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Brewers Designate Tyler Alexander For Assignment

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The Brewers announced this morning that they’ve designated left-hander Tyler Alexander for assignment. The move makes room for southpaw Jose Quintana to be activated from the injured list.

Alexander, 31 next month, has pitched to an ugly 6.19 ERA in 36 1/3 innings of work to this point in the season. That’s 35% worse than league average by ERA+, but it must be noted that Alexander’s peripherals tell a different story. An elevated .331 BABIP and comically low 47.2% strand rate indicate poor fortune for the lefty when it comes to batted balls and sequencing, and that’s reflected in his 3.58 FIP and 4.27 SIERA.

Both of those are fairly solid figures, and it’s not hard to imagine Alexander bouncing back if offered the opportunity to do so by another club. Alexander’s career 4.67 ERA hardly jumps off the page, but his ability to handle multiple roles and eat innings should make him an attractive arm for teams in need of pitching help. The Brewers will have one week to either trade the lefty or place him on outright waivers. If he clears waivers, Alexander could be outrighted to the minor leagues but has the requisite service time to reject an assignment in favor of free agency.

Alexander’s departure makes room for the return of Quintana to the active roster. The lefty made six starts with an impressive 2.65 ERA despite a lackluster 4.56 FIP for Milwaukee earlier this year but went on the shelf with a shoulder impingement in early May. Quintana is set to rejoin the club’s rotation today, taking the ball against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, and will round out a staff that had previously been relying on just four pitchers: Rookie Quinn Priester and Chad Patrick as well as veterans Freddy Peralta and Aaron Civale. Tobias Myers, Elvin Rodriguez, and Logan Henderson have been called upon to fill in as necessary throughout the season but are all currently in the minor leagues.

Quintana’s return to action comes at a time when the Brewers are attempting to turn what had been a tough start to the season around. They’ve won their last six games in a row, putting them back up above .500 with a 31-28 record, and now sit just 2.5 games back in the Wild Card race. First baseman Rhys Hoskins has helped to carry a lineup that’s finally beginning to heat up, and Brandon Woodruff is expected to make his long-awaited return to the rotation in the not-too-distant future as well.

Latest On Pirates’ Deadline Plans

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The Pirates are 22-37 to this point in the season, leaving them with the second-worst record in the National League ahead of only the lowly Rockies. They’re already 11.5 games back of a Wild Card spot and 14.5 games behind the Cubs in the race for the NL Central crown. It’s hard to imagine them turning things around quickly enough to avoid being sellers at this year’s trade deadline. That led to plenty of buzz on social media speculating about the possibility of Pittsburgh brass listening to offers on star right-hander Paul Skenes, but reporting has unequivocally dismissed that notion.

USA Today’s Bob Nightengale confirmed this morning that the Pirates are “flatly rebuking” interest from rival clubs in Skenes and fellow young star Oneil Cruz, but he did report that the front office will at least listen to offers on the rest of their roster. It’s a sensible stance for the club to take. After all, Skenes and Cruz are both exciting young players with superstar potential and plenty of team control remaining: Cruz is controlled for three seasons after this one, while Skenes is controlled for four. With the rest of the club’s most prized players either out for the season (Jared Jones) or still in the minor leagues (Bubba Chandler), listening on the rest of the roster throughout the summer could allow the Pirates to best position themselves to improve for 2026 and beyond.

It should be noted that just because the organization is willing to listen on a player does not mean a deal coming together should be expected. The Pirates have plenty of other assets that are both intriguing and under longer-term control that they would surely be hesitant to part with for anything less than an impressive return. Right-hander Mitch Keller and lefty Bailey Falter are both controlled through the end of the 2028 season (the same length of time as Cruz) and have emerged as affordable and reliable rotation pieces in recent years. That sort of talent is difficult to part with, even for a club as deep in exciting pitching talent as the Pirates.

Speculatively speaking, it’s not hard to imagine the Pirates only being willing to part with those pieces if they were able to receive a similarly-talented player with a comparable team control who better fits the club’s needs in return, as was the case when they swapped Luis Ortiz to the Guardians for Spencer Horwitz this past winter. Much more likely to be moved on the pitching side of things are shorter-term pieces like Andrew Heaney, Caleb Ferguson, and David Bednar. MLBTR’s Steve Adams recently discussed the Pirates’ pitching staff in a piece for Front Office subscribers that provides a more detailed look at the players Pittsburgh could consider moving.

On the hitting side of things, Nightengale specifically floats two names as possible trade chips: outfielder Bryan Reynolds and third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes. Both are under long-term team control after previously signing eight-year extensions with the team: Reynolds is in the third year of a deal that runs through 2030 with a club option for 2031, while Hayes is in the fourth year of a deal that runs through 2029 with a club option for 2030. Perhaps that would make them seem likely to be off-limits for a team that surely hopes to contend while Cruz and Skenes are still in town, but it’s not hard to see why the Pirates may be more willing to part with them.

Both are owed significant guaranteed money—no small factor for an organization with Pittsburgh’s payroll constraints—and neither has quite lived up to the expectations placed on them when their deals were signed. Hayes is an elite defender at the hot corner and has shown the ability to be a three-win player with even average offense in the past, but he’s been dogged by injuries throughout his career and is hitting just .229/.283/.285 (58 wRC+) over the past two years. Reynolds is already in his age-30 campaign, is a poor defender restricted to the outfield corners, and has hit just .264/.332/.442 (109 wRC+) over the past three seasons. He’s even been below average (87 wRC+) this year, and while his expected numbers remain strong it would be understandable for the Pirates to move on if they received a return they were satisfied with.

