Ty Blach Elects Free Agency
Left-hander Ty Blach has elected free agency, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He had been outrighted by the Cubs to Triple-A Iowa a few days ago but has instead exercised his right to head to the open market.
A player has the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency if he has a previous career outright or at least three years of big league service time. Blach qualifies on both counts and has exercised that right.
The Cubs signed him to a minor league deal in April. He made five Triple-A appearances, effectively stretched out as a starter. Only three of those five were officially starts but he went at least three innings each time he got the ball. He posted a 5.23 earned run average in that small sample before getting called up last week. He made one appearances for the big league squad, tossing three scoreless innings of relief in a 9-3 loss to the Brewers last Monday.
After that outing, Blach was probably going to be unavailable for a few days. Since the Cubs had Caleb Thielbar coming off the IL and Blach is out of options, the circumstances pushed Blach off the 40-man roster and now to free agency.
The 35-year-old Blach has a 5.39 ERA in his career, in 523 innings logged in 157 games. Part of that is likely due to him spending several years pitching in Coors Field as a member of the Rockies but he has also been a soft-tossing low strikeout guy. His four-seamer and sinker have averaged around 90 miles per hour in his career. He has punched out 12.9% of batters faced, barely half of the league average.
In these situations, it’s fairly common for a player to quickly re-sign with the club he was just with. However, that’s not a guarantee and Blach will have the chance to see what other opportunities may be out there for him.
Photo courtesy of Ron Chenoy, Imagn Images
Blue Jays Option Davis Schneider
The Blue Jays announced that outfielder Nathan Lukes has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list. As a corresponding move, infielder/outfielder Davis Schneider has been optioned to Triple-A Buffalo.
It’s Schneider’s first time getting optioned to the minors in about a year. He got out to a slow start in 2025 and was sent to the minors for about six weeks from mid-April to early June. Once he came back up, he was a key part of the Toronto lineup. He slashed .249/.364/.468 for a 135 wRC+ after that recall. His 25.2% strikeout rate was a bit high but he offset that with a big 15% walk rate.
He continued to be a key part of the club into the postseason, getting 24 plate appearances as part of the club’s World Series run. His 37.5% strikeout rate wasn’t great but he drew walks at a 16.7% clip and hit a home run, leading to a .200/.333/.400 line and 110 wRC+.
Here in 2026, his profile has leaned even further to the extremes. He is drawing walks at a huge 19.1% clip but has also been punched out at a gruesome 34.8% pace. A .205 batting average on balls in play hasn’t helped but his .127/.295/.211 line isn’t pretty regardless of the caveats.
His demotion speaks to his struggles but also the strong showing from Yohendrick Pinango, who had no major league experience prior to this season. Some injuries pushed him up to the big leagues and he has responded with a .313/.352/.418 line in his first 71 career plate appearances. Some of that is due to a .370 BABIP he won’t be able to sustain but the Jays will ride the hot hand for now.
Sticking with Pinango over Schneider gives the Jays a bit less ability to maximize platoon situations. Schneider’s right-handed bat would ideally be complementing lefties like Pinango, Lukes, Jesús Sánchez and Daulton Varsho. Since Schneider can play second base, there have also been situations where the Jays have been able to have righties Schneider and Ernie Clement in the middle infield, protecting lefty-swinging shortstop Andrés Giménez.
With no Schneider, the outfield now has four lefties, with Myles Straw the only righty bat in the mix. Lenyn Sosa now seems to be the righty-swinging second base option, despite having a .189/.187/.284 line since joining the Jays.
For Schneider, the move may impact him from a career perspective. He came into this season with his service time count at two years and 29 days. If he had spent the entire 2026 season in the majors, he would have pushed that to 3.029. Getting to three years would have meant qualifying for arbitration and put him on pace for free agency after 2029. If he stays in the minors for the rest of the season, then he wouldn’t qualify for arbitration and his path to free agency would be pushed by a year, though he could keep those things on the table if he is recalled relatively quickly.
Photo courtesy of William Liang, Imagn Images
Guardians Place Erik Sabrowski On IL With Elbow Inflammation
The Guardians announced that left-hander Erik Sabrowski has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to left elbow inflammation. Right-hander Codi Heuer was recalled as the corresponding move.
Sabrowski has beek a key arm out of the Cleveland bullpen with an approach that is wild but effective. He now has 63 innings under his belt, thrown over the three most recent seasons, allowing just 1.43 earned runs per nine. His 15.1% walk rate is very high but he has also punched out a massive 39.8% of batters faced.
