Braves Place Ronald Acuna Jr. On IL, Reinstate Spencer Strider
6:07PM: In another move announced by the Braves today, Joel Payamps cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Gwinnett. The right-hander was designated for assignment earlier this week, and he has enough MLB service time to reject the outright assignment and opt for free agency. However, becoming a free agent would mean surrendering the roughly $1.78MM in remaining salary Payamps is owed for 2026, so the righty is probably more likely to accept the outright and continue in Gwinnett.
11:00AM: Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. is heading to the injured list with a hamstring strain, the team announced. Jose Azocar was selected to the roster as a replacement. Atlanta also reinstated right-hander Spencer Strider from the IL. Righty Hunter Stratton is headed back to Triple-A to clear a spot.
Acuna was removed in the second inning of Saturday’s game against the Rockies after a groundout. He was replaced by Eli White in right field. The Braves had an opening on the 40-man, so no corresponding move was needed to add Azocar.
The 28-year-old Acuna is off to a slow start this season by his lofty standards. He’s slashed .252/.362/.378 across 152 plate appearances. Acuna has just two home runs in 34 games. Atlanta’s offensive production has been just fine, though, as the club leads the league in scoring by 15 runs.
The Braves will likely lean on a mix of White, Azocar, and Mauricio Dubon for additional reps in the outfield. Michael Harris II is back from a minor quad issue, so he’ll lock down center on an everyday basis. That leaves the aforementioned trio and Mike Yastrzemski to cover the corner spots. Yastrzemski has a .642 OPS in his career against lefties, so he’ll probably remain in a platoon role.
Azocar returned to the organization on a minor league deal in December. He initially latched on with Atlanta in May after a brief stint with the Mets last season. Azocar only appeared in two games with the Braves before getting designated for assignment. He went back to New York and spent the rest of the year in the minors, then elected free agency.
The 29-year-old Azocar has spent parts of four seasons in the majors, mostly with the Padres. He debuted for San Diego in 2022 and earned semi-regular work at all three outfield spots. Azocar posted an 81 wRC+ in 216 plate appearances. He was up and down with the big-league club over the next couple of seasons. Azocar hasn’t hit enough to stick for an extended stretch in the majors, but he provides some speed along with competent defense in the outfield.
Strider has been sidelined since Spring Training with an oblique injury. He’ll make his season debut against the Rockies. The righty ramped up to 82 pitches in his final Triple-A outing, so he should be in for close to a normal workload in his return.
Injuries have limited Strider to 25 starts over the past two seasons. He missed nearly all of 2024 with an elbow injury. Strider returned in April of last year, only to go right back on the IL with a hamstring issue. He made 23 starts in 2025, pitching to a 4.45 ERA across 125 1/3 innings.
All eyes will be on the Coors Field radar gun in Strider’s return. His fastball averaged a career-low 95.5 mph last year. The pitch sat at 96.3 mph in his brief 2024 stint. Strider was consistently in the upper-90s with the heater during his elite years in 2022 and 2023. He introduced a curveball to help expand his arsenal, though he used the pitch just 8.9% of the time in 2025.
Stratton will head back to Triple-A after just one appearance with Atlanta. He came up on Friday with Anthony Molina after José Suarez and Joel Payamps were designated for assignment. Stratton lasted longer than Molina, who was sent back down yesterday with Carlos Carrasco returning to the squad.
Atlanta acquired Stratton in a minor trade with the Pirates last summer. He pitched well in 12 appearances with the club, posting a 2.20 ERA with nearly a strikeout per inning. Given how frequently the Braves have shuffled pitchers on and off the roster, Stratton will likely get another shot in the majors at some point this year.
Photo courtesy of Christopher Hanewinckel, Imagn Images
Ryan Pepiot To Undergo Season-Ending Hip Surgery
Rays right-hander Ryan Pepiot will undergo hip surgery and miss the rest of the season, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Pepiot is already on the 60-day injured list and will stay there for the rest of the campaign.
It’s obviously an unfortunate blow for Pepiot and the Rays. The right-hander was healthy in spring training but some inflammation in his right hip sent him to the 15-day IL to start the season. It initially appeared as though that would be a minimal IL stint. As of April 4th, Pepiot had thrown a bullpen session and was in line to rejoin the Rays a little over a week later.
The tides shifted a couple of weeks ago. On April 14th, around the time Pepiot was supposed to be activated, the Rays instead transferred him to the 60-day injured list when they signed Michael Grove. Few details were available at that time but that at least signalled that Pepiot wasn’t going to return before late May. This latest update is even more ominous than that, with Pepiot now set to go under the knife and miss the whole season.
