Royals Activate Michael Massey From IL, Option Nick Loftin
Second baseman Michael Massey is back with the Royals after missing the first three series of the year with a calf strain. The 28-year-old went down with the injury during MLB Spring Training in early March, but it was deemed minor at the time. Massey ultimately needed just three games at Triple-A to get back into playing shape. Nick Loftin was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move.
Massey got off to a miserable start as Kansas City’s primary second baseman last season, posting a .479 OPS into early June. He hit the IL with an ankle sprain on June 10. Massey didn’t have an everyday job when he returned, but he made the most of limited opportunities. The lefty swinger slashed .375/.412/.484 in 21 games over the final five weeks of the season.
Jonathan India has handled the majority of reps at second base for Kansas City. After getting a taste of the outfielder in his first year with the club, the former Red is back on the dirt on a more regular basis, with trade acquisition Isaac Collins manning left field. Massey could factor in at the keystone against right-handed pitching, though it’s not an obvious pairing.
India has an identical 104 wRC+ against righties and lefties for his career, so he’s unlikely to slip into a short-side platoon role. Massey might be a slight upgrade on defense. India posted -2 Defensive Runs Saved at second base in 2025, which was actually his best mark since 2021. Massey posted 2 DRS in 495 innings at the position last season, though he hadn’t been a positive with the glove since his rookie year in 2022.
Loftin broke camp with the team following the Massey IL placement. He and Tyler Tolbert were locked in a battle with Drew Waters for the final bench spots. Waters was designated for assignment two days before the season opener. With Massey healthy, it’ll be Loftin heading back to the minors. He started a pair of games at second base and one in left field. Loftin managed a pair of hits in nine at-bats. This is his final minor league option year.
Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images
Astros Place Roddery Muñoz On Waivers
4 pm: Muñoz has been designated for assignment, the team announced. Reliever Enyel De Los Santos was activated from the IL to take Muñoz’s spot on the roster. Infielder Isaac Paredes is also back from the bereavement list. Shay Whitcomb was optioned to Triple-A.
1:45 pm: The Astros have placed Rule 5 pick Roddery Muñoz on outright waivers, reports Chandler Rome of The Athletic. Players can be placed on waivers while remaining on the 40-man roster but it seems likely that the Astros plan to cut the right-hander. If any club claims him, they would also be bound by the Rule 5 parameters. If he clears waivers, he would have to be offered back to the Reds, who could assign him to the minors without putting him on the 40-man roster.
Muñoz was an unusual Rule 5 selection. Most guys taken in that draft have been in the minors for a few years without getting a big league shot. Muñoz had already seen a notable amount of time in the majors, having tossed 93 2/3 for the Marlins and Cardinals. He didn’t have much success, however, with a 6.73 earned run average in that time. He exhausted his option years over the 2023 to 2025 seasons.
The Cards put him on waivers in November. The Reds claimed him, non-tendered him and re-signed him to a minor league deal. Shortly thereafter, the Astros grabbed him in the Rule 5. He had a good spring, striking out 16 opponents in ten innings. He did allow five earned runs but the punchouts were enough to get him an Opening Day roster spot. Unfortunately, he has been lit up to start the season. Through four innings, he has allowed seven earned runs. He racked up six strikeouts but also gave out six walks and threw two wild pitches.
Even if Muñoz weren’t out of options, he couldn’t be sent to the minors as a Rule 5 guy. It seems the Astros have run out of patience and will make a move. As mentioned, teams are allowed to place players on waivers while keeping them on the active roster, so it’s possible Muñoz could still be with the club tonight. However, it’s also possible he gets designated for assignment before game time to make way for someone else.
Rule 5 guys can be traded or claimed off waivers. If any other team takes a shot on Muñoz, they would be bound by the same Rule 5 parameters. If he clears waivers, he’ll be offered back to the Reds. That club could send him to the minors as non-roster depth.
Photo courtesy of Troy Taormina, Imagn Images
Brewers Place Jared Koenig On Injured List, Recall Shane Drohan
The Brewers put reliever Jared Koenig on the IL with a left elbow sprain, the team announced. Manager Pat Murphy told reporters, including Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, that the plan is to try to rehab the injury. The estimated return timeline is two to four weeks. Murphy called it a “big concern,” per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. The skipper also specified it’s a UCL sprain.
Left-hander Shane Drohan was recalled in a corresponding move. The 27-year-old came to the organization in the Caleb Durbin trade. If he appears in a game, it’ll be his big-league debut.
Koenig hits the injured list after a disastrous outing in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader against the Royals. The veteran relieved starter Brandon Sproat with two outs and runners on first and second. Koenig allowed consecutive hits to plate both inherited runners. A Jake Bauers error, followed by a wild pitch, scored two more unearned runs.
