Expansion/Stadium Notes: Vancouver, Sacramento, Tampa
It is expected that Major League Baseball will look to expand from 30 to 32 teams at some point in the future. Several cities have been floated as possibilities over the years, including Nashville, Salt Lake City, Portland and Orlando. In recent weeks, Vancouver and Sacramento have thrown their hats into the ring. Gary Mason of The Globe and Mail provided many of the details on the Vancouver situation last month while Evan Drellich of The Athletic amd Maury Brown of Forbes reported on the Sacramento bid this week.
A group led by real estate developer Zack Ross is pushing a Vancouver proposal that seems to have the backing of mayor Ken Sim. City council recently approved a motion directing staff to start a procurement process for the unsolicited bid proposal.
Vancouver is already host to the Canadians, the Single-A affiliate of the Blue Jays. Per Mason’s piece, Ross was asked by that club to look for a spot to build a new stadium. Nat Bailey Stadium, where the Canadians play, was built in 1951. While undergoing that process, he had the idea of potentially pursuing a big league club. The group is targeting a 20-acre plot of city-owned land on the south shore of False Creek. He is now looking for investors. The architecture firm Populous, which designed the Las Vegas Sphere, has put together a stadium rendering.
The piece says that the owners of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers have expressed an interest, as has actor Ryan Reynolds. Reynolds was born and raised in Vancouver and is already the co-owner of Wrexham A.F.C., as documented in the TV show Welcome to Wrexham, which raised the profile of that club. Jed York, principal owner of the 49ers, is also a co-owner of the football clubs Leeds and Rangers. Mason also mentions the owners of the NHL’s Seattle Kraken as being interested.
It’s hard to tell exactly how much money would be needed for a new club, but it would be a total in the billions. As noted by Drellich, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred threw out a figure of $2.2 billion as a possible expansion fee back in 2021. That was before Steve Cohen bought the Mets for $2.4 billion and José E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones agreed to purchase the Padres for $3.9 billion. Presumably, the price has gone up since Manfred made those comments.
The viability of Vancouver as a market is somewhat in debate. As Mason points out, Major League Soccer is looking to move the Whitecaps from Vancouver to an American market, something that might not bode well for investor confidence in the city. Vancouver does support the NHL’s Canucks and got an expansion franchise in the NBA in 1995, but the Grizzlies moved to Memphis in 2001. The Lions have played in the Canadian Football League since 1954. The popularity of baseball in the area can be seen whenever the Blue Jays play in Seattle, as Canadian fans stream across the border for those contests.
Though Vancouver is nowhere near Toronto, most of Canada is considered Blue Jays territory. That doesn’t seem like it will be much of an issue. Per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet, Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro has said the Jays would support a team in Vancouver. “We are supportive of any effort to grow baseball in Canada, and that would include the opportunity to bring MLB to Vancouver,” Shapiro said.
Nicholson-Smith also quotes Manfred, from the 2025 postseason, broadly supporting the idea of a second team in Canada. “There’s no place you’re going to go where you’re not splitting the market,” Manfred said. “I’ve got probably four clubs that think Nashville’s part of their market. I’m not being funny. Literally, they do. So whenever you expand, you’re growing the business, you’ve got another revenue-generating point. You’re going to get a big payment on the way in and one of the things that happens is somebody’s market gets nicked a little bit. So this market, Canada, is no different. The advantages that Canada has is there are places you can go that are distant geographically from Toronto.” The Montreal Expos and the Jays co-existed in MLB for many years, starting with the creation of the Jays in 1977, but the Expos struggled to make that arrangement work. They were moved to Washington in 2005 and became the Nationals.
Geographically, Vancouver is closer to Seattle, but it’s possible the Mariners would be on board. As noted by Tim Booth of The Seattle Times, the Mariners would probably be more concerned about Portland having a team, since they would view that area as part of their current territory. Since Vancouver is seen more as Jays country, the M’s may not be too concerned about a team there, and might even welcome the travel impacts. Seattle is so isolated on the MLB map that they currently have to cover large distances for every road game. A team in Vancouver would lead to a few road games with modest travel, while not dramatically impacting the club’s territorial rights.
Turning to Sacramento, West Sacramento mayor Martha Guerrero announced last week that the city would be pursuing an MLB expansion club. A local real estate developer named Mark Friedman is leading the charge to sell the area as viable for a big league club more permanently. West Sacramento, a distinct city from Sacramento but part of the same metropolitan area, is the temporary home of the Athletics. Ideally, that would give the region proof of concept, but the A’s haven’t drawn especially large crowds to Sutter Health Park.
The group isn’t deterred by that, expressing belief that turnout would be greater if the area had its own team, as opposed to one just passing through. The group doesn’t have a lead investor but claims to already have $800MM in place in terms of land and private investment. They also claim to have access to $1 billion in public money. They are targeting a 50-acre segment of land in West Sacramento, an area that includes Sutter Health Park.
