Luis Severino Placed On 15-Day IL With Shoulder Strain
4:45 pm: The A’s have placed Severino on the 15-day IL with a right shoulder strain. Right-hander Michael Kelly was recalled to take his spot on the roster. Kelly broke camp with the club but was optioned to Triple-A in early April.
May 30: Luis Severino threw only 23 pitches in an inning of work during his start in the Athletics’ 8-2 loss to the Yankees on Friday. While warming up for the top of the second, Severino was visited by the team trainer and eventually left the mound due to what the A’s later announced was a bout of arm soreness.
The issue has bothered Severino for the last week, as the right-hander told MLB.com’s Martin Gallegos and other reporters that he came out of his previous start on May 21 with some right triceps tightness. After a bullpen session on Tuesday went well, the A’s still opted to push Severino’s next start to Friday to provide for a little extra rest through the club’s Thursday off-day.
At this point, however, it seems likely that Severino will require a 15-day IL stint to fully recover. No decision has been made yet, as Severino is set to undergo more tests today to further explore the problem. “The biggest [concern] for me is not even my next start. It’s finding something that is going to keep me out for a long time,” Severino said. “If the worst-case scenario is missing one or two starts, I’m happy with that.”
Following the weekend series with New York, the A’s have another off-day on Monday before playing nine games in nine days. The team won’t have to address Severino’s next turn in the rotation until Thursday, yet it looks like the A’s will again have to dip into their rotation depth chart after already losing Aaron Civale to the injured list (with a bout of shoulder tendinitis) earlier this week.
Gallegos suggests that prospect Kade Morris could be called up from Triple-A to make his MLB debut, should the Athletics need a starter to fill in for Severino. Morris isn’t on the 40-man roster, however, so Joey Estes or Mason Barnett could get the call if roster considerations are a factor. Luis Morales is also on the 40-man but has been moved a relief role in Triple-A as the right-hander has continued to struggle.
The A’s remain just 1.5 games out of both first place in the AL West and an AL wild card slot, yet that has more to do with the American League’s parity than it does with the Athletics’ modest 27-30 record. As expected going into the season, the Athletics have been carried by their offense, though the team’s lineup has been more okay than elite. The A’s have gotten okay-ish results from Jeffrey Springs, J.T. Ginn, Civale, and Severino in the rotation, though naturally more is expected from Severino given the three-year, $67MM free agent deal he signed during the 2024-25 offseason.
Severino’s second year in West Sacramento has seen the right-hander improve his ERA to 4.16 and his strikeout rate to 24%, though his 11.4% walk rate is on pace to be the second-highest total of his 11 Major League seasons. Severino was public with his displeasure last year over pitching at Sutter Health Park, and his home/away splits continue to markedly differ. In 2026, Severino has a 3.38 ERA over 37 1/3 innings on the road, and a 5.33 ERA over 25 1/3 innings at home.
Phillies Designate Zach Pop For Assignment
The Struggling Middle Tier Of Free Agent Starters
It's no secret the upcoming free agent class is one of the weakest in recent memory. Aside from Tarik Skubal, who should do very well despite the bone chips surgery that cost him a couple months in his walk year, there's a lack of impact talent. Most of the focus has been on the lackluster hitting group, but there haven't been many impending free agent starters staking a claim to a significant contract either.
Freddy Peralta has been the clear #2 arm in the class. He's having a solid but not exceptional first year with the Mets, struggling to complete six innings while posting a career-low 24% strikeout rate. Peralta still seems on track for the second-largest contract, in large part because none of the prime-aged pitchers have made a strong push to unseat him.
Among impending free agent starters, the top performers through the season's first two months are all on the older side. Kevin Gausman (age 36 in 2027), Michael King (32), and Nick Martinez (36) have been the top performers. 34-year-old Clay Holmes was among that group until a Spencer Jones comebacker broke his right fibula. All those pitchers are trending toward significant annual salaries, but only King has much of a chance at topping three years. Holmes' injury and Martinez's subpar strikeout rate could keep them each at two.
[Related: Which Impending Free Agents Are Actually Improving Their Stock?]
There has been a fairly defined cutoff for the market's willingness to go long term on pitchers. In the past decade, only four free agent starters 32 or older have commanded four or more years: Jacob deGrom, Blake Snell, Hyun Jin Ryu and Nick Pivetta. The Pivetta deal was three-year money spread out over four for luxury tax purposes. Four years at that age has essentially been reserved for aces.
