Shaun Anderson Elects Free Agency
Right-hander Shaun Anderson has elected free agency after being sent outright to Triple-A Salt Lake, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates he cleared waivers after the Angels designated him for assignment a few days ago.
The most likely outcome from here is that Anderson re-signs with the Angels via a new minor league deal. He and the team have been doing this dance for quite a while. Dating back to the start of the 2025 season, Anderson has been selected to the Angels’ roster five times. In each case, after a short amount of time on the roster, he has been designated for assignment. Then he clears waivers, elects free agency and re-signs.
It’s a nice arrangement for the team, as they effectively get an extra pitcher on the roster. They can call on Anderson whenever they need a fresh arm in the bullpen and discard him for the same reason. Since he is out of options, he has to be bumped off the 40-man when removed from the active roster.
For Anderson, he would presumably prefer a more steady big league job. However, the fact that he keeps clearing waivers indicates no club is willing to give him one. With this arrangement, he at least gets sporadic hits of big league pay and service time.
Anderson has 180 big league innings under his belt with a 6.35 earned run average. 28 of those frames have been with the Angels since the start of last season, with Anderson posting a 7.71 ERA in that time. As mentioned, he will probably re-sign with the Angels soon, but he is technically on the market for the time being.
Photo courtesy of Jay Biggerstaff, Imagn Images
Taijuan Walker Opts Out Of Angels Contract
Veteran right-hander Taijuan Walker has been granted his release by the Angels, per the transaction log at MiLB.com. Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports that Walker, who signed a minor league deal with the Angels a few weeks ago, had an opt-out in that deal, which he triggered.
Walker, 33, was released by the Phillies earlier this season after being shelled for 25 runs (23 earned) on 36 hits and 11 walks with 17 strikeouts in 22 2/3 innings. The resulting 9.13 ERA put an end to a disappointing stint with the Phils, who’d signed him to a four-year, $72MM contract ahead of the 2023 season. Walker posted decent numbers in 2023 and 2025 but was clobbered in 2024 and 2026. His time in Philly drew to a close with a 5.12 ERA, a 16.9% strikeout rate, a 9.1% walk rate and a 42.9% ground-ball rate in 402 2/3 innings.
In three starts with the Angels’ Triple-A affiliate in Salt Lake City, Walker pitched well. He tallied 11 innings and held opponents to four runs (three earned) on 11 hits and four walks with nine strikeouts. The Halos’ rotation is a mess right now, but apparently they didn’t see enough in those three starts to plug Walker into the staff. They’re currently going with Jose Soriano, Reid Detmers, Walbert Ureña and Grayson Rodriguez. Righty Jack Kochanowicz hit the injured list with elbow inflammation this weekend after surrendering seven runs (six earned) in just one-third of an inning against the Dodgers in his most recent start.
Walker will once again explore free agency in search of new opportunities. Even if the Angels prefer other in-house options to step into the fifth spot in the rotation, there are plenty of other clubs around the league whose starting staffs have been ravaged by health troubles. The Blue Jays, Cubs, Tigers, Twins and Marlins are just a few of the teams that have multiple rotation arms on the injured list at the moment.
Rotation depth is always in demand, so Walker should find another opportunity, even if it means taking another minor league deal and trying to earn his way onto a big league roster with continued solid performance in Triple-A. Any team that signs Walker would only owe him the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the major league roster. The Phillies are on the hook for the rest of his $18MM salary.
Rays To Select Austin Slater
The Rays will select the contract of outfielder Austin Slater from Triple-A Durham, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Slater signed a minor league deal with Tampa Bay late last month but is now headed to the major league club as the Rays gear up for a slate of left-handed pitchers.
Tamps Bay will need to open a 40-man spot for Slater. Righty Jon Heasley, who was recently diagnosed with a stress reaction in his elbow and placed on the 15-day IL, seems like a potential 60-day IL candidate. Outfielder Jake Fraley underwent a hernia procedure last month that came with a recovery timetable of six to eight weeks and could be a candidate as well, if the team feels his recovery will skew toward the lengthier end of that window.
Slater, 33, has already played with two different teams this season and seven over the past three seasons combined. He’s been hitting well in Durham, going 8-for-23 with five doubles, a homer, five walks and six strikeouts in 28 trips to the plate (.348/.464/.696).
Slater has taken 49 major league plate appearances between the Marlins and Mets this season, and they haven’t gone well. He’s 8-for-43 with only one extra-base hit (a double) and three times as many strikeouts (15) as walks (five). Broadly speaking, his past three seasons in the majors have been a struggle — hence the frequent changes of address. He’s taken 421 plate appearances in the bigs since Opening Day 2024 and slashed just .212/.298/.304.
