MLB Player News

Thole has been diagnosed with a "significant" hamstring tear that could sideline him for the entire season, Nick Piecoro of AZCentral.com reports.

According to Piecoro, Thole will seek a second opinion on his injury, but the indication is that surgery is a possible course of action. Despite the loss of Welington Castillo this offseason, Arizona does have a group of serviceable catchers on the roster with Chris Iannetta and Jeff Mathis. Thole, a non-roster invitee, was unlikely to make the Opening Day roster prior to his injury.

Caratini was optioned to Triple-A Iowa on Friday, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Caratini posted a solid season for Double-A Tennessee in 2016, slashing .291/.375/.405 with six homers. The Cubs are set at catcher, however, so the 23-year-old was expected to head back to the minors for 2017. Although he likely won't see major league action anytime soon with Willson Contreras ahead of him, he apparently impressed the Cubs enough to earn their protection from the Rule 5 draft, so we'll see what he has to offer at Triple-A this season.

Hedges is batting fifth and catching in Friday's Cactus League game.

The 24-year-old has been limited to light activities over the past week while recovering from a tweaked hamstring, but it appears all systems are go moving forward. Hedges is off to a blazing start this spring, hitting .474 with three doubles in eight games. He's expected to be the everyday catcher for the Padres this season after racking up 21 home runs and 82 RBI with Triple-A El Paso last year.

Nola was optioned to Double-A Jacksonville on Friday, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports.

The former middle infielder will work on his transition to catcher at a lower level than his 2016 campaign, when Nola managed a .261/.308/.376 output. Keep an eye this year on whether the 27-year-old can start replicating the success of J.T. Realmuto, who underwent a similar transformation.

Thole was holding his left hamstring as he was helped off the field Wednesday, Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports.

The severity of the injury still isn't clear, so he should be considered day-to-day until the Diamondbacks update his status. Thole is just 1-for-9 (.111) this spring, and will likely serve as organizational depth in 2017.

Mesoraco will play in Wednesday's Cactus League game against the Padres, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Mesoraco will bat leadoff Wednesday in order to get more at-bats, as he looks to make up for lost time a bit. The 28-year-old has been brought along slowly in camp after undergoing surgery last year to repair his right hip labrum -- he's had surgery on both hips in recent years, and on his shoulder. Mesoraco caught two innings Sunday in his spring debut and will look to gradually increase his workload behind the plate moving forward. The Reds are not expected to break camp with three catchers on the active roster.

Grandal went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run in Tuesday's Cactus League win over the Reds.

The 28-year-old is locked in at the plate during exhibition play, slashing an impressive .433/.469/1.035 in 32 plate appearances. In addition to adopting a meatless offseason diet, Grandal focused on improved his approach from the right side of the plate, something that limited him to bench role against left-handed starting pitchers in 2016. Manager Dave Roberts already committed to making the switch-hitting catcher the Dodgers' primary option behind the dish against both righties and lefties this season, leaving the door open for a potential improvement over last year's 27 homers and 72 RBI.

Murphy will miss 4-to-6 weeks with a hairline fracture of his right forearm, MLB.com's Thomas Harding reports.

He was hit by Anthony Rizzo's bat during the first inning of Saturday's game, yet remained in, so this news comes as a shock. Murphy's injury wasn't healing, so he went for tests this week that discovered the fracture. He should open the year on the disabled list; as such, Dustin Garneau figures to break camp on the active roster, spelling Tony Wolters against southpaws until Murphy is ready to return.

Plawecki (knee) will catch and bat eighth in the lineup for Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the Astros, Matt Ehalt of The Record reports.

After Plawecki hurt his left knee following a collision at home plate back on Feb. 25, the Mets have been bringing him along slowly. Plawecki returned to workouts last week and was able to DH in spring games the last two days without issue, so manager Terry Collins will now deploy him in his usual spot behind the plate. Though Plawecki is now healthy and in no danger of missing the start of the season, he still could be headed for Triple-A Las Vegas to kick off in 2017 in order to see everyday at-bats.

The Reds will begin the season with just two catchers, whether Mesoraco is ready for Opening Day or not.

This doesn't necessarily mean Mesoraco will not be ready -- only that they won't carry a third catcher and limit Mesoraco's duties to pinch-hitting and spot starting behind the plate early on. If he's not ready to split the catching duties 50-50 right away, Mesoraco will begin the year on the DL.