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Archives for April 2025

MLBTR Podcast: Free Agent Power Rankings

By Darragh McDonald | April 16, 2025 at 11:58pm CDT

The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams and Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss MLBTR’s first edition of the 2025-26 Free Agent Power Rankings, including these focal points…

  • a general assessment of the 2025-26 free agent class as a whole (2:55)
  • Kyle Tucker’s free agency (6:25)
  • Munetaka Murakami (12:05)
  • Dylan Cease (22:50)
  • Bo Bichette (34:10)
  • Alex Bregman (41:25)
  • Zac Gallen, Framber Valdez and Michael King (48:10)
  • Cedric Mullins (58:05)
  • Ranger Suárez and Jack Flaherty (1:02:30)

Check out our past episodes!

  • Vlad’s Massive Deal, Extensions for Merrill and Marte, And Quinn Priester Traded – listen here
  • Garrett Crochet’s Extension, Problems In Atlanta, And Other Early-Season Storylines – listen here
  • What We Learned From The Offseason – listen here

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of David Frerker, Imagn Images

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2025-26 MLB Free Agent Power Rankings MLB Trade Rumors Podcast Alex Bregman Bo Bichette Cedric Mullins Dylan Cease Framber Valdez Jack Flaherty Kyle Tucker Michael King Munetaka Murakami Ranger Suarez Zac Gallen

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Luis Robert’s Slow Start

By Anthony Franco | April 16, 2025 at 11:57pm CDT

April tends to be relatively quiet on the transaction front. The early part of the month saw a handful of extensions as talks that had begun in Spring Training carried into the regular season. There probably won't be much more significant hot stove activity for the next couple months. That's largely because all but three teams -- the White Sox, Marlins and Rockies -- went into the season with some measure of hope about competing. The trio of clearly noncompetitive clubs had already moved most of their realistic trade candidates who'd bring back prospect talent.

Luis Robert Jr. is an exception. The White Sox held onto their former All-Star center fielder over the offseason. Robert was coming off the worst season of his career. He lost nearly two months early in the season with a hip flexor strain and was unproductive when healthy. He hit .224/.278/.379 with 14 homers in 100 games. Robert looked nothing like the player who'd finished 12th in AL MVP balloting one year earlier.

It made for a difficult evaluation. Robert has shown star upside -- not only in the aforementioned 2023 campaign but in an injury-shortened '21 season when he hit .338/.378/.567 over 68 games. Last year's White Sox were en route to the worst season in the modern era. Maybe Robert's .216/.253/.302 showing in the second half reflected some amount of mental fatigue. At 27 years old, he should remain in his prime.

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Chicago White Sox Front Office Originals MLBTR Originals Membership Luis Robert

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Injury Notes: Gil, DeJong, Gray

By Anthony Franco | April 16, 2025 at 11:40pm CDT

Luis Gil has not thrown since being diagnosed with a lat strain during the first week of March. The Yankees righty was shut down for at least six weeks at the time of the injury. While Gil has hit the six-week mark, he’s still not ready to begin throwing. Manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including Bryan Hoch of MLB.com) that Gil will remain shut down for at least another 10 days. Recent imaging hasn’t revealed sufficient healing for last year’s Rookie of the Year winner to resume throwing.

Gil will remain more than a month away from returning to MLB action even after he begins throwing. He’ll need a full ramp-up period after missing all of Spring Training, progressing through multiple sessions before he’s ready for a minor league rehab assignment. The Yankees welcomed Clarke Schmidt back from his own season-opening injured list stint on Wednesday, but they’re still down three starting pitchers. Gerrit Cole will miss the entire season, while Marcus Stroman went on the IL with knee inflammation over the weekend.

A couple other injury updates around the game:

  • The Nationals placed Paul DeJong on the 10-day injured list before Wednesday’s loss in Pittsburgh. The veteran infielder suffered a broken nose during Tuesday’s contest. Mitch Keller lost control of a 93 MPH fastball that ran up and hit DeJong in the face. Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com relays that DeJong spent the night in a Pittsburgh-area hospital for observation and was released on Wednesday. Signed to a $1MM free agent deal, DeJong opened the year as Washington’s third baseman. He’d spent time at shortstop with CJ Abrams shelved by a hip flexor strain. Amed Rosario and Nasim Nuñez are handling the left side of the infield with both players out. DeJong has opened the season with a .204/.246/.278 showing in 57 plate appearances.
  • Rangers righty Jon Gray broke his right wrist when he was hit by a comebacker late in Spring Training. The veteran starter tells Jeff Wilson of DLLS Sports that his injury has healed as hoped over the past month. Gray is hoping to begin throwing a couple weeks from now. He’s not expected to be ready for MLB game action until at least July. Gray owns a 4.16 earned run average in just under 400 innings over three seasons with Texas. He’s in the final season of his four-year free agent deal.
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New York Yankees Notes Texas Rangers Washington Nationals Jon Gray Luis Gil Paul DeJong

