Tigers Select Burch Smith
3:45pm: The Tigers have made the move official, announcing they have selected Smith and optioned De Jesus. Left-hander Bailey Horn was transferred to the 60-day injured list as the 40-man move. Evan Woodbery of the MLive Media Group reported the Horn move prior to the official announcement. Horn began the season on the 15-day IL while recovering from left elbow arthroscopy. He began a rehab assignment earlier this month and pitched on April 7th and 11th but that rehab was shut down. His 60-day count is retroactive to his initial IL placement, so he will be eligible for reinstatement in late May.
2:45pm: The Tigers are going to select the contract of right-hander Burch Smith. Left-hander Enmanuel De Jesus has been optioned to Triple-A Toledo in a corresponding active roster move. The Tigers will need to open a 40-man spot to make it official. Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic was among those to relay that Smith had a locker in the clubhouse and that De Jesus has been optioned.
Smith, 36, signed a minor league deal with the Tigers in the winter. He has been with Triple-A Toledo to begin the season and has been off to a hot start. Through eight appearances and ten innings, he has allowed just two earned runs via four hits, no walks and one hit batter while striking out 16. He has been throwing his changeup 12.6% of the time in that small sample, after only using that pitch about 1-3% of the time in recent years.
The Tigers will give Smith a chance to face major league hitters for the first time since 2024. Though he is in his mid-3os and debuted in the majors over a decade ago, his big league track record is still pretty limited. At the end of 2021, he had 191 major league innings with a 6.03 earned run average. He spent 2022 in NPB in Japan and 2023 in the KBO in South Korea.
He was back in the majors with the Marlins and Orioles in 2024 and posted a 4.95 ERA in 56 1/3 innings. Last year, he was stuck in the minors with the Pirates after signing a minor league deal. He bounced on and off the injured list in the minors and put up a 7.08 ERA in Triple-A before being released in July.
Though Smith didn’t sign anywhere else in the latter months of 2025, the Tigers may have been intrigued by a stint in winter ball in the Dominican Republic. Pitching for Águilas Cibaeñas, Smith logged 15 1/3 innings with a 1.76 ERA. He struck out 20 of the 63 batters he faced, a 31.7% clip. He has carried over that form so far this year, with a 29% strikeout rate in spring training and a huge 44.4% clip in Triple-A.
If he provide something close to that in the majors, it would be a nice under-the-radar find for the Tigers. If not, Smith has at least five years of service time, meaning he can’t be optioned back to the minors without his consent.
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Phillies Place J.T. Realmuto On Injured List
3:20pm: The Phillies have now officially announced Realmuto’s IL placement, listing his ailment as back spasms. To open a 40-man spot for Stubbs, right-hander Max Lazar has been transferred to the 60-day injured list. Lazar began the season on the 15-day IL due to a left oblique strain. His 60-day count is retroactive to the start of the season, so he can be reinstated in late May. He hasn’t yet begun a rehab assignment.
1:10pm: The Phillies are going to place catcher J.T. Realmuto on the 10-day injured list due to a lower back injury, reports Matt Gelb of The Athletic. Fellow catcher Garrett Stubbs will be selected to take Realmuto’s place on the active roster. A corresponding move will be required to open a 40-man spot for Stubbs.
Realmuto was removed from Saturday’s game due to lower back tightness. He sat out the contests on Sunday and Monday before rejoining the lineup on Tuesday, though Gelb notes the injury was still limiting him. It seems the Phils and/or Realmuto have decided that he needs to rest up, rather than try to play through the issue.
That’s probably a sensible decision in the long term but the timing is challenging for the Phillies. They are out to a brutal 8-15 start to the season. They would be the worst team in the majors if not for the Mets struggling even more. The offense has been a particularly weak part for Philly thus far, as they have only scored 80 runs. The Mets and Giants are the only MLB teams with fewer.
Losing Realmuto won’t help. He hasn’t been on fire this year but his .259/.344/.352 line translates to a 100 wRC+, indicating he’s been exactly league average. Catchers are usually about ten points below par, so that’s actually pretty solid production for a backstop. It also has value in the context of so many other hitters in the Philadelphia lineup struggling.
