Dodgers Claim Charlie Barnes
The Dodgers announced the claim of left-hander Charlie Barnes off of the Cubs’ waiver wire. Chicago designated Barnes for assignment earlier this week. To create room on the 40-man roster, Los Angeles shifted Tommy Edman to the 60-day injured list.
More to come…
Bobby Cox Passes Away
The Braves announced that longtime manager Bobby Cox passed away at age 84. Cox led the Braves to the 1995 World Series title, and his 2504 wins rank fourth on the all-time list for managerial victories. As per the team’s official release to media….
“Bobby was a favorite among all in the baseball community, especially those who played for him. His wealth of knowledge on player development and the intricacies of managing the game were rewarded with the sport’s ultimate prize in 2014 – enshrinement into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
And while Bobby’s passion for the game was unparalleled, his love of baseball was exceeded only by his love for his family. It is with the heaviest of hearts that we send our sincerest condolences to his beloved wife, Pam, and their loving children and grandchildren.”
More to come…
Astros Claim Rhylan Thomas
The Astros have claimed outfielder Rhylan Thomas off waivers from the Mariners, as announced by both teams. Houston moved right-hander Hunter Brown from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL in order to clear space for Thomas on the 40-man roster.
The Mariners designated Thomas for assignment earlier this week, as the M’s made a waiver claim of their own in obtaining Jose Suarez from the Braves. An 11th-round pick of the Mets in the 2022 draft, Thomas was dealt to Seattle for Ryne Stanek in advance of the 2024 trade deadline, and Thomas got his first taste of the big leagues over a three-game call-up just over a year ago. Thomas got a hit and a walk over his 10 plate appearances in a Mariners uniform before being optioned back to Triple-A.
Thomas hit .325/.380/.411 over 617 PA for Triple-A Tacoma last season, but those numbers have fallen off considerably this year, down to .260/.313/.328 over 145 PA. The drop from a .332 BABIP in 2025 to a .269 mark this season is certainly a factor, as since Thomas is a contact-and-speed type of hitter, some bad batted-ball luck can have a heavy impact on his production.
Houston was still intrigued enough to make a waiver claim, as the Astros were known to be looking for outfield help even before injuries started to whittle down what was already a thin depth chart. Thomas is also a left-handed hitter, which is helpful since the Astros’ lineup is mostly right-handed bats. Thomas has two minor league options remaining, allowing the Astros some flexibility in moving him back and forth from Triple-A as the situation may warrant.
A Grade 2 shoulder strain sent Brown to the 15-day IL on April 2, and the 60-day placement still adheres to that initial placement date. It doesn’t materially change Brown’s return date, as the ace right-hander wasn’t expected back anyway until late May at the absolute earliest, so the 60-day IL move now firmly keeps Brown sidelined until early June. Brown threw a bullpen session yesterday in the latest step in his throwing progression.
Rays Select Aaron Brooks, Designate Justyn-Henry Malloy
The Rays announced that they have selected Aaron Brooks‘ contract from Triple-A Durham. Outfielder Justyn-Henry Malloy was designated for assignment to open up a 40-man roster spot for Brooks, and right-hander Mason Englert was optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding 26-man roster move.
Brooks had been playing with Caliente de Durango of the Mexican League until the Rays signed him to a minors contract a couple of weeks ago. After two appearances (and an 8.31 ERA over 8 2/3 innings) in Durham, Brooks now finds himself back in the majors, and looking for his first MLB action since he tossed 26 2/3 innings over five appearances for the Athletics in 2024.
The 36-year-old Brooks made his big league debut back in 2014, and he has since appeared in parts of six big league seasons with the Royals, A’s, Cardinals, and Orioles, posting a 6.36 ERA over 206 2/3 career innings. Brooks also spent two seasons with the Kia Tigers of the KBO League, in addition to his stint in Mexico and in the farm systems of several other MLB teams. In 2025, Brooks also started the season pitching with Durango before inking a minor league deal with the Athletics that didn’t result in any calls to the majors.
Englert tossed 46 pitches over 3 1/3 innings of relief in the Rays’ 2-0 loss to the Red Sox yesterday, so he’ll head to Triple-A to rest while Brooks brings a fresher arm to the Tampa bullpen. Brooks has mostly worked as a starter and is therefore capable of pitching multiple innings. It’s probably likely that this selection is just a cup of coffee for Brooks, and he’ll find himself in DFA limbo (Brooks is out of minor league options) before too long when the Rays need or want to make another roster move.
