Reds Place Elly De La Cruz On Injured List, Promote Edwin Arroyo
The Reds announced Monday that they’ve placed star shortstop Elly De La Cruz on the 10-day injured list due to a strained right hamstring and recalled top infield prospect Edwin Arroyo from Triple-A Louisville for his major league debut. Cincinnati also selected the contract of lefty Brandon Leibrandt and designated right-hander Yunior Marte for assignment in a corresponding move. Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com reported that the Reds would place De La Cruz on the IL and promote Arroyo shortly before the formal team announcement.
De La Cruz suffered his hamstring injury in Sunday’s game. Upon driving a ball into the right-center field gap for what looked like an easy double — if not a triple, given his speed — he instead pulled up at first base in obvious pain (video link). A quick visit from the training staff concluded with an early exit from the game. He subsequently underwent an MRI that revealed the strain. Cincinnati has not yet provided a possible timeline for his potential return or revealed the grade of hamstring strain with which De La Cruz has been diagnosed. Manager Terry Francona will likely provide more details prior to tonight’s game against the visiting Royals.
More to come.
Braves Outright Carlos Carrasco
The Braves announced this morning that righty Carlos Carrasco went unclaimed on waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Gwinnett. Carrasco has the right to reject the assignment in favor of free agency.
One way or another, Carrasco will likely be back with Atlanta. He’s been designated for assignment by the Braves three other times dating back to last August and has returned on new minor league deals each time. Carrasco also re-signed a minor league deal with the Braves in free agency this past winter. It’s always possible he’ll just accept the outright assignment, but elected free agency and quickly negotiating a new minor league pact gives his camp the opportunity to secure some perks (new opt-out dates, upward mobility clause, slight salary increase, etc.) that aren’t in the current deal.
The 39-year-old Carrasco has pitched well when the Braves have summoned him to the majors this season. He’s tossed 7 1/3 innings and held opponents to a pair of runs on six hits and no walks with four strikeouts. He’s been sharp in Gwinnett, too, logging a flat 3.00 ERA (21 K%, 5.6 BB%) in 30 innings of work there.
Both Carrasco and the Braves front office have been very comfortable with the setup that sees him act as an unofficial 41st man on the roster. He can’t be optioned, so Carrasco is frequently selected to the roster, used as needed, passed through waivers and then returns on a new minor league deal. He’s already picked up 24 days of big league service and salary in 2026 this way, and there’s a good chance he’ll have several similar stint through season’s end.
Brusdar Graterol Undergoes Back Surgery
Dodgers right-hander Brusdar Graterol underwent back surgery yesterday and could miss the remainder of the season as a result, reports Jack Harris of the California Post. The right-hander, already on the mend from Nov. 2024 shoulder surgery, missed all of the 2025 season and hasn’t thrown in a big league game since the 2024 playoffs.
Specifics of Graterol’s surgery aren’t clear, but it’s a frustrating setback for an extremely talented right-hander who simply hasn’t been able to avoid the injured list. Graterol pitched only seven regular-season innings in 2024 due to recurring shoulder troubles. He’s pitched in parts of six MLB seasons but has only 50 innings in one of those six seasons. Graterol boasts a terrific 2.78 earned run average in his career but has only managed to pitch 190 2/3 frames dating back to his late-season debut with the Twins in 2019.
Minnesota traded Graterol to the Dodgers in the 2019-20 offseason deal that sent Kenta Maeda the other direction. In retrospect, it’s been a pretty fair deal for both sides. Both pitchers missed substantial time with injury but were largely effective when healthy enough to take the mound with their new teams. Graterol has a 2.69 ERA in 180 innings as a Dodger (not including the playoffs) and was dominant in the healthiest season of his career (2023): 67 1/3 innings, 1.20 ERA, 19 holds, seven saves, 18.7% strikeout rate, 4.7% walk rate and a colossal 64.4% ground-ball rate.
The surgery could very well spell the end of Graterol’s tenure in Los Angeles. It doesn’t sound as though it’s a foregone conclusion that his season is finished, but if this does shelve him for the remainder of the year, he’s slated to become a free agent for the first time in the 2026-27 offseason.
At the very least, Harris notes that Graterol is facing a monthslong absence. Perhaps he can return for a handful of late appearances, as he did in 2024, but the Dodgers will again navigate the summer without one of their most talented bullpen arms. Graterol had begun a rehab assignment in early May before suffering a setback a couple weeks in.
The Dodgers already had Edwin Diaz on the 60-day IL after he required surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow. Evan Phillips is nearing the one-year anniversary of his Tommy John surgery and is still a ways from returning. Brock Stewart has managed to pitch only two innings this season owing to shoulder and foot injuries. Ben Casparius has been out since mid-April due to shoulder inflammation.
