MLBTR Podcast: Patrick Bailey To Cleveland, The Struggling Astros, And Arizona’s Outfield Changes
The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…
- The Giants trading Patrick Bailey to the Guardians (1:25)
- The Astros losing Carlos Correa to season-ending ankle surgery (18:40)
- The Diamondbacks calling up Ryan Waldschmidt and trading Alek Thomas to the Dodgers (28:05)
- The Mets calling up A.J. Ewing (38:25)
- The Marlins calling up Robby Snelling (42:55)
Plus, we answer your questions, including…
- Are the Tigers struggling due to injuries and will be fine as guys get healthy? Or should fans be more worried? (49:30)
- Which starting pitchers can the Cubs pursue? (53:25)
- When will the Yankees realize they need to upgrade on David Bednar as the closer? (58:20)
Check out our past episodes!
- Skubal’s Injury, The Marlins’ Catchers, Eldridge Called Up, And Volpe Sent Down – listen here
- The Alex Cora Situation, Lucas Giolito Signs, And The Phillies Fire Rob Thomson – listen here
- Kevin McGonigle, The Padres’ Franchise Valuation, And Edwin Díaz To Miss Time – listen here
The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!
Photo courtesy of David Dermer, Imagn Images
Astros Notes: Imai, Pearson, Peña, Meyers
The Astros will activate Tatsuya Imai from the injured list tomorrow. Houston lists him as the probable starter against Bryan Woo in the second game of a four-game set against the Mariners. They’ll need to option a pitcher as the corresponding move.
Imai returns after a month-long absence due to what the team called arm fatigue. The righty has had a difficult start to his MLB career, struggling in two of his first three appearances. He walked 11 hitters over his first 8 2/3 innings and failed to complete three innings twice. Imai’s pair of minor league rehab starts haven’t done much to assuage the command concerns, as he has issued another eight walks in five frames.
The Astros will likely go back to a six-man rotation. Spencer Arrighetti and Peter Lambert have stepped up in depth roles since Houston lost Hunter Brown and Cristian Javier to shoulder injuries. Mike Burrows has pitched well in his past three times out after a rocky start to the year. The Astros will continue giving Imai starts to try to get him on track after signing him to a three-year free agent contract.
Lance McCullers Jr. has continued to struggle. Kai-Wei Teng and Cody Bolton are candidates for the sixth starter spot, while Ryan Weiss and Jason Alexander could be back up in the second half of May after recently being optioned.
Nate Pearson was expected to be in that conversation when he signed a one-year free agent deal early in the offseason. Pearson was held up by offseason elbow surgery and has been on the injured list all season. He’s on a rehab assignment and will need to secure a spot on the MLB roster or be placed on waivers because he’s out of options.
The Astros announced on Monday that they’re now viewing Pearson as a reliever (relayed by Chandler Rome of The Athletic). Pearson walked multiple hitters in each of his first three rehab appearances before tossing a perfect inning for Triple-A Sugar Land on Saturday. He’s averaging 96.4 mph on his four-seam fastball. Houston has been without Josh Hader all season and placed Bennett Sousa back on the injured list over the weekend with elbow inflammation.
Hader began a rehab stint last week and could be back when first eligible on May 24. The Astros could get a pair of key position players back in the next couple weeks as well. Jeremy Peña should begin a rehab assignment at Double-A Corpus Christi tomorrow, while Jake Meyers is likely to begin his own rehab stint this week (via Brian McTaggart of MLB.com). The series of injuries have contributed to a dismal first month and a half of the season. Houston dropped to a season-low 10 games below .500 with tonight’s loss, tying the Angels for the worst record in the American League at 16-26.
Astros Claim Rhylan Thomas
The Astros have claimed outfielder Rhylan Thomas off waivers from the Mariners, as announced by both teams. Houston moved right-hander Hunter Brown from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL in order to clear space for Thomas on the 40-man roster.
The Mariners designated Thomas for assignment earlier this week, as the M’s made a waiver claim of their own in obtaining Jose Suarez from the Braves. An 11th-round pick of the Mets in the 2022 draft, Thomas was dealt to Seattle for Ryne Stanek in advance of the 2024 trade deadline, and Thomas got his first taste of the big leagues over a three-game call-up just over a year ago. Thomas got a hit and a walk over his 10 plate appearances in a Mariners uniform before being optioned back to Triple-A.
