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Dodgers Re-Sign Chris Stratton

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The Dodgers announced that they’ve re-signed veteran reliever Chris Stratton to a major league deal. He had been designated for assignment on Monday. Stratton went unclaimed on waivers, elected free agency, and immediately returned on a fresh contract. Fellow righty Ryan Loutos was designated for assignment to open space on the active and 40-man rosters. Additionally, catcher Chuckie Robinson went unclaimed on waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Oklahoma City after being DFA on Tuesday, according to the MLB.com transaction log.

Stratton’s first stint as a Dodger lasted a week. He signed an MLB deal on May 25 and was DFA on June 2. He made two intervening appearances, giving up two runs while striking out five over three innings. Stratton had been released by Kansas City midway through May after allowing an earned run average approaching 8.00 across 17 appearances. That followed up a rough first year with the Royals, as Stratton posted a 5.55 ERA across 58 1/3 frames last year.

The 34-year-old owns a 6.09 ERA in 71 outings over the past two seasons. He’d been a capable middle reliever for the few years before that. Stratton worked 82 2/3 innings of 3.92 ball between the Cardinals and Rangers two seasons ago. His velocity has tapered off since then. Stratton averaged north of 93 MPH on his fastball a couple years back but is down to 91 this season.

He’ll return as a fresh arm in the middle innings who doesn’t cost the Dodgers anything financially. The Royals are on the hook for what remains of his $4.5MM salary. Los Angeles only pays him the prorated portion of the $760K minimum for whatever time he spends in the big leagues — the same amount they’d have paid Loutos.

Loutos, 26, landed with the Dodgers via DFA trade with St. Louis in early May. He has spent the majority of the past month in Triple-A, only twice appearing in the big leagues. Loutos gave up three runs in two innings to the Mets in mop-up work on Wednesday. He has allowed five runs in 5 1/3 major league innings. He has posted a 2.41 ERA over 18 2/3 Triple-A frames this year.

Robinson was dropped from the 40-man roster this week when the Dodgers signed José Ureña. They had just claimed him from the Angels. The 30-year-old catcher has a previous career outright, so he can either report to OKC or elect free agency and seek out other opportunities.

Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reported that Stratton was re-signing. Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic was first on the Loutos DFA.

Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript

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MLBTR’s Anthony Franco held a live chat today, exclusively for Trade Rumors Front Office members! Subscribe to Front Office to view the full transcript and to participate in future Friday chats.

Anthony Franco

  • Initially linked to the moderator part of the chat, sorry about that. I'll be back at the top of the hour but you should be able to submit advance questions now
  • Hey everyone, hope you've enjoyed your week! Let's get rolling

Cedanne Rafaela

  • What’s a realistic projection for my future value?  If I can figure out the hit tool, man watch out.  Maybe this isn’t the guy to demote to get Roman to the big leagues after all.

Anthony Franco

  • Yeah it looks like it's falling into place a little bit. He's always going to be a super aggressive hitter, which is probably going to lead to streakiness, but he's got pretty good pop for his size and the contact skills have gotten better with each seasons
  • Obviously the glove in center field is already elite. I think the OBP is going to stay low enough that he'll probably be around a league average hitter by OPS+ or wRC+ but he could be a 20-20 guy who ranks among the top 3-5 defensive outfielders in the game

AA

  • Do the Braves become sellers at the trade deadline?

Jeddy

  • It’s meatball trade idea season. The Braves are 7 games below .500 and 11 games out of the division. They should definitely trade Chris Sale to the Cubs ASAP right?

Sam

  • Is this rock bottom for the Braves? How many more ways can a team find to lose a game? AA knew the bullpen was a weakness going into the season but did nothing to address it.