The ERA is surely at least a bit misleading. He has a .224 batting average on balls in play and 87.8% strand rate, both of which are fortunate figures. His 2.52 FIP and 2.89 SIERA are probably more accurate representations of his contributions but he would be a big asset even if his ERA regresses to that level. Thus far, he has racked up a save and 29 holds for the Guards, including 17 holds already in 2026.
Elbow issues have been an issue before. He missed the first three months of the 2025 season due to elbow inflammation and that same issue now puts him on the shelf again. It’s unclear if the Guards consider his current status to be serious but it’s always somewhat concerning when a pitcher’s throwing elbow is the focus of an injury.
For now, the Guardians lose one of their key setup arms and their primary lefty reliever. They are now left with Tim Herrin and Logan Allen as their southpaw relievers. Allen has primarily been in the rotation in his career and was starting in Triple-A until being recalled yesterday, so he’s likely slated for a long relief role, meaning Herrin could be the only lefty for key spots late in games. Herrin has a 2.12 ERA this year but not in a sustainable way. His 16.3% strikeout rate and 15% walk rate are both awful numbers. His run prevention is mostly due to an 87% strand rate that won’t last.
The Guards are 32-23, giving them a lead of 4.5 games in the American League Central. They are in a good position to go into the deadline as buyers. Most contenders look for extra relief help at the deadline and that may be a more acute need for the Guards if their lefty contingent continues to feel light over the next few months.
Photo courtesy of Steven Bisig, Imagn Images
Jonny DeLuca To Miss Six To Eight Weeks With Hamstring Strain
The Rays placed outfielder Jonny DeLuca on the ten-day injured list with a right hamstring strain yesterday. He’s going to miss far more than ten days, however. Per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, DeLuca’s strain is significant enough that he’ll miss about six to eight weeks.
DeLuca, 27, has been in Tampa’s outfield mix all year. His contributions have mostly been as a speed-and-defense guy. His .269/.298/.412 batting line isn’t bad, translating to a 98 wRC+ that puts him just below league average. However, he only has two home runs and a tiny 4% walk rate. His offense has been swelled by a fortunate .330 batting average on balls in play.
Though he may not be a thumper in the box on the whole, he has been a useful player in other ways. He has been better with the platoon advantage, as the righty swinger has a .315/.500/.815 line and 126 wRC+ against southpaws. He is one of the fastest guys in the league, with Statcast ranking his sprint speed in the 95th percentile of qualified big leaguers. He has stolen six bases and been credited with three Defensive Runs Saved and three Outs Above Average on the year.
The Rays will now have to proceed without DeLuca’s contributions into July. So far, the club has used only five outfielders this year, coming into today’s action. Beyond DeLuca, they have had Cedric Mullins, Chandler Simpson, Jake Fraley and Ryan Vilade in the mix. Last week, it was reported that Fraley would require a hernia procedure and would also have a return timeline of about six to eight weeks.
It will be interesting to track how the group performs over the next little while, as the timelines for DeLuca and Fraley will keep them out until fairly close to the August 3rd deadline. Simpson is an ever more extreme version of DeLuca, with huge speed and strong defense but subpar offense. Mullins has a good track record but is having a bad season, while Vilade is in the opposite position. Mullins is hitting just .192/.255/.285 on the year, though with an unlucky .218 BABIP. Vilade has a strong .308/.382/.477 line on the year but with a fortunate .346 BABIP. Víctor Mesa Jr., who has a career batting line of .188/.297/.344, was recalled to join the club when DeLuca hit the IL yesterday.
The Rays are currently the best team in the majors with a 34-16 record. They have racked up those wins despite a pretty lackluster outfield. There are some good defenders and the outfielders have more stolen bases than any other outfield group in the majors, but the Rays have received a collective .254/.302/.357 line from the outfield this year. That leads to an 85 wRC+ which is better than just five other clubs.
Given their strong record, the Rays will almost certainly be in position to buy at the deadline. The outfield could be a clear area to upgrade, given the numbers so far. As the club will be talking deals with other teams in July, Fraley and DeLuca should be getting healthy. If the Rays do make external additions, Fraley, Mullins and Vilade can’t be optioned to the minors but DeLuca, Mesa and Simpson can.
