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Athletics To Promote Nick Kurtz

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The Athletics are going to promote top prospect Nick Kurtz, reports Martín Gallegos of MLB.com. The A’s already have a 40-man vacancy, so they will only have to make a corresponding active roster move to make this official. Alden González of ESPN reports that Kurtz actually won’t be activated until Wednesday since he’s a left-handed hitter and the club is facing a lefty starter tomorrow, after today’s off-day.

Kurtz, 22, is one of the top prospects in baseball. He put up a .333/.510/.725 line in three seasons for Wake Forest, which led the A’s to select him fourth overall in last year’s draft. Since going pro, Kurtz has continued to mash.

He has appeared in 32 minor league games thus far, with appearances at Single-A and Double-A last year, followed by a jump to Triple-A this year. Combined, he has 147 plate appearances. His 24.5% strikeout rate is a bit high but he’s also drawn walks at a huge 15% clip and launched 11 home runs. He has a combined .336/.432/.689 line across those levels with a 171 wRC+, indicating he’s been 71% better than league average.

Coming into this year, before he even started mashing at Triple-A, Kurtz was considered one of the top prospects in the league. Baseball America initially gave him the #34 spot, though he has since jumped up to #32. FanGraphs put him at #31, MLB Pipeline has him at #35, ESPN at #52 and Keith Law of The Athletic at #35. All outlets generally heap praise on his combination of power and his work covering the plate. While he’s only capable of playing first base, he is considered likely to be a strong defender at that spot.

It’s a pretty aggressive promotion, with Kurtz having just been drafted less than a year ago, but his numbers certainly suggest he’s ready for the show. The question is now is how the A’s will line up defensively. Tyler Soderstrom has been the regular at first base so far this year and he’s having a great campaign. He and Cal Raleigh are tied atop the major league home run leaderboard with nine. That has helped him produce a .298/.362/.643 line and 191 wRC+ so far this year.

Using the designated hitter spot would be an easy way to get both Kurtz and Soderstrom into the lineup on a regular basis, except that Brent Rooker is the DH most days. Rooker has been a huge power bat for over two years now, launching 30 homers in 2023 and 39 last year. He already has six so far this year. He does strike out a lot but the overall contributions are still huge. The A’s clearly agree, as they signed him to a five-year, $60MM extension in January.

Rooker does have 955 career innings in the outfield corners but with poor numbers out there. He has tallied -17 Defensive Runs Saved and -16 Outs Above Average in that time, which is why the A’s have used him as the DH so often.

Soderstrom came up as a catcher but there were questions about whether he could stick back there defensively. The A’s haven’t shown much interest in moving him back behind the plate, especially with Shea Langeliers performing well back there.

Gallegos recently suggested that the A’s have considered putting Soderstrom at third, though that would be a pretty bold in-season move since he’s never played the position. The simplest solution for now would be to live with Rooker’s defense in left field, cutting into the playing time of Seth Brown and Miguel Andujar out there, with JJ Bleday in center and Lawrence Butler in right.

Time will tell how the A’s line it up. There are no guarantees that Kurtz will hit the ground running, as even the top prospects sometimes struggle when first promoted to the majors. For now, it seems to be the latest exciting development in a gradually coalescing position player core for the A’s. Recent years have seen guys like Rooker, Butler and Langeliers cement themselves as solid core pieces. This year, Soderstrom seems to be doing the same, alongside Jacob Wilson. The group has been coming together nicely, which made the A’s a somewhat trendy underdog pick for a playoff spot coming into 2025. If Kurtz is able to thrive quickly, that would obviously help.

The pitching group is perhaps a bit behind the hitters and the rebuild is still a bit of a work in progress, with the club currently 10-12. That puts them last in the American League West but it’s still early and they’re only three games back of the lead. It’s been a dreary stretch in the club’s history, with three straight losing seasons from 2022-24 and the agonizing bolt from Oakland. But there are now reasons for optimism during their detour in West Sacramento, so things seem to generally be trending well as the club gets ready to make a new home in Las Vegas in a few years.

At this stage of the season, Kurtz can’t earn a full year of major league service time, at least not the traditional way. That means the A’s will not be in position to earn an extra draft pick via the prospect promotion incentive, regardless of how Kurtz performs in awards voting. But as a top prospect, Kurtz can be retroactively awarded a full service year if he’s able to finish in the top two in American League Rookie of the Year voting this year.

