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Royals Sign Stephen Nogosek To Minor League Contract

By Anthony Franco | May 7, 2025 at 9:37pm CDT

The Royals added reliever Stephen Nogosek on a minor league deal and assigned him to Triple-A Omaha. The move was announced by the affiliate.

Nogosek, 30, signs out of the Mexican League. He’d made 10 appearances for the Diablos Rojos. The surface numbers aren’t all that impressive. The righty gave up 10 runs (six earned) on 12 hits over nine innings. He struck out 13 while issuing only two walks, though, and the run prevention isn’t as dire in the league context. The average Mexican League hitter owns a .294/.371/.460 batting line, while the league’s earned run average sits at 5.75.

An Oregon product, Nogosek was drafted by the Red Sox and traded to the Mets as a prospect. He made 33 appearances for New York over parts of four seasons. He owns a 5.02 ERA across 57 1/3 big league innings. His 22% strikeout percentage and 8.9% walk rate were serviceable numbers for a middle reliever, but he allowed far too many home runs.

Nogosek had a brief stint in Triple-A with Washington last year. He was released in May after a disastrous 11-game showing. Nogosek gave up 18 runs while walking 18 hitters in only 15 2/3 frames. That required stints in Mexico and the independent Atlantic League to find his way back to affiliated ball.

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Kansas City Royals Transactions Stephen Nogosek

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Kris Bryant To Undergo Ablation Procedure On Back

By Anthony Franco | May 7, 2025 at 8:36pm CDT

Kris Bryant is headed for an ablation procedure on his lower back tomorrow, Rockies manager Bud Black tells reporters (including Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post). The skipper called it “a minimally invasive procedure” and expressed optimism that Bryant could resume baseball activities within a few days.

It’s nevertheless the latest frustration as Bryant tries to manage his persistent back pain. He has been out since April 14 with what the team called lumbar degenerative disc disease. It’s the ninth injured list placement of the former MVP’s three-plus seasons in Colorado. Six of them have been related to his back and/or side. Bryant also battled left foot issues early in his Rox tenure and fractured a finger in 2023.

Bryant owns a .244/.324/.370 slash line over 170 games in a Colorado uniform. The Rockies used him exclusively at designated hitter early this season to reduce his workload. He hit .154 with two extra-base hits (both doubles) in 11 games. This is the fourth season of his seven-year, $182MM free agent deal. Bryant unsurprisingly made clear last month that he’s not thinking about retirement.

Black provided a few other injury updates this evening (via Thomas Harding of MLB.com). Infielders Ezequiel Tovar and Thairo Estrada are ramping up baseball activities, while starter Austin Gomber has pushed his long toss regimen to 90 feet. It’s most relevant regarding Gomber, who has been out all season with shoulder inflammation. He opened the season on a rehab assignment but suffered a setback that necessitated a move to the 60-day IL last month. Gomber received a platelet-rich plasma injection and is back throwing, though he’s still a ways off another rehab stint.

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Colorado Rockies Austin Gomber Ezequiel Tovar Kris Bryant Thairo Estrada

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Tigers Outright Manuel Margot, Release Kenta Maeda

By Anthony Franco | May 7, 2025 at 6:04pm CDT

The Tigers announced they’ve activated veteran outfielder Manuel Margot from the 10-day injured list and sent him outright to Triple-A Toledo. He evidently was placed on waivers earlier this week and already went unclaimed. Detroit also placed Kenta Maeda on unconditional release waivers after designating him for assignment last week. Once he clears waivers, he’ll be a free agent. Margot’s removal from the 40-man roster drops their count to 38.

Margot signed a split contract at the end of Spring Training. Parker Meadows, Matt Vierling and Wenceel Pérez were injured, leaving the Tigers scrambling for outfield depth. Margot started five games through the season’s first week and a half, but inflammation in his left knee sent him to the shelf on April 8.

