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Julio Rodriguez Helped Off Field Following Apparent Injury

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TODAY: X-rays were negative on Rodriguez’s ankle, and he told Daniel Kramer and other reporters that he was already feeling good enough that there “a high chance that I should be in the lineup” as early as today.  It seems like the Mariners will still hold Rodriguez out for precautionary reasons at least, yet it appears as though the outfielder has dodged a major injury bullet.

“In the beginning, it was very painful, and I couldn’t really feel my foot a whole lot or move it a whole lot — and not even like walk properly,” Rodriguez said.  “But after we kind of started treating it, everything started reacting better right away.”

JUNE 7: The Mariners suffered a potentially devastating blow this evening when center fielder Julio Rodriguez was helped off the field by members of the team’s athletic staff due to an apparent injury. The injury occurred (as relayed by Daniel Kramer of MLB.com) when a hard-hit line drive off the bat of Randy Arozarena collided with Rodriguez’s leg while he was attempting to steal third base. Rodriguez was replaced in center field by Leody Taveras.

It’s not yet clear how severe Rodriguez’s injury is, but even a brief absence would be a tough break for a Mariners club that has already lost ten of their last 14 games, including an active four-game losing streak. That slide has seen Seattle drop from in the driver’s seat in the AL West to three games back of the Astros and one game out of an AL Wild Card spot. That slide can’t be attributed to Rodriguez, who has started to shed his reputation as a slow starter this season by slashing a respectable .248/.316/.416 (114 wRC+) with even stronger peripheral numbers across his first 61 games this season. Rodriguez has ten steals, ten homers, and is striking out at a career-low 19.6% clip to this point in the season all while playing his typical excellent defense in center field.

For now, there’s little for Mariners fans to do other than wait for updates from club brass. Rodriguez appears likely to undergo testing before a timetable for his return will become available. Perhaps he’s suffered only a contusion and will be day-to-day or require only a short stint on the IL. On the other hand, a bone bruise on Rodriguez’s leg would likely require at least a month, as it has for fellow outfielders like Mike Trout and Cody Bellinger in recent years, although it’s at least possible it could take significantly longer as has been the case for players like Kyle Tucker and Anthony Rendon.

That dynamic of a talent would be difficult to lose for any club, but that’s especially true of the Mariners given their current situation in the outfield. With Victor Robles and Luke Raley both already on the injured list, infielders from the club’s bench mix like Miles Mastrobuoni and Dylan Moore have been tasked with helping out on the grass alongside the club’s regular trio of Rodriguez, Arozarena, and Taveras. If Rodriguez were to require a stint on the injured list, Taveras would likely slide over from right field to center while depth option currently at Triple-A like Dominic Canzone or Rhylan Thomas took over in right field.

Canzone is a career .206/.263/.387 hitter in the majors and Thomas has just three games in the majors under his belt, so it goes without saying that either would be a subpar replacement for the Mariners’ star hitter. The good news is that further help may be on the way soon: MLB.com suggests that Raley could begin a rehab assignment as soon as next week. A .242/.328/.463 (127 wRC+) hitter since the start of the 2023 campaign, Raley’s return could help to make up for any time Rodriguez misses, at least against right-handed pitching.

Angels Notes: Soler, Trout, Stephenson

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Slugger Jorge Soler exited today’s Angels game in the second inning, and the Angels later announced that it was due to groin tightness. Soler was already known to be day-to-day due to the groin issue in recent days, but evidently it flared up during this evening’s game against the Mariners. An update on Soler’s status will likely be available after the game, but the issue is made a bit more complicated than it would be otherwise due to the status of Mike Trout.

Soler has typically served as Anaheim’s DH this season, although he’s hit a lackluster .217/.291/.377 (88 wRC+) to this point in the year. In more recent weeks, however, Soler has become the club’s everyday right fielder while Trout returns to the lineup as the everyday DH. As noted by Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register earlier today, Trout is working his way back towards a return to the outfield by doing some drills on the grass. Manager Ron Washington relayed that Trout was feeling good after those drills, but they’ve still been “minimal” and haven’t “really challenged” the veteran star. That would seem to indicate Trout is still at least a few days away from returning to right field on a regular basis in games.

