Blue Jays Acquire Lenyn Sosa
The Blue Jays have acquired infielder Lenyn Sosa from the White Sox, according to announcements from both clubs. In exchange, Chicago receives minor league outfielder Jordan Rich and a player to be named later or cash considerations. The Jays transferred right-hander Shane Bieber to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man spot. Sosa is out of options and will also need an active roster spot once he reports to the team.
Sosa, 26, is coming off the best season of his big league career. In 2025, he stepped to the plate 544 times for the Sox and launched 22 home runs. Despite those long balls, his offense was only league average overall since Sosa doesn’t get on base very much. His 3.3% walk rate last year was less than half of the 8.4% league average. Michael Harris II was the only qualified hitter in the majors with a lower walk rate.
He also doesn’t provide much on defense, though he is versatile. He has played all four infield positions in his career but hasn’t played shortstop since 2022. Most of his time has been spent at second base, where his grades have not been good. Outs Above Average puts him four below par at that position in his career while Defensive Runs Saved has him 17 below average. His grades at the corner spots have also been below average.
He has been out to a slow start this year, with something less than an everyday role. The Sox were surprisingly able to sign Munetaka Murakami this winter and made him their regular first baseman. Sosa has been used a few times in the designated hitter spot, in addition to one start at first base and one at second. He has a .212/.212/.303 line in 33 plate appearances.
Sosa came into 2026 with just over two years of service time, meaning he can be controlled through 2029. However, he may have been getting squeezed a bit with the Sox. The Murakami signing filled the first base slot and also made Miguel Vargas the everyday third baseman. The Sox have been using Chase Meidroth as their regular at second base. Sosa is out of options and can’t be sent to the minors.
For the Jays, they have been bit hard by the injury bug in the early going this year. On the position player side, Anthony Santander required shoulder surgery back in February and will be out for several more months. Since the season has started, the Jays have lost catcher Alejandro Kirk to a thumb fracture, designated hitter George Springer to a toe fracture and infielder/outfielder Addison Barger to an ankle sprain.
In response to those injuries, the Jays have had to reach into their depth. Brandon Valenzuela has been recalled to help Tyler Heineman behind the plate. Eloy Jiménez was added to the roster to replace Springer. Tyler Fitzgerald, recently acquired from the Giants, has been on the bench but hasn’t been put into a game yet.
Most of the time, the Jays have an infield of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at first, Ernie Clement at second, Andrés Giménez at shortstop and Kazuma Okamoto at third. With Springer no longer in the DH spot every day, there could be a bit more flexibility to move some guys around. Okamoto is off to a slow start in his big league career, with a 35% strikeout rate through 60 plate appearances, effectively double his strikeout rate in Japan. Perhaps the Jays could put him in the DH spot a bit more regularly to have him focus on getting his approach down. Or if the Jays want to give Guerrero a little breather, he could DH while Okamoto or Sosa covers first base.
Sosa could also slot into the DH spot himself. Fitzgerald has options and could perhaps be the corresponding move for Sosa in the coming days, though if the Jays are squeezing Jiménez from DH at-bats, then perhaps he could be designated for assignment. Sosa’s righty bat could be used to pinch hit for some lefties. He had fairly even splits in 2025 but they have been wider overall. He has a .277/.301/.431 line and 102 wRC+ against lefties in his career and a .232/.261/.369 line and 73 wRC+ against righties.
There are certainly flaws in Sosa’s profile but the Jays felt they needed to bolster the position player group and there aren’t many options for doing that at this time of the year. Sosa has some pop and some flexibility, even if he’s not a standout defender. If things go especially well, he can be controlled for three more seasons after this one. But since he’s out of options, it’s also possible he gets squeezed in the coming weeks if the guys on the IL can get healthy.
For the Sox, as mentioned, Sosa was one of their better hitters last year but has been pushed into a part-time role this year. He is only 26 years old, so they could have held onto him, hoping for improved plate discipline and/or better defense going forward. But that would be hard to do with limited playing time and no ability to be sent to the minors, so they’ve cashed him in for future talent.
