Red Sox To Select Tommy Kahnle
The Red Sox are planning to select the contract of veteran right-handed reliever Tommy Kahnle from Triple-A Worcester, reports Christopher Smith of MassLive.com. He’s expected to be available out of the bullpen today. Boston will need to open a 40-man roster spot to accommodate Kahnle, though that can be achieved without designating anyone for assignment; Garrett Crochet stands as an obvious 60-day IL candidate. He’s already been on the shelf for 40 days and was recently diagnosed with a low-grade lat strain that’ll prolong his absence.
Kahnle, 36, signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox in free agency. He didn’t land a big league opportunity when triggering an upward mobility clause at the beginning of May but was reportedly planning to test free agency if the Red Sox didn’t select him to the roster after he triggered a June 1 opt-out clause. The Sox had until today to make a decision on that clause, and they’ll apparently bring the veteran changeup specialist to the big league bullpen.
In 19 1/3 innings with the WooSox this season, Kahnle has pitched to a pristine 1.40 earned run average. He’s set down 25.3% of his opponents on strikes, though his 13.3% walk rate is an obvious red flag. Kahnle hasn’t yielded much in the way of hard contact — 88 mph average exit velocity, 38% hard-hit rate, only one barrel allowed — but he’s also benefited from not allowing a single home run this season. That’s not sustainable for any pitcher, but the Sox have seen enough to bring him to the majors all the same.
Kahnle is averaging 93 mph on his four-seamer in Triple-A this season. That’d be a career-low mark for him, shy of both his lifetime 95.8 mph and last year’s 93.5 mph average. His fastball is a secondary pitch for him anyhow, though; Kahnle leans on his changeup more heavily than any pitcher in the game. He famously threw 61 consecutive changeups with the Yankees during the 2024 postseason and, true to form, has thrown his changeup at a whopping 63.4% clip in Worcester this season.
Though Kahnle had a down season by his standards in Detroit last year (4.43 ERA, 18.7 K%, 11.1 BB%), he has a long track record as an effective late-inning reliever. From 2016-24, he pitched 271 1/3 innings of 3.11 ERA ball between the White Sox, Yankees and Dodgers. He’s had several injuries along the way — hence the fairly low innings total over that lengthy span — but he’s pitched at least 45 innings (majors and minors combined) in each of the past three seasons and is on track to do so again in 2026. Kahnle’s work from 2022-24 was particularly impressive: 96 innings, 2.44 ERA, 31 holds, four saves, 27.7% strikeout rate, 10.5% walk rate.
The Red Sox don’t necessarily need relief help. The Boston bullpen’s 3.08 ERA on the season is the third-best mark in the entire sport, narrowly trailing the Mariners (3.01) and Braves (2.99). That number is skewed a bit by Brayan Bello‘s work as a bulk arm behind openers (0.71 ERA, 25 innings), but the group has nonetheless been strong on the whole. That said, the Sox did place Garrett Whitlock (3.20 ERA) on the injured list late last month, and they’ve received shaky performances from journeymen Tyron Guerrero and Danny Coulombe — neither of whom can be optioned. That lack of options could potentially expose them to some roster risk to accommodate Kahnle, which would preserve the Crochet move for the next time the Sox need a 40-man spot.
The Opener: Sanchez, Happ, Pfaadt
The Cubs couldn’t lose at Wrigley Field early in the year. Now, they can’t buy a win at home. Chicago is the first team to follow a 15-game home winning streak with an eight-game losing streak (h/t Jesse Rogers of ESPN).
1. Sanchez’s scoreless streak ends
Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sanchez navigated through six spotless innings on Wednesday against the Padres, pushing his scoreless streak past 50 frames. He was nearly through the seventh inning, but permitted a two-out double to Ty France. Jackson Merrill then followed with an RBI single, ending Sanchez’s streak at 50 2/3. It’s the fifth-longest run in MLB history. Sanchez trimmed his league-leading ERA to 1.46. J.T. Realmuto and Kyle Schwarber homered in the bottom of the inning, so Sanchez ended up earning the win.
2. Happ reaches 1K hits
It wasn’t all bad news for the Cubs on Wednesday. Outfielder Ian Happ doubled to lead off the fourth inning against A’s lefty Jeffrey Springs. The two-bagger was the 1,000th hit of Happ’s career. The 10-year veteran has been a fixture in Chicago’s lineup since debuting in 2017. He’s been an above-average bat by wRC+ in every season. The 31-year-old Happ has shown renewed power this year, launching 13 home runs and slugging .473 through 58 games. He’s on pace to zoom past his career high of 25 home runs, which he’s done twice (2021, 2024).
