Mark Polishuk | MLB Trade Rumors

Latest On Yu Darvish

By Mark Polishuk | May 10, 2025 at 12:14pm CDT

Yu Darvish’s 2025 debut may be getting closer, as the veteran right-hander threw 48 pitches over three innings of a simulated-game situation on Thursday at the Padres’ Spring Training facility. Darvish has spent the entire season on the injured list after developing elbow inflammation during spring camp in mid-March, but despite the long layoff, Padres manager Mike Shildt told MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell and other reporters that he doesn’t believe Darvish will need much rehab time before making his return to the San Diego roster.

While no specific timeline has been established, Shildt said the team might have Darvish undergo the final stages of rebuilding his arm strength while pitching Major League innings, rather than embarking on a lengthy minor league rehab assignment. Assuming all is well with Darvish physically, Shildt said the club trusts that Darvish’s veteran know-how would allow him to properly ramp up on the fly while pitching in games. The Padres would manage Darvish’s workload via inning limits and pitch counts, but even a somewhat limited version of Darvish would still be very helpful for an upcoming busy stretch of the schedule. As Cassavell notes, the Padres have a stretch of 26 games in 27 days beginning on May 30.

Before such plans can be put into place, of course, Darvish will have to continue taking positive steps in his pitching progression. Some level of minor league game activity seems likely, as Shildt said that Darvish will have to build up to an 80-pitch limit. The 38-year-old Darvish has already been thrown multiple bullpen sessions, and Thursday marked the first time since the spring that he faced live batters.

This is the third straight season that Darvish has dealt with some type of elbow problem. The most serious of the injuries was an olecranon stress reaction that ended his 2023 season in August, and the righty has battled inflammation in each of the last two years. Darvish also had IL stints in 2024 due to a neck strain and two groin strains, and he also missed more time due to an undisclosed family issue.

Given how Darvish pitched only 95 1/3 innings in 2024 between the regular season and the playoffs, it is perhaps a little surprising that (for now) the Padres aren’t planning for a longer rehab stint in the wake of his latest injury. Still, Darvish did get most of his Spring Training work in before his elbow inflammation arose, and obviously the Padres aren’t going to take any undue risk with Darvish’s health.

It is perhaps telling that San Diego has kept Darvish just on the 15-day injured list since Opening Day, as a placement on the 60-day IL would mean Darvish can’t be activated until the last week of May. Since that might end up being Darvish’s timeline anyway, the Friars might well shift Darvish to the 60-day purely for procedural reasons if the team is in need of an extra 40-man roster spot. But, Darvish’s continued stay on the 15-day IL gives the Padres some flexibility in bringing him back even earlier than that 26 games-in-27 day stretch.

The 24-13 Padres have gotten by just fine without Darvish to date, but needless to say, the rotation will look a lot stronger with the five-time All-Star back in the ranks. Michael King and Nick Pivetta have both been excellent, but Dylan Cease has been uncharacteristically shaky (despite some strong peripherals), and Randy Vasquez’s shaky peripherals undermine his solid 3.76 ERA. Multiple off-days in the last two weeks have allowed the Padres to get by without a proper fifth starter for a while, but Stephen Kolek is now lined up to take that role, and he is today’s scheduled starter against the Rockies.

Darvish had a 3.31 ERA over his 81 2/3 frames of regular-season work in 2024, with a 6.6% walk rate that was solidly above average, even if his 23.6% strikeout rate was only slightly above the league-wide midpoint and he allowed much more hard contact than usual. A sharp dropoff can arise suddenly for any pitcher as he ages, and Darvish has already been testing Father Time just by making it into his age-38 season. This said, the Padres only need Darvish to be a solid mid-rotation arm rather than an ace, and it seems quite possible that he can reach or better that status if he can avoid the injury bug.