A return to DH’ing on a regular basis would surely be less strenuous on Soler’s ailing groin, but that won’t be possible until Trout returns to the outfield. The three-time MVP is 10-for-25 with three walks, a double, and a homer since returning from the injured list and clearly won’t be sitting in deference to Soler. If Soler isn’t healthy enough to play the field, that could leave the Angels with little choice but to place him on the injured list. Should that come to pass, some combination of Matthew Lugo, Chris Taylor, and perhaps Scott Kingery could see time in the outfield, assuming the Angels don’t call up another outfield option like Kyren Paris.

In other news around the club, MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger writes that right-hander Robert Stephenson has undergone two MRI exams since being placed on the injured list due to inflammation in his right biceps. Bollinger notes that those exams revealed no structural damage, and relays that Stephenson told reporters that he’s dealing with a stretched nerve, which he described as a “freak injury.” The unusual nature of Stephenson’s injury means that he has no clear timetable for return, and the right-hander added that there’s no treatment for the issue other than rest.

That suggests he could be unable to throw for quite a while, which would be an incredibly frustrating turn of events for a pitcher who missed the entire 2024 season due to Tommy John surgery and made it back to pitch just one inning before he once again hit the shelf. The 32-year-old turned in 38 1/3 dominant innings for the Rays during his most recent healthy campaign in 2023, pitching to a 2.35 ERA and striking out a whopping 42.9% of opponents faced. That showing was impressive enough that the Angels awarded him a three-year, $33MM deal that offseason, though they’ve yet to get much of anything out of it due to Stephenson’s injury woes.

Mets Sign Julian Merryweather To Minor League Deal

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The Mets signed right-hander Julian Merryweather to a minor league deal this evening, as relayed by MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo.

Merryweather, 33, was a fifth-round pick by Cleveland back in 2014. Traded to Toronto as part of the Josh Donaldson deal, he made his big league debut with the Blue Jays during the shortened 2020 season. The right-hander showed some promise with a 4.15 ERA and 2.27 FIP across 13 innings in that rookie season, but he never quite lived up to it in future seasons after he was derailed by elbow and oblique issues among other injuries over the years. He put together a 5.64 ERA and 4.36 FIP in 47 appearances with the Blue Jays overall before being designated for assignment in January of 2023.

The right-hander was promptly plucked off waivers by the Cubs, and enjoyed the best season of his career that year. In 72 innings of work as a high leverage arm for Chicago, Merryweather posted a 3.38 ERA with a 3.52 FIP and struck out a fantastic 32.3% of his opponents. Those huge strikeout numbers were enough to overcome a career-high 11.9% walk rate, and Merryweather entered the 2024 season firmly in the Cubs’ late inning mix alongside closer Adbert Alzolay and offseason addition Hector Neris. Unfortunately, Merryweather was part of a bullpen implosion early in the season that proved fatal to Chicago’s chances last season. He spent most of the season sidelined by a knee injury that ultimately required surgery, and even when he was healthy enough to pitch he struggled to a 6.60 ERA with a strikeout rate that had plummeted to just 18.9%.

It was easy enough to blame Merryweather’s struggles in 2024 on his injuries, which may have thrown him off mechanically and contributed to his fastball velocity losing two ticks relative to the prior season. To whatever extent that may have been the case, however, a healthy offseason clearly wasn’t all it took to fix Merryweather’s issues. His velocity remained down this year, and 2025 proved to be more of the same as he pitched to a subpar 5.79 ERA while striking out a career-low 17.0% of his opponents and walking a career-high 12.5%. The right-hander’s 21 outings for Chicago this year were clearly too much for the club to stomach, as he was designated for assignment as the team turned to more reliable late-inning options like Brad Keller, Drew Pomeranz, and Daniel Palencia who had emerged in recent weeks.

