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Marlins’ Griffin Conine Suffers Dislocated Shoulder

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The Marlins announced after today’s game that outfielder Griffin Conine suffered a dislocated left shoulder and is currently undergoing further evaluation and treatment. It’s all but certain that Conine will require a stint on the injured list. While a more specific timetable for the injury won’t be clear until he’s been evaluated more fully, it should be expected that Conine will miss quite some time. Dislocated shoulders can often require a recovery period measured in months rather than weeks, and severe dislocations can even require surgery that would jeopardize the remainder of Conine’s 2025 campaign.

Trevor Story, Shohei Ohtani, and Jung Hoo Lee are among the players to have recently required surgery after suffering a separated shoulder. Ohtani’s partial dislocation required only arthroscopic surgery, and he wound up being ready for Spring Training just three months after going under the knife. Story’s surgery in April of last year was also to correct a partial dislocation but was nonetheless expected to be season-ending, although he ultimately managed to make it back to the majors in late September after roughly five months on the shelf. Lee, by contrast, suffered a full dislocation back in May and ultimately missed the remainder of the 2024 season.

However long Conine ends up missing, it’s nonetheless a frustrating setback for the 27-year-old. A second-round pick by the Blue Jays back in 2018, Conine was traded to Miami as part of the Jonathan Villar trade and made his MLB debut late last year. Conine has looked like a solid contributor in 49 big league games since his promotion, hitting .273/.338/.441 (116 wRC+) to this point in his young big league career and even earning the everyday left field job for the rebuilding Marlins. That everyday job figured to be a very effective proving ground for Conine that could offer him plenty of runway to earn either a long-term job as a regular in Miami or perhaps even catch the attention of rival clubs as a potential trade piece, but all of that now figures to be scuttled for the foreseeable future.

A Marlins club that was already lacking in outfield depth after Derek Hill hit the shelf due to a sprained wrist earlier this week now figures to be tested even further. Jesus Sanchez and Dane Myers are currently sharing time in center field while Kyle Stowers serves as a regular fixture in right field. That would leave a combination of Sanchez, Myers, and utilityman Javier Sanoja to mix and match in left field as necessary out of the club’s current outfield options, though a bat will surely be brought up to replace Conine on the roster in due time.

Victor Mesa Jr. is already on the 40-man roster and could be called up to share time in center with Myers, pushing Sanchez over to left, or a non-roster veteran like Albert Almora Jr. could have his contract selected from Triple-A to help fill out the outfield depth chart in Miami. One other potential x-factor for the Marlins could be top outfield prospect Jakob Marsee, who came over from San Diego in the Luis Arraez trade. Marsee has looked good in 18 games at Triple-A to this point in the year and could slide into an everyday outfield role seamlessly for Miami, though it’s unclear if the club would have any interest in bringing the 23-year-old to the majors (and starting his service clock) without seeing a larger body of work at Triple-A. Marsee is also not yet on the 40-man roster and would require a corresponding 40-man move, though a particularly long absence for Conine would solve that issue by way of the 60-day injured list.

Astros Activate Forrest Whitley From Injured List

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The Astros announced earlier today that they’ve activated right-hander Forrest Whitley from the injured list. Righty Nick Hernandez was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move.

The move sets up what could be the first extended shot in the majors of Whitley’s career. Selected 17th overall by the Astros all the way back in 2016, Whitley was a consensus top-10 prospect in the entire sport in the late 2010s and considered by many to be the best up-and-coming young pitcher in the minor leagues. Unfortunately, things came off the rails somewhat for the righty from there. He was suspended for 50 games for violating MiLB’s drug policy prior to the 2018 season, and that suspension, shoulder issues, the canceled minor league season in 2020, and Tommy John surgery led to Whitley throwing just 66 innings in minor league games over a four-year period.

When he finally made his way back onto the mound in 2022, the results were not good. Whitley struggled to a 6.53 ERA in 40 innings spread across three levels of the minors, including a 7.09 ERA at Triple-A. He struggled again the following year with a 5.70 ERA in 30 innings before being sidelined by a lat strain but stuck around to make his big league debut last year. He threw just three innings in the majors last year but did not surrender a run and also posted an excellent 1.89 ERA with a 31.9% strikeout rate in 32 appearances at Triple-A last year after moving to the bullpen.

