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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.

Poll: What Will Atlanta’s Deadline Look Like?

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It was a tough start to the season in Atlanta, as they lost their first seven games in a row and 13 of their first 18 games. Brutal as that start to the season was, the club managed to turn things around in the latter weeks of April, and as recently as May 19 things were looking good. The Braves were 24-23, leaving them on the periphery of the Wild Card conversation, Spencer Strider was finally back from the injured list, and Ronald Acuna Jr. was just days away from his own return. Unfortunately, they’ve gone just 3-11 since then. That leaves them in fourth place in the NL East with a 27-34 record and 6.5 games out of the final NL Wild Card spot, with six teams they’d need to bypass in the standings in order to make it to the postseason.

Impressive and well-constructed as the team may look on paper, the group simply hasn’t been getting the job done in practice. Strider has pitched poorly (6.43 ERA, 6.93 FIP) in three starts since returning. AJ Smith-Shawver is done for the season after suffering a torn UCL. Ozzie Albies and Michael Harris II aren’t hitting. No qualified reliever in baseball has allowed more home runs than closer Raisel Iglesias. It’s impossible to know what they can expect to get out of Jurickson Profar when he returns from his PED suspension, and even if he plays well he won’t be eligible for the postseason.

Taken together, it’s hard not to see Atlanta as a team that has simply fallen too far behind the pack to justify continuing to push their chips in for the postseason. The good news is that, if they do decide to sell, they’ll have plenty of interesting pieces to move. Iglesias has had a rough year, but still boasts 232 saves and an ERA below 3.00 for his career. Marcell Ozuna has been one of the league’s top designated hitters for three straight seasons now, with a 148 wRC+ stretching back to 2023 that’s top-ten in baseball among hitters with at least 1,000 plate appearances in that time. Perhaps Alex Verdugo can be of interest to a team in need of outfield help, even in the midst of a down season (79 wRC+). Ozuna would immediately become the best hitter available this summer if dangled, and even in spite of his home run woes teams will be hard pressed to find a more decorated reliever than Iglesias to close out games for them.

If the Braves were to decide to sell, would they stop at rental pieces or consider dealing longer-term assets as well? They hold a team option on the services of veteran ace Chris Sale, but the reigning NL Cy Young winner would immediately become the most valuable asset on the market if president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos decided to dangle him. A $7MM team option for 2026 would make right-hander Pierce Johnson an attractive multi-year asset on the market as well. And with Drake Baldwin making his case to be NL Rookie of the Year, it’s not impossible to imagine Atlanta listening to offers on Sean Murphy and shedding the $45MM in guaranteed dollars remaining on his deal for his age 31-33 seasons. In a summer that looks like there may not be much impact talent available, there’s plenty of upside to be found in selling aggressively while the majority of the league is scrambling to improve ahead of the stretch run.

As much sense as it might seem to make for the Braves to listen on some of their top short-term pieces, it must be remembered that Anthopoulos and his front office aren’t afraid to zig when the rest of the league zags. Just a few years ago, Atlanta entered the All-Star break with a sub-.500 club that had just lost Acuna to a season-ending injury. It would’ve been understandable if they decided to sell, with Freddie Freeman, Chris Martin, Dansby Swanson, and Charlie Morton among the short-term assets they had in the fold at that point who could have brought back massive returns. Rather than entertain that option, the club added Joc Pederson, Jorge Soler, Adam Duvall, and Eddie Rosario to their beleaguered outfield and stayed the course. A few months later, they hoisted the Commissioner’s Trophy after beating the Astros in the World Series.

It shouldn’t shock anyone if club brass decides to stay the course once again this year in hopes of a similar Cinderella run. After all, the talent on Atlanta’s roster is enviable; all the same reasons that pieces like Iglesias and Ozuna would be attractive to rival organizations are reasons the Braves may simply prefer to try to win while they’re still in the fold rather than bank on figuring things out without them in the future, and that goes double for longer-term pieces like Sale and Murphy. Perhaps Strider will improve as he shakes off the rust from his long rehab, and Acuna has wasted no time thrusting himself back into the conversation as one of the league’s premier stars. With the 2023 NL MVP’s time under team control set to last only three more seasons after this one, it’s far to wonder if the Braves would really sacrifice one of those seasons by selling at the deadline.

