Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Twins Claim Brooks Kriske, Designate Darren McCaughan For Assignment

By | at

The Twins announced that they have claimed right-hander Brooks Kriske off waivers from the Cubs. They also announced their claim of Thomas Hatch from the Royals and their reinstatement of Luke Keaschall from the 60-day injured list, moves which were previously reported. To open spots for those three, they optioned outfielder DaShawn Keirsey Jr. and righty Noah Davis to Triple-A St. Paul while righty Darren McCaughan has been designated for assignment.

Kriske, 31, has 27 2/3 innings of major league experience with an 8.78 earned run average. That ERA was even higher not too long ago, as Kriske has lowered it by throwing six scoreless innings for the Cubs this year. While putting up zeroes is nice, he worked around five walks while striking out four in that time.

It’s a small sample of work but Kriske has been really good in Triple-A this year. In 31 2/3 innings for Iowa, he has a 3.13 ERA, 39.4% strikeout rate and 7.6% walk rate. Those strikeouts aren’t really new for him but he’s usually paired them with more walks. From 2021 to 2024, he struck out 35.5% of minor league opponents but also gave out free passes at a 13.3% clip. He also spent some time pitching in Japan with a 26.9% strikeout rate and 15.2% walk rate.

The Twins are looking for warm bodies for their bullpen. Ahead of the deadline, they traded Jhoan Durán, Griffin Jax, Louis Varland, Brock Stewart and Danny Coulombe. They have since called up various minor leaguers to fill the void and have also now grabbed Kriske and Hatch. They are both out of options, which led to them ending up on waivers, so the Twins may bump them back off the roster later in the year. But for now, they provide the club with some fresh arms and add some extra depth.

McCaughan, 29, was also one of those fresh arms. The Twins selected him to the big league roster just yesterday. He didn’t pitch in yesterday’s game but the club apparently liked Kriske and/or Hatch better. Since McCaughan is also out of options, he has been bumped off the 40-man spot that he just got a bit more than 24 hours ago.

He now heads into DFA limbo. Since the trade deadline has passed, the Twins will have to put him on waivers. He has 61 1/3 major league innings on his track record with a 6.02 ERA, 16.2% strikeout rate, 8.1% walk rate and 37.7% ground ball rate. He has thrown 72 1/3 Triple-A innings this year with a 5.35 ERA, 20.1% strikeout rate, 7.6% walk rate and 34.1% ground ball rate.

Photo courtesy of Lily Smith, Imagn Images

Nationals Activate PJ Poulin For MLB Debut

By | at

The Nationals announced today that left-hander PJ Poulin, recently claimed off waivers from the Tigers, has been added to the active roster. He’ll be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game. The club also recalled right-hander Clayton Beeter and optioned righties Zach Brzykcy and Ryan Loutos in corresponding moves. TalkNats reported the moves prior to the official announcement.

It’s been a long journey to the big leagues for the lefty Poulin, now 29 years old, who was drafted by the Rockies back in 2018. With that organization, he reached Triple-A in 2022 and pitched at that level in 2023 as well. However, his results weren’t great for the Isotopes. He had a 6.20 earned run average in 69 2/3 innings for Albuquerque over those two seasons.

In March of 2024, the Rockies flipped him to the Tigers for cash. He was sent to Double-A after that trade but worked his way back up to Triple-A by July of 2024. In the year-plus since that promotion, he has thrown 68 2/3 Triple-A innings with a 3.54 ERA, 31.9% strikeout rate, 9.5% walk rate and grounders on about half the balls in play he’s allowed.

The Tigers selected him to their 40-man roster a month ago but immediately optioned him back to Triple-A Toledo. He had an upward mobility clause in his contract and the Tigers didn’t want him to get away. However, they made a number of additions to their roster ahead of the deadline, squeezing Poulin onto the waiver wire.

The Nats gave him a roster spot and could give him a significant big league audition as well. Ahead of the deadline, they sent out Kyle Finnegan, Luis García and Andrew Chafin, opening some bullpen spots. They also moved Brad Lord to the rotation a few weeks ago to replace the injured Trevor Williams. The trade of Michael Soroka opened another rotation spot.

