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Richard Lovelady Opts Out Of Twins Deal

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Left-hander Richard Lovelady has opted out of his minor league deal with the Twins, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. The southpaw is now a free agent and available to sign with any club in the league.

Lovelady, 29, started the season with the Blue Jays but was designated for assignment after just two appearances. He cleared waivers, elected free agency and signed a minor league deal with the Twins. Since then, he has been putting up good numbers for Triple-A Saint Paul. He has thrown 20 2/3 innings for the Saints with a 1.31 earned run average. His 8.4% walk rate is right around average while his 26.5% strikeout rate and 60.4% ground ball rate are both strong numbers.

Despite that performance, the Twins have decided not to call him up. They have Danny Coulombe and Joey Wentz as their lefty relievers at the moment. Neither of those two can be optioned to the minors and Lovelady himself is out of options, so perhaps they didn’t want to have three lefties with no roster flexibility.

Unsurprisingly, Lovelady has decided to canvass the league for other opportunities. With several clubs around baseball battling numerous injuries and the trade deadline still over a month away, he should find some interest.

In addition to that strong Triple-A work of late, he has some major league success on his track record. He missed 2022 while recovering from Tommy John surgery but posted solid numbers around that. He logged a combined 44 innings in the 2021 and 2023 seasons with a 4.09 ERA, 26.1% strikeout rate, 8.9% walk rate and 51.8% ground ball rate.

His 2024 was mixed. He had a 7.94 ERA through 5 2/3 innings with the Cubs when he was traded to the Rays. With Tampa, he had a 3.77 ERA in 28 2/3 innings but with a diminished 16.8% strikeout rate. The Rays non-tendered him at the end of the year. He landed a minor league deal with the Jays coming into this year and made the Opening Day roster but held onto that spot for just a few days.

Photo courtesy of Dan Hamilton, Imagn Images

Yankees Reinstate JT Brubaker

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The Yankees announced that right-hander JT Brubaker has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. Robert Murray of FanSided reported on Brubaker’s activation prior to the official announcement. The 40-man roster is now full. Right-hander Scott Effross was optioned after last night’s game in a corresponding active roster move.

Brubaker, now 31, has technically been a Yankee for about a year and a half but is still looking to make his official debut in pinstripes. The Yankees acquired him from the Pirates in March of 2024, sending a player to be named later or cash to Pittsburgh in exchange for Brubaker and international bonus pool space. The PTBNL was later named as infielder Keiner Delgado.

In April of 2023, about a year before the trade, Brubaker had undergone Tommy John surgery. At the time of the deal, the Yankees surely expected a few more months of rehab but a few speed bumps have popped up and continually kept him on the shelf. He started a rehab assignment in June of last year but an oblique strain put him back on ice in July. He started a new rehab assignment in September but made just three outings that month before the winter kicked in.

The expectation was that he would be healthy coming into 2025. He and the Yanks avoided arbitration by agreeing to a salary of $1.82MM. Unfortunately, he suffered an unusual injury during the spring, somehow breaking three ribs while trying to avoid a comebacker. He landed on the 15-day IL to start the season and was on the 60-day version by the first day of April. He was able to start a rehab assignment a month ago and tossed 21 1/3 minor league innings with a 2.95 earned run average.

The Yanks stretched Brubaker out on his rehab assignment, getting to five innings in his most recent appearance, and he was also a starter as a Pirate. With Pittsburgh, he had a 4.99 ERA in 315 2/3 innings with a 23.3% strikeout rate, 7.8% walk rate and 44% ground ball rate.

He will probably be in a long relief role for the Yanks, behind the rotation of Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, Clarke Schmidt, Will Warren and Ryan Yarbrough. Brubaker has over five years of big league service time and therefore can’t be optioned to the minors without his consent. If he stays on the roster through the end of the year, he’ll have exactly six years of service time and will qualify for free agency.

Photo courtesy of Dave Nelson, Imagn Images

MLBTR Podcast: Reacting To The Devers Trade And Aaron Civale

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Check out our past episodes!

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

Photo courtesy of D. Ross Cameron, Imagn Images

Rafael Devers To Start Work At First Base With Giants

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The Giants held a press conference today to introduce Rafael Devers and one key question about his future in San Francisco was answered. The Giants plan to have him serve as the designated hitter but also as a first baseman going forward. He’ll start taking grounders in preparation for the position change in the next few days. Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area was among those to relay the news.

“They’re the men in charge,” Devers said today, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive. “I’m here to play wherever they want me to play.”

