Davey Lopes Passes Away

The Dodgers announced today that Davey Lopes passed away today at the age of 80. Lopes made his debut as a player in the early 1970s and went on to have a career as a coach and manager, making him a staple of the game for the bulk of five decades.

Lopes was a late bloomer. He didn’t make it to the majors until 1972, which was his age-27 season. Even then, he only got into 11 games for the Dodgers. The following year, his age-28 campaign, he finally established himself as a big league regular. He became the club’s second baseman and showed off the speed that would become his standout trait. He swiped 36 bags that year, his first of what would eventually be a 14-year streak of stealing at least 15 bases.

He stayed on the Dodger roster through the 1981 season, mostly covering the keystone but also with occasional action at shortstop, third base and in the outfield. The Dodgers had a very consistent infield during that stretch, with Steve Garvey the mainstay at first, Lopes at second, Bill Russell at short and Ron Cey at third.

Lopes played in 1,207 games for the Dodgers from his 1972 debut until the end of that 1981 campaign. He hit .262 in that time and launched 99 home runs but the eye-popping stat was his 418 stolen bases. He led the league in steals in both 1975 and 1976, with 77 in the former and 63 in the latter. The second instance was particularly impressive as injuries limited him to only 117 games. In 1978, he won a Gold Glove and also made the All-Star team, the first of four straight All-Star selections.

The Dodgers were quite good in that time but couldn’t quit win a title for most of it. They lost the World Series to the Athletics in 1974, then to the Yankees in both 1977 and 1978. In 1981, they were able to get the job done, topping the Yankees 4-2. Lopes stole ten bases in in 16 postseason games that year.

Prior to the 1982 season, he was traded to the A’s, kicking off the journeyman phase of his career. He would also bounce to the Cubs and Astros, playing past his 42nd birthday. He finished his career with 7,340 plate appearances over 1,812 games. He racked up 1,671 hits, including 155 home runs. He scored 1,023 runs and drove in 614. His 557 steals put him 26th on the all-time list.

He quickly pivoted to his post-playing career by becoming a bench coach with the Rangers. That was followed by stints as a first base coach with the Orioles and Padres. He was hired to manage the Brewers for the 2000 season. The club did not fare well and he was fired early in 2002. He never got another managerial gig and had a 144-195 record in that job. He then went back to being a first base coach, starting with a return to the Padres, followed by stints with the Nationals, Phillies, Dodgers and back to the Nationals. He retired from coaching after the 2017 season.

We at MLB Trade Rumors join the rest of the baseball world in sending condolences to the Lopes family as well as everyone else mourning him today.

Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images

Cristian Javier Exits Start Due To Shoulder Tightness

Astros right-hander Cristian Javier was removed from today’s game after just one inning due to shoulder tightness. As relayed by Chandler Rome of The Athletic, Javier was warming up for the second inning but summoned catcher Christian Vázquez and the training staff to the mound before departing.

At this point, it’s too early to know any details about Javier’s injury or its severity. However, even a minor absence would be a big blow for the Astros. Just a few days ago, they lost their ace, as Hunter Brown landed on the injured list due to a shoulder strain.

Even with Brown’s injury, the Astros still planned to go for a six-man rotation in the near future. On Friday, they start a stretch of playing 13 games in a row. Going to a six-man rotation would lower the impact on Tatsuya Imai, who is still in the first few weeks of his MLB career. In Japan, starting pitchers normally throw once a week as opposed to the five-man rotations that are common in North America.

Imai, Javier, Burrows and Lance McCullers Jr. would have accounted for four spots. The other two would have been more up in the air. Cody Bolton was just recalled to make a spot start and could be in the mix. Spencer Arrighetti is on optional assignment but could be recalled. Ryan Weiss, AJ Blubaugh, and Kai-Wei Teng have some starting experience but have been pitching in the big league bullpen. Blubaugh came in to replace Javier today but allowed five runs in the second and was replaced in the third. He threw 39 pitches in his one inning of work.

