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Angels Return Rule 5 Pick Garrett McDaniels To Dodgers

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The Angels announced that left-hander Garrett McDaniels has been returned to the Dodgers, as per his status as a Rule 5 Draft pick.  McDaniels was designated for assignment earlier this week, and since he went unclaimed on waivers, the Angels were required to offer him back to the Dodgers for $50K (teams that select players away in the R5 give a $100K fee to the club losing the player).

Rule 5 picks must spend an entire season on their new team’s active roster before the new team can fully obtain their rights, and McDaniels’ stint in Anaheim ended after 10 relief appearances and an IL stint for biceps tendinitis that lasted over a month.  McDaniels posted a 5.91 ERA over his first 10 2/3 career innings as a big leaguer, as he had never pitched above the Double-A level before making his MLB debut this season.  In fact, even McDaniels’ Double-A resume consisted of only two appearances and three innings with the Dodgers’ Tulsa affiliate in 2024.

A 30th-round pick for the Marlins in the 2018 draft, McDaniels chose to attend Coastal Carolina instead of starting his pro career out of high school, and a subsequent Tommy John surgery limited his college ball experience.  He went undrafted entirely and didn’t join the Dodgers until May 2022, but then made a relatively quick climb up their minor league ladder.  McDaniels has a 3.43 ERA in 99 2/3 career minor league innings, and he recorded a good number of strikeouts while working mostly as a reliever, though he made a handful of starts in A-ball.

This was enough to get the Angels’ attention in the Rule 5 Draft, but McDaniels didn’t quite seem ready for the majors.  He’ll now return to the Dodgers’ farm system to continue his development, and another trip back to the big leagues might not be out of the question in 2025 given how the injury-plagued Dodgers are constantly churning through arms.

Reds Acquire Brian Van Belle

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The Reds and Red Sox have each announced that right-hander Brian Van Belle has been traded to Cincinnati in exchange for cash considerations.  Boston designated Van Belle for assignment earlier this week, and he has now been assigned to Triple-A Louisville.

It has been a busy six days for Van Belle, who joined a big league roster for the first time on Monday when the Sox selected his contract from Triple-A.  Van Belle’s cup of coffee in Boston came and went without an official in-game appearance, so the 28-year-old is still awaiting his Major League debut.  Since Van Belle has experience as both a starter and a reliever, his first MLB game might well come with the Reds in a number of different roles if the club makes the call to Louisville.

Van Belle began his pro career with the Red Sox as an undrafted free agent in 2020, though he almost surely would’ve been selected if that year’s draft hadn’t been shortened to five rounds due to the pandemic.  Working his way up to Triple-A Worcester by the 2023 season, Van Belle has a 4.48 ERA, 21.7% strikeout rate, and 6.97% walk rate over 205 career innings at the Triple-A level.  He has started 29 of his 55 Triple-A games, working primarily as a reliever in 2024 and getting most of action as a starter in 2023 and 2025.

On paper, Van Belle might fit best in the majors as a multi-inning reliever, though Cincinnati will probably consider him for at least spot-start duty should a need arise within the rotation.  Ace Hunter Greene is on the 15-day injured list and seems likely to miss the rest of June while dealing with a groin strain and back/hip tightness, leaving the Reds a bit short on rotation depth now that Wade Miley has joined the starting five in Greene’s place.

Astros Place Jacob Melton On 10-Day Injured List

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The Astros announced five roster moves today, including outfielder Jacob Melton’s placement on the 10-day injured list due to a right ankle sprain.  Shay Whitcomb was also optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land, and as reported earlier, Houston selected the contracts of both Cooper Hummel and Luis Guillorme from Triple-A to fill the two open spots on the active roster.  The Astros had one 40-man roster spot already available, and to create the other, Spencer Arrighetti was moved from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL.

Melton’s injury occurred in yesterday’s 10-3 Astros win over the Twins, spoiling what was looking like a great game for the rookie after he went 2-for-2 with three RBI in his first two plate appearances.  In the top of the fourth inning, however, Melton turned his ankle while preparing to field what ended up being a homer from Minnesota’s Willi Castro.

