Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Omar Narvaez

Each MLB Team’s Players On WBC Rosters

By | at

The World Baseball Classic is returning this year, the first time since 2017. The quadrennial event was supposed to take place in 2021 but was scuttled by the pandemic, now returning after a six-year absence. Rosters for the tournament were announced today and those can be found at this link. Here is a breakdown of which players from each MLB team are set to take participate. Quick caveat that this list is fluid and might be changed as more information becomes available.

Without further ado…

Angels

Astros

Athletics

Blue Jays

Braves

Brewers

Cardinals

Cubs

Diamondbacks

Dodgers

Giants

Guardians

Marlins

Mariners

Mets

Nationals

Orioles

Padres

Phillies

Pirates

Rangers

Rays

Red Sox

Reds

Rockies

Royals

Tigers

Twins

White Sox

Yankees

Quick Hits: Narvaez, Gallo, Monfort, Tatis Jr., Mets

By | at

Omar Narvaez signed a one-year, $8MM deal (with a $7MM player option for 2024) with the Mets just before Christmas, and Will Sammon of The Athletic shed a little more light on the market for the veteran backstop before he eventually wound up in New York. Sammon notes that the Giants strongly considered a move for Narvaez while the Twins, Tigers and Reds all had varying levels of interest.

The Giants have since inked Roberto Perez, the Reds are set with the trio of Tyler Stephenson, Curt Casali and Luke Maile while the Twins signed Christian Vazquez to the position. The Tigers are an interesting one though, as they’ve only added Triple-A backstop Donny Sands in a trade with the Phillies. They’re set to use some combination of Eric Haase, Jake Rogers and Sands in 2023 but it’s interesting to hear they were at least interested in a higher profile addition there this winter. If they do still look to add an external catcher, Gary Sanchez, Robinson Chirinos and Kevin Plawecki are the remaining notable catchers on the market.

Here’s some more bits and pieces from around baseball:

  • Joey Gallo could be set to see a bit of time at first base in 2023. As Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic noted in a recent mailbag, Gallo could well be the back up first baseman to Alex Kirilloff. That’s not to say Gallo will be on the bench, as the former Ranger, Yankee and Dodger will get plenty of reps in the outfield, but if Kirilloff’s struggles extend into 2023 the Twins could utilize Gallo a fair bit at the position. He rates well as a defender in the outfield, and has made just one appearance at first since 2018 but he’s also graded out solidly defensively at first in his time there.
  • Rockies owner Dick Monfort made headlines recently when he boldly stated he thought the Rockies could play .500 ball this season. That’d be a big ask in a competitive NL West, and the Rockies have done little to improve on their 68-94 record in 2022. Whatever record they wind up with this year, Monfort – in an interview with Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post – said they wouldn’t go down the rebuilding path: “I guess the connotation on rebuilding is you just get rid of everybody. You try to draft low, which we’re not [going to do]. We’re not trying to get the first pick. We’re not going to tank. We never have, never will,” Monfort said.
  • With the Padres adding Xander Bogaerts on a long-term deal and still having Manny Machado under contract for at least the next season, the left side of their infield appears set. Of course, that led to an expectation that Fernando Tatis Jr. would head to the outfield moving forward. That still looks to be the case, although the player didn’t commit to a position and said he’s been working out in both the infield and outfield this winter (via Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Tribune-Review). It’s been a challenging few seasons for Tatis, but he also added that he’s feeling “as close to 100%” as he’s been the past few seasons after dealing with wrist and shoulder injuries, and is expecting to be a full participant in spring training.
  • Sammon’s report in The Athletic also includes details on the Mets plans for Tylor Megill and David Peterson. Both players figure to be in and around the team at some stage over the course of the season, but Sammon reports that the team’s ideal scenario would be to have both players go to Triple-A to start the season and work as starters there, rather than starting the season in the big league bullpen. Of course, injuries in the spring could force one or both of them into rotation spots to begin the season anyway, but it seems the Mets are hoping to avoid using them in relief roles to begin the season.

Mets Sign Omar Narvaez

By | at

December 22: The Mets have officially announced the deal.

December 15: The Mets have dipped into free agency yet again, agreeing to terms with backstop Omar Narváez. It’s reportedly a two-year, $15MM guarantee that allows him to opt out at the end of next season. Narváez, a client of ISE Baseball, will make $8MM in 2023, leaving him to decide on a $7MM option for the following season.

