Diamondbacks Promote Blake Walston For MLB Debut
The Diamondbacks announced that they have optioned left-hander Andrew Saalfrank, with fellow lefty Blake Walston recalled in a corresponding move. The latter will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game.
Walston, 23 next month, was the club’s first round pick in 2019. The Diamondbacks used the 26th overall pick of that year’s draft to grab Walston out of New Hanover High School in Wilmington, North Carolina.
He got a brief debut in the professional ranks in 2019, but then the minors were canceled due to the pandemic in 2020. He tossed 95 2/3 innings in 2021 between Single-A and High-A with a 3.76 earned run average, 28.8% strikeout rate and 8.1% walk rate.
In 2022, he returned to High-A but cruised through four starts before getting bumped up. He had a 5.16 ERA over his 21 Double-A starts that year, despite decent peripherals. He struck out 24% of batters faced and walked 8.5%, but a .341 batting average on balls in play and 14.5% home run per flyball rate added some extra runs.
Last year, he was sent to Triple-A and had a 4.52 ERA over 30 starts. He walked 14% of batters faced while only striking out 15.6% of them. He was added to Arizona’s 40-man roster in November to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft and returned to Triple-A this year. Through 20 2/3 innings this season, he has walked 15.3% of batters faced, striking out 19.4%, leading to a 4.79 ERA. Were it not for a 77.6% strand rate, he may have fared worse, which is why his FIP is at 6.36.
That lack of control perhaps points to a future relief role but he is still quite young and has time to rein in his stuff. The Diamondbacks have continued to stretch him out, suggesting they still believe in his potential to stick in a rotation at some point. Baseball America ranked him the #11 prospect in the club’s system coming into this year.
For now, he’s likely on the roster to give the club a multi-inning option out of the bullpen due to some strange circumstances. Jordan Montgomery was supposed to start yesterday’s game before it was delayed by a colony of bees that had taken up residence in the netting behind home plate. The start of the contest was delayed by about two hours while was called who could remove the bees, and the club decided to scratch Montgomery in that time. It seems fair to assume that Montgomery had already gone through some pregame preparations and the club didn’t want to ramp him back up again after a lengthy shutdown, similar to how pitchers often don’t return after long rain delays.
In the end, the Snakes went with a bullpen game and used seven different pitchers to cover 10 innings, as they eventually defeated the Dodgers in extra innings. Montgomery is taking the ball tonight but with a weakened bullpen, so Walston may be tapped, especially if Montgomery is bounced early.
Mets Sign Mike Brosseau To Minor League Deal
The Mets have agreed to a minor league contract with infielder Mike Brosseau, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. They’ve also released outfielder Taylor Kohlwey from their Triple-A affiliate, per the MiLB transaction log.
Brosseau, 30, is a familiar face for Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns, who previously helmed the Brewers — where Brosseau played in 2022-23. The Former Brewers and Rays infielder is a career .242/.313/.438 hitter with 26 homers, 28 doubles, a triple and seven steals (in seven attempts) through parts of five big league seasons — a total of 647 plate appearances.
It’s a solid overall track record for Brosseau, who originally joined the Rays as an undrafted free agent. However, the bulk of his production came in a standout 2020 season that saw him slash .302/.378/.558 in 98 trips to the plate. He had lesser — but still productive — showings in 2019 and 2022, but since that excellent 2020 campaign he’s posted a tepid .217/.295/.385 line overall.
The right-handed-hitting Brosseau has substantial platoon splits. He’s a career .265/.326/.464 hitter against southpaws (117 wRC+) but owns just a .209/.293/.374 line against fellow righties (87 wRC+). Contact has been an issue throughout his career, as he’s fanned in 29.5% of his career plate appearances.
