Orioles Place Chris Bassitt On Injured List
The Orioles announced that right-hander Chris Bassitt has been placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to June 5th, due to low back discomfort. Fellow righty Trey Gibson has been recalled in his place and will start tonight’s game.
The O’s signed Bassitt to a one-year, $18.5MM deal in the offseason. They haven’t received much return on that investment yet. Bassitt has made 12 appearances for the club so far this year, posting a 5.27 earned run average in 56 1/3 innings. His ground ball and walk rates are fairly similar to last year but his strikeout rate has almost been cut in half. He punched out 22.6% of batters faced for the Blue Jays in 2025 but is only sitting down 14.2% of opponents for the orange birds.
It’s possible the back issue has been a lingering problem. Low back inflammation sent him to the IL in September of last year. He missed the ALDS but was back on the mound in a relief role for the ALCS and World Series. Lower back tightness caused him to depart his most recent start for the Orioles after just three innings.
More to come.
Cubs Claim Eduarniel Núñez
The Cubs have claimed right-hander Eduarniel Núñez off waivers from the Orioles, according to announcements from both clubs. Jesse Rogers of ESPN reported the claim prior to the official announcement. The Cubs optioned Núñez to the Arizona Complex League and don’t need to make a corresponding active roster move. Their 40-man roster had two vacancies due to reliever Ty Blach and infielder Nicky Lopez being designated for assignment last month, so Núñez can fill one of those spots.
Núñez, now 27, is a known commodity to the Cubs. They signed him as an international amateur almost a decade ago. By the end of the 2024 season, he didn’t have a roster spot and became a minor league free agent. He signed a minor league deal with the Padres and got added to that club’s roster in the summer of 2025. He was sent to the Athletics in the Mason Miller trade but was designated for assignment in May of this year. He went to the O’s in a cash deal but Baltimore designated him for assignment a few weeks later, which has allowed his original club to scoop him back up.
The righty has shown some strikeout potential but with a lot of room for improvement in terms of control. His four-seamer averages in the upper-90s and he also throws a mid-80s slider and curveball. Dating back to the start of 2023, he has thrown 171 innings on the farm with a 3.42 earned run average. He struck out 29.4% of the batters he faced in that time but while also giving out walks at a massive 15.4% pace. He also made ten appearances in the big leagues for the A’s last year and walked 18.3% of opponents.
With the Cubs sending Núñez to their Arizona complex, they presumably have some plan in mind to get him on track, perhaps with some kind of mechanical adjustment. He can remain on optional assignment for the rest of this year and one additional season, so the Cubs could be patient with him. They don’t have short-term pressure on the 40-man as they still have a vacancy after this move. Though whether he can hold his roster spot in the long term will depend on what the team sees in the coming weeks as they get a close-up look at him
Photo courtesy of Dennis Lee, Imagn Images
Rays To Select Austin Slater
1:20pm: The Rays have officially announced Slater’s addition to the roster. Heasley was transferred to the 60-day IL as the corresponding 40-man move. To open an active roster spot, infielder Oliver Dunn has been optioned to Triple-A Durham.
9:55am: The Rays will select the contract of outfielder Austin Slater from Triple-A Durham, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Slater signed a minor league deal with Tampa Bay late last month but is now headed to the major league club as the Rays gear up for a slate of left-handed pitchers.
Tamps Bay will need to open a 40-man spot for Slater. Righty Jon Heasley, who was recently diagnosed with a stress reaction in his elbow and placed on the 15-day IL, seems like a potential 60-day IL candidate. Outfielder Jake Fraley underwent a hernia procedure last month that came with a recovery timetable of six to eight weeks and could be a candidate as well, if the team feels his recovery will skew toward the lengthier end of that window.
Slater, 33, has already played with two different teams this season and seven over the past three seasons combined. He’s been hitting well in Durham, going 8-for-23 with five doubles, a homer, five walks and six strikeouts in 28 trips to the plate (.348/.464/.696).
Slater has taken 49 major league plate appearances between the Marlins and Mets this season, and they haven’t gone well. He’s 8-for-43 with only one extra-base hit (a double) and three times as many strikeouts (15) as walks (five). Broadly speaking, his past three seasons in the majors have been a struggle — hence the frequent changes of address. He’s taken 421 plate appearances in the bigs since Opening Day 2024 and slashed just .212/.298/.304.
