Athletics Place Brent Rooker On IL, Reinstate Jacob Wilson
The Athletics have placed designated hitter Brent Rooker on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to June 9) with a bone bruise in his left knee, per Martin Gallegos of MLB.com. The team reinstated shortstop Jacob Wilson from the IL to take Rooker’s roster spot.
More to come…
Orioles Release Tommy Pham
JUNE 12: The Orioles have granted Pham his release, per Matt Weyrich of the Baltimore Sun.
JUNE 11: Veteran outfielder Tommy Pham will exercise an opt-out clause in his minor league deal with the Orioles tomorrow, reports Josh Tolentino of The Baltimore Sun. He’ll return to free agency if the Orioles don’t add him to the MLB roster.
Pham signed with the O’s midway through May. He took a few days to build up before reporting to Triple-A Norfolk. Pham struggled in 14 games for the Tides, batting .196/.281/.375 with 20 strikeouts in 64 plate appearances. He picked things up from a power perspective recently, connecting on three homers in his final eight games.
The 38-year-old Pham had a brief big league stint with the Mets earlier in the year. He went 0-13 with a walk and seven strikeouts while starting four of nine appearances. Pham spent the entire ’25 season in the Majors with the Pirates. He took 449 trips to the dish and had a slightly below-average .245/.330/.370 slash line. He connected on 10 homers, 17 doubles and one triple with a solid strikeout and walk profile.
Baltimore has a starting outfield of Taylor Ward, Colton Cowser and Leody Taveras. The latter was signed as a fourth or fifth outfielder but has put together a decent season, batting .258/.345/.365 in 209 plate appearances. He has handily outplayed Tyler O’Neill, who has hit .155 with one home run since returning from a concussion in mid-April. O’Neill has started to lose playing time as a result, dropping into a part-time corner outfield/designated hitter role.
The O’s have been without Dylan Beavers for the past month due to a low-grade right oblique strain. He’d likely push Taveras back into a fourth outfield role once he’s healthy. The O’s could make room on the bench for Pham by optioning Jeremiah Jackson, but they could see that as a redundant fit with O’Neill already on the roster. If they grant him his release, he’ll search for another team looking for right-handed outfield depth.
Tigers Select Jacob Waguespack, Designate Zack Short
The Tigers have selected righty reliever Jacob Waguespack onto the MLB roster and designated infielder Zack Short for assignment, the team announced. They have also activated reliever Kenley Jansen from the 10-day injured list, added the just-claimed James Outman to their active roster and optioned righty Brenan Hanifee to Triple-A Toledo.
Waguespack is also a new acquisition. Detroit landed him from the Brewers on Wednesday in a cash deal. He’d spent the season with the Milwaukee organization on a pair of minor league contracts. The second of those presumably contained an upward mobility clause that explains why the Brewers traded him once Detroit was willing to give him an MLB opportunity.
The 32-year-old righty returns to the Majors for the first time since 2024. He’d only made four appearances with the Rays that year. The rest of his MLB experience came with Toronto from 2019-20. Waguespack has a 5.11 ERA over 105 2/3 career innings. He spent a couple years in Japan and has bounced around the Triple-A level over the past few seasons. Waguespack had a 2.45 ERA over 33 minor league innings last year and carried a 1.66 mark in 21 2/3 frames for Milwaukee’s Nashville affiliate this season.
Waguespack doesn’t have huge velocity, sitting in the 92 mph range with his fastball. He has a cutter and changeup while occasionally mixing in a curveball. Waguespack generated a lot of swing-and-miss against Triple-A opposition this year, striking out 36% of batters faced. That came with an alarming 16.5% walk rate. It’s an odd combination for a pitcher who has generally been around the strike zone with middling whiff rates over his career.
Short is a depth infielder who has spent the last month on A.J. Hinch’s bench. He has taken 46 plate appearances over 23 games, hitting .167/.304/.222 without a home run. Short draws walks but neither hits for average nor much power, so it’s a limited offensive ceiling. His primary value lies in his versatility around the infield. Detroit swaps him out for a glove-only center fielder in Outman with their final bench spot.
The Tigers have five days to trade Short or place him on waivers. The latter is likelier, and there’s a good chance he’ll go unclaimed. He’d have the right to decline an outright assignment in favor of free agency if no team carries him on the MLB roster.