For at least ten days, the Phillies will go with the pairing of Rafael Marchán and Stubbs behind the plate. Marchán has been part of Philly’s catching mix for years, debuting back in 2020, but hasn’t been able to get much playing time behind Realmuto. He has just 271 big league plate appearances spread across the years, with a .223/.283/.364 line and 77 wRC+. That includes a brutal .065/.094/.161 line so far in 2026.
Stubbs has also been in the Philly catching mix for years but both he and Marchán were out of options coming into 2026. The club dabbled with Stubbs playing other positions in spring but ultimately made the decision to go with Marchán as the backup and push Stubbs off the roster. He cleared outright waivers, allowing the Phillies to keep him around as non-roster depth.
That has led to today’s return to the big leagues. He has an excellent .289/.413/.632 line in Triple-A this year, but in a tiny sample size of ten games and 46 plate appearances. In his major league career, he has stepped to the plate 521 times and produced a .215/.293/.310 line and 70 wRC+.
Stubbs and Marchán will try their best to cover for Realmuto’s absence but his IL stint will make it a bit harder for them to pull out of this early tailspin. Ideally, he will heal up and return after a minimal absence. As mentioned, both Stubbs and Marchán are out of options, so one of them will likely be pushed off the roster when Realmuto’s IL stint is done.
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Mets Reinstate Juan Soto
April 22nd: Soto has been officially activated, as expected, with Senger optioned as the corresponding move.
April 21st: The Mets are planning to reinstate Juan Soto from the injured list on Wednesday, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. He has been on the 10-day IL for a little over two weeks but will now return without a rehab assignment.
Soto, of course, is one of the best hitters in the league. He put up a huge .355/.412/.516 line in the club’s first eight games. A strain in his right calf put him out of action and sent him to the IL. Soto’s absence almost perfectly aligns with the club’s season going into a tailspin. The Mets won their first game with Soto on the IL, increasing their record to 7-4. They have since dropped 11 straight contests, dropping them to 7-15. That’s the worst record in the National League and only half a game better than the Royals for worst in the majors.
Ideally, Soto’s return will help the Mets to get back in the win column before the season slips away. They still have lots of time to make up ground but they’ve already put themselves in a hole. FanGraphs still gives the Mets a 41.4% chance of making the postseason, which doesn’t seem too bad in the current context, but that’s basically half of the 80.4% chance they had to begin the campaign.
The outfield has been a particular weak spot for the club since Soto landed on the shelf. The club has received a collective .232/.305/.322 line from their outfielders since Soto’s IL placement. That line translates to an 83 wRC+, indicating the group has been 17% below average, with only seven clubs below them in that category.
The Mets had planned on having Carson Benge in right, Luis Robert Jr. in center and Soto in left as their primary alignment. Robert is playing well but Benge has a .143/.229/.206 line on the year. That’s partially due to a rough .182 batting average on balls in play but his struggles have unfortunately coincided with Soto’s absence. Brett Baty has been largely bumped to the outfield by the Mets’ offseason infield additions but he has a .200/.206/.277 line this year. Tyrone Taylor is hitting .214/.241/.357. Tommy Pham is hitless in eight plate appearances.
Due to both Soto and Jorge Polanco being on the IL, MJ Melendez has picked up some playing time in the designated hitter spot. He has a .357/.438/.714 line but in a tiny sample of 16 plate appearances. That’s been helped by a massive .800 BABIP and has come despite him striking out eight times, half of his plate appearances. He won’t sustain this kind of production, especially since he’s a .216/.298/.391 hitter in almost 1700 career plate appearances.
The Mets will have to remove someone from the active roster when Soto is officially reinstated. They are currently carrying three catchers, so optioning Hayden Senger is probably the easiest solution. Recalling Senger for Polanco a few days ago may have been about giving the club the option of using Francisco Alvarez in the DH spot when he was getting a day off from catching, but they have been riding the hot hand of Melendez instead.
Optioning Benge is another option, since he is struggling so much. But as mentioned, some of that is due to poor batted ball luck, so the Mets might keep him around and hope his luck changes. Melendez also has options but the Mets might let him keep going until the hot streak ends. Designating Pham for assignment would be another possibility, since he’s not playing much and hasn’t hit when given the chance.
