Tigers Re-Sign Zack Short To Major League Deal
The Tigers have re-signed infielder Zack Short to a major league deal. They had an open 40-man roster spot due to Short himself being designated for assignment earlier this week. He cleared waivers, elected free agency is now back. Fellow infielder Jace Jung has been optioned in a corresponding active roster move. Jason Beck of MLB.com was among those to pass along the transactions.
It’s been a bit of a musical chairs situation as the Tigers have been juggling injuries to their middle infield. They have been without Trey Sweeney all year due to a shoulder strain. Zach McKinstry hit the IL a few weeks ago due to left hip/abdominal inflammation. Then Javier Báez sprained his ankle a little over a week ago.
That prompted the Tigers to send cash to the Nationals in order to acquire Short. They then added him to their roster. After a couple of games, McKinstry was reinstated from the IL. Since Short is out of options, he was designated for assignment on Tuesday as the corresponding move. But the very next day, the Tigers placed Gleyber Torres on the IL with an oblique strain. Jung was brought up to replace Torres. Now it seems the Tigers prefer to have Short on their bench, with Jung presumably getting regular reps in the minors.
Short, 31 this month, doesn’t hit much but is clearly valued by teams around the league as a solid glove-first depth infielder. His brief appearance with the Tigers this week made this his sixth straight season with at least some big league action. He has stepped to the plate 597 times across those six campaigns and produced a .171/.269/.295 batting line.
Defensively, he has almost 800 innings at shortstop, over 300 at second and third base, plus brief stints in the outfield. Public metrics don’t rank the glovework especially highly but teams must have internal metrics that like him, since he continues to get opportunities.
The Tigers had been splitting shortstop between Báez and Kevin McGonigle, with McGonigle also mixing in at third base. Since Báez has been out, McGonigle has been at short almost every day. At second and third, Detroit will likely rotate between McKinstry, Colt Keith and Hao-Yu Lee, with Short backing up that crew from the bench.
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Dodgers To Reinstate Blake Snell Saturday
The Dodgers are going to reinstate left-hander Blake Snell from the 15-day injured list to start tomorrow’s game, reports Jack Harris of The California Post. He’ll be making his season debut, as he’s been on the IL with shoulder fatigue until now.
It’s a notable change of plans. Snell has been on a rehab assignment of late, getting to four innings his last time out. As of two days ago, the plan was for him to make one more rehab outing this Saturday. Instead, he’s going to be making that start at the big league level.
As noted by Katie Woo of The Athletic, the Dodgers have repeatedly said that they prefer Snell to build up to more than five innings before being reinstated. That they are pivoting from that stance perhaps bodes poorly for right-hander Tyler Glasnow, who departed his most recent start due to a back spasm. At this point, it’s still not confirmed if Glasnow is going on the IL or is perhaps just going to skip a start. One way or another, it seems the Dodgers are changing up the rotation outlook they had in place just a few days ago.
The Dodgers have been using a six-man rotation consisting of Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Emmet Sheehan, Justin Wrobleski and Roki Sasaki. As Snell has been rehabbing of late, it has led to discussions about who should be bumped out when he returns. Glasnow, Ohtani and Yamamoto were obviously not going anywhere.
Sasaki has been struggling, with a 5.97 ERA this year. Sheehan hasn’t been much better, currently sitting on a 5.23 ERA. Wrobleski has a 1.25 ERA but not in any kid of way that feels sustainable. He is only striking out 10.7% of batters faced and is getting assistance from a .222 batting average on balls in play and 86.5% strand rate. All three have options and could have been sent down, or perhaps moved to the bullpen. Perhaps the decision can now be kicked down the road if Glasnow is going to miss some time. The Dodgers will likely provide more info as tonight’s game gets closer.
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Royals Place Cole Ragans On IL With Elbow Impingement
The Royals announced that left-hander Cole Ragans has been placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to May 7th, due to a left elbow impingement. They also optioned righty Eric Cerantola. In corresponding moves, they have recalled right-handers Stephen Kolek and Steven Cruz.
Ragans started for Kansas City on Wednesday and departed after throwing 58 pitches over three innings. After the game, he said that he felt soreness and tightness in the bottom of his triceps and elbow. He has twice undergone Tommy John surgery but said this felt different. Manager Matt Quatraro said that removing Ragans from the game was precautionary and that he could even make his next start.