In short, there are a lot of innings to cover down the stretch, so guys like Poulin and Beeter could earn roles on next year’s club by putting up some decent numbers before the offseason. Poulin becomes the fourth lefty in the big league bullpen alongside Jose A. Ferrer, Konnor Pilkington and Shinnosuke Ogasawara.

Photo courtesy of Dave Nelson, Imagn Images

Tigers Re-Sign Tyler Owens To Minor League Deal

By | at

Right-hander Tyler Owens has re-signed with the Tigers on a minor league deal, reports Evan Woodbery of MLive Media Group. Detroit recently released Owens but the two sides have quickly reunited.

Owens, 24, was designated for assignment a week ago when the Tigers acquired Rafael Montero. At the time he was designated for assignment, Owens was on the minor league injured list due to a hip injury. Teams aren’t allowed to place injured players on outright waivers. Once Owens was in DFA limbo, the club had to either trade him or release him.

They eventually went with the latter option. Owens had a few days to field interest from all 30 clubs but decided to return to the Tigers on a new pact, a fairly common sequence of events in situations like this. He gets to stay in a familiar place while the Tigers get to keep the player without him taking up a roster spot.

Owens had a limited major league track record. He made his big league debut earlier this year by pitching three innings for Detroit, allowing one earned run. His recent minor league numbers have been solid. From the start of 2023 to the present, he has tossed 147 1/3 innings on the farm with a 3.73 earned run average, 23.1% strikeout rate, 9.4% walk rate and grounders on about half the balls in play he allowed.

Photo courtesy of Gary A. Vasquez, Imagn Images

Orioles Claim Rico Garcia

By | at

The Orioles have claimed right-hander Rico Garcia off waivers from the Mets, reports Ari Alexander of KPRC 2. The latter club designated him for assignment earlier this week. The O’s have multiple 40-man roster vacancies from their deadline dealings. Garcia is out of options, so the O’s will need to make a corresponding active roster move whenever he reports to the team.

Garcia, 31, has been a fringe bullpen arm for the two New York clubs this year. He signed a minor league deal with the Mets in the winter and got called up in early July. He later went to the Yankees and then back to the Mets via waiver claims.

Around the transactions, his results have been quite good. He has thrown 15 1/3 innings over nine big league appearances this year, with a 3.52 earned run average. His 30% strikeout rate, 6.7% walk rate and 45.9% ground ball rate this year are all above-average figures.

That’s a small sample of work and he may not be able to maintain it over a larger time frame, particularly the control. Before getting called up, he tossed 30 1/3 Triple-A innings with a 4.45 ERA, 27.4% strikeout rate, 14.8% walk rate and 34.2% ground ball rate. He walked 11.5% of minor league batters faced last year and 17.2% in 2023. Put together, he has a 13.7% walk rate in 119 2/3 minor league innings dating back to the start of 2023.

Even if his major league numbers regress a bit, he’s a sensible flier for the O’s. They stripped down their bullpen ahead of the deadline, trading away Seranthony Domínguez, Gregory Soto and Andrew Kittredge. They have also lost Félix Bautista, Scott Blewett and Colin Selby to the injured list in recent weeks.

Those trades and injuries have opened up lots of opportunities in the Baltimore bullpen. As the club plays out the string on this lost season, they can pick up guys like this and give them auditions down the stretch. If things go well with Garcia, he can be cheaply retained beyond this season. He’ll finish 2025 with less than two years of service time, meaning he still won’t have qualified for arbitration and will be controllable for five more seasons.

Photo courtesy of David Frerker, Imagn Images

Yankees Sign Kenta Maeda To Minor League Deal

By | at

5:20pm: New York has made it official, signing the Boras Corporation client to a minor league contract. Maeda has been assigned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

1:35pm: The Yankees are discussing a possible deal with right-hander Kenta Maeda, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. Maeda had been with the Cubs on a minor league deal but was released on the weekend, according to his MLB.com transactions tracker.