Cardinals To Option Nolan Gorman, Promote Blaze Jordan
The Cardinals are optioning slumping third baseman Nolan Gorman to Triple-A Memphis and selecting the contract of corner infielder Blaze Jordan, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. In other moves, right-hander Hunter Dobbins will head to Memphis, while the Cardinals are recalling righty Chris Roycroft. Injured infielder Ramón Urías will move to the 60-day IL.
More to come…
Nationals Claim Jhancarlos Lara, Designate Julian Fernandez
The Nationals announced that they have claimed right-hander Jhancarlos Lara from the Braves and optioned him to Double-A Harrisburg. In a corresponding move, the Nats designated righty Julian Fernandez for assignment.
When the Braves selected Lara’s contract last September, Baseball America, MLB.com and FanGraphs each ranked him among the team’s 25 best prospects. There were questions about his command then, however, and he hasn’t done anything to ease those concerns at the Double-A level this year. The 23-year-old posted an 8.22 ERA with a whopping 29 walks (against 21 strikeouts) in 15 1/3 innings before the Braves cut the cord. Lara endured similar struggles in 2025, during which he combined for a 7.73 ERA with 13.6 K/9 and 8.5 BB/9 in 68 2/3 innings divided between Double-A and Triple-A. Nevertheless, the Nationals will take a flier on a hard thrower who has three minor league options remaining.
The Nationals are less than a year removed from claiming Fernandez from the Dodgers last August. Now 30 years old, Fernandez joined the Rockies in 2012 as an international free agent from the Dominican Republic. He later had stints with the Giants and Marlins, but he didn’t make it to the majors with either team. Fernandez finally debuted in the bigs during a return to Colorado in 2021, but he struggled to a 10.80 ERA over 6 2/3 innings that year. He didn’t pitch in the majors from 2022-24, which included a stint in the Mexican League, but combined for four appearances with the Dodgers and Nationals last season. He made three more appearances with the Nats this year before they designated him. In all, Fernandez carries a 6.98 ERA with 12 walks and eight strikeouts in 15 2/3 frames at the game’s highest level. He owns a 5.14 ERA with 10.2 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9 in 145 1/3 Triple-A frames.
Fernandez will have an answer on his future within a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, giving Washington up to five days to find a trade partner. As someone who has been outrighted in the past, Fernandez has the ability to reject an assignment and opt for free agency.
Diamondbacks Designate Aramis Garcia For Assignment
As expected, infielder/outfielder Jordan Lawlar has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. In a corresponding move, the Diamondbacks have designated catcher Aramis Garcia for assignment. Over the next week, the D-backs must either trade Garcia or place him on waivers. If he clears waivers, Arizona could send him outright to Triple-A Reno, although he’d have the right to reject that assignment in favor of free agency.
This is the second DFA of the season for Garcia. Arizona first selected his contract in mid-April, after Gabriel Moreno suffered an oblique strain. When Moreno returned, Garcia got the boot. He then cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Reno. A couple of weeks later, the D-backs called on him again, this time to replace an injured James McCann. It’s a pattern Garcia has gotten used to over the years. The 33-year-old has appeared in seven MLB seasons dating back to 2018, suiting up for the Giants, Athletics, Reds, Phillies, and Diamondbacks. In all that time, he has played a total of 129 games.
Garcia was the third catcher on Arizona’s active roster, along with Moreno and Adrian Del Castillo. The D-backs could return to a three-catcher setup once McCann returns from the IL, which might be in the next week or two, barring a setback. However, they probably don’t need three catchers. In the six weeks Garcia has spent with the big league team this year, he has only appeared in eight games, catching 50 innings and stepping to the plate 19 times.
Unless he really struggles, Lawlar will be a lot more valuable than a third backstop. Formerly Arizona’s consensus top prospect, he graduated from rookie status in 2025, although he has still only amassed 128 major league plate appearances in his career. In other words, he has huge potential, but he also has a ton to prove. Not only is he trying to live up to his top-prospect pedigree, but he’s coming back from a broken wrist, and he’s adjusting to a new position. Lawlar came up as a shortstop, but Geraldo Perdomo is blocking him there, and the presence of Ketel Marte and Nolan Arenado means he can’t make the easier transition to second or third base. So, Lawlar will be learning to play the outfield for the Diamondbacks this year. Prior to his injury, he started five games in left field and one in center. He also moved between left and center field during his minor league rehab assignment.