Malloy has now been designated twice in his career, and the first DFA back in December saw the Rays acquire the slugger in a trade after the Tigers removed him from their roster. Over 132 plate appearances in Durham, Malloy has hit only .128/.273/.266 with four home runs, in a stark dropoff from the very strong numbers Malloy posted with Detroit’s Triple-A affiliate. Even with his 2026 numbers factored in, Malloy has a career .270/.409/.456 slash line and 44 homers over 1341 PA against Triple-A pitching.
These numbers made Malloy an interesting prospect to watch in the Tigers’ system, but he hit a modest .209/.311/.346 over 357 PA in the majors during the 2024-25 seasons. Used as a corner outfielder and first baseman throughout his career, Malloy isn’t much of a defender and his best lineup fit might be as a DH, thus making him a tricky roster fit. Another team might be interested enough in Malloy’s Triple-A track record to take a flier on a waiver claim, but if not, Malloy will have to accept an outright assignment.
Latest On Hunter Harvey
Cubs right-hander Hunter Harvey has hit a setback in his recovery from triceps inflammation, as an MRI revealed a stress reaction in his triceps area. Manager Craig Counsell shared the details with reporters (including Gordon Edes of the Chicago Sun-Times) yesterday, including the news that Harvey will be out of action for at least another month.
Harvey’s last game was on April 8, so he has already missed over a month of action. His current placement on the 15-day injured list began on April 9, and it seems quite likely the Cubs will shift Harvey to the 60-day IL whenever they need to open a 40-man roster spot. (60-day IL stints are backdated to the start of a player’s initial placement on the 15-day IL.)
It makes for yet another extended absence for a pitcher whose career has unfortunately been defined by injuries. Harvey has tossed 189 innings over 186 games since making his Major League debut in 2019, as a variety of ailments both delayed his arrival in the bigs and then put his career frequently on hold once he finally made it to the Show. In 2025, Harvey tossed only 10 2/3 innings with the Royals due to both a teres major strain and then a Grade 2 adductor strain.
When he has been able to pitch, Harvey has delivered solid results — a 3.07 ERA, 27.4% strikeout rate, and 6.5% walk rate over 161 1/3 innings with the Nationals and Royals from 2022-25. The Cubs took a flier on Harvey by signing him to a one-year, $6.5MM free agent deal last winter, but he posted only a 6.75 ERA over four innings and appearances before his triceps issue arose. There’s still time for Harvey to make good on that investment, even if mid-June seems like his earliest possible return date.
Ethan Roberts (finger laceration) was activated from Chicago’s 15-day IL yesterday, giving the Cubs’ pitching staff some help amidst an incredible run of injuries. Even with Roberts back, the Cubs still have Harvey and eight other pitchers still on either the 15-day or 60-day IL. The most noteworthy element of Wrigleyville’s injury plague is that it hasn’t stopped the Cubs from posting baseball’s best record, as Chicago takes a 27-12 record and a ten-game winning streak into today’s contest with the Rangers.
Twins Place Taj Bradley On 15-Day Injured List
The Twins announced that right-hander Taj Bradley has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to inflammation in his right pec muscle. The placement is retroactive to May 6. Right-hander Travis Adams was called up from Triple-A to take Bradley’s spot on the active roster.
It can be assumed that Bradley’s injury surfaced during his between-starts throwing sessions, as he came out of his last outing on Tuesday in seemingly good fitness. Bradley was slated to start for the Twins against the Guardians tomorrow, and the Twins could make another call-up as a replacement starter, or perhaps deploy a bullpen game (with Adams likely to earn multiple innings).
The severity of the injury isn’t yet known, but in any case is an unwelcome interruption to Bradley’s impressive start to his first full season in a Twins uniform. Bradley has a 2.87 ERA, 26.1% strikeout rate, and 8.5.% walk rate across eight starts and 47 innings. His 3.71 SIERA reflects that Bradley has gotten away with limiting the damage from a lot of hard contact allowed, but still, it has been a solid turn-around for a pitcher who seemed at a crossroads following a disappointing 2025 campaign.
Bradley joins Mick Abel and Pablo Lopez as Twins starters on the injured list, and Lopez’s season ended before it began when he underwent an internal brace surgery in February. Minnesota got another big injury scare when Joe Ryan‘s last start ended after only nine pitches, but Ryan is set to return to the mound today without any time missed due to the elbow discomfort. An off-day on Monday will allow the Twins to rest and reset their pitching staff, but since their next off-day isn’t until May 21, the Twins will need to cover at least one more of Bradley’s scheduled starts.
