Free-agent catcher Francisco Mejia signed a minor-league deal with the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday, according to a source. He'll head to Triple-A Nashville, where catching prospect Jackson Quero (shoulder) is dealing with a shoulder injury early in the season. The 28-year-old Mejia became a free agent when he was released by the Tampa Bay Rays on March 28. Quero could miss extended time down on the farm, so Mejia will give the team more organizational catching depth behind William Contreras and Gary Sanchez at the major-league level. The 28-year-old Mejia is a switch-hitter from the Dominican Republic and has a .239/.284/.394 career slash line with 29 home runs and 118 RBI in his seven big-league seasons with the Rays, Padres and Guardians.

The Tampa Bay Rays are working through the final stages of re-signing catcher Francisco Mejia to a minor-league deal with an invitation to major-league spring training, according to a source. Mejia was released by the Los Angeles Angels last week, but this doesn't seem to change the plan for Alex Jackson to be the backup to Rene Pinto to open the 2024 regular season. At the very least, though, the addition of Mejia will give the Rays more depth at the catching position. Unless injuries open up significant playing time for the 28-year-old Mejia, he's not going to be on the fantasy radar this year. The switch-hitting Dominican backstop hit just .227 (34-for-150) with five homers and 19 RBI in 50 games played for the Rays in 2023.

Francisco Mejia has signed a minor league deal with the Los Angeles Angels. The deal includes a spring training invite as well. Mejia put up a lackluster .227/.258/.400 batting line with five home runs and 19 RBI over 150 at-bats with Tampa Bay in 2023. He's shown some promise at the dish in years past but he's simply competing for a backup job to Angels' starting catcher Logan O'Hoppe at this point in his career.

Tampa Bay Rays catcher Francisco Mejia reportedly accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Durham and will remain with the organization for the time being. Mejia cleared waivers after being designated for assignment recently and will now report to Durham. The 27-year-old backstop remains under team control for next season, but there's a good chance he'll be looking to latch on with another organization this winter. Before being DFA'd last week, he was hitting .227/.258/.400 with five home runs, 11 doubles, 19 RBI and 22 runs scored in 160 trips to the plate over 50 games for the Rays in his third season with the team. For now, Tampa will roll with Christian Bethancourt and Rene Pinto as their catchers on the big-league roster.

The Tampa Bay Rays activated catcher Francisco Mejia (knee) from the 10-day injured list on Tuesday and then designated him for assignment. The Rays have decided to move on from Mejia after he recovered from a left-knee sprain. The 27-year-old Dominican backstop hit .227 (34-for-150) for the Rays this year with five home runs, 11 doubles, 19 RBI and 22 runs scored in 160 plate appearances and 50 games. Mejia should be able to latch on with another organization fairly quickly as catching depth. The Rays will move forward with a combination of Christian Bethancourt and Rene Pinto as their primary catchers at the big-league level.

Tampa Bay Rays catcher Francisco Mejia (knee) will appear in a simulated game on Friday and then begin a rehab assignment next week, according to MLB.com. If all goes well, the 27-year-old could return to the Rays by Aug. 22. Mejia has been on the injured list since July 21 following a left-knee injury he sustained during a play at the plate. Over 50 games this season, the former prospect is slashing .227/.258/.400 with five long balls, 22 runs, and 19 RBI. Fantasy managers can stay away from Mejia, who should continue to back up Christian Bethancourt upon his return.

Tampa Bay Rays catcher Francisco Mejia (knee) was forced to exit early during Thursday's game against the Baltimore Orioles due to knee discomfort. He underwent further testing that revealed Mejia suffered a left knee MCL sprain. He'll now be shut down for an extended period of time. That means, Christian Bethancourt should do a majority of the catching in Tampa Bay. Also, catcher Rene Pinto was recalled to take Mejia's spot on the active roster. He was slashing .253/.306/.521 with nine homers over 37 games in Triple-A this season. He's unlikely to have much fantasy value with Bethancourt doing a majority of the catching.

Tampa Bay Rays catcher Francisco Mejia (knee) exited Thursday's game against the Baltimore Orioles with left knee discomfort. He went 1-for-2 with an RBI before leaving Thursday's contest during the seventh inning. The severity of Mejia's injury is unknown, and he is considered day-to-day. The Rays will provide an update after the game. Mejia is slashing .227/.258/.400 with five home runs, 19 RBI, and 22 runs across 50 games in 2023. Christian Bethancourt replaced Mejia in Thursday's game. Bethancourt would see an uptick in at-bats if Mejia were to miss any games. The 31-year-old is hitting .417 (5-for-12) over his last three contests.

The Tampa Bay Rays and catcher Francisco Mejia avoided salary arbitration on Friday by agreeing to a one-year, $2.155 million deal. The 27-year-old switch-hitting Mejia hit .242/.264/.381 with a .645 OPS, six home runs, 31 RBI and 32 runs scored in 299 plate appearances and 93 games for Tampa in 2022 in his second season with the team and sixth in the big leagues. Mejia is set to share playing time behind the dish with Christian Bethancourt in 2023, leaving him fantasy value only in two-catcher leagues. In his six major-league seasons, Mejia has slashed .241/.288/.393 with a .681 OPS, 24 home runs and 99 RBI in 305 games played.