Subtracting Javier would further require the Astros to reach even further into their depth, assuming they still want to go six deep in the rotation. Weiss threw 62 pitches in a long relief outing Monday, so he’s fairly stretched out, though he allowed six earned runs in 2 2/3 innings. Houston also has Jason Alexander, Colton Gordon and Miguel Ullola on optional assignment.

Houston’s outfield also seemingly took a blow today. Jake Meyers tried to check his swing during a plate appearance and grabbed at his oblique area. He left the game and the Astros announced his injury as lower back tightness. Meyers has taken the majority of playing time in center field this year. He is a strong defender and has a solid .243/.326/.378 line so far on the season.

If Meyers needs to miss some time, then the Astros will have to figure out a solution in center. Brice Matthews entered the game for Meyers today. He is one of the club’s best prospects but he entered today with just 22 games of big league experience and a .148/.212/.410 line in those. Right fielder Cam Smith has gotten some work in center but not in official game action. Left fielder Joey Loperfido does have some center field experience but less than in the corners.

Houston has Zach Cole and Shay Whitcomb on optional assignment. However, Cole recently broke his toe when he was hit by a pitch in a Triple-A game. His timeline is unclear but he’s not immediately available. Whitcomb has far more infield experience than he does on the grass. In terms of non-roster options with outfield experience, they have Taylor Trammell, Cavan Biggio and CJ Alexander.

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Jorge Soler, Reynaldo López Given Multi-Game Suspensions

3:50pm: Chad Bishop of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that MLB and López reach a settlement whereby his suspension is reduced to five games and he will start serving it immediately. It’s not clear if that includes today’s game, which started a few minutes after the suspension announcement.

Grant Holmes started for Atlanta today and the club is off tomorrow. On Friday, they start a series against the Guardians with Bryce Elder, Martín Pérez and Chris Sale scheduled to start. After that, they being a series against the Marlins. López’s turn in the rotation would have been the first game of that Miami series. Atlanta could instead go for Holmes on normal rest or turn to swingman José Suarez. They have Didier Fuentes and Víctor Mederos on optional assignment and could recall one of those two for a spot start.

3:00pm: Major League Baseball has announced that Angels outfielder Jorge Soler and Braves right-hander Reynaldo López have each been suspended for seven games and given undisclosed fines in relation to last night’s brawl. Both players are appealing and can continue to play until the appeals process has been completed.

López started last night’s contest for Atlanta. In the first inning, Soler launched a two-run home run off him. In the bottom of the third, Lopez hit Soler with a pitch. Soler came up again in the fifth and López threw a pitch up and in. The pitch didn’t hit Soler but he clearly took exception to it and stared López down for an extended period of time. The two exchanged words before Soler charged the mound and the two threw punches towards each other, as seen in this video from BravesVision. Both were ejected after that melee.

Players given suspensions for on-field infractions cannot be replaced on the roster. That means that the two clubs will have to play short-handed at some point. That will be on pause for now while the players are appealing.

Photo courtesy of William Navarro, Imagn Images

Phillies Acquire Steward Berroa, Designate Yoniel Curet For Assignment

The Phillies announced that they have acquired outfielder Steward Berroa from the Brewers in exchange for cash considerations and optioned him to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Milwaukee has designated Berroa for assignment last week. In order to open a 40-man spot for Berroa, the Phillies have designated right-hander Yoniel Curet for assignment.

Berroa, 27 in June, has a fairly limited track record in the big leagues. He appeared in 28 games for the Blue Jays in 2024 and then two for the Brewers last year. He has a rough .167/.314/.190 line in 51 plate appearances.

But he has a decent floor as a speed-and-defense guy. In the minors, he’s generally good for 40-plus steals per season. He was limited to 34 bags in both 2024 and 2025 but played in only 79 games in the former and 86 games in the latter. Put those two together and it’s basically a 60-steal pace for a full season. In only 120 big league innings in the outfield, he’s been credited with five Defensive Runs Saved and three Outs Above Average. It’s also possible there’s a bit more in the bat than what he has shown in the big leagues, as he has a .255/.353/.373 line in 673 plate appearances at the Triple-A level.

