the Red Sox's 60-man player pool.

Wong, who is not on the 40-man roster, joins Boston's player pool as one of five catchers. He has a mere 40 games of experience above High-A, so it's not expected that the 24-year-old native of Houston (Tex.) will ever see time in the majors in 2020. There is a lot of swing-and-miss in Wong, who struck out 30.8 percent of the time in 2019, although he carried an .878 OPS and hit 24 home runs in two stops. The power tool is better than the hit tool at this stage of his development, and Wong needs to make more consistent contact against advanced pitching in the upper levels of the minors.

The White Sox announced Monday that Collins will be included as part of the team's 60-man roster pool.

Since none of the White Sox's minor-league affiliates are expected to have proper seasons in 2020, Collins will join the parent club when it opens its summer training camp Friday. One of four catchers for the Pale Hose, Collins isn't expected to find himself any higher than third on the depth chart with Yasmani Grandal and James McCann locked in as the top two options behind the plate. Collins could also see occasional work as a designated hitter or pinch hitter off the bench.

Raleigh will be part of the Mariners' 60-man training roster.

The 23-year-old switch hitter is Seattle's best catching prospect, but that is damning with faint praise. He had a 134 wRC+ with a .274 ISO at High-A last year but hit just .228 with a 29.6 percent strikeout rate in 39 games after a promotion to Double-A. Raleigh may get some time in the majors this year, but he is firmly behind Tom Murphy and Austin Nola on the depth chart.