Despite that slate of injuries, L.A.’s bullpen has been dominant. Dodgers relievers rank fourth in the majors in ERA (3.12), first in FIP (3.15), fifth in SIERA (3.36), second in strikeout rate (25.6%) and ninth in walk rate (9.2%). Their top seven relievers by innings pitched — Tanner Scott, Alex Vesia, Will Klein, Jack Dreyer, Kyle Hurt, Edgardo Henriquez and Blake Treinen — all have ERAs of 3.43 or better.
The Opener: Yankees, Misiorowski, Madden
Angels outfielder Jose Siri robbed a grand slam on Sunday against the Rays, reaching over the short wall in left to bring back a would-be homer from Taylor Walls. In the process of saving four runs, Siri also preserved the lunch spread (video via MLB).
1. Yankees’ wild third inning
The Yankees racked up 13 runs against the Athletics on Sunday, all of which came in the third inning. The output was tied for the second-most runs in a single inning in franchise history, behind only Babe Ruth’s 1920 squad that put up 14 in an inning against the Senators (h/t Theo DeRosa of MLB.com). The list of superlatives goes on, but the most surprising stat might be what happened outside of the big inning. The Yankees went hitless in every other frame besides the third. As DeRosa noted, the Yankees are the first team to score 13 times while being held without a hit or run in the rest of the innings.
2. Misiorowski finally allows a double
Brewers right-hander Jacob Misiorowski wrapped up a stellar May with seven scoreless innings against the Astros yesterday. He permitted just one earned run in 38 1/3 innings last month. Heading into the matchup in Houston, Misiorowski had gone six starts without allowing an extra-base hit. He was the first pitcher since 1900 to have at least 45 strikeouts and not give up more than a single over a stretch of six games (h/t Adam McCalvy of MLB.com). The run came to an end in the fourth inning on Sunday, as third baseman Isaac Paredes pulled a slider to left field for a double. Misiorowski quickly got a groundout and a flyout to avoid any damage.
3. Madden expected back Monday
The Tigers are activating right-hander Ty Madden today, per Chris McCosky of the Detroit News. He’s expected to cover the bulk of the innings against the Rays, either as a traditional starter or following an opener. Madden has been on the IL since mid-May with a forearm contusion. He was hit in the arm by a 108 mph line drive off the bat of Blue Jays outfielder Yohendrick Pinango. The righty had only recently returned from a shoulder strain. Madden tossed five scoreless innings in his first outing, then followed it up with six frames of one-run ball. He’s operated as a bulk reliever in all three appearances this year.
Photo courtesy of D. Ross Cameron, Imagn Images
Elly De La Cruz To Undergo MRI On Right Hamstring
Elly De La Cruz left the Reds’ 6-4 win over the Braves today due to what the club described as right hamstring tightness. The star shortstop cracked a line drive to the gap in right-center field during the fifth inning, yet held up at first base in obvious discomfort, and then left the game after a visit from team trainers.
Manager Terry Francona told reporters (including the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Pat Brennan) that De La Cruz will undergo an MRI tomorrow to determine the extent of the injury. De La Cruz believes he avoided a serious injury, telling the media via a translator that “when I was making the turn for first, I felt tightness in my hamstring and immediately I decide to stop because I felt like ‘if I keep going, this can get worse.’ ”
The Reds host the Royals for a three-game series that begins on Monday, and then have an off-day on Thursday. If the MRI results don’t show anything serious but De La Cruz is still feeling sore, the Reds could opt to play with a short bench during the Kansas City series in the hopes that four days off would allow De La Cruz to be ready for Friday’s game. Dane Myers‘ status is also a factor since the outfielder has missed the last two games due to illness, so if Myers isn’t feeling better by tomorrow, Cincinnati likely wouldn’t want to play with two players unavailable.
Through 58 games, De La Cruz is on pace for what would be the best yet of his four Major League seasons. De La Cruz had two singles, two runs scored, a walk, and a stolen base in his abbreviated outing today, and he is now hitting .280/.346/.509 with 12 homers over 257 plate appearances. Only six qualified hitters in baseball have more than De La Cruz’s 2.5 fWAR, as he has matched his offensive production with improved glovework at shortstop.
Losing De La Cruz for even a 10-day IL stint would be a tough blow to a top-heavy Reds lineup. Outsized contributions from De La Cruz, Sal Stewart, and (in smaller sample sizes) Nathaniel Lowe and JJ Bleday have helped cover for underwhelming starts from several other Cincinnati batters, not to mention shaky pitching from an injury-ravaged rotation and bullpen.
