Pirates Recall Brandan Bidois For MLB Debut
The Pirates have recalled right-hander Brandan Bidois from Triple-A Indianapolis and optioned righty Cam Sanders back to Indy in his place. Bidois was already on the 40-man roster, so no corresponding moves are necessary. Bidois will join the Pittsburgh bullpen and make his major league debut the first time he takes the mound. The Bucs also placed catcher Joey Bart on the 10-day injured list with a left foot infection and recalled Endy Rodriguez in a corresponding move.
Bidois, 24, was an international signee out of Australia back in 2019. He’s sporting an unsightly 7.20 ERA in 15 Triple-A frames this season but has been dogged by a .371 average on balls in play despite holding opponents to a feeble 87.9 mph average exit velocity and an even weaker 34.2% hard-hit rate. Bidois hasn’t done himself any favors by walking 12.9% of his opponents, but his 32.9% strikeout rate is excellent and his power arsenal is impressive.
The Aussie-born righty works predominantly off a four-seamer/slider combination, sitting 96.5 mph with the former and 85.9 mph with the latter. He’ll mix in an occasional low-90s changeup but has only thrown that pitch at an 8.6% clip this year. Bidois touts a very strong 13.8% swinging-strike rate — about three percentage points north of the major league average — and has induced chases on nearly one in three pitches he’s thrown outside the strike zone.
Although this year’s results haven’t stood out, those under-the-hood traits are encouraging — as was Bidois’ dominant 2025 campaign. He tossed 61 innings across four minor league levels last year and logged a superlative 0.74 ERA with a 30% strikeout rate and 11.7% walk rate. That includes 13 shutout frames in Triple-A.
Pittsburgh’s bullpen has been a middle-of-the-pack unit on the season overall, sitting 17th in the majors with a 4.14 earned run average. The past couple weeks have been grueling, however. Over the past 14 days, Pirates relievers have coughed up 29 earned runs in 36 2/3 innings (7.12 ERA). After fanning nearly one quarter of opponents through the season’s first five weeks, they’ve managed to strike out only 17.8% of the batters they’ve faced in the past two weeks. Sanders, who’s yielded six runs in five innings during that rough patch, has contributed to the bullpen malaise for manager Don Kelly.
Michael Harris Is Better Than Ever
Braves outfielder Michael Harris II picked up four hits on Friday against the Dodgers, pushing his batting average back over .300. The 25-year-old has a career-best 139 wRC+ through 38 games. Harris, already in his fifth big-league season, seems to be making good on the prospect pedigree that had him atop Atlanta’s system before his 2022 debut.
Harris was just 21 years old when he was handed the Braves’ everyday center fielder gig. He performed well in his first taste of the majors, slashing .297/.339/.514 across 441 plate appearances. He fell just one homer shy of a 20/20 campaign. Harris earned NL Rookie of the Year honors, beating out teammate Spencer Strider.
Atlanta signed Harris to an eight-year, $72MM extension in August of that first season. It looked like a good bit of business for both sides. Harris secured a significant payday after just four months as a big leaguer. The Braves locked down a promising young outfielder for the rest of the decade. With Ronald Acuna Jr. and Ozzie Albies also signed to relatively inexpensive long-term deals, the organization had its core in place for the foreseeable future.
Harris took a slight step back in the power department in 2023, but was still 16% better than league average at the plate. He improved his strikeout rate to 18.7%, down from 24.3% as a rookie. Harris regressed again in 2024. His wRC+ slipped below 100 for the first time. After two years hitting above .290, Harris hit .264 in 110 games. He missed a significant chunk of the year with a hamstring injury.
The 2025 campaign was a bounce-back from a health perspective. Harris played a career-high 160 games. The volume helped him finally reach his first 20/20 season. The rate stats were concerning, though. Harris slashed .249/.268/.409 across 641 plate appearances. His walk rate, already among the lowest in the league, fell to 2.5%. Harris chased pitches out of the strike zone more than ever.
