Yankees Rumors

Latest On DJ LeMahieu

By Darragh McDonald | April 23, 2024 at 6:23pm CDT

6:23pm: LeMahieu experienced right foot soreness and was removed after one inning, the Yankees announced (X link via Joyce). He’ll return to New York for further evaluation tomorrow.

5:31pm: The Yankees announced that infielder DJ LeMahieu has been sent to Double-A Somerset to start a rehab assignment. LeMahieu is leading off tonight’s game and playing third base, per the X account of the Patriots.

LeMahieu, 35, was supposed to be the club’s everyday third baseman here in 2024 but a Spring Training injury scuttled those plans. The veteran fouled a ball of his foot and was initially diagnosed with a bone bruise. After the swelling didn’t go down, he went for a second MRI, which revealed a non-displaced fracture. He was set to begin a rehab assignment this past weekend but his foot still wasn’t healing enough and the rehab assignment was pushed back by a few days.

Manager Aaron Boone told reporters, including Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, that the plan is for LeMahieu to play four games and possibly rejoin the Yanks in time for their series against the Orioles next week.

The club is surely excited to welcome LeMahieu back but they will have a bit of a tricky decision to make in terms of distributing playing time. The veteran has hit .258/.345/.375 since the start of 2021 while battling various injuries. That’s still amounts to a 106 wRC+, indicating he was six percent better than league average in that time. But the Yankees were surely hoping for more, especially since he hit .336/.386/.536 for a 146 wRC+ over 2019 and 2020, before they re-signed him to a six-year, $90MM contract.

To start this year, Oswaldo Cabrera has taken over at the hot corner and is out to a great start. He’s hitting .290/.324/.478 so far on the young season, production that leads to a wRC+ of 133. That’s a small sample of 74 plate appearances, which means it likely doesn’t carry as much weight as LeMahieu’s career numbers, but the Yanks probably want to keep riding the hot hand.

Each of Cabrera and LeMahieu are capable of playing different positions, so the club will have some flexibility. First baseman Anthony Rizzo and second baseman Gleyber Torres are both out to slow starts, so perhaps they could get some breathers when LeMahieu and Cabrera are both healthy and looking for playing time.

Elsewhere in Yankee news, Gerrit Cole threw 50 pitches from a distance of 120 feet today, per Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. It hasn’t yet been decided when he’ll move to mound work, but Boone said it could be as soon as next week, per Greg Joyce of The New York Post.

Needless to say, any progress from Cole is a good development for the Yankees. The reigning American League Cy Young made just one official appearance during Spring Training before some elbow issues popped up. Since he wasn’t recovering as expected between throwing sessions, the club shut him down and sent him for testing. He was eventually recommended for non-surgical rehab and has been on that path for the past month or so.

Cole is on the 60-day injured list and won’t be eligible to return until late May at the earliest. Even if he begins throwing off a mound soon, he’ll likely need to redo Spring Training from scratch, meaning he’ll be out beyond that timeframe anyhow. His eventual return date will naturally be determined by how his arm holds up as he continues building up in the weeks to come.

Yankees Outright Kevin Smith

By Nick Deeds | April 20, 2024 at 4:56pm CDT

The Yankees announced this afternoon that infielder Kevin Smith has been assigned outright to Triple-A. The news comes on the heels of Smith being designated for assignment earlier this week to make room for recently-claimed outfielder Taylor Trammell on the 40-man roster.

Smith, 27, was a fourth-round pick by the Blue Jays in the 2017 draft and is perhaps best known as part of the four-player package Toronto sent to the A’s in exchange for third baseman Matt Chapman. Smith made his big league debut with Toronto in 2021 prior to being moved and ultimately appeared in 96 games with Oakland across two seasons before he was non-tendered by the club back in November.

Smith eventually joined the Yankees on a minor league deal back in January and managed to crack the club’s major league roster last weekend following the placement of utility veteran Jon Berti on the injured list, leading the Yankees to replace Smith’s minor league deal with a fresh big league contract. Unfortunately for Smith, he made just one appearance in a Yankees uniform and did not record a plate appearance before being designated for assignment last week.

When Smith has found playing time at the big league level, he’s generally struggled offensively. In 114 games with the Blue Jays and A’s dating back to his debut in 2021, Smith has hit a lackluster .173/.215/.301 with a 31.2% strikeout rate and a wRC+ of 44 throughout his big league career. While those numbers leave much to be desired, Smith’s respectable .282/.352/.523 career slash line at the Triple-A level and his experience at all four infield spots as well as both outfield corners leave reason for hope that he could be a useful depth piece for a big league club in need at some point.

