Angels, Hector Neris Agree To Minor League Deal
The Angels have agreed to a minor league contract with free agent reliever Hector Neris, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. The veteran righty opened the season with Atlanta but was cut loose after a couple rough appearances to begin the year. Neris, an Octagon client, would earn a prorated $1.5MM in the majors, reports Ari Alexander of KPRC-2.
Neris, 35, signed a minor league deal with the Braves and made the Opening Day roster despite signing in mid-March and only getting into three spring games. The extent to which the abbreviated ramp-up impacted him can’t be known, but Neris was shelled for five runs on five hits (one homer) and a walk in just one inning of work spanning two appearances. That was enough for Atlanta to designate him for assignment and move on.
Prior to this season, Neris was an established late-inning arm, albeit one who struggled in 2024. He finished out the season with a respectable 4.10 ERA in 59 1/3 innings between the Cubs and Astros, but he waffled enough in high-leverage spots with Chicago that he was designated for assignment and released midway through the season. Neris posted a 3.89 ERA but with rocky K-BB numbers during his time with the Cubs; it was the inverse in his return to Houston — a 4.70 ERA but a pristine 28.1% strikeout rate and 3.1% walk rate in 15 1/3 frames.
On the whole, Neris has a solid track record. From 2015-24, he pitched 599 2/3 innings with a 3.33 ERA, 29.5% strikeout rate, 9.1% walk rate, 107 saves and 118 holds. Last year’s 93 mph average on his fastball was a career-low, however, and he sat at just 91.9 mph in his two appearances with Atlanta earlier in the season.
Time will tell whether Neris can rediscover any of his prior form, but there’s no real harm for the Angels in taking a low-cost look and stashing Neris in Triple-A Salt Lake for the time being. The Halos recently placed flamethrower Ben Joyce on the injured list due to inflammation in his right shoulder, and they’re still without Robert Stephenson, who is on the mend from last year’s Tommy John surgery. Angels relievers currently have a 6.11 ERA, ranking 29th in the majors. Kenley Jansen, Reid Detmers and Ryan Zeferjahn have all pitched well, but the rest of the team’s relief corps has struggled immensely.
White Sox Designate Omar Narvaez For Assignment
The White Sox announced Thursday that they’ve designated veteran catcher Omar Narvaez for assignment. His spot on the 40-man and active rosters will go to top catching prospect Edgar Quero, whose previously reported promotion to the majors is now official; his contract has been formally selected. Chicago also reinstated outfielder Andrew Benintendi from the injured list and optioned fellow outfielder Greg Jones to Triple-A Charlotte in a corresponding move.
Narvaez returned to the White Sox — the team with which he made his major league debut — when he signed a minor league contract back in January. He was selected to the 40-man roster earlier this month when Korey Lee suffered an injury, but with the presence of top catching prospects Quero and Kyle Teel in Triple-A, the potential for the reunion to be short-lived was always present. The 33-year-old Narvaez wound up appearing in only four games, during which he went 2-for-7 with a pair of singles and a couple of walks.
Narvaez’s days as a regular behind the plate look to be in the past. He was a solid option behind the dish from 2017-21, batting a combined .266/.351/.403 in 1670 plate appearances. That was effectively league-average offense (101 wRC+), but catchers tend to be well below-average hitters. Relative to his position, Narvaez was a comfortably better-than-average hitter. Though he posted below-average defensive grades early in his career, his glovework — framing in particular — has improved considerably over the years.
Since a nice showing with the 2021 Brewers, however, Narvaez’s production has tanked. He struggled with Milwaukee in 2022, signed a two-year contract with the Mets the following offseason, and wasn’t able to right the ship. Overall, he’s posted a .201/.278/.286 line in his past 521 plate appearances (including his brief look with the ChiSox this year).
The White Sox can place Narvaez on waivers or trade him at any point in the next five days. Waivers themselves are another 48-hour process, meaning the max length of his stay in DFA limbo will be one week. While he’s struggled quite a bit in recent seasons, Narvaez could still hold appeal to clubs seeking catching depth in the wake of injuries. The Red Sox (who currently roster his cousin, fellow catcher Carlos Narvaez) are without Connor Wong for the foreseeable future due to a broken finger. The Tigers (Jake Rogers), Reds (Tyler Stephenson) and Marlins (Nick Fortes) have all seen their starting catchers go down with an oblique strain — quite recently in the case of Detroit and Miami.
