Atlanta president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos said Wednesday that the team will have a better idea by January as to how far along Murphy (hip) is in his rehab, David O'Brien of The Athletic reports.

Murphy had surgery in September to repair a right hip labral tear, an injury he admitted to dealing with off-and-on for the past three years. Atlanta is hopeful that Murphy will be ready to go for the start of next season, and if that's the case, it expects him to split catching and designated hitter duties with Drake Baldwin. Murphy has slashed a disappointing .197/.293/.384 while averaging only 83 games over the last two regular seasons, but he could bounce back in 2026, if healthy.

Alfonzo agreed to a minor-league contract with the Dodgers on Monday, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.

Alfonzo spent the majority of his 2025 campaign in the Tigers' organization, appearing in 57 games for Double-A Erie and eight for Triple-A Toledo. He slashed .247/.297/.322 with one home run, 34 RBI and 24 runs scored in 65 appearances across the two levels.

Baldwin was named the Jackie Robinson National League Rookie of the Year on Monday.

Baldwin won the award comfortably, receiving 21 of 30 first-place votes to beat out Cade Horton, who got nine first-place votes. Baldwin was a valuable bat for Atlanta throughout the 2025 campaign, slashing .274/.341/.469 with 19 home runs, 80 RBI and 56 runs scored in 124 games. He becomes the first catcher to win Rookie of the Year since 2010 when Buster Posey took home the hardware, per Grant McAuley of the Marietta Daily Journal.

Atlanta outrighted Robinson to Triple-A Gwinnett on Thursday.

He'll have the opportunity to elect free agency if he wants. Robinson holds a career .131/.169/.192 slash line over 138 plate appearances in parts of three seasons in the majors.

The Marlins outrighted Navarreto to Triple-A Jacksonville on Wednesday.

Having been outrighted before, Navarreto can reject Wednesday's outright assignment and become a free agent if he wants. The catcher went 4-for-14 at the dish during his brief time with Miami in 2025.

Contreras underwent a minor procedure on his fractured left middle finger Tuesday, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports.

General manager Matt Arnold said Contreras is roughly 5-to-6 weeks away from resuming baseball activity, so his surgery isn't expected to affect Contreras' availability for the start of the 2026 season. The 27-year-old backstop also had his $12 million club option declined Tuesday after posting a .754 OPS in the regular season -- his worst as a Brewer. However, he will remain under team control as an arbitration-eligible player.

The Brewers declined Contreras' $12 million option for 2026.

Contreras will receive a $100,000 buyout instead, and he remains under team control for 2026 and 2027 as an arbitration-eligible player. The catcher slashed .260/.355/.399 with 17 home runs over 150 regular-season games for the Brewers in 2025. Contreras was scheduled to visit a hand specialist last week to determine whether he needs surgery to repair a fractured left middle finger, but there's no word on whether an operation is required. Even if he does have surgery, his availability for spring training is not expected to be in peril.

Crooks could split time at catcher for the Cardinals next season with Ivan Herrera, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

Herrera is slated to return to catcher in 2026 after serving as the team's primary designated hitter for the final few months of 2025. He is not expected to be used behind the plate full-time, though, leaving some reps at catcher open. Per Woo, that playing time is likelier to go to Crooks than Pedro Pages, who is a trade candidate. Crooks struggled in a cup of coffee with the Cardinals in 2025, going 6-for-45 with a 0:17 BB:K. However, the 24-year-old has been productive in the minors, having slashed .274/.337/.441 with 14 home runs last season at Triple-A Memphis.

Pages could be the odd man out at catcher for the Cardinals next season, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.

Pages has led the team in starts behind the plate each of the last two seasons. However, the Cardinals plan to use a combination of Ivan Herrera and Jimmy Crooks at catcher next season, leaving Pages without a clear path to playing time. The 27-year-old has minor-league options remaining, but prospect Leonardo Bernal is expected to serve as the primary catcher at Triple-A Memphis in 2026. As a result, Pages could be a trade candidate this offseason.

Smith went 2-for-6 with a solo home run and an additional run scored Saturday in a 5-4 extra-innings win in Game 7 of the World Series versus Toronto.

Smith scored Los Angeles' first run of the game in the fourth inning when he led off the frame with a double and eventually came home on a Teoscar Hernandez sacrifice fly. The All-Star catcher then came through with the biggest hit of his career in the top of the 11th inning, clubbing a two-out solo homer that proved to be the winning run as the Dodgers repeated as champions. Smith ended up catching all 73 innings of the series, setting a World Series record. He recorded at least one hit in six of the seven contests, batting .267 overall with two home runs, two doubles, six RBI and four runs scored.