The Reds declined Casali's $2.5 million option for 2024 on Saturday, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.
The 34-year-old backstop will receive a $750,000 buyout and enter the free agent market. Casali slashed just .175/.290/.200 with six RBI across 96 plate appearances in 2023 and likely will be limited to a depth role with his new organization.
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Reds' Curt Casali: Pulled off rehab assignment
Rotowire
Casali (foot) was removed from his minor-league rehab assignment Thursday.
Casali isn't immediately rejoining the Reds' 26-man active roster, so he might have suffered a setback of some sort. The veteran catcher landed on the 10-day injured list in late July because of a left foot contusion.
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Reds' Curt Casali: Begins rehab assignment
Rotowire
Casali (foot) began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Louisville on Friday.
Casali landed on the injured list July 24 with a bruised left foot and is now set to begin the final stage of his recovery process. The Reds were carrying three catchers prior to Casali getting injured, so it's possible he gets optioned to Louisville upon being reinstated so Cincinnati can maintain a traditional two-catcher roster.
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Reds' Curt Casali: Lands on IL with bruised foot
Rotowire
Casali was placed on the 10-day injured list Monday with a left foot contusion, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
It's not clear when or how Casali suffered the injury, but he will be on the shelf for a bit. The Reds have been carrying three catchers, so they'll now go to a more traditional two-catcher setup.
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Reds' Curt Casali: Playing behind Stephenson, Maile
Rotowire
Casali remains out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Cardinals.
Casali has now started in just two of the Reds' last 10 games, and he's recorded just one hit in 22 at-bats dating back to April 19. The 34-year-old appears to have slipped to third on the Reds' depth chart at catcher behind Tyler Stephenson and Luke Maile.
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Reds' Curt Casali: Reds carrying three catchers
Rotowire
The Reds are planning to carry three catchers on their Opening Day roster, which means that both Casali and Luke Maile will make the team as backups behind Tyler Stephenson, C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports.
Not only that, but with Stephenson getting a lot of his playing time at first base or DH, Casali and Maile will get multiple starts a week each. The current plan is for Stephenson to start four of every 10 games at catcher.
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Reds' Curt Casali: Returns to Cincinnati
Rotowire
Casali signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract with a mutual option for 2024 with the Reds on Thursday.
Casali had the best stretch of his career offensively with the Reds from 2018-20 when he posted a .785 OPS with 18 home runs over 485 plate appearances. He'll be aided by Great American Ball Park again but will be behind Tyler Stephenson on the depth chart and will also have to contend with Luke Maile for at-bats.
Casali went 2-for-4 with a solo home run during a win over the Tigers in the first game of a doubleheader Tuesday.
Casali made some noise out of the bottom of the order, slugging his fifth homer of the season off Eduardo Rodriguez in the third inning and mustering his first multi-hit effort since June 24. It remains to be seen if Casali will be included on the Mariners' wild-card roster as a reserve backstop behind Cal Raleigh, and it's conceivable manager Scott Servais could find room for both him and Luis Torrens given either could also fill in at DH.
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Mariners' Curt Casali: Activated by Mariners
Rotowire
Casali was reinstated from the paternity list Monday.
Casali was away from the Mariners for their weekend series against the Athletics following the birth of his child, but he'll rejoin the active roster prior to the three-game series against the Tigers to close out the regular season. Brian O'Keefe was sent down to make room for Casali on the active roster.
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Mariners' Curt Casali: Lands on paternity list
Rotowire
Casali was placed on the paternity list Friday.
Casali's wife went into labor during Thursday's win over the Rangers, and the catcher will be away from the team for 1-3 days. Brian O'Keefe's contract was selected from Triple-A Tacoma to provide additional depth behind the dish, while Cal Raleigh and Luis Torrens are also available to handle catching duties.
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Mariners' Curt Casali: On base twice in rare start
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Casali went 0-for-2 with two walks and a run in a win over the Angels on Monday.
Casali had been out of the lineup in six of the eight games prior to Monday and played a full game in only one of the two contests he had started in that sample. However, he put in a full nine behind the dish Monday with Cal Raleigh (thumb) sidelined and was reasonably productive by displaying a discerning eye at the plate. Casali has a couple of serviceable offensive seasons on his resume from his days with the Reds, but he's limped to a .111 average and .421 OPS over the 33 plate appearances he's logged across 10 games with the Mariners thus far.
