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Ronald Acuña Jr. To Begin Rehab Assignment

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The Braves announced to reporters, including Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, that outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. will start a rehab assignment in the Complex League tomorrow. He will be playing the outfield and will be monitored for a potential transfer to Triple-A Gwinnett at some point. The club also announced that right-hander Spencer Strider will throw a simulated game on Wednesday, per Mark Bowman of MLB.com. The plan is for Strider to throw 70 to 75 pitches before a decision is made about whether to send him on a rehab assignment or simply reinstate him from the injured list.

The news is obviously quite welcome for Atlanta fans. The injuries to the two players have been hampering the club for almost all of the past year-plus. Strider required UCL surgery in the middle of April last year. Just over a month later, Acuña suffered a torn left ACL. The club limped through the rest of the season without those two, qualifying for a Wild Card spot in the final game of the season. They were quickly swept by the Padres in the Wild Card round.

Here in 2025, things have gotten out to a rough start. Strider was reinstated from the IL last month but made just one start before a hamstring strain put him back on the shelf. Jurickson Profar, signed in the offseason to bolster the outfield in Acuña’s absence, played just four games before receiving an 80-game PED suspension. Reynaldo López made just one start before requiring arthroscopic shoulder surgery and is going to be out for several months.

Around all of those speedbumps, Atlanta has managed to somewhat tread water, currently sporting a 19-21 record. The upcoming returns of both Acuña and Strider should improve their chances of climbing in the standings going forward.

When last healthy, Acuña was on top of the world. He was the Most Valuable Player in the National League in 2023. He hit 41 home runs and stole 73 bases that season, producing a .337/.416/.596 batting line and 171 wRC+. FanGraphs considered him to be worth 9.1 wins above replacement while Baseball Reference had him at 8.4. That was all the more impressive because he had recovered from a previous ACL tear in his right knee.

His initial return from that injury, suffered in June of 2021, was more good than great. He was reinstated from the IL in April of 2022 and then hit .266/.351/.413 for a 115 wRC+ that year. But in 2023, he was firing on all cylinders and was one of the best players in the world.

It’s anyone’s guess which version of Acuña will show up this year. With his previous ACL tear, he was eventually able to get back to MVP-level performance, but with a half-decent season in between. Now that he has suffered tears in both ACLs, it’s hard to say what’s ahead, but it shouldn’t take too much longer to find out. Rehab assignments for position players can last as long as 20 days. Even if Acuña uses that entire timeline, he’ll be back by early June, unless he suffers a setback of some kind.

When he does return, the club will have to decide which player loses playing time. Eli White is currently holding down Acuña’s right field spot. He has a .284/.333/.506 line and 127 wRC+, but is getting some help from a .350 batting average on balls in play. He could drop into a fourth outfielder role but left fielder Alex Verdugo has a .241/.300/.325 line and 76 wRC+ on the year, comparable to his poor season with the Yankees in 2024, so perhaps White could slide over to left and take some time there.

As for Strider, it seems there’s a chance he could be back as soon as a week from now, if the sim game goes well. Even if he does go on a rehab assignment, it might be a brief one. Whenever he’s healthy, he should slot next to Chris Sale, Spencer Schwellenbach and AJ Smith-Shawver in the rotation. Bryce Elder and Grant Holmes are currently in the mix but both have ERAs close to 5.00. Elder has a tepid strikeout rate but a good walk rate while Holmes has been getting more punchouts but also giving out more free passes.

Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images

Eddie Rosario Elects Free Agency

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May 12: Rosario went unclaimed on waivers and rejected an outright assignment in lieu of free agency, per the transaction log at MiLB.com.

May 9: The Braves announced Friday that they’ve designated outfielder Eddie Rosario for assignment. His spot on the roster will go to infielder Luke Williams, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Gwinnett.

Rosario’s latest Braves stint will last under two weeks. He signed a big league deal back on April 28 after being cut loose by the Dodgers. Atlanta gave him only four plate appearances across three games this time around. The 33-year-old veteran went hitless in that minuscule sample. He’s 1-for-8 with a single between his limited stints with the Dodgers and Braves in 2025.