The game plan against Harris was pretty clear last year. Pitchers attacked him with four-seamers and sinkers. Harris hammered fastballs as a rookie, but began to struggle against the heat. He posted a career-worst -4 Run Value vs. four-seamers in 2025. Sinkers were an even bigger issue. No hitter performed worse on any pitch than Harris against sinkers, with a league-low -17 Run Value. It was the worst mark since Tigers infielder Jonathan Schoop posted a -18 Run Value against four-seamers in 2022. Unsurprisingly, Harris saw sinkers at a career-high 20.9% clip.
Getting exploited by fastballs is a big problem at the highest level. It can be a career-ending flaw. Harris was on the verge of being a glove-only asset stuck at the bottom of the lineup. He seems to have solved his fastball issues in 2026. He’s hitting .318 against sinkers this season. He’s also obliterating four-seamers, with a .700 SLG and a silly 70.6% hard-hit rate. Harris is doing damage like never before, regardless of pitch type. He ranks in the 99th percentile in hard-hit rate and average exit velocity. Harris has a robust .326 xBA and a hefty .614 xSLG.
Harris has made subtle tweaks to his stance and setup. He’s moved up in the box and closer to the plate. His feet are a couple of inches further apart than last year. He’s also opened his stance by seven degrees compared to 2025. The adjustments, combined with career highs in bat speed (75.1 mph) and fast swing rate (51.4%), have produced a massive 16.5% barrel rate and a career-best 19.2% pulled air rate.
There are still some process flaws here. Harris is once again chasing more than ever. He’s offering at 43.1% of pitches outside of the strike zone, the eighth-highest mark among qualified hitters. Harris’ 51% groundball rate is his highest since 2022. And while he’s hit safely at a solid rate against sinkers, it’s been strictly singles. Those are more nitpicks than major concerns, though.
The quad injury has sapped Harris’ speed, which might cost him a shot at another 20/20 season, but the power looks legit. Health permitting, he should cruise past his career high of 20 home runs. The adjustments he’s made this year suggest he’s back to being an offensive force in a lineup that looks like one of the best in baseball.
Photo courtesy of Brett Davis, Imagn Images
Phillies Sign Dylan Carlson To Minor League Deal
The Phillies have signed outfielder Dylan Carlson to a minor league deal, reports Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia. The ALIGND Sports Agency client will report to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He was with the Cubs on a minor league deal earlier this month but was released from that pact.
Carlson, 27, signed a minor league deal with the Cubs in January. He cracked the Opening Day roster while Seiya Suzuki was on the injured list. Carlson didn’t get a hit in four plate appearances then was designated for assignment when Suzuki was activated off the IL in April. Carlson cleared waivers and elected free agency, then re-signed on a new minor league deal. He hit .175/.250/.350 in 44 Triple-A plate appearances before being released.
Once upon a time, Carlson looked like a potential building block for the Cardinals. He was selected 33rd overall in 2016 and became a notable prospect. He hit 18 home runs in 2021 while playing all three outfield positions. Unfortunately, his offensive production has tailed off and he has become a journeyman depth guy. Dating back to the start of 2024, he has played for the Cardinals, Rays, Orioles and Cubs while hitting .204/.280/.303.
For the Phillies, there’s little harm in adding some depth on a minor league deal. They have Brandon Marsh, Justin Crawford and Adolis García getting regular playing time in the majors. They have Edmundo Sosa and Félix Reyes on the bench, though those two have spent more time as infielders than outfielders. Johan Rojas would have been in the mix but he received an 80-game PED suspension back in March.
If someone on the major league roster suffers an injury, the Phils could turn to Carlson, though they will have other options. Steward Berroa and Gabriel Rincones Jr. are on the 40-man roster, as are infield/outfield guys like Otto Kemp and Christian Cairo. The Phils also have non-roster options like Bryan De La Cruz and Pedro León. For now, Carlson will report to the IronPigs and try to get in a good groove.
Photo courtesy of David Richard, Imagn Images
Yankees Place José Caballero On IL, Recall Anthony Volpe
3:55pm: The Yankees have now officially announced the moves, listing Caballero’s injury as a right middle finger fracture. Manager Aaron Boone tells reporters, including Chris Kirschner of The Athletic, that Caballero could be back after a minimum stint and that he expects Caballero to be the club’s starting shortstop at that time.
