Carlos Estévez Diagnosed With Rotator Cuff Strain
A nightmare season continues for Carlos Estévez. Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports that the Royals’ closer suffered a rotator cuff strain and will be shut down from throwing for three weeks. He’ll be reevaluated at the end of May.
Estévez has been out of action since Opening Day. He took a Michael Harris II comebacker off his left foot in his first outing. That resulted in a contusion that sidelined him for more than a month. The Royals sent him to Triple-A Omaha last night to begin a minor league rehab assignment. Estévez threw 14 pitches and recorded two outs before reporting the shoulder discomfort.
He’ll obviously be pulled off the rehab assignment and is essentially starting the recovery process from scratch. Even if he’s cleared to resume throwing in three weeks, he’ll need to progress through a series of bullpen and live batting practice sessions before he’s ready to embark on a new rehab assignment. That points toward a mid-late June target as the likely earliest return date. He’ll be a candidate for a move to the 60-day IL if they need to clear a 40-man roster spot, though the Royals will probably move Jonathan India (season-ending labrum surgery) there first.
Estévez hasn’t looked right at any point in 2026. Even when he was ostensibly healthy during Spring Training and in the World Baseball Classic, his velocity was nowhere near usual levels. Estévez averaged 89.4 mph on his four-seam fastball over five spring appearances, nearly seven ticks below last year’s level. Pitchers usually build some velocity as they get into game shape and play in higher-pressure settings during the regular season, but that kind of drop in one offseason is very rare. Estévez was around 91 mph in his regular season debut before the foot injury.
The back of the bullpen looked like a potential strength for the Royals entering the spring. Estévez led the Majors with 42 saves last year. He turned in a 2.45 earned run average for a second straight season. Although last year’s career-low 20.1% strikeout rate and 8.2% swinging strike marks were red flags, he would have been locked in as Matt Quatraro’s closer.
Estévez’s absence has pushed Lucas Erceg to the ninth. He has held his own, going 10-12 in save chances while allowing six earned runs through 15 1/3 innings. However, Erceg is missing bats at the lowest rate of his career while struggling to get hitters to expand the strike zone. He’s falling behind early in counts and has walked 11 of 62 opponents (17.7%). Erceg has mostly worked around the free passes, but he’s not leaving himself much margin for error.
The Kansas City bullpen as a whole carries a 4.80 earned run average that ranks 24th in MLB. Only Cincinnati relievers have issued walks at a higher rate, while they’re in the bottom third of the league in strikeouts and whiffs. They’ve been better of late following a league-worst start to the season, but only Daniel Lynch IV and Matt Strahm have strong underlying numbers.
Estévez is the team’s highest-paid reliever, making a $10MM salary in the second season of his $22MM free agent contract. The Royals hold a $13MM option for next year that comes with a $2MM buyout. It’s increasingly difficult to see them exercising that, meaning the two-time All-Star will likely return to free agency at year’s end.
The Dodgers’ Lineup Depth Is Shining
The Dodgers have raced to a 23-14 start that has them narrowly above the Padres in the NL West. They're the two-time defending champions and entered the season as near locks to make the playoffs. Everyone knew they'd be good, but they're thriving right now despite generally underwhelming starts from their biggest bats.
Mookie Betts has been out since April 5 with a right oblique strain. Freddie Freeman, Kyle Tucker and Will Smith are all hitting below their career levels, largely because of drops in power. Even Shohei Ohtani hasn't made his usual level of offensive impact. He's still getting on base at a huge .389 clip but is on a 26-homer pace after topping 50 in each of his first two seasons with the team. Ohtani's first full season back on the mound has been exceptional -- he was just named the league's Pitcher of the Month for the first time in his career -- but he has yet to fire on all cylinders at the plate.
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Cubs Re-Sign Vince Velasquez To Minor League Deal, Outright Yacksel Ríos
The Cubs re-signed righty Vince Velasquez to a minor league contract, per the MiLB.com transaction log. The tracker also indicates that reliever Yacksel Ríos cleared outright waivers after being designated for assignment on Sunday.
Velasquez elected free agency last week following his own DFA. The 33-year-old had signed an offseason minor league deal with Chicago. He started three of four appearances with Iowa, allowing eight runs (seven earned) through 17 innings. He struck out 19 opponents while issuing nine walks and hitting a batter.