If they get any payoff from Rich, it won’t be soon. He was just drafted last year out of high school, in the 17th round, and is only 18 years old. He hasn’t yet appeared in an official game since being drafted. He doesn’t appear on lists of the top prospects in the Jays’ system, so he’s a long-term lottery ticket for the Sox. They could also add more talent later, depending on the player to be named later.
As for Bieber, he had some forearm fatigue in the offseason and the Jays have been building him up slowly. This transaction means he is ineligible to be reinstated until late May. He has been throwing off a mound lately but hasn’t yet begun a rehab assignment. Since he missed all of spring training, he’ll effectively need a full ramp-up, even though he’s now up on the mound. Whenever he begins an official rehab assignment, that can last as long as 30 days.
Photo courtesy of Brad Mills, Imagn Images
Braves Designate Luke Williams For Assignment
The Braves announced today that outfielder Michael Harris II has been reinstated from the paternity list. In a corresponding move, infielder Luke Williams has been designated for assignment. Atlanta’s 40-man roster count drops from 39 to 38.
Williams was only selected to the big league roster this past weekend when Harris went on paternity leave. He appeared in two games with Atlanta and took one plate appearance, drawing a walk in that lone trip to the batter’s box.
This is now four straight seasons in which Williams, 29, has suited up for Atlanta. He’s a clear favorite of the organization, even if his production in the majors hasn’t amounted to much. The 2015 third-rounder (Phillies) has totaled 350 plate appearances in the big leagues but sports just a .212/.272/.280 batting line. He’s a versatile defender with a decent track record in the upper minors, however.
Williams has played all four infield positions, all three outfield spots and even taken 11 innings of mop-up relief in his big league career. His career line in Triple-A is weighed down a bit by an especially rocky showing there last season, but he’s still a lifetime .255/.333/.401 hitter at the top minor league level, including a .282/.344/.495 slash in 55 games in 2024.
This is the fourth DFA of Williams’ career (not counting the original 2023 waiver claim that sent him from L.A. to Atlanta, as he wasn’t formally designated for assignment prior to being placed on waivers). The Braves have successfully passed him through waivers unclaimed on three separate occasions since first claiming him from the Dodgers. He’ll be placed on waivers or traded within the next five days, and the outcome of his DFA will be known within the next seven days, at maximum. (Waivers are a 48-hour process.) Williams will have the right to reject an outright assignment if he clears waivers, but even if he does, recent history tells us there’s a good chance he’d re-sign with the organization and head back to Triple-A Gwinnett anyhow.
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Astros Place Jeremy Peña, Tatsuya Imai On Injured List
The Astros announced that they have placed infielder Jeremy Peña on the 10-day injured list with a grade 1 hamstring strain. Right-hander Tatsuya Imai has been placed on the 15-day IL due to right arm fatigue. Both of those IL placements are retroactive to April 12th. Right-hander Jayden Murray has been optioned to the Triple-A Sugar Land. In corresponding moves for those three, Houston has recalled left-hander Colton Gordon, right-hander J.P. France and infielder/outfielder Shay Whitcomb. France was just optioned and would normally have to wait 15 days before being recalled but an exception is made when someone is going on the IL.
More to come.
Cardinals Notes: Naughton, Fitts
Cardinals left-hander Packy Naughton exited a recent appearance with the team’s Triple-A affiliate with an apparent elbow injury. Naughton missed badly while delivering a 1-1 pitch and immediately clutched his elbow (video link). That naturally prompted a visit from the trainer, and the southpaw left the game shortly thereafter. Per Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat, Naughton has been diagnosed with a UCL injury and is seeking a second opinion.
There’s more bad injury news down in Memphis. The team announced Monday that right-hander Richard Fitts is headed to the injured list after suffering a lat strain while pitching with the Redbirds. A timetable for his return isn’t clear, but lat strains often come with significant layoffs.
