What Should The Cardinals Do With Riley O’Brien?
It’s been a weird year for closers. Edwin Díaz, Josh Hader, Ryan Helsley, Emilio Pagán, Carlos Estévez and others are on the injured list. Jeff Hoffman lost his job with the Blue Jays. Pete Fairbanks, just reinstated from the IL, has an earned run average of 10.00. Devin Williams and Andrés Muñoz have ERAs over 5.00. Bryan Abreu, filling in for Hader, has an ERA over 8.00. The Cardinals, meanwhile, are getting great results from a guy who hardly pitched in the majors before his 30th birthday.
St. Louis acquired Riley O’Brien in a very small trade in November of 2023. At the time, O’Brien didn’t even have a 40-man roster spot with the Mariners. All 29 other clubs had passed on claiming him when Seattle placed him on outright waivers in the summer of 2022. He was about to become a minor league free agent, but the Cards saw enough in O’Brien to send cash to Seattle to acquire him and place him on their 40-man roster so he couldn’t hit the open market.
The track record at that time wasn’t much to go on. An eighth-round pick of the Rays in 2017, O’Brien began his career as a starting pitcher. He was flipped to the Reds in August of 2020 for left-hander Cody Reed. Cincinnati added O’Brien to the 40-man roster that November to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. Things didn’t work out with the Reds. O’Brien made a brief major league debut in 2021 but posted a 4.55 ERA in Triple-A. He was designated for assignment early in 2022 and shipped to the Mariners for cash or a player to be named later.
O’Brien was moved to a relief role in 2022, a switch that didn’t immediately bear fruit. He finished the year with a 7.03 ERA in 39 2/3 Triple-A innings. He seemed to turn a corner in 2023 when he threw 55 Triple-A innings with a 2.29 ERA in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. O’Brien struck out 37.7% of batters faced and induced grounders on 57.1% of balls in play. His 13.6% walk rate showed that he was still working on his control, but the Cards were intrigued enough to make that small trade and dedicate a 40-man spot to him.
That didn’t pay off right away. O’Brien suffered a flexor strain early in 2024 and missed most of the season. He was only able to make eight big league appearances and 14 more in Triple-A. He went into 2025 with only 10 1/3 major league innings under his belt. He turned 30 in February of that year, just before the season started.
O’Brien was finally able to break out in the big leagues last year, as he gave the Cards 48 innings with a 2.06 ERA. He wasn’t really as good as that ERA would suggest, however. His 11.1% walk rate was quite high and his 22.6% strikeout rate only average. His 54.1% ground ball rate was good but he got a lot of help from a .252 batting average on balls in play and 82.8% strand rate. His 3.61 FIP and 3.82 SIERA suggested he was good but not quite as dominant as the ERA made it seem.
The Cardinals sent him to the minors a few times last year and burned his final option year. That situation could push a pitcher off the roster, but that’s not going to happen anytime soon with O’Brien. He has taken over the closer’s role in St. Louis, with a 2.70 ERA and 12 saves in 20 innings so far this year. Though that ERA is higher than last year’s, the numbers under the hood look far better. His 29.5% strikeout rate, 2.6% walk rate and 62% ground ball rate are all huge improvements. His .320 BABIP this year actually skews a bit to the unlucky side. His 2.06 FIP and 1.67 SIERA think he actually deserves far better than his ERA.
The results are backed by a strong arsenal. O’Brien is averaging 98.4 miles per hour with his sinker, a pitch he is throwing 59.2% of the time. This year’s most-used secondary pitch is a sweeper that comes in around 83.8 mph, though he’s also using a 91.5 mph slider, giving hitters two different breaking pitches to watch out for. There’s also a changeup nominally in the mix, though that has made up less than 1% of his offerings this year.
O’Brien’s success is a big reason why the Cardinals are playing a bit above their heads right now. They have a 24-18 record despite an essentially even run differential. They have scored 194 runs and allowed 193. The +1 run differential gives them an expected win-loss of 21-21, but they have gone 8-3 in one-run games and 5-1 in extra innings. In short, they’ve played like a .500 team on the whole but have eked out three extra wins in close contests. O’Brien locking down 12 saves and earning three wins has surely played a role in tipping those scales.
It puts the Cards in an interesting spot this summer. They had planned for this season to be an evaluation year. They traded away Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras, Nolan Arenado and Brendan Donovan in rebuilding moves. The plan was to spend 2026 letting less-established guys accumulate lots of playing time, so the club could figure out who is a building block and who has trade value.
