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Padres Place Jackson Merrill On Concussion IL, Select Trenton Brooks

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The Padres officially announced that outfielder Jackson Merrill has been placed on the seven-day injured list for concussion-related issues.  Infielder/outfielder Trenton Brooks will join the roster in Merrill’s place, as San Diego selected Brooks’ contract from Triple-A.

The placement isn’t a surprise, as Merrill was shaken up and had to be removed from Saturday’s game after receiving a hard tag from Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte.  Merrill was attempting to steal second base in the seventh inning, and Marte’s tag hit Merrill right in the front of his helmet.  Merrill needed a few minutes to recover before leaving the field with team trainers.

It had already been decided that Merrill would sit out today’s game to undergo further examination, and it seems as though the Padres have opted to be safe and give Merrill at least the full week to recover.  As always with concussion symptoms, no real timeline exists for recovery, as Merrill could conceivably start feeling better as soon as tomorrow, or he might be sidelined for well beyond the seven-day minimum.

Merrill already missed a month of action due to a hamstring strain earlier this season, but when he has been able to play, he has continued the impressive form that made him the NL Rookie of the Year runner-up in 2024.  Merrill is hitting .304/.349/.474 with five homers over 186 plate appearances this season, translating to a 132 wRC+ that narrowly tops the 130 wRC+ he posted over 593 PA in 2024.

Brandon Lockridge and Tyler Wade covered most of the workload in center field during Merrill’s previous IL stint, so that duo figures to handle things up the middle for the time being.  There’s no easy way for the Padres to truly replace Merrill, of course, and the outfield mix is also still missing Jason Heyward, who is on a minor league rehab assignment.

The left-handed hitting Brooks will try to help out as depth at first base and in left field.  The longtime minor league veteran finally made his big league debut last season at age 28, and Brooks appeared in 12 games for San Francisco (with a .361 OPS in 28 plate appearances) in his first taste of the majors.

Catching on with San Diego on a minors deal last winter, Brooks’ production at Triple-A El Paso has surpassed even his previous solid Triple-A numbers, as Brooks has a whopping .311/.411/.590 slash line and 14 homers over 270 PA for the Padres’ top affiliate.  Replicating anything close to that at the MLB level would be immensely helpful to the Padres, and for Brooks’ chances of sticking around in the Show.

Orioles Claim Kyle Tyler

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The Orioles announced that right-hander Kyle Tyler has been claimed off waivers from the Phillies.  Tyler has been assigned to the Orioles’ Triple-A affiliate, and no further move was necessary since Baltimore already had an open spot on its 40-man roster.

The Phillies landed Tyler themselves via the waiver wire last August when the righty was acquired from the Marlins, and Tyler will now end his tenure with the Phils without any time on the big league roster.  Tyler acted as rotation depth at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, and this season had a 4.31 ERA, 15.6% strikeout rate, and 7.6% walk rate over 12 starts and 62 2/3 innings.

A 20th-round draft pick for the Angels in 2018, Tyler has a 4.31 ERA over 48 career innings in the majors, with 31 2/3 of those frames coming with the Marlins last season.  Tyler has experience as both a starter and a swingman, and he could provide the O’s with help in either of those departments as Baltimore is still dealing with a number of injuries to key starters and relievers.

With a collective 2.97 ERA over the last two weeks, the Orioles’ pitching staff has started to nicely stabilize itself after some extreme early-season struggles, though naturally any team would love to have some depth arms available.  Tyler has a minor league option remaining, giving him and the Orioles some extra flexibility in potentially moving him back and forth between Baltimore and Triple-A Norfolk.

Rangers Release Gerson Garabito

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The Rangers have released right-hander Gerson Garabito, according to the club’s official transactions ledger.  Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports that Garabito is heading to South Korea to pitch for an unspecified club in the KBO League.

A veteran of 12 pro seasons, Garabito pitched in the Royals and Giants’ farm systems from 2013-21, and then didn’t pitch in affiliated ball until landing with Texas on a minor league deal prior to the 2024 season.  This paved the way for Garabito to make his MLB debut by appearing in 18 games for the Rangers last season, and he made three more appearances this year.  His brief time in the Show yielded a 5.77 ERA over 34 1/3 innings, plus a 19.2% strikeout rate and an 8.3% walk rate.

Garabito started two of his 21 games for Texas, but mostly pitched in long relief roles.  He has primarily worked as a starter over his minor league career, and started all 10 of his Triple-A games this season but struggled to an 8.53 ERA over 31 2/3 innings for the Rangers’ top affiliate.  It is safe to guess that the 29-year-old Garabito likely has a starting gig lined up in the KBO, as re-establishing himself as a starter would benefit his career both for future opportunities in the big leagues and overseas.