Thomas hit .325/.380/.411 over 617 PA for Triple-A Tacoma last season, but those numbers have fallen off considerably this year, down to .260/.313/.328 over 145 PA. The drop from a .332 BABIP in 2025 to a .269 mark this season is certainly a factor, as since Thomas is a contact-and-speed type of hitter, some bad batted-ball luck can have a heavy impact on his production.
Houston was still intrigued enough to make a waiver claim, as the Astros were known to be looking for outfield help even before injuries started to whittle down what was already a thin depth chart. Thomas is also a left-handed hitter, which is helpful since the Astros’ lineup is mostly right-handed bats. Thomas has two minor league options remaining, allowing the Astros some flexibility in moving him back and forth from Triple-A as the situation may warrant.
A Grade 2 shoulder strain sent Brown to the 15-day IL on April 2, and the 60-day placement still adheres to that initial placement date. It doesn’t materially change Brown’s return date, as the ace right-hander wasn’t expected back anyway until late May at the absolute earliest, so the 60-day IL move now firmly keeps Brown sidelined until early June. Brown threw a bullpen session yesterday in the latest step in his throwing progression.
Dustin Harris Elects Free Agency
The Astros announced Friday that outfielder Dustin Harris, whom they designated for assignment earlier in the week, cleared waivers and rejected an outright assignment to Triple-A Sugar Land. He instead elected free agency and is now free to sign with any club.
Harris, 26, was a prospect of some note with the Rangers a few years back but has yet to break out in the majors. He’s received 102 plate appearances across parts of three seasons and has a .225/.307/.371 batting line (91 wRC+) in that time. That includes a career-high 52 plate appearances with Houston this season, during which he hit .233/.333/.302.
Harris has long been considered a bat-first prospect with a hit-over-power profile. Elements of that profile were apparent in his brief run with Houston. He fanned in only 13.5% of his plate appearances and drew walks at a stout 11.5% clip. Harris chased off the plate at a roughly league-average rate, but his contact rate on balls out of the zone was an enormous 81.3%. That’s clearly a tiny sample, but Harris’ time in parts of four Triple-A seasons shows similar trends. He’s a career .276/.366/.417 hitter at the top minor league level and has walked in 11.2% of his plate appearances against a lower-than-average 20.4% strikeout rate there. Those numbers come in a much larger sample of 1308 turns at the plate.
Though he was drafted as a first baseman (and got some looks at third base early in his pro career), Harris has since moved to the outfield on a near-exclusive basis. He has just 21 innings at first base over the past three seasons (majors and minors combined). Harris hasn’t played a single inning on the infield in the majors; he’s been primarily a left fielder (131 innings), with occasional appearances in right field (49 innings) and even briefer cameos in center (24 innings).
Harris has a keen eye at the plate and good bat-to-ball skills, but his defensive skill set is modest, as is his power output. He’s also out of minor league options. He’ll likely sign a minor league deal with a club seeking left-handed bats and/or outfield depth — a return to the Astros shouldn’t be ruled out — but if he’s added back to a major league roster at any point, he’ll have to stick or else once again be designated for assignment.
Astros Select Logan VanWey
May 8th: The Astros have now officially selected VanWey.
May 7th: Astros reliever Logan VanWey is meeting the team in Cincinnati for their weekend series with the Reds, reports Chandler Rome of The Athletic. Houston has an open spot on the pitching staff after optioning Jason Alexander during Thursday’s off day. They also have a vacancy on the 40-man roster because they designated outfielder Dustin Harris for assignment on Tuesday.
Assuming they select VanWey’s contract rather than adding him to the taxi squad, he’ll be in Joe Espada’s bullpen for the first time this season. The former undrafted free agent reached the majors last April. He was on and off the MLB roster a few times throughout his rookie year, logging 10 2/3 innings across nine appearances. He gave up seven runs (six earned) on 15 hits while recording seven strikeouts and three walks.
The Astros dropped VanWey from the 40-man roster halfway through the offseason. He went unclaimed on waivers and remained in the system on an outright assignment. The 27-year-old righty has made 15 apperances this year with Triple-A Sugar Land. He has allowed 10 earned runs through 15 2/3 frames but has fanned 19 of 70 opponents, an above-average 27% rate.
