Astros Select Daniel Johnson, Designate Christian Roa For Assignment
The Astros announced that they have selected the contract of outfielder Daniel Johnson. He takes the active roster spot of fellow outfielder Taylor Trammell, who has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a left groin strain. To open a 40-man spot, right-hander Christian Roa has been designated for assignment.
More to come.
Rockies Claim Blas Castaño, Designate Luis Peralta For Assignment
The Rockies have claimed right-handed Blas Castaño off waivers from the Mariners, according to announcements from both clubs. The righty had been designated for assignment by the Mariners a week ago. The Rockies have optioned him to Triple-A Albuquerque. In a corresponding move, left-hander Luis Peralta has been designated for assignment.
Castaño, 27, was originally an international signing of the Yankees out of the Dominican Republic. He was released in the summer of 2023 and scooped up by the Mariners. He impressed his new club in 2024, posting a 4.38 earned run average in 125 1/3 minor league innings, spending most of that in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. He was added to the 40-man roster in November of 2024 to keep him from reaching minor league free agency.
He has spent the past year-plus as a depth arm for the Mariners without being needed much. He has only made one big league appearance, which was a three-inning relief outing in May of last year.
He tossed 126 2/3 innings for Triple-A Tacoma last year with a 5.19 ERA, in the unfriendly confines of the PCL. His 17.8% strikeout rate and 9.3% walk rate weren’t especially strong but he did induce grounders on 46% of balls in play. So far this year, he has been pitching out of the bullpen, throwing 6 1/3 innings over six appearances for the Rainiers. His 1.42 ERA in that small sample looks nice but his strikeout and ground ball rates are around the same level as last year.
The Mariners bumped him off their roster but the Rockies will take a shot on him. They may be attracted to his diverse pitch mix, something that has seemingly become an organizational preference. Statcast categorizes him as a five-pitch guy. He doesn’t throw his four-seamer often, leading instead with his sinker, in addition to a slider, cutter and changeup. His fastball and sinker average around 94 miles per hour, the cutter around 90, the changeup in the high-80s and the slider in the low-80s.
The Rockies could stretch him back out or keep in a relief role. They need pitching either way. They had a 5.99 ERA as a team last year, easily worst in the majors. They have a 4.40 mark so far this year, bumping them into them out of the bottom ten of MLB clubs, but in a much smaller number of games. Whether he’s working as a starter or a reliever, the Rockies can keep him at Triple-A until he’s needed. He can still be optioned for the remainder of this season and another season as well.
Peralta, 25, was acquired from the Pirates in the 2024 deadline deal which sent Jalen Beeks to Pittsburgh. Peralta, the younger brother of Freddy Peralta, showed some potential around the time of that trade but his stock has fallen.
Initially a starter, he was moved to a relief role by the Pirates. Between the Bucs and the Rockies, he tossed 47 2/3 minor league innings in 2024 with a 0.94 ERA. His 11.2% walk rate was high but he struck out 40.1% of opponents and induced grounders at a 48.8% clip. He also posted a 0.73 ERA in his first 12 1/3 big league innings.
2025 was a big step back, as he posted an ERA above 9.00 in both the majors and the minors. His 28% strikeout rate in Triple-A was still good but a big drop, while his walk rate climbed all the way up to 15.4%. In the majors, his 17.8% walk rate was worse than in the minors and also higher than his 15.8% strikeout rate, with both of those figures being well worse than average. So far this year, he has thrown 7 1/3 innings in Triple-A with a 31.1% strikeout rate but a 28.9% walk rate and 14 earned runs allowed.
Those struggles have nudged him off Colorado’s roster. DFA limbo can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Rockies could take as long as five days to explore trade interest. His recent numbers are obviously not good but perhaps some clubs see a path to getting him back to the dominant form he showed in 2024. He still has options and could be sent to the minors if any club acquires him in the coming days.
Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images
Red Sox Place Sonny Gray On Injured List
April 21st: This is now official, with Gray placed on the IL with a right hamstring strain and Samaniego recalled.
April 20th: The Red Sox will place Sonny Gray on the 15-day injured list tomorrow, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive. The veteran righty left this morning’s start with right hamstring tightness and is slated for an MRI on Tuesday. Rookie southpaw Tyler Samaniego will be recalled as the corresponding move to give Boston an extra reliever for the next few games.