Merryweather eventually went unclaimed on waivers, and the Cubs had the option to outright him to the minors as a non-roster depth option for the remainder of the year as he was a few days shy of the ability to reject the assignment while retaining his full salary. Chicago chose to grant the righty his release, however, and he returned to free agency late last month. Now, he’s on to New York to join a Mets club that is tied with Chicago for the best record in the National League. The Mets will try to recapture what made Merryweather so effective with the Cubs in 2023 while he gets to work at Triple-A Syracuse as a potential depth piece alongside arms like Justin Garza and Colin Poche.

Brian Snitker Discusses Raisel Iglesias, Closer Role

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The Braves are making some changes in the ninth inning, as manager Brian Snitker told reporters (including MLB.com’s Mark Bowman) yesterday. While incumbent closer Raisel Iglesias “may close games” going forward, he won’t “necessarily” be the team’s primary closing option moving forward. Snitker did not name a new primary closer, leaving the door open to a committee approach to the ninth inning.

It would have been unthinkable just a few months ago that Iglesias could be anything other than the surefire closer in Atlanta. The right-hander put together a season for the ages in 2024, when he pitched to a 1.95 ERA in 69 1/3 innings of work while striking out 26.3% of his opponents and walking just 5.0%. It was an elite season even by the standards of the veteran righty, who had fashioned himself into one of the league’s most reliable relief arms since the start of the decade with a 2.44 ERA and 2.71 FIP in 278 appearances from 2020-24.

That’s all come crashing down this year, however, as Iglesias simply hasn’t looked like himself in his age-35 campaign. In 24 innings of work this year, Iglesias has surrendered a 6.75 ERA with a 5.65 FIP. While his 23.1% strikeout rate and 5.6% walk rate are more or less in line with last year’s numbers, he’s watched an eye-popping seven home runs leave the yard already this year. That’s already tied his high-water mark in a Braves uniform. At least some of his struggles can be attributed to poor luck; 21.9% of Iglesias’s fly balls have left the yard, and that’s simply not a sustainable rate even with an inflated 14.5% barrel rate. Even as his fastball velocity has lost a tick this year, the veteran’s 3.26 SIERA remains strong. It’s not at all difficult to imagine the talented righty turning things around moving forward.

Even so, the fact that the Braves felt a change was needed shows what dire straits the club finds itself in. Atlanta started off with a brutal 0-7 start to the season but actually managed to fight its way back over .500 and into the NL Wild Card conversation last month. Unfortunately, since that return to relevance the club has lost its first six games of June. That losing streak is part of a larger stretch where the Braves have won just 3 of their last 16 contests. It’s left them with a brutal 27-36 record that puts the team nine games back in the Wild Card race and 12.5 games out of the NL East. That’s the sort of deficit that can be difficult to bounce back from, even for an organization that is as talented (at least on paper) as Atlanta.

As the club tries to work its way back into relevance for the second time this year, they’ve decided to pull the plug on Iglesias in their effort to find a spark. If moving out of the ninth inning for a while can help Iglesias recapture his dominant form from previous years, that could help the Braves even if they don’t end up returning to contention as Iglesias (alongside DH Marcell Ozuna) is one of the team’s few pending free agents. If the club ends up selling at the deadline, they’ll surely want Iglesias looking as good as possible in the weeks leading up to a deal to maximize his trade value.

If there’s a silver lining for Iglesias’s odds of recapturing the closer role at some point this year, it’s that no one else seems primed to step up and take it for themselves so far. In the two games Atlanta has played since Snitker’s announcement, Pierce Johnson was the final pitcher to take the mound for the club. He was tagged with the loss in both outings, including a blown save opportunity earlier this evening. Johnson still has a decent 3.86 ERA in 26 appearances this year with 16 career saves (including one this season) under his belt, but he hardly seems especially close to locking down the ninth inning. Johnson and perhaps Iglesias can continue to get opportunities, while southpaws Dylan Lee and Aaron Bummer could also get turns in the ninth inning given their solid results this year and late-inning experience.