Acquired from the Dodgers as part of the Tyler Glasnow trade in December of 2023, Pepiot was largely a mainstay of the Tampa rotation in the past two seasons. He made 26 starts in 2024 and 31 last year. Between the two seasons, he gave the Rays 297 2/3 innings with a 3.75 earned run average, 25.4% strikeout rate and 8.9% walk rate.
So far, the Rays have done well this year, despite getting no contributions from Pepiot. They are 18-12 and in second place in the American League East. The rotation has been a key part of that, as the club’s starters have a combined 3.45 ERA, fifth-best in the majors.
Still, it’s less than ideal that Pepiot won’t be coming back to join the group at any point. They traded away Taj Bradley at last year’s deadline and then Shane Baz in the offseason, thinning out the rotation depth. This year, they’ve gotten multiple starts from Shane McClanahan, Drew Rasmussen, Steven Matz, Nick Martinez and Joe Boyle. The Rays put Boyle on the IL a few weeks ago due to a right elbow strain. Jesse Scholtens has effectively taken his place in the rotation, largely working behind an opener.
It’s not a sturdy group on the whole. McClanahan is pitching well but it’s fair to wonder if he’ll hit some kind of wall since he missed the previous two seasons. Rasmussen has a spotty health history with multiple surgeries on his chart. Martinez and Matz are mid-30s guys who were in swing roles as of last year. Scholtens was a waiver claim towards the end of last season.
At some point, the Rays will have to turn to other arms in the system, with Pepiot no longer part of the calculus. Joe Rock is on the 40-man roster and currently on optional assignment but he’s walking everyone in Triple-A. Prospect Brody Hopkins is in Triple-A but he only has six starts at that level and is also showing significant control issues. Yoendrys Gómez is working as a long reliever in the big leagues but he has a 6.23 ERA and is out of options.
For now, the Rays will do their best to keep making it work, though any further injuries could really hurt them. If they manage to stay in contention until the deadline, they will presumably look for reinforcements.
Turning back to Pepiot, he got his service clock just over three years in 2025, therefore qualifying for arbitration for the first time for 2026. He is making $3.025MM this season and can be controlled via arbitration through 2028. When arb-eligible players miss an entire season, they usually end up making the same salary in the following campaign. The Rays surely aren’t happy to be losing Pepiot but the one benefit for them is that they should be able to have him back in 2027 without giving him a raise.
Photo courtesy of Daniel Kucin Jr., Imagn Images
Red Sox Place Garrett Crochet On Injured List
The Red Sox have placed ace Garrett Crochet on the 15-day injured list due to inflammation in his left shoulder, per a club announcement. Utilityman Nate Eaton has been recalled from Triple-A Worcester to fill Crochet’s spot on the roster for the time being.
Crochet tells Christopher Smith of MassLive.com that he’s “pretty confident” he’ll be back after a minimum stay on the injured list. The 6’6″ lefty said he felt some fatigue during his last start, which prompted the team to take a cautious route and shut him down for the time being. He hasn’t stopped throwing, per Smith, so it seems the club also does not fear a lengthy layoff.
It’s been a strange start to the 26-year-old’s season. He’s turned in three quality starts — two of them scoreless six-inning gems — but also been hit hard on three occasions. In particular, Crochet was bludgeoned by the Twins in a visit to Target Field that saw him tagged for a career-worst 11 runs (10 earned) in only 1 2/3 innings. A drubbing that extreme, this early in the season, will take awhile to recover from — hence Crochet’s grisly 6.30 earned run average through his first six starts.
The average velocity on Crochet’s four-seamer and sinker is down this year, albeit not egregiously so. He’s down about 0.6 mph on the former (from 96.4 mph to 95.8 mph) and 0.8 mph on the latter (from 96 mph to 95.2 mph). It bears noting that Crochet’s velocity sat in a similar range through his first six starts last season but climbed as the season progressed. That brutal day in Minnesota featured his lowest single-game averages of any start this season (94.9 mph and 94.2 mph, respectively).
In swapping out Eaton for Crochet, the Sox will be playing a pitcher short today. They’d originally released a lineup without Roman Anthony, presumably to get him consecutive rest days — the Sox are off tomorrow — after his recent struggles with back pain. They’ve since released an amended lineup with Anthony atop the order and Jarren Duran out. Eaton’s recall to the roster gives interim manager Chad Tracy a full contingent of four bench options even if the Sox are trying to get Duran a breather for a couple days.
