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Submit Your Questions For The MLB Trade Rumors Podcast

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Each week on the MLB Trade Rumors podcast we’ll answer questions submitted by our readers. With the next episode due out Wednesday morning, we’re looking for MLBTR readers to submit a voice memo with their question and we’ll pick three to answer.

If there’s anything you’d like to get our thoughts on then please submit your questions via a voice memo to mlbtrpod@gmail.com.

Voice memos will be played out on air so speak clearly and cleanly. Please start your recording with your name and try and keep it as succinct as possible – no more than 15 seconds. An example might be: “Hey guys, Simon here in Minneapolis, what are your thoughts on the Pablo Lopez extension and do you think the Twins will try and extend any of their other starters?”

We look forward to hearing from you!

In the meantime, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

You can also listen to Episode 4 on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and wherever you get your podcasts! On that episode, Betsy Helfand and I discussed the A’s likely move to Las Vegas and the state of the Twins, while Anthony Franco and I talked Bryan Reynolds’ extension with the Pirates and what’s next for Madison Bumgarner.

Yankees Place Aaron Judge On Injured List

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The Yankees announced that outfielder Aaron Judge has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to April 28, with a right hip strain. Outfielder Franchy Cordero was recalled in a corresponding move.

Judge was diagnosed with a hip strain in recent days but he and the club tried to see how it developed before officially placing him on the injured list. IL placements can be backdated as many as three days, as long as the player didn’t play in that time. Judge last played on Thursday but it seems that there’s still enough lingering concern with the issue that he’ll take another week off to get it healthy.

Obviously, playing without Judge will be a blow for the Yanks as he’s one of the best players on the planet. Last year, he had an epic season that involved 62 home runs, a 15.9% walk rate and a .311/.425/.686 batting line. Keeping that kind of production going for a second straight year would have been an incredibly difficult task and Judge is indeed shy of that, but his .261/.352/.511 line this year is still excellent.

While losing Judge will undoubtedly hurt the Yanks, it’s still quite early in the season and it makes sense for the club to exercise caution as opposed to heedlessly throwing him into the lineup every day and risk of exacerbating the issue. Since his IL placement seemed to be a borderline case, it seems fair to expect a minimal stint, though the club hasn’t announced any kind of official timeline.

Without Judge, the Yanks will have a hodgepodge of outfielders jockeying for playing time, including Cordero, Willie Calhoun, Aaron Hicks, Oswaldo Cabrera, Jake Bauers and Isiah Kiner-Falefa. None of those players is having a strong season so far, with Cordero’s .151/.182/.396 batting line and 52 wRC+ the strongest of the bunch.

Help could be on the way shortly, however, as Harrison Bader is currently on a rehab assignment. He’s missed the entire season thus far due to an oblique strain but manager Aaron Boone tells reporters, including Bryan Hoch of MLB.com, that he could be back by this weekend.

Tigers Claim Braden Bristo, Transfer Austin Meadows To 60-Day IL

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5:05pm: The Tigers have announced the claim of Bristo, who has been optioned to Triple-A Toledo. The corresponding move is transferring outfielder Austin Meadows to the 60-day injured list. Meadows was placed on the 10-day IL due to anxiety on April 7 and will now be ineligible to return until 60 days from that point, which would be early June.

1:35pm: The Tigers have claimed right-hander Braden Bristo off waivers from the Rays, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Bristo was designated for assignment on the weekend when the Rays acquired right-hander Javy Guerra from the Brewers. The Tigers have a full 40-man roster and will need to make a corresponding move in order to open a spot for Bristo.

Bristo, 28, was drafted by the Yankees in 2016 and was on their farm through the end of 2022, working exclusively in relief apart from a couple of two-inning starts as an opener. He made it all the way up to Triple-A, posting big strikeout totals but also dealing out more than his fair share of walks. He tossed 103 1/3 Triple-A innings between 2021 and 2022, posting a 4.70 ERA with a 27.1% strikeout rate but also a 13.2% walk rate.