By contrast, there have been 10 free agent contracts of at least four years for 31-year-old starters in that time. Teams have treated that as a meaningful cutoff, leaving the door open for a pitcher in that age range to emerge as the second- or third-best arm in the class.
MLBTR's early April free agent power rankings offer a snapshot of which players we thought had the best chance to push Peralta for the #2 arm available. Let's check in on every 31 and under starter who either made our initial Power Ranking or the honorable mentions. For all but one, the first two months of the season have been bleak.
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Reds Designate Kyle Nicolas For Assignment, Select Lyon Richardson
The Reds are shuffling the bullpen. Right-hander Pierce Johnson is headed to the injured list with right elbow inflammation, the club announced. Righty Lyon Richardson is returning to the big-league club to take his spot. To open up room on the 40-man for Richardson, Cincinnati designated right-hander Kyle Nicolas for assignment.
Nicolas joined the organization via trade from the Pirates in March. Outfielder Tyler Callihan went to Pittsburgh in the deal. Nicolas didn’t break camp with the club, but made his team debut in early April. He was knocked around for seven earned runs over seven appearances. The righty piled up 13 walks over 7 1/3 frames.
The 27-year-old Nicolas struggled in his first outing with the Reds. He ceded three earned runs in mop-up duty and had to be relieved by a position player. Nicolas settled in for four scoreless appearances after the ugly debut. He was tagged for four earned runs in a late April outing against the Rays and was optioned back to Triple-A shortly after.
Throwing strikes has been the main issue for Nicolas. He’s pitched in parts of four seasons in the majors and has yet to post a sub-10% walk rate. The righty has an underwhelming 59.5% strike rate across 93 MLB outings. Nicolas posted a career-worst 38.4% zone rate in his brief stint with the Reds.
After two short stretches with the Reds in 2023 and 2024, Richardson was a regular in the bullpen last season. He pitched to a 4.54 ERA across 37 appearances. The Reds used Richardson in a variety of roles, including occasional late-inning appearances. He picked up three holds, but also covered more than an inning on 14 occasions.
Richardson came up as a starter, and his first four games with the Reds were starts. He struggled to an 8.64 ERA as a rookie in 2023. Richardson began transitioning to a relief role in 2024. He pitched out of the bullpen six times at Triple-A. His lone appearance with the Reds that season came as a reliever. Richardson has been almost exclusively used out of the bullpen since then.
Cincinnati added Johnson on a one-year, $6.5MM deal in January. He delivered a 3.27 ERA across 24 appearances. Johnson picked up four holds and a save. The 35-year-old was removed during an outing against the Mets on Tuesday. He allowed a hit and recorded two outs before getting pulled.
Johnson is the latest high-leverage reliever to go down for the Reds. The club lost closer Emilio Pagan to a significant hamstring strain in early May. He’s about three weeks into his initial four-to-eight week recovery timeline. Right-hander Graham Ashcraft went to the 60-day IL with a UCL sprain on Friday. He hasn’t been ruled out for the season, but he’ll be sidelined for at least a couple of months.
Photo courtesy of Sam Greene of the Enquirer via Imagn Images
Nolan Arenado’s Arizona Bounce-Back
Nolan Arenado‘s no-trade clause was the most obvious obstacle for the Cardinals in their attempts to trade the third baseman during the last two offseasons, as Arenado (especially during the winter of 2024-25) had a very short list of acceptable landing spots. It didn’t help that Arenado was also owed a substantial amount of money, and St. Louis ended up eating $31MM of the $42MM remaining on the third baseman’s contract once Arenado finally approved a trade to the Diamondbacks last January.
The bigger-picture issue hovering over the situation, however, was simply the fact that Arenado looked like a player in decline. After a superb 2022 season with the Cards that saw Arenado finish third in NL MVP voting, Arenado dropped down to a modest 107 wRC+ in 2023, then a 102 wRC+ in 2024, and then an ugly 84 wRC+. It was just the third time in Arenado’s career that he had delivered below-average offense, with the other two instances being his 2013 rookie season with the Rockies, and the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign.
Apart from an elite strikeout rate, Arenado’s 2025 numbers were pretty ugly across the board. He hit .237/.289/.377 with 12 home runs over 436 plate appearances in what ended up as his final season in St. Louis, and his barrel and hard-hit ball rates each ranked only in the 12th percentile of all hitters. Arenado’s numbers in those two categories were pretty similar in 2024, making it consecutive seasons of diminished power.
