Mariners Recall Robinson Ortiz, Select Brennen Davis
The Mariners announced several roster moves today. Infielder Patrick Wisdom has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list and left-hander Robinson Ortiz has been recalled from Triple-A. The lefty will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game. To open spots for those two, Seattle optioned right-hander Domingo González and infielder Leo Rivas. Additionally, the Mariners selected outfielder Brennen Davis to the 40-man roster and optioned him to Triple-A. The 40-man had a vacancy but is now full with Davis taking the open spot.
More to come.
Twins Notes: Woods Richardson, Rojas, Lewis
The Twins are moving struggling starter Simeon Woods Richardson to the bullpen for at least this turn through the rotation, per Bobby Nightengale of the Minnesota Star Tribune. Left-hander Kendry Rojas, a well-regarded prospect whom Minnesota acquired in last year’s Louis Varland trade with the Jays, will take his place and start tonight against the Astros.
It’s not necessarily a full-fledged rotation change. Rojas is taking the ball in what’ll amount to a bullpen game. Woods Richardson may even factor into the contest in some sort of bulk relief role. However, the 25-year-old has struggled immensely as a member of Minnesota’s starting staff this year. Woods Richardson has started nine games but been tagged for a grisly 7.71 ERA. He’s been done in by extreme susceptibility to home runs (1.93 HR/9) and the lowest strikeout rate of any pitcher who’s thrown at least 20 innings this year (10.1%).
Woods Richardson is a former second-round pick and touted prospect who came to Minnesota alongside breakout left fielder Austin Martin back in the 2021 José Berríos trade with the Blue Jays. From 2024-25, he was a solid back-end starter, taking the ball 51 times (all but one of them starts) and recording a 4.11 ERA with a 21.5% strikeout rate and 9% walk rate.
Woods Richardson hasn’t seen a massive drop-off in velocity, but his heater is down more than half a mile per hour, from last year’s 93.2 mph to a 92.6 mph average this season. He’s moved away from a curveball that was never all that effective and shifted from a traditional changeup to a harder splitfinger change that hasn’t produced the type of results for which he or the team hoped.
If the Twins were able, they’d likely have optioned Woods Richardson by now in hopes of getting him on track. He’s out of minor league options, though, so the solution isn’t so straightforward. Minnesota surely doesn’t want to completely jettison a formerly well-regarded prospect who gave them 50 mostly decent starts from 2024-25 and who still has four additional seasons of club control remaining.
Whether this is a full-on role change or just a temporary break to get him some bulk work in lower-leverage spots, a move to the ‘pen has seemed like an inevitability for some time now. It’s hard not to wonder what Woods Richardson’s arsenal might look like in shorter relief, however, especially since the Twins’ bullpen has been an unmitigated nightmare. Most pitchers see their velocity tick up when abandoning starting pitching and moving into one-inning, max-effort outings. Woods Richardson sat 93.2 mph last year and got strong results on his slider in both 2024 (opponents hit .214 and slugged .313) and 2025 (.214, .378). Bumping that velo into the mid-90s and focusing more heavily on that slider could produce better results.
Whatever shape it takes in the short term, Rojas figures to have a clear path to audition for a rotation spot in the long term. The Twins reluctantly parted with a homegrown (and hometown) Varland last year in large part because they were so enamored of Rojas’ potential in the rotation. The 6’2″, 190-pound southpaw has a 2.20 ERA in 16 1/3 minor league frames this season and has allowed two runs in his first 7 1/3 MLB frames out of the bullpen. Rojas has walked as many batters as he’s struck out (eight), which isn’t particularly encouraging, but he’s a 23-year-old in his first taste of major league action. Rojas walked 5.3% of his opponents in the minors and has generally been between 9-10% in most other seasons, so there’s no reason to expect command woes of this nature over a larger sample.