VanWey doesn’t have huge raw stuff. His fastball sits in the 91-93 mph range and he works mostly with a low-80s slider as his main secondary pitch. It wasn’t a big swing-and-miss arsenal in his limited MLB work, though he has missed a fair number of bats in the minors. VanWey last pitched on Tuesday and will give Houston a fresh arm for the middle innings.
Astros Re-Sign Daniel Johnson To Minor League Deal
The Astros re-signed outfielder Daniel Johnson to a minor league contract, according to the MiLB.com transaction tracker. He elected free agency yesterday after being designated for assignment on Monday. He’ll report to Triple-A Sugar Land.
Johnson began the season in Triple-A with the Marlins. Released in early April, he signed with Houston a couple weeks later. Johnson was called up not long after with the Astros’ outfield dealing with a lot of injuries. He played in eight MLB games, collecting two hits and walks apiece over 17 plate appearances. Zach Cole came back from a broken toe that had cost him five weeks and replaced Johnson on the active roster this week.
The 30-year-old Johnson has appeared in parts of five MLB seasons but has fewer than 200 career trips to the dish. He owns a .191/.249/.306 line with five home runs in 75 games, striking out at a 28% clip along the way. He’s a .255/.321/.448 hitter in nearly 1800 plate appearances over parts of seven Triple-A campaigns.
Latest On Astros’ Rotation
The Astros are planning to reinstate Tatsuya Imai from the injured list to face the Mariners next week, per Chandler Rome of The Athletic. As Rome outlines, Imai’s rehab results haven’t been great but the banged-up Houston rotation needs any arms it can get as the club kicks off a stretch of 13 straight games without a day off on Friday.
At this point, it’s hard to know what to make of Imai. He has been pretty dominant in Japan for the past few years but MLB clubs were apparently skeptical of how he would translate to North American ball. While it was thought he could secure a long-term deal with a nine-figure guarantee, he settled for a three-year, $54MM deal with opt-outs after each season. The ideal path forward for Imai would have seen him prove his bona fides against big league pitching before returning to free agency to cash in.
So far, it is not going according to plan. He couldn’t get out of the third inning in his first start. His second outing was good, as he tossed 5 2/3 scoreless frames. But in the third start, he only recorded one out.
He then landed on the IL with the vague diagnosis of arm fatigue. He began a rehab assignment on April 28th. Per Rome, the plan was for just one rehab outing but he allowed five earned runs in two innings while walking three. The Astros decided to give him a second rehab outing, hoping for four or five innings with fewer walks. He got through three innings but walked five.
The control issues are a concerning development, considering that had been an issue in his time in Japan. From 2019 to 2023, he finished each season with a walk rate of at least 11.4%. He did show improvement, dropping that to 9.8% in 2024 and then 7% last year. For reference, MLB average is usually around 8 to 9%. In his three starts for the Astros this year, he walked 25% of the batters he faced.
General manager Dana Brown is quoted in Rome’s piece, saying basically that Imai needs to have more faith in his own arsenal. “A big part of it is just allowing him to free his mind up (and) attack major-league hitters like he used to attack hitters in Japan. Don’t overthink it and just lock in and be yourself,” said Brown. “That’s a big point we’re trying to make to him: just be yourself and have confidence in the stuff because your stuff plays at this level.”
That’s interesting framing considering past comments from Imai. Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball has been playing with a dead ball in recent years, with offense way down. The run-scoring environment was so low that Imai got bored.
“I didn’t always dream of going to MLB,” Imai said in November, as relayed by Yakyu Cosmopolitan. “But over the past two or three years […] I felt like there weren’t many hitters who were even trying to hit a homer off me anymore. A lot of lineups would just foul pitches off and run up my pitch count. I get that’s a valid part of strategy, but if I were a fan, I don’t think that kind of baseball is very fun to watch.”
This is perhaps an oversimplification but it’s possible the dead ball allowed Imai to attack the strike zone more, lowering his walk rates. With the move to MLB, maybe he has become more concerned with nibbling at the edges and has thus lost his feel a bit.
Time will tell if he can get back in good form but the recent numbers aren’t encouraging. The Astros are evidently going to try anyway, a reflection of their snakebit rotation. In addition to Imai hitting the IL for arm fatigue, they have lost Hunter Brown and Cristian Javier to shoulder strains this year. That’s on top of Ronel Blanco, Hayden Wesneski and Brandon Walter, each of whom is still recovering from surgery performed last year.