Perhaps the Cardinals will fall back in the standings and make things easier for the team brass. If not, it could lead to some tough decisions. The front office probably doesn’t want to buy at the deadline since that would require subtracting from the farm system, at a time when they are trying to build it. In fact, they probably want to do more selling, with guys like Lars Nootbaar, JoJo Romero, Dustin May, Nolan Gorman and Alec Burleson being some logical trade candidates.
O’Brien will be a very interesting player to track as well. On the one hand, he is not close to free agency. He came into this year with one year and 129 days of service time. He’s under club control for four more seasons after this one. He could qualify for arbitration this offseason as a Super Two guy, but even he does, four arb years for what looks like a potential high-end reliever is a great thing to have. There’s a case for keeping him around.
On the other hand, reliever performance tends to be quite erratic. O’Brien is 31 years old and doesn’t have a long track record of big league success. He walked 11.6% of batters faced in his minor league career. He had a 13.1% walk rate in the majors coming into this season. He’s now walking just 2.6% of opponents this year. Did he suddenly go from poor control to elite, or is this going to regress?
There’s also the ever-present injury concerns with a pitcher, especially one who throws almost 100 mph. Most high-velocity pitchers deal with arm issues these days and O’Brien had that aforementioned flexor strain in 2024.
There are many moving pieces here, making O’Brien an interesting player to watch in the coming months. As mentioned up top, lots of clubs have gotten poor results from their closers. Relievers are always in demand at the deadline and that need will perhaps be even greater this year. There’s an argument for the Cards to cash in while O’Brien is putting up good numbers. When they plan to truly contend in a few years, he’ll be pushing into his mid-3os and who knows what his status will be at that point?
Between now and the August 3 deadline, there are many ways it could tip. O’Brien could keep locking down games but he could also see his control slip or he could perhaps get hurt. The team could keep winning games and hang in the race or they could slip back. Trade talks won’t earnestly ramp up for a while but the Cardinals will have some interesting phone calls this summer.
Photo courtesy of Dennis Lee, Imagn Images
MLBTR Podcast: Patrick Bailey To Cleveland, The Struggling Astros, And Arizona’s Outfield Changes
The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…
- The Giants trading Patrick Bailey to the Guardians (1:25)
- The Astros losing Carlos Correa to season-ending ankle surgery (18:40)
- The Diamondbacks calling up Ryan Waldschmidt and trading Alek Thomas to the Dodgers (28:05)
- The Mets calling up A.J. Ewing (38:25)
- The Marlins calling up Robby Snelling (42:55)
Plus, we answer your questions, including…
- Are the Tigers struggling due to injuries and will be fine as guys get healthy? Or should fans be more worried? (49:30)
- Which starting pitchers can the Cubs pursue? (53:25)
- When will the Yankees realize they need to upgrade on David Bednar as the closer? (58:20)
Check out our past episodes!
- Skubal’s Injury, The Marlins’ Catchers, Eldridge Called Up, And Volpe Sent Down – listen here
- The Alex Cora Situation, Lucas Giolito Signs, And The Phillies Fire Rob Thomson – listen here
- Kevin McGonigle, The Padres’ Franchise Valuation, And Edwin Díaz To Miss Time – listen here
The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!
Photo courtesy of David Dermer, Imagn Images
Angels Notes: Pomeranz, Johnson, Peraza, Grissom
The Angels placed left-hander Drew Pomeranz on the 15-day injured list today due to left elbow inflammation. Right-hander Ryan Johnson was reinstated from the IL in a corresponding move.
The Halos haven’t provided many details about the injury to Pomeranz, but it’s notable in light of his history. Ongoing issues with his throwing arm, including multiple surgeries, lead to Pomeranz not pitching in the majors from 2022 to 2024. He had a bounceback season in 2025, posting a 2.17 earned run average over 49 2/3 innings with the Cubs.
That prompted the Halos to sign Pomeranz to a one-year, $4MM deal for the 2026 season. That gambit hasn’t worked out so far, as the 37-year-old has a 7.20 ERA through 15 innings. His 16.7% strikeout rate and 11.4% walk rate are both significantly worse than last year, when he struck out 28.1% of opponents and only walked 7.4%.
