Guardians Acquire Patrick Bailey
The Guardians have acquired catcher Patrick Bailey from the Giants, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports. San Francisco will receive left-handed pitching prospect Matt Wilkinson and the 29th overall pick of the 2026 draft (the first selection of Competitive Balance Round A, which are the only types of picks that can be dealt). Cleveland has an open spot on its 40-man roster for Bailey, and The Athletic’s Zack Meisel adds that the Guards will option catcher Bo Naylor to make room for Bailey on the active roster.
Bailey has won the last two Fielding Bible Awards and NL Gold Glove Awards, cementing his case as the sport’s best defensive catcher. Between Bailey and backup Austin Hedges, the Guardians now have the best defensive catching tandem in recent memory, and have doubled down on their commitment to prioritizing glovework over offense from their backstops. Obviously the Guards were hoping Naylor would add more pop from behind the plate, but after an impressive debut in his 2023 rookie season, Naylor has hit only .192/.266/.351 over 893 plate appearances since Opening Day 2024.
Those numbers aren’t far below the .224/.282/.329 slash line Bailey has posted over 1342 career PA. Bailey’s lackluster offense took an even sharper nosedive this year, as he has hit only .146/.213/.183 over his first 89 trips to the plate in 2026. The situation became dire enough that the Giants were reducing Bailey’s playing time, at first because Rule 5 pick Daniel Susac (currently on the 10-day IL) was on fire at the plate, and then since prospect Jesus Rodriguez was recalled earlier this week from Triple-A.
San Francisco will now go forward with Rodriguez and Susac when he’s healthy, and Eric Haase is also on the 26-man roster. Because Rodriguez can play multiple positions, the Giants might keep all three players even when Susac is activated from the injured list, if the team wants to keep Haase on hand for some veteran experience.
While this trade isn’t as seismic as the Rafael Devers blockbuster last June, it does represent another aggressive early-season move from Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey. Even if Bailey was losing playing time, seeing the Giants move on from the catcher entirely counts as something of a surprise.
The desire for change may stem from the Giants’ 15-23 start, as San Francisco is tied with the Angels and Mets for the fewest wins in all of baseball. For as little as Bailey was contributing, getting less offense than expected from a defensive specialist hasn’t been as much of a lineup issue as the cold starts from Devers, Willy Adames, Matt Chapman, and Harrison Bader (who is also currently on the IL). That said, the club is clearly looking for runs wherever they can find them, and clearing the path for Susac and Rodriguez is one way of pursuing upside.
Obviously there’s still a lot of baseball to be played before the trade deadline, yet today’s move is perhaps also the first sign that the Giants may already be looking beyond the 2026 season. Between the Dodgers’ ongoing dominance and the Padres’ strong start, the Giants are looking at a wild card berth at best even if they’re able to dig their way out of this early-season hole. If the struggles continue, more selling will take place before the deadline, and possibly even well in advance of the deadline given Posey’s willingness to swing a prominent deal at any time on the calendar.
From a pure trade-value standpoint, it’s also not a bad outcome for Posey to move an increasingly expendable catcher for both a starting pitching prospect and a high draft pick. The 29th overall selection is the first pick of CBR-A, and thus the highest selection available to be traded. Acquiring this CBR-A pick adds to what is already going to be a particularly important draft for the Giants, as the team got lucky in landing the fourth overall pick in the draft lottery last December.
Wilkinson was a 10th-round pick for the Guardians in the 2023 draft, and isn’t considered a top-30 prospect in either the Baseball America or MLB Pipeline rankings of the Cleveland farm system. Nonetheless, Wilkinson has posted some solid numbers across his four pro seasons, including a 1.59 ERA, 33.6% strikeout rate, and an 8.4% walk rate across 28 1/3 innings for Double-A Akron this season. This marked Wilkinson’s first taste of Double-A action, and a promotion to Triple-A doesn’t seem out of the question before 2026 is over.
More to come….