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Austin Slater Undergoes Meniscus Surgery

By Anthony Franco | April 16, 2025 at 9:37pm CDT

White Sox outfielder Austin Slater underwent surgery to address a meniscus tear in his right knee yesterday, the team informed reporters (including Scott Merkin of MLB.com). He’ll be sidelined for 4-6 weeks.

Slater went on the injured list over the weekend. The right-handed hitter has appeared in eight games this season. He’s started 5-20 with a home run and a couple doubles. The Sox have given him 10 plate appearances against right-handed and left-handed opponents alike. He’s mostly been a short-side platoon bat throughout his career. Slater is a .270/.362/.431 hitter against southpaws. He has fanned in 33% of plate appearances against righty pitching, putting up a .230/.316/.334 slash.

The White Sox made a handful of modest one-year free agent pickups over the offseason. Slater was the first of those additions. He signed for a $1.75MM guarantee with another $500K in performance bonuses. The incentives range from 50 to 100 games and 100 to 300 plate appearances, so he could unlock most or all of those bonuses as long as his rehab process goes as expected.

Slater is one of three outfielders on Chicago’s injured list. They’re also without Andrew Benintendi and Mike Tauchman for the moment. Michael A. Taylor is playing every day in left field. Lefty-swinging Joshua Palacios and switch-hitter Brooks Baldwin have been operating as a right field platoon.

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Chicago White Sox Austin Slater

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White Sox To Promote Edgar Quero

By Anthony Franco | April 16, 2025 at 7:25pm CDT

The White Sox intend to promote catching prospect Edgar Quero, reports Francys Romero. He’s expected to join the team for tomorrow afternoon’s series finale against the A’s. It’ll be the first major league call for the 22-year-old. Quero is not on the 40-man roster, so there’ll be a forthcoming move in that regard.

Quero, a native of Cuba, signed with the Angels in February 2021. He quickly impressed prospect evaluators as an advanced switch-hitting catcher. He’d gotten to Double-A at age 20 before the Halos sent him to the White Sox alongside lefty Ky Bush for Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo López at the 2023 deadline. The Angels regretted that push very quickly, as they fell firmly out of contention and wound up waiving Giolito and López a month later to shed their salaries.

It was a nice return for the White Sox. Quero has ranked in the latter half of Baseball America’s Top 100 prospects for each of the past three years. BA placed him sixth in the Chicago farm system this winter. That came on the heels of a strong .280/.366/.463 slash line with 16 home runs between the top two minor league levels. He kept his strikeout rate around 17% while drawing walks at a solid 9.7% clip.

Evaluators credit Quero with solid grades across the board (aside from the below-average speed expected of a catcher). He’s more of a bat-first player, drawing particular praise for his hit tool. BA writes that he has an average arm and has continued to improve his receiving skills, though, so there’s not much doubt that he can stay behind the plate.

At the time of the Giolito trade, Quero looked to be Chicago’s catcher of the future. That’s no longer a given, albeit for reasons beyond his control. The White Sox built the Garrett Crochet deal around former first-round pick Kyle Teel. Teel is generally viewed as the superior prospect, though it’s Quero who earns the major league call first.

The two highly-regarded young catchers have split the playing time at Triple-A Charlotte. Quero has had the much better start to the season. He’s hitting .333/.444/.412 with 11 walks and 14 strikeouts over 63 plate appearances. Teel has fanned 19 times and is batting .192 in a similar amount of playing time.

Matt Thaiss and Korey Lee began the season as Will Venable’s catching tandem. The Sox lost Lee to an ankle sprain last week. They initially brought up veteran Omar Narváez from Double-A rather than promote Quero or Teel. They’ll reverse course now with Quero, who should play fairly regularly.

It’s no longer possible for a player to accrue the 172 days on an MLB roster necessary to get a full year of service. Quero was a preseason top 100 prospect at each of Baseball America, ESPN and MLB Pipeline, so he would qualify for the Prospect Promotion Incentive. That means he could earn a full service year if he finished in the top two in AL Rookie of the Year balloting. The White Sox would not receive a bonus draft choice if that happens because they didn’t promote Quero early enough to spend 172 days in the majors.

