MLB Player News

Perez was one of more than a dozen Rays players to participate in voluntary workouts at Tropicana Field on Monday, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The young backstop joined his teammates for activities such as playing catch, running, limited free-weight workouts and plyometric jumps, with the sessions held in staggered fashion and in groups of two. Perez was in position to secure the No. 2 catcher job behind Mike Zunino when spring training was suspended, although the expanded rosters and practice squads expected to be part of any abbreviated 2020 season should allow manager Kevin Cash to also keep at least one of veterans Kevan Smith and Chris Herrmann.

Campusano is a candidate to be placed on the Padres' taxi squad if a 2020 season takes place, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports.

Campusano probably isn't ready for a leap to the major leagues -- he spent all of last season in High-A ball -- but placement on the taxi squad may be the best way to continue his development considering the perilous state of the minor-league season. The 21-year-old is coming off a co-MVP campaign in the California League and is considered the top catching prospect in the Padres' system.

Bemboom may spend more time in the majors than expected if a 2020 season is played with expanded rosters, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.

Bemboom was optioned to Triple-A in mid-March and was expected to open the season in the minors before play was suspended. However, the likelihood of expanded rosters means that he could be used as catching depth behind Jason Castro and Max Stassi on the big-league squad. Though Bemboom's offensive skillset is limited, his potential to garner major-league playing time is aided by the injury histories of both backstops ahead of him on the depth chart.

Contreras, who has consistently performed better in the first half of seasons, could excel during a shortened 2020 slate, Max Goodman of SI.com reports.

For his career, Contreras has posted better offensive numbers across the board in the first half of seasons. Last year, he led the Cubs with a .294 average and .965 OPS through 82 games. This isn't particularly surprising, given the wear and tear that comes with playing catcher. Contreras could end up benefiting from a shortened schedule, especially if teams are allowed to operate with expanded rosters and Chicago decides to keep a third catcher on the roster.

Caratini could work as the Cubs' DH if MLB adopts a universal DH for a shortened 2020 season, Will Laws of SI.com reports.

Kyle Schwarber is perhaps the first name that comes to mind as a DH for the Cubs, but he's improved his defensive play to the point where Chicago may elect to keep him in left field. That could open things up for Caratini as the team looks to get his bat in the lineup along with No. 1 catcher Willson Contreras. Caratini's DH case would be bolstered if the team kept three catchers, which would provide added insurance behind Contreras and take some burden off Caratini as a defensive option.

McGuire's court date in Clearwater has been postponed to June 25, Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic reports.

The catcher was originally scheduled to appear in a Pinellas County courtroom March 16 regarding his misdemeanor charge of exposure, but the hearing has been postponed twice due to the coronavirus pandemic. There's been no indication McGuire is facing additional league discipline due to the February incident, so it's likely his legal issues won't impact his availability once baseball is ready to resume play. The 25-year-old is expected to work in a timeshare behind the plate with Danny Jansen this season, although McGuire is more likely to be on the short end of it.

Knizner would be a surefire addition to the Cardinals' roster were it to be expanded to 30 players for the 2020 regular season, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch opines.

Goold's assessment comes within a response to a reader question of which players would benefit if there were an extra four roster spots at manager Mike Shildt's disposal. Under such a scenario, Knizner would be the third catcher behind Yadier Molina and Matt Wieters on paper. However, if the minor-league season were canceled altogether, it's conceivable the Cardinals would treat Knizner as more of a "2A" option alongside Wieters in order to continue giving the projected backstop of the future semi-regular at-bats. Knizner's Grapefruit League body of work this year underscored that he could use the reps against big-league arms, as he hit just .154 (4-for-26) before spring training was suspended.

It's unclear when Rogers may be recalled to the majors, as the Tigers wanted to get him a few hundred at-bats in Triple-A first, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

Had play not been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, Rogers was likely headed for a few months at Triple-A Toledo before returning to Detroit. But without that luxury and with no clear timeline for the season to begin, the 25-year-old catcher might be looking at a 2021 return to the majors. He still figures to be the team's backstop of the future, as the current starter appears to be 31-year-old Austin Romine, who is only on a one-year deal.

Huff hit a combined .278/.335/.509 with 28 home runs between Low-A Hickory and High-A Down East over 127 games in 2019.

Huff was a big mover in the organization, per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. He was off the radar prior to 2019, but his power warranted an early promotion to Down East, and he won the MVP at the All-Star Futures Game in July. He moved to the second-ranked Rangers prospect per MLB Pipeline while Baseball America pegs him at No. 99 on their top-100 list. The big-time power is the skill that grabs the most attention, but he strikes out a ton and is still a work in progress as a receiver, particularly at 6-foot-5 and 235 pounds. That's big for a catcher. The Rangers plan to have him open at Double-A Frisco, where he will be managed by former MLB catcher Bobby Wilson.

Murphy hit .375 (3-for-8) with a double, a home run, two RBI, two walks and two runs across four Cactus League games before spring training was suspended.

The young backstop didn't see his first game action this spring until March 2 after offseason knee surgery, an October meniscal debridement procedure that Martin Gallegos of MLB.com reports should help prevent Murphy's left knee issues from resurfacing. The 25-year-old is entrenched as the starting catcher to open the 2020 season after slashing .245/.333/.566 across 60 plate appearances over his first 20 big-league games in 2019.