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Cubs Outright Tyson Miller

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Right-hander Tyson Miller has been outrighted by the Cubs to Triple-A Iowa, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week. He has the right to elect free agency, though it’s not yet clear if he will exercise that right.

It’s a bit of a surprise to see no one take a flier on Miller as he’s coming off a strong season. He logged 62 innings for the Mariners and Cubs last year, allowing just 2.32 earned runs per nine. His 23% strikeout rate was around league average for a reliever while he only gave out walks to 4.7% of batters faced.

He hasn’t yet had a chance to build on that showing here in 2025. He went to Japan with the Cubs for the Tokyo Series but didn’t pitch in the official big league games. He landed on the injured list due to a left hip impingement prior to domestic Opening Day. He had been rehabbing in recent weeks, with a 2.77 ERA in 13 Triple-A innings, but the Cubs didn’t want to plug him back onto the active roster. Since he’s out of options, that meant bumping him from the 40-man.

It’s possible that major league clubs don’t have much faith in Miller being able to replicate last year’s results. There was likely some luck in his numbers, as his .203 batting average on balls in play and 81.9% strand rate were both to the fortunate side. He also averaged less than 90 miles per hour on both of his fastballs last year, a level where it’s tough to succeed in the modern game.

During his recent rehab outings, though his 2.77 ERA was good, his 19% strikeout rate and 15.5% walk rate were both subpar figures. He managed to keep runs off the board by not allowing any home runs, a feat that would not be sustainable over a larger sample.

It now seems that Miller is destined for more minor league work, since no club is currently willing to give him a big league job. That could be for Iowa if he accepts his assignment or he could head to free agency and look for opportunities elsewhere.

Photo courtesy of Darren Yamashita, Imagn Images

Mets To Place Kodai Senga On IL With Hamstring Strain

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5:40pm: Will Sammon of The Athletic reports that reliever Max Kranick will be recalled to take Senga’s roster spot.

3:05pm: Mets right-hander Kodai Senga has a strained hamstring and will go on the 15-day injured list. Manager Carlos Mendoza informed reporters, including Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, after today’s game. Further details about the severity of the injury and his absence won’t be known until he undergoes an MRI tomorrow. It’s also not yet clear what other moves will be made in conjunction with this IL placement.

Senga’s injury was obvious during today’s game, with video relayed by SNY. He started the contest and was pitching a gem, with no runs allowed as he pitched into the sixth inning. During that sixth frame, CJ Abrams hit a grounder between second and first, which was corralled by first baseman Pete Alonso. Senga ran to cover first and leaped to receive the throw from Alonso. While he made the catch and recorded the out, he then collapsed on the ground in obvious pain, clutching at his right leg. Senga told Alonso he felt a pull in his leg before leaping for the ball, per DiComo.

Regardless of whether the leap had anything to do with it, the larger point is that it’s a blow for the Mets. Senga has been a dominant pitcher throughout his entire big league career, with a 2.59 earned run average in 239 2/3 innings. However, injuries have played a role in the volume of his contributions. Last year, a shoulder strain and a calf strain limited him to just one regular season start. He did get healthy enough to pitch in the postseason, adding another five innings there.

He’s been healthy to this point in 2025, having made 13 starts with a 1.47 ERA. Now, however, he’s facing another injury absence. As mentioned, the full details of the strain and the timeline won’t be known until tomorrow.

The injury is the latest example of how anything resembling a pitching surplus is a temporary condition in the modern game. Just a few minutes before Senga collapsed on the field, Joel Sherman of The New York Post reported that the Mets were getting calls on righty Paul Blackburn due to their seeming abundance of starting pitching options.

If the Mets had any interest in trading from their rotation, that desire has presumably gone done in the wake of this injury. Without Senga, the rotation now consists of Clay Holmes, David Peterson, Tylor Megill and Griffin Canning. Blackburn has been in the mix since coming off the IL, having made one start and one long relief appearance. Presumably, Blackburn can slide into a more proper rotation role while Senga is on the shelf.

