MLB Player News

Mesoraco (general soreness) will start on Opening Day, John Fay reports.

Mesoraco's scratch Saturday had a lot to do with the cold weather. It does illustrate, however, that with him coming back from his hip injury, he might be more prone to getting days off than other starting catchers, especially early in the season.

Diaz (elbow) was placed on the 15-day DL on Sunday, Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.

Diaz was a likely candidate to start the season at Triple-A Indianapolis, but due his standing on the 40-man roster, the Pirates will be able to stash him on the 15-day DL until he's healthy once again. He figures to remain only an organizational depth option at catcher for the Pirates while Francisco Cervelli and Chris Stewart remain healthy.

Grandal (forearm) will open the season on the disabled list, Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times reports.

He came out of Friday feeling "OK" but "not great," according to manager Dave Roberts, and the decision was made to keep Grandal on the minor league side Saturday. Still with the ability to backdate a DL stint, the Dodgers can buy Grandal a little extra time to recover and look to get him back closer to 100 percent in time for their April 12 home opener. Roberts suggested the team could keep three catchers on the roster once Grandal's back from the DL.

Bethancourt has made the Opening Day roster.

As expected, Bethancourt will open as San Diego's backup catcher. The news was made official Saturday, with the Padres optioning Austin Hedges to Triple-A El Paso.

Hedges was assigned to Triple-A El Paso on Saturday.

Christian Bethancourt has earned the backup catching job as spring training comes to a close, so Hedges, who hit well during Cactus League play, will open the year at Triple-A, where he spent roughly half of last season.

Mesoraco was scratched from Saturday's exhibition game with general stiffness.

The Reds suggested that he would have played if it was a game that counted. Tucker Barnhart started behind the plate in his place.

Grandal (forearm) has been scratched from Saturday's game against the Angels and will instead play in a minor league game, J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles New Group reports.

Manager Dave Roberts said of Grandal, "He felt OK coming out of [Friday]. Not great." The skipper later admitted that the "window is closing" for Grandal to make the Opening Day roster. By keeping him on the minor league side, the team will have the option to backdate a DL stint at the start of the season.

Monell was reassigned to Triple-A Las Vegas on Friday.

Monell didn't stand much of a chance to make the 25-man roster, as he sat behind Kevin Plawecki and Nevin Ashley to be the backup to Travis d'Arnaud. He'll head back to the minors to act as organizational depth.

Grandal (forearm) will catch in Saturday's game against the Angels after being able to play in a minor league game Thursday, David Vassegh of AM 570 reports.

Grandal took a huge step in the right direction Thursday, blasting a home run and throwing out a baserunner in a minor league game. He's set to catch in the Dodgers' matchup with the Angels over the weekend and if he's able to make it through that game, he should be on pace to be on the Opening Day roster rather than the disabled list. This is a significant turnaround for Grandal given that there were reports as recent as last weekend suggesting that he could be starting the season on the DL.

Gosewisch was optioned to Triple-A Reno on Thursday.

Gewis had a putrid spring at the plate, batting below the Mendoza line, so the Diamondbacks will go with Chris Herrmann as their backup catcher to start the season. That being said, Gosewisch could find his way back to Arizona if he hits better in the minors.