Anthony Franco

  • Understandably frustrated Braves fans. Have to imagine they'll hang on right until the deadline before deciding to sell (sorry Jed), but yeah, sure seems like it's trending in that direction
  • Feel worse about their outlook now than I did when they were 0-7. They clawed their way out of the initial hole and then dug it again with some brutal losses. They've stuck with Iglesias as the closer for too long, and Strider hasn't looked sharp coming off the surgery
  • Anthopoulos spoke with The Athletic earlier this week and pushed back against the idea of selling. He referenced 2021 and pointed out that their run differential is better than their record (though still not great). Given their previous success and the amount of money they've poured into the payroll, they'll cling to hope as long as they can, but time's running out
  • Still lean towards them holding Sale specifically because of the affordable option for '26 but they'll have to at least see if someone's willing to blow them away if there's little to no hope for one of the two remaining playoff runs

Tigerfan

  • Who should the tigers target at the deadline? I was thinking Eugenio Suarez and/or David bednar

Anthony Franco

  • Both make sense to me. Well-rounded roster so they don't have many obvious holes but third base is relatively weak and Bednar would improve any bullpen with the way he's pitched of late
  • You could argue for upgrading on Sweeney at shortstop but there aren't any obvious fits there. Bichette would be the big one but the Jays are playing well enough that he's probably not moving

RAGBRAI

  • Has Bednar reclaimed the closer role? Will he hold it ROS?

Anthony Franco

  • Fully expect him to hold it for as long as he's still in Pittsburgh but they have to move him this summer and then it's up in the air based on wherever he lands

Mike Rizzo Fan Club

  • Hi thanks for the chat!  What do you think about Dylan Cease this year?  I see there's room to improve based on his stats and BABIP and FIP, but do you think there's an underlying cause (perhaps an injury?).  Do you see any drop in fundamental skills?  Thanks for your opinion.

Anthony Franco

  • Nah, I think he's the same guy he's been. Most of the damage came in one start in early April in Sacramento, which is a tough place to pitch. He allowed nine runs in that one and has allowed three or fewer in each of his other 12 outings
  • He's been a little inefficient over his past few outings. Obviously you want more than five innings from a top-end guy, which he hasn't provided over his past three starts. He went at least 6 2/3 in each of the prior three, though, and the stuff and whiff rates are still excellent

Black Hole at 2B

  • Who will be the Yankees starting 2Bman after the deadline? I was going to suggest Lewyn Sosa but he's hurt now.

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Francisco Lindor Dealing With Fractured Toe, Expects To Avoid Injured List

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Francisco Lindor sat out yesterday’s 6-5 loss to the Dodgers. The star shortstop is day-to-day after fracturing his right pinky toe when he was hit by an 89 MPH slider from Tony Gonsolin in the first inning on Wednesday. Lindor finished that game and told reporters that he unsuccessfully lobbied manager Carlos Mendoza to remain in the lineup last night (link via Will Sammon of The Athletic).

Lindor said that he does not expect to go on the injured list. “I think it’s going to be a nagging thing. It’s a bone; it’s a broken bone. I think it takes six weeks for a bone to be fully healed,” he added. Mendoza said the Mets gave no consideration to using Lindor off the bench last night. Luisangel Acuña drew into the lineup at shortstop as the #9 hitter, while Brandon Nimmo moved up to Lindor’s customary spot atop the batting order.

It was just the second time all season that Lindor was out of the lineup. He is annually one of the most durable players in the sport. Lindor has only been on the IL one time since being traded to New York — a five-week absence in 2021 due to an oblique strain. He appeared in all but three of the team’s games between 2022-23. The Mets scaled that back slightly last season, though he still made 152 appearances and came close to 700 plate appearances. Only Matt Olson, Marcus Semien, Pete Alonso and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. have played in more games since the start of 2022.

Lindor has led off every game he’s started this season. Starling Marte and Nimmo have hit atop the order in the other two contests. Nimmo would probably get the bulk of the time there if Lindor needs a few more days off. It’s possible that the Mets will build in a few more staggered off days for last year’s MVP runner-up over the next month than they otherwise would in order to help manage the discomfort. Acuña would be the top choice to fill in defensively, with Ronny Mauricio as an alternative if they want a higher offensive ceiling than Acuña brings to the table.

In a more encouraging health development, Sean Manaea is set for his first game action of the season. The veteran lefty will begin a rehab assignment at High-A Brooklyn tonight, writes Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. Manaea will throw around 35 pitches in his first outing, Mendoza said on Wednesday. Manaea strained his right oblique early in camp.