A bone bruise in Whitley’s left knee prevented him from making the Astros’ roster out of camp this year, but the issue didn’t keep him sidelined for long. Since Whitley is out of options, he had to either be designated for assignment or added to the Astros’ big league roster once he was ready to be activated from the injured list. Houston chose to bring him back up to the majors, and he’s now set to join a bullpen that has virtually no certainty outside of closer Josh Hader and top setup man Bryan Abreu. Bryan King has looked good as another potential high leverage arm from the left side to complement Hader, but there’s little in Whitley’s way to stop him from becoming the club’s second high leverage arm from the right side after this offseason’s Ryan Pressly trade vacated the role.

With that being said, the righty will need to show better control than he did during his latest stint at Triple-A. While Whitley struck out a solid 26.3% of his opponents during his latest rehab assignment, he walked an unplayable 21.1% of batters as well. Fortunately, that was across a sample of just four appearances. It’s not at all difficult to imagine a player with Whitley’s talent and prospect pedigree finally being able to put things together in the majors this year, particularly now that he’s moved to the bullpen full-time in a move that should help to minimize injury risk.

Making room for Whitley on the Astros’ active roster is the departure of Hernandez, who will head to Triple-A Sugar Land and wait for his next opportunity. Hernandez departs the roster without having made an appearance this year, though he has a 9.00 ERA in seven appearances with the Astros and Padres in his career since debuting with San Diego back in 2023. The 28-year-old’s career 3.34 ERA at Triple-A suggests there’s reason for optimism he could be effective in the majors if offered the opportunity, but he doesn’t appear ticketed for an extended look in the majors any time soon given the current construction of Houston’s bullpen.

Padres Place Jason Heyward On Injured List, Recall Tirso Ornelas

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The Padres announced this afternoon that they’ve placed Jason Heyward on the 10-day injured list due to inflammation in his left knee. They’ve recalled outfielder Tirso Ornelas to the major league roster to replace Heyward. Ornelas’s first game will be his MLB debut, and his expected call-up was first reported by Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union Tribune earlier this afternoon.

Ornelas, 25, was signed by the Padres out of Tijuana, Mexico and made his pro debut in 2017. He’s slowly but surely climbed up the minor league ladder since then. After a brief call-up to Triple-A in 2022, he arrived at the level permanently in 2023 and has been playing there ever since with a strong career .291/.367/.462 slash line across 203 games for the club’s El Paso affiliate. Defensively, Ornelas has logged time in all three outfield spots and made occasional cameos at first base throughout his career, though he’s mostly been confined to the outfield corners.

The youngster’s big league debut comes during a rash of injuries for the Padres, who had already lost Jackson Merrill, Jake Cronenworth, and Brandon Lockridge to the injured list before Heyward joined them today. It’s been a major test of the club’s depth, particularly in center field where they’ve resorted to using Tyler Wade and Connor Joe at the position due to a lack of viable alternatives. Ornelas will be tasked with replacing Heyward in the lineup once he joins the club. The 35-year-old veteran has gotten off to a slow start this year, hitting just .190/.255/.286 in 17 games with the club even while being heavily platoon protected by San Diego.

Acee goes on to suggest that an expanded role for Oscar Gonzalez also can’t necessarily be ruled out, suggesting that a “silver lining” in Heyward’s absence has been an opportunity to get a better look at the 27-year-old. He’s done fairly well for himself in the early going this year, posting six hits in 18 plate appearances with strong batted ball data despite no extra-base hits in that microscopic sample size. Gonzalez actually hits better against right-handed hitters than lefties historically, so it’s at least plausible that Gonzalez could slip into something of a regular role with the club in left field while Ornelas is up if the youngster is tabbed to handle center field instead of left.