Koenig’s velocity was down for the second straight game. After sitting at 96 mph with his sinker in his first outing of the year, the pitch averaged under 94 mph in two subsequent appearances. Koenig’s changeup was down more than a tick on Saturday, compared to its average velocity in 2025.
Milwaukee opened the year with a lefty-heavy bullpen that included Angel Zerpa, Aaron Ashby, and DL Hall, in addition to Koenig. The club will opt for another southpaw to replace him. Drohan made one appearance at Triple-A before getting the call. He allowed two earned runs over 3 1/3 innings with Nashville. Drohan racked up six strikeouts in the outing, continuing a theme from his time in the Red Sox organization.
The promotion of Drohan puts all three players acquired in the Durbin deal on the big-league roster. Left-hander Kyle Harrison and infielder David Hamilton both broke camp with the team. Drohan posted a 4.26 ERA across 12 2/3 innings during MLB Spring Training. He struck out opponents at a solid 28.8% clip.
Drohan missed a significant chunk of the 2025 season with forearm inflammation. The lefty was effective when available, delivering a 3.00 ERA with a 34.5% strikeout rate across 54 innings. Drohan scuffled in a few outings at High-A when he first returned from the forearm issue, skewing his final line. He closed the year on a high note, recording 29 strikeouts in 21 innings at Triple-A.
Photo courtesy of William Purnell, Imagn Images
Blue Jays Select Josh Fleming, Designate Austin Voth For Assignment
The Blue Jays announced that they have selected the contract of left-hander Josh Fleming. Right-hander Austin Voth has been designated for assignment as a corresponding move for both the 40-man and active rosters.
The Jays have been cycling through arms at the back of their roster as a response to the Cody Ponce injury and Eric Lauer having the flu. Lazaro Estrada was initially recalled for Ponce. Lauer was supposed to take the ball on Saturday but got pushed to Sunday because of his illness. The Jays did a bullpen game on Saturday, with Estrada covering four innings. Prior to yesterday’s contest, the Jays optioned Estrada and Brendon Little, calling up Voth and Mantiply for some fresh arms. Lauer did his best to work through his illness but only went two innings, with Voth covering 2 2/3 innings in relief.
Today, the Jays start a tough series against the Dodgers. They have Max Scherzer, Kevin Gausman and Dylan Cease slated to start but it’s a tough lineup and the staff has been taxed in recent days. Fleming has been added to potentially cover some length, if need be. Signed to a minor league deal in the offseason, he pitched for Triple-A Buffalo on Wednesday. He covered 3 2/3 innings, throwing 57 pitches, so he’s relatively stretched out.
He gets back to the majors for the first time in a couple of years. From 2020 to 2024, mostly with the Rays but also with the Pirates, he worked 254 2/3 innings in 25 starts and 55 relief appearances. He allowed 4.77 earned runs per nine. His 14.6% strikeout rate was well below average and he only averaged about 91 miles per hour on his fastball but he had good control of a five-pitch mix. He only walked 7.5% of batters faced and induced grounders on 58.4% of balls in play. He spent 2025 in the minors with the Mariners.
Fleming is out of options, so it may be a short stay on the roster for him. If he is used against the Dodgers, the Jays may want to bump him off for yet another fresh arm. After this series, they have off-days on April 9th and 13th, giving the staff a chance to breathe. They have Patrick Corbin and Trey Yesavage potentially joining the club soon. Corbin just signed a major league deal and was optioned, tossing five innings in his first minor league outing on Saturday. Yesavage is on the injured list and threw 2 2/3 innings in a rehab outing on Friday.
The quick roster churn was how things played out for Voth. He got up to the big leagues for the first time since 2024, having spent last year in Japan. As mentioned, he helped the Jays out by absorbing 2 2/3 innings yesterday, allowing one earned run via three hits and a walk while recording one strikeout.
Unfortunately, the club has to quickly part ways with him. He has at least five years of service time, meaning he can’t be optioned to the minors without his consent, so he now heads into DFA limbo. The Jays will trade him or place him on waivers at some point in the next five days. If he clears waivers, he has enough service time to elect free agency. He has a 4.69 ERA in 363 career big league innings and posted a 3.96 ERA in Japan last year.
Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images
What’s Next For Sandy Alcantara?
For the past few years, the Marlins have been shopping pitching almost constantly, even guys with multiple years of club control. Despite persistent rumors, Sandy Alcantara has usually been off the table, for different reasons at different times. As time goes on and we move closer to the end of his contract, the Marlins will have to make a decision, with still several ways for the situation to play out.
The Marlins and Alcantara agreed to an extension in November of 2021, a five-year deal covering the 2022 through 2026 seasons. It guaranteed him $56MM and also came with a $21MM club option for 2027, with a $2MM buyout.