That won’t fully settle things, as both Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea are both currently on rehab assignments and could be back in the next week or two. That will give the Mets seven starters for five rotation spots. If Senga’s injury is mild and he makes a quick return, they have eight guys. Just as Senga’s injury popped up out of nowhere, other guys could drop off in the coming weeks, but it’s also possible some the club has to make some tough decisions.

Of those eight guys, Senga, Peterson and Megill are the only ones who can be optioned to the minors. Senga is too good to send down to the farm. That’s likely true of Peterson as well, who has a 2.49 ERA this year. Megill is perhaps a bit more likely to be squeezed out but even his 3.76 ERA is quite good.

Time will tell how all the pieces fit. For now, the Mets will have to proceed without their ace. They have a number of quality options to soften the blow but it’s still a notable development for the coming weeks.

Photo courtesy of Brad Penner, Imagn Images

Emmanuel Rivera Accepts Outright Assignment With Orioles

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The Orioles announced that infielder Emmanuel Rivera, who they designated for assignment earlier this week, has cleared outright waivers and accepted an assignment to Triple-A Norfolk. He’ll stay in the organization and provide them with some non-roster depth.

This was the expected outcome once Rivera was bumped off the 40-man roster. Players with at least three years of major league service time have the right to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency. However, if they have less than five years of service, they have to forfeit their remaining salary to exercise that right.

Rivera has a bit more than three years of service. He and the O’s avoided arbitration in the offseason by agreeing to a $1MM salary. They passed him through waivers in February. He could have elected free agency at that time but made the obvious choice to accept, as it kept that $1MM salary on the table for this year.

He got his roster spot back in April when Jordan Westburg landed on the injured list. Rivera got 76 plate appearances, hitting .232/.303/.275 for a wRC+ of 70. Westburg returned from the IL a couple of days ago. Since Rivera is out of options, he was bumped off the 40-man. Similar to his last outright, it’s logical for him to accept the assignment to keep his salary flowing.

He’ll give the O’s a bit of experienced non-roster infield depth. In his career, he has hit .243/.306/.363 for a wRC+ of 86. However, his grades for his third base defense have been strong. Thanks mostly to that glovework, FanGraphs has credited him with 1.9 wins above replacement in 367 games.

The O’s are having a disappointing season, with a 27-39 record that leaves them eight games out of a playoff spot at the moment. Unless they charge ahead in the coming weeks, they will go into the deadline as sellers. Players like Ryan O’Hearn, Ramón Urías, Ryan Mountcastle and others may end up on the move, which could open some late-season playing time for Rivera. Even without trades, another injury situation could pop up at any time.

If he’s not added back before the end of the year, he would be able to elect free agency, as is the case for all players with at least three years of service who are outright off a 40-man roster during the season.

Photo courtesy of Kirby Lee, Imagn Images

Yankees Release Brandon Leibrandt To Sign In CPBL

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The Yankees announced that they have released left-hander Brandon Leibrandt to sign with the CTBC Brothers of Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League. That move was previously reported by CPBL Stats.

Leibrandt, 32, signed a minor league deal with the Yankees in the offseason. He logged 41 Triple-A innings over nine starts and one long relief outing, allowing 2.85 earned runs per nine. He probably got a bit of help from his .245 batting average on balls in play and 87.8% strand rate, but his 22.7% strikeout rate and 8.6% walk rate were both solid figures while his 50.5% ground ball rate was quite strong.

Despite that cromulent performance, his path to big league playing time in the Bronx was steep. Despite several injuries, the Yankee rotation is in decent shape. They have Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, Clarke Schmidt, Will Warren and Ryan Yarbrough. They could get Marcus Stroman and JT Brubaker back soon, as both are on rehab assignments. Luis Gil is tossing bullpens and could be on his own rehab assignment in the coming weeks.

