Kratz was released by the Mariners on Wednesday, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times reports.

Kratz was signed a couple weeks ago to provide organizational catching depth, but he didn't last long with the Mariners. He's already spent time with three organizations this season, trying to secure a backup job in the majors.

Kratz signed a minor league contract with the Mariners on Thursday, Shannon Drayer of 710 ESPN Seattle reports.

Rather than accept an outright assignment to Triple-A Pawtucket after being designated for assignment by the Red Sox late last month, Kratz opted to seek an opportunity elsewhere. He's found one with the Mariners, but Kratz, a .217/.270/.400 career hitter at the major league level, will have to bide his time at Triple-A Tacoma for now. It may not be long before he supplants Jesus Sucre as the backup in Seattle.

Kratz has elected free agency after being demoted to Triple-A Pawtucket on Sunday, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports reports.

Kratz will look for a big-league job or at least a team that provides a better opportunity, as the impending return of Ryan Hanigan (hand) meant Kratz would have been fourth on Boston's organizational depth chart. He has 23 homers in 537 career plate appearances, but with a .270/.281/.464 slash line.

Kratz was outrighted to Triple-A Pawtucket on Sunday, Matthew DeFranks of FOX Sports Kansas City reports.

With Blake Swihart healthy and Ryan Hanigan (hand) expected to return this week, Kratz is now fourth on the organizational depth chart. He may not get another shot in the majors this season.

Kratz was designated for assignment Thursday, MLB.com reports.

Kratz was recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket earlier in the week, but with Blake Swihart returning to the lineup, the Red Sox decided they did not need three catchers on the 25-man roster. He is now off the 40-man roster but could return to it within 10 days if the Red Sox decide to keep him.

Kratz was recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket on Tuesday.

Kratz, who was claimed off waivers by the Red Sox on Sunday, will join the big league club Tuesday. Catcher Blake Swihart is listed as day-to-day with a foot injury, so Kratz will add some depth behind the plate. That said, the Red Sox will use Sandy Leon at catcher on Tuesday.

Kratz was claimed off waivers by the Red Sox on Sunday.

Kratz was beat out by Drew Butera for the backup catcher job in Kansas City, which eventually resulted in the backstop being designated for assignment. He'll serve as an insurance policy in Boston, just in case Blake Swihart (foot) is unavailable for an extended period of time. However, Sandy Leon should remain the primary catcher while Swihart is on the shelf.

Kratz (foot) was reinstated from the disabled list and designated for assignment Thursday.

The Royals have been delaying the inevitable, maxing out Kratz's rehab assignment, but now that it is up, the backup catcher will pass through waivers. It seems that Drew Butera is a preferable No. 2 option for the Royals and Kratz should find his way to Triple-A assuming another team does not claim him.

Kratz (foot) will be kept on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Omaha until Wednesday, Fox Sports Kansas City's Matthew DeFranks reports.

Manager Ned Yost says the team plans to use the maximum number of days for Kratz's rehab assignment. At that point the team will have to make a decision about whether to roster Kratz or Drew Butera. Either way, the backup catcher in Kansas City will sit most days, making that player difficult to roster in most formats.

Kratz (foot) remains without a definite timetable to rejoin the Royals, Fox Sports Kansas City reports.

Kratz left for a rehab assignment May 21, but it sounds as though he may stay with the club for a while at least as the Royals weigh their options between he and Drew Butera. For now, the 35-year-old backstop remains at Triple-A, where he's gone 7-for-34 at the plate with two home runs in nine games.

Kratz will begin a rehab assignment Thursday, Josh Vernier of 610 Sports Radio in Kansas City reports.

It was originally thought that Kratz would wait until next week to start the assignment, but he'll head to Triple-A Omaha on Thursday in hopes of returning to the Royals as soon as possible. Considering he hit the DL on May 6, he's not on pace to miss much more than the minimum 15 days. Once Kratz is healthy, he'll slide back into his role as the primary backup to Salvador Perez.

Kratz (foot) will likely go on a rehab assignment this week, Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star reports.

Kratz was placed on the disabled list on May 6, so it doesn't appear as though he'll have to miss much more than the minimum 15 days with the foot ailment. The Royals recently acquired Drew Butera, but Kratz is still expected to return to his role as backup catcher once he's fully healthy.

Despite the Royals trading for Drew Butera on Thursday, Kratz is still viewed as the backup catcher once he is healthy, the Kansas City Star's Andy McCullough reports.

He will be sidelined for two weeks, at which point the Royals will need to make a roster move, likely sending Butera to Triple-A. Unfortuantely, unless Salvador Perez gets hurt, Kratz will only get a couple starts per month as the Royals' backup catcher.

Kratz was placed on the 15-day DL on Wednesday with a foot injury, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports.

Kratz served as a pinch-hitter during Sunday's contest, and apparently sustained the injury during his lone at bat. The exact nature and extent of his injury are currently unknown, but Francisco Pena will get recalled to take his spot on the roster.

The plan to use Kratz as a personal catcher for one member of the Royals' rotation has been scrapped, the Kansas City Star's Andy McCullough reports.

When asked how the team planned to find rest for Salvador Perez, manager Ned Yost said, "We'll figure it out." Kratz remains the team's backup catcher, but if Yost stubbornly continues to give Perez an unsustainable workload behind the plate it will make it very difficult to extract enough value out of Kratz for him to be useful in any but the deepest of leagues.

Kratz blasted his fourth and fifth home runs of the season Monday against the Twins.

Kratz entered the game in the seventh for Salvador Perez, who had a knee issue. The catcher is batting .234 on the year and could see more at-bats if Perez is out for an extended period.

Royals acquired C Erik Kratz and RHP Liam Hendriks from the Blue Jays in exchange for 3B Danny Valencia.

Kratz has hit .198/.226/.346 with three homers over 34 games for the Jays this season. He's show pop in his career with 21 homers over 501 plate appearances and is likely to take over as Salvador Perez's primary backup.

Blue Jays optioned C Erik Kratz to Triple-A Buffalo.

The Blue Jays are expected to make multiple roster moves in advance of Tuesday's game. Kratz has hit .198 with three homers and a .572 OPS over 84 plate appearances with the Jays this season.

Blue Jays recalled C Erik Kratz from Triple-A Buffalo.

Kratz has hit .221/.254/.382 with three homers in 71 plate appearances this season for the Jays. He's not going to receive much playing time.

Blue Jays optioned C Erik Kratz to Triple-A Buffalo.

Kratz has hit .221/.254/.382 in 71 plate appearances this season as a backup catcher for the Blue Jays.