Orioles Place Ryan Helsley On IL With Elbow Inflammation
The Orioles announced that right-hander Ryan Helsley has been placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to April 29th, with right elbow inflammation. Fellow righty Albert Suárez has been selected to take Helsley’s place on the active roster. The 40-man roster had a couple of vacancies and the addition of Suárez brings the O’s up to 39 players on there.
It’s an out-of-nowhere IL stint for Helsley, as there wasn’t any previous indication that anything was wrong. He last pitched on Tuesday, recording a clean inning and earning a save as the O’s beat the Astros 5-3. His fastball averaged 99.3 miles per hour, right around his season average and a slight increase over his previous two outings. He didn’t pitch in the past two days but Baltimore didn’t have save chances in the interim. The game on Wednesday was postponed. The two games in yesterday’s doubleheader were not close, one being decided by six runs and the other by seven.
The club will presumably have more information later but it’s always a bit ominous when a pitcher’s throwing elbow is involved in an injury. For the O’s, they will have to figure out how to proceed with yet another hit to their bullpen. Their previous closer, Félix Bautista, underwent shoulder surgery in August of last year. That procedure came with a timeline of about a year. He could perhaps be back late in 2026 but it’s also possible he misses the entire season, which is why Helsley was signed to fill the closer’s role.
The O’s also have Dietrich Enns and Yaramil Hiraldo on the IL, meaning Helsey is now the fourth reliever on the shelf. Guys like Andrew Kittredge, Rico Garcia, Anthony Nunez or Grant Wolfram could step up to absorb some higher-leverage roles.
More to come.
The Astros’ Ominous Long-Term Outlook
In case you're just tuning into the 2026 season, things aren't going great in Houston. The Astros escaped with a split in a doubleheader with the Orioles yesterday despite allowing a combined 15 runs in those games. They enter play Friday sitting on a 12-20 record. Houston's bullpen has been far and away the worst in baseball, due in no small part to star closer Josh Hader's lengthy stint on the IL to begin the season. Bryan Abreu went from arguably the game's best setup man to a low-leverage middle reliever in short order; his fastball is down more than two miles per hour, and his ERA sits just shy of 13.00. Veterans Enyel De Los Santos and Steven Okert were low-cost pickups last year who played big roles. Both have regressed (and then some) in 2026.
Meanwhile, a rotation that brought in several new arms this winter has only been marginally better. Again, injuries have played a role. Ace Hunter Brown is out with a shoulder strain. Offseason pickup Tatsuya Imai, a star righty in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball, struggled before hitting the IL with arm fatigue. Cristian Javier is sidelined into at least June with his own shoulder strain. Ronel Blanco and Hayden Wesneski are still on the mend from 2025 Tommy John surgery. Neither is expected back before the All-Star break.
The lineup has at least provided good production. Houston hitters are batting .265/.346/.438 as a team. A disproportionate amount of their production has come from slugger Yordan Alvarez, who's decimating opposing pitchers at an MVP-caliber clip, but he's not alone. Christian Walker has more than just righted the ship after an awful start in 2025 -- he's arguably hitting better than he ever has before. Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa have been comfortably better than average at the dish. Isaac Paredes has found his stride after a slow start himself.
Even on this side of the ball, however, the 'Stros have had challenges. Jeremy Peña has been limited to just 10 games thanks to a pair of injuries (broken finger, hamstring strain). Jake Meyers looked solid through a dozen games before an oblique strain sent him to the shelf. The reacquired Joey Loperfido was solid through 20 contests before straining his quad. In recent weeks, Houston has regularly trotted out lineups including players like Braden Shewmake, Daniel Johnson and Dustin Harris, each of whom was acquired simply because the club needed warm bodies and lacked depth.
That's a symptom of a much larger and more concerning trend in Houston -- one that calls into question the club's outlook well beyond the current season.
Unlock Subscriber-Exclusive Articles Like This One With a Trade Rumors Front Office Subscription
- Access weekly subscriber-only articles by Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams, and Anthony Franco.
- Join exclusive weekly live chats with Anthony.
- Remove ads and support our writers.