Last night, Quatraro provided more info, per Anne Rogers of MLB.com. The skipper said that Ragans had been diagnosed with valgus extension overload and that the next steps would be determined by how Ragans felt in the coming days. Less than 24 hours later, it seems the Royals have decided to put Ragans on the shelf for at least a couple of weeks.
Ragans is capable of ace-type results, as he showed in 2024 when he posted a 3.14 earned run average over 32 starts. He hasn’t been quite at that level since then, with injuries seemingly playing a notable role. He only made 13 starts last year, with a 4.67 ERA, missing time due to a groin strain and a rotator cuff strain. He has a 4.84 ERA this year. Perhaps a reset can help him get back on track.
There’s never a good time for a pitcher as talented as Ragans to hit a setback but the timing in this instance works out relatively well. The Royals recently lost Ryan Bergert and Ben Kudrna to season-ending surgeries, subtracting a couple of depth options. Kolek has also been on the IL for most of this year due to an oblique strain but was able to begin a rehab assignment a few weeks ago.
He came off the IL this week and made one start, filling in while Noah Cameron was experiencing some back tightness. Kolek tossed six solid innings and got the W but was promptly optioned to the minors, as the Royals only needed him for a spot start. This injury to Ragans has forced them to quickly reverse course. Normally, a pitcher optioned to the minors has to stay down for 15 days, but an exception is made when someone else goes on the IL.
Presumably, Kolek will step into the rotation spot vacated by Ragans, alongside Cameron, Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha and Kris Bubic. Kolek, acquired from the Padres last year, has a 4.03 ERA in 165 1/3 career innings. He worked as a reliever in 2024 but was stretched out last year to good results, putting up a 3.51 ERA. His 16.7% strikeout rate was subpar but his 6.7% walk rate and 51.4% ground ball rate were both good figures.
He has a six-pitch mix featuring a four-seamer, sinker, slider, cutter, changeup and sweeper. He had a fairly balanced attack last year, using all of those pitches between 26% and 6% of the time. Statcast also classified one pitch as a curveball. He made four starts on his rehab assignment just now, with a 2.76 ERA in those.
While Ragans is out and Kolek is up, the depth is a bit thinner than it was not too long ago. As mentioned, Bergert and Kudrna are both out for the year. Luinder Avila is currently in a long relief role in the bullpen. Mason Black and Mitch Spence are on the 40-man roster but currently on optional assignment in Triple-A.
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Angels Select Omar Martínez
The Angels announced that they have selected the contract of catcher Omar Martínez. He’ll take the active roster spot of fellow backstop Travis d’Arnaud, who has been placed on the 10-day injured list with right foot plantar fasciitis, retroactive to May 7th. The Halos have had an open 40-man roster spot since Nick Sandlin was designated for assignment earlier this week, so Martínez can fill that vacancy without a corresponding move. Movimiento Aguilucho reported on the Martínez promotion prior to the official announcement.
Martínez, 24, was an international signing of the Yankees out of Venezuela back in 2018. Last year, he climbed from High-A to Double-A and then Triple-A, though with declining results as he moved up. He had a .231/.337/.377 line when first promoted, then hit .212/.281/.376 and .200/.307/.280 at the next two stops. He struck out in 42% of his Triple-A plate appearances.
He became a minor league free agent at season’s end and signed with the Halos. He’s been with Triple-A Salt Lake so far this year, having produced a .212/.307/.424 line while striking out at a 34.7% clip.
The crew from Anaheim began the 2026 season with a catching tandem consisting of Logan O’Hoppe and d’Arnaud. They’ve lost both of those backstops in the span of a couple of weeks. O’Hoppe was hit on his wrist by a foul ball on April 25th. He suffered a fracture and was placed on the IL, with the Angels selecting Sebastián Rivero to take his place on the roster. Rivero has a .182/.231/.218 line in his big league career and a .248/.296/.369 slash at the Triple-A level.
It’s a tough spot for the Angels. Just about any club would be challenged by losing their top two catchers, forcing them to rely on two depth options. But the Halos came into the year needing a lot to break right in order for them to compete. They’re not having much luck so far, currently sporting a 15-23 record which has them tied with the Astros for worst in the American League. Almost the entire A.L. is floundering, so the Halos are technically only three games out of a playoff spot, but it’s going to be tough to gain ground with O’Hoppe, d’Arnaud, Yusei Kikuchi, Robert Stephenson and others on the IL.
