Tigers Designate Dylan Smith For Assignment
The Tigers announced they’ve designated reliever Dylan Smith for assignment. They needed to open a 40-man roster spot for rookie shortstop Kevin McGonigle, who is breaking camp. Detroit also placed three players on the injured list, retroactive to March 22: Sawyer Gipson-Long (left oblique strain), Bailey Horn (elbow arthroscopy), and Trey Sweeney (shoulder strain). Sweeney goes on the 10-day IL, while the pitchers land on the 15-day version.
Smith, 25, was called up last May. He made seven big league appearances, allowing two runs across 13 innings. The Alabama product recorded just four strikeouts while walking five batters and hitting three more. He spent most of the season’s second half on the minor league injured list. Smith was healthy this spring, tossing 2 1/3 scoreless innings before being optioned.
The 6’2″ righty has a 94-95 mph fastball and a mid-80s slider. He has fanned nearly 26% of opponents with an ERA just under 4.00 over four seasons in the minors. Smith has a pair of options remaining and will be traded or placed on waivers within the next five days.
Cubs Place Justin Steele On 60-Day IL, Designate Jack Neely For Assignment
The Cubs announced that left-hander Justin Steele has been placed on the 60-day injured list and right-hander Jack Neely has been designated for assignment. Those moves open two 40-man spots for outfielder Michael Conforto and infielder/outfielder Scott Kingery. It had been reported in recent days that Conforto would make the team, with Kingery likely being added as well.
Steele is working back from last April’s UCL surgery. He has advanced to facing hitters in live batting practice sessions, according to the MLB.com injury tracker. The Cubs apparently don’t feel he’ll be ready for major league action within the first two months of the season, though. Steele could go on a minor league rehab assignment towards the end of April with an eye to making his season debut in late May.
Neely, a 25-year-old reliever, made six appearances late in the 2024 season. He gave up six runs in as many innings. A former 11th-round pick of the Yankees, he was traded to the Cubs just before his MLB debut as part of the return for Mark Leiter Jr. Neely spent all of last season in the minors, struggling to a 6.23 ERA across 30 1/3 innings.
The righty has a sinker-slider combination that misses bats but which he struggles to command. Neely struck out 28% of opponents while issuing walks at an untenable 19% rate in Triple-A last season. He’s likely to wind up on waivers this week. Neely has one minor league option year remaining and wouldn’t need to be on the MLB roster if another team takes a flier on the stuff.
Conforto and Kingery secure the final two position player jobs, beating out fellow non-roster invitee Chas McCormick in that role. Matt Shaw and backup catcher Miguel Amaya fill out Craig Counsell’s four-man bench.
Diamondbacks Designate Grant Holman For Assignment
The Diamondbacks announced they’ve designated reliever Grant Holman for assignment. They also placed righty Cristian Mena (shoulder strain) and left-hander Blake Walston (rehabbing Tommy John surgery) on the 60-day injured list. They needed to clear three 40-man roster spots for Joe Ross, Jonathan Loáisiga and Ildemaro Vargas — all of whom have officially been selected onto the MLB roster.
They placed four more players on the injured list, as expected. Adrian Del Castillo (left calf strain), Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (recovering from ACL tear), and Tyler Locklear (rehabbing elbow/shoulder surgeries) all hit the 10-day IL. Merrill Kelly lands on the 15-day injured list with intercostal nerve irritation. Those placements are retroactive to March 22.
Arizona claimed Holman off waivers from the Athletics early in Spring Training. The 25-year-old righty has pitched parts of two seasons with the A’s, allowing a 4.66 ERA across 38 2/3 innings. He has fanned a below-average 18.8% of opponents against a lofty 10.2% walk rate. Holman made just one appearance this spring before being optioned, working around a walk to toss a scoreless inning.
The Diamondbacks will likely try to run him through waivers this week. Holman has just over one year of MLB service and still has a couple minor league options remaining. He works in the 94-95 mph range with his fastball while using a splitter and slider as his offspeed pitches.
Phillies Select Christian Cairo, Designate Garrett Stubbs For Assignment
The Phillies announced they’ve selected outfielder Justin Crawford and infielder Christian Cairo onto the 40-man roster. Crawford will break camp as the everyday center fielder. Cairo will not be on the Opening Day roster, as Philly optioned him to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. They opened a spot on the 40-man by designating catcher Garrett Stubbs for assignment.
Additionally, Philadelphia placed three pitchers on the 15-day injured list. Zack Wheeler (rehabbing thoracic outlet surgery), Orion Kerkering (right hamstring strain) and Max Lazar (left oblique strain) are beginning the season on the shelf. Those placements are retroactive to March 22.