Leibrandt was therefore likely to be stuck in the minors but will head overseas instead. Presumably, he’ll be getting a bit of a pay bump while being able to explore the other side of the globe. It’s also possible that he could be exposed to scouts from other Asian leagues and earn himself future opportunities if he performs well. His major league track record currently consists of 15 1/3 innings with a 5.28 ERA.

Photo courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck, Imagn Images

Anthony DeSclafani Opts Out Of Deal With Yankees, Will Sign With Diamondbacks

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Right-hander Anthony DeSclafani has opted out of his minor league deal with the Yankees and is joining the Diamondbacks, reports Joel Sherman of The New York Post. It’s unclear if he’ll be signing a major or minor league deal with Arizona.

DeSclafani, 35, signed a minor league deal with the Yankees about a month ago. He has since made five starts at the Triple-A level, allowing 4.50 earned runs per nine in his 20 innings. He struck out 22.2% of batters faced while giving out walks at a 10% clip and getting grounders on 42.4% of balls in play. All those rates are fairly close to typical big league averages.

It’s a small sample of work but DeSclafani has a lengthy major league track record. The larger question in recent years has been health, or the lack thereof. From 2015 to 2021, he posted a 3.97 ERA over 791 major league innings. That was enough to get him a three-year, $36MM deal from the Giants going into 2022.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to provide much return on that investment. Right ankle inflammation hobbled him throughout 2022, limiting him to five starts with a 6.63 ERA. In 2023, he logged 99 2/3 innings with a 4.88 ERA but didn’t pitch after July due to a right elbow flexor strain. He was traded to the Mariners and then the Twins ahead of the 2024 season but required season-ending flexor tendon surgery in March.

DeSclafani is now almost two years removed from his most recent major league game but appears to be healthy now. He has averaged 92.5 miles per hour on his fastball so far this year. That’s a bit down from a few years ago, as he averaged between 93 and 95 mph during his best years, but he might still be ramping up after a lengthy layoff.

Unsurprisingly, the Yankees didn’t have a fit for him at the big league level. Despite several injuries, their rotation is in decent shape. They have Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, Clarke Schmidt, Will Warren and Ryan Yarbrough. They could get Marcus Stroman and JT Brubaker back soon, as both are on rehab assignments. Luis Gil is tossing bullpens and could be on his own rehab assignment in the coming weeks.

The Diamondbacks have a shakier rotation. They recently lost Corbin Burnes to Tommy John surgery. Jordan Montgomery has been out all year due to that same procedure. That leaves them with Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Brandon Pfaadt, Eduardo Rodríguez and Ryne Nelson. Kelly has been good but he’s the exception. Each of Gallen, Pfaadt and Rodríguez has an ERA north of 5.00. Rodríguez also just returned from an IL stint for shoulder inflammation. Nelson’s ERA is at 4.60 but he’s largely been in a long relief role this year. He just returned to the rotation in the wake of the Burnes injury but allowed seven runs in three innings against the Reds on Saturday. Potential replacements like Cristian Mena and Blake Walston are also on the shelf.

In short, DeSclafani has a far better chance to returning to the big leagues with the Snakes than with the Yanks, so this is a sensible move for him. If he is jumping right into the big leagues, the Diamondbacks would need to make corresponding moves to get him onto the active and 40-man rosters. If it’s a minor league deal, he’ll presumably report to Triple-A Reno to continue ramping up there.

Photo courtesy of D. Ross Cameron, Imagn Images.

Tigers Select Matt Gage

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The Tigers announced that they have selected left-hander Matt Gage to their roster. In a corresponding active roster move, right-hander Beau Brieske has been optioned to Triple-A Toledo. To open a 40-man spot, righty Jackson Jobe has been transferred to the 60-day injured list. It was reported yesterday that Jobe will require Tommy John surgery.

Gage, 32, signed a minor league deal with the Tigers in the offseason. He has been pitching for Toledo so far this year with good results. He has logged 32 1/3 innings over 23 appearances, having allowed 1.67 earned runs per nine. His 22.8% strikeout rate and 42.9% ground ball rate are both around average while his 3.3% walk rate is excellent.