Rojas has sat 96 mph with his four-seamer in the majors and 97 mph in Triple-A this year. He’ll mix in an occasional sinker, but his go-to secondary offerings are a slider and changeup both thrown in the upper 80s. He’s a consensus top-10 prospect in an above-average Twins system that got stronger because of last summer’s fire sale and will get another boost this summer with the No. 3 overall draft pick. Rojas joins Taj Bradley, Mick Abel, Connor Prielipp, Zebby Matthews and top-100 prospect Dasan Hill in a collection of young arms around which the Twins hope to build the next core of their rotation.
While Woods Richardson struggles on the mound, Minnesota is facing a similar inflection point with struggling third baseman Royce Lewis. The 2017 No. 1 overall pick looked bound for stardom when he debuted in 2022-23 with a .307/.364/.549 slash and 17 homers in his first 70 MLB games (280 plate appearances). On top of that performance, Lewis went on to club four homers in 26 plate appearances during Minnesota’s 2023 postseason run. The sky looked to be the limit.
Injuries, however, have taken their toll. Lewis has twice torn the ACL in his right knee. He’s also had three strains/partial tears of his left hamstring, a quad strain in his right leg and (earlier this year) a mild sprain in his left knee. That’s practically a career’s worth of lower-half injuries, but Lewis incurred them all before even turning 27 years old (which he’ll do on June 5).
In 31 games and 119 plate appearances this season, Lewis is hitting just .163/.261/.279. Strikeouts have never been a prominent issue for him in the past — he posted a 21% strikeout rate from 2022-25 — but he’s fanned in 31.1% of his plate appearances this season. Lewis’ 32.8% chase rate on balls off the plate isn’t egregiously higher than his 31.4% career mark, but it’s way north of the 28.2% mark he showed during that 2022-23 flash of potential stardom. Meanwhile, his contact rate on pitches within the zone has dropped from 83.7% entering the year to just 78.3%. His contact rate when he does chase off the plate has cratered, falling from 59.1% in 2022-25 to only 44% this season.
Dan Hayes of The Athletic spoke to Twins skipper Derek Shelton, who voiced praise for Lewis’ work ethic and the amount of effort he’s put in to climb out of this rut. That only goes so far, however, and sooner than later the Twins will need to see tangible gains or else consider a demotion similar to Matt Wallner, who was optioned to Triple-A last week after two-plus years on the big league roster. Hayes lists journeyman Orlando Arcia and top-100 prospect Kaelen Culpepper as potential options to swap out for Lewis. Both would need to be added to the 40-man roster. Culpepper is a shortstop but could play third base in the majors or perhaps push Brooks Lee to the hot corner. Arcia doesn’t have a big track record but is hitting .318/.376/.556 with eight homers over in St. Paul.
Lewis is controllable through the 2028 season. He’s making $2.85MM this season after avoiding arbitration over the winter. He still has a pair of minor league option years remaining.
Mets To Select Zach Thornton This Week
The Mets are going to promote pitching prospect Zach Thornton this week. Manager Carlos Mendoza informed reporters, including Tim Britton of The Athletic, that Thornton will play some kind of role for the Mets on Wednesday. That could be as a starter or working as a bulk guy behind an opener. Thornton is not yet on the 40-man roster, so the Mets will have to make room for him somehow.
Thornton, now 24, was a fifth-round pick of the Mets in 2023. He put himself on the prospect map with a strong 2025 season. He only made 14 starts before an oblique injury ended his season, but the numbers were good. Between High-A and Double-A, he tossed 72 2/3 innings, allowing 1.98 earned runs per nine. He struck out 28.5% of batters faced and only walked 4% of opponents. He also induced grounders on 43.2% of balls in play.
Coming into 2026, Baseball America ranked him the #13 prospect in the system and FanGraphs had him 12th. He doesn’t have huge velocity, averaging just 91 miles per hour with his fastball these days, but both BA and FG highlight his excellent command. FG also highlights his vertical slot and his ability to hide the ball as part of his delivery. His full arsenal includes a four-seamer, sinker, slider, cutter, curveball and changeup.