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Chicago White Sox Top Prospect Promotions Edgar Quero

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Mariners Option Gregory Santos

By Steve Adams | April 16, 2025 at 5:00pm CDT

The Mariners have optioned right-hander Gregory Santos to Triple-A Tacoma and recalled fellow right-handed reliever Will Klein in his place, per a team announcement.

It’s the first time in nearly three years that Santos has been optioned to the minors. He was a notable trade acquisition in the 2023-24 offseason, with the Mariners sending prospects Prelander Berroa, Zach DeLoach and a Competitive Balance (Round B) draft selection to the White Sox in return.

At the time of the swap, Santos was fresh off an excellent breakout season in Chicago and had five years of club control remaining. His 2023 campaign with the South Siders featured 66 1/3 innings of 3.39 ERA ball. Santos had averaged 98.9 mph on his sinker while turning in strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates of 22.8%, 5.9% and 52.5%, respectively. He’d started that season in a low-leverage role but found himself pitching more meaningful innings as the year went on; he finished with five saves and six holds. It looked like the start of a lengthy run as a quality high-leverage reliever.

As we see all too often with pitchers, however, injuries intervened. Santos was diagnosed with a lat strain last spring and spent the first three-plus months of the season on the injured list as a result. He returned in early July but was back on the 15-day IL less than a month later, this time owing to biceps inflammation. He returned in the season’s final week and pitched a pair of scoreless innings.

Heading into 2025, Santos looked to be on track for a rebound. The lat strain was behind him, he’d finished the prior season healthy, and he posted a 1.59 ERA in six spring appearances (one run in 5 2/3 innings). That hasn’t played out whatsoever.

Santos’ once premium command has been nowhere to be found. He’s pitched seven innings and faced 36 batters. Eight of them have reached via base on balls (albeit, two of them being intentional). He’s also tossed a pair of wild pitches. Equally or more concerning is the fact that he hasn’t recorded a single strikeout yet. He’s still getting heaps of ground-balls (63%), but he’s missing badly and not inducing chases off the plate. His 11.5% opponents’ chase rate is the fourth-worst among all pitchers with at least five innings this year. His 4.6% swinging-strike rate is tied for ninth-worst.

There hasn’t been a major drop-off in Santos’ velocity. His sinker is down a bit, sitting at 98 mph, but that’s less than a one-mile gap from his 2023 peak. He’s had a bit more of a pronounced drop in his slider velo, but there’s no reason to believe he’s injured at the moment. (He is, after all, being optioned and not placed on the 15-day IL.) Santos has seen some changes in his release point from 2023 to 2025, but again, it’s not necessarily a drastic difference. For now, he’ll head to Triple-A Tacoma for a reset and look to get back on track.

It’s possible, though not yet certain, that today’s demotion could alter Santos’ path to arbitration and to free agency. He entered the season with two years and 55 days (2.055) of big league service, meaning he needed 117 days on the roster to reach three years and keep pace for arbitration eligibility this winter and free agency following the 2028 season. Of course, those factors will be rendered moot if he can’t get back on track and reestablish himself as a credible big league reliever.

Klein has actually had similar struggles to those of Santos down in Tacoma this year. He’s faced 36 batters and walked seven of them while plunking another and being charged with four wild pitches. He’s at least missing bats however and is doing so at an eye-popping rate; Klein has fanned 36.1% of his opponents and is sitting on a strong 13.8% swinging-strike rate. He’ll give Seattle a fresh arm one day after four relievers (Santos among them) needed to cover 3 2/3 innings following a rough start from Luis Castillo.

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Seattle Mariners Gregory Santos Will Klein

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Latest On Orioles’ Extension Candidates

By Steve Adams | April 16, 2025 at 4:08pm CDT

Orioles fans have been pining for long-term extensions for some of their young core, but thus far there’s been little indication that they’re pursuing such commitments. Part of that stemmed from the fact that the franchise was up for sale. We’re now more than a year into David Rubenstein’s tenure as Orioles owner, and while they’ve spent more money on the whole, it’s primarily been on one-year deals for free agents. (Tyler O’Neill’s three-year deal is a notable exception, though that contains an opt-out clause after the 2025 season and thus could end being a one-year deal as well.)