“When I realized that I wasn’t going to have a play on it, tried to back off the wall and get turned around and get squared up with where I thought it was going to hit and just kind of rolled it, landed on it a little awkward,” Melton told the Houston Chronicle’s Matt Kawahara and other reporters.  “Not ideal by any stretch of the imagination, but I’ll play the cards that I’m dealt.”

Melton finished the inning but was replaced in left field by Whitcomb prior to the top of the fifth.  Called up to make his MLB debut on June 1, Melton has hit only .241/.290/.310 over his first 31 PA against big league pitching, though he provided respectable defense and filled a hole amidst an injury-riddled outfield situation for Houston.  Unfortunately, Melton has now gone down to injury himself, joining fellow outfielders Yordan Alvarez, Chas McCormick, Zach Dezenzo, Taylor Trammell, and Pedro Leon on the 10-day IL.

If this wasn’t enough, Isaac Paredes is battling a mild hamstring strain, leaving the Astros temporarily without their starting third baseman.  Guillorme can play all over the infield and Hummel figures to get some time in both corner outfield slots as Houston figures out how to best juggle their roster and perhaps prepare for another call-up if Paredes also requires an IL stint.

Arrighetti fractured his right thumb more than two months ago, so he has already been sidelined for 60 days while remaining on the 15-day IL.  His move to the 60-day IL is therefore just a paper transaction that frees up a 40-man roster spot for the Astros, and Arrighetti is expected to be out for several weeks more, through he has resumed playing catch.

Trevor Richards Elects Free Agency

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The Royals announced that right-hander Trevor Richards has become a free agent after clearing outright waivers.  Kansas City designated Richards for assignment earlier this week, and since he has been previously outrighted in his career, Richards had the ability to reject an outright assignment to Triple-A in favor of re-entering the open market.

As a free agent this past winter, Richards signed a minor league contract with the Cubs that didn’t yield any MLB playing time, as Chicago released him in early May.  The veteran righty caught on with the Royals on another minors deal a few days later, and a 1.69 ERA over 10 2/3 innings with Triple-A Omaha earned Richards a ticket back to the big leagues last weekend.

Unfortunately, Richards allowed four runs over his three innings and three total appearances as a Royal, resulting in an ugly 12.00 ERA.  Most of the damage came on June 8, as Richards was charged with three runs when he couldn’t retire any of four White Sox batters faced.  While a total sample size of 18 batters isn’t that much to go on, Richards allowed two walks and threw three wild pitches during his brief time in K.C.

Richards has enough MLB service time (six years and 70 days heading into the 2025 campaign) that he can’t be optioned to the minors without his consent.  This makes his roster situation a little tricky going forward, and he’ll almost surely be limited to minor league offers in his latest trip to free agency.  It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Richards re-sign with the Royals on a new deal after he’s tested the market, or the 32-year-old might seek out another stop in what has been something of an itinerant career.  Richards has a 4.54 ERA over 563 innings with six different clubs in his eight Major League seasons, beginning as a starter and then moving into long relief or swingman roles in recent years.

Astros To Select Cooper Hummel

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The Astros will select the contract of outfielder/first baseman Cooper Hummel from Triple-A Sugar Land, according to KPRC 2’s Ari Alexander.  Now in his second stint in the Astros organization, Hummel rejoined the club on a minor league deal last week.

Hummel’s first stint ended when the Astros designated him for assignment on Opening Day, and Hummel rejected an outright assignment and elected free agency after clearing waivers.  This set off a bit of a transactional whirlwind for Hummel over the next two-plus months until he returned to Houston, as Hummel signed a minor league contract with the Yankees and two separate contracts with the Orioles.  He triggered an out clause in his deal with New York when the Yankees didn’t include him on their active roster by late May, and Hummel twice elected free agency in lieu of outright assignments off of Baltimore’s 40-man roster.  Hummel is out of minor league options, resulting in this flurry of roster shuffles.

Through it all, Hummel’s actual on-field play in 2025 consists of a single at-bat with the Orioles (as a late-game sub on May 30 in a 2-1 win over the White Sox) and 16 games with the Yankees’ and Astros’ Triple-A affiliates.  Hummel has been hitting quite well in the minors, with a .273/.382/.473 slash line over 68 Triple-A plate appearances this season.  This solid performance is actually a step down from his usual numbers, as Hummel has a career .284/.418/.480 slash in 1487 trips to the dish against Triple-A pitching.

