MLB Player News

Naylor is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Athletics.

The lefty-hitting Naylor will take a seat for Opening Day as southpaw Alex Wood takes the hill for Oakland. Austin Hedges will get the nod behind the plate in Naylor's stead.

The Athletics selected McCann's contract from Triple-A Las Vegas on Thursday.

McCann won the backup catcher job as the Athletics elected to send Tyler Soderstrom to Las Vegas. McCann likely won't play much behind Shea Langeliers.

The Brewers designated Haase for assignment Thursday.

Haase turned a lot of heads during camp this spring, slashing .395/.465/.868 with five homers and 14 RBI across 43 plate appearances. However, the Brewers didn't want to carry a third catcher behind William Contreras and Gary Sanchez, so the team will instead attempt to pass Haase through waivers. The 31-year-old backstop only managed a .201 average and .528 OPS with the Tigers and Guardians last season, but other organizations may be willing to take a chance on him after his monster spring.

The Phillies placed Marchan on the 10-day injured list Thursday with lower-back pain.

The back issue cropped up early in spring training and was initially expected to be a day-to-day concern, but Marchan was never able to show enough improvement to play in any Grapefruit League games. With Marchan opening the season on the injured list, Garrett Stubbs is locked in as the No. 2 backstop behind JT Realmuto.

The Pirates designated Sanchez for assignment Thursday.

Sanchez signed a one-year deal with the Pirates in the offseason but will fall short of the Opening Day roster after going just 2-for-16 during spring training. The 27-year-old catcher slashed .311/.375/.492 over 267 plate appearances at Triple-A Reno in the Diamondbacks organization last season, so he could draw interest from teams on the waiver wire.

The Blue Jays selected Serven's contract from Triple-A Buffalo on Thursday, Hazel Mae of Sportsnet reports.

Serven will be the Jays' backup catcher while Danny Jansen (wrist) is sidelined to begin the season. He's a career .195/.248/.314 hitter in the majors and should see occasional action behind starter Alejandro Kirk.

Kelly could see some time at DH this year on days when Jake Rogers starts behind the plate, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

Kelly was already expected to see a sizable role as the backup catcher, and time at DH would boost his prospects further. Rogers should still play more frequently, though Kelly will be involved it seems, particularly against left-handed pitchers, as he posted an .801 OPS against southpaws last season. His value would increase if Rogers were to deal with an injury at any point.

Rogers could see some time at DH this year on days that Carson Kelly starts behind the plate, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports.

With Detroit only carrying two catchers on the roster, conventional wisdom would suggest that one of Rogers or Kelly would always be on the bench to provide depth if needed. However, manager A.J. Hinch suggested that both backstops could play at the same time, particularly against left-handed pitchers. This would be a boon for Rogers, who is expected to cede a decent amount of playing time to Kelly behind the dish.

Wells won't be included in the Yankees' Opening Day lineup, with manager Aaron Boone relaying that Jose Trevino will receive the nod behind the plate in Thursday's game against the Astros, Brendan Kuty of The Athletic reports.

The lefty-hitting Wells will hit the bench for the season opener, which doesn't come as a major surprise with the righty-hitting Trevino having the platoon advantage in his favor against Astros southpaw Framber Valdez. Though Wells offers a higher-upside bat than Trevino, concerns about the former's defense behind the plate could prompt Boone to take a timeshare approach to the catcher spot when New York faces right-handed pitchers, at least to begin the season.

Trevino will start behind the plate against the Astros on Thursday, Brendan Kuty of The Athletic reports.

While some fantasy managers are excited about the offensive upside of Austin Wells, it will be Trevino behind the plate for the opener in Houston. Trevino is lauded for his work with the pitching staff, and that appears to have given him a slight leg up to begin the season, though it projects to be a fairly even playing-time split in the end with the 24-year-old Wells seeing a good share of the starts against righties. Trevino will be looking for his first career hit against Thursday's starter for the Astros, Framber Valdez (0-for-9 lifetime against the lefty).