Rays Outright Jon Heasley
Right-hander Jon Heasley has cleared waivers and been outrighted to the Rays’ Triple-A affiliate. (Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reported the move shortly before the team’s official announcement.) Heasley isn’t able to decline the outright assignment, so he’ll return to Durham and await his next selection to the active roster.
The Rays signed Heasley to a minor league deal in April and then selected him to their 26-man roster just three days ago. Heasley pitched the final four innings of the Rays’ 11-2 loss to the Orioles on Wednesday, allowing five runs on eight hits, including a pair of home runs. Tampa Bay then designated Heasley for assignment yesterday, and the right-hander made a quick trip through waivers.
Though Wednesday’s outing was far from memorable, it did mark Heasley’s first MLB game in almost exactly two years. Ironically, Heasley’s last appearance was with the Orioles back on May 23, 2024, and that unsuccessful stint saw him post a 16.88 ERA across four games and 5 1/3 innings of work.
A 13th-round pick for Kansas City in the 2018 draft, most of Heasley’s pro career has been spent in the Royals organization, apart from the 2024 season in Baltimore and his current stint in Tampa. Heasley has exhibited good control but only intermittent strikeout ability even in the minors, and his career ERA now stands at 6.04 over 143 frames with the Rays, Orioles, and Royals. Big league batters have taken Heasley yard a stunning 31 times in that relatively brief 143-inning sample size.
Jarred Kelenic Elects Free Agency
TODAY: Kelenic cleared waivers and elected free agency rather than accept an outright assignment, according to Brooke Fletcher of the Chicago Sports Network.
MAY 25: The White Sox announced that outfielder Jarred Kelenic has been designated for assignment. That’s the corresponding move for them to select infielder/outfielder Rikuu Nishida, a move that was reported yesterday.
Kelenic, 26, signed a minor league deal with the Sox in the offseason. He began the season at Triple-A and put up some encouraging numbers. In 26 games, he slashed .202/.346/.464. That batting average is obviously not pleasant but was held back by an unfortunate .224 batting average on balls in play. The on-base percentage was buoyed by a huge 18.3% walk rate. His six home runs in 104 plate appearances boosted the slugging percentage. The batting line translated to a subpar 97 wRC+ but would have been above average with a bit more batted ball luck.
The White Sox decided to give him another shot in the big leagues, which didn’t work out. He got into 19 games and stepped to the plate 59 times. His 10.2% walk rate was strong but he also struck out at a huge 33.9% clip. Though his .344 BABIP was actually a help in this sample, he nonetheless put up a .226/.305/.321 line and 81 wRC+.
These are fairly small data sets but they do roughly mirror Kelenic’s larger career arc. A former sixth overall pick and top prospect, he has often put up huge numbers in the minors without finding success in the majors. Including this year’s stint with the Sox, he now has 1,547 big league plate appearances. He has been punched out in 30.7% of those and has a .211/.283/.374 line, which leads to an 84 wRC+. He has stolen some bases but hasn’t received strong grades for his glovework.
The overall performance has pushed him into fringe roster status. As mentioned, he had to settle for a minor league deal coming into this season. He has exhausted his option years, so the Sox had to bump him off the 40-man since they no longer want him on the active roster.
Kelenic is now in DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Sox could take five days to explore trade interest. The most likely outcome is Kelenic ending up on waivers and clearing. He just cleared waivers in October of last year and he hasn’t done much to raise his stock since then. Players with a previous career outright or three years of service time have the right to reject outright assignments in favor of electing free agency. Kelenic qualifies on both counts and can head to the open market if he clears waivers in the next week.
Photo courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski, Imagn Images
Blue Jays Designate Austin Voth, Select Hayden Juenger
The Blue Jays announced that right-hander Austin Voth has been designated for assignment. Right-hander Hayden Juenger‘s contract has been selected from Triple-A, as Juenger will take Voth’s place on both the 26-man and 40-man rosters.
