Orioles Outright Michael Siani
The Orioles announced that outfielder Michael Siani has cleared outright waivers and been assigned to Triple-A Norfolk. He had been designated for assignment earlier this week. This is his first outright and he has less than three years of service time, so he does not have the right to reject this assignment in favor of electing free agency.
Siani, 26, is a glove-first outfielder. In 384 big league plate appearance, he has a dismal .220/.276/.270 line. His work in Triple-A is better but still not great, as he has a combined line of .215/.323/.333 over multiple seasons at that level.
But his other attributes are clearly enticing. He stole 20 bags with the Cardinals in 2024, his biggest sample of big league playing time. He has logged over 1,000 innings in the outfield over five different seasons and has been credited with seven Defensive Runs Saved and 17 Outs Above Average.
Teams clearly value the overall profile. Siani started his career with the Reds but went to the Cards via waiver claim in 2023. In the most recent offseason, he went to Atlanta, the Dodgers, Yankees and Dodgers again via waiver claims. The Orioles claimed him last month and mostly kept him on optional assignment. As mentioned, he was designated for assignment last week and he has finally been passed through waivers unclaimed.
The Orioles will keep Siani around as non-roster depth for the time being. At the big league level, Baltimore has an outfield mix consisting of Leody Taveras, Colton Cowser, Taylor Ward, Tyler O’Neill and Jeremiah Jackson. They currently have Dylan Beavers on the injured list. Reed Trimble, Heston Kjerstad and Johnathan Rodríguez are on optional assignment.
If an injury pops up, Siani could be added back to the roster, but the O’s could also go with one of those guys still on the 40-man. Siani will qualify for minor league free agency at season’s end if not added back to the roster.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images
Orioles Select Chadwick Tromp
The Orioles announced they’ve selected Chadwick Tromp onto the MLB roster just before the start of tonight’s game in Anaheim. They designated outfielder Michael Siani for assignment to open space on the active and 40-man rosters.
Baltimore moves back to a three-catcher setup for the time being. Tromp will back up Samuel Basallo and Sam Huff for an O’s team that placed Adley Rutschman on the concussion list over the weekend. Huff is in the lineup tonight against Angels left-hander Sam Aldegheri. It’s a deserved off day for Basallo after he started four games behind the plate, but carrying the third catcher might make skipper Craig Albernaz more comfortable lifting Huff for a pinch-hitter if the situation presents itself.
Tromp signed a minor league contract with the O’s two weeks ago. This is his second stint on the Baltimore roster, as he appeared in six games for the club last year. Tromp’s 2026 big league experience consists of 12 games and 27 plate appearances with the Braves while they were without Drake Baldwin and Sean Murphy.
The 31-year-old Tromp is a career .218/.225/.371 hitter over 205 plate appearances. He has played in seven straight big league seasons but without ever getting an extended run. Tromp’s most extensive MLB appearance came during his 2020 rookie season in San Francisco, when he appeared in 24 games. He has graded as a league average defensive catcher over his scattered looks. Tromp and Huff are both out of options, so this is unlikely to be a long-term setup even if Rutschman spends more than the minimal seven days on the concussion list.
Siani came up from Triple-A Norfolk over the weekend as a speed and defense depth outfielder. He made his first and potentially only appearance as an Oriole in yesterday’s blowout win over the Dodgers. Siani came in as a defensive replacement to get Taylor Ward a few innings of rest and grounded out in his lone at-bat. That’s his only major league work this season. Siani has split the rest of the season between the Dodgers and O’s Triple-A affiliates, hitting .185/.306/.274 across 161 plate appearances.
Baltimore will have five days to trade Siani or place him on waivers. He has been claimed five times going back to the end of the 2025 season. Teams clearly like his athleticism and glove, but Siani hasn’t hit much at either the MLB or Triple-A levels.
AL East Notes: Wells, Kremer, Kiner-Falefa, Grove
The Yankees reinstated catcher Austin Wells from the 10-day IL ahead of Sunday’s game against the Reds. Wells went 0-for-2 in his return to the lineup. He missed two weeks while dealing with cervical headaches.
Wells has struggled mightily at the plate this season. He’d posted a 53 wRC+ through 47 games heading into Sunday. His strikeout rate has risen to a career-worst 26.6%. After a career-high 21 home runs last season, Wells has hit just four in 169 plate appearances.
