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Marlins Place Xavier Edwards On 10-Day Injured List

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The Marlins announced that shortstop Xavier Edwards has been placed on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to May 15) due to a left mid-back strain.  Infielder Otto Lopez will take Edwards’ spot on the active roster, as Lopez was reinstated from his own IL stint after missing just two weeks due to an ankle sprain.  Lopez and Javier Sanoja figure to handle shortstop duties while Edwards is sidelined.

As indicated by the retroactive placement, Edwards has missed Miami’s last couple of games with his bad back.  Manager Clayton McCullough said yesterday that imaging didn’t reveal anything structurally wrong and that Edwards was going to test things out with some baseball activities, but clearly the infielder wasn’t yet good enough to return to action.  It might be that the team decided to simply give Edwards the full 10 days to rest and recover, rather than bring him back in any kind of rushed fashion.

Edwards was a well-regarded prospect during his time in the Padres’ and Rays’ farm systems, but he didn’t make his MLB debut until he joined the Marlins in 2023.  He got a good run of regular shortstop playing time in 2024 and responded by hitting .328/.397/.423 over 303 plate appearances and stealing 31 bases (in 35 attempts), but Edwards’ numbers have dipped to a .263/.337/.292 slash line in 194 PA this year.  The dropoff in slugging percentage is eye-opening, yet since Edwards has never been a big power hitter, the reduced average and OBP may be bigger obstacles to his game.

Dodgers Place Kirby Yates On 15-Day IL, Select Lou Trivino

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2:19PM: Yates has been officially placed on the 15-day IL with a right hamstring strain, and the Dodgers also announced Trivino’s selection.

12:21PM: The Dodgers will select Lou Trivino’s contract when Yates is placed on the 15-day IL, the Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya reports.  Trivino posted a 5.84 ERA over 12 1/3 innings with the Giants before he was designated for assignment, and Trivino subsequently elected free agency after clearing waivers.  Los Angeles signed Trivino to a minor league contract last week, and he’ll head to the Dodgers’ roster on the heel of just one appearance (and one scoreless inning) with Triple-A Oklahoma City.

8:05AM: Dodgers right-hander Kirby Yates was pulled from Saturday’s game due to what was initially described by the team as right hamstring tightness, and later specified as a probable Grade 1 hamstring strain by manager Dave Roberts.  “I don’t see how it’s not an IL [situation],” Roberts told Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register and other reporters in postgame interviews, though Yates will get an MRI today to evaluate the severity of the injury.

It was a rough night all around for Yates, as the reliever was charged with three runs over a third of an inning pitched and was credited as the losing pitcher in the Dodgers’ 11-9 loss to the Angels.  Yates retired just one of five batters faced, and after throwing a fourth ball and walking Jo Adell, Yates grabbed at his right hamstring and was in obvious discomfort on the mound.

That single tough outing boosted Yates’ ERA to 4.34 over 18 2/3 innings this season, but a .385 BABIP has contributed heavily to that inflated ERA.  With a 1.90 SIERA, .282 xwOBA (which far below his .358 wOBA), and a 38.8% strikeout rate that is among the best in baseball, Yates has been perhaps more effective in 2025 than even during his 2024 comeback season with the Rangers, even if the bottom-line numbers have yet to reflect his performance.

Unfortunately, Yates’ hard luck looks to now continue with a trip to the Dodgers’ ever-crowded 15-day injured list.  Yates would be the 14th pitcher on the Los Angeles IL, and that number expands to 15 if you count Shohei Ohtani’s continued recovery from UCL surgery.  In terms of high-leverage relievers, Yates would join Evan Phillips, Michael Kopech, and Blake Treinen on the sidelines, further thinning out the Dodgers’ list of late-game options.