For now, Johnson will apparently take his spot in the bullpen. The Halos have handled Johnson very strangely thus far in his career. He was drafted in the summer of 2024, 74th overall, but didn’t pitch in the minors that year. He then cracked the club’s big league roster to open the 2025 season, despite not having any professional experience. He pitched poorly out of the bullpen for a few weeks before being optioned all the way down to High-A. He finished the year pitching well at that level as a starter.
Here in 2026, he made the big league rotation out of camp but then hit the IL due to a virus after just one start. He recently began a rehab assignment, tossing 3 1/3 innings on May 3rd, followed by five innings on May 8th.
It appears that Johnson is now available out of the big league bullpen. “I see him as a guy that can do both,” manager Kurt Suzuki said to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. “I think if we need him as a starter, we can keep him as a starter. If we need him in the bullpen, he can do that. I think the luxury of having RJ is he can do everything.”
From the outside, it appears to be a bizarrely unconventional approach, something that has cropped up with other pitchers to lesser degrees. Alek Manoah began the season on the IL due to a finger issue. He made one official rehab appearances of 4 1/3 innings at the beginning of May. He was quickly added to the big league roster. His first appearance for the Halos was a single-inning relief outing. The next time out, he tossed five innings of long relief. Grayson Rodriguez, who began the season on the IL due to shoulder inflammation, has made two rehab appearances recently. The first was five innings and the second 4 2/3. He may be quickly reinstated at the big league level for his next appearance.
Those all feel like fairly hasty rehab assignments and activations. If a club were breaking convention and had a strong reputation for being on the cutting edge of analytics, that would be intriguing. The Angels have the opposite reputation, so it feels like they’re just winging things. Considering Manoah and Rodriguez both have extensive injury histories, that doesn’t seem like a prudent approach. The Halos haven’t been good for a while and currently have the worst record in baseball at 16-28, so perhaps they are trying to do anything they can to stop the bleeding.
Yusei Kikuchi is currently on the injured list and will be shut down for a few more weeks. José Soriano is firmly entrenched at the front of the rotation. Reid Detmers, Jack Kochanowicz and Walbert Ureña should have spots behind Soriano for now. Perhaps some combination of Manoah, Rodriguez and Johnson will cover the final spot.
Turning to the position player group, a separate column from Fletcher notes that Vaughn Grissom has been getting some work in left field, with Oswald Peraza to soon join him. Both infielders are hitting well while outfielder Josh Lowe has been struggling. Lowe has a .160/.211/.283 line on the season so far. Some of that is due to a .188 batting average on balls in play but his 5.2% walk rate and 29.6% strikeout rate are also below league average and his own career stats.
Grissom is currently sporting a .264/.353/.431 line while Peraza has a .279/.344/.477 slash. The Angels have Zach Neto at shortstop most days, with Yoán Moncada at third and Nolan Schanuel at first. That leaves Grissom and Peraza battling for playing time at second base, in addition to occasionally spelling the other infielders. Neither player has any professional outfield experience, apart from some brief winter ball action for Grissom. If one or both of them can take to left field, it could provide Suzuki some extra flexibility in setting his ideal lineup.
Photo courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski, Imagn Images
Marlins Place Robby Snelling On IL With UCL Sprain
The Marlins announced that left-hander Robby Snelling has been placed on the 15-day injured list with a sprain of the ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow. Right-hander Pete Fairbanks has been reinstated from the IL in a corresponding move. Snelling had been scheduled to start Thursday’s game. Lefty Braxton Garrett will be recalled to start for the Fish on Thursday.
It’s brutal timing for Snelling and the Marlins. The lefty is one of the top pitching prospects in the league. He started the season in the minors but the club recently decided to shake up their rotation. Just over a week ago, Chris Paddack was designated for assignment. Snelling then came up to take Paddack’s rotation spot. Snelling made his major league debut on Friday, allowing three earned runs over five innings.
Prior to today, there wasn’t any indication that anything was wrong. Manager Clayton McCullough spoke with reporters, including Marlins broadcaster Kyle Sielaff, and said Snelling experienced some discomfort after throwing a between-starts bullpen session. The skipper confirmed that Garrett, who was scratched from his minor league start, would be called up to take the mound in the majors on Thursday.
McCullough didn’t have any more information about Snelling’s status, apart from the fact that the southpaw would be undergoing more testing. UCL sprains are often precursors to major surgeries, such as Tommy John. That’s not always the case, as some pitchers are able to return without surgery, though even those cases involve months of rehab.
