Matthew Boyd To Undergo Meniscus Surgery
Cubs left-hander Matthew Boyd is going to undergo surgery to address an injury to the meniscus in his left knee. His current timetable is unknown. Manager Craig Counsell provided the update to reporters, including Jesse Rogers of ESPN. After Counsell spoke, the Cubs officially placed him on the 15-day injured list. Right-hander Trent Thornton was selected to take Boyd’s spot on the roster. Left-hander Charlie Barnes was designated for assignment to open a 40-man spot for Thornton. Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reported that Thornton would be coming up prior to the official announcement.
More to come.
Tigers Place Gleyber Torres On IL With Oblique Strain
The Tigers announced that second baseman Gleyber Torres has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to May 4th, with a left oblique strain. Infielder Jace Jung was recalled in a corresponding move.
Torres departed Saturday’s game due to left side tightness. He didn’t immediately go on the IL but it now seems the club has decided to put him on the shelf, at least for a little while. It’ll be a blow to the Detroit lineup. Torres only has two home runs so far but is drawing walks at the best rate of his career, a 17.4% clip which is about three ticks better than last year. That has led to a .259/.389/.328 batting line that is a little unusual but still translates to a wRC+ of 111, indicating he’s been 11% better than the league average hitter overall.
His absence is all the more notable because of the game of musical chairs the Tigers have been playing on the infield. Trey Sweeney has been on the IL all year due to a shoulder strain. Zach McKinstry was on the shelf for a few weeks due to left hip/abdominal inflammation and Javier Báez just recently suffered an ankle sprain.
To address those injuries, the Tigers have brought guys like Zack Short and Paul DeJong into the system. Short even got a brief stint on the roster but was quickly bumped off when McKinstry was reinstated from the IL yesterday. Now just after getting McKinstry back, Torres departs.
With Báez out, Kevin McGonigle should be covering shortstop pretty much every day. Second and third base may be more of a rotation, with guys like Colt Keith, McKinstry, Jung and Hao-Yu Lee all in the mix at those spots.
Photo courtesy of Junfu Han, Imagn Images
Framber Valdez To Serve Five-Game Suspension
4:39pm: The suspension has been reduced to five games and Valdez will begin serving it tonight. Evan Woodbery of MLive Media Group was among those to pass along the update.
3:20pm: Major League Baseball announced that Tigers left-hander Framber Valdez has been issued a six-game suspension and an undisclosed fine for intentionally throwing at Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story last night. He’ll begin serving the suspension tonight unless he appeals. Manager A.J. Hinch has also received a one-game suspension and undisclosed fine. He’ll begin serving his suspension tonight.
Valdez was getting torched by the Sox last night. He allowed ten runs, seven earned, in three-plus innings pitched. The top of the fourth started with homers by Willson Contreras and Wilyer Abreu. Then Trevor Story came up and was promptly beaned, which led to the benches and bullpens clearing, as seen in this video from MLB.com. Valdez was then ejected.
The lefty denied that the beaning was intentional but it was hard to believe. His own manager didn’t seem to defend him too hard. “We play a really good brand of baseball here,” Hinch said. “That didn’t feel like it.” Many observers pointed out that Valdez hardly ever throws a four-seam fastball and that the pitch that hit Story was his first four-seamer thrown this year.
When players are suspended for on-field infractions, they can’t be replaced on the roster, so the Tigers will have to play short-handed when Valdez is serving his suspension. Unless it gets shortened on appeal, he will have to miss at least one turn through the rotation. That’s a notable blow since Detroit is already pretty banged up in the starting pitching department, with each of Tarik Skubal, Justin Verlander, Casey Mize, Jackson Jobe, Troy Melton and Reese Olson currently on the injured list.
Jack Flaherty is starting tonight and then the Tigers are off on Thursday. Keider Montero and Ty Madden are scheduled to go on Friday and Saturday. It was going to be Valdez on Sunday, so some other plan will be required for that game, unless Valdez appeals. Perhaps the Tigers will opt for a bullpen game or call someone up for a spot start. Sawyer Gipson-Long and Jake Miller are on optional assignment but both are injured in the minors. The Tigers do have an open 40-man spot after Zack Short was designated for assignment yesterday, so they could opt for a non-roster option like Bryan Sammons or Dylan File.
Photo courtesy of Lon Horwedel, Imagn Images
Athletics Designate Tyler Ferguson For Assignment
The Athletics announced that right-hander Tyler Ferguson has been designated for assignment. That opens a 40-man roster spot for right-hander Brooks Kriske, who had his contract selected earlier today.