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Giants Place Daniel Susac On IL, Select Eric Haase
The Giants announced that catcher Daniel Susac has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to April 20th, due to right elbow neuritis. He’ll miss about two to three weeks, per Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. Catcher Eric Haase has been selected to take his place on the active roster. To open a 40-man spot for Haase, right-hander José Buttó has been transferred to the 60-day injured list.
Susac was picked up in the Rule 5 draft, via an intermediary. The Twins took him from the Athletics and then flipped him to the Giants for minor leaguer Miguel Caraballo. The Giants had Patrick Bailey lined up as their catcher but Susac and Haase battled for the backup job.
In the end, Susac won the job and has been on a tear. He has a .478/.500/.652 line through his first 24 big league plate appearances. He wasn’t going to hit like that forever, especially with a .550 batting average on balls in play, but the Giants really needed that. Most of the rest of the lineup has been struggling, including Bailey. He is considered by many to be the best defensive catcher in the game but has never been much of a threat from the batter’s box. He has a .226/.283/.331 line in his career and is at .151/.211/.151 this year.
Susac’s strong showing and the general underperformance of the lineup, including Bailey, were seemingly leading to more playing time for Susac. That will be on pause for the next few weeks. Though Susac was due for some regression, it’s still not ideal for him to hit the IL when the club is struggling to score runs.
Haase will jump onto the roster and see if he can make up some of the slack. When Susac won the Opening Day job, Haase was granted his release but then quickly re-signed on a new minor league deal. He has appeared in nine Triple-A games this year with a .250/.300/.472 line.
His best attribute is his power. He had a 22-homer season with the Tigers back in 2021 and has 48 home runs in 1,224 career plate appearances. However, his offense is otherwise poor. His 30.7% career strikeout rate is quite high and he’s been above 40% since the start of 2024. His 6.2% career walk rate is also subpar. Despite the long balls, his career .228/.278/.396 line translates to an 85 wRC+, indicating he’s been 15% worse than the league average hitter.
That’s not necessarily disastrous for a catcher since backstops are usually about 10% below the rest of the league. For a backup catcher, the threshold of respectability is even lower. Unfortunately, Haase isn’t considered a strong defender. He has a minus-12 grade from Defensive Runs Saved in his career behind the plate. Statcast has considered him around par in terms of throwing but below average with blocking and framing.
Haase is out of options and could get squeezed back off the roster when Susac comes back. For now, he’ll try to support Bailey as the Giants try to find some momentum. They’re currently 9-13, with the Mets the only club with fewer runs scored so far. The Giants are hosting the 16-6 Dodgers for a three-game set beginning tonight.
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Mariners Designate Casey Legumina For Assignment
The Mariners announced that they have recalled right-hander Alex Hoppe. The righty will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game. In a corresponding move, Seattle has designated righty Casey Legumina for assignment. Daniel Kramer of MLB.com reported the moves prior to the official announcement.
Hoppe, 27, was just acquired from the Red Sox in November. That was the Rule 5 protection deadline. The Sox apparently didn’t have roster space for him, so they sent him to the Mariners in exchange for minor league catcher Luke Heyman. The M’s immediately selected him to their 40-man so that he wouldn’t be available in the Rule 5.
He started the season on optional assignment at Triple-A and is out to a great start with his new organization, having thrown eight scoreless innings. Of the 30 batters he has faced, he struck out 12 of them, a 40% clip. He also induced grounders on two thirds of ball in play. He has issued three walks, a 10% pace.
That’s a small sample of size of work. Last year’s numbers were somewhat similar but not quite as impressive. He tossed 61 1/3 innings across Double-A and Triple-A with a 4.55 ERA, 26.4% strikeout rate, 12.3% walk rate and 54.7% ground ball rate.
His fastball averages in the upper-90s and he pairs that with a high-80s slider he has been throwing more than half the time so far this year, while also mixing in a cutter and a changeup. The M’s will give him a chance to see if his stuff plays against major league hitters. He has a full slate of options and can be easily sent back down to Triple-A if he scuffles, or just if they need some fresh arms.