Lingering soreness required an April platelet-rich plasma injection. He’ll need multiple rehab starts and is likely looking at a return to MLB action around the end of this month. Rehab assignments for pitchers can last up to 30 days. Manaea is coming off a 3.47 ERA across 181 2/3 innings. He re-signed on a three-year deal with a $75MM guarantee (with over $23MM deferred) in December.

How Should The Cardinals Approach The Deadline?

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The Cardinals are amidst a transition year. That's true literally, as John Mozeliak will turn control of baseball operations to Chaim Bloom at season's end. Dating back to last fall, they've framed this season as one primarily about evaluating and developing young players. It's not a rebuild, but their only move to improve over the winter was a bargain $2MM signing of setup man Phil Maton.

It set them up as expected deadline sellers. Impending free agents Ryan Helsley and Erick Fedde ranked among the likeliest players to move in July. It was surprising that the Cards even held both players into the season. Nolan Arenado's contract and no-trade clause meant he'd be a tough player to move midseason, but those rumors figured to resurface.

The team is trying its best to avoid those conversations. They have a 34-27 record that has them narrowly ahead of San Francisco and Milwaukee for the NL's final playoff spot. They've outscored opponents by 28 runs, giving them the fifth-best run differential in the National League. They went an MLB-best 19-8 in May. They've played like a contender so far. One opposing GM who was eyeing trade targets on the St. Louis roster succinctly told Jeff Passan of ESPN this week that the team's better than expected play "sucks" for potential buyers.

Much can change in the next six to eight weeks, but the front office may find itself in a tricky spot. Mozeliak addressed the situation in a chat with Derrick Goold of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch last week. "We went into this year with an understanding this was going to be about opportunity for players and depending on what they do with it would determine our next steps, right?" he rhetorically asked. "So when you think about how the public had us as sellers — whether it was selling this offseason or selling at the trade deadline. It might look a little different based on how we’re playing."

It's an acknowledgment that the team could play its way off selling. At the same time, that wouldn't provide much clarity on how aggressively the team should add if they remain competitive. That's a tougher call, especially because of the way their first half has unfolded. The team may be better than expected, but the production has come mostly from their more established players -- particularly on offense. If the Cards are going to upgrade, the most obvious spots to do so would limit the playing time of a pair of young hitters on whom much of their season is supposed to be focused.

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White Sox To Promote Kyle Teel

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The White Sox scratched top catching prospect Kyle Teel from today’s Triple-A lineup and plan to promote him to the majors, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive. The team has not made the move official, but the social media account for TeelsBaseball — a training facility run by his father Garett — has announced the call-up. Chicago will need to select his contract and make corresponding moves for the active and 40-man rosters.

It’s an exciting day for White Sox fans. Teel was the centerpiece of the Garrett Crochet return. (Chase Meidroth was the first prospect from the group to debut and has played his way to everyday work in the middle infield.) Boston’s first-round pick in 2023, Teel has ranked among the sport’s most talented catching prospects throughout his time in pro ball.

The University of Virginia product was essentially the consensus #4 prospect in the Red Sox’s system. He was behind Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer but was viewed as one of the sport’s 50 or so best minor leaguers in his own right. Teel ranked between 32nd and 52nd on the preseason lists at MLB Pipeline, ESPN and Baseball America. He slotted 42nd on BA’s most recent in-season update, which came out this week.

Baseball America now ranks Teel as the White Sox’s #2 prospect and their top position player talent. The left-handed hitter has a well-rounded profile that gives him a good chance to be a long-term starter behind the plate. He has been particularly good offensively throughout his minor league career. Teel has a .300/.401/.456 batting line in pro ball. He has kept up a similar pace during his first season in the Chicago system.

Teel has played 50 games this year with Triple-A Charlotte. He carries a .295/.394/.492 slash with eight home runs through 213 plate appearances. As he has throughout his career, he’s taking free passes at an excellent 14.1% clip. Teel has struck out a little more than a quarter of the time, but the overall production has been strong. He was on fire throughout the past month, hitting .333/.444/.613 in May after posting a .626 OPS in April.

There isn’t a whole lot left for Teel to prove against minor league pitching. He’ll probably strike out a decent amount in the majors, but his plate discipline should give him a solid on-base floor. The Sox are certainly going to have him in the lineup on most days, though it’ll be interesting to see how they deploy him defensively. Scouting reports suggest he’s a solid defensive catcher.

