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Corbin Burnes Leaves Game Due To Elbow Discomfort

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Corbin Burnes made an early exit from the Diamondbacks’ 3-1 win over the Nationals due to what was described by manager Torey Lovullo as right elbow discomfort.  The right-hander had sailed through 4 2/3 shutout innings before allowing a two-out single to CJ Abrams in the top of the fifth, and a clearly upset Burnes then immediately motioned to the home dugout for a quick consultation with team trainers.

Post-game, Lovullo told reporters (including Arizona Sports) that Burnes will get an MRI tomorrow, and won’t join the Diamondbacks on their upcoming road trip to Atlanta and Cincinnati.  The pitcher himself also described his health situation to the media, saying his elbow started to gradually tighten up during the outing.

“It just got to the point where the tightness was just too much…didn’t feel like we needed to push any farther.  Hopefully we caught it early, hopefully it’s not bad, but we’ll see,” Burnes said.

More details will be known in the aftermath of the MRI, though it seems like Burnes will probably be placed on the 15-day injured list at least as a precaution.  This would be the first arm-related IL stint of Burnes’ durable career, as his two previous IL trips were due to Covid-19 (in 2021) and an oblique strain late in the 2020 season that kept him out of the Brewers’ brief playoff run.

After signing a six-year, $210MM free agent deal with his local team this past offseason, Burnes has mostly looked the part of a frontline ace in posting a 2.66 ERA over 64 1/3 innings.  However, his secondary metrics tell another story, as Burnes entered today’s start with a more modest 3.99 SIERA.  Burnes’ hard-hit ball rate and walk rate are both well below the league average, let alone the strong numbers in both categories that Burnes had posted over his previous seven Major League seasons.  Burnes’ whiff rate remains above the league average but also down from his 2024 total.

The right-hander’s signature cutter has been among the best pitches in baseball over the last few years, but Statcast’s Run Value metric indicates that the cutter has gone from a +17 in 2024 to only a +2 in 2025 since batters have been able to square up on the pitch with far more regularity.  Both Burnes’ cutter (95.3mph to 94.2mph) and his sinker (97mph to 95.6mph) have lost some velocity from last season to this campaign.

Even with these red flags, the bottom-line results have still been there for Burnes, and he has still been the most consistent member of Arizona’s underwhelming rotation.  MLBTR’s Anthony Franco recently explored how the Diamondbacks’ pitching staff is again struggling, and undermining the efforts of the team’s powerful lineup.  Today’s win bumped the Snakes up to only a 28-31 record, and they are five games behind the Giants for both third place in the NL West and the final NL wild card slot.

Losing Burnes even for a fairly minimal amount of time would severely hamper the Diamondbacks’ chances of making up that ground, let alone making a late run at the Dodgers at the top of the division.  Eduardo Rodriguez is expected to return from the 15-day IL this coming week after a mid-May placement due to shoulder inflammation, but if Burnes is also sidelined, Ryne Nelson (who was headed to the bullpen due to E-Rod’s return) will likely be reinserted back into the starting five.

Dodgers Place Luis Garcia On 15-Day Injured List

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The Dodgers have placed right-hander Luis Garcia on the 15-day injured list due to a right adductor strain.  The placement is retroactive to May 29.  Righty Noah Davis was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move.

Now in his 13th Major League season, Garcia has a 4.50 ERA in 26 innings for Los Angeles, along with a below-average 19.8% strikeout rate and an ungainly 12.9% walk rate.  Garcia’s 4.13 SIERA is a bit more favorable since the groundball specialist has been hampered by a .364 BABIP, but he is also allowing a lot of hard contact.

Garcia signed a minor league contract with L.A. in February and locked in $1.5MM in guaranteed salary when that contract was selected in advance of the Dodgers’ early Opening Day in Tokyo.  While his results have been up and down over his lengthy career, Garcia has generally been pretty durable, which probably helped his bid to make the team given the injury woes that have only worsened for the Dodgers’ pitching staff as the season has developed.