Rafael Devers Meets With Red Sox Owner John Henry

By Mark Polishuk | May 10, 2025 at 10:29am CDT

As the Red Sox began a series with the Royals yesterday, Sox owner John Henry, team CEO Sam Kennedy, and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow all flew to Kansas City in response to Rafael Devers’ comments on Thursday about his refusal to play first base, and his displeasure with what the slugger felt was an unreasonable series of requests from upper management. Henry and manager Alex Cora (with Kennedy and Breslow not present) met with Devers privately prior to Friday’s game for a lengthy meeting that, in theory, helped clear the air about what has become a public controversy.

None of Devers, Henry, or Cora commented about the meeting, but Breslow told reporters (including The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey) that Henry said an “honest and candid exchange” took place about the situation. The intent, as per Breslow, was to have “an honest conversation about what we value as an organization and what we believe is important to the Boston Red Sox and that is being great teammates for each other. And so we think we had a productive conversation. John seems to have had a productive conversation. And that’s where things stand right now.”

In a follow-up about what Breslow considered a great teammate, he answered “I think it’s No. 1, being honest and open with communication. I think it is recognizing when there’s an opportunity to step up, when there’s a need for the group to be in front of any individual achievement or accomplishment. And I think it’s important that that gets reinforced given what we’re hoping to accomplish.”

Devers said Thursday that he took issue with Breslow recently asking about a position change to first base, and the two parties haven’t yet spoken since Devers went public with his frustrations. Though Breslow said his conversation with Devers was more “exploratory” in nature about a possible move to first base, the CBO took some responsibility for the awkward situation.

“My reaction was there potentially was some misunderstanding on the communication or an opportunity to more clearly provide communication,” Breslow said. “And so hopefully that was a step in the right direction here today….Obviously, it’s unfortunate that we’re in the situation that we are right now. But as you approach every decision, you try to provide as much clear communication as possible. It’s my job to always put the priorities of the organization first. But I should also be evaluating every interaction I have with players and I’ll continue to do that.”

More will be known if or when Devers himself comments on the meeting, and it isn’t likely that Henry (who rarely speaks with the media) will issue a comment. As McCaffrey noted, however, the fact that Henry felt the need to personally travel to Kansas City and meet with Devers directly was a very public statement in its own right, and underscored the “unusual” nature of what has become a major subplot of Boston’s season.

After spending his first eight seasons as the Red Sox third baseman, Devers has become a full-time DH this season in order to accommodate Alex Bregman (a much better defensive player) at the hot corner. Devers has long expressed his preference to remain at third base and even continued this stance after Bregman was signed, though he eventually stated that he was “good to do whatever they want me to do.” After a slow start at the plate, Devers has been crushing the ball over the last couple of weeks, seemingly settling in nicely to his new designated hitter role.

Triston Casas began the season as the everyday first baseman, but since Casas’ 2025 campaign has now likely been ended by a knee surgery, Romy Gonzalez and Abraham Toro have been handling the position. Moving Devers to first base seemed like a possible answer to the first base problem, as opening up the DH spot would’ve also allowed the Red Sox to find a spot for Masataka Yoshida (currently on the injured list) or for top prospects Roman Anthony or Marcelo Mayer. After being asked to change positions once, however, Devers has balked at learning a new position on the fly, and was quite openly frustrated over now being asked to become a first baseman after being told that he would only be a DH in 2025.

It remains to be seen what next steps might be taken, or whether or not Friday’s meeting might have laid some groundwork for Devers to eventually move to first base after all. Given how Breslow mentioned the concept of teammate behavior, it is worth noting that the other Red Sox players seem to be staying quiet about the situation for now.

“We will talk about it. Obviously, things are fresh and a little emotional right now, but yeah, we will do it,” Trevor Story told MLB.com’s Jackson Stone. “And like I said, we’re all adults and we’ll figure this thing out eventually. One way or another, it’s about winning games and I think everyone can agree on that.”

Pirates Notes: Shelton, Haddad, Cherington, Nutting, Valdez

By Mark Polishuk | May 10, 2025 at 9:30am CDT

9:30AM: The 2025 season marked the final year of Shelton’s contract as manager, Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. The terms of the extension Shelton signed in April 2023 weren’t made public, though the 2023 season was known to be the final year of the four-year contract Shelton initially signed when he was first hired as skipper.

