MLBTR Podcast: The Alex Cora Situation, Lucas Giolito Signs, And The Phillies Fire Rob Thomson
The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…
- The Red Sox firing manager Alex Cora and several coaches (0:30)
- The Padres signing Lucas Giolito (27:30)
- The Phillies firing manager Rob Thomson and releasing Taijuan Walker (39:00)
- The Guardians promoting prospect Travis Bazzana (59:45)
Check out our past episodes!
- Kevin McGonigle, The Padres’ Franchise Valuation, And Edwin Díaz To Miss Time – listen here
- Lenyn Sosa Traded, And Injury Concerns For The Astros, Cubs And Orioles – listen here
- Previewing The 2026-27 Free-Agent Class – listen here
The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!
Photo courtesy of Troy Taormina, Imagn Images
2026-27 Club Options: AL Central
Last week, MLBTR began a division by division series looking at the club/mutual option decisions facing every team in the American League East. We’ll continue with a move to the AL Central. There aren’t a ton of notable decisions in this division, but the Tigers will have a couple — one involving their likely Hall of Fame closer.
Chicago White Sox
- Austin Hays, OF: $8MM mutual option ($1MM buyout)
Hays signed a $6MM free agent guarantee with the White Sox over the offseason. He’s making a $5MM salary and will collect a $1MM buyout on an $8MM mutual option for 2027. That’s an accounting measure designed to delay paying the final million until the end of the season. This is essentially a one-year deal.
The righty-swinging Hays has worked mostly in a platoon capacity over the past few seasons. He signed with Chicago largely because he felt they offered the best path to everyday playing time. Hays started slowly, striking out 12 times in his first nine games. He landed on the injured list with a strained right hamstring and missed three weeks.
The Sox activated him on Monday but have turned left field over to rookie Sam Antonacci in the interim. With Everson Pereira out to a nice start in the opposite corner, Hays is probably back in a fourth outfield role.
Cleveland Guardians
- Shawn Armstrong, RHP: $8MM mutual option ($1.5MM buyout)
Cleveland reunited with Armstrong on a one-year, $5.5MM contract in free agency. The veteran reliever is making $4MM this year and guaranteed a $1.5MM buyout on an $8MM mutual option.
The Guardians are likely to decline their end even if Armstrong pitches up to expectations. He’ll be entering his age-36 season and doesn’t have the power arsenal that usually pays in free agency. Armstrong’s fastball sits around 93 mph and he has never had huge swinging strike rates. He’s more of a command-oriented reliever, though he has walked seven batters over his first 10 2/3 frames this season.
Armstrong has had a tougher time getting hitters to expand the strike zone, leading to the uptick in free passes. He has given up five runs but has fanned 13 of 47 batters faced. He has three holds while working in mostly medium leverage situations. Armstrong landed on the injured list on Monday with a right groin strain.
- Emmanuel Clase, RHP: $10MM club option ($2MM buyout)
Clase is on unpaid non-administrative leave pending the investigation into an alleged game-fixing scheme. He’s not making his $6MM salary this year, nor does it seem likely he’ll collect the $2MM option buyout.
- Trevor Stephan, RHP: $7.25MM club option ($1.25MM buyout)
Stephan’s career has unfortunately gone off the rails since he underwent Tommy John surgery in March 2024. His velocity was down three miles per hour when he returned, and Triple-A hitters teed off for 22 runs in 17 innings last year. Cleveland dropped Stephan from their 40-man roster in August. He made four appearances this spring but was working with even lesser velocity than he had last summer, sitting at just 90.7 mph after throwing 95-96 early during his early-career days as a setup arm. The Guardians haven’t assigned him to a minor league affiliate. This is an easy buyout.
Detroit Tigers
- Drew Anderson: $10MM club option (no buyout)
Detroit brought Anderson back to the organization after a season and a half in Korea. The right-hander was second among KBO pitchers with 245 strikeouts a year ago, partially because he added a “kick-changeup” he hadn’t fully trusted during his last stint in affiliated ball. The Tigers guaranteed him $7MM with a $10MM club option.
The righty was initially expected to compete for a rotation spot. That changed after the Framber Valdez and Justin Verlander signings. Anderson began the season in long relief. It has been an erratic start, as he has allowed 11 runs through his first 15 innings. Anderson has recorded 17 strikeouts but has walked eight batters and surrendered three home runs. Detroit opted to give Keider Montero a rotation spot when Verlander went down with a hip injury.