Assuming for now that he doesn’t pull that off, the A’s will be able to control him for six seasons after this one, meaning he won’t be slated for free agency until after 2031. If he stays up from now on, he would be a lock for Super Two status after 2027, meaning he would have four passes through arbitration instead of three.

Photo courtesy of Rick Scuteri, Imagn Images

Cubs Sign Peter Solomon To Minor League Deal

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The Cubs have signed right-hander Peter Solomon to a minor league deal, reports MLBTR’s Steve Adams. The O’Connell Sports Management client will report to Triple-A Iowa and provide the Cubs with some non-roster depth.

Solomon, 28, has a bit of major league experience. He tossed 14 innings with the Astros in 2021 and another 13 1/3 with the Diamondbacks in 2023. He allowed 6.59 earned runs per nine innings in that small sample.

The Cubs are presumably a bit more interested in his larger body of work in the minors, where he has shown some strikeout stuff but also control issues. Back in 2021, he logged 97 2/3 innings with the Astros’ Triple-A club, posting a 4.70 ERA with a 26.3% strikeout rate and 9.9% walk rate. But his minor league ERA jumped to 5.58 in 2022 and then 7.64 in 2023. He started last year in Indy Ball but was able to secure a minor league pact with the Rangers in May. He went on to toss 72 Triple-A innings in a swing role for that organization, with a 6.50 ERA, 21.6% strikeout rate and 12.7% walk rate.

The Cubs have health issues both in the rotation and the bullpen. Justin Steele recently underwent UCL surgery and will miss the rest of the season. Javier Assad has been out all year with an oblique strain. Relievers Ryan Brasier, Eli Morgan and Tyson Miller are on the IL as well. Solomon gives them an extra non-roster depth option. If he gets added at any point, he has one option season remaining and less than a year of service time.

Photo courtesy of Ron Chenoy, Imagn Images

Brewers To Select Craig Yoho

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5:55pm: The Brewers have made it official, announcing Yoho’s selection. In corresponding moves, they optioned right-hander Logan Henderson to open an active roster spot and transferred lefty Nestor Cortes to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man spot. Cortes landed on the 15-day IL in early April due to a flexor strain in his throwing elbow. His status is unclear but he’s now unable to return until early June at the earliest.

2:20pm: The Brewers are going to select right-hander Craig Yoho, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. The righty isn’t yet on Milwaukee’s 40-man roster, so they will have to make a corresponding move.

Yoho, 25, wasn’t really on the radar as of a few years ago but has been turning some heads lately. The Brewers drafted him with an eighth-round pick in 2023 and signed him to a tiny $10K bonus. He had only thrown 37 innings in college, on account of spending some time as a position player and also undergoing two Tommy John surgeries as well as a knee surgery.

Since then, he has been surging through the minor leagues. Last year, he went from High-A to Double-A to Triple-A, tossing 57 2/3 innings with a 0.94 earned run average. He had a massive 42.4% strikeout rate, a passable 9.7% walk rate and strong 54.5% ground ball rate.

Baseball America ranked him the #15 prospect in the system coming into this year, noting that his changeup is easily his best pitch. Both his fastball and changeup have armside run and look similar out of the hand but are separated by about 13-14 miles per hour in terms of velocity, with his fastball in the 91-94 mph range and his changeup 77-81. He also mixes in a curveball on occasion.

Yoho didn’t break camp with the Brewers but has been posting strong numbers in Triple-A so far this year. He hasn’t yet allowed an earned run in 9 2/3 innings, striking out nine opponents while giving out three walks and continuing to get grounders like last year.

Milwaukee will give him a chance to see if the stuff plays against big league hitters. If it works out and he stays in the majors the rest of the way, it’s too late for him to get a full year of major league service time here in 2025.

Photo courtesy of Curt Hogg, Imagn Images.

Braves Place Spencer Strider On IL With Hamstring Strain

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The Braves announced that right-hander Spencer Strider has been placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to April 18, with a strained right hamstring. Fellow righty Michael Petersen has been recalled to take his spot on the roster.

Strider just came off the IL less than a week ago. He had spent just over a year recovering from UCL surgery. He made one start, tossing five innings against the Blue Jays. He was scheduled to take the ball again tomorrow against the Cardinals. According to David O’Brien of The Athletic and Mark Bowman of MLB.com, he just suffered the injury while playing catch within the past hour. He then told the club that he wouldn’t be able to make his start.

