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White Sox Select Joshua Palacios, Omar Narvaez; Release Juan Carela

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The White Sox announced Thursday that they’ve selected the contracts of outfielder Joshua Palacios and catcher Omar Narvaez. (The likelihood of the Narvaez move was first reported last night.) They’ve also placed catcher Korey Lee and outfielder Mike Tauchman on the 10-day injured list due to a sprained left ankle and a strained right hamstring, respectively.

The Sox only had one open 40-man roster spot, so they’ve released right-hander Juan Carela to accommodate the addition of Palacios and Narvaez. Carela was acquired from the Yankees in the 2023 trade that sent Keynan Middleton to New York, and the Sox selected him to the 40-man roster just this past November to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. However, Carela suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament in spring training and required Tommy John surgery.

Since injured players cannot be placed on outright waivers, the Sox will instead release Carela. It’s relatively common for teams and players in this exact situation to quickly strike up a new minor league contract, but the right-hander will technically have the option to talk to 29 other clubs, assuming he clears release waivers. The 23-year-old right-hander has yet to make his MLB debut, but the Sox added him to the 40-man roster on the heels of a 2024 season in which he logged 106 2/3 innings of 3.71 ERA ball with a 25.2% strikeout rate and 9.9% walk rate between High-A and Double-A.

Palacios, 29, has played in parts of four big league seasons between the Blue Jays, Nationals and Pirates. He saw semi-regular work in Pittsburgh during the 2023 season and showed a bit of pop but struggled to get on base. He entered spring training out of minor league options and didn’t make the cut on a Pirates club that had several outfield options ahead of him on the depth chart. The Pirates designated Palacios for assignment and outrighted him to Triple-A, but he rejected the assignment in favor of free agency, which was his right as a player who’d been outrighted once previously in his career.

Over the past two seasons in Pittsburgh, Palacios slashed .236/.291/.398 with a dozen homers in 342 plate appearances. His 19.9% strikeout rate is a few ticks below the league-average mark, and he was plagued by a .264 average on balls in play despite frequent hard contact, which could create some optimism for better performance. However, Palacios is also an extreme ground-ball hitter (51% as a Pirate) with good-not-great speed and a pull-heavy approach — all of which leaves him a bit susceptible to a lower BABIP.

Still, with both Tauchman and Andrew Benintendi on the injured list — Benintendi suffered an adductor strain earlier this week — Palacios ought to get a chance for significant playing time. If he can make the most of it, he can be controlled for four years beyond the current season. He’s a career .302/.389/.482 hitter in 720 Triple-A plate appearances, so there’s certainly a track record of performance in the upper minors upon which the White Sox can dream.

At this point, it’s not yet clear how long Lee or Tauchman will be sidelined. Lee suffered the injury while hurrying back to first base yesterday when Guardians catcher Austin Hedges threw behind him in a pickoff attempt (video link). Lee’s left ankle contorted significantly, and he was tagged out when he crumbled off the bag. He was in obvious pain as White Sox trainers helped him off the field. He’d gotten out to a fast start, going 5-for-15 with a pair of doubles and a pair of walks in 17 plate appearances (.333/.412/.467).

As for the veteran Tauchman, he missed the first week-plus of the season with a strain in that same right hamstring and only made his 2025 debut on April 6. The 34-year-old signed a one-year, $1.95MM deal in free agency and has appeared in only three games thus far, going 4-for-10 (all singles) with a pair of walks in a dozen trips to the plate (.400/.500/.400). Given that he’s now dealing with back-to-back strains in the same muscle, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Sox took a more cautious approach to his absence this time around. Timetables for both Lee and Tauchman will presumably become clearer after manager Will Venable meets with the media prior to today’s series finale in Cleveland.