There’s still a chance for Anderson to make some starts throughout the season. He’ll at least provide some swing-and-miss upside to a bullpen that lacks that element. It’s too early to have a definitive call on the option, but the early showing points toward it being declined.
- Kenley Jansen: $12MM club option ($2MM buyout)
Coming off a quietly excellent season with the Angels, Jansen signed for $11MM with Detroit. He’s making $9MM this season and has a $2MM buyout on a $12MM team option, making it a $10MM call for the front office. That’s a reasonable enough sum that the Tigers would probably exercise it with a typical Jansen year.
The four-time All-Star is 6-8 in save opportunities so far. Seven of his nine appearances have been scoreless. Detroit has taken the loss in the other two — both of which came on go-ahead home runs (to Jose Fernandez and Nathaniel Lowe, respectively). Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris pointed to the still strong swing-and-miss numbers on Jansen’s cutter at the time of the signing. He’s missing bats at the same rate as he did last year and has the second-highest strikeout rate (28.1%) in the Detroit bullpen. If the home runs turn out to a blip, this should get picked up.
Kansas City Royals
- Carlos Estévez, RHP: $13MM club option ($2MM buyout)
The first season of Estévez’s two-year, $22MM free agent deal with Kansas City was a success. He led MLB with 42 saves while matching his career low with a 2.45 ERA across 66 innings. Estévez’s personal-low 20.1% strikeout rate and 8.2% swinging strike mark were red flags, but he entered this spring with a clear hold on the closer role.
Estévez hasn’t looked the same in 2026. His velocity was way down both during Spring Training and in the World Baseball Classic. The Royals expressed some optimism that’d come with more adrenaline during regular season play. It didn’t happen during his debut, as the two-time All-Star’s fastball averaged just 91.2 mph after sitting around 96 a year ago. His slider and changeup also had precipitous drops. Estévez retired just one of seven batters in a meltdown loss to the Braves that culminated in a Dominic Smith walk-off grand slam.
After the game, the Royals placed Estévez on the injured list with a left foot contusion. He sustained that injury during the March 28 appearance against Atlanta, as he took a Michael Harris II comebacker off his foot. That doesn’t explain why the stuff was so poor during camp, though it has given the Royals a month and counting to hopefully get him right.
Coming into the year, the Royals probably anticipated exercising this option. That’s much tougher to see unless they find some kind of mechanical tweak that gets him back into the mid-90s.
Minnesota Twins
- Josh Bell, 1B: $10MM mutual option ($1.25MM buyout)
Minnesota signed Bell to a $7MM free agent guarantee over the winter. That includes a $1.25MM buyout on a $10MM mutual option. Bell’s first month in the Twin Cities has been a microcosm of his last few years. He came out on fire, hitting .317 with three home runs through his first 13 games. He’s hitting .180 with just one extra-base hit (a double) over his past 16 outings. The end result is a league average .235/.331/.373 line through his first 118 plate appearances. Each Bell season has big highs and very tough lows, though they all tend to conclude with slightly above-average offensive production overall.
Bell is a low-end regular at this stage of his career. The Twins — or a potential taker at the trade deadline — are likely to pass on their end of the option. If he does get traded, Minnesota might need to cover a portion of the buyout, as he’d otherwise cost an accruing team nearly $3MM for the final two months of the season.
- Justin Topa, RHP: $5MM mutual option ($250K buyout)
Topa and the Twins built a $5MM mutual option into his agreement to avoid arbitration last November. He has played on salaries just above $1MM throughout his arbitration window. Topa gets ground-balls but has the American League’s lowest swinging strike rate (3.8%) and has battled injuries throughout his career. The Twins are likely to pass on their end.
Joe Ryan’s arbitration deal includes a $13MM mutual option ($100K buyout) for 2027. He’d remain under club control if the option is declined and won’t hit free agency until the 2027-28 offseason.
Guardians To Select Travis Bazzana
The Guardians are reportedly promoting 2024 first overall pick Travis Bazzana. He should debut tomorrow and take over as the everyday second baseman. They’ll open an active roster spot by optioning Juan Brito. Cleveland still has an opening on the 40-man roster after waiving Kolby Allard a couple weeks ago, so no other move is necessary.