Orioles Place Cade Povich On 15-Day Injured List
The Orioles placed Cade Povich on the 15-day injured list yesterday due to left elbow inflammation, and right-hander Trey Gibson was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move. Gibson threw two innings of relief in Friday’s 4-3 Orioles loss to the Athletics, so it doesn’t appear as if Gibson will directly fill in for Povich as Baltimore’s rotation remains in a state of flux.
Povich is one of four O’s starters currently on the IL, with Zach Eflin on the 60-day version after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Trevor Rogers is probably the likeliest candidate to step back into the starting five in Povich’s place, as Rogers is eligible to be activated on Monday and seems to be recovering well from the illness that sent him to the sidelines.
It may be that Povich also won’t be out for too long, as Baltimore manager Craig Albernaz told reporters (including MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko) that Povich’s discomfort is on the outside of his left elbow, more in the triceps area. Povich underwent an MRI to examine the problem and he may get a cortisone shot to aid in the healing process.
The IL stint is no surprise given that the elbow issue forced Povich out of his last start on Wednesday after only three innings and 58 pitches. The southpaw has made three starts (and four total appearances) due to the Orioles’ swath of pitching injuries, but hasn’t looked particularly sharp in posting a 5.12 ERA, a middling 8.5% walk rate, and only a 14.6% strikeout rate over 19 1/3 innings of work. Povich did well in his first two outings but has given up eight runs in his last seven frames, though his sore elbow certainly contributed to the three runs he surrendered to the Marlins on Wednesday.
The Opener: Cubs, Reds, Misiorowski, Snell
Munetaka Murakami blasted his 15th home run of the season in yesterday’s 12-8 White Sox loss to the Mariners, and set some big league history in the process. As per MLB.com’s Scott Merkin, Murakami is the first player to ever hit a homer in eight consecutive series-opening games — Hall-of-Famer Eddie Murray held the previous mark of seven games.
1. Cubs cruising, Reds reeling
April ended with Cincinnati holding a one-game lead over Chicago for first place in the NL Central, but the two clubs’ fortunes have drastically changed in May. The Cubs completed a four-game sweep of the Reds on Thursday and then extended their overall winning streak to 10 games in yesterday’s 7-1 rout of the Rangers. On the other hand, the Reds continued their winless month with a dismal 10-0 loss to the Astros on Friday, as Cincinnati has now dropped eight in a row. The NL Central remains the only division entirely above the .500 mark, but the Reds’ 20-19 record puts the team in last place.
2. The Miz brings the velo
Not to be overlooked in the NL Central race, the Brewers have won seven of their last 10 to improve to 20-16, and Jacob Misiorowski delivered a gem of a start in Friday’s 6-0 shutout of the Yankees. Misiorowski allowed only two hits and two walks over six scoreless innings while striking out 11, and displayed unreal velocity with 10 different pitches that reached at least 103mph. Misiorowski’s three offerings of 103.6mph were the fastest pitches on record from a starting pitcher since Statcast began recording velocity in 2008, and Misiorowski has now thrown 11 of the 14 fastest pitches from a starter during the Statcast era. (Hat tip to MLB’s Sarah Langs.) Two more impressive young arms meet today as the series continues in Milwaukee, as New York’s Cam Schlittler gets the start against the Brewers’ Kyle Harrison.
3. Snell to make 2026 debut
Blake Snell has yet to pitch this season due to shoulder fatigue, but the Dodgers will activate the southpaw to start against the Braves tonight in a battle of NL division leaders. While the Dodgers clearly haven’t been held back by an avalanche of injuries to starting pitchers over the last few years, the revolving door continued on Friday when Tyler Glasnow was placed on the 15-day IL due to lower back spasms, opening up a spot for Snell in the rotation. Glasnow may only miss the minimum 15 days, as L.A. manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including The Athletic’s Katie Woo) that Glasnow might have been able to pitch through the back problem but the club chose to be cautious.
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Luis Gil Shut Down With Shoulder Inflammation
The Yankees are shutting down righty Luis Gil after he was diagnosed with shoulder inflammation, manager Aaron Boone told reporters on Friday (link via Greg Joyce of The New York Post). He won’t throw for at least three weeks.
