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Diamondbacks Sign James McCann

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The Diamondbacks have signed James McCann to a Major League contract, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.  McCann’s MLB.com profile page indicated earlier today (hat tip to the Baltimore Banner’s Andy Kostka) that the catcher had been released from his minor league deal with the Braves in order to facilitate the move to Arizona.  McCann is represented by the Ballengee Group.

As Rosenthal reported earlier this month, McCann’s Atlanta contract contained a rolling opt-out clause that would trigger if another team offered the catcher a guaranteed deal.  The Braves could then either keep McCann by selecting his contract to their active roster, or release him to his next opportunity.  Since Sean Murphy and Drake Baldwin are both receiving regular playing time as Atlanta’s catching combo and both Sandy Leon and Jason Delay are providing further depth at Triple-A, it didn’t seem like McCann was going to get much of a shot in Atlanta, despite a .297/.331/.493 slash line in 160 plate appearances in Gwinnett.

However, Gabriel Moreno’s recent finger fracture suddenly left the D’Backs with a need for experienced catching help.  Moreno is expected to be on the injured list for “weeks, not days” in the words of manager Torey Lovullo, leaving Jose Herrera, Aramis Garcia and Triple-A depth options Adrian Del Castillo and Rene Pinto as the makeshift catching corps.  This group combined has far less MLB experience than McCann’s 11 seasons and 917 games in the Show, and the 35-year-old McCann will now slide right into at least a part-time role in the Diamondbacks lineup.

McCann’s big league career was highlighted by two big seasons with the White Sox in 2019-20, which included an All-Star selection in 2019.  His overall career slash line is a modest .241/.293/.380 over 3307 plate appearances, as McCann has only shown brief flashes of the offensive form he showed in Chicago.  McCann spent the last two seasons as Adley Rutschman’s backup with the Orioles, helping out as a veteran mentor for the up-and-coming star and with the Baltimore pitching staff.  The advanced metrics haven’t thought much of McCann’s blocking and framing work, though he is well-regarded for his ability to work with pitchers.

The signing is a fairly low-risk move for a D’Backs team that is hanging in with a 39-38 record, despite a swath of injuries and under-performance from the Arizona pitchers.  The Diamondbacks’ impressive offense is helping keep the team afloat, and McCann’s veteran presence might help coax some slightly more respectable results out of an increasingly makeshift rotation and bullpen.

Giants, Yankees Monitoring Isiah Kiner-Falefa

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The Giants and Yankees “are keeping a close eye on” Isiah Kiner-Falefa as a potential trade acquisition, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale writes.  Nightengale reported two weeks ago that IKF was drawing attention from interested teams, though no clubs were specifically cited at the time.

It is worth noting that Kiner-Falefa’s bat has gone cold in the time between Nightengale’s two reports.  The veteran infielder has only a .389 OPS over his last 42 plate appearances for the Pirates, and he is hitting .275/.319/.342 over 241 total PA this season, translating to an 84 wRC+.  This being said, Kiner-Falefa’s offense has always been the lesser part of his value, as his quality defense and versatility has long been IKF’s calling card.

The Yankees have plenty of first-hand experience with Kiner-Falefa, who played for the team in 2022-23 first as the starting shortstop, and then in a multi-positional role once Anthony Volpe took over shortstop duties in the second of those two seasons.  Re-acquiring Kiner-Falefa could reinstall him back into this utility role, with IKF providing more of an experienced hand than Oswald Peraza in a backup position.

Rumors have swirled for months that New York would be targeting infield help at the deadline, with an eye towards landing a second baseman or third baseman and then installing Jazz Chisholm Jr. at the other position.  There is nothing preventing the Yankees from acquiring a clear-cut starter as well as a backup option like Kiner-Falefa, though that would further crowd a depth chart that also includes Peraza, DJ LeMahieu, and Ben Rice being toggled between first base, DH, and catcher (when starters Paul Goldschmidt, Giancarlo Stanton, and Austin Wells aren’t playing).  Having plenty of depth can be a good problem to have, of course, especially since several Yankees players have checkered health histories.

San Francisco’s infield picture also got a bit more complicated with the blockbuster addition of Rafael Devers last weekend, as Devers will eventually factor into the first base picture.  Third baseman Matt Chapman has missed the last two weeks with a hand sprain and is no longer wearing a split, though his return timetable remains unclear.  Casey Schmitt has hit so well as Chapman’s replacement that the Giants might be able to make do while Chapman is sidelined, but adding a player like IKF would help out the depth chart as well, probably pushing Christian Koss or Brett Wisely to the minors.