Narváez, who turns 31 in February, heads to Queens after three seasons in Milwaukee. The Brewers acquired the lefty-hitting backstop from the Mariners during the 2019-20 offseason. Narváez had developed a reputation as a bat-first catcher in the Pacific Northwest. He’d hit .278/.353/.460 during his lone season with Seattle. That’s excellent production for a catcher, but his pitch framing metrics were well below-average.

The Brewers landed the #1 catcher they’d been seeking in that deal, although they likely didn’t foresee the scope of his production changing the way it did. Narváez seemed to make a concerted effort to improving his pitch framing numbers. He posted strong marks in that regard in all three seasons in Wisconsin, with Statcast cumulatively crediting him as 21 runs above average over the three-year stretch. That defensive uptick coincided with a drop in production at the plate, though, as he hasn’t managed to repeat his early-career offensive numbers.

Over his time as a Brewer, Narváez hit .233/.318/.350. He was average or worse in each season, including a lackluster .206/.292/.305 mark in 296 plate appearances during his platform year. The Venezuela native had a pair of injured list stints this year, missing time with COVID-19 and then a left hamstring strain. Even when healthy, Milwaukee deployed a more even split in playing time with Víctor Caratini, who marginally outperformed Narváez at the plate.

Narváez has solid contact skills, but a 22-homer season of 2019 now looks like the product of the very lively ball used that season. He’s only topped 10 homers in another year once, hitting 11 in Milwaukee’s hitter-friendly home environment in 2021. While he rarely hits the ball hard, he’s worked walks at a strong clip in each season of his career and strikes out less often than the average batter (aside from an anomalous spike in the abbreviated 2020 campaign).

It’s a bit surprising to see Narváez secure a $15MM commitment, particularly one that affords him a chance to retest the market a year from now. With Willson Contreras and Christian Vázquez off the board, he was the top remaining free agent backstop. Narváez has showed glimpses of offensive and defensive potential, although he’s never quite put the two together over a full season.

New York has been incredibly aggressive this winter, but they’d sat out the catching market. The Mets could’ve rolled things back with veteran James McCann as the starter, particularly since they have the glove-first Tomás Nido as a depth option and top prospect Francisco Álvarez in the wings. McCann has only a .220/.282/.328 line in 603 plate appearances since signing a four-year free agent deal over the 2020-21 offseason. Nido has never hit enough to be a regular, and the 21-year-old Álvarez still faces questions about his ability to handle the rigors of the position. The presence of Narváez doesn’t figure to stand in Álvarez’s way once the organization deems the youngster ready for a full look, though it’ll afford them some extra veteran security if he needs more time to hone his receiving and game-calling skills.

The Mets would presumably be happy to find a trade partner for McCann. With $24MM still due over the final two years of his contract, the Mets would surely have to pay down some of the money to offload the veteran backstop. They could keep the righty-hitting McCann to partner with Nárvaez in a loose platoon arrangement. Doing so might require parting with Nido, however, since he’s out of minor league option years. All three backstops would have to stay on the MLB roster or be cut loose, and that’s before considering the possibility of an Álvarez promotion. At some point next year, one of McCann or Nido seems likely to have changed uniforms.

Tacking on another $8MM brings the Mets projected 2023 payroll north of $343MM, per Roster Resource. The deal counts for $7.5MM against the luxury tax, since the player option is treated as guaranteed money when calculating its average annual value.

New York has already shattered the fourth and final tier of CBT penalization, subjecting them to a 90% tax on every additional dollar spent. The Narváez deal will cost them an extra $6.75MM in taxes, meaning the Mets are committing $14.75MM to secure his services for next year alone (in addition to the 2024 option). That’s likely a far higher price than any other club would’ve paid, but it’s the latest example owner Steve Cohen is unconcerned about spending when the front office presents him an opportunity to improve the roster.

Robert Murray of FanSided was first to report Narváez and the Mets were nearing agreement on a contract. Joel Sherman of the New York Post  first reported it was a two-year guarantee with an opt-out after 2023. Jon Heyman of the New York Post was first to report the $15MM guarantee and financial breakdown.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Latest On Cardinals’ Free Agent Targets

By | at

The Cardinals have yet to have much engagement with the offseason’s top-tier free agents, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  This relates to both starting pitchers and position players, as in regards to the top of the shortstop market, the Cards “have remained on the outskirts of the shortstop discussions, staying aware but not plunging in,” Goold writes.

