Rangers Select Cal Quantrill, Gavin Collyer
The Rangers are calling up swingman Cal Quantrill and bullpen prospect Gavin Collyer, reports Kennedi Landry of MLB.com. Texas will place righty relievers Chris Martin and Luis Curvelo on the 15-day injured list. In corresponding 40-man roster moves, Texas designated Marc Church for assignment and transferred Cody Bradford to the 60-day injured list.
Martin and Curvelo both made early exits from last night’s loss to the A’s. The former is dealing with a shoulder impingement, while the latter has a biceps strain. That’s actually a relief in Curvelo’s case, as his injury initially looked serious. He’ll miss at least a couple weeks, but there’s apparently nothing amiss structurally with his elbow.
Quantrill will be available as a long man out of Skip Schumaker’s bullpen. The veteran righty finished last season in the Texas organization and re-signed on an offseason minor league deal. He didn’t win a job out of camp and has taken three turns through the rotation in Triple-A. Quantrill has surrendered eight runs over 14 innings but has recorded 13 strikeouts against only four walks.
More to come.
Braves Likely To Select Martín Pérez On Friday
The Braves seem set to bring Martín Pérez right back up to the majors. Manager Walt Weiss told reporters this evening that the veteran southpaw was among the options to start Friday’s series opener against Philadelphia (relayed by Chad Bishop of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution). Mark Bowman of MLB.com suggests it will indeed be Pérez, who is also listed as the team’s probable starter opposite Taijuan Walker on the MLB website.
Atlanta designated him for assignment on Sunday and ran him through outright waivers. Pérez elected free agency but returned on a minor league contract this morning. That might’ve come with an understanding that he’d be quickly called back up. The transactional sequence allowed the Braves to carry a nine-man bullpen for the intervening few games, though it obviously came with the possibility that another team would claim Pérez off waivers.
Pérez has made three appearances in an Atlanta uniform. He has gotten decent results, allowing just five runs across 14 1/3 innings. The 35-year-old southpaw has only struck out six of the 53 batters he faced with a well below-average 7.2% swinging strike percentage.
Bryce Elder is on the mound for tonight’s series finale against Miami. The Braves are off tomorrow. Pérez’s return allows them to give an extra day of rest to their other starters. It’ll be Chris Sale vs. Cristopher Sánchez in a phenomenal pitching duel on Saturday and Grant Holmes opposite rookie Andrew Painter to round out the weekend divisional set. Atlanta hasn’t listed probable starters for next week’s series against the Nationals but would have Reynaldo López and Elder on schedule for the first two games.
The Braves already have two openings on their 40-man roster. They’d only need to make an active roster move involving a pitcher as a corresponding transaction. Dylan Lee and Hayden Harris are their only pitchers with minor league options. They’ll presumably option Harris out after tonight’s game.
Dylan Carlson Elects Free Agency
April 15: The transaction log has been updated to indicate that Carlson elected free agency.
April 14: The Cubs sent outfielder Dylan Carlson outright to Triple-A Iowa, according to the MLB.com transaction log. Chicago designated him for assignment over the weekend when Seiya Suzuki returned from a season-opening injured list stint. Carlson has the right to elect free agency, though the log doesn’t specify whether he’ll do so or report to the affiliate.
Carlson signed a minor league contract in January. He broke camp alongside two other non-roster invitees, Michael Conforto and Scott Kingery. Suzuki’s activation needed to push one of those three off the roster. Conforto offers a lefty bat on a heavily right-handed bench. Kingery hasn’t started a game all season but provides a little more defensive versatility and speed in a pinch-running role than Carlson offers.
The 27-year-old Carlson started one game in left field. Between that and a pinch-hitting appearance, he went 0-4 with a couple strikeouts. Carlson has now appeared at the MLB level in seven straight seasons and has accrued more than five years of service time. A former top prospect, Carlson had a couple league average seasons with the Cardinals early in his career. His bat regressed as he got into his mid-20s, and he owns a .204/.280/.303 line across four teams going back to the start of the 2024 season.
If Carlson accepts the outright, he’ll join Kevin Alcántara, Chas McCormick and Justin Dean as outfielders with MLB experience in Iowa. Alcántara and Dean hold spots on the 40-man roster. The MLB starting outfield is settled with Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Suzuki left to right and Moisés Ballesteros taking the bulk of the designated hitter work.
The Giants’ Punchless Early-Season Offense
The Giants are among the three teams off to a 6-11 start, tying them with the rebuilding Rockies and White Sox for the worst record in MLB through three weeks. It's much too early to write them off, but it has unquestionably been a rough start. They're riding a three-game losing skid into tonight's game in Cincinnati and have been outscored by 22 runs. Only the White Sox and an injury-riddled Blue Jays team have a worse run differential.