Ferguson, 32, has been on the club’s 40-man roster for almost exactly two years. The A’s selected his contract on May 7th of 2024. He took an unusual path to the big leagues. He was drafted by the Rangers in 2015 but never climbed higher than High-A with that club before getting released in 2019. He then bounced around, spending some time in Indy Ball and in the minors with various clubs.
He finally made it to the show with the A’s and has been shuffled between Triple-A Las Vegas and the majors since then. He has logged 110 2/3 big league innings in that time, allowing 4.47 earned runs per nine. His 25.4% strikeout rate is fairly strong but he has also walked 12.6% of batters faced.
Despite the lack of control, he did earn some leverage work, racking up four saves and 22 holds. However, he’s gotten out to a poor start this season. His one major league outing resulted in four earned runs allowed in an inning and a third. In the minors, he has a 6.17 ERA in 11 2/3 Triple-A innings.
He now heads into DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the A’s could take five days to explore trade interest, though they could also put him on waivers sooner. He can still be optioned for the rest of this year, so perhaps he could garner interest from clubs looking for extra depth arms. He has a five-pitch mix, with his four-seamer and sinker averaging around 95 miles per hour. His most-used secondary pitch is a sweeper. He also throws a changeup and a cutter.
Photo courtesy of Dennis Lee, Imagn Images
Royals Recall Eric Cerantola For MLB Debut
The Royals announced Wednesday that righty Eric Cerantola has been recalled from Triple-A Omaha. Right-hander Stephen Kolek was optioned back to Omaha to make space on the active roster. Cerantola will be making his major league debut when he first takes the mound.
Kansas City drafted the now-26-year-old Cerantola in the fifth round of the 2021 draft. The former Mississippi State righty worked as a starter in the Royals system in 2021-22 before moving to the bullpen in 2023. The Royals selected Cerantola to the 40-man roster in Nov. 2024 in order to shield him from the Rule 5 Draft after a ’24 campaign in which he pitched 72 2/23 innings with a 2.97 ERA, a big 31.4% strikeout rate and a bloated 15.5% walk rate.
Cerantola didn’t make his debut last year, instead spending the season in Triple-A, where he pitched 49 innings with a 4.04 ERA, a 29.6% strikeout rate and an improved (but still too high) 11.3% walk rate. It’s not an overly compelling season from a statistical standpoint, but Cerantola averaged 95 mph on his heater and has garnered plus-plus (70 on the 20-80 scale) grades for his slider over at FanGraphs, where he ranked 28th among K.C. farmhands to begin the season.
Cerantola has gotten out to a terrific start in 2026. He’s pitched 12 2/3 innings of relief and held opposing hitters to just two runs (1.42 ERA) on 10 hits and six walks. He’s fanned exactly one third of the batters he’s faced (18 of 54) and logged a colossal 21.1% swinging-strike thanks largely to that double-plus breaking ball. Command has always been an issue for him and probably will continue to be against major league hitters, but Cerantola adds a nice bat-missing, power arm to a Royals bullpen that currently ranks 21st in strikeout rate and 24th in ERA.
This is the second of three minor league option years for Cerantola. He can be freely sent back to Omaha both this year and next. Given the shaky performance from the Royals’ bullpen overall, there’s plenty of opportunity to earn a long-term spot in the bullpen before Cerantola exhausts his final two option years. He’ll be controllable for at least six seasons beyond the current campaign.
Reds Select Tejay Antone
The Reds announced they have selected the contact of right-hander Tejay Antone and activated right-hander Pierce Johnson from the bereavement list. In corresponding active roster moves, they optioned right-hander Chase Petty and placed righty Emilio Pagán on the 15-day injured list with a left hamstring strain. To open a 40-man spot for Antone, left-hander Brandon Williamson has been transferred to the 60-day IL. C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reported on Antone’s promotion prior to the official announcement.
It’s a pretty incredible moment for Antone, considering all that he’s been through. For years, he’s been dealing with an incredibly unfortunate series of injuries and surgeries. He first underwent Tommy John surgery as a minor leaguer in 2017 then required another one in August of 2021. He missed the 2022 season while rehabbing from that procedure. A number of setbacks prevented him from returning until late in 2023. He required yet another major elbow surgery early in 2024 after tearing a tendon off his bone and suffering a ligament tear.
The Reds outrighted Antone off the roster following that 2024 season. He was back on the mound in 2025, making a few minor league appearances in August and September. He re-signed with the Reds on a new minor league deal for 2026. He has logged 12 Triple-A appearances so far this year, allowing 2.25 earned runs per nine. He has struck out 15 of the 49 batters he has faced, a strong clip of 30.6%. His control hasn’t been perfect, perhaps not surprising for a guy who has missed so much time. His six walks lead to high rate of 12.2% and he has also hit a batter and thrown two wild pitches.