This isn’t to say the the Cardinals aren’t active, as the team is focusing on its need behind the plate.  Cards officials will be meeting with the agents for Willson Contreras and Christian Vazquez, and such other free agent catchers as Omar Narvaez and Mike Zunino have also been explored by the team, as well as trade candidates like the Athletics’ Sean Murphy or any of the Blue Jays’ three backstops.

Catcher is the most pressing need for the Cardinals, so it isn’t surprising that the team might be looking to get its catching situation settled before moving onto other targets.  With Adam Wainwright re-sigining and Nolan Arenado passing on his opt-out clause, St. Louis had two major bits of business settled before the offseason even officially began, perhaps giving the team some extra flexibility to proceed a bit more slowly on other matters.

Signing Contreras would certainly count as a headline-grabbing move, as the longtime Cubs catcher is projected to land a four-year, $84MM deal, and would also cost draft pick compensation since he rejected Chicago’s qualifying offer.  $84MM would count as the second-biggest contract the Cardinals have ever given to a free agent, behind only Matt Holliday’s $120MM deal from the 2009-10 offseason.  That deal was also a re-signing, as Holliday had become a familiar quantity to the Cardinals after spending the last two-plus months of the 2009 season in a St. Louis uniform.

In short, making a big free agent splash usually isn’t the preferred strategy of Cards president of baseball operations John Mozeliak.  This obviously doesn’t rule out Contreras altogether, but it might make St. Louis more open to trade talks with the A’s or Jays in the catching search.  That said, signing Contreras for just money and a draft pick might be preferable to giving up a big trade package for Murphy, Alejandro Kirk, or Gabriel Moreno.

On the pitching side, the Cardinals are known to be looking at re-signing with Jose Quintana.  For the bullpen, the Cards are targeting high-strikeout relievers — as Goold notes, the team is looking to add more swing-and-miss after finishing near the bottom of the league in strikeout percentage.  St. Louis is looking at pitching options both in North America and overseas.

Cubs Interested In Christian Vázquez, Omar Narváez

By | at

Earlier this week, catcher Willson Contreras was one of 12 players to reject a qualifying offer, officially allowing the Cubs to recoup draft pick compensation if he signs elsewhere. As a team that did not pay the competitive balance tax or receive revenue sharing, the Cubs would be entitled to an extra pick just before the third round. That seems to be their goal, as contract talks with Contreras never seemed to gain much momentum and they are now discussing other backstops such as free agents Omar Narváez and Christian Vázquez, according to a report from Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic. There’s nothing yet to indicate they have reached out to the players or their representatives, but the fact that other catchers have been “discussed internally” by the Cubs is nonetheless notable.

Since a Contreras reunion doesn’t seem to be in the cards, the Cubs are currently lined up to go into 2023 with three catchers on their 40-man roster: Yan Gomes, P.J. Higgins and Miguel Amaya. Gomes is a veteran going into his 12th MLB season, which will also be the second of the two-year, $13MM deal he signed with the Cubs a year ago. Once that deal was signed, speculation mounted that the Cubs were set to deal Contreras, though that didn’t come pass. Gomes took a step back at the plate in 2022 but was still solid on the other side of the ball. He hit .235/.260/.365 for a wRC+ of 73 but posted 5 Defensive Runs Saved in just 86 games. He could still be a factor for 2023 but he’ll turn 36 during the year and then become a free agent again, meaning he likely won’t be part of the club’s long-term plans.

Higgins, 30 in May, has done some hitting in the minors but hasn’t been able to transfer that to the big leagues just yet. In 83 career games, his batting line is .210/.291/.348 for a wRC+ of 83. He posted a -6 DRS behind the plate and actually spent more time at the infield corners, meaning he’s likely considered more of a third string/emergency catcher.

Amaya, 24 in March, could be a long-term solution but has question marks in the short term. He’s considered one of the club’s top 15 prospects by both Baseball America and FanGraphs. However, he dealt with forearm issues in 2021 and ultimately required Tommy John surgery. He returned to the field this year and got into 40 games in the minors but hasn’t played anything close to a full season since 2019 and has yet to reach Triple-A. It’s possible he gets to the MLB level in 2023 but it doesn’t seem like something that should be expected or relied upon.