Matt McLain would likely take over at shortstop in the event of a De La Cruz injury, and highly-touted prospect Edwin Arroyo is on the 40-man roster and could be called up to provide infield depth. Between McLain’s struggles at the plate and Ke’Bryan Hayes‘ injury absence, the Reds’ recent lineups have seen Stewart and Eugenio Suarez split the third base and DH at-bats, Spencer Steer has been getting more time at second base, and the hot-hitting Lowe has gotten an increase in playing time at first base.
Phillies Notes: Realmuto, Miller
X-rays were negative on J.T. Realmuto‘s left wrist after the catcher was hit by a Yoshinobu Yamamoto fastball in the third inning of today’s 9-1 Phillies loss to the Dodgers. Realmuto remained in the game and was back behind the plate in the bottom of the third, but was replaced by Rafael Marchan before the bottom of the fourth.
After the game, Phils manager Don Mattingly told MLB.com’s Paul Casella and other reporters that Realmuto was “obviously sore, couldn’t really squeeze, wasn’t gonna be able to swing and actually had a little trouble catching, too. So, sore enough to get him out of there.” Despite this lengthy list of issues, Mattingly felt Realmuto was “gonna be okay” given the x-ray results.
The Phillies don’t play on Monday, so Realmuto has an extra day to heal up before the club begins a six-game homestand on Tuesday against the Padres. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Realmuto also sits Tuesday due to any lingering soreness, and the presence of both Marchan and Garrett Stubbs on the active roster gives the Phillies some flexibility in giving Realmuto some more rest without leaving the club short-handed at the catcher’s spot.
Realmuto missed 10 days earlier this season due to a bad back, and the veteran backstop is one of several Philadelphia hitters who has underperformed at the plate. After signing a new three-year, $45MM free agent deal with the Phillies during the offseason, Realmuto has stumbled out of the gates with a .220/.296/.299 slash line and two home runs over 142 plate appearances.
In a longer-term injury concern, Phillies GM Preston Mattingly didn’t have any new news on the status of infield prospect Aidan Miller, who has been sidelined all season due to ongoing back pain. “We’re leaning on medical. [He’s] still just doing his rehab program at this point. It’s not baseball activities, but as we’ve seen over the years, that could change pretty quickly,” Mattingly told The Athletic’s Charlotte Varnes and other reporters.
Miller dealt with back problems in the second half of the 2025 season, and played through discomfort over a two-month stretch that saw the infielder promoted to Triple-A for the first time. Miller still hit .264/.392/.433 over 526 combined PA between the Double-A and Triple-A levels, but had to finish the year on the Triple-A injured list after only eight games with Lehigh Valley.
The back soreness resurfaced again in Spring Training, and has put a halt to Miller’s fourth pro season. He has been able to play catch and take some grounders, but that has been the extent of his baseball activity for the better part of three months.
Mattingly feels Miller will be able to play before the 2026 campaign is over, though the fact that this is now even a question speaks to the uncertainty surrounding Miller’s status. The team seems to be operating with some extra caution given the lingering nature of this back problem, and how the Phillies “want him to be good to go not just this year, but the rest of his career,” as director of player development Luke Murton told Varnes.
Miller entered 2026 as a consensus top prospect in baseball, with The Athletic’s Keith Law and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel each ranking the infielder within the top ten of their preseason rankings. It was seen as just a matter of time before Miller made his Major League debut, with the career shortstop seen as a candidate to supplant Alec Bohm at third base or Bryson Stott at second base given how Trea Turner has the shortstop position covered. This extended injury absence has thrown a wrench into all of these plans, and it may be that Miller will have to wait until 2027 to get his first taste of the majors.
Joe La Sorsa To Exercise Upward Mobility Clause In Pirates Contract
For the second time this year, Joe La Sorsa will trigger an upward mobility clause in his minor league deal with the Pirates. 7 News’ Ari Alexander reports that La Sorsa will exercise the clause tomorrow, and the Pirates will then have to offer the left-hander to the other 29 big league clubs.
If any other team is willing to give La Sorsa a roster spot, the Pirates are required to trade La Sorsa to an interested team, or add them to their own active roster. If none of the 29 teams are interested, La Sorsa will remain in Pittsburgh’s minor league system.
The two sides already went through this process at the end of Spring Training, when La Sorsa exercised his clause and went unclaimed. The Bucs haven’t felt compelled to select La Sorsa’s contract over the last two months, though he has a respectable 3.60 ERA, 5.9% walk rate, and 46.4% grounder rate rate over 25 innings with Triple-A Indianapolis.