“We may elect to build a new stadium next to the existing stadium, and then tear that one down, or we may choose to tear down the existing stadium and build a new one on the same site,” Friedman said. “We just haven’t gotten to the design part of this, and are waiting until we bring the lead investor on, because that person will undoubtedly want to place their stamp on what the project looks like.” Brown notes that Sacramento natives Dusty Baker and Derrek Lee are involved in the pitch, though the degree of their involvement is not clear.
As a market, Sacramento supports the NBA’s Kings. They also had the Monarchs in the WNBA starting in 1997 but that team folded in 2009. The River Cats, the Triple-A affiliate of the Giants, are the more permanent host club for Sutter Health Park. They are sharing the stadium with the A’s for the 2025 to 2027 seasons while the A’s finish their stadium in Las Vegas. Sutter Health Park and the River Cats are owned by the Kings.
At this point, the possibility of expansion is still fairly theoretical. Manfred has consistently said that he would like the A’s and Rays to figure out long-term stadium plans before expansion could be on the table. The A’s are on track to be in Las Vegas for the start of the 2028 season but the Rays are still in a limbo zone.
The Rays have a lease at Tropicana Field through 2028 but don’t have anything in place beyond that. The new owners are in talks with the city of Tampa and Hillsborough County about a new stadium plan. Per Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times, the team and government officials have agreed to a memorandum of understanding about a plan to build a $2.3 billion domed stadium near Raymond James stadium, home of the NFL’s Buccaneers, but the MOU is nonbinding. Per the plan, the county would contribute $796MM and the city $180MM, with the Rays covering the rest as well as any overruns and maintenance. The team will also spend $8 to $10 billion on a mixed-use development to surround the stadium.
It’s unclear if they can get through the next hoops to proceed with the project. As Topkin notes, Tampa city council passed the nonbinding MOU 4-3 but councillor Bill Carlson plans to change his vote for the actual deal. He only voted “yes” on the nonbinding MOU to keep the discussion going for now. If something can’t be worked out in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area, it’s expected that a move to Orlando may be pursued.
Drellich notes that MLB would likely prefer that the expansion locations be split with one to the west and one to the east. If that proves to be true, then Vancouver and Sacramento could be competing with each other, as well as with Salt Lake City and Portland.
The current collective bargaining agreement between MLB and the MLBPA expires this coming December 1st and negotiations are ongoing. Expansion is something that would have to be collectively bargained between those two parties and it’s possible that it comes up in those talks. Manfred has said he would like to make progress on that front before his expected departure in January of 2029. On the other hand, there are bigger priorities in those talks and expansion may still be on the backburner until the Rays get a more concrete plan in place.
Photo courtesy of Dennis Lee, Imagn Images
Tigers Notes: Skubal, Verlander, Mize, Carpenter, Torres, Báez
Left-hander Tarik Skubal is on the injured list but is in the spotlight regardless. He is working his way back from surgery earlier this month to remove a loose body from his elbow. He has already begun throwing. On Tuesday, he threw 40 pitches over three innings in a sim game. He’ll throw another sim game on Monday, per Chris McCosky of Detroit News.
The Tigers are staying away from specific timelines with Skubal, which is understandable. A surgery for loose bodies in a pitcher’s elbow would normally require an absence of three months or so, if not longer. It’s possible Skubal can return quicker but he’s in uncharted waters. His procedure was performed with a device called a NanoNeedle, which is smaller than a traditional arthroscope. A smaller device means a smaller incision and, hopefully, less swelling, pain and recovery time.
It all sounds nice but Skubal is the first MLB player to have surgery with the device, so there’s no track record here. But with Skubal already throwing a few innings, perhaps it’s possible he’s back on a big league mound sooner than would normally be expected. Even returning in July would be quicker than most other surgeries for loose bodies but June doesn’t feel totally out of the question at this point, though it’s worth reiterating that no one really knows for sure how this will play out.
As he goes through the next stages of his recovery, he will be closely watched since the ramifications of his status are huge. It’s well known that Skubal is one of the best pitchers alive. He won the American League Cy Young in each of the past two seasons, with an ERA barely over 2.00 in each of those campaigns.
He is also an impending free agent and the Tigers are floundering without him. When the news of his surgery dropped on May 4th, the Tigers were 18-17 and tied with the Guardians for the lead in the American League Central. They have since gone into freefall and have a record of 22-34, just one game ahead of the basement-dwelling Angels in the A.L. standings. Despite that poor record, the Tigers are only five games out of a playoff spot, due to the general weakness of the A.L. playoff field.
Trade speculation has been swirling around Skubal for a while. A deal in the offseason never seemed especially likely with the Tigers in win-now mode. If they stay down in the standings, then the possibility will increase. The Detroit front office may be left with some difficult decisions in the coming months, depending how the team plays, how other A.L. clubs play and how Skubal’s health proceeds.
For now, they will be focused on getting him back on the mound. And it’s not just Skubal whose health is in focus, as there are a large number of injuries impacting the club. Their rotation is also without Justin Verlander, Jackson Jobe, Reese Olson and Ty Madden.