Although the Sox won’t know the severity of Gray’s injury until tomorrow, they’ve expressed optimism. The pitcher and skipper Alex Cora each said they don’t believe it’s a serious injury. Gray missed time with strains of the same hamstring in 2022 and ’24. That history adds some confidence to his feel that this isn’t a major issue but also incentivizes the Sox to be cautious. He’ll be eligible to return on May 6.
Gray’s first season in Boston has been a mixed bag. He owns a 4.30 earned run average with a much diminished 13% strikeout rate over 23 innings. Gray struggled in his team debut against Cincinnati, rebounded with consecutive quality starts against San Diego and Milwaukee, then was knocked around for five runs over four innings in Minnesota last week. He had allowed one run over 2 2/3 innings in today’s start.
The early exit forced the Sox to lean heavily on their bullpen. They used seven relievers to hang onto an eventual 8-6 win over Detroit. Long man Jack Anderson, who threw three innings and 41 pitches yesterday, was the only reliever who didn’t get into today’s game. Boston has divisional series against the Yankees, Orioles and Blue Jays before their next off day on April 30. Samaniego hasn’t pitched since Friday, so he should be available for a couple innings tomorrow. He was just optioned back to Triple-A last week but can be recalled to replace an injured pitcher.
Boston’s schedule will require them to turn to a fifth starter this weekend unless they want to run a bullpen game. Top prospect Payton Tolle seems the logical candidate after making a late-season debut in 2025. The big lefty has recorded 19 strikeouts while allowing eight runs (five earned) through 15 Triple-A frames this year.
Tolle hasn’t pitched since April 12. Cotillo notes that the Sox scratched Tolle from his Triple-A start over the weekend in case he was needed at the MLB level with uncertainty about potential weather postponements and doubleheaders. Connelly Early, Ranger Suárez and Brayan Bello are lined up for the series against the Yankees. Boston hasn’t announced a probable starter for Friday’s opener with Baltimore, but Garrett Crochet would be on regular rest for that outing. Gray’s next turn would have come on Saturday.
Mets Planning To Reinstate Juan Soto Wednesday
The Mets are planning to reinstate Juan Soto from the injured list on Wednesday, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. He has been on the 10-day IL for a little over two weeks but will now return without a rehab assignment.
Soto, of course, is one of the best hitters in the league. He put up a huge .355/.412/.516 line in the club’s first eight games. A strain in his right calf put him out of action and sent him to the IL. Soto’s absence almost perfectly aligns with the club’s season going into a tailspin. The Mets won their first game with Soto on the IL, increasing their record to 7-4. They have since dropped 11 straight contests, dropping them to 7-15. That’s the worst record in the National League and only half a game better than the Royals for worst in the majors.
Ideally, Soto’s return will help the Mets to get back in the win column before the season slips away. They still have lots of time to make up ground but they’ve already put themselves in a hole. FanGraphs still gives the Mets a 41.4% chance of making the postseason, which doesn’t seem too bad in the current context, but that’s basically half of the 80.4% chance they had to begin the campaign.
The outfield has been a particular weak spot for the club since Soto landed on the shelf. The club has received a collective .232/.305/.322 line from their outfielders since Soto’s IL placement. That line translates to an 83 wRC+, indicating the group has been 17% below average, with only seven clubs below them in that category.
The Mets had planned on having Carson Benge in right, Luis Robert Jr. in center and Soto in left as their primary alignment. Robert is playing well but Benge has a .143/.229/.206 line on the year. That’s partially due to a rough .182 batting average on balls in play but his struggles have unfortunately coincided with Soto’s absence. Brett Baty has been largely bumped to the outfield by the Mets’ offseason infield additions but he has a .200/.206/.277 line this year. Tyrone Taylor is hitting .214/.241/.357. Tommy Pham is hitless in eight plate appearances.
Due to both Soto and Jorge Polanco being on the IL, MJ Melendez has picked up some playing time in the designated hitter spot. He has a .357/.438/.714 line but in a tiny sample of 16 plate appearances. That’s been helped by a massive .800 BABIP and has come despite him striking out eight times, half of his plate appearances. He won’t sustain this kind of production, especially since he’s a .216/.298/.391 hitter in almost 1700 career plate appearances.
The Mets will have to remove someone from the active roster when Soto is officially reinstated. They are currently carrying three catchers, so optioning Hayden Senger is probably the easiest solution. Recalling Senger for Polanco a few days ago may have been about giving the club the option of using Francisco Alvarez in the DH spot when he was getting a day off from catching, but they have been riding the hot hand of Melendez instead.