Boston’s rotation for the weekend will need to be reshuffled. Crochet, Connelly Early and Ranger Suarez would’ve been lined up to take the mound had everyone remained on turn, but they’ll have some choices now. They could move Early and Suarez up to start Friday and Saturday, respectively, as tomorrow’s off-day would keep them on regular rest. Smith also noted last night that prospect Jake Bennett was scratched from yesterday’s start in Triple-A Worcester. Tracy told the Sox beat that the team was just keeping its options open with an off-day Thursday; the reason for keeping those options open is now much clearer.
Bennett, 25, would be making his major league debut if he gets the call for a spot start. Acquired in an offseason trade with the Nationals, he’s begun the season with a 0.86 ERA in five starts and 21 innings with Triple Worcester. Bennett’s 20.3% strikeout rate is below average, but he’s only walked 3.8% of his opponents this season. He’s never sustained that level of command in the past, and he’s currently benefiting from a minuscule .207 average on balls in play, but there’s no denying it’s been a strong start to his season.
Bennett is already on the 40-man roster, which surely works in his favor as well. If not this weekend, it seems likely he’ll make his debut at some point before too long. In addition to Crochet, the Red Sox also have Sonny Gray, Johan Oviedo, Kutter Crawford, Patrick Sandoval and Tanner Houck on the injured list.
Jonathan India Undergoes Season-Ending Labrum Surgery
The Royals announced that second baseman Jonathan India underwent a labrum repair on his left shoulder today. He’ll miss the rest of the season.
India’s second season in Kansas City ends after 17 games. He batted .167 with a pair of home runs while reaching base at a .310 clip. There’s a decent chance this will make an unfortunate end to India’s tenure with the Royals. Acquired from the Reds over the 2024-25 offseason for Brady Singer, he had a disappointing .233/.323/.346 line a season ago.
It’s the continuation of a downward trend for the 2021 NL Rookie of the Year. The former fifth overall pick broke into the majors with a .269/.376/.459 line and 21 home runs. His offensive numbers dropped to league average over the next three seasons as he began battling injuries. India missed time in 2022 with a hamstring strain and dealt with plantar fasciitis in ’23. He played a career-high 151 games during his final season as a Red, hitting .248/.357/.392 with 15 longballs.
Kansas City acquired India in the hope that he’d be a high-OBP presence in front of Bobby Witt Jr. atop the lineup. They also tried to move the career-long second baseman to a utility role. Neither goal worked as intended, as India struggled to get comfortable in left field or at third base. The Royals moved him back to second base full time last May. He also didn’t hit much and dropped to the bottom third of the order in August.
India hasn’t been playing at full strength for much of that time. He first injured his left shoulder diving for a ground-ball last June. He played through the injury in the second half and for the first few weeks of this season before going on the injured list on April 20. It evidently reached a point where he could no longer avoid surgery.
The Royals tendered India an $8MM arbitration contract over the offseason. It was an odd move even at the time, especially if they had any indication the shoulder might remain a problem going into 2026. Their hope for a rebound didn’t pan out and they’re left with an underwhelming second base outlook.
Michael Massey will be the primary second baseman for the time being. He has some power and was a league average hitter back in 2024. Massey battled injury and didn’t hit last season (.244/.268/.313 through 277 PAs). The lefty hitter has a homer and five doubles in 47 plate appearances this year, but he has only walked twice while striking out 11 times.
Righty-hitting Nick Loftin, a career .223/.301/.328 hitter, is K.C.’s primary alternative to Massey. Kevin Newman, Josh Rojas and Abraham Toro are all in the organization on minor league contracts. None of them has topped a .716 OPS against Triple-A pitching.
It’d be an obvious area for the Royals to address if they’re in position to add at the trade deadline. Their 11-17 start isn’t encouraging in that regard, but they’ve rebounded from an eight-game losing skid to win four of their last five. The entire AL Central has played average or worse ball to this point, so it’s much too soon to write the Royals off. Luis Arraez and Brandon Lowe are impending free agents whose potential trade candidacies in July hinge on the respective performances of the Giants and Pirates. Gleyber Torres is also in his walk year, though it’d take an unexpected Tigers collapse for them to trade him to a division opponent.
India will be a first-time free agent next winter. He’s either looking at a minor league contract or an incentive-laden, one-year MLB deal. The Royals will move him to the 60-day injured list whenever they need to open a 40-man roster spot.
Phillies Fire Rob Thomson, Name Don Mattingly Interim Manager
There’s a major shakeup in Philadelphia. The Phillies fired manager Rob Thomson on Tuesday morning. Don Mattingly is the interim skipper, with the team’s press release saying he’ll hold that position for the remainder of the 2026 season. Philadelphia promoted third base coach Dusty Wathan to replace Mattingly as bench coach while calling up Triple-A manager Anthony Contreras as third base coach.