Toronto has now DFA’ed Voth twice this season, and the first designation in early April saw Voth elect free agency rather than an accept outright assignment to Triple-A, though he soon re-signed with the Jays on a new minor league deal. In both cases, Voth was designated after eating some innings in a bullpen game — he allowed one run in 2 2/3 innings in a 3-0 loss to the White Sox on April 5, and was hit hard for five runs over 3 1/3 innings in yesterday’s 6-5 victory over the Orioles.
It seems quite possible history will repeat itself with Voth’s latest trip through the DFA process. Assuming he isn’t claimed off waivers, he might opt for free agency and then re-sign with Toronto again, or he might just streamline things by accepting an outright assignment. Given how the Blue Jays are still dealing with numerous injuries to their starting pitchers, Voth might soon be called upon again to cover some innings, so he might view the Jays as his best route to another big league appearance.
Juenger will provide the Jays bullpen with a fresh arm for today’s game in Baltimore, and the 25-year-old will be making his Major League debut whenever he appears in a game. A sixth-round pick out of Missouri State in the 2021 draft, Juenger isn’t listed as a top-30 prospect in Toronto’s farm system by either Baseball America or MLB Pipeline, but a strong performance at Triple-A Buffalo this season has punched his ticket to the Show.
Over 20 innings for Buffalo in 2026, Juenger has a 3.15 ERA, 26.1% strikeout rate, and 9.1% walk rate. Those numbers come despite a .386 BABIP, as Juenger’s FIP is an even more impressive 2.40. Juenger also hasn’t allowed a home run this year, which speaks to a bit of luck in the other direction though his grounder rate is a solid 44.6%. The Jays have spent the last few years using Juenger as a multi-inning reliever, so he’ll step into the bullpen to soak up as many innings as he can in his taste of the majors.
Mets Select Cionel Perez, Designate Anderson Severino
The Mets announced that they have selected the contract of left-hander Cionel Perez from Triple-A Syracuse. To create room on the 26-man and 40-man rosters, right-hander Tobias Myers was optioned to Triple-A and left-hander Anderson Severino was designated for assignment.
Perez signed a minor league deal with the Nationals last offseason and then made the Opening Day roster, thus guaranteeing a $1.9MM salary for the 2026 season. After struggling to a 6.19 ERA over 16 games and innings, Perez was outrighted off Washington’s 40-man roster at the start of May, and he rejected that outright assignment in favor of free agency. The Mets came calling with another minors contract just a couple of days later, and Perez will get another chance to get his 2026 season (and to some extent his career) back in the right direction.
A veteran of nine MLB seasons, Perez’s best work came with the Orioles from 2022-24, when he posted a 3.12 ERA and allowed only four homers over 164 2/3 innings out of the Baltimore pen. The grounder specialist’s ability to keep the ball in the park helped paper over some uninspiring strikeout and walk rates, but since Opening Day 2025, Perez has a 7.41 ERA over 37 2/3 big league innings, with 29 walks and only 30 strikeouts. While he is still generating grounders at an elite rate, Perez has given up five homers in his last two seasons of work, so batters are doing heavy damage when they’re able to get the ball in the air.
It remains to be seen if Perez can get on track in Queens, or if he might soon find himself back in DFA limbo as part of the Mets’ neverending bullpen churn. Brooks Raley, A.J. Minter, and now David Peterson represent other left-handed options in New York’s relief corps, and Perez might just be on board for a cup of coffee as a fresh arm after the Mets went 10 innings in yesterday’s 9-7 win over the Marlins.
Since Perez has more than five years of MLB service time, he was able to retain his 2026 salary even after declining his outright assignment from the Nationals. That means that Washington will owe him the rest of that $1.9MM, with the Mets on the hook for just the prorated portion of a Major League minimum salary for any time Perez spends on the active roster.