Hiles didn’t mention whether or not any club options were attached to Shelton’s deal beyond 2025, so it seems as though Shelton may have been in a true lame-duck situation heading into this season. This only adds to the perception that Shelton’s managerial tenure was on thin ice, and Hiles noted that it became increasingly clear during the season that Shelton would be replaced. “Numerous members within the Pirates organization, including a few within the clubhouse, privately acknowledged as much to the Post-Gazette in the days leading up to his dismissal,” Hiles writes.

8:45AM: The Pirates’ managerial change naturally drew most of the headlines on Thursday, but in addition to letting go of Derek Shelton, the Bucs also moved on from another member of the coaching staff. The New York Post’s Jon Heyman reports that Pittsburgh parted ways with Radley Haddad, who had been a game-planning and strategy coach with the team since November 2021.

Haddad (who turns 35 tomorrow) is a former minor league player in the Yankees organization who wrapped up his playing career following the 2016 season. He then moved into a new role as the Yankees’ big league bullpen catcher, as well as a coaching assistant. Haddad worked in that capacity until he was hired away by the Pirates following the 2021 campaign.

Between Haddad’s departure and Don Kelly’s promotion from bench coach to manager, the Pirates now have two openings to fill on the staff. It isn’t known if any other coaching changes may yet be in the offing, as the Bucs continue to figure out how to adjust on the fly amidst a disappointing season. Kelly’s managerial debut was at least a success, as the Buccos’ 3-2 win over the Braves last night ended Pittsburgh’s seven-game losing streak, though the club still has only a dismal 13-26 record.

Larger-scale changes don’t appear to be coming at least in the near future, as Pirates owner Robert Nutting told Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that GM Ben Cherington and president Travis Williams aren’t going anywhere for the time being. “I think if we make a broad, real restructure of the organization midseason, right now, we will not improve the team for 2025. I don’t think that makes us better,” Nutting said. “I’m not willing to give up on what we expected, which involves a significantly better performance than you’ve seen. I believe we can get to that. I don’t think that blowing everything up 38 games into the year is gonna help us do that. I think that would be distracting. I think that would get us off track. My focus has to be on getting this fixed and getting it fixed as fast as we can.”

Left unsaid was the possibility that Nutting might explore a wider “restructure” down the road if the Pirates don’t start playing better baseball. Cherington was hired in November 2019 to oversee a major rebuilding process that has brought some premium talent onto the roster, yet the Bucs haven’t delivered a single winning season in Cherington’s five-plus years in charge of baseball operations.

The situation has left the Pittsburgh fanbase openly dismayed and it is clear that both Nutting and Cherington share in those frustrations. Cherington took his share of the blame when speaking with reporters (including Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) on Thursday, acknowledging that “I’m more responsible than anyone” for the Pirates’ struggles.

“Certainly not lost on me that my part of that accountability, if I had done my job perfectly for five years, might not be meeting with you today,” Cherington said. “That’s certainly possible. I own that completely. This is not all on Shelty. And I believe that it became clear to me that this was a choice, however difficult, that we needed to make. I certainly feel accountable going forward.”

Cherington also reiterated that he feels he is still the person to be leading the front office going forward. Likewise, Nutting defended his own continued ownership of the franchise, stating that he feels the team can and will win again under his stewardship, and feels he can elevate the Pirates’ place in the sport as a whole.

“Given all of the challenges broadly in baseball, there’s been a lot of discussion of the economic disparity in the game. We’re never going to use that as an excuse. Never have. Never will. But I think I’m particularly well positioned right now to be able to help influence change in the economics of the game,” Nutting said. “Having been around for 20 years, having gone to owners’ meetings for longer than that, having a very strong relationship with the commissioner’s office, I believe that I’m uniquely well positioned to have a louder voice for Pittsburgh as we’re heading into the next [collective bargaining agreement]. I want to make sure that we don’t lose that position. I don’t think a new owner in Pittsburgh would have the same standing or ability to advocate for the kind of changes that we need.”

