MLB Player News

Grandal worked on hitting right-handed in the offseason, having fully recovered from knee and shoulder injuries that have hindered his ability to conquer left-handed pitching in recent years, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register reports.

The switch-hitter, who also adopted a meatless diet this offseason, said he was struggling to "sit back (on his right leg) and turn on it" when he was in the righty box, and after his 2013 knee injury, he hit just one home run in his next 126 at-bats from that side. According to Plunkett, the 28-year-old's launch angle as a right-handed hitter last year was 7.7 degrees, nearly half of the 14.0 he generated as a lefty, and it produced a 53.6 percent groundball rate. Already one of the most intriguing fantasy hitters among catchers, Grandal, who cranked 27 home runs last year, could soar into elite territory if he can refine that part of his plate work, which could help give him a useful batting average (unlike his career .238 mark). He'll be in high demand during the middle rounds of a mixed draft, especially in OBP variations.

Sanchez fouled a ball off his foot Wednesday, but X-rays were negative, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

The Friars' backup catcher likely will rest for a few days before re-entering workouts. He's not set for much fantasy value this year as long as Austin Hedges occupies the starting role.

Rupp played through much of last season with an undisclosed arm injury, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The injury didn't seem to impact Rupp at the plate as his .447 slugging percentage put him among the top catchers in baseball. It did hurt his ability to slow down the run game, however, as he threw out just 27 percent of possible base stealers after averaging 38 percent his previous two seasons. The Phillies want to see Rupp improve on his game calling and pitch framing this season after he struggled in both areas last year. Phillies' bullpen coach John McLaren, who also works with the catchers, said Rupp needs to improve his focus during games. It will be important for Rupp to further develop defensively this season with top prospect Jorge Alfaro in Triple-A Lehigh Valley this year. He could start pushing for Rupp's job as soon as midseason if he gets off to a strong start in the minors.

Diaz has recovered from the cellulitis which ended his 2016 campaign early and is taking part in spring training activities.

The 26-year-old missed a golden opportunity to see his first significant action at the big league level in 2016 due to a host of ailments. He enters 2017 with a chance to eventually get that playing time he missed last year, essentially because of the fragile nature of the two catchers ahead of him, Francisco Cervelli and Chris Stewart. Diaz's prospect status dimmed a bit last year but it seems as though he's finally set to show what he can do in the majors.

Stewart (knee) is healthy entering spring training after undergoing knee surgery in September, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.

The Pirates are purposely giving Stewart a light workload during camp in an effort to preserve the 34-year-old for the regular season. At this point in his career, he offers little in the way of offense. Stewart slashed .214/.319/.286 in 113 plate appearances in 2016.

Manager Dave Roberts said Friday that Grandal will be the Dodgers' primary starting catcher against both lefties and righties, as opposed to platooning with another player Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register reports.

Coming off a season in which he hit a career-high 27 home runs, the Dodgers will be hoping Grandal can continue to establish himself as an all-star-caliber catcher in his third full season with the team. The 28-year-old recently avoided arbitration by signing a one-year, $5.5 million deal this offseason. If he can stay healthy, Grandal could be in for a stellar offensive season.

Rockies manager Bud Black said that Murphy and Tony Wolters will have "shared duties" behind the plate in 2017, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post reports.

Murphy certainly has more offensive upside than Wolters, but Black was insistent that both offense and defense would play a big role in who would play on a given day. Black also added that it's unrealistic to expect either catcher to put together a 130-game season, so fantasy owners should expect a fairly flexible timeshare behind the plate heading into 2017, which may decrease both backstops' values.

Mets manager Terry Collins told d'Arnaud that the team wants him to play about 100 games this season, the New York Post reports.

That doesn't seem like a particularly high target, but d'Arnaud's career high in games played is 108, set in 2014, due to his inability to stay healthy. If he does regain the form he showed a couple of years ago he could be a sleeper, but the 28-year-old carries too much risk to be anything more than an endgame option at catcher in most fantasy formats.

Contreras will be Jon Lester's personal catcher this season, Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago reports.

The news comes as no surprise, as Contreras was already expected to be the everyday catcher for the Cubs moving forward. The 24-year-old hit .282/.357/.488 in his rookie season and will have a chance to improve on those numbers with more consistent playing time. David Ross, who served as Lester's battery mate the past two seasons, will help coach Contreras in spring training, according to manager Joe Maddon.

Barnhart will split catching duties with Devin Mesoraco, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Manager Bryan Price says he expects Mesoraco to play no more than "50 to 60 percent on the front end of the season," which could spell good news for Barnhart. The young catcher failed to capitalize on his opportunities last season, slashing .257/.323/379 in 115 games behind the plate. Nonetheless, with Mesoraco easing back into catching activities, Barnhart should have further chances to impress in a part-time role.