Cubs Notes: Trade Deadline, Swanson, Wantz
The Cubs are at an even 5-5 since May 27th, though the team is currently tied for third place in the NL Central and 6.5 games back of the Brewers for first place. Since May 16th, which marked the start of a 10-game losing streak, the Cubs’ pitching staff and lineup have both struggled more than usual. Cubs starters are 2-12 in their last 20 games and have a 7.11 ERA that ranks dead last in the Majors. Meanwhile, the hitters are batting .223/.311/.360 with a 93 wRC+ in that span.
In light of those recent struggles, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer was asked about the team’s approach to the August 3rd trade deadline. In response, Hoyer told Jesse Rogers of ESPN and others, “We’ll be looking at pitching at that point. [But] sitting here talking about the deadline, given how we’ve played, is the wrong thing to talk about.” Hoyer also called the team’s position player group a key strength while doubling down on the trade deadline being “the furthest thing from my mind.”
The comment around pitching is understandable, as nearly every contender looks to add fresh arms at the deadline. Barring a total collapse, the Cubs can expect to be buyers this year. They’re currently just behind the Padres for the last NL Wild Card spot and have a favorable schedule in June, with 14 games left against the Giants, Rockies, and Mets. FanGraphs gives Chicago a 47.0% chance of making the playoffs right now.
Still, it might be wise for the Cubs’ front office to show greater urgency about making additions. The rotation has struggled this year even beyond the current slide. The group’s 4.81 ERA is tied with the Astros for second-worst in the Majors, with only Rockies’ starters performing worse. While Cubs starters are average or better at getting strikeouts and limiting walks, they’re also allowing hard contact 37.0% of the time, which ranks third-worst. They rank second-worst (ahead of the Athletics) with 1.65 home runs allowed per nine innings.
It’s hard to see much improvement if the club simply stays the course with existing options. Shota Imanaga and Jameson Taillon are the Cubs’ only qualified starters. Both have ERAs over 4.70 and opponents’ averages on balls in play in the .230 range, suggesting they’ve been lucky to achieve even those results. Edward Cabrera is striking out a career-low 21.5% of hitters and allowing a 91.6 MPH average exit velocity, which ranks in the fifth percentile across MLB. Ben Brown (1.2 fWAR) is the team’s most valuable starter, and he’s only made six starts since transitioning from the bullpen.
The issue isn’t helped by the slate of injuries the Cubs have experienced. Matthew Boyd was worth 3.4 fWAR in 2025 and had strong peripherals in five starts earlier this year. He has missed the last month with a left meniscus injury. Justin Steele has experienced setbacks in recovering from UCL revision surgery and is not expected back until the second half. Cade Horton is out until mid-2027 after undergoing Tommy John surgery in April. Given those injuries and the performance of the existing starters, it would behoove the Cubs to be aggressive in adding starters come August 3rd, even if Hoyer is non-committal in the present.
In contrast, the offense is more likely than the pitching staff to improve on its recent performance. Even factoring in the slide, Cubs hitters are tied for sixth-best in the Majors with a 107 wRC+ this year. Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Michael Busch, and Seiya Suzuki are all at least 14% better than average by wRC+. Alex Bregman won’t be a below-average hitter forever, and Nico Hoerner‘s 96 wRC+ is below-average but not terrible, especially considering his value on defense.
Dansby Swanson is the only qualified Cubs hitter who is struggling overall. He is batting just .180/.285/.322 with a 75 wRC+ in 240 plate appearances this year. The 75 wRC+ is well below last year’s 99 mark and would be Swanson’s lowest in a full season since 2018. According to Patrick Mooney of The Athletic, manager Craig Counsell is planning to temporarily bench Swanson for a few games to help him regroup. Swanson, who entered as the ghost runner in the tenth inning yesterday, will presumably still be available off the bench.
Swanson is known as a streaky hitter, and that’s been the case this year as well. He had an 86 wRC+ through May 15th, but he’s put up a 45 wRC+ since May 16th. Swanson has also been very unlucky. His .207 average on balls in play is well below league average and due for regression. Swanson is striking out less and walking more than last year, while his 89.5 MPH average exit velocity is down from last year but similar to 2024, when he was right around league average. The team will hope that a few days off can get Swanson back on track mentally and help him return to his career norms at the plate.