Even with that lackluster run, however, Slater is still a lifetime .263/.352/.420 hitter in 1067 plate appearances against left-handed pitching. The Rays will face Red Sox left-hander Connelly Early tonight and are slated to face fellow southpaw Payton Tolle tomorrow. The Angels’ rotation is in disarray, so it’s hard to gauge exactly who’ll be starting for them next weekend when the Rays visit Anaheim. They’ll miss lefty Reid Detmers, barring a shuffle of the current order, but the Halos currently have five lefties in the bullpen. That should lead to plenty of chances for Slater to contribute off the bench or perhaps in the starting lineup if the Angels opt for bullpen games with a lefty opener and/or bulk reliever (e.g. Mitch Farris, Sam Aldegheri).
Diamondbacks Sign Max Kepler
June 8th: Per the Associated Press, Kepler’s salary will be a prorated $780K, the league minimum. He can earn an extra $500K in roster bonuses. He would get $100K for spending 35 days on the roster, then $200K at 55 days and 75 days.
June 7th: The Diamondbacks announced a one-year deal with outfielder Max Kepler. The signing won’t yet impact Arizona’s 40-man roster or active roster, as Kepler is still on the restricted list while serving an 80-game PED suspension.
News broke last January about Kepler’s positive test for the PED known as Epitrenbolone, and with Kepler still on the free agent market, his camp and Major League Baseball worked out an agreement for Kepler to serve his 80-game suspension even if he didn’t land a new contract. Since Kepler didn’t sign until now, he has been serving his 80-game suspension as if he was still a member of the Phillies (his former team).
Philadelphia played its 65th game of the season today, so the final 15 games of Kepler’s suspension presumably now adhere to the Diamondbacks’ schedule. This makes June 25 the first day Kepler is eligible to take part in the 2026 season, so he’ll get a couple of weeks of ramp-up time in the minor leagues before making his D’Backs debut.
Financial terms of the signing weren’t revealed, but it can be assumed Kepler will be receiving a pretty small guaranteed salary prorated over the remainder of the 2026 campaign. Even before the suspension, Kepler was likely facing a tough market given his lack of production with the Phillies last year. He hit .216/.300/.391 with 18 home runs over 474 plate appearances, and even those modest numbers now come under the cloud of the PED suspension.
Kepler has provided almost exactly league-average offense over his 11 MLB seasons, as he had a 101 wRC+ from a career slash line of .235/.316/.425 over 1199 PA with the Twins and Phillies. Kepler posted a 122 wRC+ in both 2019 and 2023 and a 109 wRC+ during the shortened 2020 season, but he has otherwise been a subpar hitter in his other eight seasons.
The left-handed hitter has struggled against southpaw pitching for much of his career, limiting Kepler’s effectiveness as a true everyday player. Kepler has expressed some frustration over a platoon role in the past, such as last June when he said “I signed here [in Philadelphia] being told that I was going to be the starting everyday left fielder” after he wasn’t in the lineup for three straight games when the Phils faced left-handed starters.
While naturally more productive against right-handed pitching, Kepler hasn’t really been a righty-masher, as he has hit a respectable but uninspiring .240/.324/.446 over his career with the platoon advantage. Most of Kepler’s success against righties came earlier in his career, as he has batted just .237/.315/.408 in 1436 PA against righties since Opening Day 2022.
Beyond the offense, Kepler also contributed outstanding right field defense during his prime years as a regular in the Twins lineup. His defensive metrics, however, have dipped as he has battled knee problems in recent years, and the move to the seemingly easier left field position in Philadelphia resulted in +2 Defensive Runs Saved and 0 Outs Above Average over 773 1/3 innings (which represented the first time Kepler had ever played left in his career).
Corbin Carroll obviously has right field covered in Arizona, so Kepler will likely act as a left fielder and DH against right-handed pitching. The Diamondbacks were known to be looking for left-handed hitting help, given that outfielders Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Jordan Lawlar, Ryan Waldschmidt, and Tommy Troy are all right-handed hitters. By the time Kepler is eligible for reinstatement, Gurriel should be back from the hamstring strain that has sidelined him for last couple of weeks, and Lawlar (currently on a Triple-A rehab assignment) should be back from the broken wrist that has kept him on the IL for over two months.