Giants Outright Sam Huff

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Catcher Sam Huff cleared waivers and was assigned outright to Triple-A Sacramento, according to a report from Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. Huff had previously been designated for assignment by the club earlier this week.

Huff, 27, was a seventh-round pick by the Rangers back in 2016 who was a consensus top-100 prospect in baseball back in 2020 and 2021. He made his big league debut during the shortened 2020 season and looked utterly sensational in a ten-game sample, slashing .355/.394/.742 in his brief call-up to the majors that year. That strong start to Huff’s career combined with his prospect status to create huge expectations, but he was sidelined by injury for much of the 2021 season and posted pedestrian numbers at Double-A when he was healthy enough to play. He turned things around after arriving at Triple-A, however, and his .260/.336/.533 slash line at the level in 2022 was enough to earn him another shot in the majors.

The backstop was generally a solid but unspectacular hitter in the majors during both the 2022 and ’23 campaigns. He got into 65 games in total for the club those years, and across his 177 plate appearances he hit .244/.299/.409 with a 98 wRC+. That’s just 2% below league average, and slightly better than the average catcher slash line. Even so, Huff was never a particularly robust defender behind the plate, so as a bat-first catcher who was only league average he quickly fell behind other options on the Rangers depth chart like Jonah Heim. Even so, he continued to rake at Triple-A and showed enough offensive talent that the club continued to hold out hope for an eventual breakout.

Things took a turn for the worse in 2024, as Huff barely found use in the majors (appearing in just three games with four total plate appearances) and stopped hitting even at the Triple-A level. After years of raking for the organization’s Round Rock affiliate, Huff slashed just .246/.310/.416 in 111 games at Triple-A last year. That’s not a terrible slash line in a vacuum, but when one factors in both Huff’s status as a then-26-year-old at Triple-A and the inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League, it’s easy to see that an 82 wRC+ at Triple-A wouldn’t cut it. With Huff out of options entering 2025, the Rangers gave up on their longtime prospect and designated him for assignment.

That led him to join the Giants, for whom he entered the season as the backup to defensive stalwart Patrick Bailey. Ultimately, Huff appeared in 20 games with San Francisco but hit just .208/.259/.340 with a wRC+ of 68 in 58 plate appearances. While he’s always been prone to swing and miss, Huff’s 43.1% strikeout rate in a Giants uniform was downright alarming. Given that lackluster performance, it’s hardly a shock that the Giants decided to go in another direction for their backup to Bailey. With that being said, the club clearly still valued Huff as a potential depth option behind the plate. He’ll return to Triple-A for the time being as a non-roster depth piece for the Giants, and if he goes through the end of the season without being added back to the 40-man roster he’ll be able to elect minor league free agency and hit the open market for the first time in his career.

Red Sox Select Robert Stock, Place Josh Winckowski On 60-Day IL

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The Red Sox announced this afternoon that they’ve selected the contract of Robert Stock. Right-hander Cooper Criswell was optioned to the minors to make room on the active roster, as was previously reported by Ian Browne of MLB.com. Making room for Stock on the 40-man roster is right-hander Josh Winckowski, who was recalled to the majors and placed on the 60-day injured list with a flexor strain in his right elbow.

Stock, 35, joins the Red Sox bullpen for the second time this year. He previously threw two innings for the club in an appearance earlier this year but was outrighted off the 40-man roster shortly thereafter. A second-round pick by the Cardinals all the way back in 2009, Stock didn’t debut in the majors until 2018 as a member of the Padres. He turned in a dominant showing during his first year in the majors, with a 2.50 ERA and 2.71 FIP across 39 2/3 innings of work, but has never reached those heights since. He bounced between San Diego, Boston, Chicago, and Queens over the next three seasons but didn’t get much in the way of results with a 7.36 ERA (5.50 FIP) in 33 frames between 2019 and 2021.