San Francisco has been mostly healthy. Their only rotation injury was losing projected sixth starter Hayden Birdsong to elbow surgery late in camp. Their position players had been fully healthy until this afternoon's injured list placements for center fielder Harrison Bader and pinch-runner/fifth outfielder Jared Oliva.
They do have a number of injured relievers, though most of those were known coming into the season. Randy Rodríguez went down to Tommy John surgery last September. They signed Sam Hentges and Jason Foley knowing neither player would be ready for Opening Day. They've lost a couple middle relievers (Reiver Sanmartin, Joel Peguero and José Buttó) since Spring Training, but that's about it. Their early-season struggles have been much more attributable to underperformance than injury.
That's especially true since the bullpen hasn't been the biggest culprit to the slow start. It hasn't been good, but they're 18th in ERA (4.39) and have blown two leads on the season. The pitching in general has been average, about what one would expect given the personnel. The offense has been the much bigger disappointment.
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Rockies Place Kyle Freeland On IL
The Rockies announced today that left-hander Kyle Freeland has been placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to April 13th, due to left shoulder inflammation. Fellow lefty Jose Quintana was reinstated from his own stint on the IL as a corresponding move.
Freeland was scheduled to start for the Rockies three days ago but he was scratched due to some tightness in his shoulder. Details on his health are still not clear but the Rockies will let him rest up for at least a few turns through the rotation.
It’s an unfortunate setback for Freeland personally. He was out to a strong start this year, with a 2.30 earned run average through his first three appearances. But beyond that, this reduces the chances of him triggering his $17MM vesting player option for 2027.
Unlocking the player option was always going to be tough, as Freeland needs to throw 170 innings this year. That’s a mark he has hit only twice in his career. Way back in 2018, he got to 202 1/3 innings. His second-best season in that category was 2022, when he only barely got there, finishing at 174 2/3. Last year, a minimal stint on the IL for a back injury knocked him out for 15 days. He took the ball 31 times and logged 162 2/3 innings.
Naturally, Freeland’s best path to hitting that benchmark would be to stay healthy and pitch deep into games. Any kind of injury setback, even a small one, reduces his chances of getting to that line.
Presumably, the Rockies wouldn’t want him to trigger that option. They are rebuilding, having lost 119 games last year, and don’t have strong motivation to spend at that level on a starting pitcher. They did bolster the rotation this winter by signing some pitchers but all to notably lower salaries than that. They gave Michael Lorenzen $8MM, Quintana $6MM and Tomoyuki Sugano $5.1MM. Even if they are willing to bring back Freeland next year, it would make sense for them to prefer to negotiate a salary, as opposed to Freeland having the freedom to just lock in $17MM.
In terms of the on-field results, it’s not a huge deal in the short term. Quintana missed a couple of weeks with a hamstring strain but slots right into Freeland’s position in the rotation. He is taking the ball tonight, followed by Sugano, Ryan Feltner, Chase Dollander and then Lorenzen.
Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images
Jared Young To Undergo Meniscus Surgery
The Mets announced that infielder/outfielder Jared Young has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to April 13th, due to a left meniscus tear. Outfielder MJ Melendez has been recalled to take his place on the roster. Young will undergo surgery, per Will Sammon of The Athletic. The team has not announced an expected recovery timeline.
It’s an unfortunate blow for both Young and the Mets. For Young personally, he was getting some big league time and making the most of it. He has usually hit well in the minors but came into this season as a 30-year-old with just 116 big league plate appearances. Injuries to Mike Tauchman, Juan Soto and Jorge Polanco opened up some playing time with the Mets this year. Young stepped up to take 23 plate appearances and produced a .350/.391/.450 line.
Unfortunately, his season will now be on pause for a while. Meniscus surgeries usually require a couple of months of recovery, give or take. For instance, Tauchman is also out due to meniscus surgery and his recovery will reportedly take six weeks.
Young’s path to playing time in the future will depend upon what else happens on the roster. Soto’s calf strain isn’t considered overly serious, so he’ll likely be back in the outfield before Young is healthy. Polanco’s Achilles injury has kept him primarily in the designated hitter slot, which has allowed Mark Vientos and Young to pick up some start at first base.
For now, Melendez comes up and will be making his Mets debut as soon as he gets in a game. A longtime member of the Royals, he signed a big league deal with the Mets in the offseason but has been on optional assignment so far this year. He has a subpar .216/.286/.431 line at Triple-A, which isn’t too far off his major league career line of .215/.297/.388.