The Sox already have a touted rookie catcher in Edgar Quero, who began the season playing alongside Teel in Charlotte. He and Korey Lee are splitting the work behind the plate. The switch-hitting Quero isn’t hitting for any power, but he’s batting .250 with a .341 on-base percentage in 37 games. He has hit at every minor league stop and deserves continued playing time. Lee is unlikely to be more than a long-term backup, but the White Sox probably won’t want to carry only two rookie catchers.

Teel said this week that he has begun taking first base drills. He has not played anywhere other than catcher in a minor league game. Teel could mix in at first base, where the Sox have gotten nothing all season. They’ll probably also use both rookie catchers somewhat frequently at designated hitter. That’d push Andrew Benintendi into more of a full-time left field role while cutting the playing time for journeyman outfielder Joshua Palacios.

As a consensus Top 100 talent, Teel meets the eligibility for the Prospect Promotion Incentive. That means he could earn a full service year if he finished in the top two in AL Rookie of the Year balloting. The A’s Jacob Wilson may have already locked up one of those spots, but there’s at least an outside chance for Teel to play well enough to get consideration for the other. The White Sox would not receive a bonus draft choice if that happens because they didn’t promote him early enough to spend 172 days in the majors. If he doesn’t earn the full service year, Teel will remain under club control for at least six seasons beyond this one. He likely wouldn’t reach arbitration eligibility until the 2028-29 offseason.

Image courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images.

Pirates Re-Sign Nick Solak To Minor League Deal

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The Pirates brought Nick Solak back on a minor league contract, relays Alex Stumpf of MLB.com. He was briefly a free agent after being placed on waivers this week.

Solak spent a couple weeks on the big league bench after being called up in the middle of May. He went 1-11 with two strikeouts over the four games he played. He started twice at first base and one time in left field. It marked his first MLB action in two years. The Bucs dropped him from the roster when Nick Gonzales returned from an ankle fracture. Solak is out of options, so Pittsburgh needed to run him through waivers to take him off the MLB roster.

While Solak didn’t make an impact in his MLB cameo, the former second-round pick has destroyed Triple-A pitching this year. He’s hitting .393/.452/.625 with six homers across 126 plate appearances with their Indianapolis affiliate. He’s a career .291/.379/.472 hitter over parts of six Triple-A seasons. Solak has never found a great defensive home and has not gotten an extended MLB opportunity since his 2021 season with the Rangers. He’ll try to maintain his blistering early-season pace in the International League to earn another big league look later in the year.

Royals, Justin Dunn Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Royals are in agreement with righty Justin Dunn on a minor league contract, reports Jaylon Thompson of The Kansas City Star. The former first-round pick had been pitching in Triple-A with the White Sox but was released last week.

Dunn signed an offseason minor league deal with Chicago. He had a tough run in Triple-A, allowing a 7.64 ERA across 33 innings. He walked more than 15% of opponents while allowing hard contact on half the batted balls against him. He’d started his first seven appearances before moving to the bullpen. Dunn tossed a scoreless outing in his first relief appearance but gave up seven runs (five earned) over the next 2 1/3 frames and was released.

The 29-year-old last appeared in the majors with Cincinnati in 2022. He battled shoulder problems the following season and was limited to three minor league appearances. That culminated in surgery that cost him the entire ’24 campaign. Dunn has averaged 92.4 MPH in this year’s Triple-A work, which is in line with his velocity from his most recent MLB action. He has 32 big league starts to his name between the Mariners and Reds, posting a 4.44 ERA in 133 2/3 innings.

Brandon Woodruff Pulled Off Rehab Stint With Elbow Contusion

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Brandon Woodruff’s attempt to return to the MLB rotation has hit another snag. The Brewers announced Thursday afternoon that the veteran starter suffered a right elbow contusion during yesterday’s rehab start at Triple-A Nashville. Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports that the team expects the injury to sideline Woodruff for a few weeks. He has been pulled off his rehab assignment.

Last night’s start was supposed to be Woodruff’s final minor league tune-up. He was on track to be reinstated from the injured list next week. He was drilled on his throwing elbow by a comebacker that left the hitter’s bat at 108 MPH. X-rays didn’t reveal any fractures, but it’s a painful and frustrating setback when he was so close to getting back to American Family Field.

