Giants Outright Logan Porter
The Giants announced Friday that catcher Logan Porter cleared waivers and was assigned outright to Triple-A Sacramento. He’d been designated for assignment earlier in the week. San Francisco also recalled righty Carson Seymour from Triple-A and optioned righty Wilkin Ramos in his place.
Porter appeared in one game with the Giants this season and was hitless in his lone trip to the plate. He tallied nine plate appearances across five games with San Francisco last season and also saw a bit of big league action with the 2024 Royals. Porter has played 17 games in the majors and posted a .184/.326/.289 slash in 47 trips to the batter’s box.
Though he hasn’t provided any offense in his tiny major league sample, the 30-year-old Porter has a decent track record in the minors. He’s a .244/.359/.389 hitter in parts of five Triple-A seasons. He doesn’t hit for much power, but Porter has drawn a walk in a hefty 14.4% of the 1237 plate appearances he’s tallied at the top minor league level.
Defensively, Porter is sound. He’s nabbed a respectable 22% of runners who’ve attempted to steal against him in the minors, including an outstanding 33% (17 of 51) dating back to 2025. Baseball Prospectus credits him with plus framing skills but slightly below average blocking ability. It’s a solid defensive skill set all around, and when coupled with his penchant for drawing free passes, Porter’s defensive acumen makes him a fine option to stick around as a third catcher on the depth chart or a big league backup.
Porter has been outrighted in the past, so he has the option to elect free agency now that he’s been outrighted again. He briefly elected free agency last summer after the Giants outrighted him, though he quickly reupped on a new minor league contract.
Red Sox Exploring Trade Market For Right-Handed Bats
Yesterday’s loss dropped the Red Sox to nine games under .500 — last place in the American League East. There’s a host of reasons for the team’s struggles to date, but a punchless offense is near the top of the list. Despite being in the division cellar and fourth from the bottom overall in the American League, Boston doesn’t appear to be entertaining the idea of a summer sell-off yet. To the contrary, ESPN’s Buster Olney reports that the Sox have been searching the trade market for a right-handed bat and have even signaled a willingness to take on some salary.
As noted, the Red Sox’ offense has been one of the worst in the sport. They’re last in the American League with 243 runs scored and sit 28th in all of MLB in that regard. Boston’s team-wide .248 batting average actually ranks sixth in baseball, but Sox hitters rank 14th in on-base percentage (.319) and 24th in slugging percentage (.380). Their 46 home runs are the second-fewest in the game, and their 8% walk rate is fifth from the bottom.
That the Sox are apparently focusing their search on a right-handed bat is both notable and, at first glance anyhow, a bit counterintuitive. They’ve been far better against left-handed pitching (.271/.339/.401) than against righties (.240/.312/.373). However, their production against left-handed pitching has been rather top-heavy. Willson Contreras has been one of the best hitters in baseball when it comes to southpaw mashing. Ceddanne Rafaela has been terrific as well. The Sox’ best hitter against lefties, improbably, has been lefty-swinging Wilyer Abreu.
Most of the remaining hitters beyond that trio have struggled. Right-handed bats like Caleb Durbin, Trevor Story and Isiah Kiner-Falefa have all been well below average against lefties. Andruw Monasterio has been about average. Carlos Narvaez has hit them well in a small sample of 23 plate appearances; fellow catcher Connor Wong has provided no value in the same sample (.150/.227/.150). Even among their most productive bats versus lefties, both Abreu (.475) and Rafaela (.469) have achieved their success thanks largely to sky-high BABIPs they won’t sustain. Rafaela has fanned in 35% of his plate appearances against lefties. Contreras is the only player on the roster who has provided clearly above-average production that looks sustainable.
There aren’t typically many players available this time of the year, and that’s even truer in 2026 than most years, given how tightly packed the American League standings are. The game’s likeliest seller, the Rockies, doesn’t have much in the way of productive righty bats that figure to be available. Catcher Hunter Goodman is their only righty with above-average production right now, but his 34% strikeout rate (46.5% versus lefties) is a red flag. Plus, he’s controllable for three years beyond the current season.
