Astros Select César Salazar
The Astros are selecting catcher César Salazar back onto the big league roster, reports Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. Infielder Shay Whitcomb was optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land in a corresponding move. Houston opened a spot on the 40-man roster this afternoon when they designated outfielder Daniel Johnson for assignment.
Salazar’s promotion is spurred by what appears to be a minor injury for starting catcher Yainer Diaz. He’s out of tonight’s lineup with a left abdominal issue. The Astros haven’t placed him on the injured list but seemingly want to stay away from him tonight. Christian Vázquez draws into the lineup against the Dodgers and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Salazar provides some insurance as a reserve catcher.
Unless Diaz eventually needs an injured list stay, it’ll probably be a brief stint on the roster for Salazar. He’s out of minor league options and was designated for assignment at the end of Spring Training when Houston opted for Vázquez as their backup catcher. They surely don’t have any regrets about that decision, as the veteran is out to a .333/.390/.519 start to his age-35 season.
Salazar appeared in 36 MLB games as Houston’s third catcher between 2023-25. He’s hitting .193/.333/.281 with one home run over 19 games with Sugar Land this season. The 30-year-old has a solid reputation for his glove and work with a pitching staff but isn’t likely to be much of an offensive threat.
Carl Edwards Jr. Elects Free Agency
Veteran righty Carl Edwards Jr. elected free agency after clearing outright waivers, reports Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. He’d been designated for assignment by the Mets on Thursday.
Edwards had a brief stint on the active roster, pitching twice over six days. He showed well in that limited look, striking out 11 across six innings of one-run ball. Edwards issued four walks but only allowed three hits. He got swinging strikes at a massive 17.2% rate.
Those six innings matched his MLB workload last season, divided over four games between the Rangers and Angels. He failed to record an out in his lone MLB appearance in 2024. Edwards hasn’t had an extended look at the big league level since he was a member of the Nationals three years ago.
He has continued to bounce around the league via a series of minor league contracts. Edwards has been a reliever for the majority of his career but started four games for Triple-A Syracuse before the Mets called him up. He worked multiple innings in both of his MLB appearances. He should find a new minor league deal, perhaps returning to the Mets, within the coming days.
Giants Designate Jerar Encarnacion For Assignment
The Giants announced that outfielder Jerar Encarnacion has been designated for assignment and fellow outfielder Will Brennan has been optioned to Triple-A Sacramento. Those are the corresponding moves for the recalls of Bryce Eldridge and Jesús Rodríguez, moves that were reported yesterday. The Giants also recalled right-hander Trevor McDonald and placed left-hander Erik Miller on the 15-day injured list with a low back strain, retroactive to May 1st.
Encarnacion signed a minor league deal with the Giants in May of 2024. At that time, he had just come off a massive .366/.439/.989 showing in 26 Mexican League games. That’s a hitter-friendly league but that line was impressive regardless. He then put up a .352/.438/.616 showing in Triple-A and got added to the big league roster in August.
He has been on the 40-man ever since. Due to him being out of options, he has also been on the active roster that whole time, apart from IL stints. He spent a lot of 2025 on the IL, with stints due to a hand fracture, an oblique strain and a hamstring strain.
His numbers against major league hitting haven’t been nearly as impressive as his work in the minors or in Mexico. He has stepped to the plate 210 times as a Giant. His 3.3% walk rate and 27.1% strikeout rate in that time are both poor numbers. His .223/.248/.371 line in the sample leads to a wRC+ of 71, indicating he’s been 29% below league average overall. That includes a dismal .176/.200/.206 line here in 2026.
The San Francisco offense as a whole has been underwhelming. Encarnacion has been just a small part of that but he is the casualty for the club trying to shake things up. Since he’s out of options, he’s been bumped into DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Giants could take five days to field trade interest, but they could also put him on waivers sooner than that.
Based on how much he’s been struggling, it seems fair to expect him to clear waivers. He has flashed talent in the past but not in the majors. Even the exciting numbers he put up in Mexico and in the minors are two years old at this point. He has a previous career outright and would therefore have the right to elect free agency if he is outrighted again in the coming days.
Turning to the pitching moves, it’s unclear how long Miller will need to be shelved, but the Giants lose one of their more interesting relievers. Miller walks too many batters but has high-90s velocity and can get guys out. His 35.4% strikeout rate and 56% ground ball rate this year are both huge, though he has given free passes to 12.5% of opponents. With Miller out, the Giants are down to Matt Gage and Ryan Borucki as their southpaw relievers.