Pirates fans can understandably take some skepticism in Nutting’s remarks, and Mackey indeed expressed something of a counterpoint to Nutting’s interview in a follow-up column. The owner has been frequently criticized for a lack of spending since he bought the team in 2007. The Pirates have ranked in the bottom five in Opening Day payrolls in all but three seasons of Nutting’s ownership, and the payroll high-water mark remains the Bucs’ $99.9MM payroll at the start of the 2016 season (which ranked 20th out of 30 teams). As much as Nutting feels his team is at a financial disadvantage against baseball’s bigger markets, the Pirates’ resistance against even moderate spending is an obvious impediment to their desire to become more competitive.

In a bit of on-field news from Friday, the Pirates placed infielder Enmanuel Valdez on the 10-day injured list due to left shoulder inflammation, and recalled infielder/outfielder Ji Hwan Bae from Triple-A in the corresponding move. A timeline wasn’t given for Valdez, or whether or not he is expected to miss any time beyond the minimum 10 days.

Acquired in a trade with the Red Sox in December, Valdez has hit .209/.294/.363 over 102 plate appearances for the Buccos this season. Valdez had primarily been a middle infielder with the Sox, but his 26 appearances at first base for the Pirates represent a marked change in his usage, as Valdez’s previous experience at the position consisted of just nine minor league games during his time in the Boston and Houston farm systems.

Since intended first baseman Spencer Horwitz has yet to play this season, the Pirates turned to Endy Rodriguez at first base, and then looked at Valdez as a further backup plan once Rodriguez also hit the 10-day IL. Rodriguez is still a ways away from returning from a right finger laceration, so Jared Triolo and Matt Gorski now stand as the top first-base options in the interim. Horwitz has started a Triple-A rehab assignment and might be a week or so away from his 2025 debut, though Valdez’s injury will leave the Pirates even thinner at the position in the short term.

Mets Place Jesse Winker On 10-Day IL With Oblique Strain

By Mark Polishuk | May 5, 2025 at 6:15pm CDT

May 5: The Mets placed Winker on the 10-day injured list with a right oblique strain. Brett Baty was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse to take his spot on the active roster.

May 4: Jesse Winker was removed during the fourth inning of today’s 6-5 Mets loss to the Cardinals when Winker hurt his right side after a making a throw from left field. Attempting to throw out Brendan Donovan at home during a third-inning sacrifice fly, Winker told reporters (including MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo) postgame that he “felt it pretty much right when I threw the ball.” Winker finished the rest of the inning, but was replaced before the Mets’ next turn in the field.

An MRI revealed oblique damage, and Winker will head back to New York for more testing on Monday. An official placement for Winker on the 10-day injured list is sure to follow before the Mets take the field tomorrow in Phoenix to start a series against the Diamondbacks. Oblique injuries have an uncertain timeline even if a player is dealing with a minor strain, and a more severe strain could put Winker out for months or even put his season in jeopardy.

Sunday marked Winker’s first start of the season in the outfield, and only his second non-DH appearance in 24 total appearances in 2025. Because the Mets were playing a doubleheader against the Cardinals, the team had to stretch the roster a bit more than usual, leading to Winker’s start in left field in the first game, and Starling Marte’s first appearance in the outfield all season when he was the starting right fielder for the second game.

Getting hurt during that rare outfield outing just adds to the misfortune of Winker’s situation, and his absence will remove a key left-handed bat from New York’s roster. Winker and Marte have covered the designated hitter at-bats in a lefty/right platoon, so as DiComo notes, the Mets might be able to fill Winker’s spot by cycling multiple players through the DH spot. Such left-handed hitting options as Jared Young, Jon Singleton, Donovan Walton, or Billy McKinney are at Triple-A as potential call-ups — Young is the only member of that group who is on the 40-man roster, but the Mets could open up another 40-man spot by moving Jose Siri to the 60-day IL.