La Sorsa has only a 20.8% strikeout rate, which about matches his moderate swing-and-miss ability over his pro career. After breaking into the majors with Tampa Bay in 2023, La Sorsa has a 5.21 ERA, 17.5K%, and 6.3BB% over 57 career innings with the Rays, Nationals, and Reds. The Mets inked La Sorsa to a minors deal last September that didn’t result in any big league playing time, and La Sorsa became a minor league free agent at season’s end before joining the Pirates.
Between closer Gregory Soto, Mason Montgomery, and Evan Sisk, Pittsburgh has been getting good results from the left-handed complement of its relief corps. Most teams generally don’t have more than three southpaws in the bullpen, so La Sorsa might not have a path to the Pirates’ roster. That said, the Bucs do have an open spot on the 40-man roster and even on their 26-man, as Cam Sanders was optioned back to Triple-A following a one-game cup of coffee in today’s 9-3 win over the Twins.
Another club with more of a pressing need for left-handed depth could have interest in La Sorsa. He has a minor league option remaining, so he has value for teams looking for bullpen arms that can be shuffled back and forth (up to five times) from Triple-A.
Marlins To Select Zach Brzykcy
The Marlins will select the contract of right-hander Zach Brzykcy prior to tomorrow’s game with the Nationals, Fish On First’s Kevin Barral reports. Miami will have to open a spot on both the 26-man and 40-man rosters for Brzykcy, but 40-man space could be found by moving Andrew Nardi to the 60-day IL, since Nardi will miss for three months due to a stress reaction his left ribcage. Right-hander Josh Ekness could potentially be headed to the 15-day IL, as Ekness was seen on crutches during the Marlins’ team team train ride from New York to Washington today. (Hat tip to reporter Noah Berger and MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola.)
Brzykcy will be making his official Marlins debut the first time he appears in a game, and an appearance in the upcoming series in D.C. would pit the right-hander against his former team. The Nationals signed Brzykcy as an undrafted free agent in 2020 and he posted a 10.05 ERA over 28 2/3 innings with the club during the 2024-25 seasons. The Marlins claimed Brzykcy off waivers last November, and outrighted him off their own 40-man roster in December.
Over 22 1/3 innings with Triple-A Jacksonville, Brzykcy has a 5.24 ERA and 12.1% walk rate, though his 26.3% rate is pretty solid. Strikeout ability and control issues have basically been the story of Brzykcy’s pro career, and he isn’t exactly heading to the Show on a high note — twelve of the 13 earned runs Brzykcy has allowed this season in Jacksonville have come over his last five outings.
The call-up may be more based on the Marlins’ need for a fresh arm, as the club was forced into an unexpected bullpen game today. Scheduled starter Janson Junk was a late scratch due to a shin problem that resulted in a 15-day IL placement, and Miami used seven pitchers and utilityman Javier Sanoja for mop-up duty in a 10-1 loss to the Mets. Just within the last week, the Marlins have lost three starters (Junk, Eury Perez, Robby Snelling) to the injured list, as well as Nardi and perhaps Ekness from the bullpen mix. With the staff stretched so thin, there’s opportunity for Brzykcy to stick around for more than a cup of coffee if he performs well and eats some innings.
MLBTR Chat Transcript
Mark P
- Welcome, weekend chatters! We’ll open the floor just as soon as a few questions enter the queue….
A’s at home
- A’s just can’t get it done at home. What needs to be done to turn it around? They are still in it and still lots of season left to play.
Mark P
- Today’s loss drops the A’s to 11-17 at home, with a much more respectable road record of 17-14. Pitching at that ballpark just seems to be taking more of a toll on the Athletics’ pitchers than it does opponents, and it doesn’t help that the A’s have gotten even thinner in the rotation department due to the injury bug
- The more interesting stat is maybe the fact that the A’s are only middle-of-the-pack when it comes to home offense. Kurtz, Langeliers, and (of all people) Cortes can only do so much to prop up an overall disappointing offense
- In what has become this chat’s catchphrase of the last month, “they’re still in it because the AL as a whole is so weak.” If guys like Soderstrom start hitting and the A’s pitching becomes even half-decent (not even good), a run at a wild card berth or even the AL West crown isn’t out of the question. But in general, the A’s seemed like a team that was still at least a year away, and that might well end up being the case
Hunter
- Murakami gets injured and White Sox pull up Jacob Gonzalez. He was hitting .300 with 18 bombs and 58 rbis in almost 50 games. What’s your current thoughts on the white sox right now
Big Hurt
- Are the White Sox legit playoff contenders?
