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Rangers Select Daniel Robert

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The Rangers selected reliever Daniel Robert onto the MLB roster for tonight’s matchup with the Angels. Texas optioned Grant Anderson to Triple-A Round Rock to clear a spot in the bullpen. In order to open space on the 40-man roster, the Rangers designated lefty Antoine Kelly for assignment.

Robert gets his first big league call a few weeks shy of his 30th birthday. Texas drafted him in 2017 as a 21st-round pick out of Auburn. Robert has pitched parts of three seasons (including all of 2024) in Round Rock. After struggling in his first two seasons there, he has posted excellent numbers across 25 appearances this year.

Through 30 2/3 innings, Robert carries a 2.35 earned run average. He has punched out more than 35% of batters faced while walking only 6.1% of opponents. It’s a massive improvement over last season, when he fanned 26.4% of hitters with a near-12% walk percentage. Robert has fanned 12 without issuing a walk in his most recent 10 2/3 frames.

His promotion bumps Kelly off the roster. The 24-year-old is a former second-round pick of the Brewers who runs his fastball into the high 90s. Milwaukee traded him to Texas at the 2022 deadline in the Matt Bush deal. Texas added Kelly to the 40-man roster to keep him out of last winter’s Rule 5 draft, but things haven’t gone well this season.

Kelly has walked 21 of the 91 hitters he’s faced in Round Rock. That’s clearly not viable and resulted in a 9.39 ERA. That pushed him back to Double-A last week and now off the roster entirely. The Rangers have five days to trade the 6’5″ lefty or put him on waivers. Kelly pitched to a 1.95 ERA with a 32% strikeout rate in Double-A last season. He still has a full slate of options and could find some interest on the waiver wire, this year’s control woes notwithstanding.

Reds Recall Rece Hinds For MLB Debut, Outright Levi Jordan

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The Reds made a handful of moves before tonight’s series opener with the Rockies. Cincinnati recalled outfield prospect Rece Hinds in his first MLB promotion. They also brought up righty reliever Yosver Zulueta from Triple-A Louisville. In corresponding moves, the Reds optioned right-hander Graham Ashcraft and placed outfielder Stuart Fairchild on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to July 7) with a spinal disc injury.

Hinds is in the starting lineup tonight in right field. He’ll hit eighth and likely take his first big league at-bat against Colorado starter Ryan Feltner. The righty-hitting corner outfielder has been on Cincinnati’s 40-man roster since the start of last offseason. The Reds selected his contract to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. He has been on optional assignment to Louisville all year.

Initially drafted as a third base prospect, Hinds was a second-round pick out of high school back in 2019. Evaluators have long been intrigued by the massive raw power he packs into a 6’4″ frame, but Hinds’ stock has dipped since he entered pro ball because of longstanding contact questions. The 23-year-old has punched out in nearly 35% of his plate appearances over parts of five minor league campaigns.

Strikeouts have again been a concern this season. Hinds has fanned at an untenable 38.4% clip through 328 trips to the plate in Louisville. While he has connected on 13 home runs, his .216/.290/.409 slash line in Triple-A is below average. The Reds remain intrigued by Hinds’ pure power potential, but it’s fair to expect a lot of swing-and-miss in his initial look at MLB pitching.

Cincinnati has tried to find a reliable righty-hitting outfielder to take some at-bats from lefties Jake Fraley and Will Benson. Fairchild has teed off on lefties at a .308/.388/.473 clip over 103 plate appearances, but he hasn’t produced at all against right-handed pitching (.127/.188/.203 in 86 PAs). He’s now out for an indeterminate amount of time, perhaps contributing to the decision to bring in Austin Slater in a late-night trade with the Giants. (Fraley is also currently away from the team tending to a family matter.)

On the pitching side, Zulueta steps into the bullpen and pushes Ashcraft back to Triple-A. It’s the second time this season that the Reds optioned the righty, who opened the year in the rotation. Ashcraft started three times since being recalled on June 26, allowing 10 runs in 15 innings. The Reds could soon welcome Nick Lodolo back from his stint on the 15-day injured list. Manager David Bell told reporters that rookie right-hander Carson Spiers will hold his rotation spot behind Lodolo, Hunter Greene, Andrew Abbott and Frankie Montas (X link via Charlie Goldsmith of the Cincinnati Enquirer).