Winker is off to an okay but unspectacular start in 2025, producing a 104 wRC+ from a .239/.321/.418 slash line over 78 plate appearances. Initially acquired as a trade deadline rental from the Nationals last July, Winker hit decently well during the rest of the regular season and then had a monstrous 1.168 OPS over 32 PA during the Mets’ playoff run. The Mets liked what they saw from the veteran and brought him back to Queens on a one-year, $7.5MM free agent deal.

Cubs Place Shota Imanaga On IL Due To Hamstring Strain

By Mark Polishuk | May 5, 2025 at 3:00pm CDT

May 5: Imanaga has been placed on the 15-day IL with Gavin Hollowell recalled to take his place on the active roster, per Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times.

May 4: Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga sustained what the team described as a left hamstring strain during today’s start against the Brewers. With one out in the sixth inning, Imanaga picked up the injury while covering first base during a fielder’s choice from Milwaukee’s Christian Yelich. Imanaga was immediately favoring his hamstring even before the play was completed, and was removed from the game after consulting with team trainers.

More imaging and tests need to take place before the Cubs decide whether or not Imanaga will head to the 15-day injured list, 670 The Score’s Bruce Levine writes. Chicago has an off-day this coming Thursday, so conceivably, the team could skip Imanaga’s next turn in the rotation to give him some time to recover without putting him on the IL and losing him for at least 15 days.

That said, the fact that the injury has already been described as as strain certainly makes it seem like a 15-day IL stint is the most probable result. With Imanaga likely out of action and Justin Steele already gone for the season due to UCL surgery, Chicago is now down its top two projected starters.

Signed to a four-year, $53MM contract during the 2023-24 offseason, Imanaga’s move from Nippon Professional Baseball to the majors went very smoothly, as he delivered a 2.91 ERA over 173 1/3 innings in his first big league season. The lefty was off to another good start in his sophomore season, as counting today’s outing, Imanaga has a 2.82 ERA in 44 2/3 innings. That quality ERA does mark some troubling secondary numbers, however, as Imanaga’s 18.9% strikeout rate is well below average, and he has allowed a lot of hard contact.

Those metrics notwithstanding, Imanaga was still delivering good bottom-line results, and helping the Cubs rise to first place in the NL Central. Jameson Taillon and Matthew Boyd have also pitched well, Colin Rea has performed well since being inserted into Steele’s rotation spot, and Ben Brown has been inconsistent but serviceable in covering innings.

Assuming Imanaga will indeed go on the IL, Chris Flexen might be the likeliest replacement, as he was already working as a starter at Triple-A before Chicago selected his contract to the big league roster earlier this week. Flexen has thus far made one appearance with the Cubs (a three-inning relief outing in Friday’s 10-0 win over Milwaukee), and could be fairly easily stretched out again for a starting gig in Imanaga’s place.

If not Flexen, the Cubs could call Jordan Wicks up from Triple-A, or perhaps give star prospect Cade Horton his first taste of Major League action. Javier Assad won’t be an option for perhaps several months, as Assad recently suffered a Grade 2 oblique strain while pitching on a rehab assignment for an earlier oblique strain suffered in Spring Training.

Rangers Place Leody Taveras On Outright Waivers

By Mark Polishuk | May 4, 2025 at 11:25pm CDT

The Rangers have placed outfielder Leody Taveras on outright waivers, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports. Taveras can continue playing for Texas until he is claimed, which differentiates the “outright waiver” process from a more standard designation for assignment. If a claim happens, Taveras’ new team will assume the rest of his 2025 salary, which is roughly $3.8MM remaining of a $4.75MM total.

Taveras entered the season with three years and 124 days of official Major League service time, which plays an important role in his waiver status. Because Taveras has more than three years of service time, should he clear waivers, he can turn down an outright assignment to Triple-A and become a free agent. However, because he has less than five years of MLB service time, becoming a free agent means that Taveras would forego his $3.8MM in remaining salary.

