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MLB Player News

  • Cardinals' Willson Contreras: Moving to first base

    Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said Wednesday that Contreras will be a full-time first baseman and designated hitter next season, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

    Mozeliak added that it's unlikely Contreras will do any catching at all in 2025, with Ivan Herrera and Pedro Pages set to split duties behind the plate. Contreras has played 11 games at first base in his career, with his last start there coming in 2019. Contreras has slashed a robust .263/.367/.468 with 35 home runs over 209 games in his two seasons in St. Louis, but he's had trouble staying healthy and his defense at catcher has often drawn criticism. The move enhances Contreras' fantasy outlook for 2025 since he should be in the lineup more often, and it also bumps up the playing time projection for Herrera and Pages.

  • Giants' Logan Porter: Joins San Francisco as NRI

    The Giants signed Porter to a minor-league contract with an invitation to spring training Tuesday, Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

    Porter spent time at Triple-A Sacramento in the Giants organization in 2024, one of three different teams the catcher played on. He slashed .267/.370/.453 with 10 home runs between the three stops. With Patrick Bailey and Tom Murphy back in 2025, Porter is projected to begin next year back at Sacramento.

  • Dodgers' Austin Barnes: Brought back for 2025

    The Dodgers exercised Barnes' $3.5 million club option for 2025 on Saturday, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.

    Barnes slashed .264/.331/.307 with 11 RBI across 156 plate appearances in 2024 -- good enough for the Dodgers to keep him around as the backup catcher behind Will Smith. While Barnes is likely to break spring training as Los Angeles' reserve backstop, a drop in production from the 34-year-old could eventually result in prospects Dalton Rushing or Hunter Feduccia taking his spot on the roster.

  • Austin Wynns C | ATH

    Reds' Austin Wynns: Outrighted to Triple-A

    The Reds outrighted Wynns to Triple-A Louisville on Friday.

    Wynns is not on the 40-man roster but will remain in the organization for now. The veteran catcher suffered a teres major tear in his right shoulder in late July and it's not clear whether he will be healthy for the start of spring training.

  • Will Smith C | LAD

    Dodgers' Will Smith: Hits first homer of World Series

    Smith hit his first homer of this World Series in Tuesday's Game 4 loss to the Yankees.

    The playoffs and especially the World Series tend to magnify what would be the normal ebbs and flows of the regular season. Smith is playing through a sore hand after taking a foul ball of his left hand in the NLCS. He had a slightly disappointing regular season, hitting .248/.327/.433 with 20 homers, trading some on-base and batting average for a little more power.

  • Will Smith C | LAD

    Dodgers' Will Smith: Will start in Game 6

    Smith (hand) will start behind home plate and bat eighth for Game 6 of the NLCS against the Mets on Sunday, Noah Camras of DodgersNation.com reports.

    Smith received X-rays on his left hand after taking a foul ball off his glove in the seventh inning of Game 5. The results came back negative, and Smith will serve behind home plate as the Dodgers turn to Michael Kopech and the rest of the bullpen. Smith has gone 3-for-19 with two walks and two RBI during the NLCS.

  • Will Smith C | LAD

    Dodgers' Will Smith: X-rays negative on left hand

    Manager Dave Roberts said Saturday that Smith received X-rays on his left hand after taking a foul ball off his catching hand in Game 5 of the NLCS against the Mets, Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times reports.

    Roberts relayed that the foul ball hitting Smith's left hand led to the catcher being lifted for a pinch hitter in the seventh inning of Friday's game. The X-rays on Smith's hand came back negative, and the 29-year-old is expected to be in the lineup for Game 6 on Sunday. Smith has gone 5-for-35 with six walks, one home run and four RBI during the postseason.

  • Brewers' William Contreras: Dealt with knee sprain in playoffs

    Brewers general manager Matt Arnold revealed Thursday that Contreras playing through a minor knee sprain during the team's wild-card series loss to the Mets, Jack Stern of BrewerFanatic.com reports.

    Contreras didn't have to miss any time because of the injury, but it did force a move from catcher to the designated hitter spot in Game 3 of the series. He will not require surgery on the knee and is expected to be fine by the time spring training rolls around with an offseason of rest.

  • Braves' Travis d'Arnaud: Option will be picked up

    Atlanta president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said Friday that the team plans to exercise d'Arnaud's $8 million club option for 2025, Grant McAuley of 92.9 The Game Atlanta reports.

    Between that and Sean Murphy's $15 million salary, Atlanta will be paying a healthy $23 million to its catching duo in 2025. D'Arnaud usurped Murphy as the club's preferred starter down the stretch this season and finished with a .238/.302/.436 batting line and 15 home runs in 2024. He and Murphy could share the catching duties pretty evenly in 2025, but the latter might also reclaim the starting job if he rebounds from a career-worst .636 OPS.

  • Braves' Travis d'Arnaud: Sitting for Game 2

    D'Arnaud isn't in the lineup Wednesday for Game 2 of the National League Wild Card Series against San Diego.

    After starting Game 1 of the series and going 1-for-4 with a double, d'Arnaud will now take a seat on the bench while Sean Murphy catches for Max Fried, batting eighth.

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