It’s obviously a notable shift from where things stood with the Red Sox. Devers had been almost exclusively a third baseman coming into this year, though he has been considered a poor defender. Over the winter, the Sox were connected in rumors to third basemen like Nolan Arenado and Alex Bregman. Members of the Red Sox such as chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and manager Álex Cora downplayed the possibility of Devers being moved off the hot corner.

The Sox eventually signed Bregman, but even in the initial wake of that deal, the club didn’t firmly declare that Devers was done as a third baseman. “He’s a Gold Glove third baseman,” Cora said of Bregman in February. “He hasn’t played second base in the big leagues. I do believe he can be a Gold Glove second baseman, too.”

A few days later, Devers spoke to the media and was adamant about not moving. “It’s my decision,” he said at the time. “My position is third base. Whatever it is they want to do is what they want to do. But my position is third base.” He had apparently been promised he could be a long-term third baseman when signing his ten-year extension in 2023, though Cora dismissed that promise. “That was under Chaim,” Cora said, referring to previous CBO Chaim Bloom. The Sox fired Bloom late in 2023 and later hired Breslow to replace him.

As spring training went on, it became clear that the Sox intended to have Bregman at third, with Devers moved to a DH role. While Devers was clearly frustrated and reportedly considered asking for a trade, he eventually relented and accepted his fate. Whatever emotions he was feeling were not impacting his performance, as Devers has hit .272/.401/.504 for a 148 wRC+ this year.

The situation with the Red Sox grew even more complicated in early May when first baseman Triston Casas suffered a season-ending knee injury. Devers taking up that spot seemed like a logical next step, as many subpar third basemen have successfully moved across the diamond over the years. Doing so also would have helped the Sox with positional logjams elsewhere. Outfield prospect Roman Anthony has been blocked in Triple-A for most of the season but an open DH spot would have helped the club find more playing time for him and others.

The Sox did indeed ask Devers to consider a move to first base, but Devers refused and also seemed offended that he was even asked. “They talked to me and basically told me to put away my glove, that I wasn’t going to play any other position but DH,” Devers said of the conversation during spring training. “So right now, I just feel like it’s not an appropriate decision by them to ask me to play another position.” He went on to seemingly take a shot at the club’s brass in the process: “Now I think they should do their job essentially and hit the market and look for another player (to play first base). I’m not sure why they want me to be in between the way they have me now.”

The Sox went on to try other options at first, including utility players like Romy González and Abraham Toro. Rookie Kristian Campbell also started some pre-game work at first, though he has yet to appear there in actual game action.

All of this drama seemed to lead to this weekend’s shocking trade which sent Devers to the Giants. Back on May 10th, it was reported that Breslow, owner John Henry and CEO Sam Kennedy all flew to Kansas City to meet with Devers and discuss the situation as the Sox played the Royals. In the wake of the trade, Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey said that he had been discussing the deal with the Sox for three to four weeks. In other words, not long after that Kansas City meeting.

Breslow also spoke to the media yesterday and said that “It’s the willingness to step up and sacrifice at times of need and essentially do whatever is necessary to help the team win,” speaking broadly about successful teams he’d been a part of during his playing days. “I think that’s the identity, this relentless pursuit of winning, that we’re looking for.”

Looking at how Devers fit onto the roster in San Francisco raised similar questions to his time in Boston. Matt Chapman is currently on the injured list but is one of the best defensive third basemen in the league and is under contract through 2030. The club’s top prospect is Bryce Eldridge, a first baseman who recently got promoted from Double-A to Triple-A.

Given the standoff in Boston, it was fair to wonder where Devers fit but now there’s an answer. Eldridge will continue playing first base in the minors, per Pavlovic, though Devers will learn the position in the meantime. If Eldridge succeeds as a major leaguer, the two could share the roster for a long time. Devers’ contract goes for eight more years after the current season. Eldridge will be under club control until he accrues six season of service time.

Eldridge might still be the long-term first baseman and Devers the long-term DH, though at least having Devers as a viable player at that position is obviously valuable. It will provide more flexibility if Eldridge ever needs a stint on the injured list during his career, or perhaps doesn’t pan out. As heralded as he is, even the top prospects don’t always succeed when promoted to the majors.

The shift in tone from Devers will naturally lead to questions about why. It’s possible that he bore a grudge against the Sox about the broken promise or perhaps didn’t like the way they went about communicating their plans to him. Perhaps he just wants to start this new opportunity on the right foot, as opposed to kicking it off with another dispute.

