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Nationals Name Henry Blanco Bench Coach

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The Nationals announced that Henry Blanco is now the club’s bench coach. Blanco was already on the staff as a catching and strategy coach. Also, Bob Henley has been added to the staff with the title of major league field coordinator.

The moves are domino effects of the club’s recent shakeup. On the weekend, they fired president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez. Yesterday, bench coach Miguel Cairo was given the position of interim manager, which created a bench coach vacancy. In essence, the firing of Martinez has led to Cairo taking his seat, Blanco bumping up to Cairo’s spot and now Henley slotting in to even things out and presumably take up some of Blanco’s previous duties.

Blanco, 53, played in the majors from 1997 to 2013. He immediately pivoted to coaching once his playing days were done, joining the Diamondbacks staff in 2014. He then spent three seasons on the Cubs’ staff as quality assurance coach, winning a World Series ring in 2016. Going into 2018, he joined Washington’s staff as bullpen coach, winning another ring in 2019. He pivoted to catching and strategy coach ahead of the 2022 season.

Henley, 52, got a brief major league run as a player. He appeared in 41 games for the 1998 Expos, the franchise which would later become the Nationals. He joined Montreal’s minor league ranks as a coach back in 2003 and stayed with the organization when they relocated to Washington in 2005. He worked his way up to the big league staff for the 2014 season. He stayed on the staff through various managerial changes but his last season was 2021. He stayed in the org but was moved to a player development role for the 2022 season.

Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images

A.J. Preller Discusses Padres’ Deadline Outlook

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Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller made an appearance on MLB Network Radio this weekend and discussed his thoughts about the roster with the deadline looming at the end of the month.

“Getting Darvish, King back would be huge,” Preller said, referring to injured starters Yu Darvish and Michael King. “The bullpen’s been strong. We’ve got a lot of different weapons in the ’pen. You could add to a strength. And on the offense side, it’s probably rounding out the depth of the lineup. I think, like you mentioned, the top of the lineup should be strong… You’ve got to be deep one through nine and I think probably adding a bat or two is something that we’re going to look at here in the next few weeks to try to help our team get to October.”

Wanting to add to the offense is an understandable focus, as San Diego has some clear holes. It’s been reported earlier in the year that the club is looking for upgrades at catcher and left field. Behind the plate, the club isn’t getting any offensive contributions from Elias Díaz nor Martín Maldonado. The team has a collective .206/.269/.325 line from the catching position. That translates to a wRC+ of 70, which is ahead of just the Guardians, Nationals and Giants.

The left field situation is a bit more complex. Jason Heyward had the position for a while but struggled and was released. Gavin Sheets has taken over and is having a great year offensively, currently sporting a .264/.325/.451 batting line and a 119 wRC+. However, he’s not an especially strong outfield defender, so the Friars could consider adding a left fielder to push Sheets back to the first base/designated hitter mix. That would take plate appearances away from Trenton Brooks, who is hitting .200/.231/.400 on the year.

How the Friars go about adding to those spots will be an interesting situation to watch. The club’s payroll has been an obvious concern in recent years, which led to the Juan Soto trade. In the most recent offseason, they primarily limited themselves to modest one-year deals. The one exception was Nick Pivetta’s four-year pact, which was backloaded to reduce the financial impact in 2025.

On top of that, the club has traded away a lot of prospects in recent years as they have attempted to keep the major league roster stacked with talent. Their farm system is highlighted by two really strong youngsters in Leo De Vries and Ethan Salas but all reporting has suggested the Padres are reluctant to part with either of those two.

Put it all together and it will be a tricky balance for Preller but he should have plenty of options, at least for the left field spot. The Friars are known to be interested in Jarren Duran, though that might be more of a long-shot possibility with the Sox hanging in the American League race and Duran controlled for three more seasons after this one. Guys like Ryan O’Hearn, Cedric Mullins, Jesús Sánchez, Andrew Benintendi, Mike Tauchman, Ramón Laureano and Adolis García are some of the other possibilities. Behind the plate, old friends Kyle Higashioka and Gary Sánchez could be available.

As for the bullpen, as Preller mentioned, it has been a strength. San Diego relievers have a collective 3.25 earned run average, which is third in the majors, trailing only the Giants and Astros. But even a club with a strong relief groups can add another arm or two, and injuries can always pop up and change the calculus, so Preller’s openness to adding there is understandable.