Incredibly, Garcia is the 15th pitcher currently on the team’s injured list.  (That number could be viewed as 16, if you consider that Shohei Ohtani is still going through his pitching rehab.)  Some help may be coming soon, as manager Dave Roberts told MLB.com’s Sonja Chen and other media today that relievers Michael Kopech and Kirby Yates could both be activated within the next week.

Getting those two quality bullpen arms back is a nice boost for the team, but needless to say, pitching health is once again a major subplot of the Dodgers’ season.  While the elite L.A. offense has carried the Dodgers back to first place in the NL West, pitching figures to be a deadline need for Los Angeles regardless of how many hurlers have returned from the IL by July 31.

Dominic Smith Opts Out Of Minor League Deal With Yankees

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Dominic Smith has become a free agent after triggering the opt-out clause in his minor league deal with the Yankees, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports.  Smith wasn’t an Article XX(b) free agent with a built-in June 1 opt-out date in any minor league contract, but his deal still apparently contained some opt-out flexibility if he hadn’t been called up to New York’s active roster.

This is the second time in three months that Smith has opted out of a minors deal with the Yankees, as he also opted out of his initial contract near the end of Spring Training but re-signed with the club just after Opening Day.  Smith has since been playing at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, hitting .255/.333/.448 with eight home runs over 189 plate appearances.  Smith has primarily been a left fielder, with a good chunk of playing time at first base and DH and a handful of games in right field.

Despite his decent numbers and his defensive flexibility, it isn’t hard to understand why the Yankees haven’t felt the need to bring Smith to the majors.  Even with Giancarlo Stanton missing the entire season to date, Ben Rice capably stepped into the regular DH role, and Paul Goldschmidt has been excellent at first base.  The outfield picture is also crowded between Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, Jasson Dominguez, and Trent Grisham surging into more playing time than expected due to some unexpectedly big production at the plate.  With Stanton slowly working his way back to good health, the situation will only get more crowded in the Bronx barring future injuries, so another new contract might not be in the cards for Smith if he wants a clearer path to Major League playing time.

A former top prospect and near-breakout star during his time with the Mets from 2017-22, Smith’s production has tailed off and he has become something of a journeyman since leaving Queens.  Smith has been a part of six different organizations since January 2023, and has hit .247/.321/.370 over 893 PA with the Nationals, Red Sox, and Reds.

Blue Jays Place Daulton Varsho On 10-Day IL, Activate Erik Swanson

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Prior to today’s 8-4 win over the Athletics, the Blue Jays placed center fielder Daulton Varsho on the 10-day injured list and activated right-hander Erik Swanson from the 60-day IL to make his season debut.  Left-hander Easton Lucas was optioned to Triple-A and second baseman/outfielder Davis Schneider was called up in the corresponding moves.

Varsho is dealing with a left hamstring strain suffered in Saturday’s game, as he came up limping while rounding second base in an attempt to stretch a double into a triple.  Varsho was immediately removed from the game and an IL placement seemed inevitable, though manager John Schneider told MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson and other reporters today that Varsho sustained a relatively less-serious Grade 1 strain.

This still means Varsho will miss at least a couple of weeks of action, and it puts him back on the IL for the second time this season.  Varsho had surgery last September on his right rotator cuff, and spent the first month of the 2025 campaign finishing off his injury rehab and getting his throwing arm back in game-ready shape.  Since making his season debut on April 29, Varsho is hitting .207/.240/.543 with eight home runs over an even 100 plate appearances, displaying his usual recipe of power but not much in the way of average, OBP, or steady contact (Varsho has struck out in 31 of those 100 PA).

Beyond the numbers at the plate, Varsho has also displayed his customary stellar glovework in center field.  The Jays have another quality defender in Myles Straw who can fill in while Varsho is out, and as Matheson notes, the club will probably re-deploy the Straw/Nathan Lukes platoon used in center field during Varsho’s first IL stint.  George Springer, Alan Roden, or Jonatan Clase could also rotate into center field in a pinch, though Schneider said Springer had a minor ankle tweak in today’s game.

