MLB Player News

The Royals granted Maile's request to be released from his contract Sunday.

Maile inked a minor-league contract in February but won't stick around after missing the Opening Day roster. The 34-year-old played in 55 games for the Reds last season and had a .178/.268/.252 slash line in 154 plate appearances.

Stephenson (oblique) showed improvement after being examined by a team doctor Friday, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Stephenson, who will open the regular season on the injured list, sustained a left oblique strain during spring training. He's been cleared to begin rotational exercises and is scheduled to undergo another MRI on Wednesday. If the MRI comes back clean, Stephenson can start doing additional exercises, which could include baseball activities. With Stephenson sidelined, Jose Trevino moves into the starting job at catcher with Austin Wynns serving as the backup, assuming the Reds don't add anyone from outside the organization in the coming days.

Rodriguez appears to have won the backup catcher job for the Pirates, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.

The Pirates optioned Henry Davis to Triple-A Indianapolis on Saturday, setting up Rodriguez to back up Joey Bart to begin the season. Rodriguez missed all of the 2024 season due to a UCL injury, but he's maintained an impressive .321/.486/.571 line across 37 plate appearances in spring training. If he continues to swing the bat well, the Pirates are likely to find a way to get Rodriguez in the lineup more regularly given the lack of quality bats on the roster.

Kirk signed a five-year, $58 million contract with the Blue Jays on Saturday, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.

The deal will buy out Kirk's final year of arbitration in 2026 and then keep him with the team for an additional four years. Kirk has maintained a 109 wRC+ and improved his defense consistently over the course of his big-league career. He is set to be the Blue Jays' primary catcher in 2025.

The Padres designated Sullivan for assignment Saturday.

Sullivan was behind Elias Diaz, Martin Maldonado and Luis Campusano in the pecking order at catcher and wasn't deemed worthy of a 40-man roster spot. Sullivan has accrued 103 plate appearances across the last two seasons in the majors and could continue to serve as organizational depth for the club if he clears waivers.

Davis was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis on Saturday, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.

Davis seemed to have the inside track to the backup catcher job for much of spring, and he performed adequately by collecting nine hits across 36 at-bats with four extra-base knocks. However, Endy Rodriguez was even more impressive and has secured a roster spot to begin the season. The Pirates presumably would still like to see Davis make an impact in 2025, so he should make his way to Pittsburgh at some point.

Escarra was informed Saturday that he will be on the Yankees' Opening Day roster.

Escarra has had an impressive spring, maintaining a .936 OPS with five extra-base hits across 48 at-bats. It was reported Tuesday that he was in line to make the team as the backup to Austin Wells, and that is now officially the case. In 2024, Escarra maintained a 119 wRC+ across 493 plate appearances combined between Double and Triple-A.

Wells went 3-for-4 with a pair of home runs and four total RBI against Detroit in a Grapefruit League victory Friday.

Wells accounted for all of the runs in the contest, leading off the game with a solo shot to right field and adding a three-run blast to left-center in the seventh. The backstop has put together a superb spring, slashing .366/.409/.780 with five homers, 10 RBI and 10 runs over 44 plate appearances. Wells has frequently batted leadoff during the exhibition slate, and Bryan Hoch of MLB.com says that Wells "looks like a lock" to hit out of the No. 1 spot versus righties once the regular season begins.

Jansen has been sidelined for the past several days due to a pulled rib muscle, Ryan Bass of FanDuel Sports Network Sun reports.

Jansen has had a really nice spring thus far, going 8-for-25 with two homers, four RBI and six runs scored in 11 games, though he hasn't played since Wednesday. Manager Kevin Cash said Saturday that the Rays hope to get Jansen into one of their final two spring training games, so it doesn't seem that the backstop's injury is anything significant.

The Red Sox plan to install Narvaez as the backup catcher to starter Connor Wong, Chris Cotillo and Christopher Smith of MassLive.com report.

The club on Friday informed Seby Zavala that he will not be added to the Opening Day roster, which paves the way for Narvaez, pending any last-minute additions.