Royals Place Vinnie Pasquantino On IL With Hamate Fracture
1:56 pm: Pasquantino underwent surgery for the hamate fracture this morning, according to manager Matt Quatraro (via broadcaster Joel Goldberg). The timeline on Pasquantino is roughly four to six weeks.
10:00 am: The Royals have placed first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino on the 10-day injured list with a right hamate fracture, per a team announcement. Outfielder John Rave is being recalled in a corresponding active roster move.
Pasquantino suffered the injury in the fifth inning of yesterday’s 8-7 loss to the Astros. Facing Houston’s Mike Burrows, Pasquantino swung at an inside pitch and popped out to third base. He immediately grimaced after the swing and ultimately left the game (video courtesy of MLB.com). Jac Caglianone slide from right field to first base, and Isaac Collins took Pasquantino’s spot in the lineup, playing left field.
The hamate fracture is the same injury suffered by the Twins’ Ryan Jeffers and more recently the Guardians’ José Ramírez. The Royals have not yet announced a timeline on Pasquantino, but as noted by MLBTR’s Steve Adams, hamate fractures tend to sideline players for four to five weeks. Jeffers landed on the IL on May 19th and is expected back in July, per the Twins’ official injury report. Others like Corbin Carroll and Francisco Lindor returned within the expected time frame, while the Orioles’ Jackson Holliday took about three months after experiencing setbacks.
At a minimum, Pasquantino will be out of action through the All-Star break. That will leave the Royals without a key player, albeit one who has struggled in 2026. Pasquantino has so far batted .224/.309/.350 in 291 plate appearances, which is 19% below average by wRC+. That’s a far cry from last year, when Pasquantino was 16% above average, and it’s easily the worst mark of his career. Adding in his subpar defense, the 28-year-old has been below replacement level this year.
Pasquantino’s drop in hard contact is the biggest culprit for his downturn at the plate. He had a 44.7% hard-hit rate last year, but that’s fallen to 37.7% in 2026, which ranks in the 34th percentile according to Statcast. Pasquantino is also running a career-low 88.5 MPH average exit velocity. There’s some evidence that he’s gotten unlucky, as Pasquantino’s .350 slugging percentage lags behind his .394 expected slugging. However, even the latter mark would be a career low, so the reality is that Pasquantino is both unlucky and a lesser hitter this year.
For now, the Royals will probably go with the alignment they used last night after Pasquantino’s exit: Caglianone at first base, then Collins and Lane Thomas in the outfield corners. Caglianone has rarely played first base in the Majors, though he played 516 innings there in the minors from 2024-25. Caglianone is hitting very well this year (118 wRC+), so he can get by if he’s even a passable defender. Offensively, the net result of Pasquantino’s injury is swapping him out for more of Thomas. The latter’s 99 wRC+ is technically below average but still exceeds Pasquantino’s output this year.
In the meantime, Rave gets called up to fill in as a backup outfielder. Rave, a fifth-round draft pick by Kansas City in 2019, debuted last year and batted .196/.283/.307 in 175 plate appearances, which amounted to a 65 wRC+. In contrast, he’s batted .278/.395/.475 with a 126 wRC+ at Triple-A this year, his third straight season of above-average output at that level. Rave has two option years remaining and will probably get sent down when Pasquantino returns.
Photo courtesy of Denny Medley, Imagn Images
Padres Select Blake Hunt, Designate Ty Adcock For Assignment
The Padres have selected the contract of catcher Blake Hunt from Triple-A El Paso, according to a team announcement. Catcher Freddy Fermin is going on the 7-day concussion injured list in the meantime. To clear room for Hunt on the 40-man roster, right-hander Ty Adcock is being designated for assignment.
Fermin was warming up reliever Yuki Matsui for the bottom of the sixth when Matsui spiked a pitch in the dirt. Fermin turned his head and the ball struck him on the left side of his head after the bounce. Rodolfo Durán took over for Fermin behind the plate. Manager Craig Stammen described Fermin’s injury as more severe than that of Xander Bogaerts, as relayed by Annie Heilbrunn of the San Diego Sports Association. Bogaerts was drilled in the head by the Orioles’ Trey Gibson in the top of the fifth and eventually left the game as well.