Arizona had one of the best offenses in the National League in 2024 and ’25, but so far in 2026, that hasn’t been the case. Things have been particularly bad as of late. Over the past two weeks, no team has scored less often than the D-backs. What this club really needs is another lefty bat, but until they can find one, they’ll have to hope that the return of a former star prospect injects some energy into their lineup.
Phillies Place Adolis García On 60-Day IL
The Phillies announced that they have placed outfielder Adolis García on the 60-day injured list with a torn right lat. They recalled outfielder Gabriel Rincones Jr. from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to take his active roster spot. Outfielder Derek Hill, whom the Phillies acquired from the White Sox on Thursday, has reported to the club. Steward Berroa will go on the paternity list in a corresponding move. They now have an opening on the 40-man roster.
García will miss at least the next two months. The former Gold Glove right fielder blew out his shoulder during Wednesday’s game in Toronto. García caught a fly ball with runners at the corners and one out. He came up throwing to try to cut down George Springer at home plate. García made an excellent one-hop throw that almost nabbed Springer, but he immediately favored his shoulder and had to come out of the game.
Philadelphia signed García to a one-year, $10MM free agent contract last offseason. He’d been non-tendered by the Rangers after a second straight below-average year at the dish. The Phillies needed a right fielder after determining at the beginning of the offseason they were moving on from Nick Castellanos. García has provided a significant defensive upgrade but has fallen even further offensively.
The 33-year-old has hit .195/.270/.329 across 259 plate appearances, career worst marks in all three slash categories. Things seemed as if they might be clicking just before the injury, as he’d hit three home runs in his last seven games. García is still capable of putting a charge into one, but his approach has undercut any kind of offensive consistency over the past few seasons. He’s a .220/.277/.385 hitter in more than 1400 plate appearances since the start of 2024.
Even with García playing strong defense, Philly seemed likely to prioritize right field at the trade deadline. They’ve played well since the managerial change to pull back into Wild Card position. They clearly need outfield help, as they’ve gotten very little out of center or right field this season.
The Phils traded for Hill during yesterday’s off day. He’s a righty-hitting fourth or fifth outfielder who can platoon with lefty-swinging Brandon Marsh or Justin Crawford. García’s injury probably increased the front office’s urgency to make a move, but Hill fits a complementary role the Phillies needed either way. He’s not the answer for an everyday right fielder.
In the short term, Rincones will get his first major league look. The Phillies selected him onto the 40-man roster over the winter to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. He began the season on the minor league injured list and has only appeared in 12 Triple-A games since being activated in late May. Rincones has hit .239 without a home run in 55 plate appearances as part of a slow start to the season.
A third-round pick out of Florida Atlantic in 2022, Rincones is coming off a .240/.370/.430 season with Lehigh Valley last year. He walked at an excellent 15.8% clip, hit 18 homers, and stole 21 bags. Rincones takes a lot of pitches and hits the ball hard. The patient approach leads to a lot of walks but also deep counts and a decent number of strikeouts. He’s listed at 6’3″, 225 pounds and isn’t considered a strong corner outfield defender.
Rincones is in the lineup tonight for the series opener in Milwaukee, playing right field and batting seventh. He’ll get a tough welcome to the big leagues in the form of Jacob Misiorowski.
Astros Designate Ryan Weiss For Assignment, Select Raynel Delgado
The Astros have designated right-hander Ryan Weiss for assignment, as first reported by Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle. His 40-man roster spot will go to infielder Raynel Delgado, whose promotion was first reported yesterday by Francys Romero. Weiss was not on Houston’s active roster, but the Astros already cleared a spot for Delgado on the 26-man by optioning Shay Whitcomb on Thursday.
Weiss, 29, pitched in the minor leagues for the Diamondbacks and Royals from 2018-23. Then, after brief stints in the independent Atlantic League and the Chinese Professional Baseball League, he joined the KBO’s Hanwha Eagles. His first season with the Eagles was solid (16 starts, 3.73 ERA), but his follow-up campaign was spectacular. The righty ranked third in the KBO with 178 2/3 innings, while his 2.87 ERA was nearly a run and a half better than the league average. Former major leaguers Cody Ponce and Drew Anderson had even stronger seasons with their KBO clubs – and thus signed bigger contracts in the offseason – but Weiss caught Houston’s eye. In December, the Astros signed him to a one-year, $2.6MM guarantee, with a club option for 2027.