That performance will get him back up to the big leagues for the first time in a couple of years. He logged 19 2/3 innings with the Blue Jays and Astros in 2022 and 2023, posting a 1.83 ERA. But his 2024 saw him in plenty of transactions without getting into a big league game. The Astros put him on waivers in January. The Yankees claimed him but then flipped him to the Dodgers in February. The Dodgers released him but then re-signed him to a minor league deal. He triggered an opt-out clause and was added back to the 40-man roster but then flipped to the Mets. The Mets briefly recalled him to the majors but didn’t put him into a game.

Around all those transactions, he tossed 41 2/3 innings in the minors with a 4.10 ERA. The Mets outrighted him off their roster in November, which allowed him to elect free agency and sign with the Tigers. His major league track record is fairly limited but he has usually been good in the minors. From 2021 to the present, he has a 3.43 ERA, 26.6% strikeout rate and 9% walk rate in 199 1/3 innings on the farm.

The Tigers will give him a shot at facing big league hitters again but he is out of options, so his hold on a roster spot may be tenuous. For now, he’ll give the Tigers a third lefty in the bullpen alongside Tyler Holton and Brant Hurter.

Photo courtesy of Junfu Han, Imagn Images

Cardinals Designate Ryan Vilade For Assignment, Select Andre Granillo

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The Cardinals announced that they have selected right-hander Andre Granillo to their roster and also recalled outfielder Michael Siani. In corresponding moves, they have optioned righty Chris Roycroft and designated outfielder Ryan Vilade for assignment.

Granillo, 25, was selected by the Cardinals in the 14th round of the 2021 draft. Exclusively a reliever, he has climbed the minor league ladder while posting good strikeout numbers and also giving out a high number of walks. He has 233 1/3 minor league innings under his belt to this point, having allowed 3.74 earned runs per nine innings. He has punched out 32.2% of batters faced in that time while also giving out free passes at a 12.7% clip.

It seems he has taken a big step forward in terms of his control this year. He has thrown 29 2/3 innings over 18 appearances with a 1.82 ERA. He has only walked 6.9% of batters faced while still getting punchies at a huge rate of 39.7%. In May of last year, FanGraphs ranked Granillo as the #21 prospect in the system. That report gave the highest praise for his slider, though it also mentioned his changeup and his mid-90s fastball.

With Granillo seemingly taking a big step forward at Triple-A, the Cards will give him a chance to face major league hitters. But that required a 40-man spot, so Vilade will get bumped off. Vilade, 26, signed a minor league deal with the Cards in the offseason. He put up a strong .280/.375/.476 line in 48 Triple-A games and was added to the roster a couple of weeks ago when Jordan Walker landed on the IL.

Unfortunately, Vilade hasn’t been able to do much in his limited big league playing time. He has been sent to the plate 15 times and struck out in five of those trips. He drew two walks but recorded just one hit, a single. He now has a .141/.200/.188 slash in his 71 big league plate appearances for his career.

He will now head into DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Cards technically could take five days to explore trade interest. Vilade’s major league numbers aren’t good but in a tiny sample. Dating back to the start of 2024, he has a .279/.355/.457 slash and 114 wRC+ in 156 Triple-A contests. He also stole 25 bases in that time while playing the three non-shortstop infield positions and all three outfield slots. Since he still has an option year, perhaps he could appeal to a club looking for extra position player depth.

Photo courtesy of Jeff Curry, Imagn Images

Brewers Promote Jacob Misiorowski

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June 12: The Brewers announced today that they’ve formally selected Misiorowski’s contract. He’ll start tonight’s game. Righty Easton McGee was optioned to Triple-A in his place, while Woodruff was indeed moved to the 60-day IL to clear a 40-man spot.

June 10: The Brewers are calling up pitching prospect Jacob Misiorowski, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. The righty will start Thursday’s game against the Cardinals. Milwaukee will need to make room for him on the active and 40-man rosters. The latter should be as easy as Brandon Woodruff being transferred to the 60-day injured list since he’s already been out longer than that.