Severino’s big league resume consists of six games and 7 1/3 innings (with a 6.14 ERA) for the White Sox in 2022. After being cut loose by the Sox following that season, he spent the next three seasons outside of affiliated baseball, including two years in the Mexican League before the Mets signed Severino to a minors contract in November.
New York selected Severino’s contract to its 40-man roster 11 days ago but optioned Severino to Triple-A, probably indicating that Severino had some kind of opt-out clause in his deal if he wasn’t included on a 40-man roster. His 1.31 ERA and 51.1% grounder rate over 20 2/3 innings for Triple-A Syracuse could draw some attention on the waiver wire, but those impressive numbers are undermined by a .229 BABIP and 13.8% walk rate, plus Severino’s 25% strikeout rate isn’t anything special.
Myers’ demotion to Triple-A is also worth mention, as he has a 4.05 ERA over 33 1/3 innings this season (working as a proper reliever in 18 games and making two pseudo-starts as an opener). His ability to pitch multiple innings as been helpful for the Mets, but Myers has allowed at least one earned run in four of his last five outings, and he was charged for two runs during an inning of work yesterday. Myers will probably be called back up before too long, particularly if Perez is indeed just in the Show for a short amount of time.
White Sox Place Munetaka Murakami On Injured List
TODAY: Murakawmi has a Grade 2 hamstring strain and will miss 4-6 weeks, Venable told SoxMachine’s James Fegan and other reporters. Chicago officially placed Murakami on the 10-day IL today, and selected infielder Jordan Gonzalez (as reported yesterday) to take his spot on the active roster.
MAY 29: The White Sox’s dramatic win tonight over the Tigers didn’t come without a cost. Munetaka Murakami left the game with right hamstring tightness. Manager Will Venable said postgame that while the team was still awaiting testing results, the rookie slugger could miss a couple weeks (relayed by Scott Merkin of MLB.com).
Murakami tweaked his hamstring in the third inning. He hustled to beat out a potential double play ball and favored his leg after getting through the bag. Venable said postgame they believe there’s a strain and will know more about the severity after tomorrow’s imaging. Miguel Vargas kicked over to first base to finish the game. Colson Montgomery slid from shortstop to third base, while Luisangel Acuña handled short.
It halts a phenomenal start to Murakami’s big league career. He easily leads rookies with 20 home runs, tying him with Yordan Alvarez for second in MLB behind Kyle Schwarber. The strikeout concerns that were oft-mentioned haven’t stopped him from being one of baseball’s most feared sluggers. Murakami is hitting .240/.378/.560 over his first 246 plate appearances.
Vargas hit a two-run, walk-off shot against Drew Anderson with two outs in the tenth inning. That pushed the Sox to a season-high three games above .500. They’re only three games back of the Guardians in the AL Central and currently occupy the second Wild Card spot.
The Sox will reportedly bring up infield prospect Jacob Gonzalez tomorrow as the corresponding move. Vargas seems likely to handle everyday first base duties for a few weeks. Gonzalez and Montgomery would get the majority of the playing time on the left side of the infield. Acuña can pick up occasional middle infield work, while second baseman Chase Meidroth is also able to slide to the other side of the bag.
White Sox Select Jacob Gonzalez
TODAY: The Sox officially announced the selection of Gonzalez’s contract to the active roster. In the corresponding moves, Murakami was placed on the 10-day IL due to a right hamstring strain, and Leasure was moved from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL.
MAY 29: The White Sox will select Jacob Gonzalez onto the MLB roster, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. James Fegan of Sox Machine reported this evening that Gonzalez would likely get the call if Munetaka Murakami went on the injured list. Manager Will Venable told reporters postgame that Murakami would likely be down for a couple weeks with a right hamstring issue.
Chicago will need to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Reliever Jordan Leasure, who just went on the 15-day injured list today with a flexor strain, is a candidate for a move to the 60-day IL. The righty said Friday that he’ll be shut down entirely for four weeks after pitching through some discomfort for more than a month (via Fegan). Leasure indicated there’s a lot of inflammation but nothing structurally amiss with his elbow.