Gil, the 2024 American League Rookie of the Year, has had a frustrating last year and a half. He missed the first four months of the ’25 campaign after suffering a significant lat strain early in camp. Gil returned in August and managed a 3.32 earned run average across 57 innings. His strikeout rate was down 10 percentage points from the previous season, though, and he gave up a couple homers to take the loss in his lone Division Series start against the Blue Jays.
New York acquired Ryan Weathers over the offseason, pushing Gil to fifth on the rotation depth chart. A number of early-season off days allowed them to use a four-man rotation for a couple weeks, dropping Gil to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to open the year. He came back up on April 10 and was knocked around in three of his four starts. The Yankees optioned him back to Triple-A on April 27. They gave a couple starts to prospect Elmer Rodríguez and will welcome Carlos Rodón back from injury on Sunday.
Gil did not pitch with Scranton between his option and today’s diagnosis. Boone nevertheless told reporters that the Yankees believe this is a new injury and was not a factor in his poor MLB performance in April. If it were determined that Gil had suffered the injury while he was on the big league roster, the Yankees would need to rescind the option and place him on the Major League injured list. He’d accrue service time for as long as he’s unavailable in that case. Gil will not be credited with service time if he remains on the Triple-A injured list.
That’s a secondary consideration, one that’d be a moot point if Gil can’t right the ship to ensure the Yankees tender him an arbitration contract. He won’t resume throwing until close to the end of May in the best case scenario. Even if he’s cleared, he’ll need to progress through a series of bullpen/live batting practice sessions before the Yankees put him into a game.
Rodríguez and the also recently optioned Brendan Beck are the only healthy depth starters on New York’s 40-man roster. Hard-throwing prospect Carlos Lagrange, who turned heads with a dominant Spring Training, is not yet on the 40-man but working out of the Triple-A rotation. He leads Scranton in strikeouts but has continued to battle his longstanding control problems and has only once completed five innings in a start. The Yankees are continuing to develop him as a starter, but he’d probably be better suited breaking into MLB as a reliever if he’s going to be a factor this year.
The Yankees rotation is in good shape despite the lack of experienced upper minors depth. Rodón slots alongside a front four of Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Will Warren and Weathers — each of whom has pitched very well so far. Gerrit Cole is four starts into his rehab from Tommy John surgery and a few weeks away from his first MLB appearance since 2024.
Tigers, Carl Edwards Jr. Agree To Minor League Deal
The Tigers are in agreement with right-hander Carl Edwards Jr. on a minor league contract, as first reflected on the MLB.com transaction log. The Ballengee Group client will report to Triple-A Toledo.
Edwards elected free agency on Monday after being designated for assignment by the Mets on April 30. He’d made two appearances and tossed six innings of one-run ball with 11 punchouts. It was impressive work but came in mop-up situations against the Nationals and Rockies, respectively. As a journeyman who can’t be optioned to the minor leagues, Edwards had an uphill path to holding his spot on the 40-man roster.
Those six innings matched Edwards’ big league workload from the 2025 season, which he split between the Rangers and Angels. He only made one MLB appearance in ’24 with the Padres. It has been three years since his most recent extended big league action, when Edwards spent a few seasons holding a middle relief spot in Washington.
A reliever for most of his career, the 34-year-old has built up as a starter in Triple-A this year. He made four starts and got up to five innings in an appearance twice. The numbers weren’t great, as Edwards surrendered 13 runs (10 earned) while walking 11 batters across 17 frames. Detroit could look to keep him stretched out in Toledo even if Edwards is unlikely to be more than a long relief option at the MLB level.
Dodgers Place Tyler Glasnow On Injured List
The Dodgers placed Tyler Glasnow on the 15-day injured list with lower back spasms. Righty Paul Gervase has been recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City and will be available out of the bullpen for tonight’s series opener against the Braves.
Glasnow exited Wednesday’s start against the Astros after one inning. He tweaked his lower back while warming up for the second frame. Glasnow downplayed the issue postgame, noting it’s a minor problem with which he has dealt throughout his career. The Dodgers nevertheless opted to shelve him for a couple weeks to allow the issue to subside.