Cairo signed an offseason minor league contract. Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports that the deal included an upward mobility clause. That required them to add him to the 40-man roster or let him go if another team were willing to give him a roster spot. He still has a full slate of minor league options, so they don’t need to carry him on the MLB club to keep him.
The 24-year-old Cairo has yet to play in the majors. He’s a slick-fielding middle infielder with a light bat. Cairo hit just .237/.338/.331 with two homers over 416 Triple-A plate appearances in the Cleveland farm system last year. He batted .194 with 15 strikeouts over 41 trips to the dish this spring. He’ll open the season in the minors with Edmundo Sosa and Dylan Moore holding utility roles on the MLB bench.
Philadelphia telegraphed the Stubbs move when they began shopping him on the trade market this week. They’re going with Rafael Marchán as the backup catcher behind J.T. Realmuto. Stubbs is out of options and is pushed out of the mix. The Phillies have five days to trade him or place him on waivers. He’s on a split contract that makes it likely he’d accept a Triple-A assignment if no other team carries him on the big league roster.
Wheeler and Kerkering both pitched in minor league games toward the end of the spring. Lazar suffered a mild oblique strain while pitching for Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic. All three pitchers should be back fairly early in the season.
Cubs, Pete Crow-Armstrong Agree To Extension
The Cubs and star center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong are in agreement on a six-year extension covering the 2027-33 seasons. It’s a $115MM guarantee for the CAA client, who can earn another $18MM via escalators. Crow-Armstrong had been under club control through 2030, so the deal — which doesn’t include any option years — buys out two free agent seasons.
Crow-Arsmtrong will collect a $5MM signing bonus. He’ll make a pre-arbitration salary this year before his salary jumps to $10MM annually between 2027-29. He’ll make $20MM in 2030 and $30MM per season in 2031-32. There’s a $1MM assignment bonus any time he’s traded throughout the contract, while his salaries in the final two seasons can climb depending on his placements in MVP voting between 2027-30.
Chicago tried to get a deal done with Crow-Armstrong during last year’s Spring Training. He was coming off a modest .237/.286/.384 season as a rookie, but the Cubs clearly felt he had another gear offensively. There has never been any doubt regarding his elite center field defense.
The sides couldn’t reach an agreement last spring. Crow-Armstrong’s asking price has certainly jumped 12 months later. He took a huge step forward from a power perspective, connecting on 31 home runs with 72 extra-base hits. He stole 35 bases, making him one of seven players to go 30-30 last year. He also led all outfielders with 24 Outs Above Average, while tying for second among center fielders (behind Ceddanne Rafaela) with 15 Defensive Runs Saved.
For a good portion of the season, Crow-Armstrong looked to be on track for a top three MVP finish. He was on an offensive tear for four months, hitting 27 homers with a .272/.309/.559 slash line through the end of July. His bat went ice cold to close the season, as he stumbled to a .188/.237/.295 mark over his final 200 trips to the plate.
The tough finish “dropped” Crow-Armstrong to ninth in NL MVP balloting. He deservedly earned his first All-Star selection and Gold Glove. He finished the season as a slightly above-average hitter, posting a .247/.287/.481 line across 647 plate appearances. Crow-Armstrong had a tough postseason (batting .185 without an extra-base hit in eight games) but was much better this spring while playing for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic.
Crow-Armstrong’s late-season slump highlights the remaining concerns about his offensive consistency. He’s one of the most aggressive hitters in the league, swinging at nearly 60% of the pitches he has seen in his career. No other player who took 500 plate appearances last year swung more often.
Only Yainer Diaz and Michael Harris II more frequently chased pitches outside the strike zone. As a result, Crow-Armstrong has walked in fewer than 5% of his career plate appearances. He has gone down on strikes at a slightly elevated 24% rate. The approach leaves him with a low floor from an OBP perspective that’ll probably continue leading to a streaky offensive game.
At the same time, Crow-Armstrong clearly has a ceiling that few players in the league can match. The glove isn’t going to slump. He’s an elite runner and athlete with a fantastic arm and an excellent first step. The defense alone would give him a high floor even if he had minimal offensive upside. Crow-Armstrong can carry a lineup when he’s going well, as he showed for the first two-thirds of last season. He has above-average bat speed and plus power, particularly against right-handed pitching.
The lefty hitter posted a .271/.315/.523 mark with 24 homers when holding the platoon advantage. He struggled against southpaws, batting .188/.217/.376 with seven longballs in 188 plate appearances. The defense is so good that the Cubs won’t use him as a platoon player, but they’re surely hoping to see more competitive at-bats against lefties.
