MLB Player News

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.

Plawecki had sinus surgery in December, opening up his blocked right sinus, which doctors believe was the cause of the dizzy spells that plagued the catcher in the past, the NY Daily News reports.

Plawecki is already at the Mets' spring complex to prepare for his role as the team's backup catcher and possibly a small role at first base. If Travis d'Arnaud is sidelined again this season, then Plawecki will step in as the Mets' starting backstop.

Rodriguez signed a minor league contract with the Yankees on Friday that includes an invitation to spring training Friday, Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal reports.

The 30-year-old backstop split time between Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last season, but couldn't hit above the Mendoza line at either stop. Because of that, he'll likely head back to the minors after spring training concludes.

D'Arnaud will see action at other positions during the spring in an attempt to increase his versatility and potentially find a way to get his bat in the lineup when Kevin Plawecki is behind the plate, the New York Post reports.

Those other positions are likely first base and left field, though d'Arnaud's main work will come behind the plate. D'Arnaud has suffered a variety of injuries while catching, so moving him out from behind the plate has been discussed for a while, but his bat plays much better as a catcher than at another position.