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Cubs Release Julian Merryweather

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The Cubs released reliever Julian Merryweather, according to the MLB.com transaction log. He’d been designated for assignment last week when they selected Brooks Kriske (who is himself now in DFA limbo).

Merryweather, 33, lost his roster spot after a rough start to the season. The righty gave up 13 runs (12 earned) through his first 18 2/3 innings. He fanned 15 while issuing 11 walks and surrendering a couple home runs. Merryweather had struggled last season as well, allowing a 6.60 ERA across 15 innings. He lost a good portion of the year to a rib fracture in his back and also battled late-season knee tendinitis.

Since the start of the 2024 season, Merryweather has allowed 6.15 earned runs per nine in 36 appearances. That’s well off the pace he showed two years ago, when he posted a 3.38 ERA across a career-high 72 innings. Merryweather collected 17 holds and a pair of saves as one of Chicago’s best relievers that year. His stuff hasn’t been as crisp over the past couple seasons. He has lost two ticks of velocity on both his four-seam fastball and slider since his 2023 peak.

That’s probably in part due to injury. Last year’s rib issue was the latest in a long line of health questions. Merryweather underwent Tommy John surgery as a minor leaguer in 2018. He debuted for the Blue Jays in 2020 but missed a good chunk of the following season due to a significant oblique strain. A 2022 abdominal strain again led to a notable absence, leading Toronto to waive him at the end of that year.

Merryweather is playing on a $1.25MM arbitration salary. Assuming he clears release waivers, the Cubs will remain on the hook for that money. He’ll be free to pursue other opportunities and would only cost his new team the prorated portion of the $760K league minimum for any time he spends on the big league roster.

Fantasy Baseball: New Stars?

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Hello, friends.

I come to you deep from within the family bunker, relishing these last few hours before summer "vacation" activities get fully rolling in the morning. For new (or not yet) parents, let this serve as a PSA: summer vacation is a lie. In particular, during June, because everyone just lo-ooves to pack everything in right away. It's a hellscape; please take heed when scheduling.

Anywell, baseball. We're now at the third pole, and there's no time like the present to make definitive and grandiose statements about fantasy players. With that in mind, let's take two of the players mentioned frequently in my chats this season (11 am CT on Thursdays) and put our foot down. No more hemming, and certainly no more hawing. We're calling the fight.

These two guys got the goods, dude.

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Angels Release Tim Anderson

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The Angels announced that infielder Tim Anderson has been released. He had been designated for assignment two days ago. He’ll be a free agent once he clears release waivers, unless he has already.

This was the expected outcome when Anderson was designated for assignment earlier this week. He was unlikely to be claimed based on his performance this year and in other recent seasons. He has more than enough service time to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency, so the Angels have skipped over that formality.

He’ll now be free to sign with any club, though he’ll surely be limited to minor league offers. Anderson just produced a tepid .205/.258/.241 line over 90 plate appearances with the Angels. That continued a yearslong slump for him. Dating back to the start of the 2023 season, he has stepped to the plate 855 times with a .232/.269/.270 line. That leads to a 49 wRC+, indicating he’s been 51% worse than league average at the plate.

Based on that performance, he’s unlikely to get a major league opportunity in the immediate future. There’s no harm in a minor league deal, however, and Anderson has previous major league success. From 2019 to 2022, he slashed .318/.347/.473 for a 123 wRC+ with the White Sox. He also stole 53 bases while playing solid shortstop defense.

But early in 2023, he landed on the injured list due to a left knee sprain and hasn’t been the same since. The White Sox declined a $14MM club option for 2024, going for the $1MM buyout instead. Anderson landed a $5MM deal with the Marlins going into last year but was released in July. He signed a minor league deal with the Halos for this year and cracked the Opening Day roster but wasn’t able to produce. His 32nd birthday is next month. He’ll now see what kind of opportunities await him on the open market.

Photo courtesy of Jonathan Hui, Imagn Images

Rockies, Nick Anderson Agree To Minor League Deal

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Reliever Nick Anderson has a minor league deal with the Rockies, reports Ari Alexander of KPRC 2. Anderson, a client of Gaeta Sports Management, had been on a minor league contract with the Cardinals. He triggered an opt-out and quickly found another landing spot.

Anderson had been pitching for the Cards’ top farm team in Memphis. He made 17 appearances, allowing a 6.20 ERA over 20 1/3 innings. His respective strikeout (21.5%) and walk (8.6%) rates weren’t terrible, but he gave up a fair amount of hard contact and had a tough time stranding runners. St. Louis unsurprisingly decided not to call him up when he triggered the out clause.

The 34-year-old Anderson appeared in the majors with the Royals in the first half of last season. He tossed 35 2/3 frames of 4.04 ERA ball with a modest 19% strikeout rate. Anderson subsequently spent time in Triple-A with the Dodgers and Orioles but didn’t get a major league opportunity with either club.