McDonald is starting tonight’s game and it appears to be a spot start. The Giants had to play a doubleheader on Thursday, with Logan Webb and Adrian Houser starting the two contests. Then Robbie Ray, Landen Roupp and Tyler Mahle started the three subsequent games. No one in that quintet would be available on regular rest tonight. After McDonald starts tonight’s game, it’s possible he gets sent back down to the minors, with a fresh arm coming up to join the bullpen.
Photo courtesy of Justine Willard, Imagn Images
Braves Designate Jonah Heim For Assignment, Activate Sean Murphy
The Braves announced they’ve reinstated catcher Sean Murphy from his season-opening injured list stint. That pushed Jonah Heim off the team, as he has been designated for assignment to create space for Murphy on the active roster. Atlanta’s 40-man count drops to 39.
It’s an unfortunate but probably expected outcome for Heim. The switch-hitting backstop signed a $1.5MM free agent deal early in Spring Training. The Braves knew Murphy would need some time to recover from last fall’s hip labrum surgery. NL Rookie of the Year Drake Baldwin was the clear #1 option behind the dish, leaving Heim mostly as a fill-in backup until Murphy was back from injury.
The Braves could have carried three catchers, but that’s generally not the way teams prefer to use two of their four bench spots. They’re also currently playing a little shorthanded in the outfield. Not only did they lose Ronald Acuña Jr. to the injured list yesterday, they haven’t felt comfortable playing Michael Harris II in center field since Wednesday.
Harris has been dealing with left quad discomfort that kept him out of the starting lineup on Thursday and Friday. He worked as the designated hitter on Saturday but didn’t play yesterday and is out again tonight against Seattle righty Logan Gilbert.
The thinner outfield led the Braves to select Jose Azocar for a bench role over the weekend. They’ve pushed Mauricio Dubón from shortstop to center field for the past few games, drawing Jorge Mateo into the lineup. Kyle Farmer sticks around as the backup infielder. The moving pieces didn’t leave much room for three catchers. Murphy had reached the end of his 20-day rehab window and needed to be activated tonight.
Heim had a respectable showing over 12 games in an Atlanta uniform. He walked as often as he struck out while hitting .231/.311/.410 with one home run in 45 plate appearances. The defense was a little more concerning, as he failed to catch any of the 13 runners who attempted to steal against him. He didn’t commit any passed balls but was behind the dish for six wild pitches in 103 innings.
There’s nevertheless a decent chance another club takes a flier on Heim within the next week. He was an above-average starting catcher for the Rangers between 2022-23, earning an All-Star nod and a Gold Glove while helping Texas to a championship in 2023. Heim’s production plummeted after that, but he’s only making around twice the league minimum salary and would probably upgrade the backup catching spot for a few teams. The Guardians, Reds, Angels, Pirates, Phillies and Nationals are among clubs that have gotten little to no production from the position this season.
The Braves have five days to line up a trade or place Heim on waivers. If they can’t find a trade partner, he’ll probably be released, as he has the five years of service time necessary to retain his salary while refusing a minor league assignment.
Murphy will be behind the plate tonight for his season debut at T-Mobile Park. Baldwin gets a second consecutive start at DH. Murphy hit 16 homers last year but struck out at a career-high 31% clip while hitting below .200 for a second straight season. He’d played through the hip discomfort for some time before undergoing surgery. The Braves will hope that procedure gets him back closer to peak level, though he showed some rust on his minor league rehab assignment after missing all of Spring Training.
White Sox Sign Randal Grichuk
5:05pm: The Sox made it official, announcing that they have signed Grichuk. Hays goes on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to May 2nd, due to a left calf strain. Murray has been transferred to the 60-day IL to open a 40-man spot.
3:02pm: The White Sox and outfielder Randal Grichuk are in agreement on a major league deal, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. The Sox will need to make corresponding moves to open space for the Paragon Sports International client on the active and 40-man rosters.
Grichuk elected free agency just three days ago after being designated for assignment by the Yankees. The 34-year-old had broken camp on a minor league contract to work in a short side platoon role. He was essentially the last man on Aaron Boone’s bench and took more than two-thirds of his 33 plate appearances versus lefty pitching.
Despite the favorable matchup deployments, Grichuk didn’t hit over his scattered playing time. He batted .194 without a home run while striking out 10 times. He worked one walk and had a .212 on-base mark. Grichuk didn’t perform especially well against left-handed pitching last season either, batting .227/.273/.430. He was among the best hitters in MLB against southpaws from 2022-24, however, destroying them at a .317/.367/.573 clip. He connected on 25 homers, 34 doubles and four triples in just under 500 trips against lefties over those three years.