The Sox won’t get a prospect back for Narvaez, but he could be flipped for cash or claimed off waivers. If he clears waivers, he has enough service time to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency.
Quero will be the first of Chicago’s touted catching prospects to get a look in the big leagues. He’s out to a terrific start in Charlotte, having slashed .333/.444/.412 through his first 63 trips to the plate. That performance follows up last year’s stout .286/.366/.463 batting line in a combined 402 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A. The switch-hitting Quero isn’t considered a plus defender, but he has the chance to be a bat-first regular behind the plate. He and Teel have big enough offensive ceilings to envision a scenario where both are on the same roster and splitting time between catcher and designated hitter.
Benintendi’s stay on the injured list due to an adductor strain proved minimal. That’s good news for the Sox, as the former All-Star has gotten back on track in a major way dating back to the midpoint of last season. Benitendi caught fire last summer and closed out the year with a .251/.325/.473 slash over his final 317 trips to the plate. Coupled with an even stronger start to his 2025 season, he’s now hitting .255/.326/.475 with 18 homers, a 9.4% walk rate and a 19.1% strikeout rate over his past 350 plate appearances.
Benintendi’s contract once looked immovable, but if he continues to produce along these lines for another couple months, he could emerge as a viable summer trade candidate. He’s being paid $16.5MM in 2025 and is owed a total of $31MM in 2026-27 as part of his five-year, $75MM contract.
Mariners Option Gregory Santos
The Mariners have optioned right-hander Gregory Santos to Triple-A Tacoma and recalled fellow right-handed reliever Will Klein in his place, per a team announcement.
It’s the first time in nearly three years that Santos has been optioned to the minors. He was a notable trade acquisition in the 2023-24 offseason, with the Mariners sending prospects Prelander Berroa, Zach DeLoach and a Competitive Balance (Round B) draft selection to the White Sox in return.
At the time of the swap, Santos was fresh off an excellent breakout season in Chicago and had five years of club control remaining. His 2023 campaign with the South Siders featured 66 1/3 innings of 3.39 ERA ball. Santos had averaged 98.9 mph on his sinker while turning in strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates of 22.8%, 5.9% and 52.5%, respectively. He’d started that season in a low-leverage role but found himself pitching more meaningful innings as the year went on; he finished with five saves and six holds. It looked like the start of a lengthy run as a quality high-leverage reliever.
As we see all too often with pitchers, however, injuries intervened. Santos was diagnosed with a lat strain last spring and spent the first three-plus months of the season on the injured list as a result. He returned in early July but was back on the 15-day IL less than a month later, this time owing to biceps inflammation. He returned in the season’s final week and pitched a pair of scoreless innings.
Heading into 2025, Santos looked to be on track for a rebound. The lat strain was behind him, he’d finished the prior season healthy, and he posted a 1.59 ERA in six spring appearances (one run in 5 2/3 innings). That hasn’t played out whatsoever.
Santos’ once premium command has been nowhere to be found. He’s pitched seven innings and faced 36 batters. Eight of them have reached via base on balls (albeit, two of them being intentional). He’s also tossed a pair of wild pitches. Equally or more concerning is the fact that he hasn’t recorded a single strikeout yet. He’s still getting heaps of ground-balls (63%), but he’s missing badly and not inducing chases off the plate. His 11.5% opponents’ chase rate is the fourth-worst among all pitchers with at least five innings this year. His 4.6% swinging-strike rate is tied for ninth-worst.
There hasn’t been a major drop-off in Santos’ velocity. His sinker is down a bit, sitting at 98 mph, but that’s less than a one-mile gap from his 2023 peak. He’s had a bit more of a pronounced drop in his slider velo, but there’s no reason to believe he’s injured at the moment. (He is, after all, being optioned and not placed on the 15-day IL.) Santos has seen some changes in his release point from 2023 to 2025, but again, it’s not necessarily a drastic difference. For now, he’ll head to Triple-A Tacoma for a reset and look to get back on track.