Presumably, the Yankees would be looking to sign Maeda on a minor league deal as well. The 37-year-old has had plenty of good years but hasn’t been in good form lately. He signed a two-year, $24MM deal with the Tigers going into 2024 but that deal hasn’t worked out. He struggled enough last year to get moved to the bullpen, finishing the year with a 6.09 earned run average in 112 1/3 innings.

Here in 2025, Maeda hasn’t been able to bounce back. He started the year back in the Detroit bullpen but was designated for assignment after he allowed seven earned runs in eight innings. He cleared waivers, elected free agency and signed the aforementioned minor league deal with the Cubs. He has since been pitching out of the rotation in Triple-A Iowa. He tossed 57 1/3 innings over 12 starts with a 5.97 ERA. His 45.7% ground ball rate in that time was decent but his 18.1% strikeout rate and 10% walk rate were both subpar.

For what it’s worth, Maeda has been improving. He allowed four earned runs in two innings in his first start for Iowa. In his second, it was five earned runs in 3 2/3. Then he allowed nine earned runs in just one inning in the third start. At that point, he had a laughable 24.30 ERA through three Triple-A appearances. The Cubs stuck with him and he has since tossed 50 2/3 innings over his nine most recent starts with a 3.55 ERA, 20% strikeout rate and 8.8% walk rate. Over his past five starts, he has a 4.13 ERA and 25.4% strikeout rate. In his last three outings, he has a 3.18 ERA in 17 innings with a 27.5% strikeout rate and 5.8% walk rate.

That’s a lot of cherry picking to make Maeda look good in small samples, but it perhaps suggests bit of positive momentum now that he’s been back in a regular starting role for the first time in about a year.

It’s risky to bet on such small samples but there’s not much downside for the Yanks in taking a flier. Since the Tigers released him, they’re still on the hook for the majority of what remains of his salary. That means the Yanks would only owe him a prorated version of the league minimum for any time Maeda eventually spends on their roster.

The Yankees are without starters Gerrit Cole and Clarke Schmidt for the rest of the year, both of them having undergone Tommy John surgery. Ryan Yarbrough filled in for a while but he himself has been shelved by an oblique strain. The club was connected to starting pitchers ahead of the deadline but didn’t end up pulling the trigger.

They currently have Max Fried and Carlos Rodón atop their rotation. Luis Gil had spent the entire season on the injured list due to a lat strain until a few days ago. He finally made his season debut yesterday but issued four walks in 3 1/3 innings while allowing five earned runs. Will Warren and Cam Schlittler are also in the rotation but each has an ERA around 4.60. Marcus Stroman was just released to open a roster spot.

Veteran Carlos Carrasco had been in the system as non-roster depth but he was recently flipped to Atlanta for a player to be named later or cash. Prospect Chase Hampton required Tommy John surgery earlier this year. If Maeda is brought aboard on a minor league deal, he could try to position himself as the next man up for a spot start or as an injury replacement.

Photo courtesy of Junfu Han, Imagn Images

Grayson Rodriguez To Undergo Season-Ending Elbow Debridement Surgery

By | at

Orioles right-hander Grayson Rodriguez is done for the year. Manager Tony Mansolino informed reporters today, including Jake Rill of MLB.com, that the righty will undergo an elbow debridement surgery and will miss the remainder of the season. General manager Mike Elias mentioned a few days ago that this was a possible outcome, which is now confirmed. It’s possible Rodriguez will be ready for the start of the 2026 season.

In the short term, the impact for the Orioles is minimal. 2025 is already going to be a lost season for the club. They are 51-61, putting them 8.5 games back of a playoff spot. The front office made a number of sell-side moves ahead of the deadline, flipping out several veterans for prospects.

For the long-term picture, it’s certainly worrisome. While everything is apparently fine with Rodriguez’s ulnar collateral ligament, his recent injury history keeps mounting. In 2023, between the majors and the minors, he tossed 163 1/3 innings. Last year, shoulder problems limited him to 116 2/3 innings. This year, elbow and shoulder problems have wiped out his entire campaign. He started the season on the IL due to elbow inflammation. While on the IL, he suffered a lat strain. By July, the shoulder was fine but the elbow soreness shut him down again. Now he’s going under the knife.