There are still some names who could potentially be available in the early stages of the summer. The Angels are in the AL cellar again but have enjoyed unexpectedly strong production from former Yankees top prospect Oswald Peraza. Outfielder Jo Adell isn’t hitting righties at all but is torching left-handed opponents. The Angels, however, rarely make conventional sell-side trades despite the fact that it’s been more than a decade since they were genuine contenders.
The Giants, Royals and Tigers are tied for the game’s third-worst record. Detroit, in particular, entered the season expecting to contend. They’re not likely to be ready to wave any white flags, particularly with Tarik Skubal inching closer to a return and with wins in each of their past three games.
The Giants probably aren’t ready to punt on the season just yet and don’t have great options available to market anyhow. Casey Schmitt is in the midst of a breakout but is controllable through 2029. Heliot Ramos is also controlled through ’29 and is having something of a down season. It’d be amusing to see the Red Sox and Giants line up on a second trade involving a notable veteran signed to a weighty long-term deal just one year after the Rafael Devers trade, but neither Matt Chapman nor Willy Adames seems likely to be a fit — even if the Sox are open to taking on some cash. Neither veteran is producing anywhere close to his typical levels, and both have full no-trade clauses. Chapman is owed $100MM over four years beyond the current season, while Adames is owed $140MM from 2027-31.
The Royals’ offense has similarly been one of the worst in baseball. They’re not moving Bobby Witt Jr., of course, and the only other right-handed bat that’s provided any real offense this year is outfielder Lane Thomas. He’s a free-agent signing on a one-year deal and thus can’t be traded without his consent for another 10 days (after June 15). He’s hit poorly against righties but thrived against lefties, which is par for the course for the 30-year-old veteran.
Given the lack of obvious sellers, the Red Sox might be better served trying to line up on a prototypical “baseball trade” between two contenders dealing from positions of strength. Both the Pirates and Padres are known to be looking for bullpen help already, for instance. Boston ranks second in the majors with a 3.03 ERA from its relief corps. There’s obvious risk in trading from that group, but there will be more bullpen arms available later this summer than there will right-handed bats, so the Sox could always look to replenish the ‘pen later on if they feel it’s necessary.
Boston’s payroll at the moment is just under $200MM, but they’re carrying enough luxury-tax obligations to put them right on the cusp of the second penalty tier. A trade that adds any salary of note would push them firmly into the second tier, though the penalty at that point is only a slight hike in tax rate. They’d have about $20MM of AAV they could add to the books before incurring an additional rate hike and seeing their top pick in next year’s draft dropped by 10 spots. That’s the penalty at which more teams tend to balk. Of course, if the Sox were to deal from their bullpen, it’s possible they’d be shipping out some major league salary, which would alter the math.
June trades of any significance are rare in modern baseball, but we’ve seen a handful in recent years. It’s not likely that the Sox pull off a second June swap of note for a second straight year, but the fact that they’re even angling to do so is a notable indication of how they view themselves and their playoff hopes at the moment.
Elias Díaz Elects Free Agency
Veteran catcher Elias Díaz rejected an outright assignment from the Royals in favor of free agency, as reflected on the transaction log at MiLB.com. Players with more than three years of service (or a prior outright in their career) can reject outrights and instead elect free agency. Díaz has more than nine years of major league service.
The 35-year-old Díaz appeared in 10 games with the Royals and popped a pair of home runs in just 23 trips to the plate. He hit .227/.261/.591 overall in that tiny sample before being designated for assignment. It was a nice burst of power, but Díaz swung at nearly 58% of the pitches he saw and his numbers from recent seasons don’t support the idea of him continuing to show that kind of home run power. From 2022-25, he picked up 1541 plate appearances between the Rockies and Padres but turned in a tepid .246/.298/.380 slash (77 wRC+).