Of course, much of that will depend on how the club plans to use Ornelas now that he’s set to join the roster. It’s unclear if Ornelas will be in the mix for time in center field for the club; while he’s logged just 50 games at the position in the minors over the years, neither Wade nor Joe is particularly experienced at the position either. It’s also unclear if Ornelas will be in as strict of a platoon as Heyward has been while he’s with the club, though even if Gonzalez takes up an everyday job for the time being the presence of Joe (who has a career 105 wRC+ against left-handed hitters) makes a platoon a viable option for the Padres.

Giants Select David Villar, Place Casey Schmitt On Injured List

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The Giants announced a series of roster moves this morning, highlighted by the club selecting the contract of infielder David Villar. Infielder Casey Schmitt was placed on the injured list with a left oblique strain, which clears a spot for Villar on the active roster, and a 40-man roster spot for Villar was created by transferring slugger Jerar Encarnacion to the 60-day injured list.

Villar, 28, has been a generally passable but unspectacular utility infielder for the Giants since he made his big league debut with the club back in 2022. In 109 big league games since then, he’s hit a slightly below league average .200/.288/.400 with a massive 32.4% strikeout rate that he somewhat makes up for with substantial power that could translate to 25-to-30 homers if given a full season’s worth of plate appearances. He pairs that power with the ability to play capable defense at first, second, or third base as necessary despite the majority of his working having come at the hot corner.

He’s always raked against Triple-A pitching, as evidenced by his .273/.381/.507 career line across parts of four seasons at the level. Unfortunately for Villar, however, he’s yet to prove himself in the majors and is currently out of options. That led the Giants to prefer carrying optionable bench pieces like Schmitt and Brett Wisely to open the year, leaving them to designate him for assignment just prior to Opening Day. He ultimately went unclaimed on waivers and was outrighted to the minor leagues by the Giants, where he resumed hitting extremely well over 15 games before today’s call-up. The right-handed hitting Villar figures to back up Matt Chapman and Tyler Fitzgerald at second and third base, but most of his playing time could come in a platoon with struggling lefty LaMonte Wade Jr. after his previous platoon partner Schmitt hit the injured list.

Speaking of Schmitt, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reported yesterday that he was likely to head to the shelf after he suffered an oblique strain while hitting in the cages just before yesterday’s game. A timetable for Schmitt’s return is unlikely to be available until after he’s undergone testing to determine the severity of the strain, but he’ll be out for the next ten days at least even if the strain turns out to be extremely mild. It’s been a tough start to the year for Schmitt so far, as he’s hit just .174/.208/.261 in his current part-time role with the club. Of course, those numbers came in just eight games and 24 plate appearances. A look at Schmitt’s work in 40 games last year, where he hit .252/.283/.477, is far more encouraging and comes in a more robust (though still fairly small) sample of 113 plate appearances.

As for Encarnacion, his placement on the 60-day IL is hardly a surprise. The slugger was ticketed for a regular DH job with the Giants but suffered a hand fracture just before Opening Day and is expected to miss at least eight weeks due to the issue. That means he could be transferred without it impacting his potential timeline for return at all, as his minimum stay on the IL will expire in late May, right away the most optimistic date for his expected return to action. The 27-year-old was a league average hitter for the Giants in 35 games last year and got the club’s attention after raking for the Mexican League’s Guerreros de Oaxaca and the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Sacramento.

Pirates Place Tim Mayza On 15-Day IL, Recall David Bednar

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The Pirates have placed left-hander Tim Mayza on the 15-day injured list due to a lat muscle strain in Mayza’s throwing shoulder.  Former closer David Bednar has been called up to take Mayza’s spot on the active roster.

The biggest news here is the return of Bednar, who served as the Pirates’ closer for the majority of the 2022-24 seasons. An All-Star in both 2022 and ’23, Bednar posted a 2.27 ERA and 2.49 FIP with a 30.6% strikeout rate in those two years. Things took a turn for the worse last year, though, as Bednar struggled to a 5.77 ERA with a 4.80 FIP in 57 2/3 innings. His strikeout rate dipped to just 22.1%, and his walk rate ballooned up to 10.7%. The Pirates stuck with their man for the majority of last year despite his struggles, but eventually pulled him from the closer role in late August of last year.