The Cubs brought Velasquez up for a long relief spot. He pitched 2 1/3 scoreless frames in a blowout loss to the Dodgers. That was his first MLB appearance in three years. Velasquez threw 31 pitches and wasn’t going to be available the next day, so the Cubs designated him for assignment to bring up a fresh arm (Ríos, coincidentally).
Ríos spent a week on Chicago’s active roster. He only got into one game, retiring all five batters faced with a pair of strikeouts against L.A. on April 26. That was also his first MLB outing since 2023. Ríos averaged 98.5 mph with his heater in that lone appearance. He’d posted more middling numbers with Iowa before he got called up, allowing six earned runs with an 8:6 strikeout-to-walk ratio through 10 2/3 frames.
The 32-year-old righty has a previous career outright on his résumé, meaning he can elect free agency. There’s a decent chance he’d follow the Velasquez path and return to the Cubs on a minor league deal even if he opts to test the market.
Dodgers Notes: Glasnow, Snell, Hernández
The Dodgers are sending Tyler Glasnow for a precautionary MRI after his early exit on Wednesday afternoon, manager Dave Roberts tells reporters (including Maddie Lee of The Los Angeles Times). The big righty felt a back spasm while warming up in the second inning of today’s start in Houston. The Dodgers got him out of the game at that point.
Roberts said the team doesn’t believe Glasnow will need a stint on the injured list. The pitcher said it’s a recurring issue which he battles a couple times per season. Glasnow had a minimal IL stint in 2024 due to lower back tightness and was scratched from a start last September with the same issue.
Glasnow allowed a leadoff home run to Brice Matthews before rebounding with strikeouts of Yordan Alvarez and Isaac Paredes. He became the 45th active pitcher to reach 1000 career punchouts in the process. Glasnow has fanned just under a third of opponents en route to a 2.72 earned run average over his first seven starts.
The early exit forced the Dodgers to lean heavily on their bullpen. Jack Dreyer, Edgardo Henriquez, Kyle Hurt, Blake Treinen, Tanner Scott and the just activated Brock Stewart all pitched in what turned out to be a blowout 12-2 win. Los Angeles is off tomorrow and none of their relievers topped 27 pitches, so they may not need to make any changes to the staff heading into a weekend series against the NL-leading Braves.
L.A. entered play on Wednesday as one of the two teams (along with the Yankees) whose rotation had a sub-3.00 earned run average. Shohei Ohtani was the National League’s Pitcher of the Month for April. Justin Wrobleski is second in MLB behind Ohtani in ERA. Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto have each pitched very well. Roki Sasaki and Emmet Sheehan are the two of L.A.’s season-opening starters who have struggled.
That sextet has accounted for all of the Dodgers’ starts so far. That’ll likely change within the next 10 days. Blake Snell, out all season after offseason shoulder fatigue, is set for his final rehab appearance on Saturday with Low-A Ontario (via the MLB.com injury tracker). He’s expected to rejoin the MLB rotation after that, so he should make his season debut in the middle of next week.
The Dodgers have firmly maintained they view Sasaki as a starter even as the former NPB star struggled with walks and home runs throughout Spring Training and the early part of the regular season. They might be more willing to move Sheehan to the bullpen, though he has a much better strikeout and walk profile than Sasaki does. If Glasnow does require an IL stint, that’d take the decision out of the club’s hands.
In other injury news, utilityman Kiké Hernández began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City last night. Hernández began the season on the 60-day injured list after last fall’s elbow surgery. That officially rules him out until at least May 24. Position players can spend up to 20 days on a rehab assignment, so the Dodgers clearly anticipate Hernández being ready to go when he’s first eligible.
Barring a setback, he’ll return to the MLB roster on either May 24 or 25. The Dodgers have used Alex Freeland and Hyeseong Kim as their middle infield tandem with Mookie Betts and Tommy Edman both on the injured list. Santiago Espinal and fourth outfielder Alex Call occupy the final two spots on the bench. Call has a couple minor league options remaining but has been a productive short side platoon bat for the past couple seasons. Espinal, who broke camp after an offseason minor league deal, has more than five years of MLB service and can refuse an assignment to the minors.
Daniel Johnson Elects Free Agency
Daniel Johnson elected free agency after being outrighted by the Astros, according to the MLB.com transaction log. Houston designated him for assignment on Monday when they recalled Zach Cole from Triple-A.