It’s possible that’ll come with experience. Crow-Armstrong is entering his age-24 season. It’s unlikely he’s ever going to become a patient hitter, but it’s fair to project him some improvements to his selectivity as he gets into his mid 20s. If he plateaus at 10-15 percent better than average offensively, he’d remain one of the better all-around players in the National League. FanGraphs and Baseball Reference each valued him around 5-6 wins above replacement a year ago. Crow-Armstrong’s all-out playing style has also made him a favorite of the fanbase and arguably the face of the franchise.
Crow-Armstrong is two days shy of having two full years of service time. He would have qualified for early arbitration as a Super Two player next offseason. He was five years away from reaching free agency, when he would have hit the market at age 29.
Jackson Merrill’s nine-year, $135MM extension with the Padres last spring is the top guarantee for a player with between one and two years of MLB service. Merrill and Crow-Armstrong have similar profiles as star center fielders with power but some on-base concerns. Crow-Armstrong is the superior defender, though Merrill is a very good outfielder in his own right. The latter probably has a slightly higher offensive floor because he makes more contact.
Merrill was a year younger than Crow-Armstrong is now. He was not on track to qualify as a Super Two player, but he was trending towards hitting free agency by age 27. Merrill probably left some money on the table, though his deal is the most obvious comparison point for talks between the Cubs and Crow-Armstrong’s camp. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that the Cubs’ 2025 offer was for $66MM.
Chicago’s long-term outfield is wide open. Seiya Suzuki and Ian Happ are on track to hit free agency next offseason. Nico Hoerner, Shota Imanaga, Matthew Boyd and Jameson Taillon are also slated to hit the market, and the Cubs surely aren’t bringing everybody back. They traded Owen Caissie to the Marlins as a centerpiece of the Edward Cabrera return. Prospect Kevin Alcántara has power but concerning strikeout rates. Crow-Armstrong would have been in center field either way, but there could be a fair amount of turnover around him in the Wrigley outfield a year from now.
Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported the agreement and the six-year, $115MM guarantee. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported the $18MM in escalators. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com had the escalator specifics and salary breakdown.
Image courtesy of Rick Scuteri, Imagn Images.
White Sox To Carry Rule 5 Pick Jedixson Paez On Opening Day Roster
The White Sox have informed Rule 5 draftee Jedixson Paez that he’ll break camp, reports Ari Alexander of Boston 7 News. The 22-year-old righty was the second pick in December’s Rule 5 draft, taken out of the Red Sox’s system.
Chicago was the only club to make two Rule 5 selections this year. Their second pick, Alexander Alberto, didn’t make the team and was offered back to the Rays last week. Paez sticks around despite giving up eight runs across 11 1/3 innings this spring. He recorded 11 strikeouts while allowing 12 hits and issuing five walks.
Paez has never pitched above the High-A level. He’s a development play for a rebuilding White Sox team. It’s rare for a player to have much immediate success when they jump beyond the top two minor league levels. The White Sox figure to pitch him mostly in mop-up situations. They’ll need to carry him on the MLB roster for the entire season to secure his contractual rights.
It’s a difficult challenge, but Paez’s long-term upside intrigues evaluators. Baseball America ranked him the #16 prospect in the Chicago system over the offseason, crediting him with potential plus-plus command. Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs wrote in December that Paez had the raw stuff and control to project as a potential #4 starter at his peak, though he faces questions about his durability. He was limited to 19 1/3 innings last season by a calf issue. He has thrown just over 300 innings in his professional career.
Paez is the sixth player from this year’s Rule 5 class who is confirmed to have made their clubs’ active rosters. Carter Baumler (Rangers), Ryan Watson (Red Sox), Matt Pushard (Cardinals), Peyton Pallette (Guardians) and Cade Winquest (Yankees) all made the team. Daniel Susac (Giants) and Roddery Muñoz (Astros) certainly seem to be trending in that direction as well.
Rockies draftee RJ Petit blew out this spring and underwent Tommy John surgery. He’ll be on the injured list all season. Griff McGarry, Zach McCambley and Alberto were all returned to their previous organizations. The only remaining borderline case is Blue Jays righty Spencer Miles, who awaits word on whether he secured the final spot in their season-opening bullpen. Toronto has already announced that 2024 Rule 5 selection Angel Bastardo, who missed all of last year to injury, will not break camp. He’ll be offered back to the Red Sox if he clears waivers.
