MLB Player News

Narvaez was scratched from the lineup for Tuesday's exhibition game against Team Puerto Rico due to back spasms, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reports.

Narvaez experienced the back spasm Monday and is expected to return to action Wednesday after taking a day to recover. The 27-year-old is expected to open 2026 as Boston's No. 1 catcher after posting a .725 OPS with 15 home runs as a rookie in 118 regular-season games last year.

Ruiz went 2-for-3 with a solo home run in Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Astros.

The 27-year-old switch hitter launched his first long ball of the spring from the left side, as he took Bryan Abreu deep in the fourth inning on a 96 mph fastball. Ruiz is coming off a rough 2025 that was cut short after 68 games by concussion issues, and he's locked in a camp battle for the starting job at catcher with prospect Harry Ford, who was acquired from the Mariners in December.

The Cardinals do not expect to know by the end of spring training how often Herrera will be used at catcher this season, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Coming back from offseason elbow surgery, Herrera started at catcher for the first time this spring in Sunday's Grapefruit League game versus the Pirates. The 25-year-old's goal is for catcher to be his primary position again in 2026 after elbow issues and defensive shortcomings limited to designated hitter for the final few months of last season. However, the Cardinals will not make Herrera a full-time catcher right away. Herrera appears poised to see the bulk of his early-season playing time at designated hitter, with Pedro Pages serving as the team's primary catcher. The setup could delay how soon Herrera picks up catcher eligibility in fantasy leagues, as he will initially be utility-only eligible in most formats.

The Cardinals' "stance internally has consistently been" that Pages is the team's starting catcher, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Ivan Herrera is attempting to return to catcher following offseason elbow surgery and got his first start behind the plate Sunday. However, it seems most of his playing time early on in the season will likely come at designated hitter. That leaves the catcher spot open for the defensively superior Pages, who slashed .230/.272/.363 with 11 home runs over 112 contests in 2025.

Narvaez was scratched from the lineup for Tuesday's exhibition game versus Team Puerto Rico for unspecified reasons, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald reports.

It's unclear if Narvaez is dealing with an injury, but he's been removed from the starting nine after initially being penciled in as the designated hitter. The 27-year-old backstop underwent a left knee meniscectomy early in the offseason but entered camp fully healthy.

Quero is likely to get the majority of his starts at catcher against left-handed pitching, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

While manager Will Venable stopped short of calling the White Sox's catcher situation a straight platoon, he did acknowledge that Kyle Teel will start behind the plate against most right-handed pitching. That leaves Quero on the short end of playing time, though he's also likely to get at least some plate appearances at DH. While the playing time situation is a bit murky, Queto has picked up nine hits across his first 17 at-bats -- three of which have gone for extra bases -- early in Cactus League action, after working at Driveline to improve his swing this winter.

Teel will catch on most days when the White Sox face a right-handed pitcher, Scott Merkin of MLB.com reports.

The White Sox have a crowded depth chart at catcher, with Teel and Edgar Quero leading the way. Teel earned the majority of playing time at the position across the second half of 2025 and looks to be in line to maintain that role. Manager Will Venable stopped short of calling the distribution of playing time a platoon, though Quero will draw most of his starts behind the dish against lefties while also getting some additional plate appearances at designated hitter. Meanwhile, Teel will look to build off of a solid rookie season, when he hit .273 with eight homers and three stolen bases across 297 plate appearances.

Contreras batted third and went 2-for-2 with a double, a three-run home run and an additional run scored in Sunday's spring game against Baltimore.

Contreras belted his second Grapefruit League homer in six games, a hopeful sign for a team projected to lack pop. He should find a home in the order at third or cleanup. Contreras is now headed to the World Baseball Classic and will join Team Venezuela.

Dingler (elbow) is scheduled to advance to throwing to bases Tuesday, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Dingler has been eased into a throwing program in Tigers camp after having arthroscopic surgery on his right elbow in January. The 27-year-old has seen action in a couple Grapefruit League contests as a designated hitter, but it's unclear when he will be ready to catch in a spring training game. As long as he continues to progress without setbacks, Dingler is expected to be ready for Opening Day.

The Tigers announced Monday that Briceno reported right wrist soreness coming out of his most recent spring appearance Saturday and is undergoing further medical evaluation, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.

Briceno is one of the Tigers' top prospects, but the 21-year-old catcher isn't on the 40-man roster and will be ticketed for Double-A Erie when healthy.