The Mets will likely utilize a rotation of Carson Benge, Brett Baty, Luis Robert Jr., Tommy Pham, Tyrone Taylor and Melendez in the outfield, while Vientos might get more starts at first base. They don’t really have a clear depth infielder on the bench but Baty has experience at second and third, while third baseman Bo Bichette appears to be the emergency shortstop behind Francisco Lindor.
Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images
Porter Hodge To Undergo UCL Surgery
Cubs right-hander Porter Hodge will undergo surgery on the ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow, reports Taylor McGregor of the Marquee Sports Network. He will miss the entire 2026 season and likely part of 2027 as well.
It’s obviously an unwelcome development for Hodge, in addition to being another blow for the Chicago pitching staff. He began this season on the 15-day injured list with a right elbow strain. Now that he’s going to miss the remainder of the campaign, he’ll be transferred to the 60-day IL at some point in the future when the Cubs need a 40-man roster spot.
Hodge seemed to break out with the Cubs in 2024. He pitched 43 innings out of their bullpen that year, allowing 1.88 earned runs per nine. His 11.6% walk rate was on the high side but he punched out 31.7% of batters faced, averaging in the upper 90s with his fastball. He earned enough trust to rack up nine saves and nine holds that year. He got some help from a .189 batting average on balls in play and 80.1% strand rate but it was an encouraging season nonetheless.
His results backed up in 2025. His strikeout rate fell to 27.2%, still above average but well below the previous season. His walk rate ticked up a bit to 12.2%. His batted ball luck returned to normal levels and he fell victim to some home run troubles. The end result was a 6.27 ERA on the year. An oblique strain and a shoulder impingement may have impacted his ability to get in a groove.
Ideally, 2026 would have been a bounceback year but that won’t happen now. As mentioned, he has already been on the IL all season and will now stay there. The one silver lining for him personally is that he’ll collect big league pay and service time for the year. He began the season with his service clock at one years and 117 days. There’s a small chance he could qualify for arbitration as a Super Two player, depending on where the cutoff lands at season’s end.
For the Cubs, it’s another blow to the pitching staff. They have already lost Cade Horton to his own UCL surgery. Justin Steele is still working his way back from last year’s UCL surgery. Matthew Boyd, Jordan Wicks, Hunter Harvey, Phil Maton and Ethan Roberts are also on the IL. Some of those guys will be back in the mix later this season but the Cubs will now have to plan on getting through 2026 without any contributions from Hodge.
For now, they have a bullpen consisting of Daniel Palencia, Ben Brown, Caleb Thielbar, Jacob Webb, Hoby Milner, Riley Martin, Luke Little and Ryan Rolison. They have Gavin Hollowell and Charlie Barnes on optional assignment. Swingman Colin Rea is in the rotation but could be pushed back to the bullpen if some injured starters get healthy. The injured relievers could also come off the IL in the future and bolster the depth chart, but it’s also possible further injuries arise in the interim.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images
Mets Release Luis García
Right-hander Luis García has been released by the Mets, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He was designated for assignment on the weekend. He’ll head to free agency once he clears release waivers, if he hasn’t already.
García, 39, is a veteran with over ten years of service time. Any player with at least five years of service has the right to reject an outright assignment to the minor leagues while also keeping his salary commitments in place. It seems the Mets have decided to skip over the formality of that process.
The Mets signed García to a one-year, $1.75MM deal in the offseason. That’s relatively modest by the standards of big league contracts these days, though the Mets also face a huge tax bill as a repeated tax payor with a massive competitive balance tax number.
Despite making that financial commitment to García, the club quickly decided to pull the ripcord. He made six appearances, logging 6 1/3 innings. He allowed five earned runs via 11 hits and two walks while striking out four. It certainly wasn’t a good performance but that’s a tiny sample of work.
Despite his age, García was a solid relief arm as recently as last year. He tossed 55 1/3 innings for three different clubs with a 3.42 earned run average. His 20.6% strikeout rate and 11.2% walk rate weren’t amazing but he induced grounders at a strong rate of 49.7%.
Presumably, the Mets signed him because they thought he could still be effective in 2026 but they have quickly given up on that. Perhaps they were worried by his diminished stuff. His sinker averaged 96.9 miles per hour last year but has been at 94 mph so far this season, while his splitter and slider are also down about two ticks.
Garcia should land with another club shortly. Since the Mets are releasing him, they will remain on the hook for his salary. Another club could sign him and would only have to pay him the prorated portion of the league minimum for any time he spends on their roster. Given all the pitching injuries around the league, there will surely be clubs interested in a veteran arm who can be had for a minimal financial commitment.
Photo courtesy of Gregory Fisher, Imagn Images
Astros Recall Spencer Arrighetti
3:00pm: Per Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle, right-hander Cody Bolton has been placed on the 15-day IL due to right mid-back inflammation. That’s the corresponding move for Arrighetti.