He has continued to post good numbers this year, with five Double-A starts and two at Triple-A. Combined, he has thrown 37 innings with a 3.16 ERA, 26.5% strikeout rate, 7.9% walk rate and 44.4% ground ball rate. BA bumped him up to #10 in the system in today’s update.
The Mets are dipping into their depth due to the recent injury to Clay Holmes, who fractured his right fibula and might be sidelined into August. Christian Scott is starting tonight and Nolan McLean tomorrow. Wednesday would have been Holmes’s turn. The Mets have some long relief options on the roster, although Sean Manaea just tossed four innings behind Freddy Peralta yesterday. Tobias Myers has starting experience but hasn’t tossed more than three innings in any game this year.
Thornton will at least get a spot start. What remains to be seen is if he’ll get sent back to the minors after that or if he’ll stick around. For the next turn, they could put Manaea or Myers into the Holmes spot. They could also turn to someone else on the farm, such as Jonah Tong, Jack Wenninger or Jonathan Pintaro.
Photo courtesy of Jim Rassol, Imagn Images
Cardinals Outright Jared Shuster
For the second time this season, the Cardinals outrighted Jared Shuster to Triple-A Memphis (relayed by Jeff Jones of The Belleville News-Democrat). The left-hander has the right to decline the assignment in favor of free agency, though he previously forewent that option in the middle of April.
Shuster has made four MLB appearances with the Cardinals in two stints on the roster. He has worked multiple innings in three of those and allowed two earned runs. Shuster has tallied 7 2/3 frames with just six hits and two unintentional walks. He has only recorded two strikeouts, though, missing bats on 3.5% of his pitches.
A first-round pick by Atlanta in 2020, Shuster is a pitchability lefty whose arsenal was headlined by a plus changeup. The Braves hoped he’d move quickly and slot at the back of a rotation, but the lack of swing-and-miss has kept him in a depth/swing role. Atlanta traded him to the White Sox after the 2023 season in the Aaron Bummer deal. Chicago lost him on waivers to the A’s last summer, and he signed with St. Louis after the A’s released him in December.
Shuster carries a 5.12 earned run average with a 15% strikeout rate across 149 1/3 MLB innings. He has a 5.45 ERA over parts of five Triple-A seasons, including this year’s 9 2/3 frames of nine-run ball in Memphis. Shuster is out of options and needs to clear waivers each time a team wants to assign him to the minors.
Royals Place Kris Bubic On IL With Elbow Soreness
3:30pm: The Royals will deploy a bullpen game on Tuesday, per Rogers.
2:10pm: The Royals announced that left-hander Kris Bubic has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to left elbow soreness. Right-hander Eli Morgan has been recalled in a corresponding active roster move.
Bubic started on Thursday against the White Sox, allowing five earned runs in four innings. That wasn’t his best start in terms of results but his velocity was roughy in line with his season-long numbers and it didn’t appear as though anything was amiss. Until this IL announcement, he was listed as the club’s probable pitcher for Tuesday’s game. Per Anne Rogers of MLB.com, the lefty experienced more soreness than normal after that outing. The club decided to be cautious and put him on the IL while he undergoes testing, hopefully for a short stint.
Ideally, it will be a brief trip to the IL, but the timing is less than ideal for the Royals. They also put Cole Ragans on the IL due to an elbow injury earlier this month, which led to Stephen Kolek getting called up. In addition to losing two lefties from the big league rotation, their depth has taken a hit. Both Ryan Bergert and Ben Kudrna underwent elbow surgeries last month and are likely done for the year.
As of now, the Royals have Seth Lugo, Noah Cameron, Michael Wacha and Kolek in four spots. Lugo is taking the ball against the Red Sox tonight. As mentioned, Bubic was supposed to be the starter for Tuesday’s game, so they will need some other plan for that. The Royals are off on Thursday and again on the following Thursday, so they’ll have some time to come up a longer term plan, but the short term may be a bit tricky.