The rotation is perhaps a bit more in flux. Starting depth hasn’t been the club’s strong suit for a while and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them target upgrades there, though as Preller alluded to, their aggressiveness in this department might depend on how things unfold in the coming weeks.

Darvish has been out all year due to elbow inflammation but will come off the injured list today. He will jump into a rotation mix that also includes Pivetta, Dylan Cease and Randy Vásquez. King is out with a pinched nerve in his shoulder and his status is up in the air.

Having a playoff rotation of Cease, Pivetta, Darvish and King would be nice but it’s still unclear how realistic it is for the Padres to expect that. Vásquez has a 3.79 ERA on the year but fairly uninspiring peripherals. He still has an option remaining, so perhaps the Padres would consider grabbing one more starter and bumping him to the minors, though they would have to weigh that against other needs while also considering their payroll and the prospect cost of making such a move.

Photo courtesy of Denis Poroy, Imagn Images

Dodgers Designate CJ Alexander For Assignment

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The Dodgers announced a series of roster moves today. Outfielder James Outman has been recalled to the big league club and they have also selected the contract of right-hander Julian Fernández. In corresponding active roster moves, left-hander Justin Wrobleski has been optioned while infielder/outfielder Enrique Hernández has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to left elbow inflammation. To open a 40-man spot for Fernandez, infielder/outfielder CJ Alexander has been designated for assignment. The Fernández move was reported earlier today.

There isn’t a lot of information about the injury to Hernández. Per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, manager Dave Roberts says the issue has been around for about a month. It’s Hernández’s non-throwing elbow, which is presumably why he was able to play through it, but the club has decided to give him a breather. With the All-Star break coming up, he might not actually miss many games if it’s a minor issue. Roberts does believe Hernández could be back in there shortly after the break, per Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times.

Outman gives the club some extra outfield coverage but the position player mix is a bit thin at the moment, particularly on the infield. Max Muncy is on the injured list and will miss several weeks. Tommy Edman is not in the lineup tonight, seemingly due to a right pinky toe issue, per David Vassegh of SportsNet LA. Outfielder Teoscar Hernández was getting scans on his left foot last night after fouling a ball off himself last night, per Vassegh, and isn’t in the lineup tonight.

In tonight’s lineup, the Dodgers have Freddie Freeman at first, Hyeseong Kim at second, Mookie Betts at shortstop and Miguel Rojas at third. The bench consists of backup catcher Dalton Rushing, outfielder Esteury Ruiz, and then the banged-up Teoscar and Edman. If Edman is unable to play tonight, those four infielders are apparently locked in. If another injury were to pop up, the club would have to get creative and try an outfielder on the dirt. Roberts hopes Edman and Hernández will be available off the bench tonight, per Harris, though that may be hollow optimism.

Alexander was just claimed off waivers a few days ago, seemingly to give the club some extra infield depth, but he hasn’t been recalled today. Instead, he’s been bumped off the 40-man roster and into DFA limbo, likely to return to the waiver wire in the coming days.

He has a small amount of big league experience with the Royals and Athletics, having produced a .160/.160/.160 line in 25 plate appearances. He had a really good performance in the minors last year but hasn’t carried it over into 2025. He slashed .302/.361/.559 for a 130 wRC+ on the farm in 2024, but this year’s minor league line is .236/.335/.429 for a wRC+ of 83.

He is capable of playing any of the four corner spots and can still be optioned to the minors. Perhaps there will be interest from clubs who think he’s capable of getting back to last year’s performance. If he were to pass through waivers unclaimed, the Dodgers could retain him as non-roster depth.

Photo courtesy of Neville E. Guard, Imagn Images

Phillies Re-Sign Nabil Crismatt To Minor League Deal

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The Phillies have re-signed right-hander Nabil Crismatt, according to Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com. The veteran righty opted out of a separate minor league pact with the Phillies a few days ago.

Crismatt, 30, has been a reliever for much of his minor league career but the Phils have been utilizing him as a starter this year. He made 15 Triple-A starts before opting out of his deal last week, logging 80 1/3 innings with a 3.81 earned run average. He only struck out 16.3% of batters faced but limited walks to a 5.1% clip. His 39.2% ground ball rate was close to par.