Cleveland’s middle infield has been in flux since Gabriel Arias went down with a left hamstring strain three weeks ago. That moved Brayan Rocchio from second base to shortstop. The Guardians promoted Brito after the Arias injury, but the 24-year-old second baseman struggled after collecting five hits in his first three games. Brito had just four hits in 39 at-bats over his next 12 contests. He also committed four errors across 123 1/3 innings.
That opened the door for Bazzana’s first major league look. The Australian-born infielder is out to a strong .287/.422/.511 start over 24 games with Triple-A Columbus. He has taken walks at a huge 17.9% clip against a league average 21.4% strikeout rate. Bazzana only has two home runs, but he has already tallied 11 doubles and a pair of triples. He’s also 8-10 in stolen base attempts.
Bazzana’s advanced hit tool and extremely patient approach have been his calling cards dating back to his college days at Oregon State. He was expected to be one of the quickest players from his draft to the majors. Instead, Chase Burns, Nick Kurtz, Cam Smith, JJ Wetherholt, Jac Caglianone, Christian Moore, Trey Yesavage, Carson Benge and even Konnor Griffin (a high school draftee) were all 2024 first-rounders who got to the big leagues before he did.
That’s at least partially due to health. A pair of oblique injuries limited Bazzana to 77 games between the top two minor league levels last season (plus seven rehab contests at the Arizona complex). It was understandable the Guardians wanted him to open the season in Triple-A. They probably should have swapped him in for Brito earlier than they have this April, however.
It’s a moot point now, as Bazzana joins Chase DeLauter as touted rookies in Stephen Vogt’s lineup. He has been a full-time second baseman in the minor leagues and could see time at the keystone and designated hitter. That’d allow them to use hot-hitting utility player Daniel Schneemann more frequently in left field against right-handed pitching. George Valera has started slowly since returning from a season-opening calf strain, while the switch-hitting Angel Martínez has better career numbers against lefties.
Bazzana comfortably meets the criteria to qualify for the Prospect Promotion Incentive. He entered the season among the top 25 minor league talents at each of MLB Pipeline, Baseball America and ESPN. He was a little lower on preseason rankings from FanGraphs and Keith Law of The Athletic but still easily a consensus Top 100 prospect.
It’s beyond the point at which Bazzana can accrue a full service year through time spent on the MLB roster. He would earn a full year of service time if he places within the top two in AL Rookie of the Year voting. It’ll be a challenge to compete with Kevin McGonigle, Munetaka Murakami, Carter Jensen and teammates DeLauter and Parker Messick among what could be an excellent AL rookie class. The Guardians would not be eligible for an extra draft choice if Bazzana wins Rookie of the Year because they waited beyond the second week of April to call him up.
If Bazzana sticks on the MLB roster, he’d be a lock to qualify for early arbitration as a Super Two player after 2028. The Guardians will hope he hits the ground running and solidifies his hold on the second base job. If not, future optional assignments to the minor leagues could change his service trajectory. Arias’ initial 4-8 week recovery timeline left open a potential May return. He should be a utility player but could reclaim the shortstop job and push Rocchio back to second if Bazzana struggles in his first look at big league pitching.
Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported the Bazzana promotion. Zack Meisel of The Athletic reported the Brito demotion. Image courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images.
Kolby Allard Elects Free Agency
Left-hander Kolby Allard has elected free agency after being sent outright to Triple-A Columbus, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment earlier this week.
Players have the right to reject outright assignments if they have a previous career outright or at least three years of service time. Allard qualifies on both counts and has exercised his right to head to the open market.
He is free to explore options with other clubs but the most likely outcome is that he re-signs with the Guards on a new minor league deal in the coming days. It’s common for players to return to their former clubs in these instances and that’s especially true with Allard specifically. He has been bouncing on and off the Cleveland roster for the better part of a year now, since he is out of options.
He signed a minor league deal with the club in February of 2025. He was added to the roster in April. In July, he was designated for assignment, elected free agency, re-signed to a new minor league deal and was back on the roster in less than a week. He was outrighted again at season’s end, then signed a new minor league deal ahead of this year’s spring training. He was added to the roster in late March and lasted on the roster for a couple of weeks before Monday’s DFA.