3. Pfaadt could return to the rotation
Diamondbacks right-hander Brandon Pfaadt allowed two earned runs in mop-up duty on Wednesday against the Dodgers. He’s pitched out of the bullpen since mid-April, but that could be changing soon. Manager Torey Lovullo told reporters, including Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic, that it’s a “strong possibility” Pfaadt will be stretched back out as a starter. That could mean a demotion to Triple-A for the righty. Pfaadt has worked multiple innings several times since moving to the bullpen, but hasn’t reached 50 pitches since his first outing in May. As Piecoro notes, the Diamondbacks could have pitching reinforcements coming from the minors if Pfaadt is sent down.
Photo courtesy of Bill Streicher of Imagn Images
MLB Mailbag: Royals, Cubs, Jordan Walker, Braves
This week's mailbag attempts to find a blueprint for the Royals, considers the Cubs' needs, ponders a Jordan Walker extension, examines Braves trade targets, explains how minor league options work, and much more!
D.T. asks:
Another season lost for the Royals. Other than BWJ and possibly Caglianone, their draft picks, which have all been very high, have traditionally been complete busts. What will it take to turn this organization around?
To answer this question, I'll start by taking roughly an eight-hour drive from Kansas City to Milwaukee. The Brewers seem to be the model for small market contention. How are they pulling it off?
Let's look at 2023 to present for the Brewers. Their position players have totaled 83.7 WAR since 2023, excluding those who were negative in that metric. Almost three-quarters of that WAR is concentrated in seven players. Here's how they were acquired:
William Contreras: 19.6% of total WAR. The Brewers picked up outfielder Esteury Ruiz as part of the Josh Hader trade at the 2022 deadline. Ruiz was a 45-grade prospect lacking in power who didn't profile as a likely regular. The Brewers then inserted themselves into the Braves-A's Sean Murphy trade a few months later, prying a controllable Contreras loose from Atlanta after a breakout 2022 season. But the Brewers had Ruiz because they first had Hader, an All-Star dominant reliever with a year and a couple months of control left. They had Hader because former GM Doug Melvin snagged him in a deal that sent Carlos Gomez and Mike Fiers to the Astros in 2015.
Putting aside the significant work the David Stearns regime did to develop Hader into a star, Stearns was also willing to trade Hader while the Brewers sat in first place with a 90% chance at the playoffs. Aside from the need for bold trades and strong player development, the Brewers willingly put their 2022 playoff chances at risk (and they did miss the playoffs that year) to set in motion of sequence of trades that netted them Contreras, who became crucial in their 2023-26 run.
The Royals had zero playoff shot at the time, but J.J. Picollo did pull off his own masterstroke trade by shipping Aroldis Chapman to Texas for Cole Ragans in 2023 before the calendar turned to July. But assuming Ragans bounces back health and production-wise, he's the type of player the Brewers would be looking at trading this winter or at next year's trade deadline. So my point is that selling high on Ragans, if possible, could help set the Royals up for more sustained success.
Christian Yelich: 11.5% of WAR. Stearns made a "go for it" trade to acquire Yelich in January 2018 with five years left on his contract, extending him a couple years later. To do so they gave up a 60-grade medium risk prospect in Lewis Brinson, a 50-grade high risk in Isan Diaz, and a 60 grade high risk in Monte Harrison. So the Brewers gave up their first, fifth, and ninth-ranked prospects, presumably well-regarded around the game, yet none of them panned out. Would the Royals put Blake Mitchell, Kendry Chourio, and another good prospect in a deal for a controllable 4-5 WAR Major Leaguer? They probably haven't drafted well enough to feel they could sacrifice those players.
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MLBTR Podcast: The CBA Standoff Begins
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 Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…
- The MLBPA’s opening CBA proposal (1:50)
- MLB’s proposal, which pushes for a hard cap/floor system (10:10)
- Is it surprising that the owners are aligned when they have different priorities? (20:35)
- Will competitive balance picks come up later in the negotiations? (28:55)
- Competitive balance proposals often come from limiting player agency (31:45)
- Many fans dislike Rob Manfred but are aligned with him on wanting a cap (36:35)
- How should the MLBPA think about the public relations battle? (40:00)
- Is the player-fan relationship different in the age of the internet? (47:10)
- Can any optimism be taken from the fact that both sides addressed the economic imbalances of the game? (51:00)
- We don’t know what Manfred thinks about his legacy (55:05)
- The looming expiration of many broadcast deals after 2028 (56:15)
- Is the character of the ownership group is different than previous eras? (1:04:55)
Check out our past episodes!