Outfield depth is an area of concern for the Phillies. They are trying out rookie Justin Crawford in center field. He has a strong .324/.361/.382 line so far but in just 36 plate appearances and with a .407 batting average on balls in play. He has always had high BABIPs in the minors thanks to his speed but staying at that level is impossible. For instance, Aaron Judge led the majors with a .376 BABIP in 2025.

If a time comes where Crawford needs to be sent back down to the minors, or an injury pops up, then Johan Rojas would have been a fallback plan. However, he received an 80-game PED suspension prior to the season. The Phils have started the year with utility guys Dylan Moore and Otto Kemp as their backup outfielders behind Crawford, Adolis García and Brandon Marsh.

Berroa still has one option season remaining, so he can be kept in Triple-A. If the Phils need to dip into their outfield depth at some point, he’ll be a candidate to get the call. They also have Pedro León and Gabriel Rincones Jr. on the roster.

Curet, 23, was a Rays prospect for a long time. Tampa designated him for assignment in December and the Phils then acquired him, sending Tommy McCollum the other way. He hasn’t yet appeared in a minor league game this year. The Phils optioned him to Double-A Reading to start the year but his transactions tracker at MLB.com says he was reassigned to Single-A Clearwater a week ago.

He’ll now head into DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Phils could take as long as five days to explore trade interest. Curet does still have an option season and can be kept in the minors. In his minor league work, he has shown big strikeout potential but with control problems. Overall, he has thrown 371 1/3 innings on the farm with a 3.10 earned run average. He has punched out 30.7% of batters faced but given out free passes at a 13.8% pace.

Photo courtesy of Katie Stratman, Imagn Images

Robert Stephenson Undergoes Season-Ending Elbow Surgery

Angels right-hander Robert Stephenson has undergone elbow surgery and is expected to miss the remainder of the season. Manager Kurt Suzuki gave the bad news to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. It was a ligament and flexor repair surgery, per Bollinger.

The Halos took a gamble on Stephenson by signing him to a three-year, $33MM deal ahead of the 2024 season. Unfortunately, that bet has not paid off at all due to Stephenson’s injury woes. Tommy John surgery wiped out his 2024 campaign. He returned to the mound by the end of May 2025 but some biceps inflammation put him back on the shelf after just two appearances. He came off the injured list in August and made eight more appearances but finished the season back on the IL due to elbow inflammation.

As of about a month ago, he was throwing and seemed on a path to being healthy in 2026. But about three weeks ago, he suffered a setback and relayed that he had apparently suffered damage to his ulnar collateral ligament and flexor muscle. Yet another surgery means that he’s going to miss a full season for the second time in three years. He’ll have given the Angels just ten innings for their $33MM investment.

The contract does contain a conditional option for 2027. It’s valued at $2.5MM and was to be unlocked if Stephenson spent 130 consecutive days on the IL at any point due to an elbow ligament injury. That option was therefore already triggered when Stephenson missed the 2024 campaign. That means there is technically still a chance for the Halos to get some value out of Stephenson but they would have to cough up a bit more money. Given how the past three years have gone, that’s hard to see right now.

At the time of the signing, Stephenson wasn’t really proven but it felt like perhaps he was about to break out. He was once a first-round pick and a top prospect. His major league track record was mixed but it seemed as though the Rays may have unlocked something. He finished 2023 with Tampa and posted a 2.35 earned run average in 38 1/3 innings. He paired a massive 42.9% strikeout rate with a tiny 5.7% walk rate.

The Angels thought there was a potential lights-out closer in there but that didn’t come to fruition as he has been bit hard by the injury bug. He just turned 33 years old and will turn 34 in February of next year. It’s not exactly clear if he underwent full Tommy John surgery or some kind of internal brace alternative. In either case, it seems likely he’ll still be recovering by the time the 2027 season gets underway.