Stammen added that Fermin has been hit a lot this season, so the team will proceed with caution. Durán will start behind the plate in the meantime, with Hunt serving as his backup. Hunt, 28, will be making his major league debut when he gets into a game. The Padres drafted him in Competitive Balance Round B back in 2017. Hunt stayed in the organization through 2019 before minor league contests were canceled during the COVID season. He was traded to the Rays in the Blake Snell deal and also made stops in the Orioles and Mariners organizations before making his way back to San Diego this year.
Hunt has only made 58 plate appearances this year thanks to an oblique injury which put him on the 60-day injured list through May 17th. He was solid last year, hitting .272/.368/.452 with a 108 wRC+ in 280 plate appearances for the Mariners’ Triple-A affiliate. Hunt showcased decent power in that time, hitting eight home runs and running a .180 isolated slugging percentage, although he also benefited from a .331 average on balls in play.
The Padres now have four catchers on the 40-man roster including Hunt. More than likely, the career minor leaguer is in for a short stint in the Majors. Luis Campusano is currently out with a left big toe fracture. He has not yet started a rehab assignment, although the team’s official injury report has him coming back later this month. Campusano is also out of options. In the long term, if the Padres only want to carry three catchers on the 40-man roster, one option would be to option Fermin and designate Hunt for assignment. In any case, Hunt’s lack of big league experience could make him the odd man out behind Durán, Campusano, and Fermin.
Adcock, 29, loses his 40-man roster spot and will now be put up on waivers. He has not appeared in the Majors this year, and his big league resume consists of just 23 innings with a 5.48 ERA from 2023-25. Adcock has an ugly 7.15 ERA in 11 1/3 minor league innings this year, and he’s never had an ERA below 4.66 in a full season at Triple-A. Having been outrighted by the Mets last year, Adcock would have the right to refuse an outright this time around if he goes unclaimed, which seems likely.
Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images
White Sox Sign Javy Guerra To Minor League Deal
The White Sox have added veteran reliever Javy Guerra on a minor league agreement, according to his transaction tracker on MLB.com. Atlanta’s Triple-A affiliate released the right-hander on Thursday. It didn’t take long for Guerra to find a new club.
Guerra had spent the past two seasons with the Hanshin Tigers of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. He returned to the States this year, inking a minor league deal with Atlanta in January. The righty was tagged for five earned runs over 2 2/3 innings in Spring Training. Guerra scuffled to a 5.68 ERA across 16 appearances with Gwinnett. He had three more walks (20) than strikeouts (17).
The 30-year-old Guerra has spent parts of five big-league seasons with three teams. He most recently pitched with the Rays in 2023. The majority of Guerra’s innings in the majors have come with the Padres. He debuted with San Diego in 2019 and was an occasional member of the bullpen for four seasons.
Guerra has an ERA well above 6.00 as a big leaguer. Walks have typically been his biggest issue. He’s issued free passes at a massive 14.3% clip over 63 MLB innings. Guerra did put together a strong campaign with Hanshin in 2024. He fired 58 innings with a 1.55 ERA. The righty recorded 14 saves. More importantly, he trimmed his walk rate to 4.9%. Guerra only pitched in six games during his second season with Hanshin.
Photo courtesy of Jim Cowsert, Imagn Images
Angels Outright Omar Martinez
The Angels announced that catcher Omar Martinez has cleared waivers and was assigned outright to Triple-A Salt Lake. The backstop was designated for assignment last week in a series of moves that included outfielder Gustavo Campero being added to the 40-man roster. Campero had a looming opt-out clause in his deal.
Martinez appeared in five games with the Angels. Most of his time with the club came on defense, as he totaled just three plate appearances. The 24-year-old did manage his first hit, drilling a single in his debut at-bat. Martinez went 0-for-2 in his lone start.
The Angels added Martinez on a minor league deal in November. He’d spent his entire pro career in the Yankees organization. New York signed him as an international free agent out of Venezuela in 2018. Martinez put together some strong offensive seasons at the lower rungs of the minors, but has struggled at the upper levels. He hit .212 in his first stop at Double-A last year. The backstop posted a 63 wRC+ in 23 games after moving to Triple-A.