Brosseau has played all over the diamond in his relatively brief big league career, appearing at all four infield spots, in both outfield corners and even pitching 9 2/3 innings of mop-up duty (where he’s allowed three runs on eight hits and a pair of walks with one strikeout). The majority of his time has been spent at third base (778 innings), where he’s drawn poor ratings from Defensive Runs Saved (-5) and Outs Above Average (-8). Brosseau also has 404 innings at second base and has drawn positive grades there. He hasn’t appeared in even 150 innings at any of the other spots on the roster.
Kohlwey, 29, came to the Mets on a minor league deal back in December. He entered the season with a strong .296/.387/.444 slash in parts of four Triple-A seasons but has stumbled to an uncharacteristic .088/.162/.118 line in his first 37 plate appearances. The former 21st-rounder made his big league debut with the Padres last year and went 2-for-13 with a pair of singles in that brief call to the majors. Kohlwey has ample experience at all three outfield spots and at first base. He’ll be an option for teams seeking some left-handed-hitting outfield depth.
Angels Select Willie Calhoun
The Angels announced today that they have selected the contract of outfielder Willie Calhoun. He will take the roster spot of infield Miguel Sanó, who has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to April 28. Sanó hasn’t been playing lately due to inflammation in his left knee. To open a 40-man spot for Calhoun, right-hander Zac Kristofak was designated for assignment. Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reported that Calhoun was with the team prior to the official announcement.
Calhoun, 29, signed a minor league deal with the Angels in the offseason. He has taken 110 plate appearances in Triple-A this year, having hit .268/.345/.361. In the inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League, that translates to a wRC+ of 80.
He was once a top prospect, as he dominated Triple-A pitching a few years back. From 2017 to 2019, he hit .297/.365/.509 at that level for a 122 wRC+ and seemed destined to carve out a big role in the majors. But he’s managed to hit just .240/.300/.404 in over a thousand plate appearances in the big leagues, 84 wRC+, bouncing from the Rangers to the Giants and Yankees.
He’ll now return to the bigs to give another outfield option to an Angels club that just lost Mike Trout for a few weeks, as he requires surgery for a torn meniscus. The club added Kevin Pillar yesterday and now Calhoun will give them yet another option to roam the grass. Jo Adell and Taylor Ward should have regular roles in the corners while Pillar and Mickey Moniak could share center field. The club doesn’t have a regular designated hitter, so there could be some extra at-bats there. Calhoun could spell Ward or Adell in a corner at times as they fill the DH slot.
Sanó had been covering third base with Anthony Rendon on the injured list but now he follows Rendon to the IL. That perhaps leaves Luis Rengifo at the hot corner and Brandon Drury at second. Cole Tucker and Ehire Adrianza are on the roster as multi-positional backups for the infield and the outfield, though Calhoun’s addition perhaps allows them to focus on the former. Again, the DH spot could provide extra plate appearances to anyone in this group.
Kristofak, 26, was just added to the Angels’ roster on Sunday. He made one appearances of two scoreless innings and then was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake the next day. The Angels will now have one week to trade him or pass him through waivers.
He has been pitching in a swing role in the minors over the past few years. From the start of 2022 to the present, he’s appeared in 56 games, 18 of those being starts. In his 124 1/3 innings, he has a 3.84 earned run average, 19.9% strikeout rate and 7.9% walk rate.
MLB Announces Suspensions For Rays-Brewers Brawl
2:55pm: Rays manager Kevin Cash said after today’s game that Siri’s suspension was reduced to two games and he already started serving it, per Topkin.
1:05pm: Major League Baseball announced several suspensions today in relation to last night’s confrontation between the Rays and the Brewers. Milwaukee right-handers Freddy Peralta and Abner Uribe got suspensions of five and six games, respectively. Their manager Pat Murphy got a two-game suspension. Outfielder Jose Siri of the Rays got three games. All four parties also received undisclosed fines.
Murphy is serving his suspension starting today but both of the Milwaukee hurlers are appealing, per Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Siri will also be appealing his suspension, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.
Siri homered off Peralta in the third inning and then was plunked by Peralta in the sixth. The umpires conferred and ejected Peralta, despite the fact that no warnings had been issued in the game to that point. Murphy objected to the ejection and he was also ejected.