Misiorowski, 23, is one of the top prospects in baseball. The Brewers selected him with a second-round pick in the 2022 draft and signed him with a $2.35MM bonus, more than double the $1.1MM slot value for that pick.

Since then, he has been climbing the ladder with very exciting results. His fastball sits in the high-90s and can get into triple digits. He also has a curveball, slider and a lesser-used changeup. Those pitches have helped him strike out a lot of opponents though control is clearly still a work in progress.

He got a brief professional debut in 2022, making just two Single-A appearances. In 2023, he logged 71 1/3 innings while climbing as high as Double-A. He posted a 3.41 earned run average while punching out 35% of hitters, but he also gave out free passes at a high rate of 13.4%. Last year, he split his time between Double-A and Triple-A, logging 97 1/3 innings. The Brewers moved him to a relief role late in the year as a way of monitoring his workload. He had a 3.33 ERA, 30.5% strikeout rate and 14.4% walk rate.

The numbers have been similar this year. He has logged 63 1/3 Triple-A innings thus far with a 2.13 ERA and 31.6% strikeout rate. His 12.3% walk rate is an improvement for him but still about four ticks above typical major league average, which is 8% for starters this year.

Misiorowski still has some things to work on, particularly the control and the workload, but the arsenal is clearly exciting. Baseball America currently lists him as the #21 prospect in the league. FanGraphs has him at #27. ESPN’s most recent update put him at #30. Baseball Prospectus had him at #65 in the offseason. MLB Pipeline currently has him further down at #68, with a bit more concern that the control issues will eventually push him to the bullpen. Keith of Law of The Athletic had similar concerns when giving Misiorowski the #87 slot coming into the year.

Time will tell if Misiorowski is destined for the bullpen or can stick in the rotation but it’s understandable that the Brewers will keep trying the starting path until they get some clarity. There’s simply far more value in an excellent starting pitcher compared to an excellent reliever. Even if it doesn’t work out, the bullpen path will still be available as a fallback. Even Law, the most bearish of those prospect evaluators, believes Misiorowski has a future as an elite closer.

For now, the Brewers will see if Misiorowski can evolve into a big league starter. The rotation has been constantly shifting for Milwaukee this year, mostly due to injuries. Woodruff was expected to start the season on the injured list, recovering from last year’s shoulder surgery, but his rehab has also hit a few snags. He battled some ankle tendinitis and also suffered an elbow contusion from a comebacker and is still likely a few weeks away. Robert Gasser had Tommy John surgery last summer and is another guy the club knew would be on the IL to start this year.

In addition to Woodruff and Gasser, several other pitchers have missed some time. Nestor Cortes is still on the shelf, having suffered a flexor strain back in April. Tobias Myers missed time due to an oblique strain. Aaron Civale had a hamstring strain, Jose Quintana a shoulder impingement and DL Hall a lat strain.

Around all those transactions, the club has been trying to find various solutions. Quintana was a spring signing. The Brewers traded for Quinn Priester a week into April. Several minor leaguers have been called up. As the club has been spinning those plates, 12 different pitchers have started for the team already this year. Some of those have been openers, but it’s clearly been a bit of a whirlwind.

As of this moment, the rotation consists of Freddy Peralta, Civale, Priester, Quintana and Chad Patrick, with Hall doing some starting but also some long relief work. It’s not totally clear what the club plans to shift with Misiorowski’s promotion. It could simply be a spot start. Perhaps they will go with a six-man rotation for a while. Priester and Patrick both have options and could be sent down, though Patrick’s numbers this year have been far better than Priester’s.

The Brewers are still in the playoff race. Their 35-32 record currently has them just three games back of the final National League Wild Card spot. Regardless of how they perform over the next few weeks, it’s possible to imagine them trading some starting pitching this summer. Woodruff, Quintana, Civale and Cortes are all impending free agents, which would make them logical trade chips. A bolder move would be Peralta, who can be controlled through 2026 via an $8MM club option.