While it doesn’t appear as though Springer’s ankle issue is too serious, Toronto can hardly afford another outfield injury with Varsho and Anthony Santander already sidelined.  Given the thin outfield, Davis Schneider is likely to primarily be used in left field during his latest stint in the majors.  Second baseman Andres Gimenez is also expected back from his own IL stint in a few days’ time, and the resulting shuffle in the infield could see the hot-hitting Addison Barger moved into corner outfield duty.

Turning to the mound, Swanson ended up as the winning pitcher today, despite looking a little shaky (1 ER on a wild pitch, and a hit batter) in his lone inning of work.  A median nerve entrapment sidelined Swanson during Spring Training, and he ended up being moved to the 60-day IL in early May when some forearm soreness delayed the start of a planned minor league rehab assignment.

Overall, Swanson has been quite solid in his two-plus seasons in Toronto, as he was outstanding in 2023 and then recaptured that form in the second half of the 2024 campaign.  However, the first half of 2024 was marred by injuries, as well as some off-the-field trauma when Swanson’s four-year-old son was hospitalized after being hit by a car in February of that year.  (Fortunately, young Toby was released from hospital within two weeks.)

Yankees Select Carlos Carrasco; Jake Woodford Triggers Opt Out

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3:29PM: Right-hander Yerry De los Santos was optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding move for Carrasco, the Yankees announced.

12:56PM: Right-hander Jake Woodford has opted out of his minor league deal with the Yankees and become a free agent, according to a report from MLBTR’s Steve Adams. In addition, Jack Curry of YES Network reports that the Yankees are selecting the contract of right-hander Carlos Carrasco from Triple-A Scranton and that he’ll be active ahead of tonight’s game against the Dodgers. A corresponding 40-man move won’t be necessary as the Yankees have multiple spots available, but room will need to be made for Carrasco on the active roster.

The 28-year-old Woodford was a first-round pick by the Cardinals back in 2015 who made his major league debut during the shortened 2020 campaign. That rookie campaign didn’t go especially well as he posted a 5.57 ERA in a multi-inning relief role, but he did enjoy stronger seasons in 2021 and ’22. Across those two years, Woodford pitched to a 3.26 ERA (121 ERA+) with a 3.93 FIP in 116 frames. He struck out just 15.4% of opponents faced during that time against a 7.5% walk rate, though he made up for his lack of strikeout stuff and pinpoint command in part thanks to a strong 45.8% groundball rate. His lack of strikeouts caught up to him after that, however, as he posted a lackluster 6.23 ERA with a 6.61 FIP over 47 2/3 innings of work in 2023 before being non-tendered by the Cardinals that November.

Since then, Woodford has been bouncing around the league as a journeyman. The 2024 season saw him split time between the White Sox and the Pirates, for whom he pitched to a 7.97 ERA overall across 35 innings of work with a 4.94 FIP while in the majors. At the Triple-A level, the right-hander posted a solid enough 3.93 ERA across 94 innings. His results weren’t enough for him to keep a roster spot with the Pirates over the offseason, but after he was designated for assignment he elected free agency and found a minor league deal with the Rockies during the winter. Woodford was granted his release by the Rockies prior to Opening Day when he didn’t break camp with the club and then latched on with the Yankees, for whom he’s posted a 4.54 ERA in 39 2/3 innings of Triple-A work.

It seemed possible that Woodford’s time to return to the majors had come when the Yankees were forced to use seven pitchers in last night’s blowout loss to the Dodgers, but the righty triggered his opt out clause and will now return to free agency after the Yankees decided to turn to Carrasco instead. It will be the 38-year-old’s second stint with the Yankees this season. The right-hander made the Opening Day roster after a number of injuries left the Yanks with questions in their rotation, but Carrasco is far removed from his days as a mid-rotation arm in Cleveland at this point and surrendered a 5.91 ERA and 5.30 FIP across 32 innings of work with the Bronx earlier this year. Despite those lackluster numbers, Carrasco is a good bet to offer volume at a time where the Yankees bullpen is sure to be gassed, and he’s been universally hailed over his 16 seasons in the majors as a fantastic clubhouse presence.