Siri came up again in the eighth with Uribe pitching. Siri hit a grounder to Rhys Hoskins at first base, who flipped the ball to Uribe as he covered first and recorded the out. Siri and Uribe exchanged words by first base before Uribe took a swipe at Siri. The two tried throwing punches towards each other as various parties tried to intervene with the benches emptying. Both were ejected after the fracas died down.
Adam McCalvy and Adam Berry of MLB.com spoke to the relevant parties after the game and relayed some natural differences of opinion about what transpired. Crew chief Chris Guccione said the umpires thought it was “clear-cut” that Peralta intentionally threw at Siri, though the pitcher denied it. “How many homers did I give up in seven years? A lot, and I never did something after,” Peralta said. “It’s my first time I got ejected from a game in seven seasons and there’s no reason for me to hit him.”
For his part, Siri denied that he celebrated his home run in any outlandish way. “I didn’t take too much time,” Siri said through Rays interpreter Manny Navarro. “I hit the ball, took a couple of steps and then I started running like normal.”
As for the later incident at first base, Uribe had this to say: “There were some words shared that didn’t have much to do with the game that probably shouldn’t have been shared there in that exchange.”
His sparring partner described it thusly: “When I went to first base, I just went there normal, and he kind of hit me on the shoulder,” Siri said. “So I asked him why did he do that? And he just said, ‘Because I felt like it.’”
As mentioned, Murphy is serving his suspension immediately while the players are all appealing. Their suspensions will be held in abeyance until the appeal process is complete, though players in this situation will often drop an appeal at a convenient time, such as when they were planning to have an unrelated day off.
Orioles Place Grayson Rodriguez On Injured List
The Orioles announced Wednesday that they’ve placed right-hander Grayson Rodriguez on the 15-day injured list due to inflammation in his right shoulder. The move is retroactive to April 30. Rodriguez will be replaced by veteran lefty John Means, who has been reinstated from a stint on the 15-day IL himself. Means has yet to pitch this season while recovering from a left forearm strain.
To this point, it’s unclear when Rodriguez hurt himself or how serious the injury is. He started Monday’s game and went 5 2/3 innings, throwing 101 pitches in the process. Until more information comes from the club, it can only be speculated as to how long he’ll out.
Regardless, it’s always a bit concerning when anything goes on with a pitcher’s throwing arm. Losing Rodriguez for any amount of time is a blow to the O’s since he has been in good form for quite a while now. His big league career got off to a rough start last year, as he had a 7.35 earned run average through 10 starts.
The Orioles optioned him to the minors and recalled him almost two months later, with Rodriguez posting good results since then. He had a 2.58 ERA after that recall last year and he has a 3.71 mark so far this year. Going back to that midseason call-up last year to today, he has a 2.93 ERA over 19 starts. In that time, he has a 24.4% strikeout rate, 7.3% walk rate and 46.7% ground ball rate.
Subtracting that kind of pitcher would hurt any rotation, but the O’s also have Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells on the injured list. Until today, Means was in that group as well. After today’s transactions, the healthy rotation consists of Means, Corbin Burnes, Cole Irvin, Dean Kremer and Albert Suárez.
Burnes is excellent but there are some question marks behind him. Irvin has a good ERA this year but iffy peripherals that suggest he’s not much different from past seasons. Kremer has a 4.19 ERA despite a .209 batting average on balls in play he won’t be able to maintain. Suárez has looked good in his three starts but it’s anyone’s guess if he can keep it going since he’s 34 years old and this is his first stint in the majors since 2017.
As for Means, he’s a big unknown himself. The lefty posted a 3.81 ERA with the O’s until requiring Tommy John surgery in April of 2022. He returned late last year and made four starts but didn’t make the club’s postseason roster due to some elbow soreness. He began this year on the IL and has been rehabbing in recent weeks, but with shaky results. He has thrown 18 2/3 innings for Triple-A Norfolk but with 18 earned runs allowed in that time.