It should be noted that Kepler’s salary is likely small enough that the D’Backs would feel comfortable releasing Kepler (or designating him for assignment) if he doesn’t produce. This seems like purely a depth move for the Snakes as they continue to try and figure out two-thirds of their outfield picture, and a bit of a flier to see what Kepler might have in the tank in his age-33 season. However Kepler might contribute to Arizona’s postseason chase, he is ineligible to participate in this year’s playoffs, as per the terms of PED suspensions.
Shaun Anderson Elects Free Agency
Right-hander Shaun Anderson has elected free agency after being sent outright to Triple-A Salt Lake, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates he cleared waivers after the Angels designated him for assignment a few days ago.
The most likely outcome from here is that Anderson re-signs with the Angels via a new minor league deal. He and the team have been doing this dance for quite a while. Dating back to the start of the 2025 season, Anderson has been selected to the Angels’ roster five times. In each case, after a short amount of time on the roster, he has been designated for assignment. Then he clears waivers, elects free agency and re-signs.
It’s a nice arrangement for the team, as they effectively get an extra pitcher on the roster. They can call on Anderson whenever they need a fresh arm in the bullpen and discard him for the same reason. Since he is out of options, he has to be bumped off the 40-man when removed from the active roster.
For Anderson, he would presumably prefer a more steady big league job. However, the fact that he keeps clearing waivers indicates no club is willing to give him one. With this arrangement, he at least gets sporadic hits of big league pay and service time.
Anderson has 180 big league innings under his belt with a 6.35 earned run average. 28 of those frames have been with the Angels since the start of last season, with Anderson posting a 7.71 ERA in that time. As mentioned, he will probably re-sign with the Angels soon, but he is technically on the market for the time being.
Photo courtesy of Jay Biggerstaff, Imagn Images
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Taijuan Walker Opts Out Of Angels Contract
Veteran right-hander Taijuan Walker has been granted his release by the Angels, per the transaction log at MiLB.com. Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports that Walker, who signed a minor league deal with the Angels a few weeks ago, had an opt-out in that deal, which he triggered.
Walker, 33, was released by the Phillies earlier this season after being shelled for 25 runs (23 earned) on 36 hits and 11 walks with 17 strikeouts in 22 2/3 innings. The resulting 9.13 ERA put an end to a disappointing stint with the Phils, who’d signed him to a four-year, $72MM contract ahead of the 2023 season. Walker posted decent numbers in 2023 and 2025 but was clobbered in 2024 and 2026. His time in Philly drew to a close with a 5.12 ERA, a 16.9% strikeout rate, a 9.1% walk rate and a 42.9% ground-ball rate in 402 2/3 innings.
In three starts with the Angels’ Triple-A affiliate in Salt Lake City, Walker pitched well. He tallied 11 innings and held opponents to four runs (three earned) on 11 hits and four walks with nine strikeouts. The Halos’ rotation is a mess right now, but apparently they didn’t see enough in those three starts to plug Walker into the staff. They’re currently going with Jose Soriano, Reid Detmers, Walbert Ureña and Grayson Rodriguez. Righty Jack Kochanowicz hit the injured list with elbow inflammation this weekend after surrendering seven runs (six earned) in just one-third of an inning against the Dodgers in his most recent start.
Walker will once again explore free agency in search of new opportunities. Even if the Angels prefer other in-house options to step into the fifth spot in the rotation, there are plenty of other clubs around the league whose starting staffs have been ravaged by health troubles. The Blue Jays, Cubs, Tigers, Twins and Marlins are just a few of the teams that have multiple rotation arms on the injured list at the moment.
Rotation depth is always in demand, so Walker should find another opportunity, even if it means taking another minor league deal and trying to earn his way onto a big league roster with continued solid performance in Triple-A. Any team that signs Walker would only owe him the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the major league roster. The Phillies are on the hook for the rest of his $18MM salary.
Cardinals To Option Victor Scott II
The Cardinals are optioning center fielder Victor Scott II to Triple-A Memphis today, as first reported by KMOV’s Tamar Sher. Fellow outfielder Nathan Church will return from the 10-day IL today and take Scott’s roster spot, per Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat. Church will presumably see the bulk of action in center field.
