MLB Player News

Plawecki will likely make the Opening Day roster, Mark Carig of Newsday reports.

There were some doubts that Plawecki could be left off the act roster, but more recent reports seem to be ending that rumor. He'll likely slot back in as Travis d'Arnaud's backup for another season.

Diaz (elbow) will begin the season on the disabled list, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Diaz hadn't been expected to earn an Opening Day roster spot, as he'll instead open the season at Triple-A once healthy.

Barnhart went 0-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout against the Brewers in Tuesday's exhibition game.

Barnhart is hoping to be a bigger part of the Cincinnati offense this season after only playing in five games last year. He appears to be the team's primary backup catcher behind Devin Mesoraco going into Opening Day. Through 17 exhibition games, Barnhart is batting .243/.349/.432.

Manager Dave Roberts said that Grandal (forearm) may play in a minor league game Thursday, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register reports.

This is a nice development, as he's been out of game action for a bit over a week. Grandal is still expected to be present in Los Angeles for their exhibition game Saturday and be ready for Opening Day, and this development certainly makes those hopes much more realistic.

Manager Dave Roberts said Grandal (forearm) will be ready for Opening Day, Eric Stephen of True Blue LA reports.

Grandal will join his teammates in Anaheim on Saturday, and he should be ready for Monday's opener against Tyson Ross and the Padres. The Dodgers start the season with a seven-game week, but they'll be facing some tough pitchers at Petco Park and then AT&T Park. Grandal's health still bears watching, as he was previously expected to miss the first few games of the season.

Grandal (forearm) received clearance to throw and take "dry swings" Monday, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register reports.

Grandal's tosses consisted of catching Scott Kazmir's (abdomen) bullpen session, which build upon mere defensive drills in recent days. With Grandal's absence from game action extending to within a week of Opening Day, the likelihood of a DL stint to begin the season grows significantly, but back-dating would result in his availability as soon as he's healthy in the initial stanzas of the coming campaign.

Stewart went 0-for-3 with a walk on Monday against the Twins.

Stewart batted .289/.320/.340 during 172 plate appearances in 2015. His career batting average is .238 but his numbers last season indicate what Stewart brings to the Pirates' offense. He doesn't quite have the pop of other players (his last home run came in 2013) but he provides great defense and improves the play of his pitchers, especially Gerrit Cole who went 12-4 with a 2.24 ERA with Stewart as his battery mate.

Realmuto continued his hot spring Sunday against the Cardinals, driving in two runs and scoring a run while going 2-for-3 at the plate.

The 25-year-old catcher is batting .324/.350/.378 over 37 Grapefruit League at-bats, mostly hitting seventh in the batting order. He has yet to show much pop this spring, but Realmuto offers double digit power potential and can also chip in a handful of stolen bases. If Realmuto can carry his spring success into the regular season, he will have no problem topping the solid .259/.290/.406 batting line he posted as a rookie last season.

d'Arnaud failed to reach base (0-for-3) during Monday's game against the Cardinals.

The 27-year-old is batting .184/.273/.237 this spring with only two extra-base hits and eight RBI. d'Arnaud will look to build upon his 2015 campaign as Opening Day rolls around, as he hit .268/.340/.485 last season. He will most likely split some of his catching duties with Kevin Plawecki throughout the season, but a bigger concern for fantasy owners is d'Arnaud's health. He only played in 67 games last year and has battled injuries throughout his time in the MLB.

Grandal (forearm) has a chance to play catch and swing a bat as early as Monday, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register reports.

Grandal is able to catch bullpen sessions at this time, and even participates in some defensive drills. That being said, the backstop has been doing all of those tasks without working in any throwing. If he's able to make that progression Monday, it would be a great sign, although Grandal remains scheduled to open the 2016 season on the disabled list.