The Yankees optioned J.C. Escarra back to the minors with Wells back, but there will be more shuffling at the position in the coming days. Manager Aaron Boone told reporters before today’s game that Ali Sanchez is headed to the paternity list soon (h/t Bryan Hoch of MLB.com). Escarra will take Sanchez’s spot while he’s away from the team.
The Yankees rank 28th in OPS at the catcher position. The lack of production from the group has New York in the market for a backstop, preferably one who hits right-handed. Ryan Jeffers of the Twins has been frequently mentioned in the conversation. He’s been excellent this season (163 wRC+), but he’s currently sidelined with a fractured hamate bone.
The Yankees also called up right-hander Elmer Rodriguez to start on Sunday. He took righty Jake Bird‘s spot on the roster. It was just a spot start for Rodriguez, who allowed three earned runs over four innings and took the loss. New York optioned him right back to Triple-A after the game. Using Rodriguez today allowed the Yankees to give their rotation an extra day of rest. The club doesn’t have an off-day until July 2.
Here are a few other items from around the AL East…
- The Orioles sent a pair of starters on rehab assignments today. Right-hander Dean Kremer joined the Triple-A squad, and lefty Cade Povich headed to Double-A (h/t Roch Kubatko of MASN). Kremer has been sidelined for nearly two months with a quad strain. He was surprisingly optioned to the minors to start the season, then went down with injury after just two big league starts. Povich hit the IL with elbow inflammation in early May. He’s pitched in four games across two stints with the Orioles this year. Kremer and Povich will likely need several starts to ramp up, but they could push for rotation spots once healthy.
- The Red Sox placed infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa on the 10-day IL with left forearm inflammation on Saturday. He’s headed for more tests later this week to make sure he isn’t dealing with a fracture. “There’s some things with that, like on the bone, where you got to … get a more clear picture,” interim manager Chad Tracy said, relayed by Tim Healey of the Boston Globe. “At this point [they don’t believe there is a fracture], but that’s what the CT scan will be for.”
- Fellow versatile infielder Romy Gonzalez could’ve been a candidate to replace Kiner-Falefa, but he was pulled from a Double-A game on Friday with hip tightness, per Healey. Gonzalez is working his way back from offseason shoulder surgery. Tracy said the club hopes Gonzalez can resume his rehab assignment on Tuesday.
- The Rays reinstated right-hander Michael Grove from the 60-day IL on Sunday. He was optioned to Triple-A. Grove missed all of 2025 after right shoulder surgery. The former Dodger joined the Rays in mid-April. He’s made eight appearances in the minors with Tampa Bay, posting a 2.84 ERA with a 32% strikeout rate over 12 2/3 innings.
Photo courtesy of Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images
Orioles Place Adley Rutschman On Concussion IL
The Orioles are placing catcher Adley Rutschman is going on the 7-day concussion injured list, according to a team announcement. Outfielder Michael Siani is being recalled from Triple-A in the meantime. Siani is on the club’s 40-man roster already, so no corresponding move is needed.
Rutschman incurred the injury in the ninth inning of Thursday’s game against the Mariners. He grounded a ball to shortstop Colt Emerson, who tagged the runner heading to second before throwing to first in an attempt at a double play. Emerson’s throw struck Rutschman in the head, and he was promptly removed from the game. Rutschman did not play in yesterday’s game against the Dodgers, with the Orioles opting for Samuel Basallo behind the plate.
“With Rutsch, it was such a freak incident that happened,” manager Craig Albernaz told Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Sun and others about Rutschman’s injury. “We’re going to support… Adley and make sure he’s OK and take it day by day and see how he feels.” Rutschman’s IL placement was retroactive to yesterday, so he is eligible to return on June 26th against the Nationals.
The Orioles will start Basallo behind the plate in the meantime, with Sam Huff remaining on hand as his backup. Still, any absence from Rutschman will be felt by Baltimore’s offense. The 28-year-old is bouncing back nicely from last year’s underwhelming 91 wRC+. In 228 plate appearances this year, Rutschman is batting .254/.329/.458 with eight home runs and a 118 wRC+. The latter figure is Rutschman’s best output since 2023, while his .204 isolated slugging percentage would be a career high over a full season. Adding in Rutschman’s solid defense, he’s already been worth 1.9 fWAR in 2026, exceeding last year’s 1.2 fWAR which he achieved in nearly twice the number of games.