A UCL injury is an awful development for any pitcher but is particularly heartbreaking for Naughton, who hasn’t been able to catch a break when it comes to his healthy. He underwent Tommy John surgery in high school and has since undergone flexor tendon surgery (2023) and UCL surgery (2024). He signed a two-year minor league pact with the Cardinals in November of 2024 and missed the entire 2025 season mending from that second UCL surgery. He pitched just 2 1/3 frames with Memphis this season and now appears to be facing a third UCL procedure as he approaches his 30th birthday later this week.
Naughton has pitched in parts of three major league seasons, totaling 59 2/3 frames between the Angels and Cardinals. He was a ninth-round pick by the Reds back in 2017 and has been consistently effective in the minors when healthy. He has a 3.63 ERA in 476 minor league frames, including a 3.84 mark in Triple-A. His 4.98 earned run average in the big leagues is obviously a lesser mark, though it’s impacted in part by a lofty .330 average on balls in play. Naughton’s 18% strikeout rate in the majors is well below average, but his 8.3% walk rate is solid and his 51% ground-ball rate is quite strong.
Though many associate MLB’s ever-increasing rash of pitcher injuries with the game’s rapid rise in velocity over the past decade-plus, Naughton stands as a reminder that elbow troubles can take their toll on any pitcher. He’s averaged 91.8 mph on his sinker in his big league career and was sitting 91.9 mph in his brief return to the mound in Memphis this season.
Naughton isn’t on the Cardinals’ 40-man roster, but a strong return effort this season would have put him in line for a return to the majors. The Cards currently have JoJo Romero, Justin Bruihl and Jared Shuster as left-handed options in the ‘pen. Romero is a trade candidate as he navigates his final season of club control. Bruihl came to St. Louis in a cash swap with Cleveland after being designated for assignment in the offseason. Shuster is a minor league signee whose contract was just selected to the majors last week.
As for Fitts, he’s yet to make his Cardinals debut. The 26-year-old was acquired from the Red Sox in the trade that sent Sonny Gray to Boston this past offseason. He’s started 14 major league games and made one relief appearance, working to an overall 3.97 ERA in 65 2/3 innings.
Fitts entered camp this spring competing for a rotation spot. He had a rough showing and was optioned to Memphis but would’ve likely been the next man up had the Cardinals incurred an injury at the MLB level. He’s been excellent in Triple-A to start the season, posting a sub-2.00 ERA in his first 15 1/3 innings.
The Cardinals currently have Matthew Liberatore, Michael McGreevy, Kyle Leahy, Dustin May and Andre Pallante in their major league rotation. Righty Hunter Dobbins — who also came over from the Red Sox via a separate trade this winter (Willson Contreras) — opened the season on the injured list while rehabbing the ACL tear he suffered last July. Fitts now joins prospects Tekoah Roby (Tommy John surgery last July) and Cooper Hjerpe (Tommy John surgery last April) on the minor league injured list.
That slate of injuries leaves the Cardinals with a thin rotation mix. Given the team’s struggles in the rotation to open the season, that’s all the more problematic. St. Louis starting pitchers have combined for a 4.92 ERA to begin the season — the fifth-worst mark in the majors. The rotation’s 13.6% strikeout rate is far and away the worst in baseball, which has led ERA alternatives to paint an even less optimistic picture. Cardinals starters rank 29th in SIERA (4.84) and 30th in Statcast’s expected ERA (6.02).
Reds Option Noelvi Marte
The Reds announced Monday that they’ve optioned struggling outfielder Noelvi Marte to Triple-A Louisville. A corresponding move wasn’t announced, but FOX 19’s Charlie Goldsmith reports that Cincinnati is expected to recall outfielder Rece Hinds from Louisville in Marte’s place.