It’s a modest track record at the plate, but Díaz has above-average power relative to other catchers and has turned in greatly improved defensive grades in recent seasons. He’s always been adept at controlling the running game, evidenced by a career 27% caught-stealing rate, and he continued to show off that arm in his short time with Kansas City when he nabbed two of five potential thieves on the bases. Díaz graded as a poor framer for the first several seasons of his career but has been above-average in that regard by virtually every publicly available metric dating back to 2024. Statcast credits him as roughly average when it comes to blocking pitches in the dirt.
Díaz has never walked much and isn’t likely to hit for a high average. Be that as it may, teams with notable catching injuries (e.g. Braves, Mariners, White Sox, Mets, Twins) could feasibly take a low-cost look at plugging him into a backup role while waiting on their injured starters to mend — or they could simply add him on a minor league deal as insurance against further injuries to their already-depleted catching corps.
Phillies Release Bryse Wilson
The Phillies have released veteran right-hander Bryse Wilson, per the transaction log at MiLB.com. He’d been working out of the rotation with Philadelphia’s Triple-A affiliate in Lehigh Valley.
Wilson, 28, signed a minor league deal back in December. He’s made 10 appearances, nine of them starts, with the IronPigs in 2026. He’s been dinged for a grisly 7.44 earned run average, but his performance hasn’t been as rough as that bloated number would seem. Wilson has average or better rates of strikeouts (22.1%), walks (8.1%) and ground-balls (52.7%). He’s been dogged by a sky-high .393 average on balls in play despite lower-than-average exit velocity and hard-hit numbers from his opponents. Metrics like xFIP (4.13) and FIP (4.30) feel he’s pitched well enough to have an ERA multiple runs lower than its current mark.
Wilson has pitched in parts of eight major league seasons but hasn’t found much big league success outside of a 2023-24 run with the Brewers. He gave Milwaukee 181 1/3 innings of 3.42 ERA ball with a 19% strikeout rate and 7% walk rate across those two seasons, but Wilson has a collective 5.73 ERA in his other six MLB seasons between the Braves, Pirates and White Sox. He’s worked as a starter, a short reliever and a swingman to this point in his big league career and is fully stretched out, so he could latch on with any club that’s looking for some experienced depth.
Royals Select Josh Rojas
The Royals have selected the contract of veteran infielder Josh Rojas from Triple-A Omaha, they announced Wednesday. Fellow infielder Jonathan India, who underwent season-ending shoulder surgery back in April, moves to the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Righty Stephen Kolek was placed on the family medical emergency list to open a spot on the active roster.
Rojas, 31, has experience in parts of seven big league seasons. He’s picked up more than five years of major league service between the D-backs, Mariners and White Sox. The second baseman/third baseman is a career .241/.317/.353 hitter, but his past few seasons haven’t gone well. Rojas was a productive infielder for Arizona in 2021-22 and had a decent run in Seattle after being traded there in 2023, but he hit just .211/.288/.313 in nearly 700 plate appearances between the M’s and ChiSox from ’24-’25.
Rojas has spent the 2026 season with Kansas City’s top minor league affiliate in Omaha. He’s posted a .246/.309/.433 line in 189 plate appearances — about 13% worse than league-average, by measure of wRC+. However, he’s been swinging a hot bat over the past month: .303/.357/.553 with just a 12.9% strikeout rate. Five of Rojas’ six home runs this season have come in his past 20 games.
While Rojas can play second and third base, Kansas City is largely set at the hot corner with Maikel Garcia signed long term. Second base is far less certain. Royals second basemen have been among the worst in baseball this season, combining for a .201/.271/.363 slash. Michael Massey has taken the majority of playing time there, with India and Nick Loftin chipping in a combined 106 plate appearances. Isaac Collins and Tyler Tolbert both have one lone plate appearance as a second baseman for Kansas City.