In other Reds news, Cincinnati announced that utilityman Levi Jordan went unclaimed on waivers. He was outrighted back to Louisville. The Reds designated Jordan for assignment last week when they called up Edwin Ríos. A former 29th-round draftee, Jordan earned an MLB call in late June and appeared in seven contests. He picked up his first hit, a double off Daulton Jefferies, over 10 at-bats. He’s hitting .302/.384/.443 on the year in Triple-A.

Angels Designate Miguel Sano For Assignment

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The Angeles announced they’ve designated infielder Miguel Sanó for assignment. The move opens active and 40-man roster space for Anthony Rendon, who is back from the 60-day injured list.

Sanó made a return to professional baseball this year after sitting out the 2023 season. He signed a minor league deal with the Angels in January and hit four homers in 23 Spring Training contests. That was enough to nab a spot on the Opening Day roster in a backup role. Sanó got a bit of run as a designated hitter through the season’s first couple weeks before a left knee injury sent him to the injured list.

The veteran slugger was out of action for nearly two months. The Halos reinstated him from the IL on June 25 but have only gotten him into seven games over the past few weeks. Sanó only has one hit since his activation and carries a .205/.295/.313 batting line over 95 plate appearances. Opponents have punched him out 36 times (a 37.9% rate), continuing the career-long struggle Sanó has had in making consistent contact.

Rendon’s return should push Luis Guillorme back into a glove-first utility role. Guillorme and Keston Hiura will serve as infield depth behind Nolan Schanuel, Brandon Drury, Zach Neto and Rendon. Manager Ron Washington has Rendon at the hot corner and atop the lineup tonight against the Rangers and Jon Gray. It’ll be the veteran infielder’s first game action since he suffered a partially torn left hamstring on April 20.

The Halos have five days to trade Sanó or put him on waivers. He’s not likely to draw any trade interest and could decline an assignment to the minor leagues, so he’ll very likely be released this week.

Diamondbacks Select Yilber Diaz

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July 8: Arizona officially selected Diaz’s contract on Monday afternoon. The D-Backs optioned lefty reliever Joe Jacques to Triple-A in a corresponding active roster move. They already had a vacancy on the 40-man roster after releasing Tucker Barnhart, so that is now at capacity.

July 5: The Diamondbacks are “likely” to promote pitching prospect Yilber Diaz for his MLB debut next week, according to Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. The right-hander would get the ball to start Monday night’s series opener against the Braves. Diaz is not on the 40-man roster, but the Diamondbacks currently have an open spot on the 40-man, so they would not need to make a corresponding move to select his contract.

Diaz made his professional debut for the D-backs organization in 2021. After pitching to a 4.17 ERA and 3.66 FIP in 14 starts at Double-A between 2023 and ’24, he earned a promotion to Triple-A this June. In four starts with the Reno Aces, he has a 3.27 ERA with 28 strikeouts in 22 innings of work. On the season, he has an impressive 33.2% strikeout rate in 15 outings between Double and Triple-A. The 23-year-old is averaging just over five innings per start.

Diaz is currently ranked as the #16 prospect in the Diamondbacks system, according to MLB Pipeline. Baseball America and Keith Law of the Athletic both had him at #15 on their preseason lists. Eric Longenhagen and Travis Ice of FanGraphs were a little higher on Diaz, ranking him #6 and expressing more faith in both of his breaking balls (a slider and curve) to be potential plus pitches. Ultimately, however, all four sources agreed that the righty’s future is most likely in the bullpen. He throws a mid-90s fastball that can touch the high-90s; if his velocity were to tick up out of the ’pen, he could be a flame-throwing relief weapon.

Yet, for now, Diaz remains a starting pitcher, and he will take on the biggest test of his starting career on Monday. The Braves offense has struggled for much of the season, especially against right-handed pitching. Regardless, they’re going to be a far tougher opponent than a Triple-A club, and Diaz has hardly even faced much Triple-A opposition.