For now, however, Smith will return to the minor leagues with the Yankees as the infielder has neither the requisite service time nor a previous outright assignment on his resume that would allow him to reject the move in favor of free agency. Going forward, Smith will serve as non-roster depth for the Yankees and hope for another opportunity to join the club’s bench mix at some point this season, competing with youngster Jorbit Vivas as well as fellow non-roster veterans Rougned Odor, Josh VanMeter, and Jordan Groshans.

AL East Notes: Pivetta, LeMahieu, Tiedemann

By Mark Polishuk | April 20, 2024 at 3:01pm CDT

Nick Pivetta threw a bullpen session today, and Red Sox manager Alex Cora gave reporters (including MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo) a rough timeline of when the righty might return from the right flexor strain that sent Pivetta to the 15-day injured list on April 6. Cora outlined that Pivetta is around 10 days away from facing live hitters and then will get probably two minor league rehab starts, so if all goes well, Pivetta should be back in Boston’s rotation by around the middle of May.

There was some initial hope that Pivetta could miss just the minimum 15 days when he first went on the IL, yet it isn’t surprising that Pivetta and the Sox are showing extra precaution with a flexor injury. Cora said that Pivetta “felt good today” after the bullpen, which is a nice first step in the recovery process. The IL stint interrupted a great start to the season for the righty, who looked flat out dominant in posting an 0.82 ERA over his first two outings and 11 innings of the 2024 campaign.

Some items from around the AL East…

DJ LeMahieu was set to begin a minor league rehab assignment yesterday, but an MRI revealed that his right foot fracture hadn’t entirely healed. The infielder could still begin his assignment as early as Tuesday, though “we’re just being conservative with this thing,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone told ESPN News Services and other media. “He’s doing really well and I know he feels ready to go, but the foot specialist has weighed in. We want to make sure this thing’s 100 percent.” LeMahieu suffered the injury about a month ago after fouling a ball off his foot in Spring Training, and is healthy enough to partake in such baseball activities as batting practice and fielding drills, even if he hasn’t gotten the green light for rehab games just yet.
Blue Jays pitching prospect Ricky Tiedemann underwent an MRI on Thursday to explore discomfort in his throwing elbow, Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi reports (X link). Tiedemann was already placed on the Triple-A injured list earlier this week, and perhaps ominously, there haven’t yet been any updates over the MRI results. Shoulder and biceps problems limited Tiedemann to only 44 total minor league innings in 2023, and while a potential Major League debut is seemingly on the horizon for the southpaw this season, the Jays’ first priority is just rebuilding Tiedemann’s arm strength and getting him back in the groove of regular starting assignments. Tiedemann is ranked as both Toronto’s top prospect and one of the better pitching prospects in all of baseball, though he has been shaky in posting a 5.63 ERA over three starts and eight innings for Triple-A Buffalo this season, with more walks (nine) than innings pitched.

Which Hot Or Cold Starts Are For Real?

By Darragh McDonald | April 18, 2024 at 8:19pm CDT

The 2024 season is just a few weeks old. There’s still a lot of time for narratives to shift and plenty of exciting or deflating changes are surely coming up over the horizon. Nonetheless, the games in April count just as much as the games in September. Some clubs have already banked some valuable wins while others have put themselves in a real hole.

Looking at the FanGraphs Playoff Odds today and comparing them to where they were ahead of the Seoul Series, there are five clubs that have increased their postseason chances by more than 10%. Meanwhile, six clubs have seen their odds drop by more than 10%. Which of those are just small-sample blips and which are signs that the club’s talent level is meaningfully different than expected? Let’s take a glance.

Orioles

The defending champions of the American League East were given just a 51.8% chance of making it back to the postseason, per the FanGraphs odds from before any games had been played. They have started out 12-6 and seen their odds jump to 76.5% today, a difference of 24.7%.

Baltimore continues to get huge contributions from its young core and role players alike. Jackson Holliday’s big league career is out to a slow start, but others have picked up the slack, with Colton Cowser, Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg and Cedric Mullins off and running. Even Ryan O’Hearn, who was acquired in a small cash deal from the Royals, continues to thrive. On the pitching side, Corbin Burnes has been the expected ace while Grayson Rodriguez continues to cement himself as a quality big league arm. There are some question marks at the back end with Dean Kremer and Cole Irvin out to wobbly starts, but Kyle Bradish and John Means are both on minor league rehab assignments and could rejoin the club soon.

The 18 games they have played so far have come against the Angels, Royals, Pirates, Red Sox, Brewers and Twins.

Royals

The Royals entered the season with playoff odds of just 13.1% but they have gone 12-7 so far, bumping themselves up to 33.2%, a difference of 20.1%.

An improved rotation gets a lot of the credit. Between last year’s trade for Cole Ragans, the offseason signings of Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha, as well as the emergence of Alec Marsh, it’s a whole new look alongside Brady Singer. None of those five have an ERA higher than 4.32 so far this year. On the position player side of things, Bobby Witt Jr. is further proving himself to be a superstar, while Salvador Perez and Vinnie Pasquantino are healthy and productive.