Since Garabito didn’t seem to be the Rangers’ plans, the team didn’t really lose anything by letting Garabito go to explore a new chapter of his career in South Korea.  As Grant notes, the release opened up a 40-man roster spot for the Rangers, which may hint at another forthcoming move in the next few days.  Speculatively, Texas might select Dane Dunning’s contract from Triple-A, as the Rangers may need some extra starting depth as their rotation continues to be racked with injuries.

Wilson Ramos Retires

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Longtime catcher Wilson Ramos is retiring after 12 seasons in the majors and 18 overall seasons of pro ball.  The 37-year-old Ramos announced back in February that he was stepping away from the game, and it became official today when “the Buffalo” signed a one-day ceremonial contract to retire as a member of the Nationals.

Beginning his career as an international signing for the Twins back in 2004, Ramos broke into the majors with Minnesota in 2010 but was dealt to the Nationals at the trade deadline that same season.  That kicked off a long run for Ramos in Washington that lasted through the 2016 campaign, with Ramos first splitting time behind the plate with Kurt Suzuki, then emerging as the clear starting catcher by the end of his tenure with the Nats.

Ramos’ first full MLB season in 2011 earned him a fourth-place finish in NL Rookie of the Year voting, and his final year in D.C. saw him earn an All-Star nod and a Silver Slugger Award when he hit .307/.354/.496 with 22 home runs over 523 plate appearances.  Unfortunately for Ramos, he also suffered a torn ACL right near the end of the 2016 season, which kept him out of the playoffs (the NL East-winning Nationals lost the NLDS to the Dodgers) and severely limited his earning potential as he entered free agency.

Inking a two-year, $12.5MM deal with the Rays, Ramos returned to play in 64 games in 2017, and then looked like his old self with another All-Star season in 2018.  He switched teams again this year when the Rays dealt the catcher to the Phillies at the trade deadline, and Ramos continued his tour of the NL East when he signed a two-year, $19MM contract with the Mets the following offseason.  He continued to hit well in the first year of that deal, but his play diminished after the 2019 season, and Ramos didn’t play again in the big leagues following his 2021 season with Detroit and Cleveland.

That 2021 season ended in painful fashion for Ramos, as he tore his left ACL that August.  Between this injury and the two right ACL tears that sidelined him earlier in his career, it is fair to wonder how Ramos might have fared if he had enjoyed better health.  Nonetheless, it is somewhat remarkable that Ramos still had such a long career as a catcher despite multiple major knee injuries.  Ramos attempted a comeback following his third ACL tear, playing with the Rangers’ Triple-A club in 2022, playing in the Mexican League and with the independent Long Island Ducks in 2023, and he suited up for some Venezuelan Winter League action just this past offseason.

Ramos retires with a .271/.318/.432 slash line and 136 home runs over 3786 plate appearances and 990 games in the big leagues.  We at MLB Trade Rumors congratulate Ramos on a tremendous career and we wish him all the best in retirement.

Rockies Place Kyle Freeland On 15-Day Injured List

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The Rockies announced that southpaw Kyle Freeland has been placed on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to June 12) due to lower back stiffness.  Left-hander Carson Palmquist was just optioned to Triple-A three days ago, but he’ll now be recalled back to Colorado’s active roster and will start Monday’s game against the Nationals.

Freeland has a 5.13 ERA over 14 starts and 73 2/3 innings this season, with a subpar 17.4% strikeout rate but an outstanding 4.6% walk rate.  That latter number is on pace to be the best walk rate within a career of solid control for Freeland, and a 3.99 SIERA reflects the 58.4% strand rate and .362 BABIP that has inflated his real-world ERA.  Playing for the woeful Rockies also hasn’t helped Freeland’s fortunes, as his average run support of 3.05 runs per nine innings is among the lowest in baseball.

There isn’t any indication that his back issue is particularly serious, though he’ll get at least a couple of weeks to recover before returning to Colorado’s rotation.  Now in his ninth season with the Rox, Freeland probably doesn’t hold much value as a potential trade candidate at the deadline, given his middling numbers, lack of strikeouts, and pricey contract.  The left-hander is earning the remainder of a $16MM salary in 2025 and is owed another $16MM in 2026, which is the final guaranteed year of the five-year, $64.5MM extension Freeland signed with the Rockies back in April 2022.  The deal has a $17MM vesting player option for 2027 that will trigger if Freeland tosses 170 innings in 2026, and while he has only topped the 170-IP threshold twice in his career, that stands as another reason rival clubs may be wary of inquiring about a deadline deal.