It’s the first time that Scott, 25, has been optioned since the 2024 season. He spent all of 2025 in the majors and has been a regular player in 2026 despite nonexistent offensive output. He’s hitting .194/.276/.258 (57 wRC+) through 184 turns at the plate thus far. Scott only has six extra-base hits (two homers, four doubles).
Scott has swiped nine bases but been caught four times; that’s already as many times as he was caught stealing in all of ’25, when he swiped a total of 34 bags. His sprint 29.7 ft/sec sprint speed is still elite, sitting in the 98th percentile of big leaguers, but it’s down half a foot from last year’s 30.2 ft/sec, which tied him for tops in the game. Scott’s 8.7% walk rate is almost average, and his 23.9% strikeout rate isn’t egregious, but he has the sixth-worst hard-hit rate among the 235 players to tally at least 150 plate appearances this season.
Defensively, Scott still grades out quite well, though not to the same extent as in 2025. Last year, he was credited with 12 Defensive Runs Saved and 16 Outs Above Average in 1087 innings. This year, through 471 innings in center, OAA has credited Scott as a positive but not elite defender (3), while DRS has dinged him at -2.
If Scott stays in the minors for at least 20 days, this will burn the second of his three minor league option years. It’s unlikely to impact his potential free-agent and arbitration timelines, as he’s already less than three weeks from reaching two years of MLB service time. If Scott spends the rest of the season in Triple-A, he wouldn’t reach two years of service, thus giving St. Louis an extra season of club control, but it feels likely that he’ll be back at some point, whether because he hits his way onto the roster or because the Cardinals incur an injury in the big league outfield mix.
Church, also 25, has struggled at the plate in his own right, but not to the same extent. He’s taken 156 plate appearances and turned in a .247/.282/.390 slash (88 wRC+) with five homers, six doubles, a 3.8% walk rate and a 21.2% strikeout rate. He’s also making hard contact at lower-than-average levels, but not quite at the same bottom-of-the-scale levels as Scott. Church also has the more productive Triple-A track record; he slashed .335/.400/.521 in 242 plate appearances there last year. Scott’s only Triple-A work came back in 2024, when he hit .210/.294/.303 (58 wRC+) in 362 trips to the plate.
The rest of the Cardinals’ outfield mix seems largely set. Lars Nootbaar is back after missing the first couple months of the season and should see regular action in left, plus occasional time in center. Jordan Walker, in the midst of a full-fledged breakout, is entrenched in right field. (Nootbaar could play right field if the Cards give Walker a day off or a DH breather.) Nelson Velazquez, Jose Fermin and Bryan Torres can all mix in occasionally. Fermin and Torres have minimal opportunities in an infield with Alec Burleson, JJ Wetherholt, Masyn Winn and Nolan Gorman getting regular work (though Gorman isn’t hitting enough to justify regular at-bats for the remainder of the season).
The Opener: Guzman, Rivero, Scott
No pitcher has endured Coors Field longer than Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland. The veteran tossed five frames on Sunday, moving past Aaron Cook for the franchise lead in innings pitched (h/t DNVR Rockies on X).
1. Guzman coming up for the Angels
The Angels are expected to recall infield prospect Denzer Guzman, first reported by Taylor Blake Ward of Baseball America. MLB Pipeline has Guzman ranked at No. 7 in the Angels’ system. The shortstop briefly debuted last season, joining the club for the final two weeks of the year. Guzman hit .190 with a couple of home runs over 13 games. He’s off to a tremendous start at Triple-A this season. The 22-year-old Guzman is slashing .336/.403/.571 with 12 homers and nine stolen bases for Salt Lake. Guzman is unlikely to play much shortstop with Zach Neto penciled in every day, but he’s seen time at third base in the minors.
2. Rivero’s career day
The Angels salvaged the final game of a series against the Dodgers on Sunday, hanging 13 runs on their in-state competition. Light-hitting catcher Sebastian Rivero led the way with a monster day at the plate. The backstop went 5-for-5 with 6 RBI in the blowout win. Rivero came into the game hitting .133 as a part-timer behind regular starter Logan O’Hoppe. He had amassed 8 RBI in his career across parts of four MLB seasons before Sunday’s matchup. On a day Neto and Mike Trout combined to go 1-for-12, it was the bottom of the order that did the damage against Emmet Sheehan and company. Jo Adell went 4-for-5, and both Nick Madrigal and Jose Siri reached base four times.