Angels Announce 11 Roster Moves
The Angels announced nearly a dozen roster moves as they prepare their Opening Day lineup. The team confirmed the signing of lefty reliever Joey Lucchesi to a one-year free agent deal. They also selected veteran infielders Adam Frazier and Jeimer Candelario onto the big league roster.
Vaughn Grissom lands on the 10-day injured list with a sprained left wrist. Pitchers Ben Joyce (shoulder inflammation), Alek Manoah (middle finger contusion), Kirby Yates (left knee inflammation), and Grayson Rodriguez (shoulder inflammation) all land on the 15-day injured list. Those five placements are retroactive to March 22.
The Angels needed to open three spots on the 40-man roster for Lucchesi, Frazier and Candelario. Two of those are procedural moves, as Anthony Rendon and Robert Stephenson have been placed on the 60-day injured list. The one roster casualty of the whole series of transactions is left-handed reliever Jayvien Sandridge, who was designated for assignment.
Most of these transactions had either been announced or strongly telegraphed by prior moves. Frazier and Candelario were each expected to break camp after offseason minor league contracts. The former is ticketed for the majority of the playing time at second base. Frazier’s left-handed bat and plus contact skills make him a rarity in a heavily right-handed lineup. He hit .281 with a .452 on-base percentage this spring but has been a below-average hitter in four consecutive seasons. Frazier ran a .267/.319/.365 slash in 459 plate appearances between the Pirates and Royals a year ago.
Candelario, 32, returns to the majors after finishing last season in Triple-A in the Yankees system. The switch-hitter turned in a meager .207/.265/.394 line while battling various injuries over a season and a half with the Reds. He popped four homers this spring but struck out 17 times in 56 plate appearances.
Primarily a corner infielder, Candelario has also gotten acclimated to second base in camp. He’ll work as a backup infielder alongside the out-of-options Oswald Peraza behind Frazier and third baseman Yoán Moncada. The Angels will only pay him the $780K league minimum while he’s on the roster. The Reds are still covering the rest of his $13MM salary after releasing him last June.
Of the injured list assignments, only the Yates move comes as a surprise. The 39-year-old righty signed a $5MM free agent deal over the winter. That was the biggest investment the Halos made in a quiet offseason. Yates was one of a handful of reclamation fliers who’ll slot into the bullpen. He had been expected to share closing work with Jordan Romano and Drew Pomeranz. That’ll be on hold for at least the first 12 days of the regular season. Yates pitched four times this spring, allowing one earned run over four innings.
Joyce is still building back from last May’s shoulder procedure. He’s throwing but didn’t get into any games this spring. He’s not ready for MLB game action but should be back relatively early in the year. It’s an encouraging sign for his health that the Angels opted to designate someone for assignment rather than place Joyce on the 60-day IL.
Grissom is out of minor league options. His injury buys the Halos a little bit of time to determine whether they want to keep him on the roster or designate him for assignment. Rodriguez and Manoah entered camp as the projected fourth and fifth starters. Their continued injury issues will draw Jack Kochanowicz and Ryan Johnson into the final two rotation spots instead.
Sandridge came over from the Yankees in a cash trade in January. The 27-year-old southpaw pitched twice before being optioned early in camp. He allowed five runs over two innings. Sandridge gave up two runs while recording two outs in his lone major league appearance, which came as a Yankee last July. In Triple-A, he posted a 4.55 ERA with huge strikeout stuff (33.1%) but too many walks (12%). The Angels have five days to trade him or try to run him through waivers.
Orioles To Designate Bryan Ramos For Assignment
The Orioles are designating corner infielder Bryan Ramos for assignment, reports Francys Romero. He’s out of minor league options, so he needed to win an MLB job or be removed from the 40-man roster.
Ramos had an uphill path to a job. He had already been taken off the roster three times over the offseason. The O’s acquired him from the White Sox in January. Baltimore tried to get him through waivers a week later. The Cardinals placed a claim but designated him themselves less than two weeks after that. The Orioles brought him back on a waiver claim.
The 24-year-old Ramos put his best foot forward this spring. He hit .316 with a home run and three doubles in 42 trips to the plate. However, Ramos has slashed just .198/.244/.333 over 120 regular season plate appearances at the big league level. He’s coming off a rough season in Triple-A, batting .216/.309/.396 with 16 homers across 105 games with the White Sox’s top affiliate.