Even with that lackluster run, however, Slater is still a lifetime .263/.352/.420 hitter in 1067 plate appearances against left-handed pitching. The Rays will face Red Sox left-hander Connelly Early tonight and are slated to face fellow southpaw Payton Tolle tomorrow. The Angels’ rotation is in disarray, so it’s hard to gauge exactly who’ll be starting for them next weekend when the Rays visit Anaheim. They’ll miss lefty Reid Detmers, barring a shuffle of the current order, but the Halos currently have five lefties in the bullpen. That should lead to plenty of chances for Slater to contribute off the bench or perhaps in the starting lineup if the Angels opt for bullpen games with a lefty opener and/or bulk reliever (e.g. Mitch Farris, Sam Aldegheri).
Diamondbacks Sign Max Kepler
The Diamondbacks announced a one-year deal with outfielder Max Kepler. The signing won’t yet impact Arizona’s 40-man roster or active roster, as Kepler is still on the restricted list while serving an 80-game PED suspension.
News broke last January about Kepler’s positive test for the PED known as Epitrenbolone, and with Kepler still on the free agent market, his camp and Major League Baseball worked out an agreement for Kepler to serve his 80-game suspension even if he didn’t land a new contract. Since Kepler didn’t sign until now, he has been serving his 80-game suspension as if he was still a member of the Phillies (his former team).
Philadelphia played its 65th game of the season today, so the final 15 games of Kepler’s suspension presumably now adhere to the Diamondbacks’ schedule. This makes June 25 the first day Kepler is eligible to take part in the 2026 season, so he’ll get a couple of weeks of ramp-up time in the minor leagues before making his D’Backs debut.
Financial terms of the signing weren’t revealed, but it can be assumed Kepler will be receiving a pretty small guaranteed salary prorated over the remainder of the 2026 campaign. Even before the suspension, Kepler was likely facing a tough market given his lack of production with the Phillies last year. He hit .216/.300/.391 with 18 home runs over 474 plate appearances, and even those modest numbers now come under the cloud of the PED suspension.
Kepler has provided almost exactly league-average offense over his 11 MLB seasons, as he had a 101 wRC+ from a career slash line of .235/.316/.425 over 1199 PA with the Twins and Phillies. Kepler posted a 122 wRC+ in both 2019 and 2023 and a 109 wRC+ during the shortened 2020 season, but he has otherwise been a subpar hitter in his other eight seasons.
The left-handed hitter has struggled against southpaw pitching for much of his career, limiting Kepler’s effectiveness as a true everyday player. Kepler has expressed some frustration over a platoon role in the past, such as last June when he said “I signed here [in Philadelphia] being told that I was going to be the starting everyday left fielder” after he wasn’t in the lineup for three straight games when the Phils faced left-handed starters.
While naturally more productive against right-handed pitching, Kepler hasn’t really been a righty-masher, as he has hit a respectable but uninspiring .240/.324/.446 over his career with the platoon advantage. Most of Kepler’s success against righties came earlier in his career, as he has batted just .237/.315/.408 in 1436 PA against righties since Opening Day 2022.
Beyond the offense, Kepler also contributed outstanding right field defense during his prime years as a regular in the Twins lineup. His defensive metrics, however, have dipped as he has battled knee problems in recent years, and the move to the seemingly easier left field position in Philadelphia resulted in +2 Defensive Runs Saved and 0 Outs Above Average over 773 1/3 innings (which represented the first time Kepler had ever played left in his career).
Corbin Carroll obviously has right field covered in Arizona, so Kepler will likely act as a left fielder and DH against right-handed pitching. The Diamondbacks were known to be looking for left-handed hitting help, given that outfielders Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Jordan Lawlar, Ryan Waldschmidt, and Tommy Troy are all right-handed hitters. By the time Kepler is eligible for reinstatement, Gurriel should be back from the hamstring strain that has sidelined him for last couple of weeks, and Lawlar (currently on a Triple-A rehab assignment) should be back from the broken wrist that has kept him on the IL for over two months.
It should be noted that Kepler’s salary is likely small enough that the D’Backs would feel comfortable releasing Kepler (or designating him for assignment) if he doesn’t produce. This seems like purely a depth move for the Snakes as they continue to try and figure out two-thirds of their outfield picture, and a bit of a flier to see what Kepler might have in the tank in his age-33 season. However Kepler might contribute to Arizona’s postseason chase, he is ineligible to participate in this year’s playoffs, as per the terms of PED suspensions.
