Angels Select Trey Mancini
For the first time in three years, Trey Mancini is in the big leagues. The Angels selected the veteran first baseman onto the MLB roster before tonight’s series opener with the Astros. Mancini is starting at first base and batting seventh against his old team, who are sending Spencer Arrighetti to the mound.
The Halos also confirmed their previously reported call-up of rookie infielder Denzer Guzman, who’ll make his season debut tonight with a start at third base. In corresponding moves, they placed Vaughn Grissom (left oblique strain) and Adam Frazier (right elbow inflammation) on the 10-day injured list. Grissom’s placement is retroactive to June 5, while Frazier’s is retroactive to June 6. Yoán Moncada moves from the 10-day to the 60-day IL to clear a 40-man roster spot for Mancini.
Mancini signed an offseason minor league contract. He had sat out the 2024 campaign and only played a half-season in Triple-A with the Diamondbacks last year. Mancini never seemed likely to break camp as a result. Assigned to Triple-A Salt Lake, he has hit .273/.377/.464 with six home runs across 224 plate appearances. Mancini has walked at a huge 14.3% clip against an average 22% strikeout rate.
They’re not dominant numbers but are a little better than those of the average Pacific Coast League hitter. Mancini struggled in his most recent look at big league pitching, as he posted a .234/.299/.336 slash over 79 games for the Cubs in 2023. He hasn’t been an above-average MLB hitter since he was traded from the Orioles at the ’22 deadline, but he made a couple strong defensive plays to help the Astros win that year’s World Series.
The Angels welcomed Nolan Schanuel back from the injured list over the weekend. Schanuel missed a couple weeks with left ankle inflammation. He played on Saturday and Sunday but will get a day off tonight after reporting lingering soreness (relayed by Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com). Schanuel said he does not expect to need another stint on the injured list.
Moncada has been on the injured list since May 22. He has battled right knee discomfort going back to last summer. He’s now officially out into the middle of July, all but removing any chance the Angels could find a trade partner at the deadline willing to assume any portion of his $4MM salary.
Rangers, Elias Díaz Agree To Major League Contract
June 6: Texas has officially announced the deal. Diaz will take the big-league roster spot of Jansen, who is heading to the 10-day injured list with a forearm strain. With the addition of Diaz, the Rangers’ 40-man roster is now full.
June 5: The Rangers are in agreement on a major league deal with veteran catcher Elias Díaz, reports Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase. The ACES client recently became a free agent after being waived by the Royals.
Texas designated Sam Haggerty for assignment on Friday afternoon, so they have an opening on the 40-man roster. They’ll need to clear an active roster spot once Díaz reports to the team. Texas has a veteran catching tandem of Danny Jansen and Kyle Higashioka.
Higashioka has earned the recent playing time with hits in four straight games, including a home run off Parker Messick in tonight’s 3-2 win over the Guardians. Jansen has had a tough year, batting .171/.277/.309 across 142 plate appearances. He’s a couple months into a two-year, $14.5MM free agent contract. Jansen doesn’t figure to be in jeopardy of losing his roster spot at this point.
That seemingly points to a three-catcher arrangement for the time being. Texas just activated Corey Seager and Wyatt Langford from the injured list to put their lineup pretty close to full strength. Ezequiel Duran can move back from shortstop to second base, pushing Nicky Lopez to a bench role. He and Jansen have five-plus service years and cannot be sent to the minors without their consent. Michael Helman and Justin Foscue each can be optioned. Foscue’s start at designated hitter tonight was his first time in the lineup since May 27.
Díaz will be accustomed to a depth role. He spent more than a month on Kansas City’s roster as a third catcher behind Salvador Perez and Carter Jensen. He started seven of 10 games and tallied 23 plate appearances. Díaz popped a couple home runs and doubles apiece. He’s coming off a .204/.270/.337 season over a much bigger body of work with the Padres.
The 35-year-old is best known for his surprise All-Star Game MVP win as a member of the Rockies back in 2023, but he has been more of a backup over the past few seasons. He has a good arm and has graded as a solid receiving catcher in recent years after struggling with pitch framing early in his career.
Yankees Select Ali Sánchez
TODAY: The Yankees officially announced the move, specifying that Sanchez has now signed a Major League contract with the team.
JUNE 5: The Yankees will select catcher Ali Sánchez onto the MLB roster, reports Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. New York hasn’t confirmed that move but announced tonight that backup catcher J.C. Escarra was optioned to Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre. New York has had room on the 40-man roster since early-season DFAs of Cade Winquest and Randal Grichuk, so no other move is necessary.