Photo courtesy of Isaiah J. Downing, Imagn Images

Johan Oviedo Diagnosed With Flexor Strain

Red Sox manager Alex Cora informed reporters today that right-hander Johan Oviedo has been diagnosed with a flexor strain. He has avoided surgery but will be shut down from throwing for six weeks. Chris Cotillo of MassLive was among those to relay the details of the situation.

“Thankfully, (the ligament) is really strong right now,” Oviedo said of his own arm. “It’s just the things that are around it, all the little muscles are what’s getting damaged right now. Still, it’s not what you want. You don’t want anything to get to this, but it’s just the case right now. No one wants to get hurt but it’s better to get rest and heal from it than actually going through a surgery or anything like it. We’re positive about it.”

As Oviedo himself outlined, it is good news, in a sense. He required Tommy John surgery in the fall of 2023 and missed the following season, in addition to part of the 2025 campaign. He started this season with diminished velocity and then landed on the 15-day injured list with a right elbow strain. If his ulnar collateral ligament had required another operation, it would have put him on the shelf for another year-plus.

Relative to that scenario, this is a welcome development, though it’s still quite notable. Even if he is fully recovered after six weeks of not throwing, he’ll then have to ramp back up, effectively starting spring training from scratch. Even in a best-case scenario, he’s probably looking at something in the range of a three-month recovery timeline.

In the short term, the Red Sox have a good on-paper rotation without him. They currently have Garrett Crochet, Sonny Gray, Ranger Suárez, Connelly Early and Brayan Bello taking the ball every five days. Both Patrick Sandoval and Kutter Crawford are making rehab starts this week and should be back in the mix soon. Prospect Payton Tolle is pitching in Triple-A. The rotation numbers haven’t been great so far, contributing to the club’s grim 3-8 start, but the results should be better going forward.

Still, it’s a less than ideal outcome. The Sox made Oviedo a key piece of their offseason. They traded a couple of prospects, including Jhostynxon García, for a three-player package headlined by Oviedo. At the time, Oviedo had just come off his surgery absence but showed some promise by posting a 3.57 earned run average with the Pirates in 2025. The Sox decided to jump on him, with Oviedo having two years of club control at the time of that deal. He will now miss a decent chunk of the first of those two years.

Turning to another part of the roster, Triston Casas appears to have hit another unfortunate speed bump. Casas recently tried swinging and Cora said it “didn’t go well,” per Cotillo. Casas began the season on the injured list, still recovering from last year’s knee surgery. About a week ago, a strained left intercostal muscle added to his woes. Thanks to those injuries and some torn cartilage in his ribcage in 2024, Casas has only played in 92 games since the end of the 2023 campaign.

The Sox don’t really need Casas for now, as they have Willson Contreras at first base. The designated hitter spot is being used to spread playing time between outfielders Roman Anthony, Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu and Masataka Yoshida. But getting Casas back to full health would give the Sox some coverage for the event of someone else getting injured, or perhaps allow them to make a midseason trade.

Casas hit 24 homers in 2023 and slashed .263/.367/.490 for a 131 wRC+. He is under club control through 2028. He’s in wait-and-see mode until he gets back into game action and it’s unclear when that will be.

Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images

MLBTR Podcast: Previewing The 2026-27 Free-Agent Class

The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on SpotifyApple 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 Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Check out our past episodes!

  • Lots Of Extensions And Big-Picture Topics – listen here
  • The PCA and Sanchez Extensions, And Prospect Promotions And Reassignments – listen here
  • Banged-Up Reds And Braves, Kevin McGonigle, And Spring Breakouts – listen here

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

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Cade Horton To Undergo Season-Ending UCL Surgery

Cubs right-hander Cade Horton will undergo elbow surgery and miss the remainder of the 2026 season, manager Craig Counsell tells Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic. Per Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune, Horton has a torn ulnar collateral ligament. Whether he requires full Tommy John surgery or some sort of alternative won’t be known until the procedure is taking place. He is already on the 15-day injured list and will be transferred to the 60-day IL whenever the Cubs need to open a 40-man roster spot.

It’s a painful but unsurprising development for Horton. He started for the Cubs on Friday but threw a pitch that was about two miles per hour below his average. He summoned the trainer and was removed from the game, with the Cubs announcing his ailment as forearm discomfort. He was quickly placed on the IL and is now destined to stay there.

