MLB Player News

Narvaez will open the season as the Mets' No. 2 catcher behind Francisco Alvarez.

This was the expected role for Narvaez after he played 49 games in 2023 during his first season with New York, slashing a weak .211/.283/.297 with only two homers and seven RBI. The 32-year-old's days as a fantasy asset are behind him, and even if Alvarez were to get hurt, Narvaez would likely split work behind the plate with Tomas Nido, who will begin the season with Triple-A Syracuse.

The Diamondbacks optioned Herrera to Triple-A Reno on Sunday.

Herrera's demotion signals that Tucker Barnhart has likely won the Diamondbacks' backup catching job. The 27-year-old Herrera should still be the first catcher in line for a call-up to the big-league roster if either Gabriel Moreno or Barnhart is forced to miss time at any point in 2024.

The Nationals optioned Millas to Triple-A Rochester on Saturday.

Keibert Ruiz and Riley Adams will handle the catching duties again for the Nats this season. Millas will provide depth at Rochester.

Casali will not make the Marlins' Opening Day roster, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.

Casali was brought in as a non-roster invitee this spring, but he was unable to beat out Nick Fortes or Christian Bethancourt for a spot on the roster. Casali has the ability to opt out of his contract with the Marlins and enter free agency, but it remains to be seen whether or not he will do so.

Bart (hamstring) is likely to play Sunday in the Giants' exhibition game against Triple-A Sacramento, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Bart left Friday's Cactus League game against the Cubs after tweaking his hamstring, but it appears the catcher shouldn't miss extended time. He's had an impressive spring training and is slashing .407/.514/.444 with five RBI over 35 plate appearances.

The Mets informed Nido on Saturday that he won't be included on the team's Opening Day roster, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.

Nido struggled in his limited time in the majors last season, posting a .125 batting average across 61 plate appearances. He was moved off the 40-man roster last June and was attending big-league camp as a non-roster invitee, so it's not too surprising that the Mets elected to keep Omar Narvaez as their No. 2 catcher ahead of Nido.

Bart left Friday's Cactus League game against the Cubs due to a hamstring injury, Russell Dorsey of Bally Sports reports.

Bart had one at-bat in Friday's game before being lifted for a pinch hitter, and the severity of the hamstring injury isn't yet known. He has slashed .407/.514/.444 with five RBI over 35 plate appearances in spring training.

Grandal (foot) won't be cleared to run until at least next week, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

He's able to do some other baseball activities, but Grandal's plantar fasciitis is still preventing him from running. Given that Opening Day is just a week away and he has just three Grapefruit League plate appearances under his belt, Grandal could very well be looking at a trip to the injured list. Henry Davis is poised for the lion's share of catching duties while Grandal is out.

Campusano went 3-for-6 with two doubles, two runs and two RBI in a 15-11 win against the Dodgers on Thursday in the second game of the Seoul Series.

Campusano was part of a big first inning for San Diego, knocking in a run with a double to stake the team to a 4-0 lead. He added another RBI double in the sixth and finished the game with three knocks. This was the second time in his career that Campusano has had multiple extra-base hits in a contest, with the other being his two-homer performance against the Dodgers in August of 2023. He's set to be the Padres' primary backstop this season after posting a promising .319/.356/.491 slash line with seven homers and 30 RBI over 174 plate appearances last year.

Smith went 4-for-6 with a double, a run and two RBI in Thursday's loss to the Padres in the second game of the Seoul Series.

After the Padres went ahead 5-0 in the top of the first inning, Smith put the Dodgers on the board with an RBI double in the bottom of the frame. He collected three singles the rest of the way -- including an RBI base knock in the seventh -- as he and Mookie Betts combined for half of the Dodgers' 16 total hits. Smith went 5-for-10 over the two-game, season-opening set in South Korea and appears to be fully recovered from the back issue that caused him to be scratched from Los Angeles' final Cactus League game March 13.