Following the 2021 season, Stock departed affiliated ball to pitch as a starter for the KBO League’s Doosan Bears in 2022. He posted a 3.60 ERA in 165 innings of work but did not remain in Asia beyond that season, instead returning to North America to pitch for the Atlantic League’s Long Island Ducks and the Mexican League’s Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos. Stock finally returned to affiliated ball with the Red Sox on a minor league deal this year, where he’s pitched to a 3.09 ERA in 55 1/3 innings of work at Triple-A in addition to his brief stint in the majors. Now he’ll once again be tasked with helping fill the gaps in the Red Sox pitching staff, and perhaps can provide some length for the club out of the bullpen.

Making room for Stock on the active roster is Criswell, a right-hander with a similar ability to pitch in a variety of roles. After spending parts of three seasons with the Angels and Rays early in his career, Stock arrived in Boston last year settled into a swing role with the big league club that saw him pitch to a solid 4.08 ERA (104 ERA+) with a 4.15 FIP in 99 1/3 innings last year. Those frames were split between the bullpen and rotation, with 18 of his 26 MLB appearances last year being starts. Things haven’t gone as well for Criswell this year, however as he’s struggled badly in six innings with eight runs (five earned) allowed and as many walks (two) as he has strikeouts. He’ll head to Triple-A where the Red Sox will try to help him get right so he can contribute to the pitching staff later in the season.

Meanwhile, Stock will take the 40-man roster spot of Winckowski. The right-hander debuted with the Red Sox back in 2022 as a back-end starter but since then has been a very effective multi-inning reliever, with a 3.51 ERA and 4.10 FIP in 172 innings since the start of the 2023 campaign. That includes a 3.86 ERA in six outings for the big league club earlier this year, but he’s been at Triple-A for over a month now. Winckowski last appeared in a Triple-A game on May 11 and had been on the shelf in the minors with elbow inflammation, but the club clearly does not expect him back any time soon as he’ll now not be eligible to return from the shelf until early August.

Mets Acquire Justin Garza From Giants

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The Mets have swung a deal with the Giants to acquire right-hander Justin Garza in exchange for cash considerations, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post. Garza had been on a minor league deal with San Francisco, so no corresponding move will be necessary for the Mets until and unless he’s selected to the 40-man roster.

Garza, 31, has pitched in the majors for parts of two MLB seasons. Selected by Cleveland in the eighth-round of the 2015 draft, he made his big league debut for them in 2021. He ultimately ended up pitching 28 2/3 innings of work for the club in total with roughly league average results. In those 21 appearances, he posted a 4.71 ERA (92 ERA+) and struck out 22.7% of his opponents, but walked 14.1% and allowed more than his fair share of home runs. He was much more effective than that at Triple-A, where he posted a 1.57 ERA in 22 2/3 frames, but even that effectiveness slipped away during a 2022 season where he did not make it to the majors and posted only middling results in the minors.

He split the 2023 season between the Angels and Red Sox organizations and made it back to the big leagues in Boston, but struggled badly in that 17-game stint with a 7.36 ERA. His walk rate was still an elevated 13.7%, but his strikeout rate actually dropped to a well below-average 18.7% while his issues with the long ball persisted. His results at Triple-A were once again lackluster as well, and given his disastrous results his last time in the majors it’s not exactly shocking that he has yet to get another major league opportunity since. While he posted good numbers for the Giants at Triple-A last year, that’s not been the case at all this season with a 6.11 ERA and 5.50 FIP in 17 2/3 at the highest level of the minors this year.

Now, he’s set to join a new organization in hopes that a change of scenery (and a move out of the Pacific Coast League) can help him get back on track. Garza’s improved his command during his time in the Giants organization over the past two years, getting to the point where he struck out 26.0% of opponents while walking 7.8% this year. If he can carry those improved numbers over to the Mets organization, perhaps he could be a viable option for New York at the major league level even in spite of his proclivity towards giving up hard contact. The Mets have gotten generally excellent results from their bullpen this year, but as they found out when injuries sidelined Danny Young and A.J. Minter earlier this year an injury or two can leave even the strongest bullpens scrambling for depth. The addition of Garza should help protect against that somewhat, as he’ll join other non-roster depth pieces like Colin Poche and Oliver Ortega.