Sending one or more of them out of town would theoretically downgrade this year’s rotation but the Brewers could perhaps provide replacements from within the system while bolstering another part of the roster or simply adding some prospect talent. Hall could be given a more proper rotation gig. Gasser could get back in the mix later in the year. Myers, Logan Henderson and other arms are in Triple-A and could be recalled.

The Brewers don’t have a lot of spending capacity, so this kind of tough balancing act is normal for them. Recent years have seen them trade away guys like Josh Hader and Corbin Burnes while still trying to field a competitive team. Those trades usually see them targeting a mix of MLB-ready talent and prospects or draft picks. Given the number of rotation options they have in the mix now, another move of that nature may be in the cards this summer.

That will be a situation for the next few weeks. For now, one of the most electric arms in the minor leagues is coming up to the show. As a consensus top prospect, Misiorowski is eligible for the prospect promotion incentives. The Brewers can’t earn an extra draft pick based on his performance in awards voting this year because they didn’t call him up early enough. Misiorowski can earn himself a full year of service time if he finishes in the top two in Rookie of the Year voting, though that will be a long shot. The race is still fairly wide open but Misiorowski is getting called up late and is already near his personal high in innings pitched in a season, so it’s possible the club eases off his workload at some point later in the year.

Photo courtesy of Dave Kallmann, Imagn Images

Jackson Jobe To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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Tigers right-hander Jackson Jobe will undergo Tommy John surgery. Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press was among those to relay the news. He’ll miss the remainder of his season and possibly all of 2026 as well. He is already on the 15-day injured list but will be transferred to the 60-day IL whenever the Tigers need to open a roster spot.

The news is obviously brutal for both Jobe and the Tigers. Jobe, third overall pick of the 2021 draft, was one of the top pitching prospects in the league as he climbed the minor league ladder. The Tigers called him up late last year to factor into their postseason run even though he was only 21 years old. He got to make two regular season appearances and then two more in the postseason.

He came into this year as a member of the rotation. He wasn’t exactly dominant, with a 4.22 earned run average, 17.9% strikeout rate and 12.4% walk rate through ten starts. However, that’s a small sample of work and he’s also still quite young.

It’s also possible, in the wake of this news, that he wasn’t fully healthy. His velocity was down in his final start and the Tigers placed him on the 15-day IL a couple of weeks ago with a flexor strain. Now it seems the determination has been made that he’ll need to go under the knife. Tommy John surgery usually requires 14 to 18 months of rehab. Given that window, Jobe will miss the remainder of the year and a return in the second half of 2026 can’t be guaranteed either.

For Jobe, it’s obviously a gut punch for him to lose most of his age-22 season and potentially all of his age-23 campaign. For the Tigers, they are going to lose almost two whole seasons of their six-year window with Jobe.

They will have to proceed without him in their plans for the foreseeable future. Their current rotation consists of Tarik Skubal, Jack Flaherty, Casey Mize, Keider Montero and Sawyer Gipson-Long. They could get Alex Cobb into the mix soon, as he’s currently on a rehab assignment. Reese Olson is out with a finger issue that doesn’t seem terribly serious. Jose Urquidy had Tommy John surgery around this time last year and could be a factor later in the year. Ty Madden has a rotation cuff strain and could also return from the IL later this year.

Most of that group will be in the mix for the 2026 rotation as well. Cobb is the only one fully slated for free agency. Flaherty has a player option for 2026 and could decide to return to the open market. The Tigers have a club option for Urquidy’s services for next year. It’s also possible that the Tigers change this picture via trades ahead of this year’s deadline.

Photo courtesy of Junfu Han, Imagn Images.

MLBTR Podcast: White Sox Ownership, Roman Anthony, And The Diamondbacks’ Rotation

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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…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • Do the Mariners need a left-hander in the rotation? (40:45)
  • What will the Braves do with the rest of the season and would they trade Chris Sale? (45:30)
  • With the Mets seemingly having too many young infielders, who stays and who goes? (53:35)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski, Imagn Images

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

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