He reached free agency in the winter and signed a minor league deal with the Rays, who selected his contract just over two weeks ago. He made one appearance against the Red Sox, tossing three innings without allowing a run, but was optioned back to Triple-A Durham the next day. He has an ERA of 10.00 in a small sample of six appearances for the Bulls this year.

Bristo will now head over to the Tigers, who will see if they can help him better harness his strikeout stuff so that he limits the free passes. The righty still has a full slate of options and essentially no service time, meaning he can be a depth option for the foreseeable future as long as he continues to hang onto his spot on the 40-man.

Giants Place Brandon Crawford, Mike Yastrzemski On IL

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4:50pm: Crawford provided a few more details to members of the media, including Slusser (Twitter links). He said his own MRI showed his strain to be worse than he thought but he still expects to return after a minimum stint on the IL. He also says that Yastrzemski’s strain is of the Grade 1 variety, or the least severe.

4:30pm: The Giants announced a few roster moves prior to tonight’s game, with Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle among those to relay them on Twitter. Outfielder Cal Stevenson and infielder Brett Wisely were recalled from Triple-A to take the spots of shortstop Brandon Crawford and outfielder Mike Yastrzemski, who have both been placed on the 10-day injured list. Crawford’s move, which is retroactive to April 30, is due to a right calf strain whereas Yastrzemski is dealing with a left hamstring strain.

The club hasn’t provided timelines for either player, but these moves will mean the Giants will play at least the next little while without two of their lineup regulars. Crawford, 36, has been the club’s shortstop for over a decade now, having taking over the job back in 2011. He’s long been considered a strong defender and has had seasons where he’s been an above-average performer on both sides of the ball. The most recent of those was 2021, where he hit .298/.373/.522 for a wRC+ of 138. Towards the end of that season, with Crawford headed for the open market, he and the club agreed on a two-year, $32MM extension to keep him around.

Though the Giants eventually won 107 games that year, things haven’t gone as well since, both for the club or for Crawford personally. He hit .231/.308/.344 last year for a wRC+ of 87 while making multiple trips to the injured list, with the Giants eventually finishing 81-81. This year, he’s hitting just .169/.244/.352 for a wRC+ of 63 as the club is out to a rough 11-16 start in the early going. He experienced some calf tightness on Saturday and didn’t play in yesterday’s game.

As for Yastrzemski, he departed yesterday’s game with the hamstring strain and was reported to be undergoing an MRI, so it’s not surprising to see he’ll be taking a bit of a breather here. He had a bit of a down year at the plate in 2022, hitting .214/.305/.392 for a wRC+ of 99, but he he’d been off to a great start here in 2023. His current batting line is .292/.333/.521, which translated to a wRC+ of 131. That strong stretch of play will now but put on hold for an undetermined amount of time.

Taking their place will be Wisely and Stevenson. The former has been up and down for the Giants a few times already this season, but Stevenson will be making his debut with the club whenever he gets into a game. He was acquired from the Athletics a couple of weeks ago but has been kept in Triple-A since then. He made his major league debut with the A’s last year but hit just .167/.261/.217 in 23 games. He has a much nicer batting line of .288/.392/.415 in Triple-A dating back to the start of 2022.

With Crawford sitting out yesterday’s game, the club used Thairo Estrada at short and will likely keep him there for the time being. He’s off to a torrid start this year, hitting .346/.393/.529 while playing a lot of second base. His move should leave the keystone open for someone like David Villar, though he’s sitting on a line of .156/.258/.351 at the moment. A .174 batting average on balls in play suggests positive regression is forthcoming, but they could look to other options. There’s also Wilmer Flores, who has been primarily at the corners this year but has plenty of second base experience in previous seasons. Wisely is primarily an infielder and could be in the mix to help out there, but he also might be needed in center field, helping to cover for Yastrzemski alongside Austin Slater.