2:35pm: The Yankees are placing infielder José Caballero on the ten-day injured list with a finger injury. Shortstop Anthony Volpe will be recalled as the corresponding move. Francys Romero of BeisbolFR first reported on Volpe’s recall. Jorge Castillo of ESPN confirmed that Caballero would be placed on the IL.
Though Max Schuemann is the starting shortstop today, Volpe will presumably take over as the club’s regular at that spot with Caballero on the shelf. That was the way things were supposed to play out earlier this year. Volpe was the Yankee shortstop from 2023 through 2025. Volpe required shoulder surgery in October of last year and was going to begin the 2026 season on the IL. The Yankees planned to have Caballero, who had mostly been a utility player, hold down the position until Volpe was healthy.
But the plans seemed to change as Caballero played well and Volpe didn’t storm out of the gates after getting back on the field. Caballero has produced a .259/.320/.400 line this year, good enough for a 105 wRC+. He has also received strong grades for his defense and stolen 13 bases.
The Yanks decided to ride the hot hand and stick with Caballero. Volpe had begun a rehab assignment in mid-April. Rehab assignments for position players come with a 20-day maximum. When Volpe’s 20 days were up a little over a week ago, the Yanks optioned him to Triple-A for more reps. Caballero hurt his finger sliding into a base this week. It’s unclear how much time he is expected to miss but it will lead to Volpe getting back to the majors.
Perhaps it will be a chance for Volpe to re-cement himself as the club’s shortstop, something that has become a bit more cloudy lately. He made the club’s Opening Day roster in 2023 just before his 22nd birthday. He hit 21 home runs, stole 24 bases and got good grades for his defense. Despite the home runs, his overall offense was subpar. He slashed .209/.283/.383 for a wRC+ of 83. But that was held back by a .259 batting average on balls in play. Given his youth and poor luck, it was fair to expect growth.
That hasn’t played out, unfortunately. Volpe slashed .229/.283/.377 over 2024 and 2025, translating to a wRC+ of 85. In 18 minor league games this year, he has a .221/.276/.294 line and 52 wRC+. After undergoing shoulder surgery, a bit of rust is perhaps not surprising but it’s continuing a trend of subpar offense.
The Yankees are 26-16 while most American League clubs are below .500, so they should be fine even if Volpe struggles in the next few weeks. There may be long-term implications, however. George Lombard Jr. is one of the club’s top prospects and has reached Triple-A, so he could be pushing for a big league promotion at some point. There’s also the fact that second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. is an impending free agent.
With a few things up in the air when it comes to the middle infield, the Yankees will eventually have to make some decisions about the way forward. Volpe has a full slate of options and could be sent back down in the future but the Yankees would also like it if he performs well enough to stick around.
For Volpe’s earning power, the quick recall is potentially significant. He came into this year with exactly three years of big league service time. He continued racking up service days while on the IL but that clock stopped when he was optioned. It will now start ticking again.
The big league season is 187 days long but a player only needs 172 days of service to be credited with a full year. Since Volpe was only optioned on May 3rd, nine days ago, he could still get to the four-year mark if he stays up for the rest of the year. Though if he’s optioned again and ends up short of that four-year line, his path to free agency will be delayed by a year.
Photo courtesy of Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images
Athletics Announce Several Roster Moves
The A’s announced a broad slate of roster moves Tuesday. In addition to their previously reported selection of Henry Bolte‘s contract from Triple-A, they’ve also selected Michael Stefanic‘s contract and placed shortstop Jacob Wilson on the 10-day injured list due to a left shoulder subluxation. Infielder Brett Harris was optioned to Triple-A as well, while minor league righty Eduarniel Núñez was designated for assignment. Additionally, the A’s noted that catcher Austin Wynns, whom they’d previously designated for assignment, cleared waivers and was released.
As covered this week, Bolte has been the hottest-hitting prospect in the minors. He’s a plus runner with developing pop who recently rattled off hits in an astonishing 12 consecutive plate appearances to boost his batting line to a mammoth .348/.418/.658. He’s popped a dozen homers, swiped 17 bags and should get plenty of run in center field with Denzel Clarke still on the shelf. Zack Gelof has been seeing a good bit of action in center, but the former second baseman will probably head back to the infield with both Wilson — whose known shoulder injury now has a formal designation — and Max Muncy on the injured list.