Assuming Yates indeed goes on the 15-day IL today, Los Angeles will probably have to call up a reliever from Triple-A just to bring a fresh arm into the pen, since five relievers were used in Saturday’s game.  While navigating multiple pitching injuries has become routine for the Dodgers in recent years, one wonders if the sheer attrition will catch up to the team at some point, particularly in a 2025 season that sees L.A. battling with three competitive foes (the Padres, Giants, and Diamondbacks) in the NL West alone.

Dodgers Release Chris Taylor

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The Dodgers announced that outfielder Chris Taylor has been released, in order to open up roster space for Tommy Edman’s activation from the 10-day injured list.  Edman returns after missing a little more than two weeks due to ankle inflammation, but the bigger headline is the end of Taylor’s nine-year run in Dodger Blue.

The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya initially reported that Taylor had been designated for assignment, and Ardaya and several other members of the Dodgers beat noted that Taylor didn’t have a locker in the team’s clubhouse today, but the transaction was a straight release, rather than what might’ve been a token stay for Taylor in DFA limbo.  Since obviously no team was going to claim Taylor off waivers and take on the remainder of his salary, the Dodgers instead chose to just cut ties more promptly.

Taylor came to the Dodgers back in June 2016, as the return in an under-the-radar trade that sent Zach Lee to the Mariners.  Taylor was a useful utility infield piece for L.A. over the remainder of that season, but the full breakout didn’t come until the next season, when Taylor suddenly hit .288/.354/.496 with 21 homers over 568 regular-season plate appearances, and then won NLCS MVP honors to help the Dodgers reach the World Series.  He went onto deliver solidly above-average numbers through the 2021 season, and then re-signed with the team on a four-year, $60MM free agent deal that also includes a $12MM club option (and $4MM buyout) for 2026.

Things weren’t the same after that big long-term deal was inked.  Taylor hit .265/.343/.461 over 2382 PA from 2017-21, but that production plummeted to a .222/.307/.369 slash line over 1119 PA since Opening Day 2022.  A decrease in playing time naturally followed, and by this season, Taylor had become a sparingly used bench piece on the star-studded Los Angeles roster, appearing in 28 games but with only 35 trips to the plate.

While his struggles over the last few seasons have marred the end of his Dodgers tenure, Taylor (who turns 35 in August) has unquestionably been a big figure in the team’s success over the last decade.  Taylor became something of a poster child for the Dodgers’ ability for getting great results out of previously unheralded players, and his ability to play all over the diamond made him a valuable utility option.  Taylor has made at least 174 MLB appearances as a shortstop, second baseman, left fielder, and center fielder, plus he has also logged plenty of time in right field and at third base.  His NLCS MVP award and two World Series rings were the highlights of a postseason career that saw Taylor bat .247/.351/.441 over 266 playoff plate appearances.

There is some irony that Taylor’s release came at the same time as Edman’s return from the IL, as Edman has essentially taken over Taylor’s old role as a multi-position threat.  With Enrique Hernandez, Miguel Rojas, and the newly-signed Hyeseong Kim now all getting more playing time or taking up room on the bench, the Dodgers decided it was time to move on from Taylor entirely.

Los Angeles owes Taylor the remainder of his $13MM salary for 2025 (roughly $9.55MM still to go), as well as the $4MM buyout of his 2026 option.  If another team signs Taylor, that club will owe him only the prorated MLB minimum salary for any time he spends on their active roster.  That sum will be subtracted from the remainder of the money the Dodgers owe to Taylor.

Angels Announce Three Roster Moves

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The Angels announced three moves this afternoon, including Jose Fermin’s placement (retroactive to May 15) on the 15-day injured list due to an impingement in his right elbow.  Los Angeles selected Hunter Strickland’s contract from Triple-A, and also designated infielder Ryan Noda for assignment to open up a spot on the 40-man roster.