Rangers Place Tyler Mahle On 15-Day Injured List, Recall Kumar Rocker

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The Rangers officially placed right-hander Tyler Mahle on the 15-day injured list due to right shoulder fatigue.  The placement is retroactive to June 12.  Right-hander Kumar Rocker was called up from Triple-A and will start for the Rangers today in what was initially Mahle’s turn in the rotation.

The transaction was telegraphed yesterday, when Rocker rejoined the team less than 15 days after he was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock.  Such a quick recall could only happen in the event of another injury, and Texas manager Bruce Bochy told MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry and other reporters that Mahle felt some shoulder discomfort during his last start on Tuesday.

This shoulder issue may have contributed to Mahle allowing four earned runs in 5 2/3 innings (though the Rangers still recorded a 16-4 win over the Twins) that night.  Mahle has an outstanding 2.34 ERA over 77 innings this season, though eight of the 20 earned runs he has allowed this season have come in his last two starts.

Some regression was probably inevitable anyway for Mahle, whose secondary metrics paint a less flattering view of his performance.  Mahle’s 4.56 SIERA is almost twice the size of his 2.34 ERA, as a .253 BABIP and an 82.3% strand rate have helped Mahle get away with below-average strikeout (18.2K%) and walk (8.8BB%) rates.  The gap between Mahle’s .263 wOBA and his .330 xwOBA is one of the largest of any starter in baseball.  On the plus side, Mahle isn’t allowing much hard contact, and he has allowed only four home runs over his 77 frames.

In the bigger picture, continued shoulder discomfort for Mahle is a particular concern, given how similar shoulder injuries also limited him in both 2022 and 2024.  The 2023 season saw Mahle undergo a Tommy John surgery, and he didn’t return to action until August 6 of last year.  Given all of these recent injuries, it could be that Mahle is simply a little tired since his 77-inning workload is already beyond the 56 1/3 total innings his threw in the majors and minors over the 2023-24 campaigns.

Mahle joins fellow starters Nathan Eovaldi, Jon Gray, and Cody Bradford on the Texas injured list, leaving the Rangers with a makeshift rotation of Jacob deGrom, Patrick Corbin, Jack Leiter, and now Rocker.  Of the injured starters, Bradford may be the closest to returning since he recently threw two simulated innings, though he’ll still need a lengthy rehab assignment after missing the entire season recovering from an elbow sprain.

The Rangers have an off-day on Monday before starting a stretch of 25 games in 27 days heading into the All-Star break.  The Texas relief corps has recently stepped up with a pair of impressive bullpen days to help the club patch the holes in the rotation, yet continuing to rely too heavily on the pen obviously isn’t an ideal strategy — especially not heading into such a busy portion of the schedule.  Dane Dunning is probably the top experienced option to be recalled from Triple-A to cover some starts and eat some innings, and the Rangers have an opening on their 40-man roster if Dunning’s contract is selected.

There’s an added financial wrinkle to Mahle’s injury, as any time spent on the IL could cost him some significant bonus money.  Mahle is set to earn a $500K bonus if he pitches at least 100 innings, and then an $1MM bonus for hitting each of the 110-, 120-, and 130-inning thresholds, and then a final $1.5MM bonus at 140 innings.  This extra cash has plenty of implications for both Mahle’s wallet and the Rangers’ attempts to stay under the luxury tax threshold, so a lengthier stay on the injured list has plenty of bigger-picture implications.

Zack Wheeler Plans To Retire After 2027 Season

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Phillies ace Zack Wheeler signed a three-year, $126MM contract extension in March 2024 that covers the 2025-27 seasons.  It appears as though that will be the final deal of Wheeler’s career, as The Athletic’s Matt Gelb writes that Wheeler is aiming to retire following the 2027 campaign, at age 37.

Plenty can change within the next two and a half years, of course, and even such teammates as J.T. Realmuto have some doubt that Wheeler would really hang up the cleats if he is still healthy and pitching well by the time the 2027 season wraps.  That said, Wheeler said “it’ll be easy to walk away” from baseball — not because of any burnout or lack of drive, but simply because Wheeler is looking forward to spending time with his family.

Should the right-hander continue on his current track through his planned retirement date, Wheeler will surely draw some attention from Cooperstown voters.  Since the start of the 2018 season, Wheeler leads all pitchers in fWAR (35.7), and only teammate Aaron Nola has thrown more innings than Wheeler’s 1289 frames.  He has a 3.14 ERA over those eight-plus years, and a 3.31 ERA for the entirety of his 11 big league seasons.