That deal was well-timed from the team perspective, as Alcantara went on to have the best season of his career in 2022. He logged 228 2/3 innings, allowing 2.28 earned runs per nine. He wasn't the most dominant pitcher in terms of strikeouts, but thanks to his strong ground ball rate, no one was more likely to just carve through a lineup for an entire contest. He tossed six complete games that year. From 2018 to the present, no other pitcher has tossed more than three complete games in a season. Alcantara was given the National League Cy Young award for that dominant campaign.
Despite Alcantara's efforts, the Fish were still rebuilding, as they went 69-93 that year. Going into 2023, they were willing to listen to trade offers regarding their pitchers, but Alcantara was reportedly not available. That made plenty of sense at the time. Though the club wasn't in great shape, Alcantara was still under club control for five more seasons and was just coming off that dominant showing.
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White Sox Claim Doug Nikhazy
The White Sox announced that they have claimed left-hander Doug Nikhazy off waivers from the Guardians and optioned him to Triple-A Charlotte. Cleveland designated him for assignment last week. The White Sox had a 40-man vacancy and don’t need to make a corresponding move.
Nikhazy, 26, has a very limited major league track record thus far. He tossed four innings for the Guards last year, allowing six earned runs via five hits and six walks while striking out five. Cleveland nudged him off the roster a week ago when they added Kolby Allard to their roster.
He does have some intriguing numbers on the farm from previous seasons. From 2022 to 2024, he tossed 328 innings over five relief appearances and 70 starts, allowing 3.90 earned runs per nine frames. His 14.5% walk rate was ghastly but he offset that somewhat by striking out 26.8% of opponents. His results backed up last year, despite the major league debut. He had a 5.02 ERA at Triple-A. He did lower his walk rate to 11.1% but his strikeout rate dropped to 22.5%.
For the White Sox, they just opened a 40-man spot when they gave up on Rule 5 pick Jedixson Páez last week. Since Nikhazy still has options, they can use that open spot to grab him from the wire and send him to the minors. Time will tell if the Sox view Nikhazy as more of a starter or a reliever. It’s also possible they put him back on waivers at some point in the hopes of keeping him as non-roster depth.
Photo courtesy of Rick Scuteri, Imagn Images
Mets Place Juan Soto On Injured List
The Mets announced that outfielder Juan Soto has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a right calf strain. The move is retroactive to April 4th but the club also announced the typical return timeline as two to three weeks. Infielder Ronny Mauricio has been recalled from Triple-A Syracuse as the corresponding move.
Soto departed Friday’s game with what the club called right calf soreness. Soto later told members of the media that he had a minor strain and would go day to day to see how he felt. After a couple of days of monitoring the situation, it seems the club will let him sit out for a while to rest up.
It’s not a major issue but it’s obviously not ideal for a player of Soto’s caliber to be subtracted from the lineup. He is one of the best hitters on the planet, with a career .282/.417/.531 line and 158 wRC+. His 18.6% walk rate is almost three ticks better than anyone else in the league. From 2018 to the present, Aaron Judge is second on the list with a 16% walk rate.
The timing is also a bit awkward. The Mets moved Soto to left field to begin the season and gave the right field job to prospect Carson Benge. Though Benge is talented, he has a .100/.206/.200 line through 34 plate appearances. Some of that is due to an unlucky .111 batting average on balls in play but he has also struck out in 32.4% of his plate appearances.
If the Mets had any thought of sending Benge down for a reset, that may be harder to do now that Soto is out, so they may be left with a floundering Benge in one corner and a patchwork solution in the other. On top of that, Brett Baty has missed the past few games due to a jammed left thumb while Jorge Polanco has an Achilles issue that is limiting him to designated hitter duty.
None of the issues are majors in a vacuum but the little bits add up to a challenging shuffle. Mark Vientos is covering first with Polanco in the DH spot. Baty could step into the outfield for Soto if his thumb feels better. If not, Jared Young and Tyrone Taylor could pick up some playing time.
As for Mauricio, he probably won’t play much behind the infield of shortstop Francisco Lindor, second baseman Marcus Semien and third baseman Bo Bichette. The Mets have been playing without a traditional backup infielder, comfortable with Bichette as a backup shortstop and guys like Baty and Vientos potential backups elsewhere. With Baty banged up, Mauricio gives them a bit more conventional cover.
Even if he doesn’t play much, it may be a notable transaction for him for other reasons. He came into this season with one option remaining and a service time count of two years and 31 days. Since he hasn’t yet spent 20 days on optional assignment this year, he hasn’t burned that final option. He also still has a path to get to three years of service in 2026, though getting sent back down later in the year could prevent him from getting there. Where he finishes the year could impact his path to arbitration and/or free agency.
Photo courtesy of Jeff Curry, Imagn Images
Cubs To Place Matthew Boyd On Injured List
The Cubs are placing left-hander Matthew Boyd on the 15-day injured list with a left bicep strain, retroactive to April 3rd, reports Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic. Right-hander Javier Assad will be recalled from the minors and will start tomorrow’s game.