With two infielders shelved, the A’s will turn to Stefanic, who’ll be making his team debut. The longtime Angels farmhand has seen prior action in parts of four major league seasons. He’s mustered only a .227/.314/.267 slash in 289 big league plate appearances, but the 30-year-old Stefanic is a prolific Triple-A hitter. He’s played parts of six seasons at the top minor league level and touts a .326/.422/.447 batting line with a tiny 9.5% strikeout rate. Stefanic has marginal power, bottom-of-the-scale sprint speed and below-average defensive skills, but scouting reports from Baseball America, FanGraphs and MLB.com have placed 70 and 80 grades (on the 20-80 scale) on his pure hit tool over the years.
Núñez, 26, was one of four players the A’s acquired in last year’s blockbuster sending Mason Miller and JP Sears to the Padres. That package was headlined by top prospect Leo De Vries and also included a pair of quality rotation prospects in Braden Nett and Henry Baez. Núñez was the clear “fourth” prospect in the deal. The hope was that he could quickly reach the majors and give the A’s a power arm to plug into their bullpen, given that he’d already had a brief MLB call-up in San Diego and was enjoying success in Triple-A at the time of the swap.
In a way, that proved true. Núñez made his A’s debut just two days after the trade deadline last summer, but he struggled out of the gate. He pitched eight innings with the Athletics and was tagged for eight runs on nine hits, seven walks and a pair of hit batters. Núñez did fan nine batters, but when accounting for all the walks and the pair of batters he plunked, those nine punchouts only represented 23% of the opponents he faced.
Lackluster debut notwithstanding, the A’s surely had some hope that Núñez could turn things around in 2026. That hasn’t happened. Núñez has a respectable 4.61 ERA through 13 2/3 innings (2 1/3 in Double-A, 11 1/3 in Triple-A), but he’s walked 11 of his 67 opponents (16.4%) and plunked another two batters (3%). Since coming to the A’s organization last summer, Núñez has faced 155 batters between the majors and minors. A whopping 19.3% of them have reached base without putting a ball in play, whether by walk or hit-by-pitch. He’s also tossed six wild pitches in a total of 33 1/3 innings.
As concerning as the poor command — if not more concerning — is the precipitous velocity drop Núñez has experienced this season. He sat 98.1 mph on his four-seamer last year but is at an even 95 mph so far in 2026. Last year’s slider sat 88.5 mph. This year, it’s at 87 mph.
There’s no known injury for Núñez. He hasn’t been on the injured list and most recently pitched only two days ago. However, between the velocity drop and the poor command, the A’s probably feel there’s a chance they can pass him through waivers and hang onto him as non-roster depth. That may well be the case, but Núñez is a 26-year-old with a decent track record in the upper minors and a pair of minor league option years remaining. If he’s healthy and another club feels the velocity drop and/or command are fixable with some mechanical adjustments, it’s at least possible he’ll be claimed or flipped to another club in a small trade.
The A’s will have five days to trade Núñez or place him on outright waivers. The waiver process would take another 48 hours, so his DFA will be resolved within a maximum of one week.
Sean Murphy To Miss Eight Weeks With Finger Fracture
3:35pm: Murphy will miss at least eight weeks due to his fracture, Weiss tells Jesús Cano of The Athletic.
12:08pm: The Braves announced that catcher Sean Murphy has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to May 11th, with a fractured left middle finger. Fellow catcher Sandy León was signed to a big league deal to replace Murphy on the roster. The club also selected the contract of outfielder José Azócar and optioned infielder Jim Jarvis. They had two 40-man vacancies, which have now been filled by these moves.
Murphy’s injury appears to stem from a catcher’s interference plan in Sunday’s game. Hyeseong Kim swung at a pitch and made contact with Murphy’s glove, as seen in this video from MLB.com. After the game, manager Walt Weiss told Mark Bowman of MLB.com that Murphy would be going for X-rays but would probably be fine. It now seems that a fracture has been discovered, so Murphy will head to the IL.