It’s obviously very poor timing. Both Snelling and the Marlins hoped his promotion would be the start of a blossoming major league career. Instead, he’s facing a significant injury and potentially a lengthy absence, though time will tell on the specifics. For Snelling personally, the one silver lining is that this injury occurred after his promotion. That means he’ll collect major league pay and service time while he’s on the IL. That would not have been the case if he were injured while still in the minors.
If Snelling does end up requiring surgery, it could be a bitter development for the club. A lengthy surgery rehab could wipe out most of his 2026 and part of his 2027 as well, which would be a decent chunk of the club’s window of control over the lefty. That could also potentially impact the club’s trade plans this summer or in the coming offseason. The club’s knack for developing pitchers has allowed them to continually trade starters for bats and then replace the arms internally. Subtracting Snelling from their rotation depth chart could make that less likely.
For the short term, they will turn to Garrett. It’s unclear if this will be a spot start or if Garrett will stick around, as Marlins could also turn to another prospect in Thomas White. At least for tomorrow, it will be Garrett.
Garrett already has some major league experience under his belt, though it’s been a while. His best season was 2023, when he tossed 159 2/3 innings with a 3.66 earned run average, 23.7% strikeout rate, 4.4% walk rate and 49.1% ground ball rate. Shoulder and forearm injuries limited him to just seven starts in 2024, then UCL surgery wiped out his 2025 campaign entirely.
He has been healthy here in 2026 but the Marlins have been cautious with him. They optioned Garrett to Triple-A Jacksonville at the end of spring training, opting to start the season with Janson Junk in the final rotation spot behind Sandy Alcantara, Eury Pérez, Max Meyer and Paddack.
The Fish have given Garrett a lighter workload, giving him at least six days of rest between each start. He has pitched well with the kid gloves on, tossing 31 1/3 innings over his six outings this year with a 2.30 ERA. His 12.3% walk rate is high but some rust isn’t too surprising after almost two whole missed seasons. He has struck out 26.2% of batters faced while inducing grounders on 53% of balls in play.
The Marlins are one game into a stretch of playing 16 days in a row. If the plan is to keep Garrett in the majors, he’ll need to pitch on a more traditional five-man rotation, unless they try to get creative. They could go for a six-man rotation, deploy some bullpen games or have some other guys make spot starts.
If this isn’t just a one-and-done for Garrett, it will be notable for him from a career perspective. He came into 2026 with his service time count at three years and 168 days, which is just four days shy of the four-year mark. If he had spent all of 2026 on optional assignment, his path to free agency would have been delayed, but even a very brief stint in the majors will keep him on track for free agency after 2028.
As mentioned, it’s possible the Marlins consider involving White in some way. Snelling perhaps got the call first because he’s a bit older and has more Triple-A experience, and because White had been slowed by an oblique strain in spring training, but prospect evaluators rank White ahead of Snelling in terms of his potential future impact. White has recovered from that oblique issue and has been in the Triple-A rotation of late. It’s unclear if he’ll be called up in the immediate future but Snelling’s injury surely increases the odds of him getting the call at some point this year.
Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images
Max Fried Departs Game With Elbow Soreness
3:20pm: Fried spoke with reporters, including Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, after the game. He said he thinks it’ll be a short-term issue and that he is hoping to make his next start.
2:00pm: The Yankees removed starter Max Fried from today’s game after just three innings. It was later announced that he was lifted due to left elbow posterior soreness. He will undergo imaging tomorrow. Chris Kirschner of The Athletic was among those to relay the news.
At this point, it’s too early to know if this is simply a precautionary move or if this will ultimately prove to be a serious issue. Fried does have some elbow issues on his track record, as most pitchers do these days. He had Tommy John surgery way back in 2014, when he was a minor leaguer. In 2023, a forearm strain caused him to miss about three months of the season. In 2024, he had a much briefer IL stint related to his arm, as forearm neuritis put him on the shelf for about two weeks.
It was after that 2024 season that he became a free agent and signed with the Yankees on a huge eight-year, $218MM deal, the largest guarantee ever given to a left-handed pitcher. The deal has been working out great so far. In 2025, the Yankees lost Gerrit Cole to Tommy John surgery but Fried stepped up as the ace. The southpaw made 32 starts last year with a 2.86 earned run average. He finished fourth in Cy Young voting behind Tarik Skubal, Garrett Crochet and Hunter Brown.