Diamondbacks Select Aramis Garcia

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The Diamondbacks announced a series of roster moves this afternoon, headlined by the club selecting the contract of catcher Aramis Garcia. Right-hander Cristian Mena was placed on the 15-day injured list to make room for Garcia on the active roster, while the transfer of right-hander Corbin Burnes to the 60-day IL following yesterday’s news that the veteran is set to undergo Tommy John surgery cleared a 40-man roster spot for Garcia. In addition, Arizona appointed righty Christian Montes De Oca to the roster as their 27th-man for today’s doubleheader.

Garcia, 32, was a second-round pick by the Giants back in 2014 but didn’t ultimately make his big league debut until the 2018 season. Garcia came up to the majors in August of that year to help back up Nick Hundley after Buster Posey underwent season-ending hip surgery. He got time in both behind the plate and at first base that year, slashing .286/.302/.492 across 19 games in his first cup of coffee with the big league club, though that solid 117 wRC+ came in a sample of just 65 plate appearances. Still, Garcia’s work in that first taste of the majors was enough to convince the Giants to continue rostering him for the 2019 campaign.

Unfortunately, his performance took a nose dive in that second stint as a big leaguer. He ultimately hit just .143/.217/.310 in 46 trips to the plate for the Giants that year. Despite that lackluster performance, Garcia was still in line to make the Giants’ 2020 Opening Day roster as the primary backup to Posey. That’s not how things worked out, however, as an offseason hip injury combined with the shortened 60-game campaign left Garcia sidelined for the whole year. The Giants ultimately cut the catcher loose following the 2020 season and designated him for assignment. He was claimed off waivers by the Rangers and then included in the swap that sent Khris Davis to Dallas and Elvis Andrus to Oakland prior to the 2021 campaign.

Garcia’s largest contributions in the majors came during the next two seasons. He hit .205/.239/.318 (56 wRC+) in 32 games with the A’s in 2021, but was ultimately cut from the team’s roster and signed with the Reds on a minor league deal. In Cincinnati, Garcia appeared in a career-high 47 games but hit just .213/.248/.259 with a wRC+ of 37 before getting claimed by the Orioles following the 2022 season. He bounced between the Orioles and Phillies organizations over the past two years but made just three appearances in the majors in that time before signing with Arizona on a minor league deal this past winter. Now, he’s back in the majors as a depth option behind the plate with a doubleheader scheduled today and primary catcher Gabriel Moreno day-to-day following a hand injury he suffered in yesterday’s game.

Making room for Garcia on the active roster is Mena, who is being shelved with a right shoulder strain. The right-hander has long been regarded as a talented but raw pitching prospect and was acquired from the White Sox in exchange for outfielder Dominic Fletcher prior to the 2024 season. Mena made his big league debut last year and surrendered four runs across three innings in his lone appearance, but this year he’s looked quite good with 5 2/3 scoreless innings of work and a 35% strikeout rate in a multi-inning relief role. Unfortunately, he’ll now need to wait to heal up to build on that success. For today, Mena’s spot in the bullpen will be offered to Montes De Oca, who has not yet appeared in a big league game but has a 4.07 ERA in 24 1/3 innings of work at Triple-A this year.

Poll: Which Contender Should Be Most Aggressive On The Rotation Market?

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Trade season is fast approaching, and teams have mostly begun to start sorting themselves between the contenders and pretenders. At almost every trade deadline, there’s one need that teams prioritize filling than any other: starting pitching. There’s no such thing as too many starters, and that’s become even more true in recent years as pitching injuries have skyrocketed. Plenty of teams will want to add an impact arm (or at least some depth) to their rotation this summer, but which need help the most ahead of the stretch run? Here’s a look at some of the league’s top contenders:

Toronto Blue Jays

The Blue Jays have fought their way back into the AL Wild Card conversation recently, and they’ve done so despite a bottom-five rotation in baseball by ERA. Kevin Gausman and Chris Bassitt are both solid veterans who can be trusted to start a playoff game, and Jose Berrios is getting good results despite worrisome peripherals for the second year in a row. After that trio, however, things start to look dire. Bowden Francis has been one of the worst qualified starters in baseball this year,  and the team has no defined fifth starter at all for the moment.