Like Skubal, Verlander is on the comeback trail. Verlander made just one start this year before left hip inflammation sent him to the IL. Yesterday, he threw 66 pitches over parts of four innings in a sim game, per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. His next step will be a rehab assignment as long as he doesn’t experience any kind of setback in the coming days.
Though it’s encouraging that Skubal and Verlander are making progress, the rotation might take a step back before either of those two can return. Casey Mize only lasted four innings yesterday, departing due to right groin tightness. That’s the same area that sent him to the IL earlier this year, as he spent about three weeks on the shelf from late April until the middle of May. It’s not yet clear if he’ll need to return to the IL this time around.
If the Tigers need to reach further into their depth, they have Sawyer Gipson-Long and Jake Miller on optional assignment. Drew Anderson has been pitching multiple innings out of the bullpen and could perhaps step into the rotation.
On the position player side, there are some guys making good progress. Outfielder Kerry Carpenter and second baseman Gleyber Torres are both going to start rehab assignments in the coming days, per Evan Woodbery of MLive Media Group.
Torres has been out for about three weeks due to an oblique strain. Since then, Detroit has mostly been deploying a platoon of Hao-Yu Lee and Zach McKinstry at the keystone, but Lee is hitting .194/.237/.306 and McKinstry .168/.232/.228. Torres had an odd .259/.389/.328 line before hitting the IL, with his walks way up but his power down, but that would be a clear upgrade over what the Tigers are getting from the position now.
Carpenter was striking out a lot but still hitting fairly well before a left AC joint sprain put him on the shelf earlier this month. Getting him back into the designated hitter/corner outfield mix should allow the Tigers to take at-bats away from Wenceel Pérez, who has a .163/.226/.260 line on the year, or Gage Workman and his .167/.167/.417 line.
One guy who apparently won’t be back in the mix soon is Javier Báez, who has already missed a month due to a sprained right ankle. Per Christian Romo of the Detroit Free Press, manager A.J. Hinch said this week that Báez’s ankle hasn’t been healing as hoped and he is headed out to see a specialist to try to find more answers.
Photo courtesy of Brett Davis, Imagn Images
Mariners Notes: Crawford, Rotation, Castillo
J.P. Crawford has been a key part of the Mariners’ lineup since joining the club in 2019. In over 3,800 plate appearances with Seattle, Crawford has batted .248/.341/.369 with a 107 wRC+ while providing serviceable defense at shortstop, including 9 Defensive Runs Saved as recently as 2024. That said, the recently extended Colt Emerson is Seattle’s shortstop of the future, and Crawford, in his final season of club control, has volunteered to play third base to accommodate Emerson.
Crawford’s willingness to play the hot corner will add to his value in free agency, and it may also help his chances of returning to the Mariners. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports that Crawford’s agent met with general manager Justin Hollander following Crawford’s asking to try third base, reiterating the latter’s desire to stay in Seattle. Hollander indicated a Crawford reunion is “absolutely” possible. “Obviously we’ll talk about it after the season and see how it goes. But he wants to be here and there’s definitely a place for him,” Hollander said of Crawford.
Those comments are not surprising for a general manager speaking of a long-tenured and well-liked player. That said, Crawford’s willingness to move positions and positive clubhouse reputation make the third base experiment worth exploring before he reaches free agency. Crawford’s work at short has been poor since the start of 2025, adding up to -9 DRS and -19 Outs Above Average. He has 174 2/3 innings of big league experience at third, all coming with the Phillies from 2017-18. To his credit, Crawford was worth 7 DRS and 3 OAA in that sample.
Of course, that’s a small sample from eight years ago. In contrast, a look at Crawford’s Statcast page gives reason for pessimism. His range is in the first percentile, while his arm strength 77.5 MPH arm strength in 2026 falls in just the 17th percentile. In terms of lateral moves, Crawford has been worth -10 OAA since the start of 2025 when moving toward third base. When moving toward first base, that improves slightly to -4 OAA. Playing third base would result in more lateral moves toward first, which could theoretically help to optimize Crawford’s defense as he plays deeper into his 30s.
Time will tell how Crawford fares defensively at the hot corner. In any case, a reunion might help the team’s offense and overall defensive flexibility. Crawford has put up a 114 wRC+ in 180 plate appearances this year. Despite a .204 batting average, he remains a productive hitter thanks to his ability to draw walks, doing so at least 11.3% of the time in every season since 2022. The M’s also have Brendan Donovan under club control through 2027. Donovan has exclusively played third this year but also has experience at second and in left. Retaining Crawford to play third would allow Donovan to be used as a super-utility player while ensuring plenty of at-bats for those two and Emerson.
Turning to the pitching staff, the Mariners’ rotation is in a bit of a crunch with Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryan Woo, Bryce Miller, and Emerson Hancock all performing well. Although Miller had a 5.68 ERA last year and missed the first month and a half of 2026 with an oblique strain, he posted a 3.52 ERA with a strong 17.6% strikeout to walk differential from 2023-24. Going forward, Ryan Divish and Adam Jude of the Seattle Times opine that the Mariners’ best path forward is Miller in the rotation and Luis Castillo in the bullpen full-time.