Optioning Benge is another option, since he is struggling so much. But as mentioned, some of that is due to poor batted ball luck, so the Mets might keep him around and hope his luck changes. Melendez also has options but the Mets might let him keep going until the hot streak ends. Designating Pham for assignment would be another possibility, since he’s not playing much and hasn’t hit when given the chance.
Photo courtesy of Robert Edwards, Imagn Images
MLBTR Live Chat
Click here to join Tuesday’s chat with MLBTR’s Steve Adams.
Orioles Designate Sam Huff For Assignment
The Orioles announced Tuesday that catcher Sam Huff has been designated for assignment. His roster spot will go to catcher Adley Rutschman, who’s returning from a brief stay on the 10-day injured list due to a minor ankle injury.
Huff was just selected to the big league roster last week. He appeared in three games with Baltimore, going 2-for-9 with a double, an RBI and five strikeouts in nine plate appearances. With Rutschman back from the injured list, however, the O’s can turn catching duties back over to their Opening Day tandem of Rutschman and prospect Samuel Basallo.
Huff, 28, signed a minor league deal with the O’s in January. The former Rangers top prospect has now played in parts of six big league seasons and slashed a respectable .246/.299/.427 with a dozen homers in 281 trips to the batter’s box. That’s roughly league-average offense, by measure of wRC+, and more than 10% better than the standard catcher. However, Huff’s output has come in spite of a colossal 36.3% strikeout rate. He’s needed a .354 average on balls in play just to get to league-average with the bat. As such, he’s highly unlikely to sustain his current pace.
On the defensive side of things, Huff has solid framing grades in his limited major league work. He’s struggled with blocking balls in the dirt and controlling the run game. The former seventh-round pick has just an 18.5% caught-stealing rate in his career and has been charged with eight passed balls in 527 innings behind the dish.
Baltimore will have five days to trade Huff or place him on outright waivers. (The latter seems likelier.) Waivers would be another 48-hour process, so the outcome of today’s DFA will be known within a week. If he clears waivers, Huff could be assigned outright to Triple-A Norfolk, where he hit .156/.250/.168 in 36 plate appearances before being summoned to the big leagues. However, since he’s previously been outrighted in the past, he’d have the right to reject a minor league assignment in favor of free agency.
Twins, Luis García Agree To Minor League Deal
The Twins and veteran right-handed reliever Luis García are in agreement on a minor league contract, reports Bobby Nightengale of the Minnesota Star Tribune. He’ll report to their Triple-A club in St. Paul for the time being. García is repped by agents Larry Reynolds, Rosie Lopez-Herrera and Noah Herrera.
García, 39, opened the season with the same Mets team against whom the Twins will open a road series tonight. He signed a one-year, $1.75MM contract in the offseason but was cut loose after only six appearances. In that time, García was knocked around for six runs (five earned) on 11 hits and a pair of walks with four strikeouts. The resulting 7.11 ERA wasn’t pretty, but García posted a hearty 3.42 earned run average just last year between the Dodgers, Nats and Angels. In 55 1/3 frames last season, García fanned 20.9% of his opponents, issued walks at an 11.2% clip and kept 49.7% of batted balls against him on the ground.
While last year’s results were generally solid, García’s early work with the Mets did raise some red flags. His average sinker velocity plummeted from 96.9 mph in 2025 to a flat 94 mph in 2026. His splitter and changeup experienced similar velocity drops. He still induced chases at a massive 46% rate and posted a strong swinging-strike rate, but the Mets were apparently disheartened enough by the nearly three mile-per-hour drop in his sinker to quickly move on.
The Twins can use all the help and experience they can get in the bullpen. Minnesota’s 2025 trade deadline sell-off centered around dismantling what had been one of the game’s best relief corps in order to bring in a host of prospects and controllable young big leaguers. The Twins then did little to address the ‘pen in the offseason, with their primary adds being Taylor Rogers (on a one-year, $2MM deal), Anthony Banda (in a small trade after he’d been designated for assignment by the Dodgers) and Eric Orze (in a trade with the Rays).
Predictably, the Twins have had one of the worst bullpens in baseball this year. Minnesota relievers rank 23rd in the game with a 5.07 earned run average, but there’s reason to think even that might be the product of some good fortune. The Twins’ bullpen has the fourth-worst strikeout rate in MLB. They’re tied for the third-slowest average fastball (93.4 mph) and have the third-worst swinging-strike rate (8.7%) of any relief corps in the game.