- Gage Jump, Tigers Trade Speculation, And The Twins’ Roster Shuffle – listen here
- Colt Emerson Debuts, Blue Jays’ Rotation Issues, And What To Make Of The Mets And Astros – listen here
- Patrick Bailey To Cleveland, The Struggling Astros, And Arizona’s Outfield Changes – 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 Kirby Lee, Imagn Images
Cardinals To Activate Lars Nootbaar
The Cardinals will activate Lars Nootbaar from the 60-day injured list for Friday’s series opener against the Reds, manager Oli Marmol told reporters (including Jeff Jones of The Belleville News-Democrat). St. Louis will need to make an active roster move. They already have an opening on the 40-man roster after returning Rule 5 pick Matt Pushard to the Marlins.
Nootbaar will make his season debut after a two-month plus absence. He underwent surgery to shave down bones on both heels last October. Nootbaar has appeared in 11 minor league rehab games, hitting .233 with a pair of home runs while gradually building up to Triple-A Memphis.
The injuries seemed to impact the 28-year-old outfielder last season. Nootbaar had a career-worst .234/.325/.361 slash over 583 plate appearances. His 13 home runs were similar to the totals he posted in less playing time over the prior three seasons. Nootbaar’s rate production was down from the .246/.351/.426 line he managed from 2022-24.
If he’d been healthy, Nootbaar may well have been traded over the offseason. He’s down to his final two years of arbitration control. The Cards committed to a retool in dealing a lot of shorter-term pieces. That included Brendan Donovan, who is also in his penultimate arbitration season. The Cardinals would’ve been accepting pennies on the dollar to move Nootbaar, so it made sense for them to hold him as a deadline trade chip.
That calculus may have changed with the team’s surprising start. St. Louis has won 32 of their first 60 games, putting them firmly in a muddled Wild Card picture. They’ve been a league average offense and one of the league’s better defensive teams, helping paper over a pitching staff that still doesn’t miss many bats.
While the position player group has been solid, the Cards have had one of the weaker left field situations in the National League. The lefty-hitting Nathan Church has mostly operated in a platoon with one of José Fermín or Thomas Saggese. Church is out with a minor shoulder strain but expected to begin a rehab stint tomorrow. He has a middling .247/.282/.390 batting line across 156 plate appearances. Saggese and Fermín haven’t been any better. Recent call-ups Bryan Torres and Nelson Velázquez have gotten some work over the past week.
Velázquez and Fermín are out of options and would need to be designated for assignment if taken off the MLB roster. The Cardinals probably wouldn’t have selected Velázquez’s contract on Friday if they anticipated dropping him that quickly. Torres and Saggese each have options — as does Church if the Cardinals don’t want to open an MLB spot once he’s back from injury.
Rob Manfred Discusses Economic Proposals
Rob Manfred spoke with reporters after this week’s quarterly owners meetings. Jorge Castillo of ESPN, Ronald Blum of The Associated Press and Evan Drellich of The Athletic were among those who relayed the commissioner’s comments.
Manfred spoke publicly for the first time since the league and Players Association exchanged initial economic proposals last week. Those were worlds apart, with the most notable development being MLB’s first official proposal for a salary cap since the 1994-95 players strike. The league proposed a $245.3MM cap and $171.2MM floor. That would come with a 50-50 revenue split between players and ownership, which requires holding some of players’ salaries in escrow in case the league underperforms projections.
[Related Podcast: CBA Standoff Begins]
MLBPA executive director Bruce Meyer unsurprisingly blasted the proposal on Monday, reiterating the union’s opposition to a cap — which he called “a form of institutionalized collusion.” Manfred didn’t directly respond to Meyer’s comment but took his typical approach, framing it as a competitive balance issue.
“We have tried mightily over several rounds of bargaining to use a competitive balance (luxury) tax to address competitive concerns,” Manfred said. “And sometimes you’ve got to admit you failed.” Manfred didn’t expressly state that a cap was the only solution but implied that drastic changes were necessary.
“We made a proposal on one set of topics. At the outset of negotiations, I went and said myself, ‘We’re open to whatever ideas people have, but we need a realistic framework that addresses the fans’ concerns about competitive balance.’ You just can’t ignore that financial penalties have not gotten it done for us.” The luxury tax has been in place since 2003.