Horton entered the 2025 season as one of the top pitching prospects in the league. He delivered on that hype by giving the Cubs 118 innings with a 2.67 earned run average. He had big breakout potential here in 2026 but it will instead go down as a mostly lost season. The eventual details of his surgery will determine his path back to the mound. A full TJS usually has a timeline of 14 months or more, whereas an alternative such as the internal brace variety could allow a pitcher to return slightly quicker.

The young righty wasn’t called up until mid-May last year but pitched well enough to finish second in National League Rookie of the Year voting. As part of the Prospect Promotion Incentive, that gave him a full year of service time retroactively. He’ll continue to collect service time while on the IL this year and will get to the two-year mark. Along the way, he will turn 25 years old in August.

For the Cubs, they will have to proceed without Horton in their rotation plans for this year. They also lost Matthew Boyd to the IL in recent days, though his bicep strain seems fairly minor. From their season-opening rotation, they are down to the trio of Edward Cabrera, Jameson Taillon and Shota Imanaga. They began the campaign with Javier Assad optioned to the minors but he has quickly been recalled and will start today’s game. It seems likely that swingman Colin Rea will start tomorrow, though the Cubs haven’t made that official.

As mentioned, Boyd’s situation isn’t considered serious, so he could be back in a couple of weeks. There’s also Justin Steele, who is working his way back from his UCL surgery, which was performed around this time last year. He is on the 60-day IL and won’t be eligible for a return until late May.

In the short term, their depth is a bit questionable. Jaxon Wiggins is one the top pitching prospects in the league and he is pitching at Triple-A but he still needs to rein in his command. He walked 11.5% of batters faced last year and is up to 13.9% so far in 2026. Kyle Wright and Vince Velasquez are non-roster guys with big league experience but neither has been in the majors since 2023 and Wright is currently on the minor league IL.

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Cody Ponce To Undergo Knee Surgery

Blue Jays manager John Schneider told reporters, including Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet, that right-hander Cody Ponce will have surgery to address the sprained anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. The estimated return to play timeline is six months, so it’s highly likely his season is over. He is already on the 60-day injured list.

It’s an unsurprising but devastating blow for Ponce. He was making his team debut last week when he obviously injured himself trying to field a grounder. He collapsed on the ground in pain and had to be carted off the field. The next day, he was diagnosed with an ACL sprain, though he had avoided a full tear and surgery wasn’t definite.

The Jays did place him on the 60-day IL a few days later, so he was going to miss a few months regardless. Today’s news that he will indeed undergo surgery effectively wipes out any hopes of Ponce returning later in the year, unless he beats his expected timeline or the Jays play deep into October again.

It’s a sad outcome for Ponce, who was shaping up to be a nice comeback story. He pitched in the majors back in 2020 and 2021 but didn’t find success and wound up heading overseas. He pitched in Japan for three years and then had a dominant showing in South Korea last year. He gave the Hanwha Eagles 180 2/3 innings with a 1.89 earned run average, 36.2% strikeout rate, 5.9% walk rate and 45.7% ground ball rate. He garnered a lot of interest as a free agent this offseason and secured a three-year, $30MM deal from the Jays.

The Jays and Ponce were hoping he could return to Major League Baseball as a much better pitcher than he was a few years ago but that dream has quickly been dashed, or at least put on hold. Ponce will now turn his attention to rehabbing this injury, likely with an eye on realizing that comeback story in 2027, when it will have an extra layer.

For the Jays, their rotation has been severely tested this year. Bowden Francis required Tommy John surgery and is out for the season. Trey Yesavage, José Berríos and Shane Bieber are on the IL with less significant injuries. At the moment, the rotation consists of Kevin Gausman, Dylan Cease, Patrick Corbin, Eric Lauer and Max Scherzer, with some question marks in there as well. Lauer has been battling the flu and only lasted two innings last time out. Scherzer also only managed two innings last night due to some right forearm tendinitis, though the Jays are hoping he can make his next start.