Despite those generally solid results, the Phils haven’t needed him at the big league level. Their rotation is one of the best in the big leagues. Zack Wheeler, Jesús Luzardo and Cristopher Sánchez have been there all year. Ranger Suárez spent about the first month of the season on the injured list but has been healthy for over two months now. Aaron Nola has been on the IL for a while but Taijuan Walker and Mick Abel have gotten the chances to take that spot.

Crismatt decided to see what other opportunities were available to him but has circled back to the Phils. On the one hand, he gets the consistency of staying with the club he’s been with all year, but his path to the big leagues remains blocked. Even if another injury or two develops, the Phils could look to make deadline acquisitions and they also have prospect Andrew Painter making Triple-A starts. Coming up and taking a relief role is perhaps possible but the Phils seems likely to bolster the relief corps at the deadline.

Regardless, Crismatt will presumably do his best for the IronPigs and see what happens. He has thrown 177 big league innings over the previous five seasons with a 3.71 ERA, 21.5% strikeout rate, 7.2% walk rate and 50.3% ground ball rate.

Photo courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck, Imagn Images

Billy McKinney Elects Free Agency

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3:55pm: McKinney has elected free agency, per an announcement from the Rangers.

3:06pm: The Rangers have sent outfielder Billy McKinney outright to Triple-A Round Rock, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week. He has the right to elect free agency but the log doesn’t indicate whether or not he will do so.

McKinney, 30, signed a minor league deal with the Rangers at the end of May after being released from a minor league deal with the Mets. Texas added him to the roster but his stint in the majors was predictably brief. He was added to give the club an extra outfielder while Evan Carter was on the bereavement list. Carter returned three days later and McKinney was bumped back off the roster. As he’s out of options, McKinney had to be bumped off the 40-man, not just the active roster.

In that short window, McKinney got into two games and stepped to the plate eight times, recording one single, one walk and one strikeout. He now has a career batting line of .208/.283/.384 in 951 plate appearances dating back to his 2018 debut, with that production translating to a wRC+ of 79.

His minor league production this year was enticing but also nothing new for him. He slashed .295/.433/.487 for a 136 wRC+ in 24 games for the Express before being called up. Dating back to 2018, the year he first made it to the big leagues, he has a combined .259/.364/.471 line and 116 wRC+ on the farm. That had led to plenty of big league chances, with McKinney having spent time with the Yankees, Blue Jays, Brewers, Mets, Dodgers, Athletics, Yankees again, Pirates and then the Rangers.

He hasn’t been able to translate his big league chances into much success, which has led to him exhausting his option years, thus propelling him into journeyman status. If he elects free agency this week, he can see what other opportunities are out there for him. If he decides to report to Round Rock, he could hope for big league playing time later in the year. An injury could pop up at any time and Adolis García is a plausible deadline trade candidate.

Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron, Imagn Images

Astros Recall Kenedy Corona For Major League Debut

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The Astros have recalled outfielder Kenedy Corona. He takes the active roster spot of first baseman Christian Walker, who has been placed on the paternity list. Brian McTaggart of MLB.com was among those to relay the moves. Video of Corona celebrating his promotion with his minor league teammates was shared by Águilas del Zulia, his Venezuelan winter league club, yesterday. McTaggart adds that right-hander Jordan Weems, who was designated for assignment last week, has cleared waivers and elected free agency.

Corona, now 25, was originally signed by the Mets out of Venezuela as an international amateur. He was sent to the Astros in the December 2019 trade which sent outfielder Jake Marisnick to Queens. The minor leagues were cancelled in 2020 but Corona then went on to have a solid three-year run after that. From 2021 to 2023, he got into 281 minor league games, climbing to Double-A in the process. He hit 43 home runs and stole 79 bases, slashing .260/.339/.450 for a 110 wRC+.

He was eligible for the 2023 Rule 5 draft, but the Astros didn’t want him to get away, so they gave him a 40-man roster spot. Since then, his offense has seemingly hit a wall. Dating back to the start of 2024, he has a combined batting line of .220/.314/.316, which translates to a 78 wRC+. However, he is considered a great defender and swiped another 35 bags in that time.

Jake Meyers is banged up at the moment. He left yesterday’s game with some calf tightness, per Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle. Perhaps he will need to sit out another day or two, which could leave the Astros a bit thin in the outfield, especially with Chas McCormick, Yordan Alvarez, Pedro León and Jacob Melton all on the injured list.