How do MLBTR readers think Atlanta will approach the deadline this summer? Will they push their chips in and buy despite long odds, like they did in 2021? Will they do some light selling, casting off rental players in hopes of restocking in 2026? Or will they listen to offers on a wider range of players? Have your say in the poll below:

What Will The Braves Do This Summer?
Atlanta will sell at the deadline, but only listen on rental players. 36.42% (1,078 votes)
Atlanta will sell at the deadline, and at least listen on some players controlled beyond 2025. 33.14% (981 votes)
Atlanta will not sell at the deadline. 30.44% (901 votes)
Total Votes: 2,960

The Opener: Doubleheader, Pitchers’ Duel, A’s

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Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day:

1. Doubleheader in St. Louis:

The Royals and Cardinals saw their game yesterday postponed by rain. That missed game will be made up for today as part of a split doubleheader between the two clubs. Game 1 is scheduled to begin at 12:45pm local time, while Game 2’s first pitch is set for 6:45pm. Tickets for yesterday’s postponed game will be valid for Game 1 today, while fans who had tickets for today’s game will still have valid tickets for Game 2. MLB.com notes that the Cardinals will offer fans who had paid tickets to yesterday’s game a voucher for a future Monday-Thursday Cardinals home game. Notably, this will be the fifth doubleheader of the Cardinals’ season, as they’ve been dogged by inclement weather throughout the year. The twin bill will now serve as the starting point for a series of 28 games in 28 days, a stretch during which the Cards will have only June 16 as a scheduled day off.

2. Game 2 Pitchers’ Duel:

While Game 1 of the aforementioned doubleheader will feature rookie southpaw Noah Cameron (1.05 ERA in four starts) pitching for the Royals against Cardinals veteran Miles Mikolas (3.90 ERA in 11 starts), the main attraction will be Game 2. Cole Ragans is expected to make his return to the mound for the first time since a May 16 start (also against the Cardinals), where he suffered a groin strain that kept him on the injured list for nearly three weeks. A finalist for the AL Cy Young award last year, Ragans has a lackluster 4.53 ERA in nine starts this year despite a terrific 1.98 FIP and a strikeout rate of 37.7%. His opponent today will be breakout southpaw Matthew Liberatore, who boasts a 3.08 ERA and 2.65 FIP for the Cardinals heading into his career-high 12th start of the season.

3. A’s shaking up pitching staff?

The Athletics are currently operating with a four-man rotation, and with the club in need of a fifth starter today, Martin Gallegos of MLB.com relays that right-hander Mitch Spence is expected to take the ball for his first start of the 2025 season. It’s possible he’s being called upon to start a bullpen game, but this could also signal a role change for the righty.

Spence made 24 starts and hurled 151 1/3 innings for the A’s during their final season in Oakland. The former Rule 5 pick opened the 2025 season in the ’pen and has tossed 39 innings with a 4.38 ERA and 3.82 FIP thus far. He hasn’t thrown more than 44 pitches or topped three innings in an outing since early April, however. Are the A’s planning to stretch him out more fully? Athletics starters rank 28th in the majors with a 5.49 ERA, leading only the Marlins (5.50) and Rockies (6.55). Luis Severino (4.54) and Jeffrey Springs (4.72) are the only A’s starters with sub-5.00 ERAs on the season.

Poll: Should The Marlins Trade Ryan Weathers?

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When it comes to trade candidates on the Marlins, the majority of the focus has been squarely on right-hander Sandy Alcantara. A recent Cy Young award winner who missed last season while rehabbing Tommy John surgery, Alcantara is earning a healthy salary on a team that is seemingly always looking for opportunities to lower its already-meager payroll and has enough team control remaining for rival clubs to convince themselves to part ways with prospects they’d never consider dealing for a rental arm.

That all makes Alcantara a sensible and attractive trade candidate on paper, but a major issue with those plans has emerged this year: he simply isn’t pitching very well. The righty’s 7.89 ERA through 12 starts is the worst mark among starters with at least 50 innings this year, and even more advanced metrics like his 5.04 FIP and 4.85 SIERA are the 11th- and tenth-worst figures in the sport respectively. It’s going to be hard to convince opposing teams to pay a premium for Alcantara as he’s currently pitching, and that’s a problem for a Miami club that’s in the midst of a deep rebuild.

