Mario

Feliciano

Feliciano was waived and went unclaimed. The right-handed hitting backstop provides emergency depth at the backstop position.

Feliciano was designated for assignment by Milwaukee last week. The former second-round pick has logged only six total plate appearances at the MLB level and is a career .256/.304/.367 hitter in 425 plate appearances at Triple-A. He’ll function as organizational depth behind the dish for Detroit.

The writing was on the wall for Feliciano once the Brewers landed slugging backstop William Contreras earlier this week from the Braves as part of a three-team mega-deal. There’s a chance he manages to sneak through waivers, but given his former prospect status, there should be some interest around the league.

Feliciano was summoned to provide the Brewers with some extra catching depth after Omar Narváez landed on the injured list earlier this month. The 23-year-old backstop has appeared in two games this season in the majors.

Feliciano will serve as the backup to Victor Caratini with the Brewers losing Omar Narváez to a left quad strain on Wednesday night. Feliciano has logged only one career plate appearance at the MLB level.

Severino signed a one-year, $1.9 million contract with the Brewers in November and was expected to serve as Omar Narvaez’s primary caddy this season. His absence opens the door for either Mario Feliciano or Brett Sullivan to serve as Milwaukee’s backup catcher to open the year.

Ray is the most prominent inclusion among the Brewers’ first round of spring training cuts. The 27-year-old outfielder, who was selected fifth overall in the 2016 MLB Draft, got into just one game last season at the major-league level. Perdomo, Bettinger and File are expected to serve as organizational pitching depth this season.

Feliciano opened the scoring in the contest with his two-run double off of Aldry Acosta in the second inning. He then led the fifth inning off with a single off of Sam Gaviglio and came around to score on a run-scoring knock off the bat of Christian Yelich. The 23-year-old begins the year behind Omar Narvaez and Pedro Severino on the Brewers depth chart behind the dish, but he should get an opportunity in the big leagues if/when injury strikes.

Feliciano and veteran Luke Maile are the only healthy catchers left on the Brewers’ 40-man roster after the team lost Omar Narváez (hamstring) and Manny Pina (knee) to injuries and also jettisoned Jacob Nottingham in a roster crunch last month. The 22-year-old backstop hasn’t played above Double-A and will be making his big-league debut when he gets into a game.

The 22-year-old backstop was the Brewers’ second round pick from the 2016 draft. Feliciano enjoyed a breakout season offensively in 2019, slashing .270/.323/.473 with 19 homers, 81 RBI and a pair of stolen bases between High-A Carolina and Double-A Biloxi. He’s one of the most intriguing catching prospects in all of baseball -- especially from an offensive standpoint -- though he’s probably a year away from seizing the job in Milwaukee.