MLB Player News

The Reds activated catcher Devin Mesoraco (oblique) off the 15-day disabled list prior to Monday's game at St. Louis.

However, Mesoraco was not in the starting lineup, as Brayan Pena drew the start at catcher. Though, manager Bryan Price said it was because he liked how Pena worked with starting pitcher Tony Cingrani in the left-handed hurler's first start this season.

"He's not in there because of the way things worked between Brayan and Tony the first time through," Price said, per MLB.com. "I think familiarity is important in this particular case. Our intentions are for Devin to get the bulk of the playing time. That's not going to change. He's just not starting today."

 Brewers catcher Martin Maldonado caught Wily Peralta in his season debut Saturday, continuing the pairing that the team rode throughout the second half of last season. Still, manager Ron Roenicke made a point of telling MLB.com he does not expect to stick with a strict battery featuring those two, preferring to rest Jonathan Lucroy without being concerned about the starting pitcher for that game.

Maldonado was hitless through his first five at-bats Saturday, as the game went into extra innings. He hit just .169/236/.284 in 67 games a year ago. 

Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco will be activated early next week, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Mesoraco has been out with an oblique strain, but has been able to get through a rehab assignment. He'll be activated either Monday or Tuesday, and should see playing time immediately. 

Mets catcher Travis d'Arnaud will sit for the first time Saturday.

The club will go with Anthony Recker behind the plate. d'Arnaud has gotten off to a slow start, going hitless in 12 at-bats to open the season. He'll likely return to the lineup Sunday.

Reds catcher Devin Mesoraco began his minor-league rehab assignment on Thursday at Double-A Pensacola.

Mesoraco, recovering from a left oblique strain, caught Mat Latos for five innings and drew a walk in each of his first two at-bats. He is scheduled to catch seven innings Friday and nine innings Saturday, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

"I think the biggest test will be tomorrow, after I get out there and get moving, running around and take some swings and see how it responds tomorrow and see how everything feels," Mesoraco said. "But I don't expect any problems."

Giants catcher Hector Sanchez made his first start of the season Thursday, and he made a solid impact in an 8-5 win over the Diamondbacks.

Sanchez went 1 for 3 before being pulled late for a pinch-runner, driving in two runs in the game. He drove in one on a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning and then sparked a rally with his eighth-inning RBI double.

Sanchez is 2 for 4 on the season, with both of his hits going for doubles, halfway to his 2013 total, when he hit .248 for the season.  

Padres catcher Yasmani Grandal isn't ready to catch back to back games yet, according to MLB.com.

Grandal said he wanted to return by opening day, but was even more focused on being back for the upcoming series against Miami. Grandal has family in the area, and wants them to see him back on the field. He was able to catch all nine innings Tuesday, but won't be allowed to catch consecutive games just yet. The Padres are currently carrying three catchers, so there's no need to push Grandal at this point in his recovery. Grandal is coming back from an ACL injury.

Reds catcher Tucker Barnhart is expected to get the start behind the plate Thursday in what would be his major-league debut, MLB.com reports.

"We know he can receive and throw, block. He calls a good game," manager Bryan Price said. "Our pitchers enjoy throwing to him. ... We would've loved to allow him to get some seasoning at Triple-A, get used to catching more veteran, experienced pitchers and seeing what it's like to hit off those same types of pitchers in Triple-A. That being said, there's no reluctance whatsoever to have him on our team working with our pitching staff. I think he'll do a phenomenal job and give us great support until we get Devin [Mesoraco] back."

Barnhart spent last season with Double-A Pensacola, hitting .260/.348/.348 with three home runs and 44 RBI in 339 at-bats.

The Nationals recalled catcher Sandy Leon from Double-A Harrisburg after placing catcher Wilson Ramos (hand) on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday.

Leon could be with the Nationals for a long stretch, as Ramos is expected to miss 4-5 weeks, but Jose Lobaton is expected to get the bulk of work in Ramos' absence.

The Giants plan to be proactive with catcher Buster Posey's rest, and manager Bruce Bochy already has his first day off lined up. Bochy told MLB.com Tuesday he will rest Posey Thursday against the Diamondbacks, in the day game after a night game, which should be his usual pattern.

The improvements made by backup Hector Sanchez should help make finding off days for Posey easier, a fact Bochy readily acknowledged.

"[It] is going to make it a little bit easier to give Buster a few days [off] here and there," Bochy told MLB.com. "Both of them will benefit from it."

Posey may get his second day off at some point during the team's three-game weekend series with the Dodgers. Any extra-inning games might make the decision easier for Bochy, as well.

"We'll see how the games go. That plays a part in it," Bochy said

Sanchez appeared in 63 games last season, with Posey spending part of his season at first base. Posey still appeared in 148 games, 121 behind the plate.