While Alcantara might not be pitching like the front-line starter the team was hoping to be able to market to needy clubs this summer, another intriguing arm has inserted himself into the discussion with a strong start to the season: left-hander Ryan Weathers. The 25-year-old started the 2025 campaign on the injured list due to a forearm strain he suffered during Spring Training, but in four starts since returning he’s looked nothing short of excellent with a 2.49 ERA, 25.3% strikeout rate, and a 43.1% ground ball rate. Those peripherals don’t quite live up to that ERA, but even his 3.60 SIERA to this point in the year puts him on par with arms like Merrill Kelly and David Peterson who have established themselves as solid mid-rotation, playoff-caliber starters.

On top of his solid performance, Weathers would also be extremely attractive as a trade candidate because he’s making less than $780K this season and comes with plenty of team control. The southpaw won’t be a free agent until the end of the 2028 season, so even clubs facing tight budget restrictions in the short term or who aren’t interested in adding long-term salary commitments could have interest in his services if he’s made available. Weathers’ combination of strong results and a team-friendly contract situation could make him an extremely valuable trade asset for the Fish this summer.

With that being said, there are certainly strong reasons to think the Marlins may not want to part ways with the southpaw. Weathers is still just 25 years old and has yet to complete a full, healthy big league campaign with the club. Four starts is a small sample size that could make him difficult to market, and while good health should allow him to get more like ten to twelve starts under his belt before trade season kicks into high gear, it’s possible he’ll take a step back and wind up pitching closer to the 3.63 ERA and 4.11 FIP he posted in 16 starts last season going forward. Even if he does keep this level of success up, there’s certainly an argument to be made that Weathers could be dealt at a later date when he’s more established and teams might feel more comfortable surrendering a large trade package for him.

What’s more, Weathers’ three seasons of team control after this one could make the Marlins a bit more reluctant to trade the lefty. Miami surely hopes to be competing for the postseason again before 2029, especially with players like Kyle Stowers, Connor Norby, Agustin Ramirez, and Xavier Edwards showing themselves to be solid pieces this year. A potential front three of Eury Perez, Max Meyer, and Weathers under long-term team control would go a long way to making the Marlins legitimate contenders sooner rather than later, and many of those aforementioned pieces only have one more year of team control than Weathers does. Moving someone like Edward Cabrera, who has the same amount of team control remaining as Weathers but is two years older, could also be a preferable option given that Weathers is set to hit free agency ahead of his age-29 season.

Of course, many of the reasons that Weathers would be difficult to part ways with now could be argued as reasons he should be traded at some point. His injury history may make him less valuable in trade, but the Marlins are seeing right now with Alcantara what struggling after a major arm injury can do to a player’s value. The lefty’s youth would mean he’s in the prime of his career when the Marlins will hopefully be trying to contend again, but it also would make him a prime extension candidate for a club with deeper pockets than Miami. The collection of talent the club has at its disposal is impressive, but it still leans much more towards pitching than offense, so swapping a player like Weathers for a bat with similar control could go a long way to improving the team.

How do MLBTR readers think the Marlins should handle Weathers this summer? Should he be kept off the market entirely, shopped aggressively, or moved only if a team makes an overwhelming offer? Have your say in the poll below:

Should The Marlins Deal Ryan Weathers?
The Marlins should only trade Weathers if they get an exceptional offer. 57.72% (1,114 votes)
The Marlins should trade Weathers for whatever they can get this summer. 29.48% (569 votes)
The Marlins shouldn't trade Weathers this summer, no matter what. 12.80% (247 votes)
Total Votes: 1,930

The Opener: Lopez, Tigers, Woodruff

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Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day:

1. Lopez likely headed to IL:

Twins right-hander Pablo Lopez exited his start yesterday with what was termed right shoulder tightness at the time of his departure, but after the game he revealed to reporters (including Phil Miller of the Star Tribune) that he’s actually suffering from a right lat strain. Lopez told reporters that he’s set to undergo imaging to determine the severity of the strain, but Miller added that the right-hander sounded resigned to the fact that he would almost certainly be placed on the injured list. Losing Lopez, who has a 2.82 ERA and 2.97 FIP so far this year, is a tough blow, but the Twins are better equipped to lose a front-line starter than most organizations, with younger arms like David Festa and Simeon Woods Richardson ready to go at Triple-A. Twins starters are fifth in the majors with a collective 3.43 ERA this season.