That’s all speculative, though that’s all that can really be done unless further reporting sheds more light on the subject or Devers decides to open up about it. “I’m moving forward from the situation in Boston and looking forward to being a San Francisco Giant,” Devers said today, per Cotillo.

In the short term, Devers will presumably need some time to feel comfortable at first, having never played there in his career. The Giants recently moved on from first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. and have been using Dominic Smith there, with Wilmer Flores in the DH spot. Devers is DHing tonight with Smith at first and Flores on the bench, though Flores has first base experience and could factor in there as well. Though Chapman is currently on the IL, the club doesn’t plan to use Devers at third, per Justice delos Santos of Mercury News.

Flores and Smith are both impending free agents. If Eldridge starts thriving in Triple-A, perhaps he gets called up later in the year, with Flores and/or Smith becoming trade candidates prior to the deadline. In the long run, it seems the Giants hope for a Devers/Eldridge duo in the first base/DH mix, though that will naturally depend upon Devers taking to the new position and Eldridge developing.

Meanwhile, Boston fans will be left with the hypotheticals. If playing first base wasn’t really the problem, then was there a way this could have all played out differently? What if the club had asked Devers to play first base back in November, prior to signing Bregman, and given him a full offseason/spring to prepare? What if they held him through this year and then broached the subject again ahead of the 2026 season? Those questions are all moot now as the club once again grapples with a star player leaving Boston for California.

Photos courtesy of Dale Zanine, Gregory Fisher, Jerome Miron, Sergio Estrada, Imagn Images

White Sox Outright Joshua Palacios

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Outfielder Joshua Palacios has been sent outright to Triple-A Charlotte, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment by the White Sox last week. He has the right to elect free agency but the tracker doesn’t indicate if he will do so.

Palacios, 29, burned his final option year in 2024. He therefore came into 2025 out of options with the Pirates. He didn’t make the Opening Day roster and eventually elected free agency after clearing outright waivers. He landed a minor league deal with the White Sox but was up in the big leagues again by April 10th.

He got into 51 games for the Sox and stepped to the plate 145 times but produced a tepid batting line of .203/.292/.305. That got him nudged off the roster and he unsurprisingly has cleared waivers yet again.

Palacios has generally performed well at the Triple-A level over the years, with a slash of .302/.389/.482 across 720 plate appearances. That has led to sporadic big league opportunities that he hasn’t been able to capitalize on. Having previously appeared for the Blue Jays, Nationals, Pirates and now the White Sox, he has received 578 major league plate appearances over five separate seasons with a .223/.287/.349 line and 75 wRC+.

As mentioned, Palacios can elect free agency but would surely be limited to minor league offers. If he stays with the White Sox, more outfield playing time should open up later in the year. Mike Tauchman, Austin Slater and Michael A. Taylor are all impending free agents, making them natural trade candidates on a bad White Sox club. Luis Robert Jr.’s deal has $20MM club options for 2026 and 2027 but those are unlikely to be picked up with the way he’s played over the past year and a half, so he’ll surely be flipped in the next six weeks for whatever the Sox can get. The team would also surely love to unload the final two and a half years of Andrew Benintendi’s contract, though it will be tough to find another club willing to absorb it.

Photo courtesy of Daniel Kucin Jr., Imagn Images

Mets Place Tylor Megill On IL With Elbow Sprain

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4:25pm: Manager Carlos Mendoza tells Anthony DiComo of MLB.com that the best-case scenario for Megill is a return in four to five weeks. The club plans to have a spot starter on Friday and Montas perhaps joining the rotation after that, depending on how his next rehab outing goes.

3:05pm: The Mets announced that right-hander Tylor Megill has been placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to June 15th, due to a right elbow sprain. Fellow righty Justin Garza has been recalled in a corresponding move.

Megill told members of the media, including Laura Albanese of Newsday, that he just has inflammation and no ligament damage. That doesn’t fully align with the official announcement, as a sprain involves some degree of stretching or tearing, by definition. Regardless, it seems like Megill doesn’t expect a lengthy absence. He says he’ll be shut down for seven to ten days before being reevaluated.

Assuming that ends up being the case, that would obviously be good news, as he was on the road to having a personal-best season here in 2025. He has largely been a serviceable back-end starter for the Mets, with a 4.56 earned run average coming into the campaign. This year, prior to this IL stint, he has made 14 starts with a 3.95 ERA. His 10.8% walk rate would be higher than any other season in his career, but barely. Meanwhile, his 29.2% strikeout rate is quite strong and is way ahead of his 24.3% career rate.