Sánchez will take over as the backup catcher behind Austin Wells, giving them a right-handed bat in the process. The Yankees have used a left-handed hitting duo of Wells and Escarra all season. Neither player has done anything offensively, with the latter hitting .177 without a home run in 22 games. Wells has a putrid .166/.278/.255 line across 169 plate appearances. He only has five hits in 50 at-bats against lefty pitching.
The 29-year-old Sánchez, who signed an offseason minor league deal, isn’t going to provide much of an offensive boost. He’s a .183 hitter in 50 career big league contests. This year’s .227/.327/.375 line over 40 Triple-A contests is below average and has come with reverse platoon splits. The Yankees figure to look for a clearer upgrade behind the dish before the trade deadline. They’ll hope Sánchez can provide a small spark, or at least better balance, in the interim.
Sánchez has a solid defensive reputation. He showed a plus arm in ranking among the top 20 catchers in average pop time last year in very brief stints with the Red Sox and Blue Jays. Sánchez has thrown out nearly a quarter of attempted base stealers at the MLB level and is 12-43 (28%) with Scranton this season. Statcast also graded him favorably for his blocking ability during his most extended MLB action, a 31-game stint with the Marlins two seasons ago.
Astros Release Rhylan Thomas
The Astros have placed outfielder Rhylan Thomas on release waivers, according to the MLB.com transaction log. Houston designated him for assignment yesterday when they finalized the LaMonte Wade Jr. signing.
A release was basically inevitable as soon as the Astros took Thomas off the 40-man roster. He was placed on the minor league injured list last week. Injured players cannot be placed on outright waivers. They can be traded, but there wasn’t going to be any trade interest in an injured depth outfielder.
Houston claimed Thomas off waivers from Seattle in early May. They kept him in Triple-A, where he has spent the entire season. He has a modest .253/.304/.307 line over a combined 185 plate appearances between the two AL West affiliates. Thomas’ scant big league experience consists of three games for the Mariners last May. He went 1-8 with a double.
The 29 other teams will have an opportunity to claim Thomas off release waivers. He’ll be a free agent if he clears. Houston would presumably look to bring him back on a minor league deal, assuming he’s not dealing with a major injury.
Phillies Re-Sign Bryse Wilson To Minor League Deal
The Phillies re-signed righty Bryse Wilson on a minor league contract. The Pro Edge Sports Management client returns to Triple-A Lehigh Valley just two days after being granted his release from a prior minor league deal. Wilson is back on the bump for the IronPigs this evening.
A 28-year-old swingman, Wilson has pitched parts of eight seasons in the big leagues. He hasn’t reached the Majors yet in 2026, spending the entire season with Lehigh Valley. Wilson signed an offseason minor league deal and has started nine of 10 appearances in Triple-A. He has an ugly 7.23 earned run average across 47 1/3 innings. Wilson’s 22.1% strikeout rate and 52.4% ground-ball percentage are more encouraging, as he’s been victimized by opponents batting nearly .400 on balls in play.
The release and quick re-signing are fairly common this time of year. Wilson presumably triggered an opt-out in his previous agreement. Even if his camp knew a big league contract was unlikely, he’d get a couple days to explore his options and potentially renegotiate future opt-out/upward mobility dates into his new deal.
Wilson has pitched nearly 500 MLB innings across four teams. He owns a 4.82 ERA with a modest 16.6% strikeout rate at the highest level. The Phillies are light on Triple-A rotation depth, so Wilson could get a look as a swing option this summer if his minor league results start to align with the peripherals.
Padres Release Nick Castellanos
The Padres announced they’ve released Nick Castellanos. That was all but inevitable after the two-time All-Star was designated for assignment on Wednesday. San Diego also confirmed the previously reported placement of reliever Jeremiah Estrada on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to June 3, with right knee inflammation. David Morgan is back up from Triple-A El Paso to replace him in the bullpen.
San Diego also reinstated righty Jhony Brito from the 60-day injured list and optioned him to El Paso. Ramón Laureano, who is likely done for the season after undergoing hip surgery, was transferred to the 60-day IL in a corresponding move.
San Diego rolled the dice on Castellanos after he was released by the Phillies going into Spring Training. He had a career-worst .191/.221/.339 showing in 39 games, striking out 34 times in 122 plate appearances (28%). The Padres pulled the plug this week and will use a combination of Gavin Sheets and Miguel Andujar for the majority of the designated hitter work. Sheets will also be pressed into some left field reps because of the Laureano injury.
There was no financial cost for the Padres. Philadelphia is paying Castellanos’ $20MM salary, minus the prorated $780K league minimum for any time he spent on another team’s roster. The Padres paid that but would’ve needed to pay the same amount to anyone they called up from the farm system instead. It’d be the same arrangement if Castellanos finds a big league opportunity with any other team this season, though he’d probably need to accept a minor league deal if he wants to continue playing.