On the plus side, Arenado’s third base glovework was still strong, even if down from his Platinum Glove-winning prime years. So in swinging that trade with the Cardinals, the D’Backs could at least count on Arenado for solid defense and a veteran voice in the clubhouse. Even if Arenado’s bat was a question mark, it was a flier the Diamondbacks were willing to take given the modest $11MM price tag ($5MM in 2026, $6MM in 2027) and the fact that Arizona hadn’t been able to land such third base targets as Alex Bregman or Brendan Donovan.
Through two months of the season, Arenado seems to have benefited from the change of scenery. The 35-year-old has turned back to the clock to some extent by hitting .275/.357/.462 with seven home runs over 196 PA, translating to a 130 wRC+. If Arenado can keep this going over a full year, the 130 wRC+ would tie the third-highest mark of his 14-year big league career.
There was some thought that the move to Chase Field might spark Arenado’s bat, and sure enough, he has done more damage in a more hitter-friendly home ballpark. Arenado has a .934 OPS across 94 home PA, as opposed to a .711 OPS in 102 PA away from Phoenix.
His overall .360 wOBA is also notably higher than his .339 xwOBA, so some regression is probably inevitable (though .339 is still comfortably above the league average). Arenado still isn’t making contact with much authority, as his barrel rate is only up to 6.5% from 4% in 2025, and his hard-hit ball rate has actually dropped from 32.6% last year to 31.9% this year. While he is still making plenty of contact, Arenado’s 17.9% strikeout rate is on pace to be the second-highest of his career.
When Arenado has squared the ball, however, he has capitalized. As per Statcast’s launch angle sweet spot metric, Arenado’s number is up to 38.4% this season, putting him in the 81st percentile of all batters. (Comparatively, Arenado’s 31.5 LAS% in 2025 put in the 16th percentile.)
All of this success comes after a very rough opening two weeks to the season, as Arenado started his D’Backs tenure with a .392 OPS over his first 52 plate appearances. It was around this time that Arenado and the hitting coaches made some swing changes, with the third baseman telling Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic that he was including too much head movement and not enough of his back hip while swinging. A new pregame routine was also introduced with the goal of, as Arenado put it, “trying to see shapes and pitches before I step in the box, so when I step in the box, it doesn’t feel like it’s the first time I’m doing it.”
Time will tell if Arenado can keep this going over an extended period of time, though his hot streak has now been going for almost a month and a half. Arenado’s production has basically offset an extended slump from shortstop Geraldo Perdomo, and helped keep the Snakes in a wild-card position and a game behind the Padres for second place in the NL West.
Even if Arenado does start to cool off, the D’Backs don’t need him to be the All-Star of his prime years — they just need him to produce like a $5MM player. Rather than looking like a plan B or C for the Diamondbacks’ third base needs, the Arenado trade is now shaping up as a nice bargain for the Snakes, and one of the cannier moves of the Arizona offseason.
Rays Outright Jon Heasley
Right-hander Jon Heasley has cleared waivers and been outrighted to the Rays’ Triple-A affiliate. (Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reported the move shortly before the team’s official announcement.) Heasley isn’t able to decline the outright assignment, so he’ll return to Durham and await his next selection to the active roster.
The Rays signed Heasley to a minor league deal in April and then selected him to their 26-man roster just three days ago. Heasley pitched the final four innings of the Rays’ 11-2 loss to the Orioles on Wednesday, allowing five runs on eight hits, including a pair of home runs. Tampa Bay then designated Heasley for assignment yesterday, and the right-hander made a quick trip through waivers.
Though Wednesday’s outing was far from memorable, it did mark Heasley’s first MLB game in almost exactly two years. Ironically, Heasley’s last appearance was with the Orioles back on May 23, 2024, and that unsuccessful stint saw him post a 16.88 ERA across four games and 5 1/3 innings of work.
A 13th-round pick for Kansas City in the 2018 draft, most of Heasley’s pro career has been spent in the Royals organization, apart from the 2024 season in Baltimore and his current stint in Tampa. Heasley has exhibited good control but only intermittent strikeout ability even in the minors, and his career ERA now stands at 6.04 over 143 frames with the Rays, Orioles, and Royals. Big league batters have taken Heasley yard a stunning 31 times in that relatively brief 143-inning sample size.
Jarred Kelenic Elects Free Agency
TODAY: Kelenic cleared waivers and elected free agency rather than accept an outright assignment, according to Brooke Fletcher of the Chicago Sports Network.
MAY 25: The White Sox announced that outfielder Jarred Kelenic has been designated for assignment. That’s the corresponding move for them to select infielder/outfielder Rikuu Nishida, a move that was reported yesterday.