They have faced the Twins, Orioles, White Sox, Astros and Mets thus far.

Yankees

The Yanks had strong odds to begin with, starting out at 71.2%. A hot start of 13 wins and 6 losses has already bumped those all the way to 85.9%, a jump of 14.7%.

Health was a big factor for the Yankees last year, with players like Aaron Judge, Anthony Rizzo, DJ LeMahieu, Giancarlo Stanton, Nestor Cortes and Carlos Rodón all missing significant time. This year, Gerrit Cole is on the shelf, as is LeMahieu. But new face Juan Soto has been great so far, while Stanton, Cortes and Rodón are back in decent form.

The injuries or lack thereof will probably remain a focus for the months to come, especially with so many key players in their mid-30s. Last year, the club was 45-36 through the end of June, but mounting injuries led to them going 20-33 through July and August.

They have started their season by playing the Astros, Diamondbacks, Blue Jays, Marlins and Guardians.

Brewers

The National League Central is arguably the most up-for-grabs, with the five clubs fairly close in terms of talent. Despite being the reigning division champs, the Brewers were given just a 30.6% chance of making the postseason, below the Cardinals and Cubs. They’ve started out 11-6 and are now at 43.5%, a 12.9% bump.

There have been quite a few nice performance on the offensive side of things. Willy Adames had a bit of a down year in 2023 but is off to a good start in this campaign. Brice Turang and Blake Perkins are also putting up better numbers than last year. Joey Ortiz has done well since coming over from the Orioles in the Burnes trade. The loss of Burnes and the injury to Brandon Woodruff left the club without their co-aces, but Freddy Peralta has stepped up with a 2.55 ERA and 39.4% strikeout rate through his first three starts.

They have faced off against the Mets, Twins, Mariners, Reds, Orioles and Padres so far.

Mets

After a disastrous 2023 season and a relatively quiet winter, the Mets opened this year with their odds at 27.6%. A 10-8 start has already bumped them to 38.7%, an 11.1% difference.

They have been especially strong of late, as they started out 0-5 but have gone 10-3 over their last 13 contests. The bounceback plays on Luis Severino and Sean Manaea seem to be going well so far. Edwin Díaz is healthy again and already has four saves. On the position player side, Brett Baty seems to be taking a step forward. DJ Stewart is carrying over last year’s hot finish, and the Tyrone Taylor pickup looks like a nice move.

They have lined up against the Brewers, Tigers, Reds, Braves, Royals and Pirates.

Giants

The Giants added plenty of talent this winter and opened the season with playoff odds of 44.6%. But an 8-11 start has already dropped them to 34%, a difference of 10.6%.

Stretching out Jordan Hicks is going great so far, but Blake Snell showed a lot of rust in his first two starts after signing late in the offseason. On offense, acquisitions like Jung Hoo Lee, Matt Chapman and Nick Ahmed have produced subpar offense, and the same goes for incumbents like Mike Yastrzemski, Wilmer Flores and Thairo Estrada.

They have squared off against the Padres, Dodgers, Nationals, Rays and Marlins thus far.

Cardinals

Despite a dreadful 2023 campaign, expectations were high for the Cards coming into this year after they remade their rotation. But a middling start of 9-10 has dropped their playoff odds from 50.1% to 38.7%, a difference of 11.4%.

Injuries have been playing a notable role in the early going for the Cards, with Sonny Gray, Lars Nootbaar, Tommy Edman, Dylan Carlson and others missing time. The Lance Lynn signing looks good so far, as he has a 2.18 ERA through four starts, but Kyle Gibson is at 6.16. Both the veteran Paul Goldschmidt and the youngster Jordan Walker are out to terrible starts at the plate. The Cardinals’ long list of injuries opened up playing time for guys like Alec Burleson and Victor Scott II, who have each struggled immensely.

They have faced the Dodgers, Padres, Marlins, Phillies, Diamondbacks and Athletics to this point.

Mariners

The Mariners just missed the playoffs last year but still opened this season with a 60.8% chance of getting back there. A tepid start of 9-10 has seen those odds slide to 49.1%, a difference of 11.7%. Things were even more dire before they swept the Reds this week, as they were 6-10 prior to that.

The rotation has surprisingly been a problem thus far. An injury to Bryan Woo bumped Emerson Hancock into the rotation, but Hancock has an ERA of 7.98 through three starts. Each of Luis Castillo and George Kirby also have poor results, though those may be based on luck. Both have a high BABIP and low strand rate, so both have a FIP just above 3.00, about three runs lower than their ERA.