Rutschman’s overall output makes him one of the Orioles’ most valuable players and a key reason that they’re within reach of a Wild Card spot. Baltimore has a 35-42 record entering tonight, perfectly matching their expected record based on runs scored and runs allowed. Despite the losing record, the team is just 3.5 games out of a Wild Card spot and has a 21.4% probability of making the playoffs, according to FanGraphs. Rutschman’s resurgence has certainly helped those chances, and now Basallo, who has a 111 wRC+ himself, will look to continue the Orioles’ fortunes behind the plate.
Turning to Siani, the 26-year-old joins the big league roster as a backup outfielder, at least for the short term. A fourth-round pick by the Reds in 2018, Siani reached the Majors in 2022 and has made 383 plate appearances from 2022-25. The overwhelming majority of those came in 2024 with the Cardinals. Unfortunately, Siani hit just .228/.285/.285 with a 64 wRC+ that year. Stellar outfield defense, including 9 Defensive Runs Saved and 16 Outs Above Average, ensured that Siani was worth 1.1 fWAR that season despite the lack of hitting. He can act as a defensive specialist for the Orioles, but the team would benefit from limiting Siani’s time at the plate.
Photo courtesy of Mitch Stringer, Imagn Images
MLB Issues Two-Game Suspension To Ron Marinaccio
June 17: Marinaccio’s suspension has been reduced to two games, per Acee. He’ll begin serving that ban today, leaving San Diego’s bullpen an arm short today and Friday. (The Padres are off Thursday.)
June 15: Major League Baseball announced that Padres reliever Ron Marinaccio has been suspended for three games and fined an undisclosed amount “for intentionally hitting Gunnar Henderson of the Baltimore Orioles with a pitch during the bottom of the ninth inning of Saturday’s game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.” Marinaccio has elected to appeal, so the suspension is held in abeyance until that plays out.
San Diego skipper Craig Stammen has been suspended one game and fined for Marinaccio’s actions. Managers do not have an appellate right, so Stammen will miss tonight’s series opener against the Cardinals. Bench coach Randy Knorr will manage the game in his place, reports Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune.
Henderson came up with two outs in the ninth in a 9-3 ballgame. Marinaccio drilled him on the front hip with a 94 mph fastball and was ejected by crew chief Chris Conroy. Stammen argued the ejection and was himself tossed by Conroy. Adrian Morejon had to come into the game to record the final out.
That came four innings after Baltimore starter Trey Gibson hit Xander Bogaerts in the helmet with a 94 mph fastball of his own. Bogaerts later exited the game but was back in the lineup on Sunday. Henderson said postgame he believed Marinaccio’s hit by pitch to be intentional, noting that San Diego reliever Bradgley Rodriguez had backed him off the plate with two pitches in his previous plate appearance as well (link via Jake Rill of MLB.com). Marinaccio and Stammen both denied it was on purpose, saying their game plan was to attack Henderson on the inner half of the plate.
MLB clearly didn’t find that a satisfying explanation. These cases are typically resolved with a settlement before the appellate process, usually with the league agreeing to lower the suspension by a game in exchange for the player accepting the punishment. Assuming the suspension isn’t completely overturned on appeal, the Padres will need to play a man short for however long Marinaccio is unavailable. It makes sense for the Padres to delay that by a few days, as closer Mason Miller is already away from the team attending to a personal matter.
Weston Wilson Elects Free Agency
The Orioles announced that utility player Weston Wilson elected free agency. Baltimore designated him for assignment last week when they selected catcher Sam Huff onto the MLB roster. Wilson cleared waivers and was outrighted for the second time in his career, which allowed him to test the market.
Wilson had spent the last two months on Baltimore’s MLB roster. He got some work at third base, mostly against left-handed pitching. Wilson tallied 46 plate appearances, hitting .231/.348/.333 with one home run. He worked six walks against 11 strikeouts. It was a decent enough showing for a bench player, but Baltimore needed to carry a third catcher with Adley Rutschman and Samuel Basallo nursing minor injuries.