Even though the club seems content to let Contreras walk and recoup the draft pick when he signs elsewhere, they will likely need to do something to supplement this group. Vázquez is arguably the second-best free agent backstop behind Contreras, having been Boston’s regular catcher over the past few years. He’s hit around league average in that time, producing a .271/.318/.416 batting line from 2019 through the present for a wRC+ of 95. He’s also provided quality defense and is considered to be an all-around contributor. He was traded to the Astros at the deadline and served as Martin Maldonado’s backup in Houston, though he’s looking for a full-time job again going forward. That perhaps make him and the Cubs a less-than-perfect fit, given the presence of Gomes, though it’s possible Vázquez would be fine with sharing time in a similar manner to what Contreras and Gomes did in 2022. MLBTR predicted Vázquez could earn a contract of $27MM over three years.

As for Narváez, 31 in February, he will likely be attainable with a lesser commitment than Vázquez would take. Considered a bat-first catcher for the early part of his career, he came to the Brewers and flipped that. He’s posted strong defensive numbers in each of the past three years but hit .233/.318/.350 for a wRC+ of 85. However, as a left-handed hitter, he would pair well with the Cubs’ incumbent catchers, all of whom hit from the right side. He didn’t have strong platoon splits in 2022 but his career numbers definitely favor his work against righties.

Although Narváez and Vázquez were mentioned by name, the Cubs have surely discussed various other scenarios. The rest of the free agent market includes names like Gary Sánchez, Austin Hedges and Roberto Pérez. There’s also the trade market to consider, with Sean Murphy of the Athletics frequently mentioned in rumors and the Blue Jays looking to cash in their surplus. Whichever route they take, the Cubs shouldn’t have financial concerns. The ongoing rebuild means their current payroll is well below previous seasons, and none of the non-Contreras options will require huge expenditures regardless. They will have competition, however, with the Cardinals being one team that’s already known to be looking for catching help.

Mozeliak: Cardinals Seeking Catching Help, Left-Handed Bat

By | at

The Cardinals bid farewell to a pair of franchise icons at season’s end, as Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina officially closed the books on their playing career. For the first time in nearly two decades, St. Louis enters an offseason unsure of who’ll receive the bulk of the playing time behind the dish the following season. While the Cardinals have in-house options in Andrew Knizner and Ivan Herrera, president of baseball operations made clear in an appearance on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM this week that he’s actively exploring the market for catching upgrades.

“Clearly, with Yadi retiring, we know we need to upgrade at catching — especially when you think about the day-to-day demands of that role,” said Mozeliak. “That’s something that we’re going to look at, whether it’s trade or free agency.”

Asked about interest in top catcher Willson Contreras, Mozeliak declined to publicly comment on the free agent’s potential market, calling that a “dangerous game” and instead simply doubled down on interest in catching help: “We are in the catching market.”

Contreras, a longtime division rival, is this year’s top free-agent catcher, with former Red Sox and Astros backstop Christian Vazquez the clear No. 2 option. They’re not the only names available, of course, but they’re the two clear-cut starting catchers coming off strong 2022 campaigns. Rebound candidates include Omar Narvaez, Mike Zunino and Tucker Barnhart, all of whom had down 2022 seasons but were quite recently considered quality starting options behind the dish.

As Mozeliak alluded to, the trade market should produce a handful of alternatives. Oakland’s Sean Murphy will be available, though the asking price for three years of his services will be understandably steep. The Blue Jays, meanwhile, have a trio of starting-caliber catchers on the roster in Danny Jansen, Alejandro Kirk and top prospect Gabriel Moreno. Jansen, with two years of remaining club control to Kirk’s five and Moreno’s six, is generally seen as the likeliest of the group to move.

Whatever path the Cards take, an addition at catcher feels like a foregone conclusion. Knizner, 27, has served as the primary backup to Molina in recent seasons and managed only a .204/.292/.288 slash through 536 big league plate appearances. Optimists might suggest that he’d improve with more consistent playing time than he received Molina and his iron-man approach to catching, but Knizner has also drawn sub-par defensive marks along the way. The 22-year-old Herrera went 2-for-18 in his MLB debut this year but turned in a solid .268/.374/.396 line in Triple-A. Still, a team hoping to vie for a return to the postseason could use more certainty behind the dish, perhaps easing the well-regarded Herrera into a larger opportunity — as opposed to simply throwing him into a trial-by-fire run at the starting job.

Catching help isn’t all that’s on the menu this winter for Mozeliak, GM Mike Girsch and the rest of the front office, though. Mozeliak didn’t specify a position but did voice hope of adding a left-handed bat to help balance out his lineup. Given that most of the available catching options are right-handed bats — Narvaez and the switch-hitting Barnhart being the exceptions — it’s likely the Cards will have to make an additional move to achieve that goal.