Grichuk hasn’t played center field in three seasons and has been a well below-average hitter against righty pitching. It’s a limited profile but one the Sox feel comfortable carrying on their bench. They lost right fielder Everson Pereira to the injured list last week with a pectoral strain. Jarred Kelenic was selected onto the MLB roster in his stead and is out to a 1-6 start over three games. The lefty-hitting Kelenic and right-handed Austin Hays — a similar player to Grichuk — are dividing right field work.
The White Sox could create a 40-man roster spot for Grichuk by transferring Tanner Murray to the 60-day injured list. However, they may need to designate someone for assignment given their lack of active roster flexibility.
Backup catcher Drew Romo is the only player on Will Venable’s bench who has minor league options. They’re presumably not going to move on from Hays a month into a $6MM free agent deal. Andrew Benintendi isn’t performing but is signed through 2027 and remains the team’s leadoff man. Rookie left fielder Sam Antonacci is playing too well to option out.
Luisangel Acuña has been ice cold to begin the season, but he headlined Chicago’s return for Luis Robert Jr. over the offseason. They haven’t made the same investment in Kelenic, an offseason minor league signee, or September waiver claim Derek Hill. Hill has decent numbers this season but has struck out 14 times in 44 plate appearances and has only started 10 of the first 34 games.
Angels Designate Nick Sandlin For Assignment
The Angels announced that left-hander Sam Aldegheri has been recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake. In a corresponding move, right-hander Nick Sandlin has been designated for assignment. The club’s 40-man roster count drops to 39.
Sandlin, 29, signed a minor league deal with the Halos in the offseason. He was added to the big league roster about three weeks ago. Since then, he has logged 8 2/3 innings but has unfortunately surrendered 11 earned runs in that time. He allowed nine hits, including two home runs. He walked five batters and hit another three while striking out five opponents.
The Angels have bumped him off the roster after those struggles. He has options but he just hit five years of big league service time in recent weeks. By getting to that line, he can no longer be optioned to the minors without his consent, hence the DFA. He can be in DFA limbo for as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Halos could take five days to field trade interest, but they could also put him on waivers sooner than that.
Sandlin does have some major league success but the past year or so has been rough for him. From 2021 to 2025, he logged 211 2/3 innings in the show with a 3.19 earned run average. His 11.4% walk rate was high but he struck out 27.3% of batters faced. Injuries hobbled him with the Jays last year. He made trips to the injured list for a lat strain and then later for elbow inflammation. He only tossed 16 1/3 innings around those IL stints. The Jays outrighted him in November and Sandlin elected free agency.
The Angels were hoping for a bounceback but couldn’t get it. He started his season with a 1.42 ERA in 6 1/3 Triple-A innings but with poor underlying metrics. That low ERA was mostly a byproduct of a .222 batting average on balls in play and 87.5% strand rate. When he got called up to the majors, his results regressed to an extreme degree.
If Sandlin clears waivers, he would have the right to elect free agency. His recent form has been rough but some clubs may be interested in signing him to a minor league deal, hoping he can get back to his previous form with some regular reps.
Photo courtesy of Jay Biggerstaff, Imagn Images
Orioles To Sign Lou Trivino To Major League Deal
4:15pm: Right-hander Trey Gibson has been optioned to make room on the active roster for Trivino, per Jake Rill of MLB.com.
3:35pm: The Orioles have signed right-hander Lou Trivino to a major league deal, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The Pro Edge Sports Management client just opted out of a minor league deal with the Phillies a few days ago. Baltimore has an open 40-man spot and doesn’t need to make a corresponding move in that regard. They will have to open an active roster spot.
Trivino, 34, signed a minor league deal with the Phillies in the offseason. The veteran finished the 2025 season on Philly’s big league roster and became an an Article XX(B) free agent, which essentially means he was a standard free agent, one who has at least six years of service time and wasn’t signed for the following season. When those players sign minor league deals, they come with automatic opt-outs five days before Opening Day, May 1st and June 1st.
The Phils didn’t break camp with Trivino on the roster but he skipped his first opt-out chance and reported to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He put up excellent numbers for the IronPigs, giving them 13 innings with a 2.77 earned run average. His 35.7% strikeout rate, 7.1% walk rate and 50% ground ball rate were all above-average numbers. He triggered the second opt-out in his deal and the Phillies let him go.