It’s possible, though not yet certain, that today’s demotion could alter Santos’ path to arbitration and to free agency. He entered the season with two years and 55 days (2.055) of big league service, meaning he needed 117 days on the roster to reach three years and keep pace for arbitration eligibility this winter and free agency following the 2028 season. Of course, those factors will be rendered moot if he can’t get back on track and reestablish himself as a credible big league reliever.
Klein has actually had similar struggles to those of Santos down in Tacoma this year. He’s faced 36 batters and walked seven of them while plunking another and being charged with four wild pitches. He’s at least missing bats however and is doing so at an eye-popping rate; Klein has fanned 36.1% of his opponents and is sitting on a strong 13.8% swinging-strike rate. He’ll give Seattle a fresh arm one day after four relievers (Santos among them) needed to cover 3 2/3 innings following a rough start from Luis Castillo.
Latest On Orioles’ Extension Candidates
Orioles fans have been pining for long-term extensions for some of their young core, but thus far there’s been little indication that they’re pursuing such commitments. Part of that stemmed from the fact that the franchise was up for sale. We’re now more than a year into David Rubenstein’s tenure as Orioles owner, and while they’ve spent more money on the whole, it’s primarily been on one-year deals for free agents. (Tyler O’Neill‘s three-year deal is a notable exception, though that contains an opt-out clause after the 2025 season and thus could end being a one-year deal as well.)
General manager Mike Elias commented on the matter yesterday, suggesting he’d be “more revelatory” on the subject of extensions than in the past, but still spoke in generalities (via Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com).
“This is something we’re working on,” Elias said to the Orioles beat. “There’s guys on this team that we would like to have on this team longer than they’re currently slated for. It’s not a point-and-shoot thing. It’s case by case. There’s different players, different skill levels, different representatives, different philosophies around how to handle players at different age levels. … There’s only so much I can say about it other than it’s something we want to do if it makes sense, that we are working on it and if it happens, we’ll be out here talking about it.”
A large portion of the focus on potential extension candidates in Baltimore centers around young stars like Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson and Jordan Westburg — and understandably so. But Cedric Mullins — the Orioles’ longest-tenured player and a cornerstone throughout their rise from rebuilder to contender in the AL East — is in the final year of club control and would stand as a logical extension candidate himself, at least on paper. Agent Robin Cope tells Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic that the team has not broached the possibility of an extension, even though Mullins himself “wishes they would.”
Mullins himself followed up on Cope’s comments. Asked today by the O’s beat about his agent’s statement (link via Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner), Mullins replied: “One hundred percent. Just being drafted by Baltimore and just knowing what Baltimore and the city offered me and my family over the course of my career has been nothing short of amazing. So to have those negotiations take place, it’s all in timing. But right now, focused on the day-to-day of bringing wins to the clubhouse.”
The 30-year-old Mullins has spent his entire career with the Orioles organization, dating back to his selection in the 13th round of the 2015 draft. Though he never garnered fanfare from national prospect rankings, he established himself as an All-Star caliber center fielder. Since cementing his place in the Orioles’ lineup back in 2020, Mullins is a .259/.327/.442 hitter. He peaked with a 30-30 season and .291/.360/.518 batting line in 2021, taking home a Silver Slugger Award and landing ninth in MVP voting during what’s still the lone All-Star campaign of his career.
Mullins may never get back to those heights again, but he’s doing his best to get there with a massive start to his 2025 campaign: .300/.435/.620 with four homers, three steals and nearly as many walks (10) as strikeouts (11) through his first 62 turns at the plate. That builds off a big finish to his 2024 campaign. After a brutally slow start in April and May, Mullins regained his footing and finished as one of the most productive hitters in the American League. Over his past 370 plate appearances, he’s batting .280/.371/.497 with 16 homers and 23 plate appearances.
Looking back at recent extensions using MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, there haven’t been too many examples of outfielders — or position players in general — signing extensions this close to free agency and at this age. Tommy Edman‘s deal with the Dodgers (four years, $64.5MM in new money) stands as the most recent parallel. Stretching back a bit further, Charlie Blackmon‘s first extension with the Rockies guaranteed him $94MM in new money over a five-year period.