The active mix consists of Cam Smith, Cooper Hummel and Taylor Trammell, as well as Meyers. Infielders Zack Short and Shay Whitcomb have some limited outfield experience. Houston had Jose Altuve in left field earlier in the year but he has mostly been back at second base for the past few weeks to cover for the Brendan Rodgers injury. Mauricio Dubón is also capable of playing the outfield but is currently playing a lot of shortstop with Jeremy Peña is on the injured list.

Put it all together and it makes sense for the club to use Walker’s spot for an extra outfielder for a few days while Meyers is hurt. Perhaps Corona will only be up for a few days while Walker is on the paternity list, but he’ll get a chance to make his major league debut whenever he is put into a game.

Weems, 32, has signed minor league deals with Atlanta and Houston this year. Getting released from the first one allowed him to land the second one. He got a brief stint in the majors with Houston, allowing two earned runs in three innings. He is out of options, so the Astros bumped him off the 40-man roster when adding a fresh arm to the active roster.

Players with three years of service time or a previous career outright have the right to elect free agency. Weems qualified on both counts. He has exercised his right and will see what opportunities are out there for him. Since he cleared waivers, he will likely be limited to minor league offers.

He showed some potential with the Nationals a few years ago. Over the 2022 and 2023 seasons, he tossed 94 1/3 innings for Washington with a 4.29 earned run average, 25.4% strikeout rate and 10.1% walk rate. But in 2024, his strikeout rate dipped to 17.9% as his walk rate climbed to 12.2%, leading to a 6.70 ERA. He was bumped off Washington’s roster during the season and has mostly been stuck in the minors since then. In his 29 Triple-A innings this year, he has a 4.66 ERA, 21.4% strikeout rate and 12.2% walk rate.

Photo courtesy of Reinhold Matay, Imagn Images

Diamondbacks Outright Kyle Nelson

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The Diamondbacks have sent left-hander Kyle Nelson outright to Triple-A Reno, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week.

Nelson, 28, has the right to elect free agency but probably won’t exercise that right. Players with at least three years of service time have the right to reject outright assignments. However, if they have less than five years of service, they have to forfeit any remaining salary commitments in order to do so. Nelson is in that three-to-five window. He and the Snakes avoided arbitration in the offseason by agreeing to a salary of $825K for this year, a bit above the $760K major league minimum. He presumably wants to keep collecting that salary for the rest of the year and will therefore report to Reno.

A few years ago, the southpaw was a solid piece of the Arizona roster. In 2023, he tossed 56 innings for the Diamondbacks with a 4.18 earned run average. He paired a 28% strikeout rate with a 5.9% walk rate.

Unfortunately, he required surgery to correct thoracic outlet syndrome early in 2024, which put him on the shelf for most of that season. He’s back on the mound here in 2025 but his results haven’t been great so far. The Snakes have kept him on optional assignment and he has tossed 17 Triple-A innings with an ERA of 8.47. His 14.6% strikeout rate and 9.8% walk rate at that level are both clear downgrades from his major league work of a few years ago, with diminished velocity as well.

Given the uncertainty there, it’s unsurprising that no club put in a claim. Assuming Nelson accepts his assignment, he’ll try to get back on track with Reno. Perhaps he can regain some velocity and some better results as he moves further away from his surgery. If he’s not added back to the roster by the end of the year, he’ll be able to elect minor league 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 Stan Szeto, Imagn Images

Rockies Option Chase Dollander

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The Rockies announced today that they have optioned right-hander Chase Dollander to Triple-A Albuquerque. Fellow righty Bradley Blalock has been recalled from Albuquerque as the corresponding move.

Dollander, 23, was called up to the majors in the first week of April. The ninth overall pick of the 2023 draft, he tore through the minors last year, posting a 2.59 earned run average, 33.9% strikeout rate and 9.4% walk rate in 118 innings. He was already a top prospect after being drafted but that performance shot him up even higher on the rankings. After just one Triple-A start this year, he was up in the show.

Thus far, he hasn’t been able to deliver on that prospect hype. Around a brief stint on the injured list due to forearm tightness, he now has 15 big league starts under his belt with a 6.68 ERA. His 16.8% strikeout rate and 10.7% walk rate are both subpar.