As much as Hummel has been crushing it in the minors, however, he hasn’t received much of a look at the big league level.  Hummel has hit .159/.254/.274 over 236 career PA in the majors, with 201 of those plate appearances coming in his 2022 rookie season with the Diamondbacks.  He began his career as a part-time catcher in addition to being a backup outfielder, though he hasn’t suited up behind the plate since 2023.  Hummel has also been limited to just corner outfield duty this season without any work at first base, and Christian Walker’s presence at first in Houston probably means Hummel will stick to the outfield during his time with the Astros.

Houston will need to make room on both the 26-man and 40-man roster to accommodate Hummel — the club has an open 40-man spot at the moment, but reports from yesterday indicated that Luis Guillorme’s contract is also being selected.  Taylor Trammell and Pedro Leon have each yet to play this season but have remained on the 10-day injured list, so the Astros could simply shift either of them to the 60-day IL to create space for Hummel.

In terms of the 26-man roster moves, both Isaac Paredes (hamstring strain) and Jacob Melton (ankle sprain) could be candidates for the 10-day injured list.  Manager Joe Espada told the Houston Chronicle’s Matt Kawahara and other reporters that both players are considered day-to-day for now, but Espada indicated that Melton had the more severe injury of the two.  The Astros are also carrying three catchers on their active roster, so little-used backup Cesar Salazar could be optioned to Triple-A.

Nationals Place Andrew Chafin On 15-Day Injured List

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The Nationals announced that left-hander Andrew Chafin has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a right hamstring strain.  Chafin’s placement is retroactive to June 11.  Right-hander Ryan Loutos (who was claimed off waivers from the Dodgers earlier this week) was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding roster move.

Signed to a one-year, $1MM Major League deal at the start of May, Chafin has a 3.18 ERA over 11 1/3 relief innings for Washington.  The secondary metrics include a 25.9% strikeout rate that exactly matches Chafin’s career average, as well as a 57.1% groundball rate that harkens back to Chafin’s early-career model as more of a groundball specialist.  Chafin has yet to allow a home run this season, which partially explains why he has kept his ERA in check despite a huge .414 BABIP and an uncharacteristically huge 20.4% walk rate (almost double his career 10.3BB%).

Chafin has traditionally kept pretty even numbers against both left-handed and right-handed batters, though his splits are rather pronounced this year — right-handed hitters have an .871 OPS over 26 plate appearances and lefty batters have only a .607 OPS in 28 PA.  Chafin, Jose A. Ferrer, and Colin Poche (who is now in the Mets organization) are the only left-handers who have seen action in Washington’s bullpen this season, and Ferrer is now the last southpaw standing with Chafin sidelined.

The severity of the hamstring strain isn’t yet known, so for now there isn’t any reason to expect Chafin to be out of action for much more than the 15-day minimum.  The 30-39 Nationals will need to really heat up in order to avoid being sellers at the trade deadline, and a veteran rental pitcher like Chafin would seem like a prime candidate to be moved if healthy.

Mets Notes: Siri, Winker, Senga, Montas, Raley

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Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns and manager Carlos Mendoza each provided several injury updates when speaking with reporters (including Newsday’s Laura Albanese, The Athletic’s Tim Britton, and the New York Post’s Mike Puma) on Friday.  The most unwelcome bit of news concerned Jose Siri, whose recovery from a left tibia fracture will be delayed since tests showed the tibia hadn’t healed as well as expected over two months since the initial injury.

Siri last played on April 12, when he fouled a ball off his left leg during his first plate appearance in the Mets’ 3-1 loss to the Athletics.  The initial recovery timeline was set at 8-10 weeks, though in the wake of this latest setback, Siri will now be shut down from baseball activities for a few more weeks until he undergoes a fresh round of imaging tests.

Even if those tests reveal better results, Siri will need to ramp his rehab back up and play in multiple minor league games, so it may be optimistic to expect Siri back on New York’s big league roster before July is over.  It’s a frustrating setback for Siri, who seemed to be making progress by taking part in live batting practice sessions and doing some running drills in recent weeks.  Instead, it now looks like he’ll miss over half of the season on the injured list, leaving the Mets without a key member of their outfield.