General manager Mike Elias commented on the matter yesterday, suggesting he’d be “more revelatory” on the subject of extensions than in the past, but still spoke in generalities (via Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com).

“This is something we’re working on,” Elias said to the Orioles beat. “There’s guys on this team that we would like to have on this team longer than they’re currently slated for. It’s not a point-and-shoot thing. It’s case by case. There’s different players, different skill levels, different representatives, different philosophies around how to handle players at different age levels. … There’s only so much I can say about it other than it’s something we want to do if it makes sense, that we are working on it and if it happens, we’ll be out here talking about it.”

A large portion of the focus on potential extension candidates in Baltimore centers around young stars like Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson and Jordan Westburg — and understandably so. But Cedric Mullins — the Orioles’ longest-tenured player and a cornerstone throughout their rise from rebuilder to contender in the AL East — is in the final year of club control and would stand as a logical extension candidate himself, at least on paper. Agent Robin Cope tells Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic that the team has not broached the possibility of an extension, even though Mullins himself “wishes they would.”

Mullins himself followed up on Cope’s comments. Asked today by the O’s beat about his agent’s statement (link via Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner), Mullins replied: “One hundred percent. Just being drafted by Baltimore and just knowing what Baltimore and the city offered me and my family over the course of my career has been nothing short of amazing. So to have those negotiations take place, it’s all in timing. But right now, focused on the day-to-day of bringing wins to the clubhouse.”

The 30-year-old Mullins has spent his entire career with the Orioles organization, dating back to his selection in the 13th round of the 2015 draft. Though he never garnered fanfare from national prospect rankings, he established himself as an All-Star caliber center fielder. Since cementing his place in the Orioles’ lineup back in 2020, Mullins is a .259/.327/.442 hitter. He peaked with a 30-30 season and .291/.360/.518 batting line in 2021, taking home a Silver Slugger Award and landing ninth in MVP voting during what’s still the lone All-Star campaign of his career.

Mullins may never get back to those heights again, but he’s doing his best to get there with a massive start to his 2025 campaign: .300/.435/.620 with four homers, three steals and nearly as many walks (10) as strikeouts (11) through his first 62 turns at the plate. That builds off a big finish to his 2024 campaign. After a brutally slow start in April and May, Mullins regained his footing and finished as one of the most productive hitters in the American League. Over his past 370 plate appearances, he’s batting .280/.371/.497 with 16 homers and 23 plate appearances.

Looking back at recent extensions using MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, there haven’t been too many examples of outfielders — or position players in general — signing extensions this close to free agency and at this age. Tommy Edman’s deal with the Dodgers (four years, $64.5MM in new money) stands as the most recent parallel. Stretching back a bit further, Charlie Blackmon’s first extension with the Rockies guaranteed him $94MM in new money over a five-year period.

Free agency offers a few more points of comparison, but it’s increasingly rare for center fielders to make it to market before signing an extension. Dexter Fowler (five years, $82.5MM), Lorenzo Cain (five years, $80MM) and AJ Pollock (four years, $60MM) all signed for $15-16MM annual range, beginning with their age-31 seasons. Each of those contracts is more than five years old at this point, however. Starling Marte secured a weightier $19.5MM AAV on a four-year deal beginning with his age-33 season. George Springer’s six-year, $150MM contract covers his age-31 through age-36 seasons, but was a more accomplished hitter than Mullins.

Given the lack of discussions to this point, it seems likely that Mullins will reach free agency. He’d be a clear candidate for a qualifying offer and would likely reject that one-year figure in search of a multi-year deal. The O’s have Colton Cowser, Heston Kjerstad and perhaps O’Neill all in the outfield mix beyond the current season, plus prospects Enrique Bradfield Jr., Jud Fabian and Dylan Beavers in the upper minors. That gives the team a good bit of outfield talent to build around if Mullins departs. In order to keep him, they’d surely need to spend well beyond their recent comfort levels. Baltimore hasn’t given out a contract worth more than $50MM since signing Alex Cobb back in 2018, under not only a different owner but also a different front office regime.

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Baltimore Orioles Adley Rutschman Cedric Mullins Gunnar Henderson Jordan Westburg

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Padres, Pirates Swap Brett Sullivan, Bryce Johnson

By Darragh McDonald | April 16, 2025 at 4:00pm CDT

The Padres announced that they have acquired outfielder Bryce Johnson and cash considerations in exchange for catcher Brett Sullivan. Neither player was on a 40-man roster at the time of the deal and they won’t immediately take roster spots with their new clubs. Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported the deal prior to the official announcement.