Javier Báez kicked out to center field and has had an excellent start to the season, hitting .309/.350/.479 in 28 games. Zach McKinstry is rotating between third base and the corner outfield. He’s out to a .291/.375/.427 start over 32 contests. Kerry Carpenter is playing right field regularly, while Riley Greene is locked into left field. Báez and McKinstry probably won’t remain this productive, but the Tigers have little reason to take either out of the lineup while they’re playing well. While Detroit could’ve used Margot off the bench while optioning a younger hitter like Justyn-Henry Malloy or Jace Jung, they elected to stick with their current position player group.

Margot has well over the three years of service time to decline an outright assignment in favor of free agency. The Tigers didn’t provide any indication that he’d do that, however. His contract pays at a $200K rate for time spent in the minors (and a prorated $1.3MM for his time on the MLB roster or injured list). He’d join Akil Baddoo, Brewer Hicklen, Jahmai Jones and Ryan Kreidler among outfield depth in Toledo if he accepts the assignment.

Maeda’s release was the expected outcome. Teams have five days following a DFA to try to line up a trade, but that rarely happens with veterans on lofty salaries. The Tigers needed to find a trade partner by Tuesday or place Maeda on waivers. He would’ve been able to decline an outright assignment without forfeiting any salary, so the Tigers simply released him.

The 29 other teams technically have an opportunity to grab Maeda off waivers, but doing so would require assuming the remainder of his $10MM salary. That obviously isn’t happening. They’ll wait until he clears and becomes a free agent. If Maeda signs elsewhere, his new club would only be responsible for the prorated portion of the $760K league minimum for whatever time he spends on the MLB roster. The Tigers will pay the remainder of the salary.

It closes the books on a disappointing year-plus tenure in the Motor City. Detroit signed Maeda to a two-year, $24MM free agent deal during the 2023-24 offseason. The former Cy Young runner-up had fanned 27% of opponents with a 4.23 ERA during his walk year with the Twins. While it looked like a solid rotation pickup, Maeda’s production tanked immediately in Detroit. He allowed a 6.09 ERA over 112 1/3 innings a year ago, losing his rotation spot in the process. Maeda opened this season in low-leverage relief and didn’t fare any better, giving up eight runs (seven earned) over eight innings. He allowed nine free baserunners — six walks and three hit batters — while recording eight strikeouts.

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Detroit Tigers Transactions Kenta Maeda Manuel Margot

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Angels, Hunter Strickland Agree To Minor League Deal

By Anthony Franco | May 6, 2025 at 11:12pm CDT

The Angels are in agreement with Hunter Strickland on a minor league contract, according to the MLB.com transaction log. The veteran reliever, who’ll head to Triple-A Salt Lake, had been on a minor league deal with the Rangers. Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News reported this afternoon that Texas had granted Strickland his release.

It didn’t take long for the 36-year-old righty to find his next landing spot. Strickland is plenty familiar with the Angels organization. He spent all of last season with the Halos. An offseason minor league deal led to a call-up by the second week of April. Strickland managed a career-high 73 1/3 innings over 72 appearances in middle relief. He posted a 3.31 ERA, though free agent interest was muted by his pedestrian 19.4% strikeout rate.

Texas added Strickland on a non-roster deal midway through Spring Training. He only made two appearances in camp, was released, then returned to the organization on a new minor league contract. Strickland pitched 12 times with Triple-A Round Rock. He surrendered 14 runs in 15 1/3 innings, striking out 15 while issuing nine walks.

The Angel bullpen has been a disaster through the season’s first six weeks. They have an MLB-worst 7.02 ERA despite logging the league’s smallest workload (109 innings). Angel relievers have allowed an MLB-high 23 home runs while ranking in the bottom third of the league with a 20.7% strikeout rate. Strickland’s Triple-A performance isn’t going to get him an immediate call, but there’s a clear path back to the big leagues if he can find something more closely resembling last year’s numbers.

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Los Angeles Angels Transactions Hunter Strickland

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Jays Notes: Kikuchi, Bloss, Turnbull

By Anthony Franco | May 6, 2025 at 10:43pm CDT

The Blue Jays kicked off a series against the Angels this week, providing an opportunity for Toronto reporters to catch up with new Halos starter Yusei Kikuchi. The veteran left-hander tells Hazel Mae and Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet that the Jays did not make him a free agent offer before he signed his three-year contract with the Angels.