Here in 2026, the Yanks are still waiting for Cole to return. They also began the campaign without Carlos Rodón, who underwent surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow last fall. The Yanks have started the year strong with a 27-16 record. Coming into today, their 3.07 rotation ERA was just a hair behind Atlanta’s 3.06 for best in the majors. Fried has certainly done his part, with a 2.91 ERA coming into today’s game.
The rotation has done so well that the Yankees seemed to be trending towards some tough decisions. Rodón came off the IL a few days ago. Making room for Rodón was fairly easy since Luis Gil had struggled enough to get optioned down to Triple-A. But Cole is also trending towards a return. Between Fried, Rodón, Cam Schlittler, Ryan Weathers and Will Warren, the Yanks had a full rotation.
Rodón hasn’t really had a chance to put up any numbers yet this year but has a strong track record. The other four have all been throwing the ball well, with no one in the group having an ERA above 3.42. Weathers, Warren and Schlittler have options but it would be tough to tell one of them to head down to the farm when they’re pitching so well. Going to the bullpen would arguably be more palatable but still a bit awkward. If Fried ends up needing some time on the IL, the decision would become quite easy, as Cole could just step into Fried’s spot.
That probably wouldn’t happen right away. Cole made his most recent rehab appearance on May 10th and got to five innings pitched but the Yankees have said they expect him to make one or two more rehab appearances after that. Perhaps Fried hitting the IL would make them expedite the process but they probably don’t want to rush anything with a pitcher as important as Cole.
If Fried needs an IL stint and if Cole stays on his rehab for a bit longer, the Yanks will have to figure out a short-term rotation plan. They are off tomorrow but then play 13 days in a row after that. Recalling Gil won’t be an option because he was just shut down in the minors with some shoulder inflammation and won’t throw for three weeks. Elmer Rodríguez and Brendan Beck are on the 40-man and could be recalled. Paul Blackburn and Ryan Yarbrough have starting experience and each pitched multiple innings of relief after Fried departed today, so they could perhaps be part of some kind of patchwork solution.
For the Yanks, the greater concern will be the long term. In an ideal world, they would probably have Cole, Fried, Rodón and Schlittler lined up as an excellent rotation for a playoff series. Hopefully, Fried’s issue proves minor and he can come back in time to make that a reality. Any alternative outcome would be a blow to the club’s season.
Photo courtesy of Mitch Stringer, Imagn Images
Phillies Sign Dylan Carlson To Minor League Deal
The Phillies have signed outfielder Dylan Carlson to a minor league deal, reports Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia. The ALIGND Sports Agency client will report to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He was with the Cubs on a minor league deal earlier this month but was released from that pact.
Carlson, 27, signed a minor league deal with the Cubs in January. He cracked the Opening Day roster while Seiya Suzuki was on the injured list. Carlson didn’t get a hit in four plate appearances then was designated for assignment when Suzuki was activated off the IL in April. Carlson cleared waivers and elected free agency, then re-signed on a new minor league deal. He hit .175/.250/.350 in 44 Triple-A plate appearances before being released.
Once upon a time, Carlson looked like a potential building block for the Cardinals. He was selected 33rd overall in 2016 and became a notable prospect. He hit 18 home runs in 2021 while playing all three outfield positions. Unfortunately, his offensive production has tailed off and he has become a journeyman depth guy. Dating back to the start of 2024, he has played for the Cardinals, Rays, Orioles and Cubs while hitting .204/.280/.303.
For the Phillies, there’s little harm in adding some depth on a minor league deal. They have Brandon Marsh, Justin Crawford and Adolis García getting regular playing time in the majors. They have Edmundo Sosa and Félix Reyes on the bench, though those two have spent more time as infielders than outfielders. Johan Rojas would have been in the mix but he received an 80-game PED suspension back in March.
If someone on the major league roster suffers an injury, the Phils could turn to Carlson, though they will have other options. Steward Berroa and Gabriel Rincones Jr. are on the 40-man roster, as are infield/outfield guys like Otto Kemp and Christian Cairo. The Phils also have non-roster options like Bryan De La Cruz and Pedro León. For now, Carlson will report to the IronPigs and try to get in a good groove.