Philadelphia is the second struggling big-market team to make an early managerial change. The Red Sox dismissed Alex Cora and much of their coaching staff over the weekend. The Phillies didn’t overhaul the staff to the same extent, but it’s a major change nonetheless. They’ll hope it’ll light a fire under an underperforming team that is out to a 9-19 start, tying them with the Mets at the bottom of the National League.
It’s easy to connect the dots given the timing of the firings. Phils president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski was leading the Red Sox’s front office when Boston first hired Cora in 2017. The Sox won the World Series a year later. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that the Phillies offered the job to Cora, who declined while citing a desire to spend more time with family. Cora’s deal with Boston paid him upwards of $7MM per season through 2027, so he’s well positioned financially to take some time away if that’s indeed his preference.
The Phillies decided a change was needed even if Cora weren’t interested. Mattingly seems set to handle through the job through the end of the season. Of course, he has an even stronger tie with the Philly front office. His son Preston is Philadelphia’s general manager, the #2 in baseball operations underneath Dombrowski.
The firing ends Thomson’s three-plus year run leading the club, one that was highly successful overall. He was initially hired on an interim basis when the Phils dismissed Joe Girardi in June 2022. Thomson took over a team that was seven games below .500 and 12 back in the NL East. They went 65-46 the rest of the way to snag the NL’s final playoff spot, then tore through the Senior Circuit playoff field to win the pennant. Even after they dropped a six-game World Series at the hands of the Astros, it was an easy call for the Phillies to commit to Thomson as the full-time skipper.
It’d be too simplistic to attribute the ’22 turnaround solely to the managerial change. The Phils dismissed Girardi because they had a talented roster that wasn’t performing to expectations. Some kind of improvement was probably inevitable either way. The Phillies’ regular season results continued to improve during Thomson’s three full seasons at the helm. They respectively won 90, 95, and 96 games between 2023-25. Philadelphia has won the NL East in each of the last two seasons and comfortably made the playoffs all three years.
Despite the regular season trend, their postseason performances have gone in the wrong direction. Philadelphia lost a seven-game NLCS to the Diamondbacks in 2023. They’ve been bounced in the Division Series (by the Mets and Dodgers, respectively) in each of the past two years. Philly’s front office has pointed to the unpredictability of short series in remaining committed to Thomson as manager. They signed him to an extension running through 2027 last December.
Things changed quickly. The Phillies couldn’t have started this year much more poorly. They’ve only won two series, and those came against the Nationals and Rockies. They’ve lost each of their past six series, including a 10-game losing streak that dropped them from .500 to 8-18 last week.
The issues have been up and down the roster. Cristopher Sánchez has been their only effective starting pitcher. The offense has scored 102 runs, above only the Giants and Mets. They’re 29th in batting average and on-base percentage while ranking 17th in home runs. Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and Brandon Marsh have been their only above-average hitters. They’ve gotten particularly poor starts from Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott, while offseason signee Adolis García hasn’t provided much in right field.
Philadelphia’s recent success has been built on excellent starting pitching and a potent lineup. They’ve had a difficult time building strong bullpens and are one of the league’s weakest defensive teams. The rotation should benefit from Zack Wheeler’s return from thoracic outlet surgery and more consistency from Jesús Luzardo, but they’re lacking depth beyond their top five arms. The Phillies let Ranger Suárez walk in free agency, relying on Andrew Painter to step into the rotation. Painter’s performance has been up and down, while Aaron Nola continues to be much too susceptible to home runs. They pulled the plug on Taijuan Walker last week, releasing the struggling righty once Wheeler returned.
The front office certainly deserves some of the blame for the underwhelming start. That said, it’s not as if Thomson’s managerial tenure was uniformly positive. He came under some fire for his in-game tactics in the playoffs and had a rift with Nick Castellanos, who publicly criticized the skipper’s communication skills. Veteran reliever Matt Strahm reportedly also voiced some displeasure internally with how Thomson handled his bullpen last season. The front office sided with Thomson in both instances, releasing Castellanos and trading Strahm to Kansas City.
It now falls on Mattingly to lead a turnaround, one the Phillies hope will resemble their 2022 season. They’ve already dropped 10.5 games behind the red hot Braves in the division race. Getting to 90 wins would require them to play at a 60.4% clip (a 98-win pace) for the rest of the season. It’s doable but leaves them without much margin for error, and another few weeks of play this poor would dig a hole from which they’d have almost no chance to recover.
The 65-year-old Mattingly is in his first season in Philadelphia. He spent the previous three seasons working as John Schneider’s bench coach in Toronto. The Jays came up just shy of winning a World Series last year and hoped to bring back their entire coaching staff. Mattingly declined, preferring the Philly opportunity. It seems fair to assume he didn’t expect to be the interim manager within a month of joining one of the NL’s perennial contenders, but that’s the situation in which he finds himself.