Toronto traded Kikuchi to the Astros last summer. It was one of the bigger deadline rental deals, as the Astros parted with three upper level players (Jake Bloss, Will Wagner and Joey Loperfido) for a couple months of Kikuchi’s services. He was excellent down the stretch, working to a 2.70 ERA while averaging six innings per start across 10 appearances.

Kikuchi added that he wasn’t surprised that the Jays didn’t look to bring him back in free agency, noting that Bowden Francis did strong work after replacing him in the rotation. Francis was Toronto’s best pitcher in the second half, pitching to a 1.80 ERA while striking out nearly a quarter of opposing hitters. That certainly earned him a spot in the Opening Day rotation alongside Kevin Gausman, José Berríos and Chris Bassitt. The Jays still needed a fifth starter but elected to focus most of their offseason resources on rebuilding the lineup. Their only significant rotation move was a short-term investment, as they added Max Scherzer for $15.5MM on one year.

Scherzer’s recurring thumb injury sent him to the injured list after his first start in a Toronto uniform. That tested the Jays’ relatively thin rotation. Bloss, who made three big league starts with Houston before the trade, is one of the top depth arms on the 40-man roster. He has struggled to a 6.46 ERA over six appearances with Triple-A Buffalo, though, and he’s now facing an alarming health situation.

The Jays sent the 23-year-old for imaging on his elbow after his most recent appearance, relays Mitch Bannon of The Athletic. The team hasn’t provided any other specifics, but they’re skipping at least one start. Bloss last pitched on Saturday, allowing four runs on five hits and three walks across 3 1/3 innings.

Bloss’ injury comes days after the Jays signed both Spencer Turnbull and José Ureña to add some amount of veteran stability until Scherzer returns. Ureña, who’d begun the season in Triple-A with the Mets, jumped right into the fifth rotation spot. He tossed 74 pitches and worked 4 1/3 frames of two-run ball in his team debut tonight. Turnbull is much further off, as he spent the entire offseason unsigned before signing a prorated deal in the $1.27MM range. He’s on the 40-man roster but agreed to be optioned to the team’s Florida complex to get into game shape.

Manager John Schneider said this evening that Turnbull had kept his arm loose by throwing to collegiate hitters in recent weeks (via Mae). The skipper added that the optional stint can last up to 35 days before the Jays need to recall Turnbull onto the big league roster.

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Toronto Blue Jays Jake Bloss Spencer Turnbull Yusei Kikuchi

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Nationals Sign Adrian Sampson To Minor League Deal

By Anthony Franco | May 6, 2025 at 9:37pm CDT

The Nationals signed righties Adrian Sampson and Parker Dunshee to minor league contracts this evening. Both players were assigned to Triple-A Rochester, which announced the moves.

Sampson is the far more experienced of the duo. The 33-year-old righty has pitched in parts of five big league seasons. He has worked 292 2/3 innings in a swing role, turning in a 4.43 earned run average. Sampson’s 17.5% strikeout rate isn’t especially impressive, but he throws enough strikes to be a serviceable depth arm. He spent all of last season working out of the rotation for the Rangers top affiliate. Sampson posted a 5.64 ERA with an 18.8% strikeout percentage against a solid 7.2% walk rate through 28 appearances in a tough setting in the Pacific Coast League.

Texas never promoted Sampson last year, and he returned to minor league free agency at season’s end. He’d remained unsigned throughout the offseason but now gets another opportunity. Shinnosuke Ogasawara and prospect Andry Lara are on the 40-man roster and working out of the Rochester rotation. The Nats are light on non-roster rotation depth. Joan Adon and Konnor Pilkington have some big league experience but are working mostly in relief (exclusively in Adon’s case) in the minors this year.