At this point, there’s nothing to indicate this will be a significant absence, but it’s the latest speed bump in what has already been a frustrating season for Atlanta fans. The 2025 campaign has gotten out to a terrible start. There was at least a bit of momentum recently, with Strider’s return and the club sweeping the Twins over the weekend. But those three victories still leave the club in last place in the National League East with an 8-13 record.

Now Strider is going to miss at least a couple of turns through the rotation, meaning the club will have to quickly pivot in terms of their plans. Spencer Schwellenbach is taking the ball tonight. Bryce Elder is scheduled to pitch Wednesday on regular rest. Bumping Elder up to tomorrow to take Strider’s spot would mean pitching on short rest. Chris Sale and Grant Holmes are lined up to follow Elder.

Reynaldo López is also on the injured list and won’t be back anytime soon, as he’s going to be shut down into July. Ian Anderson was traded to the Angels just prior to Opening Day, with José Suarez coming back in return. Suarez himself was designated for assignment last night when the club acquired reliever Scott Blewett.

AJ Smith-Shawver was with the big league club earlier this year but he just tossed 5 2/3 innings at Triple-A on Friday, meaning he would have to pitch on short rest to take the ball tomorrow. Hurston Waldrep threw five innings on Saturday, meaning he shouldn’t be available. Davis Daniel logged five innings yesterday. Dylan Dodd has been pitching in relief in the minors but does have some starting experience. Zach Thompson was up with the club as a long relief guy earlier this year. He pitched in Triple-A yesterday, but only two innings, so perhaps he’ll have some availability for tomorrow.

That will be a short-term challenge, as the club is off on Thursday. If they want to get Smith-Shawver or any of those other pitchers into the mix, they should be able to do it by this weekend. Still, it’s a less than ideal development for the club at this stage. As mentioned, they have dug themselves into a bit of a hole in the early going. They have some work to do in order to get back into the mix in the coming months. Strider is one of the most dominant pitchers in the league at his best and was hopefully going to stabilize the rotation in the absence of López. That might still happen but will now have to wait for a couple of weeks, or perhaps longer.

Photo courtesy of John E. Sokolowski, Imagn Images

Yankees Promote Jorbit Vivas

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The Yankees announced that they have recalled infielder Jorbit Vivas. He’ll be making his major league debut if they can get him into a game. He takes the roster spot of outfielder Trent Grisham, who has been placed on the paternity list.

Vivas, 24, has actually been up with the big league club before. In July of last year, he was recalled when infielder J.D. Davis landed on the 10-day injured list. However, he was optioned back down to the minors three days later without getting into a game, so he’s still looking for that MLB debut. Hopefully, he can find his way in this time, as it would be a bit heartbreaking for him to twice get called up and not get any big league action either time.

The Dodgers added him to their 40-man roster back in November of 2021, to keep him out of that year’s Rule 5 draft. He was flipped to the Yankees in December of 2023 alongside left-hander Victor González, with infielder Trey Sweeney going to the Dodgers. Sweeney would later be sent to the Tigers as part of the Jack Flaherty deal, along with Thayron Liranzo.

Vivas is in his final option year and has a huge .342/.432/.493 line through 20 Triple-A games. That’s obviously a small sample but would be a nice breakthrough if he could sustain even some of that. He hit all through the lower levels of the minors but then had a line of just .225/.339/.294 in 26 Triple-A games in the Dodgers’ system in 2023. With the Yanks last year, he got into 93 more games at the top minor league level and slashed .225/.347/.366 for a 93 wRC+.

The young infielder is capable of playing second or third base, with tiny amounts of experience at shortstop and left field as well. He also stole 46 bases over 2023-2024 and has four more already this year. That defensive versatility and speed could make him a nice utility player, especially if the bat is coming around. Paternity lists stints are for one to three games, so Grisham should be back with the club in short order.

Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images

Braves Designate José Suarez For Assignment

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The Braves announced that left-hander José Suarez has been designated for assignment. That was the corresponding move to open a 40-man roster spot for righty Scott Blewett, whom they acquired from the Orioles yesterday.