In minor news, the Cubs have signed righty Andrew Wantz to a minor league contract, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. Wantz started the year with the Rays but only threw 1 2/3 innings before being designated for assignment a week ago. His last meaningful big league sample came in 2023, when Wantz had a 3.89 ERA in 39 1/3 innings for the Angels. He’s purely a depth signing and figures to get called up only if there is an injury or a short-term need for a fresh arm.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images
Dodgers To Trade Antoine Kelly To Cubs
The Dodgers are trading left-hander Antoine Kelly to the Cubs, according to multiple reports, including from Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. Kelly signed a minor league deal with Los Angeles in November.
The 26-year-old Kelly has put together some intriguing minor league seasons, but has yet to earn a crack in the big leagues. He possesses big-time strikeout potential and shaky control. Kelly scuffled to a 5.63 ERA in 34 games with Colorado’s Triple-A affiliate last season.
Kelly latched on with the Dodgers over the winter and received an invitation to Spring Training. The lefty fired 9 2/3 scoreless innings with a 34.2% strikeout rate in the spring. He hasn’t been able to keep up those results at Triple-A Oklahoma City. Kelly has punched out more than a batter per inning, though it’s come with a massive 18.1% walk rate. He’s posted a 5.16 xERA and a 6.38 xFIP with the Comets.
It’s unclear what exactly Chicago parted with to land Kelly, but it’s unlikely to be anything significant. The Cubs will take a flyer on a reliever who could potentially contribute in a bullpen hit hard by injuries. The team’s relievers have held it together with a 3.69 ERA, but a 4.51 xERA suggests they’ve been fortunate.
Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images
KBO’s LG Twins Sign Yacksel Rios, Release Yonny Chirinos
The LG Twins of the Korea Baseball Organization are signing right-hander Yacksel Rios, per Korean news outlet Naver Sports. He’ll take the place of another former big league right-hander, Yonny Chirinos, who is being released. Rios had been with the Cubs organization, but the MiLB.com transaction log indicates that he was released earlier this week. Rios surely requested his release in order to pursue this opportunity. The Cubs will likely receive a nominal cash sum from the KBO’s Twins as compensation for granting Rios his release.
Rios, 32, has pitched to a 4.24 ERA in 17 2/3 innings with the Cubs’ top affiliate in Des Moines this season and tossed 1 2/3 shutout innings with the big league team earlier this year. He’s a veteran of exactly 100 major league innings but has struggled to a 6.21 ERA across stints with the Phillies, Pirates, Mariners, Red Sox and A’s (in addition to his brief ’26 stint with the Cubs).
Rios averaged 98 mph on his four-seamer earlier this year in his quick MLB look but has sat 96.6 mph in Iowa. He combines that four-seamer with a sinker of comparable velocity, a splitter in the low 90s and a slider that sits around 86 mph. Rios has a 4.14 ERA in parts of five Triple-A seasons. He’s regularly misses bats but, like many hard throwers, has struggled to command his potent arsenal.
With the KBO’s Twins, he’s expected to compete for closing opportunities. A big showing in the final four months of the season could plausibly earn him a look back in the majors this offseason, but it’s likelier to be an audition for a full season in either the KBO or in NPB next season. If he throws well, he’d have a path to securing a seven-figure payday in one of the top Asian leagues, and an eventual return to the majors can never be fully ruled out.
Chirinos, also 32, was in his second season with the Twins. His first year overseas went brilliantly, as he worked to a 3.31 ERA over 177 innings. He’s made eight starts and pitched only 33 2/3 innings this season, however. Opponents have teed off and dinged him for a 6.68 ERA during that time. Despite pitching only 33 2/3 frames, Chirinos has yielded 47 hits and 14 walks (plus four more plunked batters).
Which Impending Free Agent Bats Are Actually Improving Their Stock?
In case you weren't aware, the upcoming offseason's free agent class is ... well, it's... not exactly the stronge-- ok, it's not good. It's a weak class. Despite being headlined by a two-time Cy Young winner, that was always expected to be the case. The fact that said Cy Young winner, Tarik Skubal, is currently out following surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow only further dampens the group's overall earning power.