The transactions are probably not pleasant but Allard is presumably happy to get some major league pay and service time. The Guards, meanwhile, get some extra depth by keeping the relationship with Allard going.
Last year’s results were excellent, in that he tossed 65 innings as a swingman, allowing 2.63 earned runs per nine. That kind of run prevention wasn’t sustainable when he was only striking out 15.8% of batters faced, which is why he cleared waivers multiple times. This year’s results have been far worse, in a much smaller sample. He logged 8 2/3 innings over four appearances, allowing ten earned runs.
Perhaps news of a new deal with the Guards will emerge in the coming days, though there are several other clubs dealing with injuries, so the possibility of him signing elsewhere can’t be entirely ruled out.
Photo courtesy of Gary A. Vasquez, Imagn Images
Guardians Designate Kolby Allard For Assignment
The Guardians announced today that outfielder George Valera and right-hander Hunter Gaddis have each been reinstated from the injured list. In corresponding moves, outfielder/first baseman CJ Kayfus has been optioned to Triple-A Columbus and left-hander Kolby Allard has been designated for assignment. The Allard DFA drops their 40-man roster tally to 39.
Allard’s out-of-options status has squeezed him off the roster a few times. Last year, Cleveland ran him through outright waivers in early July, only to re-sign him five days later. He finished the season with the big league club and was waived again at season’s end. Allard returned on an offseason minor league deal and was called back up within the first week.
The southpaw was a valuable long relief piece for skipper Stephen Vogt last season. Allard managed 65 innings of 2.63 ERA ball despite sitting around 90 mph with his fastball and running one of the league’s lowest strikeout rates. He has tossed 8 2/3 frames over four low-leverage relief appearances this year. Allard has surrendered 10 runs on 16 hits, including a five-run outing over three frames in yesterday’s blowout loss at the hands of the Braves.
Cleveland will very likely place Allard back on waivers this week. There’s a decent chance he clears again, at which point he’d have the right to elect free agency. The Guardians like him as a depth arm given the number of times they’ve brought him back, so they’d presumably have interest in re-signing him to a minor league deal.
Gaddis returns from a minor forearm issue that bothered him early in Spring Training. He has quietly been one of the better relievers in MLB over the past two seasons. If he’s fully healthy, he projects as one of Cleveland’s top two setup arms (along with Shawn Armstrong) in front of Cade Smith. Gaddis’ fastball velocity was down a couple ticks to a 92.8 mph average during a five-game rehab assignment with Columbus. They might try to ease him back into action in medium-leverage situations in the early going.
Valera is also back from a season-opening IL stay. The 25-year-old corner outfielder suffered a mild calf strain late in camp. Valera hit well over eight games on a rehab stint. He’ll join Steven Kwan, Chase DeLauter, Angel Martínez and utilityman Daniel Schneemann in a lefty-heavy outfield. His return pushes Kayfus back to Triple-A after a .182/.280/.364 start over his first nine games.
Gabriel Arias To Miss 4-8 Weeks With Moderate Hamstring Strain
The Guardians will be without shortstop Gabriel Arias for 4-8 weeks, the team announced. The infielder suffered a moderate strain of his left hamstring while legging out a double during Monday’s loss to the Royals.
Arias started 10 of Cleveland’s first 11 games at shortstop. He connected on a couple home runs but otherwise hasn’t contributed at the plate, batting .200 with 12 strikeouts in 32 plate appearances. That’s usual for Arias, who strikes out as much as any regular in MLB. He’s in the lineup for his above-average glove.
Brayan Rocchio slides over from second base to replace Arias as the regular shortstop. Rocchio has ample shortstop experience and should be a steady if unspectacular hand there. The bigger change comes at second base, where the Guardians called up prospect Juan Brito when placing Arias on the injured list yesterday.
The switch-hitting Brito has hit well throughout his minor league career and is out to a 4-8 start with a couple doubles as a big leaguer. There’ll be a defensive downgrade in the middle infield, though, as scouts have long been cool on Brito’s glove. He committed an error on a routine grounder in this afternoon’s win over Kansas City. Skipper Stephen Vogt could lean on Daniel Schneemann as a defensive upgrade late in games. Schneemann also projects as the backup shortstop if Rocchio needs a day off.