Free agency offers a few more points of comparison, but it’s increasingly rare for center fielders to make it to market before signing an extension. Dexter Fowler (five years, $82.5MM), Lorenzo Cain (five years, $80MM) and AJ Pollock (four years, $60MM) all signed for $15-16MM annual range, beginning with their age-31 seasons. Each of those contracts is more than five years old at this point, however. Starling Marte secured a weightier $19.5MM AAV on a four-year deal beginning with his age-33 season. George Springer‘s six-year, $150MM contract covers his age-31 through age-36 seasons, but was a more accomplished hitter than Mullins.
Given the lack of discussions to this point, it seems likely that Mullins will reach free agency. He’d be a clear candidate for a qualifying offer and would likely reject that one-year figure in search of a multi-year deal. The O’s have Colton Cowser, Heston Kjerstad and perhaps O’Neill all in the outfield mix beyond the current season, plus prospects Enrique Bradfield Jr., Jud Fabian and Dylan Beavers in the upper minors. That gives the team a good bit of outfield talent to build around if Mullins departs. In order to keep him, they’d surely need to spend well beyond their recent comfort levels. Baltimore hasn’t given out a contract worth more than $50MM since signing Alex Cobb back in 2018, under not only a different owner but also a different front office regime.
Casey Lawrence Elects Free Agency
April 16: The Mariners announced that Lawrence cleared waivers and was assigned outright to Triple-A Tacoma. MLBTR has learned that Lawrence will elect free agency rather than accept that assignment.
April 14: The Mariners announced Monday that right-hander Casey Lawrence has been designated for assignment. His spot on the roster will go to righty Troy Taylor, who’s being reinstated from the 15-day injured list. It’s also worth noting that right-hander Jesse Hahn, whom Seattle outrighted to Triple-A over the weekend, has rejected that assignment in favor of free agency, according to the transaction log at MiLB.com.
Lawrence, 37, was called to the big leagues last week for a return stint with Seattle. He pitched the final three innings of their April 9 game against the Astros and was credited with a win after allowing a pair of runs on four hits and a walk (no strikeouts). It’s the third season in which the well-traveled Lawrence has suited up for the Mariners. He also pitched with Seattle in 2017 and 2018, in addition to spending the entire 2024 season with their Triple-A club. In 127 big league innings, Lawrence has a 6.73 ERA with a 16.6% strikeout rate and 8.5% walk rate.
The Mariners clearly like Lawrence and have a good relationship with him. Since 2017, they’ve claimed him off waivers and signed him to three minor league contracts. He can be placed on waivers or traded at any point in the next five days. Waivers would be another 48-hour process.
Within a week’s time, we’ll know the outcome of his DFA, although given his track record and history with the organization, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he accepted an outright assignment or quickly re-signed on a new minor league deal after clearing waivers and electing free agency. He’s already spent the past year-plus living and pitching in the Seattle/Tacoma area, after all, and he could be called upon in similar situations if the Mariners decide they need a fresh arm in the ‘pen once again.
Taylor, 23, was a quick-to-the-majors reliever who impressed during his 2024 MLB debut. A 12th-round pick by the M’s in 2022, Taylor logged 19 1/3 innings last year and turned in a 3.72 ERA with a huge 30.9% strikeout rate against a solid 8.6% walk rate. That performance came on the heels of 42 2/3 minor league innings during which the UC-Irvine product recorded a stellar 1.27 ERA with a 27.6% strikeout rate and identical 8.6% walk rate.
Taylor missed the first two-plus weeks of the season with a minor lat strain. He made five rehab appearances and was torched for six runs on nine hits (one homer) and a walk in 3 1/3 innings. Most of that damage came in one outing where he was tagged for three runs without recording an out, however. Clearly, the Mariners are encouraged by the current state of his stuff and his previously ailing lat, as they could’ve simply optioned Taylor to Triple-A rather than reinstate him to the big league roster.
Hahn, 35, pitched in the majors for the first time since 2021 earlier this year when he tossed four frames for the Mariners. Injuries have continually plagued the right-hander, who’s been limited to 29 1/3 MLB frames (and 85 innings overall) since 2019. He’s continued grinding through rehab after rehab, however, and was rewarded with a brief big league return. Hahn could get another look with the M’s on a new minor league deal or latch on elsewhere as a minor league depth option now that he’s once again a free agent.