Their rotation currently consists of Lance McCullers Jr., Mike Burrows, Spencer Arrighetti, Cody Bolton and Peter Lambert. McCullers is now a question mark for his next start. He couldn’t get through three innings yesterday, later telling Rome that it was due to issues with the fingernail on the index finger of his throwing hand. He is unsure if he’ll be able to take the ball next time.
The Astros are off today. In Cincinnati this weekend, they are scheduled to have Burrows and Arrighetti for the first two. After that, Bolton or Lambert could start on Sunday and/or Monday. Imai will be in the mix next week, perhaps as soon as Monday. If McCullers can’t take the ball and they want to bring someone else into the mix, their choices may be limited. Both Ryan Weiss and Jason Alexander have been optioned in recent days. A pitcher can’t be recalled after being optioned until 15 days have elapsed, unless someone else is going on the IL.
Kai-Wei Teng and AJ Blubaugh have been pitching some multi-inning stints from the bullpen and could take on some bulk. Colton Gordon was optioned on April 25th, so his 15-day window will soon be up. Miguel Ullola is on the 40-man but is struggling with control in Triple-A and the Astros haven’t called him up this year, despite calling almost every other hand on deck. J.P. France and Brandon Bielak are some non-roster options in Triple-A.
Photo courtesy of Thomas Shea, Imagn Images
Carlos Correa To Undergo Season-Ending Ankle Surgery
The hits keep coming for the Astros. Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports that third baseman/shortstop Carlos Correa will require season-ending surgery to repair a left ankle injury. Correa was scratched from last night’s game and subsequently reported to have suffered a potentially major ankle injury. He was in the clubhouse today on crutches.
Correa himself told reporters in Houston that he suffered a torn tendon in his left ankle (video link via McTaggart). The requisite surgery to repair the injury will sideline him for the next six to eight months. (Notably, that’s not the ankle that caused enough medical concern to scuttle a pair of major free agent deals a few offseasons back.) As Correa explains, it was a freak incident:
“I was hitting in the cage — normal day, feeling great. I went through my whole routine, took a swing, and felt a pop. It just completely snapped on me, and then I fell to the ground, couldn’t put weight on it. Just a normal swing, but I felt a loud pop. I heard it. I felt it. I knew right away something was wrong.”
With Correa’s season over, the Astros will entrust shortstop to Nick Allen and Braden Shewmake for the time being. Both are light-hitting defensive specialists, though Shewmake took Shohei Ohtani deep for a go-ahead home run last night. Star shortstop Jeremy Peña is on the mend from a hamstring strain and will reclaim everyday shortstop work once healthy. Peña’s return would have pushed Correa back to third base, but the hot corner will now be manned by Isaac Paredes moving forward, with a resurgent Christian Walker at first base, Jose Altuve at second base and Yordan Alvarez at designated hitter.
Correa is the latest in a dizzying line of major Astros injuries. He joins not only Peña but Hunter Brown (shoulder strain), Josh Hader (biceps tendinitis), Yainer Diaz (oblique strain), Jake Meyers (oblique strain), Tatsuya Imai (arm fatigue), Cristian Javier (shoulder strain), Joey Loperfido (quad strain) and Taylor Trammell (groin strain) as Astros to suffer new injuries this season. The ‘Stros are also still without pitchers Ronel Blanco, Hayden Wesneski and Brandon Walter, all three of whom underwent UCL surgery during the 2025 season.
Suffice it to say, the 2026 season hasn’t gone according to plan. Houston’s 15-22 record is the fifth-worst in Major League Baseball. Long-term absences for key players like Correa, Brown, Hader and Peña have conspired to dig an early hole from which they’ll be hard-pressed to climb out. The pitching, in particular, has been egregiously bad. Houston not only ranks last in the majors with a team-wide 5.65 ERA — they’re 64 points north of the 29th-ranked D-backs, who sit at a collective 5.01. The bullpen’s 6.20 ERA is the highest in MLB by nearly a full run over the 29th-ranked Angels (5.35). The rotation’s 5.13 ERA ranks 29th, narrowly leading Arizona (5.20).