Acquired from the Rays in a trade last November, Siri was meant to add some power and (most pressingly) defensive stability to the Amazins’ center field mix.  His absence has made Tyrone Taylor more or less the everyday center fielder, and while Taylor has held his own with the glove, he is hitting only .234/.300/.332 over 205 plate appearances.  The left-handed hitting Jeff McNeil has been spelling Taylor in center field when McNeil isn’t at second base, and Jose Azocar, Brandon Nimmo, and Luisangel Acuna have made a few cameos in center when the situation has warranted.

It was already expected that the Mets would be looking for some outfield help at the trade deadline, and the possibility that Siri might not even be back by July 31 only underlines the outfield as a target area.  Perhaps if the Mets are okay with the Taylor/McNeil platoon in center field, the club might just look to add a bat in general to help out in the infield or in the DH position.  Designated hitter Jesse Winker is recovering from a Grade 2 oblique strain that has kept him out since early May, and Stearns said that Winker will still need multiple weeks before a minor league rehab assignment is considered.

Kodai Senga’s hamstring strain created a big hole in New York’s rotation this week, though Mendoza said tests revealed that Senga had only a Grade 1 strain, or the least severe variety.  The current plan is for Senga to be shut down for two weeks and then the club will explore plans for a throwing progression and a minor league rehab assignment.  Given the timing, it seems possible Senga might be able to pitch again before the All-Star break, but in all likelihood the Mets will play it safe with their ace and hold him out through the break to give him a few more days of rest.

The Mets’ rotation has been plagued by injuries ever since Spring Training, yet the staff has greatly exceeded expectations by still leading all of baseball with a 2.78 rotation ERA.  Senga’s 1.47 ERA over 73 2/3 innings has been a big part of that success, as the right-hander has returned in top form after missing virtually all of the 2024 season.

Paul Blackburn will move from a long relief/swingman role into the rotation to fill in for Senga, while Britton suggests that Frankie Montas might move into the bullpen in Blackburn’s role (rather than into a starting job) when Montas is activated from the 60-day injured list.  After missing the entire season due to a lat strain, Montas has made five minor league rehab starts, and June 22 will mark the end of the allotted 30 days for Montas’ rehab assignment.

While in-game results are usually less important than fitness and mechanics during these rehab outings, Montas’ 13.17 ERA over 13 2/3 innings with high-A Brooklyn and Triple-A Syracuse is hard to ignore, as the veteran righty is clearly still not on track.  Stearns said that Montas will make one more start in the minors, and that Montas “is still searching a little bit” after such a long layoff.

“Physically, we are trending in the right direction and now it’s just getting him back into the rhythm,” Stearns said.  “This is very similar to a Spring Training ramp up where you try not to focus on results too much early and then as you get a little bit later in the ramp up you want to start seeing outs.  That is where Frankie is right now.”

In even longer-term injury news, Brooks Raley could be starting a rehab assignment within the next week.  Raley underwent a Tommy John surgery in May 2024, and with the knowledge that he’d miss most of the 2025 season, the Mets inked the veteran reliever to a one-year free agent deal that guarantees Raley $1.85MM ($1.5MM in 2025 salary, and a $300K buyout on a $4.75MM club option for 2026).

Several other performance bonuses are available both this season and next depending on how many appearances Raley can make, though the first order of business is simply getting the southpaw back in action.  Britton notes that Raley will likely need the full 30-day rehab window in order to get back into game shape, so if all goes well, Raley could be an option for the Mets’ bullpen before the end of July.

Jed Hoyer: Cubs Planning To Look For Pitching At Deadline

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Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer joined the New York Post’s Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman for an interview on the latest edition of The Show podcast (YouTube link), and discussed a number of topics about both his team and baseball at large.  Though we’re still several weeks away from the July 31 trade deadline, Hoyer did address his first-place team’s likeliest need.

“I think we’re going to be looking for pitching, both rotation and in the bullpen,” Hoyer said.  “I don’t think that’s a secret.  That’s not a knock on the guys we have.  But I think in today’s game, you’ve got to keep building depth.”