Although the rookie might benefit from a bit more seasoning in the minors, the Diamondbacks are a little desperate for starting pitching after Jordan Montgomery landed on the injured list last week. Rookie Cristian Mena made his MLB debut in Montgomery’s place on Wednesday, but the results were poor. He lasted only three innings, giving up four earned runs on four hits, three walks, and two home runs. Mena struck out just two of the 15 batters he faced, and he has already been optioned back to Triple-A. The only other healthy starting pitcher on Arizona’s 40-man roster who isn’t already in the rotation is Tommy Henry, who has a 7.04 ERA in 38 1/3 MLB innings this season.

Braves Select Eddie Rosario

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Eddie Rosario is back with the Braves, as Atlanta selected the veteran outfielder onto the MLB roster. The Braves also recalled right-hander Bryce Elder from Triple-A Gwinnett to start tonight’s contest with the D-Backs. Reliever Dylan Lee and utilityman Luke Williams were optioned out in corresponding moves. The Braves designated outfielder J.P. Martínez for assignment to create a 40-man roster spot for Rosario — a move that was reported this morning.

It’ll be Rosario’s fourth straight season logging MLB action as a Brave. Atlanta’s decision to buy low on the veteran outfielder at the 2021 trade deadline is etched into franchise history. The generally streaky Rosario caught fire down the stretch and into October, winning NLCS MVP honors and helping the Braves to a World Series. Atlanta re-signed him to a two-year, $18MM free agent deal that offseason.

The extension didn’t work out as hoped. He battled vision issues and slumped to a .212/.259/.328 batting line during the first season. Rosario bounced back somewhat to hit 21 home runs a year ago, though his .255/.305/.450 slash was average overall. Atlanta declined a $9MM option for the 2024 campaign, sending the 32-year-old back to the open market. Rosario lingered in free agency until Spring Training was underway. He eventually signed a minor league deal with the Nationals and locked in a $2MM salary when he made the team out of camp.

Rosario’s time in Washington was a disappointment. He got out to a dreadful first month, hitting .088 with just one homer through the end of April. The lefty-swinging outfielder connected on six longballs and five doubles in an impressive May before falling back into an extended slump. He hit .191/.200/.250 in June. The Nats pulled the plug last week, calling up top prospect James Wood and releasing Rosario after it became clear he wouldn’t play his way into being a valuable trade chip. Rosario finished his Washington tenure with a .183/.226/.329 slash across 235 plate appearances. He’s a .227/.275/.390 hitter over the past two and a half seasons.

That set the stage for another shot in Atlanta. The Braves inked Rosario to a minor league deal on Friday. After a trio of appearances for Gwinnett, he’s back in the MLB outfield. He could step into a left field platoon with the righty-swinging Ramón Laureano, who signed a minor league deal with Atlanta in May after being released by the Guardians. Laureano has been nursing a back issue for over a week, so Eli White (whose contract was just selected on Friday) started in left field for all three games of Atlanta’s weekend series with the Phillies.

Jarred Kelenic is playing every day in center field while Michael Harris II mends a hamstring strain. Adam Duvall is handling right field. The outfield is a clear weak point for the Braves since they lost Ronald Acuña Jr. to a season-ending ACL tear. It’s entirely unsurprising that they’re evaluating trade possibilities before the July 30 deadline. Rosario’s return stint with the Braves could be brief if president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos and his staff can land a more significant upgrade over the next few weeks.

For the time being, the Braves will take a low-cost roll of the dice on Rosario hitting a hot streak in a familiar setting. Atlanta will only pay him the prorated portion of the $740K league minimum for however long he’s on the roster. The Nats remain on the hook for the rest of his salary.

Mariners Activate Gregory Santos From 60-Day Injured List

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The Mariners are getting a big arm back in the bullpen, as they announced Monday that right-hander Gregory Santos has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. Seattle already had an open 40-man spot to accommodate the move, and righty Emerson Hancock was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma to open a spot on the active 26-man roster.