Mattingly has 12 seasons of managerial experience. He led the Dodgers from 2011-15 and skippered the Marlins between 2016-22. He predictably had much more success in Los Angeles, leading the team to three division titles. Mattingly made the postseason just once in seven seasons in Miami, a 31-29 showing during the shortened 2020 schedule. He holds an 889-950 record as a major league manager.
Wathan assumes his highest-profile role on the Philly staff. The 52-year-old has been in the organization for nearly two decades. He worked his way up as a minor league manager and has been the third base coach since the 2018 season. Wathan has held that position under Gabe Kapler, Girardi, and Thomson. Contreras now takes that role for his first MLB coaching opportunity. He has managed Triple-A Lehigh Valley for the last four-plus seasons.
Matt Gelb of The Athletic was first on Thomson’s dismissal and Mattingly being named interim manager. Respective images courtesy of Dale Zanine, Imagn Images.
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.
Red Sox Fire Manager Alex Cora, Announce Coaching Changes
In a stunning early-season move, the Red Sox have announced a massive shakeup of their coaching staff. Manager Alex Cora has been fired, and many of his coaching staff have also been let go. That includes hitting coach Peter Fatse, assistant hitting coach Dillon Lawson, bench coach Ramón Vázquez, third base/outfield coach Kyle Hudson, and major league hitting strategist Joe Cronin.
Triple-A manager Chad Tracy will become the interim manager for the big-league club. Per the club’s announcement, Chad Epperson will serve as the interim third base coach, and Collin Hetzler will also join the major league hitting staff. Meanwhile, game planning and run prevention coach Jason Varitek is being reassigned to a different role.
Red Sox owner John Henry issued the following statement:
Alex Cora led this organization to one of the greatest seasons in Red Sox history in 2018, and for that, and the many years that followed, he will always have our deepest gratitude. He has had a lasting impact on this team and on this city. He has led on and off the field in so many important ways. These decisions are never easy, but this one is especially difficult given what Alex has meant to the Red Sox since the day he arrived.
I want to thank Alex, our coaches, and their families for everything they have given to this organization. They have been part of this club in a way that goes beyond the field, and they will always have our respect and gratitude.
The Red Sox are off to a brutal 10-17 start in 2026. They are currently in last place in the AL East. That kind of performance is well below expectations for a club that earned a Wild Card spot in last year’s playoffs and made several moves to upgrade the roster during the offseason. It is difficult to say how much of that blame is on Cora as the manager, but evidently, the club felt a massive shakeup was necessary to break out of their slump.
Cora has served as the team’s manager since 2018, save for a one-year absence in 2020 while serving a suspension for his role in the Astros’ 2017 sign-stealing scandal. He compiled a 620-541 (.534) record in his time leading the Red Sox. His first season was undoubtedly his best, as the team won 108 games and defeated the Dodgers in five games to claim their fourth World Series title of the century.
Since returning from his suspension, the club’s performance under Cora has been less consistent. A 92-win season in 2021 was followed by last-place finishes in 2022-23, a .500 season in 2024, and 89 wins in 2025. Nonetheless, he is regarded as one of the top managers in the game and widely respected by his players. The team signed him to a three-year, $21.75MM extension in July 2024, which covered the 2025-27 seasons. The $7.25MM annual salary made Cora one of the highest-paid managers in the game.
The extension was also notable because it followed a recent change in baseball operations leadership. Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom was fired in September 2023. He was replaced by Craig Breslow. Given the change in top brass, it was fair to wonder if Cora would stay beyond 2024, the last year of his contract. The fact that Cora was extended through 2027 signaled confidence in his leadership and a desire for continuity under Breslow. In that context, Cora’s departure less than halfway through the extension is even more surprising.
In the end, the team’s performance this year may have simply been bad enough for club executives to want a change. Red Sox hitters have batted just .226/.306/.335 through their first 26 games, not including today’s blowout win. That amounts to a 78 wRC+, which ranks dead last in the Majors. Among their qualified hitters, Wilyer Abreu (130 wRC+) and trade acquisition Willson Contreras (115 wRC+) are the only ones performing at an above-average level. The other hitters range from below-average to downright dreadful.
It is still very early in the season, so small sample sizes need to be taken into account. However, the fact that the team’s offense is collectively struggling to this extent is more worrisome than if merely one or two players were underperforming. As with Cora as manager, it’s hard to say how much of that falls on the coaching staff, though it is noteworthy that most of the departing staff members are hitting coaches rather than pitching coaches.