He qualified for arbitration for the first time in the most recent offseason and is making $1.975MM this year. He will be due a raise this coming winter but a notable absence would obviously cut into his earning power, so he’ll naturally be hoping to bounce back quickly.

For the Mets, this is the latest domino to fall in a quickly-changing rotation picture. Last week, it was reported that the Mets were getting calls on righty Paul Blackburn, on account of a fairly crowded starting mix. But within minutes of that report coming out, Kodai Senga suffered an injury and was later placed on the 15-day IL due a strained hamstring.

In the modern game, any pitching surplus is a temporary thing, which is clearly demonstrated here. The Mets are now down to David Peterson, Clay Holmes, Griffin Canning and Blackburn as their rotation options. Frankie Montas has been on a path to join that group but his rehab assignment has been shaky. He has been on the IL all year due to a lat strain and has a 13.17 ERA over his five rehab outings. In the most recent one, he allowed eight earned runs without getting out of the second inning.

Due to those struggles, there’s been some speculation that the Mets might push Montas into the bullpen, though the Megill injury might make him more needed in the rotation. On the other hand, Sean Manaea is also on a rehab assignment and should be in the mix soon as well. His rehab assignment also hasn’t gone super well so far in terms of results, but he’s earlier in the process, having only made three appearances thus far.

Time will tell how the Mets play it. Peterson, Blackburn and Holmes are the scheduled starters for the next three games. Megill was originally scheduled to get the ball on Friday. Canning could perhaps start that one instead but they would still need to someone for Saturday’s game. Guys like Blade Tidwell, Justin Hagenman and Brandon Waddell are on the 40-man roster and could factor in at some point, at least until the Mets get some guys back from the IL.

It will be a situation worth monitoring for other clubs, especially with the trade deadline just over a month away. As recently as a week ago, the Mets looked to have enough starting options where selling was a possibility but perhaps buying will become a consideration.

Photo courtesy of Gary A. Vasquez, Imagn Images

Blue Jays Designate Erik Swanson For Assignment, Place Bowden Francis On IL

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The Blue Jays announced today that right-hander Paxton Schultz has been recalled from Triple-A Buffalo. Left-hander Justin Bruihl was also selected to the roster. In corresponding moves, the club placed right-hander Bowden Francis on the 15-day injured list due to a right shoulder impingement and designated right-hander Erik Swanson for assignment.

Swanson, 31, was acquired from the Mariners ahead of the 2023 season as part of the trade that sent outfielder Teoscar Hernández to Seattle. Swanson’s first season with the Jays was excellent, as he posted a 2.97 earned run average over 66 2/3 innings. He struck out 28.6% of opponents while only giving out walks at an 8% clip. He became a key cog in the bullpen, earning four saves and 29 holds.

That version of Swanson hasn’t appeared much since then. His 2024 got out to a scary start when his son Toby was hospitalized after being struck by a car during spring training. Fortunately, Toby was released from hospital within two weeks, but Swanson also faced some more traditional baseball challenges at that time. He was dealing with some forearm inflammation and started the season on the 15-day IL. After being reinstated, he struggled enough to get optioned to the minors, having a 9.22 ERA through the end of May.

He did finish 2024 on a high note, as he was recalled at the end of June and posted a 2.81 ERA the rest of the way, but his 2025 has started similarly to last year. He started the season on the IL due to a right median nerve entrapment and has struggled since being reinstated. He has tossed 5 1/3 innings with nine earned runs allowed, surrendering five walks while striking out just three opponents.

That’s obviously a tiny sample size but the Jays presumably don’t have faith in Swanson getting back on track. His fastball velocity is down by a mile per hour relative to last year, 92.9 compared to 93.9 in 2024. His splitter has fallen even farther, from 84.9 mph to 83.3 mph. On his rehab assignment before being activated, he allowed six earned runs in 5 1/3 innings.

Swanson now has over five years of major league service time, meaning he can’t be optioned to the minors without his consent, so the Jays can’t give him a break in Triple-A like they did last year. Instead, they’ve bumped him off the 40-man completely. Surpassing five years of service also means he can reject an outright assignment while retaining this year’s salary commitments. He and the Jays avoided arbitration in the offseason by agreeing to a $3MM salary.

