MLB Player News

Collins will have to prove he can catch at the major-league level, according to scouts, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Collins, the White Sox's fourth-ranked prospect according to RotoWire, says he uses those scouting assessments as fuel to improve as a catcher. The White Sox also have acknowledged the need to develop his defensive skills, having him primarily focus on that area of the game during the Arizona Fall League. There's a lot on a young catcher's plate -- blocking balls, calling pitches, controlling baserunners, framing pitches -- those are the areas Collins needs to develop over the next few seasons ahead of his 2019 ETA.

Stubbs reported to training camp weighing 10 pounds heavier than when he finished playing in the Arizona Fall League last November, Jake Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle reports.

Stubbs, the organization's seventh-ranked prospect according to RotoWire, is the catcher closest to the major leagues after reaching Double-A Corpus Christi in 2016. Between High-A Lancaster and his time with the Double-A Hooks, he slashed /304/.391/.469/.860 and was actually better after leaving the hitter-smooching High-A California League. The Astros want to see the slight-framed catcher bulk up to better handle the rigors of catching long term. He'll reach Triple-A this season and is on schedule for MLB in 2018 or 2019.

Perez will begin the 2017 season as the backup catcher to Yan Gomes, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

Manager Terry Francona made it clear Thursday morning that there will be no competition between Perez and Gomes for the primary job behind the plate. The skipper added that he'll look for opportunities to work Perez into the mix as often as possible. Even as the backup, the 28-year-old should see a fair amount of innings. Gomes has played in fewer than 100 games in four of his five professional seasons, and he hit a career-low .167 in 251 at-bats last year. If he struggles early or suffers another injury, Perez, who's already a decent fantasy asset in deep leagues, becomes an immediate option across most formats.

Manager Dave Roberts said Friday that Grandal will be the Dodgers' primary starting catcher against both lefties and righties, as opposed to platooning with another player Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register reports.

Coming off a season in which he hit a career-high 27 home runs, the Dodgers will be hoping Grandal can continue to establish himself as an all-star-caliber catcher in his third full season with the team. The 28-year-old recently avoided arbitration by signing a one-year, $5.5 million deal this offseason. If he can stay healthy, Grandal could be in for a stellar offensive season.

Rockies manager Bud Black said that Murphy and Tony Wolters will have "shared duties" behind the plate in 2017, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post reports.

Murphy certainly has more offensive upside than Wolters, but Black was insistent that both offense and defense would play a big role in who would play on a given day. Black also added that it's unrealistic to expect either catcher to put together a 130-game season, so fantasy owners should expect a fairly flexible timeshare behind the plate heading into 2017, which may decrease both backstops' values.

Manager Mike Scioscia said that he will let his catcher situation play out this spring and Perez isn't guaranteed to be a backup, the Orange Country Register reports.

It was thought that Martin Maldonado would see the majority of starts behind the dish when the club acquired him this offseason, and while that may end up happening, it appears Perez will get a chance to prove himself this spring. Neither option offers much from an offensive standpoint, so a timeshare would ultimately end what little fantasy value both catchers would have had if there was a full-time starter.

Manager Mike Scioscia said he will let his catcher situation play out this season, the Orange County Register reports.

Initial thinking was that Maldonado would get the lion's share of starts behind the dish with his new club, but Scioscia may have other ideas regarding how he splits up starts behind the plate. He brought up a good point in that Maldonado has never caught 100 games in a season before. Scioscia even hinted at a potential 50-50 split in playing time between he and fellow catcher Carlos Perez. Neither catcher had much offensive value in the first place, but a timeshare would almost assuredly render both useless in even deep formats.

Mets manager Terry Collins told d'Arnaud that the team wants him to play about 100 games this season, the New York Post reports.

That doesn't seem like a particularly high target, but d'Arnaud's career high in games played is 108, set in 2014, due to his inability to stay healthy. If he does regain the form he showed a couple of years ago he could be a sleeper, but the 28-year-old carries too much risk to be anything more than an endgame option at catcher in most fantasy formats.

Contreras will be Jon Lester's personal catcher this season, Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago reports.

The news comes as no surprise, as Contreras was already expected to be the everyday catcher for the Cubs moving forward. The 24-year-old hit .282/.357/.488 in his rookie season and will have a chance to improve on those numbers with more consistent playing time. David Ross, who served as Lester's battery mate the past two seasons, will help coach Contreras in spring training, according to manager Joe Maddon.

McCann has simplified his approach at the plate in an effort to cut down on strikeouts, MLive.com reports.

McCann struck out 29.2 percent of the time last season, which was the highest rate of his MLB career. McCann's batting average also dropped to a career-worst .221. "Last year was really the first year that I struck out at the rate that I did," he said. "I think the changes that I've made will impact that area directly." McCann figures to be Detroit's primary catcher in 2017, although Alex Avila figures to snag some playing time as well.