For now, the roster casualty is Legumina. He made his major league debut with the Reds but that club designated him for assignment in January of 2025. The Mariners sent cash to Cincinnati in order to get Legumina. His first season with the Mariners didn’t go especially well. He made 48 appearances for the big league club, throwing 49 2/3 innings with a 5.62 ERA. His 25.1% strikeout rate was a bit better than average but his 11.4% walk rate was a few ticks worse than par.
Due to those struggles, he was sent to the minors a few times and burned his final option year, leaving him out of options here in 2026. That put him on thin ice in terms of his roster spot. Thus far, he has thrown 11 2/3 innings over eight appearances. His 4.63 ERA is about a run better than last year but his strikeout rate is down to 17% in that small sample. The lower ERA is mostly due to the fact that none of the fly balls he has allowed have cleared the fence, a fact that wouldn’t have been sustainable.
His velocity is also down on most of his pitches. His four-seamer averaged 94.3 miles per hour last year but is down to 93.5 so far this year. His sinker has gone from 93.8 to 93 mph while his slider has dropped from 81.1 to 79.7 mph.
Legumina’s struggles and his out-of-options status have pushed him into DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so Seattle could take as long as five days to explore trade interest, but they could also place him on waivers sooner than that. If he were to clear outright waivers, he would stick with the Mariners as non-roster depth. Since he doesn’t have a previous career outright or at least three years of service time, he would not have the right to elect free agency.
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Astros Select Daniel Johnson, Designate Christian Roa For Assignment
The Astros announced that they have selected the contract of outfielder Daniel Johnson. He takes the active roster spot of fellow outfielder Taylor Trammell, who has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a left groin strain. To open a 40-man spot, right-hander Christian Roa has been designated for assignment.
Houston has been infested with injury bugs. Trammell is now the 16th Astro on the IL. Trammell was just added to the roster a little over a week ago in response to the Jake Meyers injury. Since then, Joey Loperfido has also hit the IL, dealing another blow to the outfield. Now Trammell himself is injured, adding another outfielder to the injury pile.
Cam Smith is the only guy who has stayed in the regular outfield mix all year. Yordan Alvarez has been there but mostly serving as the designated hitter. Dustin Harris was just claimed off waivers a few days ago. Brice Matthews and Shay Whitcomb are on the bench and have been getting occasional starts.
Johnson, 30, was just signed to a minor league deal a few days ago in response to all these injuries. He had been released by the Marlins from a minor league deal but is now quickly in the majors with Houston. He hasn’t hit in the majors, with a .196/.243/.322 line in 152 scattered plate appearances in his career. He has been better at Triple-A, with a .255/.321/.448 line at that level over the years, though he has put up a rough .100/.143/.150 line so far this year.
Even if he doesn’t provide much with the bat, he can be useful in other ways. His sprint speed was ranked in the 94th percentile of qualified big leaguers last year and his glovework has been well regarded.
The center field job is currently up for grabs. Meyers was getting most of the playing time there until he hit the IL, which is when Trammell took over. Loperfido also had a few scattered starts there but he’s now on the IL as well. Matthews is the only other guy to get a start in center this year, so perhaps he will get more time, but he has a .151/.225/.384 line in his career so far.
Between Matthews and Johnson, the Astros can probably ride the hot hand, if one emerges. As the injured guys get healthy, Johnson is out of options and would have to be bumped off the 40-man if he gets nudged off the active roster.
With the Astros scrambling to cover center field, they have had to bump a few pitchers off the roster, even though they are dealing with huge injury issues there as well. J.P. France was designated for assignment and outrighted in recent days and now Roa has been sent into DFA limbo as well.
Roa, 27, was signed to a minor league deal in the offseason. He cracked the Opening Day roster but was shuffled to Triple-A and back as the Astros tried to keep fresh arms in the big leagues. He threw 8 2/3 innings in the majors, allowing five earned runs via 10 hits, seven walks and hitting three batters while striking out six.
Now that he’s in DFA limbo, he can be there for a week at most. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Astros could take five days to explore trade interest, but they could also place him on waivers sooner than that.