It’s a notable situation for the O’s to monitor. They had hoped for a pairing of Rodriguez and Zach Eflin to be a strong one-two punch atop their rotation this year but that didn’t happen. In addition to the aforementioned injuries for Rodriguez, Eflin also missed time and has a 5.93 earned run average on the year.

Going into next year, Eflin is an impending free agent. That’s also true of Tomoyuki Sugano. The O’s flipped out another impending free agent when they traded Charlie Morton to the Tigers. Going into 2026, the ideal outcome would be for Rodriguez and Kyle Bradish to be at the front of the group. However, Bradish is still recovering from last June’s Tommy John surgery. He has begun a rehab assignment but hasn’t gotten back on a big league mound yet.

Though the O’s will be hoping for comebacks from those two, they are surely aware they can’t rely on those. Bradish only pitched 39 1/3 innings last year. He might be able to come off the IL and make a few more starts down the stretch but won’t be able to shoulder a huge workload. Rodriguez will be coming off a completely lost season. Guys like Trevor Rogers, Dean Kremer and Cade Povich will also be in the mix but aren’t front-of-the-rotation type guys.

Perhaps the front office will be motivated to be more aggressive in addressing the rotation this coming winter. A year ago, with new ownership in place, many wondered if the O’s would get aggressive in bolstering their rotation ahead of 2025. Instead, they gave one-year deals to Sugano and Morton, neither of which worked out especially well.

Going into 2026, the club will be looking to put this nightmare season in the rear-view mirror. Doing so with their current rotation mix will be a challenge. That’s especially true with greater uncertainty now surrounding Rodriguez.

Photo courtesy of Tommy Gilligan, Imagn Images

Griffin Jax Requested Trade From Twins

By | at

The Twins traded right-hander Griffin Jax to the Rays in the final moments before the trade deadline last week, with right-hander Taj Bradley going the other way. Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports that Jax requested a trade once he saw the extent of the selloff in Minnesota.

Things in Minnesota have changed rapidly in a short amount of time. They hung around the playoff race for most of the year and it wasn’t even clear that they would do any selling at all as of a few weeks ago. On July 22nd, it was reported that they were warming to the idea of selling rental players, but would need to be bowled over by the offers to move controllable guys like Jax, Jhoan Durán, Joe Ryan and others.

In the end, their deadline selloff wound up being far more extensive than anticipated. In addition to trading all several rental players, they flipped Durán to the Phillies, Jax to the Rays, Louis Varland to the Blue Jays and, most surprising of all, infielder Carlos Correa to the Astros.

According to the report from Hayes, Jax got wind of the Correa situation from the infielder himself. Jax and manager Rocco Baldelli got into a dispute on July 30th, the day before the deadline, about Jax being removed from that day’s game. Correa offered to be present for a meeting between the two. After that meeting, Correa informed Jax about conversations he’d had with president of baseball operations Derek Falvey about the team’s direction.

Then on Thursday, the extent of the teardown became clear to everyone. Durán had already been traded on Wednesday but reports of the Correa deal came out about two hours prior to the deadline. The Varland deal and the Jax deal were both reported right around the deadline on Thursday. Hayes reports that Jax asked his representative to request a trade at some point on Thursday, once he saw the writing on the wall.

From the righty’s perspective, it’s an understandable request. He is controllable for two years after this one and is about to turn 31 years old. The Twins could perhaps compete again in 2026 or 2027 but the trading of controllable pieces sends a message that they also might not have high hopes about the possibility.

There’s plenty of uncertainty beyond the roster as well. The Pohlad family is actively trying to sell the club. It’s unknown exactly when a sale will be finalized. Once a sale takes place, it’s anyone’s guess who the new owners will be or what kind of plans they would have for the payroll.