Luinder Avila and Bailey Falter have each been pitching in multi-inning relief stints of late, so perhaps those two could combine forces as part of some kind of bullpen game. Mason Black and Mitch Spence are on optional assignment but Black has been pitching in relief in the minors. Spence has been starting but went six innings on Friday, meaning he wouldn’t be on normal rest by tomorrow. Aaron Sanchez is around as non-roster depth but he has a 7.13 earned run average in Triple-A this year and just started on Saturday. Ryan Ramsey hasn’t pitched since Tuesday but has a 6.23 ERA in Triple-A this year.
It’s also notable for Bubic, who is an impending free agent. He has posted some good numbers in his career but his health track record might be concerning to clubs. Tommy John surgery wiped out most of his 2023 and 2024 seasons. He was back on the mound for much of 2025 but didn’t pitch after the month of July due to a rotator cuff strain. Now a new elbow injury has put him back on the shelf.
Around those injuries, Bubic has only thrown 213 innings since the end of the 2022 season. As he heads into the open market, he would ideally put some of those injury concerns behind him. He could still do that if this is indeed a brief absence, but for now, it’s another bump in the road and a situation to monitor.
Photo courtesy of Denny Medley, Imagn Images
Yankees Select Yovanny Cruz
The Yankees announced that they have selected right-hander Yovanny Cruz to their major league roster. Fellow righty Elmer Rodríguez has been optioned to Triple-A to open an active roster spot. The Yanks had a couple of 40-man vacancies, so no corresponding move is required there.
Cruz, 26, was originally an international signee of the Cubs out of the Dominican Republic back in 2016. He became a minor league free agent after 2023 and has since bounced around on minor league deals with the Padres, Red Sox and Yankees.
Though he was signed a decade ago, this is his first season pitching at the Triple-A level. Statcast pegs his four-seamer at 99.2 miles per hour on average. He also throws a high-80s slider. Statcast has also classified a few pitches as splitters, sinkers or changeups but the four-seamer/slider combo has made up well over 90% of his offerings.
For most of his minor league career, he has been able to miss bats but also the strike zone. From 2023 to 2025, he logged 110 innings on the farm, allowing 3.19 earned runs per nine. He struck out 26.8% of batters faced while giving out walks to 14.5% of opponents.
The results this year have been comparable, though slightly improved. In 18 frames, he has an ERA of 3.00 and a 29.1% strikeout rate. He has also induced grounders on 52.3% of balls in play. He has given out nine walks, making up 11.4% of batters faced. He has also hit three batters. Combining the walks and the hit batters, that’s 15.2% of opponents getting a free trip to first. Despite the control issues, Baseball America has taken notice, recently giving Cruz the #28 spot in the Yankees’ system.
It’s possible that Cruz is only up to give the Yanks a fresh arm. Of the Yankees eight relievers, six of them pitched yesterday. Three of those were pitching for a second consecutive day. With the group somewhat gassed overall, they will go to a nine-man bullpen by bringing up Cruz.
It’s unclear what this means for the rotation. The Yanks recently placed Max Fried on the IL and recalled Rodríguez to take his rotation spot. Rodríguez had a decent outing yesterday, allowing one run over 4 1/3 innings. After the game, manager Aaron Boone told Bryan Hoch of MLB.com that Rodríguez would stick around for one more turn of the rotation before Gerrit Cole‘s scheduled reinstatement from the injured list.
It seems the Yanks pivoted from that plan in order to get a fresh arm up for tonight’s game, as they kick off a four-game series against the Blue Jays. Ryan Weathers, Will Warren, Cam Schlittler and Carlos Rodón are scheduled to start the games in that series. By Friday’s game against the Rays, they’ll need a plan for the open rotation spot. That could be activating Cole sooner than anticipated, or perhaps a bullpen game led by someone like Paul Blackburn or Ryan Yarbrough. They could also call someone else up from the minors between now and then, if Cole is still going to make one more rehab start.
Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images
Gio Urshela Announces Retirement
Infielder Gio Urshela has announced his retirement as a player in a post on his Instagram page. In the post, he thanks the people who contributed to his career, including his family, friends, fans, baseball organizations, coaches, the people of Colombia and more.
Urshela, now 34, was signed by Cleveland back in 2008. An international amateur out of Colombia, he secured a signing bonus of $300K. He quickly developed a reputation as a plus defender at third base while also dabbling at the other infield positions. His bat was a bit more questionable. He didn’t strike out much in the minors but also didn’t draw many walks and it wasn’t clear how much thump he could produce with his contact approach.
He cracked the majors in 2015. His initial big league opportunities matched his profile. He could pick the ball at third and didn’t strike out a lot but also didn’t produce offensively. He was eventually designated for assignment in 2018 and flipped to the Blue Jays in a cash deal. The Jays put him on waivers later that year and the 29 other clubs all declined a chance to claim him. At that time, he had 499 major league plate appearances and a .225/.274/.315 line.
The Jays traded Urshela to the Yankees for cash late in 2018. He began the following season as non-roster depth for Miguel Andujar, who had just finished a solid rookie campaign, finishing second in American League Rookie of the Year voting behind Shohei Ohtani. Early in the 2019 campaign, Andujar suffered a torn labrum in his right shoulder, an injury that would eventually require season-ending surgery. Though that was unfortunate for Andujar, it turned out to be the opportunity for Urshela to break out.
Urshela took over the third base job in the Bronx that year with a big step forward offensively. He hit 21 home runs and slashed .314/.355/.534 for a 132 wRC+. FanGraphs credited him with 3.1 wins above replacement. He may have hit his personal zenith that year with some help from external forces. His .349 batting average on balls in play was well above average. That was also the juiced-ball year, with home run records set all around the league.
Regardless, Urshela still proved to be a viable major league hitter in subsequent seasons. Over the shortened 2020 season and the 2021 campaign, he hit 20 homers in 159 games and slashed .275/.320/.438 for a 108 wRC+. He was credited with 2.4 fWAR for that span.
Going into 2022, Urshela was part of a big trade. He and catcher Gary Sánchez were flipped to the Twins for third baseman Josh Donaldson, infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa and catcher Ben Rortvedt. Urshela had a solid campaign in Minnesota, hitting 13 home runs and putting up a .285/.338/.429 line, translating to a 118 wRC+. FanGraphs put another 2.6 WAR on his ledger that year.
Ahead of the 2023 season, Urshela was traded to the Angels for pitching prospect Alejandro Hidalgo. That was unfortunately just before things started to turn sour for Urshela. He hit a respectable .299/.329/.374 for the Halos but went on the injured list in June due to a pelvic fracture. He didn’t require surgery but he missed the second half of that season and was never really able to get back on track after that.
He became a free agent and signed a $1.5MM deal with the Tigers going into 2024. He got into 92 games for Detroit but hit .243/.286/.333 for a wRC+ of 74. He was designated for assignment and released that August. He latched on with Atlanta and finished on a slightly higher note, slashing .265/.287/.424 in 36 games.
That strong finish was enough to get him a $2.15MM deal with the Athletics for 2025. He hit .238/.287/.326 in 59 games for the A’s before getting designated for assignment and released in August. He returned to the Twins on a minor league deal this past offseason. He hit .192/.250/.231 in spring training and was released at the end of camp.
Urshela finishes his career having played in 851 games with 3,028 plate appearances. He only walked in 5.9% of those but also limited his strikeouts to an 18.3% pace. He collected 759 hits, including 147 doubles, nine triples and 73 home runs. He scored 312 times, drove in 352 runs and stole seven bases. His career slash line finishes at .270/.314/.407. That leads to a subpar 97 wRC+ but is dragged down by his slow start and soft finish. From 2019 to 2022, he hit .290/.336/.463 for a 118 wRC+. Both FanGraphs and Baseball Reference credit him with about eight wins above replacement, mostly from that four-year peak. Baseball Reference pegs his career earnings over $25MM.