Anderson has been a journeyman middle relief type since his brilliant 2019-20 run between Miami and Tampa Bay. He provided the Braves 35 1/3 innings of 3.06 ERA ball a couple seasons back and still sits in the 94-95 MPH range with his fastball. Colorado’s bullpen has managed a serviceable 4.29 ERA overall, but they’re last in MLB with an 18.9% strikeout rate.

Evan Phillips To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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Dodgers reliever Evan Phillips will undergo Tommy John surgery, manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic). He’ll miss the remainder of this season and most or all of 2026 as well.

It’s a crushing blow to the Dodger bullpen and for Phillips personally. Claimed off waivers from Tampa Bay in 2021, the 6’2″ righty broke out as one of the best relievers in the game upon landing in Los Angeles. He fired 63 innings of 1.14 ERA ball during his first full season as a Dodger. Phillips followed up with a 2.05 mark while recording 24 saves after emerging as the team’s closer. He saved another 18 games last year before moving into a setup role after they acquired Michael Kopech at the deadline.

Phillips had avoided any arm injuries over that stretch. His only two injured list stints were related to his quad and hamstring, respectively. That changed last fall. Phillips pitched through arm fatigue during the early stages of the team’s playoff run. It became significant enough that the club had to scratch him for the World Series. Phillips revealed over the offseason that the issue was primarily with his shoulder, as he was eventually diagnosed with a slightly torn rotator cuff tendon. He avoided surgery but took things slowly during his ramp-up and began the season on the injured list.

The 30-year-old righty made it back to the mound in the middle of April. Phillips looked great through seven appearances, reeling off 5 2/3 scoreless frames with six strikeouts. The return proved short-lived, as the Dodgers placed him back on the IL three weeks later with forearm discomfort. They transferred him to the 60-day injured list yesterday as the corresponding move in the Alexis Díaz trade. That guaranteed he wouldn’t be back for a while. The team presumably knew at the time that he was destined for surgery.

Phillips is one of a staggering 14 Dodger pitchers on the injured list. All but three are on the 60-day version. Kopech, Brusdar Graterol, Blake Treinen and Kirby Yates are all potential high-leverage arms who are sidelined. Kopech should be back soon, while Yates and Treinen are amidst throwing programs. Tanner Scott is the team’s top healthy reliever. Alex Vesia, Ben Casparius and Jack Dreyer have mostly held up in middle relief roles. Lou Trivino, who signed a minor league deal earlier this month, was quickly called up and immediately thrown into high-leverage situations.

There’s a chance this ends Phillips’ tenure in Los Angeles. He’s playing on a $6.1MM salary. He’d be eligible for arbitration a final time next offseason. That’d come with a similar salary to this season’s if they tender him a contract. A non-tender seems likely given the possibility that he’ll miss all of next year. The Dodgers are more willing than any other team to gamble on talented pitchers with health concerns. Even if they non-tender Phillips, they could subsequently try to work out a backloaded two-year deal in the hope of getting him back healthy for the entire ’27 season.

The Quiet MVP Of The Mets’ Pitching Staff

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Dating back to Opening Day 2024, the Mets have used 16 different starting pitchers. In today's MLB, that's not really an alarming number. It's right around the median. Clubs like the Dodgers and Brewers lead the pack with 24 starters apiece, while teams with steadier rotations like the Mariners and Twins clock in at only 11 starters each since last year. The Yankees, even after a couple significant injuries in the rotation, have used only 10 -- the fewest in baseball.

The Mets' usage of 16 starters in and of itself isn't remarkable, but it's probably fair to say it also wasn't exactly the plan. Two years ago -- an eternity in the world of Major League Baseball rosters -- they were still dreaming big on future Hall of Famers Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander forming an elite trio with then-newcomer Kodai Senga. When that didn't go according to plan, the Mets blew things up at the 2023 trade deadline and treated 2024 as something of a bridge year.

The subsequent offseason was punctuated by short-term acquisitions to patch over the rotation. In came Luis Severino, Sean Manaea and Adrian Houser -- the first two via free agency and the latter via trade. With Senga and Jose Quintana still on the roster from the year prior, the starting five looked largely set, at least on paper.

As is often the case with pitching staffs, injuries derailed those plans. Senga made one start in 2024. Houser made six before being banished to the bullpen. The Mets picked up Paul Blackburn at last year's deadline, and he made all of five starts before incurring a season-ending injury. Top prospect Christian Scott debuted and looked like he could help to smooth things over ... until he required season-ending Tommy John surgery after just nine starts.

There have been similar hiccups in 2025. Offseason signing Frankie Montas has yet to pitch due to a lat strain. Manaea, who opted out of his previous contract but returned on a heftier three-year deal worth $75MM, has been out all season due to an oblique strain. Scott is still on the mend from that UCL replacement. Blackburn hasn't pitched this season due to a separate knee injury.

