Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Archives for May 2025

Royals Sign Rich Hill To Minor League Deal

By | at

The Royals announced that they have signed left-hander Rich Hill to a minor league deal. He will report to the club’s spring training/Complex League facility in Surprise but will be heading to Triple-A Omaha soon.

The veteran lefty has already defied the normal aging curves and seems determined to do so again. Now 45 years old, Hill would easily be the oldest player in the majors if he eventually has his contract selected. 42-year-old Justin Verlander is oldest active player at the moment.

Hill has a long and storied career that dates back to his 2005 debut. He had some success in the subsequent years, followed by a long stretch of being injured and/or ineffective. He returned to prominence about a decade ago, amazingly having some of his best seasons while in his mid-30s.

Lately, the results haven’t been quite as strong. His last full season was 2023, in which he finished with a 5.41 earned run average. That was fairly lopsided, as he had a 4.76 ERA with the Pirates but then struggled badly after being traded to the Padres.

He believed that he could be better with an unconventional approach, so he intentionally waited until late in 2024 to sign a new deal. This would allow him to spend more time with his family, in addition to saving his best results for later in the year, theoretically giving him a better chance to thrive in competitive games down the stretch.

The plan didn’t quite work out. He signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox in the middle of August. After a couple of weeks in the minors, he was added to the big league roster but wasn’t given a rotation job. He made four low-leverage relief appearances before being designated for assignment and then released.

Over the winter, he said he was still planning to pitch in 2025, but without trying the same late-signing strategy. As recently as three weeks ago, he said he was still throwing and hoping to sign. Whether it’s by design or simply due to a soft market, Hill is now splitting the difference somewhat. He is signing and getting started later in the year, but with a few extra months of potential ramp-up time relative to last season.

The Royals don’t really need starting pitching. They have one of the best rotations in the majors, something that MLBTR’s Anthony Franco recently took a detailed look at. They have a strong front four in Cole Ragans, Kris Bubic, Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha, with Michael Lorenzen a serviceable back-end guy as well. Noah Cameron, one of the better pitching prospects in the majors, is on the 40-man and pitching in the Triple-A rotation.

However, there’s little harm in adding some extra depth, just in case the injury bug bites. The Royals have also recently seen both Alec Marsh and Kyle Wright suffer setbacks in their rehabs, so perhaps they have added Hill in response to those developments.

Even if they don’t need him, they can let him take the ball and get into game shape. If he finds himself in good form as the trade deadline approaches, they could perhaps flip him to some other club with a greater rotation need. It’s also possible that the deal contains some opt-outs or upward mobility clauses, so Hill can get out of the deal if the Royals don’t call him up.

If Hill is able to get back to the majors, with the Royals or some other club, he would get a chance to add to his career stat lines. He has 1,409 big league innings over his career with a 4.01 ERA, 24% strikeout rate and 9.1% walk rate.

Photo courtesy of Rick Osentoski, Imagn Images.

Poll: Will The Rockies Break The Modern Loss Record?

By | at

To say the Rockies have had a rough start to the season would be a major understatement. The club’s 7-34 record speaks for itself, and their struggles appeared to reach a crescendo late last week, when they lost four games in three days by a combined score of 55-12. That includes a demoralizing 21-0 loss to the Padres on Saturday. Longtime manager Bud Black was fired the next day.

It’s pretty much impossible to argue that Black, a well-respected manager with 18 years of experience between the Rockies and Padres, is at particular fault for the state of the team. The Rockies have issues that run far deeper than the manager’s office. Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts suggested as much in the wake of Black’s firing on Sunday, telling reporters (as relayed by Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register) that he didn’t believe Hall of Fame manager Casey Stengel “could change the outcome” of the Rockies’ season.