Kelenic, 26, signed a minor league deal with the Sox in the offseason. He began the season at Triple-A and put up some encouraging numbers. In 26 games, he slashed .202/.346/.464. That batting average is obviously not pleasant but was held back by an unfortunate .224 batting average on balls in play. The on-base percentage was buoyed by a huge 18.3% walk rate. His six home runs in 104 plate appearances boosted the slugging percentage. The batting line translated to a subpar 97 wRC+ but would have been above average with a bit more batted ball luck.
The White Sox decided to give him another shot in the big leagues, which didn’t work out. He got into 19 games and stepped to the plate 59 times. His 10.2% walk rate was strong but he also struck out at a huge 33.9% clip. Though his .344 BABIP was actually a help in this sample, he nonetheless put up a .226/.305/.321 line and 81 wRC+.
These are fairly small data sets but they do roughly mirror Kelenic’s larger career arc. A former sixth overall pick and top prospect, he has often put up huge numbers in the minors without finding success in the majors. Including this year’s stint with the Sox, he now has 1,547 big league plate appearances. He has been punched out in 30.7% of those and has a .211/.283/.374 line, which leads to an 84 wRC+. He has stolen some bases but hasn’t received strong grades for his glovework.
The overall performance has pushed him into fringe roster status. As mentioned, he had to settle for a minor league deal coming into this season. He has exhausted his option years, so the Sox had to bump him off the 40-man since they no longer want him on the active roster.
Kelenic is now in DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Sox could take five days to explore trade interest. The most likely outcome is Kelenic ending up on waivers and clearing. He just cleared waivers in October of last year and he hasn’t done much to raise his stock since then. Players with a previous career outright or three years of service time have the right to reject outright assignments in favor of electing free agency. Kelenic qualifies on both counts and can head to the open market if he clears waivers in the next week.
Photo courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski, Imagn Images
Blue Jays Designate Austin Voth, Select Hayden Juenger
The Blue Jays announced that right-hander Austin Voth has been designated for assignment. Right-hander Hayden Juenger‘s contract has been selected from Triple-A, as Juenger will take Voth’s place on both the 26-man and 40-man rosters.
Toronto has now DFA’ed Voth twice this season, and the first designation in early April saw Voth elect free agency rather than an accept outright assignment to Triple-A, though he soon re-signed with the Jays on a new minor league deal. In both cases, Voth was designated after eating some innings in a bullpen game — he allowed one run in 2 2/3 innings in a 3-0 loss to the White Sox on April 5, and was hit hard for five runs over 3 1/3 innings in yesterday’s 6-5 victory over the Orioles.
It seems quite possible history will repeat itself with Voth’s latest trip through the DFA process. Assuming he isn’t claimed off waivers, he might opt for free agency and then re-sign with Toronto again, or he might just streamline things by accepting an outright assignment. Given how the Blue Jays are still dealing with numerous injuries to their starting pitchers, Voth might soon be called upon again to cover some innings, so he might view the Jays as his best route to another big league appearance.
Juenger will provide the Jays bullpen with a fresh arm for today’s game in Baltimore, and the 25-year-old will be making his Major League debut whenever he appears in a game. A sixth-round pick out of Missouri State in the 2021 draft, Juenger isn’t listed as a top-30 prospect in Toronto’s farm system by either Baseball America or MLB Pipeline, but a strong performance at Triple-A Buffalo this season has punched his ticket to the Show.
Over 20 innings for Buffalo in 2026, Juenger has a 3.15 ERA, 26.1% strikeout rate, and 9.1% walk rate. Those numbers come despite a .386 BABIP, as Juenger’s FIP is an even more impressive 2.40. Juenger also hasn’t allowed a home run this year, which speaks to a bit of luck in the other direction though his grounder rate is a solid 44.6%. The Jays have spent the last few years using Juenger as a multi-inning reliever, so he’ll step into the bullpen to soak up as many innings as he can in his taste of the majors.
Mets Select Cionel Perez, Designate Anderson Severino
The Mets announced that they have selected the contract of left-hander Cionel Perez from Triple-A Syracuse. To create room on the 26-man and 40-man rosters, right-hander Tobias Myers was optioned to Triple-A and left-hander Anderson Severino was designated for assignment.
Perez signed a minor league deal with the Nationals last offseason and then made the Opening Day roster, thus guaranteeing a $1.9MM salary for the 2026 season. After struggling to a 6.19 ERA over 16 games and innings, Perez was outrighted off Washington’s 40-man roster at the start of May, and he rejected that outright assignment in favor of free agency. The Mets came calling with another minors contract just a couple of days later, and Perez will get another chance to get his 2026 season (and to some extent his career) back in the right direction.
