Blue Jays Notes: Scherzer, Varsho, Francis
Blue Jays fans received an encouraging update on the status of right-hander Max Scherzer‘s rehab from the thumb injury that has sidelined him on and off for over a year. As relayed by Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet, Scherzer threw fifty pitches as part of a three-inning simulated game today. Manager John Schneider told reporters (including Zwelling) that Scherzer came out of the outing feeling good after having thrown all of his pitches, and that the next step for the right-hander is to throw a side session in a few days, as he would between starts if he were healthy and pitching in the rotation.
It’s a major step forward for Scherzer, who has made just one start this year after signing a one-year deal with Toronto during the offseason. MLB.com suggests that a rehab assignment could be the next step for Scherzer if he comes out of his side session looking good, and that could put him on schedule to make his return to the Jays before the end of the month. A healthy and effective Scherzer would provide a massive boost to a Toronto rotation that has been among the league’s weakest this year, and could help the Jays stay in the AL Wild Card conversation after their recent impressive stretch of play put them in a three-way tie with the Twins and Rays for the league’s three Wild Card spots. In the meantime, the Jays appear poised to continue relying on veterans Kevin Gausman and Chris Bassitt to hold things down at the front of the rotation, with Jose Berrios, Bowden Francis, and recently-added Spencer Turnbull bringing up the rear.
Speaking of Francis, the right-hander has had a rough go of it this year with a 5.84 ERA and 6.47 FIP across 12 starts. Those ugly numbers have led to some questions about whether or not he’ll remain in the rotation going forward, but Shi Davidi of Sportsnet writes that Schneider has dismissed the possibility of making a change when it comes to Francis, whether that be a demotion to the minors, a move to the bullpen, or even the use of an Opener in front of the 29-year-old.
“…we need him. That’s the bottom line,” Schneider said of Francis, as relayed by Davidi. “We need him to help contribute and be the pitcher that he can be. So you keep working to make adjustments. The stuff is where it should be. It’s just the mix and the location you’ve got to tighten up a little bit, that’s all.”
That vote of confidence in Francis as a starter seems likely to keep him in the rotation for at least the time being, but it’s possible that could change if he doesn’t turn things around in the near future. After all, Scherzer is on the mend and could be back in action later this month as previously mentioned. Turnbull was added to the roster today and could take the ball later this week for his first big league start of the year, and southpaw Eric Lauer has arguably pitched well enough in a long relief role to merit at least some consideration for a starting job as well.
Turning to the lineup, the Jays have missed both the bat and the glove of center fielder Daulton Varsho since he was placed on the injured list with a hamstring strain last week. It was a frustrating turn of events for the center fielder, who had already missed the first month of the season while rehabbing the rotator cuff surgery he underwent back in September. In the month Varsho was available, however, he provided a 108 wRC+ and swatted eight homers while offering his characteristically excellent defense in center field. The good news is that Zwelling reports Varsho was among the hitters to face Scherzer during his simulated game today, and even hit a home run off the future Hall of Famer.
That Varsho is healthy enough to face live pitching and participate in a simulated game is a good sign, but it should be noted that the news doesn’t necessarily mean he’s especially close to a return. Given the fact that Varsho’s calling card is his defense, it seems fair to expect the Blue Jays to keep him on the shelf until he’s ready to return not just to the lineup, but also to the field. With lower half injuries like the one Varsho is dealing with, it’s not uncommon for players to be ready to hit before they’re ready to field, and MLB.com notes that the Blue Jays have not yet even provided a firm timeline for his return to action.
Pirates Reportedly Receiving Interest In Isiah Kiner-Falefa
The Pirates are expected to make much of their roster available on the trade market this summer after stumbling to a 26-40 start this season that has left them more or less buried in the NL playoff picture. According to a report from USA Today’s Bob Nightengale this morning, at least one player is already drawing interest on the trade market: infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa. It should be noted that Nightengale does not connect the infielder to any specific clubs, and there’s no indication that a deal is anywhere near close at this time.