It’s impossible to say what Means can provide for the club this year after hardly pitching at all in the previous two seasons and his poor results during his rehab, though he would be an asset if he could even get part of the way back to his pre-surgery form. Bradish is also nearing activation, which will give Baltimore another arm to bolster the group and could perhaps push Suárez into a long relief role in the bullpen.
Twins Select Caleb Boushley
The Twins announced Wednesday that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Caleb Boushley from Triple-A St. Paul. Southpaw Kody Funderburk was optioned to St. Paul in a corresponding move. Minnesota already had an open 40-man spot after designating righty Matt Bowman for assignment yesterday.
Boushley, 30, is a Wisconsin native and UW-La Crosse product who made his big league debut with his hometown Brewers last summer. He faced ten batters, whiffing half of them, but also walked a pair of hitters and gave up a solo homer in his 2 1/3-inning cup of coffee. He’ll now suit up for another Midwest club after signing a minor league deal with Minnesota in the offseason.
It’s been a nice start to the season for Boushley in the Twins’ Triple-A rotation. He’s started five games for the Saints and posted an even 4.00 ERA with a 27.5% strikeout rate against just a 3.7% walk rate in 27 frames. He’s averaged one homer per nine innings pitched and kept the ball on the ground at a solid 43.9% rate. In parts of five Triple-A seasons, the former 33rd-round pick (Padres, 2017) has logged a 4.56 ERA, 19.3% strikeout rate and 7.5% walk rate.
Though he’s been a starter in the minors this season (and for the majority of his career), Boushley will give the Twins a fresh arm in the bullpen for the time being. They used five relievers yesterday, including 30 pitches from the now-optioned Funderburk. Closer Jhoan Duran tossed 15 pitches and picked up a save in his first appearance of the season after being activated just yesterday from a month-long stint on the IL due to an oblique strain. Lefty Caleb Thielbar has also worked on consecutive days and might not be available today as a result (though he threw only two pitches en route to being credited with the victory last night). The Twins will send right-hander Bailey Ober to the mound against the White Sox today as they look to extend their MLB-best nine-game winning streak to a tenth game.
Dominic Smith Opts Out Of Rays Deal, Will Sign With Red Sox
11:54am: Smith is indeed set to join the Red Sox’ big league roster, per the Globe’s Julian McWilliams. The Sox will need to make a corresponding 40-man roster move to make his signing official.
11:32am: The Rays granted first baseman Dominic Smith his release after he triggered an opt-out in his minor league deal, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. A big league opportunity with another club arose for Smith, per Topkin. Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe further reports that the Red Sox “look like the next destination” for Smith after he opted out of that deal with Tampa Bay. He’ll be the second addition to the big league roster for the Sox, who acquired infielder Zack Short from the Mets in exchange for cash less than one hour ago.
Boston recently lost first baseman Triston Casas to a rib fracture that’s expected to sideline him for a considerable period of time. The Sox acquired veteran Garrett Cooper in the aftermath of that injury, but he took a 95 mph fastball off his wrist/forearm last night and exited the game. MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo tweets that Cooper is thankfully only bruised and does not have any fractures following that incident. Smith will give Boston some additional depth and a potential platoon partner for the righty-swinging Cooper.
Through 29 games and 81 plate appearances with the Rays’ Triple-A affiliate in Durham, Smith had posted a .263/.337/.375 batting line with a pair of homers and three doubles. He’s fanned in an uncharacteristic 29.2% of his plate appearances, but strikeouts typically haven’t been a glaring concern for the veteran, who’s fanned in 21.7% of his nearly 2000 MLB plate appearances.
Smith, 28, was a first-round pick, longtime top prospect and (more briefly) a quality run producer for the Mets prior to being non-tendered in the 2022-23 offseason. From 2019-20, Smith treated the Mets to a stellar .299/.366/.571 batting line in 396 trips to the plate. He swatted 21 homers and connected on 31 doubles in that time before stumbling to a .643 OPS over his next two seasons and being cut loose. He signed with the Nationals in the 2022-23 offseason but posted a middling .254/.326/.366 batting line with a dozen homers in his lone year in the nation’s capitol.