The 24-year-old Marte’s run with the Reds has been filled with peaks and valleys. The former top prospect came to Cincinnati as part of the blockbuster trade sending Luis Castillo to Seattle and burst onto the MLB scene with a .316/.366/.456 batting line in his first 123 plate appearances in 2023 — his age-21 season. He was popped for an 80-game PED ban the following spring and looked lost in his return to the majors later in the season, slashing just .210/.248/.301 in 242 turns at the plate.
Marte’s stock hit a low point after that 2024 campaign, and in 2025 he was moved from third base to right field to accommodate deadline pickup Ke’Bryan Hayes. Marte’s stock was trending down, but he took to right field nicely, posting solid defensive grades while rebounding at the plate. He appeared in 90 games — 56 of them in the outfield — and batted .263/.300/.448 with 14 homers and 10 steals. Defensive Runs Saved credited him as a strong defender on the grass (+4), while Statcast’s Outs Above Average (-2) was more bearish. Still, even a slightly negative mark for an infielder who learned the outfield on the fly — midseason, no less — suggested he had the potential to develop into a solid defender there.
Obscured a bit by that solid rebound effort in 2025, however, was a poor finish to the season. Marte floundered down the stretch with a .184/.214/.276 showing in his final 103 plate appearances of the season. He punched out 33 times (32%) against just four walks (3.9%).
Marte belted four homers in 56 plate appearances this spring, but he also continued on that worrisome K-BB trajectory from the end of the ’25 season. He walked just once this spring while fanning 16 times (28.6%). So far, his regular season output sits at just .138/.194/.138 with 10 strikeouts (32.3%) and two walks (6.5%) in 31 plate appearances. Marte has lacked any semblance of pitch recognition, chasing a staggering 47.4% of pitches he’s seen outside the strike zone this year. That’s sixth-worst among the 290 MLB hitters who’ve stepped into the batter’s box at least 30 times this year. His 71.5 mph average bat speed is down nearly two miles per hour from last year’s 73.3 mph.
If there’s a silver lining to Marte’s struggles, it’s that he won’t turn 25 until after the season ends and is still in the second of his three minor league option years. There’s ample time for him to right the ship and get back on track. Even combining his end-of-season slump, his rocky spring and his woeful start to 2026, we’re looking at a sample of fewer than 200 plate appearances. He made tons of hard contact during Cactus League play, and he’s still sporting a contact rate north of 90% on pitches within the strike zone. It stands to reason that if Marte can scale back his chase rate closer to the 33.7% he averaged from 2023-25, he could yet re-emerge as a quality hitter. That’d still be north of this year’s 29.5% league average, but not by an especially alarming measure.
From a service time vantage point, the demotion isn’t likely to impact Marte’s potential path to free agency. He entered the season needing only 33 days on the big league roster/injured list to reach two years of service. He’s already more than halfway there. He’ll very likely be back up this season, which would keep him on pace to hit the open market following the 2030 season (assuming he gets back on track and plays well enough to merit accruing six years of service, of course). It could cost him in arbitration, however. Marte was on a clear path to Super Two status, which would make him arbitration-eligible four times rather than the standard three, but if he spends a notable portion of time in the minors, he won’t reach Super Two designation after all.
In place of Marte, the Reds will apparently turn to the 25-year-old Hinds. He’s a career .191/.245/.506 hitter in 95 big league plate appearances. He’s been even more strikeout-prone in the majors (38.9%) than Marte has during his slump, but Hinds has enormous raw power and has gotten out to a big start in Louisville. He’s slashing .354/.475/.771 with five round-trippers in his first 61 cracks at the plate. More encouragingly, he’s walked a dozen times (19.7%) with a manageable 15 strikeouts (24.6%). Hinds chased more than 37% of pitches off the plate in Triple-A last year and nearly 40% in the majors. This year, he’s sitting on an improved 31.3% chase rate in Louisville.