Suarez, 27, was acquired from the Angels just prior to Opening Day. It was a one-for-one swap with righty Ian Anderson going to the Halos. Since then, Suarez has been working as a long reliever for Atlanta, tossing 7 1/3 innings over three appearances.

He has only allowed two earned runs in that time, meaning he’s currently sitting on a 2.45 earned run average for the year, but is probably lucky to be in that position. He has walked more opponents than he has struck out so far, with seven free passes to five punchouts. He’s been spared further damage by a .118 batting average on balls in play and 81.4% strand rate.

It seems Atlanta decided to cut bait before regression caught up with the lefty, so he’s been sent into DFA limbo. That can last as long as a week but the waiver process takes 48 hours, so any potential trade talks would have to take place in the next five days.

Any interest in Suarez would likely be based on his 2021 and 2022 seasons. Over those two campaigns, he logged 207 1/3 innings for the Angels, working both as a starter and reliever. In that time, he had a 3.86 ERA, 21.5% strikeout rate, 7.9% walk rate and 44.5% ground ball rate.

Things haven’t been as great since then. In 2023, he missed a lot of time due to a shoulder strain and posted an 8.29 ERA in 33 2/3 innings. He didn’t get back on track last year, with a 6.02 ERA in 52 1/3 innings.

Suarez is out of options, so any acquiring club would have to keep him on the active roster. If he clears waivers, he would have the right to elect free agency as a player with at least three years of service time. However, since he has less than five years, heading to the open market would mean forfeiting his remaining salary. Prior to being traded to Atlanta, he and the Angels agreed to a $1.1MM salary for this year. If no club grabs him off the wire, he’ll likely accept an outright assignment and provide Atlanta with some non-roster depth.

Photo courtesy of Denis Poroy, 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. If you have a question about the season, 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.

Michael Fulmer Elects Free Agency

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TODAY: Fulmer cleared waivers and was outrighted off Boston’s 40-man roster, but MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith writes that Fulmer has chosen to become a free agent rather than accept the outright assignment.

APRIL 18: The Red Sox announced that they have designated right-hander Michael Fulmer for assignment. That opens a roster spot for righty Hunter Dobbins, who has been recalled to the big league club. The Sox also reinstated third baseman Alex Bregman from the paternity list and optioned infielder/outfielder Nick Sogard.

Fulmer, 32, was just selected to Boston’s roster a few days ago. On Monday, starter Tanner Houck was obliterated by the Rays, allowing 11 earned in in 2 1/3 innings. Fulmer came in and tossed 2 2/3, allowing three earned runs on four hits and two walks while striking out two. He hasn’t pitched since then but the Sox needed to make room for Dobbins, who is making a spot start tonight, which has bumped Fulmer off the roster.

It may end up being a pretty unceremonious end to a fairly long pairing between the Sox and Fulmer. He underwent UCL revision surgery late in October of 2023 and was going to miss the entire 2024 season. He then signed a two-year minor league deal with the Red Sox, to cover his recovery and potential return in 2025.

The Red Sox stretched him out as a starter this year, an interesting choice as he had been working in relief prior to signing with them. He had a 0.79 ERA in the spring and then a 3.09 ERA in three minor league outings before coming to the big leagues for his aforementioned mop-up outing on Monday.

It’s a pretty small sample and tough to draw many conclusions from it. Now that he’s been sent into DFA limbo, the Sox will have a week to either trade him or pass him through waivers. The waiver process takes 48 hours so any trade talks would have to come together in the next five days.

Prior to his lengthy layoff, Fulmer had some interesting career highlights. He won American League Rookie of the Year in 2016, tossing 159 innings for the Tigers with a 3.06 ERA. His results dipped a bit in the following years and then he missed 2019 while recovering from Tommy John surgery. He returned and found some success in a move to the bullpen, with a 2.97 ERA in 2021.  But that ERA jumped to 3.39 in 2022 and 4.42 the year after, before he required another trip to the surgeon’s table.

Perhaps Fulmer will find some interest based on that track record. If he clears waivers, he has more than enough service time to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency.

Photo courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck, Imagn Images

Nicky Lopez Elects Free Agency

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April 20: Lopez has elected free agency, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

April 18: The Angels announced that shortstop Zach Neto has been reinstated from the injured list. It was reported yesterday that Neto was likely to be reinstated for this weekend. In a corresponding move, infielder Nicky Lopez has been designated for assignment.