Due to all those injuries, Antone only threw 36 official innings over the four-year span from 2022 to 2025, majors and minors combined. At this point, it’s anyone’s guess what he can provide going forward, but his recent results have been encouraging and his previous track record was good. Over the 2020 and 2021 seasons, he gave the Reds 69 innings with a 2.48 ERA, 32.3% strikeout rate and 10.8% walk rate. Just making it back to the majors surely feels like a huge accomplishment for Antone but any success from here on out would be icing on the cake.
Williamson hit the 15-day IL at the end of April due to shoulder fatigue. His current status is unclear but it’s not a good sign that he’s been quickly moved to the 60-day IL. He also spent some time on the IL due to a shoulder strain in 2024.
Pagán clearly injured himself in yesterday’s game, grabbing at his hamstring and needing to be carted off the field. He tells reporters today, including Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer, that he’ll miss about four to eight weeks. He added that he’s actually pleasantly surprised because he figured his season was over, given the amount of pain he was in. Guys like Tony Santillan and Graham Ashcraft will probably have to step up to help with save situations while Pagán is sidelined.
Petty was just recalled but that was apparently for a spot start. Nick Lodolo is listed as Friday’s starter, so it seems he’ll come off the IL to rejoin the rotation alongside Andrew Abbott, Brady Singer, Rhett Lowder and Chase Burns.
Photo courtesy of Frank Bowen IV, Imagn Images
Twins Designate Christian Roa For Assignment
The Twins have designated righty Christian Roa for assignment, per a club announcement. His spot on the 40-man roster goes to newly acquired right-hander Yoendrys Gómez, whose acquisition has now been formally announced by Minnesota.
Roa was only claimed off waivers from the Astros a couple weeks back. He hasn’t appeared in a game for the big league club. The 27-year-old tossed 2 1/3 innings with Triple-A St. Paul and allowed a pair of runs on two hits and two walks with three strikeouts. He’s pitched a total of 11 2/3 major league innings between the Marlins and Astros, allowing five runs (3.86 ERA) with more walks than strikeouts.
The 6’4″, former Texas A&M standout was the No. 48 overall pick by the Reds back in 2020. He’s drawn praise for a plus slider and average or better fastball and changeup over the years, but he’s regularly received 30 and 40 grades (on the 20-80 scale) for his command along the way. Roa has pitched to a 4.56 ERA in parts of four Triple-A seasons, fanning 25.5% of his opponents there but also issuing walks at a dismal 14% clip.
The Twins will have five days to trade Roa, place him on outright waivers or release him. Waivers would be a 48-hour process, so his DFA will be resolved within a maximum of one week’s time.
Marlins To Select Robby Snelling
The Marlins are calling up pitching prospect Robby Snelling. He’ll be selected to the roster and will start Friday against the Nationals. They have an open 40-man spot after designating Chris Paddack for assignment earlier this week, so they will only need to open an active roster spot for him. Manager Clayton McCullough announced the news to reporters, including Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extra Base.
The Snelling promotion has been expected since not long after Paddack’s DFA. He and fellow lefty Braxton Garrett were possibilities to take the ball Friday in place of Paddack, but Garrett tossed 80 pitches in a start for Triple-A Jacksonville last night, strongly hinting that Friday would be Snelling’s big league debut. The team has now made that official.
Selected by the Padres with the No. 39 overall pick back in 2022, Snelling made his way to the Marlins organization as part of the return in the deadline trade sending relievers Tanner Scott and Bryan Hoeing to San Diego. His stock was down a bit at the time of the swap, but he’s rebounded nicely with the Marlins organization — so much so that Baseball America ranked him 26th on this morning’s refresh of their top-100 prospect rankings.
The 22-year-old Snelling has been excellent this year in six Triple-A starts, recording a 1.86 ERA and a mammoth 40% strikeout rate — albeit against a concerning 13.6% walk rate. He’s kept 57% of batted balls against him on the ground. Snelling was also lights out in 11 Triple-A starts last year (1.27 ERA — 2.51 overall ERA between Double-A and Triple-A). At this point, he seems more than ready for a look in the majors, even with the sub-par command.