Dunshee, 30, is a former A’s draftee who received a cup of coffee with the Braves last year. He made one appearance for Atlanta, allowing five runs over 2 1/3 relief innings in his big league debut. The Wake Forest product had strong numbers at the top two levels of the Braves’ system, however. He combined for a 3.34 ERA while striking out nearly 32% of opposing hitters over 59 1/3 frames. Dunshee was bombed for five runs in two-thirds of an inning in the Mexican League earlier this year, but he’ll get a chance to work out of Rochester’s bullpen.

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Transactions Washington Nationals Adrian Sampson Parker Dunshee

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Looking Ahead To Club Options: AL East

By Anthony Franco | May 6, 2025 at 7:29pm CDT

MLBTR wraps our division by division look at next year’s team/mutual option class with the AL East. Virtually all of the mutual options will be bought out by one side. Generally, if the team is willing to retain the player at the option price, the player will decline his end in search of a better free agent deal.

Previous installments: player options/opt-outs, NL West, AL West, NL Central, AL Central, NL East

Baltimore Orioles

  • Andrew Kittredge, RHP ($9MM club option, $1MM buyout)

Baltimore signed Kittredge to a one-year, $10MM free agent deal over the winter. He’s making $9MM this season and has a matching club option or a $1MM buyout for 2026. Kittredge was supposed to be a key setup man in front of Félix Bautista, but he suffered a left knee injury early in camp and required a debridement surgery. He began a rehab stint at High-A Aberdeen on Sunday. While there’s plenty of time for Kittredge to turn things around, it hasn’t been the start to his O’s tenure that he envisioned.

  • Ramón Laureano, OF ($6.5MM club option, no buyout)

Laureano, who was non-tendered by the Braves, signed a $4MM contract with Baltimore in February. That came with a $6.5MM team option without a buyout, giving the Orioles an extra season of club control. Injuries to Tyler O’Neill and Colton Cowser have pressed him into everyday work, mostly in left field. He hasn’t provided much through his first 24 games. Laureano is hitting .185 with a .237 on-base percentage through 59 plate appearances. He has hit a trio of home runs but struck out 18 times while drawing only four walks. Laureano has generally been a below-average hitter since being suspended following a positive PED test in 2021. He’ll need much better production over the next few months for the Orioles to exercise the option.

Boston Red Sox

  • Walker Buehler, RHP ($25MM mutual option, $3MM buyout)

Buehler signed a one-year, $21.05MM free agent deal to match the price of the qualifying offer — which the Dodgers had declined to issue when he hit the market. It’s a relatively expensive pillow contract. Buehler was coming off a dismal regular season, in which he’d posted a 5.38 ERA with a career-worst 18.6% strikeout rate over 16 starts. He finished his Dodger tenure on a high note, though, closing out the World Series while pitching to a 3.60 earned run average in 15 playoff innings.

An ace-caliber pitcher early in his career, Buehler hasn’t looked the same since undergoing the second Tommy John surgery of his career in August 2022. His stint in Boston has gotten out to a shaky start. While his 4.28 ERA through 33 2/3 innings is serviceable, he’s striking out just 20.7% of opponents while averaging a personal-low 93.5 MPH on his fastball. Shoulder inflammation sent him to the injured list last week. The mutual option was always an accounting measure designed to push the $3MM buyout to the end of the year rather than disbursing it throughout the season as salary. The team seems likelier to decline its end than the pitcher does.

  • Lucas Giolito, RHP ($14MM club option, $1.5MM buyout)

Giolito signed a two-year, $38.5MM deal during the 2023-24 offseason. He negotiated an opt-out clause after the first season and hoped to retest the market after one strong year. Instead, Giolito’s elbow gave out during Spring Training and he required UCL surgery that cost him the entire season. The veteran righty made the easy decision to stick around for year two.