Guardians Acquire Patrick Bailey
11:35AM: Both teams have announced the trade. 7 News’ Ari Alexander adds the detail that the Giants are calling catcher Logan Porter up from Triple-A to take Bailey’s spot on the active roster, so San Francisco will be continuing with a three-catcher depth chart for the time being.
10:10AM: The Guardians have acquired catcher Patrick Bailey from the Giants, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports. San Francisco will receive left-handed pitching prospect Matt Wilkinson and the 29th overall pick of the 2026 draft (the first selection of Competitive Balance Round A, which are the only types of picks that can be dealt). Cleveland has an open spot on its 40-man roster for Bailey, and The Athletic’s Zack Meisel adds that the Guards will option catcher Bo Naylor to make room for Bailey on the active roster.
Bailey has won the last two Fielding Bible Awards and NL Gold Glove Awards, cementing his case as the sport’s best defensive catcher. Between Bailey and backup Austin Hedges, the Guardians now have the best defensive catching tandem in recent memory, and have doubled down on their commitment to prioritizing glovework over offense from their backstops. Obviously the Guards were hoping Naylor would add more pop from behind the plate, but after an impressive debut in his 2023 rookie season, Naylor has hit only .192/.266/.351 over 893 plate appearances since Opening Day 2024.
Those numbers aren’t far below the .224/.282/.329 slash line Bailey has posted over 1342 career PA. Bailey’s lackluster offense took an even sharper nosedive this year, as he has hit only .146/.213/.183 over his first 89 trips to the plate in 2026. The situation became dire enough that the Giants were reducing Bailey’s playing time, at first because Rule 5 pick Daniel Susac (currently on the 10-day IL) was on fire at the plate, and then since prospect Jesus Rodriguez was recalled earlier this week from Triple-A.
San Francisco will now go forward with Rodriguez and Susac when he’s healthy, and Eric Haase is also on the 26-man roster. Because Rodriguez can play multiple positions, the Giants might keep all three players even when Susac is activated from the injured list, if the team wants to keep Haase on hand for some veteran experience.
While this trade isn’t as seismic as the Rafael Devers blockbuster last June, it does represent another aggressive early-season move from Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey. Even if Bailey was losing playing time, seeing the Giants move on from the catcher entirely counts as something of a surprise.
The desire for change may stem from the Giants’ 15-23 start, as San Francisco is tied with the Angels and Mets for the fewest wins in all of baseball. For as little as Bailey was contributing, getting less offense than expected from a defensive specialist hasn’t been as much of a lineup issue as the cold starts from Devers, Willy Adames, Matt Chapman, and Harrison Bader (who is also currently on the IL). That said, the club is clearly looking for runs wherever they can find them, and clearing the path for Susac and Rodriguez is one way of pursuing upside.
Obviously there’s still a lot of baseball to be played before the trade deadline, yet today’s move is perhaps also the first sign that the Giants may already be looking beyond the 2026 season. Between the Dodgers’ ongoing dominance and the Padres’ strong start, the Giants are looking at a wild card berth at best even if they’re able to dig their way out of this early-season hole. If the struggles continue, more selling will take place before the deadline, and possibly even well in advance of the deadline given Posey’s willingness to swing a prominent deal at any time on the calendar.
From a pure trade-value standpoint, it’s also not a bad outcome for Posey to move an increasingly expendable catcher for both a starting pitching prospect and a high draft pick. The 29th overall selection is the first pick of CBR-A, and thus the highest selection available to be traded. Acquiring this CBR-A pick adds to what is already going to be a particularly important draft for the Giants, as the team got lucky in landing the fourth overall pick in the draft lottery last December.
Wilkinson was a 10th-round pick for the Guardians in the 2023 draft, and isn’t considered a top-30 prospect in either the Baseball America or MLB Pipeline rankings of the Cleveland farm system. Nonetheless, Wilkinson has posted some solid numbers across his four pro seasons, including a 1.59 ERA, 33.6% strikeout rate, and an 8.4% walk rate across 28 1/3 innings for Double-A Akron this season. This marked Wilkinson’s first taste of Double-A action, and a promotion to Triple-A doesn’t seem out of the question before 2026 is over. Nicknamed “Tugboat,” Wilkinson received some higher-profile work when he pitched for Canada’s team in this spring’s World Baseball Classic.
The Guardians have enough other pitchers ahead of Wilkinson on the depth chart that the organization apparently felt comfortable moving the southpaw. Dealing the CBR-A pick is more of an eye-opener, as the low-payroll Guards have traditionally relied so heavily on building from within.