Of course, Rosario is no stranger to Atlanta. The Braves acquired him from the Guardians in a salary-dump deal at the 2021 trade deadline, and Rosario caught absolute fire down the stretch, helping to fuel an improbable World Series victory for an Atlanta club that was under .500 at the trade deadline. He re-signed on a two-year deal and also returned for a short stint in 2024. He’s spent the better part of the past five years in a Braves uniform but carries a tepid .235/.283/.413 batting line in that time — with most of his damage coming during that sizzling 2021 run.

Rosario was a solid regular with the Twins for the majority of his early career, but his best full-season production since leaving in 2021 have been league-average performances in 2021 and 2023. He’s struggled immensely outside those two seasons and carries an overall .231/.277/.394 slash in his past 1525 major league plate appearances (81 wRC+). The Braves will have a week to resolve Rosario’s DFA, though the likely outcome is that he’ll either be released or reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency.

As for Williams, he’s also returning for a third go-around with Atlanta. He appeared with the Braves in each of the past two seasons but turned in a .164/.233/.218 showing in 61 plate appearances. He’s struggled even more than that in Gwinnett this season, hitting only .132/.205/.145 in 83 trips to the plate. He’ll add a right-handed bat with experience at all four infield positions and all three outfield positions to manager Brian Snitker’s bench.

Braves Sign Austin Cox

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The Braves announced that left-hander Austin Cox has been signed to a Major League contract and assigned to Triple-A Gwinnett.  Cox had been in the Royals organization on a minor league deal, but his MLB.com profile page indicates that Triple-A Omaha released him from that contract earlier today.

Cox’s big league resume consists only of 35 2/3 innings of 4.54 ERA ball with Kansas City in 2023, so it is a little surprising to see him land a guaranteed deal.  Still, offering a surefire 40-man roster spot isn’t an uncommon tactic if a team wants to outbid others to land a player with limited or even zero MLB experience.  The Braves might’ve also had a built-in advantage since Cox is from Macon, Georgia, so he’ll now get to play in his home state.

A fifth-round pick for the Royals in the 2018 draft, Cox is changing organizations for the first time in his pro career.  His 2023 debut season in the Show came to an early and unfortunate end after he tore his ACL during a September game, though he was able to make it back to action by mid-April 2024.  Cox had a 4.25 ERA, 24% strikeout rate, and 15.2% walk rate in 55 Triple-A innings last season, and a 3.55 ERA, 32.7% strikeout rate, and 10.9BB% in 12 2/3 frames with Omaha this year.

Despite the rather sizeable improvements in secondary metrics, the Royals still chose to part ways with the 28-year-old Cox.  He’ll now get a change of scenery in Atlanta, where the Braves have already had a revolving door of arms log bullpen innings at the MLB level.  Should Cox get another look in the majors, he’ll join Dylan Lee and Aaron Bummer as the left-handed options in the team’s bullpen.

Braves Re-Sign Jesse Chavez, Zach Thompson

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The Braves re-signed righties Jesse Chavez and Zach Thompson to new minor league contracts, per their transaction log at MLB.com. Both players were recently designated for assignment and passed through outright waivers unclaimed. Both elected free agency, and both had short stays on the market.

It seems that with regard to Chavez in particular, this cycle will play out in perpetuity. He can’t simply be optioned to the minors, but he’s clearly content to continue functioning as what’s effectively the 41st man on Atlanta’s 40-man roster. The team will likely continue to summon Chavez to the majors when a fresh arm is needed, then run him through the DFA/waiver process and re-sign him.

The 41-year-old Chavez has now pitched with Atlanta in each of the past five seasons. He’s departed on minor league deals with several other clubs but always found his way back to Truist Park. Chavez has pitched three big league innings this year, allowing a pair of runs on four hits and three walks with three strikeouts. He’s been outstanding in 8 1/3 Triple-A innings (one run, five hits, one walk, 13 strikeouts) and has a terrific 2.96 ERA in 204 MLB innings over the past five years, nearly all of which have come with Atlanta.

Thompson, 31, pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings with Atlanta this season but was roughed up a bit in 4 1/3 minor league innings. The right-hander had a nice showing as a rookie with the Marlins in 2021 but struggled following a trade to the Pirates in the 2021-22 offseason. He’s totaled 200 1/3 innings at the MLB level and carries a 4.36 ERA, 18.3% strikeout rate and 8.6% walk rate. Thompson sits in the low 90s with his heater and doesn’t miss many bats, but he’s a nice spot start option to have stashed in Gwinnett — particularly with both Reynaldo Lopez and Spencer Strider on the injured list at the moment.