There wasn’t any prior indication that Boyd was hurt, as he took the ball for the first two turns to start the year. The first one didn’t go well, as Boyd allowed six earned runs in 3 2/3 innings. He bounced back on Wednesday, tossing 5 2/3 against the Angels, striking out ten while allowing just two earned runs. For what it’s worth, his velocity did drop. His fastball averaged 93.3 miles per hour in the first outing but was down to 92.2 in the second.
On its own, it doesn’t appear to be a disastrous development. Sharma adds that Boyd and manager Craig Counsell feel it’s a small issue that will require a minimal IL stint. Regardless, it’s a bit worrisome in the larger context of the club’s rotation. They started the year with Justin Steele still working his way back from last year’s surgery. He is on the 60-day injured list and is therefore out until at least late May. Cade Horton landed on the IL last week due to forearm discomfort. His status is still up in the air but that’s a worrisome diagnosis.
Losing Boyd is another hit for a group that is already snakebit. They do still have Edward Cabrera, Jameson Taillon and Shota Imanaga in three spots. Assad was optioned to the minors to start the year but will now come back up and slot in behind those three. It’s expected that Colin Rea, who began the season in the bullpen, will probably jump to the rotation as well.
As far as fallback plans go, Assad and Rea are pretty good. Assad has a 3.43 earned average over 331 career innings. He only really got nudged out of the season-opening rotation because he still has options. Rea posted a 3.95 ERA in a swing role last year and the Cubs clearly value his ability to move fairly seamlessly between starting and relieving. They restructured his deal in November to give him a bit of extra cash and keep him around while adding a club option for 2027.
Despite Assad and Rea being decent contingencies, it’s less than ideal for the rotation to lose two guys in a span of a few days. The remaining 40-man guys on optional assignment are relievers. Ben Brown is perhaps an option to make a start or two but he’s in the big league bullpen. Prospect Jaxon Wiggins is in Triple-A but isn’t on the 40-man and is still showing big control issues, with a 13.9% walk rate so far this year. In terms of non-roster guys with big league experience, Vince Velasquez tossed five innings yesterday in a Triple-A start yesterday.
Photo courtesy of Matt Marton, Imagn Images
Padres Notes: Adam, Canning, Waldron
The Padres have been without veteran right-hander Jason Adam so far this season as he works his way back from last year’s quadriceps surgery. While that blow to the bullpen has been manageable with elite arms like Mason Miller and Adrian Morejon holding things down, Adam is a big part of the San Diego relief corps after posting a 2.07 ERA with a 3.20 FIP in 256 2/3 innings of work since the start of the 2022 season. Looking more specifically at Adam’s time with the Padres, his numbers are an even more dominant 1.66 ERA and 2.89 FIP.
It’s exciting news, then, for the Padres that Adam is nearing a return. Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes that Adam pitched on back-to-back days over the weekend in his rehab assignment with Triple-A El Paso. Sanders adds that Adam could be activated when he’s first eligible to come off the shelf on April 8, but that it’s also possible that the club will wait until April 9, when they’ll be back in San Diego for a series against the Rockies. Whenever Adam does wind up returning, it’ll be a huge boost to a Padres bullpen that has gotten lackluster performances from Jeremiah Estrada and Wandy Peralta in the early going.
As Adam’s rehab assignment nears its conclusion, right-hander Griffin Canning‘s is getting underway. Sanders notes that Canning allowed one run in 2 2/3 innings of work over the weekend with four strikeouts on 51 pitches. That leaves him with some building up left to do before he’s ready to make the jump back to the majors as a starter, but after signing a $2.5MM deal with San Diego during the offseason, the righty seems very likely to be in the Padres’ starting rotation once he is ready to go. That’s for good reason, seeing as he turned in a very respectable 3.77 ERA in 16 starts last year before suffering the achilles injury he’s currently working his way back from. That’s the production of a solid back-of-the-rotation starter, and if he can match those numbers he’ll be a huge asset to a Padres rotation that looks like the team’s biggest weakness early in 2026.
If the Padres are looking for more immediate help in the rotation, however, they might first turn to knuckleballer Matt Waldron. The 29-year-old underwent minor surgery in February and has made two rehab starts to get built up into regular season form after missing some of Spring Training. He’s looked phenomenal in those rehab starts so far, with a 39.1% strikeout rate in seven scoreless innings. Waldron has built up to 61 pitches so far and will be in line for his next rehab start later this week. The righty has a 4.86 ERA for his career in the majors and could be a real option for the club’s rotation either in the event of an injury or continued struggles from the current back-end duo of German Marquez and Walker Buehler after tough starts to the year for both players. JP Sears, Triston McKenzie, and Marco Gonzales are among the other depth options the Padres have at their disposal in the rotation.
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