On March 27, Weiss made his major league debut. In one inning of work, he gave up an earned run on two hits (including a home run) and a walk, though he struck out two. Over his next eight appearances, the pattern continued. Pitching in a bulk relief role, Weiss struck out more than a batter per inning, but long balls and free passes were a serious problem. By the time the Astros optioned him to Triple-A in early May, he had already given up eight home runs and 20 walks. The result was an 0-3 record and a 7.62 ERA. His 4.73 SIERA wasn’t as gruesome, but it was hard to ignore the fact that nearly 20% of the batters he faced came around to score, and almost half of the contact he allowed registered as hard-hit.
Unfortunately for Weiss, his struggles continued in the minors. In five starts for Triple-A Sugar Land, he pitched to an 8.41 ERA and a 6.61 FIP. Considering his poor performance and contract status, it’s not surprising the Astros DFA’d the right-hander. If another team thinks it can get more out of Weiss’s arm and puts in a claim, Houston would be off the hook for the rest of his salary. However, it’s more likely he passes through waivers and accepts an outright assignment to Sugar Land. He has previously been outrighted in his career, giving him the right to reject any future outright assignments, but due to his limited service time, rejecting an outright assignment would mean forfeiting the rest of the guaranteed money remaining on his contract.
Delgado, 26, will be making his MLB debut the first time he gets in a game. The Guardians drafted the versatile infielder in 2018, and he played in their system until he elected minor league free agency at the end of the 2024 campaign. He has since signed minor league contracts with the Brewers and Rays. It was Tampa Bay that traded him to Houston for cash considerations earlier this week. Delgado’s offensive numbers at Triple-A don’t jump off the page – he’s hitting .250 with a 77 wRC+ in 253 PA this season – but he steals bases, and he can play anywhere on the infield, including shortstop.
Blue Jays Activate Alejandro Kirk, Designate Tyler Heineman
To highlight a series of roster moves on Friday, the Blue Jays activated catcher Alejandro Kirk from the 60-day injured list and placed outfielder Dalton Varsho on the 10-day IL with left wrist inflammation, Hazel Mae of Sportsnet reports. The team also designated catcher Tyler Heineman for assignment and recalled outfielder Davis Schneider from Triple-A Buffalo. Right-handed reliever Yariel Rodriguez, who was designated for assignment on June 8, has cleared waivers and will head back to Buffalo.
The Blue Jays have gone almost the whole season without Kirk, who underwent surgery on a broken left thumb in early April. The two-time All-Star has played just five games this year, but the silver lining is that the Blue Jays saw Brandon Valenzuela emerge as a capable big leaguer in his absence.
Acquired from the Padres for infielder Will Wagner at last year’s trade deadline, Valenzuela has slashed .252/.333/.457 (121 wRC+) with seven home runs and 1.5 fWAR over 46 games and 145 plate appearances since he debuted April 4. The 25-year-old rookie has also drawn mostly excellent marks as a defender. While Valenzuela has thrown out a below-average 20.5 percent of base stealers, he has made up for it in other ways. He ranks in the 100th percentile in framing, according to Statcast, and has been credited with 5 DRS and 7 FRV.
Kirk’s return gives Toronto an enviable duo behind the plate, which will cost Heineman his roster spot. The 34-year-old journeyman is in his third stint with the Blue Jays, who claimed him off waivers from the Red Sox in September 2024. Heineman typically has not offered strong production as a hitter, but that was not the case during the Jays’ pennant-winning season last year. He batted a career-best .289/.361/.416 (120 wRC+) with three homers over 64 games and 174 trips to the plate.
Heineman was worth a personal-high 2.1 fWAR in 2025, but his offense has cratered in a 33-game, 87-plate appearance showing this year. Thanks in part to a career-low 2.3 percent walk rate (down from 6.9 in 2025), he is hitting .154/.205/.205 (15 wRC+) with one homer. To his credit, though, Heineman has received outstanding grades as a catcher. He is a 95th percentile framer who has thrown out a tremendous 36.3 percent of base stealers and accounted for 6 DRS and 7 FRV. That isn’t anything new for Heineman, who has caught over 31 percent of base thieves since he debuted with the Marlins in 2019.