It’s difficult to argue with that point. The Rockies, after all, lost 101 games last year. They had the National League’s worst offense (82 wRC+), struck out more than any other team, and were middle of the pack in homers despite calling Coors Field home. The pitching was even worse, as Colorado had the league’s worst ERA (5.48), FIP (4.94), and SIERA (4.62). Even when adjusted for the park factors of Coors Field, it was a league-worst showing in virtually every category. Their best pitcher to make even one start last year was Ryan Feltner, whose pedestrian 4.49 ERA was three points better than average (103 ERA+) after adjusting for park factors. The back of the bullpen was no better, as saves leader Tyler Kinley ended the season with a 6.19 ERA.

That was last year’s ball club, and things have only gotten worse. The Rockies essentially stood pat over the winter, with outfielders Mickey Moniak and Nick Martini joining infielders Kyle Farmer, Tyler Freeman, and Thairo Estrada as the club’s primary additions. Estrada has yet to appear in a regular season game for the Rockies. The other four are all below replacement level according to both bWAR and fWAR.

Disastrous as the Rockies season has been, breaking the modern loss record just one year after the 2024 White Sox set a new one with their 41-121 season may seem far-fetched. Even a 101-loss club that didn’t add much over the winter shouldn’t usually be assumed to regress by more than 20 games.

That’s where the injuries come in. Colorado was able to stay in some of its games last year thanks to standout performances from Ezequiel Tovar and Brenton Doyle, who paired league average offense with Gold Glove-caliber defense at shortstop and center field. This year, Tovar played poorly across 16 games before going on the injured list. Doyle has remained healthy, but his 60 wRC+ is deeply disappointing and defensive metrics haven’t been nearly as impressed with his work in the outfield as in previous seasons. Feltner is also currently on the injured list alongside Tovar, and $182MM man Kris Bryant remains out indefinitely amid nearly half a decade’s worth of injury woes that have knocked him so far from his MVP status that he no longer plays every day even when healthy.

Typically, even the combination of a low-quality roster and frustrating injury issues wouldn’t be enough to make a team a contender for worst of all time. But Colorado plays in the NL West, which this year has not only has the reigning World Series champion Dodgers but a trio of strong contenders. The Padres and Giants are both in playoff position. The Diamondbacks, who went to the World Series as recently as 2023, are just a few games behind San Diego and San Francisco.

The other four teams in the Rockies’ division are a combined 98-67, good for a .594 winning percentage that translates to a 96-win pace over a 162-game season. If the Rockies were to double their current win percentage over their final 121 games this year, they’d finish the season with a record of 48-114, just seven games ahead of the White Sox’s 2024 record. Perhaps the only saving grace for the Rockies in this conversation is that the middle of May leaves ample time to turn things and get ahead of the .253 winning percentage from last year’s South Siders.

Where do MLBTR readers fall on this issue? Will the Rockies continue on this pace and wipe the White Sox’s 2024 campaign from the history books just one year after the fact? Or will they be able to turn things around enough to avoid that embarrassing fate? Have your say in the poll below:

Astros To Promote Colton Gordon

By | at

The Astros will recall left-hander Colton Gordon from Triple-A Sugar Land to start tomorrow’s game, reports Chron.com’s Leah Vann. Gordon, who’ll be making his MLB debut, will step into the rotation spot of the injured Hayden Wesneski. He’s already on the 40-man roster, so Houston will only need to make a corresponding 26-man roster move to bring him to the majors.

Gordon, 26, has gotten out to a terrific start in 2025. He’s taken the mound eight times and logged 42 1/3 innings of 2.55 ERA ball, fanning 25.3% of his opponents against a 4.7% walk rate. Both those marks are better than average — considerably so, in the case of that walk rate — as is his 43.5% ground-ball rate.

The Astros’ 2021 eighth-rounder out of the University of Central Florida, Gordon entered the 2025 season ranked 20th among Astros prospects at Baseball America and 14th at MLB.com. He doesn’t throw hard, sitting just 91.1 mph on his four-seamer, but the 6’4″ southpaw benefits from above-average command and a deep, six-pitch arsenal that helps keep hitters off balance. In addition to that four-seamer, Gordon also throws a sinker, slider, changeup, curveball and cutter.