Lopez, 30, signed with the Halos just before Opening Day. He had signed a minor league deal with the Cubs in the winter but opted out of that pact when he wasn’t going to break camp with the Cubbies.

For the Angels, they were looking to cover up for a number of infield injuries. Neto underwent shoulder surgery in November and was going to miss the early portions of the 2025 season. Third baseman Anthony Rendon required hip surgery in February and is going to be out of action for a while. To help fill in the infield depth, the club brought in Lopez, Yoán Moncada, Tim Anderson, Kevin Newman and J.D. Davis. Moncada has also been hurt and is currently on the IL due to a thumb sprain.

Despite all of the injuries, Lopez hasn’t really received any playing time. He has six plate appearances across five games, not reaching base in any of them. Anderson had taken over the shortstop position. He didn’t hit much but his glovework received decent grades in his small sample of work. With Neto’s return, he’ll be downgraded into a bench role anyhow. Luis Rengifo is holding down third while Kyren Paris is having a breakout, taking over the second base position while hitting .326/.426/.717.

Lopez already seemed somewhat superfluous on the roster, with Neto’s return squeezing him out even further. The Angels will now technically have a week of DFA limbo time to figure out what’s next, but Lopez has enough service time to reject an outright assignment, so he seems likely to be a free agent within a week’s time.

Generally speaking, he’s been a light-hitting glove-first infielder in his career. He has a .247/.311/.313 batting line in 2,352 big league plate appearances, with that line translating to a 73 wRC+. Reviews on his shortstop glovework are mixed as he has -11 Defensive Runs Saved but 33 Outs Above Average. He also has lots of experience at the other infield positions with good marks there, and some brief left field work as well.

Photo courtesy of Troy Taormina, Imagn Images

Dodgers To Select Eddie Rosario, Place Shohei Ohtani On Paternity List

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The Dodgers are going to select outfielder Eddie Rosario to their roster. He will take the active roster spot of designated hitter Shohei Ohtani, who is going on the paternity list. Right-hander Edgardo Henriquez will go on the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man spot for Rosario. The club hasn’t announced any of the moves yet. Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic first reported that Rosario was with the club in Arlington and that Ohtani would be going on the paternity list. Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register relayed that Henriquez would be the corresponding move.

Rosario, 33, signed a minor league contract with the Dodgers in the offseason. He has started the season in Triple-A and put up a massive .339/.406/.542 line in 14 games at that level. That’s in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League and he won’t be able to run a .419 batting average on balls in play forever, but he has a couple of home runs and is drawing walks at an 11.6% pace.

He has been incredibly streaky in recent years, so the Dodgers will see if they can ride the hot hand while Ohtani is attending the birth of his child. Rosario was actually pretty steady from 2017 to 2020, hitting .281/.317/.493 in that time for a 112 wRC+. But in 2021, he was down to .254/.296/.389 and an 88 wRC+ when he was flipped to Atlanta. He turned hot again at that time, hitting .271/.330/.573 for a 137 wRC+ with his new club. His hot/cold act continued into the playoffs, as he won NLCS MVP by hitting .560/.607/1.040 in that series. He then dropped to .227/.346/.318 during the World Series but Atlanta won it all regardless.

The seesaw production has continued since then. He hit .212/.259/.328 for a 63 wRC+ in 2022, then .255/.305/.450 for a 100 wRC+ in 2023, before dropping to .175/.215/.316 and a 45 wRC+ last year. As mentioned, he had to settle for a minor league deal with the Dodgers coming into this year. He had a rough .154/.241/.423 line in the spring before getting in a groove with Oklahoma City.

Paternity list stints last just one to three games, so Rosario might be in for a short stint on the roster while Ohtani is away. Perhaps he could stick around if he continues his recent hot streak, but that would mean giving up on someone else. Andy Pages is the only position player on the roster who can be optioned, and he’s getting regular playing time in the outfield. Players like Chris Taylor and Enrique Hernández aren’t hitting much but they provide more positional flexibility than Rosario, who can only play the outfield corners.

As for Henriquez, in early March, he suffered a left foot fracture in mysterious fashion. Manager Dave Roberts said only that there was some off-field “mishap”. His timeline is unclear but this transfer means he’s ineligible to return to the club until the middle of May at the earliest.

Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images

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