That led to plenty of questions about if he would be a trade or even non-tender candidate this winter, but Bednar ended up not only remaining in the organization but also in the mix for saves entering 2025. Unfortunately for both the Pirates and the right-hander, he surrendered four runs (three earned) on four hits (including one homer) and two walks while striking out just one over his first three appearances, only one of which saw him record an out before being pulled. He was optioned to the minors on April 1 as a result of this poor performance after months of attempts to try to get the 30-year-old right. There’s no obvious injury or decline in velocity to point to as an explanation for his struggles, and perhaps that’s why it’s not a surprise that he dominated Triple-A hitters with five scoreless frames and seven strikeouts against zero walks.

Bednar’s return to the majors was seemingly at least partially spurred on by how dominant he looked during his brief stay in the minors, but it’s unclear what role he’ll fill for the Pirates now that he’s back in Pittsburgh. Manager Derek Shelton discussed Bednar’s return with reporters (including those with the Associated Press) earlier this afternoon, but did not offer any concrete plans for the righty.

“We’re kind of pitching to what we think the leverage is and what we feel the matchup is, but excited to have him back,” Shelton said, as relayed by the AP. “He went down, he pitched really well. He handled himself really well. I think we’ve said all along we’re a better bullpen with David Bednar in it. It’s nice to have him back.”

Shelton went on to suggest there’s some fluidity to the Pirates’ plans regarding Bednar, which makes sense given their uncertain bullpen situation. Pittsburgh’s relief corps is a roughly average group by ERA and FIP when compared to the rest of the league, but more advanced metrics like SIERA and xFIP consider the Pirates to have a bottom-ten bullpen in the sport. The late innings are particularly uncertain for the club, with Dennis Santana currently serving as the club’s closer despite a 14.7% strikeout rate after a knee issue sent the scuffling Colin Holderman to the injured list earlier this month.

The uncertainty in the bullpen just got worse for Pittsburgh, as the loss of Mayza is a fairly significant one. The 33-year-old signed an MLB deal with the organization back in February and has looked like one of the club’s best relievers in the early going with a 2.89 ERA and 3.35 FIP in seven appearances. A disastrous first half in Toronto tanked Mayza’s 2024 numbers, but he’s generally be a very reliable middle relief arm over the years with a 3.43 ERA and a 3.48 FIP since the start of the 2021 season. While losing the southpaw certainly hurts, Caleb Ferguson and Ryan Borucki both remain available as left-handed relief options for the Pirates in addition to long relief arm Joey Wentz.

Poll: Can The Giants Sustain Their Hot Start?

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When the Giants completed their 19th game of the 2021 season four years ago, they were 12-7, two games behind the reigning World Series champion Dodgers for the NL West lead. After four straight seasons with losing records, few expected a Giants club that was largely unchanged from the year prior to find any sort of success even after their solid start to the season. Even fewer expected what would actually come to pass, as San Francisco improbably went on to win 107 games and squeak out a division title over L.A. by just one game.

Flash forward to this year, and the Giants are 13-6 after their 19th game of the season and even closer to the once again reigning World Series champion Dodgers in the standings, sitting just half a game back. For fans in San Francisco who were jaded by the three seasons of mediocrity since that magical 2021 campaign, the Giants’ start has been a huge breath of fresh air. Scorching hot starts from outfielders Jung Hoo Lee and Mike Yastrzemski have helped carry the offense to the third-highest total of runs scored in the majors entering play today. Logan Webb has continued to play his part as a perennial candidate for the Cy Young award. The bullpen’s sterling 1.89 ERA is the second-best figure in all of baseball.

Those are encouraging signs, and there’s an argument that the team figures to get better in some areas. Willy Adames hasn’t begun to hit yet after signing the largest contract in franchise history. LaMonte Wade Jr. certainly won’t hit .102 all year, and even if he did continue to flounder, top prospect Bryce Eldridge could eventually be called upon to fill his shoes at first base. The rotation’s lackluster ERA (4.80) is nearly a full run higher than its FIP (3.90) and SIERA (4.00); Justin Verlander and Jordan Hicks almost certainly won’t continue running ERAs north of 6.00.