Photo courtesy of Nick Turchiaro, Imagn Images
Austin Slater Elects Free Agency
Outfielder Austin Slater has elected free agency, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. The Mets had sent him outright to Triple-A Syracuse a few days ago but he has exercised his right to reject that assignment and head to the open market instead.
If a player has at least five years of big league service time, he has the right to reject an outright assignment while also keeping his salary commitments in tact. The Marlins signed Slater in late March, after the Tigers had granted him his release from a minor league contract. The Miami deal was a major league pact with a $1MM salary. The Fish cut bait less than a month into the season, designating Slater for assignment. He cleared waivers and elected free agency.
The Fish remain on the hook for the remainder of that salary. Other teams can sign Slater and only pay him the prorated portion of the league minimum, with that amount subtracted from what the Marlins pay. The Mets stepped up to volunteer for that opportunity but they also bumped Slater off their roster after less than a month. Between the two clubs, he has a rough .209/.286/.233 line on the year.
Other clubs may still be interested in him based on his track record. Slater has a decent floor from his speed and defense. In over 3,000 outfield innings in his big league career, spread across all three spots on the grass, he’s been credited with six Outs Above Average. On the whole, Defensive Runs Saved has him just a hair below average, but mostly due to that metric considering him subpar in center. He has five DRS in right field and four in left, with over 1,000 innings in each corner. Though he’s now 33 years old, Statcast still pegs his sprint speed in the 66th percentile of qualified big leaguers this year.
Offensively, Slater has been around league average in his career, but with caveats. A right-handed bat, he has done most of his damage against lefties. He has a .263/.352/.420 line and 115 wRC+ with the platoon advantage in his career but a .228/.313/.331 line and 81 wRC+ in the other half of the split. He has also seen his overall production decline lately. From 2020 to 2023, he slashed .259/.352/.421 for a 117 wRC+, regardless of pitcher handedness. Since then, he has a .212/.298/.304 line and 74 wRC+.
Despite the declining numbers, there is some lingering interest. The Yankees liked him enough to trade for him at last year’s deadline. He had to settle for a minor league deal in the winter but looked good in spring, hitting .267/.389/.467, and quickly got himself a big league pact. He hasn’t been able to carry that over into the season but his résumé should still be enough to at least get him a minor league deal somewhere, if not a major league one.
Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
White Sox Designate Jarred Kelenic For Assignment
The White Sox announced that outfielder Jarred Kelenic has been designated for assignment. That’s the corresponding move for them to select infielder/outfielder Rikuu Nishida, a move that was reported yesterday.
Kelenic, 26, signed a minor league deal with the Sox in the offseason. He began the season at Triple-A and put up some encouraging numbers. In 26 games, he slashed .202/.346/.464. That batting average is obviously not pleasant but was held back by an unfortunate .224 batting average on balls in play. The on-base percentage was buoyed by a huge 18.3% walk rate. His six home runs in 104 plate appearances boosted the slugging percentage. The batting line translated to a subpar 97 wRC+ but would have been above average with a bit more batted ball luck.
The White Sox decided to give him another shot in the big leagues, which didn’t work out. He got into 19 games and stepped to the plate 59 times. His 10.2% walk rate was strong but he also struck out at a huge 33.9% clip. Though his .344 BABIP was actually a help in this sample, he nonetheless put up a .226/.305/.321 line and 81 wRC+.
These are fairly small data sets but they do roughly mirror Kelenic’s larger career arc. A former sixth overall pick and top prospect, he has often put up huge numbers in the minors without finding success in the majors. Including this year’s stint with the Sox, he now has 1,547 big league plate appearances. He has been punched out in 30.7% of those and has a .211/.283/.374 line, which leads to an 84 wRC+. He has stolen some bases but hasn’t received strong grades for his glovework.
The overall performance has pushed him into fringe roster status. As mentioned, he had to settle for a minor league deal coming into this season. He has exhausted his option years, so the Sox had to bump him off the 40-man since they no longer want him on the active roster.
Kelenic is now in DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Sox could take five days to explore trade interest. The most likely outcome is Kelenic ending up on waivers and clearing. He just cleared waivers in October of last year and he hasn’t done much to raise his stock since then. Players with a previous career outright or three years of service time have the right to reject outright assignments in favor of electing free agency. Kelenic qualifies on both counts and can head to the open market if he clears waivers in the next week.