Julio Rodríguez is the biggest disappointment on the position player side. He is striking out at a 34.6% clip and walking just 5.1% of the time while still looking for his first home of the year, leading to a line of .219/.269/.260. Luke Raley, Mitch Garver and J.P. Crawford have also looked lost at the plate, with none of that trio posting a wRC+ higher than 75 so far.

The M’s have played the Red Sox, Guardians, Brewers, Blue Jays, Cubs and Reds.

Marlins

The Fish swam into the playoffs last year, their first postseason berth in a full season in 20 years. They followed that with an offseason mostly focused on overhauling their front office and player development system. A disastrous 4-15 start has already dropped this year’s playoff odds from 27.9% to 2.3%, a difference of 25.6%.

Injuries have been a huge factor, as the club’s former starting pitching surplus quickly became a deficit. Sandy Alcántara required Tommy John surgery last year, and Eury Pérez followed him down that path this year. Edward Cabrera and Braxton Garrett also missed some time due to shoulder troubles. A.J. Puk’s attempted move from the bullpen to the rotation is not going well so far, and Jesús Luzardo is struggling badly. Max Meyer was doing well but he was optioned to the minors to monitor his workload after he missed all of last year recovering from his own Tommy John procedure. The offense has been pretty bad across the board, as not a single member of the team has a wRC+ of 105 or higher. Jake Burger hit the injured list earlier this week, removing one of their top power bats from that already weak group.

They faced the Pirates, Angels, Cardinals, Yankees, Braves and Giants to start the year and have yet to win back-to-back games.

Astros

The Astros have been a powerhouse for years and opened this season with an 86.2% chance of returning to the postseason. But they have stumbled out of the gates this year with a record of 6-14, dropping their odds to 59.7%, a 26.5% drop.

Like some of the other clubs mentioned above, health has been a big factor here. Lance McCullers Jr. and Luis Garcia each underwent elbow surgery last year and are still rehabbing. So far this year, the Astros have lost Justin Verlander, José Urquidy and Framber Valdez to the IL, giving them a full rotation on the shelf. (Verlander will return tomorrow.)

With those prominent arms not around, others haven’t really picked up the slack. Hunter Brown has an ERA of 10.54 through four starts while J.P. France is at 7.08. Prospect Spencer Arrighetti was called up to fill in but has been tagged for nine runs over seven innings in his two outings. Josh Hader, Ryan Pressly and Bryan Abreu have surprisingly been bad out of the bullpen, with each having an ERA of 6.00 or higher. On offense, José Abreu has been awful, hitting .078/.158/.098. That performance got him bumped down in the lineup, and he’s been ceding playing time to Jon Singleton lately.

The Astros began the year playing the Yankees, Blue Jays, Rangers, Royals and Braves.

Twins

The Twins are the reigning champs in the American League Central but made some budget cuts this winter. Their 6-11 start has moved their playoff odds from 66% to 38.6%, a shift of 27.4%.

Once again, injuries are a big part of the story here. Oft-injured Royce Lewis went down with a quad strain on Opening Day, and Carlos Correa followed him later, subtracting the club’s left side of the infield. The only guys with at least 30 plate appearances and a wRC+ above 100 are Ryan Jeffers, Alex Kirilloff and the currently-injured Correa. Multiple injured relievers, most notably Jhoan Durán, have left the bullpen shorthanded.

In the rotation, the club lost Sonny Gray, Kenta Maeda and Tyler Mahle from last year’s club, but their main attempt at replacing those guys was to acquire Anthony DeSclafani on the heels of a pair of injury-wrecked seasons. He required flexor tendon surgery and will miss the rest of the year. The incumbents haven’t been much help. Chris Paddack, Louie Varland and Bailey Ober each have an ERA above 6.50, though Ober has rebounded after being shelled for eight runs in just 1 1/3 innings in his season debut.

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Some of these are probably just flukes, and the results will even out over the rest of the season, but some of these clubs might be showing us who they really are. Which ones do you believe in? Have your say in the polls below, the first one for the hot starts and the second one for the cold starts. (Note: you can select multiple options in each poll.)

Yankees Claim Taylor Trammell, Designate Kevin Smith

By Darragh McDonald | April 18, 2024 at 3:05pm CDT

The Yankees announced that they have claimed outfielder Taylor Trammell off waivers from the Dodgers, the latter club having designated him for assignment earlier this week. To open a roster spot for Trammell, the Yankees designated infielder Kevin Smith for assignment.

Trammell, 26, was only with the Dodgers for a couple of weeks. They claimed him off waivers from the Mariners in early April and he only got six hitless plate appearances, striking out three times, before getting bumped off the roster and put right back on waivers.

The Yankees are likely interested based on Trammell’s past status as one of the top prospects in the game. Selected 35th overall by the Reds in 2016, he was on Baseball America’s top 100 lists in three straight years starting in 2018.