Johnson appeared in eight games, collecting two hits and walks apiece over 17 plate appearances. The lefty-hitting outfielder has appeared in parts of five MLB seasons but has fewer than 200 career trips to the dish. Johnson owns a .191/.249/.306 line with five home runs in 75 games, striking out at a 28% clip along the way.
The New Mexico State product began this year with the Marlins on a minor league contract. Johnson didn’t get to the Majors with Miami but spent a couple weeks in the bigs with Houston given their need for a left-handed hitting outfielder. He’s a .255/.321/.448 hitter in nearly 1800 plate appearances over parts of seven Triple-A campaigns.
Braves Select Jim Jarvis, Designate Jose Azocar
The Braves announced they’ve selected the contract of infielder Jim Jarvis from Triple-A Gwinnett. He’ll head to the majors for the first call-up of his career. Outfielder Jose Azocar has been designated for assignment in a corresponding move.
Jarvis, a product of the University of Alabama, was an 11th-round pick by the Tigers in 2023. Detroit traded him to Atlanta at last summer’s deadline for middle reliever Rafael Montero. Jarvis was amidst a middling offensive season in Double-A but has posted stronger numbers since joining the Braves’ system.
The lefty batter hit .265/.344/.361 over 21 games with Atlanta’s Double-A affiliate after the trade. He earned a late-season bump to Gwinnett, where he has played the first five weeks of this season. Jarvis is out to an excellent .308/.415/.445 start through 153 plate appearances. He has worked walks at a lofty 15% clip against a lower than average 17.6% strikeout rate while stealing 15 bases in 17 tries.
Jarvis has shown a strong awareness of the strike zone throughout his minor league career. He hasn’t been much of a power threat despite connecting on four home runs and six doubles in Triple-A. That accounts a third of the longballs he has hit in nearly 1200 professional plate appearances. Jarvis’ exit velocities in Gwinnett are still middling, so he’s unlikely to hit for much power at the MLB level.
The lack of offensive impact has kept Jarvis mostly off the prospect radar. Baseball America ranked him 28th in the Atlanta system over the offseason, while Brendan Gawlowski of FanGraphs had him as an honorable mention in his March writeup of the organization. Both outlets credit Jarvis as a steady, if not particularly flashy, shortstop with a contact-based offensive approach.
Atlanta has moved Mauricio Dubón from shortstop to center field over the past week. That was initially driven by Michael Harris II battling minor quad discomfort that kept him out of the field. Harris donned a glove last night but started in left field for the first time in his career. They kept Dubón in center while pushing Mike Yastrzemski over to right field. That’ll probably be their primary outfield trio while Ronald Acuña Jr. is out, even if they flip Harris back up the middle and Dubón to left once Harris is back to full speed.
Jarvis gives them a little more depth on the infield behind stopgap shortstop Jorge Mateo. The Braves should get Ha-Seong Kim back from injury within the next week to 10 days. That’ll push Mateo back to a depth role alongside Kyle Farmer and could nudge Jarvis back to Triple-A.
Azocar was just selected onto the MLB roster as outfield depth when Acuña went down on Sunday. He made one start in right field, going 0-2. He pinch ran and stole a base on Monday. The 29-year-old has had a couple very brief stints on Atlanta’s roster over the last two years. Azocar was out to a .270/.348/.420 start with Gwinnett but has a modest .243/.288/.318 batting line over parts of five MLB campaigns.
Atlanta will trade Azocar or place him on waivers within the next five days. The latter outcome seems likelier. There’s a decent chance he’ll clear because he’s out of minor league options, meaning a claiming team would need to be willing to carry him on the big league roster. Azocar has been outrighted in his career a few times, giving him the right to elect free agency if he goes unclaimed again.
Carlos Correa Believed To Have Suffered Significant Left Ankle Injury
Carlos Correa is believed to have suffered a significant left ankle injury, reports Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. He’ll visit a foot specialist tomorrow to narrow down a diagnosis and recovery timeline. McTaggart writes that he’ll be out indefinitely and could miss weeks or potentially months.
Correa was injured while taking batting practice before Tuesday’s game against the Dodgers. The Astros scratched him, moving Nick Allen from third base to shortstop while drawing utility infielder Braden Shewmake into the lineup at the hot corner. Shewmake wound up hitting a solo home run off Shohei Ohtani that proved the difference in a 2-1 Houston win.