While the Pohlad family is still in charge, the safe bet is on minimal investments. In the most recent offseason, the Twins spent a combined $10.25MM on one-year deals for Harrison Bader, Danny Coulombe and Ty France. Ahead of the deadline, sending out payroll commitments seemed to be a priority. The Twins included Randy Dobnak in the Paddack deal, seemingly to save a few million. Money also may have been a factor in sending France to the Jays alongside Varland. Shipping out Correa also scrubbed millions of dollars from the future books. That deal brought back one prospect but is generally viewed as a salary dump.

The Twins do still have lots of talented players on the roster but the future outlook has darkened in recent days. “Now no one wants to stay if they are selling like this,” an unidentified player said to Hayes on deadline day.

That sentiment is perhaps extra true for Jax, given his age. He presumably would rather not spend his age-31 and -32 seasons pitching for a rebuilding club. He didn’t wind up in a vastly superior situation. The Rays are 55-58 and only two games ahead of the Twins in the standings. They also don’t spend tons of money. However, they generally find ways to be in the playoff race even without big budgets. They also tend not to hold players all the way to free agency, so perhaps Jax will end up being traded again in the offseason or at next year’s deadline.

For the Twins, more clarity on their plans will still need to emerge. Time will tell when the sale of the franchise will pick up real steam. The identity of the buyer or buyers and their plans will presumably have a big impact on the near-term future of the Minnesota club.

Photo courtesy of Jay Biggerstaff, Imagn Images

Rays Claim Jesse Scholtens

By | at

The Rays announced that they have claimed right-hander Jesse Scholtens off waivers from the White Sox and sent him to Triple-A Durham. Chicago designated him for assignment yesterday. The Rays also announced that catcher Matt Thaiss, who was designated for assignment a few days ago, has cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Durham. Scholtens effectively takes the 40-man spot recently vacated by Thaiss.

Scholtens, 31, made his major league debut in 2023 but hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since then. He underwent Tommy John surgery in February of 2024, which led to him missing that entire season. He spent a decent chunk of 2025 on the injured list as well. Once he was ready to come off the IL, the Sox optioned him to the minors.

His major league track record consists of 85 innings tossed in a swing role a couple of years ago. He made 11 starts and 15 relief appearances for the Sox with a 5.29 earned run average, 15.4% strikeout rate, 8% walk rate and 41.3% ground ball rate.

Since those numbers don’t jump off the page, the Rays are presumably more interested in his minor league work. From 2021 to 2023, he tossed 231 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level. Most of that was in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, as Scholtens was in the Padres’ system through the end of 2022. Over those three years, he had a 4.58 ERA but his 24.3% strikeout rate and 7.9% walk rate were both better than average.

He hasn’t yet been able to get back to that level. This year, he has thrown 36 minor league innings with a 5.25 ERA, 19.4% strikeout rate and 7.7% walk rate. But as mentioned, he’s coming back from Tommy John and is perhaps still ramping up. Scholtens still has options and hasn’t yet qualified for arbitration, so he’ll give the Rays some cheap Triple-A pitching depth for now. The club has a decent track record of helping pitchers maximize their results, so perhaps they can sprinkle some of their magic dust on Scholtens in the coming years.

Thaiss, 30, was also acquired by the Rays from the White Sox. Chicago had a bit of a squeeze behind the plate and sent Thaiss to the Rays in May for minor league outfielder Dru Baker. Thaiss got into 25 games for the Rays, backing up Danny Jansen, but he slashed just .225/.304/.282 for a wRC+ of 69.

Tampa shook up their catching spot recently. They traded Jansen to the Brewers but also acquired Nick Fortes and Hunter Feduccia, squeezing Thaiss out of the picture. Since he’s out of options, he got pushed off the 40-man.

His offense has occasionally been intriguing since he draws so many walks but he also strikes out a lot and his defense behind the plate isn’t especially well regarded. There has been enough interest for him to bounce around the league in the past year, going from the Angels to the Cubs, White Sox and Rays in small deals, but every club declined to give him a roster spot this week.