Chicago selected Gonzalez with the #15 pick in the 2023 draft. The Ole Miss product posted below-average offensive numbers over his first couple minor league seasons. He has completely turned that around in 2026, slugging 18 home runs over 54 games with Triple-A Charlotte. That’s already more than the 17 longballs he hit over his first two and a half seasons in the minors.
Gonzalez, who’ll make his MLB debut on his 24th birthday if he’s in the lineup tomorrow, leads all Triple-A players and is third in affiliated ball in home runs. He’s hitting .308/.414/.646 across 234 plate appearances, the second-best OPS among minor leaguers with 200+ trips. The power has come with a slight uptick in swing and miss, as he’s fanning at a career-high 20.5% rate. That’s obviously a tradeoff worth making for this kind of impact.
A 90 mph average exit velocity and 42% hard contact rate don’t quite align with Gonzalez’s monster production. Those would be above-average marks at the MLB level but aren’t top of the scale. Gonzalez had been viewed as more of an OBP-focused hitter entering the season, so even average power would be a major step forward.
Gonzalez was drafted as a shortstop and has continued to play there more than any other position. He has experience at all four infield spots and will likely play alongside Colson Montgomery on the left side of the dirt. Miguel Vargas can move to first base while Murakami is out of action.
Twins Designate Simeon Woods Richardson For Assignment
The Twins announced that right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson has been designated for assignment. Fellow righty John Klein was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding 26-man roster move, and since Klein was already on the 40-man roster, Minnesota now has only 38 players on their 40-man.
Woods Richardson has a garish 7.74 ERA over 47 2/3 innings, with almost an even number of strikeouts (26) to walks (25). Minnesota removed SWR from the rotation two weeks ago, but he was pressed back into starting duty on Thursday when Kendry Rojas was scratched due to an elbow problem. The hits just kept coming, as Woods Richardson allowed five runs over 2 2/3 innings in the Twins’ 6-2 loss to the White Sox.
While Woods Richardson tossed three scoreless innings over his two relief appearances, he allowed a walk and a hit in both outings. The Twins obviously didn’t feel good enough about these performances to keep SWR around in a relief role, and since he is out of minor league options, Minnesota had to designate Woods Richardson and expose him to the waiver wire before trying to send him down to Triple-A.
A .339 BABIP and a 57.9% strand rate haven’t helped Woods Richardson’s cause, but his 5.74 SIERA indicates that his struggles are due to more than just bad luck. Woods Richardson has already been tagged for nine home runs in his 47 2/3 frames, continuing his issues at keeping the ball in the park against big league hitters.
Over 302 1/3 career innings in the Show, Woods Richardson has a 4.76 ERA for the Twins, with a 19.7% strikeout rate and 9.5% walk rate. His 11.5K% this season is a troubling dropoff even for a pitcher who didn’t miss many bats to begin with, and an increase in the use of a splitter has proven disastrous, as Woods Richardson’s split-finger fastball has been one of the least-effective offering of any pitch in baseball.
Though Woods Richardson’s peripherals have never been anything special, it is worth noting that he posted a respectable 4.11 ERA over 245 innings for Minnesota in 2024-25, starting 50 of his 51 games. Woods Richardson was also a top-100 prospect back in his days in the Blue Jays’ farm system, before he was dealt along with Austin Martin in the July 2021 deadline deal that sent Jose Berrios to Toronto.
As rough as things have been for Woods Richardson in 2026, his track record might get him a look on the waiver wire, if a rival pitching development staff feels it might have a fix. Woods Richardson is still only 25 and he has yet to reach arbitration eligibility, so he represents an interesting flier for teams in need of pitching depth, plus he could have a second act to his career if used strictly as a reliever.