It’s the second consecutive day in which the Astros lost a key player during pregame batting practice. Catcher Yainer Diaz strained his oblique while warming up on Monday and is also going to miss some time. He went on the injured list on Tuesday morning.
The Astros will presumably provide more information on Correa within the next few days. The three-time All-Star has battled injuries in both feet over the past few years. Plantar fasciitis and a muscle strain in his left foot hobbled him in 2023. He missed most of the second half of the ’24 season with plantar fasciitis in his right foot.
Injury concerns famously scuttled two of Correa’s agreements during his 2022-23 free agent trip: both a $350MM deal with the Giants and a subsequent $315MM agreement with the Mets. Those were both related to team medical personnel having concerns about Correa’s right ankle, not the one which he injured tonight.
That’s of little solace to a Houston team dealing with yet another significant injury. Correa becomes their fourth regular position player — alongside Diaz, Jeremy Peña and Jake Meyers — on the injured list. They’re also without starting pitchers Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier and Tatsuya Imai plus closer Josh Hader.
Peña, down since April 12 with a right hamstring strain, could start a minor league rehab assignment this week. Correa had been the regular shortstop in his absence. Allen, a light-hitting defensive specialist, will man the position in the interim. Losing Correa means the Astros will stick with Isaac Paredes as the everyday third baseman. Christian Walker is enjoying a resurgent season at first base, while Yordan Alvarez is mostly at designated hitter.
The infield depth, at least once Peña returns, is the only silver lining. Houston unsuccessfully tried to move Paredes or Walker over the offseason to alleviate the logjam, but they essentially haven’t been at full health for the entire season. Even before the hamstring injury, Peña had battled a fingertip fracture on his right hand that he suffered during the World Baseball Classic.
Houston reacquired Correa from the Twins last summer, taking on a little over $70MM on the remaining three years of his contract. He hit .290/.355/.430 over 51 games down the stretch and was out to a .279/.369/.418 start to this season. Although he’s not the power threat he was at his peak, Correa remains an above-average hitter and quality defender at either position on the left side of the infield when healthy.
Angels Re-Sign Joey Lucchesi To Minor League Contract
The Angels re-signed lefty reliever Joey Lucchesi to a minor league contract, according to the MiLB.com transaction tracker. He’ll report back to Triple-A Salt Lake after electing free agency last week. Additionally, the log indicates the Halos released Hunter Strickland and Angel Perdomo from their non-roster deals.
Lucchesi has signed with the Angels three times within the past six weeks. He joined late in Spring Training on a big league deal. The Halos designated him for assignment after three appearances, re-signed him to a minor league contract, then selected him back onto the MLB roster in late April. He pitched twice more before being DFA again and choosing free agency when he cleared waivers.
The 32-year-old southpaw has given up six runs (five earned) across 3 1/3 innings. He has recorded four strikeouts while issuing six walks. Lucchesi worked 8 1/3 frames of five-run ball with 11 punchouts over four Triple-A outings in between his stints on the MLB roster.
Strickland and Perdomo have each been out to very tough starts to the season in Salt Lake. Strickland has allowed 18 earned runs on 21 hits over 12 1/3 innings. Perdomo has surrendered 16 earned across 12 frames, walking 14 batters and hitting three more. He has given up free passes to nearly a quarter of opposing hitters.
Rockies, Jordan Romano Agree To Minor League Deal
The Rockies are in agreement with veteran reliever Jordan Romano on a minor league contract, reports Thomas Harding of MLB.com. He’d been released by the Angels last week. The VC Sports Group client will report to the organization’s Arizona complex before being assigned to a minor league affiliate, Harding adds.
Romano signed a $2MM free agent deal with the Halos in December. It was a rebound flier on the two-time All-Star, who was coming off an ugly 8.23 ERA showing with the Phillies last year. Season-opening injuries to Robert Stephenson and Kirby Yates — plus Ben Joyce’s rehab from shoulder surgery — pushed Romano into the closer role.
Things started promisingly. Romano reeled off six straight scoreless appearances to begin the year, nailing down four saves in the process. A trip to the Bronx proved his undoing, however, as Romano allowed five runs while retiring one of nine opponents and taking two losses in that series. He rebounded with two straight scoreless outings with five strikeouts before surrendering four runs in a blowout loss in Kansas City on April 25. The Angels then designated him for assignment.