The Opener: Steele, Mariners, Pitching Matchups

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Here are a few things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world today:

1. Steele to undergo MRI:

The Cubs placed southpaw Justin Steele on the injured list yesterday with a diagnosis of left elbow tendinitis. The news was immediately concerning for fans in Chicago given that Steele, who has established himself as a front-of-the-rotation arm with a 3.10 ERA and a 3.14 FIP from 2022 to ’24, has been shelved with elbow issues on multiple other occasions in recent years. Fortunately, each of those stints on the IL ended up being relatively close to the minimum 15 days, and Steele suggested yesterday that he could once again return fairly quickly. Still, the Cubs are scheduled to send Steele for an MRI today to ensure there isn’t a more serious issue at hand, and his timeline for return won’t be certain until those results come in. Veteran swingman Colin Rea and young southpaw Jordan Wicks appear to be the top options to fill in for Steele in the club’s rotation while he’s out of commission, though a plentiful slate of off-days in April means they’ll rarely need a fifth starter this month anyhow.

2. Will the Mariners search for infield help?

The Mariners’ lineup has been compromised with injuries in recent days, with right fielder Victor Robles and second baseman Ryan Bliss both ticketed for extended absences. Luke Raley slid from first base to the outfield to help cover for the loss of Robles, and Dylan Moore is settling in as the club’s third baseman alongside J.P. Crawford at shortstop to keep the left side of the infield relatively settled. The right side of the infield is in complete flux, however, with Jorge Polanco parked at DH as he battles knee soreness.

That leaves first base to a combination of Rowdy Tellez and Donovan Solano, while second base appears poised to be manned by utility men Miles Mastrobuoni and Leo Rivas. Neither Mastrobuoni nor Rivas appear likely to be contributors on offense with career wRC+ marks of 60 and 86 respectively. Tellez and Solano both have track records of success in the majors, by contrast, but Solano is just 2-for-18 with a 33.3% strikeout rate in a part time role this year while Tellez is 1-for-23 after a big spring showing. With the right side of the infield in such dire straits, could the club look for an external addition or perhaps tap into the farm for a different option?

3. Pitchers’ duel in Atlanta:

The Braves and Phillies are wrapping up a three-game set in Atlanta today, which will serve as the rubber match after the Braves took the first game while the Phillies emerged victorious yesterday. On the mound will be Phillies southpaw Jesus Luzardo, who was limited to just 66 2/3 lackluster innings for the Marlins last year by injuries but has looked fantastic in two starts for the Phillies this year (1.50 ERA, 19-to-4 K/BB). Atlanta counters with righty Spencer Schwellenbach. He looked terrific in his rookie season last year, with a 3.35 ERA in 21 starts, and has dominated in both of his starts so far this season with 14 scoreless innings and 14 strikeouts against just one walk. The two impressive hurlers will square off at 7:15pm local time this evening.

4. Priester makes Brewers debut:

The Brewers engineered a rare April trade of consequence to restock and injury-ravaged rotation, shipping prospect Yophery Rodriguez and their Competitive Balance draft pick (No. 33 overall) to the Red Sox in exchange for former top prospect Quinn Priester. The 24-year-old Priester was a first-round pick by the Pirates in 2019 whom MLB.com ranked as a top-100 prospect from 2021-23. His stock took a hit last year, and he was flipped to Boston at the deadline in exchange for infield prospect Nick Yorke (another former first-rounder whose stock had slipped a bit).

Priester has had some big league exposure so far but hasn’t found success in 99 2/3 innings (6.23 ERA). The Brewers have a knack for coaxing new levels out of pitchers, however, evidenced by success stories like Tobias Myers, Trevor Megill and Joel Payamps in Milwaukee. They’ll hope to add Priester’s name to that list. The 6’3″ righty is controllable for another six seasons, making him a potential long-term cog. Brewers fans will get their first look today when Priester takes on Rockies righty Ryan Feltner at Coors Field in Denver.

MLB Mailbag: PTBNL, Brewers, Mariners, Romano, Pages, Baty

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This week's mailbag gets into PTBNL trades, the Brewers' recent trade history, the Mariners' inactivity, and questions about players such as Jordan Romano, Andy Pages, and Brett Baty.