Noda, 29, ends his tenure with the Angels without making an appearance with the big league club. The infielder was plucked out of the Dodgers organization by the Athletics in the Rule 5 draft prior to the 2023 season. Noda made that pick look like a brilliant move during his first season in Oakland, hitting .229/.364/.406 with 16 homers, 22 doubles, and a 122 wRC+ while serving as the A’s primary first baseman that year. With that being said, a 34.3% strikeout rate raised real long-term concerns even as he was producing at an above-average clip.

Given that, it was hardly a surprise when he struggled badly in his sophomore season as a major leaguer. Noda’s age-28 campaign saw him hit just .137/.255/.211 (44 wRC+) in 111 trips to the plate as he spent most of the season at Triple-A. Following the 2024 season, the A’s placed him on waivers and he found himself claimed by the Angels off waivers. With that being said, Noda did not make the club out of Spring Training and has failed to hit even at the Triple-A level with a .148/.364/.270 slash line in 38 games for the club’s affiliate. That was evidently enough for the Angels to feel comfortable pulling the plug on Noda, and they’ll now have one week to either work out a trade involving the infielder or try to pass him through waivers.

Noda’s departure creates room on the roster for Strickland, a veteran of ten MLB seasons already who made his big league debut with the Giants all the way back in 2014. Strickland was a solid late-inning relief arm early in his career with San Francisco, pitching to a 2.91 ERA and 3.40 FIP while racking up 19 saves in parts of five seasons. Things have been up and down in the years since then, however, with a 4.18 ERA and 4.73 FIP from 2019 to 2022 including a 2021 season where he pitched to a strong 2.61 ERA despite bouncing between three different teams over the course of the season. Last year, Strickland was a largely adequate middle reliever for the Angels with a 3.31 ERA in 73 1/3 innings of work despite a 4.45 FIP. He signed with the Rangers organization on a minor league deal over the winter but returned to the Angels earlier this month and will now get a shot in the club’s bullpen once again in 2025. In doing so, he’ll replace Fermin, a 23-year-old rookie with 7 2/3 innings of 5.87 ERA ball to his name in the majors so far.

Braves Claim Kevin Herget

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The Braves announced that right-hander Kevin Herget has been claimed off waivers from the Mets and been assigned to Triple-A Gwinnett.  The Mets designated Herget for assignment on Thursday.

Herget came to New York on another waiver claim off the Brewers’ roster back in November, and his time with the Amazins ended up consisting of two innings in the Mets’ 8-3 win over the Diamondbacks on April 29.  Herget was called up to the active roster that same day and optioned back to Triple-A the following day.  His work at Triple-A Syracuse has seen Herget post a 2.87 ERA in 15 2/3 relief innings, but with some uninspiring peripheral numbers.

While he has now appeared in each of the last four MLB seasons, Herget hasn’t gotten much of an extended look, as his big league resume consists of 44 2/3 total innings of 4.63 ERA ball across 25 games with four different teams.  A veteran of 14 pro seasons that includes a long stint in the Cardinals organization and a couple of stops in independent ball, Herget offers plenty of experience and some pretty decent numbers as a minor leaguer.

Atlanta becomes the latest team to get a look at the 34-year-old, and Herget becomes the latest in a very long line of veteran relievers the Braves have auditioned throughout Spring Training and into the season.  The revolving door hasn’t brought much consistency to a bullpen that still around the middle of the pack in overall production, yet the Braves have had some luck in the past at finding hidden gems amongst less-heralded pitchers.

Astros Claim Jason Alexander From Athletics

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The Athletics announced that right-hander Jason Alexander has been claimed off waivers by the Astros.  Alexander was designated for assignment by the West Sacramento club earlier this week.

Signed to a minor league deal back in November, Alexander had that contract selected to the A’s roster in April, and he struggled to an 18.00 ERA over four appearances and six innings with the team.  The grim results included 2 1/3 innings of nine-run ball in the Athletics’ 19-2 loss to the Dodgers on Thursday, and Alexander was sent to DFA limbo the next day.