Photo courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski, Imagn Images
Submit Your Questions For This Week’s Episode Of The MLBTR Podcast
On the MLB Trade Rumors podcast, we regularly answer questions from our readers and listeners. With the next episode set for Wednesday, we’re looking for MLBTR’s audience to submit their questions and we’ll pick a few to answer.
The 2026 season is humming along. Do you have a question about a hot or cold start in the early going? The upcoming trade deadline? Next winter’s potential labor showdown? If you have a question on those topics or anything else baseball-related, we’d love to hear from you! You can email your questions to mlbtrpod@gmail.com.
Also, if you want to hear your voice on the podcast, send us your question in audio form and we might play it. iPhone users can find instructions on how to do so here.
In the meantime, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
The Guardians’ Faith In Their Own Players Is Paying Off
The Guardians had a very disappointing offseason. Despite winning the American League Central in two straight years and three of the past four, they did almost nothing to upgrade their roster for 2027. They made no trades of significance and spent less than $12MM in free agency.
Even that very modest outlay was offset by savings elsewhere. Emmanuel Clase was supposed to make $6MM this year but he probably won’t see any of that due to his ongoing gambling investigation. José Ramírez signed an extension that technically increased his 2026 salary from $21MM to $26MM but the new deal defers $10MM annually, so it actually saved the club money in the short term.
After MLBTR published its Offseason In Review entry for the Guards, readers mostly panned the club’s actions. In the poll at the bottom of the post, both the F and D options got 37% of the vote. C was next with 19%. The B option got just a 5% share, followed by A at 2%.
But almost two months into the season, they are thriving. They are currently 30-22, one of the few American League clubs comfortably above .500. They are 3.5 games clear of the White Sox and six up on the Twins. Coming into the season, the Tigers were considered by many to be the division favorite, but they are 9.5 back.
How are the Guards doing it? The pitching staff is quite good, which isn’t really a surprise, since they were strong in that department last year. But they have taken a big step forward offensively. The team has a collective .230/.324/.377 line and 101 wRC+. That may not sound too impressive, being just barely above average, but consider where they were last year. The 2025 Guards hit .226/.296/.373 for a wRC+ of 87. They were successful in spite of that lack of offense thanks to their pitching and defense. Cranking up the offense, even just to be middle of the pack, is a notable improvement.
Since they made almost no effort to add external options, the gains are clearly coming from inside the house. Some of this was to be expected. Chase DeLauter and Travis Bazzana came into the season ranked among the club’s top prospects and both are contributing, but the Guards are also getting improved results from guys who have already been on the team for years, as each of Brayan Rocchio, Angel Martínez and Daniel Schneemann have boosted their numbers this season.
Rocchio came into this season seemingly on the fringe of the roster. By the end of 2025, he had 911 career plate appearances. He had just 13 home runs, a .222/.293/.327 line and 77 wRC+. He had exhausted his final option season. On paper, he and Gabriel Arias had the middle infield jobs but Bazzana was on the way, along with Juan Brito and Angel Genao. There was a non-zero chance of him getting pushed off the roster.
But instead, he’s been taking a step forward. The Guards somewhat surprisingly started the year with Bazzana in the minors and Rocchio at second base. Arias hit the IL in April, leaving Rocchio in charge of the shortstop job. Rocchio has stepped to the plate 188 times and has a .290/.376/.420 line, leading to a 130 wRC+. A lot of that is due to plate discipline. He came into the year with a 7.7% walk rate and 21.3% strikeout rate in his career. Those numbers are at 10.1% and 10.6% this year.
His contact hasn’t made huge strides. In fact, his hard hit rate and exit velocity are actually down relative to last year. What seems to be working for him is some extra patience. His swing rate is down 3.4 percentage points. Perhaps more importantly, his first pitch swing rate is down by 11.5 points. That has led to more walks and fewer strikeouts.
There is a bit of luck at play, as he has a .309 batting average on balls in play. Since he is striking out so rarely, that means lots of balls in play and the luck is really helping him. Perhaps there is some regression coming but Rocchio has already racked up 1.7 wins above replacement in the eyes of FanGraphs, with his solid shortstop defense and nine stolen bases also helping.
Martínez was sent to the plate 653 times over the 2024 and 2025 seasons. He had a tepid .226/.277/.353 line and 77 wRC+ in those, hitting 14 home runs. His 21.9% strikeout rate was around average but his 5.8% walk rate was quite low. He wasn’t guaranteed playing time in 2026, as Cleveland came into the year with an outfield mix consisting of DeLauter, Schneeman, Steven Kwan, George Valera, CJ Kayfus, David Fry and Petey Halpin.