Rojas was placed on the 15-day injured list yesterday with left elbow inflammation, dealing another blow to Minnesota’s rotation depth. While Woods Richardson was no longer in the starting picture and only went Thursday due to the emergency circumstance, the Twins are now without another pitcher they expected to be part of their 2026 rotation. Pablo Lopez was lost to Tommy John surgery, David Festa has yet to pitch in 2026 due to triceps and shoulder issues, and Mick Abel hasn’t pitched since April 14 due to elbow inflammation.
Dodgers Re-Sign Santiago Espinal
8:08pm: Los Angeles officially announced the moves, as well as yesterday’s placement of Teoscar Hernández on the injured list while recalling Ryan Ward from Triple-A. They opened the 40-man spot by transferring Blake Snell from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list. Snell was already expected to be out beyond the All-Star Break after undergoing the NanoScope elbow procedure to remove loose bodies from his elbow.
5:35pm: The Dodgers are re-signing infielder/outfielder Santiago Espinal, per Jack Harris of The California Post. Infielder/outfielder Hyeseong Kim will be optioned in a corresponding active roster move. The Dodgers have a full 40-man roster and will need to make a corresponding move to add Espinal.
Espinal was just nudged off the roster on Monday when Enrique Hernández came off the injured list. A lot has changed since then. Hernández suffered a significant oblique tear and has gone right back on the IL. Teoscar Hernández also hit the IL this week, in his case due to a hamstring strain. Espinal cleared waivers and elected free agency but has now pivoted right back to the Dodgers.
In addition to losing both Hernándezes to the IL, the Dodgers have been watching Kim struggle. His .259/.323/.328 line for the whole year isn’t awful, leading to an 87 wRC+, but his production has been sagging lately. He had a .296/.371/.389 line when the calendar flipped to May but he has a .226/.279/.274 line since then.
Espinal may not provide much more than that, considering he has a .220/.238/.366 line on the year. But perhaps the Dodgers feel the best thing for Kim is to get regular playing time in the minors, as opposed to sitting on the bench. Alex Freeland was recalled when Enrique went back on the IL and should get the bulk of the second base playing time in the near future.
Kim is 27 years old, signed through 2027, with club options for 2028 and 2029. Espinal is 31 and not signed long-term. It therefore makes sense for the Dodgers to think about the long-term plan with Kim, whereas Espinal is more of a short-term stopgap and therefore a better fit for a part-time bench role.
Though Espinal may not provide much with the bat, he can be useful in other ways. He has experience at all four infield spots, as well as the outfield corners, so he can give the Dodgers the flexibility to move guys around as needed.
Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images
Tigers Place Casey Mize On Injured List
The Tigers placed Casey Mize back on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to May 28, with right adductor inflammation. He’ll be replaced on the active roster by reliever Beau Brieske, who was reinstated from the 60-day injured list. That requires the Tigers to open a spot on the 40-man roster, so they transferred southpaw Brant Hurter to the 60-day IL in a corresponding move.
Mize has been plagued by right groin discomfort in what has otherwise been a strong year. The former first overall pick was diagnosed with an adductor strain in late April and missed around three weeks. He returned on May 16 and looked sharp in his first couple starts. Mize was pitching well on Wednesday but forced to make an exit after four innings with what appeared to be a new groin injury.
That’s evidently the case, though it’s encouraging that this diagnosis was due to inflammation rather than another strain. It’s unlikely it’ll be an extended absence, yet it’s surely an annoyance for Mize and the team that he’ll need to miss another couple starts. He has arguably been the team’s most valuable pitcher this year thanks to the Tarik Skubal injury.
Mize carries a 2.27 earned run average with a career-best 26.5% strikeout rate across 47 2/3 frames. He’s certainly pitching well enough to earn a second straight All-Star appearance if he could stay healthy. Mize is also an impending free agent who’ll be one of the top non-Skubal options on the open market. Although a pair of minor groin issues probably aren’t going to be a huge blow to his value, they add to the various injuries Mize has faced throughout his career.