Adding a 39-year-old García to the mix isn’t going to fix that collection of issues, but given the righty’s 3.86 ERA from 2021-25, it’s not a stretch to think he could right the ship and help a bullpen that generally lacks experience. García’s velocity is down this year, but there’s little harm in taking a nearly free look at a veteran reliever who, in addition to that 3.86 ERA over the past five seasons, has punched out a solid 22.3% of his opponents against a sharp 7.8% walk rate and a huge 53% ground-ball rate.
Twins Promote Kendry Rojas, Activate Royce Lewis
April 21: The Twins formally announced that Rojas has been recalled for his MLB debut and that Funderburk has been placed on the paternity list. Minnesota also formalized its previously reported placement of righty Mick Abel on the 15-day IL due to elbow inflammation. To take his spot on the active roster, the Twins reinstated third baseman Royce Lewis from the injured list.
At least for now, Prielipp has not been added to the big league roster, so it seems he’ll remain on the taxi squad. Minnesota’s Wednesday starter is still listed as TBD, so perhaps that could go to Prielipp or to Rojas — depending on how tonight’s game plays out.
April 19: The Twins will promote left-hander Kendry Rojas from Triple-A to the active roster prior to Tuesday’s game with the Mets, according to Declan Goff and Darren Wolfson of SKOR North. Rojas was already added to the 40-man roster last November in advance of the Rule 5 Draft, and Bobby Nightengale of the Minnesota Star Tribune writes that the corresponding 26-man roster move is Kody Funderburk‘s placement on the paternity list.
In addition, left-hander Connor Prielipp will also be joining the Twins for the start of their series with the Mets, as per The Athletic’s Dan Hayes. It isn’t an official call-up yet, as Prielipp is only part of the taxi squad. Prielipp joined Rojas as two of the six 40-man additions Minnesota made back in November, so the Twins would just have to make another 26-man roster move if Prielipp is officially promoted.
Both Rojas and Prielipp will be making their Major League debuts whenever they appear in a game. In Rojas’ case, this might just be a cup of coffee while Funderburk is absent, though the Twins’ relief corps has struggled enough that adding a raw but talented young arm could help spark the pen. Funderburk, Taylor Rogers, and Anthony Banda are the bullpen’s current trio of left-handers, and Banda in particular has gotten off to a rough start in 2026.
Tuesday’s game in New York begins a stretch of 13 games in 13 days for the Twins, so it is possible Rojas or Prielipp might receive a spot start in order to help preserve the rotation. The club could look to use either southpaw as a traditional starter or as a long reliever, or perhaps Minnesota could deploy a piggyback with Rojas and Prielipp paired with another starter.
Rojas missed time due to a hamstring injury this year and has only pitched 7 1/3 total innings, though the 23-year-old has yet to allow a run in that small sample size. (Six innings were with Triple-A St. Paul, and 1 1/3 IP were with A-ball Fort Myers on a rehab assignment.) In those 7 1/3 frames, Rojas has posted seven strikeouts, but also four walks. Over 38 1/3 career innings at the Triple-A level, Rojas has a 14.06% walk rate, along with a 20.31% strikeout rate and a 6.10 ERA.
How well Rojas can harness his control appears to the chief question facing the lefty’s future as a viable big league arm. Baseball America ranks Rojas as the eighth-best prospect in the Twins’ farm system and MLB Pipeline has him tenth, with both outlets noting that he projects as a back-end rotation arm if he remains a starting pitcher. As per BA, Rojas “has a balanced arsenal with all his pitches projecting as at least average,” though he doesn’t have a true plus pitch. His fastball might be his top offering, as the pitch usually sits around 95mph and Nightengale writes that Rojas hit the 99mph threshold during his time in St. Paul.
The Blue Jays landed Rojas as an international signing in 2020, and his time in Toronto’s farm system was hampered by lat, shoulder, and abdominal injuries. Prior to last summer’s trade deadline, the Jays shipped Rojas and outfielder Alan Roden to the Twins in perhaps the most surprising move of Minnesota’s deadline fire sale, as controllable reliever Louis Varland and Ty France went the other way. Varland immediately became a critical piece of Toronto’s pen, but Rojas and Roden fit the Twins’ trade model of obtaining players that were at or close to big league readiness.