Rangers Release Sam Haggerty
The Rangers have released utilityman Sam Haggerty, according to his MLB.com transaction tracker. The veteran was designated for assignment on Friday. He’s now on the open market.
The Rangers still owe Haggerty the remaining money on his $1.25MM deal. Another team can add him and pay him the prorated league minimum while he’s on the roster. That figure would be subtracted from Texas’ total.
The 32-year-old Haggerty slashed .159/.213/.182 in limited playing time this year. He’s typically punched out at a slightly above-average clip, but his strikeout rate has jumped to 34.0% in 2026. Haggerty’s two steals were largely the extent of his offensive contributions. He no longer has high-end wheels, though he still ranks in the 75th percentile for sprint speed.
Haggerty has experience at all three outfield spots and every infield spot except shortstop. He’s only played center field and left field with the Rangers this season, but his versatility could attract another club. Haggerty was a league-average hitter as recently as last season. He delivered a 98 wRC+ in 64 games with Texas. The veteran chipped in a dozen stolen bases. The performance was enough to earn a seven-figure commitment from the Rangers over the winter.
Photo courtesy of Isaiah J. Downing, Imagn Images
Dodgers Trade Antoine Kelly To Cubs
Today: Both teams have confirmed the trade. The Cubs will send cash considerations to the Dodgers, per ESPN’s Jesse Rogers.
June 6: 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
Angels Place Jack Kochanowicz On 15-Day IL, Recall Sam Aldegheri
The Angels announced that they have placed right-hander Jack Kochanowicz on the 15-day injured list with right elbow inflammation. Lefty Sam Aldegheri is being recalled from Triple-A in place of Kochanowicz.
Kochanowicz told reporters, including Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com, that his elbow has been bothering him in his past three starts. Kochanowicz tried to pitch through it, but he’ll now head to the IL in an attempt to fully recover. He will undergo an MRI tomorrow. Aldegheri is available out of the bullpen for now, per Bollinger, but he could slide into the rotation if needed. Caden Dana and George Klassen are other candidates for that spot.
Kochanowicz is having as good of a season as the Angels overall, which is to say not very good. The 6’7″ righty has covered 64 innings over 13 starts, recording a 6.05 ERA in the process. Kochanowicz has a 5.38 xERA, a 4.98 FIP, and a 5.00 SIERA, suggesting he’s been somewhat unlucky, but still ineffective. Indeed, manager Kurt Suzuki was non-committal about keeping Kochanowicz in the rotation before the IL placement was announced. “[We will] talk about it and see what our options are,” Suzuki told Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. Fletcher also noted that Kochanowicz was experiencing mechanical issues, which can now be partly attributed to his injury.
The fact that Kochanowicz has held onto his spot for this long speaks to the Angels’ lack of rotation depth behind José Soriano and Reid Detmers. The former has cooled off after a hot start but still has a 2.72 ERA in 76 innings. Detmers has strong peripherals that suggest he’s due for improvement on his 4.26 ERA. Otherwise, rookie Walbert Ureña has a 2.68 ERA and an excellent 51.4% ground ball rate, but also a 4.53 SIERA thanks to a high walk rate. Grayson Rodriguez has allowed 19 earned runs in 18 innings since returning from injury.
Yusei Kikuchi is on the 60-day IL and won’t be back until late July at best, per the club’s official injury report. Dana and Klassen are both on the 40-man roster as depth options, and Dana was a Top-100 prospect last year according to MLB.com. However, neither Dana nor Klassen is performing well at Triple-A this year despite high ground ball rates.
Working in Kochanowicz’s favor are his own high ground ball rate (54.6% in 240 1/3 big league innings), 72nd-percentile fastball velocity, and much improved slider (-6 run value in 2025, +1 this year). Granted, the Angels are not contending and can afford to give the 25-year-old Kochanowicz plenty of leeway. Still, his ground ball rate and decent stuff are intriguing on their own, so it wouldn’t be unrealistic to see Kochanowicz back in the rotation when he returns. The Angels only have four starters at the moment per FanGraphs’ RosterResource tool, so Kochanowicz could reclaim his spot as the fifth starter.