Baltimore will officially designate Ramos for assignment tomorrow morning when they announce their Opening Day roster. They’ll have five days after that to trade him or place him back on waivers. Blaze Alexander and Coby Mayo will draw into the starting lineup at second and third base, respectively, due to the Jackson Holliday and Jordan Westburg injuries. Ryan Mountcastle, Tyler O’Neill and Leody Taveras are locked into bench spots. Jeremiah Jackson or non-roster outfielder Weston Wilson are options for the final bench role.
Giants Likely To Designate Luis Matos For Assignment
The Giants are planning to designate outfielder Luis Matos for assignment, reports Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle. She adds that minor league signee Jared Oliva is expected to break camp in a bench role, so he’ll take Matos’ spot on the active and 40-man rosters.
Matos is out of minor league options. Formerly one of the organization’s top position player prospects, he was one of the most intriguing players fighting to hold his 40-man spot this spring. The Giants gave him a look long in camp, as he led the team with 23 games and 55 plate appearances.
After a quick start, Matos’ bat cooled in the middle of March. He finished the spring with a .260/.327/.440 line with two home runs. Matos only struck out three times but also took just one walk, as his on-base percentage was propped up by getting plunked by four pitches.
That aggressiveness has undercut Matos’ production in meaningful games. He’s a .231/.281/.369 hitter over parts of three MLB seasons. Matos has taken just under 600 plate appearances, the rough equivalent to one full season of playing time. He has hit 15 homers with strong contact rates but has worked walks at a modest 6.1% clip.
The Giants can wait until tomorrow morning to officially designate Matos for assignment. They’ll then have five days to try to trade him. If nothing comes together, they’d need to place him on waivers. There’s a decent chance he’ll be claimed, as he’s a 24-year-old former notable prospect who owns a .287/.345/.505 line over three Triple-A seasons. If another team acquires him via trade or waivers, they’d need to carry him on the big league roster.
Matos’ exclusion means the Giants will probably carry Jerar Encarnacion. He’s also an out-of-options outfielder who fits best in a corner or at designated hitter. He can get regular playing time at DH with Bryce Eldridge opening the season in the minors. San Francisco optioned depth outfielders Will Brennan and Drew Gilbert to Triple-A Sacramento this evening.
Rule 5 pick Daniel Susac is expected to win the backup catcher job. Casey Schmitt and Christian Koss seem ticketed for utility infield roles. That’ll very likely leave Oliva as a fifth outfielder and backup center fielder behind Harrison Bader. Assuming he’s officially selected onto the roster tomorrow, it’ll be his first MLB work in five years.
Oliva played in 26 big league games with the Pirates between 2020-21. He has bounced around the upper minors for the past few seasons without returning to the big league level. Oliva had a league average .252/.335/.413 batting line with 57 stolen bases in Triple-A with the Milwaukee organization last year. He signed a minor league deal with San Francisco over the winter and seized a job with his continued aggressiveness on the bases.
The righty-hitting outfielder stole 14 bags in 15 attempts. His .375 average over 20 games is unlikely to be a precursor to much of an impact at the plate, but the Giants are opting for more speed and defense in the final bench spot than Matos would have provided.
Nick Lodolo To Open Season On Injured List
The Reds will place starter Nick Lodolo on the 15-day injured list to begin the year, reports Gordon Wittenmyer of The Cincinnati Enquirer. The southpaw joins Hunter Greene in starting the season on the shelf.
Greene will miss most or all of the first half after undergoing surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow. Lodolo’s issue is far less concerning. He’s dealing with a blister on his index finger, which forced him out of his start on Sunday after 10 pitches. A season-opening IL stint can be backdated by three days, meaning he’ll be eligible to return 13 days into the regular season.
It’ll probably be close to a minimal stint, though it’s nevertheless frustrating for Lodolo to miss at least one or two turns through the rotation. Lodolo has a history of blister issues. This will be the third consecutive season in which one sends him to the injured list. He had a minimal absence in 2024 and missed around three weeks last August.
Andrew Abbott makes his first career Opening Day start opposite Garrett Crochet and the Red Sox on Thursday. Lodolo had been slated to start the second game of the season, followed by Brady Singer in the series finale. They’ll now likely bump Singer up to Saturday and have Rhett Lowder take the ball to close the Boston series. Chase Burns and Brandon Williamson round out the starting five and can open next week’s series against the Pirates.
Manager Terry Francona announced last week that Lowder, Burns and Williamson had all made the team. The Reds weren’t planning a six-man rotation but could have used Burns and Williamson as tandem starters or swing options. They’ll instead work as more traditional starters until Lodolo is healthy, which will open a spot in the bullpen. Kyle Nicolas was their most recent bullpen cut and could be brought back up. Julian Aguiar or Chase Petty are other possibilities for a long relief role.