- Access GM-caliber tools like our MLB Contract Tracker
Brewers’ Angel Zerpa Could Require Surgery
The Brewers placed lefty Angel Zerpa on the injured list earlier this week after he experienced forearm tightness. Manager Pat Murphy suggested not long after that the southpaw could be facing a lengthy absence. Murphy provided another ominous update Friday, telling the Brewers beat that surgery is on the table (via Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel).
A specific diagnosis remains unclear. Forearm tightness can be a precursor to a host of serious injuries for pitchers, including UCL and/or flexor tendon damage and irritation of the ulnar nerve, among other possibilities. The nature of the injury and the still under-consideration surgery will determine the length of absence, but it seems the Brewers shouldn’t plan on Zerpa returning anytime soon.
Milwaukee acquired Zerpa from the Royals in an offseason trade sending Isaac Collins and Nick Mears back to Kansas City. The Brewers sold high on both players — Collins in particular — in apparent hopes of acquiring a more controllable, hard-throwing lefty with big ground-ball numbers. Given Zerpa’s solid track record with K.C. and the Brewers’ success in coaxing new levels of performance out of players, there was reason to be optimistic about a potential breakout.
That hasn’t panned out in the slightest. Zerpa has appeared in a dozen games and been roughed up for 11 runs (nine earned) on 16 hits and six walks in just 12 2/3 frames. His 14.5% strikeout rate is among the lowest in the league, and his 10.9% walk rate is a career-worst mark. Zerpa’s sinker is averaging 95.6 mph — down a full mile per hour over last year’s average of 96.6 mph.
From 2021-25 in Kansas City, Zerpa combined to record a 3.97 ERA with a 19.7% strikeout rate, a 7% walk rate and a massive 57.1% grounder rate. He tended to struggle against right-handed opponents, but the Brewers presumably had some ideas about how to help him correct that problem.
With Zerpa increasingly looking like a 60-day IL candidate, any such hopes from the Brewers will be placed on hold. They control him through 2028, so there’s still some hope for down-the-road contributions even if he ends up requiring a major surgery. He’d need to be tendered a contract, but Zerpa is playing this season on a $1.095MM salary, so even the generally frugal Brewers wouldn’t find his salary to be a true roadblock.
Zerpa joined fellow southpaws Rob Zastryzny and Jared Koenig on the injured list when he landed there. Zastryzny is dealing with a back strain. Koenig has a UCL sprain that he’s currently trying to rehab without surgery.
Three lefty relievers on the injured list would normally deplete an organization’s supply, but the Brewers are deeper in southpaw bullpen arms than nearly any team in the sport. Even with Zerpa, Koenig and Zastryzny out, the have Aaron Ashby, DL Hall, Shane Drohan and Brian Fitzpatrick in the MLB bullpen. Fitzpatrick was added to the roster after Zerpa’s injury and just recently made his big league debut. Ashby and Hall both have ERAs under 2.50 with big strikeout numbers but troubling command woes.
Ryan Pepiot To Undergo Season-Ending Hip Surgery
Rays right-hander Ryan Pepiot will undergo hip surgery and miss the rest of the season, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Pepiot is already on the 60-day injured list and will stay there for the rest of the campaign.
It’s obviously an unfortunate blow for Pepiot and the Rays. The right-hander was healthy in spring training but some inflammation in his right hip sent him to the 15-day IL to start the season. It initially appeared as though that would be a minimal IL stint. As of April 4th, Pepiot had thrown a bullpen session and was in line to rejoin the Rays a little over a week later.
The tides shifted a couple of weeks ago. On April 14th, around the time Pepiot was supposed to be activated, the Rays instead transferred him to the 60-day injured list when they signed Michael Grove. Few details were available at that time but that at least signalled that Pepiot wasn’t going to return before late May. This latest update is even more ominous than that, with Pepiot now set to go under the knife and miss the whole season.
Acquired from the Dodgers as part of the Tyler Glasnow trade in December of 2023, Pepiot was largely a mainstay of the Tampa rotation in the past two seasons. He made 26 starts in 2024 and 31 last year. Between the two seasons, he gave the Rays 297 2/3 innings with a 3.75 earned run average, 25.4% strikeout rate and 8.9% walk rate.
So far, the Rays have done well this year, despite getting no contributions from Pepiot. They are 18-12 and in second place in the American League East. The rotation has been a key part of that, as the club’s starters have a combined 3.45 ERA, fifth-best in the majors.