Justin Steele pitched in just four games before his season was prematurely ended by a UCL revision surgery, thus robbing Wrigleyville of one of its top arms for almost the entirety of the 2025 campaign.  Javier Assad hasn’t pitched at all this season due to a pair of oblique injuries, and since he only started playing catch a couple of weeks ago, it would seem that a return prior to the All-Star break might not be in the cards.  Shota Imanaga hasn’t pitched since May 4 due to a hamstring strain, and Hoyer said “the hope is” Imanaga will be able to return to the rotation before the end of June.

Without their two top pitchers and another hurler in Assad that expected to at least compete for a back-end rotation job, Chicago has done well to hold its own on the rotation front even with such a depleted set of starters.  Hoyer made a point of praising his in-house starters and his team’s defense for helping the run-prevention efforts, yet bringing at least one starting pitcher into the fold seems like a logical way to reinforce the roster heading into the pennant drive.

As one might expect, Hoyer didn’t share any hints about how big of a splash the Cubs are looking to make at the deadline, and still couched his comments within the framework of “if” the front office chose to make any additions by July 31.  It could be that Hoyer may not know the answer to such questions himself at the moment, as the Cubs’ trade pursuits may hinge on Imanaga’s assumed healthy status by July 31, Assad’s progress, or any other injuries or pitchers who are under- or overachieving in the coming weeks.

Hoyer also said that Porter Hodge is expected to return from his own oblique injury before June is out, which will bring another high-leverage candidate back to help the relief corps.  As Hoyer put it, however, bullpens are “always a work in progress…I don’t think you ever get to a point of feeling comfortable or feeling like it’s a set thing.”  With this in mind, the pen will be a focus both on July 31, and “we’ll keep on making small transactions [before the deadline] as well to get marginally better.”

On the flip side of the equation, Hoyer doesn’t see the Cubs doing much to alter its impressive core of position players on the trade front.  The Cubs have been one of baseball’s best hitting teams, with the powerful offense helping make up for any of the pitching staff’s shortcomings.

“Barring injury, there are probably some small things [we’ll consider] on the offensive side, but really I think that our position-playing group has been really good….The depth we have, top to bottom, I think we’re getting production both offensively and defensively from all our spots.  That’s made a huge difference.  As I think about it, pitching is the likely direction we would take if we were adding [at the deadline],” Hoyer said.

In terms of other topics, Hoyer said he wouldn’t comment publicly on either the existence of any extensions talks between the Cubs and Kyle Tucker, or even any talks between himself and the team on a new deal, as Hoyer’s current contract is up after the 2025 season.  Hoyer repeated past comments about how he hoped Tucker would stay in Chicago over the long term, and how much he has enjoyed his own 14-season tenure in the organization as first a general manager and then the head of the baseball operations department.

Hoyer did go into a little more detail about what might now be the most impactful trade of his five-year run as PBO — the July 2021 deadline deal that brought Pete Crow-Armstrong to the then-rebuilding Cubs from the Mets for Javier Baez, Trevor Williams, and some cash considerations.  New York took Crow-Armstrong 19th overall in the 2020 draft so it wasn’t as if PCA was an unknown quantity, yet a shoulder surgery limited the outfielder to only six games in his first pro season.

The Mets weren’t willing to discuss moving more highly-touted prospects at the time, as Hoyer said such players as Francisco Alvarez, Matt Allan, and Brett Baty were “off the table” in trade talks.  Mark Vientos “was a guy that was kind of discussed a little bit but it was clear they didn’t want to part with him,” Hoyer noted, so discussions turned towards elsewhere on New York’s minor league depth chart.

Crow-Armstrong “was sort of out of sight, out of mind, I believe,” Hoyer said.  “Looking back, I think his injury didn’t allow him to perform, and therefore I think he became a guy [the Mets] were willing to trade in that deal.  So I think it was good fortune for us that they did take some really good players off the table, and most of those guys are helping the Mets right now, but Pete’s injury allowed that to happen and it worked out really well for us.”

While Hoyer felt Crow-Armstrong was going to improve as a hitter during his second full Major League season, even the executive admitted to being a little surprised at the extent of the breakout.  PCA has been one of the very best all-around players in the sport, delivering 17 homers, 21 stolen bases, and a .277/.313/.559 slash line over 275 plate appearances while also playing Gold Glove-level defense in center field.