The 2026 trade deadline is still just under three months away, but the mountain of injuries and a dismal pitching performance thus far makes it hard to envision the ‘Stros recovering — even with Alvarez and Walker combining to create one of the more formidable lineup duos in the game. The Astros will face some tough decisions at this year’s deadline, due not only to the current state of affairs but also an increasingly concerning long-term outlook that doesn’t create much optimism.
[Related: The Astros’ Ominous Long-Term Outlook]
As for Correa, he’s still signed for another two seasons beyond the current year. He’ll earn $30.5MM in 2027 and $30MM in 2028, though the Twins are paying $10MM per year (2026-28) as part of the trade that sent Correa and more than $70MM of his remaining contract back to Houston. His six-year, $200MM deal also contains a quartet of vesting club options valued at $25MM, $20MM, $15MM and $10MM, spanning the 2029-32 seasons. Those options can vest based on the total plate appearances Correa logs in the immediately preceding season.
Daniel Johnson Elects Free Agency
Daniel Johnson elected free agency after being outrighted by the Astros, according to the MLB.com transaction log. Houston designated him for assignment on Monday when they recalled Zach Cole from Triple-A.
Johnson appeared in eight games, collecting two hits and walks apiece over 17 plate appearances. The lefty-hitting outfielder has appeared in parts of five MLB seasons but has fewer than 200 career trips to the dish. Johnson owns a .191/.249/.306 line with five home runs in 75 games, striking out at a 28% clip along the way.
The New Mexico State product began this year with the Marlins on a minor league contract. Johnson didn’t get to the Majors with Miami but spent a couple weeks in the bigs with Houston given their need for a left-handed hitting outfielder. He’s a .255/.321/.448 hitter in nearly 1800 plate appearances over parts of seven Triple-A campaigns.
Carlos Correa Believed To Have Suffered Significant Left Ankle Injury
Carlos Correa is believed to have suffered a significant left ankle injury, reports Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. He’ll visit a foot specialist tomorrow to narrow down a diagnosis and recovery timeline. McTaggart writes that he’ll be out indefinitely and could miss weeks or potentially months.
Correa was injured while taking batting practice before Tuesday’s game against the Dodgers. The Astros scratched him, moving Nick Allen from third base to shortstop while drawing utility infielder Braden Shewmake into the lineup at the hot corner. Shewmake wound up hitting a solo home run off Shohei Ohtani that proved the difference in a 2-1 Houston win.
It’s the second consecutive day in which the Astros lost a key player during pregame batting practice. Catcher Yainer Diaz strained his oblique while warming up on Monday and is also going to miss some time. He went on the injured list on Tuesday morning.
The Astros will presumably provide more information on Correa within the next few days. The three-time All-Star has battled injuries in both feet over the past few years. Plantar fasciitis and a muscle strain in his left foot hobbled him in 2023. He missed most of the second half of the ’24 season with plantar fasciitis in his right foot.
Injury concerns famously scuttled two of Correa’s agreements during his 2022-23 free agent trip: both a $350MM deal with the Giants and a subsequent $315MM agreement with the Mets. Those were both related to team medical personnel having concerns about Correa’s right ankle, not the one which he injured tonight.
That’s of little solace to a Houston team dealing with yet another significant injury. Correa becomes their fourth regular position player — alongside Diaz, Jeremy Peña and Jake Meyers — on the injured list. They’re also without starting pitchers Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier and Tatsuya Imai plus closer Josh Hader.
Peña, down since April 12 with a right hamstring strain, could start a minor league rehab assignment this week. Correa had been the regular shortstop in his absence. Allen, a light-hitting defensive specialist, will man the position in the interim. Losing Correa means the Astros will stick with Isaac Paredes as the everyday third baseman. Christian Walker is enjoying a resurgent season at first base, while Yordan Alvarez is mostly at designated hitter.
The infield depth, at least once Peña returns, is the only silver lining. Houston unsuccessfully tried to move Paredes or Walker over the offseason to alleviate the logjam, but they essentially haven’t been at full health for the entire season. Even before the hamstring injury, Peña had battled a fingertip fracture on his right hand that he suffered during the World Baseball Classic.
Houston reacquired Correa from the Twins last summer, taking on a little over $70MM on the remaining three years of his contract. He hit .290/.355/.430 over 51 games down the stretch and was out to a .279/.369/.418 start to this season. Although he’s not the power threat he was at his peak, Correa remains an above-average hitter and quality defender at either position on the left side of the infield when healthy.