Hinds wrecked Triple-A pitching last year, too (.302/.359/.563) and flashed potential 30-30 upside with 24 big flies and 21 steals in only 107 games. It seems unlikely that he’ll make enough contact to reach that ceiling, but his power is readily apparent and Statcast credited him with 98th percentile sprint speed in 2025. The power-speed combination is understandably alluring, and he’ll get another opportunity to show he can stick in the majors while Marte looks to get back on track down in Louisville.
Submit Your Questions For This Week’s Episode Of The MLBTR Podcast
On the MLB Trade Rumors podcast, we regularly answer questions from our readers and listeners. With the next episode set for Wednesday, we’re looking for MLBTR’s audience to submit their questions and we’ll pick a few to answer.
The 2026 season is a few weeks in. Do you have a question about a hot or cold start in the early going? The upcoming trade deadline? Next winter’s potential labor showdown? If you have a question on those topics or anything else baseball-related, we’d love to hear from you! You can email your questions to mlbtrpod@gmail.com.
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The Opener: Freeland, Olson, Astros
Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world today:
1. Rockies’ Freeland dealing with shoulder issue:
Rockies southpaw Kyle Freeland was slated to start the club’s game against the Padres yesterday, but he was scratched due to shoulder soreness. After last night’s game, manager Warren Schaeffer told reporters (including the Denver Post’s Patrick Saunders) that Freeland was day-to-day with a “tight” shoulder. Freeland has started the year with a 2.30 ERA and 3.95 FIP across three starts. Losing him would be a significant blow to the Rockies’ pitching staff, and the team would likely turn to someone like Tanner Gordon or Carson Palmquist to fill in for the veteran lefty in the event he requires a trip to the injured list.
2. Olson making history:
As noted by MLB.com’s Mark Bowman, Matt Olson made his 798th consecutive MLB start over the weekend. That tied him with Nellie Fox for the 11th-longest games started streak of all time, and he’ll take sole possession of 11th place with his 799th consecutive start against the Marlins this evening. It’s the longest streak baseball has seen since Miguel Tejada‘s 1,152 consecutive game streak ended nearly 20 years ago. If Olson can keep it up, he’ll be able to crack the all-time top ten next month. For now, he and the Braves will focus on squaring off against Marlins right-hander Eury Pérez (4.25 ERA in 20 starts last year) in a game scheduled for 7:15pm local time in Atlanta, where Grant Holmes (3.99 ERA in 22 appearances last year) will take the mound for the Braves.
3. Can the Astros snap their losing streak?
The Astros have dropped seven straight games amid a number of injuries to the club’s pitching staff. Tastsuya Imai, Mike Burrows and Lance McCullers Jr. are the remaining healthy members of the Opening Day rotation for a 6-10 Houston club that has lost both Hunter Brown and Cristian Javier to shoulder strains. They’ll send Burrows (3.94 ERA in 23 appearances last year) to the mound in hopes of avoiding an eighth straight loss, while the Mariners will counter with George Kirby (4.21 ERA in 23 starts last year) as he looks to build on a strong eight-inning performance against the Rangers last time out.
Phil Garner Passes Away
Former three-time All-Star and longtime manager Phil Garner passed away on Saturday at age 76. A statement released by Garner’s family praised the medical care given to Garner during his fight with pancreatic cancer, and said that “Phil never lost his signature spark of life he was so well known for or his love for baseball which was with him until the end.”
Debuting with the Athletics in 1973, Garner hit .260/.323/.389 over 6136 plate appearances and 1860 games with the A’s, Pirates, Astros, Dodgers, and Giants during his 16-year career as a big league player. He became Oakland’s everyday second baseman in 1975 and received his first All-Star nod in 1976, but he was dealt after that season as part of a nine-player trade with the Pirates.
Garner played both second and third base (with some appearances at shortstop) during his four-plus years in Pittsburgh. His best season in terms of both personal and team accomplishments came in 1979, when Garner had a career-best 3.9 fWAR while hitting .293/.359/.441 with 11 homers and 17 steals for the Pirates’ World Series-winning team, which remains the last Buccos club to win a championship. Garner was a huge part of that title run, delivering a phenomenal .472/.537/.722 slash line over 41 PA during the postseason.