Prielipp is a homegrown product, selected by the Twins in the second round of the 2022 draft. BA ranked him as the 96th-best prospect in baseball prior to the 2026 season and slotted him fourth on their list of Twins prospects, while Pipeline put Prielipp fifth. Both outlets give 60-grades to the southpaw’s changeup and slider, and Prielipp generates a ton of spin on the latter pitch. Prielipp also has a mid-90s fastball that can hit 98mph.
After reaching Triple-A ball for the first time last season, Prielipp had some struggles but has now looked sharper over 15 2/3 innings for St. Paul in 2026. Over 36 2/3 innings of Triple-A ball, Prielipp has a 3.93 ERA, a 30.13% strikeout rate, and a 13.46% walk rate, so control is also a concern on his end. Staying healthy has been Prielipp’s largest issue, as he underwent a Tommy John surgery in college at Alabama and then an internal brace surgery that sidelined him for big chunks of the 2023-24 seasons. Prielipp has thrown only 128 1/3 total innings of minor league ball.
Braves Place Raisel Iglesias On Injured List
The Braves placed closer Raisel Iglesias on the 15-day injured list due to shoulder inflammation this morning, per a team announcement. Lefty Dylan Dodd was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett to take Iglesias’ spot on the active roster.
The IL placement comes a few days after Atlanta skipper Walt Weiss had acknowledged that Iglesias was unavailable because he’d slept on his shoulder wrong (via MLB.com’s Mark Bowman). Weiss said at the time that Iglesias might be available the following day (Sunday), and he indeed pitched an inning in that game. He’s now headed to the IL and will miss at least two weeks of action. Weiss will likely provide further updates on Iglesias’ status later tonight, before the Braves take on the Nats in D.C.
Iglesias sat 94.8 mph with his four-seamer in 2025 and was close to that mark for his first several appearances of the current season. His heater sat 95 mph in an April 14 outing but dropped to 93.9 mph the following day and sat just 92.9 mph his last time out.
Iglesias re-signed with Atlanta on a one-year, $16MM deal over the offseason. He’s gotten out to another strong start, holding opponents scoreless on just five hits with an 11-to-1 K/BB ratio in his first 8 2/3 frames. The right-hander struggled early last season due to an uncharacteristic stretch of susceptibility to home runs, but since mid-June of last year, he’s rattled off 52 innings with a 1.04 ERA, 31.2% strikeout rate and 5.8% walk rate while converting 26 of 27 save attempts.
With Iglesias shelved, Atlanta will almost certainly turn to fellow free-agent addition Robert Suarez in the ninth inning. The former Padres closer, who inked a three-year, $45MM contract this offseason, picked up the save Saturday when Iglesias was unavailable and has been dominant as the Braves’ primary setup man this season. He’s held opponents to just one run on seven hits and a walk with 11 strikeouts in 9 2/3 frames. Suarez picked up 77 saves and 20 holds while pitching to a 2.91 ERA in four seasons with San Diego before signing in Atlanta this winter.
The Opener: Mets, Counsell, MLBTR Chat
Here are a couple of items to monitor on Tuesday, plus a link to submit questions for a live chat with MLBTR’s Steve Adams.
1. Mets’ losing streak
The last time the Mets won a game, the Artemis II crew was still in space. New York has dropped 11 straight after a sweep against the Cubs over the weekend. The club is back home tonight to face the Twins for a three-game set. Nolan McLean will get the ball with a chance to stop the skid. The Mets’ return to New York means we’re officially on Juan Soto watch. Manager Carlos Mendoza said the star outfielder would come back from his calf injury during the homestand.
2. Counsell bristles at Ohtani Rule
With pitching injuries mounting in Chicago, Cubs manager Craig Counsell shared his take on the two-way player rule, which allows teams to carry a pitcher who doesn’t count against the team’s total. “I’ve never understood it,” Counsell told reporters, including Patrick Mooney of The Athletic. “It’s an offensive rule, essentially. It’s a rule to help offense, more than anything, if you ask me. And then there’s one team that’s allowed to carry basically one of both, and he gets special consideration, which is probably the most bizarre rule. For one team.”
Players meet the two-way designation by pitching 20 innings and playing 20 games as the DH or in the field, with three plate appearances needed for those games to count. The requirements can be met in the current season or either of the two previous seasons. Teams are limited to 13 pitchers on the 26-man roster before September.
3. MLBTR chat today:
Our guy Steve Adams will be around at 1 pm CT today to discuss everything going on around the league in a live chat. If you have something to ask him, use this link to submit questions. Follow the chat using the same link, which will also provide a transcript of the conversation once it’s over in case you missed it.
Photo courtesy of Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images