Spencer Turnbull is coming to help out sooner or later, but relying on a pitcher who last made even 20 appearances back in 2019 to help turn things around is risky. Alek Manoah and Max Scherzer could both contribute at some point in theory, but they’ve similarly dealt with injuries that have made them major question marks in recent years. For Toronto, one could argue that the question is less about whether or not they need another starter, but whether or not they’ll remain firmly enough in contention to justify the expense come July.

Chicago Cubs

The Cubs enter play today with the best record in the NL, and with Kyle Tucker set to reach free agency in November, there’s little question they’ll be buyers this summer. A stacked lineup that features few obvious holes makes pitching the most sensible place for them to look for upgrades, and it’s not hard to argue for starting pitching as the best choice when looking for upgrades. Cubs’ starters have combined for a 3.99 ERA this year, good for 19th in baseball. That’s below average in the league overall despite players like Matthew Boyd (3.01 ERA) and Colin Rea (3.59 ERA) pitching better than anyone would’ve assumed preseason.

Justin Steele is out for the season after undergoing surgery on his UCL, and he’s joined on the IL by co-ace Shota Imanaga while the veteran works his way back from a hamstring strain. Imanaga is expected back at some point this month, but with depth options like Javier Assad, Jordan Wicks, and Brandon Birdsell all also on the injured list, Ben Brown (5.72 ERA) struggling badly this season, and top prospect Cade Horton likely operating on an innings limit, it’s hard to imagine the Cubs not doing something to address their rotation this summer.

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers, at least on paper, have more rotation arms than they know what to do with. The reality of their situation is much different, however, as the vast majority of those pitchers are presently on the injured list. In conjunction with disappointing performances from players like Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki, Tony Gonsolin, and Clayton Kershaw, those injuries have left the Dodgers with a 4.35 rotation ERA and the fifth-weakest starting staff in the NL this year. Their two-game lead on the Padres and three-game lead on the Giants in the NL West aren’t nearly as comfortable as they would surely like, and with a stacked lineup that has few obvious holes, that could make starting pitching the most obvious area for them to upgrade this summer.

On the other hand, it’s possible L.A. could simply rely on internal improvements as players get healthier. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is in the NL Cy Young conversation this year, and Dustin May has looked like a capable arm for the middle-to-back of the rotation. Glasnow, Sasaki, and Blake Snell are all expected back at some point or other this year, and Shohei Ohtani is of course working his way back to the big league mound. For a club that managed to win a World Series with a patchwork rotation just last year, perhaps that’s enough to feel comfortable standing pat this summer. Even so, at least another depth arm or two couldn’t hurt.

Cleveland Guardians

Long renowned for their excellent starting pitching development, the Guardians were one of several playoff teams last year who limped into October with major question marks in the rotation. With a 4.07 ERA and 4.55 FIP out of the rotation this year, they look to be at risk of doing so once again. Luis Ortiz looks like a solid mid-rotation arm, but Tanner Bibee and Gavin Williams have both seen their peripherals take a nosedive this year despite solid enough results. Cleveland recently lost Ben Lively for the season to Tommy John surgery as well, creating another hole in their rotation mix.

Perhaps an internal option like right-hander Zak Kent can be a surprise contributor, and Shane Bieber’s eventual return from the injured list could provide a big boost so long as he can shake off the rust from a long layoff. That could make an outfield in need of upgrades a more pressing issue but it’s hard to imagine the rotation not being an area worth upgrading this summer. That’s especially true given that the bullpen that helped carry Cleveland to October last year has looked more “good” than “superhuman” in 2025.