The Pirates traded Garner to the Astros partway through the 1981 campaign, and he went on to have several more successful years in a Houston uniform before his production declined in 1987. The Dodgers acquired Garner in a trade partway through the 1987 campaign but the change of scenery didn’t spark his bat, and Garner then played 15 games with the Giants over his final year as a player.
Garner’s gritty and grinding playing style made him a fan favorite, and perhaps all you need to know about Garner is that he was known as “Scrap Iron,” a nickname coined by former Pirates announcer Milo Hamilton. The blunt and tough-but-fair approach stuck with Garner in his post-playing days, as he went onto a successful second career as a manager over 15 seasons with the Brewers, Tigers, and back in Houston with the Astros.
As a skipper, Garner posted a 985-1054 career record, beginning with a 92-win season as Milwaukee’s manager in 1992. This was the only winning record Garner would post in eight seasons with the Brewers and three seasons in Detroit (from 2000-02), but he broke through in 2004 after being hired to take over an Astros team that had a 44-44 record.
Houston went 48-26 the rest of the way under Garner, and fell just short of a World Series appearance after losing the NLCS to the Cardinals in a memorable seven-game battle. The Astros beat St. Louis in a rematch the next season for the first pennant in Houston franchise history, though the Astros were swept by the White Sox in the World Series.
We at MLB Trade Rumors extend our condolences to Garner’s family, friends, and many fans.
Blue Jays Re-Sign Josh Fleming On Minor League Deal
The Blue Jays are re-signing left-hander Josh Fleming on a minor league deal, as Mitch Bannon of The Athletic has reported. Toronto previously signed Fleming to a minor league deal in February and briefly called him up before designating him for assignment last week, at which point he elected free agency.
A fifth-round pick by the Rays back in 2017, Fleming made his big league debut in the shortened 2020 season an made a solid first impression with a 2.78 ERA across his first 32 2/3 innings of work as a rookie. That strong production was belied by weak peripherals, however, and in 2021 Fleming found himself exposed with a lackluster 5.09 ERA in 104 1/3 frames as a swing man for Tampa. Fleming stuck with the Rays for two more seasons, posting a 5.40 ERA in 22 appearances as a long reliever and spot starter. He was non-tendered by the Rays after the 2023 season and joined the Pirates on a one-year deal, where he pitched to a decent 4.02 ERA in 31 1/3 innings. He did not find his way to the majors last year and spent the entire 2025 campaign at the Triple-A level with the Mariners before joining Toronto this past offseason.
Now that Fleming is back in the organization, the lefty can be called upon to help a beleaguered Blue Jays pitching staff. Bowden Francis, Cody Ponce, Shane Bieber, Trey Yesavage, and Jose Berrios are all already on the injured list. Veteran right-hander Max Scherzer is currently pitching through forearm tendinitis but could be facing an IL stint of his own after 2 1/3 innings of eight-run baseball. Keegan Matheson of MLB.com reports that Trey Yesavage could be back in the mix next week, but for now the Blue Jays are in serious need of depth.
That’s where Fleming could come in. The soon-to-be 30-year-old southpaw turned in four innings of three-run ball in his lone long relief outing for the Blue Jays before being DFA’d. Even prior to that outing, Fleming had a 4.77 ERA and 4.65 FIP in the majors for his career. Even at Triple-A, he’s managed just a 4.18 ERA over his career. The lefty isn’t likely to offer impactful innings to the Blue Jays, but for a club desperate to eat innings with any sort of consistency Fleming could end up proving vital during this tough stretch for Toronto. Yariel Rodriguez, Lazaro Estrada, and perhaps Adam Macko are among the club’s other options who can offer multi-inning relief work or a spot start who aren’t already on the active roster or injured list.