By exercising his player option, Giolito unlocked a 2026 option for the team. It’s valued at $14MM and comes with a $1.5MM buyout. If Giolito pitches 140 innings this year, it’d convert to a $19MM mutual option (still with the $1.5MM buyout). That’d give him a chance to test free agency if he wants. Giolito has an uphill battle to 140 frames. A hamstring strain cost him the first month of the season. He finally made his team debut last week, working six innings of three-run ball with seven strikeouts in a no-decision against Toronto. The Rangers tagged him for six runs on 10 hits in just 3 2/3 frames tonight.

  • Liam Hendriks, RHP ($12MM mutual option, $2MM buyout)

The Red Sox added Hendriks on a two-year, $10MM deal over the 2023-24 offseason. They knew they wouldn’t get much in year one, as Hendriks had undergone Tommy John surgery the prior August. He attempted to make a late-season return last year but was shut down after a minor flare-up of elbow discomfort. Elbow inflammation shelved him for a couple weeks to begin this season, though he made his team debut in mid-April.

Hendriks allowed two runs on three hits in one inning during his first appearance. He has rattled off five straight scoreless outings since then, albeit with four walks in five frames. His 95 MPH average fastball is solid but below the 97-98 range at which he sat during his elite seasons with the White Sox.

Note: Jarren Duran’s arbitration deal contains a ’26 club option with an $8MM base salary. He’d remain eligible for arbitration if the Sox decline the option.

New York Yankees

  • Tim Hill, LHP ($3MM club option, $350K buyout)

Hill finished last season with the Yankees after being released by the White Sox in June. He’d allowed nearly six earned runs per nine with Chicago but managed a tidy 2.05 ERA over 44 frames for New York. He’s out to a similarly productive start to the ’25 season. Hill has surrendered five runs through 17 1/3 innings (2.60 ERA).

While the soft-tossing lefty has managed just 11 strikeouts, his game has always been built around ground-balls. He’s getting grounders at a massive 81.6% clip thus far. Only nine of the 40 batted balls he’s allowed have been hit into the air. It’s easily the highest grounder rate in the majors. The Yankees value this skillset as much as any team, and the $2.65MM option decision is a drop in the bucket for them.

  • Jonathan Loáisiga, RHP ($5MM club option, no buyout)

Loáisiga is still working back from last April’s elbow surgery. The righty has generally been a productive reliever when healthy, but he’s only once managed even 50 MLB innings in a season. He’s on a rehab stint with Low-A Tampa and will need another few weeks before he’s built into MLB game shape. Loáisiga is making $5MM this season. The option has a matching base value and could climb by another $500K if the Yankees exercise it. He’d earn $100K each at reaching 50, 55, 60, 65 and 70 innings in 2026.

Tampa Bay Rays

  • Pete Fairbanks, RHP ($7MM club option, $1MM buyout)

Fairbanks is in the final guaranteed season of the three-year, $12MM extension that he signed before the 2023 campaign. That includes a $1MM buyout on a club option that comes with a $7MM base value. That’s a bargain for a quality high-leverage reliever, but the deal includes various escalators that could push the option price above $12MM.

The option value would climb by $500K if he gets to 125 combined appearances between 2023-25 and another $1MM apiece at 135, 150 and 165 combined outings. Fairbanks made it into 95 games over the first two seasons. He’d trigger the first $500K escalator at just 30 appearances this year and would max it out if he makes it into 70 games. He can boost the option price by another $2MM based on this year’s games finished total: $500K apiece at 25, 30, 35 and 40.

Fairbanks has never reached 50 appearances in a season because of various injuries, but he’s already at 14 games through this season’s first six weeks. Fairbanks has finished 11 of those contests while working as Kevin Cash’s primary closer. He has recorded 13 strikeouts against six walks while allowing three runs over 13 1/3 innings. The option price should remain solid value, though the escalators might eventually push it to an area where Tampa Bay would rather explore deadline or offseason trades rather than having a reliever projecting as one of the highest-paid players on the roster.