Rojas, Massey and Loftin will probably share second base work for the time being. Rojas can also spell Garcia if the Royals want to get him a breather. Since Rojas is only about two months shy of reaching six years of service time, he’ll be a free agent at season’s end if he sticks with the Royals the rest of the way.
D-backs Expected To Pursue Left-Handed Bats On Trade Market
The D-backs sit three game over .500, leaving them seven and a half games behind the division-leading Dodgers but just a half game back in the NL Wild Card hunt. There’s plenty of time for their outlook to change with the trade deadline two months down the road, but as things stand, Arizona seems likely to operate as a buyer at the deadline. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the Snakes are expected to target a left-handed bat to plug into their first base and designated hitter mix. John Gambadoro of 98.7 FM Arizona Sports has suggested a similar approach.
It’s not an especially surprising area of focus. No team in baseball has gotten worse production from its first basemen than the Diamondbacks, who’ve seen Ildemaro Vargas, Carlos Santana and José Fernández take the lion’s share of playing time and turn in a collective .234/.264/.338 performance at first base. Vargas has hit well overall but curiously hasn’t done almost any of his damage at first base, hitting just .248/.283/.387 in 146 plate appearances at first base.
It’s a similar story at designated hitter. Arizona’s DH spot this season has produced an awful .209/.280/.293 slash — worst in the National League and second-worst in MLB, ahead of only the Royals (.168/.250/.282). Catcher Adrian Del Castillo has a team-leading 90 plate appearances in the DH spot, but Arizona has rotated 11 players through the position this season. No one with more than five plate appearances in the DH slot has hit well in that role. (Vargas is 2-for-5 with a homer in his lone action there.)
Given the bleak performance out of both those lineup spots, one might think the D-backs would be open to bringing in any bat, regardless of handedness. There may be some truth to that, but Arizona is slashing a collective .279/.337/.451 against left-handed pitching this season. By measure of wRC+, they’re second in baseball behind only the Yankees in that regard. On the flip side, they’ve been the worst team in the majors against right-handed pitching. Diamondbacks hitters have combined for a .228/.296/.370 slash against righties, resulting an 86 wRC+ that ranks 30th in the sport. They could clearly use some left-handed punch.
The Diamondbacks could have some in-house help coming. Pavin Smith was just reinstated from the injured list. He’s out to a 1-for-12 start to begin the season after a monthslong absence due to an elbow injury, but from 2024-25 Smith slashed .262/.357/.475 with 17 home runs in 446 plate appearances. The overwhelming majority of his production came against right-handed pitching. Smith is a career .221/.295/.300 hitter in left-on-left matchups but wrecked righties with a .271/.359/.493 line (134 wRC+) in 399 trips to the plate from ’24-’25.
Even if Smith can return to that form, the production at both first base and designated hitter has been so bleak that the Snakes would probably still like to bring in a second bat. They won’t be getting Santana back anytime soon after he moved to the 60-day IL, and he hasn’t hit well this season anyhow. Vargas, too, has cooled after improbably opening the season with hits in 24 consecutive games. Since his streak ended, he’s slashed just .190/.221/.241 in 122 plate appearances. Neither Del Castillo nor switch-hitting, out-of-options outfielder Jorge Barrosa has hit well this season. The Diamondbacks don’t have another left-handed bat on the 40-man roster, so if Smith can’t bounce back, the need will be all the more acute.
It’s still early to tell who might be available. Rosenthal speculates on names like Luis Arraez, Lars Nootbaar, Zach McKinstry, TJ Rumfield and Troy Johnston. I’d add Mickey Moniak (Rockies), Trevor Larnach (Twins), Alec Burleson (Cardinals) and Luis Garcia Jr. (Nationals) as possibly available lefty bats who could slot into the mix. It seems unlikely that anyone of note is going to be on the move nearly two months out from the deadline, but given the way things have gone with the D-backs’ first base/DH carousel, they’ll probably be monitoring the market in case anyone becomes truly available well ahead of the deadline.