But some struggles from the guys in that group have opened time for Martínez that he has taken advantage of. Unlike Rocchio, there are no big improvements here in terms of discipline. His 19.4% strikeout rate is a bit better but he’s also walking less, with just a 3.4% rate this year. But he already has nine home runs, almost matching his previous career tally, in just 175 plate appearances. That has helped him hit .256/.298/.488 for a 119 wRC+.
Also unlike Rocchio, there are some tangible shifts in the Statcast data. His 36.2% hard hit rate is only around league average but a big jump from the 29.3% rate he had last year. His 88.6 mph average exit velocity is exactly league par but a mile and a half better than his own mark from last year. His 41st percentile bat speed isn’t too impressive but he was in the 21st percentile last year. Making those kinds of gains can sometimes come with more whiffs but, as mentioned, he is actually striking out less.
He also may have found a defensive home in the outfield, depending on who you ask. Martínez was bounced between second base, third base and the grass in 2024 and 2025. His outfield results were poor, as he was given minus-9 Defensive Runs Saved and minus-5 Outs Above Average. DRS is still not convinced this year, giving him a minus-3 grade. Since that’s in roughly one third as many innings, it’s roughly the same pace as last year. But he has been credited with 3 OAA on the year. He has also stolen eight bases, already matching last year’s total. He’s been credited with 1.2 fWAR on the year.
Schneemann spent 2024 and 2025 in a utility role, playing everywhere except first base and the battery. He hit .210/.290/.358 for a wRC+ of 84 in 643 plate appearances. He has been sent to the plate 150 times this year with a .246/.327/.403 line and 109 wRC+.
It’s possible that Schneemann’s improvements are more fluky than those of Rocchio or Martínez. While Rocchio is showing an improved approach and Martínez is hitting the ball with more authority, Schneemann’s gains look to be based on luck, as he has a .333 BABIP so far. HIs 10.7% walk rate is nice but only a slight gain on the 9.8% pace he had coming into the year. His 28.7% strikeout rate is high and only a marginal improvement over the 29.1% rate he had in previous seasons.
In terms of the Statcast data, his hard hit rate and average exit velocity are actually down relative to last year. If there’s one big bright spot, it’s that Statcast has his launch angle sweet spot percentage in the 97th percentile, whereas he was in the 23rd percentile last year. The regression may already be setting in, as Schneemann is hitting .143 in May after batting .321/.391/.564 through the end of April. Even if it was just one big month, some solid offensive results have combined with his speed and defense to give him a tally of 1.0 fWAR on the season.
These three guys aren’t going to get any MVP votes but their contributions are significant in the larger context. As mentioned, the Guards did almost nothing to add outside help. There are seven players on the team who have received at least 150 plate appearances this year. Ramírez is doing his usual thing. DeLauter is having a strong rookie season. But Kwan and Kyle Manzardo are struggling so far. Rocchio, Martínez and Schneemann have stepped up. Those three have a combined .265/.335/.439 line, 120 wRC+ and 3.9 fWAR on the year so far.
Time will tell if they can keep it going but those strong starts have already pushed the Guards out to a nice division lead. If the gains do prove to be sustainable, then it could lead to some interesting decisions down the line.
Bazzana was called up at the end of April and has taken over the second base job, having hit .288/.409/.384 for a 133 wRC+ in the early going. The Guards also have one of the league’s top infield prospects in Genao. He was promoted to Triple-A earlier this month and has put up a .305/.359/.576 line at that level so far. A promotion is arguably already viable and his knocks on the door should get louder every day. His defense is still a work in progress but evaluators expect him to be a viable big league shortstop as he refines his tools.
The Guardians have historically not been shy about trading from their middle infield. Francisco Lindor was their regular shortstop for most of the 2015 to 2020 period before getting flipped to the Mets. Amed Rosario and Andrés Giménez came back in that trade and were fixtures of the middle infield for the next few years. Giménez even got a nine-figure extension. But both were eventually traded, Rosario to the Dodgers and Giménez to the Blue Jays. With Bazzana, Genao, Rocchio, Arias, Schneemann and Brito all now in the middle infield mix, maybe they can make someone in that group available to address another part of the roster.