Photo courtesy of David Richard, Imagn Images
Yankees Place José Caballero On IL, Recall Anthony Volpe
3:55pm: The Yankees have now officially announced the moves, listing Caballero’s injury as a right middle finger fracture. Manager Aaron Boone tells reporters, including Chris Kirschner of The Athletic, that Caballero could be back after a minimum stint and that he expects Caballero to be the club’s starting shortstop at that time.
2:35pm: The Yankees are placing infielder José Caballero on the ten-day injured list with a finger injury. Shortstop Anthony Volpe will be recalled as the corresponding move. Francys Romero of BeisbolFR first reported on Volpe’s recall. Jorge Castillo of ESPN confirmed that Caballero would be placed on the IL.
Though Max Schuemann is the starting shortstop today, Volpe will presumably take over as the club’s regular at that spot with Caballero on the shelf. That was the way things were supposed to play out earlier this year. Volpe was the Yankee shortstop from 2023 through 2025. Volpe required shoulder surgery in October of last year and was going to begin the 2026 season on the IL. The Yankees planned to have Caballero, who had mostly been a utility player, hold down the position until Volpe was healthy.
But the plans seemed to change as Caballero played well and Volpe didn’t storm out of the gates after getting back on the field. Caballero has produced a .259/.320/.400 line this year, good enough for a 105 wRC+. He has also received strong grades for his defense and stolen 13 bases.
The Yanks decided to ride the hot hand and stick with Caballero. Volpe had begun a rehab assignment in mid-April. Rehab assignments for position players come with a 20-day maximum. When Volpe’s 20 days were up a little over a week ago, the Yanks optioned him to Triple-A for more reps. Caballero hurt his finger sliding into a base this week. It’s unclear how much time he is expected to miss but it will lead to Volpe getting back to the majors.
Perhaps it will be a chance for Volpe to re-cement himself as the club’s shortstop, something that has become a bit more cloudy lately. He made the club’s Opening Day roster in 2023 just before his 22nd birthday. He hit 21 home runs, stole 24 bases and got good grades for his defense. Despite the home runs, his overall offense was subpar. He slashed .209/.283/.383 for a wRC+ of 83. But that was held back by a .259 batting average on balls in play. Given his youth and poor luck, it was fair to expect growth.
That hasn’t played out, unfortunately. Volpe slashed .229/.283/.377 over 2024 and 2025, translating to a wRC+ of 85. In 18 minor league games this year, he has a .221/.276/.294 line and 52 wRC+. After undergoing shoulder surgery, a bit of rust is perhaps not surprising but it’s continuing a trend of subpar offense.
The Yankees are 26-16 while most American League clubs are below .500, so they should be fine even if Volpe struggles in the next few weeks. There may be long-term implications, however. George Lombard Jr. is one of the club’s top prospects and has reached Triple-A, so he could be pushing for a big league promotion at some point. There’s also the fact that second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. is an impending free agent.
With a few things up in the air when it comes to the middle infield, the Yankees will eventually have to make some decisions about the way forward. Volpe has a full slate of options and could be sent back down in the future but the Yankees would also like it if he performs well enough to stick around.
For Volpe’s earning power, the quick recall is potentially significant. He came into this year with exactly three years of big league service time. He continued racking up service days while on the IL but that clock stopped when he was optioned. It will now start ticking again.
The big league season is 187 days long but a player only needs 172 days of service to be credited with a full year. Since Volpe was only optioned on May 3rd, nine days ago, he could still get to the four-year mark if he stays up for the rest of the year. Though if he’s optioned again and ends up short of that four-year line, his path to free agency will be delayed by a year.
Photo courtesy of Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images
Sean Murphy To Miss Eight Weeks With Finger Fracture
3:35pm: Murphy will miss at least eight weeks due to his fracture, Weiss tells Jesús Cano of The Athletic.
12:08pm: The Braves announced that catcher Sean Murphy has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to May 11th, with a fractured left middle finger. Fellow catcher Sandy León was signed to a big league deal to replace Murphy on the roster. The club also selected the contract of outfielder José Azócar and optioned infielder Jim Jarvis. They had two 40-man vacancies, which have now been filled by these moves.
Murphy’s injury appears to stem from a catcher’s interference plan in Sunday’s game. Hyeseong Kim swung at a pitch and made contact with Murphy’s glove, as seen in this video from MLB.com. After the game, manager Walt Weiss told Mark Bowman of MLB.com that Murphy would be going for X-rays but would probably be fine. It now seems that a fracture has been discovered, so Murphy will head to the IL.