Braves Outright Ian Anderson

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The Braves announced today that right-hander Ian Anderson has been sent outright to Triple-A Gwinnett. That indicates he passed through waivers unclaimed after being designated for assignment earlier this week.

Anderson came into the year out of options, due to a few factors. Though he found much success in 2020 and 2021, he struggled in 2022 and was optioned in August of that year. An oblique strain prevented him from returning late in the season. Going into 2023, he didn’t re-earn a big league job and was optioned before the start of the season. He then required Tommy John surgery in April, which put him out of action for an extended period of time. Since he underwent that surgery while in the minors, he burned through his final two options while recovering.

He came into camp this year looking to hold onto a roster spot, perhaps as a long reliever. Atlanta traded him to the Angels just before Opening Day, a one-for-one swap which sent José Suarez the other way. Both out-of-options pitchers struggled with their new clubs and were DFA’d after a few appearances. Atlanta passed Suarez through waivers unclaimed and also claimed Anderson back from the Angels. Now Anderson has cleared as well and will join Suarez in Gwinnett.

Although Anderson debuted way back in 2020, he has just over two years of major league service time. As mentioned, he has been in the minor leagues for the past two-plus years, spending most of that time recovering from his surgery. He wasn’t collecting any big league service during that stretch. That’s now notable because players need three years of service, or a previous career outright, in order to have the right to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency. Anderson is shy of that line and therefore has to accept this assignment.

Presumably, he and Atlanta will use this opportunity to get him stretched out and back on track. He’s a former third overall pick and top prospect with past success in the majors as well. Over 2020 and 2021, he logged 160 2/3 innings with a 3.25 earned run average. His 10% walk rate was a tad high but he punched out 24.5% of opponents and got grounders at a 49.9% clip. He also made four postseason starts in each of those seasons, with a 0.96 ERA in 2020 and a 1.59 ERA in 2021, helping the club win the World Series in the latter campaign.

As mentioned, it’s been tough sledding since then. He had an ERA of 5.00 in 2022, getting nudged to the minors. He has largely been derailed by injuries since. After recovering from his surgery, he made 15 minor league starts last year with a 3.44 ERA, 23.8% strikeout rate, 10.1% walk rate and 51.9% ground ball rate.

Atlanta currently has Reynaldo López and Spencer Strider on the injured list, with López potentially done for the year. Their current rotation consists of Chris Sale, Spencer Schwellenbach, Grant Holmes, Bryce Elder and AJ Smith-Shawver. Schwellenbach is the only guy in that group with an ERA below 4.26 at the moment. Hurston Waldrep and Dylan Dodd are on the 40-man roster but each has an ERA above 6.00 at Triple-A this year.

If Anderson could get in a groove and start to look like the version he showed a few years back, he could quickly jump back up the depth chart. Despite the twists and turns in his career, he’s still only 26 years old, turning 27 tomorrow.

Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images

Yankees Claim Bryan De La Cruz

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The Yankees have claimed outfielder Bryan De La Cruz from the Braves, according to announcements from both clubs. The Yanks optioned him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and transferred Giancarlo Stanton to the 60-day injured list as the corresponding 40-man move.

There was no previous indication that Atlanta had designated De La Cruz for assignment, but it appears they quietly put him on waivers in recent days in an attempt to get him off the 40-man. It didn’t work, with the Yanks scooping him up. Atlanta’s 40-man roster count drops from 39 to 38.

Atlanta signed BDLC to their roster in the offseason and he started the season in the majors with the Atlanta outfield in flux this year. Ronald Acuña Jr. is still working back from last year’s ACL tear. Jurickson Profar tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug early in the season and received an 80-game suspension. The club signed Alex Verdugo to help out but that deal got done so late that Verdugo had to start the season on optional assignment as a sort of delayed spring training.

De La Cruz got 50 plate appearances with Atlanta but was punched out in 36% of them as he produced a dismal .191/.240/.213 line. He was optioned down to Triple-A Gwinnett when Verdugo was ready to join the big league club. The team later signed Eddie Rosario and optioned Jarred Kelenic. With Acuña slated to be back in the next month or so and Kelenic available in Triple-A, De La Cruz didn’t have great odds of getting back to the majors, which is surely what prompted the club to push him onto the waiver wire.