Acquired from the White Sox in an offseason trade sending outfielder Zach DeLoach, righty Prelander Berroa and a Competitive Balance (Round B) draft pick back to Chicago, Santos has yet to throw a pitch with the Mariners. The right-hander suffered a lat strain in spring training an has spent the entire year to this point on the injured list. The 24-year-old tossed a pair of shutout innings during a minor league rehab stint, fanning two of his seven opponents without issuing a walk. That was sufficient for the Mariners to activate him.

Last year with the White Sox, Santos broke out with 66 1/3 innings of 3.39 ERA ball. For a pitcher who’d been designated for assignment by the Giants and flipped to the Sox for minor league righty Kade McClure, it was an unexpected development and one of the few bright spots in an otherwise awful 2023 campaign for the ChiSox. Santos fanned a roughly average 22.8% of his opponents, turned in an outstanding 5.9% walk rate and kept the ball on the ground at a very strong 52.5% clip — all while averaging 98.8 mph on his sinker.

In acquiring Santos, the Mariners hoped to be landing five years of a premium reliever to pair with standout closer Andres Munoz and flamethrowing setup stud Matt Brash. That plan hasn’t come to fruition. Brash won’t pitch this season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in early May. Santos will make his Mariners debut in the coming days. Munoz has been excellent (1.50 ERA, 30.3% strikeout rate, 14 saves), but the setup bridge to him has been handled by spring signee Ryne Stanek, 2023 deadline acquisition Trent Thornton and offseason signee Austin Voth. Santos might not jump right into the mix as the top setup option, but he should be pitching in high-leverage spots before terribly long, so long as he remains healthy.

Diamondbacks Release Tucker Barnhart

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The D-backs have released veteran catcher Tucker Barnhart following last week’s DFA, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. He’s now a free agent.

Barnhart, 33, signed a minor league deal with the Snakes back in January. He’s technically in the second season of a two-year, $6.5MM contract signed with the Cubs in the 2022-23 offseason. Chicago released him from that contract last August after he hit just .202/.285/.257 in 123 plate appearances. The Dodgers quickly scooped him up on a minor league deal but didn’t bring him to the majors before season’s end.

Things didn’t go much better for Barnhart in Arizona. He received a comparable number of plate appearances (96) but also posted comparable results: .173/.287/.210. Meanwhile, 27-year-old Jose Herrera posted a .260/.351/.362 batting line in Triple-A Reno this season, leading the D-backs to go with the younger switch-hitting Herrera as the preferred backup to Gabriel Moreno.

Barnhart was a regular with the Reds from 2015-21 and for a few years graded as one of baseball’s premier defensive catchers. The two-time Gold Glove winner has never been a strong offensive performer, but his bat has dwindled to the point where the benefit from his glove is no longer a a clearly worthwhile trade-off. Barnhart batted .249/.327/.380 during that lengthy run with the Reds but has produced a .208/.286/.255 slash in 527 plate appearances between three teams (Tigers, Cubs, D-backs) since leaving Cincinnati.

Any team seeking catching depth can now sign Barnhart with virtually no risk. He’d only be owed the prorated league minimum for any time spent on a new team’s major league roster/injured list. The Cubs are on the hook for the remainder of this year’s $3.25MM salary.

Latest On Angels’ Deadline Outlook

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The Angels are one of the few obvious deadline sellers at the moment, but even they might not be fully open for business. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale suggests that the club prefers to hold onto outfielder Taylor Ward and starters Tyler Anderson and Griffin Canning, due to the fact all three are signed/controlled into next season. If the Angels are reluctant to move anyone signed or controlled beyond the current campaign, that would then extend to Luis Rengifo as well. Anderson is signed through 2025 and earning $13MM each season. Ward is controlled through 2026 via arbitration. Canning and Rengifo are arb-eligible through the 2025 season.

