MLB Player News

Perez is part of an open competition for the Angels' starting catcher job this spring, the Orange County Register reports.

Following the trade of Chris Iannetta to Seattle during the offseason, the path was cleared for Perez to emerge as a regular behind the plate for the Angels. Geovany Soto is in the mix to push him for the job, but it's likely that the Angels will use Perez for at least 100 starts behind the plate (health permitting), as Soto is unlikely to catch more than 50-60 games at this stage of his career.

Bethancourt says he is "100 percent" following offseason arthroscopic surgery in October to repair a torn meniscus, Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Bethancourt's injury hadn't been officially reported during the time of surgery, but based on the backstop's optimism, it doesn't appear it will have a major effect on his 2016 season. In fact, walking up to the batter's box relatively pain-free could actually help the 24-year-old improve upon a less-than-stellar .200 batting average from a season ago. As it currently stands, Bethancourt appears to have an uphill battle for playing time in San Diego, as he'll have to compete with Derek Norris and Austin Hedges for reps behind the plate.

Manager Pete Mackanin said he is not yet ready to commit to anyone as his starting catcher, the Allentown Morning Call reports.

Rupp earned the majority of the playing time at catcher for the Phillies toward the end of last season. Things really picked up for him in August when he hit seven of his nine home runs and posted a 1.086 OPS in 66 plate appearances. He likely enters camp with a slight advantage over Carlos Ruiz for the starting job.

Grandal (shoulder) has healed from surgery and is under no limitations in spring training, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports.

If Grandal's shoulder is indeed 100 percent healthy, he could be positioned for a huge 2016. Before the first reports of his nagging shoulder problems in mid-August, Grandal had been hitting .285/.389/.489 with 15 home runs, making him one of the most valuable players on the Dodgers. In 96 plate appearances after the shoulder woes popped up, he hit a horrific .052/.229/.091. Whether or not Grandal is healthy throughout this season should at least be pretty obvious.

Sanchez signed a minor league deal with the Blue Jays on Friday, Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Sanchez was released by the Pirates last month but will have a chance to catch on with the Blue Jays, as the deal includes an invite to spring training. The 27-year-old, a former first-round pick, appeared in only three major league games last season, spending the bulk of the year at Triple-A Indianapolis. It seems likely that he'll wind up with the Blue Jays' Triple-A affiliate (Buffalo) to begin the year, though Toronto is relatively thin at catcher so he could be summoned should there be an injury to Russell Martin, Josh Thole, or A.J. Jiminez.

Gosewisch is "100 percent ready to go" for spring training after dealing with an ACL tear through most of the entire 2015 season, MLB.com reports.

Gosewisch appeared in just 38 games in 2015 due to the injury, but he hit just .211/.261/.281 before he went down. He'll compete for the backup catcher job, but it'll be a battle, as he'll have to beat out Chris Herrmann and Oscar Hernandez to make the team.

The Reds and Mesoraco (hip) are still optimistic that he'll be ready for Opening Day, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

The story contrasted Mesoraco's progress with that of teammates Homer Bailey and John Lamb, both of whom won't be ready for Opening Day.

Acosta signed a minor league contract with the Rays on Thursday and will be invited to major league camp, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Acosta was with the Rays organization last season, but played sparingly and elected to be a free agent after the conclusion of the season. He'll return to the team and act as no more than a third-string catcher while Justin O'Conner is sidelined with a back injury.

Stassi is working with Astros manager A.J. Hinch to improve his framing, receiving and stance behind the plate this spring, Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle reports.

"If he makes our team, I want our pitching staff to be comfortable throwing to him," Hinch said of the 24-year-old. "We're going to put in a little bit of work to make sure that his mechanics behind the plate are where they should be, that his body positioning and his hand position are where they should be. He's hungry to get better." Stassi is the favorite to win the Astros' backup catcher job behind starter Jason Castro, but Alfredo Gonzalez, Roberto Pena and Tyler Heineman loom as other internal options for the role, albeit with considerably less experience.

Vazquez (elbow) has been throwing to bases at Boston's spring-training facility in Fort Myers (Fla.), the Boston Globe reports. "He's probably at about 90 percent," manager John Farrell said. "But it's there. You can see that. He'll only get better."

Prior to undergoing Tommy John surgery, Vazquez was known for his arm strength and his ability to control the running game. As such, the Red Sox are closely monitoring his velocity and accuracy. On Friday, Vazquez showed off the accuracy in what was another productive day in his return from the injury. Despite what has been an encouraging rehab, Vazquez is expected to start the season at Triple-A Pawtucket where he can get some game experience before joining the major-league roster.