In the outfield, it’s probably just nice that things are going relatively well out there, as Cleveland has been struggling for years to get production from the grass. Their outfielders hit a collective .225/.288/.341 last year for a 77 wRC+, putting them ahead of only the Royals. This year, they are up to the middle of the pack with a .232/.316/.384 line, thanks to Martínez and DeLauter.
Perhaps the Guards will have to move on from Kwan at some point. He is under club control through 2027. He’s making $7.725MM this year and would be due an arbitration raise going into next year. But his offense slipped to league average last year and he’s down to .202/.330/.260 in 2026, so perhaps a non-tender or a trade are becoming possibilities. Even without Kwan, they have DeLauter, Martínez, Valera, Schneemann, Fry, Halpin, Kayfus, Brito and Kahlil Watson in the mix and controllable for years to come.
Photos courtesy of Brett Davis, Rick Osentoski, Ken Blaze, David Richard, Imagn Images
Angels Select Wade Meckler, Donovan Walton
The Angels announced that they have selected the contracts of outfielder Wade Meckler and infielder Donovan Walton. They will take the places of outfielder Josh Lowe and infielder Yoán Moncada. Lowe has been optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake while Moncada has been placed on the 10-day injured list with right knee inflammation. The Halos came into the day with one open 40-man spot after outrighting Alek Manoah earlier this week. They opened another by transferring left-hander Yusei Kikuchi to the 60-day IL.
Meckler, 26, spent his entire career with the Giants until recently. The Angels claimed him off waivers in January but then outrighted him a few weeks later. He started this year with Triple-A Salt Lake but struggled in five games, so the Halos sent him down to Double-A Rocket City. He has been mashing for the Trash Pandas, with a .343/.449/.525 line. That is partly due to a .395 batting average on balls in play but his matching walk and strikeout rates of 16% are both very strong figures.
Prior to joining the Angels, Meckler got a very brief major league debut with the Giants in 2023. He hit just .232/.328/.250 in 64 plate appearances. As a prospect, his profile indicated he had a solid floor thanks to his speed and defense. His offense was and is more questionable. He has generally had a good contact approach without a ton of power. He has 1,393 minor league plate appearances in his career with a strong 14.2% walk rate and 16.6% strikeout rate but only 21 home runs in that time.
With Meckler putting up good numbers at the plate lately, the Angels will see if he can translate any of that to the big leagues. At worst, he should be able to run the ball down and steal a few bases, though whether he can produce from the batter’s box will be more of a question. If it doesn’t work out, he does still have an option and can be easily sent back down to the minors.
The Halos have had a primary outfield of Mike Trout, Jo Adell and Lowe this year, with guys like Jorge Soler, Adam Frazier and Jose Siri also chipping in. Trout and Adell should still be in there regularly but the other guys in that cluster could perhaps be competing to take some of the playing time that has opened up with Lowe no longer on the roster.
Walton, 32 next week, has been a part-time major leaguer for quite a while but in fits and starts. He debuted in 2019 and this will technically be his seventh big league season but he has appeared in only 72 games. In his 214 plate appearances, he has a .172/.223/.298 batting line. Though he hasn’t done much with the bat, he has at least provided defensive versatility, with experience at the three infield spots to the left of first base as well as left field.
His offense has been far better in the minors. In 1,647 Triple-A plate appearances in his career, he has a strong .281/.372 /.439 line. That includes a .282/.429/.481 line this year, after signing a minor league deal with the Halos in the offseason. Even in the hitter-friendly context of the Pacific Coast League, that line translates to a 128 wRC+.
Walton gives the Angels another lefty bat for their infield. Righties Vaughn Grissom and Oswald Peraza are currently getting a decent amount of time at second and third base, so Walton could perhaps complement those two, along with lefty Adam Frazier.
Moncada has been scuffling while battling a knee injury this year, putting up a .189/.308/.297 line. A trip to the IL could allow him to reset but it’s also possible he’s facing a longer absence. Surgery on that knee is a possibility, per Francys Romero of BeisbolFR. Time will tell how much time he needs to miss. For now, his absence opens up third base time for the aforementioned cluster of infielders.
As for Lowe, this move isn’t surprising with his current numbers, but it’s quite notable in the larger context. Back in 2023, he hit 20 home runs for the Rays and stole 32 bases. He hit .292/.335/.500 for a wRC+ of 130. FanGraphs credited him with 3.4 wins above replacement that year.