We at MLB Trade Rumors congratulate Urshela on a fine career and wish him the best for his post-playing days.
Photos courtesy of David Butler II, Jesse Johnson, Nick Wosika, Imagn Images
Trade Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript
Steve Adams
- Good afternoon! We'll get going in 90 minutes or so, but feel free to submit questions ahead of time if you prefer. Looking forward to it!
- Happy Monday! Let's get going
Rookie Craze
- AJ Ewing or Henry Bolte? Who's ship are you jumping on? I see Ewing as a higher floor more guarantee to be a major league regular. I see Bolte as having a higher ceiling and more chance at All Star status but more risk of being a flop. Am I right?
Steve Adams
- I think Ewing just has a higher ceiling and floor. Bolte probably has more power and obviously has elite speed, but the hit tool is so shaky. Ewing feels both safer and likelier to become an All-Star
Olereb
- Are the Braves stuck with Jurickson Profar? I mean it does not sound fair, the Braves signed him because they felt he could help them for the next 3 years. He cheated not once but twice, he let them down. In my opinion the Braves should be able to void his contract. There’s nobody that’s going to want him and the circus that’s going to follow him.
Steve Adams
- They're not stuck paying him or anything. He's not taking a roster spot or collecting any salary while he's out with his suspension. He hit when he was healthy last year. I suppose they're stuck with him for 2027.I don't think you'll ever see an agreement that a PED suspension should void a player's contract. There are millions (tens of millions, in some cases) on the line. Imagine if ... I don't know, Anthony Rendon tested positive for PEDs last year and had his contract voided, then accused the Angels of giving him some kind of banned substance. It'd be a fiasco, and it flies in the face of the fully guaranteed contracts for which players have fought. I don't see it.
Carter
- Marlins are gearing towards a disappointing season... do you think they will capitalize on the market and sell off starting pitching? Alcantara can warrant a good return while someone like Meyer can get a better one. Any thoughts?
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Mets Select Daniel Duarte
The Mets announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Daniel Duarte. In a corresponding active roster move, fellow righty Joey Gerber has been optioned to Triple-A. To open a 40-man spot, lefty A.J. Minter has been transferred to the 60-day injured list.
Duarte, 29, signed a minor league deal with the Mets in the offseason. He has been with Triple-A Syracuse and putting up good numbers, at least on the surface. He has thrown 17 1/3 innings over 12 appearances, allowing 2.60 earned runs per nine.
Beneath the hood, things aren’t quite as impressive. His 19.7% strikeout rate and 12.7% walk rate are both subpar numbers. His 45.8% ground ball rate is above average but only by a few ticks. His ERA would be far higher without good luck, since his .255 batting average on balls in play and 82.5% strand rate are both to the fortunate side. His 4.21 FIP is perhaps a better representation of how he has pitched this year.
It’s possible Duarte is up to give the Mets some emergency length out of the bullpen. Their rotation is in a transitional phase at the moment, thanks to the recent injury to Clay Holmes. That leaves them with a four-man rotation consisting of Christian Scott, Nolan McLean, David Peterson and Freddy Peralta, with Peterson often pitching behind an opener. They have Tobias Myers and Sean Manaea as potential options for some bulk work, though Manaea tossed four innings behind Peralta yesterday and won’t be available for a few days.
Scott is starting tonight’s game. He hasn’t gone more than five innings in any game yet this year. McLean is listed as the starter for tomorrow’s game. It would be Holmes’s turn on Wednesday, so the Mets will need to figure out a plan for that game, whether it’s leaning on Myers as part of a bullpen game or calling someone up from the minors.
Five of Duarte’s 12 appearances this year have been two innings or longer, including three of the past four. He hasn’t pitched since May 12th, so he should be fresh and could help out in the coming days, perhaps if Scott can’t go very long tonight. Gerber hasn’t pitched since a game for Syracuse on the 12th but has mostly been throwing one-inning outings in the minors this year. Duarte still has an option and could be easily sent back down to Syracuse if he soaks up some frames and another fresh arm is needed.