This brief run with the A’s marked Alexander’s first MLB action since his 2022 rookie season, when he had a 5.40 ERA across 71 2/3 innings (starting 11 of 18 games) with the Brewers.  A shoulder injury kept him shelved for a good chunk of the 2023 season, and he spent the 2024 campaign in Boston’s minor league system.

Despite the lack of production at the big league level, Alexander has some decent numbers in the minors, including a 1.27 ERA in 21 2/3 innings with Triple-A Las Vegas this year.  The grounder specialist has a 63.6% groundball rate to show for his minor league work in 2025, and Alexander has routinely topped the 50% mark in grounder rates over his minors career.  At the cost of a 40-man roster spot, there’s little risk for the Astros in seeing what the 32-year-old can do as a depth arm.

Orioles Place Tyler O’Neill On 10-Day IL, Designate Kyle Gibson

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The Orioles have placed outfielder Tyler O’Neill on the 10-day injured list due to a left shoulder impingement, and designated right-hander Kyle Gibson for assignment.  Outfielder Dylan Carlson and right-hander Kade Strowd were called up from Triple-A in the corresponding roster moves.

After signing a three-year, $49.5MM free agent deal this past winter, the early days of O’Neill’s tenure in Baltimore have been marked by injuries and a subpar performance at the plate.  This is already his second IL trip, as he previously missed a couple of weeks due to neck soreness in late April and early May.  It is fair to wonder if these health issues have led to O’Neill’s modest .188/.280/.325 slash line and two home runs over 93 plate appearances, as O’Neill just hasn’t looked like himself this year.

Being hampered by injuries has been a frequent subplot of O’Neill’s eight-year MLB career, as the outfielder has only twice topped the 100-game mark in a season.  One of those comparatively healthier seasons came with the Red Sox in 2024, as O’Neill made 473 PA over 113 games and hit .241/.336/.511 with 31 home runs.  O’Neill hit the IL on three separate occasions but with a minimal amount of missed time, which allowed O’Neill plenty of opportunity to mash at Fenway Park.

The O’s were impressed enough to bring O’Neill aboard in what was the most expensive signing of Baltimore’s offseason, yet like so many other moves in what is becoming a Murphy’s Law year for the Orioles, O’Neill has yet to deliver much at the plate.  Given how much criticism was directed at the front office and at ownership for not spending over the winter, the struggles of one of the players who did receive a healthy contract has only added to the discord of the Orioles’ 15-29 start.

Gibson was another offseason signing, though he joined the O’s just a week before Opening Day on a one-year, $5.25MM contract.  The Cardinals declined their $12MM club option on Gibson’s services for the 2025 season, sending the veteran starter into the open market for what ended up being an extended stay.  Since he didn’t have a proper Spring Training, Gibson agreed to begin the season in the minors so he could ramp up, but it seems like the right-hander is still showing plenty of rust.

Called up to the Orioles’ roster in late April, Gibson has been tagged for a 16.78 ERA over four starts and 12 1/3 innings.  The ugly numbers include six runs allowed in just two-thirds of an inning in yesterday’s start, which ended up as a 10-6 Orioles loss to the Nationals.

Gibson was blunt about his lack of performance when speaking with MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko and other media yesterday, saying “four times taking the mound feeling like you haven’t given the team a chance to win each time is a pretty big gut punch.  Feeling like you’re part of getting a manager fired is a gut punch.  Just not going out there and being able to compete and give the team a chance to win every five days is frustrating. So yeah, I don’t know if any of you guys have ever felt the feeling of essentially letting down your co-workers, but it’s a gut punch.”

The DFA doesn’t necessarily mean that Gibson’s time in Baltimore is over.  Since there is no chance another team will claim the right-hander (and assume the rest of his salary) off waivers, Gibson could accept an outright assignment to Triple-A to give himself more time to get on track.  Gibson also has more than enough MLB service time to decline an outright assignment, which would allow him to retain his salary and re-enter free agency again.