Unfortunately, he’s been on a downward trajectory since then. In 2024, his line dropped to .241/.302/.391, leading to a 98 wRC+. Another drop came in 2025, as he put up a .220/.283/.366 line and 79 wRC+. The Angels took a shot on a bounceback, acquiring Lowe in a three-team trade that sent pitchers Brock Burke and Chris Clark out of town. That move hasn’t panned out for the Halos at all, with Lowe having hit .184/.226/.320 this year. A .220 BABIP isn’t helping but his 4.5% walk rate and 29.1% strikeout rate are both awful figures.
The Angels will try to get him back on track in Salt Lake. Once he spends 20 days in the minor, this will be his final option season and he will be out of options in 2027. Either way, he’s trending towards a non-tender. He has already qualified for arbitration and is making $2.6MM this year.
Kikuchi landed on the 15-day IL in early May with shoulder inflammation. Shortly thereafter, the Halos announced that he would be shut down for three to four weeks before ramping back up again. His 60-day count is retroactive to that initial IL placement, so he’ll technically be eligible for reinstatement in early July. Whether he can get healthy by then remains to be seen.
Prior to the official announcement, Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register relayed that Meckler and Walton were in the lineup with Lowe and Moncada not on the lineup card. Moncada then told Jack Janes of The Sporting Tribune that he was going on the injured list.
Robby Snelling Undergoes Internal Brace Surgery
May 22nd: The Marlins announced today that Snelling underwent a UCL repair surgery with an internal brace. They listed his return timeline as 10 to 12 months, so it seems he could have a shot at returning in the first half of the 2027 season.
May 21st: The Marlins announced to reporters, including Craig Mish of SportsGrid, that left-hander Robby Snelling will undergo Tommy John surgery. He was transferred to the 60-day injured list earlier today and will stay there for the rest of the year. He’ll likely be out until around the 2027 All-Star break.
It’s obviously awful news for any pitcher when a Tommy John surgery is required but it’s particularly bitter timing for Snelling. He has spent the past few years working his way through the minor leagues and became one of the top pitching prospects in the game. Miami called him up to the majors earlier this month and he made his big league debut. But he experienced some discomfort after his first start and was diagnosed with a sprain of his ulnar collateral ligament, the ligament that is replaced in Tommy John surgery.
Instead of building up his major league track record, Snelling is now going to be rehabbing for quite a while with just one game on his stat sheet. TJS usually requires 14 months or more of recovery time, so Snelling will miss the rest of the 2026 season and probably at least half of 2027.
For Snelling personally, the one silver lining is that this injury occurred just after his promotion. Since he is on the major league IL, he will collect big league pay and service time throughout his rehab process. If the injury occurred a few weeks earlier while he was still in the minors, that would not have been the case.
That’s a small positive for Snelling but a negative for the Marlins. They called up Snelling in May, so he wasn’t in position to get to a full year of service this season. That means his window of club control would include this year and six additional seasons. He could have been a Marlins rotation mainstay for that time. Or even if he eventually wound up on the trade block, as many Miami pitchers do, that window of control was going to be part of his eventual trade appeal.
Instead, he’s now going to be on the shelf for most of the first two years of that seven-year window. He will still have lots of time to get back on track and establish himself as a viable big league arm, but this is going to take a big bite out of the club’s control window.
The Marlins will also now have to proceed without Snelling in their plans for quite a while. Not too long ago, they were overflowing with rotation depth. They felt good enough about their stable of arms to trade Edward Cabrera and Ryan Weathers in the offseason, allowing them to add some offense and prospects. Even with those trades, they came into the season with a rotation consisting of Sandy Alcantara, Eury Pérez, Max Meyer, Chris Paddack and Janson Junk. Their minor league depth included Braxton Garrett, Snelling and fellow prospect Thomas White.
But has so often happens, the surplus has evaporated. The Fish designated Paddack for assignment to open a spot for Snelling. Once Snelling hit the IL, they called up Garrett, but Garrett made two poor starts and was optioned back to the minors. White was placed on the minor league IL on Tuesday, so he’s not a short-term option.
Junk started for the Marlins yesterday. They have Alcantara, Pérez and Meyer slated to start the next three games. By Sunday, they will need some kind of plan, whether that’s a bullpen game or a spot starter. Tyler Phillips has been pitching multiple innings out of the bullpen and could be part of the solution. In addition to Garrett, they have Dax Fulton, Ryan Gusto and Bradley Blalock on optional assignment. Those three all have ERAs north of 4.40 in Triple-A this year.
Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images