MLB Player News

Trevino (finger) was given rehabilitation instructions as the Rangers disbanded camp, but a scheduled follow-up is on hold, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com reports.

Both Trevino and Jeff Mathis (hamstring) are rehabbing injuries suffered during Cactus League action, so their depth-chart status is unclear during the delay necessitated by the coronavirus pandemic. In terms of roster management, Trevino has minor-league options left, so the Rangers may go with the veteran Mathis as the backup to Robinson Chirinos once the regular season begins.

Hedges is likely to make the Padres' Opening Day roster, but the amount of playing time he'll receive has not yet been decided, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Hedges led Padres backstops with 102 games last season, but he posted a paltry .176 batting average while striking out 109 times in 312 at-bats. His elite defense is likely to keep Hedges on the big-league roster, but he could see considerably less playing time if Francisco Mejia is able to complement his superior bat with improved skills behind the plate. Luis Torrens is also in contention for a roster spot but remains a longshot, per Cassavell.

Higashioka appears to have won the No. 2 backstop role behind Gary Sanchez, George A. King III of the New York Post reports.

After toiling in the minors for the better part of 12 seasons, Higashioka is in line to assume a spot on the Opening Day roster of a major-league team for the first time in his career. Though the 29-year-old has hit only .164 across 146 big-league at-bats, he slugged 20 homers while hitting .278 in only 70 Triple-A games in 2019 and was enjoying a strong spring, batting .276 with three home runs over 29 Grapefruit League at-bats.

Leon is a lock to begin the season on the roster, Joe Noga of Cleveland.com reports.

This doesn't come as any surprise given that the Indians don't have much talent at the position at the upper levels of the organization. What remains more difficult to project is just how much playing time Leon will receive behind presumed starter Roberto Perez. Leon is regarded as a strong framer behind the plate, which could help him earn extra at-bats when the season gets underway.

McGuire is set to begin the season in a time share with Danny Jansen behind the plate.

While the Jays have given no official indication that either catcher would handle a lead role in that arrangement, all signs point to Jansen being the de facto No. 1. In addition to McGuire's own off-field legal issues, Jansen had been on fire at the plate when the Grapefruit League schedule was put on pause, leading the circuit with a 1.953 OPS through 20 plate appearances compared to McGuire's paltry .638 OPS in 21 PAs. On the bright side, McGuire's spot in the majors seems secure -- the organization has no other catchers on the 40-man roster, and top prospects like Alejandro Kirk are still in the low minors.

Wallach is expected to begin the season at Triple-A Wichita, but he was making a strong case for a big-league roster spot when spring training was suspended, going 7-for-18 (.389) with two home runs and a double.

The 28-year-old took full advantage of the Grapefruit League opportunities opened up by Jorge Alfaro's strained oblique, but the delayed start to the regular season should give Alfaro more than enough time to recover and cut off Wallach's path to the 26-man roster. Even if Alfaro is healthy for Opening Day, Francisco Cervelli has a lengthy concussion history, and the odds are good Wallach will be needed in the bigs at some point.

Knizner was hitting .154 (4-for-26) before spring training was suspended, and while he's slated to start the season at Triple-A Memphis, he hopes his next big-league opportunity arrives promptly, Corey Miller of KSDK.com reports. "Where I'm at now, where my skills are at, I feel great about where my body is at, so physically, mentally and skills-wise, I feel really good," Knizner said. "I think the point I'm at now in my career is needing that big league experience. I need that consistent playing time in the big leagues to continue to grow and be that consistent producer."

As his Grapefruit League numbers indicate, the 25-year-old backstop was scuffling at the plate, but he remains the heir apparent to Yadier Molina. However, Molina is projected for another heavy workload this season, while Matt Wieters was re-signed on a one-year deal to be the backup for a second straight season. Knizner will thus get regular playing time in Memphis, where he has logged a combined 83 games over the last two seasons. He did get his first taste of big-league regular-season action last season, slashing .226/.293/.377 across 58 plate appearances over 18 games.

D'Arnaud will split playing time behind the plate with Tyler Flowers for Atlanta and is expected to receive a majority of the starts.

After signing a two-year deal with Atlanta in the offseason, d'Arnaud immediately moved to the top of the depth chart. The 31-year-old's extensive injury history -- he's seen more than 400 plate appearances in a season only once in his career -- does give the club plenty of incentive to make sure he's well rested, however, and the split with Flowers could end up being closer to 50-50. D'Arnaud had gone just 3-for-16 (.188) this spring before the Grapefruit League schedule was suspended, but one of the hits left the yard and his 3:4 BB:K was sharp.

While Stallings' defensive prowess is the reason he's set to serve as Pittsburgh's primary catcher, he's also hit for a decent batting average with Triple-A Indianapolis in recent seasons, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.

The 30-year-old batted .291 (in 523 at-bats) over his last three minor-league campaigns with nine homers and two steals, and slashed .262/.325/.382 with five doubles, six home runs and 13 RBI in 210 plate appearances last season with Pittsburgh. Stallings led all major-league catchers in DRS per inning (minimum 450 innings), finishing with an overall plus-14 DRS in 463.1 innings played. He spent the offseason strengthening the back that bothered him last summer and hit .300 in 20 Grapefruit League at-bats. His top priority remains his defense, but he's shown an ability to hit for a higher batting average than he posted in 2019.

Garver could get fewer starts than originally anticipated if MLB comes out with a condensed schedule with fewer off days, Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic speculates.

It's a double-edged sword, as the Twins' new-school approach to days off and workload management would point toward fewer starts for Garver if a 162-game season were condensed in a shorter period of time. However, it seems unlikely that there will be a 162-game season, and if it is a shorter season, he could possibly play a greater percentage of the Twins' games if it is more of a sprint than a marathon. Regardless of what the schedule ends up being, Garver is one of the top players at his position. He hit .250 with five strikeouts, five walks and zero extra-base hits in 25 plate appearances this spring before the shutdown.