It’s unclear how long Murphy will be out of action but it’s a frustrating setback nonetheless. Injuries have been a recurring theme for him in recent seasons. He was limited to fewer than 95 games in both 2024 and 2025 due to various ailments. One persistent issue has been hip problems, which eventually led to surgery in September of last year. He was rehabbing from that surgery until about a week ago. Now after just four games, he’s back on the shelf.
While Murphy was on the IL earlier, Atlanta used a catching tandem of Drake Baldwin and Jonah Heim. When Murphy was reinstated earlier this month, Heim was designated for assignment and then traded to the Athletics. Atlanta still has Baldwin but now has no Heim and will be without Murphy for a while, so they had to get a bit creative in finding a new backup.
León, 37, is a glove-first veteran journeyman. He began this year with Triple-A Gwinnett but slashed .118/.268/.118 in ten games and was released. He then signed with the Saraperos de Saltillo in the Mexican League. He got into ten games for that club, hitting .143/.273/.143, before Atlanta came calling again.
It’s not likely that León will provide much with the bat. He has a career line of .207/.275/.311. From 2017 to the present, it’s an even slimmer .187/.256/.289 line. But he has nonetheless been able to carve out a lengthy career due to his strong reputation when it comes to the other facets of being a catcher, namely his defense.
He’ll back up Baldwin while Murphy is on the shelf. The club also has Jair Camargo and Chadwick Tromp in the system on minor league deals. They may keep their eyes out for external options. For instance, Austin Wynns was designated for assignment by the A’s last week and is still in DFA limbo.
Azócar, 30, was added to the roster for a few days earlier this month. Atlanta bumped him off when they called up Jarvis about a week ago. Azócar cleared waivers but quickly returned to the club on a new minor league deal and is now back on the big league roster. Since Jarvis is being sent out, it’s effectively a reversal of the transaction from last week.
Presumably, that quick change is due to developments elsewhere in the position player mix. Yesterday, the club reinstated infielder Ha-Seong Kim from the IL. In a corresponding move, outfielder Eli White hit the concussion IL. Kim’s return meant that they effectively had three bench infielders in Jorge Mateo, Kyle Farmer and Jarvis. Meanwhile, White’s IL placement left them shorthanded in the outfield.
Azócar has only hit .243/.288/.318 in his career but is a strong defender and baserunner. With Ronald Acuña Jr. on the IL, Atlanta should have a regular outfield of Mike Yastrzemski, Michael Harris II and Mauricio Dubón, with Azócar backing up that group. Azócar is out of options, which could potentially lead to him being designated for assignment again when guys come off the IL.
Photo courtesy of Kirby Lee, Imagn Images
MLB, MLBPA Begin CBA Negotiations
Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association held their first official collective bargaining meeting of 2026 in New York City today, per reporting from Jeff Passan of ESPN and Evan Drellich of The Athletic.
At this point, there’s not much in terms of news. Both reporters note that today’s meeting was mostly about the two sides presenting basic overviews of their positions. Formal proposals will come in future meetings. The current collective bargaining agreement expires on December 1st. It’s not unusual to begin talks about this far out. As noted by Drellich, they are actually starting a little later than last time. In 2021, opening presentations were made in April.
This round of negotiations is going to be closely monitored, both due to the way the last round went and because of how things have transpired since then. The previous CBA expired without a deal on December 1st of 2021 and the league immediately instituted a lockout, the first MLB work stoppage since the 1994-95 strike. The lockout included a transaction freeze and lasted until March 10th, going about as long as it could have gone while still playing a full 162-game season in 2022.
Over the past few years, the economics of the game have featured a number of contradictions. Perhaps due to the pitch clock speeding up games or due to the rise of international stars like Shohei Ohtani, the sport’s popularly is on the upswing. The league regularly issues press releases about increased ratings and attendance figures. A notable statistic was that Game Seven of the 2025 World Series was the most-watched MLB game since 1991. The final games of the 2026 World Baseball Classic had comparable ratings to the most recent NBA Finals.