For the Yankees, they effectively had an open roster spot. Stanton has been on the 10-day injured list all year due to problems in both elbows. He has been trying to get healthy but still isn’t ready for game action. Even once cleared to get into a lineup somewhere, he will need a rehab assignment of a few weeks to get into game shape. His 60-day count is retroactive to his initial IL placement, so he will be eligible to be reinstated later this month if he’s able to get healthy by then.

For now, they have used Stanton’s roster spot to add some extra outfield depth. Their big league outfield group is currently strong, consisting of Aaron Judge, Trent Grisham, Cody Bellinger and Jasson Domínguez. But De La Cruz has options and there’s little harm in stashing him in Triple-A to see how things go.

As mentioned, his 2025 is out to a brutal start, but he’s been better in the past. He stepped to the plate 574 times for the Marlins over 2021 and 2022 with a combined .269/.318/.430 line and 103 wRC+ over those seasons. However, a .333 batting average on balls in play helped him out a lot there and his production has tailed off since. Since the start of 2023, he has a .243/.285/.390 line and 81 wRC+. Strikeouts have become a growing problem, with a 28% rate of punchouts since the start of 2024.

Even as he was struggling last year, he was still able to be useful in a platoon setting. A right-handed hitter, he put up a .285/.309/.425 line and 99 wRC+ versus lefties, so perhaps that is part of the appeal. Grisham and Bellinger are both lefties, though Grisham has reverse splits in his career. Domínguez is a switch-hitter but has been vulnerable to southpaws so far. He has a .277/.353/.529 line against righties but just .100/.239/.150 against lefties.

For now, De La Cruz can get regular playing time with the RailRiders and try to get in a good groove. If he succeeds or if the Yankees suffer an injury, he could get find himself getting another crack at the majors.

Photo courtesy of Brett Davis, Imagn Images

MLBTR Podcast Mailbag: Red Sox, Alonso, Tigers, Tanking, And More!

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to answer your questions, including…

  • Should the Red Sox trade Triston Casas and move Trevor Story to first base when Marcelo Mayer comes up? (1:30)
  • Does Rafael Devers of the Red Sox need a change of scenery? (10:00)
  • Should the Mets extend Pete Alonso now? (12:30)
  • What can the Mets do about their bullpen? (16:40)
  • Should fans of the Tigers temper the excitement or embrace the season as something special? (19:55)
  • Should MLB bring back a livelier ball since hitters seem broadly overmatched by pitchers? (28:30)
  • There have been a lot of historically bad teams in recent years. What can be done to discourage tanking? (39:00)
  • Is there any way that the Braves can trade Jurickson Profar? (52:30)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of Matt Marton, Imagn Images

Braves Release Chasen Shreve

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The Braves recently released Chasen Shreve from his minor league contract (h/t to Matt Eddy of Baseball America). The veteran lefty is again a free agent.

Shreve signed a non-roster deal with Atlanta in January. It was a return to the organization that drafted him in 2010 and with which he made his big league debut more than a decade ago. He received an invite to major league Spring Training but was reassigned to the minors after three appearances. Shreve has worked exclusively in relief as a big leaguer, but he pitched out of the rotation at Triple-A Gwinnett.

The 34-year-old started four of five outings with the Stripers, working four frames in each start. The results weren’t good, as he allowed 15 runs (11 earned) over 17 1/3 innings. He struck out 12 against five walks while allowing 21 hits, three of which left the yard. His fastball averaged what would be a career-low 88.8 MPH, though that’s not all that surprising with the rotation move. His fastball sat around 90 MPH during his relief work last season.

Shreve made one MLB appearance as a member of the Rockies last year. He tossed a scoreless inning. That extended his streak to 11 consecutive years logging some major league action. Shreve spent most of the ’23 season in the big leagues. He combined for 50 appearances between the Tigers and Reds, working to a 4.63 ERA across 44 2/3 frames.

While his big league appearance came with Colorado, Shreve played for a trio of Triple-A affiliates last year. He spent time in the Rangers, Yankees and Rox systems. Shreve turned in a cumulative 2.62 earned run average across 34 1/3 innings. He fanned a strong 26.7% of opponents against a slightly higher than average 9.2% walk percentage. He got swinging strikes at a near-14% clip. That could get him attention on another minor league deal from teams seeking lefty relief depth.