But his results started to dip as he began to be passed around the league a bit. He was flipped to the Padres in the 2019 deal that sent Trevor Bauer to the Reds and Yasiel Puig to Cleveland, then was traded again, going to the Mariners in the 2020 deal that also sent Ty France and Andrés Muñoz to Seattle.

The Mariners gave him sporadic playing time in the majors over the past few years but he didn’t live up to his previous prospect hype. He currently has a line of .165/.266/.361 in 357 plate appearances, having struck out in 37.3% of those. His 10.9% walk rate is strong but the overall output has obviously not been good. He is now out of options, which is why the Mariners and Dodgers have each had to designate him for assignment in recent weeks.

Reasons for optimism can be found on Trammell’s Triple-A performance. Dating back to the start of 2021, he has 812 plate appearances at the top minor league level. He struck out in 24% of those but also drew walks at a 14% rate and hit 38 home runs. That’s to be taken with a grain of salt since those homers were all in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, but his .274/.381/.506 batting line nonetheless translated to a 116 wRC+, indicating he was 16% above league average. He also stole 33 bases in 40 tries in that time.

The Yanks will give Trammell a roster spot to see if he can finally have his long-awaited breakout in pinstripes. While that’s a sensible decision in a vacuum, it seems less than ideal in terms of roster construction.

The Yankees already have a pretty loaded group in terms of outfielders, with Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Alex Verdugo getting the regular playing time. Giancarlo Stanton is in the designated hitter slot most days while Trent Grisham is on hand as a glove-first backup.

Smith was added to the roster on the weekend with the club’s infield injuries mounting. Oswald Peraza and DJ LeMahieu both started the season on the injured list, which prompted the Yanks to trade for Jon Berti. But then Berti himself landed on the IL a few days ago, which is what led the club to select Smith’s contract.

Swapping in Trammell for Smith will seemingly give the club a surplus of outfielders but leave them a bit shorthanded on the dirt. Oswaldo Cabrera has taken over as the regular third baseman amid all those injuries, taking a spot next to Anthony Volpe, Gleyber Torres and Anthony Rizzo. The Yankees have Jahmai Jones on hand as a depth infielder but he’s been given just one plate appearance so far this year and only has major league experience at second base and in left field.

LeMahieu is starting a rehab assignment this week but a bench of catcher Jose Trevino, Jones, Grisham and Trammell will leave the club a bit thin on the infield until LeMahieu is ready to rejoin the big league club. Someone will have to lose their roster spot when LeMahieu gets back and time will tell who that is. If Trammell hangs onto his spot, he can be retained well into the future. He has less than two years of service time, meaning he has four years of club control beyond the current campaign.

As for Smith, the Yankees will now have a week to trade him or pass him through waivers. He got into one game as a pinch runner during his time on the roster but didn’t get sent to the plate. He has hit .173/.215/.301 in his 333 career plate appearances at the major league level.

He seemed to have a Triple-A breakout in 2021 when he hit .285/.370/.561 for the top minor league affiliate of the Blue Jays. But since then, his Triple-A performance has been an average-ish .280/.340/.497, which translates to a 101 wRC+. He also struck out in 29.9% of his plate appearances in that time. Like Trammell, he’s out of options but comes with years of potential club control. If he were to pass through waivers unclaimed, he would stick with the Yankees as depth but without occupying a roster spot.

MLBTR Podcast: Free Agent Power Rankings, Ohtani’s Stolen Money And The A’s Moving To Sacramento

By Darragh McDonald | April 17, 2024 at 11:59pm CDT

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…

MLBTR’s 2024-25 Free Agent Power Rankings (1:30)
Gerrit Cole didn’t crack the rankings due to his specific opt-out situation with the Yankees (6:30)
The upcoming free agencies of Alex Bregman of the Astros and Pete Alonso of the Mets (9:20)
Is there any scenario where Juan Soto of the Yankees is not the top free agent? (15:15)
Ippei Mizuhara, former interpreter for Shohei Ohtani, charged with bank fraud (19:40)
Athletics to play in Sacramento before moving to Las Vegas (32:40)

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

How can a pitcher blow a save in the seventh inning? How early can a save be blown? (38:25)
Do you think the Tigers will release Javier Báez? It is painful to watch him. (41:15)
Who could the Braves target inside or outside the organization to replace Spencer Strider? (45:15)

Check out our past episodes!

Reviewing Our Free Agent Predictions And Future CBA Issues – listen here
Baseball Is Back, Will Smith’s Extension, Mike Clevinger And Jon Berti – listen here
A Live Reaction To The Jordan Montgomery Signing, Shohei Ohtani’s Interpreter, And J.D. Martinez Joins The Mets – listen here

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!