It’s unclear how long Murphy will be out of action but it’s a frustrating setback nonetheless. Injuries have been a recurring theme for him in recent seasons. He was limited to fewer than 95 games in both 2024 and 2025 due to various ailments. One persistent issue has been hip problems, which eventually led to surgery in September of last year. He was rehabbing from that surgery until about a week ago. Now after just four games, he’s back on the shelf.
While Murphy was on the IL earlier, Atlanta used a catching tandem of Drake Baldwin and Jonah Heim. When Murphy was reinstated earlier this month, Heim was designated for assignment and then traded to the Athletics. Atlanta still has Baldwin but now has no Heim and will be without Murphy for a while, so they had to get a bit creative in finding a new backup.
León, 37, is a glove-first veteran journeyman. He began this year with Triple-A Gwinnett but slashed .118/.268/.118 in ten games and was released. He then signed with the Saraperos de Saltillo in the Mexican League. He got into ten games for that club, hitting .143/.273/.143, before Atlanta came calling again.
It’s not likely that León will provide much with the bat. He has a career line of .207/.275/.311. From 2017 to the present, it’s an even slimmer .187/.256/.289 line. But he has nonetheless been able to carve out a lengthy career due to his strong reputation when it comes to the other facets of being a catcher, namely his defense.
He’ll back up Baldwin while Murphy is on the shelf. The club also has Jair Camargo and Chadwick Tromp in the system on minor league deals. They may keep their eyes out for external options. For instance, Austin Wynns was designated for assignment by the A’s last week and is still in DFA limbo.
Azócar, 30, was added to the roster for a few days earlier this month. Atlanta bumped him off when they called up Jarvis about a week ago. Azócar cleared waivers but quickly returned to the club on a new minor league deal and is now back on the big league roster. Since Jarvis is being sent out, it’s effectively a reversal of the transaction from last week.
Presumably, that quick change is due to developments elsewhere in the position player mix. Yesterday, the club reinstated infielder Ha-Seong Kim from the IL. In a corresponding move, outfielder Eli White hit the concussion IL. Kim’s return meant that they effectively had three bench infielders in Jorge Mateo, Kyle Farmer and Jarvis. Meanwhile, White’s IL placement left them shorthanded in the outfield.
Azócar has only hit .243/.288/.318 in his career but is a strong defender and baserunner. With Ronald Acuña Jr. on the IL, Atlanta should have a regular outfield of Mike Yastrzemski, Michael Harris II and Mauricio Dubón, with Azócar backing up that group. Azócar is out of options, which could potentially lead to him being designated for assignment again when guys come off the IL.
Photo courtesy of Kirby Lee, Imagn Images
MLB, MLBPA Begin CBA Negotiations
Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association held their first official collective bargaining meeting of 2026 in New York City today, per reporting from Jeff Passan of ESPN and Evan Drellich of The Athletic.
At this point, there’s not much in terms of news. Both reporters note that today’s meeting was mostly about the two sides presenting basic overviews of their positions. Formal proposals will come in future meetings. The current collective bargaining agreement expires on December 1st. It’s not unusual to begin talks about this far out. As noted by Drellich, they are actually starting a little later than last time. In 2021, opening presentations were made in April.
This round of negotiations is going to be closely monitored, both due to the way the last round went and because of how things have transpired since then. The previous CBA expired without a deal on December 1st of 2021 and the league immediately instituted a lockout, the first MLB work stoppage since the 1994-95 strike. The lockout included a transaction freeze and lasted until March 10th, going about as long as it could have gone while still playing a full 162-game season in 2022.
Over the past few years, the economics of the game have featured a number of contradictions. Perhaps due to the pitch clock speeding up games or due to the rise of international stars like Shohei Ohtani, the sport’s popularly is on the upswing. The league regularly issues press releases about increased ratings and attendance figures. A notable statistic was that Game Seven of the 2025 World Series was the most-watched MLB game since 1991. The final games of the 2026 World Baseball Classic had comparable ratings to the most recent NBA Finals.
But at the same time, many claim that not all clubs are benefitting to the same degree. The collapse of the cable television model has hit some clubs harder than others. Many don’t have a regional sports network at all, with the league handling broadcast distribution for those teams. Other clubs, particularly those in larger markets, seem to still be raking in TV money. Though there is a revenue sharing system in place, there is clearly a massive imbalance in terms of spending. RosterResource calculates the Dodgers’ payroll at just under $400MM. They are on track to pay a tax bill of about $150MM, putting them in line to spend about $550MM on this year’s team. That’s more than the six lowest-payroll clubs combined.