7:58am: Astros right-hander Spencer Arrighetti is expected to get the ball for an upcoming matchup against the Rockies, reports Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. It’ll come either today or tomorrow, adds McTaggart. The 26-year-old didn’t break camp with the team, but he’s been dominant across three Triple-A starts. He’ll get a shot to fill the rotation void left by Tatsuya Imai, who hit the IL on Monday with arm fatigue.
Arrighetti is already on the 40-man roster, so his recall won’t require a move there. It’s unclear who will be sent down from the big-league club to make room for him. J.P. France and Colton Gordon were recalled on Monday to add length to a battered pitching staff. France tossed two scoreless innings in relief against the Mariners on Monday. Gordon drew the start on Tuesday. Colorado knocked him around for four earned runs over 3 2/3 innings. One of France or Gordon seems like a logical candidate to head back to Triple-A as Houston adds a fresh arm.
A freak thumb injury cost Arrighetti most of the 2025 campaign. He was hit by a ball on his right hand during batting practice and missed nearly four months of action. Arrighetti returned for five starts in August. He was largely ineffective across 25 innings, posting a 5.26 ERA with a 23:15 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Elbow inflammation ended Arrighetti’s season in early September.
Arrighetti’s recent results would suggest he’s fully recovered from the elbow issue. He was a bit wild in MLB Spring Training, but racked up 12 strikeouts across eight frames. He’s continued to miss bats at a considerable clip with Sugar Land. Arrighetti has a 36.4% strikeout rate through 14 minor-league innings this year. He’s allowed just two earned runs in three appearances. The righty is coming off a quality start against Tacoma, striking out seven over six innings. He got up to 82 pitches in that outing.
A former consensus top 10 prospect, Arrighetti seemed like a mainstay in the rotation when he debuted in 2024. The righty tossed a career-high 145 innings in 29 appearances with the big-league club. Arrighetti’s 4.53 ERA was unimpressive, but it came with a 4.01 xFIP and a sub-4.00 SIERA. He struck out MLB hitters at a strong 27.1% clip in his first taste of the majors.
Houston could desperately use a healthy and effective Arrighetti to boost a rotation missing Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Imai. The Astros have allowed five more runs than the next-closest team (the Nationals). The club’s starters have combined for a 6.60 ERA, nearly a run higher than the 29th-place squad (again, Washington).
Photo courtesy of Troy Taormina, Imagn Images
White Sox Designate Dustin Harris For Assignment
The White Sox announced that they have selected the contract of infielder/outfielder Sam Antonacci and recalled left-hander Tyler Gilbert. In corresponding moves, they have optioned left-hander Brandon Eisert and designated outfielder Dustin Harris for assignment. It had been reported earlier this week that Antonacci was likely going to be promoted.
The Sox added Harris to the roster a week ago when Austin Hays landed on the injured list. He got into six games and was sent to the plate 16 times. He drew four walks and recorded three hits, including one double. It’s possible the Sox just viewed Harris as a placeholder while they gave Antonacci more time to get outfield reps in the minors. Antonacci played all four infield positions last year but not the outfield. So far this year, the Sox have used him primarily in left field, with 11 starts at that position.
Harris is out of options and can’t be easily sent back to the minors. He was once a prospect of note with the Rangers but his production in the upper levels was middling. From 2023 to 2025, he was on the Texas roster but mostly kept in the minors, exhausting his three option years. He got into just 21 big league games, producing a .217/.280/.435 line in those. For that same span, he had a .271/.368/.418 line in the minors, which translated to a 103 wRC+. He was outrighted at the end of last year and elected free agency, which led to a minor league deal with the White Sox.
He’ll now head into DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Sox could take as long as five days to field trade interest. Since he has been outrighted before, he would have the right to elect free agency if he clears outright waivers again.
The Sox will see how Antonacci’s bat plays in the majors. He has great plate discipline but not a lot of power. In 688 minor league plate appearances, he has seven home runs, but his 14.7% walk rate and 13.7% strikeout rate are both much better than average. That strong approach has helped him produce a combined slash of .299/.445/.419 for a 159 wRC+.
Antonnaci can play some infield but the Sox have Munetaka Murakami, Chase Meidroth, Colson Montgomery and Miguel Vargas from right to left. Since Antonacci has been playing left field this year, he will presumably jump into the outfield mix alongside Andrew Benintendi, Luisangel Acuña, Tristan Peters, Everson Pereira and Derek Hill. The designated hitter spot can also be used to spread some at-bats around. Lenyn Sosa was getting a decent amount of the DH time but he was traded to the Blue Jays this week.
Photo courtesy of Jay Biggerstaff, Imagn Images