Scott asks:

When a trade happens that includes a Player to be named later or cash considerations, like between the Red Sox and Brewers, how is it determined which goes - a player or cash? Seems like that would have to be predetermined to ease the negotiations, but the implication in the title implies it's a decision to be made later?

I posed Scott's question to an team executive friend, and he kindly gave a great in-depth reply.  Here it is:

"There are two PTBNL / Cash constructs that are most common. The first is where one of the clubs involved in the trade gets to choose one or more players from an agreed upon list. The agreed upon list is determined at the time of the initial trade. The club receiving the PTBNL has the right to instead receive “alternative cash considerations” that cannot exceed $100k. The option to receive cash comes into play only if the club with the right to receive the PTBNL decides they don’t want any of the players within the previously agreed upon grouping. This outcome could occur if one or more of those players suffers an injury or other plight whereby they are no longer of interest to the club holding the right to acquire them. By way of example, if Team A has the right to pick either Player X or Player Y as the PTBNL, but both players have suffered significant injuries since the time the trade was agreed upon, then Team A might rather take the cash rather than an injured player.

The second primary construct where you see a PTBNL or Cash involved in a trade occurs if the trade is really just for cash, but the team set to receive the cash wants to “dress it up” a little bit. This situation could occur if the team is trading away a notable player and needs to make it look like there’s a more significant return than simply money coming back their way. In these situations, the two clubs involved in the trade can agree to phrase the trade as a PTBNL or Cash despite both clubs agreeing that the return will be cash only.

A PTBNL is not always a low-level player. The only restriction is that a PTBNL cannot be someone who has appeared on an active Major League roster between the time the trade was agreed to and the time he is sent to his new club."

Zack asks:

How long of a leash should the Phillies have with Jordan Romano? He has lost velocity on his fastball and slider and he looks shaky when on the mound. Maybe it's a mechanics issue he can work through? He looks like he's searching for his form on the mound, I hope he can figure it out as we need him!

The tough thing is that Romano arguably hasn't been an effective reliever since June of 2023.  Rob Thomson hasn't used Romano in the club's highest-leverage situations thus far, but he still was Dave Dombrowski's main offseason bullpen addition.

Romano's elbow inflammation surfaced in March 2024.  He debuted in mid-April last year but was done after 15 appearances once the injury resurfaced.  He wound up having arthroscopic elbow surgery in early July.  The Blue Jays, who knew Romano best, didn't want him back at what would've likely been his same $7.75MM salary.  Around the Winter Meetings, Dombrowski gave Romano about $750K more than that.

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MLBTR Podcast: Vlad’s Massive Deal, Extensions for Merrill and Marte, And Quinn Priester Traded

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

Check out our past episodes!

  • Garrett Crochet’s Extension, Problems In Atlanta, And Other Early-Season Storylines – listen here
  • What We Learned From The Offseason – listen here
  • The Rays’ Stadium Deal Is Dead, Rangers’ Rotation Issues, And More! – listen here

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

Photo courtesy of Nick Turchiaro, Imagn Images

Dodgers Notes: Knack, Snell, Gonsolin, Freeman

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The Dodgers recalled Landon Knack to start Wednesday’s series finale against the Nationals. The 27-year-old righty was hit hard, surrendering five runs on four hits and four walks. L.A. nevertheless managed a 6-5 win to avoid a sweep. Manager Dave Roberts said postgame that Knack will stick in the rotation for at least one more turn, as he’ll start at some point in next week’s series against the Rockies (relayed by Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic).

Knack bounced between the big league roster and Triple-A Oklahoma City throughout last season. He managed a 3.65 ERA across 69 innings as a rookie. Knack fanned 24.1% of opponents against a tidy 6.3% walk rate, but he allowed home runs at an elevated rate of 1.83 per nine innings. He’d made a two-inning relief appearance during the opening Tokyo Series. This was his first start of 2025.