Castillo made his first career appearance as a reliever on Tuesday, allowing two earned runs in 2 1/3 innings against the White Sox while striking out four. He’s been a reliable starter since joining Seattle midway through the 2022 season, but unfortunately that hasn’t been the case in 2026. Castillo has a 6.34 ERA in 44 innings as a starter, and that’s not the result of one or two blow-ups. He’s allowed four earned runs or more on four separate occasions, and he’s only once completed six innings. Castillo has had some bad luck, as evidenced by a .346 opponents’ average on balls in play, but he’s also getting groundballs at a career-low 35.2% rate.
Castillo’s four-seamer had a run value of +11 last year, according to Statcast. While it hasn’t been as effective in 2026, the pitch is still getting 1.8 inches of horizontal break above league average. As a reliever, Castillo could take advantage of that movement by throwing the four-seamer more often, without having to face hitters multiple times. Then, if one of the starters goes down with an injury, Castillo could slot back into the rotation and revert to his old pitch mix.
Photo courtesy of Jay Biggerstaff, Imagn Images
Blue Jays Notes: Scherzer, Bieber, Rotation Depth
41-year-old Max Scherzer has been on the 15-day injured list for about a month with a combination of right forearm tendinitis and left ankle inflammation. The five starts he made for the Blue Jays before landing on the IL were a mixed bag. Scherzer allowed one earned run in six innings in his season debut on March 31st, then two earned runs in another six innings on April 18th. However, Scherzer failed to complete three innings in his other three starts, be it due to injury or ineffectiveness.
Despite his lackluster results this year, Scherzer will be a key piece of rotation depth when he returns from the IL. Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet reports that Scherzer threw around 30 pitches in a bullpen session yesterday. The Jays are considering another bullpen or facing live hitters as the next step, followed by a rehab assignment. Per the team’s injury tracker at MLB.com, Scherzer is in line to return in early- to mid-June. A return on the later side might be realistic if the veteran needs three or four rehab starts.
The depleted state of Toronto’s rotation depth is well-known at this point. Shane Bieber has been on the IL since late March with right elbow inflammation. Cody Ponce‘s return stateside lasted one start before an ACL sprain put him out until next year. More recently, Eric Lauer was traded to the Dodgers and José Berríos underwent Tommy John surgery, putting him out until midway through next year. The fact that Toronto is giving starts to Patrick Corbin, who had a 5.47 ERA from 2021-25, speaks to the Blue Jays’ need for rotation depth.
None of that takes away from the rotation’s performance overall. The group’s 3.86 ERA is ninth-best in the Majors, while their 4.9 fWAR ranks sixth-best. Dylan Cease (2.0 fWAR) and Kevin Gausman (1.8) are in the Top 10 of qualified starters. Trey Yesavage has a 1.07 ERA in five starts since returning from injury and has not yet allowed a home run. Rather, it’s the back of the rotation that needs reinforcement.
Spencer Miles was a Rule 5 pick this offseason. While he has a 2.17 ERA in 14 appearances, there’s inherent risk in anybody with such little minor league experience (14 2/3 innings from 2022-24) and two major injuries (a back injury and Tommy John surgery). Miles has also made just one start in the Majors and has maxed out at 4 1/3 innings and 63 pitches in any appearance.
As for Corbin, he has a 3.86 ERA in nine starts including today. However, there’s little reason to believe that will be sustained. Corbin has been a below-average pitcher by ERA- in every season since 2020. Excluding his little-used slow curveball, his velocity is down across the board compared to 2025. Meanwhile, opponents’ average exit velocity against Corbin has held constant, and he’s had a 4.2% uptick in hard contact rate and a 6.37 expected ERA thus far.
Scherzer comes with age and injury risks, though it’s hard to argue that someone with his track record and postseason experience won’t at least be a viable depth starter. Bieber is a bit further off from returning, but he’s perhaps even more valuable to the Jays than Scherzer. Bieber had a 3.57 ERA in 40 1/3 innings last year after returning from Tommy John surgery. Although he allowed more home runs than usual, Bieber showed his signature control by walking just 4.4% of hitters. He also induced groundballs at an above-average 48.2% rate, slightly above his career number of 46.4%.
According to a separate post from Zwelling, Bieber will begin a rehab assignment on Monday. He’ll aim for two innings in the Complex League, then progress to three innings in his next outing. Toronto’s injury report has Bieber expected back in late June, which suggests he’s in for a longer rehab assignment than Scherzer. That could mean Bieber only pitches half a season in the Majors, but that would still be Bieber’s largest sample size since 2023, when he made 21 starts for the Guardians.
If everyone were healthy, Cease, Yesavage, and Gausman would occupy the first three rotation spots. They could be followed by Bieber and Scherzer, with Miles continuing as a fireman out of the ‘pen and Corbin as a long reliever. Further injuries could change that picture, of course, but the return of the Jays’ depth starters will go a long way to ensuring they stay in the playoff hunt as the season goes on.