Zach Thompson Elects Free Agency

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Right-hander Zach Thompson has rejected an outright assignment to Triple-A Gwinnett in favor of free agency, per David O’Brien of The Athletic. Thompson was designated for assignment earlier this week and clearly went unclaimed on waivers. As a player who’s previously been outrighted in the past, has has the right to turn down all future outright assignments in favor of a trip back to the open market.

Thompson, 31, appeared in two big league games and fired 3 2/3 scoreless innings with the Braves. He yielded three earned runs on seven hits and three walks with a pair of strikeouts during 4 1/3 innings with Triple-A Gwinnett. That limited action so far in 2025 marks Thompson’s first time on a mound since 2023. He missed the entire 2024 season after undergoing surgery to repair a tear in his right flexor tendon.

Prior to his run with the Braves organization, Thompson has seen big league time with both the Marlins and Pirates. He made his MLB debut with the 2021 Marlins, pitching 75 innings of 3.24 ERA ball with a 21% strikeout rate, an 8.9% walk rate and a 43.4% ground-ball rate. That proved enough for the Pirates to acquire him as one of three players in their return for trading catcher Jacob Stallings to Miami.

Thompson’s time with the Pirates didn’t pan out. Pittsburgh surely hoped to be adding a controllable back-end starter who could be plugged right into the rotation after trading Stallings away. Thompson did indeed step right onto the starting staff, but he was roughed up for a 5.18 ERA in 121 2/3 innings. The majority of that time was spent in the rotation (22 starts), but Thompson struggled just as much in seven bullpen appearances later in the year. The Bucs designated him for assignment that offseason and traded him to Toronto. Thompson spent the entire year in the minors before requiring that flexor surgery in October.

A team in need of some rotation depth or long relief help may take a look at Thompson in the near future now that he’s once again a free agent. He pitched decently with the Jays’ Triple-A squad in 2023 (105 innings, 4.61 ERA), has had some degree of success in the majors, and most importantly now appears healthy after missing all of the 2024 season. Thompson also has a full slate of three minor league option years, which may not immediately come into play if he signs a minor league deal but would be a benefit to his next club if he pitches his way into 40-man consideration.

Braves Release Jake Marisnick

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The Braves have released outfielder Jake Marisnick, who’d been playing with Triple-A Gwinnett after signing a minor league contract, per the transaction log at MiLB.com. He’ll head back to the market and look to latch on with another team needing outfield depth.

Marisnick’s release comes both on the heels of some notable struggles in Gwinnett and a shakeup in Atlanta’s outfield corps. The Braves signed veteran Eddie Rosario to a big league deal yesterday after his recent release from the Dodgers organization. In a corresponding move, they optioned Jarred Kelenic to Gwinnett, hoping a minor league reset can get the former top prospect back on track. Releasing Marisnick will clear roster space and playing time for Kelenic in Triple-A.

As noted, the 2025 season has been a struggle for Marisnick anyhow. The 34-year-old has appeared in a dozen games and taken 45 turns at the plate. He’s produced a woeful .098/.178/.195 batting line in that time. Marisnick has homered and was successful in his only stolen base attempt, but he’s fanned in 29% of his plate appearances and posted bottom-of-the-scale batted ball metrics (81.7 mph average exit velocity, 28.6% hard-hit rate).

Although he didn’t hit well in Gwinnett, Marisnick logged a big .286/.371/.549 slash in the Angels’ minor league ranks just last year. He’s a veteran of 11 major league seasons who has more than nine years of major league service time under his belt. Marisnick has never been a big threat with the bat — as evidenced by a lifetime .228/.281/.385 line in 2247 MLB plate appearances — but Statcast regularly places him in the 85th to 90th percentile in terms of sprint speed, and Marisnick is a superlative defender in center field; in 4448 career innings, he’s been credited with 54 Defensive Runs Saved and 40 Outs Above Average in center. He’s chipped in another 26 DRS and 12 OAA in 908 career innings in the corners.

Marisnick has at least held his own against left-handed pitching in his major league career (.237/.293/.417, 92 wRC+). That, coupled with his speed and glovework, ought to earn him a look with a new organization — albeit likely on another minor league contract.

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