3. Cardinals sending Scott down
The Cardinals are expected to option outfielder Victor Scott to Triple-A, first reported by Tamar Sher of KMOV St. Louis. Nathan Church will likely be stepping into Scott’s roster spot, per a report from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Church is currently rehabbing a shoulder injury. Scott has a 57 wRC+ through 61 games. The 25-year-old didn’t provide much with the bat last season, but came through with 34 steals and 12 Defensive Runs Saved in center field. Scott has nine steals this season. His work with the glove has slipped, as he has a -2 DRS across 471 2/3 innings. Church has spent time at all three outfield spots this season. He’d be a candidate to take over in center field, with Lars Nootbaar also chipping in.
Photo courtesy of Jonathan Hui, Imagn Images
Astros Notes: Brown, Allen, Ullola
Hunter Brown will make his fourth and possibly final minor league rehab start on Wednesday, Astros manager Joe Espada told the Houston Chronicle’s Matt Kawahara and other reporters yesterday. Brown will pitch for Triple-A Sugar Land for the third time during his rehab assignment, with the first of his four outings coming with Double-A Corpus Christi on May 24.
As expected, Brown’s pitch count has slowly increased with each start, going from 35 to 44 to 57. Espada had previously hinted that the Astros could activate Brown after just three rehab outings, though an earlier return probably would’ve required the use of a piggyback pitcher behind Brown if he was limited to something in the realm of 70 pitches. As such, the right-hander will get a bit more time to fully build his arm strength before returning from the 60-day injured list.
Brown emerged as the ace of Houston’s rotation in 2025 and hit the ground running this year with an 0.84 ERA over his first two starts. A Grade 2 shoulder strain then sent Brown to the IL in one of the first of what has been many major injury blows to the Astros roster. Brown is one of seven pitchers and 10 overall players still on Houston’s injured list, so it isn’t any surprise that the Astros have a 30-37 record.
That said, the Astros have gone 13-9 in their last 22 games, as the team has gotten a little healthier. Yordan Alvarez‘s MVP-level numbers have helped carry the lineup, while Spencer Arrighetti, Peter Lambert, and Kai-Wei Teng have all pitched well in filling in the many holes in the rotation. An in-form Brown returning to the top of that rotation would be another major boost to the Astros’ chances of digging themselves out of their early-season hole.
Just as Brown is getting nearer a return, however, yet another player is facing an injury scare. Nick Allen made an early exit from today’s 5-0 loss to the Athletics due to left hamstring discomfort, since arose after the infielder singled in the third inning. “I was trying to leg out a double there and kind of felt something grab on me, a little bit on the left hammy, lower left side,” Allen told MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart and other reporters.
Allen said he’ll undergo testing to determine the extent of the injury but downplayed the seriousness of the discomfort. The backup infielder already missed a couple of weeks earlier this year dealing with back spasms, but Allen has already played in 37 games this season, as the Astros’ various injuries opened the door for playing time at second base, third base, and shortstop. Allen is providing his usual light offense (.266/.304/.344 in 70 plate appearances) and his glovework isn’t quite up to its usual stellar standard, but Allen has been a useful depth piece for the shorthanded roster.
In another piece from McTaggart, he notes that the Astros have transitioned pitching prospect Miguel Ullola into a full-time relief role. Ullola is a classic case of a pitcher with great stuff that he hasn’t been able to harness — over 471 2/3 career innings in the minors, Ullola has an impressive 30.54% strikeout rate but also a 15.75% walk rate, resulting in an uninspiring 4.45 ERA.
Ullola doesn’t turn 24 until later this month so it is possible he might get another look as a starter down the road. But after six seasons of inconsistency, “you start narrowing it down when they get to Triple-A,” Espada said. “He’s started [86] games already, so now we start getting a better feel for what he’s going to be and how can impact our roster.”
Houston added Ullola to the 40-man roster last November to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft, and the move to the bullpen might be the final step in getting the right-hander to the majors. Ullola was charged with three runs over two-third of an inning today, but he hadn’t allowed a run in his previous five relief innings. As usual, switching to relief pitching has delivered a velocity bump, as Ullola’s already plus fastball has touched 97.3mph since going to the pen.