Thaiss has a service clock between three and five years. That means he has the right to reject an outright assignment but has to forfeit his remaining salary commitments in order to do so. He is making $1MM this year, with roughly $300K still to be paid out. Understandably, he had accepted this assignment to keep collecting the rest of that money. He’ll give the Rays some non-roster catching depth for now.

If he’s not added back to the 40-man by the end of the season, he’ll have the right to elect free agency, as is the case for all players with at least three years of service who are removed from a 40-man roster during a season.

Photo courtesy of David Reginek, Imagn Images

Marlins Designate Jack Winkler For Assignment

By | at

The Marlins announced that infielder Jack Winkler has been designated for assignment. That’s the corresponding 40-man move for their previously reported claim of outfielder Joey Wiemer off waivers. It also opens an active roster spot for outfielder Derek Hill, who has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list.

Winkler, 26, was just added to Miami’s roster at the end of May. Since then, he has been rarely used as a bench player or down in the minors on optional assignment. He has appeared in just 11 major league games and has been sent to the plate just 12 times, mostly getting put into game as a pinch runner. He has two singles and four strikeouts, giving him a career .167/.167/.167 line in that tiny sample of work.

He now heads into DFA limbo. Since the trade deadline has passed, the Marlins will have to put him on waivers in the coming days. If he garners any interest, it would naturally be based on his larger body of work in the minors.

His offense has generally been subpar but he’s been able to steal bases and bounce around the diamond. In 51 Triple-A games this year, he has a .241/.304/.379 batting line and 84 wRC+. He has stolen 17 bases without getting caught and played all four spots on the infield. He has a small amount of experience in the outfield corners in previous seasons as well.

If he were to pass through waivers unclaimed, he would stick with the Marlins as non-roster depth. He doesn’t have three years of big league experience nor a previous career outright, so he wouldn’t have the right to elect free agency.

Photo courtesy of Rhona Wise, Imagn Images

Mets Select Dom Hamel

By | at

The Mets announced today that they have selected the contract of right-hander Dom Hamel. Fellow righty Austin Warren has been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse as the corresponding active roster move. The 40-man roster had a vacancy with righty Rico Garcia being designated for assignment yesterday.

Hamel, 26, gets called up to the big leagues for the first time and will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game. He was picked by the Mets in the third round of the 2021 draft. As he climbed the minor league ladder, he worked as a starter and got some love from prospect evaluators. The short version of his scouting report is that he doesn’t have overpowering stuff but has a five-pitch mix that allows him to get outs against batters from either side of the plate.

For his first few professional seasons, Baseball America ranked Hamel as one of the Mets’ top 11 or 12 prospects. From 2021 to 2023, he tossed 246 innings over various levels with a 3.51 earned run average, 30.4% strikeout rate and 10% walk rate. However, he hit a wall last year, with a 6.79 ERA in 27 Double-A starts. His strikeout rate fell to 21.3% while his walk rate climbed to 13.2%. That got him bumped out of BA’s top 30 coming into 2025.

He’s been in more a swing role at Triple-A this year, having started eight of his 22 appearances. In his 53 1/3 innings, he has a 4.73 ERA, not amazing but much better than last year. His 25.8% strikeout rate and 6.6% walk rate are also encouraging. At the end of June, FanGraphs ranked him as the #22 prospect in the system, noting that he should be able to serve as a decent bulk reliever.

The Mets got crushed yesterday, losing 12-4 to the Giants. Even though starter Frankie Montas was getting hit around, he was pushed through four innings. Then Warren came in and saved the bullpen by tossing four innings of relief, tossing 68 pitches in the process. Ryne Stanek came in to get the ninth but struggled badly, allowing five earned runs while only getting two outs. Catcher Luis Torrens came in to get the final out of the ninth.

Warren wasn’t going to be available for a few days, so he’s been subbed out for Hamel. If tonight’s game turns out to be a laugher, then Hamel will likely be the one tapped to soak up some innings out of the bullpen. Since this is his first big league call, he has a full slate of options and could easily be sent back to the minors when the Mets again want to bring in a fresh arm.

Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images

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

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top