Sullivan, 31, was outrighted off San Diego’s roster just prior to Opening Day. His big league experience is pretty minimal, with a .206/.243/.299 line in 103 plate appearances. He’s done better in the minors, with a .271/.342/.449 line and 97 wRC+ in 1,594 Triple-A appearances dating back to the start of the 2021 season.

His glovework has been more of a mixed bag. Baseball Prospectus has given him negative grades for his framing in the majors but with better marks in Triple-A. His blocking numbers are a bit middling but his throwing grades are decent.

The Bucs have had seen a number of changes in their catching group recently. They designated Jason Delay for assignment and traded him to Atlanta earlier this month. Shortly after that, both Joey Bart and Endy Rodríguez got hurt. Bart has been dealing with a back issue while Rodríguez suffered a finger laceration and was placed on the injured list. Bart has not yet been placed on the IL but hasn’t played since April 11.

On the active roster, the Bucs are down to just Henry Davis and a banged-up Bart. Abrahan Gutierrez has been with the club on the taxi squad, just in case the club wants him to take Bart’s place. Sullivan will give them another non-roster guy with some big league experience. Perhaps he will join the taxi squad and Gutierrez will head back down to Triple-A, or maybe Sullivan will go to Indianapolis.

The Padres have less need for Sullivan as a depth catcher. They are going with veterans Martín Maldonado and Elias Díaz on the big league roster, while Luis Campusano is on optional assignment at Triple-A. That has allowed them to exchange Sullivan for a bit of cash and another player at a position of greater need.

Johnson, 29, is an outfielder who is known more for his speed and defense than his hitting. He was non-tendered by the Padres at the end of last year and then signed a minor league deal with the Pirates. He has a .177/.248/.226 batting line in 140 big league plate appearances but he has better minor league numbers and some wheels. Dating back to the start of 2021, he has hit .282/.377/.423 on the farm while stealing 100 bases in 116 tries.

The Padres have been scrambling in the outfield a bit lately. Center fielder Jackson Merrill landed on the IL just over a week ago due to a right hamstring strain. Brandon Lockridge took over that spot but suffered a left hamstring strain and followed Merrill to the IL. Lately, they’ve been using utility guy Tyler Wade and veteran Jason Heyward to cover that spot.

The Pirates have an outfield mix consisting of Oneil Cruz, Bryan Reynolds, Jack Suwinski, Andrew McCutchen, Tommy Pham, Alexander Canario and Adam Frazier. Reynolds hasn’t been playing the field lately due to triceps soreness but has been serving as the designated hitter.

In short, both players were more needed by their new clubs than their previous ones, so each will land in a spot where they have a better chance of helping out a big league club.

Photo courtesy of Rick Scuteri, Imagn Images.

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Pittsburgh Pirates San Diego Padres Transactions Brett Sullivan Bryce Johnson

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Casey Lawrence Elects Free Agency

By Steve Adams | April 16, 2025 at 3:20pm CDT

April 16: The Mariners announced that Lawrence cleared waivers and was assigned outright to Triple-A Tacoma. MLBTR has learned that Lawrence will elect free agency rather than accept that assignment.

April 14: The Mariners announced Monday that right-hander Casey Lawrence has been designated for assignment. His spot on the roster will go to righty Troy Taylor, who’s being reinstated from the 15-day injured list. It’s also worth noting that right-hander Jesse Hahn, whom Seattle outrighted to Triple-A over the weekend, has rejected that assignment in favor of free agency, according to the transaction log at MiLB.com.

Lawrence, 37, was called to the big leagues last week for a return stint with Seattle. He pitched the final three innings of their April 9 game against the Astros and was credited with a win after allowing a pair of runs on four hits and a walk (no strikeouts). It’s the third season in which the well-traveled Lawrence has suited up for the Mariners. He also pitched with Seattle in 2017 and 2018, in addition to spending the entire 2024 season with their Triple-A club. In 127 big league innings, Lawrence has a 6.73 ERA with a 16.6% strikeout rate and 8.5% walk rate.

The Mariners clearly like Lawrence and have a good relationship with him. Since 2017, they’ve claimed him off waivers and signed him to three minor league contracts. He can be placed on waivers or traded at any point in the next five days. Waivers would be another 48-hour process.