The Orioles will take advantage and scoop Trivino up from the open market. Trivino’s recent Triple-A work is a small sample but the veteran also has a solid track record. In 332 1/3 big league innings, he has a 3.87 ERA, 23.5% strikeout rate, 10.4% walk rate and 45.3% ground ball rate. He has 37 saves and 57 holds in his career.
Injuries prevented him from appearing in the majors in 2023 or 2024. He was back in the bigs last year, though with slightly diminished results. His 3.97 ERA was fine but his 17.9% strikeout rate and 33.8% ground ball rate were both below league average and shy of his previous career numbers. His results so far in 2026, though in a small sample in the minor leagues, are an encouraging sign that he can get back to his previous form now that he’s further removed from his injury woes.
The Orioles have been hit hard by injuries this year, with 11 players currently on the injured list. That includes four relievers. They have known since last year that Félix Bautista would miss most or all of the 2026 campaign due to shoulder surgery. They signed Ryan Helsley to take over the closer’s job but now he’s on the IL with elbow inflammation. Yaramil Hiraldo and Colin Selby are also on the shelf.
It’s a fairly wide open bullpen mix. Hopefully, Trivino can provide a stabilizing veteran presence. If the O’s want to bump him off the roster in the future, he has enough service time where he can’t be optioned to the minors without his consent.
Photo courtesy of Eric Hartline, Imagn Images
Astros Designate Daniel Johnson For Assignment
The Astros announced that outfielder Daniel Johnson has been designated for assignment. His roster spot goes to fellow outfielder Zach Cole, who has been recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land in a corresponding move. Chandler Rome of The Athletic was among those to pass along the news.
Johnson, 30, was added to Houston’s roster a couple of weeks ago amid a flurry of outfield injuries. Jake Meyers, Joey Loperfido and Taylor Trammell all hit the injured list in the middle of April, sapping the Astros of many of their best center field options. Cole was on the minor league injured list at the same time and wasn’t an option to help out.
Unfortunately, Johnson wasn’t much of a help. He got sent to the plate 17 times and produced a tepid .143/.294/.143 slash line. Brice Matthews, meanwhile, has largely taken over the center field job. Matthews’ .221/.289/.412 line isn’t amazing but it’s much better than what Johnson has been providing. Matthews has been receiving solid grades for his defense and speed as well. Now that Cole is healthy again, he’s been called up with Johnson bumped off.
Since Johnson is out of options, he had to be removed from the 40-man roster. He’ll be in DFA limbo for a week at most. The waiver process takes 48 hours so Astros could take five days to explore trade interest but they could also place him on waivers sooner if they so choose. He has been previously outrighted in his career and would therefore have the right to elect free agency if he is outrighted again. His speed and defense give him some appeal but a career batting line of .191/.249/.306 is obviously unattractive.
Cole was called up last year and flashed some fun upside, hitting four home runs in just 15 games. However, he also struck out in 38.5% of his plate appearances. He started this year on optional assignment and suffered a broken toe after just a few games. Now that he’s recovered and there are opportunities in the outfield, he will try to earn some playing time, ideally with fewer punchouts.
Photo courtesy of Jamie Sabau, Imagn Images
Brewers Designate Greg Jones For Assignment
The Brewers announced that both outfielder Jackson Chourio and first baseman Andrew Vaughn have been reinstated from the 10-day injured list. In corresponding moves, outfielder Blake Perkins has been optioned to Triple-A Nashville and infielder/outfielder Greg Jones has been designated for assignment.
The returns of Chourio and Vaughn should provide a sizable boost to a Brewers lineup that has relied heavily on complementary pieces in recent weeks. Milwaukee has a pair of 13-run outbursts in its past 11 games but has also been held to four or fewer runs seven times in that span. Much of the recent uptick in offense came against a D-backs staff that’s been struggling enormously over the past few weeks.
Chourio, 22, has missed the whole seasons thus far after suffering a fractured hand during exhibition play this spring. He went 1-for-9 with three walks in a brief three-game minor league rehab stint. The Brewers are hoping that the dynamic outfielder can recreate something close to — ideally better than — his career .272/.316/.463 slash (115 wRC+) with only minimal rehab work.
Similarly, Vaughn notched only one hit in three rehab games before his reinstatement. The former No. 3 overall pick enjoyed one of the most dramatic turnarounds in recent memory last year after going from Chicago to Milwaukee in a trade. Vaughn arrived in the Brewers organization with a career .248/.303/.407 batting line but erupted with a .308/.375/.493 batting line in 64 games down the stretch. He belted nine homers in 254 trips to the plate — then tacked on another two postseason taters in 30 plate appearances. Vaughn posted an outrageous .367/.436/.612 line in 55 spring plate appearances before incurring a hamate fracture that required surgery.