Aldegheri returns to the Majors as a long reliever for now. He’s scattered three big league appearances around three recalls and options this year, with this move being his fourth recall. Aldegheri has a 7.24 ERA in 46 innings over nine starts at Triple-A in 2026. His big league track record consists of an uninspiring 5.26 ERA in 37 2/3 innings from 2024-26. It would not be surprising for Aldegheri to appear in one game then get optioned once again, with one of Dana or Klassen getting a temporary rotation spot with Kochanowicz out.
Photo courtesy of William Liang, Imagn Images
Blue Jays Select Chad Dallas, Outright Tanner Andrews
TODAY: Andrews has cleared waivers, according to Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. Toronto has assigned him outright to Triple-A Buffalo. Andrews does not have the requisite service time to reject the assignment, nor has he been previously outrighted. As a result, he will stay in the organization.
June 4: The Blue Jays announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Chad Dallas. Fellow righty Hayden Juenger has been optioned to Triple-A Buffalo in a corresponding active roster move. To open a 40-man spot, righty Tanner Andrews has been designated for assignment.
Dallas, 26 later this month, was a fourth-round pick of the Jays in 2021. He put himself on the prospect map with a strong 2023, making 23 starts between High-A and Double-A. He logged 123 1/3 innings, allowing 3.65 earned runs per nine. He struck out 27.9% of batters faced, walked 9.5% of opponents and induced grounders on 44.3% of balls in play.
Going into 2024, Baseball America ranked him the #14 prospect in the system. FanGraphs put him 16th. He could have been in line to make his major league debut that year but his health intervened. He struggled at Triple-A around a few stints on the injured list and eventually underwent Tommy John surgery in September. He missed the entire 2025 season. Here in 2026, he has been back on the mound and has logged 36 innings for Triple-A Buffalo with a 4.50 ERA, 24.1% strikeout rate, 8.2% walk rate and 41.7% ground ball rate.
In the long term, Dallas might end up as a reliever. His best pitch is his slider while he doesn’t have a great weapon against lefties. For now, he’s still stretched out and the Jays need the innings, as their rotation has been decimated by injuries this year. José Berríos, Cody Ponce and Bowden Francis are done for the season. Dylan Cease, Max Scherzer, Shane Bieber and Lazaro Estrada are also on the IL. Jake Bloss is still recovering from last year’s Tommy John surgery. Prospect Ricky Tiedemann is still in the injury wilderness.
Due to all those absences, the Jays have been rolling with a hollowed-out rotation. Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage and Patrick Corbin are the three traditional starters. The Jays have also been deploying frequent bullpen games with Rule 5 pick Spencer Miles working as a bulk guy in those. Until recently, they had Cease in the mix as well but his hamstring strain further cut into the group and has necessitated even more depth arms getting into the mix. Austin Voth was called up for an emergency bulk outing last week but was quickly bumped off the roster after.
Left-hander Mason Fluharty is technically starting tonight’s game but Dallas will probably be working bulk innings behind him. Since this is the first time Dallas has been called up to the majors, he has a full slate of options. He will likely be sent back to Buffalo after this. The Jays acquired Simeon Woods Richardson yesterday. He has not yet joined the active roster but could perhaps link up with the team in Toronto tomorrow. The Jays also might get Cease back soon. He is expected to make a rehab start tonight and might only need that one game before being activated next week. They also have Scherzer, Bieber, Estrada and Bloss out on rehab assignments at the moment.
Andrews is a 30-year-old minor league journeyman. He spent time in the farm systems of the Marlins, Giants and Twins before signing a minor league deal with the Jays coming into this year. The Jays added him to the roster when Cease hit the IL. He made two scoreless appearances before being optioned back down to Triple-A Buffalo.
He now heads into DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Jays could take five days to explore trade interest, though they could also put him on waivers sooner than that. He posted a 6.02 ERA in the minors from 2023 to 2025 but has a 1.29 ERA in 21 innings this year. That’s thanks to a fortunate .220 batting average on balls in play and 94% strand rate. His 4.26 FIP suggests his results would be less impressive with more neutral luck.
Photo courtesy of Mike Watters, Imagn Images
Giants Release Ryan Borucki
TODAY: The Giants have released Borucki, according to his transactions log at MLB.com. Borucki is now a free agent and free to sign with any club.
May 31: The Giants have designated left-hander Ryan Borucki for assignment and selected the contract of outfielder Jonah Cox from Double-A Richmond, according to the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser. Outfielder Will Brennan has also been optioned to Triple-A, with righty Tristan Beck recalled in his place.