2. Tigers 40-man move incoming:

The Tigers are expected to activate right-hander Sawyer Gipson-Long from the 60-day IL today. Detroit’s 40-man roster is already at capacity, meaning someone will need to be pulled off the roster in order to make room for Gipson-Long. The Tigers have no obvious 60-day IL candidates, so the most likely outcome is that they’ll have to designate a player for assignment today. Of course, it’s also at least possible that a player currently on the 10- or 15-day IL has a longer path to recovery than is currently publicly known. Another possibility would be working out a trade that creates 40-man roster space, though that seems especially unlikely at this stage of the calendar.

3. Woodruff exits rehab start:

Right-hander Brandon Woodruff’s path back to a big league mound after missing the 2024 season due to shoulder surgery has been a long one. An ankle injury at the tail end of his time rehabbing that shoulder injury caused the Brewers to reset his rehab clock, and while he was expected to finally be on the verge of making it back to the big leagues after yesterday’s rehab outing, another potential setback occurred once again when he was struck by a line drive on his right elbow.

Woodruff left the game after the incident, and while MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy notes that initial x-rays were negative, Woodruff is set to receive more extensive testing from the team’s medical staff today. Fortunately for the Brewers, they’re suddenly deep in starting pitching at the moment, with a full rotation of five starters in the majors plus multiple depth options like Logan Henderson and Tobias Myers at Triple-A.

Poll: Will The Diamondbacks Be Sellers This Summer?

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The Diamondbacks have been one of the better teams in baseball in recent years. The won the NL pennant just two years ago, and last season put together a strong 89-win campaign that just barely missed the playoffs due to a three-way tiebreaker with the Braves and Mets. After an offseason where the club brought in Josh Naylor and Corbin Burnes among a handful of other additions, it wasn’t hard to see the Diamondbacks serving as the main challenger to the Dodgers in the NL West, or at least as an early favorite for one of the NL Wild Card spots.

Things haven’t worked out that way, however. The Diamondbacks entered play today with a 28-31 record that leaves them in fourth place in the NL West, 7.5 games back of the Dodgers but also behind the Padres and Giants. Even in the NL Wild Card race, Arizona is five games back, in line with the records of likely sellers in other divisions like the Nationals and Reds. While they entered the season with a 60.4% chance to make the playoffs according to Fangraphs, today’s playoff odds give them just a 27.9% chance to play in the postseason this year. Those odds are a worrying sign, but they’re hardly the be-all and end-all; the Tigers (20.3%) and Mets (9.8%) both had slimmer odds at the postseason than that one year ago today and ended up not only making the playoffs but playing fairly deep into October.

What separates Arizona from last year’s surprise contenders, however, is that they clearly appear to be on the downswing. Burnes is having elbow troubles, leaving his future at the top of their rotation uncertain at best. Closer A.J. Puk is on the 60-day injured list with an uncertain timeline*. Zac Gallen hasn’t looked like himself all season, and Brandon Pfaadt was having trouble staying consistent even before he gave up eight runs without recording an out in his most recent start against the Nationals. An offense with players like Corbin Carroll, Geraldo Perdomo, Ketel Marte, and even Pavin Smith all hitting incredibly well feels as though it should be a slam dunk to make the postseason, but the club just doesn’t appear to have enough pitching to make a run as presently constructed without significant turnarounds from players like Gallen.

An argument could be made, however, that with Marte nearing the end of his prime years and players like Gallen, Naylor, Merrill Kelly, and Eugenio Suarez ticketed for free agency this winter, that the Diamondbacks would simply be best served supplementing the current roster with more pitching this summer and attempting to make a late-season run. A number of interesting arms could potentially be available this summer, ranging from mid-rotation pieces like Zach Eflin and Nick Martinez to relief help like Pete Fairbanks and Kyle Finnegan. Any of those options could help stabilize the pitching staff enough for Arizona’s vaunted offense to carry the rest of the load, and that’s before considering the unlikely but still feasible possibilities that teams like the Astros and Cardinals decide to dangle Framber Valdez and Ryan Helsley.

