MLB Player News

Quero has yet to make a start for the White Sox this spring.

Quero came into camp seemingly with a shot to emerge with a spot on the Opening Day roster, but his lack of usage suggests that's not going to happen. The 21-year-old has appeared in eight Cactus League games off the bench this spring, going 4-for-14 with a 2:1 K:BB. Quero appears likely to open the season alongside fellow catching prospect Kyle Teel at Triple-A Charlotte, where the duo would split playing time.

The Astros reassigned Lavastida to minor-league camp Thursday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Lavastida is likely to be part of a catcher committee at Triple-A Sugar Land this season after he spent the entirety of the 2024 campaign with the Guardians' Triple-A affiliate in Columbus, finishing with a .232/.334/.387 slash line, eight home runs and 26 stolen bases over 345 plate appearances. The 26-year-old's lone big-league action came in 2022, when he appeared in six games for Cleveland.

Pages adopted a new batting stance earlier this week in which he stands taller in the box and holds his hand higher, Daniel Guerrero of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Pages began to see the changes pay dividends in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game versus the Mets, as he contributed an opposite-field double while also hitting two hard lineouts. The 26-year-old Pages is competing with Ivan Herrera for playing time at catcher and is likely to enter the season as 1B to Herrera's 1A behind the dish.

Diaz (illness) is out of the Astros' Grapefruit League lineup for a second straight day Thursday but will go through a full workout, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.

It sounds like Diaz should be ready to play in games in a day or two. The Astros' top catcher is 3-for-28 with one home run at the dish during Grapefruit League action.

Stephenson was scratched from Wednesday's lineup because of lower-to-mid back pain, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.

Stephenson was scheduled to be the designated hitter and was replaced by Blake Dunn. Cincinnati manager Terry Francona downplayed the injury, indicating Stephenson will be fine and that there was no need to push him.

Raleigh went 0-for-3 with a walk in Wednesday's Cactus League game against the Royals and is now batting just .129 (4-for-31) with one home run and five RBI this spring.

Raleigh got off to fast start during spring training in 2024, belting four homers in 44 plate appearances, but it's been a sluggish beginning at the dish thus far this year. Even so, the Mariners are still set to rely on Raleigh as a key cog in their lineup in 2025. Although Raleigh hasn't finished with a batting average higher than .232 in any of his four MLB seasons, the switch-hitting slugger has smashed at least 27 long balls in each campaign since 2022.

Campusano may be trailing Elias Diaz in the battle to be San Diego's No. 1 catcher, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Following the departure of Kyle Higashioka to Texas in the offseason, San Diego's primary catcher role for 2025 appeared to be wide open. That's still the case, as none of the Padres' backstops has hit well this spring. Campusano has gone just 2-for-16 so far, while Diaz is 3-for-18. Meanwhile, San Diego's other backstop options, Brett Sullivan (2-for-15) and Martin Maldonado (0-for-13), have been equally unproductive. Cassavell speculates that Diaz's reputation as a strong defender could have him leading the race to start Opening Day, though the Padres don't appear to have made a decision in that regard to this point. Campusano finished last season at Triple-A and has one minor-league option remaining, so it's not certain that he'll even break camp with the big club.

Diaz "seems to have moderately separated himself" in the competition to be the Padres' No. 1 catcher, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.

Diaz first came to San Diego on a minor-league deal last August and ended up going just 4-for-21 over 24 regular-season games with the Padres. However, the offseason departure of Kyle Higashioka opened up a battle for the team's primary catcher role, and none of the club's backstops has seized hold of the opportunity this spring. Diaz is just 3-for-18 with five strikeouts and one walk, but Luis Campusano has been even less productive with a 2-for-16 line, while Brett Sullivan has gone 2-for-15 and Martin Maldonado is 0-for-13. Ethan Salas is viewed as the catcher of the future for San Diego, but he won't turn 19 until June and has just 33 plate appearances at Double-A under his belt. Cassavell speculates that Diaz's reputation as a good defender could earn him the starting role come Opening Day, though the catcher situation could be fluid throughout the campaign and tilt at any time this spring if one of the backstops goes on a hot streak.

Fry (elbow) was cleared to begin taking dry swings Wednesday.

The Guardians sent Fry to the 60-day IL in February, which ensures he'll be out until at least May 26. Depending on how quickly he progresses through the rest of his rehab from November elbow surgery, he may be ready to contribute as a DH by then, though he won't have any hope of playing in the field or behind the plate until 2026.

Wong was scratched from Wednesday's Grapefruit League lineup versus the Twins due to illness, Gabrielle Starr of the Boston Herald reports.

Wong appears to have caught the bug that's been going around Boston's clubhouse this month. He should be OK after a day or two of rest. Seby Zavala will sub in at catcher Wednesday.