Photo courtesy of Kevin Sousa, Imagn Images
Red Sox Notes: Mayer, Narváez, Bello
Red Sox infielder Marcelo Mayer is lobbying for some shortstop time, per Tim Healey of The Boston Globe. Whether or not he gets the chance seemingly depends on how much time Trevor Story is going to miss.
Story has been battling a sports hernia this year and landed on the injured list in recent days. If he undergoes surgery, he’ll miss two months or so, though it’s still not a guarantee that he will go under the knife.
Mayer came up as a shortstop in the minors and also dabbled at second and third base. He has only played the keystone this year and hasn’t even been working out at short, though in the wake of Story’s injury, he plans to start practicing there. He has told manager Chad Tracy that he would like to help the team by moving across the bag. The skipper seems open to it if Story is going to be out a while, though he leans toward keeping Mayer at second if Story is slated for a quicker return.
It’s an understandable position for Tracy. Mayer only played 84 innings at second base in the minors and is still getting accustomed to the position. He is also still young at 23 years old and hasn’t fully clicked as a major league hitter yet, sporting a career line of .223/.278/.359. Mayer was once one of the club’s top prospects and the Sox presumably still hope for him to be a big part of the future, as he is under control for five more seasons after this one. There’s some logic in keeping him with his current plan and not adding a new assignment to his to-do list for just a brief interlude.
Since Story has been sidelined, the Sox have primarily been using Andruw Monasterio at short. Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Nick Sogard could also chip in at the position if Mayer is going to be staying at the keystone.
There’s also a situation to watch behind the plate, as Healey notes Carlos Narváez is dealing with an injury to the middle finger on his right hand. Though Narváez says the finger went “a little sideways,” X-rays were negative and he may avoid the injured list. The injury first popped up after a slide and then was aggravated when Narváez hit a ball off the end of his bat.
Most clubs have two catchers on the roster, so it would be a bit risky to proceed with one of them unavailable due to a day-to-day injury. However, the Sox currently have three backstops on the roster, with Mickey Gasper and Connor Wong also present. Gasper has been getting some at-bats as the designated hitter lately and perhaps that would become less likely if Narváez is unavailable. If Boston wants Gasper’s bat in the lineup, they could put him behind the plate while Narváez is hurt, perhaps opening more DH time for Masataka Yoshida.
Turning to the rotation, Chris Cotillo of MassLive suggests that Brayan Bello may get squeezed out of the rotation soon. The righty is having an awful season, with a 7.16 earned run average through 44 innings. The Sox used an opener in front of him for his first two appearances in May, which went well. He only allowed one run in each, going seven innings in the first outing and then 6 1/3 the second time. He got used as a traditional starter again yesterday but allowed seven earned runs in five innings.
Cotillo notes that Garrett Crochet is expected to come off the injured list around the end of this month, which could lead to Bello losing his spot since his rotation mates are faring much better than him. Sonny Gray, Ranger Suárez, Connelly Early and Payton Tolle all have ERAs of 3.21 or lower this year.
Though he signed a multi-year extension with the Sox, Bello does have options and could be sent to the minors if the Sox decide that’s what’s best for him and the team. Pitching from the bullpen could be another possibility, though the club may want to think about the long term. Bello is signed through 2029 with a club option for 2030. Assuming the hope is that he will still be a part of the rotation for years to come, keeping him stretched out may be preferable. On the other hand, he hasn’t been optioned to the minors since April of 2023 and clubs are sometimes reluctant to send guys down after they have seemingly become established as big leaguers.
Photo courtesy of Dan Hamilton, Imagn Images
AL West Notes: D’Arnaud, Smith, Clarke
Plantar fasciitis in his right foot sent Travis d’Arnaud to the Angels‘ 10-day injured list on May 7, and it will be some time yet before the catcher is back on the field. D’Arnaud is currently using a scooter to get around, and he told MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger that it will be at least two weeks before he can put any weight on his right foot. Between this recovery time, a ramp-up of baseball activities and a minor league rehab assignment, a mid-June return looks like the absolute best-case scenario for d’Arnaud’s return.
After signing a two-year, $12MM deal with Los Angeles in November 2024, d’Arnaud struggled to a .197/.255/.343 slash line over 231 plate appearances in the first year of the contract. He had a modest .614 OPS over his first 40 PA this season, so between the lack of production and now this extended IL stint, d’Arnaud’s time in Anaheim is looking like a bust for all sides. D’Arnaud’s absence is just one of many issues plaguing the woeful Angels, whose 16-30 record is the worst in the majors.
More from the AL West…
- Josh Smith will spent 7-10 days in hospital being treated for viral meningitis, the Rangers announced in a press release on Friday. As per the release, “the club will determine an appropriate return to play program for Smith once he is able to resume physical activity.” Smith has been on the 10-day injured list since May 4 due to a right glute strain, since he has since been set back by wrist soreness and now this illness. These health concerns add to what has already been a tough year on the field for Smith, as he was hitting only .217/.324/.239 in his first 108 plate appearances.