The 31-year-old Wilson is out of options, so the O’s needed to send him through waivers. It stands to reason they’d like to bring him back on a minor league contract, though he’ll have the opportunity to explore other opportunities. Basallo and Rutschman have both returned to the lineup over the last two games, so the O’s theoretically could reverse the weekend transaction and sign Wilson to a big league deal.
Before this season, Wilson’s MLB experience came exclusively in Philadelphia. He played three years for the Phillies as an up-and-down platoon bat, hitting .242/.328/.428 across 245 trips to the plate. Wilson was mostly a corner outfielder with the Phils despite Baltimore using him most frequently on the dirt.
Orioles Release Tommy Pham
JUNE 12: The Orioles have granted Pham his release, per Matt Weyrich of the Baltimore Sun.
JUNE 11: Veteran outfielder Tommy Pham will exercise an opt-out clause in his minor league deal with the Orioles tomorrow, reports Josh Tolentino of The Baltimore Sun. He’ll return to free agency if the Orioles don’t add him to the MLB roster.
Pham signed with the O’s midway through May. He took a few days to build up before reporting to Triple-A Norfolk. Pham struggled in 14 games for the Tides, batting .196/.281/.375 with 20 strikeouts in 64 plate appearances. He picked things up from a power perspective recently, connecting on three homers in his final eight games.
The 38-year-old Pham had a brief big league stint with the Mets earlier in the year. He went 0-13 with a walk and seven strikeouts while starting four of nine appearances. Pham spent the entire ’25 season in the Majors with the Pirates. He took 449 trips to the dish and had a slightly below-average .245/.330/.370 slash line. He connected on 10 homers, 17 doubles and one triple with a solid strikeout and walk profile.
Baltimore has a starting outfield of Taylor Ward, Colton Cowser and Leody Taveras. The latter was signed as a fourth or fifth outfielder but has put together a decent season, batting .258/.345/.365 in 209 plate appearances. He has handily outplayed Tyler O’Neill, who has hit .155 with one home run since returning from a concussion in mid-April. O’Neill has started to lose playing time as a result, dropping into a part-time corner outfield/designated hitter role.
The O’s have been without Dylan Beavers for the past month due to a low-grade right oblique strain. He’d likely push Taveras back into a fourth outfield role once he’s healthy. The O’s could make room on the bench for Pham by optioning Jeremiah Jackson, but they could see that as a redundant fit with O’Neill already on the roster. If they grant him his release, he’ll search for another team looking for right-handed outfield depth.
Orioles Sign Chadwick Tromp To Minor League Deal
The Orioles have signed catcher Chadwick Tromp to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He has been assigned to Triple-A Norfolk. He elected free agency earlier this week after being designated for assignment by Atlanta.
Tromp, 31, has seen scattered big league playing time over seven seasons. He has stepped to the plate 205 times in 79 games. That includes six games with Baltimore last year. On the whole, he has a .218/.225/.371 line in his career. He has generally received solid grades for his glovework but the light offense has kept him in a depth role. He has exhausted his options over the years, which has led to him bouncing on and off rosters, mostly as an injury replacement.
The Orioles currently have a bit of uncertainty in their catching mix. Adley Rutschman has a left hamstring issue while Samuel Basallo is dealing with a left wrist ailment. Sam Huff was added to the roster recently and has started the three most recent games, including tonight. Rutschman hasn’t appeared in a game since Sunday, when he served as the designated hitter. Basallo hasn’t started since Sunday, though he has made pinch-hit appearances in the past two games.
Tromp will give the O’s some non-roster depth while they navigate those injuries. If Rutschman or Basallo ultimately need a stint on the injured list, or both, Tromp could be added to the roster. If both manage to get healthy in the coming days, Huff is out of options and could end up designated for assignment. Huff was designated for assignment earlier this year and cleared waivers, which allowed the O’s to re-sign him to a new minor league deal after he elected free agency. But there is no guarantee that the same thing would happen again, so there’s sense in having Tromp around as a contingency for various scenarios.
Photo courtesy of Rafael Suanes, Imagn Images
Orioles Place Chris Bassitt On Injured List
The Orioles announced that right-hander Chris Bassitt has been placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to June 5th, due to low back discomfort. Fellow righty Trey Gibson has been recalled in his place and will start tonight’s game.