A former second-round pick of the Reds, he has a 4.52 ERA in 171 1/3 Triple-A innings. He did show improvement last year, as he got moved to a relief role by the Marlins and put up a 2.83 ERA in Triple-A. His 26.1% strikeout rate was good but he also walked 11.4% of batters faced. The ERA got a lot of help from a .225 batting average on balls in play and 81.5% strand rate.
He cleared waivers at the end of the season, which led to him becoming a free agent and signing with the Astros. He still has options and could perhaps be stashed by a team in need of extra depth but he also might clear waivers again, at which point he would have the right to elect free agency.
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Rockies Claim Blas Castaño, Designate Luis Peralta For Assignment
The Rockies have claimed right-handed Blas Castaño off waivers from the Mariners, according to announcements from both clubs. The righty had been designated for assignment by the Mariners a week ago. The Rockies have optioned him to Triple-A Albuquerque. In a corresponding move, left-hander Luis Peralta has been designated for assignment.
Castaño, 27, was originally an international signing of the Yankees out of the Dominican Republic. He was released in the summer of 2023 and scooped up by the Mariners. He impressed his new club in 2024, posting a 4.38 earned run average in 125 1/3 minor league innings, spending most of that in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. He was added to the 40-man roster in November of 2024 to keep him from reaching minor league free agency.
He has spent the past year-plus as a depth arm for the Mariners without being needed much. He has only made one big league appearance, which was a three-inning relief outing in May of last year.
He tossed 126 2/3 innings for Triple-A Tacoma last year with a 5.19 ERA, in the unfriendly confines of the PCL. His 17.8% strikeout rate and 9.3% walk rate weren’t especially strong but he did induce grounders on 46% of balls in play. So far this year, he has been pitching out of the bullpen, throwing 6 1/3 innings over six appearances for the Rainiers. His 1.42 ERA in that small sample looks nice but his strikeout and ground ball rates are around the same level as last year.
The Mariners bumped him off their roster but the Rockies will take a shot on him. They may be attracted to his diverse pitch mix, something that has seemingly become an organizational preference. Statcast categorizes him as a five-pitch guy. He doesn’t throw his four-seamer often, leading instead with his sinker, in addition to a slider, cutter and changeup. His fastball and sinker average around 94 miles per hour, the cutter around 90, the changeup in the high-80s and the slider in the low-80s.
The Rockies could stretch him back out or keep in a relief role. They need pitching either way. They had a 5.99 ERA as a team last year, easily worst in the majors. They have a 4.40 mark so far this year, bumping them into them out of the bottom ten of MLB clubs, but in a much smaller number of games. Whether he’s working as a starter or a reliever, the Rockies can keep him at Triple-A until he’s needed. He can still be optioned for the remainder of this season and another season as well.
Peralta, 25, was acquired from the Pirates in the 2024 deadline deal which sent Jalen Beeks to Pittsburgh. Peralta, the younger brother of Freddy Peralta, showed some potential around the time of that trade but his stock has fallen.
Initially a starter, he was moved to a relief role by the Pirates. Between the Bucs and the Rockies, he tossed 47 2/3 minor league innings in 2024 with a 0.94 ERA. His 11.2% walk rate was high but he struck out 40.1% of opponents and induced grounders at a 48.8% clip. He also posted a 0.73 ERA in his first 12 1/3 big league innings.
2025 was a big step back, as he posted an ERA above 9.00 in both the majors and the minors. His 28% strikeout rate in Triple-A was still good but a big drop, while his walk rate climbed all the way up to 15.4%. In the majors, his 17.8% walk rate was worse than in the minors and also higher than his 15.8% strikeout rate, with both of those figures being well worse than average. So far this year, he has thrown 7 1/3 innings in Triple-A with a 31.1% strikeout rate but a 28.9% walk rate and 14 earned runs allowed.
Those struggles have nudged him off Colorado’s roster. DFA limbo can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Rockies could take as long as five days to explore trade interest. His recent numbers are obviously not good but perhaps some clubs see a path to getting him back to the dominant form he showed in 2024. He still has options and could be sent to the minors if any club acquires him in the coming days.