The Astros Are (Again) Not Getting Much From A Pricey First Base Signing

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The Astros signed Jose Abreu to a three-year, $58.5MM contract during the 2022-23 offseason, seemingly sealing up a first base position that was one of the few weak links on the club’s World Series-winning roster from the prior season.  Abreu was entering his age-36 season and his power numbers had dropped off considerably in 2022, but the former AL MVP still delivered a strong overall year at the plate by hitting .304/.378/.446 in what proved to be his final year with the White Sox.  Coming off an impressive 137 wRC+, Abreu’s “professional hitter” track record indicated that he would continue to be productive into his late-30s, making his deal a wise investment for Houston on paper.

In practice, of course, things quickly went south for Abreu in his new home.  After hitting only .237/.296/.383 in 594 PA in 2023, Abreu hit so poorly (.124/.167/.195) over his first 120 PA of the 2024 season that the Astros chose to release the veteran in June of last year, and simply ate the remainder of his contract.  Right now, roughly $11.9MM is still owed to Abreu through the remainder of the 2025 season.

Even with such a big chunk of Abreu’s deal still on the books for 2025, the Astros certainly felt the need to address first base in a major fashion this past winter.  It should be noted, technically, that Christian Walker was Houston’s backup plan for the first base position.  After acquiring Isaac Paredes as part of the Kyle Tucker trade, the Astros then seemingly had another deal lined up with the Cardinals to land Nolan Arenado, which would’ve installed Arenado at third base and Paredes as Houston’s new first baseman.  Instead, Arenado used his no-trade protection to reject the move to Houston, with later reporting revealing that Arenado wasn’t closing the door on the Astros entirely as a landing spot, but simply wanted a bit more time to evaluate the situation given that Houston had just dealt away a superstar in Tucker.

Rather than wait for Arenado, the Astros instead made a splash on the free agent market by signing Walker to a three-year, $60MM contract.  This made Paredes the new third baseman, and that part of the equation has at least worked out since Paredes is off to a great start in his first year in an Astros uniform.

To fill first base, then, the Astros seemed to be solidifying things quite nicely with Walker, a two-time Fielding Bible Award-winning defender.  Walker had also hit .253/.332/.464 with 141 home runs over 3171 PA for the Diamondbacks from 2019-24, posting above-average offensive numbers except for his injury-marred 2021 campaign.  He was showing no signs of slowing down as he entered his age-34 season, and in the eyes of many observers, Walker was a much surer thing at first base than Pete Alonso, who is four years younger and had to wait much longer than Walker did to land a new contract.

The 36-29 Astros are in first place in the AL West, and appear to be once again lining up to make a run in October.  The 2025 season is also only 65 games deep, so we’re still dealing with relatively small sample sizes when discussing players who are or aren’t performing well.  Yet, even with the caveat that Walker’s slow start isn’t really holding the Astros back to any great extent, it still isn’t good that his performance has suddenly cratered over his first two-plus months in Houston.

Through 260 plate appearances, Walker is hitting .207/.269/.350 with eight home runs, and only 16 qualified players have a lower wRC+ than Walker’s 76 figure.  His 6.2% walk rate and 27.7% strikeout rate are each far below the league average, and on pace to be Walker’s worst BB% and K% rates over any of his full Major League seasons.  Walker’s barrel and hard-hit ball rates are slightly down from his 2024 numbers but are still solid, yet his Isolated Power metric has plummeted from .217 in 2024 to just .143 in 2025.

A .258 BABIP is part of the problem, so again, it is certainly possible Walker’s numbers might normalize once more of his hard contact starts translating into hits.  However, Walker is chasing more pitches out of the zone than usual, and his 47.9% pull rate is well above the 42% pull rate he carried into the 2025 season.  One interpretation could be that the right-handed hitting Walker is focusing a little too much on taking advantage of Daikin Park’s short porch in left field, yet his splits pour cold water on that theory.  Walker is hitting .250/.321/.431 at his new home ballpark, and only .165/.217/.273 on the road.

Another set of splits might offer another hint, as Walker has a .662 OPS over 227 PA against right-handed pitching and a .320 OPS in 33 PA against left-handed pitching.  Walker’s career splits against righties and lefties are almost exactly even, yet his lack of production against southpaws (when he should have the advantage) may not stand out as much as how rarely Walker has gotten to face left-handed pitching.