On the pitching side, pitching coach Andrew Bailey and bullpen coach Chris Holt will remain in their roles. Red Sox pitchers have underperformed just like the hitters, though the club is undoubtedly banking on positive regression as the season goes on. Garrett Crochet is off to a rough start, including a 10 earned run shelling on April 13, but he is one of the top five starters in the game and will surely recover. The team signed Ranger Suarez to a five-year deal over the offseason, and he is due for positive regression as well.
Like the offense, the rotation has talented young players like Connelly Early, Brayan Bello, and Payton Tolle at its disposal. However, the club may have greater confidence in the pitching staff’s ability to rebound due to the track records of veterans Crochet, Suarez, and Sonny Gray (who is currently injured). The bullpen, which has a 3.73 ERA, similarly features veterans Aroldis Chapman and Garrett Whitlock. In contrast, most of the offensive struggles are from talented players with shorter track records, such as Caleb Durbin and Ceddanne Rafaela, as well as veterans who have struggled in recent years, like Trevor Story. Thus, the offense may have a greater need for new coaches, while the pitching staff (or at least the rotation) is more likely to recover on its own.
Time will tell if the managerial and coaching changes will bring about improved performance from the Red Sox. In order to match last season’s 89 wins, the club would need to play at 95-win pace the rest of the way. That is a significant challenge, of course, but perhaps not an insurmountable one with the young talent on the roster. As for Cora, he may look for a new managerial gig or even a role in a front office. He has expressed interest in front office roles before, including around the time of his July 2024 extension. Given his overall track record, he is a lock to find another role in baseball if he wants it.
Jeff Passan of ESPN was first to report the firings of Cora and Vázquez. He also reported the firing of Hudson. Julian McWilliams of CBS Sports was first to report on Fatse and Lawson’s firings, while Chris Cotillo of MassLive was first on Cronin. He also added that Bailey and Holt were staying in their roles. Gabrielle Starr of the Boston Herald was first on Tracy’s promotion, and Ari Alexander of 7News Boston clarified that Varitek was being reassigned rather than fired.
Photos courtesy of Peter Aiken and Dale Zanine, Imagn Images
Phillies Release Taijuan Walker
The Phillies have released veteran right-hander Taijuan Walker, per a club announcement. Philadelphia also optioned right-hander Alan Rangel to Triple-A Lehigh Valley and recalled right-hander Nolan Hoffman.
Walker, 33, is in the final season of a four-year, $72MM contract that didn’t pan out at all as the team hoped. It was a surprisingly large contract at the time he signed the deal. Walker was fresh off a solid 29-start showing with the Mets (3.49 ERA, 157 1/3 innings), but his rate stats didn’t support that level of run prevention. Walker had a decent season as an innings eating, back-of-the-rotation starter in year one of the contract (4.38 ERA, 172 2/3 frames), and he posted solid results between the rotation and bullpen in 2025 as well (4.08 ERA, 123 2/3 innings).
The other two seasons of the contract have been a nightmare. Walker was one of the least-effective pitchers in the sport in 2024, yielding a 7.10 earned run average across 83 2/3 innings. This season has gone even worse. The veteran righty has pitched 22 2/3 innings and been shelled for 25 runs (23 earned) on a whopping 36 hits and 11 walks with only 17 strikeouts. He’s working with the second-worst velocity of his career — ahead of only that disastrous ’24 campaign — and missing bats at his lowest levels ever. Between those red flags and the 9.13 ERA, the Phillies were left with little choice but to move on as they try to crawl out of an 8-16 hole and snap a woeful eight-game losing streak.
The Phillies will remain on the hook for the rest of Walker’s $18MM salary this season. He’s still owed a bit more than $15MM of that sum. Any team that signs Walker would owe him only the prorated league minimum for any time he spends on said club’s major league roster or injured list. That amount would be subtracted from what the Phillies owe, but they’re paying the vast majority of the tab even in a best-case scenario.
Ace Zack Wheeler will return to the Phillies’ rotation this weekend, though it’s anyone’s guess how he’ll perform on the heels of a procedure to address thoracic outlet syndrome. He’s posted a 5.85 ERA in 20 minor league rehab innings, albeit with more encouraging rate stats: 28% strikeout rate, 6.1% walk rate, 45.1% ground-ball rate. Wheeler will join last year’s Cy Young runner-up, Cristopher Sánchez, longtime top prospect Andrew Painter, and veterans Aaron Nola and Jesús Luzardo in the Philadelphia rotation.