For Martínez, it’s surely a thrill to get to the big leagues after almost a decade in the minors. He’ll be making his big league debut as soon as he gets into a game. He has a full slate of options and could be sent back down to the minors easily. The Halos will probably be on the lookout for more catching depth, given their current situation. The Athletics designated Austin Wynns for assignment yesterday, so perhaps the Halos will look to trade for him or grab him from waivers. Reese McGuire elected free agency a couple of weeks ago, so that’s another option.
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Guardians Designate Connor Brogdon For Assignment
The Guardians have designated right-hander Connor Brogdon for assignment. That’s the corresponding move for the recall of righty Franco Aleman, a move that was reported earlier. Tim Stebbins of MLB.com was among those to pass along the news of the completed transactions.
The Guardians signed Brogdon, 31, to a major league deal in the offseason. The $900K salary on that deal is barely above the $780K league minimum but it was still a bit of a surprise that Brogdon got a big league deal at all. Injuries had limited him to just three innings in 2024. He was back on the mound in 2025 but posted a 5.55 earned run average in 47 innings for the Angels. The Halos outrighted him off their roster at season’s end.
Cleveland was presumably seeing some signs of optimism under the hood. Brogdon’s fastball velocity ticked up to 95.5 miles per hour last year, a nice rebound after it had dipped to 92.8 mph while he has battling injuries the year prior. It was also possible to see some positive regression with his ERA, since his 24.6% strikeout rate was decent and his 9% walk rate around par. The runs allowed were partially due to the home run ball, which can sometimes be fluky in small samples. A metric like SIERA, for instance, views things that way and gave Brogdon a 3.86 last year.
The bet hasn’t paid off. Brogdon has lost a tick of velo, sitting at 94.5 mph this year. His 4.5% walk rate is nice but he has only struck out 20.9% of batters faced and the home runs are still an issue. Through 15 1/3 innings, he has a 5.28 ERA.
Brogdon is out of options, so the Guards have bumped him into DFA limbo. He can stay there as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so they could take five days to explore trade interest, though they could also put him on the wire sooner than that.
The season began with Brogdon’s service time at four years and 90 days, putting him 82 days shy of the five-year line. He has picked up another 44 days of service so far this year but hasn’t quite made it to five years.
That’s significant because players with three years of service have the right to reject outright assignments and elect free agency. But if they are shy of five years, they have to forfeit their remaining salary commitments in exercising that right. If Brogdon were to clear waivers, he presumably would not want to walk away from the remainder of his $900K salary, so he would likely report to Triple-A Columbus and give the Guardians some non-roster bullpen depth.
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Phillies Outright Dylan Moore
The Phillies announced that infielder/outfielder Dylan Moore has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He was designated for assignment a week ago. He has the right to elect free agency though the Phils didn’t indicate whether or not he will exercise that right.
Moore, 33, signed a minor league deal with the Phils in the offseason. That deal would have paid him $1.85MM if the Phils called him up but Moore triggered an opt-out and then signed a big league pact with a $1.45MM salary. The latter deal had four bonuses worth $100K for 100, 200, 300 and 400 plate appearances, giving him a path to get back to the figure on his first deal.
Ultimately, he didn’t get there. He started the season in a utility role but didn’t get a hit in 15 plate appearances. He did draw three walks but also struck out six times. The Phils cut him loose a week ago when J.T. Realmuto came off the injured list, allowing them to keep Rafael Marchán and Garrett Stubbs in a three-catcher setup with Félix Reyes and Edmundo Sosa in the other bench spots.
Moore is certainly capable of being a solid multi-positional guy. From 2020 to 2024, he hit 43 home runs for the Mariners in 1,397 plate appearances. His batting average was usually low but he made up for that with strong walk rates and some pop. He slashed .206/.319/.383 for a 105 wRC+ in that span while stealing 93 bases and moving all around the diamond, playing everywhere except catcher.
His numbers dipped a bit last year, as he slashed .201/.267/.374 between the Mariners and Rangers. As mentioned, he didn’t get off to a good start this year. As a veteran with at least five years of big league service time, he can elect free agency without forfeiting any of the money on his contract. He could therefore look for other opportunities elsewhere, leaving the Phillies on the hook for the salary.