Detroit enters this weekend’s road series against the White Sox with a 22-35 record. They’re tied with the Angels for worst in the American League. Mize’s injury won’t change the rotation plans for this series. Troy Melton, Framber Valdez and Keider Montero were lined up for the three-game set. They’ll need a new starter for Monday’s series opener in Tampa Bay. There’s a decent chance that’ll be Ty Madden, who is eligible to return from a forearm contusion this weekend. Madden worked 4 1/3 innings in a rehab start with Triple-A Toledo on Monday and may only need the one minor league tuneup.
Brieske is back to give skipper A.J. Hinch a nine-man bullpen for the weekend. He has been out all season with a left adductor strain. The 28-year-old righty struggled last year while battling ankle and forearm issues. He was a capable middle innings arm from 2023-24.
Hurter is dealing with lumbar spine inflammation. He just went on the IL over the weekend, meaning this transfer rules him out until the second half of July. The 6’6″ southpaw has worked around middling strikeout and walk numbers to manage a 2.84 ERA across 25 1/3 frames.
Orioles Re-Sign Albert Suárez
3:20pm: The O’s have officially announced their singing of Suarez. To open a 40-man spot, righty Dean Kremer was transferred to the 60-day injured list. Kremer has been on the IL since April 20th due to a right quad strain and his 60-day count is retroactive to that date. He will therefore be eligible for reinstatement in about three weeks. He hasn’t yet begun a rehab assignment and is presumably not close to returning.
1:45pm: Right-hander Albert Suarez elected free agency yesterday after the Orioles passed him through waivers unclaimed, but he’s predictably lined up to rejoin the team in short order. Suárez is already back in the Orioles’ clubhouse, per Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com, and the team is expected to finalize a new contract with him and option righty Cameron Weston to Triple-A Norfolk in a corresponding move. That suggests it’ll be a big league deal for Suárez, who’d be available out of the ‘pen for tonight’s game.
As was the case following his last DFA in Baltimore, Suárez near-immediately returns on a new contract. He’s out of minor league options, but both he and the Orioles seem content with an arrangement similar to the one between the Braves and Carlos Carrasco (profiled here earlier today). Effectively, Suárez is something of a 41st man on Baltimore’s 40-man roster. The team will probably continue to add him to the big league roster, DFA him, pass him through waivers, and re-sign him as needed. It’s feasible that another team would claim Suárez at some point, but the O’s could always bake in some friendly terms that make the right-hander likelier to clear.
The 36-year-old Suárez has a 2.75 ERA in 19 2/3 innings with the O’s this season but just a 12.3% strikeout rate and an ugly 11.1% walk rate. His run-prevention numbers have been buoyed by a .186 average on balls in play and 9.2% homer-to-flyball rate, both of which (particularly the former) are likely to regress.
This year’s so-so numbers notwithstanding, Suárez has been an important contributor in Baltimore since returning from a half decade pitching overseas (three years in Japan, two in South Korea). He’s piled up 165 innings in two-plus seasons as an Oriole, logging a 3.49 ERA, 18.6% strikeout rate and 7.8% walk rate. Most of that work came in 2024; shoulder and elbow injuries combined to limit Suárez to 11 2/3 MLB frames last year. He’s already surpassed that mark in 2026 despite the multiple DFAs.
Since Suárez is out of options and amenable to the on-and-off-the-roster setup the Orioles appear to be using here, there’s a good chance he’ll once again be designated for assignment when the O’s need a fresh arm. The cycle will likely repeat itself at that point, with Suárez passing through waivers, returning on a new deal, and so on. It’s a more tumultuous path than most big leaguers traverse, but Suárez has already picked up 40 days of big league service and pay this season — players accrue service/salary while in DFA limbo — so it’s still a pretty lucrative one, especially for a 36-year-old with fewer than four years of service under his belt.