Snelling, listed at 6’3″ and 210 pounds, works primarily off a four-seam fastball that averages just over 94 mph and a curveball that sits 82-83 mph. He mixes in an occasional changeup and slider, but the four-seamer/curveball combo has accounted for more than 80% of his pitches in 2026. Snelling’s four-seamer and curveball both drew plus grades (60) on BA’s scouting report, while his lesser-used changeup and slider still garner above-average (55) ratings on the 20-80 scale. He’ll need to rein in his command, but it’s not hard to see why the Marlins are eager to take a look at a 22-year-old southpaw with four above-average pitches and a sub-2.00 ERA in 18 career Triple-A starts.
Since Snelling opened the season in the minors and wasn’t called up until early May, he won’t qualify to net the Marlins an additional draft pick under MLB’s prospect promotion incentive (PPI) program. Enough time has elapsed this season that the only way for him to accrue a full year of major league service time would be to finish first or second in National League Rookie of the Year balloting. Snelling certainly has the pedigree to do so, but young standouts like Nolan McLean, JJ Wetherholt and Sal Stewart all have a considerable head start on him in that race.
Barring a top-two Rookie of the Year finish, Snelling will remain under club control for at least six years beyond the 2026 campaign. If he sticks in the majors for good from this point forth, he’ll be a surefire Super Two player, thereby making him eligible for arbitration four times (beginning after the 2028 season) rather than the standard three.
With Paddack on his way out the door, there’s a long-term spot in the Miami rotation open. This figures to be more than just a simple spot start. Snelling should have a clear runway to prove he can be a building block in the rotation. Triple-A teammate Thomas White, who ranked 11th on the aforementioned Baseball America top-100 update, should get the chance to join him at some point down the road this year.
Miami only has Sandy Alcantara signed through the 2027 season, but the allure of a rotation including Alcantara, Snelling, White, Eury Pérez and Max Meyer — with Garrett and Janson Junk also in the mix — is readily apparent. Even if the Fish finally trade Alcantara this summer, the starting staff has several high-upside young pieces who could form the nucleus of a contending staff … if the Marlins can find a way to put together a decent offense. Only twice in the past two decades have the Marlins put together an offense that was better than league-average, by measure of wRC+. The 2007 and 2017 Marlins both logged collective wRC+ marks of 101, indicating they were 1% better than average. They’re exactly average (100) so far in 2026.
MLB Mailbag: Gunnar Henderson, Skubal, Padres
This week's mailbag gets into potential Gunnar Henderson trade timing, the potential of Marlins lefty Braxton Garrett, possible All-Star Game starting pitchers, whether the Tigers might trade injured ace Tarik Skubal, who the Padres might add at the trade deadline, and more.
Drew asks:
Let's play a game, part 1: predict the odds on a Gunnar trade this year, offseason, 2027 pre trade deadline, or not at all. Part 2: What's his actual value in terms of prospect capital given his downturn in performance?
Henderson, 25 in June, is under team control through 2028. This is his first arbitration year, and he's earning $8.5MM. As a Boras client, Henderson isn't seen as a likely extension candidate for the Orioles.
As of Wednesday morning, the 16-20 Orioles have pretty much abandoned their hopes of winning the AL East, but are only one game back for a wild card spot. According to FanGraphs, they have a 31.4% chance of reaching the playoffs this year.
After a 1 for 5 effort against the Marlins on Tuesday, Henderson's wRC+ stands at just 95 through 163 plate appearances. He's shown good power with nine home runs, but is striking out nearly 31% of the time and thus has a .208/.270/.443 line. Henderson's expected batting average is .225, so he's mostly earned his ugly early-season line. In a full season, Henderson has yet to post a wRC+ below last year's 120, and he soared as high as 154 in 2024.
Has Henderson previously posted a .713 OPS over 35 games? Yes - he was notably worse from August 19th through September 27th last year, when he hit .248/.333/.308 (83 wRC+). He also had an early 2023 run of that length with a .684 OPS (.192/.328/.356 for a 94 wRC+). What's happened so far is well within the range of normal variation for Henderson. After that streak ended in '23, he posted a 130 wRC+ the rest of the way.
Henderson has spent ample time at both third base and shortstop in his career, though he's been at short exclusively since his monster '24 season. He's demonstrated roughly average defensive abilities at the position.
The Orioles could reasonably fall out of the playoff race prior to the August 3rd trade deadline. They could trade Henderson for three pennant races, moving on from his final 2 1/3 years of control.
Orioles president of baseball operations and GM Mike Elias is a pragmatic type, but I expect him to re-load (to a degree) for 2027 and try to win again with Henderson. Henderson projects to be worth 5 WAR this year and is making a fraction of his market value. There's just no good reason to cash him in this summer. I'll put the summer 2026 trade odds at 1%.
