MLB Player News

Mets catching prospect Travis d'Arnaud left in the fifth inning of Friday's Grapefruit League contest against Detroit after being hit with a pitch just below his right elbow, ESPN.com reports. d'Arnaud, considered one of the top 10 prospects in the minors by several publications, said he was removed as a precaution. "It got enough meat to where I'll be fine -- just let it heal, relax for today," he said. "Fortunately it wasn't a couple of inches higher or lower."

Yankees catcher Chris Stewart went 1 for 2 with his first home run of the spring during New York's 10-3 victory over Detroit in Grapefruit League play Saturday. Stewart, who is locked in a tight competition with Francisco Cervelli for the starting job behind the plate, drilled a two-run homer in the fourth inning. But the 31-year-old, who has just four career homers, remained modest about his power production. "That's not my goal," Stewart told MLB.com. "My goal is to help the team win any way I can, and I think I can do that better behind the plate right now. I happened to get a good pitch, put a good swing on it and it went out. That's not what I'm going to try to do."

San Francisco catcher Hector Sanchez was in the lineup on Wednesday in a Cactus League game against the Angels. Sanchez, who was nursing a right shoulder injury earlier in camp, was the designated hitter against the Angels and went 1 for 4 with an RBI and double. He's batting .333 on the spring season. Sanchez has been unable to throw and that could be why he was the DH on Wednesday.

Padres catcher Yasmani Grandal was slowed in camp after dealing with two inflamed tendons on the middle finger of his left hand during the offseason. He showed no signs of the injury in Tuesday's Cactus League game against the Reds as he went 1 for 3 with an RBI and a run scored in the 7-5 win. Grandal has gone 2 for 4 (.500) with two RBI and a walk through two spring games. "I know I'm not going to catch too often, and I have to take advantage of the time I get," Grandal said. "I've been doing workouts, but nothing can simulate a game. That's especially true for a catcher. From an offensive standpoint, it was nice to drive a run home and continue to work on my timing."

The San Francisco Chronicle reported Saturday that Giants backup catcher Hector Sanchez is dealing with a right shoulder injury and does not know when he'll be able to start playing in Cactus League games. According to the report, he sustained the injury while playing winter ball in Venezuela. The injury has kept Sanchez from throwing, but he has still been able to take part in batting practice. He is listed as day to day.

In one of the most-watched position battles this spring, the Yankees will start catcher Francisco Cervelli over Chris Stewart during their Grapefruit League opener on Saturday. The two are competing for the starting job to open the regular season after Russell Martin departed to Pittsburgh as a free agent. "For the catchers, the defense comes first. It has to come first," manager Joe Girardi told reporters Friday. "What they add offensively is a plus. Save us runs; that I will pay close attention to. I will pay attention to how they work with the pitchers. It’s not just the physical, it’s going to be the mental part of the game, too."

MLB.com reports Thursday that catcher/infielder Yan Gomes told Barry Larkin, manager of the Brazilian National team that he would not participate in the World Baseball Classic, instead he'll focus on his chance at a roster spot with the Indians. Gomes, who participated in the World Baseball Classic qualifying round, spoke to his teammates on the national team to reveal his decision. "I didn't want to be blind-sided by it," Gomes said. "I wanted to really reach out and talk to them. I talked to a few of them and got really good feedback, which helped me out. I appreciated that."

MLB.com reports Padres catcher Yasmani Grandal took batting practice for the first time since the 2012 season ended on Tuesday. He dealt with two inflamed tendons on the middle finger of his left hand during the offseason, which hindered him from swinging the bat. The switch-hitter was able to hit from both sides of the plate. "We wanted to figure out if it hurt or not ... and it didn't," Grandal said. "Now we've got to work on the swing and get it game ready. And hopefully I'll get in some games this spring."

After becoming the youngest member of the Giants' World Series roster, catcher Hector Sanchez wants to continue his progression this season. The 23-year-old, considered a favorite of the pitching staff, played in 74 games last season as the primary backup to Buster Posey. "You have to show something better every year. Nothing's assured in baseball," said Sanchez, who is entering his second full MLB season. "What is certain is that you have to work hard every day and it's their decision. I just want to make that decision easy for them and be here every day."

U-T San Diego reports Padres catcher Yasmani Grandal, who isn't eligible to make his season debut until May 28 because of a 50-game suspension, isn't expected to start swinging a bat until late February because of a hand injury that plagued him at the end of the 2012 season. Grandal did not swing a bat this offseason after he finished last season with two inflamed tendons on the middle finger of his left hand. Grandal said he played the last month of the season with the injury. “It didn’t hurt to catch because the ball would hit the finger straight on,” Grandal said. "But when I rolled my finger to either side, it hurt. I was OK hitting from the right side of the plate. But from the left side, I was swinging one-handed. I had a little celebration every time I saw the other team had a left-handed starter. So my main focus this offseason was catching, which was good because I needed to work on my catching more than my hitting. In a weird way, the injury probably helped me because I was forced to concentrate on one thing, catching.”