On the pitching side, Brito returns to the roster for the first time since last May’s elbow surgery. He was nearing the end of his rehab window after beginning a minor league assignment in early May. He has made four rehab starts at Double-A, getting up to six innings. He’ll continue his ramp-up with El Paso but could be an option for a rotation that doesn’t have much certainty beyond Michael King and Randy Vásquez. If he spends another 20 days in the minors this year, he’ll be out of options going into 2027.
Angels, Logan Porter Agree To Minor League Deal
The Angels are in agreement with catcher Logan Porter on a minor league contract, reports Ari Alexander of Boston 7 News. The Gaeta Sports Management client had elected free agency this morning after being outrighted by the Giants. He’ll report to Triple-A Salt Lake.
Porter backfills the catching depth after the Halos traded Austin Wynns to the Braves on Thursday. Atlanta selected Wynns onto the MLB roster, so it’s likely his minor league deal contained some kind of upward mobility provision. That left them with Omar Martinez and 28-year-old non-roster catcher Zach Humphreys at the Triple-A level. Martinez is the only healthy catcher on the 40-man aside from the MLB duo of Logan O’Hoppe and Sebastian Rivero.
The 30-year-old Porter spent two days on the Giants’ active roster in early May. They called him up after trading Patrick Bailey to Cleveland, getting him into one game as a pinch-runner after Christian Koss was hit by a pitch. Porter was quickly optioned back to Triple-A, where he hit .241/.292/.362 in 65 plate appearances this season. He’s a .244/.359/.389 batter over five Triple-A campaigns and has appeared in 17 big league contests over parts of three seasons.
Marlins’ Prospect Thomas White Suffers Capsular Sprain
Marlins top pitching prospect Thomas White has been diagnosed with a capsular sprain in his throwing shoulder, the team announced (relayed by Isaac Azout of Fish On First). It’s a 3-4 month recovery timeline that’ll threaten the remainder of the 2026 season.
Azout also notes that infielder Maximo Acosta underwent surgery last month to address a UCL sprain in his right thumb. Acosta has been on the minor league injured list and last played on May 10. That came with an 8-10 week timeline from the date of the surgery.
White’s loss in the much more significant of the two. The left-hander is Miami’s top prospect, according to Baseball America. He placed even more prominently coming into the season; BA had him behind only Nolan McLean among MLB pitching prospects during their offseason Top 100 ranking. They had him 15th overall and fourth among pitchers in their updated Top 100 earlier in the week.
The 21-year-old lefty is coming off a season in which he turned in a 2.31 ERA with a monster 39% strikeout rate over 21 starts from High-A to Triple-A. Injuries have limited him to seven appearances and 24 2/3 frames this year. There’s no indication surgery will be necessary, but a major shoulder injury clouds his outlook going into the 2027 campaign. It almost certainly delays his big league debut, as White stood a good chance of getting to loanDepot Park this year had he stayed healthy.
Miami has had some rough luck on the injury front with their young pitchers. Robby Snelling, their second-best pitching prospect, made his MLB debut in early May. His elbow gave out during a between starts throwing session and he underwent UCL surgery that’ll sideline him well into next season. They’re also without Eury Pérez for the next couple months with a gracilis strain.
Max Meyer has stayed healthy so far and is pitching at a top-of-the-rotation level. The rest of the rotation has been underwhelming, leaving Miami with a 4.75 ERA from their starters. It’s the third-worst mark in the National League from what was expected to be the team’s strength.
White is not on the 40-man roster and would not be eligible for the Rule 5 draft until the 2027-28 offseason. There’s no incentive for Miami to put him on the roster this year. Acosta does occupy a 40-man spot and could go on the 60-day injured list if the Marlins need space for a corresponding move. That would require paying him the prorated $780K MLB minimum as opposed to the minor league salary he’s making while on the Triple-A injured list.
Acquired from the Rangers in the 2024 Jake Burger deal, Acosta debuted last season and hit .204 in 19 games. He was batting .200 with one home run across 17 Triple-A contests this year. Most evaluators feel he projects as a glove-first depth infielder.
Angels Select Samy Natera
The Angels announced they’ve selected lefty reliever Samy Natera onto the big league roster. He’ll step into the bullpen in place of Shaun Anderson, who has again been designated for assignment.