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Edwin Díaz To Undergo Surgery For Loose Bodies In Elbow
The Dodgers announced that right-hander Edwin Díaz has been placed on the 15-day injured list with right elbow loose bodies. A subsequent announcement said that he will have surgery to address the issue and is expected to return in the second half of the season. Reportedly, he’ll miss about three months, which will put him in line for a return sometime around the All-Star break. Left-hander Jake Eder has been recalled to take Díaz’s spot on the active roster.
The status of Díaz has been a bit of a mystery for a while now, as he has struggled for the Dodgers while pitching with diminished velocity. His fastball has averaged 95.7 miles per hour so far this year, a notable drop from his 97.2 mph average last year. His results were fine through five outings but his sixth, on April 10th, was rough. He entered a 7-4 game in the ninth and surrendered three runs, allowing the Rangers to tie it up.
The Dodgers were able to walk that game off in the bottom of the ninth but Díaz became a question mark. He didn’t pitch in official game action for over a week after that, even though the Dodgers had some save situations. He was finally back on the mound last night but the results were again poor. He entered in the bottom of the eighth at Coors Field, with the Dodgers down 6-4. He faced four batters, allowing three hits and a walk, then was removed without recording an out.
On the one hand, it’s nice to have a diagnosis that explains his struggles, but any elbow issue for a pitcher is going to be worrisome. Losing him for three months is going to be a blow. He has been one of the best closers in recent history and was just signed to a huge contract in the offseason. The Dodgers gave him a three-year, $69MM deal to scoop him away from the Mets.
The Dodgers have won the past two World Series but their 2025 title came despite a shaky bullpen. Manager Dave Roberts relied more and more on his starters as the postseason went along and the Dodgers just barely held on, as they almost lost to the Jays on a few occasions, going into extra innings in Game Seven.
The Díaz signing was supposed to patch over one of the club’s few weak spots as they look for a three-peat. Though Díaz isn’t quite as ridiculously dominant as he was a few years ago, he still had a great 2025 season, tossing 66 1/3 innings with a 1.63 earned run average 38% strikeout rate, 8% walk rate and 48.4% ground ball rate.
The Dodgers generally approach injuries with a long view. Their team is strong enough that they can feel quite good about their chances of making the postseason. They can have their players, particularly the pitchers, take their time to ensure they are healthy for the postseason. Given the three-month timeline, they can take that approach with Díaz. Ideally, he will be back in time to shake off some rust down the stretch and be in peak form for October.
Time will tell how that goes. If Díaz experiences any kind of setback or struggles to get in form once he is healthy, it could potentially impact how the Dodgers approach the trade deadline, which is on August 3rd this year.
For now, they will have to proceed without their big offseason bullpen investment. Tanner Scott, Alex Vesia and Blake Treinen could be candidates for picking up some save opportunities now. Scott is back in good form so far this year after a rough 2025. Vesia has picked up a few scattered saves over the years and has started 2026 with ten scoreless appearances. Treinen has past closing experience but isn’t out to a great start this year, with a 4.05 ERA thus far.
Alden González of ESPN reported that he would undergo surgery and be out about three months. Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic first reported that some kind of procedure would take place. Jack Harris of the California Post first reported that the Dodgers would expect him to be back from that procedure during this season. Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images
Astros Outright J.P. France
The Astros announced that right-hander J.P. France has been outrighted to Triple-A Sugar Land. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week. France has the right to elect free agency but the club announcement didn’t say whether or not he would do so.
A player has the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency if he has at least three years of service time or a previous career outright. Houston outrighted France in February, an assignment he had to accept since it was his first. A number of injuries led them to select him back to the roster earlier this month. Now that this is his second outright, he could look for opportunities elsewhere.
If he did head for the open market, he would likely be limited to minor league offers. Every club just passed on the chance to give him a 40-man spot, even though he is still optionable and could have been stashed in the minors. Perhaps he will simply stay with the only organization he has ever known, but he can roam if he wants to.
France’s best season was back in 2023, when he debuted and tossed 136 1/3 innings, allowing 3.83 earned runs per nine. There were some asterisks there, as his 17.4% strikeout rate was subpar and his 76.7% strand rate was high, which is why ERA estimators like his 4.66 FIP and 4.96 SIERA were a bit more bearish.