Arias will be sidelined into May and may be down into June. There’s a chance that top second base prospect Travis Bazzana, the first overall pick in 2024, is up by that point. Bazzana is out to a relatively slow start in Triple-A, though playing in cold weather in April is probably a factor. Aside from Chase DeLauter, Cleveland hasn’t hit much in the early going. They’re nevertheless out to an 8-5 start with series wins over the Dodgers, Cubs, and Kansas City behind excellent work from the starting rotation.
Guardians Place Gabriel Arias On 10-Day IL, Recall Juan Brito
The Guardians announced this morning that they have placed Gabriel Arias on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain. To replace Arias on the roster, the team recalled fellow infielder Juan Brito from Triple-A Columbus. Brito will make his major league debut in today’s game against the Royals, playing second base and batting sixth (per MLB.com’s Tim Stebbins). Guardians Prospective reported last night that Brito would be getting the call.
Arias, 26, took over as Cleveland’s primary shortstop last season and held onto the role entering 2026, starting at short in 10 of his team’s first 11 games. His offense leaves much to be desired – he owns a career .632 OPS and 76 wRC+ in 330 games – but he has proven to be a capable defender, with 2 DRS and 7 OAA in 1,484 innings at shortstop. Arias exited early yesterday with hamstring tightness and went for an MRI. The Guardians have yet to offer further details about the severity of his injury, but evidently, they decided he’ll need to miss at least the next 10 days.
In place of Arias, Brayan Rocchio is likely to take over at shortstop. Rocchio, 25, was Cleveland’s regular shortstop in 2024 and early 2025 before moving to second base. Like Arias, he has yet to show he can make much of an impact at the plate (career .622 OPS, 78 wRC+ in 292 games), but he was a Gold Glove finalist at shortstop in 2024 after posting 11 DRS and 5 OAA in 1,102 innings.
As for Brito, it looks like he will get a chance to prove himself at the keystone. The 24-year-old is generally considered one of the Guardians’ top 20 prospects. Entering the season, MLB Pipeline ranked him No. 16, while Baseball America put him at No. 15 and Baseball Prospectus at No. 14. The Athletic’s Keith Law was a little more optimistic about Brito, placing him at No. 9 before the season, while FanGraphs was less sold, putting him all the way down at No. 32 on their organizational list. He may have been difficult for some to rank entering the year because he missed most of 2025 with injuries, and because his future defensive home is still unclear. Those who are higher on Brito see him as a capable everyday second baseman, while others envision him as more of a utility player. He has hit consistently well at Triple-A in parts of several seasons, with 24 home runs, a 13.9% walk rate, and an .811 OPS in 182 games. A switch-hitter, Brito doesn’t necessarily need to be platooned, but the lefty-batting Daniel Schneemann and fellow switch-hitter Angel Martínez can also play second base if needed. Meanwhile, top prospect Travis Bazzana will stay at Triple-A for now, but he is certainly a candidate to play second base for the Guardians at some point in 2026.
White Sox Claim Doug Nikhazy
The White Sox announced that they have claimed left-hander Doug Nikhazy off waivers from the Guardians and optioned him to Triple-A Charlotte. Cleveland designated him for assignment last week. The White Sox had a 40-man vacancy and don’t need to make a corresponding move.
Nikhazy, 26, has a very limited major league track record thus far. He tossed four innings for the Guards last year, allowing six earned runs via five hits and six walks while striking out five. Cleveland nudged him off the roster a week ago when they added Kolby Allard to their roster.
He does have some intriguing numbers on the farm from previous seasons. From 2022 to 2024, he tossed 328 innings over five relief appearances and 70 starts, allowing 3.90 earned runs per nine frames. His 14.5% walk rate was ghastly but he offset that somewhat by striking out 26.8% of opponents. His results backed up last year, despite the major league debut. He had a 5.02 ERA at Triple-A. He did lower his walk rate to 11.1% but his strikeout rate dropped to 22.5%.
For the White Sox, they just opened a 40-man spot when they gave up on Rule 5 pick Jedixson Páez last week. Since Nikhazy still has options, they can use that open spot to grab him from the wire and send him to the minors. Time will tell if the Sox view Nikhazy as more of a starter or a reliever. It’s also possible they put him back on waivers at some point in the hopes of keeping him as non-roster depth.