The league is expected to push for a salary cap and floor system. They have made such attempts before, most notably in 1994. That led to the aforementioned strike and the cancelation of that year’s World Series, without a cap being implemented.
The union has long been against a cap since it would negatively impact players’ earning power. The MLBPA continues to have that stance even though they recently had a change in leadership. Tony Clark was the executive director until he stepped down in February, in relation to various scandals. Deputy director Bruce Meyer was voted interim executive director shortly thereafter.
Finding consensus will be a challenge, given that owners and players will have opposing ideas about the best solutions for the game’s current situation. Even among owners, priorities may be different. Smaller clubs may like the idea of a cap but would simultaneously be worried about meeting a high floor. In either case, those small clubs would likely suggest greater revenue sharing is necessary, something the bigger clubs wouldn’t be as excited about.
Most in the industry expect a rough battle. The last lockout went to the brink and it’s possible a similar staredown occurs this time. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has spoken about his positive view of lockouts. That prompted Clark, when he was still leading the union, to say he expected another lockout after 2026. Assuming a lockout does take place in December, the major question will be if it is once again resolved in time or if it drags on long enough to lose games in 2027.
For those looking for positive signs, there are some to be found. As mentioned, the game is on the upswing in terms of popularity. Though the league wants a cap, they may not want to push so hard that they have to cancel games next year. Such an outcome would certainly cut into the positive momentum with fans. It would be a poor time to take such a hit since most of the league’s broadcast deals expire after 2028, with Manfred and the league hoping to negotiate lucrative new deals prior to 2029. Manfred is also planning to step down when his contract expires in January of 2029, when he will be 70 years old, and may want to go out with a record of no canceled games.
The exact timeline of what happens after today is not clear. Drellich points out that, in 2021, the union made its first economic proposals in May. The league followed in August. Drellich says talks are expected to continue through the upcoming summer, though no specifics are publicly available at this time.
Photo courtesy of Kirby Lee, Imagn Images
Orioles Select Josh Walker
The Orioles announced that they have selected left-hander Josh Walker to their roster. Right-hander Trey Gibson was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk in a corresponding active roster move. To open a 40-man spot, outfielder Heston Kjerstad was transferred to the 60-day injured list.
Walker, 31, has generally put up good numbers in the minors but has struggled in limited big league opportunities. He finished last season on Baltimore’s roster after they claimed him off waivers in August. They then signed him to a major league deal for 2026 and designated him for assignment a few days later. That may seem like a strange sequence but the O’s were presumably hoping that the salary, which has not been publicly reported, was enough to get him through waivers to be stashed as non-roster depth. This didn’t immediately pay off, as Atlanta claimed him in November. Baltimore was able to claim him back in December and then finally outrighted him in January.
He has tossed 14 1/3 innings for Norfolk this year, allowing 4.40 earned runs per nine. That ERA doesn’t jump off the page but he has perhaps deserved better. His 8.9% walk rate is around average while his 28.6% strikeout rate and 51.5% ground ball rate are both comfortably better than par. His 61.6% strand rate in that small sample is on the unfortunate side, which may have pushed some extra runs across, which is why his 3.48 FIP is roughly a run better than his ERA.
As mentioned, Walker has often done well in the minors without major league success. He has a 6.59 ERA in 27 1/3 big league innings. But dating back to the start of 2022, he has thrown 146 minor league innings with a 3.95 ERA. His 11.4% walk rate in that sample is high but he paired that with a 30.3% strikeout rate. He will now give the Orioles a fourth lefty in their bullpen alongside Keegan Akin, Dietrich Enns and Grant Wolfram. Walker still has one option remaining and can be easily sent back to Norfolk in the future.
Kjerstad has been on the 10-day IL all season due to a right hamstring strain. His 60-day count is retroactive to that initial IL placement, so he’ll be eligible for reinstatement in a few weeks. He began a rehab assignment on Saturday. Rehab assignment for position players can last 20 days, so the length of that rehab assignment roughly aligns with his IL timeline. If he is able to come off the IL later this month, he still has an option and could be bound for more time in the minors.
Photo courtesy of Morgan Tencza, Imagn Images