It leaves the outfielder with an interesting decision to make should the situation arise, though another team could make it a moot point by simply claiming Taveras off waivers. Public defensive metrics have been somewhat mixed on Taveras’ performance as a center fielder, though the Outs Above Average metric has been solidly in his corner over his six MLB seasons. Moving him into a corner outfield spot (or having Taveras as a fourth outfielder rather than strictly as a center fielder) would only help make him more of a clear-cut defensive plus.

Taveras has been a below-average hitter over the course of his career, and he has particularly struggled this year by hitting .241/.259/.342 over 82 plate appearances. Taveras has an 84 wRC+ over 1825 career PA in the majors, with a high point of a 100 wRC+ (from a .266/.312/.421 slash line in 554 PA) during the Rangers’ World Series championship season in 2023. The switch-hitter has performed a bit better as a lefty batter than as a righty batter during his career, but even his .241/.291/.387 slash line from the left side of the plate is pretty modest.

Taveras is a Super Two player who has two remaining years of arbitration eligibility, so a new team would also be gaining control over his services through the 2027 season in the event of a claim. There wasn’t much suggestion that the Rangers could non-tender Taveras last winter even in the wake of an uninspiring 2024 season, though there was some trade speculation surrounding Taveras last January. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News reports that the Rangers again tried to deal Taveras as recently as last week, but found no takers willing to both move players and absorb all of Taveras’ contract.

A waiver claim would allow the Rangers to cleanly part ways with Taveras while moving a bit of extra money off the books. Remaining under the $241MM luxury tax threshold is one of the Rangers’ chief goals for the season, and with an estimated (as per RosterResource) $237.1MM tax number at the moment, Texas only has a bit of space to spare. Moving Taveras would give the Rangers more breathing room to stay under the tax line while still possibility having some flexibility to add at the deadline.

Kevin Pillar, Dustin Harris, or utilityman Josh Smith could share center field duties if Taveras is indeed on his way out of Texas. For Smith in particular, more time in center field would give the Rangers a way of keeping Smith’s hot bat in what has been an otherwise pretty dismal lineup. Former top prospect Evan Carter could be a candidate to be called up from Triple-A, but Carter is hitting only .221/.333/.416 over 90 PA at Round Rock so far in 2025.

AL East Notes: Swanson, Buehler, Eflin, McDermott

By Mark Polishuk | May 4, 2025 at 10:31pm CDT

Erik Swanson has yet to pitch this season due to a median nerve entrapment in his right arm, but the reliever’s path back to the Blue Jays roster hit a snag in the form of some soreness in his right forearm. The issue prevented Swanson from a planned minor league rehab outing earlier this week, and the good news is that initial tests revealed no structural damage. However, Swanson told The Athletic’s Mitch Bannon and other reporters that more tests are set for Monday, as it hasn’t yet been determined what exactly is causing the forearm discomfort.

Swanson had some bouts with forearm soreness at a few different points in his career, such as in each of the last two Spring Trainings, and also a minor strain that sent him to the injured list for a little over three weeks during the 2020 season when he was pitching with the Mariners. Though the medicals have been clean so far on his current issue, obviously all parties will be cautious in dealing with any forearm-related injury. In the short term, the problem has delayed Swanson’s recovery, and adds more uncertainty over when exactly the reliever will make his 2025 debut.

MLBTR Chat Transcript

By Mark Polishuk | May 4, 2025 at 10:06pm CDT

Click here to read the transcript of tonight’s live baseball chat

Braves Sign Austin Cox

By Mark Polishuk | May 4, 2025 at 8:27pm CDT

The Braves announced that left-hander Austin Cox has been signed to a Major League contract and assigned to Triple-A Gwinnett. Cox had been in the Royals organization on a minor league deal, but his MLB.com profile page indicates that Triple-A Omaha released him from that contract earlier today.

Cox’s big league resume consists only of 35 2/3 innings of 4.54 ERA ball with Kansas City in 2023, so it is a little surprising to see him land a guaranteed deal. Still, offering a surefire 40-man roster spot isn’t an uncommon tactic if a team wants to outbid others to land a player with limited or even zero MLB experience. The Braves might’ve also had a built-in advantage since Cox is from Macon, Georgia, so he’ll now get to play in his home state.