Casali went 1-for-4 with a two-run double and a run in a win over the Tigers on Thursday.
Casali's fourth-inning two-bagger brought home J.P. Crawford and Sam Haggerty with the fourth and fifth runs of the day for the Mariners. The veteran backstop has only appeared in five games since making his Seattle debut Aug. 14, a sample during which he's hit just .133 (2-for-15).
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Mariners' Curt Casali: Makes team debut Sunday
Rotowire
Casali made his Mariners debut in Sunday's loss to the Rangers, drawing a walk in his three plate appearances.
The veteran backstop made his first on-field appearance in a Mariners uniform since being acquired from the Giants at the trade deadline and getting activated from the injured list Thursday due to an oblique issue. Casali is capable of generating some serviceable offense and is a solid veteran presence to complement young Cal Raleigh behind the dish.
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Mariners' Curt Casali: Activated from injured list
Rotowire
Casali (oblique) was activated from the 10-day injured list Thursday, Shannon Drayer of Seattle Sports 710 AM reports.
Casali was dealt to the Mariners at the trade deadline but has yet to make his debut with the team. Cal Raleigh is likely to remain the top catcher for Seattle, though Casali will get plate appearances as the backup after Luis Torrens was designated for assignment. Across 126 plate appearances on the season, Casali is hitting .231/325/.370 with four home runs and 14 RBI.
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Mariners' Curt Casali: Moved to Seattle
Rotowire
The Mariners acquired Casali (oblique) and Matthew Boyd (elbow) from the Giants on Tuesday in exchange for right-hander Michael Stryffeler, Robert Murray of FanSided.com reports.
Casali is on the injured list due to a right oblique strain, but he's already made three minor-league rehab appearances and should be ready to come off the IL by the end of the week. In his new destination, Casali will likely serve as the understudy to Cal Raleigh, who has shown enough strides at the plate over the past two months to hang on to the No. 1 job. In San Francisco, Casali had been occupying a larger side of a timeshare behind the dish with Joey Bart, but the trade should pave the way for Bart to see the lion's share of the starts at catcher for the Giants over the final two months of the season.
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Giants' Curt Casali: To begin rehab stint
Rotowire
Casali (oblique) is scheduled to start a rehab assignment with Triple-A Sacramento on Wednesday, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.
Casali has been on the 10-day injured list since the beginning of July with a right oblique strain, but he's nearing a return to action. Considering he's spent nearly four walks on the shelf, he'll likely need a least a handful of at-bats in the minors if not more before being activated.
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Giants' Curt Casali: Plays catch Friday
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Casali (oblique) played catch Friday, Evan Webeck of The San Jose Mercury News reports.
Casali is expected to miss approximately 3-to-4 weeks due to his right oblique issue, and his activity Friday marked the first time that he's participated in baseball activities since sustaining his injury. The catcher is still sore but has been improving recently, and he'll likely attempt to ramp up his workload in the near future.
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Giants' Curt Casali: Moves to injured list
Rotowire
Casali (oblique) was placed on the 10-day injured list Tuesday.
The 33-year-old suffered a right oblique injury Monday, and he's expected to miss 3-to-4 weeks after being diagnosed with a Grade 2 strain, per Evan Webeck of The San Jose Mercury News. Joey Bart has joined the taxi squad and should soon join the active roster, but for now Yermin Mercedes will serve as the Giants' backup catcher to Austin Wynns.
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Giants' Curt Casali: Nursing oblique strain
Rotowire
Casali has been diagnosed with a right oblique strain, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
This is less than ideal news for Casali, who is set to undergo on MRI on Tuesday to determine the next steps in his recovery process. Joey Bart was scratched from the starting lineup at Triple-A Sacramento on Monday, per Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area, and he figures to be on his way to join the team in Arizona, though the team will likely wait for Casali's test results before making a roster move.
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Giants' Curt Casali: Exits with side injury
Rotowire
Casali left Monday's game against the Diamondbacks with a right side injury, Evan Webeck of The San Jose Mercury News reports.
Casali appeared to suffer the injury on a swing in the top of the sixth inning, and he eventually walked off the field after being checked out by the trainer. If Casali is forced to miss significant time, Austin Wynns and Yermin Mercedes would both see more opportunities behind the dish.