If someone else signs him, they would only have to pay him the prorated portion of the league minimum for any time spent on the roster. That amount would be subtracted from what the Phillies owe. 29 teams just passed on grabbing him from waivers, but that would have meant taking on the contract and the money owed to Moore. If he elects free agency now, the financial arrangement would be different and could be more enticing for clubs.
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Yankees Promote Spencer Jones, Place Jasson Dominguez On Injured List
May 8: The Yankees have formally announced Jones’ recall and Dominguez’s placement on the 10-day IL. New York also recalled righty Kervin Castro from Triple-A and optioned righty Brendan Beck in his place. Beck made his MLB debut yesterday, tossing three innings of long relief in a bullpen game. He wouldn’t have been available for a few days anyhow after throwing 52 pitches, so he’ll head back to Triple-A while Castro comes up to provide a fresh arm.
May 7: The Yankees are going to call up outfield prospect Spencer Jones, reports Francys Romero of BeisbolFR. That will apparently be the corresponding move for fellow outfielder Jasson Domínguez heading to the injured list.
Domínguez departed today’s game after crashing into the wall to make a catch. He was examined by the medical staff for a while before being carted off the field. After the game, manager Aaron Boone told reporters that Domínguez will be heading to the injured list and will miss a few weeks. He has tested negative for a concussion thus far but has a low-grade AC sprain in his left shoulder. Bryan Hoch of MLB.com was among those to pass along the update from Boone.
It’s an unfortunate setback for Domínguez. He came into this season without a great path to playing time. The Yanks had an outfield consisting of Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham. The designated hitter spot was filled by Giancarlo Stanton. Moving Bellinger to first base wasn’t an option with Ben Rice and Paul Goldschmidt sharing that spot.
Domínguez was called up about two weeks ago when Stanton was sidelined by a calf strain, opening up some at-bats. Rice has also missed the past four games due to a hand contusion. Even though Rice isn’t expected to hit the IL, that also somewhat softened the clog which was blocking Domínguez. Now Domínguez himself will be sidelined and therefore unable to take advantage of the openings. Perhaps there will still be playing time available for him when he gets back but that will depend how long he is out and what happens with the other guys in the interim.
With Domínguez set to join Stanton on the IL, the Yankees will use that as an opportunity to look at Jones, who is a polarizing prospect. The power is undeniable but it also comes with big strikeout concerns. He hit 35 home runs in the minors last year and already has 11 this season, but with massive strikeout numbers. He was punched out in 35.4% of his plate appearances last year, between Double-A and Triple-A. He has reduced that this year, but to a still-high 32.4% clip.
He has still been productive in the minors, even with all those punchouts. He has a .269/.350/.567 line and 135 wRC+ in his Triple-A career, indicating he has been 35% better than league average, despite striking out at a 35.2% clip at the level overall. It’s hard to succeed when striking out that much and he would presumably whiff even more in the majors, where the pitching is notably better than in Triple-A. Last year, no qualified hitter struck out more than Ryan McMahon and his 32.3% pace.
As mentioned, it’s a divisive profile. He was a consensus top 100 prospect going into 2024 but he doesn’t appear on those lists anymore. Baseball America, MLB Pipeline and FanGraphs have him ranked #6 in the system, while The Athletic gave him the #7 spot and ESPN #5. Jones can steal bases and is considered an adequate defender, certainly in the corners and maybe even in center. But really, whether he’s a viable major leaguer or not depends on what he does in the batter’s box.
Jones was just added to the 40-man roster in November, to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. This is his first of three option seasons. If he struggles against major league pitching in the next few weeks, he can be sent back down when Stanton or Domínguez come off the IL. If he does find a way to make it work, then perhaps they have some tougher decisions to make.
They are in a position to experiment, as the Yanks are 26-12. Not only is that tied for the best record in baseball, but the rest of the American League is floundering. The Guardians are third in the A.L. with a 20-19 record. Even if Jones strikes out way too much, they will still be in a strong position.
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Padres Select Rodolfo Durán
The Padres announced that they have selected the contract of catcher Rodolfo Durán. He’ll take the active roster spot of fellow backstop Luis Campusano, who has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a left toe fracture. To open a 40-man spot, right-hander Joe Musgrove has been transferred to the 60-day injured list. Prior to the official announcement, Annie Heilbrunn of the San Diego Union-Tribune noted that Durán was present in the locker room.