The All-Star righty has worked to a 2.72 earned run average in his first seven turns through the rotation. He’s tied with Chris Sale for sixth in the National League with 49 strikeouts. Glasnow continues to perform at a top-of-the-rotation level when he’s healthy. The durability is the ever present caveat. Glasnow has yet to reach 140 innings in an MLB season. Aside from the shortened 2020 schedule, he has gone on the injured list at least once in each year since 2018.
There’s no indication this will be more than a minimal IL stay. The Dodgers were off yesterday but will play 13 in a row and 19 of the next 20 days. Glasnow will miss at least two starts. Los Angeles will welcome Blake Snell from the injured list to make his season debut tomorrow. Emmet Sheehan is taking the ball tonight in the series opener, while Justin Wrobleski is lined up for the weekend finale.
Skipper Dave Roberts said Roki Sasaki is likely to go on Monday for the series opener against the Giants (via Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic). That’d set up Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani for the final two games of the San Francisco series. Glasnow’s injury means the Dodgers can delay a decision on whether to bump Sasaki or Sheehan from the six-man rotation. They’ll play with a nine-man bullpen tonight but will need to option a pitcher tomorrow to activate Snell, so it’s likely to be a one-day stint for Gervase.
José Azocar Elects Free Agency
Outfielder José Azocar elected free agency after clearing outright waivers, according to the MLB.com transaction tracker. The Braves had designated him for assignment on Wednesday when they called up rookie infielder Jim Jarvis.
Azocar signed a minor league deal with Atlanta shortly before the New Year. It was his second stint in the organization after he’d spent a couple weeks on the MLB bench last season. Azocar only played in two games last year. He began this season at Triple-A Gwinnett, hitting .270/.348/.420 with a pair of home runs in 113 plate appearances.
Atlanta called Azocar up last week when Ronald Acuña Jr. landed on the injured list. He started Sunday’s game in right field and went hitless in two at-bats. He came off the bench as a pinch-runner a day later and stole a base. That was the extent of this year’s MLB stint.
Azocar has now appeared in parts of five big league seasons. He’s a .243/.288/.318 hitter over 420 career trips, most of which came during his first two seasons (2021-22) with the Padres. The 29-year-old (30 next week) carries a .276/.321/.416 line over parts of six Triple-A campaigns. He’s a good runner who can play anywhere in the outfield. Azocar should sign a minor league contract somewhere in the coming days, and a return to Atlanta would hardly be a surprise.
The Mariners’ Latest Pitching Success Story
For years, the Mariners' largely homegrown rotation has been one of the envies of teams around the league. Logan Gilbert, George Kirby and Bryan Woo have all made an All-Star team in the past couple years. All three have a career ERA of 3.61 or better with better-than-average strikeout and walk rates alike. Bryce Miller hasn't had as much success relative to his teammates, but he posted a 3.52 ERA with quality strikeout and walk rates in his first 56 MLB starts before an injury-ruined 2025 season (90 1/3 innings, 5.68 ERA, two IL stints for elbow inflammation).
Veteran righty Luis Castillo wasn't signed and developed by the Mariners, but Seattle pried him from Cincinnati in a 2022 trade for a package headlined by infield prospects Noelvi Marte and Edwin Arroyo. The M's quickly extended Castillo on a five-year, $108MM deal. In parts of five seasons with Seattle, his 3.61 ERA is right in line with the previously mentioned group (and a near-identical match to his 3.62 mark in six seasons with the Reds).
No organization in baseball has had more continuity in its major league rotation than the Mariners since this wave of pitchers arrived on the scene at T-Mobile Park. They've been consistent, productive and, with the exception of Miller's recent injury issues, largely durable. That's been key for the Mariners, because one less-talked-about aspect of their strong rotation is that the depth behind the group hasn't been great.
