MLB Player News

Perez was the leading candidate to win the Rays' No. 2 catcher job on the Opening Day roster before the MLB suspended its season March 12, Josh Tolentino of The Athletic reports.

Mike Zunino entered spring training secure as the Rays' top backstop, leaving Perez to battle with non-roster invitees Kevan Smith and Chris Herrmann for the backup gig. Though both Smith and Herrmann boast more MLB experience, their statuses as non-roster players likely work against them as they attempt to unseat Perez for the No. 2 job. Additionally, Perez is helped by the fact that he bats from the left side, offering the Rays more flexibility if manager Kevin Cash wants to play matchups in the late innings rather than having the right-handed Zunino play the full game.

Haase and fellow catcher Grayson Greiner could both make the team behind starter Austin Romine when the regular season is able to begin, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

Haase seems to have the leg up on Greiner for the backup catcher role, but with a compacted schedule on the horizon and rosters likely being expanded to include as many as 30 players, many teams may opt to carry three catchers. It remains to be seen how playing time will shake out once the regular season is able to begin, but Haase won't have a ton of fantasy value unless he's starting more often than not.

The Red Sox may keep both Plawecki and Jonathan Lucroy if MLB expands rosters from 26 to 29 players for the first month of an abbreviated season, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.

Red Sox interim manager Ron Roenicke had wavered on the notion of keeping three catchers before the coronavirus pandemic forced MLB to halt baseball. He first said he couldn't envision a scenario where the Red Sox retained three catchers, then said he was open to the idea. If MLB adopts the roster expansion as expected, Boston will have the luxury of carrying two backup catchers over the first month of the season, giving Roenicke time to evaluate which is the best fit to back up Christian Vazquez.

Ice informed the Indians of his intention to retire Sunday, Andersen Pickard of MLBDailyDish.com reports.

Ice will finish his five-year minor-league career with a .206/.309/.313 slash line, 18 home runs and 101 RBI. The 24-year-old played in a total of 271 games and spent the entire 2019 season with Double-A Akron, where he hit just .180/.294/.255. The switch-hitting catcher was selected 72nd overall in the 2016 first-year player draft by the Indians following a successful three-year stint at Oregon State.

Stubbs was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock on Thursday, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Stubbs impressed in his limited opportunities before Spring Training was suspended, slashing .455/.625/.727 with a homer and two steals in 16 plate appearances, but it wasn't enough for him to beat out Dustin Garneau for the job as Houston's backup catcher.

Sanchez went 1-for-17 with seven strikeouts in Cactus League play. He also struggled behind the plate and was bothered by a sore back and a bout with the flu.

While Sanchez remains the top power-hitting catcher in the game, his contact issues this spring serve as a stark reminder that he hit a paltry .232 with a 28 percent strikeout rate last season. His defensive issues can be partially attributed to a new catching stance that he experimented with throughout the spring, but Sanchez has always been a below-average defender behind the dish and has struggled blocking balls in the dirt throughout his career. Still, his ability to hit balls out of the yard will keep Sanchez in the heart of the potent Yankee lineup on a regular basis, and the delay to the start of the regular season leaves no question about his availability for Opening Day.

Perez finished with a .176/.222/.176 slash line and two RBI over 18 plate appearances in spring training.

Perez registered just three hits in 17 at-bats this spring, striking out four times over that stretch. Despite this, he's on track to begin the 2020 season as the team's starting backstop, with Sandy Leon likely to stand in as the backup catcher on Perez's occasional off days.

Trevino (finger) was given rehabilitation instructions as the Rangers disbanded camp, but a scheduled follow-up is on hold, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports.

Both Trevino and Jeff Mathis (hamstring) are rehabbing injuries suffered during Cactus League action, so their depth-chart status is unclear during the delay necessitated by the coronavirus pandemic. In terms of roster management, Trevino has minor-league options left, so the Rangers may go with the veteran Mathis as the backup to Robinson Chirinos once the regular season begins.

Higashioka appears to have won the No. 2 backstop role behind Gary Sanchez, George A. King III of the New York Post reports.

After toiling in the minors for the better part of 12 seasons, Higashioka is in line to assume a spot on the Opening Day roster of a major-league team for the first time in his career. Though the 29-year-old has hit only .164 across 146 big-league at-bats, he slugged 20 homers while hitting .278 in only 70 Triple-A games in 2019 and was enjoying a strong spring, batting .276 with three home runs over 29 Grapefruit League at-bats.

Leon is a lock to begin the season on the roster, Joe Noga of Cleveland.com reports.

This doesn't come as any surprise given that the Indians don't have much talent at the position at the upper levels of the organization. What remains more difficult to project is just how much playing time Leon will receive behind presumed starter Roberto Perez. Leon is regarded as a strong framer behind the plate, which could help him earn extra at-bats when the season gets underway.