Strowd is now back with the Orioles for the second time within the last month, though the right-hander has yet to officially make his Major League debut with an in-game appearance.  A 12th-round pick for Baltimore in the 2019 draft, Strowd’s minor league numbers aren’t great, as he has only a 6.99 ERA over 56 2/3 career frames at the Triple-A level.  That performance does come with a 31.02% strikeout rate and grounder rates that frequently top the 50% mark, but also a 12.41% walk rate.

Despite the rough bottom-line results, the Orioles were intrigued enough by Strowd’s ability to miss bats to add him to the 40-man roster last November in advance of the Rule 5 Draft.  This latest call-up should at least allow the righty to get a big league appearance on his resume, and given Baltimore’s pitching needs, there’s plenty of opportunity for Strowd to stick if he pitches decently well during however long he remains on the roster.

Jose Alvarado Issued 80-Game PED Suspension

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12:16PM: The Phillies reinstated right-handed Jose Ruiz from the 15-day injured list, and he’ll take the open spot on the 26-man roster now that Alvarado has been moved to the restricted list.

Dombrowski provided some background on Alvarado’s situation when speaking with reporters (including Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer) today.  Alvarado told Dombrowski that he didn’t take the PED knowingly, as Alvarado believes it stemmed from his usage of a weight loss drug during the offseason.  After the reliever’s positive test, Alvarado tested negative on two subsequent follow-up tests.  As expected, Dombrowski didn’t address trade possibilities, and noted that the Phillies’ “abundance of starters” could help provide an internal answer to their bullpen needs.

10:37AM: Major League Baseball announced that Phillies reliever Jose Alvarado has been issued an 80-game suspension for a violation of the league’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.  Alvarado (who turns 30 on Wednesday) has tested positive for the PED known as exogenous Testosterone.  In addition to the 80 games lost in the regular season, Alvarado is also ineligible for any postseason action if Philadelphia reaches the playoffs.

The stunning news leaves the Phillies without not just their closer, but one of the few reliable members of what has been an overall shaky bullpen.  Jordan Romano’s early struggles quickly cost him the closer’s role, and Alvarado stepped in as the primary stopper by converting all seven of his save opportunities.  Alvarado has a 2.70 ERA, 29.8% strikeout rate, 47.3% grounder rate, and a career-best 4.8% walk rate over 20 innings for the Phils, and that major improvement to his control was seemingly the headline story of the left-hander’s season.

Now, of course, those numbers have to be called into question in the wake of the league’s ruling.  This is the final guaranteed year of the three-year, $22MM extension Alvarado signed with the Phillies in February 2023, and the Phils hold a $9MM club option (with a $500K buyout) on his services for 2026.  Exercising that option was looking like a no-brainer move for the Phillies just hours ago, yet the team might now prefer to part ways with Alvarado if any doubts remain about the sustainability of his performance.

The shorter-term financial impact on Alvarado is also significant, as the suspension will cost him roughly $4.18MM of his $9MM salary for the 2025 season.  That money is also subtracted from the Phillies’ books, which may bring their estimated luxury tax number (as per RosterResource) under the maximum penalty threshold of $301MM.

That being said, it seems likely that Philadelphia will re-invest that money into reinforcing its bullpen.  The Phillies were surely already looking to add relief pitching even before Alvarado’s suspension, and that need has become even more pronounced now that the team’s closer will be out until mid-August.  President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski is likely going to be challenged to make a quick trade, as even the few teams clearly out of playoff contention will put a high asking price on any trade chips this early in the season.

Romano hasn’t allowed a run over his last seven innings of work, so after a brutal start to the season, he might get the first crack at any save situations.  Matt Strahm or Tanner Banks might also get some looks in late-game situations, or the Phillies could use a committee approach rather than settling on a single full-time closer.