With Wesneski (elbow inflammation) joining Spencer Arrighetti (broken thumb), J.P. France (2024 shoulder surgery), Cristian Javier (2024 Tommy John surgery) and Luis Garcia (2023 Tommy John surgery, and multiple setbacks) on the injured list, Houston’s pitching depth is being put to the test. Gordon and righties AJ Blubaugh and Miguel Ullola are the top internal options in Triple-A, while righties Ryan Gusto and Shawn Dubin are both on the big league roster and capable of starting. Dubin, however, just made his season debut after a lengthy IL stint due to shoulder inflammation and is not stretched out. He’s pitched only in one-inning stints so far and appears set for a second straight year working primarily out of the bullpen, so perhaps his days as a rotation option are behind him.

The ’Stros boast a formidable one-two rotation punch in Hunter Brown and Framber Valdez, but the rest of the group is on shakier standing. Lance McCullers Jr. just returned from an injury absence of more than two years, so it’s tough to know what to expect from him. Ronel Blanco was a godsend for the 2024 Astros but never seemed likely to replicate last year’s 2.80 ERA, which was propped up by a tiny .220 average on balls in play and bloated 83.6% strand rate. He’s worked to a 4.04 ERA in 2025, which is more in line with last year’s 4.17 SIERA and 4.15 FIP. To Blanco’s credit, he turned in one of the best starts by any pitcher in MLB this season last time out, blanking the Reds over eight innings of two-hit ball with 11 strikeouts, but he entered that start with a 4.98 ERA, a 21.9% strikeout rate and 11% walk rate.

Given the injuries up and down the staff, Gordon ought to get several chances to prove himself in 2025. He was only selected to the 40-man roster this past November, so he’s in the first of three minor league option years. He can be controlled through at least the 2031 season.

Kyle McCann, Art Warren Sign With Mexican League Teams

By | at

Former A’s catcher Kyle McCann signed with los Piratas de Campeche in the Mexican League over the weekend, the team announced. He’s not the only former big leaguer headed to Mexico this week. MLBTR has learned that former Reds and Mariners reliever Art Warren is signing with los Tecos de los Dos Laredos. McCann is represented by the Ballengee Group. Warren is a client of Gaeta Sports Management.

McCann, 27, made his big league debut last year and got into 54 games with Oakland. He posted a .236/.318/.371 slash in 157 plate appearances, smacking five homers and six doubles along the way. The former fourth-rounder drew walks at a strong 10.2% clip but was also set down on strikes in an ugly 37.6% of his plate appearances. The year prior, McCann posted a .270/.351/.474 line in Triple-A Las Vegas, but in that ultra-hitter-friendly setting, that seemingly strong slash line actually checked in 11% worse than league average by measure of wRC+ (89).

Defensively, McCann had some issues. His 19% caught-stealing rate was worse than the 21.9% league average, and he posted well below-average framing marks in his 324 innings behind the plate. Statcast credited him with average numbers in terms of blocking balls in the dirt. McCann didn’t play any first base in the majors, but he’s played more than 800 minor league innings there and Baseball America called him an average defender at the position back in their 2021 scouting report.

Warren, 32, posted strong numbers in his first two big league looks with the 2019 Mariners and 2021 Reds. In 26 1/3 innings between those two teams, he notched a sparkling 1.03 earned run average with a massive 37.9% strikeout rate against a 9.7% walk rate. He looked set for a nice run in the Reds’ bullpen after that 2021 showing, but his 2022 follow-up was wrecked by injury.

Warren logged 36 innings for the ’22 Reds but was rocked for a 6.50 ERA. His four-seam fastball, which had averaged 95.2 mph in 2021, saw a sharp drop to a 93.5 mph average. The right-hander’s eye-popping 19.2% swinging-strike rate plummeted to 12.1%, resulting in a deflated 24.2% strikeout rate. His command also eroded, evidenced by a 13.3% walk rate.