Projection systems have begun to generally buy into San Francisco’s hot start. FanGraphs gives the Giants a 51.3% chance to make the postseason with a projected record of 86-76, a massive step forward from their preseason projections (81-81, 28.5% postseason chance).

That’s not to say there are no potential red flags, of course. The rotation has looked rough outside of Webb. The rest of the group figures to bounce back from rough starts to at least some extent, but Robbie Ray’s velocity is at its second-lowest mark ever and he’s walking nearly 18% of his opponents. Could this version of Ray, a 42-year-old Verlander or Hicks serve as a credible No. 2 starter for a playoff team? That could be asking a lot. Meanwhile, the bullpen is currently outperforming both its FIP and SIERA by nearly a run and a half.

The biggest obstacle for the Giants if they want to maintain their current success, however, is the landscape of the NL West. Their excellent 13-6 record is good for only third place in the division and just one game ahead of the fourth-place D-backs (who’d won five straight and seven of their past eight). Arizona, San Diego, and especially L.A. entered the season not just as projected contenders, but potentially dominant clubs. Their own starts to the season have done little to change those expectations, and while the Giants have pulled off some impressive series wins against clubs like the Yankees and Astros, they’ve yet to play a single game against their own division.

Their first big test in that regard will be a two-game set against the Padres at the end of the month. The Giants will be in Arizona for the first time about a month from now, and they won’t face the Dodgers until mid-June. Perhaps being able to save difficult matchups against division rivals for later in the season will allow the Giants to build enough of a cushion to sustain themselves through the trade deadline, when they can add reinforcements. A stretch of 13 straight games against the D-backs and Dodgers in mid-September presents a potentially formidable roadblock late in the season.

How sustainable do MLBTR readers believe San Francisco’s hot start to be? Will they be able to exceed preseason expectations that they’d finish around .500, or perhaps even make it to October? Have your say in the poll below:

The Opener: Diamondbacks, Prospect Debuts, Pitchers’ Duel

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As the 2025 regular season continues, here are a few things we’ll be keeping an eye on this weekend:

1. Diamondbacks heating up:

Arizona got out to something of a slow start this year, quickly falling to fourth place in the crowded NL West with a 5-6 record. They’ve caught fire since, however, winning seven of eight games — including each of their past five. Their next test will come in the Friendly Confines, as the team is headed to Chicago for a three-game set against the Cubs that begins at 1:20pm local time this afternoon.

Today’s matchup will see right-hander Corbin Burnes try to right the ship after struggling to a 5.28 ERA in his first three starts with Arizona. Chicago counters with Colin Rea, who began the season in the bullpen but has moved into the rotation following Justin Steele’s injury. Rea struck out five Dodgers across 3 2/3 innings of one-run ball in his first start last week and will continue to stretch out as he shifts back into a starting role. Saturday will see Burnes’ co-ace, Zac Gallen, try to recover from his own uneven start to the season (4.64 ERA) opposite Cubs youngster Ben Brown. Sunday’s series finale will be a battle of mid-rotation veterans as Merrill Kelly takes on Jameson Taillon.

2. Top prospect debut for Twins:

The Twins are reportedly poised to promote top infield prospect Luke Keaschall to the majors prior to today’s game in Atlanta, which begins at 7:15pm local time. A 40-man roster move will be necessary to bring Keaschall into the fold. A consensus top-60 prospect in the sport, the 22-year-old has gotten off to a decent start at Triple-A with a .261/.379/.348 slash line in 14 games. The 2023 second-round pick posted a fantastic .303/.420/.483 slash line last year between the High-A and Double-A levels. Plate discipline and plus contact skills are Keaschall’s calling cards. He’s walked in 13.6% of his professional plate appearances against just a 17.5% strikeout rate.