Astros To Sign LaMonte Wade Jr.
1:58pm: Wade’s deal contains a $1MM base salary, Rome adds.
12:57pm: The Astros are signing veteran first baseman/outfielder LaMonte Wade Jr. to a major league contract, reports Chandler Rome of The Athletic. Wade, a Covenant Sports Group client, opted out of a minor league contract with the White Sox last week. Houston’s 40-man roster is full. They’ll need to make a corresponding move to finalize Wade’s contract.
Wade, 32, was a fixture in the Giants’ lineup from 2021 through early 2025. He was a productive, lefty-swinging platoon option at first base and in left field for much of that time, but his bat wilted in 2025 and led the Giants to move on. A quick stop with the Angels didn’t get Wade’s bat back on track, and he had to settle for a minor league deal with the ChiSox in free agency this offseason.
Despite a big spring training (.289/.429/.605, three homers in 49 plate appearances), Wade didn’t make the White Sox’ Opening Day roster. He opted out of his deal near the end of camp, re-signed a few days later, and has had a productive two-month run with Chicago’s Triple-A affiliate in Charlotte. Wade has taken 201 plate appearances with the Knights and posted a .250/.420/.441 slash with seven homers, eight doubles, two steals, a gargantuan 22.4% walk rate and a 21.4% strikeout rate.
Wade won’t walk in nearly one quarter of his big league plate appearances, but he’s one of the more disciplined players in the league. Even in last year’s down season, he drew a free pass 11.2% of the time he stepped to the plate. From 2023-24, Wade walked at a 15% clip, trailing only Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Kyle Schwarber. Wade’s best years in San Francisco (2021-24) saw him produce a .248/.352/.415 line in 1552 plate appearances. The Astros would happily take anything close to that level of output.
Wade has a fairly limited skill set on the whole. He excels at working counts and drawing walks. He can hit right-handed pitching but struggles against lefties and isn’t an asset either on the bases or with the glove. He’s generally graded as a passable first baseman and a below-average corner outfielder.
Houston’s first base and DH spots are largely set with Christian Walker and Yordan Alvarez. Wade could spell either on occasion and could DH on days when Alvarez plays in the outfield, but he’s obviously not going to take regular reps at either position with those veteran sluggers healthy. Left field has been a revolving door for the ‘Stros this season, however. Zach Dezenzo leads the Astros with 45 plate appearances as the team’s left fielder. They’ve also used Alvarez, Taylor Trammell, Brice Matthews and others in a rotating cast of characters at the position.
Wade gives the Astros another option in left field and, more broadly, a left-handed bat with a track record of producing against (right-handed) major league pitching. Alvarez is the only established lefty bat the Astros have. Trammell has decent numbers at the moment (.286/.344/.375), but that’s primarily smoke and mirrors. He’s sitting on a .471 average on balls in play and striking out in an untenable 35.5% of his plate appearances — right in line with his career 35.3% mark. He can’t sustain that production with those underlying trends. Backup catcher Cesar Salazar and just-recalled outfielder Zach Cole — who’s even more strikeout-prone than Trammell — are the only other lefties on Houston’s roster at the moment.
Red Sox Select Tommy Kahnle
11:18am: Boston has officially selected Kahnle’s contract from Triple-A Worcester. Lefty Tyler Samaniego was optioned to Worcester to open an active roster spot. Infielder Trevor Story, who underwent surgery for a hernia last month, moves to the 60-day IL to open a roster spot.
9:20am: The Red Sox are planning to select the contract of veteran right-handed reliever Tommy Kahnle from Triple-A Worcester, reports Christopher Smith of MassLive.com. He’s expected to be available out of the bullpen today. Boston will need to open a 40-man roster spot to accommodate Kahnle, though that can be achieved without designating anyone for assignment; Garrett Crochet stands as an obvious 60-day IL candidate. He’s already been on the shelf for 40 days and was recently diagnosed with a low-grade lat strain that’ll prolong his absence.