  • Danny Jansen, C ($12MM mutual option, $500K buyout)

Jansen seemed to be pulling away from the rest of a weak free agent catching class early last season. His production tanked from June onwards, leaving him to sign an $8.5MM pillow contract with Tampa Bay. He’s making an $8MM salary and will collect a $500K buyout on a $12MM mutual option at year’s end. Last summer’s offensive drought has carried into 2025. Jansen has only one home run with a .147/.301/.221 batting line through 83 plate appearances. He remains a very patient hitter, but the Rays would have an easy decision to decline their end of the option if he doesn’t find the double-digit home run power he showed during his best seasons in Toronto.

  • Brandon Lowe, 2B ($11.5MM club option, $500K buyout)

Lowe has had a rare extended run with a Tampa Bay team that is almost always willing to trade any player. He’s in his eighth big league season and in year seven of the extension he signed in Spring Training 2019. Lowe collected $24MM for what would have been his standard six seasons of team control. The Rays exercised a $10.5MM option for this year and can retain him once more at an $11.5MM price. It’s an $11MM decision after accounting for the $500K buyout.

While injuries have been a recurring issue, Lowe has been one of the better offensive middle infielders in the sport when healthy. His 39-homer season in 2021 is an outlier, but he has tallied 21 longballs in each of the past two seasons. He’s out to a much slower start this year, batting .203/.258/.305 with four homers across 128 plate appearances. The batted ball metrics are still solid, but his career-worst 20.1% swinging strike rate is the fifth-highest among hitters with at least 50 PAs.

This one can still go a few different ways. If Lowe hits like this all season, he’d be bought out. If he finds something like his 2023-24 form (.238/.319/.458), then $11MM is reasonable. It’d keep him as one of Tampa Bay’s highest-paid players, though, so there’s a decent chance he’ll be traded at some point this year. The 16-18 Rays look like fringe Wild Card contenders for a second consecutive year. They could again try to walk the line between buying and selling come deadline season.

  • Jacob Waguespack, RHP ($1.5MM club option, no buyout)

The Rays signed Waguespack to a restructured deal early last offseason. He’s making $1.3MM this season and has a $1.5MM club option for next year. That’d escalate to $2MM if he reaches 20 “points” this season. Waguespack would receive one point for each MLB relief appearance and two points per big league start. He has spent the ’25 season to date on optional assignment to Triple-A Durham.

Working as a pure reliever for the Bulls, Waguespack has reeled off 14 innings of two-run ball. He has fanned 15 hitters against three walks while getting ground-balls at a lofty 60% clip. It hasn’t earned him a major league call yet, but he should be up before too much longer if he keeps performing at that level. Waguespack spent the 2022-23 seasons with the Orix Buffaloes in Japan. He made four MLB appearances with Tampa Bay last year but lost a good portion of the season to a rotator cuff injury.

Note: Taylor Walls’ arbitration deal contains a ’26 club option with a $2.45MM base salary. He’d remain eligible for arbitration if the Rays decline the option.

Toronto Blue Jays

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Baltimore Orioles Boston Red Sox MLBTR Originals New York Yankees Tampa Bay Rays Andrew Kittredge Brandon Lowe Danny Jansen Jacob Waguespack Jonathan Loaisiga Liam Hendriks Lucas Giolito Pete Fairbanks Ramon Laureano Tim Hill Walker Buehler

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Angels, Andrew Vasquez Agree To Minor League Contract

By Anthony Franco | May 6, 2025 at 6:50pm CDT

The Angels reached agreement with lefty reliever Andrew Vasquez on a minor league deal, reports Ari Alexander of KPRC 2. The Gaeta Sports Management client would be paid at a prorated $800K rate for whatever time he spends in the majors. According to Alexander, the deal includes an upward mobility clause on July 1 and an August 1 opt-out if the Angels haven’t selected Vasquez onto the major league roster.

Vasquez had begun the season in the Mexican League. The 31-year-old pitched well in a small sample. He only surrendered three unearned runs over 7 2/3 innings in an extremely hitter-friendly league. He fanned six with one walk while picking up a trio of saves. It was enough to get Vasquez back to the affiliated ranks, where he spent last season in Triple-A with the Tigers.