He hasn’t been able to pitch much in the majors since then. Shoulder problems nagged at him in 2024 and ultimately required surgery. He made seven big league appearances over those two seasons, with a 6.75 ERA. As mentioned, he cleared waivers coming into this season and was briefly back on the roster.
If he sticks around, the Astros may need him again in the near future. Their injured list features starters Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, Tatsuya Imai, Cody Bolton, Ronel Blanco, Hayden Wesneski and Brandon Walter. Their big league rotation currently features Mike Burrows, Spencer Arrighetti, Ryan Weiss, Peter Lambert and Lance McCullers Jr., with Colton Gordon also on the roster and capable of eating some innings. Apart from Burrows and McCullers, those guys only just entered the mix recently due to the injuries, so they probably don’t have firm grips on their current roles.
Miguel Ullola and Jason Alexander are also on the 40-man roster. Brandon Bielak and Miguel Yajure have recently been added via minor league deals. If France accepts his outright assignment, he would join Bielak and Yajure in the non-roster depth category.
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Mariners Place Brendan Donovan On IL, Select Will Wilson
8:33pm: Emerson is battling wrist soreness in Triple-A, manager Dan Wilson told reporters (including Adam Jude of The Seattle Times). There’s no indication the team is concerned about the issue, but that played a role in their decision not to promote him yet. The M’s also don’t anticipate Donovan missing much time, so it made more sense to tab Will Wilson if they’re only looking for a short-term utility stopgap.
4:25pm: The Mariners announced that they have selected the contract of infielder Will Wilson. He will take the active roster spot of infielder/outfielder Brendan Donovan, who has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a left groin muscle strain, retroactive to April 18th. To open a 40-man spot, infielder/outfielder Miles Mastrobuoni has been transferred to the 60-day injured list.
Donovan was removed from Friday’s game due to a left hip issue. He didn’t play on Saturday or Sunday. He had previously dealt with a right groin issue earlier in the season. Per Daniel Kramer of MLB.com, Donovan believed it was possible that his earlier groin discomfort may have been related to the sports hernia surgery he underwent back in October.
That surgery didn’t prevent Donovan from being one of the hottest trade chips of the winter. Several clubs were interested and Seattle eventually landed him in a three-team trade that saw them send out infielder Ben Williamson, prospects Jurrangelo Cijntje and Tai Peete, as well as a competitive balance round B pick.
Donovan was a particularly good fit for the Mariners roster because of his defensive versatility. Coming into this year, it wasn’t clear what would happen at second or third base, with Cole Young and Colt Emerson possible solutions at those positions. Young has taken over at second and has been playing well so far. Emerson, despite signing a long contract extension, has been in the minors. That has left Donovan to cover third and he has a strong .304/.437/.518 line when he has been able to take the field.
It’s not clear how long the Mariners expect Donovan to be out but they’ll have to proceed without him for more than a week, at least. They could have called up Emerson but have decided not to, at least for now. He is playing well for Tacoma but is still only 20 years old and only has 24 games at Triple-A under his belt, so it seems they have decided to keep him there.
Leo Rivas has picked up the past two starts at third base with Donovan out. He has a rough .143/.295/.184 line on the year but a better .217/.348/.278 slash for his career. A switch-hitter, he has been far better against righties, with a .221/.372/.305 line in that split compared to a .210/.304/.235 line versus lefties.
Wilson, 27, is a right-handed bat but hasn’t had strong splits throughout his career. In much of his minor league career, he’s actually been better against righties, so he’s not an ideal platoon bat for Rivas. He might just be more of a general depth infielder off the bench. He has plenty of minor league experience at the three infield positions to the left of first base, and some limited outfield experience as well.
His major league track record is still fairly small. He got into 31 games with the Guardians last year and slashed .192/.267/.244. His upper level minor league work hasn’t been much better, though his Triple-A line of .250/.333/.430 since the start of 2025 isn’t bad. He has options and could be sent back down to Tacoma once Donovan and/or Patrick Wisdom come off the IL.
As for Mastrobuoni, he started the season on the 10-day IL with a right calf strain. He began a minor league rehab assignment on April 8th and played as recently as the 18th. His current status is unclear but he must have suffered some sort of setback, since he’s now ineligible for reinstatement until late May.
Photo courtesy of David Frerker, Imagn Images