Selected sixth overall by the Giants in the 2009 draft, Wheeler has more than lived up to the high expectations that came with that high pedigree, though he famously never pitched a game in a San Francisco uniform.  The Giants dealt Wheeler to the Mets at the 2011 trade deadline for Carlos Beltran, as the Giants made the bold decision to acquire a star rental player in order to make a bid for the playoffs.  San Francisco’s three World Series titles from 2010-14 give the organization some leeway when looking back at “what if?” scenarios, yet it is intriguing to wonder if keeping Wheeler might have allowed the Giants to extend their contention window deeper into the decade.

That said, Wheeler’s time in New York was interrupted by injury, as he didn’t pitch at all in 2015-16 due to both a Tommy John surgery and a strained flexor tendon.  He naturally showed some rust in his return to the mound in 2017, but then pitched well enough over the next two seasons to make him one of the most prized members of the 2019-20 free agent class.  The Phillies inked Wheeler to a five-year, $118MM contract that now stands as one of the best free agent pitching deals in history, given how Wheeler has elevated his game since arriving in the City of Brotherly Love.

Wheeler has a 2.93 ERA, 27.5% strikeout rate, and a 5.7% walk rate over 911 1/3 regular-season innings in a Phillies uniform, as well as a 2.18 ERA over 70 1/3 playoff innings.  Wheeler has twice been an NL All-Star during his time with the Phils, and he was the runner-up in NL Cy Young Award voting in both 2021 and 2024.  The righty is only a couple of weeks removed from his 35th birthday, but he continues to be one of the league’s top arms this season, with a 2.85 ERA, 6% walk rate, and a 32% strikeout rate that is on pace for a new career high.

Extending Wheeler helped the Phillies keep their rotation cornerstone in place through now what looks to be the rest of his career, and the team has already made some preparations for the post-Wheeler era.  Cristopher Sanchez was inked to an extension that (if club options are exercised) could run through 2030.  Nola was re-signed to a new contract during the 2023-24 offseason, though Nola has been quite shaky this year.  Younger pitchers like Andrew Painter and Mick Abel are viewed as the future of the rotation, plus it seems likely that the Phils will keep spending big, so a future free agent splash to add pitching is certainly possible down the road.

Eddie Rosario To Opt Out Of Minors Deal With Brewers

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Eddie Rosario signed a minor league deal with the Brewers on May 14, and has yet to be called up to the big leagues.  Rosario will therefore enact a June 15 opt-out clause in his contract and become a free agent, according to reporter Francys Romero.

The 2021 NLCS MVP has hit .290/.373/.449 with two home runs over 83 plate appearances with Triple-A Nashville, which comes on the heels of an even more impressive .339/.406/.542 slash line in 69 PA with the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate earlier this season.  While these numbers indicate that the 33-year-old has something left in the tank, Rosario’s subpar production in the majors over the last two seasons likely gave the Brewers some pause about bringing him up to the active roster.

Since Opening Day 2024, Rosario has hit only .174/.212/.311 over 327 Major League plate appearances with the Nationals, Dodgers, and two separate stints with the Braves.  His 2025 output consists of only five games and eight PA, as he has only briefly played with the Dodgers and Braves while spending the bulk of the year in Triple-A.  Even dating back to the start of the 2021 campaign, consistency has been an issue for Rosario, though his highs were epic — most notably a red-hot stretch for Atlanta late in the 2021 season and through the playoffs, helping the Braves win the World Series.

The Milwaukee lineup has been average at best in 2025, and power has been in short supply since the Brewers’ 64 homers rank only 24th of 30 teams.  An argument can be made that the Crew wouldn’t have lost much in giving Rosario a shot, especially since the team’s outfield ranks were thinned by injuries to Blake Perkins and Garrett Mitchell, plus Christian Yelich has mostly been a DH this season with only a handful of appearances in left field.

With Yelich, Jackson Chourio, and the emerging Sal Frelick all getting everyday at-bats, however, Rosario’s only real avenue into the lineup would’ve been as part of the left field mix with Isaac Collins and Jake Bauers.  The Brewers might’ve simply preferred to roll with their present options rather than bring Rosario aboard, especially if the team thought Rosario’s Nashville numbers may have been the product of an inflated .340 BABIP.

Rosario will now hit the open market again in search of another team.  There are plenty of clubs with more clear openings in the outfield than Milwaukee, so it might not be long before Rosario lands elsewhere on another minor league deal.

Twins Place Royce Lewis On 10-Day Injured List

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TODAY: The Twins have officially announced Lewis’ IL placement, with a retroactive June 14 date.  Outfielder DaShawn Keirsey Jr. was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move.