But at the same time, many claim that not all clubs are benefitting to the same degree. The collapse of the cable television model has hit some clubs harder than others. Many don’t have a regional sports network at all, with the league handling broadcast distribution for those teams. Other clubs, particularly those in larger markets, seem to still be raking in TV money. Though there is a revenue sharing system in place, there is clearly a massive imbalance in terms of spending. RosterResource calculates the Dodgers’ payroll at just under $400MM. They are on track to pay a tax bill of about $150MM, putting them in line to spend about $550MM on this year’s team. That’s more than the six lowest-payroll clubs combined.
The league is expected to push for a salary cap and floor system. They have made such attempts before, most notably in 1994. That led to the aforementioned strike and the cancelation of that year’s World Series, without a cap being implemented.
The union has long been against a cap since it would negatively impact players’ earning power. The MLBPA continues to have that stance even though they recently had a change in leadership. Tony Clark was the executive director until he stepped down in February, in relation to various scandals. Deputy director Bruce Meyer was voted interim executive director shortly thereafter.
Finding consensus will be a challenge, given that owners and players will have opposing ideas about the best solutions for the game’s current situation. Even among owners, priorities may be different. Smaller clubs may like the idea of a cap but would simultaneously be worried about meeting a high floor. In either case, those small clubs would likely suggest greater revenue sharing is necessary, something the bigger clubs wouldn’t be as excited about.
Most in the industry expect a rough battle. The last lockout went to the brink and it’s possible a similar staredown occurs this time. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has spoken about his positive view of lockouts. That prompted Clark, when he was still leading the union, to say he expected another lockout after 2026. Assuming a lockout does take place in December, the major question will be if it is once again resolved in time or if it drags on long enough to lose games in 2027.
For those looking for positive signs, there are some to be found. As mentioned, the game is on the upswing in terms of popularity. Though the league wants a cap, they may not want to push so hard that they have to cancel games next year. Such an outcome would certainly cut into the positive momentum with fans. It would be a poor time to take such a hit since most of the league’s broadcast deals expire after 2028, with Manfred and the league hoping to negotiate lucrative new deals prior to 2029. Manfred is also planning to step down when his contract expires in January of 2029, when he will be 70 years old, and may want to go out with a record of no canceled games.
The exact timeline of what happens after today is not clear. Drellich points out that, in 2021, the union made its first economic proposals in May. The league followed in August. Drellich says talks are expected to continue through the upcoming summer, though no specifics are publicly available at this time.
Photo courtesy of Kirby Lee, Imagn Images
MLBTR Chat Transcript
Steve Adams
- Good afternoon! We’ll get going in a couple minutes but feel free to start sending in questions now.
A fella
- do the pirates start looking at help bullpen help soon? It’s kinda frustrating seeing the bullpen blow leads
Steve Adams
- They can start looking, but there aren’t going to be many (any) impactful arms on the market this time of year. Bullpen hasn’t been that bad on the whole — middle of the pack — though obviously the past few weeks have been rough.I imagine if any of their arms who are in AAA but already on the 40-man were performing well, you’d see some of those in-house changes, but it’s been rough across the board.
I wouldn’t expect to see anything notable, trade-wise, until late June or early July though — especially with what a cluster the AL is at present.
Deuce
- What do you see Clay Hoyles or Robbie Ray costing the Cubs?
Steve Adams
- Doesn’t need to be one of those two, specifically. Ray, Holmes, Joe Ryan, Freddy Peralta, Kris Bubic … lots of names that could hit the market. I do think the Cubs will end up bringing in at least one starter.
- Of the two you mentioned I don’t think either has an exorbitant asking price, good as they’ve been pitching.
- Holmes has a player option for 2027 which really tanks his trade value. Not saying the Mets can’t get anything for him, but any acquiring teams knows he’s either pitching well and bolting for FA or pitching poorly/getting hurt and then saddling them with an unwanted $12MM salary for the upcoming season.Ray is making $25MM and hasn’t been nearly as good as his ERA would indicate. He’s been fine, but he’s not going to keep stranding 93% of his baserunners and maintain a .220 BABIP.
Neither should cost the Cubs one of their top four to five prospects or anything.
Cooper Ingle
- ”Mr. Antonetti…trade me now!” Seriously? What more do I need to do for a look? Why won’t Cleveland add a hitter? Couldn’t they run away with the division?