Per Heilbrunn, Campusano suffered his injury when he fouled a ball off his foot on Tuesday. It’s unclear how much time he is expected to miss but it’s an unfortunate setback for him. Campusano finished last season on the roster bubble. He struggled in 2024 and then was hardly called up in 2025, burning his final option year, leaving him out of options going forward.
The Padres didn’t add any catchers to the big league roster in the offseason, therefore starting 2026 with Campusano and Freddy Fermin as their catching duo. Campusano has produced a massive .288/.362/.596 line so far this year but now that production will be on pause while he deals with this toe fracture.
Since there were only two catchers on the roster, the Friars had to add someone to replace Campusano. That someone is Durán. He gets a big league roster spot for the first time and is making his major league debut. He is in tonight’s lineup, batting ninth.
Duran, 28, was an international signing out of the Dominican Republic way back in 2014. He began his big league career with the Phillies but became a free agent after the 2021 season. Since then, he has signed minor league deals with the Yankees, Royals and Padres.
As a minor leaguer, he has generally been considered a competent defender. In terms of his offense, he has some pop but has usually had subpar walk rates. Since he first signed with the Padres going into 2025, he has an 8.6% walk rate at Triple-A, much better than earlier in his career. His .278/.347/.488 slash in that year-plus span looks quite nice, though in the hitter-friendly environment of the Pacific Coast League, that actually translates to a subpar 96 wRC+. Catchers are generally about ten points below league average though, so it’s possible Durán can be more than adequate for a depth backstop.
Since this is Durán’s first big league call, he has a full slate of options. That means he can be easily sent back to El Paso when Campusano gets healthy. It’s also possible the Padres look to add some more depth via a minor trade or a waiver claim, since they are a bit light behind the plate.
As for Musgrove, this isn’t a surprising transaction. His 60-day count is retroactive to the start of the season, so he’ll be eligible for reinstatement in late May. He’s not going to be ready at that time. He is still recovering from his 2024 Tommy John surgery. There’s not a lot of information about his current status but he hasn’t begun a rehab assignment.
Whenever he does begin a rehab assignment, he’ll surely need a while to ramp up, effectively as a delayed spring training. Rehab assignments for pitchers are normally capped at 30 days but a pitcher recovering from UCL surgery can have that extended by ten days, with as many as three such extensions possible.
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Cubs Acquire Tyler Ferguson
The Cubs have acquired right-hander Tyler Ferguson from the Athletics, according to announcements from both clubs. The A’s, who designated him for assignment yesterday, receive cash considerations in return. Chicago opened a 40-man roster spot earlier today when righty Corbin Martin was designated for assignment.
Ferguson, 32, was added to the Athletics’ 40-man roster two years ago. That’s two years to the day, in fact, as he was first selected on May 7th of 2024. He has spent that time as an up-and-down arm for the A’s, getting shuttled to Triple-A Las Vegas and back with regularity.
He has a five-pitch arsenal, with his four-seamer and sinker having averaged around 95 miles per hour. His most-used secondary pitch is a sweeper, which he throws almost 30% of the time. He also throws a cutter about 11% of the time and a changeup makes up less than 4% of his offerings.
In the big leagues, he has logged 110 2/3 innings for the A’s, allowing 4.47 earned runs per nine. His 12.6% walk rate is a few ticks higher than average but he has also punched out opponents at a decent 25.4% rate. That earned him some leverage work with the A’s, as he has four career saves and 22 holds.
His work in the minors has generally been good, as he had a 2.82 ERA over the 2024 and 2025 seasons, despite pitching in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. His 8.2% walk rate at that level was more reasonable than his big league clip and he struck out 31.8% of batters faced. He was out to a rough start this year, however, with a 6.17 ERA in his first ten Triple-A appearances. Presumably, that played a role in nudging him off the roster.
The Cubs will take a shot on him, presumably overlooking this year’s numbers as small sample noise. Ferguson is in his final option year and has been sent to Iowa for now. Chicago has been working around a large number of pitching injuries, with relievers Hunter Harvey, Porter Hodge, Riley Martin, Ethan Roberts and Caleb Thielbar having all hit the IL in the past month. Despite those injury challenges, the Cubs are 26-12 and tied for the best record in baseball.