Still, it’s less than ideal that Pepiot won’t be coming back to join the group at any point. They traded away Taj Bradley at last year’s deadline and then Shane Baz in the offseason, thinning out the rotation depth. This year, they’ve gotten multiple starts from Shane McClanahan, Drew Rasmussen, Steven Matz, Nick Martinez and Joe Boyle. The Rays put Boyle on the IL a few weeks ago due to a right elbow strain. Jesse Scholtens has effectively taken his place in the rotation, largely working behind an opener.
It’s not a sturdy group on the whole. McClanahan is pitching well but it’s fair to wonder if he’ll hit some kind of wall since he missed the previous two seasons. Rasmussen has a spotty health history with multiple surgeries on his chart. Martinez and Matz are mid-30s guys who were in swing roles as of last year. Scholtens was a waiver claim towards the end of last season.
At some point, the Rays will have to turn to other arms in the system, with Pepiot no longer part of the calculus. Joe Rock is on the 40-man roster and currently on optional assignment but he’s walking everyone in Triple-A. Prospect Brody Hopkins is in Triple-A but he only has six starts at that level and is also showing significant control issues. Yoendrys Gómez is working as a long reliever in the big leagues but he has a 6.23 ERA and is out of options.
For now, the Rays will do their best to keep making it work, though any further injuries could really hurt them. If they manage to stay in contention until the deadline, they will presumably look for reinforcements.
Turning back to Pepiot, he got his service clock just over three years in 2025, therefore qualifying for arbitration for the first time for 2026. He is making $3.025MM this season and can be controlled via arbitration through 2028. When arb-eligible players miss an entire season, they usually end up making the same salary in the following campaign. The Rays surely aren’t happy to be losing Pepiot but the one benefit for them is that they should be able to have him back in 2027 without giving him a raise.
Photo courtesy of Daniel Kucin Jr., Imagn Images
Brewers Place Brandon Woodruff On IL With Shoulder Inflammation
2:30pm: Woodruff spoke to members of the media, including Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, shortly after being placed on the IL. He said there are no structural concerns and it should be a pretty minimal IL stint.
2:05pm: The Brewers announced that right-hander Brandon Woodruff has been placed on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation. Fellow righty Easton McGee has been recalled in a corresponding move.
The IL placement is unsurprising but ominous. Woodruff has been battling shoulder problems for years. He was limited to 11 starts in 2023 and eventually required surgery, which wiped out his entire 2024 season. He got back on the mound in the summer of 2025 and made 12 starts but then finished the season on the IL due to a lat strain.
The Brewers felt confident enough in Woodruff’s health to issue him a $22.025MM qualifying offer for 2026, a deal he accepted. He got healthy enough this spring to break camp with the club. However, alarm bells started ringing when he made his start yesterday, as his velocity was down about 7 mph. He had been averaging about 92 miles per hour in his previous starts but couldn’t really get past 85 mph yesterday.
Milwaukee removed him from the game but the details were a bit murky. Manager Pat Murphy said that Woodruff wasn’t experiencing any pain, but merely felt his arm was a bit dead. The Brewers weren’t sure if an IL stint would be necessary or if maybe they would simply try pushing his next start by a few days. He did go for an MRI and it seems there was enough concern to put him on the shelf for at least a couple of weeks.
Further details may be revealed later today but all the pieces add up to a worrisome situation. Woodruff hasn’t been fully healthy for an extended stretch of time since 2022 and it seems he can’t fully shake the shoulder problems.
For now, McGee gives them an extra bullpen arm. In a few days, they will need to figure out how to fill Woodruff’s spot in the rotation. Jacob Misiorowski is taking the ball today and should be followed by Kyle Harrison, Chad Patrick and Brandon Sproat in the subsequent games. By Tuesday at the latest, they’ll need either a bullpen game or another starter in the mix. If Woodruff is going to be out for a while, they will need to think about long-term solutions.
Shane Drohan, DL Hall and Jake Woodford have been throwing multi-inning stints out of the bullpen. Perhaps someone in that group could make a spot start or act as the bulk guy in a bullpen game, or maybe even a combo of those guys could cover a game. The Brewers also have options in the minors. Logan Henderson, Robert Gasser, Coleman Crow and Carlos Rodriguez are all on optional assignment in Triple-A right now, so someone in that group could be recalled.
Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images
Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript
Anthony Franco
- Good afternoon, hope all is well!
- Looking forward to another of these, let's get it rolling
Goofy
- What should Dana Brown do at this point? Who should he try to extend? Would love to make Yordan an Astro for life.
Anthony Franco
- Yordan's already signed through 2028 (age 31) at $26MM annually. Incredible hitter but will probably be a full-time DH at that point given the health history. Wouldn't be eager to commit Alonso/Schwarber money on top of that right now
- I doubt they'd kick off a rebuild this summer or next offseason but it's an aging roster and if they're not very good again at the '27 deadline, might be time to think about it with a year and a half of club control over Alvarez and Brown
- Short term there's not much to be done. It's just not a very good team right now given all the injuries and the general lack of depth. Have to hope they play well enough to stay within 5-6 games of a playoff spot once they get healthier
M's Fan
- What is Randy Arozerena worth this offseason? I'd love for the M's to give him the QO, but historically I've felt they're really conservative with QO decisions.
Anthony Franco
- Yeah I think he'll get the QO, though to your point, I also assumed that for Teoscar. Kind of a weird start for Randy because the bat speed's way down and the contact quality is pretty bad but the production is way up thanks to a dip in strikeouts
- Not really sure what to do with that. He feels a little less explosive, which isn't a great sign at 31, but it's tough to ding him too much when he's hitting .289/.381/.439
- If he keeps something like that up all year, I think he'd turn down the QO and get three years and something in the $60-70M range. I'd be hesitant to go beyond two personally but would happily have him back if he accepts the QO
Franco's Fans
- I keep seeing people referring to Sal Stewart as being a RoY favorite in the NL, but to my eyes JJ Wetherholt is exceeding the already high expectations set on him. Kid seems like he is going to be really special for the Cardinals.
Anthony Franco
- Yeah they both look great. The idea of a clear-cut favorite 20% of the way through the season doesn't make much sense to me. The margins are super slim, especially for that particular award
- Would rather have Wetherholt long-term given the defensive value but more faith in Stewart to be an all-around masher in year one
Arizona
- What’s the worry meter read right now? They piled wins against the worst teams in MLB throughout April but there isn’t a starting caliber pitcher on the roster on May first!
Anthony Franco
- They've gotten shelled the last couple times through but I don't think Kelly, Gallen, Nelson, E-Rod, Soroka is a disaster of a rotation. Below-average but workable, have more faith in that than in the bullpen
- Broadly speaking, I thought it was a fine April. Their early season is mostly about not getting buried while they wait on Burnes, Martinez and Puk. Never thought this was a great team necessarily, but hanging around .500 seems about right
Duffy
- What should the Red Sox do about Bello? This year has been…yikes
Anthony Franco
- Yeah he has to go down once Gray and Crochet come back. Wouldn't need to see much from Bennett to convince me that he's better than Bello right now, and there's no real case for Bello above Early and Tolle
- Longer term, I don't know. He's throwing the sinker a lot this year, which isn't great because it's always been a hittable pitch (albeit generally on the ground). Now the secondaries are getting pummeled too but I have a little more faith in the cutter/changeup being viable moving forward
- He's actually missing bats at a career-high rate but he's getting fewer chases and throwing fewer first-pitch strikes. Falling behind early in counts and needing to challenge with a mediocre fastball, not ideal
Idiotic Failson
- Is there a better rotation than the Yankees when they get Rodon and Cole back? Warren is arguably their 5th starter in that case, and it seems he'd be a top 2 option for like half the league.
-
Unlock Subscriber-Exclusive Articles Like This One With a Trade Rumors Front Office Subscription
BENEFITS- Access weekly subscriber-only articles by Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams, and Anthony Franco.
- Join exclusive weekly live chats with Anthony.
- Remove ads and support our writers.
- Access GM-caliber tools like our MLB Contract Tracker
Red Sox Recall Jake Bennett For MLB Debut
For the past several days, it’s looked likely that Red Sox lefty Jake Bennett would be called up for his major league debut at some point this weekend. Boston made it official Friday, formally recalling Bennett from Triple-A Worcester to fill the roster spot created when utilityman Nate Eaton was optioned following yesterday’s game. Bennett will start tonight against the visiting Astros.