Photo courtesy of Rick Scuteri, Imagn Images
Will Any Pre-Arbitration Pitchers Sign Extensions?
From a transaction perspective, this time of the baseball calendar is defined by extensions. Within the past month, we've seen two impending free agents (Nico Hoerner and Jesús Luzardo) come off the board. The Cubs got a deal done with pre-arbitration center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong. Philadelphia extended Cristopher Sánchez even though he was already potentially signed through 2030.
The Orioles extended arbitration-eligible starter Shane Baz. The Mariners reached the largest pre-debut extension with shortstop prospect Colt Emerson. That's likely to be a brief record with the Pirates reportedly working on a deal with #1 overall prospect Konnor Griffin. Milwaukee infield prospect Cooper Pratt is nearing an eight-year contract of his own despite being a couple tiers below Griffin and Emerson according to scouts.
Despite all that activity, there's one demographic that has stayed out of the early-season extension run. There have not been any long-term deals for pre-arbitration pitchers this spring. Teams aren't quite as aggressive in extending pitchers early in their careers as they are with elite position player talents. There's more injury uncertainty with young arms.
However, there are generally a few extensions for pre-arbitration hurlers each season. Tanner Bibee, Brandon Pfaadt and Arizona closer Justin Martinez signed extensions last spring. Brayan Bello agreed to a six-year deal the year before that. Hunter Greene, Spencer Strider, Aaron Ashby, Garrett Whitlock and Emmanuel Clase were among those to sign between 2022-23.
Will any young pitchers sign extensions within the next few weeks? Let's run through a few speculative possibilities in each service class and the kind of money which those pitchers could command.
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Guardians Designate Doug Nikhazy For Assignment
The Guardians announced that they have selected left-hander Kolby Allard to the 40-man roster. To open an active roster spot, right-hander Colin Holderman has been optioned to Triple-A Columbus. In a corresponding 40-man move, left-hander Doug Nikhazy has been designated for assignment.
Allard, 28, bounced on and off Cleveland’s roster last year in a swing role. He tossed 65 innings over 33 appearances, including two starts, with an excellent 2.63 earned run average. Maintaining an ERA in that range was likely not possible. He benefited from a 79.2% strand rate with only 5.6% of his fly balls leaving the yard. His 5.3% walk rate was good but his 15.8% strikeout rate and 38% ground ball rate were subpar. His 4.41 SIERA suggested his ERA may have been almost two full runs to the lucky side.
The Guards outrighted him off the roster at season’s end but then re-signed him to a new minor league deal. Though it’s only a few days into the season, the Guardians are probably adding Allard in case they need some length to spare the bullpen. They are in Los Angeles for three games against a tough Dodger lineup, making it possible one of their starters gets knocked out early. On top of that, there’s some concern around Tanner Bibee. The righty departed his Opening Day start after five innings due to shoulder inflammation.
Parker Messick is starting the first game against the Dodgers tonight. Manager Stephen Vogt recently said Bibee could make his scheduled start in the second game, per Tim Stebbins of MLB.com. Gavin Williams is scheduled for the third game. If someone gets knocked out early or Bibee’s shoulder flares up, Allard could be called upon to eat some innings.
The move will cost Nikhazy his spot on the 40-man roster. The 26-year-old was a second-round pick in the 2021 draft. He generally posted solid numbers on his way up the ladder. From 2022 to 2024, he logged 328 innings over 70 starts and five relief appearances with a 3.90 ERA. His 26.8% strikeout rate was quite strong but his 14.5% walk rate was not.
The Guards added him to their 40-man roster in November of 2024, to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. His results backed up last year. He posted a 5.02 ERA at the Triple-A level. His 11.1% walk rate was an improvement but still a high figure, while his 22.5% strikeout rate was a drop from his previous seasons. He made his major league debut allowed six earned runs in four innings.
Nikhazy is now bumped into DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Guards could take as long as five days to see if there’s any trade interest. Nikhazy is still optionable for another two seasons, which could add to his appeal for a club looking to add depth to the minor league system. Despite his underwhelming 2025, Baseball America still ranked him as the club’s #28 prospect coming into this year.
Photo courtesy of Rick Scuteri, Imagn Images