That’s a standard talking point for the league. The union’s initial proposal called for more revenue sharing and a “competitive integrity tax” penalizing teams that spend less than $150MM on payroll. The union favors maintaining the luxury tax setup and proposed raising the base threshold dramatically to $300MM.
Of course, both sides are going to push for competitive balance measures that are in their favor on revenue split. Fixing spending on players would also go towards owners’ goals of escalating franchise values. It’s debatable whether either really cares about competitive balance, though that’s obviously a primary concern for many fans — especially those of smaller-market clubs.
An offseason lockout seems inevitable once the current bargaining agreement expires on December 1. The 2021-22 lockout lasted 99 days and narrowly avoided the cancelation of games. “Of course I do,” Manfred replied when asked if he was worried about a more disastrous work stoppage like the ’94-95 strike. He declined to answer a question about whether the league’s desire for a cap would make an extended lockout worthwhile, saying he wouldn’t “speculate about work stoppages.”
There’s no incentive for Manfred to answer that question. The extent of both sides’ willingness to tolerate a lockout that’d cost them game revenue is a pivotal piece of information that neither will disclose publicly. It behooves both parties to stress their resolve more generally.
The commissioner also touched on a few non-CBA topics. He provided an update on the sale agreement that values the Padres just shy of $4 billion. That’s still pending approval from the other 29 owners. Manfred said that’s “not ready for a vote today” but is likely to come up at some point this summer. He also touched on expansion, noting that’s a topic which will be on the back burner until a new CBA is in place.
Cardinals Return Rule 5 Pick Matt Pushard To Marlins
The Cardinals returned Rule 5 draftee Matt Pushard to the Marlins, relays Jeff Jones of The Belleville News-Democrat. St. Louis designated the righty for assignment over the weekend.
Pushard didn’t get much of an opportunity to establish himself. He landed on the injured list almost immediately due to patellar tendinitis in his right knee. That kept him on the shelf for six weeks. The 28-year-old righty pitched pretty well after coming off the injured list, tossing scoreless appearances in each of his first four outings. He labored through 28 pitches in a mop-up appearance against the Cubs on Saturday, however, leading the Cards to swap him out for Hunter Dobbins after the game.
Rule 5 picks can’t be optioned. The Cardinals needed to designate him for assignment and run him through outright waivers. After he cleared, they offered him back to the Marlins for $50K. Miami accepted and will presumably assign him back to Triple-A Jacksonville, where he spent the entire 2025 season.
An undrafted free agent out of the University of Maine in 2022, Pushard has been a pure reliever throughout his minor league career. He worked 62 1/3 innings of 3.61 ERA ball with the Jumbo Shrimp last season, striking out 28.5% of opposing hitters. He’ll be eligible for the Rule 5 draft again next offseason if he doesn’t earn a spot on Miami’s 40-man roster before then. Their bullpen has a little above average this season.
Blue Jays Acquire Simeon Woods Richardson From Twins
The Blue Jays announced they’ve acquired right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson from the Twins for cash considerations. Toronto transferred lefty reliever Joe Mantiply from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man roster spot. Mantiply recently underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.
It’s the second time the Toronto front office has acquired Woods Richardson. The first came as a prospect back in 2019, when the Jays landed him from the Mets as part of the Marcus Stroman deal. Woods Richardson was one of the better pitching prospects in MLB and found himself in another notable deadline trade two years later. Toronto packaged him and then-top prospect Austin Martin to Minnesota in ’21 for José Berríos.
Woods Richardson debuted the following year with one start. He also made one appearance the following season. The former second-round pick held a rotation spot for the better part of the next two years. Woods Richardson was a decent mid-rotation arm, posting a low-4.00s earned run average in consecutive seasons. He combined for a 4.11 ERA with a league average strikeout and walk profile across 245 innings from 2024-25.
That included a strong September last year that added optimism about Woods Richardson’s form going into 2026. Things have gone completely off the rails this year instead. Woods Richardson made two strong starts to open the season. He was knocked around over his next seven appearances, allowing almost 10 earned runs per nine innings. Minnesota pushed him to the bullpen for two scoreless outings. He drew back in as a spot starter on May 28 and was blitzed for five runs in 2 2/3 innings by the White Sox.
Minnesota pulled the plug at that point. Woods Richardson is out of options and can’t be sent to the minors, so the Twins designated him for assignment on Saturday. That gave them five days to see if they could line up a trade before exposing him to waivers. They were able to find a trade partner but only for cash.