All told, Walker ends up with 402 2/3 innings of 5.12 ERA ball as a member of the Phillies. He now becomes the second high-priced veteran whose contract will effectively be eaten by the Phillies this season. Outfielder/designated hitter Nick Castellanos was also cut loose from the final season of a five-year, $100MM contract just prior to spring training. He’s since signed with the Padres, for whom he’s batting .146/.196/.208 in 51 plate appearances. As with Walker, the Phillies are paying the vast majority of Castellanos’ $20MM salary. The Padres only owe him the prorated minimum for any time spent in the majors.
Padres Sign Lucas Giolito
Lucas Giolito‘s protracted 2025-2026 free agency stint has finally ended. The Padres announced that they have signed him to a one-year deal with a mutual option. He’ll receive a $3MM guarantee, with half of that total via buyout on a 2027 mutual option worth $8MM. Giolito can increase the buyout by $3MM based on starts in 2026. There is an additional $2MM in unlockable bonuses tied to awards voting. To make room on the 40-man, the Padres announced that righty Bryan Hoeing has been transferred to the 60-day IL as he recovers from flexor surgery. Giolito will start with Single-A Lake Elsinore and must be on the major league roster within the next 25 days. Giolito is represented by CAA Sports.
For Giolito, his second foray into free agency was not nearly as successful as his first. His 2019 to 2021 run with the White Sox had him positioned as a top-of-the-rotation arm. Among 46 starters who threw at least 350 innings in that time frame, Giolito was sixth with a 30.7% strikeout rate on the back of a fantastic fastball-changeup pairing. His propensity for fly balls (41.7 FB%) and homers (13.7 HR/FB%) possibly prevented “ace” designation, yet Giolito was easily one of baseball’s best pitchers in this time frame.
However, more middling results followed in 2022 and 2023, with the homers especially ticking up in 2023. His 41 big flies were second only to Lance Lynn. Despite a poor platform year by his standards, Giolito and his representatives were able to parlay the showing into a $38.5MM guarantee with the Red Sox over the ’24-’25 seasons, with some additional incentives and player option structure.
Unfortunately, a torn UCL brought his 2024 season to an abrupt halt. An internal brace procedure (which carries a shorter rehab timeline than a traditional Tommy John ligament graft) had him back on the mound at the end of the following April, where he threw 145 innings. ERA evaluators/predictors like xFIP (4.59) and SIERA (4.65) were more bearish on his work than his actual results (3.41). Notably, Giolito’s strikeouts were down from his heyday with the White Sox. He profiled more as a back-of-the-rotation starter than the tremendous upside he flashed from 2019-2021 with Chicago.
Despite a solid return to the rotation, Giolito suffered from flexor irritation and a bone issue at the conclusion of the 2025 season. Although he was set to return to the club after resting, the Red Sox’s early postseason exit meant Giolito had no chance to pitch again before free agency. Under the hood, Giolito looked like a muted version of his best days, but he was a perfectly adequate starter in 2025.
His fastball velocity checked in about a one mile per hour (93.3) lower than his best seasons with the White Sox (94.2), but this was a continuation of a trend started in 2022. Among 82 pitchers who tossed at least 140 innings last season, Giolito was 69th in K-BB%, indicating both below-average ability to miss bats and control the zone. However, he was able to limit homers more effectively than ever before: his 9.3 HR/FB% was below league average, and the first time he recorded a single-percentage mark in a season of 25 or more starts.
Giolito declined his end of a $19MM mutual option (essentially a formality) with the Red Sox for 2026, and it perhaps came as no surprise that the Red Sox passed on extending Giolito a qualifying offer after the 2025 season due to some lingering injury trepidation. He is the last of the MLBTR 2025-2026 Top 50 MLB Free Agents to sign, and comes in far below expectations in years and total guarantee. Even without draft pick compensation attached, Giolito sat on the free agent market well into April, despite some notable playoff aspirants like the Braves, Cubs, and Padres losing multiple starters during Spring Training and the early season.
Speaking of the Padres, the news couldn’t come at a better time. Injuries and slowed recoveries have decimated the top of the rotation over the past few months. Yu Darvish had his second UCL surgery after the playoffs concluded in early November. Darvish is currently rehabbing on the restricted list away from the team and has reportedly considered retirement. Joe Musgrove, recovering from his own Tommy John surgery back in October 2024 and expected to open the season in the rotation, has had his rehab interrupted and was placed on the IL to open the season. 2025 workhorse Nick Pivetta hit the IL after four starts with a flexor strain. Surgery is not currently on the table, but given the recurrence of the strain (Pivetta also hit the IL for a short period in 2024 with the same issue), the Padres will give Pivetta ample time to rest his ailing arm in the hopes of having him available for a postseason run.