As we entertain this hypothetical, it's worth asking who would take over for the Orioles at shortstop. Jeremiah Jackson, getting most of the second base share at present, is one candidate. He was seen as having the athleticism for the position back in his prospect days, before he was traded to the Mets and then later released. Jackson Holliday has five more years of team control remaining and could be a long-term option, though he's been slow to return this year from a broken hamate bone. Jordan Westburg is on the 60-day IL with a partial UCL tear, so he's a major question mark right now. Neither Holliday nor Westburg has played shortstop regularly since 2023.
MLB.com suggests prospect Wehiwa Aloy could stick at shortstop, but he's currently at High-A. Former big leaguer Jose Barrero has been handling shortstop for the Triple-A Norfolk Tides and could be a 2026 stopgap.
Is Holliday the best long-term internal bet to take over at shortstop? He was seen as a plus defensive shortstop coming up, but as a second baseman last year he struggled mightily going to his right and did not demonstrate a strong arm. Holliday has five years of control remaining, but he also has one decent MLB season under his belt and has yet to get going in 2026.
I'm trying to talk myself into the Orioles trading Henderson during the 2026-27 offseason, and I find it to be a major stretch. They just don't have a ready replacement, so trading Henderson would be a huge concession for '27. The Orioles are committed to Pete Alonso and Shane Baz through 2030, the resurgent Adley Rutschman is under control through '27, Westburg through '29, and Holliday through '30. While I don't love that MLB core, pivoting to a reset this winter by trading their best player would be a gut-punch to fans. Throw in a lockout that will likely eat up three-plus months of the offseason, significantly shortening the window to make a franchise-altering trade, and it feels even less likely.
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Mets, Cionel Pérez Agree To Minor League Deal
The Mets and left-handed reliever Cionel Pérez are in agreement on a minor league contract, reports Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com. The Octagon client will presumably head to Triple-A Syracuse once the deal is official.
Pérez opened the season in the division-rival Nationals’ bullpen. He signed a minor league deal in free agency but won a roster spot with seven shutout spring innings. He allowed only two hits and a walk during Grapefruit League play and punched out seven batters along the way.
The good vibes for Pérez didn’t last long. He tossed a scoreless frame in his Nats debut but then surrendered runs in each of his next three appearances. He struggled on and off for the next month before being designated for assignment, clearing waivers and rejecting an outright assignment in favor of free agency earlier this week. Pérez wrapped up his five-week Nationals stint with a 6.19 ERA and more walks (11) than strikeouts (nine) through 16 frames. It’s the second straight ugly year for Pérez, who had a nice 2022-24 run in Baltimore but was tagged for 20 runs in 21 2/3 innings as an Oriole last year.
Pérez, 30, originally signed with the Astros in 2017 after defecting from his native Cubs. He scuffled through some rocky seasons in Houston and Cincinnati before breaking out with the 2022 Orioles. From 2022-24 in Baltimore, Pérez notched a 3.12 ERA with a 20.2% strikeout rate and 10.6% walk rate. He picked up 57 holds and six saves during that solid run.
Pérez has never had great command, but he kept his walk rate at a manageable level during that Orioles peak. The walks and hit batters have begun to pile back up over the past few seasons. He’s given out a base on balls to 13.5% of his opponents dating back to 2024 and has plunked another seven hitters and tossed nine wild pitches in the process. On the plus side, he did add a bit of life back to his heater during his short time in Washington, bumping his average fastball back north of 96 mph (96.2); he averaged 96.6 mph from 2021-25 before dipping to 95.5 mph last year.
The Mets rank eighth in the majors in bullpen ERA, but not because of the free agent additions they brought into the fold. Both Devin Williams and Luke Weaver have struggled in the fist several weeks of the season (albeit while posting more encouraging rate stats than their ERAs would suggest). Tobias Myers, Huascar Brazoban, Brooks Raley and David Peterson — who’s moved into the ‘pen at least temporarily after struggling in the rotation — all have earned run averages south of 2.50. Craig Kimbrel, who signed a minor league deal, has allowed three runs in 7 1/3 innings while setting down 30% of his opponents on strikes.
Raley, Peterson and former starter Sean Manaea currently give Mets skipper Carlos Mendoza three options from the left side, though Manaea hasn’t pitched well. The Mets are also hoping to have A.J. Minter back soon. He’s nearing the end of a minor league rehab window and has held opponents to one earned run in 7 2/3 innings as he makes his way back from last May’s hip surgery. There’s no dire need for left-handed relief help in the Mets organization, but there’s also no harm in taking a low-cost look at a 30-year-old with a 96 mph heater who was a quality setup option for the Orioles not long ago.