DFA limbo can last as long as a week but the waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Jays can take up to five days to explore trade interest. Based on his salary and his recent performance, there’s not likely to be a ton of interest unless they want to eat some of the money to facilitate a deal. If Swanson clears waivers and elects free agency, the Jays will remain on the hook for that money. Any other club would then be able to sign him and pay him just the prorated portion of the league minimum salary, with that amount subtracted from what the Jays are paying.

The loss of Francis to the IL is a notable development for the Jays, even though there’s little information about his expected injury absence, as it opens a hole in their rotation. Francis hasn’t been good this year, with a 6.05 ERA in 14 starts, but he has continued to get starts largely due to a lack of better options.

The Jays have a solid veteran trio in Jose Berrios, Kevin Gausman and Chris Bassitt but those three have been joined by a struggling Francis and a patchwork of swingmen. Guys like Eric Lauer, Easton Lucas, Jose Urena, Spencer Turnbull and Schultz have been making spot starts or multi-inning relief appearances.

That’s due to Max Scherzer landing on the injured list after just one start due to right thumb inflammation. He tossed 4 1/3 innings on a rehab start on Friday and could perhaps rejoin the big league club after one more.

Starting tonight, the Jays play six straight and have one off-day before a 16-game stretch, making for 22 games in 23 days. Heading into that with only three true starters is obviously less than ideal. Perhaps Scherzer and/or Francis could return to the roster before that’s all done, but the Jays will be cobbling things together for now. Lauer and Turnbull are still on the roster and Schultz has now joined them, giving them three potential bulk guys. Lucas and Adam Macko are on the 40-man roster and on optional assignment, so they may end up getting recalled in the coming weeks as well. Urena recently elected free agency after a stint with the Dodgers, so perhaps the Jays will give him another call.

Despite all the rotation challenges, the Jays currently hold a Wild Card spot and figure to be in the market for starting pitching ahead of the deadline. That was true before Francis landed on the IL but it presumably only exacerbates the need.

Also providing the bullpen with a fresh arm is Bruihl. The 27-year-old signed a minor league deal with the Jays in March and has been pitching in Triple-A since then, with a 3.81 ERA in 28 1/3 innings. His 10% walk rate is a bit high but he has struck out 30% of opponents while getting grounders on 61.5% of balls in play.

He also has some major league experience under his belt, though without that kind of strikeout stuff. He logged 76 innings between the Dodgers, Rockies and Pirates over the past few years with a 4.62 ERA and a 15.9% strikeout rate. He still has an option remaining so the Jays could send him back to Buffalo fairly easily if they want to cycle some more fresh arms through the roster.

Photo courtesy of Eric Hartline, Imagn Images

Jake Cousins To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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Right-hander Jake Cousins will undergo Tommy John surgery. Manager Aaron Boone informed members of the beat today, including Brendan Kuty of The Athletic. Cousins will therefore miss the entire 2025 season and at least the first half of 2026 as well. He is already on the 60-day injured list.

The news is obviously brutal for Cousins but it’s not shocking, as his arm has been troubling him all year. When camp opened in mid-February, it was reported that Cousins was already halfway through a shutdown period of three to four weeks due to a forearm strain. When infielder/outfielder Pablo Reyes cracked the Opening Day roster, Cousins was transferred to the 60-day IL as the corresponding move, meaning he had effectively been written off for the first two months of the season.

He did start a rehab assignment in early June but that lasted for only two appearances. He was shut down from that with a setback that Boone said “seems to be a UCL injury.” A couple of days ago, Boone said that things were trending towards a Tommy John surgery, which is now the confirmed path.

That procedure usually comes with a recovery timeline of 14 to 18 months. Cousins will therefore miss all of the current campaign. He’ll have a shot at returning late in 2026 but that won’t be guaranteed.

Between the Brewers and Yankees, he has logged 90 2/3 big league innings with a 2.78 earned run average. His 14.8% walk rate is quite high but he has also punched out 32.6% of hitters and got grounders on 47.1% of balls in play.

He came into this year with his service time clock at two years and 91 days. He will collect service time while on the IL and will therefore get to 3.091 by the coming offseason. That will qualify him for arbitration for the first time. Due to the surgery, he won’t be able to raise his salary very much but he’ll be a non-tender candidate regardless. If the Yanks were to tender him a contract, he’d have to take up a 40-man spot through the winter since there’s no IL between the end of the World Series and the opening of spring training.

Photo courtesy of Rafael Suanes, Imagn Images

Astros Place Lance McCullers Jr. On IL With Foot Sprain

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The Astros have placed right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. on the 15-day injured list due to a right foot sprain, retroactive to June 13th. Fellow righty Jason Alexander has been recalled to take his place on the active roster. McCullers was scheduled to start today’s game but Ryan Gusto will get the ball instead. Chandler Rome of The Athletic was among those to relay the info.