A fifth-round pick for the Royals in the 2018 draft, Cox is changing organizations for the first time in his pro career. His 2023 debut season in the Show came to an early and unfortunate end after he tore his ACL during a September game, though he was able to make it back to action by mid-April 2024. Cox had a 4.25 ERA, 24% strikeout rate, and 15.2% walk rate in 55 Triple-A innings last season, and a 3.55 ERA, 32.7% strikeout rate, and 10.9BB% in 12 2/3 frames with Omaha this year.

Despite the rather sizeable improvements in secondary metrics, the Royals still chose to part ways with the 28-year-old Cox. He’ll now get a change of scenery in Atlanta, where the Braves have already had a revolving door of arms log bullpen innings at the MLB level. Should Cox get another look in the majors, he’ll join Dylan Lee and Aaron Bummer as the left-handed options in the team’s bullpen.

Giants Designate Lou Trivino, Call Up Kyle Harrison

By Mark Polishuk | May 4, 2025 at 7:57pm CDT

7:57PM: Harrison will be used as a reliever, according to Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area.

7:08PM: The Giants announced that right-hander Lou Trivino has been designated for assignment. In the corresponding move, southpaw Kyle Harrison has been called up to the Giants’ roster for the first time in 2025. A 40-man roster spot has also been created with Trivino being DFA’ed, though no other transaction appears to be forthcoming to fill that spot.

Trivino threw a scoreless inning of relief in today’ 9-3 win over the Rockies, though his ERA still sits at 5.84 over 12 1/3 frames this season, with below-average strikeout and walk rates. The righty has been tagged for four home runs during his brief sample size of work, and it appears as though the Giants are ready to move on, or are at least comfortable in exposing Trivino to the waiver wire.

Some rust isn’t unusual given Trivino’s long layoff, as a Tommy John surgery and some other arm issues kept him from any MLB action at all during the 2023-24 seasons. Trivino’s only on-field action in the previous two years was 11 minor league innings with the Yankees last year, and some late-season shoulder soreness erased any hope Trivino had of making a late-season return to the Show before 2024 was over. He caught on with San Francisco on a minor league contract during the offseason, and getting selected to the active roster meant that Trivino locked in a $1.5MM guaranteed salary for the 2025 season.

Harrison’s last Triple-A start was on April 30, so he would be lined up to start in the majors as early as tomorrow, if San Francisco opts to remove Landen Roupp from the rotation. Roupp has a 5.10 ERA over six starts and 30 innings this season, and he hasn’t looked sharp in either of his last two outings. Jordan Hicks and his 6.03 ERA could also be a candidate to be moved to the bullpen, though Hicks just pitched on Saturday, making the timing slightly unusual if Harrison is indeed taking Hicks’ rotation spot.

The Giants might also be viewing Harrison as a bullpen candidate, to give the pen a long man and a second left-handed relief option behind Erik Miller. Should Harrison indeed be used as a reliever, he’ll join Hayden Birdsong as a fellow starting candidate being utilized in a bullpen role.

Over 159 Major League innings during the 2023-24 seasons, Harrison has a 4.47 ERA, 22.5% strikeout rate, and 7.8% walk rate. While not standout numbers, Harrison seemed set to have a rotation spot lined up heading into 2025, yet a shoulder impingement that cut his 2024 season short in September ended up lingering into the offseason, thus delaying his usual winter ramp-up work. Between that disruption to Harrison’s routine and a virus that hit him hard during Spring Training, the decision was made to have Harrison begin the season in Triple-A in order to let him get fully ready.

As one of the more highly-touted starting prospects in baseball prior to his first call-up, Harrison is a key part of the Giants’ future, and a pitcher the team naturally hopes can be a long-term cornerstone. That doesn’t necessarily mean Harrison will get another crack in the rotation immediately, but this call-up means that the Giants are eager to see how he further adjusts to take big league hitters.

« Previous Page

Load More Posts

Headlines

Navigation

MLBTR INFO

Connect