Mets Getting Jeff McNeil Reps In Center Field
The Mets recently lost outfielder Jose Siri to a fractured tibia that will sideline him for a yet-to-be-determined (but obviously significant) period of time. That leaves Tyrone Taylor, Brandon Nimmo and infielder Luisangel Acuña as the three players on the roster with center field experience. Taylor and Nimmo have both played the position extensively in the majors, of course. Acuña has logged 299 minor league innings in center but has primarily been a middle infielder. Outfielder Jose Azocar, who has nearly 6000 professional innings in center (442 in the majors), is down in Triple-A but not on the 40-man roster.
Though they have plenty of candidates to help cover Siri’s absence, the Mets are apparently considering an outside-the-box possibility to further bolster their center field depth. Manager Carlos Mendoza announced today that Jeff McNeil‘s next start during his minor league rehab assignment will come in center field (video link via SNY).
“He’s off today. He’s going to play center field tomorrow in Port St. Lucie,” Mendoza said. “This is nothing new for him. He’s played there before. We wanted to take advantage of this opportunity in the minor leagues. He’s on board with it. … We’ve also got Acuña, we’ve got Tyrone, but we just felt like since he’s down there now, why not use this opportunity to get him some exposure?”
McNeil does indeed have some experience in center, but it’s fleeting at best. He’s logged three partial big league games at the position — a total of 16 innings. He handled all six fly-balls that went his way without issue. McNeil has had some sporadic center field appearances in the minors as well, but he’s totaled only 28 innings there in his entire professional career. He’s surely had additional reps in non-game settings, but it’s not exactly a familiar position for him. McNeil has more than 2200 total innings of corner outfield work under his belt between the minors and the big leagues, however.
Asked if getting McNeil some occasional time in center with the big league club was a real consideration, Mendoza replied: “Well, there’s a reason we’re doing it.” It seems unlikely that McNeil would be installed for regular center field work, but there’s little harm in expanding an already versatile position player’s skill set in the wake of a notable injury — particularly when it can be done organically while on a minor league rehab assignment.
McNeil has missed the entire season thus far after straining his right oblique late in spring training. The two-time All-Star and 2022 NL batting champion is coming off a pair of down seasons, at least relative to his prior standards. McNeil has been a league-average hitter dating back to 2023, slashing a combined .257/.323/.381 over his past 1120 trips to the plate in the majors.
In place of McNeil, the Mets turned to Acuña and Brett Baty to handle second base in the season’s first few weeks. Baty had enjoyed a monster performance in spring training but has gotten out to a dismal start while playing second — a position that’s still largely unfamiliar to him. The 25-year-old former first-rounder is a third baseman but has begun to see time at second in the wake of Mark Vientos‘ breakout last year. However, Baty is struggling once again in what’s now his fourth season with at least some time in the majors; he’s received 36 plate appearances but turned in a .139/.139/.222 slash. Acuña, despite being on the short side of a would-be platoon, has seen an uptick in playing time as a result and is batting .265/.359/.353 in his own small sample of 39 plate appearances.
Rangers Release JT Chargois
The Rangers have released right-hander JT Chargois, per the transaction log at MiLB.com. He’d been pitching for their Triple-A affiliate after signing a minor league deal in the offseason.
Chargois pitched well for the Rangers in spring training, rattling off 4 2/3 shutout frames, but he didn’t make the initial cut and opened the season in Round Rock. It’s been a nightmare showing for him there, with 10 earned runs allowed through 4 2/3 frames (19.29 ERA) on the strength of 11 hits (five homers) and three walks. He’s fanned seven of 29 opponents (24.1%).
Brutal as that showing was, the 34-year-old Chargois has a nice big league track record — particularly in recent seasons. Dating back to 2021, the journeyman righty has totaled 154 2/3 innings of 2.73 ERA ball. His 21.7% strikeout rate and 9% walk rate in that time are both worse than league average, but Chargois has done a nice job keeping the ball in the yard (0.99 HR/9) and on the ground (47.4%).
In parts of seven major league seasons, Chargois has picked up 5.101 years of service time and pitched to a 3.35 ERA in 231 1/3 innings. Even though the Rangers stint didn’t work out, his track record should earn him a look elsewhere on another minor league contract.