After being cut by the White Sox near the end of Spring Training, Borucki quickly caught on with the Giants on a big league contract. The results haven’t been there for Borucki in his ninth MLB season, as the southpaw has a 4.94 ERA, 14.4% strikeout rate, and 8.7% walk rate across 23 2/3 relief innings. Just when it seemed like Borucki was getting on track after a shaky start to the season, he gave up five earned runs over his last three outings and 5 1/3 innings of work.
As usual, Borucki has drastic splits, as left-handed batters have only a .550 OPS against him this season (while righty batters have a whopping 1.085 OPS). A team in need of southpaw relief help could be inclined to claim Borucki off San Francisco’s waiver wire, but the likelier scenario is that he’ll clear waivers and then be outrighted to Triple-A. Borucki has been outrighted in the past, so he can elect free agency rather than accept that assignment.
The 24-year-old Cox will be making his Major League debut whenever he appears in a game, and Cox will get his first taste of the Show before even getting a look at the Triple-A level. It seems like Cox’s superb performance in Richmond couldn’t be ignored, as Cox is hitting .400/.453/.644 with six home runs and 27 steals (in 34 attempts) over 183 Double-A plate appearances.
Cox has never posted anything close to these numbers in his previous three minor league seasons, and he is surely getting a lot of help from an eye-opening .464 BABIP. That said, Cox’s elite speed has helped him generate large BABIPs in the past, and he has drastically cut back on his strikeout rate to 16.9% in Double-A ball.
The bat has been the only question mark about Cox’s game, as his defense and speed were already seen as ready for primetime. Those plus skills alone make Cox a viable bench piece for the Giants and perhaps a platoon partner for Drew Gilbert in center field, even if there’s bound to be a learning curve as Cox makes the big jump from facing Double-A pitching to big league arms. The Giants rank last in baseball in stolen bases, so Cox should provide an immediate boost on the basepaths.
Baseball America ranks Cox 21st on their list of Giants prospects. Cox was a sixth-round pick for the Athletics in the 2023 draft, and he was dealt to San Francisco in the February 2024 trade that sent Ross Stripling to the A’s.
Pirates Select Davis Wendzel, Transfer Chris Devenski To 60-Day IL
The Pirates announced that they have selected the contract of infielder Davis Wendzel from Triple-A Indianapolis. Outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia is being optioned in Wendzel’s place. To clear space on the 40-man roster, reliever Chris Devenski is being transferred to the 60-day injured list.
Wendzel signed a minor league contract with Pittsburgh in December and was a non-roster invite to spring training. In 211 plate appearances at Triple-A this year, he’s batting .246/.360/.491 with nine home runs and a 123 wRC+. That continues a run of decent minor league hitting for Wendzel, as he’s been average or better at Triple-A since 2024. Wendzel’s track record in the Majors is much thinner. He appeared in 27 games for the Rangers in 2024, managing just six hits in 49 plate appearances.
Wendzel typically plays third base or shortstop, though he’s unlikely to get much time at the hot corner. Nick Gonzales has a 115 wRC+ in 238 plate appearances as the Pirates’ main third baseman. Wendzel is more likely to see time at shortstop, if only a little. Jared Triolo is covering for the injured Konnor Griffin at the moment. Triolo has a 57 wRC+ this year that is virtually unplayable, and while he’s a good defender at second and third, he’s been worth -6 Defensive Runs Saved in 588 2/3 career innings at short. At the same time, Wendzel is entirely unproven in the Majors, so his selection is more about giving the Pirates a second backup infielder (Tyler Callihan being more of a utility type) than seriously challenging for playing time.
Devenski’s move to the 60-day IL clears a roster spot for Wendzel and puts Devenski out until early July. The right-hander went on the 15-day IL on May 7th after serving a two-game suspension for intentionally throwing at the Reds’ Sal Stewart a few days earlier. Devenski’s injury was undisclosed at the time, and that remains the case one month later. His transfer to the 60-day IL is backdated to the original placement, so Devenski can return during the July 7-9 home series against the Braves if he is ready.
As for Garcia, he heads down to Triple-A after a roughly three-week stint in the Majors. The 23-year-old got into 13 games since being recalled on May 19th. He batted .200/.243/.229 in 37 plate appearances, which amounts to just a 32 wRC+. Garcia hasn’t played much in the minors this year thanks to a back injury in mid-April, which sidelined him for a month. Still, Garcia is a former Top-100 prospect and ranks No. 4 in the Pirates’ Top-30, according to MLB.com. He’ll get regular work at Triple-A for the time being and will surely get called up again at some point.
Photo courtesy of Reggie Hildred, Imagn Images