Martinez has slashed .189/.308/.369 with Salt Lake this season. He’s popped six home runs in 130 plate appearances, but he’s also struck out at a 33.1% clip. Martinez will head back to the Bees after no team put in a claim during the waiver process. This is the first time he’s been outrighted, so he had to accept the minor league assignment.
Los Angeles has had a tough time finding consistent production behind the plate this season. The club ranks 23rd in OPS at the position heading into Saturday. Logan O’Hoppe has a 76 wRC+ through 46 games. He’s struggled mightily with the glove, posting -8 Defensive Runs Saved. Travis d’Arnaud had an identical 76 wRC+ through 40 plate appearances as O’Hoppe’s backup. He’s now on the 60-day IL with plantar fasciitis. Sebastian Rivero is backing up O’Hoppe now. He’s been solid as a defender (2 DRS), but he has a sub-.600 OPS.
Photo courtesy of Gerry Angus, Imagn Images
Rockies Select Eiberson Castellano, Outright Valente Bellozo
The Rockies have selected the contract of right-hander Eiberson Castellano, the team announced. When he appears in a game, it will be his MLB debut. Castellano will take the 40-man roster spot of righty Valente Bellozo. The veteran has already cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A. Right-hander Jeff Criswell was optioned to open a spot on the big-league club for Castellano.
The 25-year-old Castellano joined the organization on a minor league deal in December. He put together a 2.72 ERA across 10 starts at Double-A to open the season. The Rockies bumped Castellano to Triple-A, where he fired six scoreless innings in his lone start in the hitter-friendly PCL. He’s now on the move again, getting the big-league call as Colorado looks to add a fresh arm to a battered bullpen.
Castellano showed a five-pitch mix in his lone start with Albuquerque. He led with a curveball/four-seamer tandem, followed by a slider, sinker, and changeup. Castellano sat in the mid-90s with the fastball and sinker. It’s a hard slider, averaging nearly 90 mph. Castellano has posted solid strikeout numbers at times in the minors, but walks have tended to be an issue. He has a 23.8% strikeout rate and an 11.5% walk rate in 59 innings this year.
Bellozo didn’t break camp with the team, but was up during the first full week of the season. He was hammered for nine earned runs in 10 2/3 innings out of the bullpen. The 26-year-old was sent back to Triple-A in mid-April. He hasn’t been much better with the Isotopes, posting an 8.83 ERA across 12 appearances.
It isn’t much of a surprise that Bellozo didn’t garner any attention on the waiver wire, considering his performance this season. He’ll stick in the Colorado organization as a depth option in the minors. Bellozo put together a pair of respectable seasons with the Marlins, including 13 starts with a 3.67 ERA as a rookie in 2024. There’s a decent chance he gets another shot at eating some innings with the Rockies later this year.
Criswell made his return from Tommy John surgery at the end of May. He tossed two scoreless innings with the big-league club. Criswell has provided solid results in his limited time in the majors, but he’s racked up 49 pitches over the past three days, so Colorado swapped him out. Criswell was one of four relievers pressed into service behind Sean Sullivan on Friday. Sullivan was lifted after three innings with an illness.
Photo courtesy of Chris Tilley, Imagn Images
Rangers Place Evan Carter On 10-Day IL With Oblique Strain
Rangers outfielder Evan Carter is heading to the 10-day injured list with a right oblique strain, the team announced. The Rangers recalled infielder/outfielder Cody Freeman from Triple-A Round Rock to take Carter’s roster spot.
Injuries have been an all-too-frequent occurrence during a frustrating career for Carter, who left a loss to the Red Sox on Friday with what was described as soreness. He will now hit the IL for the fifth time since he debuted in September 2023. The 23-year-old appeared in just 108 of a possible 324 regular-season games from 2024-25. Carter had been much healthier this year until this injury cropped up, as he played in 66 of the Rangers’ first 69 games. The severity of his latest malady is unclear, but oblique problems often lead to lengthy absences.