As for Minter, he underwent lat surgery last year and was still recovering from that procedure as the 2026 season began. He began a rehab assignment in April but was pulled back in early May due to some left hip discomfort, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. He started a new rehab assignment on May 15th, tossing an inning for Syracuse. Since he has been on the 15-day IL all year, his 60-day count is retroactive to the beginning of the season. He will therefore be eligible for reinstatement next week.
Photo courtesy of Reinhold Matay, Imagn Images
Orioles Claim Michael Siani, Designate Jose Espada
The Orioles claimed outfielder Michael Siani off waivers from the Dodgers and designated righty Jose Espada for assignment to clear space on the 40-man roster. Siani has been optioned to Triple-A Norfolk.
Siani was designated for assignment by the Dodgers last week when they acquired fellow outfielder Alek Thomas in a trade with the D-backs. The 26-year-old Siani has spent the entire 2026 season with the Dodgers’ Triple-A club after coming over from the Yankees in a February waiver claim. That capped off a busy winter for Siani, who bounced from the Cardinals, to the Braves, to the Dodgers, to the Yankees and back to the Dodgers in a series of DFAs and waiver claims.
In 107 plate appearances with the Dodgers’ top affiliate, Siani has slashed just .225/.355/.303. He’s walked at a huge 15.9% clip but has also fanned in 28% of his plate appearances and has yet to hit a home run. Siani has picked up five doubles and a triple in addition to a 5-for-7 showing in stolen base attempts.
An over-slot fourth-rounder with the Reds back in 2018, Siani has spent all of his major league time in the National League Central between Cincinnati and St. Louis. He briefly debuted with the Reds in 2022 but made only 25 major league plate appearances before being claimed by the Cardinals in September of 2023. He was a frequently used, defensive-minded fourth outfielder with the 2024 Cards when he logged a career-high 334 plate appearances.
In parts of four major league seasons, Siani owns an anemic .221/.277/.270 batting line (58 wRC+) but good grades for his defense and baserunning. He’s played 1014 major league innings in the outfield — primarily in center but with fleeting corner appearances mixed in — and been credited with overwhelmingly positive marks from Statcast’s Outs Above Average (16) and from Defensive Runs Saved (7). He’s also gone 21-for-26 in stolen base attempts, giving him a success rate of nearly 81%.
The Orioles lost Dylan Beavers to an oblique strain last week. Heston Kjerstad hasn’t played at all this season due to a hamstring injury and is on the 60-day IL. Siani adds some depth to an outfield group that has gotten good production from Taylor Ward and Leody Taveras but has seen former top prospect Colton Cowser and relatively high-priced slugger Tyler O’Neill (who signed a three-year, $49.5MM contract prior to the ’25 season) both struggle tremendously at the plate.
Espada, 29, is the cousin of Astros skipper Joe Espada. He’s pitched one scoreless inning with the O’s this year and another three shutout frames with them in 2025. The 2015 fifth-rounder (Blue Jays) has only five big league frames to his credit. Espada carries a 4.57 ERA and 27.5% strikeout rate in parts of three Triple-A seasons, but he’s also walked 15.5% of his opponents at the top minor league level. Beyond his work in North American ball, Espada tossed 27 innings with the Yakult Swallows of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball back in 2024.
Espada has sat 93.6 mph on his four-seamer in the majors, coupling it with a slider that sits just under 93 mph. In the minors, he’s frequently used a splitter that averages just under 90 mph, but he hasn’t used the pitch heavily in his tiny sample of MLB work.
The O’s will have five days to trade Espada or place him on outright waivers. That’d be another 48-hour process, meaning his DFA will be resolved within a week’s time. Espada doesn’t have three years of big league service and hasn’t been outrighted at any point in his career, so he won’t have the right to elect free agency if he passes through waivers unclaimed. In that scenario, he’d head to Triple-A Norfolk and stick around as non-roster depth.