The complication with that, however, is that Arizona is already in very uncharted waters when it comes to payroll. Efforts to trade Jordan Montgomery to free up payroll space this winter were unsuccessful, and the fact that he ended up going under the knife before the season began put a stop to any hopes of moving him to make room for other players in the budget this summer. It’s at least theoretically possible ownership could be willing to green-light even more spending for a squad that RosterResource suggests is already costing the club $196MM this year, but it would hardly be a surprise if managing general partner Ken Kendrick was reluctant to invest in the team further without them showing more signs of life. Young players like Carroll, Jordan Lawlar, and Perdomo aren’t going anywhere, so it’s not hard to imagine the club being able to load up on talent this summer by moving players like Gallen and Suarez with an eye towards contending in 2026 and beyond.

Perhaps the best news for the Diamondbacks at this point is that there’s still nearly two months until the deadline, meaning they won’t need to make a decision for at least a few more weeks. A late June stretch where the club enjoys nine consecutive games against the Rockies, White Sox, and Marlins could easily provide just the sort of shot in the arm Arizona needs to get right back into the thick of the Wild Card race, especially if they’re able to take series against more middle-of-the-road clubs like Atlanta, Cincinnati, and Toronto over the next two weeks.

How do MLBTR readers think the Diamondbacks will ultimately handle their deadline dilemma? Will they push their chips in with the 2025 club, or dangle players like Gallen in hopes of building a stronger team for next year? Have your say in the poll below:

What Will The Diamondbacks Do This Summer?
Arizona will make moves that both add to and subtract from the roster. 49.61% (643 votes)
Arizona will be sellers at the trade deadline. 35.34% (458 votes)
Arizona will be buyers at the trade deadline. 15.05% (195 votes)
Total Votes: 1,296

*This post originally stated that Puk was done for the year. MLBTR regrets the error.

The Opener: Vientos, Caglianone, MLBTR Chat

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Here are three things for MLBTR readers to keep an eye on throughout the day:

1. Vientos undergoes imaging:

The Mets won a tight game over the Dodgers last night, but the celebration was belied by an air of unease after infielder Mark Vientos suffered a hamstring injury in the top of the tenth inning while running to first base. Vientos told reporters (including Anthony DiComo of MLB.com) he wasn’t sure how severe the injury was, but he immediately underwent testing after being removed from the game. Manager Carlos Mendoza acknowledged to reporters that the injury “didn’t look good,” but the club would just have to wait and see the test results, which are expected to come back later today.

The 25-year-old Vientos was a breakout star for the Mets last year but has slumped through 53 games this season, hitting .230/.298/.380 (93 wRC+) with shaky defense. He’d lost playing time at third base to Brett Baty but has seen plenty of time at DH. If he ends up missing time, some combination of Starling Marte, Jared Young and infielder Ronny Mauricio will see more reps. Mauricio, who missed all of 2024 due to an ACL tear, is reportedly being called back to the big leagues today which further lends credence to the idea that Vientos could be IL-bound. After a slow start to the season in the minors as he shook off some rust, he’s caught fire in Triple-A, hitting over .500 in nine games to boost his season-long minor league line to .323/.384/.508 in 19 games.

2. Caglianone to debut:

It’s an exciting day for fans of the Royals, as 2024’s No. 6 overall pick is poised to join the roster. Jac Caglianone has emerged as one of the top power-hitting prospects in baseball as he’s utterly torched minor league pitching this season. After a slow start to his pro career at High-A and in the Arizona Fall League last season, he’s kicked things into high gear in 2025 with a .322/.389/.593 slash line across 50 games at the Double- and Triple-A levels. He’s already crushed 15 homers in just 229 plate appearances, including six in dozen games at Triple-A.

Primarily a first baseman during his years in college, Caglianone has begun getting work in at the outfield corners in the run-up to his debut and appears likely to get the opportunity to cement himself as a cornerstone of the Royals’ lineup in the outfield. Caglianone’s first game in the majors is slated to begin at 6:45pm local time this evening in St. Louis, where the Royals will be taking on Cardinals right-hander Andre Pallante (4.23 ERA).

3. MLBTR Chat Today:

We’re now officially into the month of June, leaving less than two months until the July 31 trade deadline. The rumor mill has already begun to kick up in recent days, ranging from club plans for the deadline to specific connections between players and teams with even a few actual trades sprinkled in. Whether you’re looking ahead to the deadline or still trying to sort between the contenders and pretenders, MLBTR’s Steve Adams has you covered in a live chat scheduled for 1pm CT today. You can click here to ask a question in advance, join in live once the chat begins, or read the transcript once the chat is complete.