Phillies Moving Taijuan Walker To Short Relief

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For the second time in as many months, the Phillies are pulling right-hander Taijuan Walker from their starting rotation. Paul Casella of MLB.com reported this morning that Walker’s being moved to the bullpen permanently in a move that will clear the way for right-hander Mick Abel to be promoted to the majors and fill in for Aaron Nola in the starting rotation. Matt Gelb of The Athletic added further context to that reporting, noting that Walker is specifically moving to a one-inning, setup role in order to help bolster the club’s late-inning mix. Meanwhile, Gelb notes that Abel will get at least two starts for the Phillies before Nola’s return, which the club currently expects to occur near the middle of June.

It’s a big change for Walker, who has just ten career relief appearances and has served exclusively as a long relief arm in those outings. Gelb notes that Walker has never pitched on back-to-back days before in his career, an adjustment that will surely take some getting used to for the right-hander. Still, it’s understandable for Philadelphia to want to try him in this new role given the state of their pitching staff. Abel is knocking on the door of the majors as a potential rotation option with top prospect Andrew Painter potentially not all that far behind, and the Phillies’ rotation is already full when healthy. Without much of a path to a long-term rotation role in the cards for Walker anyway, it makes sense for the club to try him in a new role.

Given that the Phillies recently lost Jose Alvarado to a PED suspension, saw Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estevez depart in free agency over the winter, and have watched Jordan Romano struggle badly this year after being signed to serve as the club’s closer, there’s perhaps no greater need on the roster than that for a high leverage relief arm to join Matt Strahm in supporting Romano. Walker will now be tasked with doing just that, and Gelb notes that he seemed intrigued by the idea after his last start.

“If I have one inning to blow it out, whatever it is, I feel like my stuff would play up just a little bit more,” Walker said last week, as relayed by Gelb. “Knowing that I got one inning, just let it eat.”

Walker’s departure from the rotation makes room for Abel to join the mix, at least temporarily. The right-hander made his big league debut earlier this season in a spot start and was extremely impressive, tossing six scoreless innings with nine strikeouts against zero walks. The Phillies were clearly intrigued by that dazzling performance, and now he’ll get to make at least a couple additional starts. Abel is set to join the club to start Thursday’s game against the Blue Jays, and Gelb notes that after that he’ll be in line to start against the Cubs next week. Those offenses are far more impressive than the Pirates lineup Abel dominated in his big league debut, so these next pair of outings will be a major test for the 23-year-old right-hander.

Rangers Place Nathan Eovaldi On Injured List, DFA Tucker Barnhart

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The Rangers are placing right-hander Nathan Eovaldi on the 15-day injured list, according to a report from Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News. Right-hander Codi Heuer is being selected to the big league roster to replace Eovaldi on the pitching staff, while catcher Tucker Barnhart was designated for assignment to make room for Heuer on the 40-man roster. It’s not yet clear who will replace Barnhart on the active roster.

Eovaldi has been utterly dominant in his age-35 campaign, with a 1.56 ERA through 12 starts this year. His last start on May 27 was abbreviated due to fatigue in his right triceps, and his departure from that game was initially labeled as precautionary. Losing him for any amount of time is a brutal blow to an already struggling Rangers club, but the good news is that manager Chris Young told reporters (including McFarland) that this IL stint is still largely out of precaution; Eovaldi isn’t dealing with any structural damage, but the team is just hoping to get the veteran additional time to heal up. His IL stint can be backdated to May 28, meaning that Eovaldi could return as soon as June 12 against the Twins. Eovaldi’s spot in the rotation is expected to be taken by Kumar Rocker, who Young suggested will come off the injured list on Wednesday.

In the short-term, Eovaldi’s spot on the roster will go to Heuer. The right-hander turns 29 next month, but hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2021. He excelled with the White Sox out of the bullpen during his rookie season in 2020 and then was included alongside Nick Madrigal in the trade that sent Craig Kimbrel from the Cubs to the White Sox at the 2021 trade deadline. At the time of the deal, Heuer looked like a future high-leverage arm and posted a solid 3.14 ERA in 28 2/3 innings of work down the stretch for the Cubs.