Trade Rumors Front Office: Changes To Article Delivery
Four years ago, I created our Trade Rumors Front Office subscription service. Facing some challenges with the online advertising revenue model, we launched a premium version of MLBTR with a paid subscription. For $29.89 per year, a Trade Rumors Front Office subscription removes ads on all our sites and in our app, grants access to tools such as the Contract Tracker and Agency Database, and provides exclusive articles and chats from Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams, Anthony Franco, and Nicklaus Gaut. I think we’re offering great value for the price.
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Mets Trade Zack Short To Red Sox
The Mets have traded infielder Zack Short to the Red Sox in exchange for cash, the teams announced Wednesday. Boston had an open spot on the 40-man roster and didn’t need to make a corresponding move. New York designated Short for assignment five days ago when adding veteran designated hitter J.D. Martinez to the roster. Short is out of minor league options, so he’ll head right to the Red Sox’ big league roster.
Short, 28, was a 17th-round pick by the Cubs back in 2016 and has played in parts of four big league seasons: 2021-23 with the Tigers and 2024 with the Mets. He’s a career .172/.266/.304 hitter in the big leagues and carries a .224/.357/.400 slash in 1017 plate appearances at the Triple-A level. Short is regarded as a sound defender at all three infield positions to the left of first base and has also had brief looks in the outfield in his professional career — mostly coming in the minors.
Boston’s infield situation has been in flux for much of the season after shortstop Trevor Story required season-ending shoulder surgery following an injury sustained on a diving stop in the field. Center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela has shifted into the infield and is taking on the everyday shortstop role. The Sox have given the lion’s share of playing time at second base to Enmanuel Valdez, but he’s hitting just .151/.183/.256 in 94 trips to the plate.
Utilityman Pablo Reyes has seen time at both middle infield spots but was recently designated for assignment after turning in a meager .183/.234/.217 slash in 64 plate appearances. Offseason acquisition Vaughn Grissom was expected to be reinstated from the injured list yesterday and take the reins at second base, but an illness has extended his season-long IL stint a bit further.
Short will take up a utility role, perhaps platooning with the left-handed-hitting Valdez at second base if Grissom needs to miss much more time. He doesn’t have especially strong numbers against southpaws but did hit .273/.406/.352 against them in 2022 and .236/.323/.382 in 2023.
Marlins Outright Kent Emanuel
The Marlins have sent left-hander Kent Emanuel outright to Triple-A Jacksonville, per his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment on the weekend. He has the right to elect free agency but is listed on the Jumbo Shrimp roster and already accepted an assignment earlier this year, perhaps suggesting he has accepted this one as well.
Emanuel, 32 in June, signed a minor league deal with the Fish in February. Though the season is barely a month old, the club has twice selected him to the roster, designated him for assignment and sent him through waivers unclaimed.
In each case, he made one appearance of three innings before getting bumped off the roster. He allowed a combined seven earned runs in those two outings, leaving him with an unsightly 10.50 ERA for the year so far. As one would expect, his Triple-A work has been better. Around those transactions, he has tossed seven innings over three appearances with a 1.29 ERA. He struck out 11 opponents in that time without issuing a walk.
It’s probably unrealistic to expect that kind of performance to continue. Going back to the start of 2021, his minor league work has resulted in a more pedestrian 4.55 ERA over 150 1/3 innings with a 21.9% strikeout rate. However, he was previously working as a starter and has gradually spent more time in the bullpen, so perhaps there’s another gear for him to unlock by pitching in shorter outings.
Though the Marlins bumped him off the roster, they are likely happy to keep Emanuel around. Their early season struggles have led to them continually cycling various arms through the fringes of their roster and they may need to call on Emanuel again. Their poor record also points them towards a potential deadline selloff this summer, which could increase the need for depth arms to step up later in the year.