Yesavage is already on a rehab assignment, so he shouldn’t be too far off from joining the group. Berríos and Bieber are throwing but haven’t yet begun official rehab outings. If those guys can get stretched out, then some rotation shuffling may be in order, depending on how things play out in the coming weeks.

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Blue Jays Designate Josh Fleming For Assignment

The Blue Jays announced a series of roster moves today. Left-hander Patrick Corbin and infielder Tyler Fitzgerald have been recalled to the active roster. Infielder/outfielder Addison Barger has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to April 6th, due to a left ankle sprain. That opened a spot for Fitzgerald, while Corbin takes the spot of left-hander Josh Fleming, who has been designated for assignment.

The Jays have recently been cycling through pitchers due to a few notable setbacks. Cody Ponce sprained the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee last week, opening a hole in their rotation. Eric Lauer has also been battling the flu lately, which pushed his Saturday start to Sunday.

The Jays recalled Lazaro Estrada when Ponce landed on the IL. He covered four innings as part of a bullpen game on Saturday but then got optioned right after that, alongside lefty Brendon Little. The Jays added Joe Mantiply and Austin Voth to replace those two. Lauer tried to gut through his illness on Sunday but could only stomach two innings, forcing Voth to absorb 2 2/3.

Prior to yesterday’s game, Fleming was added to the roster with Voth designated for assignment. Max Scherzer started yesterday but was held back by some right forearm tendinitis. It’s possible he may be fine enough to make his next start, per Keegan Matheson of MLB.com, but he was pulled after just two innings last night. Fleming was called in to soak up three innings, allowing four earned runs as the Jays were eventually trounced by the Dodgers 14-2.

It’s presumably not the return to the majors that Fleming hoped for. After being stuck in the minors in 2025, he got back to the show last night and was thrown into the proverbial lion’s den, having to face Shohei Ohtani and the dangerous Dodger lineup. The Jays surely appreciate the nine outs he gave them but it took him 77 pitches and he wasn’t going to be available for a few days. Since he’s out of options, he’s been bumped into DFA limbo. The Jays will likely place him on waivers in the coming days. If he clears, he’ll have the right to elect free agency.

The Jays only signed Corbin a few days ago, as he lingered unsigned in free agency beyond Opening Day. Though he missed spring training, he had been getting stretched out privately. He agreed to be optioned to Low-A Dunedin and tossed five innings at that level on Saturday. Per Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet, Corbin will join the Jays tomorrow and will start Friday’s game.

The Jays have Kevin Gausman and Dylan Cease lined up to pitch the final two games of the series against the Dodgers. The Jays are off on Thursday and then start a series against the Twins, with Corbin taking the ball the first time through. Assuming Lauer and Scherzer are healthy, they could follow Corbin.

That may be the rotation plan, at least for the short term. Trey Yesavage is on a rehab assignment, working his way back from his shoulder impingement, and should be back in the mix in the coming weeks. José Berríos and Shane Bieber are also on the mend from their injuries, though they are a bit behind Yesavage. Eventually, someone may get pushed to the bullpen or off the roster, depending on health outcomes in the near future.

The injury bug hasn’t just bit the Toronto pitching staff. Outfielder Anthony Santander required shoulder surgery and will miss several months. Catcher Alejandro Kirk required thumb surgery and is slated to miss the next six weeks. Now Barger is also on the shelf, though this issue seems far more minor. Per Zwelling, the Jays are hoping it could be a minimal stint and he might not even need a rehab assignment.

Barger has mostly been playing right field this year. With him now subtracted from the outfield mix, the corners should be covered by some combination of Jesús Sánchez, Nathan Lukes, Davis Schneider and Myles Straw. It’s possible platoon matchups will be the plan, as Sánchez and Lukes are lefties while Schneider and Straw are righties. Fitzgerald, acquired in a cash deal a few days ago, has experience at every spot on the diamond except catcher, so he’ll give them some extra depth all over.

Photo courtesy of Nick Turchiaro, Imagn Images