Jonathan Loáisiga To Undergo Surgery To Remove Bone Spur

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Yankees right-hander Jonathan Loáisiga will undergo surgery to remove a bone spur from his throwing elbow, manager Aaron Boone tells reporters, including Bryan Hoch of MLB.com (Twitter links). Loáisiga won’t be able to throw for the next three to six weeks and Boone estimates he won’t return to the big league club until August or September.

Loáisiga, 28, has been on the injured list for most of the year so far. He made just three appearances before hitting the shelf a few weeks ago, with his ailment listed at that time as elbow inflammation. It now seems the specific problem has been found and he will go under the knife, missing the next few months of the season.

It’s an unfortunate development for both the club and Loáisiga, who has emerged as a key piece of the bullpen in recent seasons. Going back to the start of 2020, the righty has tossed 145 innings with a 3.04 ERA. He’s struck out 21.5% of batters faced in that time while walking just 7% and has kept balls in play on the ground at an excellent 58.9% clip.

The Yankees have been getting effective relief work even with injuries to Loaisiga, Lou Trivino and Tommy Kahnle, as their collective 2.93 ERA ranks second in the majors right now. But they will have to now stretch that out for a few more months with depleted depth.

For Loaisiga personally, he is making $2.26MM this season in his second pass through the arbitration system. He’ll be set for one more in 2024 before he’s slated to reach free agency. His earning power for next year will be limited based on the fact that he won’t be able to contribute much this year.

Mets Select Zach Muckenhirn

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3:35pm: Between games of today’s doubleheader, the Mets have now announced they’ve selected Muckenhirn to the roster. In a corresponding move, right-hander Stephen Ridings was transferred to the 60-day injured list. He’s been on the IL all year due to a lat strain and now won’t be eligible to return until late May at the earliest. The 60-day count goes from his initial IL placement, not today’s transfer. Additionally, righty Denyi Reyes was optioned between games of the twin bill while José Butto was recalled.

11:28am: The Mets are set to select the contract of left-handed reliever Zach Muckenhirn in advance of today’s doubleheader against the Braves, reports Abbey Mastracco of the New York Daily News (Twitter link). He’s not yet on the 40-man roster. The team has not formally announced the move, so it’s not yet clear whether Muckenhirn will be up for both games of the doubleheader or just the nightcap.

Muckenhirn, 28, inked a minor league deal with the Mets over the winter and has had a strong start in Triple-A Syracuse, where he’s held opponents to one run on 10 hits and four walks in 11 2/3 frames. The former 11th-round pick (2016, Orioles) also boasts a strong 51.3% ground-ball rate, but he’s punched out just four of his 47 opponents on the year so far (8.5%).

With Brooks Raley landing on the injured list due to elbow inflammation over the weekend and David Peterson being optioned to Syracuse as well, the Mets’ only lefty on the big league roster had been Joey Lucchesi, who’s currently working out of the rotation, Muckenhirn will give manager Buck Showalter an option in the bullpen for today’s twin bill and perhaps for the foreseeable future, depending on today’s bullpen usage.

Muckenhirn has spent the majority of his career in the Orioles organization, but he was with the White Sox organization in each of the past two seasons, generally pitching well with their Double-A and Triple-A clubs. In parts of three seasons at the Triple-A level, Muckenhirn has a 3.45 ERA with a 22.2% strikeout rate, 10.1% walk rate and a 44% ground-ball rate.

Dodgers Designate Austin Wynns For Assignment

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May 1: The Dodgers have now made this official, with Rojas recalled and Wynns designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

April 30: The Dodgers have designated catcher Austin Wynns for assignment, J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group reports (via Twitter).  Wynns was signed to a Major League contract a little over two weeks ago, as the Dodgers were looking to add some catching depth while Will Smith was on the concussion-related injured list.