It’s not exactly a shocking revelation. After all, Kiner-Falefa is enjoying quite a strong season in Pittsburgh; in 53 games this year, he’s slashed an impressive .304/.351/.381 (106 wRC+) while serving primarily as the Pirates’ shortstop. He’s not rated out especially well at the position this year, but he’s typically been a strong defender at both second and third base throughout his career and even won a Gold Glove award at the hot corner. Given Kiner-Falefa’s strong reputation as a defender, he’d be a very impactful addition for a team in need of infield help if he can maintain this above average offense going forward.
That being said, there’s clear red flags in Kiner-Falefa’s profile that suggest he’s likely to regress in the future. Kiner-Falefa’s .306 career BABIP is solid, but even it doesn’t compare to the .360 figure he’s put up this year. That’s all but guaranteed to come down at some point, and he’s actually hitting for less power than last season with plate discipline numbers that aren’t markedly different. Kiner-Falefa’s .298 xwOBA is almost a perfect match for the .299 wOBA he put up last season, which indicates he’s likely to resume being a below-average hitter going forward, although he may at least stay fairly close to league average considering last year’s 93 wRC+.
The good news for the Pirates is that even if Kiner-Falefa regresses to the mean, he’ll be a very attractive trade candidate in a market that looks fairly desperate for infield help. The Yankees are already known to be on the hunt for a right-handed bat who can play the infield, and Kiner-Falefa both fits the bill and is a player the club liked enough to acquire in the past. If the Red Sox end up buying this summer, an infielder could make sense for them depending on the status of Alex Bregman. The Mariners are always looking for help on offense, the Brewers could use an upgrade over Caleb Durbin, and the Astros could use infield help if they hope to make Jose Altuve a regular in left field.
Those are just a handful of contenders who could theoretically use an infielder like Kiner-Falefa on their roster. Perhaps some of them will prioritize addressing other needs this summer or end up not being buyers at all, but it’s also possible that some teams that weren’t mentioned here could enter the fray due to an injury in their own infield mix. In any case, it seems likely there will be at least some demand for infield help this summer, and that demand could outstrip the supply when it comes to rentals. It’s always possible that a team could surprisingly make a controllable piece available as the Rays did with Isaac Paredes last year, but that sort of deal would come with a much higher acquisition cost that could scare away some buyers.
With few surefire sellers, there aren’t a ton of quality infield options expected to be available. Amed Rosario of the Nationals, Thairo Estrada of the Rockies, and Josh Rojas of the White Sox are among a handful of potential trade candidates, but of that group only Rosario is hitting as well as Kiner-Falefa at present and none have his defensive reputation. That could put the Pirates in a fairly solid bargaining position when it comes to the infield market, especially given the fact that they have a second potential rental option for teams in need of infield help in the form of second baseman Adam Frazier.
Angels Sign Ben Gamel To Minor League Deal
The Angels have signed outfielder Ben Gamel to a minor league deal, according to the transactions tracker on Gamel’s MLB.com profile page. Gamel was subsequently assigned to Triple-A Salt Lake. Gamel had previously been at Triple-A with the Tigers on a minor league deal, but last appeared in a game with the club back in April and was granted his release by the organization late last month.
Gamel, 33, is a veteran of nine MLB seasons who has yet to appear in the majors in 2025. He made his big league debut with the Yankees all the way back in 2016, though he was almost immediately traded to the Mariners. He didn’t hit much that first year across 33 games, but he fashioned himself into a roughly average regular for Seattle over the next two years. Gamel hit .274/.335/.398 (102 wRC+) during that time but departed for the Brewers in the deal that sent Domingo Santana to Seattle. His two years in Milwaukee did not go over nearly as well, however, as he was a below average hitter overall and ended up non-tendered by the club during the 2020-21 offseason.