The lefty-swinging Carter looked like a future star when the Rangers promoted him to the majors. He slashed .306/.413/.645 over a 23-game, 75-plate appearance span to close out the regular season. Carter followed that up by hitting .300/.417/.500 in 72 trips to the plate during a playoff run that concluded with the Rangers’ World Series victory over the Diamondbacks.
Carter was riding plenty of momentum going into 2024, but lower back troubles held him to 45 games and kept him out from late May onward. He hit a meek .188/.272/.361 with five home runs in 162 plate appearances that year. Carter’s performance improved in 2025, in which he batted .247/.336/.392 with five HRs and 14 stolen bases, but quadriceps, back and wrist troubles limited him to 63 games and 220 PA.
While Carter has been the Rangers’ primary center fielder this year, his offense has backslid. He is going on the shelf with a .176/.292/.321 line, six homers and 10 steals in 229 trips to the plate. Carter’s .209 batting average on balls in play suggests he has been unlucky, but his xBA, xSLG and xwOBA all rank in the league’s bottom 19th percentile or worse. Lefties have been especially hard on Carter, who has gone a miserable 1 for 27 with a single, 11 strikeouts and three walks against them.
Michael Helman, the Rangers’ second option in center this year, will start there on Saturday against the Red Sox. He could get most of the work at the position while Carter is out. Corner outfielders Wyatt Langford and Brandon Nimmo also have experience in center, though the latter hasn’t seen much action there since 2023.
Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron, Imagn Images
Tigers Activate Tarik Skubal, Place Jack Flaherty On 15-Day IL
Six weeks since he last took the mound, superstar left-hander Tarik Skubal is officially back. The Tigers have activated the two-time reigning AL Cy Young winner from the 15-day injured list and placed right-hander Jack Flaherty on the 15-day IL with a left peroneal strain. In other moves, the Tigers recalled infielder Hao-Yu Lee from Triple-A Toledo and optioned righty Ty Madden.
Skubal will get the ball on Saturday against the AL Central rival Guardians, whom he has held to a 2.33 ERA over a dozen starts since he debuted in 2020. It will be Skubal’s first MLB outing since he fired seven frames of two-run ball against the Braves on April 29. In his lone rehab start last Sunday with High-A West Michigan, Skubal tossed 54 pitches over five scoreless, two-hit innings. He struck out six and walked none.
Skubal underwent surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow on May 6. At that point, the fear was Skubal would miss two to three months. Instead, opting for the relatively new NanoNeedle procedure – a less invasive surgery – led to a far quicker recovery for Skubal. He is just 38 days removed from going under the knife. Injured Dodgers lefty Blake Snell has also made good progress since he underwent the same surgery about a week and a half later than Skubal. It could be a game changer for pitchers if Skubal and Snell bounce back from it.
Skubal’s surgery temporarily derailed what has been yet another excellent season for the 29-year-old. He came out of the gates with 43 1/3 innings of 2.70 ERA ball and recorded a 27.1 strikeout percentage against a microscopic 3.6 percent walk rate. The Tigers were off to a bit of a slow start with a healthy Skubal, as they owned a 15-16 record after his most recent start. The wheels came off for most of his time on the shelf.
The Tigers now sit a highly disappointing 29-41, but they have won seven of their last 10 to climb back into the playoff race in a weak league. While they are nine games back of the surprising White Sox in the Central, they face a more manageable 5 1/2-game deficit to earn a wild-card spot. As the Tigers know, even nine games may not be too much to overcome. They lost what looked like an insurmountable 15 1/2-game lead to the Guardians over the final couple months of the 2025 campaign.
There is still over a month and a half left until the Aug. 3 trade deadline, giving the Tigers enough time to emerge as buyers or at least avoid selling. If they fall out of the race, president of baseball operations Scott Harris will have to decide how to proceed with Skubal. The Scott Boras client is due to reach free agency in the offseason, and odds are Detroit will not be the highest bidder for his services. As someone who will be the most coveted trade chip in the game leading up to the deadline, Skubal could net the Tigers a nice package of prospects. Otherwise, if he departs in free agency after receiving and rejecting a qualifying offer, the Tigers will get one draft pick as compensation. That pick will come after the first round.