Natera is up for the first time in his career. The 26-year-old southpaw, a native of Mexico, pitched his college ball at New Mexico State. The Halos drafted him in the 17th round in 2022. Natera spent his first year as a starter, then lost almost of 2024 to injury. Los Angeles moved him to the bullpen a year ago. He showed a high strikeout, high walk profile in Double-A that has carried over at the top minor league level this year.
The 6’4″, 230-pound lefty owns an even 3.00 earned run average across 30 innings this year with Triple-A Salt Lake. He has punched out an excellent 34.4% of opponents but issued walks to more than 14% of batters faced. It’s a typical fastball-slider reliever profile, with Natera averaging 94-95 mph on the heater and sitting in the mid-80s with the breaking ball.
Baseball America has never rated Natera among the top 30 prospects in a weak Halos farm system. However, Brendan Gawlowski of FanGraphs slotted him 21st in the system last offseason. Gawlowski credits him with a plus slider but noted that a high-effort delivery has given him problems with his control. Natera joins Drew Pomeranz, Brent Suter and Mitch Farris in a rare four-lefty bullpen.
Anderson is off the roster in what has become a familiar routine. The Angels call him up, typically designate him for assignment after an appearance or two, then run him through waivers. He usually elects free agency and immediately re-signs on a minor league deal. His most recent call-up came on Wednesday, but he didn’t make an appearance in that day’s 11-4 blowout win over Colorado. The team was off yesterday. Anderson did get into nine MLB games in March and April, allowing a 5.94 ERA through 16 2/3 innings.
Ramón Laureano Likely Out For Season
The Padres are likely to be without left fielder Ramón Laureano for the remainder of the season. He underwent labrum surgery on his right hip on Friday, relays Annie Heilbrunn of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The team hasn’t officially ruled him out for the year but noted that this injury typically requires a 4-5 month recovery. San Diego transferred him to the 60-day injured list this evening.
Laureano first had an issue with his right hip five years ago. He missed a few weeks in June 2021 with a hip strain while still playing in Oakland. Laureano had managed to play through any subsequent discomfort but evidently found the current issue too serious to avoid surgery.
There’s a decent chance this will mark the end of his Padres tenure. San Diego acquired Laureano and Ryan O’Hearn in a package deal from the Orioles at last summer’s trade deadline. O’Hearn was a rental, while the Padres had a $6.5MM club option on Laureano that looked like a bargain. He was one of the team’s best hitters after the trade, batting .269/.323/.489 over 50 games until a broken right index finger ended his season.
[Related: The Padres’ Problems Are Mounting]
It remained an easy call for San Diego to exercise the option and plug Laureano into the Opening Day lineup as their left fielder. He got out to a quick start, batting .288 with four homers and nine extra-base knocks through his first 19 games. It seems the hip became increasingly problematic in the back half of April. Laureano would hit .147 with three homers over his next 34 contests before going on the injured list on Tuesday.
Left field now becomes yet another issue for an already woeful offense. The Padres have been the lowest-scoring team in MLB. Over the past month, they have an unfathomably poor .191/.270/.325 team batting line. A diminished version of Laureano was a big part of that, but nearly the entire lineup has struggled. Ty France, Gavin Sheets and Fernando Tatis Jr. have been above-average hitters in the last 30 days. Everyone else who is still on the roster has been at least 34 percent worse than league average, by measure of wRC+, over that stretch.
That includes fourth outfielder Bryce Johnson, who’s in the starting lineup for the second straight night. The 30-year-old Johnson ran an inflated batting average on balls in play to some small sample success last season. That hasn’t carried over this year. The Padres called up 25-year-old Jase Bowen earlier in the week; he’s 1-8 with five strikeouts in his first three career games.
Manager Craig Stammen said left field will feature a combination of Sheets, Johnson, Bowen and light-hitting utility player Samad Taylor (link via Kevin Acee of The Union-Tribune). Sheets is already an everyday player between the corner outfield, first base, and designated hitter. He probably shouldn’t play the outfield, but the Padres have no choice but to keep him and France in the lineup to get any kind of offense.
Jackson Merrill is locked in as the everyday center fielder and hopefully beginning to break out of his season-long rut. Tatis is moving between right field and second base. If the Padres remain in the hunt for a Wild Card spot into July, they’ll need to find a way to add multiple bats. Left field will probably be the priority in that search. Mickey Moniak, Trevor Larnach, Matt Wallner, Taylor Ward, Jo Adell and Jacob Young are speculative outfield trade candidates who could be available closer to the deadline.
Laureano will hit free agency at the end of the season. He’ll almost certainly be looking at a one-year reclamation contract for his age-32 campaign. He’d have been well positioned for two or three years if he’d stayed healthy and hit at anything close to last season’s level, making this a particularly frustrating injury for him personally.