Within a week’s time, we’ll know the outcome of his DFA, although given his track record and history with the organization, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he accepted an outright assignment or quickly re-signed on a new minor league deal after clearing waivers and electing free agency. He’s already spent the past year-plus living and pitching in the Seattle/Tacoma area, after all, and he could be called upon in similar situations if the Mariners decide they need a fresh arm in the ’pen once again.

Taylor, 23, was a quick-to-the-majors reliever who impressed during his 2024 MLB debut. A 12th-round pick by the M’s in 2022, Taylor logged 19 1/3 innings last year and turned in a 3.72 ERA with a huge 30.9% strikeout rate against a solid 8.6% walk rate. That performance came on the heels of 42 2/3 minor league innings during which the UC-Irvine product recorded a stellar 1.27 ERA with a 27.6% strikeout rate and identical 8.6% walk rate.

Taylor missed the first two-plus weeks of the season with a minor lat strain. He made five rehab appearances and was torched for six runs on nine hits (one homer) and a walk in 3 1/3 innings. Most of that damage came in one outing where he was tagged for three runs without recording an out, however. Clearly, the Mariners are encouraged by the current state of his stuff and his previously ailing lat, as they could’ve simply optioned Taylor to Triple-A rather than reinstate him to the big league roster.

Hahn, 35, pitched in the majors for the first time since 2021 earlier this year when he tossed four frames for the Mariners. Injuries have continually plagued the right-hander, who’s been limited to 29 1/3 MLB frames (and 85 innings overall) since 2019. He’s continued grinding through rehab after rehab, however, and was rewarded with a brief big league return. Hahn could get another look with the M’s on a new minor league deal or latch on elsewhere as a minor league depth option now that he’s once again a free agent.

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Seattle Mariners Transactions Casey Lawrence Jesse Hahn Troy Taylor

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Latest On Cubs’ Rotation Plans

By Darragh McDonald | April 16, 2025 at 1:31pm CDT

The Cubs’ rotation took a huge hit recently with Justin Steele requiring season-ending elbow surgery. However, they don’t plan to rush out and scramble for external options. Per a report from Patrick Mooney of The Athletic, the club is focused on internal solutions for now.

That’s a fairly understandable position to take at this part of the calendar. There are some unsigned free agents, with Spencer Turnbull arguably the most notable one, but that wouldn’t provide any help in the short term. Such a player would effectively require a delayed spring training ramp up, meaning they wouldn’t be an option for a few weeks even if they were signed today.

The trade market could provide some more hot-and-ready options but there are problems there as well. This early in the season, most clubs are still hoping to contend. The clubs that have no hope of contending this year don’t have a ton of exciting pitchers available.

It could be argued that Sandy Alcantara of the Marlins is the perfect storm of an exciting player on a rebuilding club that should be willing to deal him at any time. The Marlins did trade Luis Arráez in early May of last year, so it’s a possibility with some precedent. However, Will Sammon of The Athletic reported this week that the Fish haven’t yet decided if they will trade Alcantara. There is no real rush for them to decide, as the trade deadline is still months away and they are out to a respectable 8-8 start. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports similarly, noting that the Marlins feel they will get better offers in July.

Some less-established pitchers might be available. For instance, the Brewers just acquired Quinn Priester from the Red Sox to bolster their own injury-battered rotation. Priester is a former first-round pick and notable prospect but had a 6.23 earned run average in 99 2/3 career innings when Milwaukee grabbed him. The Brewers gave up the 33rd overall pick in this summer’s draft, a mid-tier prospect (Yophery Rodriguez) and a player to be named later to get him.

The Cubs already have some guys who are more or less in that Priester bucket. Jordan Wicks is a former first-round pick with a 5.02 ERA in 80 2/3 innings. Cade Horton, another first-rounder, hasn’t made his big league debut yet but is in the Triple-A rotation.

They also have a couple of other options. Javier Assad started the season on the injured list due to an oblique strain but has begun a rehab assignment and should be able to rejoin the club soon. As noted by Mooney, the club has a number of off-days coming up on the schedule. That could allow them to ride with a four-man rotation of Shota Imanaga, Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon and Ben Brown for a while, with swingman Colin Rea contributing from time to time via spot starts or bulk outings until Assad is back in the mix.

That’s a decent amount of depth for the time being and the club is out to a strong 12-8 start, so they probably don’t feel the need to make a panic move. Once the deadline draws nearer, it seems fair to expect their willingness to trade for external options will increase. It’s possible that guys like Wicks or Horton could take over roles in the coming months but other injuries are also a distinct possibility.

Photo courtesy of Kiyoshi Mio, Imagn Images

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