Other Teams In Need

These four aren’t the only teams who could use some pitching help this summer. The Red Sox and Diamondbacks have both struggled to get results from their rotation, but have a deep group of arms in-house already and are far enough out of contention at this point that they may end up selling. That latter point is also true of the Braves, whose pitching situation looks more worrisome than ever after Spencer Strider has struggled in his return from surgery and AJ Smith-Shawver was lost for the year. The Yankees and Twins have pitched extremely well this season, but it would be understandable for either team to look for upgrades given the significant blow losing Gerrit Cole (Tommy John surgery) and Pablo Lopez (Grade 2 Lat Strain) dealt to each respective rotation. The Cardinals have gotten middling results from their rotation but have a bigger need in the outfield. The outfield also seems likely to be a bigger priority for the Astros, who have gotten great results from Hunter Brown and Framber Valdez but are currently relying on a patchwork at the back of their rotation while players like Cristian Javier and Spencer Arrighetti heal up on the injured list. Like the Astros, the Padres are currently running a top-heavy rotation a handful of question marks.

Which team do you think ought to be the most aggressive in pursuing starting pitching this summer? Have your say in the poll below:

The Opener: Teel, Cubs, Tigers, Langeliers

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Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world heading into the weekend:

1. Teel to debut:

It’s an exciting day for White Sox fans. Top catching prospect Kyle Teel is slated to be promoted to the majors for the first time today. The centerpiece of the return for Garrett Crochet, Teel was beaten to the majors by infielder Chase Meidroth but is a consensus top-50 prospect in the sport who has slashed .295/.394/.492 in 50 games at the Triple-A level this year. The 23-year-old was drafted 14th overall just two years ago and will become the tenth player from the first round of his draft class to make his big league debut. The White Sox are currently splitting time behind the plate between Korey Lee and Edgar Quero, and it’s not yet clear how playing time will be divided between the three or if one of the other two catchers will be optioned to Triple-A. Teel has begun to take some reps at first base as well. Chicago’s 40-man roster is at capacity, meaning the club will need to make a corresponding move in order to select Teel.

2. Series Preview: Cubs @ Tigers

The two best records in baseball are set to meet for a three-game set this weekend as the Cubs head to Detroit to take on the Tigers. After squeaking into the playoffs by the skin of their teeth last year, things have really come together for Detroit in 2025. Longtime prospect Spencer Torkelson is breaking out, and the addition of Gleyber Torres has been a boon to the team’s infield production.

Meanwhile, the Cubs improved their fortunes by trading for star outfielder Kyle Tucker over the winter, and that addition has been complemented by the breakout of center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong. Game 1 will see reigning AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal (2.26 ERA) take on Cubs youngster Ben Brown (5.72 ERA). Game 2 will feature Cubs veteran Jameson Taillon (3.76 ERA) on the bump against righty Keider Montero (4.02 ERA), while the series finale will pit top Cubs prospect Cade Horton (3.51 ERA) against right-hander Jack Flaherty (3.72 ERA).

3. Langeliers undergoes MRI:

The A’s are waiting for more information on the status of catcher Shea Langeliers after he departed in the middle of his at-bat due to pain in his left side. The club has termed it a “left flank injury” to this point, and MLB.com’s Martin Gallegos reports that Langeliers underwent an MRI last night for further evaluation. It wouldn’t be a shock to see the catcher wind up on the injured list for at least some time, and if that were to happen the club would likely be left to utilize a tandem of Willie MacIver and Jhonny Pereda — a notable offensive downgrade.

However, manager Mark Kotsay suggested back in spring training that Tyler Soderstrom — who started several games behind the dish in Cactus League play — could still be an occasional option at catcher. He’s considered a sub-par defender there, but on a short-term basis he could fill in. Soderstrom hasn’t caught in 2025 beyond those spring training reps. He also only logged one big league game there in 2024, but he started 21 minor league games at catcher last year and has 165 professional games (not including spring training) at the position.

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