2023 Rule 5 Update: April Edition

By Steve Adams | April 17, 2024 at 7:06pm CDT

We’re three weeks into the 2024 season, and this year’s crop of Rule 5 picks has had an atypical amount of staying power. That’s perhaps in part due to the fact that only ten players were selected in the 2023 Rule 5 Draft, but as of this writing, only one Rule 5 selection has been returned to his original organization.

For those unfamiliar, in order to be eligible for the Rule 5 Draft, a player must not be on his team’s 40-man roster and must have played in either parts of five professional seasons (if they signed at 18 or younger) or four professional seasons (if they signed at 19 or older). The deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 by selecting their contracts to the 40-man roster typically falls in mid-November and spurs a good deal of player movement as teams jettison borderline players and non-tender candidates from their roster in order to protect younger prospects.

A player who is selected in the Rule 5 Draft must spend the entire subsequent season on his new club’s Major League roster and cannot be optioned to the minors. The player can technically spend time on the injured list as well, but at least 90 days must be spent on the active roster. If not, the player’s Rule 5 status rolls into the following season until 90 days on the active roster have been accrued. If a team at any point decides it can no longer carry a Rule 5 selection, that player must be passed through waivers and subsequently offered back to his original organization. Any other club can claim the player via waivers, but the same Rule 5 restrictions will apply to the claiming team.

Broadly speaking, the Rule 5 Draft rarely produces impact players. There are plenty of exceptions over the years, though, with names like Johan Santana, Dan Uggla, Shane Victorino, Joakim Soria, Josh Hamilton and, more recently, Garrett Whitlock and Trevor Stephan thriving in new organizations. The Rule 5 Draft dates back more than a century and has even produced a handful of Hall of Famers: Roberto Clemente, Hack Wilson and Christy Mathewson.

It’s unlikely we’ll see any Cooperstown-bound players come from this year’s crop, but the teams who opted to select a player will be content if any of these names become a viable reliever or role player for the next several seasons. Here’s a look at this year’s group of ten Rule 5 players and where they stand. We’ll do a few of these throughout the season, keeping tabs on which players survive the season and formally have their long-term rights transferred to their new clubs.

On a Major League Roster

Mitch Spence, RHP, Athletics (selected from Yankees)

Spence, 26 next month, was the first overall pick in this year’s Rule 5 Draft, and understandably so after the 2023 season he had. His 4.47 ERA might’ve been pedestrian, but the 2019 tenth-rounder led all Triple-A pitchers with 163 innings while delivering a nice blend of strikeouts (21.8%), walks (7.5%) and ground-balls (50%). For an A’s club desperately thin on starting pitching after the slew of rebuilding-driven trades for minor league arms have failed to produce much, adding a 25-year-old arm with that type of season held obvious appeal.

Spence made Oakland’s decision easy with a monster spring showing. He pitched 17 2/3 innings and allowed only six earned runs (3.06 ERA) on 15 hits and six walks with 21 punchouts. He’s worked out of the ’pen so far in Oakland but could very well find himself making starts later in the year. Through his first 11 2/3 MLB frames, Spence has yielded four earned runs on 10 hits and four walks with a 48.4% grounder rate. He’s not in danger of losing his spot anytime soon.

Matt Sauer, RHP, Royals (selected from Yankees)

Another 25-year-old righty out of the Yankees organization, Sauer came to his new club with a much heavier draft pedigree than his now-former teammate, Spence. The Yankees selected the 6’4″ righty with the No. 54 overall pick back in 2017, but Sauer didn’t develop as quickly as hoped. He was set back by 2019 Tommy John surgery and the canceled 2020 minor league season. He’s never topped 111 innings in a season, but Sauer rebuilt some prospect pedigree with a nice 2023 season that saw him pitch 68 1/3 innings of 3.42 ERA ball in Double-A. He whiffed 29.5% of his opponents, albeit against a less palatable 10.3% walk rate.

Like his former teammate, Sauer had a nice spring that made the decision relatively easy for his new club. In 10 2/3 innings, he held opponents to three earned runs (2.53 ERA) on 13 hits and three walks with 13 strikeouts. He opened the season in the Kansas City bullpen and has thus far pitched five innings, allowing a pair of runs in that time. Sauer has walked four of his 25 opponents and fanned just two thus far. It’s a small sample, of course, but he’ll need to reverse that early trend to hang onto his roster spot — especially if the Royals continue their hot start and find themselves contending into the summer.

Anthony Molina, RHP, Rockies (selected from Rays)

The 22-year-old Molina worked as a starter in the Rays’ system last year, taking the ball 28 times (27 starts) and pitching 122 innings with a 4.50 ERA. The undersized righty has garnered praise for a solid-average heater and above-average changeup, and he showed good command in 2023 after struggling with walks earlier in his minor league career. Molina continued to show good command in spring training (in addition to a massive 60.5% grounder rate), but the regular season has been brutal for him thus far. In three appearances, he’s been tattooed for a dozen runs on 13 hits and four walks with just two strikeouts. The Rockies can afford to be as patient as they want. They’re 4-13 on the season and were never expected to contend. Still, Molina will need to improve on his early performance in order to stick on the roster.