We're due for an update on our Free Agent Power Rankings. That'll likely be published at some point next week. Our power rankings are always based on total earning power rather than individual impact. If you're a 38-year-old ace, you probably won't rank as highly as a 28-year-old regular at third base, because that 28-year-old is going to have access to a much longer (and thus more lucrative overall) contract than said 38-year-old. Sorry Chris Sale, them's the breaks.
That said, it's been a brutal year for most of the names at the top of an already underwhelming free agent class -- pitchers and hitters alike. Skubal, as mentioned, had elbow surgery. He'll be back -- sooner than originally anticipated, by all accounts -- but he's not going to take home a third straight Cy Young Award. Bo Bichette can opt out of his Mets contract ... but he's hitting .225/.273/.317. Trevor Rogers missed time on the injured list and has a nearly 7.00 ERA through nine starts. Jazz Chisholm Jr. has been terrific in May, but that only offsets an awful April. Tatsuya Imai came to MLB with plenty of hype and an opt-out-laden contract that potentially set him up to reenter free agency and cash in on a mega-deal next winter -- at least until he posted a 6.17 ERA through his first six MLB starts.
Any and all of these players have time to turn things around, and while the headline of this particular post is admittedly a bit hyperbolic, it's also true that most of the market's top bats aren't doing much to elevate their case. A big four months would make Chisholm's April a distant memory, but we're not there yet. Daulton Varsho has been better than average at the plate but hasn't shown the same power he did last year. Bichette's start has been dismal. Taylor Ward has followed up his 36-homer 2025 season by hitting two round-trippers through the first third of the 2026 season.
We'll cover a lot of the bigger names on the forthcoming update to our Power Rankings, but here's a look at some bats who probably won't make the list but are nonetheless trending in a positive direction. (Note that I'll be excluding some smaller-sample breakouts/resurgences for this list; Jorge Mateo's .324/.370/.471 slash looks great, but it's 73 plate appearances being propped up by a silly .455 BABIP and combined with a 30% strikeout rate. Let's not get too carried away.)
Brandon Lowe, 2B, Pirates
Pittsburgh's acquisition of Lowe in the three-team trade that sent Mike Burrows to Houston and Jacob Melton to Tampa Bay looks like one of the best moves of the offseason. The 31-year-old (32 in July) is in the midst of arguably the best season of his career. Lowe has belted 14 home runs in only 51 games. His 11.2% walk rate is the second-highest of his career, while his 23.7% strikeout rate is the second-lowest.
Not only are those excellent marks both relative to his career levels and the rest of the league, they both put a halt to some worrying trends. Lowe has always struck out a fair bit, but his 2022 mark of 22.9% looked like it might be a step in the right direction. Instead, it climbed to 27% from 2023-25 and did so while his walk rate plummeted to a career-worst 6.9% last year. Lowe still chases a bit too much, but he's made big gains on his in-zone contact rate and done so without sacrificing much in the way of hard-hit balls.
Durability will be key for Lowe, who played in only 415 of 648 possible games from 2022-25 (64%). However, he's currently on pace to match his career-high 39 home runs, set back in 2021, and he's doing so with the best strikeout-to-walk profile of his career.
If Lowe actually stays healthy and flirts with 40 homers, it's hard to imagine a scenario where he's not in the top 10 on our list. But even if his power output cools down, he's done a nice job improving his stock thus far.
The open market in modern baseball rarely rewards pure second basemen, which is what Lowe is at this point. He's played exactly three innings of outfield since the 2021 season wrapped, and he has all of 155 career innings at first base. It also rarely compensates 32-year-olds on long-term deals. Lowe has an uphill battle based on position and age, but he's still angling for a nice multi-year deal.
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Latest On Justin Steele
The Cubs provided an update on left-hander Justin Steele this week, as relayed by Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic. The southpaw has been cleared to progress to strengthening and then plyo balls but is still multiple weeks away from throwing a baseball.
Steele underwent surgery to address the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow in April of last year. He was throwing off a mound by January of 2026 and there was some optimism about a fairly early return this season. That didn’t come to pass. He hit a setback in late April when he suffered a flexor strain, with manager Craig Counsell saying at that time that they no longer expected Steele back before the All-Star break.