Romano wound up allowing nine runs over eight innings. He fanned 12 while recording a strong 13% swinging strike rate but issued six walks and hit a batter. His fastball averaged 94.5 mph and slider sat around 85 mph, down a tick from last season’s velocity. Both pitches were around three miles per hour harder during his peak years as one of the American League’s best closers in Toronto.
The 33-year-old has battled injuries in the interim. Romano missed time in 2023 with back inflammation and battled elbow injuries in ’24, eventually culminating in arthroscopic surgery. His 2025 season was cut short by inflammation and numbness in his right middle finger.
Colorado will take a low-risk flier to see if they can get Romano on track. The assignment to the complex indicates the Rockies will try to work out some mechanical or pitch mix tweaks before sending him back to game action.
The Rox have had a solid bullpen overall, though that’s skewed to an extent by the team using Chase Dollander behind an opener. Antonio Senzatela and Brennan Bernardino have had excellent starts to the year. The rest of the group has been up and down. Senzatela and Jimmy Herget are the only Colorado relievers who can’t be optioned.
Bob Skinner Passes Away
Bob Skinner, an All-Star left fielder and two-time World Series champion as a player, passed away on Monday at age 94. The Pirates announced the news this afternoon.
“As a member of the 1960 World Series championship team, Bob was an important part of one of the most beloved teams in our storied history and helped deliver a moment that will forever be woven into the fabric of our city,” Pirates owner Bob Nutting said in a press release. “Bob was a talented player, a proud Pirate and a respected member of the baseball community. On behalf of the entire Pirates organization, we extend our deepest condolences to Bob’s family, friends and all those who knew and loved him.”
Skinner played parts of 12 seasons in the big leagues, the majority of which came in Pittsburgh. A native of La Jolla, California, Skinner played a season at nearby San Diego Junior College. The Pirates had scouted him since high school and added him on a minor league deal in 1951. Skinner played one season in the minors before being drafted into the Marines during the Korean War. He was stationed in San Diego and played for his base team but was out of the professional ranks for two seasons.
After the conclusion of his service, Skinner returned to the Pirates for the 1954 season. He made his MLB debut that year but struggled as a rookie, leading the Bucs to send him back to the minors in ’55. Skinner made it back to the Majors one year later and finally settled in during his third MLB season, breaking out by hitting .305 in 1957.
Skinner took another step forward during the ’58 campaign. He hit .321/.387/.491 and drove in 70 runs to earn his first All-Star selection and some down ballot MVP support. That’d be his best statistical season, but the left-handed hitter returned to the All-Star Game in 1960. More importantly, the Pirates would go on to defeat the Yankees in a classic seven-game World Series for the franchise’s first championship in 35 years.
After a middling 1961 season, Skinner set a career high with 20 homers while batting .302 in 1962. The Pirates would trade him to the Reds a year later. Cincinnati dealt Skinner to the Cardinals midway through the ’64 campaign, a move that paid off handsomely for him personally. Although he was a role player by that point, he won his second career World Series when the Cards defeated the Yankees in another seven-game Fall Classic. Skinner went 3-4 as a pinch-hitter in that series (though all of his hits came in the St. Louis losses).
Skinner’s playing career ended after the 1966 season. That wasn’t close to the conclusion of his time in baseball, however. He jumped right into minor league managing and would up as an MLB skipper by 1968. The Phillies hired him to replace Gene Mauch midway through that season. Skinner himself was fired less than a year later as Philadelphia got out to a rough start to the ’69 campaign.
He had a brief stint as an interim manager with the Padres in 1977 but spent most of the decade as a hitting coach. That included a return to Pittsburgh in 1979, when the Bucs won another World Series. Skinner worked on the Braves’ coaching staff and as a minor league manager and scout with the Astros after that, remaining in baseball until 2009.
Skinner finished his playing career as a .277/.351/.421 hitter. He topped 100 home runs and tallied nearly 1200 hits while recording 531 runs batted in. MLB Trade Rumors sends our condolences to Skinner’s family — including his son Joel, a former MLB catcher and manager — loved ones, friends, and the countless people whose lives he impacted over his lengthy run in baseball.