Keaschall has split most of his time between second base and center field during his time in the minors, though he has experience at first and third base as well. His MLB debut will come amid a rash of injuries for the Twins, who have sluggers Matt Wallner and Royce Lewis on the injured list while shortstop Carlos Correa and utilityman Willi Castro are facing day-to-day maladies. Fellow infielder Jose Miranda was optioned to Triple-A after getting out to a bleak .167/.167/.250 start in his first 36 plate appearances.

3. Brewers change it up at third base:

The Brewers are also set to bring up a promising young talent from their system. Caleb Durbin, acquired from the Yankees in exchange for Devin Williams this offseason, is reportedly headed to the big leagues in place of struggling infielder Oliver Dunn, whom the Brew Crew already formally optioned to Triple-A Nashville. Durbin doesn’t come with the same level of national fanfare that Keaschall brings, but Milwaukee will hope he can make an impact all the same.

A compact speedster standing at 5’7″, Durbin has elite bat-to-ball skills and strong plate discipline but lacks power. He’s hitting .278/.316/.481 on the young season and is fresh off a 2024 campaign that saw him slash .275/.388/.451 with a 13.1% walk rate and tiny 9.9% strikeout rate in 406 plate appearances across three minor league levels (Class-A, Double-A, Triple-A). Brewers third basemen are batting .150/.188/.233 this season, so it’s a low bar to clear for Durbin as he looks to cement his place in the Brewers’ long-term plans.

4. Pitchers’ duel in Texas:

The Dodgers and Rangers are meeting in Arlington for a three-game series this weekend, and Game 1 of the series (scheduled for 7:05pm local time) will feature two of the league’s most talented pitchers. Texas is sending Jacob deGrom to the mound, and the soon-to-be 37-year-old hurler will look to get his season back on track after three uncharacteristic starts where he’s posted a pedestrian 4.30 ERA while striking out just 20.6% of his opponents. There’s no need for a bounceback from Dodgers star Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who has begun the season with a dominant 1.23 ERA and a 33.7% strikeout rate in four starts.

Poll: When Should The Marlins Trade Sandy Alcantara?

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While this year’s trade deadline is still more than three months away, there’s perhaps no more obvious trade candidate in the game right now than Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara. The 2022 NL Cy Young award winner, Alcantara missed last season due to Tommy John surgery but is back in action with Miami this year. While he was out of commission, the Marlins tore the roster that made the playoffs in 2023 down to the studs, trading everyone from Luis Arraez and Jazz Chisholm Jr. to Trevor Rogers and Jesus Luzardo. With no end in sight to the rebuild and Alcantara controlled through the 2027 season, it would be a complete shock if the Marlins held onto him until his contract came to a close.

Whenever the Marlins trade Alcantara, he’s sure to be an extremely sought-after commodity. The right-hander’s 4.70 ERA in three starts this year is far from impressive, but his peripherals have looked better. He’s generating grounders at a phenomenal 65.1% clip with a 3.86 FIP and a 3.91 xERA despite his lackluster 19% strikeout rate and 12.7% walk rate. Those strikeout and walk figures will become concerning if they hold up over a larger sample size, but unless that comes to pass, it seems fair to expect the righty to return to his previous dominant form. Since his full-season debut in 2019, Alcantara has posted a 3.33 ERA with a 3.71 FIP, a 51% grounder rate, and a 21.4% strikeout rate against a 7.1% walk rate.

Those numbers don’t hold a candle to his Cy Young season, where he posted a 2.28 ERA and 2.80 FIP in a campaign that led MLB with 8.0 bWAR, but it’s still clearly front-of-the-rotation caliber production overall. Perhaps even more enticing to teams than Alcantara’s rate production is his status as a true workhorse in a game where arms capable of pitching deep into games on a regular basis have become vanishingly rare. Alcantara hasn’t posted less than 184 2/3 innings in any of his four full seasons, and his 858 1/3 innings of work from 2019 to 2023 were second only to Gerrit Cole. That sort of volume would have value even if Alcantara was a league-average pitcher, given the increasing difficulty with which teams are forced to piece together their rotations.

He’s also appealing from a financial point of view. He is making $17MM this year and next year, less than half of what some other ace pitchers get. Then there’s a $2MM buyout on a $21MM club option for 2027.