Heineman, who has been outrighted in the past and has over three years of service time, will be able to reject an outright assignment if there isn’t a taker via trade or on waivers. That process could take up to a week. However, Heineman does not have enough service time (five-plus years) to keep his $1.24MM salary if he turns down an outright.
Varsho’s wrist injury has kept him out of the starting lineup since June 5, though he did come off the bench in three games between then and his IL placement. It is unclear how much time Varsho will miss, but his absence is a shot to Toronto’s lineup and a tough blow for a player enjoying a solid contract year. Varsho, who has drawn walks at a career-best 19.1 percent clip, has hit .256/.331/.408 (106 wRC+) with five long balls in 64 games and 236 PA. Known throughout his career for his plus defense, Varsho has been credited with one DRS, OAA and FRV apiece in center field this year. However, having dealt with rotator cuff problems that required surgery in 2024, his arm strength is only in the 18th percentile.
Varsho’s recovery from his procedure kept him from debuting until late April last year. He also spent time on the IL with a strained hamstring. The injuries limited him to 71 games. While Varsho was out, the Blue Jays primarily turned to Myles Straw in center field. Nathan Lukes was next in the pecking order. Both players are still in the fold, making them logical fill-ins for however long Varsho is out.
Rodriguez has been outrighted in the past, giving him the right to reject the assignment. But that isn’t going to happen, as Rodriguez lacks the service time to collect the rest of the money on the five-year, $32MM deal he signed in 2024. The 29-year-old Cuban pitched to 3.08 ERA in 73 innings in 2025, but he has struggled this season over a much smaller sample of works. The Jays designated Rodriguez after he threw 9 1/3 frames of 7.11 ERA ball with more walks (seven) than strikeouts (six).
Guardians Recall Daniel Espino For MLB Debut
2:01pm: The Guardians have officially announced the move. To make room for Espino, they optioned righty reliever Codi Heuer to Triple-A.
7:34am: The Guardians are expected to recall right-hander Daniel Espino for his MLB debut, reports Zack Meisel of The Athletic. Espino is already on the 40-man roster, so only a 26-man move will be needed.
It’s been a long journey to the big leagues for Espino. The 25-year-old has missed almost all of the past three seasons due to injuries. After not pitching at all in 2023 and 2024, Espino made it back on the mound for one Triple-A appearance last year.
Espino was among the top prospects in Cleveland’s organization after getting selected in the first round of the 2019 draft. MLB Pipeline ranked him at No. 5 in the system heading into the 2020 campaign. Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs had Espino at seventh that year. The righty, along with Triston McKenzie and James Karinchak, was among the most promising arms in the organization at the time.
With the 2020 minor league season scrapped, Espino didn’t get a full year of pro ball until 2021. He was excellent in 20 starts split between Single-A and High-A. Espino recorded a massive 40.5% strikeout rate with a sub-4.00 ERA across 91 2/3 frames. He made the jump to Double-A and continued to punch out minor leaguers at a ridiculous clip. Espino posted a 51.5% strikeout rate in four starts with Akron.
The injury issues began for Espino in 2022. His campaign was cut short by knee and shoulder concerns. Despite tossing just 18 1/3 innings, Espino entered the 2023 season as the consensus top prospect in the Guardians’ system. He was heralded as one of the best young arms yet to debut in the majors. As he ramped up for the 2023 season, Espino felt renewed shoulder discomfort. The injury ultimately required surgery. Additional procedures on his right arm would cost Espino all of 2024 and most of 2025.
Espino has moved to a bullpen role this season. He’s made 22 appearances at Triple-A, all but one of which have come as a reliever. Espino has posted 18 2/3 innings of a 5.30 ERA with Columbus. He’s maintained strong strikeout numbers, whiffing Triple-A opponents at a 33.3% clip.
The Guardians opened the year with Rule 5 pick Peyton Pallette in a long-relief role. He’s since been returned to the White Sox. Espino hasn’t had an appearance longer than an inning with the Clippers, so he’s unlikely to fill that role. Cleveland’s high-leverage group is rock solid with Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis, and Shawn Armstrong handling the later innings. Espino has the strikeout skills to join the mix, but he’ll likely begin in lower-leverage spots.
Photo courtesy of Samantha Madar of the Columbus Dispatch via Imagn Images