With Smith now back in action, the Dodgers were in need of roster space, since Miguel Rojas will probably be activated from the 10-day injured list on Monday and prospect Gavin Stone is being called up (and added to the 40-man roster) in advance of a scheduled start on Wednesday.  That makes Wynns the odd man out, as Los Angeles will return to its usual catching tandem of Smith and Austin Barnes now that Smith has been fully cleared for catching duty.  Wynns ended up appearing in five games in his brief time on the Dodgers’ active roster, with a .523 OPS over 12 plate appearances.

The veteran backstop has already appeared for two different teams in under a month of the 2023 season, as Wynns’ minor league contract was selected by the Giants for a single game before he was DFA’ed earlier this month.  Since Wynns has been outrighted off a 40-man roster multiple times in his career, he had the opportunity to elect free agency rather than accept an outright assignment from San Francisco, and he indeed took the option of re-entering the open market.

Assuming Wynns clears waivers, he might again opt for free agency rather than remain in the Dodgers organization, considering that (when healthy) Smith and Barnes are a stable duo behind the plate.  If Wynns did accept an outright assignment, David Freitas and Patrick Mazeika are also on hand as MLB-experienced catching depth options at the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate, and Hunter Feduccia is also seeing action behind the plate. The fact that Los Angeles signed Wynns at the time of Smith’s injury could indicate their preference for a more seasoned catcher over their other Triple-A candidates, or Wynns might prefer to test the market again in search of a less-crowded depth chart.

Wynns has appeared in five MLB seasons, gaining most of his playing time in a part-time capacity with the Orioles in 2018 and 2021, and with the Giants last season.  Wynns has hit only .229/.273/.334 over 522 career plate appearances, but the 32-year-old has a good reputation for his defense and ability to handle pitchers.  With this in mind, it certainly seems possible that Wynns might catch on elsewhere, given how clubs are constantly on the lookout for help behind the plate.

Guardians Designate Meibrys Viloria, Select David Fry

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The Guardians announced that they have selected the contract of catcher/infielder David Fry, while catcher Meibrys Viloria was designated for assignment in a corresponding move.

Cleveland somewhat surprisingly opened the season with three catchers, with Mike Zunino backed up by Cam Gallagher and Viloria. The 26-year-old Viloria has been the least used of the trio, with no starts and just 21 2/3 total innings spend behind the plate so far this year, compared to 158 for Zunino and 74 for Gallagher. He’s also only received four plate appearances on the season, going 0-3 with a walk.

That wasn’t a terribly effective use of a roster spot and Viloria will now be cut loose. None of those three backstops had the ability to be optioned to the minors, so he had to be designated for assignment. Prior to this season, he had been with the Royals and Rangers and is now at 103 career major league games, hitting .198/.270/.279 in that time. That’s obviously not a great batting line, but Viloria does rank well in Statcast’s new caught stealing above average metric (helpful explainer via Mike Petriello of MLB.com). The Guards will now have a week to trade Viloria or pass him through waivers, though in the event he clears waivers, he would have the right to reject an outright assignment by virtue of having a previous career outright.

In his place, the Guardians are sticking with the three-catcher system in a sense, though Fry is not merely a backstop. The 27-year-old was initially drafted by the Brewers but came to the Guardians in March of 2022 as the player to be named later in the J.C. Mejia trade. Throughout his minor league career, he’s played all around in the infield and outfield, in addition to his time spent behind the plate. This year, he’s actually primarily played third base along with a bit of time at second and first, not having taken up the catcher spot since last year. The club still announced him as a catcher/infielder, which suggests his time as a backstop isn’t totally over, but his defensive versatility should give him more opportunities than Viloria to get into games and help the club.

This is his first time joining a big league club and he’ll be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game. With Triple-A Columbus last year, he hit 17 home runs in 119 games and slashed .256/.329/.450 for a wRC+ of 105. Through 25 games this year, he’s hitting .289/.381/.478 and has a 121 wRC+. He figures to slot into the club’s bench as a backup infielder alongside Gabriel Arias, with José Ramírez, Amed Rosario and Andrés Giménez hold three starting spots with Josh Bell and Josh Naylor sharing first base and designated hitter.