Jones went 2-for-21 in his brief time with the Brewers. He drew one walk, stole a base and struck out nine times in 22 plate appearances (40.9%). The 2019 first-rounder (Rays) only had 30 big league plate appearances to his credit. He’s spent parts of four seasons in Triple-A, where he’s a .262/.344/.438 hitter. Jones was drafted as a shortstop but has worked primarily as an outfielder in recent seasons. He has top-of-the-scale speed but marginal power and a bottom-of-the-scale hit tool that’s regularly produced strikeout rates north of 33% in Triple-A.
The Brewers will have five days to trade Jones, release him or place him on outright waivers. Outright waivers would be another 48-hour process, meaning Jones’ DFA will be resolved within a week’s time. He doesn’t have three years of major league service and has never cleared waivers before, so if he goes unclaimed this time around, he’ll be assigned outright to Nashville. He’d no longer count against the 40-man roster but would remain in the organization.
Red Sox Select Alec Gamboa
The Red Sox announced they have selected the contract of left-hander Alec Gamboa from Triple-A Worcester. Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com first reported that Gamboa was on a flight to Detroit and likely to be added after exercising an upward mobility clause. He takes the active roster spot of fellow lefty Danny Coulombe, who has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to cervical spasms, retroactive to May 2nd. To open a 40-man spot, lefty Patrick Sandoval has been transferred to the 60-day IL.
Gamboa will take the mound as a 29-year-old rookie when he’s first plugged into a game. The 2019 Dodgers ninth-rounder spent years climbing the ranks in L.A.’s system but never reached the majors. The Dodgers granted him his release last year in order to sign with the KBO’s Lotte Giants, and Gamboa wound up making 19 starts with a 3.58 ERA in 108 innings in that overseas run. He fanned just under one quarter of his opponents, issued walks at a 10.3% clip and recorded a 55.2% ground-ball rate. Both his ERA and FIP were about 20% better than league average in South Korea’s hitter-friendly environment.
That showing prompted the Sox to bring Gamboa aboard on a minor league deal. He only pitched two spring innings and has tossed 13 frames in Worcester. The 6.23 ERA he’s turned in thus far isn’t going to generate much excitement, but Gamboa has a nice 25.4% strikeout rate with a solid 8.5% walk rate and a huge 57.9% grounder rate. He’s been plagued by a mammoth .405 average on balls in play that’s sure to regress closer to the .290 league average.
This move will keep the Sox with an even split in their bullpen for now. They have been operating with four lefties and four righties. Coming into today, the southpaws were Aroldis Chapman, Jovani Morán, Tyler Samaniego and Coulombe. It’s unclear how long Coulombe is expected to be out but Gamboa will slot in for him.
Presumably, Gamboa has a full slate of options, since this is his first major league call-up. Sometimes, a player coming to North America from overseas will get language in his contract stating that he can’t be sent to the minors without his consent, though it’s unlikely that a minor league contract would have such a provision. Samaniego has options if the Sox need a fresh arm at some point.
As for Sandoval, he still hasn’t pitched in the majors since June of 2024. He underwent surgery on his ulnar collateral ligament that month and has been in recovery mode ever since. The Angels non-tendered him at the end of that year, which led to the Sox signing him to a two-year deal worth $18.25MM.
Boston knew that they likely wouldn’t get much from Sandoval in 2025 but presumably hoped he would be back on the mound by now. He began a rehab assignment a few weeks ago but that was shut down after just two outings due to some biceps soreness.
His current timeline is unclear but this transaction rules out any chance of him returning in the next few weeks. His 60-day count is retroactive to his season-opening placement on the 15-day IL but that still means he’s ineligible for reinstatement until late May.
Boston’s rotation was supposed to be a strength but injuries have really impacted them. In addition to Sandoval, they have Garrett Crochet, Sonny Gray, Kutter Crawford, Johan Oviedo and Tanner Houck on the IL. Ranger Suárez hasn’t been placed on the IL but did depart his most recent start with a hamstring strain. For now, assuming Suárez avoids the IL, he is surrounded by Brayan Bello, Payton Tolle, Connelly Early and Jake Bennett in the rotation. Bello has a 9.12 ERA and would probably be in the minors if not for all these injuries. Unless he gets back on track soon, he could be in an awkward spot as guys come off the IL.
Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images