Not every prospect comes up to the majors and finds immediate success, so it’s not necessarily a concern that Dollander has struggled so far. On the other hand, Coors Field is a notoriously challenging venue to pitch in and that seems to be a factor here. Dollander has a 4.25 ERA on the road but a massive 9.37 mark in the mountains. His 20.3% strikeout rate on the road is much better than his 13.7% clip at Coors.

Getting major league hitters out is tough in any stadium but the Coors effect only heightens the challenge. Batted balls fly farther in the thin air but breaking pitches also move less, so there may be a steep learning curve as Dollander tries to make his stuff work at altitude.

Given his struggles, it’s not necessarily a shock to see the Rockies send him down. It’s also possible that the upcoming All-Star break will allow them to recall him fairly quickly without missing more than one or two turns through the rotation. With some upcoming off-days, the Rockies might just use a four-man rotation for a while, or perhaps give Blalock a spot start or two.

Though the decision is defensible, Dollander is likely to be personally impacted by the move. A baseball season is usually 186 days long but a player needs only 172 days of service to be credited with a full year of service time. Dollander was called up just ten days into the season, so he was on track to hit the one-year mark. That almost certainly won’t happen now as an optional assignment for a pitcher has a 15-day minimum.

The Rockies could technically recall Dollander in less than 15 days if someone else goes on the injured list, but barring that scenario, Dollander no longer has a path to one year of service. As a top prospect, he could also earn a full year by finishing in the top two of Rookie of the Year voting but it’s hard to fathom that possibility with his current stats.

Put it all together and Dollander’s path to free agency has almost certainly been pushed by a year. Had he stayed up, he would have been on track for free agency after 2030. It now appears that post-2031 will be the earliest he could hit the open market. His path to arbitration could also be impacted, depending on how long this optional assignment lasts.

Those are long-term questions which will be answered in time. In the shorter term, the focus will be on Dollander’s on-field abilities and figuring out how to reach his potential. The 2025 Rockies are one of the worst baseball teams of all time and there aren’t many reasons for long-term optimism either. If Dollander can start looking like a potential ace again, that would provide a glimmer of hope, but it’s not there right now.

Photo courtesy of Rick Scuteri, Imagn Images

Nationals Name Miguel Cairo Interim Manager

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The Nationals announced that bench coach Miguel Cairo is now the club’s interim manager. He’ll take over for Dave Martinez, who was fired yesterday. The Nats are off today, so Cairo will make his debut as Washington’s skipper tomorrow in St. Louis.

Cairo, 51, played in the majors from 1996 to 2012. After his playing days were over, he did some front office and player development work. The White Sox hired him to serve as bench coach ahead of the 2021 season, under manager Tony La Russa. Late in the 2022 campaign, La Russa had to step away from the club due to a health issue. Cairo took over and served as acting manager for the remainder of the campaign. The Sox went 18-16 with Cairo at the helm.

Going into 2023, Cairo got some consideration for sticking around but the Sox decided to hire Pedro Grifol as the manager instead. Cairo spent that year working for the Mets in the minors, then got hired to serve as Washington’s bench coach going into 2024.

In-season managerial firings often lead to the bench coach taking over the reins. The Nats are looking to shake things up as they trend towards a sixth straight losing season. In addition to Martinez, president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo was also fired. Assistant general manager Mike DeBartolo is now the interim general manager.

With both the general manager and the manager currently having the “interim” tag, the future is quite hazy. The club has the top pick in this month’s draft. They will also have to navigate the deadline and play out the remainder of the schedule. Cairo will do his best to guide the Nats from the dugout until the end of September. Perhaps his performance in the coming months could help him with his job prospects beyond that, either with the Nationals or other clubs. It’s unclear at this time who will take over Washington’s bench coach job.

Photo courtesy of Mitch Stringer, Imagn Images

Submit Your Questions For This Week’s Episode Of The MLBTR Podcast

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On the MLB Trade Rumors podcast, we regularly answer questions from our readers and listeners. With the next episode set for Wednesday, we’re looking for MLBTR’s audience to submit their questions and we’ll pick a few to answer.

The 2025 season is chugging along, and the trade deadline is just over three weeks away. If you have a question about the campaign, a look ahead to the deadline or anything else baseball-related, we’d love to hear from you! You can email your questions to mlbtrpod@gmail.com.

Also, if you want to hear your voice on the podcast, send us your question in audio form and we might play it. iPhone users can find instructions on how to do so here.

In the meantime, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

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