The Reds placed Warren on the injured list with a flexor strain that July. He returned six weeks later, struggled for about a month, and was optioned to Triple-A Louisville. That option was quickly rescinded when elbow damage was discovered, and Warren was instead placed on the major league injured list. Two weeks later, the team announced that Warren had undergone a UCL procedure that would wipe out the rest of his 2022 campaign and his entire 2023 season.

Warren was non-tendered and eventually signed a minor league deal with the Yankees once he was healthy. He struggled immensely with their Triple-A squad last year in his return from surgery. In 26 2/3 frames, he served up 26 runs (8.78 ERA) on 36 hits and 22 walks. Eight of those hits were long balls. Warren still punched out 29 batters in his 26 2/3 innings of work, but with the barrage of walks, that only came out to a 21.2% strikeout rate (against a 16% walk rate). His average fastball in Triple-A sat at the same 93.5 mph average he showed in 2022 before undergoing his UCL repair.

The hope for both McCann and Warren is surely to parlay solid play in Mexico into a return to affiliated ball on a minor league deal. McCann has actually already suited up for three games — two at catcher, one as a DH — and gone 3-for-11 with a pair of doubles but also seven strikeouts. Warren’s new club, los Tecos, has been picked over by MLB teams in recent weeks. They’ve seen Cory Abbott (Rangers), Beau Burrows (Pirates), Nick Margevicius (Tigers), Sean Poppen (Angels) and Andrew Vasquez (Angels) all sign minor league deals with affiliated clubs.

The Opener: Cubs, Cardinals, Twins

By | at

As the 2025 regular season continues, here are three things for MLBTR readers to keep an eye on today:

1. Cubs 40-man roster move incoming:

Reports surfaced last night indicating that the Cubs are poised to call up top catching prospect Moises Ballesteros today. Ballesteros is unlikely to catch much in this first taste of big league action, as he appears poised to serve as the club’s DH for the time being while Seiya Suzuki covers for the injured Ian Happ in left field. The 21-year-old Ballesteros has been among the best hitters at Triple-A this year despite his young age, crushing the ball at a .368/.420/.522 clip across 150 plate appearances. Ballesteros is not yet on the Cubs’ 40-man roster, and with no obvious 60-day IL candidates it appears that they’ll need to designate a player for assignment today. Ballesteros’s first game in the majors, assuming he makes his debut today, will come against Valente Bellozo (3.50 ERA in four starts) and the Marlins at 6:40pm local time in Chicago.

2. Cardinals go for ten in a row:

The Cardinals took an eight-game winning streak into Philadelphia yesterday and emerged with a 3-2 victory over the Phillies to extend that streak to nine games. It’s the longest winning streak of the season so far and has thrust them into the thick of the race for the NL Central crown. They’re currently one game behind the Cubs, but to stay hot on the North Siders’ heels and extend the streak to ten straight wins they’ll need to take down Phillies southpaw Jesus Luzardo, who has posted a 2.11 ERA in eight starts during his first season with the club. The Cardinals, meanwhile, will counter with veteran righty Sonny Gray and his 3.50 ERA across eight starts. Tonight’s game in Philadelphia begins at 6:45pm local time.

3. Twins go for nine in a row:

Minnesota is looking to extend its own impressive win streak, which currently sits at eight games. The Twins took the final two games of their recent series in Boston before sweeping a struggling Orioles club and a strong Giants team in their visits to Target Field. Next up is a rematch with the Orioles — this time in Baltimore. The Twins will send 24-year-old righty Simeon Woods Richardson (4.01 ERA in 33 2/3 innings) to the mound against former Twins prospect Cade Povich (5.55 ERA in 35 2/3 innings) in the series opener, which is scheduled for 6:35pm local time. Minnesota tagged Povich for five runs in six innings when the two squared off last week. The Orioles scored two runs off Woods Richardson in a shorter, 4 2/3-inning start.

