MLB Player News

Bethancourt returned to the Phillies as a non-roster invitee Tuesday, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.

Bethancourt filled the same role for the Phillies last season but never cracked the big-league roster. He's currently lined up to compete with Rafael Marchan for the backup catcher spot, though the team will presumably try to bring J.T. Realmuto back and push Andrew Knapp into a reserve role. Organizational depth is seemingly the role that suits Bethancourt best, as he hasn't appeared in a major-league game since 2017 and owns a career .222/.252/.316 slash line in 489 plate appearances.

McCann signed a four-year, $40 million contract with the Mets on Saturday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

McCann has been close to a deal with the Mets for several days, but he now has a deal in place, pending a physical. The 30-year-old had a career-best .289/.360/.536 slash line with seven home runs and 15 RBI over 31 games with the White Sox in 2020, and he should take over as the Mets' primary catcher next season.

Tromp announced via his personal Twitter account Tuesday that he signed a contract with the Giants.

The 25-year-old was non-tendered by the Giants last week, but he'll be rejoining the club on a lesser deal. Tromp made his big-league debut in 2020 and had a .213/.219/.426 slash line with four home runs and 20 strikeouts in 64 plate appearances.

Narvaez agreed to a one-year, $2.5 million deal with the Brewers on Wednesday, Jon Heyman of MLB Network reports.

The Brewers are going to stick to their pre-2020 evaluation of Narvaez and keep him around for at least another season. He hit .278/.353/.460 with 22 home runs in 2019 but slashed .176/.294/.269 with two round trippers this past season. The Brewers pride themselves on being able teach catchers how to be better pitch framers, and indeed, Narvaez went from being a huge defensive negative in 2019 to actually rating as a positive defender this past season, according to FanGraphs.

Maile signed a major-league deal with the Brewers on Tuesday, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.

It seemed likely the 29-year-old would have to settle for a minor-league deal after missing the 2020 campaign due to finger surgery, but he was able to secure a major-league contract with the Brewers. Maile is a defense-first catcher with a .198/.252/.304 slash line in 215 career games. He shouldn't fill more than a backup role and joins a catching group that includes Jacob Nottingham, Omar Narvaez and Manny Pina (knee), though that player list could change ahead of Wednesday's non-tender deadline.

Diaz signed a one-year, $1.2 million contract with the Rockies on Monday, avoiding arbitration, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.

The deal comes with $300,000 in incentives. Manager Bud Black likes how Diaz has improved defensively behind the plate, so he should enter spring training atop the depth chart. He was not as sharp offensively, hitting .235/.288/.353 with two home runs in 26 games. Tony Wolters and Dom Nunez linger for now as depth options.

Herrera's contract was selected by the Cardinals on Wednesday.

Herrera will join the Cardinals' 40-man roster in order to protect him from the upcoming Rule 5 draft. Even if the team doesn't bring Yadier Molina back during the offseason, the 20-year-old has mainly worked in the lower levels of the minors and is unlikely to be considered for a major-league roster spot in 2021. Herrera slashed .284/.374/.405 with nine home runs and 47 RBI between the Low-A and High-A levels in 2019.

Maile elected free agency after being outrighted off the Pirates' 40-man roster Oct. 30, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Maile will presumably be in the market this winter for a minor-league deal with an organization that includes an invitation to big-league spring training. The 29-year-old catcher didn't see any action for the Pirates in 2020 after fracturing his right finger in summer camp and requiring season-ending surgery.

Heineman signed a minor-league contract with the Cardinals on Friday as a non-roster invitee.

Heineman appeared in 15 major-league contests with the Giants during the 2020 season, but he failed to generate much production, slashing .190/.292/.214 with a double and one RBI. The 29-year-old will get to work with the major-league coaching staff during spring training as he prepares to join his third team in as many seasons.

Heineman was outrighted to Triple-A Sacramento on Sunday, Maria I. Guardado of MLB.com reports.

The Giants will bump Heineman off the 40-man roster as free agency officially opens. The 29-year-old backstop has a .208 average and one home run in 62 MLB plate appearances over the past two seasons.