Kahnle, 36, signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox in free agency. He didn’t land a big league opportunity when triggering an upward mobility clause at the beginning of May but was reportedly planning to test free agency if the Red Sox didn’t select him to the roster after he triggered a June 1 opt-out clause. The Sox had until today to make a decision on that clause, and they’ll apparently bring the veteran changeup specialist to the big league bullpen.
In 19 1/3 innings with the WooSox this season, Kahnle has pitched to a pristine 1.40 earned run average. He’s set down 25.3% of his opponents on strikes, though his 13.3% walk rate is an obvious red flag. Kahnle hasn’t yielded much in the way of hard contact — 88 mph average exit velocity, 38% hard-hit rate, only one barrel allowed — but he’s also benefited from not allowing a single home run this season. That’s not sustainable for any pitcher, but the Sox have seen enough to bring him to the majors all the same.
Kahnle is averaging 93 mph on his four-seamer in Triple-A this season. That’d be a career-low mark for him, shy of both his lifetime 95.8 mph and last year’s 93.5 mph average. His fastball is a secondary pitch for him anyhow, though; Kahnle leans on his changeup more heavily than any pitcher in the game. He famously threw 61 consecutive changeups with the Yankees during the 2024 postseason and, true to form, has thrown his changeup at a whopping 63.4% clip in Worcester this season.
Though Kahnle had a down season by his standards in Detroit last year (4.43 ERA, 18.7 K%, 11.1 BB%), he has a long track record as an effective late-inning reliever. From 2016-24, he pitched 271 1/3 innings of 3.11 ERA ball between the White Sox, Yankees and Dodgers. He’s had several injuries along the way — hence the fairly low innings total over that lengthy span — but he’s pitched at least 45 innings (majors and minors combined) in each of the past three seasons and is on track to do so again in 2026. Kahnle’s work from 2022-24 was particularly impressive: 96 innings, 2.44 ERA, 31 holds, four saves, 27.7% strikeout rate, 10.5% walk rate.
The Red Sox don’t necessarily need relief help. The Boston bullpen’s 3.08 ERA on the season is the third-best mark in the entire sport, narrowly trailing the Mariners (3.01) and Braves (2.99). That number is skewed a bit by Brayan Bello‘s work as a bulk arm behind openers (0.71 ERA, 25 innings), but the group has nonetheless been strong on the whole. That said, the Sox did place Garrett Whitlock (3.20 ERA) on the injured list late last month, and they’ve received shaky performances from journeymen Tyron Guerrero and Danny Coulombe — neither of whom can be optioned. That lack of options could potentially expose them to some roster risk to accommodate Kahnle, which would preserve the Crochet move for the next time the Sox need a 40-man spot.
Braves Acquire Austin Wynns, Designate Chadwick Tromp
The Braves announced a slate of roster moves today, most notably shaking up their catching corps a bit. Atlanta acquired veteran catcher Austin Wynns from the Angels in exchange for cash (as first noted on the MLB.com transaction log) and selected him to the major league roster. Fellow backstop Chadwick Tromp was designated for assignment in a corresponding move.
Atlanta also selected the contract of outfielder DaShawn Keirsey Jr. to the 40-man roster and immediately optioned him back to Triple-A Gwinnett. They created a 40-man spot by transferring catcher Sean Murphy from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL. MLB.com’s Mark Bowman notes that Keirsey had an opt-out in his minor league contract, and it seems the Braves didn’t want to let him hit the open market.
Wynns, 35, signed a minor league deal with the Halos just a couple weeks ago. He didn’t appear in the majors with them prior to this trade to Atlanta. Wynns has suited up for the Reds, A’s, Orioles, Giants, Dodgers and Rockies, compiling a lifetime .231/.276/.347 slash line in 826 big league plate appearances (293 games). That’s obviously below average but far better than the typical levels of offensive output from Tromp and fellow catcher Sandy Leon, who’ll split time with Wynns behind the plate following today’s shakeup.