Mets Designate Andy Ibáñez For Assignment
The Mets announced Tuesday that infielder Andy Ibáñez has been designated for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster goes to top prospect A.J. Ewing, whose previously reported selection to the major league roster is now official.
New York claimed the 33-year-old Ibáñez off waivers from the A’s late last month. He appeared in only three games as a Met, going 0-for-6 with a pair of sacrifice flies in eight trips to the plate. Between brief stints with the Athletics and Mets, Ibáñez has taken 26 plate appearances this season and gone 2-for-23 with a walk, three strikeouts and that pair of sac flies.
It’s an obviously poor start to the season, though Ibáñez has a longer track record in the big leagues, specifically against left-handed pitching. He’s a career .250/.301/.383 hitter in 1246 plate appearances as a big leaguer but has solid .272/.316/.437 slash (108 wRC+) in 572 career plate appearances versus southpaws. During his time in Detroit, Ibáñez was a go-to option for skipper A.J. Hinch. From 2023-24, Hinch plugged Ibáñez into 272 plate appearances versus left-handers and was rewarded with a .278/.331/.480 batting line.
Ibáñez’s production against lefties dipped to about league average last year, however, prompting Detroit to non-tender him. He signed with the Dodgers in free agency, but L.A. was clearly hoping to ink him on a reasonable one-year deal then pass him through waivers to stash as depth in the upper minors. The A’s threw a wrench into that gambit by claiming him in February, just two weeks after he signed with the Dodgers in the first place.
On the defensive side of things, Ibáñez is both versatile and effective. He’s drawn above-average grades for his work at second base, third base and first base in his big league career. He’s also made brief cameos at shortstop (eight innings) and in the outfield corners (171 innings). No team is going to install him as a semi-regular option at shortstop, but he can handle the position in a pinch and can bounce just about anywhere else on the diamond. Ibáñez isn’t a burner on the basepaths, but his sprint speed sits in the 55th percentile of big leaguers, per Statcast, so he could be a late pinch-running option for a plodding slugger if need be.
Ibáñez is earning $1.2MM this season. Any team that claims him or acquires him in a trade would be on the hook for the remaining $897K of that sum (though the Mets could include some cash in a deal in the seemingly unlikely event that another club is willing to offer up a lower-tier prospect). Ibáñez is out of minor league options, so he’d need to go right onto a new club’s major league roster. If he passes through waivers unclaimed, he has enough service time to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency, but doing so would mean forfeiting the rest of his guaranteed salary. As such, he’d likely accept an assignment to Triple-A and stay on hand as a depth option for the Mets.
Tigers, Nick Sandlin Agree To Minor League Deal
The Tigers are in agreement with reliever Nick Sandlin on a minor league contract, as first reflected on the MLB.com transaction log. The Ballengee Group client will report to Triple-A Toledo. Sandlin elected free agency after being waived by the Angels last week.
Sandlin, 29, had a solid four-year run as a middle reliever in Cleveland to begin his MLB career. The Southern Mississippi product turned in a 3.27 earned run average in just under 200 innings for the club. They traded him to Toronto alongside Andrés Giménez over the 2024-25 offseason. Sandlin missed most of his lone season with the Blue Jays due to an elbow injury and was cut loose in November.
After offseason surgery, Sandlin joined the Halos on a minor league contract. He made the MLB roster in April and was hit hard in eight appearances. Sandlin gave up 11 runs on nine hits and eight free passes (five walks and three hit batters) over 8 2/3 innings. He only recorded six strikeouts with a career-low 10.2% swinging strike rate.
The Tigers will see if they can get him on track in the minors. Sandlin throws from a low arm slot and leans most heavily on a plus slider. He missed a decent number of bats early in his career, though his average fastball speed has progressively dropped from 94 mph as a rookie to 91-92 over the years.
Detroit’s bullpen is middle of the pack in ERA (3.83) and strikeout rate (22.7%). They’re in the bottom third of the league in swinging strikes for a second straight season. Setup man Will Vest has been on the injured list since April 29 with what seems to be minor forearm inflammation.