Despite rattling off eight straight wins, the Twins have only picked up 2.5 games in the division race. The Tigers, Guardians and Royals have all been playing well recently, leaving Rocco Baldelli’s club 5.5 games out of the division lead. Minnesota has, however, wiped out a 5.5-game deficit in the Wild Card chase with this streak. The Twins are currently tied with the A’s and Red Sox for the final Wild Card spot in the American League.

Padres’ Jhony Brito Underwent UCL Surgery

By | at

Last month, Padres righty Jhony Brito underwent an internal brace surgery to address his UCL as well a flexor tendon repair. General manager A.J. Preller announced the news to reporters (including AJ Cassavell of MLB.com).

Brito will miss all of this season and likely the first couple months of next year. The internal brace procedure can sometimes come with a slightly quicker timeline than would a full Tommy John ligament reconstruction. It’s nevertheless typically at least a yearlong rehab process. Brito is already on the 60-day injured list after beginning the season on the shelf with what was initially diagnosed as a forearm strain. He’ll remain on the IL all season but will need to be reinstated to the 40-man roster or placed on waivers at the beginning of the offseason.

San Diego acquired Brito as an ancillary part of the Juan Soto return from the Yankees. He had reached the big leagues with New York in 2023 after seven seasons in the minors. The righty started 13 of 25 appearances as a rookie, working to a 4.28 ERA through 90 1/3 innings. The Friars used him out of the bullpen last year. He allowed 4.12 earned runs per nine with a well below-average 15.7% strikeout rate over 43 2/3 innings. Brito did start all six appearances that he made with Triple-A El Paso. Opposing lineups tagged him for 17 runs over 14 innings.

An elbow strain ended his ’24 season in August. He was healthy enough to return to the mound in Spring Training, where he was competing for a middle relief role. The new elbow injury prevented that from happening and could put him on the roster bubble next winter. Brito will be paid the MLB minimum $760K salary for this season. He’ll surpass the two-year service threshold and isn’t on track to qualify for arbitration until the 2026-27 offseason. The Padres could control him for another four seasons if they’re willing to carry him on the 40-man throughout the offseason.

A’s Return Rule 5 Pick Noah Murdock To Royals

By | at

The A’s returned Rule 5 draftee Noah Murdock to the Royals, as first reflected on the MLB.com transaction log. Kansas City assigned him to Triple-A Omaha. Murdock does not occupy a spot on their 40-man roster.

This was the likeliest outcome after the A’s designated Murdock for assignment last Friday. Any team that traded for him or claimed him off waivers would have taken on the same Rule 5 restrictions. They would have needed to carry him in the big league bullpen. Murdock evidently went unclaimed and heads back to the team that drafted him in the seventh round in 2019.

Murdock, 26, divided his 2024 season between Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Omaha. He worked to a 2.22 earned run average over 24 1/3 innings at the former level. Murdock posted a 3.76 ERA through 38 1/3 frames in Triple-A. He combined for a 27% strikeout rate and a huge 59.7% ground-ball percentage, though that came with an alarming 15.4% walk rate.

The 6’8″ righty broke camp with the A’s after being selected with the fifth pick in last winter’s Rule 5 draft. His first 14 big league appearances did not go well, as he was blitzed for 25 runs across 17 1/3 innings. The free passes remained far too problematic. Murdock walked 20 batters and hit two more among the 98 he faced. The grounder rates that have been his calling card in the minors weren’t there against big league competition. Murdock posted a 42.6% ground-ball percentage and a 21.4% strikeout rate — both decent numbers but not nearly enough to offset the free passes.