On the defensive side of things, Wynns doesn’t draw premium framing grades, but Statcast thinks he’s solid when it comes to blocking balls in the dirt. More impressively, he’s shut down 30.2% of attempted base thieves in the majors — right in line with his career 31% mark in the minors.
Tromp appeared in a dozen games with the Braves and went 5-for-25 with a double, no walks, a sacrifice fly and a sacrifice bunt, leading to an oddball batting line of .200/.192/.240 in 27 trips to the plate. He’s a career .218/.225/.371 hitter in the majors. He’s spent most of the past five seasons in the Braves organization, so if he clears waivers following today’s DFA, there’s a good chance he’ll stick around, whether via accepting an outright assignment or briefly electing free agency and then returning on a new minor league deal.
Keirsey, 29, has appeared in parts of two seasons with the Twins (2024-25). He’s a speed-and-defense outfielder with a woeful .113/.149/.206 batting line in 102 major league plate appearances. His .260/.298/.384 slash so far in Triple-A doesn’t create much optimism, but he’s 16-for-17 in stolen bases and Atlanta apparently likes his wheels and defensive acumen enough to dedicate a 40-man roster spot to keeping him in the organization.
Phillies’ Aidan Miller Out Six To Eight Weeks Following Back Procedure
The Phillies announced Wednesday that top infield prospect Aidan Miller underwent a “minimally invasive” back procedure called a “radiofrequency ablation of the facet joints.” He’s expected to be shut down for the next week and is currently projected to return to game action in six to eight weeks overall.
Miller has felt persistent back pain throughout the season and has yet to get into a game at any minor league level. Per the Phillies’ press release, he was diagnosed with discogenic pain and facet inflammation in his lumbar spine. Both Phillies medical personnel and third-party medical experts who were consulted for second opinions agreed that this was the best course of action to get him back on track.
Miller, 21, was the No. 27 overall pick back in 2023 and currently ranks as the game’s No. 61 prospect on Baseball America’s top-100 rankings. That ranking has slipped considerably, due both to his injury absence and big performances from rising prospects around the league. He entered the season ranked 14th on BA’s top 100.
Though he won’t turn 22 until next week, Miller has already reached the Triple-A level. He’s hit at every minor league stop, slashing .259/.382/.427 in a pitcher-friendly Double-A setting last year (134 wRC+) before destroying Triple-A pitchers in the final few games of the year. Miller appeared in eight games with Lehigh Valley last summer, tallied 37 plate appearances and hit .333/.514/.519. Between the Double-A and Triple-A levels last season, Miller tallied 14 homers and 59 steals while drawing a walk in 15.6% of his plate appearances and striking out at a 23.6% clip.
Had Miller been healthy, he’d likely have been a consideration for a call to the majors at this point — if he hadn’t already been promoted by now. He’s a natural shortstop but is blocked there by Trea Turner. Third baseman Alec Bohm has begun to turn things around after an awful start to the season, but Miller might have gotten a look over him or also-struggling second baseman Bryson Stott by now. Instead, it seems he’ll be sidelined into the season’s second half.
If today’s back procedure proves effective, Miller could still be a candidate for a call to the majors late in the season, though that’s hardly a foregone conclusion. He’s not eligible for selection in the Rule 5 Draft until December of 2027, so he wouldn’t be added to the 40-man roster this winter. If he struggles upon returning to the field or simply fails to force the issue, the Phils could keep him in the minors in order to preserve some offseason flexibility with regard to the 40-man roster.
Whether it’s this year or next, Miller doesn’t seem far from impacting the Phillies’ big league infield. Bohm and Stott have both been well below-average at the plate this year, though the former put together a big May. Bohm is a free agent at season’s end, too, which could create a natural opening for Miller at the hot corner.