From 2022-25, the quintet of Gilbert, Kirby, Woo, Miller and Castillo started 75% of the Mariners' games. (Castillo wasn't even acquired until July 29 of the 2022 season.) The Mariners had rotation cameos from Robbie Ray (signed to a five-year deal, missed the second season due to Tommy John surgery, then traded to the Giants), Chris Flexen (26 starts on the back end of his low-cost contract) and Marco Gonzales (a holdover from the prior rotation group who was eventually traded while injured). But for the most part, it's been the same group of five, which has helped to mask the fact that the bulk of their top prospects in recent years have all been position players.
One hopeful addition to the group, for years, was right-hander Emerson Hancock. The No. 6 overall pick in 2020, Hancock was never touted as a future ace. He was an advanced college arm with above-average stuff and good command, one whom Baseball America tabbed as a potential No. 3 starter -- "and perhaps better if he refines his breaking pitches."
Instead, Hancock's development went the other direction. His command worsened. He lost some life on his fastball as he battled shoulder troubles and a lat strain. In general, he became more hittable. Hancock's strikeout rate plummeted when he reached Triple-A in 2024, though he still posted a mid-3.00s ERA. He was north of 5.00 in 2025.
Between some infrequent and inconsistent big league stints from 2023-25, Hancock totaled 162 2/3 innings with a 4.81 ERA, one of the lowest strikeout rates in baseball (15.6%) among pitchers with that many innings and a good-not-great walk rate (7.8%). He looked like a fifth or sixth starter -- the type of arm who oscillates in and out of a rotation before possibly settling into a bullpen role or beginning to bounce around the league as a swingman.
There weren't many tangible signs of a breakout last year. Hancock's average fastball climbed to a career-high 94.9 mph, although that was at least moderately skewed by a move to the 'pen later in the season. He sat 94.6 mph as a starter in 2025 -- still up from his previous career-best 93.4 mph -- and 97.2 mph as a reliever. But even with the velo increase, Hancock's swinging-strike rate fell. His opponents' contact rate climbed. His 8.1% walk rate was a career-worst mark. Hancock had the look of a depth starter and was entering his final option year in 2026. The long-term outlook wasn't great.
And then spring training rolled around.
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Tigers Re-Sign Zack Short To Major League Deal
The Tigers have re-signed infielder Zack Short to a major league deal. They had an open 40-man roster spot due to Short himself being designated for assignment earlier this week. He cleared waivers, elected free agency is now back. Fellow infielder Jace Jung has been optioned in a corresponding active roster move. Jason Beck of MLB.com was among those to pass along the transactions.
It’s been a bit of a musical chairs situation as the Tigers have been juggling injuries to their middle infield. They have been without Trey Sweeney all year due to a shoulder strain. Zach McKinstry hit the IL a few weeks ago due to left hip/abdominal inflammation. Then Javier Báez sprained his ankle a little over a week ago.
That prompted the Tigers to send cash to the Nationals in order to acquire Short. They then added him to their roster. After a couple of games, McKinstry was reinstated from the IL. Since Short is out of options, he was designated for assignment on Tuesday as the corresponding move. But the very next day, the Tigers placed Gleyber Torres on the IL with an oblique strain. Jung was brought up to replace Torres. Now it seems the Tigers prefer to have Short on their bench, with Jung presumably getting regular reps in the minors.
Short, 31 this month, doesn’t hit much but is clearly valued by teams around the league as a solid glove-first depth infielder. His brief appearance with the Tigers this week made this his sixth straight season with at least some big league action. He has stepped to the plate 597 times across those six campaigns and produced a .171/.269/.295 batting line.
Defensively, he has almost 800 innings at shortstop, over 300 at second and third base, plus brief stints in the outfield. Public metrics don’t rank the glovework especially highly but teams must have internal metrics that like him, since he continues to get opportunities.
The Tigers had been splitting shortstop between Báez and Kevin McGonigle, with McGonigle also mixing in at third base. Since Báez has been out, McGonigle has been at short almost every day. At second and third, Detroit will likely rotate between McKinstry, Colt Keith and Hao-Yu Lee, with Short backing up that crew from the bench.
Photo courtesy of Junfu Han, Imagn Images