Counsell tried to frame this week’s update as positive, in the sense that Steele is now going to start progressing through some standard recovery steps. However, it does feel as though his timeline has been pushed again. As laid out by Sharma, even in a best-case scenario, Steele will start throwing again in the middle of June. After ramping up for a bit, he could go out on a rehab assignment in July and perhaps return in August. Any further setbacks would start to put his season in jeopardy.
“We’re just hopeful to get him back,” president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said this week. “Obviously, there comes a point where you run out of days, but I don’t think we’re there yet. I know Justin wants to come back more than anything.”
It’s a frustrating situation for Steele and the team. The lefty was a solid member of the rotation from 2022 to 2024, posting a 3.10 earned run average in 78 starts. He was only able to make four starts in 2025 before getting injured. Whether he can top four starts this year is up in the air. Even if he does beat that figure, it won’t be by much.
As of a few months ago, the Cubs were dreaming of a scenario where their rotation core consisted of Steele, Cade Horton, Edward Cabrera and Matthew Boyd this summer. Instead, all four are on the IL. Horton required Tommy John surgery in April and is done for the year. Boyd had meniscus surgery in May and is still on the mend. Cabrera landed on the shelf last week due to a blister.
That has left the Cubs with a starting group consisting of Shota Imanaga, Jameson Taillon, Colin Rea, Ben Brown and Jordan Wicks. Brown is running with the opportunity, with a 2.01 ERA on the year. Imanaga and Rea are posting passable numbers. Taillon has a 5.37 ERA thanks to a spike in home runs. Wicks just got called up from the minors and his first start of the year didn’t go well, as he allowed eight earned runs in 4 1/3 innings.
There’s obviously a big gap between the way the Cubs drew it up and the way it’s playing out. There is some good news in the short term. Sharma relays that Cabrera is expected to return after a minimal stint, so he could be back in about a week. The plan for Boyd is for him to make two rehab starts, the first of which is scheduled for Sunday, so he could be back in a couple of weeks. If everyone else stays healthy, the returns of Cabrera and Boyd could push Wicks back to the minors and someone else to the bullpen.
Those tidbits are somewhat encouraging but also come with asterisks. Cabrera has dealt with blisters throughout his career, with IL stints for them in 2021 and 2025. He’s also been fairly prone to injuries more broadly, having hit 100 innings in a season just once in his career. Boyd also has a spotty health track record, with just one season over 80 innings in this decade.
Even if that group stays somewhat stable for the next few months, it seems fair to expect the Cubs to be looking for more starting pitching this summer. Steele’s status might be more clear as the August 3rd deadline approaches but it will probably be hard to rely on him galloping in to save the day, based on how things have played out this year.
Photo courtesy of Ed Szczepanski, Imagn Images
Cubs, Aaron Bummer Agree To Minor League Deal
The Cubs and left-hander Aaron Bummer have agreed to a minor league deal, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today. The O’Connell Sports Management client will presumably report to Triple-A Iowa at some point in the coming days.
Bummer, 32, was just released by Atlanta last week. He was having an awful season, posting an earned run average of 7.63 over 15 1/3 innings. His 46.2% ground ball rate was decent but his 16.9% strikeout rate and 13% walk rate were both awful figures. Even more alarming is that he’s already been tagged for six home runs. His final appearance with the team saw him give up six runs on three hits and five walks in one inning against Miami.
Rough as this season has been, Bummer was a quality left-handed bullpen piece for Atlanta in 2024-25. He posted a sub-4.00 ERA in both years with plus ground-ball rates. Bummer had a strong 28% strikeout rate two seasons ago, but that fell to a pedestrian 21.7% mark last year. It proved an alarming precursor to his first couple months of 2026.
Bummer is a sinkerballer who was in the mid-90s for the majority of his career. His average velocity fell to 91 mph last season and is at a career-low 90.2 mph mark this year. He missed the final five weeks of the ’25 season to shoulder inflammation. Bummer hasn’t gone on the injured list this year, but the 32-year-old’s stuff clearly isn’t as sharp as it was not that long ago.
Atlanta is paying Bummer a $9.5MM salary for the 2026 season. They’re on the hook for that money aside from the prorated $780K league minimum for any time he spends on the MLB roster with another club. The Cubs have Caleb Thielbar, Hoby Milner and Ryan Rolison as southpaws in Craig Counsell’s bullpen. Luke Little, Luis Peralta and swingman Doug Nikhazy are on optional assignment. Bummer will join them in Iowa as he looks for his 2024-25 form.