Nasim Nunez, INF, Nationals (selected from Marlins)

The Nationals have effectively played the season thus far with a 25-man roster. Nunez made the Opening Day squad but has been M.I.A. since. He’s appeared in just five of Washington’s 16 games and received only two plate appearances, going hitless in that meaningless sample. Nunez is an all-glove and speed prospect who hit just .224/.341/.286 in Double-A last season. He did go 52-for-59 in stolen base attempts, and scouting reports have long touted his defensive excellence at shortstop. He hit just .152/.200/.182 in 35 spring plate appearances.

It’s fair to wonder how long the Nats can essentially punt a roster spot by keeping Nunez on the bench, but like the Rockies, they’re not expecting to contend this season anyhow. One would imagine that from a pure developmental standpoint, they need to find a way to get Nunez into some games and start getting him some playing time, but for now, the team appears content to just hide the 23-year-old on the bench.

Ryan Fernandez, RHP, Cardinals (selected from Red Sox)

Fernandez, 25, has just four appearances out of the St. Louis bullpen so far and has been understandably deployed in low-leverage spots while he acclimates to the majors. He’s pitched fairly well in sparse duty, holding opponents to three runs (two earned) in 5 2/3 innings. Fernandez has averaged just under 96 mph on his heater, fanned seven opponents and issued three walks. His swinging-strike rate isn’t close to where it’s been in his minor league work, but his wipeout slider has been strong thus far. Fernandez has finished off eight plate appearances with that pitch, picking up four strikeouts and yielding only one hit. Nothing he’s done so far makes it seem like he’ll be cut loose anytime soon.

Justin Slaten, RHP, Red Sox (selected by Mets from Rangers; traded to Red Sox for LHP Ryan Ammons)

While most Rule 5 relievers are eased into low-pressure spots, that hasn’t been the case with the Sox and Slaten. He held a four-run lead to pick up a seven-out save in the team’s fourth game of the season, and the 6’4″ righty has since tallied three holds out of Alex Cora’s bullpen. In 10 1/3 innings, Slaten has allowed only one run on three hits and a walk with eight strikeouts. Add in 6 1/3 shutout innings in spring training, and he’s looked more like a seasoned veteran than a 26-year-old who entered the season with all of 8 1/3 innings above the Double-A level. Slaten has immediately made himself an important part of Boston’s roster, and while a prolonged slump could always change things, he looks like a keeper right now.

Stephen Kolek, RHP, Padres (selected from Mariners)

Kolek, who’ll turn 27 tomorrow, began his big league tenure with four runs in 1 2/3 innings over his first two appearances. He’s since bounced back with 8 2/3 innings of one-run ball, fanning 11 hitters against three walks along the way. He punched out nearly a quarter of his opponents in Triple-A last year and did so with a huge 57.5% ground-ball rate. He hasn’t picked up grounders at such a strong level just yet (43.5%), but San Diego probably isn’t second-guessing their decision to select him. He’s already picked up a pair of holds, and his recent run of success has dropped his ERA to 4.35. Command has been a problem for Kolek in the past, but he’s only walked 8.9% of his opponents against a 26.7% strikeout rate so far.

On the Major League Injured List

Shane Drohan, LHP, White Sox (selected from Red Sox): Drohan underwent shoulder surgery in late February and is on the 60-day IL. There’s no telling yet when he’ll be medically cleared to return. As noted in the intro, Drohan needs 90 days on the active roster to shed his Rule 5 designation; even if he spends the entire 2024 campaign on the injured list, his Rule 5 status will carry over into 2025 until he picks up those 90 active days.

Carson Coleman, RHP, Rangers (selected from Yankees): Coleman is also on the 60-day injured list. Unlike Drohan, it was well known at the time of his selection that he’d be IL-bound to begin the year. Coleman had Tommy John surgery last year and is expected to be out until midsummer at the least.

Returned to Original Organization

Deyvison De Los Santos, INF, Guardians (returned to D-backs): De Los Santos has big raw power but a well below-average hit tool. The Guardians selected him on the heels of a 20-homer campaign in Double-A with the D-backs, but he hit just .227/.227/.318 in 44 spring appearances before being designated for assignment, clearing waivers and getting returned to the Snakes. He’s had a big performance in a return-trip to Double-A.

Yankees Outright Josh Maciejewski

By Anthony Franco | April 16, 2024 at 8:11pm CDT

The Yankees announced this afternoon that left-hander Josh Maciejewski went unclaimed on outright waivers. He’ll stick in the organization at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre without occupying a 40-man roster spot.