Mark P
- Gonzalez’s 2026 output is so far beyond his previous numbers that it seems like an outlier, but then again, breakouts happen. It doesn’t seem likely that Gonzalez will do much to make up the Murakami-sized hole in Chicago’s lineup, and losing him for at least a month is a tough break for both the team and for casual fans as a fun story.
- Still too early to say if the Sox can sustain this all the way through September, but it helps that the Royals and Tigers are both flailing right now. I don’t think second place in the AL Central is even out of the question since I don’t trust Minnesota.
Jack
- What do the Pirates do with Carme M? Leave him on the restricted list list or trade him?
Mr. Mlodzinski
- Think I’ll be on the move?
Mark P
- While Mlodzinski isn’t happy with his current situation, I don’t think this is an Eric Lauer situation where there are hard feelings “and” the pitcher isn’t performing. I’m sure a few teams have checked in with the Bucs on trade offers, but if you’re Pittsburgh, Mlodzinski is a valuable depth arm.
Snow the Informer
- If a MLB contract clause states X amount of time on the IL for an “arm injury” voids the opt out, does that include a shoulder injury? Or what if he goes on the IL for a shoulder injury then stays on it because of a lat issue, does that void the opt out? Asking for a friend.
Mark P
- Ha, a friend named Craig?
That’s an interesting question, and I’m sure the actual contract has more official language covering the specifics.
Rangers Fan
- Can Josh Jung keep this up? He’s hitting at an all-star level over the last month.
Mark P
- His advanced metrics hint that some regression is coming, but maybe not much. Jung is making a lot of hard contact and he has drastically reduced his strikeouts, which is a nice recipe for sustained success.Interestingly, Jung seems to be the one batter who has figured out Globe Life Field. He’s crushing the ball at home to the tune of a 1.000 OPS, as opposed to around a .700 OPS on the road.
Dustin
- What do the Mariners do with their starters? They have 6 up and 2 ready in Sloan and Anderson? I know they shouldn’t trade pitching, but, they have so many. Sell
- sell high on Hancock?
Mark P
- Obligatory “you can never have too much pitching” quote
With the M’s in pure win-now mode, a major deadline trade can’t be ruled out. But that’s still two months away, and that’s plenty of time for another injury or two to emerge. Pitching surpluses have a way of solving themselves once someone inevitably gets hurt.
Garrett Crochet To Undergo Tests After “Very Minor” Injury Setback
Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet is dealing with lingering soreness in his lat area, and as a result Crochet’s throwing progression has been halted. The left-hander told MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo and other reporters that he is “going to get some imaging on it just to make sure we have the full picture.”
Crochet downplayed the seriousness of the situation, saying “it feels like a very minor setback. It sucks to even call it a setback because it doesn’t feel like it even deserves that title. But I won’t be making the live [batting practice] on Tuesday, which sucks.”
More will be known once the test results are in, and if Crochet has indeed avoided any sort of structural issue. Still, even a brief shutdown in his throwing progression will extend what has already been more than a month-long stint on the injured list. Crochet hasn’t pitched since April 25 due to inflammation in his throwing shoulder.
As Crochet noted, he had been slated to toss a live batting practice session on Tuesday. This planned multi-inning appearance would’ve been Crochet’s second outing against live hitters, following a one-inning simulated session last Tuesday. In the aftermath of that outing, however, Crochet said he felt “just felt a little stretch…in the lat” while throwing, and when the discomfort didn’t subside, the decision was made to shut him down for further examination.
Though Crochet had advanced to facing live hitters, he felt “like I was still a little far off from a rehab start, so it was very, very early in the build-up process.” So even if everything had gone smoothly, Crochet still likely would’ve been sidelined until at least the third week of June, when factoring in time for more BP sessions and probably a couple of minor league rehab starts. It now looks like July 1 may be a more realistic target date for a return, assuming he is able to resume throwing reasonably soon.
After finishing as the runner-up in AL Cy Young Award voting in 2025, Crochet’s second season in Boston has basically been a wash due to this IL stint and the 6.30 ERA he posted over his first six starts. That ungainly ERA was somewhat inflated by one particularly disastrous outing, as Crochet was charged with 10 earned runs over 1 2/3 innings against the Twins on April 13.
There’s still plenty of time for Crochet to get back onto the field and get back to his old form, though timing is paramount given Boston’s disappointing 25-33 record. The Red Sox will have to consider selling at the trade deadline if they can’t get on track, and getting back into contention will be more difficult the longer Crochet is absent. Though Boston’s struggling offense has been the larger problem than the still-solid rotation, obviously the Sox will be much better off with Crochet on the mound.