The rotation spot opened when Blake Snell landed on the injured list over the weekend with shoulder inflammation. Testing has not revealed any structural damage. Roberts said on Tuesday that the two-time Cy Young winner will resume throwing at the beginning of next week (via Jack Harris of The Los Angeles Times). The injury did not require any kind of injection. The Dodgers haven’t provided a return timetable, but it appears to be a relatively minor concern — at least as far as shoulder injuries go.

Knack probably won’t hold a rotation spot for the entirety of Snell’s IL stint. Tony Gonsolin was battling for the final rotation spot until he tweaked his back lifting weights late in Spring Training. He opened the season on the IL as a result, but he has gotten through two rehab appearances without issue. Gonsolin tossed 46 pitches over 3 1/3 dominant innings in a start for OKC tonight. He allowed only one hit and walk apiece while recording seven strikeouts. He’ll make at least one more Triple-A start but should be activated within the next few weeks.

Meanwhile, Freddie Freeman will evidently be able to return from his injured list stay without a rehab stint. Roberts said this afternoon that he anticipates the Dodgers will reinstate the star first baseman before Friday’s series opener against the Cubs (via Sonja Chen of MLB.com). It’ll be a minimal 10-day IL stay after Freeman suffered a right ankle sprain. Enrique Hernández has played first in his absence. The utilityman has a bizarre .103/.163/.410 batting line over 43 plate appearances. Hernández only has four hits all season and they’ve all been home runs.

White Sox Planning To Select Omar Narvaez

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The White Sox intend to call up veteran catcher Omar Narváez, reports James Fegan of Sox Machine. Korey Lee left today’s game against the Guardians in the sixth inning when he rolled his left ankle running back to first base on a pickoff.

There’s not much clarity on Lee’s injury. The Sox have only announced it as ankle soreness and indicated he’ll go for testing. It looked ugly enough that an injured list stint seems inevitable. Even a day-to-day injury for a catcher usually necessitates a roster move, since teams tend to only carry two catchers on the active roster. Lee has split the position with Matt Thaiss in the season’s first two weeks.

Thaiss has started seven of the 11 games. He only has four hits but has worked seven walks over 27 plate appearances. Lee has five hits and a couple walks in 17 trips to the dish. A former first-round pick of the Astros, Lee appeared in a career-high 125 games last season. He hit .210/.244/.347 with 12 homers while striking out in 31% of his 394 plate appearances.

Narváez was in camp on a minor league contract. The Sox released him at the end of Spring Training but re-signed him on a fresh minor league deal at the beginning of April. With highly-regarded prospects Kyle Teel and Edgar Quero splitting the catching duties in Triple-A, the Sox assigned Narváez to Double-A Birmingham. He’s far more experienced than most players at that level. Narváez has gone 2-7 with a double and a walk in two games.

Today’s loss dropped the White Sox to 2-9. They’re clearly in for another long season. Teel and Quero should each receive their first MLB call at some point this year. (Quero has gotten out to a blistering start at Triple-A Charlotte.) The Sox are taking their respective progressions deliberately and evidently don’t feel they’re ready for MLB action. They’ll instead go with the 33-year-old Narváez to split the catching duties with Thaiss in the short term.

Narváez was an All-Star with the Brewers back in 2021. His production has tanked in the three years since then, as he’s a .200/.276/.286 hitter in 511 plate appearances going back to the start of the ’22 season. Narváez is not on the 40-man roster. The Sox have an opening after outrighting Travis Jankowski, so they’ll only need to make an active roster move (presumably an IL stint for Lee) to select his contract.

Latest On Astros’ Rotation Plans

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The Astros lost Spencer Arrighetti to the injured list this week, as the righty suffered a broken thumb on a fluke injury when he was struck by a ball during batting practice. Manager Joe Espada said this afternoon that Arrighetti will avoid surgery but will remain in a cast for at least two weeks (relayed by Chandler Rome of The Athletic). He’ll be sent for imaging at that point.