Kiner-Falefa would be a pure rental piece for a new team, as the infielder is in the final season of his two-year, $15MM deal that he initially signed with the Blue Jays prior to the 2024 season.  Kiner-Falefa is owed a little over $4MM remaining on his $7.5MM salary for 2025, and that initial $7.5MM number was actually around $6.28MM, as Toronto kicked in some extra money to the Pirates as part of the trade that sent IKF to Pittsburgh at last year’s trade deadline.  While Kiner-Falefa’s salary is modest, even a relatively small sum could factor into the equation for a team like the Yankees that is already over the higher level of luxury tax penalization, so they’ll pay a $110% tax rate on any more salary assumed.

The Pirates certainly appear to be sellers as they approach what looks like the club’s seventh straight losing season.  Kiner-Falefa is a logical trade candidate as an impending free agent, and it remains to be seen if the Bucs might wait until closer to the actual July 31 deadline to move the infielder, or if they’ll make an earlier move if a rival club makes an acceptable offer.

NPB’s Rakuten Eagles Sign Luke Voit

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The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Nippon Professional Baseball have signed Luke Voit to a contract for the remainder of the 2025 season.  News of the signing first emerged a couple of weeks ago, and Voit just this weekend arrived in Japan once terms were finalized.

Voit is best known for his torrid stretch of hitting with the Yankees from 2018-2020.  Acquired at the 2018 trade deadline in a deal with the Cardinals, Voit immediately caught fire once donning the pinstripes, and quickly became a lineup fixture as a first baseman and DH.  Voit’s huge run was highlighted by a 22-homer season in 2020, which led the major leagues during the pandemic-shortened campaign.

Injuries limited Voit to just 68 games in 2021, however, and the Yankees parted ways with Voit by dealing him to the Padres during the spring of 2022.  Since that deal, Voit hit only .225/.305/.386 with 22 homers over 642 plate appearances with San Diego, Washington, and Milwaukee over the 2022-23 season, and he hasn’t appeared in the majors since his brief stint with the Brewers in 2023.

Voit signed a pair of minor league contracts with the Mets that didn’t result in any time in the big leagues, and his pro experience in 2024-25 has consisted of 122 games with two different Mexican League clubs.  Since the 34-year-old Voit has been crushing Mexican League pitching, he might have something to offer the Golden Eagles as a veteran bat.  The Eagles are last in NPB in home runs, with only 25 long balls over 66 games this season.

Athletics Select Jack Perkins

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The A’s selected Jack Perkins’ contract from Triple-A Las Vegas today, putting the right-hander potentially in line to make his MLB debut today as a reliever during the Athletics’ game with the Guardians.  In corresponding moves, right-hander Anthony Maldonado was optioned to Triple-A, and right-hander Gunnar Hoglund was moved from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day injured list.  (Hoglund’s move to the 60-day IL was expected at some point, as he recently underwent a season-ending hip surgery.)

The 25-year-old Perkins was a fifth-round pick for the Athletics in the 2022 draft, and his numbers have steadily improved as he has climbed the minor league ladder.  Reaching Triple-A for the first time this year, Perkins has a 2.86 ERA, 11.3% walk rate, and an eye-opening 38.4% strikeout rate across 44 innings and nine starts for Las Vegas in 2025.  Most recently, Perkins has a tiny 0.55 ERA and 29 strikeouts in his last 16 1/3 frames, and this hot streak was enough to punch Perkins’ first ticket to the Show.

While he’ll begin as a reliever for now, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the A’s give Perkins a look or two in the rotation, as he has worked primarily as a starter over his four pro seasons.  Control has been a persistent issue for Perkins in the minors, as his fastball (which sits in the 94-97mph range) and slider are the only pitches in Perkins’ arsenal that he has consistently thrown for strikes.

These two plus pitches might mean that Perkins could end up in the bullpen over the long run, though better results with his cutter or curveball would help Perkins’ overall repertoire and increase his chances of sticking as a rotation arm in the big leagues.  Baseball America ranked Perkins as the fourth-best prospect in the Athletics’ farm system, while MLB Pipeline ranked him ninth.