The O’s signed Bassitt to a one-year, $18.5MM deal in the offseason. They haven’t received much return on that investment yet. Bassitt has made 12 appearances for the club so far this year, posting a 5.27 earned run average in 56 1/3 innings. His ground ball and walk rates are fairly similar to last year but his strikeout rate has almost been cut in half. He punched out 22.6% of batters faced for the Blue Jays in 2025 but is only sitting down 14.2% of opponents for the orange birds.
It’s possible the back issue has been a lingering problem. Low back inflammation sent him to the IL in September of last year. He missed the ALDS but was back on the mound in a relief role for the ALCS and World Series. Lower back tightness caused him to depart his most recent start for the Orioles after just three innings.
Though Bassitt has been struggling, it’s less than ideal for Baltimore’s rotation to be thinned out even further. Zach Eflin required Tommy John surgery in April, knocking him out for the rest of the year. A strained quad put Dean Kremer on the IL in mid-April and he still hasn’t begun a rehab assignment almost two months later. Even if he ramps up soon, he’ll need some time to get back into game shape. Cade Povich hit the IL last month due to elbow inflammation and has an uncertain timeline.
Thus far, there’s nothing to indicate Bassitt will require a lengthy absence but the O’s will have to proceed for a few weeks with four starters on the IL. That leaves them with Kyle Bradish, Shane Baz, Trevor Rogers and Brandon Young in four spots.
As mentioned, Gibson is coming up to start tonight’s game. It’s unclear if this will be a spot start or if he’ll stick around. Gibson has already made three appearances for the O’s this year with a 3.65 ERA but subpar peripherals in that small sample. In his 38 Triple-A innings, he has a 3.55 ERA, an average-ish 22.4% strikeout rate and strong 51.4% ground ball rate but a poor walk rate of 11.2%.
If the O’s send Gibson back down after tonight’s game, they could have an extra reliever for a few days but would eventually need to find a cover for Bassitt’s spot. Albert Suárez is in the big league bullpen in a long relief role and could provide some bulk. Cameron Weston is on the 40-man but was optioned on May 29th. He can’t be recalled until 15 days have elapsed from that move unless directly replacing someone going on the IL. Perhaps a non-roster option like Nestor German or Trace Bright could get some consideration, or maybe the O’s will look to an external option, but sticking with Gibson is also a possibility.
Photo courtesy of David Butler II, Imagn Images
Cubs Claim Eduarniel Núñez
The Cubs have claimed right-hander Eduarniel Núñez off waivers from the Orioles, according to announcements from both clubs. Jesse Rogers of ESPN reported the claim prior to the official announcement. The Cubs optioned Núñez to the Arizona Complex League and don’t need to make a corresponding active roster move. Their 40-man roster had two vacancies due to reliever Ty Blach and infielder Nicky Lopez being designated for assignment last month, so Núñez can fill one of those spots.
Núñez, now 27, is a known commodity to the Cubs. They signed him as an international amateur almost a decade ago. By the end of the 2024 season, he didn’t have a roster spot and became a minor league free agent. He signed a minor league deal with the Padres and got added to that club’s roster in the summer of 2025. He was sent to the Athletics in the Mason Miller trade but was designated for assignment in May of this year. He went to the O’s in a cash deal but Baltimore designated him for assignment a few weeks later, which has allowed his original club to scoop him back up.
The righty has shown some strikeout potential but with a lot of room for improvement in terms of control. His four-seamer averages in the upper-90s and he also throws a mid-80s slider and curveball. Dating back to the start of 2023, he has thrown 171 innings on the farm with a 3.42 earned run average. He struck out 29.4% of the batters he faced in that time but while also giving out walks at a massive 15.4% pace. He also made ten appearances in the big leagues for the A’s last year and walked 18.3% of opponents.
With the Cubs sending Núñez to their Arizona complex, they presumably have some plan in mind to get him on track, perhaps with some kind of mechanical adjustment. He can remain on optional assignment for the rest of this year and one additional season, so the Cubs could be patient with him. They don’t have short-term pressure on the 40-man as they still have a vacancy after this move. Though whether he can hold his roster spot in the long term will depend on what the team sees in the coming weeks as they get a close-up look at him
Photo courtesy of Dennis Lee, Imagn Images