Tampa Bay Rays catcher Francisco Mejia isn't in the starting lineup for Thursday's game against the Kansas City Royals and right-hander Max Castillo. Even though Mejia has been hot at the plate lately, he's hitting .225 with 46 strikeouts against right-handers and .386 with five strikeouts against lefties, so is absence from the lineup makes sense. Midseason acquisition Christian Bethancourt will start in his place, batting seventh and suiting up behind the dish.

The Tampa Bay Rays have placed catcher Francisco Mejia (shoulder) on the 10-day injured list with a right shoulder impingement. Fellow catcher Rene Pinto was called up from Triple-A in a corresponding move. This is another tough blow for the Rays. The team announced on Monday that both catcher Mike Zunino (shoulder) and outfielder Kevin Kiermaier (hip) would miss the remainder of the year. Mejia's timeline is unclear right now, but his injury really tests the team's catching depth. Christian Bethancourt is starting behind the plate on Tuesday and he'll be the team's primary catcher for now with Pinto serving as his backup.

Tampa Bay Rays catcher Francisco Mejia isn't in the lineup on Monday for a matchup with the New York Yankees and right-handed starter Gerrit Cole. Mejia is batting .236 with a .241 on-base percentage and three home runs in 112 plate appearances this season. Instead, it'll be Rene Pinto starting at catcher and batting ninth against the Yankees. The 25-year-old is hitting .167 with a home run in 24 plate appearances for Tampa Bay this season. Fantasy managers in search of streaming options at the position are probably better off looking elsewhere given the tough matchup with Cole.

The Tampa Bay Rays reinstated catcher Francisco Mejia from the COVID-19 injured list on Thursday and optioned catcher Rene Pinto back to Triple-A Durham in a corresponding move. Mejia has been out nearly two weeks after testing positive for the virus. Before contracting COVID-19, he was sharing playing time with Mike Zunino and had started six of the team's first 13 games. The 26-year-old was also swinging a hot bat, going 8-for-23 with two home runs and 10 RBI in seven games. Fantasy managers should expect the switch-hitting backstop to continue splitting time with Zunino, making him attractive in AL-only leagues and leagues that allow two starting catchers.

Tampa Bay Rays catcher Francisco Mejia has tested positive for COVID-19. The team placed him on the COVID-19 related injured list on Friday. Fellow catcher Rene Pinto was called up from Triple-A to fill his roster spot. Mejia has been seeing basically a 50/50 split at catcher with Mike Zunino this year. However, he's been drastically outperforming Zunino at the plate. Mejia has a .348/.333/.652 slash line and two home runs over 24 plate appearances while Zunino is homer-less over 27 plate appearances with a .040/.074/.080 slash line.

Tampa Bay Rays catcher Francisco Mejia (shoulder) received treatment and is feeling better after a right shoulder contusion during Monday's game against the Boston Red Sox, according to manager Kevin Cash. He left the game in the seventh inning, replaced by Mike Zunino. Prior to his exit, he was 0-for-3. Mejia is having arguably his best season at the plate, slashing .262/.319/.435 with six home runs over 72 games. He hasn't lived up to the hype he once had as a prospect but can still put up good numbers from the catching position. However, he's mostly a streaming option at this point, as he is behind Zunino on the depth chart.

Tampa Bay Rays catcher Francisco Mejia went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run during Wednesday's 7-4 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. He launched a three-run go-ahead home run in the top of the ninth inning to give the Rays a 7-4 lead. It was his sixth long ball of the season and led Tampa Bay to victory 7-4. The 25-year-old is on a four-game hitting streak and has now recorded multi-hit efforts in back-to-back games. He continues to provide modest production this season. Overall, Mejia is slashing 267/.326/.446 with six home runs, 31 RBI, and 26 runs scored in 222 plate appearances in 2021. Mejia's playing time is sporadic, thus making him a decent option in two-catcher or deep-league formats.

Tampa Bay Rays catcher Francisco Mejia went 2-for-4 with three RBI during Sunday's 9-0 win over the Chicago White Sox. He lined a base-clearing double in right field to extend the Rays lead 6-0. It was his third extra-base hit of the month. The 25-year-old has had modest success at the plate this season. Overall, Mejia is slashing .263/.323/.429 with five home runs, 28 RBI, and 25 runs scored over 67 games in 2021. The former San Diego Padre is mainly an option in deep-league and two-catcher formats due to the lack of playing time behind All-Star catcher Mike Zunino.

Tampa Bay Rays catcher Francisco Mejia went 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBI during Saturday's 9-5 win over the Red Sox. He had a big day at the plate on Saturday by driving in four runs with a two-run homer in the fourth inning and a two-run single in the eighth frame. The 25-year-old has produced since the All-Star break, slashing .333/.355/.700 with two home runs, nine RBI, and seven runs scored over his last 10 games. Mejia has played well as the backup to All-Star catcher Mike Zunino but is mainly an option in two-catcher formats due to the lack of playing time.