It’s always possible, especially this time of year, that there’s some level of posturing in that stance. The Halos are 15 games under .500, 10.5 games out of the division lead and 12 games out of a Wild Card spot as of Monday morning. Their -78 run differential is the fifth-worst in MLB. Mike Trout has been on the injured list since late April. Patrick Sandoval and Robert Stephenson have both been lost to UCL surgeries. To say things have not gone well in 2024 would be putting things mildly.

That said, Angels owner Arte Moreno has long appeared averse to embarking on any kind of rebuilding effort. The Angels have regularly been active in free agency and on the trade market over the past decade, even as their playoff drought has grown to the largest in the sport. (They last qualified for postseason play in 2014.) That trend has spanned multiple general managers — Jerry Dipoto, Billy Eppler, Perry Minasian — and thus seems largely attributable to ownership. Even as they were faced with losing Shohei Ohtani in free agency this offseason, Minasian decisively stated that the Angels would not rebuild.

When considering that context, it’s easier to see a scenario in which the Angels would rebuff interest in names like Ward — even if there’s a strong logical case that they should be capitalizing on trade value nearly anywhere it exists on the roster. As it stands, Nightengale writes that the Angels have been “bombarded” with interest in closer Carlos Estevez and are also likely to trade setup man Luis Garcia. Other rental players of note on the Halos include Matt Moore, Brandon Drury, Kevin Pillar, Hunter Strickland and Miguel Sano.

The 31-year-old Estevez is in the second season of a two-year, $13.5MM contract signed in the 2022-23 offseason. The longtime Rockies hurler has taken his game to a new level in Anaheim — particularly in 2024. He boasts a tidy 2.89 ERA with a strong 26.9% strikeout rate and a career-best 3.8% walk rate. Estevez averages just shy of 97 mph on his heater, has picked up 16 saves this year (and 31 last year), and was named the AL Reliever of the Month in June after tossing 10 shutout innings and recording a 32.3% strikeout rate without issuing a walk.

Garcia, 37, is on a one-year, $4.25MM contract. He’s pitched 36 innings and yielded a 4.25 ERA while recording nine holds. The veteran righty has fanned a sharp 23.7% of his opponents against a similarly strong 7.9% walk rate. He’s kept the ball on the ground at a hearty 49.5% clip. His sinker is down from the career-best 98.7 mph average he showed with the Padres in 2022 but still has plenty of life, sitting at 96.4 mph, per Statcast.

Strickland, 35, has had an up-and-down career with inconsistent year-to-year results but is in the midst of a strong season. He’s pitched 40 innings out of the bullpen and logged a 3.60 ERA, 20.6% strikeout rate, 6.3% walk rate, 35.3% ground-ball rate and 0.90 HR/9. Over his past 9 2/3 innings, he’s gone unscored upon and allowed only one hit and three walks while punching out 10 batters.

The 35-year-old Pillar was released by the White Sox in April and has been a godsend in Anaheim. Since heading to Orange County, the journeyman outfielder has turned in a huge .305/.360/.516 slash with six home runs and five steals in just 139 plate appearances. Pillar recently acknowledged that this will likely be his final season, so it stands to reason that he’d welcome the opportunity to join one more playoff race and one more chance to chase down a World Series ring.

None of the other rental options on the Angels’ roster are performing particularly well. Moore, Adam Cimber and Jose Cisnero all signed one-year deals in the offseason. Moore has seen his strikeout rate plummet as he’s struggled to keep his ERA under 5.00. Both Cimber and Cisnero have ERAs north of 7.00 and are presently on the injured list. Drury, hitting .172/.24/.227 in the second season of a two-year $17MM deal, is more a release candidate than a trade candidate. Sano, back in the majors after not playing in 2023, is hitting .205/.295/.313 with a 37.9% strikeout rate in 95 plate appearances.

Braves Exploring Trade Market For Outfield Help

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The Braves are actively surveying the trade market in an effort to bolster their outfield group, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Atlanta recently brought veteran Eddie Rosario back on a minor league deal after he was released by the Nationals, but president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos is also canvassing the market for more certain upgrades. Talks to this point have been “preliminary” in nature, Rosenthal adds.