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Latest On Astros’ Rotation
The Astros are planning to reinstate Tatsuya Imai from the injured list to face the Mariners next week, per Chandler Rome of The Athletic. As Rome outlines, Imai’s rehab results haven’t been great but the banged-up Houston rotation needs any arms it can get as the club kicks off a stretch of 13 straight games without a day off on Friday.
At this point, it’s hard to know what to make of Imai. He has been pretty dominant in Japan for the past few years but MLB clubs were apparently skeptical of how he would translate to North American ball. While it was thought he could secure a long-term deal with a nine-figure guarantee, he settled for a three-year, $54MM deal with opt-outs after each season. The ideal path forward for Imai would have seen him prove his bona fides against big league pitching before returning to free agency to cash in.
So far, it is not going according to plan. He couldn’t get out of the third inning in his first start. His second outing was good, as he tossed 5 2/3 scoreless frames. But in the third start, he only recorded one out.
He then landed on the IL with the vague diagnosis of arm fatigue. He began a rehab assignment on April 28th. Per Rome, the plan was for just one rehab outing but he allowed five earned runs in two innings while walking three. The Astros decided to give him a second rehab outing, hoping for four or five innings with fewer walks. He got through three innings but walked five.
The control issues are a concerning development, considering that had been an issue in his time in Japan. From 2019 to 2023, he finished each season with a walk rate of at least 11.4%. He did show improvement, dropping that to 9.8% in 2024 and then 7% last year. For reference, MLB average is usually around 8 to 9%. In his three starts for the Astros this year, he walked 25% of the batters he faced.
General manager Dana Brown is quoted in Rome’s piece, saying basically that Imai needs to have more faith in his own arsenal. “A big part of it is just allowing him to free his mind up (and) attack major-league hitters like he used to attack hitters in Japan. Don’t overthink it and just lock in and be yourself,” said Brown. “That’s a big point we’re trying to make to him: just be yourself and have confidence in the stuff because your stuff plays at this level.”
That’s interesting framing considering past comments from Imai. Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball has been playing with a dead ball in recent years, with offense way down. The run-scoring environment was so low that Imai got bored.
“I didn’t always dream of going to MLB,” Imai said in November, as relayed by Yakyu Cosmopolitan. “But over the past two or three years […] I felt like there weren’t many hitters who were even trying to hit a homer off me anymore. A lot of lineups would just foul pitches off and run up my pitch count. I get that’s a valid part of strategy, but if I were a fan, I don’t think that kind of baseball is very fun to watch.”
This is perhaps an oversimplification but it’s possible the dead ball allowed Imai to attack the strike zone more, lowering his walk rates. With the move to MLB, maybe he has become more concerned with nibbling at the edges and has thus lost his feel a bit.
Time will tell if he can get back in good form but the recent numbers aren’t encouraging. The Astros are evidently going to try anyway, a reflection of their snakebit rotation. In addition to Imai hitting the IL for arm fatigue, they have lost Hunter Brown and Cristian Javier to shoulder strains this year. That’s on top of Ronel Blanco, Hayden Wesneski and Brandon Walter, each of whom is still recovering from surgery performed last year.
Their rotation currently consists of Lance McCullers Jr., Mike Burrows, Spencer Arrighetti, Cody Bolton and Peter Lambert. McCullers is now a question mark for his next start. He couldn’t get through three innings yesterday, later telling Rome that it was due to issues with the fingernail on the index finger of his throwing hand. He is unsure if he’ll be able to take the ball next time.
The Astros are off today. In Cincinnati this weekend, they are scheduled to have Burrows and Arrighetti for the first two. After that, Bolton or Lambert could start on Sunday and/or Monday. Imai will be in the mix next week, perhaps as soon as Monday. If McCullers can’t take the ball and they want to bring someone else into the mix, their choices may be limited. Both Ryan Weiss and Jason Alexander have been optioned in recent days. A pitcher can’t be recalled after being optioned until 15 days have elapsed, unless someone else is going on the IL.
Kai-Wei Teng and AJ Blubaugh have been pitching some multi-inning stints from the bullpen and could take on some bulk. Colton Gordon was optioned on April 25th, so his 15-day window will soon be up. Miguel Ullola is on the 40-man but is struggling with control in Triple-A and the Astros haven’t called him up this year, despite calling almost every other hand on deck. J.P. France and Brandon Bielak are some non-roster options in Triple-A.
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