Photo courtesy of Brett Davis, Imagn Images
Cubs Re-Sign Ty Blach To Minor League Deal
May 26: Blach is headed back to the Cubs on a minor league deal, per MLBTR’s Steve Adams. He’ll remain with the organization as a depth option at Triple-A.
May 25: Left-hander Ty Blach has elected free agency, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He had been outrighted by the Cubs to Triple-A Iowa a few days ago but has instead exercised his right to head to the open market.
A player has the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency if he has a previous career outright or at least three years of big league service time. Blach qualifies on both counts and has exercised that right.
The Cubs signed him to a minor league deal in April. He made five Triple-A appearances, effectively stretched out as a starter. Only three of those five were officially starts but he went at least three innings each time he got the ball. He posted a 5.23 earned run average in that small sample before getting called up last week. He made one appearances for the big league squad, tossing three scoreless innings of relief in a 9-3 loss to the Brewers last Monday.
After that outing, Blach was probably going to be unavailable for a few days. Since the Cubs had Caleb Thielbar coming off the IL and Blach is out of options, the circumstances pushed Blach off the 40-man roster and now to free agency.
The 35-year-old Blach has a 5.39 ERA in his career, in 523 innings logged in 157 games. Part of that is likely due to him spending several years pitching in Coors Field as a member of the Rockies but he has also been a soft-tossing low strikeout guy. His four-seamer and sinker have averaged around 90 miles per hour in his career. He has punched out 12.9% of batters faced, barely half of the league average.
In these situations, it’s fairly common for a player to quickly re-sign with the club he was just with. However, that’s not a guarantee and Blach will have the chance to see what other opportunities may be out there for him.
Photo courtesy of Ron Chenoy, Imagn Images
Cubs Outright Nicky Lopez, Promote Kevin Alcantara
May 26: Lopez has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Iowa, per his MLB.com transactions page.
May 23: The Cubs designated infielder Nicky Lopez for assignment, and called up outfielder Kevin Alcantara from Triple-A Iowa in the corresponding move. Alcantara was already on the 40-man roster and the Cubs already have an open spot on their 40-man roster, so Lopez’s DFA leaves Chicago with just 38 spots filled. 670 The Score’s Bruce Levine reported earlier today that Alcantara was present in the Cubs’ clubhouse.
After receiving 22 plate appearances in 13 MLB games over the last two seasons, Alcantara is back in the Show for another go, even if his path to playing time again seems limited. The right-handed hitting Alcantara projects to get some at-bats against southpaws, spelling either Pete Crow-Armstrong in center field or Michael Conforto at DH. Moises Ballesteros is currently the left-handed side of the DH timeshare, but since Ballesteros has only three hits in his last 55 plate appearances, he figures to lose playing time and could even be a candidate to be optioned back to Triple-A.
Because Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki are both free agents after the season, the expectation has been that Alcantara might have to wait until 2027 to get any extended looks in Chicago’s outfield. He still doesn’t turn 24 until July and he has yet to correct the swing-and-miss issues that have stood out as a red flag in the minor leagues. Granted, Alcantara has looked great when making contact, as evidenced by his 15 homers and his .247/.339/.567 slash line over 180 PA in Iowa this season. He does have 60 strikeouts within those 180 PA, and those holes in his swing may be more glaring against MLB pitching.
Lopez was acquired from the Rockies for cash considerations in late April, but he played in only four games during his month on the Cubs’ active roster. Chicago’s lineup is among the most stable in all of baseball, and Lopez joins Scott Kingery and Dylan Carlson as experienced players who have come and gone from the active roster with only a slight amount of playing time.
Once a regular in the Royals’ infield, Lopez has hit only .228/.298/.281 over 1220 PA with five different big league teams since the start of the 2022 season. He has a wealth of experience as shortstop, second baseman, and third baseman, but is little more than a depth option at this stage of his career.
It is possible another team in need of infield help could claim Lopez off waivers, but should he clear waivers and be outrighted, Lopez can decline that assignment in favor of free agency. Since Lopez has three different stints with the Cubs in 2025 alone, he might well become a free agent but then quickly re-sign with the team on a new minor league contract, since there’s obviously some connection between the two parties.