- Denzel Clarke began a minor league rehab assignment yesterday, with MLB.com’s Martin Gallegos writing that Clarke will play two games at A-level Stockton before likely heading onto the Athletics‘ Triple-A affiliate. Clarke hasn’t played since April 20 due to a bone bruise in his right foot, so it’ll be a full month on the shelf for the outfielders even though he seems to be making good progress. Already one of baseball’s top defensive center fielders in just his second MLB campaign, Clarke’s bat is a long ways behind his glove, as he has hit just .214/.262/.323 over 219 career PA with the Athletics.
Astros Notes: Altuve, Brown, Hader
Astros second baseman Jose Altuve left tonight’s game against the Rangers with an apparent left side injury. Facing Cal Quantrill in the bottom of the eighth inning, Altuve grounded a ball to the left side but did not run to first, instead grabbing his left side and walking toward the dugout. The result was an easy double play. Altuve was later seen walking out of the dugout with the team’s trainer. Nick Allen replaced him at the keystone in the ninth inning.
Manager Joe Espada told Brian McTaggart of MLB.com and others that Altuve will undergo imaging tomorrow. It’s too early to say whether he’ll need time on the injured list, though it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a cautionary IL placement given Altuve’s age. He is now 36 and in his 16th season in the Majors. Altuve previously went on the IL in August 2023 with left oblique discomfort, missing three weeks. His two other left side-related IL placements were in April 2022 and May 2019. Both were for left hamstring strains.
Although he’s still a veteran leader for the Astros, Altuve is no longer the hitter he was at his peak. By wRC+, he was at least 24% better than the average hitter in every season from 2014-24, with the exception of the COVID-shortened 2020 season. Altuve slipped to a 113 wRC+ in 2025, which was still above average, just no longer All Star-worthy. The early returns in 2026 have been worse, with Altuve’s .245/.328/.365 line now being 3% below average.
That hardly makes him a bad player, but it does make him one of the weaker hitters in an otherwise strong offense. Yordan Alvarez is dominating with 14 home runs and a 190 wRC+. Christian Walker is having a resurgence after a poor introduction to Houston in 2025. Isaac Paredes is hitting well, and so was Carlos Correa before he underwent season-ending ankle surgery. In contrast, Altuve is the sole veteran of the group who is below league average at the plate.
Whether or not he needs to miss time, a healthy and productive Altuve will be crucial to the team’s performance this year. The Astros are at 19-28 including tonight’s victory, which leaves them in fourth place in the NL West. The biggest culprit for their poor start has been a slew of pitching injuries, with ace Hunter Brown, Christian Javier, and closer Josh Hader all currently on the shelf. Offseason signee Tatsuya Imai also missed time with right arm fatigue, and while he’s healthy now, he has a 9.24 ERA in four starts.
Returning to respectability will require the offense to remain a strength and the pitchers’ health and performance to improve dramatically. Fortunately, the starting rotation may be closer to getting a key reinforcement. Espada said that Brown is set to throw a final live batting practice on Tuesday (link via McTaggart). Assuming no issues there, he will begin a rehab assignment soon after.
Brown made two starts before landing on the IL on April 5th with a right shoulder strain. He was projected for a 5-7 week rehab period as of April 19th, and he was formally transferred to the 60-day IL on May 9th. That makes Brown eligible to return in early June, perhaps during the June 5-7 home series against the Athletics. He’d be in line for at least three rehab starts if Houston wants to bring him back as soon as possible, though they do have up to 30 days for Brown’s rehab assignment. Whatever the case, the Astros’ rotation will massively benefit from Brown’s return if he continues his performance from last year, when he had a 2.43 ERA and finished third in AL Cy Young voting.
As for Hader, he will need five more rehab appearances according to McTaggart. Hader started the year on the IL with left biceps tendinitis, transferring to the 60-day IL in mid-April. In 52 2/3 innings last year, he was his usual excellent self. Hader posted a 2.05 ERA and a 29.1% strikeout to walk differential that ranked fifth among qualified relievers. As with Brown, Hader is expected to return in early June according to the team’s injury report on MLB.com. That will go a long way toward boosting the Astros’ bullpen, whose 5.81 ERA is dead last in the Majors.
Photo courtesy of Erik Williams, Imagn Images
AL Injury Notes: O’Hoppe, Raleigh, Madden
Angels catcher Logan O’Hoppe left last night’s game against the Dodgers with left wrist irritation, according to a team announcement. O’Hoppe sustained the injury in the top of the fourth inning on a pitch in the dirt from starter Jack Kochanowicz. The pitch ricocheted off O’Hoppe’s left wrist, and he was visited by trainers after the play. O’Hoppe remained in the game through the fifth inning before being replaced by Sebastián Rivero behind the plate.
O’Hoppe just returned tonight from a nearly three week absence due to a left wrist fracture. According to manager Kurt Suzuki (via Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com), O’Hoppe was removed from the game as a precaution and did not require post-game X-rays. That bodes well for his wrist health, though it wouldn’t be unreasonable for the Angels to hold O’Hoppe out of the lineup tomorrow anyway. The 26-year-old is LA’s clear top choice behind the plate, with Travis d’Arnaud (currently on the injured list) as his usual backup. Meanwhile, Rivero has a 15 wRC+ in 134 scattered plate appearances from 2021-26, so he would be unplayable as a starter if O’Hoppe went on the IL again.