Steven Brault Moving To Outfield With Atlantic League Club

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Former Pirates and Cubs left-hander Steven Brault signed with the Atlantic League’s new Frederick club last week, and it seems he’ll do so as the hopeful first step down a new career path. Brault has already played left field for his new club, and MLBTR has learned that the 31-year-old plans to become a position player on a full-time basis. He’ll hope to use this opportunity in the Atlantic League to land a minor league deal with an affiliated club and eventually return to the Majors as an outfielder.

Brault may never have garnered as much attention as some of the other best-hitting pitchers in the National League, but he certainly qualifies among them. Back in college, Brault was a .397/.416/.554 hitter in 199 plate appearances. He batted .419/.419/.484 in 36 minor league plate appearances and is a career .258/.275/.337 hitter with a homer — a second-deck, 441-foot bomb — four doubles and just a 14.9% strikeout rate in 101 big league trips to the plate. He’s gone 1-for-8 to begin his season with Frederick. Baseball America’s scouting reports on Brault from his early days in the Orioles system note that he was a plus athlete and the first player in Rocky Mountain Conference history to earn all-conference first team honors as both a position player and a pitcher.

Brault’s move away from the mound comes on the heels of several injury-plagued seasons. Shoulder and lat strains regularly hampered Brault from 2019-22, limiting him to a combined 192 2/3 frames in the Majors over that four-year period. Most of those innings came in 2019, when he tossed a career-high 113 2/3 frames but also missed more than a month with a shoulder strain.

In his career on the mound, Brault at times looked like a viable starter and multi-inning reliever, but injuries derailed some otherwise promising stretches on more than one occasion. In all, he’s tallied 352 1/3 innings at the big league level with a 4.73 ERA, 18.8% strikeout rate, 11.3% walk rate, 0.97 HR/9 and 45.5% ground-ball rate.

Only time will tell whether Brault can successfully make the move to the other side of the ball at age 31, but it makes for an interesting subplot to keep an eye on throughout the season. His raw batting numbers in the Majors certainly don’t leap out relative to other full-time hitters, but it’s clear that Brault has more of a knack for handling the bat than the majority of now-former mound counterparts.

Guardians Trade Konnor Pilkington To Diamondbacks

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The Guardians have traded lefty Konnor Pilkington to the D-backs in exchange for cash, per announcements from both teams. Arizona had an open spot on the 40-man roster, so a corresponding 40-man move was not needed. Pilkington has been optioned to Triple-A Reno.

Pilkington, 25, has had a rough start to his season in Triple-A, where he’s been clobbered for 13 runs on 19 hits and 11 walks with 14 strikeouts in 14 innings of work. His 2022 season in Triple-A featured similar struggles, evidenced by a 5.88 ERA in 56 2/3 frames, but despite his unsightly showing in Columbus, Pilkington had a solid MLB debut last year.

In 58 innings for the Guardians, he turned in a 3.88 ERA through 11 starts and four relief appearances. He’s added another two scoreless innings here in 2023. Pilkington’s career 19.5% strikeout rate is about three percentage points below the league average, and his 12.4% walk rate is about four percentage points higher than average. He’s more than held lefties in check in his big league career, yielding just a .238/.333/.286 batting line. Righties have been better but haven’t completely torched him, turning in a .234/.335/.372 output.

Pilkington has a pair of minor league option years remaining — this year included — and has had some success in the big leagues in a rotation role already. He’ll give the D-backs some optionable depth both this year and next, which of extra importance with Zach Davies on the injured list, Madison Bumgarner already having been released (hence the open 40-man spot) and young arms like Ryne Nelson, Drey Jameson and Tommy Henry all struggling to various extents to begin the season.

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