Arrighetti is clearly going to be shelved beyond the 15-day minimum. The Astros need to add someone to the rotation behind Framber Valdez, Hunter Brown, Hayden Wesneski and Ronel Blanco. It seems that rookie right-hander Ryan Gusto is going to get the first opportunity. The Astros list Gusto as the probable starter for their game against the Angels on Saturday.

Assuming plans don’t change within the next two days, Gusto will be making his first big league start. He was lined up to start the final game of the regular season in 2024. Houston had already clinched a playoff spot and called up Gusto to rest their playoff starters. That game was canceled because of rain, which delayed the 26-year-old’s big league debut by six months.

Gusto pitched well enough in Spring Training to break camp, albeit in a relief role. He has tossed eight innings over four appearances, allowing only one run with nine strikeouts and two walks. Gusto worked 2-3 innings in each of his first three outings. He tossed one inning and 15 pitches in yesterday’s extra-inning win in Seattle. He’ll get three days rest before his first start. Gusto started 26 of 29 appearances in Triple-A last season. He worked to a solid 3.70 earned run average with a 22.6% strikeout rate through 148 1/3 innings in the Pacific Coast League.

Houston has off days in each of the next three Thursdays. That allows them to operate without a fifth starter following Gusto’s appearance on Saturday until their series against the Blue Jays between April 21-23. Lance McCullers Jr. figures to return before Arrighetti does. He has made a pair of minor league rehab starts, tossing 50 pitches in an outing for Double-A Corpus Christi on Saturday. McCullers has not pitched in an MLB game since the 2022 World Series because of multiple arm injuries, so the Astros will surely proceed with caution as they build the righty back.

White Sox Re-Sign Travis Jankowski To Minor League Deal

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The White Sox announced that outfielder Travis Jankowski has been signed to a minor league deal. He had cracked the club’s Opening Day roster but was designated for assignment about a week into the campaign. He cleared waivers and elected free agency before now returning on a new deal. That’s a fairly common sequence of events as veterans might perhaps work out new opt-out dates in a subsequent contract.

Jankowski, 34, is generally a speed-and-defense outfielder. He has over a decade in the big leagues at this point but has only once played more than 117 games in a season. He has 102 stolen bases in 127 attempts. His 3,520 innings of outfield work have resulted in 30 Defensive Runs Saved and 33 Outs Above Average.

The offense has been more mercurial. He was around league average with the 2023 Rangers, helping them win the World Series that year, but his bat fell off steeply the following season. He has a .235/.319/.304 batting line in his career. That amounts to a 76 wRC+, indicating he’s been 24% below league average overall.

The Sox have been rotating various veterans through their outfield mix, alongside Luis Robert Jr. and Andrew Benintendi. They signed Mike Tauchman in the offseason but he required an IL stint to begin the year. Austin Slater, Michael A. Taylor and Jankowski have also seen some playing time.

Tauchman’s return from the IL bumped Jankowski off the roster but he could have a good shot at playing time later in the year. Everyone in that outfield mix should be available on the midseason trade market. Slater and Taylor are one-year deals. Robert has some club options but is in the final guaranteed season of his deal. Tauchman can be retained via arbitration next year but was just non-tendered at the end of last season. Benintendi’s deal runs through 2027 but he’s playing well and the Sox would probably love to sell high since he struggled in 2023 and 2024. He landed on the IL today due to an adductor strain, though it may be a fairly minor issue. Greg Jones was recalled to take his place on the active roster.

Whether it’s due to trades or injuries, it’s unlikely that the entire outfield group stays intact for the remainder of the season. If an opening arises, Jankowski could step in and retake his spot on the roster.

Seth Beer, Mark Mathias Sign With Atlantic League’s Long Island Ducks

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Former big leaguers Seth Beer and Mark Mathias signed with the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League this week. The team announced both signings.

Beer, 28, was a first-round pick by the 2018 Astros who wound up being one of four players traded to the D-backs in the last-minute deadline blockbuster that brought Zack Greinke to Houston in 2019. The first baseman/designated hitter appeared in parts of two seasons with Arizona, hitting a combined .208/.294/.292 in a small sample of 136 plate appearances from 2021-22.