Woods Richardson is averaging 92.7 mph on his fastball. That’s down marginally from last year’s 93.2 mark but not a dramatic drop. He has scaled up the usage of his splitter while abandoning his changeup and cutting back on his curveball. Nothing has worked this year, but his splitter and slider were both effective offerings last season.
Toronto’s rotation has been decimated by injuries. Berríos and Cody Ponce are done for the year. Shane Bieber remains weeks away from his season debut. Dylan Cease and Max Scherzer are both out of action but on rehab assignments, so they’ll be back soon. Woods Richardson could make a spot start or two in the interim or work out of the bullpen. The Jays are using Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage and Patrick Corbin as traditional starters and have Rule 5 pick Spencer Miles working mostly in 3-4 inning stints behind an opener.
Woods Richardson is playing for around the league minimum salary. He’ll qualify for arbitration as a Super Two player this winter if he holds his roster spot. He’s under club control for four seasons beyond this one.
Mitch Bannon of The Athletic first reported the trade. Image courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn, Imagn Images.
Angels Re-Sign Joey Lucchesi On Minor League Deal
The Angels announced they’ve re-signed reliever Joey Lucchesi to a minor league contract. He’d been released from his previous deal yesterday, presumably after triggering an opt-out clause.
Lucchesi has been on and off the roster since the end of Spring Training. He was in camp with the Giants on a minor league deal, opting out when San Francisco informed him he wouldn’t make the roster. Lucchesi signed a big league deal with the Halos and was on the Opening Day club. He was designated for assignment a couple weeks into the season.
The 6’5″ southpaw cleared waivers, elected free agency, then returned on a minor league deal. He was called back up in late April and the cycle repeated itself. Lucchesi returned on a second minor league contract after another quick DFA and free agent stint. He has made five MLB appearances this year, allowing six runs on seven hits and six walks over 3 1/3 innings.
Lucchesi has logged 18 frames with Salt Lake. He carries a 4.50 earned run average with a strong 28% strikeout rate against a manageable 9.9% walk percentage. They’re decent numbers overall, though he issued three walks and gave up two runs in his most recent appearance. He’ll re-join Tayler Saucedo and the just optioned Sam Aldegheri as depth options with the Bees. The Halos are carrying Drew Pomeranz, Brent Suter and Mitch Farris in the big league bullpen.
Corbin Burnes Suffers Teres Major Strain, Likely Out Until September
Diamondbacks right-hander Corbin Burnes has suffered a teres major strain and will be shut down from his throwing progression. Manager Torey Lovullo says Burnes probably won’t be back until September with this setback. Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic was among those to relay the news.
The righty underwent Tommy John surgery in June of last year. That procedure normally comes with a recovery period of 14 months or longer, which would have put Burnes in line for a return in August. He was optimistic about beating that, telling reporters in February that he expected he could return around the All-Star break in July. He faced live hitters last week, per Piecoro, but any hope of a July return is now dashed.
It’s an unfortunate development for Burnes and the Diamondbacks, as both parties were hoping he could be a late-season factor. Lovullo didn’t rule him out for the season but he now has an even tighter window to make an impact on the 2026 season.
Arizona will continue with a starting five of Merrill Kelly, Zac Gallen, Michael Soroka, Eduardo Rodriguez and Ryne Nelson. It hasn’t been a great group overall but has been one of the better rotations in the National League over the past month. All aside from Gallen have pitched well of late, but Soroka is the only one missing bats at an average or better rate. Nelson has also worked around one of the highest home run rates in MLB.
It feels fairly tenuous and there’s very little in terms of rotation depth. Prospects Mitch Bratt, Kohl Drake and Dylan Ray are all on the 40-man roster and at Triple-A Reno. None of those three have pitched in MLB, and only Drake (who has an ERA above 8.00) is currently healthy. There’s not much to be done right now beyond hoping the rest of the rotation stays healthy. Arizona is four games above .500 and currently holds the NL’s final Wild Card spot. If they can hang in the postseason picture, adding a starter at the deadline feels like a must.
This also all but ensures what already looked like an obvious call for Burnes not to opt out of the remaining four years and $140MM on his six-year free agent deal. There was an outside chance Burnes could’ve considered that if he made a seamless return from the elbow surgery and dominated in the second half — especially with a dismal free agent class after Tarik Skubal. That’s not going to happen anymore. Gallen and Soroka are impending free agents (the latter after his mutual option is bought out), so the D-Backs will need a healthy Burnes in 2027.