Maciejewski had a brief stint in the Bronx. The former 10th-round pick was selected onto the MLB roster on April 8. He pitched once before being designated for assignment five days later when New York needed a 40-man spot for infielder Kevin Smith. Maciejewski had a perfect inning in his debut, inducing a trio of ground-ball outs against the Marlins.

The 28-year-old doesn’t throw hard, averaging around 91 MPH on his sinker during his lone big league outing. That certainly played a role in him going unclaimed, but he’s gotten off to a nice start to the year in Scranton. Macijewski has worked 4 2/3 scoreless innings with five strikeouts and a walk for the RailRiders thus far. He divided the 2023 season between three minor league levels, turning in a cumulative 2.96 ERA over 45 2/3 frames.

Ken Holtzman Passes Away

By Darragh McDonald | April 15, 2024 at 7:16pm CDT

The Cubs announced that former big league left-hander Ken Holtzman passed away recently. Per an obituary from Benjamin Hochman of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Holtzman had been hospitalized for the past three weeks due to heart problems. He was 78 years old.

Holtzman was born in St. Louis in 1945. He attended the University of Illinois and was selected from there by the Cubs in the 1965 draft. It didn’t take him long to get to the big leagues, with the Cubs calling him up later that same year.

He only made three appearances in 1965 but got a more proper debut in 1966. He made 34 appearances for the Cubs, 33 starts, and tossed 220 2/3 innings with a 3.79 earned run average. In 1967, he was serving in the National Guard and only able to pitch on weekends, but he made the most of his time in that limited role. He made 12 starts and went 9-0 that year, posting a 2.53 ERA in 92 2/3 innings.

With his military obligations completed, he was able to return to a full-time role. 1968 was the first of nine straight seasons in which he made at least 30 appearances and tossed at least 195 innings. Those Cubs teams of the late ’60s and early ’70s were pretty decent, finishing above .500 each year from ’67 to ’72, but not making the playoffs in any of them. Holtzman was a key component of those clubs, taking the ball and posting generally solid results. That included a no-hitter that he tossed against the Braves in 1969 and another against the Reds in 1971.

Prior to the 1972 season, Holtzman was traded to the Athletics for fellow southpaw Rick Monday. The move to Oakland seemed to suit Holtzman. From 1972 to 1975, he tossed at least 255 1/3 innings in each season with his ERA never finishing higher than 3.14. He was selected to the All-Star team in ’72 and ’73 and the A’s won the World Series in three straight years from ’72 to ’74, with Holtzman playing a big part in those titles. Over those three years and in 1975, he pitched in 13 postseason games with a 2.30 ERA in 70 1/3 innings. He even hit a home run in the ’74 series, with the DH not being implemented in the World Series until 1976.

Holtzman was traded to the Orioles prior to the 1976 season and then to the Yankees in the middle of that campaign. He stayed with the Yanks for a while as his playing time faded, getting traded back to the Cubs midway through the ’78 campaign. He made 23 appearances in 1979 with a 4.59 ERA in what eventually proved to be his last season.

His entire big league career resulted in 451 appearances with a 174-150 record and a 3.49 ERA. He pitched two no-hitters, made a couple of All-Star teams and won three rings. Per Hochman, Holtzman has the most wins for a Jewish pitcher in MLB history, with his 174 just ahead of the 165 wins of Sandy Koufax.

MLBTR joins the rest of the baseball community in sending our condolences to the Holtzman family, as well as his many friends and fans around the game.

NL West Notes: Padres, Yankees, Soto, Montgomery, Treinen, Bryant

By Mark Polishuk | April 14, 2024 at 4:38pm CDT

As one might expect, December’s blockbuster Juan Soto trade between the Padres and Yankees took on several different permutations before the two sides finally agreed on the seven players involved. The New York Post’s Jon Heyman reports that the Padres had interest in 17 different Yankees players before finally agreeing on a package of four pitchers (Michael King, Randy Vasquez, Jhony Brito, Drew Thorpe) and catcher Kyle Higashioka in exchange for Soto and Trent Grisham. Clarke Schmidt and Chase Hampton were two of the other pitchers known to be considered when reports began to surface about the trade negotiations, and Heyman adds that the Yankees agreeing to include Thorpe instead of Hampton was one of the turning points in getting the deal done.

Though San Diego ended up taking a pitching-heavy mix of players, Heyman writes that the Friars also asked about such noteworthy position-player prospects as Spencer Jones, Roderick Arias, and George Lombard Jr. Jones is a top-100 prospect and the 25th overall pick of the 2022 draft, and he has already drawn lots of trade buzz early in his pro career. The Yankees have thus far balked at moving Jones, even in past talks with the Brewers and White Sox about Corbin Burnes and Dylan Cease, respectively.

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