Acquired from the Nationals in an offseason trade sending righty Luis Perales back the other way, Bennett is a 6’6″, 234-pound lefty who entered the season ranked by Baseball America and MLB.com as the Red Sox’ No. 6 prospect. He’s turned in a sparkling 0.86 ERA across 21 innings (five starts) in Worcester to begin his tenure in the organization. The left-hander has fanned a below-average 20.3% of his opponents but also owns a brilliant 3.8% walk rate and a mammoth 58.9% ground-ball rate so far in 2026.
Bennett sits 93 mph with his heater and doesn’t miss all that many bats, but he has six pitches at his disposal and is credited with plus (60-grade) command on the 20-80 scale. His feel for location and that deep array of pitches helps him keep hitters off balance. His changeup draws the strongest grades from scouting reports at BA, MLB.com and FanGraphs. In addition to his four-seamer and changeup, Bennett utilizes a cutter, sinker, curveball and slider — though he’s barely used the slider to this point with the Red Sox organization.
Entering the season, Bennett was 10th or 11th on the Red Sox’ rotation depth chart, but Boston has been hit with a huge number of injuries. Ace Garrett Crochet just landed on the 15-day injured list due to shoulder inflammation, though both he and the team have expressed optimism that he’ll be able to return after a minimal stint. The Sox have also lost Sonny Gray (hamstring strain) and Johan Oviedo (flexor strain) to new injuries this season, while Patrick Sandoval, Kutter Crawford and Tanner Houck are all still mending from injuries that predate the 2026 campaign. Sandoval had Tommy John surgery in 2024 and has yet to return. Houck had Tommy John surgery last August. Crawford is recovering from wrist surgery. Triple-A righty Tyler Uberstine, who made his MLB debut earlier this season, is on the minor league injured list due to shoulder discomfort.
With so many pitchers banged up, the Red Sox will plug Bennett into a rotation that currently includes Ranger Suarez, Brayan Bello, Connelly Early and Payton Tolle. Suarez, Early and Tolle have all enjoyed productive starts to their 2026 seasons. Bello has been one of the game’s least-effective starters, serving up 26 runs in 25 2/3 innings (six starts), but the Red Sox don’t have the luxury of removing him from the rotation right now due to that wide swath of injuries.
Bennett was added to a 40-man roster for the first time this past November, so he’s in the first of three minor league option years. He can’t reach a full year of big league service at this point, so the Sox will control him for at least six more full seasons following the 2026 campaign.
Fantasy Baseball Subscriber Chat With Nicklaus Gaut
Nicklaus Gaut will be talking fantasy baseball with Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers today at 1 PM Central time. Get your question in early or participate in the live event at the link below!
Unlock Subscriber-Exclusive Articles Like This One With a Trade Rumors Front Office Subscription
- Access weekly subscriber-only articles by Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams, and Anthony Franco.
- Join exclusive weekly live chats with Anthony.
- Remove ads and support our writers.
- Access GM-caliber tools like our MLB Contract Tracker
Stearns: No Plans To Make Managerial Change
The Mets are out to an awful start, which is a situation that often puts a manager in the hot seat. However, president of baseball operations David Stearns downplayed the likelihood of manager Carlos Mendoza getting the sack. “We know our record is not what we want, and we know we are capable of more,” Stearns told Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. “We don’t view this as a manager problem, and we don’t intend to make a change.”
The spotlight seemed to pivot to Mendoza in the past week when manager firing season began. The Red Sox got things started by canning Alex Cora last weekend, giving the interim job to Chad Tracy. The Phillies followed suit by letting Rob Thomson go. That job was offered to Cora but he declined, so Don Mattingly has taken over on an interim basis.
Like the Red Sox and Phillies, the Mets came into the 2026 season with every intention of contending but have fallen flat in the early going. Despite having the second-highest payroll in baseball, behind the Dodgers, the Mets have the worst record in baseball at 10-21.