Cubs Place Edward Cabrera On 15-Day IL, Recall Jordan Wicks
Right-hander Edward Cabrera is heading to the injured list, the Cubs announced. Cabrera left his most recent start with a blister on his right middle finger. The injury will cost him at least a couple of weeks. Lefty Jordan Wicks was recalled to take Cabrera’s spot on the roster.
Cabrera was pulled after three innings on Wednesday against the Brewers. He allowed four runs, though only one was earned, thanks to errors by Carson Kelly and Pete Crow-Armstrong. It was Cabrera’s eighth consecutive appearance allowing 3+ runs. He’d opened the season with 11 2/3 scoreless frames.
It’s difficult news for a Cubs rotation already missing Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, and Justin Steele. Boyd is expected to return sometime in June, but Horton is done for the year, and Steele is out until after the All-Star break. Chicago has stretched out Ben Brown as a starter after he opened the year in the bullpen. Colin Rea has been in the rotation since early April. Wicks likely steps into the No. 5 spot until Cabrera is ready to come back.
Chicago acquired Cabrera in an offseason trade with the Marlins that sent top prospect Owen Caissie and two other minor leaguers to Miami. The 27-year-old was coming off his best all-around season with the Fish. Cabrera delivered 26 starts with a 3.53 ERA as a full-time member of Miami’s rotation. He cut his walk rate below 10% for the first time as a big leaguer.
Injuries plagued Cabrera for much of his time with the Marlins. He missed time with elbow and shoulder issues in 2022 and 2023. A shoulder impingement sent the righty to the IL multiple times in 2024. Cabrera dealt with a blister to begin 2025 on the same finger giving him trouble right now. The injury only cost him the first two weeks of last season. Cabrera was healthy for the majority of the campaign, tossing a career-high 137 2/3 innings. He did go down with an elbow sprain in September, but made it back on the mound for two outings to close the year.
Wicks has been up and down with the big-league club for the past three seasons. He operated as a starter in his first two years with the team, then moved to the bullpen in 2025. The lefty showed improved velocity as a reliever last season, but posted a 6.28 ERA across 14 1/3 innings. Wicks has been back to starting at Triple-A this year. He’s notched a 4.44 ERA over seven outings.
Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron, Imagn Images
Outrighted To Triple-A: Slater, Blach, Brooks
Catching up on some players recently designated for assignment…
- The Mets outrighted outfielder Austin Slater to Triple-A Syracuse, as per Slater’s MLB.com profile page. There isn’t yet any word on whether or not Slater will accept the assignment, as Slater has the ability to elect free agency rather than report to Triple-A and remain in the Mets organization. Since he has more than five years of MLB service time, Slater can become a free agent while still keeping the $1MM he is guaranteed in 2026, as per the terms of the contract he signed with the Marlins just before the season began. Over 49 combined PA with Miami and New York, Slater has hit only .209/.286/.233 with just one extra-base hit.
- Ty Blach cleared waivers and was outrighted to the Cubs‘ Triple-A Iowa affiliate, according to the left-hander’s MLB.com profile page. Chicago selected Blach’s contract to the active roster last weekend but DFA’ed him two days later, after Blach tossed three shutout innings of relief work in the Cubs’ 9-3 loss to the Brewers on Monday. That cup of coffee represented Blach’s first bit of MLB work since 2024, and he now has the option of rejecting the outright assignment in favor of free agency or returning to Iowa. Given the ongoing injury woes on the Cubs’ pitching staff, Blach might prefer to stay put, as another call to the majors might come sooner rather than later.
- Aaron Brooks pitched for Triple-A Durham yesterday, indicating that the right-hander accepted his outright assignment to the Rays‘ top affiliate. Brooks was outrighted last Sunday and he had the ability to elect free agency, but it looks like the righty has opted to stay in Tampa’s organization. Like Blach, Brooks was also making his first MLB appearance since 2024 in his own one-game cameo back in the Show, though Brooks’ lone outing was much rockier. He was charged with three earned runs in one-third of an inning of work in the Rays’ 5-3 loss to the Blue Jays on May 13.