“When you look at our offense, trying to find something from the left side to try to help bolster our day-to-day lineup is something we think we could benefit from,” said Mozeliak. “…”When you think about our club from the left side, we could just use a little extra pop. Some of our better hitters are right-handed, and so we’re just looking for more balance in our lineup.

The Cards aren’t totally devoid of left-handed bats but do skew more toward the right side of the dish — particularly when it comes to the team’s power hitters. Lars Nootbaar showed some impressive power from the left side of the dish and likely secured himself a spot in the 2023 outfield, but he’s the main source of left-handed pop the Cardinals have at the moment. Rookie of the Year finalist Brendan Donovan had an outstanding all-around season but hit just five homers and posted a lowly .097 ISO (slugging minus batting average). Switch-hitters Tommy Edman and Dylan Carlson were both vastly better hitters from the right side of the plate than the left. Twenty-two-year-old Nolan Gorman certainly has power from the left side of the plate but struggled increasingly as his rookie season wore on.

Last offseason’s signing of Corey Dickerson seemed intended to provide some help in this space, and while Dickerson rebounded from an awful start to finish with a roughly league-average batting line, he’s again a free agent and the Cardinals are surely hoping for more than average output from whoever is acquired to fill this role. The free-agent market isn’t exactly teeming with productive left-handed hitters who could be plugged into the St. Louis lineup, though veterans like Michael Brantley, Michael Conforto and old friend Matt Carpenter are all available. The former two will both be returning from shoulder surgery, whereas the latter enjoyed an otherworldly rebound with the Yankees before suffering a fractured foot that derailed his comeback effort.

As is so often heard from baseball operations leaders, Mozeliak also touched on the adage that a team can never have too much pitching, noting that “you’re always just one injury away from being in a tough spot.” While he didn’t characterize the Cardinals’ search for rotation depth as quite the same level of priority as a catcher and left-handed bat, Mozeliak suggested that the Cardinals will “keep the pulse” of the starting pitching market as the offseason progresses.

With Adam Wainwright, Miles Mikolas, Jordan Montgomery, Steven Matz, Jack Flaherty and Dakota Hudson, the Cardinals have at least six rotation options — Mozeliak also listed Drew VerHagen as a potential depth option there — but bolstering that group with a swingman or some veterans on minor league deals could well be on the eventual to-do list.

Brewers Activate Omar Narvaez, Option Mario Feliciano

By | at

The Brewers have activated catcher Omar Narvaez from the injured list, the team announced. To create the open roster spot, fellow backstop Mario Feliciano was optioned to Triple-A.

This is the third season that Narvaez has at least held a share of the Brewers’ primary catching responsibilities, including an All-Star campaign in 2021. This season, his offense has been down a little bit to a 93 wRC+ mark that’s certainly within striking distance of his 101 wRC+ career average. In 60 games, Narvaez is hitting .237/.324/.363 across 216 plate appearances.

Feliciano is the up-and-comer in the Brewers’ catching room, though he has not had much opportunity in the bigs. The 23-year-old appeared in just two games, going 1-for-4 at the plate with a walk and a strikeout. He has posted solid numbers in Triple-A, slashing .288/.346/.382 over 235 plate appearances.

Brewers Place Omar Narvaez On IL With Quad Strain

By | at

The Brewers announced that catcher Omar Narvaez has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a left quad strain. Fellow catcher Mario Feliciano has been recalled to take his place on the active roster.

The severity of the injury isn’t clear but the timing is particularly unfortunate for the Brewers, who had been carrying three catchers in recent weeks, with Narvaez, Victor Caratini and Pedro Severino all on the roster. They even got some trade interest on Narvaez leading up to the deadline, but ending up holding all three until yesterday afternoon when Severino was designated for assignment. A few hours after that, Narvaez injured his quad and a catching surplus suddenly turned into a deficit.