Cardinals Recall Matt Svanson For MLB Debut
The Cardinals announced Wednesday that they’ve recalled right-hander Matt Svanson from Triple-A Memphis. His first appearance will be the first of his big league career. Right-hander Roddery Muñoz was optioned to Memphis in his place.
Svanson, 26, was the Blue Jays’ 13th-round pick in 2021. He joined the Cardinals by way of the 2023 Paul DeJong trade and entered the season ranked 22nd among St. Louis farmhands, per Baseball America. Their scouting report praises Svanson’s mid-90s sinker and above-average slider, both of which have helped the righty pile up grounders throughout his minor league career. Svanson has regularly sat north of 60% in that regard, though he dipped to “only” 52.7% last year in Double-A (still about 10 percentage points north of average).
Svanson opened the 2025 season in Triple-A Memphis — his first experience at that level. He’s started the season by holding opponents to one run on five hits and a pair of walks with four punchouts. Nearly two-thirds of the batted balls against him have been grounders in the season’s first couple weeks.
In parts of five minor league seasons, the 6’5″ righty has pitched to a 2.98 earned run average with a 25% strikeout rate and 7.9% walk rate. Svanson’s strikeout rate dipped to 20.8% last year, but he’s been better than average in terms of strikeout, walk and ground-ball rate in every other season of his young professional career. He’ll hope to cement himself in the bullpen alongside Ryan Helsley, Ryan Fernandez, JoJo Romero and Phil Maton. Svanson was just added to the 40-man roster back in November, so he has a full slate of minor league option years remaining.
Brewers Promote Logan Henderson
The Brewers announced Tuesday that righty Logan Henderson has been recalled from Triple-A Nashville. Fellow right-hander Elvin Rodriguez was optioned to Nashville in his place.
Whenever Henderson takes the mound for Milwaukee, he’ll be making his MLB debut. The 23-year-old was their fourth-round pick back in 2021, and while he’s never cracked into the very top echelon of leaguewide prospects, he’s consistently ranked among the Brewers’ top 20 or so prospects. He currently sits No. 20 in their system at Baseball America and No. 12 at MLB.com.
Henderson, 23, opened the season with a clunker in Nashville (four innings, five runs on six hits and three walks) but has bounced back with 10 straight shutout frames. He’s punched out eight hitters in each of his three starts this year and is now sitting on a 3.21 ERA with a gargantuan 40.7% strikeout rate but also a sky-high 16.9% walk rate. Command hasn’t been an issue in the past, however; Henderson has walked only 7.7% of his opponents since being drafted in ’21. Last year, he made 19 starts across three levels and turned in a 3.32 ERA, 32.8% strikeout rate and 4.7% walk rate. His changeup, in particular, draws praise as a potential plus offering in the big leagues.
Though Henderson has been a starter in the minors, it seems he’ll be tasked with providing some length in the bullpen for now. Righty Quinn Priester is set to start for the Brewers today, and veteran Jose Quintana is slated to be on the bump tomorrow. The Brewers then have an off-day Thursday before a weekend slate against the visiting A’s. Unless there’s an injury the team hasn’t revealed at this time, Henderson will provide a long relief option in place of the optioned-out Rodriguez, who tossed five innings of one-run ball yesterday in mop-up duty when the Tigers trounced lefty Tyler Alexander for eight runs.
Even if he’s not in the rotation right now, Henderson is a clear candidate to join Milwaukee’s rotation at some point this year. The Brew Crew currently has Brandon Woodruff, Aaron Civale, Nestor Cortes, Tobias Myers, Aaron Ashby, Robert Gasser and DL Hall on the injured list. The rotation presently includes Peralta, Quintana, Priester, Alexander and 26-year-old rookie Chad Patrick. If Henderson shows well, he’ll be in line to potentially secure a long-term rotation spot. Each of Woodruff, Civale, Quintana, Cortes and Alexander is a free agent at season’s end, so there’s ample long-term opportunity for a promising young righty like Henderson.
MLBTR Chat Transcript
Click here to read a transcript of Tuesday’s chat with MLBTR’s Steve Adams.