JUNE 14, 5:14pm: The Twins are planning to place Lewis on the IL, as relayed by Miller. He goes on to note that the Twins are labeling Lewis’s strain as “mild.” That’s an encouraging framing for the injury, although it must be emphasized that due to Lewis’s long history of lower half issues even a mild strain could leave him out of commission for some time.

2:52pm: Twins third baseman Royce Lewis suffered a left hamstring strain in Friday’s 10-3 loss to the Astros that forced Lewis out of the game.  The injury occurred in the ninth inning, as Lewis hit a line drive into the left field corner that resulted in only a single, as Lewis came up limping heading into first base.  According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Phil Miller and other beat writers, Lewis will undergo an MRI today to determine the extent of the damage.

An earlier strain to that same left hamstring sidelined Lewis during Spring Training and delayed his season debut until May 5.  The missed time clearly seemed to be having an impact on Lewis’ bat, as he has hit only .202/.282/.303 over 110 plate appearances.  With a 1.056 OPS over his last 33 PA, however, Lewis seemed like he was getting into form just before his balky hamstring may again force him to the injured list.

Injuries have hampered Lewis’ entire pro career, limiting the former first overall pick to 546 games (182 in the majors, 364 in the minors) since he was selected in the 2017 draft.  Two right ACL tears were the most devastating of Lewis’ multiple health issues, and he has also missed time on the Twins’ injured list due to a quad strain, an adductor strain, and a less-serious left hamstring strain late in the 2023 season that Lewis was able to overcome in time to return for a dominant playoff performance.

If the MRI doesn’t reveal anything too serious, Minnesota could opt to give Lewis a few days of rest in lieu of an IL stint, since the Twins don’t play on Monday anyway.  A backdated IL placement would still “begin” today anyway if the Twins ended up sending Lewis to the 10-day injured list on Tuesday, though such a decision may also hinge if the club is willing to play a man short over a big weekend series against the Astros.

Brooks Lee is the likeliest candidate to get the bulk of third base time if Lewis does wind up on the IL, with such versatile options as Willi Castro, Kody Clemens, or Jonah Bride also available to rotate into the hot corner.  Several other infielders are on the 40-man roster and could be summoned from Triple-A, yet naturally there’s not much substitute for the upside that a healthy and productive Lewis can bring to the Twins’ lineup.

Tigers Designate John Brebbia For Assignment

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The Tigers have designated right-hander John Brebbia for assignment, according to multiple Detroit beat writers.  Right-hander Tyler Owens was called up from Triple-A Toledo in the corresponding move.

Brebbia signed a one-year, $2.75MM free agent contract with the Tigers in February, earning $2.25MM in 2025 with a $500K buyout of a $4MM club option for the 2026 season.  It seemed like a decent investment in a veteran who has been a fairly reliable bullpen arm for most of his career, and Brebbia’s shakier results in 2024 (a 5.86 ERA in 55 1/3 innings) could be partially ascribed to Brebbia spending most of his season with an infamously bad White Sox team.

Unfortunately for Brebbia, things haven’t worked out in 2025.  The righty has a 7.71 ERA over 18 2/3 innings for Detroit, with a lot of hard contact allowed and an 11.8% walk rate that is far beyond the career 7.3BB% Brebbia had posted heading into the season.  Beyond these rougher advanced metrics, Brebbia has also run into some bad luck for the second straight season, in the form of a .339 BABIP and a very low 56.6% strand rate.  Brebbia’s 4.32 SIERA is much more flattering than his real-world ERA, and comparable to how his 3.29 SIERA in 2024 was far lower than his 5.86 ERA.

He also spent just shy of three weeks on the injured list due to a triceps strain, and that IL stint appears to have thrown Brebbia’s season off-kilter.  The reliever had a sparkling 1.00 ERA in nine innings (eight appearances) prior to his IL stint, but he has been torched for a 13.97 ERA in 9 2/3 innings and 11 appearances since his return to the mound.  Things really particularly went south for Brebbia in his last two outings, as he has allowed six runs over 1 1/3 innings in the last two days.

This was apparently enough to convince Detroit to move on, and in all likelihood the Tigers will eat the remaining money owed on Brebbia’s contract.  If another club trades for Brebbia during his DFA period or puts in a waiver claim, the new team would assume the rest of his salary.  Should Brebbia clear waivers, Detroit is on the hook for the remaining salary, and a new team who signed Brebbia afterwards would owe him just the prorated portion of the MLB minimum salary.  Brebbia has enough of a resume that he’ll probably soon land elsewhere on a minor league deal, as the 35-year-old will try to get his season on track with a change of scenery.

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