But for the past calendar year, the Mets have quietly relied on a homegrown arm to stabilize the staff -- and he's stepped up and thrived as one of the most productive starting pitchers in the sport.

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Diamondbacks Designate Joe Mantiply For Assignment

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The Diamondbacks announced a series of roster moves today, most of which were previously reported. They have selected right-hander Jeff Brigham and signed infielder Ildemaro Vargas. To open active roster spots for those two, infielder Jordan Lawlar and right-hander Kevin Ginkel have been optioned to Triple-A Reno. The club had one open 40-man roster spot but opened a second by designating left-hander Joe Mantiply for assignment.

Mantiply, 34, has fallen on hards time here in 2025 after a strong performance in previous seasons. From 2021 to 2024, he logged 198 1/3 innings with the Diamondbacks, allowing 3.63 earned runs per nine. His 22% strikeout rate in that time was around average but he only walked 6% of batters faced and kept 51.9% of balls in play on the ground. He racked up three saves and 50 holds in that span.

But this year, he allowed 13 earned runs in his first 7 1/3 innings. He was optioned down to Reno in mid-April while sporting an ERA of 15.95. He was recalled briefly a couple of weeks ago and allowed four more earned runs in 2 1/3 innings before getting optioned down again. He currently has an ugly 15.83 ERA on the year, though in a small sample of 9 2/3 innings.

There’s surely some bad luck in there, with his .512 batting average on balls in play and 56.5% strand rate both far to the unfortunate side of things. However, his strikeout rate has also dropped to 13.8% this year and he’s only been getting grounders at a 43.2% clip.

Those struggles have apparently been enough for him to lose his 40-man spot. He now heads into DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Snakes could spend up to five days exploring trade interest.

Other clubs might be willing to look past this year’s struggles but MLB teams are generally loath to take on money via midseason pickups, even relatively small amounts. Joel Payamps, like Mantiply, is a pitcher with some recent success but having a bad year. He recently passed through waivers, with no club willing to take on what remains of his $2.995MM salary.

Mantiply is making $1.7MM this year, barely half of what Payamps is making. He is also left-handed and can be optioned to the minors, whereas Payamps is a righty and out of options. On the other hand, Mantiply is three years older. The next few days will tell if Mantiply can find a club willing to take him on.

If he goes unclaimed, he will likely stick with the D’Backs as non-roster depth. Players with at least three years of major league service time have the right to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency. However, players with less than five years of service have to forfeit any remaining salary in order to exercise that right. Mantiply is shy of the five-year mark and would therefore probably accept an outright assignment, in order to keep that salary coming to him.

Photo courtesy of John Hefti, Imagn Images

Padres Promote Bradgley Rodriguez

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5:15pm: The Padres announced that they have officially selected Rodriguez to the roster. Lefty Kyle Hart was optioned to Triple-A El Paso as the corresponding move.

10:15am: The Padres are calling up bullpen prospect Bradgley Rodriguez, reports Daniel Alvarez Montes of El Extra Base. He’s not on the 40-man roster, so they’ll need to formally select his contract. San Diego currently has three vacancies on their 40-man roster, however, so only a corresponding active roster move will be needed.

The 21-year-old Rodriguez will jump straight from Double-A to the big leagues. He’s appeared in 18 games this season and totaled 22 1/3 innings with a 3.22 ERA, a massive 34.8% strikeout rate and just a 5.6% walk rate. That walk rate, in particular, represents a massive step forward for a pitcher who issued a free pass to 12.2% of his opponents last year.

Both Baseball America and MLB.com ranked Rodriguez 14th among Padres prospects entering the season. His heater sits in the upper 90s and climbs as high as 101 mph, and he keeps lefties off balance with a plus changeup in the upper 80s/low 90s that both outlets tout as his best pitch. Rodriguez also works a slider into his arsenal, but it’s a third pitch that he rarely throws to lefties, per BA’s scouting report.

Rodriguez adds a high-octane arm to a bullpen that already ranks ninth in the majors with a 3.39 ERA and seventh with a combined 24.2% strikeout rate. The promising young righty will make his MLB debut the first time he’s called into a game by skipper Mike Shildt, though given his pedigree, he’ll have a chance to make a lasting impression and carve out a long-term role. Rodriguez has been sidelined by elbow injuries in the past during his minor league tenure, but he was dominant in 61 1/3 frames last year and has been excellent so far in 2025. The Friars control him for six full seasons (at least) beyond the current campaign.

AJ Smith-Shawver Diagnosed With Torn UCL

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Braves right-hander AJ Smith-Shawver has been diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow, reports Mark Bowman of MLB.com. It is still being determined whether the righty will undergo Tommy John surgery or an internal brace procedure. In either case, he should miss the remainder of this season and part of the 2026 campaign as well.