While Skubal’s long-term future will be determined at a later date, the Tigers can take solace in the fact that their rotation is getting healthier. Righty Casey Mize, who has been down since late May with groin tightness, will return Sunday. Franchise icon Justin Verlander, who made his lone start of the year way back on March 30, is making progress in his recovery from hip inflammation. Meanwhile, after missing almost two full months with elbow inflammation, righty Troy Melton debuted May 24 and has since notched a 2.81 ERA over a four-start, 25 2/3-inning span.
For now, Skubal and Mize will rejoin Melton, Keider Montero and big-money offseason signing Framber Valdez in the Tigers’ rotation. Tigers manager A.J. Hinch was prepared to deploy a six-man group, but that was before Flaherty exited a loss to the Guardians on Friday after just three innings. His injury “affects the tendon that wraps around the outside of the foot and ankle,” Evan Woodbery of MLive.com explains.
Like Skubal, Flaherty is on track to reach free agency during the offseason. However, barring a turnaround when Flaherty comes back (assuming he does), he will not reach the market with much momentum.
After exercising a $20MM player option to stay with the Tigers over the winter, Flaherty has pitched to a 5.35 ERA with a 25.5 strikeout percentage and an 11.1 percent walk rate across 15 starts and 65 2/3 frames this season. The 30-year-old has doled out free passes at the second-highest clip of his career and recorded a personal-worst 30.3 percent ground-ball rate. A higher-than-usual .337 batting average on balls in play and an abnormally low 63 percent strand rate have hurt Flaherty, whose FIP (4.10), SIERA (4.19), xFIP (4.52) and xERA (4.58) are all far lower than his ERA. Perhaps there will be positive regression if he returns.
Braves Place Spencer Strider On 15-Day Injured List
1:11pm: Ritchie will indeed take Strider’s spot in the rotation, Weiss announced (via Chad Bishop of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution).
9:05am: The Braves announced that right-hander Spencer Strider has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to inflammation in his throwing elbow. Right-hander Anthony Molina was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding 26-man roster move.
The placement comes a day after Strider was removed during the fourth inning of Friday’s 7-5 loss to the Mets. Strider was charged with seven runs over his three innings (plus one batter) of work, and he was visited on the mound by a team trainer after walking MJ Melendez to begin the fourth inning.
During the game, the Braves said Strider’s departure was due to soreness in both his right elbow and shoulder. Manager Walt Weiss told MLB.com’s Matthew Ritchie and other reporters post-game that Strider would undergo an MRI, and the fact that Strider has been immediately placed on the IL likely isn’t a good sign.
After an All-Star season in 2023, Strider’s emergence as a homegrown ace of the Braves rotation has been dimmed by multiple injuries. An internal brace surgery sidelined him for almost all of the 2024 season and the first few weeks of the 2025 campaign, and then Strider quickly picked up a hamstring strain that led to another month on the shelf. This season, Strider strained his oblique during Spring Training and didn’t make his 2026 debut until May 3.
Strider has a 5.31 ERA over eight starts and 39 innings in 2026. While his 4.09 SIERA is considerably better than his ERA and Friday’s outing can probably be chalked up to injury, Strider hasn’t really looked like his old self. Strider’s strikeout rate is an impressive 27.9% but he is walking a lot of batters (12.1BB%) and has allowed nine home runs over his small sample size of work. The elite fastball velocity that Strider showed pre-UCL surgery hasn’t returned, as his four-seamer is averaging a modest 95.1mph this year.
Strider’s inconsistency has been one of the few down notes during an otherwise superb year for the Braves, who lead the majors with a 45-24 record. Some early-season injuries thinned Atlanta’s rotation depth and that may be a question again now that Strider is again on the IL, yet the Braves are now in better position to fill a hole in the starting five. JR Ritchie threw five shutout innings in relief of Strider last night and might simply be bumped up to rotation duty, or Reynaldo Lopez could again be stretched out to be a starting pitcher.
Hurston Waldrep was also activated from the 60-day IL yesterday and optioned to Triple-A, as Waldrep continues to build up arm strength after undergoing a February surgery to remove loose bodies from his throwing elbow. Spencer Schwellenbach underwent a similar surgery at the same time but isn’t expected back until after the All-Star break. AJ Smith-Shawver should be back around the same time assuming no setbacks in the righty’s recovery from a June 2025 Tommy John surgery.