Given his ace-level upside, workhorse reputation, years of control, and affordable contract, Alcantara’s status as one of the most valuable trade chips in the sport is unlikely to change. That gives the Marlins the ability to stay flexible with their plans regarding the prized righty. Reporters Will Sammon of The Athletic and Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald have suggested that the Marlins have not yet decided if they’ll trade Alcantara at all this season. Alcantara himself tells Jackson that he wants to stay in Miami but is aware that he has no say in the matter. “I’m [just] a player,” he said. “If they want to trade me for a bag, they can trade me.” While the righty eventually getting moved appears to be something of a fait accompli, the Fish would still have two full seasons of team control to market if they opted to move him this offseason instead.

Of course, teams will likely be willing to pay a higher premium for Alcantara at the deadline, when they’d have him available for three pennant races and he wouldn’t be competing with a free agent market rich in rotation talent like Dylan Cease, Zac Gallen, and Framber Valdez. Unless the 8-10 Marlins are able to make a surprise surge into contention for an NL Wild Card spot this summer or Alcantara’s performance declines enough that lucrative trade offers start to dry up, it’s hard to see the club getting more value out of their star by waiting for the offseason. With that said, another year of information regarding their prospects and young players could allow them to make more informed decisions about which areas of the roster to target improvements for in the return package.

Could the Marlins benefit from moving Alcantara even earlier, as they did with Arraez last May? Such a decision wouldn’t give Alcantara much of an opportunity to prove he’s healthy and back to his usual form, but the extra few months of starts could be very attractive to clubs like the Yankees, Cubs, and Padres that are dealing with injury woes in their rotation already. What’s more, it’s not impossible to imagine a team like the Astros (Valdez), Twins (Pablo Lopez), or Royals (Seth Lugo) that is currently attempting to compete winding up on the outside of the playoff picture come July and marketing their own top starters. That would give potential suitors for Alcantara alternative options they surely wouldn’t have available to them this early in the calendar.

When do MLBTR readers think the Marlins should start trying to trade Alcantara? Would jumping the market and opening up the bidding now allow them to maximize their asset, should they wait to see if Alcantara can re-establish himself more before putting him on the market this summer, or could waiting even longer to deal him this offseason be the best course to take? Have your say in the poll below:

The Opener: Quero, Hancock, Pirates, Nationals

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As the 2025 season continues, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world today:

1. Quero to make MLB debut:

The White Sox are poised to promote top catching prospect Edgar Quero to the majors for his big league debut. A corresponding 40-man roster move will be necessary to bring Quero up from the minors, so the club will have to either designate a player for assignment or transfer one of their players to the 60-day injured list, though they have no obvious candidates for the latter.

Quero, 22, is a consensus top-100 prospect who’s gotten off to a hot start at Triple-A, with a .333/.444/.412 slash line in 63 plate appearances. That solid bat is the main attraction when it comes to Quero, as he’s regarded as a below-average defender behind the plate and a lackluster baserunner. Even so, the switch-hitter’s knack for contact, impressive plate discipline, and power potential make him an intriguing prospect even if Kyle Teel is the more well-regarded of Chicago’s two touted catching prospects. (Teel, conversely, is out to a rough start in Charlotte, slashing .196/.328/.393 with a 31.3% strikeout rate.) Quero’s first game will come against the Athletics in Chicago, and is scheduled for 1:10pm local time.

2. Hancock returning to majors:

Mariners right-hander Emerson Hancock has one MLB start under his belt this year, and it could hardly have gone worse. When he faced the Tigers on March 31, Hancock was shelled for seven hits (including a home run) and a walk in an outing that saw him record just two outs. He ultimately surrendered six runs and walked away with an ugly 81.00 ERA and 27.01 FIP before being optioned to the minors. With George Kirby still on the injured list and Seattle in need of a fifth starter, Hancock gets an opportunity for redemption today against the Reds in Cincinnati. The former No. 6 overall pick has been as a serviceable depth starter for the Mariners in the past, with a career 4.71 ERA in 15 starts entering this season. He also has a solid Triple-A track record — a 3.46 ERA in 19 starts/104 innings pitched. Will he be able to turn things around this afternoon?