The news is devastating but not surprising. Smith-Shawver started the first game of yesterday’s doubleheader against the Phillies. He was removed in the third inning and it was quickly reported that he felt a pop in his throwing elbow. He was placed on the 15-day IL before the second game of that twin bill with an elbow strain. “It doesn’t look good,” was manager Brian Snitker’s assessment of the situation. He was transferred to the 60-day IL earlier today, only enhancing the sense that bad news was coming.

All the warning signs have now proven to be accurate. Smith-Shawver will go under the knife and the only thing left to determine is if he’ll require a full Tommy John procedure or the internal brace variant. The latter generally comes with a slightly lesser return timeline, but even that reduced time frame is generally around a year or so. He will therefore spend the rest of the year on the 60-day IL and will perhaps start the 2026 season there as well.

He will collect big league pay and service time while on the IL but that’s a small consolation. He was in the middle of establishing himself as a true big league starter. He had logged 44 1/3 innings over nine starts this year with a 3.86 earned run average. His 10.9% walk rate was on the high side but his 21.9% strikeout rate was slightly above par for a starter. He’ll now have to wait until 2026 to build off that showing.

For the team, they are now down two starters. Reynaldo López had arthroscopic shoulder surgery earlier in the year and seems unlikely to return until late in the season, even in a best-case scenario.

Bryce Elder will be recalled to start on Sunday, per Bowman. Elder seemingly cemented himself in the big leagues in 2023 when he posted a 3.81 ERA over 31 starts. However, his results backed up last year, which bumped him down the chart to being a frequently-optioned depth piece. He was only able to make ten big league starts last year with a 6.52 ERA. He has continued to be shuttled to Gwinnett and back here in 2025. He has a 4.50 ERA in eight big league starts as well as an 8.76 ERA in three Triple-A starts.

If Elder falters, he still has options and the club has other arms available. Hurston Waldrep, Nathan Wiles and Davis Daniel are all on the 40-man roster and pitching in the Triple-A rotation. Ian Anderson and José Suarez are not on the 40-man roster but both have major league experience and are pitching in the Triple-A rotation as well.

Photo courtesy of Bill Streicher, Imagn Images

Tigers Place Jackson Jobe On IL With Flexor Strain

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The Tigers announced that they have placed right-hander Jackson Jobe on the 15-day injured list due to a grade 1 flexor strain in his right elbow. Righty Dylan Smith was selected to take his place on the roster, a move that was previously reported. Righty Alex Cobb was transferred to the 60-day IL to open a 40-man spot for Smith.

The news on Jobe doesn’t completely come out of nowhere. After Wednesday’s game, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press noted that Jobe’s velocity was down a bit. Jobe wasn’t in the clubhouse to talk to reporters after the game and the Tigers even closed the clubhouse while reporters were waiting to speak to him within an hour of the game ending, which Petzold noted was a violation of MLB club and media regulations. The club hasn’t provided a timeline for how much time they expect Jobe to miss, though it’s always at least somewhat concerning when a pitcher’s throwing elbow is injured.

Either way, this IL stint interrupts his first extended look in the big leagues. A former third overall pick and one of the top prospects in baseball, he hasn’t quite hit his stride in the majors yet. He made a brief debut late last year and earned a rotation job here in 2025. He has made ten starts this year with a 4.22 earned run average, 17.9% strikeout rate, 12.4% walk rate and 43.2% ground ball rate.

Those aren’t exactly dominant numbers but Jobe is still quite young. He won’t even celebrate his 23rd birthday until July. The fact that he’s in the majors at all at this age is a testament to his talent. There’s still lots of time for him to fully break out and the injury perhaps provides an explanation for why he hasn’t quite been firing on all cylinders yet.

For now, the Tigers will have to fill his rotation spot. Chris McCosky of Detroit News suggests that Sawyer Gipson-Long is a likely candidate to take over for Jobe. Gipson-Long underwent internal brace surgery in April of last year. He is now healthy enough to have made five rehab starts, getting to 5 1/3 innings in his most recent outing. Prior to going under the knife, he made four starts for the Tigers in 2023 with a 2.70 ERA. He is on the 60-day IL so the Tigers would need to open a 40-man spot if he is to be reinstated in the coming days.

As for Cobb, this move doesn’t impact his timeline. His 60-day count is retroactive to his initial placement on the 15-day IL. Since he’s already been on the shelf more than 60 days, he’s eligible to be reinstated at any time. Dan Hasty, broadcaster for the High-A West Michigan Whitecaps, relays that Cobb is expected to start a rehab assignment with that club tonight. Cobb will surely need a few weeks of ramp-up after missing so much time. He’s been out all year due to right hip inflammation.

Photo courtesy of Junfu Han, Imagn Images.

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