There’s little surprise that Atlanta is seeking to augment its outfield mix. Ronald Acuna Jr. was lost for the season two months ago when he suffered an ACL tear, and Michael Harris II is still on the mend from a Grade 2 hamstring strain suffered in mid-June. That pair of injuries has left the Braves relying on Jarred Kelenic in center field, where he’s being flanked by a combination of Adam Duvall, Ramon Laureano and Luke Williams. (Laureano, like Rosario, signed a minor league deal with Atlanta after being released earlier in the season.)

As one would imagine after a pair of major injuries to starters, the production from the Atlanta outfield hasn’t been anywhere close to expectation this season. Braves outfielders have combined to hit .239/.296/.372 on the season. That batting average lands them in the middle of the pack of MLB clubs, but they’re 24th in OBP from their outfield corps and 21st in slugging. Going back to the time Acuna was lost for the season, Atlanta outfielders are hitting just .227/.276/.374.

It’s still “early” enough in trade season that a number of borderline Wild Card contenders haven’t committed to a deadline strategy yet. There are a handful of outfielders who’ll clearly be available in trade among the few clear-cut sellers, however. The White Sox (Tommy Pham, Luis Robert Jr., Gavin Sheets), A’s (Brent Rooker, Miguel Andujar), Marlins (Jazz Chisholm Jr.) and Angels (Kevin Pillar, Taylor Ward) all have outfielders who are expected to be available between now and the July 30 trade deadline. Depending on how things play out around the league, that list could expand to include names like Lane Thomas, Jesse Winker, Randal Grichuk, Harrison Bader, Kevin Kiermaier and Mark Canha, among others.

Presumably, Atlanta’s focus will be on shorter-term solutions. Acuna is signed through 2026 with club options for the 2027-28 seasons. Harris is signed all the way through 2030, with club options for the 2031-32 seasons. Kelenic is under club control via arbitration through 2028. It’s certainly possible the Braves still acquire someone signed/controlled beyond the current season, but any such acquisition would likely need some familiarity playing elsewhere on the diamond, as the 2025 outfield is generally already in place.

Salary is likely another factor worth taking into consideration. Per RosterResource, Atlanta’s luxury-tax ledger is just shy of $273MM, placing them a little more than $4MM away from the third tier of penalization. Crossing into the third tier is the point at which a team’s top pick in the following year’s draft is pushed back 10 places — an outcome most clubs prefer to avoid. A trade partner could always pay down some salary to help alleviate those concerns for the Braves, but that would also only increase the cost in terms of prospects.

Braves To Designate J.P. Martinez For Assignment

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The Braves are designating outfielder J.P. Martinez for assignment, reports Francys Romero. The team has not yet announced the DFA or a corresponding transaction.

Acquired in an offseason swap that sent minor league righty Tyler Owens to the Rangers, the 28-year-old Martinez is a former high-profile signee out of Cuba who has seen limited big league action with Texas and Atlanta. Martinez made his MLB debut last year with the Rangers, hitting .225/.250/.325 in a tiny sample of 44 plate appearances. This year, he’s seen even less MLB time, going 2-for-10 with the Braves.

Though he hasn’t seen much MLB time and hasn’t hit well in his tiny cups of coffee, Martinez has a nice overall track record in Triple-A — despite middling numbers there in 2024. He’s hitting .244/.335/.360 thus far with the Braves’ Gwinnett affiliate but was outstanding with the Rangers’ top affiliate a year ago. In all, he’s played parts of three Triple-A seasons and slashed .258/.369/.450 in 777 plate appearances. He’s shown both power and speed in the upper minors, belting 23 Triple-A homers while going 72-for-82 in stolen base attempts. He’s played all three outfield spots in his professional career but has spent the majority of his time in center field.

Martinez has struggled with contact issues throughout his minor league tenure, often running strikeout rates in the upper-20s and low-30s. He looked to have reined that in last year with a manageable 22.9% strikeout rate in Triple-A, but that number has spiked back to 27.6% in 2024.

The Braves will have a five days to trade Martinez or place him on outright waivers. Going through waivers would then be a 48-hour process.

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