Krall: Reds Have Discussed Elly De La Cruz Extension, “No Talks…Currently Happening”

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During an interview on “The Front Office” on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM, Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall stated that the team had reached out to Elly De La Cruz’s camp about a long-term extension.  The timing of these discussions wasn’t specified, though it can be assumed that the two sides met either this past offseason or even in the 2023-24 offseason following De La Cruz’s rookie year.

“We made a run at it and obviously didn’t get anything done,” Krall said.  “We’ve had those conversations and that’s not something that we’ve been able to obviously match up on.  So hopefully maybe there’s something there, but as of right now, there’s nothing, there’s no talks that are currently happening.”

De La Cruz is under team control through the 2029 season, so there isn’t any immediate need for the Reds to lock the star shortstop up.  Naturally there’s plenty of benefit to both extending De La Cruz beyond those controllable years, and even in gaining some cost certainty through his arbitration years.  EDLC could also gain another year of arbitration eligibility as a Super Two player, should he qualify under the next cutoff point in November.  We can safely assume that De La Cruz won’t be optioned to the minors this season, so he’ll finish 2025 with two years and 118 days of MLB service time — this happens to be the exact Super Two cutoff point in 2023, though that was one of the lower numbers of the last 15 years.

Gaining Super Two status would add millions to De La Cruz’s future earnings, and only add to what will already be a pricey endeavor for the Reds in extending their young star.  De La Cruz is also represented by the Boras Corporation, and most (though certainly not all) Scott Boras clients generally test free agency rather than forego the market to instead sign a long-term extension.

An unheralded international signing in 2018, De La Cruz started to turn heads as a potential future star during the 2021 minor league season, then quickly gathered attention as an elite five-tool prospect.  The hype has only continued through De La Cruz’s three Major League seasons, as he has hit .261/.341/.475 with 40 home runs and a league-best 87 stolen bases over 1001 plate appearances since Opening Day 2024.

Only eight players in the sport having a higher fWAR than De La Cruz’s 8.5 number in that span, even if public defensive metrics are mixed on his shortstop ability.  The Reds’ once-vaunted stockpile of infield prospects has been diminished by injuries and under-performance, but the 23-year-old De La Cruz has emerged as the clear jewel of the group, so he looks like a mainstay even if Cincinnati perhaps explores a shift to third base down the road.

De La Cruz’s modest beginnings could perhaps work in the Reds’ favor for an extension, as De La Cruz’s career earnings consist of just his $65K signing bonus in 2018 and his minimum MLB salaries of his first couple of seasons in the Show.  He has been able to cash in with some high-profile endorsement deals, but De La Cruz doesn’t quite have the financial security that other prospects (i.e. high draft picks with larger signing bonuses) achieved before they even reached the majors.

This could make De La Cruz a little more open to locking in a life-changing fortune sooner rather than later, even if Boras isn’t likely to make it easy for the Reds to get any kind of hometown discount.  EDLC will hit free agency entering his age-28 season, so he’ll have plenty of prime years remaining as he reaches the open market.  If he happens to reach Super Two eligibility and get his first arb year this coming winter, he’ll already lock in a hefty first-time arbitration salary for 2026 based on the counting numbers he has posted in his young career.  All things considered, it would seem like De La Cruz could safely bet on himself to stay healthy and keep earning big throughout his arb years, with or without a Super Two designation.

The other key question is whether or not a smaller market team like the Reds is willing to make the type of major investment it will take to extend De La Cruz.  Joey Votto’s ten-year, $225MM extension from the 2012 season is the largest contract in Cincinnati history, and any long-term extension for De La Cruz will naturally far surpass that 13-year-old deal.  Bobby Witt’s 11-year, $288.78MM extension with the Royals from February 2024 is a more recent comp for a young star shortstop, though given how mega-deals for Juan Soto (a Boras client) and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. have raised the bar on baseball salaries just within the last seven months, Boras will surely be looking at least top the $300MM threshold.

Kansas City’s deal with Witt is a prime example of how lower-spending teams can go all in on a young star they view as the face of the franchise, so it is possible the Reds may view De La Cruz in the same light.  Time will tell if De La Cruz and the Reds can find common ground on a deal, and if not, De La Cruz’s status as a forthcoming free agent (or potential trade chip) will become a major storyline in Cincinnati through the rest of the decade.

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.

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