Rangers Select Joe Ross, Designate Michel Otañez
The Rangers announced that they have selected right-hander Joe Ross from Triple-A Round Rock and designated fellow righty Michel Otañez for assignment. They optioned righty Luis Curvelo to Round Rock to clear a 26-man roster spot for Ross.
While Ross went 25th overall to the Padres in the 2011 draft, he has spent the majority of his career in Washington. He debuted in 2015 and went on to combine for 3.52 ERA over 181 2/3 innings, 35 appearances and 32 starts in his first two seasons. Thanks in part to injury problems, the two-time Tommy John patient’s effectiveness has dropped off since 2017. Also a former Brewer, Phillie and Diamondback, Ross has pitched to a 4.37 ERA in 572 major league frames.
Ross was out of the league from 2022-23 and has since worked almost exclusively in relief. The 33-year-old cracked the Diamondbacks’ Opening Day roster this season, but they designated him for assignment after he coughed up eight earned runs on seven hits and four walks in a three-appearance, 3 2/3-inning span. After the D-backs released Ross in late May, he quickly joined the Rangers on a minor league pact. Ross has since made seven relief appearances with Round Rock and registered a quality 2.92 ERA in 12 1/3 innings, though he has managed just eight strikeouts against five walks.
The Diamondbacks cut Ross when he was just one day shy of reaching eight years of big league service time. He will hit that mark in his return Saturday. Meanwhile, Otañez will go into DFA limbo for up to a week. The Rangers claimed him off waivers from the Athletics last November, but the hard-throwing 28-year-old has not gotten to the majors this season. Texas booted him from its 40-man roster after he logged a 6.15 ERA with high strikeout and walk rates of 30.8 and 20.8 percent, respectively, in 26 1/3 innings with Round Rock. In 39 1/3 frames with the A’s from 2024-25, Otañez notched a 4.81 ERA with a 34.1 percent strikeout rate and a 14.1 percent walk rate.
Padres Place Miguel Andujar On 10-Day IL, Select Nick Solak
The Padres have placed infielder/designated hitter Miguel Andujar on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain (retroactive to June 11). To take his 26-man roster spot, the Padres selected outfielder Nick Solak from Triple-A El Paso. They now have a full 40-man roster.
The 31-year-old Andujar tweaked his hamstring in a loss to the Mets last Sunday. While he avoided an IL stint for several days, he wound up totaling just two plate appearances this week before landing on the shelf. The injury adds to a tough start for Andujar, who has not come close to matching the .318/.352/.470 line (125 wRC+) he posted in 470 plate appearances between the Athletics and Reds in 2025. A career-high .348 batting average on balls in play helped fuel the right-handed Andujar, who did most of his damage against lefties. He torched them for a .389/.409/.578 line and a 171 wRC+.
The Padres brought Andujar in on a one-year, $4.5MM guarantee in free agency, and he came out of the gates quickly this season. Andujar recorded a sizzling .925 OPS in April, but his numbers have nosedived in the past several weeks. With his BABIP down to .285, he has slashed a modest .254/.288/.418 (96 wRC+) with five home runs in 198 trips to the plate. Surprisingly, Andujar has had more success against righties (104 wRC+) than lefties (76).
Aside from a handful of appearances in the corner infield, Andujar has spent almost all of his time at DH this season. Will Wagner will make his fourth straight start there Saturday against the Orioles.
Solak, also 31, combined for 985 plate appearances with the Rangers, Braves and Pirates from 2019-25, though he has totaled just 15 since 2023. Overall, the righty has batted .250/.325/.369 with 21 homers and a 91 wRC+ at the game’s highest level. While Solak has gotten extensive defensive work at second base and both corner outfield spots, he has typically earned negative marks. After joining the Padres on a minor league deal in the offseason, he opened the year with a .340/.419/.522 line, nine homers and five steals in 237 trips to the plate with El Paso. Even in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, his production has been 31 percent better than average.
Solak is not in the Padres’ lineup on Saturday. They will instead go with Samad Taylor and Jase Bowen in the outfield corners.