The outfielder has become something of a journeyman in the years since then, bouncing around the league and appearing for five teams in the past four years. With 281 games in the majors under his belt split between Cleveland, Pittsburgh, San Diego, Queens, and Houston since the start of the 2021 campaign, Gamel has hit a roughly league average .239/.338/.372 (98 wRC+) while primarily playing the outfield corners but making occasional appearances in center field and at first base. His most successful stop during that stretch was with the Astros last year, for whom he posted a 117 wRC+ in 20 games down the stretch before suffering a fibula fracture that sidelined him in mid September. Despite that injury cutting Gamel’s time with the club short, the Astros re-signed him to a big league deal during Spring Training but ultimately cut him loose when they opted to put top prospect Cam Smith on the Opening Day roster as their regular right fielder.
Gamel signed his aforementioned minor league deal with Detroit shortly thereafter, but went on the injured list after just 17 games and was later released. Now that he’s signed with the Angels, it seems likely the Gamel will return to minor league games in the near future as he looks to earn an opportunity in Anaheim’s outfield mix. A heavily right-handed outfield should work in Gamel’s favor in terms of earning a big league opportunity, although the Angels swinging a trade for LaMonte Wade Jr. earlier today might complicate his fit on the big league roster somewhat. Even so, Gamel has been a consistent, roughly league average performer in the majors for nearly a decade now and seems likely to fight his way back to the majors in some capacity before the season is up, so long as he’s healthy and able to resume playing.
Blue Jays Recall Spencer Turnbull For Season Debut
The Blue Jays announced this afternoon that they’ve recalled right-hander Spencer Turnbull from Triple-A Buffalo. In a corresponding move, right-hander Paxton Schultz was optioned to Triple-A.
Turnbull, 32, signed with Toronto on a one-year deal last month. The right-hander was added to the 40-man roster at the time of the signing but agreed to be optioned to the minor leagues at the time of his signing so he could build up his arm after missing all of Spring Training due to being unsigned. He made his fifth rehab appearance on Friday, when he threw 80 pitches across 4 2/3 innings of five-run ball against the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate. Despite those shaky results, it represented Turnbull’s longest appearance both in terms of pitch count and batters faced.
That may have been close enough to a full big league start that the Jays were comfortable adding him back to the roster, but it’s worth noting that Turnbull’s optional assignment could only last a maximum of 35 days. That window would have expired tomorrow, meaning that Turnbull’s addition to the roster was imminent unless he suffered an injury or agreed to a longer stay in the minors. Despite his shaky rehab outings, the addition of Turnbull into the fold should hopefully provide a stabilizing force for a Jays pitching staff in serious need of reinforcements.
The righty had an up-and-down career over five years with the Tigers where he at times flashed the ability to be a quality mid-rotation arm but was too often held back by injuries. He enjoyed his healthiest season in years with the Phillies last year, and while he did ultimately miss the second half of the season with a lat strain he made 17 appearances (including seven starts) where he pitched to an impressive 2.65 ERA with a 3.85 FIP and 3.67 SIERA aross 54 1/3 innings of work. He struck out a career-high 26.1% of opponents while walking a fairly manageable 9.0%, and despite the season-ending injury re-entered free agency with a fairly strong argument for a solid contract.
While he ultimately lingered on the open market long enough to get snapped up by the Blue Jays on what was effectively a $1MM guarantee, the talent Turnbull flashed last year would go a long way to shoring up a beleaguered pitching staff in Toronto. They’ve been operating with a four-man rotation of late, and it seems fairly likely that Turnbull will now join that mix at least until an injured pitcher like Max Scherzer or Alek Manoah is ready to step back into a rotation role with the team. With no starter in line for their game against the Cardinals on June 11, it would be no surprise if the right-hander ends up taking the ball that day.
With that being said, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet suggested the possibility that Turnbull could either begin his time with the Jays in the bullpen or perhaps piggyback with southpaw Eric Lauer, who has been pitching in a long relief role for Toronto this season. Turnbull’s no stranger to a swing role after his work in Philadelphia last year; he started his first six appearances with the Phillies before moving to the bullpen last May and being utilized in a flexible role that saw him make both single-inning relief appearances lasting less than 20 pitchers and multi-inning appearances that pushed 60 pitches. Whether the Blue Jays ultimately decide to start Turnbull or use him in the bullpen at first, that flexibility is sure to come in handy during his time with the club.