Unfortunately, Heuer underwent Tommy John surgery in Spring Training of 2022. He missed that entire season, and then missed all of the 2023 season as well when he suffered an elbow fracture while rehabbing from that surgery. The devastating sequence of injuries led the Cubs to non-tender Heuer following the 2023 season. He signed a minor league contract with the Rangers prior to the 2024 season and has remained in the organization ever since. He finally made it back to a professional mound earlier this year and has pitched quite well at Triple-A, with a 3.27 ERA in 22 innings of work to go with a 26.3% strikeout rate. Heuer will now have an opportunity to re-establish himself as a potential late-inning arm in the majors for a Rangers club that could use additional help in the bullpen with top setup man Chris Martin on the shelf.

As for Barnhart, the journeyman catcher is in his 12th season as a big leaguer. After winning two Gold Glove awards in his seven seasons as the primary catcher for the Reds from 2015 to 2021, Barnhart signed with Detroit for the 2022 season and appeared in 94 games but has bounced around the league as a part-time player ever since. After stints with the Cubs and Diamondbacks in 2023 and ’24, Barnhart was serving as a third catcher for the Rangers this year while Kyle Higashioka was getting more regular reps at DH. He made it into just eight games with the club in total, however, and now the Rangers will have one week to either trade Barnhart or attempt to pass him through waivers. If Barnhart clears waivers, he’ll have more than enough service time to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency.

Phillies Designate Jose Ruiz For Assignment

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The Phillies announced this morning that they’ve designated right-hander Jose Ruiz for assignment. The move makes room for right-hander Seth Johnson to be recalled to the big league roster.

Ruiz, 30, was a valuable piece of the Philadelphia bullpen as recently as last year but has struggled badly so far in the 2025 campaign. In 14 1/3 innings of work across 16 appearances, the right-hander has pitched to an ugly 8.16 ERA with a 5.39 FIP to this point in the season. Some of that can be chalked up to a low strand rate and high BABIP that indicate poor luck with batted balls and sequencing, but Ruiz’s career-worst 17.6% strikeout rate and elevated 8.8% walk rate have served to exacerbate an overall profile that already lent itself to elevated home run rates.

The Phillies will have one week to either trade Ruiz or place him on outright waivers. If the righty goes unclaimed, he has the necessary service time to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency. A veteran of parts of nine big league seasons, Ruiz has enough past success on his resume that it’s not hard to imagine him attracting interest either on the waiver wire or in free agency. In addition to last year’s 3.71 ERA in 51 innings with the Phillies, he also pitched to a 3.00 ERA in 69 innings for the White Sox from 2020-21, with a 3.98 FIP and a 23.9% strikeout rate. If one of the league’s other clubs can help Ruiz get back into something approaching that form, it would be a major boost to virtually any relief corps around the league.

Replacing Ruiz on the roster is Johnson, who the Phillies acquired in the Gregory Soto trade last summer. The 26-year-old made his big league debut with the Phillies last year in a spot start that went quite poorly, as he surrendered nine runs in 2 1/3 frames. The righty has a 4.02 ERA in 56 innings of work for the Phillies at the Triple-A level over the past two years, although he’s primarily been used out of the bullpen this season to lackluster results (4.91 ERA). That’s the role Johnson figures to fill with the big league club this time around, providing multi-inning relief as necessary for the club while he’s on the roster.

Red Sox Place Justin Slaten On IL, DFA Blake Sabol

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The Red Sox announced a flurry of roster moves this morning. Right-hander Justin Slaten was placed on the 15-day injured list with shoulder inflammation, and was replaced on the roster by right-hander Luis Guerrero. Meanwhile, Boston selected the contract of infielder/outfielder Nate Eaton. Infielder Nick Sogard was optioned to Triple-A in order to make room on the active roster, while catcher Blake Sabol was designated for assignment to clear a 40-man roster spot. The additions of Eaton and Guerrero were previously reported last night.