A veteran of nine MLB seasons, Perez’s best work came with the Orioles from 2022-24, when he posted a 3.12 ERA and allowed only four homers over 164 2/3 innings out of the Baltimore pen. The grounder specialist’s ability to keep the ball in the park helped paper over some uninspiring strikeout and walk rates, but since Opening Day 2025, Perez has a 7.41 ERA over 37 2/3 big league innings, with 29 walks and only 30 strikeouts. While he is still generating grounders at an elite rate, Perez has given up five homers in his last two seasons of work, so batters are doing heavy damage when they’re able to get the ball in the air.
It remains to be seen if Perez can get on track in Queens, or if he might soon find himself back in DFA limbo as part of the Mets’ neverending bullpen churn. Brooks Raley, A.J. Minter, and now David Peterson represent other left-handed options in New York’s relief corps, and Perez might just be on board for a cup of coffee as a fresh arm after the Mets went 10 innings in yesterday’s 9-7 win over the Marlins.
Since Perez has more than five years of MLB service time, he was able to retain his 2026 salary even after declining his outright assignment from the Nationals. That means that Washington will owe him the rest of that $1.9MM, with the Mets on the hook for just the prorated portion of a Major League minimum salary for any time Perez spends on the active roster.
Severino’s big league resume consists of six games and 7 1/3 innings (with a 6.14 ERA) for the White Sox in 2022. After being cut loose by the Sox following that season, he spent the next three seasons outside of affiliated baseball, including two years in the Mexican League before the Mets signed Severino to a minors contract in November.
New York selected Severino’s contract to its 40-man roster 11 days ago but optioned Severino to Triple-A, probably indicating that Severino had some kind of opt-out clause in his deal if he wasn’t included on a 40-man roster. His 1.31 ERA and 51.1% grounder rate over 20 2/3 innings for Triple-A Syracuse could draw some attention on the waiver wire, but those impressive numbers are undermined by a .229 BABIP and 13.8% walk rate, plus Severino’s 25% strikeout rate isn’t anything special.
Myers’ demotion to Triple-A is also worth mention, as he has a 4.05 ERA over 33 1/3 innings this season (working as a proper reliever in 18 games and making two pseudo-starts as an opener). His ability to pitch multiple innings as been helpful for the Mets, but Myers has allowed at least one earned run in four of his last five outings, and he was charged for two runs during an inning of work yesterday. Myers will probably be called back up before too long, particularly if Perez is indeed just in the Show for a short amount of time.
White Sox Place Munetaka Murakami On Injured List
TODAY: Murakawmi has a Grade 2 hamstring strain and will miss 4-6 weeks, Venable told SoxMachine’s James Fegan and other reporters. Chicago officially placed Murakami on the 10-day IL today, and selected infielder Jordan Gonzalez (as reported yesterday) to take his spot on the active roster.
MAY 29: The White Sox’s dramatic win tonight over the Tigers didn’t come without a cost. Munetaka Murakami left the game with right hamstring tightness. Manager Will Venable said postgame that while the team was still awaiting testing results, the rookie slugger could miss a couple weeks (relayed by Scott Merkin of MLB.com).
Murakami tweaked his hamstring in the third inning. He hustled to beat out a potential double play ball and favored his leg after getting through the bag. Venable said postgame they believe there’s a strain and will know more about the severity after tomorrow’s imaging. Miguel Vargas kicked over to first base to finish the game. Colson Montgomery slid from shortstop to third base, while Luisangel Acuña handled short.
It halts a phenomenal start to Murakami’s big league career. He easily leads rookies with 20 home runs, tying him with Yordan Alvarez for second in MLB behind Kyle Schwarber. The strikeout concerns that were oft-mentioned haven’t stopped him from being one of baseball’s most feared sluggers. Murakami is hitting .240/.378/.560 over his first 246 plate appearances.
Vargas hit a two-run, walk-off shot against Drew Anderson with two outs in the tenth inning. That pushed the Sox to a season-high three games above .500. They’re only three games back of the Guardians in the AL Central and currently occupy the second Wild Card spot.
The Sox will reportedly bring up infield prospect Jacob Gonzalez tomorrow as the corresponding move. Vargas seems likely to handle everyday first base duties for a few weeks. Gonzalez and Montgomery would get the majority of the playing time on the left side of the infield. Acuña can pick up occasional middle infield work, while second baseman Chase Meidroth is also able to slide to the other side of the bag.