Rangers Place Evan Carter On 10-Day Injured List

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The Rangers placed outfielder Evan Carter on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to May 17) due to a right quad strain.  Fellow outfielder Kevin Pillar has been activated from his own stint on the 10-day IL to take Carter’s place on the active roster.  Texas also made two more roster moves, optioning right-hander Cole Winn to Triple-A and calling up righty Caleb Boushley.

Carter has a Grade 2 quad strain, as manager Bruce Bochy told the Dallas Morning News’ Shawn McFarland and other reporters.  This means that Carter’s absence will stretch well beyond the 10-day minimum and he is likely facing several weeks or even months on the sidelines.  The injury apparently surfaced yesterday, as Carter was a late scratch from the Rangers’ starting lineup for their game with the Astros.

The quad strain continues Carter’s injury-riddled pro career.  Carter missed a good deal of the 2021 minor league season and most of the 2024 MLB season due to back problems, and arm problems also kept him on the minor league IL for about a month in 2023.  Carter did get healthy in time to make his big league debut in September 2023, and he quickly lived up to his top-prospect status by tearing up the league in both the remainder of the regular season and into the postseason, as Texas went on to win the World Series.

Just when it looked like Carter was a breakout star, however, his bad back limited him to 45 games of action in 2024.  He began this season in the minors and was recalled a couple of weeks ago for his 2025 debut, and Carter has hit only .182/.270/.273 in 37 plate appearances before going on the IL.

In part due to concerns over Carter’s health following his lost 2024 campaign, the Rangers added Pillar as a depth option on a minor league contract back in January.  Pillar made the Opening Day roster and hit .237/.237/.289 over 38 PA before going on the injured list due to lower back inflammation earlier this month.  He’ll return to the roster after missing 15 days of action.

Brewers Select Easton McGee, Option Tobias Myers

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The Brewers announced three roster moves today, including the selection of Easton McGee’s contract from Triple-A Nashville.  To create space for McGee on both the 26-man and 40-man rosters, Milwaukee optioned right-hander Tobias Myers to Triple-A, and moved lefty Connor Thomas from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL.

McGee has appeared in two Major League games during his pro career, pitching once apiece in both the 2022 and 2023 seasons.  That resume would’ve likely been a lot longer if it hadn’t been for a Tommy John surgery in May 2023 that ended up costing him the remainder of that season and most of 2024.  The Brewers signed McGee to a two-year minor league deal following the 2023 campaign that allowed him time to recover from his surgery, and his mound work last year consisted of 33 1/3 innings in Milwaukee’s farm system.

Now more fully back to good health, McGee has a 3.44 ERA across 18 1/3 innings with Triple-A Nashville in 2025.  His 25.3% strikeout rate is solid but his 11.4% walk rate is on the high side, and significantly higher than McGee’s much better control numbers over the rest of his minor league career.

McGee has worked only as a reliever this season but has a few multi-inning outings under his belt, so he can add a fresh arm and some length to Milwaukee’s pen.  The Brewers used five different pitchers in Saturday’s 7-0 loss to the Twins, with starting pitcher Myers allowing four runs on 11 hits over just 3 2/3 innings of work.

After an impressive 2024 rookie season, Myers was optioned to Triple-A last week but then quickly recalled after Jose Quintana went on the Brewers’ IL.  The turn-around maybe didn’t help matters given Saturday’s results, and Myers now has a 4.95 ERA in 20 innings in 2025.  Today’s transaction probably paves the way for Myers to receive a bit of an extended stretch at Triple-A so he can get himself back on track in preparation for another recall later in the season.

Thomas was selected away from the Cardinals in last December’s Rule 5 draft, but the southpaw pitched just 5 2/3 innings over two appearances before elbow arthritis sent him to the IL in early April.  The shift to the 60-day IL means that Thomas will now be out of action until at least the first week of June.  Thomas would have to spend at least 90 days on the Brewers’ active roster for Milwaukee to gain his full rights, or else otherwise his Rule 5 status would carry over into the 2026 season.

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