These injuries have thinned the depth of the rotation considerably in San Diego. Juan Soto trade returns Michael King and Randy Vasquez are providing quality innings, but the back of the rotation has shown mixed results to this point. Walker Buehler, though a far cry from his Dodgers’ peak, is looking like he still might have something left in the tank. Former Rockies All-Star German Marquez has a 3.86 ERA but less exciting numbers under the hood. Knuckleballer Matt Waldron was hit hard in his 2026 debut.
All three back-end starters have struggled to give the Padres consistent innings at the back of the rotation. Seven of the Padres’ first 23 games have had a starter fail to record an out in the fifth inning. Though Griffin Canning is on the horizon while working through a Triple-A El Paso rehab, the Padres decided that it was worth fortifying the rotation depth for the summer ahead.
Giolito’s contract stipulation for a Major League recall within the next 25 days would put him in line for a mid-May debut. This should give him four turns through the rotation to build up his arm after missing all of Spring Training. Should the rotation remain healthy after Canning joins, the Padres will have some decisions to make. As MLB veterans with ample service time, Buehler and Marquez can’t be optioned without their consent. Someone may end up in the bullpen or pushed off the roster entirely, depending on future health.
For now, San Diego will be happy to kick the roster-crunch can down the road. It’s an affordable, low-risk signing of an MLB-quality arm that could help the team weather the injury storm. The deal is much in the vein of recent similar signings by PBO/GM A.J. Preller. Operating under some payroll constraints after the death of former owner Peter Seidler and the imminent sale of the club, Preller has prioritized creative, low-dollar guarantees to Pivetta, Marquez, Buehler, and now Giolito to minimize the CBT hit (the Padres are currently in the first luxury payor tier). For his part, Giolito gets the opportunity to pitch for a potential contender with a recent record of rehabilitating starting pitchers’ value as he looks to surpass his 2025 platform year for a better offer next offseason.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post was the first to report the $3MM guarantee and the $2MM in awards bonuses. Ari Alexander of 7News Boston WHDH had the $1.5MM salary and buyout on the $8MM mutual option plus the $3MM in escalators. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune had the details on the initial minor league assignment and recall stipulation.
Braves To Select JR Ritchie
The Braves are promoting pitching prospect JR Ritchie to start tomorrow afternoon’s game against the Nationals, reports Harrison Smajovits of Sports Illustrated. Mark Bowman of MLB.com reports that Didier Fuentes is being optioned back to Triple-A Gwinnett in the corresponding transaction. Atlanta will also promote Carlos Carrasco to work in long relief.
Fuentes was just recalled this morning. He started this evening but labored over three innings, allowing seven hits and a walk. Fuentes’ inefficiency forced the Braves to bring in Martín Pérez for long relief. The veteran southpaw tossed three innings of two-run ball, which obviously took him out of consideration to start tomorrow’s ballgame.
Atlanta needed a spot starter for the finale of their four-game set in Washington. Long relievers José Suarez and Dylan Dodd each pitched on Tuesday, and Dodd is reportedly going on the injured list. A bullpen game would have been a lot to ask. Reynaldo López only completed one inning last night, so every Braves reliever has pitched within the past two days.
Ritchie was the logical candidate to take the ball. The 2022 supplemental first-round draftee has been Gwinnett’s best pitcher in the early going. Ritchie has only given up three runs through his first 27 1/3 innings while striking out 26.2% of opposing hitters. He has tiptoed around erratic command, as he’s walked 13 batters and plunked four more.
Although the 22-year-old isn’t a finished product, he’s likely to be up and down throughout the season as a key rotation depth piece. Baseball America ranks Ritchie as the #2 prospect in the Atlanta system, crediting him with a deep arsenal and a chance to be a #4 starter. Ritchie has been in the 93-94 mph range with his four-seam fastball and sinker this season. He throws four distinct offspeed pitches — a changeup, cutter, slider and curveball.
It’s past the point at which Ritchie can reach a full year of service time in 2026. He was on the preseason Top 100 lists at each of BA, MLB Pipeline and ESPN. He therefore meets the threshold for the Prospect Promotion Incentive and could “earn” a service year if he finishes top two in Rookie of the Year balloting. The Braves would not receive an extra draft choice in that scenario because he wasn’t on the MLB roster for 172+ days.
There’s a decent chance this is a one-off appearance regardless. Ritchie will be the only healthy, optionable pitcher on their active roster aside from top setup man Dylan Lee. Atlanta has an off day on Monday. The Braves could option Ritchie after tomorrow’s appearance to get an extra bullpen arm up for their weekend series against the Phillies. Pérez would be ready to start in the middle of next week. Spencer Strider probably only needs one more rehab outing before he returns to the rotation.