Yankees Notes: LeMahieu, Infield, Gil

By | at

The Yankees plan to activate DJ LeMahieu from the injured list before tomorrow’s game against the Mariners, manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including Brendan Kuty of The Athletic). LeMahieu is already en route to Seattle but will not be active for tonight’s series opener. They’ll ease him back in, as he’ll be off the bench on Tuesday and draw into the starting lineup on Wednesday.

LeMahieu will make his season debut after a six-week IL stay. The veteran infielder strained his left calf fairly early in Spring Training. The Yankees announced it as of borderline Grade 1 or 2 severity. It ended his camp after one game and two at-bats. The Yanks sent him out on a minor league rehab assignment on April 22. Position players can spend up to 20 days on a rehab stint before the team either needs to activate them or pull them off the stint for at least another five days. The rehab window closed today.

While there’s not much to be gleaned from a player’s stats during a rehab stint, the Yankees are presumably encouraged by LeMahieu’s form. He batted .444 with a home run and nearly as many walks (three) as strikeouts (four) over nine games. He divided that time between Double-A Somerset and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

LeMahieu projected as the Yankees starting third baseman entering camp. New York seemingly made little effort to upgrade at the hot corner even though he’s coming off a .204/.269/.259 showing in his age-35 season. He also missed time with foot and hip injuries. Boone suggested last week that LeMahieu could see more time at second base while Jazz Chisholm Jr. is on the shelf (relayed by Chris Kirschner of The Athletic).

The Yanks have been relying upon Oswaldo Cabrera and Jorbit Vivas at third and second, respectively. The switch-hitting Cabrera owns a .243/.319/.311 slash through 117 plate appearances. Vivas is hitting .158 through his first nine MLB games. Their other second/third base candidates are out-of-options bench players Oswald Peraza and Pablo Reyes. LeMahieu will play regularly.

Boone also provided an update on Luis Gil (via Greg Joyce of The New York Post). Last year’s AL Rookie of the Year remains two to three weeks away from working off a mound. Gil began a throwing program at the end of April but has worked solely on flat ground. Gil sustained a high-grade lat strain a couple weeks into Spring Training. He wasn’t able to pitch in an exhibition game. He’s going to need multiple bullpen sessions and an extended rehab assignment. It seems Gil might not get onto a mound until the end of May, making it tough to envision a return to Yankee Stadium before the calendar flips to July.

White Sox Outright Nick Maton

By | at

May 12: Maton cleared waivers and was outrighted back to Charlotte, relays James Fegan of Sox Machine. He’ll again have the right to test free agency but seems likelier to accept another outright and remain in the organization.

May 10: The White Sox announced that infielder Nick Maton has been designated for assignment.  First base prospect Tim Elko’s contract was selected in the corresponding move, as was reported yesterday.

This is the second time in two weeks that the Sox have designated Maton, and his first trip through DFA limbo saw him clear waivers and then accept an outright assignment to Triple-A Charlotte.  Maton had the option of becoming a free agent because he has been outrighted in the past, but chose to remain in the organization and wait for another crack at a spot on Chicago’s big league roster.  That chance came when Maton’s contract was selected again as a corresponding move to Andrew Benintendi’s placement on the injured list, though Maton’s latest stint with the White Sox lasted just a couple of days.

Maton has hit .167/.286/.315 over 63 plate appearances, and he has played in 25 of Chicago’s 39 games this season primarily as a first baseman and designated hitter.  Since Maton is out of minor league options, the White Sox have to designate him and expose him to the waiver wire whenever they wish to send him to Triple-A, thus giving Maton repeated chances to elect free agency.

As a veteran utilityman on a rebuilding team, Maton isn’t likely to receive the benefit of the doubt when it comes to playing time, as the White Sox are obviously prioritizing young talent.  That said, catching on with another team that has more established players also might not give Maton much time on the diamond.  Maton’s lack of minor league options leaves him with little flexibility, so if he isn’t claimed on waivers this time around, he’ll face another decision about whether or not to stick with the White Sox or test the open market.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top