Mariners To Acquire Joe Jacques

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12:10pm: Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 reports that the Mariners are sending right-hander Will Klein to the Mariners for Jacques. Klein was just designated for assignment by the Mariners a few days ago. The Dodgers will need to open a 40-man roster spot for him.

Klein has just 7 1/3 innings of major league experience, which all came last year. He allowed nine earned runs in that time. This year, he’s been in Triple-A and has posted a 7.17 ERA at that level with a strong 30.5% strikeout rate but also a massive 18.1% walk rate. That’s generally been his recipe throughout his minor league career.

7:11am: In an early morning deal, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that the Mariners are acquiring southpaw Joe Jacques from the Dodgers. The return headed to Los Angeles is not yet known, though unlikely to be significant given Jacques’s status as a player on a minor league deal.

Jacques, 30, was a 33rd-round pick by the Pirates all the way back in 2018. He climbed the minor league ladder with Pittsburgh and ultimately reached Triple-A with them before posting a 3.12 ERA across three levels of the minors in his final season with the organization. It wouldn’t be until 2023 when he made his big league debut as a member of the Red Sox, for whom he pitched to a pedestrian 5.06 ERA in 26 2/3 innings of work. He generated an excellent 64.7% ground ball rate, but struck out only 16.4% of his opponents while walking 8.2%. Overall, Jacques profiled as a roughly average to slightly below average reliever based on his peripheral numbers, including a 4.53 FIP and a 4.12 SIERA.

Jacques remained on Boston’s 40-man roster throughout the 2023-24 offseason, but ultimately made just one appearance at the big league level in 2024 before he was designated for assignment and plucked off waivers by the Diamondbacks. He had a similar experience with Arizona, appearing in one game before he was eventually designated for assignment to make room on the roster for newly-acquired reliever A.J. Puk. Those two outings in the majors last year saw him surrender three runs on six hits and a walk across three innings of work while striking out two. Meanwhile, the lefty pitched to a 5.48 ERA in 42 2/3 innings of work at the Triple-A level.

It was a lackluster performance overall, but when Jacques reached minor league free agency he was quickly snapped up by the Dodgers on a minor league deal back in November. Jacques has struggled to a 6.04 ERA in 22 1/3 innings at Triple-A so far this year, although a 3.82 FIP and a .391 BABIP suggest there could be some bad luck baked into those numbers. Clearly, the Mariners saw enough in the underlying metrics to have interest in acquiring him. Yesterday was a day many players on minor league deals around the league had the opportunity to trigger opt outs and upward mobility clauses; if that came to play in this deal, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Seattle add Jacques to the 40-man roster once the deal becomes official.

One possible reason for Seattle to have interest in Jacques is their dearth of left-handed pitching options. Gabe Speier is the only lefty on the Mariners’ pitching staff at the moment, and while he’s currently in the midst of a resurgent season that’s made him a legitimate high-leverage option he’s just one season removed from a 5.70 ERA in 29 appearances. Jhonathan Diaz and Tayler Saucedo are both in the minors on the 40-man roster, but Diaz has been used primarily as a starter this season while Saucedo has surrendered four runs in 3 2/3 big league innings this year. It’s a thin enough group to justify the addition of another arm to the mix, especially one like Jacques that has a minor league option remaining.

The Opener: Burnes, Yankees, Blackburn

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On the heels of an early morning trade, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day:

1. Burnes to undergo MRI:

The Diamondbacks suffered a major injury scare yesterday when right-hander Corbin Burnes exited his start against the Nationals due to discomfort in his elbow. Manager Torey Lovullo indicated following the game that Burnes was set to undergo an MRI, but the team has already decided the right-hander will not participate in its upcoming road trip. It’s at least possible that means nothing more than a single skipped start for Burnes, but there’s also a clear chance of an injured list stint that will have its length determined by today’s MRI. Arizona’s marquee free agent has been sharp in his first year in the desert, with a 2.66 ERA and 3.89 FIP across 11 outings. He’s been particularly strong of late, working to a 1.67 ERA with a 26.6% strikeout rate across his past seven games. Eduardo Rodriguez is expected back from the IL in the near future and could take Burnes’s spot in the rotation if he’s facing a lengthy absence.