To this point, the Astros haven’t provided any information about how the injury occured or how long they expect McCullers to be out of action. In his most recent start, he tossed 96 pitches over five innings. Up until this announcement of his IL placement, he was listed as the starter for tonight’s game in West Sacramento.

More information will presumably be forthcoming but it’s a notable development regardless. For McCullers personally, he’s looking to get back on track after a lengthy absence. He missed all of 2023 and 2024, and most of 2022, due to elbow issues. He was reinstated from the IL about six weeks ago for his first major league action in over two years. He has since made seven starts with a 4.91 earned run average, though most of the damage came in his second start when he allowed seven earned runs to the Reds while only recording one out.

Now he’s set for another injury absence. On the bright side, it has nothing to do with his elbow, though it’s a setback nonetheless. Perhaps it will turn out to be a fine reset. Since he has thrown so little over the past few years, he wasn’t going to suddenly throw 200 innings in 2025. Ideally, this will be just a minor issue that will let him catch his breath before he picks things back up.

But it will be a situation to monitor given his history and the club’s larger pitching situation. McCullers is now the seventh starter on Houston’s injured list, with the others mostly facing lengthy absences. Both Ronel Blanco and Hayden Wesneski required Tommy John surgery in the past month. Luis Garcia has been struggling to get healthy since his own Tommy John surgery in 2023. Cristian Javier had his TJS in June of last year and could perhaps be an option later in the year. J.P. France is recovering from last year’s shoulder surgery with an uncertain timeline. Spencer Arrighetti has a fractured thumb and also has a murky path forward.

Despite all of those injuries, the Astros have been performing well, with a 41-30 record that puts them 4.5 games up in the American League West. Without McCullers, the challenge of keeping the rotation in viable shape will grow.

The Astros have Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown as two strong performers at the front of the rotation, though it now appears that three very inexperienced arms will be backing up that duo. Colton Gordon, Brandon Walter and Gusto have thrown a combined 120 2/3 innings in the majors between the three of them.

Gusto was originally planned to start tomorrow’s game but will now bump up to today. The Astros have TBA listed as tomorrow’s starter, with Valdez still listed for Wednesday. Perhaps that means there will be some kind of bullpen game tomorrow with Alexander factoring in heavily. He has been starting at the Triple-A level and could cover multiple innings.

It’s already been reported that the Astros will be looking for starting pitching help prior to next month’s trade deadline. The McCullers injury, whether it proves to be serious or not, should only add to that desire.

Photo courtesy of Thomas Shea, Imagn Images

Yankees Designate Pablo Reyes For Assignment

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The Yankees announced that infielder/outfielder Pablo Reyes has been designated for assignment. That opens an active roster spot for designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton to be reinstated from the 60-day injured list, a move that was reported earlier today. The club’s 40-man roster count stays at 39.

Reyes, 31, signed a minor league deal with the Yanks in the offseason and made the Opening Day roster. He has since served in a reserve role, often as a late-game replacement. He has appeared in 25 games with 34 plate appearances, hitting just .194/.242/.226 in those.

That’s not a great performance but it’s a small sample and it’s tough to maintain quality results with such sporadic action. Him getting the DFA treatment today is more about a fairly crowded Yankee roster. Stanton taking a place in the lineup means that one of Ben Rice or Paul Goldschmidt will be on the bench most days. One of the club’s four outfielders will take up a spot as well. Backup catcher J.C. Escarra will also be on the pine most days.

That left Reyes and fellow infielder Oswald Peraza for the bench spot. Both are out of options and performing poorly at the plate this year but Peraza is several years younger and not too far removed from being a top 100 prospect, so it makes sense to hang onto him in the hopes that there’s still some future value to be extracted there.

Add it all up and it equals Reyes heading into DFA limbo. That can last as long as a week but the waiver process takes 48 hours, so the club could take up to five days to explore trades. Reyes passed through waivers in September and then settled for a minor league deal in the offseason. He hasn’t done much to raise his stock since then, so it’s possible he clears waivers yet again. If he does so, he’ll have the right to elect free agency as a player with a previous career outright.

He now has 606 career plate appearances in the majors with a .245/.305/.342 line and 75 wRC+. He’s capable of bouncing all around the diamond, with experience at every position except catcher. That includes five innings of mop-up work on the mound.

Photo courtesy of Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images

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