This could be a bit of a statistical fluke, but the Astros’ overall lineup is absurdly lopsided in favor of righty bats.  With Yordan Alvarez and Taylor Trammell on the injured list, rookie Jacob Melton and two backup catchers (Cesar Salazar and the switch-hitting Victor Caratini) provide the only left-handed balance in Houston’s current mix of position players.  Opposing teams have little reason to deploy their lefty pitchers against the Astros’ phalanx of right-handed batters, and Walker may be having some trouble adjusting to this new reality.

If Walker’s batting numbers are a letdown, his glovework is perhaps more shocking than anything.  Walker has produced -4 Defensive Runs Saved and +1 Outs Above Average over 543 1/3 innings at the Astros’ first base spot this year, down from a +7 DRS and +13 OAA in 2024.  Adding to this puzzling situation is the fact that Walker is now suddenly a relative weak link on one of baseball’s better defensive teams — Houston ranks second in baseball in OAA (18), and Fangraphs’ overall defensive ranking system puts the Astros ninth in the league.

The overall result for Walker is a -0.3 fWAR to show for his first 63 games with the Astros.  Needless to say, it is not what Houston expected from its biggest free agent signing, especially since inking Walker cost the Astros not just $60MM but also two compensatory draft picks, since Houston exceeded the luxury tax threshold in 2024.

Perhaps if Abreu’s contract wasn’t still sitting on the Astros’ books, Walker’s performance could just be written off as a slump, or an adjustment period for a player moving to the AL West after eight years in the National League.  But, Houston fans can be forgiven for sounding some alarm bells over an underwhelming free agent first baseman, especially with Jose Altuve’s own struggles and Alvarez’s uncertain injury situation casting some shadows over the Astros’ good start.  There is plenty of time for Walker to turn things around, of course, and to provide some more concrete evidence that Houston’s first base issue has been properly solved.

Diamondbacks Place Kendall Graveman On 15-Day IL

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The Diamondbacks announced that right-hander Kendall Graveman was placed on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to June 8) due to an impingement in his right hip.  Righty Christian Montes De Oca was called up from Triple-A Reno to take Graveman’s spot on the active roster.

After missing all of 2024 recovering from shoulder surgery, Graveman’s 2025 debut was delayed until May 13 due to a season-opening stint on the 15-day IL due to a lumbar strain.  Graveman then posted a 2.45 ERA over his first 7 1/3 innings and eight appearances for the Snakes before he struggled through a brutal outing in Saturday’s 13-1 Arizona loss to the Reds.  Graveman was charged with six earned runs over just one inning of work, shooting his ERA up from 2.45 to 8.64.

It is fair to wonder if this hip problem was to blame for Graveman’s rough game, though some other red flags were there even before he took the mound on Saturday.  Graveman has more walks (five) than strikeouts (three) over 8 1/3 total innings, and his 30% grounder rate is well below the 50.9% career groundball rate Graveman had posted over his nine previous big league seasons.  His signature sinker is averaging 94.6mph, which is down from a 95.9mph average in 2023, though an early-season velocity drop isn’t unusual for a pitcher just coming back from a long layoff.

Unfortunately for Graveman, that nightmare against Cincinnati will represent his last game for at least a couple of weeks.  This latest trip to the IL can hopefully allow the veteran to fully put his health issues behind him, and an in-form Gravement would sorely help a struggling D’Backs bullpen.  Given how Arizona has a 31-34 record, Graveman (who is only signed through the 2025 season, with a mutual option for 2026) would be an obvious trade chip as a rental player if the Diamondbacks can’t get back into contention.

In other unwelcome news on the pitching injury front, righty Cristian Mena’s right shoulder strain is specifically a teres major strain, as manger Torey Lovullo told Arizona Sports’ Alex Weiner and other reporters.  Mena was placed on the 15-day IL on Saturday, but Lovullo said Mena’s absence will be measured in “weeks, not days.”

The 22-year-old Mena made his MLB debut with one three-inning start with the D’Backs last season, and this year had allowed one run in 6 2/3 innings over three relief appearances.  Mena was a candidate for some turns in the rotation given all of the injury problems faced by Arizona’s starters, but the righty himself has now joined the IL for what might be a lengthy period of time.

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