Narvaez has played 60 games on the season, hitting .237/.324/.363. That’s amounts to a wRC+ of 94, or 6% below the league average hitter, but slightly above the league average of 88 wRC+ for catchers. The left-handed hitting Narvaez and the switch-hitting Caratini have formed a platoon this year, with the latter playing 54 games and hitting .230/.350/.405 for a wRC+ of 116. Each also has quality defensive numbers, allowing Narvaez to accrue 1.3 fWAR on the year to Caratini’s 1.5

With Severino gone and Narvaez on the shelf, Caratini will likely step into a larger role with Feliciano as the backup. Feliciano jas just one MLB plate appearance to his name (a walk) but has hit .288/.346/.382 in Triple-A for a 97 wRC+. If Severino clears waivers and elects free agency, it’s possible that the Brewers could re-sign him and send Feliciano back down to the minors.

Omar Narvaez Drawing Trade Interest

By | at

Rival teams have been contacting the Brewers to check in on catcher Omar Narvaez, per Robert Murray of FanSided.

Despite leading the NL Central with a three-game cushion between them and the Cardinals, the Brewers are clearly not shy about straddling the line between “buyers” and “sellers”. There was no greater evidence of that than today’s trade of Josh Hader, wherein the Brewers subtracted an excellent relief pitcher but supplanted him with other MLB-ready pieces and prospects.

Narvaez would also fit that bill, though in a much different way. The 30-year-old catcher might not be the household name that Hader is, but he’s still a plenty useful player. Though he slumped badly in the shortened 2020 season, he’s been solid since then. Starting with the beginning of the 2021 campaign, he’s played in 182 games and has hit .256/.336/.389. That amounts to a wRC+ of 98, or 2% below league average, though it’s actually 10 points above the average backstop this year. When combined with his quality defense and pitch framing, Narvaez has been worth 4.1 wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs, between last season and this one.

The plan at the beginning of the year was for the Brewers to platoon the left-handed-hitting Narvaez with righty Pedro Severino. However, when Severino was given an 80-game suspension for a positive PED test, the club acquired switch-hitter Victor Caratini to take his place. Caratini has gone on to hit .231/.355/.413 this year for a wRC+ of 119. Severino has also returned from his suspension and been hitting well, slashing .235/.350/.353 for a wRC+ of 103, though in just seven games.

Perhaps the club regards this trio of catchers as surplus to requirements and is willing to subtract from it in order to upgrade elsewhere. Caratini and Severino can be kept around next year via arbitration but Narvaez is a pending free agent. His $5MM salary is also the highest of the three. That’s not a bank-breaking sum by the standards of MLB contracts, but still something to be taken under consideration by a Brewers team that generally doesn’t run huge payrolls.

As for who might be interested in Narvaez, the Astros are one theoretical fit. They have apparently balked at the asking price on Willson Contreras and are more interested in Christian Vazquez, though it’s still not clear how willing the Red Sox are to sell. The Guardians are also looking for a backstop upgrade, having recently discussed Sean Murphy with the A’s, though it doesn’t seem like those talks gained much momentum. The Mets and Cardinals are currently without their primary catchers, as James McCann and Yadier Molina are both on the IL at the moment. There are lots of possible fits without many available catchers and seemingly high asking prices on those that are out there, perhaps allowing the Brewers to find a deal to their liking.

Brewers Make Series Of Roster Moves

By | at

JUNE 3: Milwaukee recalled Alex Jackson to serve as Caratini’s backup today. Hall has been designated for assignment. The Brewers also recalled Luke Barker and Pablo Reyes, optioned Peter Strzelecki and placed Mike Brosseau on the 10-day injured list due to a right ankle sprain.

JUNE 2: The Brewers placed catcher Omar Narváez on the COVID-19 injured list, just a half-hour before tonight’s contest with the Padres. That’ll force them to start Víctor Caratini behind the dish today, and the time constraints have led to an atypical corresponding roster move. To take Narváez’s place on the active and 40-man rosters, the Brew Crew selected backstop Alex Hall from High-A Wisconsin.

That decision was pressed upon them by geographic constraints as the Brewers scramble to get a second catcher to Milwaukee. Hall will make the trek from Appleton, where the Timber Rattlers are based — a far easier commute than it would’ve been to get help from Durham, where the club’s Triple-A affiliate is playing on the road.

Hall, 23 next week, was an amateur signee out of Australia in December 2017. He had a nine-game stint in Triple-A in 2019 but has otherwise played in the low minors for his entire career. He’s only played six games with Wisconsin this season, as he’s been a backup option for the Timber Rattlers. This stay on the 40-man roster will surely be brief, but the unique situation affords Hall an opportunity to join the big league club and possibly get some MLB action were Caratini to suffer an injury during tonight’s game.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrowsFOX Sports Engage Network scroll to top