How much blame lies at the feet of the manager in such situations is something that has been debated throughout baseball history and that will surely continue to be the case. A skipper certainly does make some decisions that impact results, such as setting the lineup and making pitching changes, but how much those things can actually impact the win-loss is debatable. Some feel a manager’s job as a strategist is essential while others feel that role is overblown and a skipper is more about being a motivational clubhouse leader.
In the case of the Mets, one could take either side of the debate. As a team, the Mets are hitting .227/.289/.342 this year. That results in a wRC+ of 80, indicating the entire team is 20% below league average. They’re the worst team in the majors in that category. Eight guys on the team have taken at least 70 plate appearances, a group that doesn’t include Juan Soto since he spent time on the IL. Of those eight, Francisco Alvarez is the team leader with a 104 wRC+. Bo Bichette, Marcus Semien, Brett Baty and Carson Benge are all below 70.
The pitching is a bit better but still not great. Their 4.17 earned run average is very middle of the pack, putting them 15th out of the 30 teams in the majors. David Peterson, Sean Manaea and Kodai Senga have each posted ERAs north of 6.00 in samples of 20 innings or more. Devin Williams and Luke Weaver were supposed to be the lockdown bullpen arms but Williams has an ERA of 8.00 and Weaver is at 6.00.
An endless debate could be had about what role Mendoza plays in those numbers. One side could argue a manager should find ways to wring better results from his players. The other camp could say the manager can only do so much if the players aren’t performing. Stearns has been consistent in his viewpoint. “I think Mendy’s doing a very good job,” Stearns said two weeks ago, per SNY Mets. “I think Mendy is putting players in position to succeed and we need to go out and play better.” Today’s comments echo those.
It will be unwelcome news for those who want heads to roll but it seems the Mets don’t view the manager as the key issue, at least for now. If the struggles continue, it’s possible the club’s desire to make a change will grow.
Mendoza is in the final guaranteed year of his three-year contract. They won 89 games in 2024 and went to the NLCS. Last year, they were on an even better pace for most of the year. They were 62-47 through July but had an awful August and September, going 21-32. That put them at 83-79 and just outside the playoff picture. Mendoza’s deal has a club option for 2027. The events of the coming months will determine if that seems likely to be picked up.
Photo courtesy of Brad Penner, Imagn Images
Paul DeJong Opts Out Of Yankees Deal
Veteran infielder Paul DeJong has opted out of his minor league contract with the Yankees and is now a free agent, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports.
DeJong is only hitting .203 in Triple-A, but he’s clobbered six homers and walked at a 19% clip in 83 plate appearances, leaving him with an overall .203/.361/.516 batting line (127 wRC+). New York brought him in as a depth option in the offseason, knowing Anthony Volpe would miss the beginning of the year recovering from shoulder surgery. However, the Yanks also have Jose Caballero and Oswaldo Cabrera as infield options, and after signing DeJong they also acquired infielder Max Schuemann from the A’s. Volpe is set to return in the near future, and all of Caballero, Schuemann and Cabrera are still on the 40-man roster, leaving DeJong little path to a big league promotion.
A veteran of nine big league seasons, DeJong is a slick fielding, right-handed hitting shortstop who’s capable of playing anywhere on the infield. He strikes out too often (career 27.9%) and doesn’t walk enough to completely offset that (7.1%). DeJong has plenty of power though, evidenced by 146 round-trippers and a .187 ISO (slugging percentage minus batting average) in the majors. He’s a career .229/.294/.416 hitter in exactly 3500 big league plate appearances.
DeJong has played in each of the past nine major league seasons and logged at least 208 plate appearances in every 162-game season in that time (plus 174 plate appearances in the shortened 2020 campaign). He spent the 2025 season with the Nats and hit .228/.269/.373 in 208 trips to the plate. He’d have logged more playing time were it not for a fractured nose — suffered when an errant fastball hit him in the face — that sidelined him for two months.
There are plenty of teams with starting infielders on the shelf at the moment, which could lead to a new opportunity for DeJong. The Astros (Jeremy Peña), Athletics (Max Muncy), Orioles (Jordan Westburg, Jackson Holliday) and Mets (Francisco Lindor) are among the clubs dealing with prominent infield injuries. There are surely several other teams that might have interest in adding a quality defender with some pop to help out the big league bench or to stash in the upper minors (with a clearer path to the majors for DeJong).