2. Yankees banged up:

The Yankees experienced a couple of injury scares of their own yesterday. As relayed by MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch, outfielder Jasson Dominguez departed yesterday’s win over the Dodgers due to a left thumb contusion, while right-hander Luke Weaver did not appear in the game at all due to hamstring discomfort. The team plans to evaluate both players on today’s off-day, though Hoch relays that Dominguez himself suggested that his injury isn’t cause for “much concern.”

Weaver, on the other hand, was queued up to finish off last night’s game even after it was no longer a save situation but was subbed out for lefty Tim Hill after he (in the words of manager Aaron Boone) “felt something in the middle of his hammy” while warming up. It’s unclear if the Yankees plan to send Weaver for imaging, but it would make sense for the club to be careful with their closer given his phenomenal 1.05 ERA across 24 outings.

3. Blackburn to be activated for 2025 debut:

In more positive injury news, the Mets will get reinforcements from the shelf today when right-hander Paul Blackburn is activated to start tonight’s game against the Dodgers. Blackburn, 31, began last year in Oakland but was traded from the A’s to the Mets midseason. The right-hander hasn’t pitched yet this year due to knee troubles, but he should provide a breather to a Mets rotation that has pitched incredibly well this year despite being without not only Blackburn but also Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea. Blackburn’s first start will come opposite Dodgers right-hander Dustin May, who sports a 4.20 ERA and 3.92 FIP through ten starts this year.

Yankees Select Carlos Carrasco; Jake Woodford Triggers Opt Out

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3:29PM: Right-hander Yerry De los Santos was optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding move for Carrasco, the Yankees announced.

12:56PM: Right-hander Jake Woodford has opted out of his minor league deal with the Yankees and become a free agent, according to a report from MLBTR’s Steve Adams. In addition, Jack Curry of YES Network reports that the Yankees are selecting the contract of right-hander Carlos Carrasco from Triple-A Scranton and that he’ll be active ahead of tonight’s game against the Dodgers. A corresponding 40-man move won’t be necessary as the Yankees have multiple spots available, but room will need to be made for Carrasco on the active roster.

The 28-year-old Woodford was a first-round pick by the Cardinals back in 2015 who made his major league debut during the shortened 2020 campaign. That rookie campaign didn’t go especially well as he posted a 5.57 ERA in a multi-inning relief role, but he did enjoy stronger seasons in 2021 and ’22. Across those two years, Woodford pitched to a 3.26 ERA (121 ERA+) with a 3.93 FIP in 116 frames. He struck out just 15.4% of opponents faced during that time against a 7.5% walk rate, though he made up for his lack of strikeout stuff and pinpoint command in part thanks to a strong 45.8% groundball rate. His lack of strikeouts caught up to him after that, however, as he posted a lackluster 6.23 ERA with a 6.61 FIP over 47 2/3 innings of work in 2023 before being non-tendered by the Cardinals that November.

Since then, Woodford has been bouncing around the league as a journeyman. The 2024 season saw him split time between the White Sox and the Pirates, for whom he pitched to a 7.97 ERA overall across 35 innings of work with a 4.94 FIP while in the majors. At the Triple-A level, the right-hander posted a solid enough 3.93 ERA across 94 innings. His results weren’t enough for him to keep a roster spot with the Pirates over the offseason, but after he was designated for assignment he elected free agency and found a minor league deal with the Rockies during the winter. Woodford was granted his release by the Rockies prior to Opening Day when he didn’t break camp with the club and then latched on with the Yankees, for whom he’s posted a 4.54 ERA in 39 2/3 innings of Triple-A work.

It seemed possible that Woodford’s time to return to the majors had come when the Yankees were forced to use seven pitchers in last night’s blowout loss to the Dodgers, but the righty triggered his opt out clause and will now return to free agency after the Yankees decided to turn to Carrasco instead. It will be the 38-year-old’s second stint with the Yankees this season. The right-hander made the Opening Day roster after a number of injuries left the Yanks with questions in their rotation, but Carrasco is far removed from his days as a mid-rotation arm in Cleveland at this point and surrendered a 5.91 ERA and 5.30 FIP across 32 innings of work with the Bronx earlier this year. Despite those lackluster numbers, Carrasco is a good bet to offer volume at a time where the Yankees bullpen is sure to be gassed, and he’s been universally hailed over his 16 seasons in the majors as a fantastic clubhouse presence.

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