For his part, O’Hoppe says his left wrist is “just uncomfortable” (link via Michael Huntley of the Orange County Register). “It’s uncomfortable walking around. It’s uncomfortable doing anything but we’ll treat it and keep going,” O’Hoppe said after the game. That may give cause for optimism among Angels fans, though the club will continue to monitor the situation in the coming days.
A couple other injury notes from the Junior Circuit:
- Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh is being shut down for a week, according to Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. He will be reevaluated at that point. Divish adds that Raleigh’s most recent MRI came back better than his previous one. Raleigh went on the 10-day injured list on May 14th with a right oblique strain, which he admitted he’d been playing through for two weeks. On its own, the oblique strain puts Raleigh out for more than the minimum stint, and that’s even more certain now that he’s been shut down. Raleigh was out to an uncharacteristically poor start at the plate, with a line of 161/.243/.317 (63 wRC+) through his first 181 plate appearances. That’s a far cry from his 60-home run, 161 wRC+ performance last year, though the oblique injury explains at least some of the downturn. With a longer-than-minimum absence in store for Raleigh, Mitch Garver and Jhonny Pereda will continue to split time behind the plate for Seattle.
- Tigers right-hander Ty Madden was struck by a comebacker in the second inning of yesterday’s 3-2 victory against the Blue Jays. Yohendrick Piñango lined a 2-2 pitch off Madden’s forearm, which Madden fielded but did not attempt to throw to first. Madden, who was intended to serve as a bulk reliever, left the game without attempting a warm-up pitch. The 26-year-old has effectively been covering the rotation spot of Casey Mize, who is currently on the injured list with an adductor strain but is expected to be activated for Sunday’s start, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. Madden missed all of last year with a right shoulder strain and was making just his third appearance in the Majors since returning from that injury. Per Jason Beck of MLB.com, initial tests on Madden revealed no fracture, but he’ll undergo further evaluation regardless. If he needs to miss time, it could be a simple swap of Madden going on the IL and Mize being activated. [UPDATE: the Tigers activated Mize from the IL and optioned Brenan Hanifee to Triple-A in the corresponding move, so Madden remains on the active roster for now.]
Photo courtesy of William Liang, Imagn Images
Blue Jays Notes: Berríos, Kirk, Barger
Among the many Blue Jays starters currently on the injured list, José Berríos‘ health situation might be the most perplexing at the moment. Berríos suffered a stress fracture in his throwing elbow during intake physicals for the World Baseball Classic, and that injury flared up again during a minor league rehab stint. Although an update was expected yesterday on Berríos’ condition, there was no clear answer on the current severity of the stress fracture.
If anything, the picture is even murkier now. Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet relays comments from manager John Schneider, who says that “surgery is on the table” for Berríos. Schneider doesn’t believe there is any ligament damage, but there may be “loose bodies” in Berríos’ elbow in addition to the stress fracture, according to Keegan Matheson of MLB.com. The latter injury comes with a range of outcomes for recovery. The Braves’ Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep both underwent surgery to remove loose bodies in the spring. Schwellenbach is on the 60-day injured list and hasn’t thrown yet, while Waldrep avoided the 60-day IL. In the last month, Tarik Skubal and Edwin Díaz have also undergone surgery for loose bodies, and they’re expected to miss two to three months.
It’s difficult to predict a timeline for Berríos from that range of outcomes. Given his long layoff and the lingering stress fracture, the Jays will understandably proceed with caution. At the moment, that leaves a four-man rotation of Dylan Cease, Trey Yesavage, Kevin Gausman, and Patrick Corbin. That obviously won’t hold up long-term, and it’s further complicated by the Jays’ hectic schedule in the next two weeks. The team does not have an off day until June 1st, with 17 games between now and then, including tonight. Schneider has said the club will use a spot starter tomorrow, leaving three additional turns through the rotation that need to be covered by a spot starter or bullpen games.
As hectic as their rotation seems, the Jays’ offense got some positive injury updates today. Alejandro Kirk is progressing in his rehab and has responded well to catching, per Nicholson-Smith. According to MLB.com’s injury report, Kirk will catch injured starter Shane Bieber‘s next bullpen session. That bodes well for the health of Kirk’s left thumb, which fractured on April 3rd on a foul tip and necessitated surgery a few days later. At the time, he was projected for a six-week recovery timeline. It remains to be seen how Kirk will fare against live pitching, but for now, the signs point to him being back within or not too far beyond that time frame.
In Kirk’s absence, Toronto’s offense has been a bottom 10 unit in the Majors. Entering play today, the team ranks 23rd with a 93 wRC+. Kazuma Okamoto and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. are hitting 15-20% better than average by wRC+. However, Andrés Giménez, Davis Schneider, and George Springer are all hitting at least 11% below average. Meanwhile, Kirk has a 110 career wRC+ and an 11.5% career strikeout rate. His eventual return will add a tough out to the lineup and lengthen the group overall. If the Blue Jays elect to keep Brandon Valenzuela on as Kirk’s backup catcher, that could also benefit the offense by limiting playing time for the weak-hitting Tyler Heineman.