Woodruff has been out since the end of the 2023 campaign recovering from shoulder surgery. He missed the entire ’24 season and took things slowly in Spring Training this year. Milwaukee sent him on an initial rehab stint in the middle of April. He was pulled back a few weeks later due to minor ankle tendinitis. He began a new assignment 10 days later and was in his third start of the second stint yesterday. There’s at least nothing structurally at issue. Still, it’s going to keep him out for another few weeks and might necessitate another rehab start or two.

MLBTR’s Steve Adams wrote about the Milwaukee rotation last week, observing that it’s a stronger group than some might assume based on its early-season patchwork nature. That was based partially on Woodruff’s expected imminent return. They recently welcomed Jose Quintana back from injury. That rounds out a starting five that also includes Freddy Peralta, Quinn Priester, Aaron Civale and Chad Patrick. The 26-year-old Patrick has had an impressive rookie season but was a candidate to be optioned to Triple-A once Woodruff returned. (He and Priester are the only two of the five who can be sent down.) Barring injury, they’ll presumably stick with that rotation for the next couple weeks.

Astros Sign Omar Narvaez To Minor League Contract

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The Astros signed veteran catcher Omar Narváez to a minor league deal and assigned him to Triple-A Sugar Land, the team announced (relayed by Ari Alexander of KPRC 2). The ISE client was granted his release by the White Sox last month.

While the White Sox are in a full rebuild, they had a crowded depth chart behind the plate. Edgar Quero made his MLB debut in April. Fellow top prospect Kyle Teel will do the same tomorrow. Former Astro Korey Lee remains on the Sox’s roster as a defensive specialist. Matt Thaiss, who had operated as the backup catcher early in the season, was traded to Tampa Bay. Teel and Quero are the potential long-term answers for the White Sox, so Narváez was never going to get more than a stopgap run.

The 33-year-old did spend a week on the MLB roster in mid-April. Lee had recently sprained his ankle and the Sox had yet to promote Quero. Narváez went 2-7 with a couple walks in four games before being cut loose. He returned to the organization on a new minor league deal and spent a month in Triple-A. He hit .218/.317/.345 over 15 games.

Narváez has some familiarity with the Astros organization. He signed a minor league deal with Houston last June — a move that came a few weeks after he’d been released by the Mets. He only hit .196 over 42 games in Sugar Land and never received a big league call. Narváez hasn’t hit much at either the MLB or Triple-A levels over the past few seasons, but the Astros evidently value him as a defender and clubhouse presence.

Houston is carrying each of Yainer Diaz, Victor Caratini and Cesar Salazar on the active roster. Narváez is unlikely to get a look unless one or two players from that trio suffers an injury. They didn’t have much in the way of non-roster catching depth in the upper minors, though. Joe Hudson, the only other backstop in the organization with MLB experience, is a 34-year-old who has appeared in 19 big league games and is hitting .129 in Triple-A.

Cooper Hummel Elects Free Agency

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The Orioles yet again announced that outfielder/first baseman Cooper Hummel elected free agency after going unclaimed on outright waivers. He was designated for assignment on Monday when Colton Cowser returned from the injured list.

Hummel had two stints in Baltimore that lasted a combined four days. He signed an MLB deal with the O’s after opting out of a non-roster contract with the Yankees. They designated him for assignment a day later when they needed a third catcher. He cleared waivers and re-signed on a fresh major league deal. Hummel spent three more days on the active roster. He struck out in his only at-bat and played two innings in right field.

It has presumably been a frustrating sequence, but Hummel picked up a little over a week of big league pay between his stint on the active roster and in DFA limbo. He’ll now return to the market and should at least find another minor league deal if no team is willing to plug him directly onto the MLB roster.

The switch-hitting Hummel appeared in 66 MLB contests for the Diamondbacks during his 2022 rookie season. He’s only made 17 big league appearances in the two-plus years since then. A career .159/.254/.274 hitter, he’s shown more offensive ability in the minors. Hummel has a .284/.419/.475 slash line over parts of five Triple-A seasons. He reached base at a .415 clip in 10 games with the Yankees’ affiliate before opting out.

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