MLB Player News

Stassi was placed on the 10-day injured list with a hip injury by the Angels on Monday, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports.

Stassi hurt his hip during an appearance in a minor-league game Sunday. It's not clear at this point how much time he might miss. With Stassi on the shelf, Logan O'Hoppe now rejoins the big club to share time at catcher with Matt Thaiss.

The Rangers released Leon on Monday.

The Rangers are planning on carrying only two catchers (Jonah Heim and Mitch Garver) on the Opening Day roster and have another backstop with more upside (Sam Huff) waiting in the wings at Triple-A Round Rock, so Leon will exit the organization and pursue options elsewhere. Even if he finds his way onto an MLB roster at some point in 2023, Leon likely won't serve as anything more than No. 2 option behind the dish.

O'Hoppe now appears to be on track to open the season as a member of the Angels' 26-man active roster after manager Phil Nevin acknowledged Sunday that Max Stassi (hip) will likely begin the campaign on the injured list, FieldLevelMedia.com reports.

Given that the Angels want the 23-year-old to play regularly along with the fact that his primary competition for the No. 2 catcher role, Matt Thaiss, was out of minor-league options, O'Hoppe looked in line to open the season at Triple-A Salt Lake as recently as two weeks ago. However, with Stassi recently missing time in camp due to a personal matter before hurting his hip in a minor-league game Sunday, O'Hoppe looks like he could get the chance to see regular reps with the big club. O'Hoppe demonstrated impressive power-hitting and on-base skills at the Double-A level and in his brief taste of the majors in 2022, so he may be worth rostering in two-catcher leagues while he has a fairly clear path to playing time in the big leagues. Stassi took a big step back offensively in 2022 and likely didn't enter the season with much job security, so O'Hoppe could get the chance to stake a permanent claim to the No. 1 catching gig if he thrives early on in the campaign.

Angels manager Phil Nevin said Sunday that Stassi is unlikely to be included on the Opening Day roster after experiencing hip soreness while playing in a minor-league spring training game, Sam Blum of The Athletic reports.

The Angels may not have a full picture of Stassi's injury until after he presumably goes through more extensive tests Monday, but the hip issue coupled with an unspecified personal matter that has recently kept him away from camp looks as though it'll prevent him from opening the season on the 26-man active roster. Stassi's expected absence to begin the campaign will pave the way for both Logan O'Hoppe and Matt Thaiss to make the Opening Day roster, with O'Hoppe representing the higher-upside fantasy option of the two.

Sabol announced Sunday via a story posted on his personal Instagram account that he has clinched a spot on the Giants' Opening Day roster.

Sabol joined San Francisco as a Rule 5 selection over the winter and entered spring training expected to compete primarily for a backup catcher role behind Joey Bart. While Sabol will offer another depth option at the position behind Bart and veteran Roberto Perez, the 25-year-old is expected to see most of his action as a rookie in the corner outfield. With injuries having tested the Giants' outfield in spring training, Steven Rissotto of SFBay.ca notes that Sabol could draw the start in left field in Thursday's season opener at Yankee Stadium. As a left-handed hitter, Sabol may get the opportunity to carve out steady playing time until the Giants are back to full strength, making him an interesting speculative pickup late in NL-only drafts. He's coming off a huge showing in spring training in which he slashed .349/.474/.651 with three home runs, two stolen bases and an 11:13 BB:K in 19 Cactus League contests.

Wong clinched a spot on the Red Sox's Opening Day roster after the team reassigned Jorge Alfaro to minor-league camp Monday, Christopher Smith of The Springfield Republican reports.

Though he missed much of the Red Sox's Grapefruit League slate while managing a left hamstring injury, Wong drew back into the spring lineup Monday versus Atlanta and appears to be back to full health as Opening Day approaches. Despite Wong's lack of at-bats and innings behind the dish this spring, manager Alex Cora said he felt comfortable enough with the 26-year-old to keep him on hand as the understudy to Reese McGuire. Since McGuire bats from the left side of the plate, the righty-hitting Wong could end up filling the short side of a platoon at catcher.

Nola (hand/nose) will start at catcher and bat sixth in Monday's Cactus League game against the Mariners.

Assuming he comes out of Monday's exhibition finale without aggravating the left hand injury he suffered Saturday or the fractured nose he suffered March 19, Nola should be on track to serve as the Padres' Opening Day catcher Thursday versus the Rockies.

McCann (oblique) said his hitting session Sunday merely went "OK," and he remains uncertain whether he'll be available for Thursday's season opener in Boston, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.

McCann hit off a tee in the batting cage in an attempt to gauge how much he had progressed in his recovery from left oblique discomfort, an issue that cropped up a few days earlier. While McCann didn't suggest that he experienced any sort of setback, he didn't come away encouraged that he took any major steps forward either as he aims to put the injury in the rear-view mirror. The Orioles will likely wait and see how McCann feels over the next couple of days before deciding if he's fit to serve in a backup role behind No. 1 backstop Adley Rutschman on Opening Day. If McCann requires a stint on the injured list, however, the Orioles could add Anthony Bemboom to the 26-man roster to work as Rutschman's understudy.

Wong will start at catcher and bat ninth in Monday's Grapefruit League game versus Atlanta, Chris Cotillo of The Springfield Republican reports.

After being sidelined for much of camp with a left hamstring strain, Wong was able to catch in a minor-league game over the weekend and is now set to enter the Grapefruit League lineup for the first time since March 2. Wong is competing with non-roster invitee Jorge Alfaro for the No. 2 catcher spot on the Opening Day roster behind projected No. 1 option Reese McGuire.

Perez went 1-for-2 with a solo home run in the Athletics' 9-5 Bay Bridge Series exhibition loss to the Giants on Sunday.

Perez was an in-game replacement at catcher following Shea Langeliers' time behind the dish. The 32-year-old is slated to serve as early-season depth behind Langeliers while Manny Pina (wrist) remains sidelined, and although he just signed last Sunday, he's gone 3-for-8 with Sunday's homer and three RBI across his first four games.