Nicholson-Smith also provides an update on Addison Barger. Schneider feels that Barger is “doing better” and will ideally be hitting and throwing by next week. If all goes well, Barger could be back “pretty soon” after that. This current IL placement is Barger’s second of the year, as he previously missed a month due to an ankle sprain. He played one game before injuring his elbow on May 11th and landing back on the IL.
The Jays may understandably be concerned after that succession of injuries, though it’s perhaps a good sign that Barger can be back pretty soon after hitting and throwing drills. Barger has only had 28 plate appearances this year, but he had a 107 wRC+ in 502 plate appearances last year. His underlying metrics suggest that performance is sustainable. Barger’s average exit velocity and hard-hit rate were in the 86th and 91st percentiles, respectively. Assuming he stays healthy this time, Barger would add depth to Toronto’s lineup, albeit not as impactfully as Kirk.
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Angels Notes: Pomeranz, Johnson, Peraza, Grissom
The Angels placed left-hander Drew Pomeranz on the 15-day injured list today due to left elbow inflammation. Right-hander Ryan Johnson was reinstated from the IL in a corresponding move.
The Halos haven’t provided many details about the injury to Pomeranz, but it’s notable in light of his history. Ongoing issues with his throwing arm, including multiple surgeries, lead to Pomeranz not pitching in the majors from 2022 to 2024. He had a bounceback season in 2025, posting a 2.17 earned run average over 49 2/3 innings with the Cubs.
That prompted the Halos to sign Pomeranz to a one-year, $4MM deal for the 2026 season. That gambit hasn’t worked out so far, as the 37-year-old has a 7.20 ERA through 15 innings. His 16.7% strikeout rate and 11.4% walk rate are both significantly worse than last year, when he struck out 28.1% of opponents and only walked 7.4%.
For now, Johnson will apparently take his spot in the bullpen. The Halos have handled Johnson very strangely thus far in his career. He was drafted in the summer of 2024, 74th overall, but didn’t pitch in the minors that year. He then cracked the club’s big league roster to open the 2025 season, despite not having any professional experience. He pitched poorly out of the bullpen for a few weeks before being optioned all the way down to High-A. He finished the year pitching well at that level as a starter.
Here in 2026, he made the big league rotation out of camp but then hit the IL due to a virus after just one start. He recently began a rehab assignment, tossing 3 1/3 innings on May 3rd, followed by five innings on May 8th.
It appears that Johnson is now available out of the big league bullpen. “I see him as a guy that can do both,” manager Kurt Suzuki said to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. “I think if we need him as a starter, we can keep him as a starter. If we need him in the bullpen, he can do that. I think the luxury of having RJ is he can do everything.”
From the outside, it appears to be a bizarrely unconventional approach, something that has cropped up with other pitchers to lesser degrees. Alek Manoah began the season on the IL due to a finger issue. He made one official rehab appearances of 4 1/3 innings at the beginning of May. He was quickly added to the big league roster. His first appearance for the Halos was a single-inning relief outing. The next time out, he tossed five innings of long relief. Grayson Rodriguez, who began the season on the IL due to shoulder inflammation, has made two rehab appearances recently. The first was five innings and the second 4 2/3. He may be quickly reinstated at the big league level for his next appearance.
Those all feel like fairly hasty rehab assignments and activations. If a club were breaking convention and had a strong reputation for being on the cutting edge of analytics, that would be intriguing. The Angels have the opposite reputation, so it feels like they’re just winging things. Considering Manoah and Rodriguez both have extensive injury histories, that doesn’t seem like a prudent approach. The Halos haven’t been good for a while and currently have the worst record in baseball at 16-28, so perhaps they are trying to do anything they can to stop the bleeding.
Yusei Kikuchi is currently on the injured list and will be shut down for a few more weeks. José Soriano is firmly entrenched at the front of the rotation. Reid Detmers, Jack Kochanowicz and Walbert Ureña should have spots behind Soriano for now. Perhaps some combination of Manoah, Rodriguez and Johnson will cover the final spot.
Turning to the position player group, a separate column from Fletcher notes that Vaughn Grissom has been getting some work in left field, with Oswald Peraza to soon join him. Both infielders are hitting well while outfielder Josh Lowe has been struggling. Lowe has a .160/.211/.283 line on the season so far. Some of that is due to a .188 batting average on balls in play but his 5.2% walk rate and 29.6% strikeout rate are also below league average and his own career stats.
Grissom is currently sporting a .264/.353/.431 line while Peraza has a .279/.344/.477 slash. The Angels have Zach Neto at shortstop most days, with Yoán Moncada at third and Nolan Schanuel at first. That leaves Grissom and Peraza battling for playing time at second base, in addition to occasionally spelling the other infielders. Neither player has any professional outfield experience, apart from some brief winter ball action for Grissom. If one or both of them can take to left field, it could provide Suzuki some extra flexibility in setting his ideal lineup.
Photo courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski, Imagn Images