Though Beer hasn’t found much success in the big leagues, he’s a fairly accomplished hitter in Triple-A, where he’s slashed .262/.365/.463 with 40 homers across 1093 plate appearances in parts of four seasons. He’s walked at an above-average 9.3% clip there and has kept his strikeouts to a manageable 18.8% rate. The lefty-swinging slugger spent the 2024 season in the Pirates system, where he hit .277/.354/.431 in a combined 99 games between Double-A and Triple-A.

Mathias, 30, has a good bit more major league service time under his belt — more than two years’ worth — but much of it has been spent on the injured list. He’s suited up for the Brewers, Pirates, Rangers and Giants in a utility capacity, hitting a combined .246/.317/.391 in 199 plate appearances spread over 73 games. Injuries have been a major detriment to the former third-round pick’s career. He’s undergone two shoulder surgeries: one in college and another in 2021 to repair a torn labrum. That second procedure cost him the entire 2021 season.

As with Beer, Mathias has a strong Triple-A track record but more modest big league numbers in scattershot playing time. He’s a .288/.383/.454 hitter in three Triple-A campaigns, during which he’s tallied 919 plate appearances. Mathias has walked in an impressive 12.8% of his Triple-A plate appearances against a 21.5% strikeout rate. He’s spent the bulk of his pro career at second base but has more than 1000 innings of work at third base in 200-plus innings at shortstop and in the outfield corners.

White Sox Place Andrew Benintendi On IL With Adductor Strain

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The White Sox announced that outfielder Andrew Benintendi has been placed on the ten-day injured list, retroactive to April 7, with a left adductor strain. Fellow outfielder Greg Jones has been recalled to take his place on the active roster.

The news isn’t significant for the Sox in the short-term. They were unprecedentedly bad last year, setting a modern era record with 121 losses. They are out to a 2-8 start this year. They’re one of the few teams in the majors not actively trying to compete.

But they would surely love for their veteran players to build trade value and Benintendi is one of the most interesting guys to watch in that regard. Broadly speaking, his signing has not worked out well. The Sox gave him a five-year, $75MM pact ahead of the 2023 season but he hit just .246/.309/.374 for a wRC+ of 90 over the first two seasons.

However, he did have a strong finish last year. He started out with a brutal .195/.230/.284 showing, carrying that line when he headed to the IL in June due to an Achilles injury. He came off the IL and then hit 16 home runs in his final 322 trips to the plate. He drew walks at a 9.9% clip and only struck out at an 18.9% pace. His .251/.326/.470 line in that time translated to a 124 wRC+.

That gave him a bit of momentum coming into 2025, which has been up-and-down so far. He was hit by a pitch early in spring and fractured a bone in his hand, putting him on ice for a few weeks. He was able to get healthy by Opening Day and has a strong .290/.333/.484 line in his first 33 plate appearances this year. Unfortunately, he’ll now have to be put on the shelf for a while.

It may not be an extended absence. Benintendi departed Sunday’s game due to this adductor issue. The Sox didn’t initially put him on the IL, perhaps suggesting it was more of a day-to-day thing. But after a few days, he’s now been placed on the IL after all. Since it’s been backdated by two days, he could theoretically be back in just over a week.

Once he’s back, he would ideally pick up where he left off. He’s making $16.5MM this year and will be owed $31MM over the final two years of the deal. That will leave about $37MM left to be paid out when the deadline is approaching. Given his inconsistent performance in recent years, the Sox would probably have to eat a bunch of that to line up a deal, but they should be able to do that easily since they have almost nothing else on the books. How much they have to eat will depend on what kind of health/performance they get from Benintendi in the coming months.

For now, White Sox fans can get their first look at Jones, who was claimed off waivers from the Rockies just before Opening Day. He has only six big league plate appearances but has huge speed. He stole 46 bags in the minor last year, despite only playing in 89 games.

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