Orioles Notes: Westburg, Mullins, O’Neill
The Orioles have had a rough start to the season to say the least, but they’ve finally begun to turn things around with seven wins in their last eight games. That still leaves them at 26-37 overall and 7.5 games back of a Wild Card spot, giving them long odds of actually fighting their way back into the playoff conversation this year. With that being said, their battered lineup does appear to be on the verge of getting some notable reinforcements. The first of those, as relayed Rich Dubroff off Baltimore Baseball, figures to be infielder Jordan Westburg.
Westburg was an All-Star last year amid a breakout campaign where he slashed an excellent .264/.312/.481 with a wRC+ of 125 as the Orioles’ primary third baseman. He collected 2.8 fWAR in just 107 games last year, posting an impressive season despite the fact that a hand fracture kept him out for much of the second half. That strong campaign led to some big expectations for him headed into his age-26 campaign, but he posted a somewhat middling .217/.265/.391 (86 wRC+) across 98 plate appearances this year before he was sidelined in April by a hamstring strain.
Despite his mediocre performance in that small sample early in the season, the Orioles will surely be delighted to have Westburg back, which Dubroff notes that interim manager Tony Mansolino told reporters is “likely” to happen this coming Tuesday. Orioles third basemen are collectively hitting just .243/.303/.305 (76 wRC+) so far this season, a figure that even Westburg’s lackluster start to the season would easily clear to say nothing of his 2024 performance. Ramon Urias has been tasked with serving in a regular role at the position since his own return from the injured list, and while his numbers are about league average overall he’s looked miscast (78 wRC+) in a regular role since returning from the IL. Perhaps Westburg’s return and Urias’s move back into a part-time role can add another quality regular to the lineup while also allowing Urias to be more impactful off the bench going forward.
Also expected back in the relatively near future is center fielder Cedric Mullins, who Dubroff relays Mansolino expects back in the lineup during the club’s coming homestand, which runs from June 10 to June 15. While that wording seems to imply he’ll be back more towards the end of this coming week, the return of Mullins will still be a welcome boost for the Orioles. His time on the injured list has caused a downgrade for the club both offensively and defensively, as Colton Cowser has been forced to slide over to center from left field to accommodate the addition of Dylan Carlson to the lineup on an everyday basis. In 27 games with the Orioles this year, Carlson has hit just .212/.274/.394 with a wRC+ of 89 and peripheral numbers that suggest he’s benefited from some good luck.
While moving Cowser back to his natural position and adding Mullins’s bat to the lineup over Carlson figures to be an unequivocal upgrade, it’s less clear what version of Mullins the Orioles will be getting when he returns. While he has an impressive 121 wRC+ overall on the season, Mullins hit an incredible .292/.432/.551 (184 wRC+) in his first 111 plate appearances this year but stumbled badly near the end of April and posted a paltry .174/.198/.348 (49 wRC+) slash line in his final 96 trips to the plate before going on the shelf with his own hamstring strain, which was fortunately less severe than the one suffered by Westburg. While Mullins should surely be expected to split the difference between that scorching start and his ice cold streak prior to injury, whether he trends more towards the positive or the negative side of that spectrum will have major consequences for Baltimore this year regardless of if they make it back to the postseason or not, as Mullins is arguably the team’s top trade piece.
Also working his way back from injury is outfielder Tyler O’Neill, who has been shelved since the middle of May due to a shoulder impingement. O’Neill’s first year in Baltimore had been a disappointing one in 24 games prior to the injury, as he hit just .188/.280/.325 in 93 plate appearances prior to hitting the shelf. His return to action could provide a boost to the lineup all the same, however, given that he’s just one year removed from a dazzling campaign in Boston where he crushed 31 homers in just 113 games. MLB.com notes that O’Neill began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Norfolk yesterday, and while it’s not entirely clear when the outfielder can be expected back in the fold it seems likely he remains on track to return within the next week or two.
Julio Rodriguez Helped Off Field Following Apparent Injury
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
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
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
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
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.