Moving that pick for Bailey in particular is also intriguing, as adding Bailey doesn’t help Cleveland’s biggest need of more offense. The Guardians’ lineup has been better than the near rock-bottom numbers posted in 2025, and this improvement has come even with Jose Ramirez and Steven Kwan off to slow starts. On paper, however, one might have expected the Guards to seek out more of a proven bat if they were going to make any kind of a notable change to their everyday lineup.
Bailey isn’t eligible for arbitration until the coming offseason, so the Guardians have control over his services through the 2029 campaign. With one defensive specialist under longer-term control, it is possible the Guards might end their cycle of one-year, $4MM contracts to retain Hedges’ services. Since top prospect Cooper Ingle is expected to make his MLB debut before 2026 is over, the Guardians may be making the move from the Naylor/Hedges era to Bailey and Ingle as their regular catching tandem.
Orioles Place Cade Povich On 15-Day Injured List
The Orioles placed Cade Povich on the 15-day injured list yesterday due to left elbow inflammation, and right-hander Trey Gibson was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move. Gibson threw two innings of relief in Friday’s 4-3 Orioles loss to the Athletics, so it doesn’t appear as if Gibson will directly fill in for Povich as Baltimore’s rotation remains in a state of flux.
Povich is one of four O’s starters currently on the IL, with Zach Eflin on the 60-day version after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Trevor Rogers is probably the likeliest candidate to step back into the starting five in Povich’s place, as Rogers is eligible to be activated on Monday and seems to be recovering well from the illness that sent him to the sidelines.
It may be that Povich also won’t be out for too long, as Baltimore manager Craig Albernaz told reporters (including MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko) that Povich’s discomfort is on the outside of his left elbow, more in the triceps area. Povich underwent an MRI to examine the problem and he may get a cortisone shot to aid in the healing process.
The IL stint is no surprise given that the elbow issue forced Povich out of his last start on Wednesday after only three innings and 58 pitches. The southpaw has made three starts (and four total appearances) due to the Orioles’ swath of pitching injuries, but hasn’t looked particularly sharp in posting a 5.12 ERA, a middling 8.5% walk rate, and only a 14.6% strikeout rate over 19 1/3 innings of work. Povich did well in his first two outings but has given up eight runs in his last seven frames, though his sore elbow certainly contributed to the three runs he surrendered to the Marlins on Wednesday.
The Opener: Cubs, Reds, Misiorowski, Snell
Munetaka Murakami blasted his 15th home run of the season in yesterday’s 12-8 White Sox loss to the Mariners, and set some big league history in the process. As per MLB.com’s Scott Merkin, Murakami is the first player to ever hit a homer in eight consecutive series-opening games — Hall-of-Famer Eddie Murray held the previous mark of seven games.
1. Cubs cruising, Reds reeling
April ended with Cincinnati holding a one-game lead over Chicago for first place in the NL Central, but the two clubs’ fortunes have drastically changed in May. The Cubs completed a four-game sweep of the Reds on Thursday and then extended their overall winning streak to 10 games in yesterday’s 7-1 rout of the Rangers. On the other hand, the Reds continued their winless month with a dismal 10-0 loss to the Astros on Friday, as Cincinnati has now dropped eight in a row. The NL Central remains the only division entirely above the .500 mark, but the Reds’ 20-19 record puts the team in last place.
2. The Miz brings the velo
Not to be overlooked in the NL Central race, the Brewers have won seven of their last 10 to improve to 20-16, and Jacob Misiorowski delivered a gem of a start in Friday’s 6-0 shutout of the Yankees. Misiorowski allowed only two hits and two walks over six scoreless innings while striking out 11, and displayed unreal velocity with 10 different pitches that reached at least 103mph. Misiorowski’s three offerings of 103.6mph were the fastest pitches on record from a starting pitcher since Statcast began recording velocity in 2008, and Misiorowski has now thrown 11 of the 14 fastest pitches from a starter during the Statcast era. (Hat tip to MLB’s Sarah Langs.) Two more impressive young arms meet today as the series continues in Milwaukee, as New York’s Cam Schlittler gets the start against the Brewers’ Kyle Harrison.
3. Snell to make 2026 debut
Blake Snell has yet to pitch this season due to shoulder fatigue, but the Dodgers will activate the southpaw to start against the Braves tonight in a battle of NL division leaders. While the Dodgers clearly haven’t been held back by an avalanche of injuries to starting pitchers over the last few years, the revolving door continued on Friday when Tyler Glasnow was placed on the 15-day IL due to lower back spasms, opening up a spot for Snell in the rotation. Glasnow may only miss the minimum 15 days, as L.A. manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including The Athletic’s Katie Woo) that Glasnow might have been able to pitch through the back problem but the club chose to be cautious.
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