It wasn’t a great season. Vasquez allowed 5.11 earned runs per nine over 68 2/3 frames for Detroit’s top affiliate last year. His 19.4% strikeout percentage and 9.6% walk rate were each a little worse than average. That’s a departure from the norm, as Vasquez usually posts big strikeout numbers in the minor leagues. He carried a career 35.2% Triple-A strikeout rate into last season.

Vasquez’s fastball only sits in the upper 80s. He throws his low-80s breaking ball more than 80% of the time. It’s translated to roughly average results over parts of five seasons in the big leagues. Vasquez carries 4.24 ERA with a 21.5% strikeout rate over 63 2/3 innings between 2018-23.

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Transactions Andrew Vasquez

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Reds’ Tyler Callihan Suffers Forearm Fracture

By Anthony Franco | May 6, 2025 at 3:55pm CDT

May 6: The Reds placed Callihan on the 10-day IL today and optioned right-hander Yosver Zulueta. They recalled outfielder Jacob Hurtubise and righty Lyon Richardson in corresponding moves. Manager Terry Francona tells Mark Sheldon of MLB.com that Callihan underwent successful surgery on his arm. He won’t be able to do baseball activities for six to eight weeks. After that, he will presumably need a ramp-up period and rehab assignment, so he’ll probably be on the IL into July.

May 5: The Reds announced that rookie infielder/outfielder Tyler Callihan suffered a left forearm fracture in tonight’s game against Atlanta. He’s obviously in for a long-term absence.

Callihan suffered the gruesome injury while he was playing left field. He tracked a Matt Olson fly ball that sliced down the line. Callihan, a right-handed thrower, reached up for the ball with his glove hand. He went into a slide and was unable to avoid crashing into the wall with limited foul territory. His outstretched left arm took the brunt of the collision. It was immediately apparent that he’d suffered a significant injury. (Olson came around to score on an inside-the-park home run after Callihan understandably dropped the ball in pain.)

The 24-year-old Callihan just received his first major league call last week. He came up to serve as a left-handed hitting bench bat when Jeimer Candelario went on the injured list. He recorded his first MLB hit and RBI with a base knock against Washington’s Trevor Williams on Saturday. He’s 1-6 with a strikeout in four games.

Callihan will at least collect major league pay and service time during what figures to be a long injured list stint. He’ll go on the major league IL and should end up on the 60-day injured list once the Reds need to open a 40-man roster spot. Gavin Lux, who started at designated hitter tonight, will continue getting the majority of playing time in left field. Blake Dunn came off the bench to handle the position this evening.

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Cincinnati Reds Transactions Tyler Callihan

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Cubs Release Trevor Richards

By Anthony Franco | May 5, 2025 at 11:04pm CDT

The Cubs released reliever Trevor Richards from his minor league deal over the weekend, according to Tommy Birch of The Des Moines Register. He’d been pitching with Triple-A Iowa.

Richards, who turns 32 later this month, signed with Chicago in January. He pitched five times in Spring Training as a non-roster invitee, striking out six while working five innings of two-run ball. He didn’t pitch as well during his seven appearances with Iowa. Richards gave up eight runs (seven earned) through 8 2/3 frames. He fanned 12 but walked seven of 41 opponents (a 17.3% rate).

A fastball-changeup reliever, Richards has spent most of the past four seasons in the big leagues. He posted big strikeout numbers with the Blue Jays between 2021-23, though he also allowed walks and home runs at higher than average rates. Toronto traded Richards to the Twins last summer. He only spent around a month in Rocco Baldelli’s bullpen. Richards walked 11 batters and hit two more while throwing seven wild pitches in 13 innings as a Twin. Minnesota designated him for assignment in late August; he finished the season in Triple-A after clearing outright waivers.

Richards should be able to find another minor league opportunity despite the inconsistent control. He has been durable, topping 60 relief innings in each season between 2021-24. Richards punched out more than 29% of opposing hitters over that stretch, allowing 4.60 earned runs per nine in 266 1/3 cumulative innings.

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Chicago Cubs Transactions Trevor Richards

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