Slaten, 27, has emerged as a crucial piece of the Red Sox bullpen over the past two years. Plucked from the Rangers in the 2023 Rule 5 draft, the right-hander has posted a 3.09 ERA with an even stronger 2.77 FIP across 78 2/3 innings of work. That’s been enough to make him one of the top set-up men on the roster in both of his years with the Red Sox, serving in a high-leverage role setting up closer Kenley Jansen last year and Aroldis Chapman this season. Impressive as those results have been, however, Slaten’s taken a bit of a step back this year. His strikeout rate has dipped to 17.8%, his walk rate has jumped to 7.8%, and he’s shaved nearly ten points off his ground ball rate relative to last year.

Perhaps today’s placement on the injured list offers some level of explanation for that step backwards in production. The right-hander told reporters (including Chris Cotillo of MassLive) that he’s just dealing with some “fatigue” in his shoulder and hopes to be back in action after only a minimum stint. Losing a key piece of the bullpen is never a good thing, but if a two-week trip to the shelf can help Slaten get back to the dominant form he flashed in 2024 that could be well worth it for the club.

As for Sabol, the 27-year-old is a fellow alumnus of the Rule 5 draft. Selected by the Giants in the 2022 installment of the draft, Sabol hit .243/.313/.392 (95 wRC+) in 121 games with the Giants between the 2023 and ’24 seasons while splitting time between catching and the outfield. Unfortunately, Sabol did not show enough offensive potential to serve as a regular outfield option nor enough growth defensively behind the plate to be rostered as a regular catcher in the eyes of San Francisco. That led the club to designate him for assignment back in January, and he was traded to the Red Sox shortly thereafter.

Sabol has largely been a depth option for the Red Sox this year, and has only appeared in eight games with the big league club with a -14 wRC+ in that extremely limited opportunity. The Red Sox will have one week to trade Sabol or attempt to pass him through waivers. If he goes unclaimed, Boston will have the opportunity to outright him to the minor leagues to use as non-roster depth going forward. Connor Wong and Carlos Narvaez have settled in as the club’s primary catching tandem, and depth options like Yasmani Grandal and Seby Zavala remain in the fold at the minor league level.

Brewers Designate Tyler Alexander For Assignment

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The Brewers announced this morning that they’ve designated left-hander Tyler Alexander for assignment. The move makes room for southpaw Jose Quintana to be activated from the injured list.

Alexander, 31 next month, has pitched to an ugly 6.19 ERA in 36 1/3 innings of work to this point in the season. That’s 35% worse than league average by ERA+, but it must be noted that Alexander’s peripherals tell a different story. An elevated .331 BABIP and comically low 47.2% strand rate indicate poor fortune for the lefty when it comes to batted balls and sequencing, and that’s reflected in his 3.58 FIP and 4.27 SIERA.

Both of those are fairly solid figures, and it’s not hard to imagine Alexander bouncing back if offered the opportunity to do so by another club. Alexander’s career 4.67 ERA hardly jumps off the page, but his ability to handle multiple roles and eat innings should make him an attractive arm for teams in need of pitching help. The Brewers will have one week to either trade the lefty or place him on outright waivers. If he clears waivers, Alexander could be outrighted to the minor leagues but has the requisite service time to reject an assignment in favor of free agency.

Alexander’s departure makes room for the return of Quintana to the active roster. The lefty made six starts with an impressive 2.65 ERA despite a lackluster 4.56 FIP for Milwaukee earlier this year but went on the shelf with a shoulder impingement in early May. Quintana is set to rejoin the club’s rotation today, taking the ball against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, and will round out a staff that had previously been relying on just four pitchers: Rookie Quinn Priester and Chad Patrick as well as veterans Freddy Peralta and Aaron Civale. Tobias Myers, Elvin Rodriguez, and Logan Henderson have been called upon to fill in as necessary throughout the season but are all currently in the minor leagues.

Quintana’s return to action comes at a time when the Brewers are attempting to turn what had been a tough start to the season around. They’ve won their last six games in a row, putting them back up above .500 with a 31-28 record, and now sit just 2.5 games back in the Wild Card race. First baseman Rhys Hoskins has helped to carry a lineup that’s finally beginning to heat up, and Brandon Woodruff is expected to make his long-awaited return to the rotation in the not-too-distant future as well.

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