3. Tensions high in Nationals, Pirates finale:

It’s been a rough series between the Pirates and Nationals. On Tuesday, a fastball got away from right-hander Mitch Keller and struck shortstop Paul DeJong in the face, breaking his nose and sending him to the injured list. That was followed by a wild outing from Nationals reliever Jorge Lopez, who hit Bryan Reynolds before another pitch got away from him and ran up-and-in on veteran Andrew McCutchen, who was forced to dive to the ground to avoid being plunked. That incited a benches-clearing incident that ultimately ended with Lopez being ejected (video link).

As noted by Jessica Camerato of MLB.com, Lopez apologized for the situation after the game and McCutchen’s own postgame comments suggested that he does not believe the pitch from Lopez was intentional. Still, benches-clearing incidents typically leave both teams on high-alert for potential issues for the remainder of the series. It also remains to be seen whether Lopez will be further disciplined by the league beyond his ejection.

The Opener: Strider, Schmidt, Rockies

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As the 2025 regular season continues, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Strider to return from IL:

The Braves officially welcomed right-hander Spencer Strider back from the injured list earlier this morning in preparation for his start against the Blue Jays later today. It will be Strider’s first big league start in just over a year after he underwent UCL surgery in April of last year, causing him to miss nearly the entire 2025 season. The righty was among the very best pitchers in baseball from 2022 to 2023, with a 3.36 ERA, a 2.43 FIP, and a 37.4% strikeout rate in 318 1/3 innings of work.

During the 2023 campaign, Strider led the majors in strikeouts and wins while leading his league in FIP en route to a fourth-place finish for the NL Cy Young award. A performance on that level would go a long way to helping the Braves, who have stumbled out of the gate to a 5-12 start, get back into the race for the playoffs. Strider’s first opponent will be Toronto right-hander Chris Bassitt, who has looked excellent through his first three starts of the season with a microscopic 0.98 ERA in 18 1/3 innings.

2. Schmidt to return from IL:

Strider isn’t the only righty returning from the injured list today. The Yankees are expected to activate right-hander Clarke Schmidt from his own IL stint. Schmidt opened the season on the shelf due to rotator cuff tendinitis, but the issue was a fairly mild one as he’s back in action after just a couple of weeks. That’s great news for a Yankees rotation that lost ace righty Gerrit Cole to Tommy John surgery before the season even began and will also be without reigning AL Rookie of the Year Luis Gil for at least the majority of the first half. Marcus Stroman recently went on the injured list as well due to a knee issue, leaving the Yankees with a patchwork rotation that features Carlos Carrasco, Will Warren, and Allan Winans alongside Max Fried and Carlos Rodon.

Schmidt should help stabilize things in his age-29 campaign. The righty made just 16 starts last year due to injury but was brilliant in those limited appearances, with a 2.85 ERA and a 26.3% strikeout rate across 85 1/3 innings of work. The right-hander’s first start back from the injured list will come at Yankee Stadium against the Royals. His opponent will be southpaw Kris Bubic, who excelled in a relief role last year and has found great success after moving to the rotation so far, with a 0.96 ERA and 2.59 FIP across 18 2/3 innings of work.

3. Rockies youngster to make MLB debut:

When the Rockies placed Kris Bryant on the injured list yesterday, they selected the contract of catcher Braxton Fulford to replace him on the roster. The 26-year-old was a sixth-rounder in the 2021 draft but spent the majority of last year at the Double-A level. With just 15 games of experience at Triple-A, Fulford had yet to make his big league debut. That’s set to change, however, as manager Bud Black told reporters (including MLB.com’s Andres Soto) last night that Fulford will make his big league debut in today’s game against the Dodgers. Assuming Fulford is starting behind the plate, he’ll catch longtime Rockie German Marquez in the first MLB game of his career. Currently, Fulford is the third catcher on the Rockies’ roster alongside Jacob Stallings and Hunter Goodman, but it’s possible a strong performance out of the gate could earn him more playing time going forward.

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