Even as the Pirates are likely willing to listen to offers on both players, however, there are plenty of obstacles to trading either one. Hayes will still be owed $36MM (including a $6MM buyout on the 2030 club option) after 2025, and while that’s hardly an exorbitant sum it’s difficult to justify taking on that expense and surrendering a meaningful return for a player who hasn’t been more than replacement level since 2023. Reynolds is a more productive player, but he’s owed more than $77MM on a contract that runs through his age-35 season and is already showing signs of decline. Unless the Pirates are interested merely in clearing salary off their books and a willingness to accept a relatively weak package in return, the team would surely be better off waiting for Hayes and Reynolds to improve—or at least for their contracts to become less onerous as more gets paid down—in order to trade them.

Even if Hayes and Reynolds appear unlikely to exchange hands this summer, that doesn’t mean the Pirates have no one to dangle on the hitting side of things. All parties surely want Andrew McCutchen to retire in Pittsburgh, but Isiah Kiner-Falefa is a pending free agent who has put together a solid enough season (108 wRC+) to attract plenty of interest. Tommy Pham and Adam Frazier are also pending free agents, but have struggled this year and may not garner much outside interest. One other intriguing option would be moving catcher Joey Bart, who has hit .256/.341/.406 (109 wRC+) in a Pirates uniform but could be moved if Pittsburgh is ready to pass the torch to Henry Davis and Endy Rodriguez.

Astros Promote Jacob Melton

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June 1: The Astros today announced Melton’s promotion to the big leagues. In corresponding moves, Dezenzo was placed on the 10-day injured list due to left hand inflammation while right-hander Ronel Blanco was transferred to the 60-day injured list.

May 31: The Astros are poised to select the contract of outfielder Jacob Melton, per a report from Ari Alexander of KPRC2. A corresponding move is not yet known, but Houston will need to create room on both the 40-man and active rosters in order to promote Melton.

Melton, 24, was Houston’s second-round pick in the 2022 draft. He is rated as the club’s #2 prospect by MLB Pipeline and became the club’s top prospect according to Baseball America’s ranking when fellow youngster Cam Smith graduated from prospect status earlier this month. Scouts have typically viewed Melton as a roughly average offensive performer, with above average raw power and solid bat-to-ball skills that are held back by an aggressive approach at the plate that leads to poor swing decisions and struggles identifying certain offspeed pitches.

Those flaws at the plate may restrict Melton’s offensive upside, but he’s universally lauded as a solid contributor both in the field and on the basepaths. Additionally, whatever concerns scouts may have about Melton’s approach haven’t stopped him from succeeding in the minors to this point. In 17 games at the Triple-A level so far this year, Melton has hit an impressive .254/.371/.508. That’s good for a 132 wRC+ even in the inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League. Given those solid numbers, it’s not hard to see why the Astros have decided to give their young outfielder a shot at the big league level.

The timing of Melton’s promotion is especially prudent considering Houston’s current lineup situation. The switch-hitting Victor Caratini has been the club’s only regular hitter who bats from the left side ever since Yordan Alvarez went on the injured list in late April. Meanwhile, center fielder Jake Meyers is the club’s only true outfielder on the roster at the moment; longtime second baseman Jose Altuve has begun to split time between left field, DH, and the keystone this year, while both Smith and Zach Dezenzo have become fixtures in the corner outfield mix as well despite spending the vast majority of their minor league careers at third base.

Chas McCormick was also on the roster as a true outfielder alongside Meyers, but he was placed on the injured list today due to an oblique strain and replaced by infielder Shay Whitcomb on the roster. Altuve, Smith, and Dezenzo may have been enough to handle the outfield corners even without McCormick, but Dezenzo left today’s game with what the organization referred to as “left hand discomfort” and (according to Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle) is scheduled to undergo imagine tomorrow morning. With Dezenzo potentially out as well, it makes plenty of sense for Houston to get a lefty bat back into the lineup and shore up an outfield mix in desperate need of reinforcements by bringing Melton into the fold.

Reds’ Wade Miley Triggers Opt-Out; Joe La Sorsa To Exercise Upward Mobility Clause

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June 1: Wittenmyer now reports that Miley has triggered his opt out and has become a free agent.

May 31: Southpaw Joe La Sorsa is currently on a minor league deal in the Reds organization, but Ari Alexander of KPRC2 reports that the lefty plans to utilize the upward mobility clause in his contract, which is scheduled to go into effect on June 1. In addition, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes that the Reds face a decision on southpaw Wade Miley. The veteran signed a minor league deal back in January that granted him a uniform opt out opportunity on June 1, as it does for all Article XX(B) free agents. According to Wittenmyer, the organization anticipates that Miley will exercise that opt-out opportunity if Cincinnati declines to add him to their 40-man roster before then.

La Sorsa, 27, is an interesting relief arm who has two seasons of experience in the majors with the Rays and Nationals. He posted a 4.47 ERA with a 4.61 FIP across 50 1/3 innings of work between the 2023 and ’24 campaigns, though his strikeout rate of 19.2% over his time in the majors is rather pedestrian. Alexander writes that La Sorsa has added more than five ticks of velocity to his fastball relative to 2024, bringing it up to 94 mph. Impressive as that jump in velocity might be, his stats are fairly pedestrian at Triple-A so far this year. While he’s posted a 3.92 ERA in 20 2/3 innings of work this year, his identical 16.1% strikeout and walk rates suggest the lefty is something of a project who will need to make further adjustments before he can become a quality contributor in the majors.

With that being said, the upside of a lefty pitcher with a mid-90s fastball is certainly tantalizing, and given that La Sorsa has options remaining it would not be a shock to see a team take a shot on him. Teams will have 24 hours to claim La Sorsa and put him on their 40-man roster, though the Reds can prevent him from departing by putting him on their own 40-man. If he goes unclaimed and the Reds decline to add him to their 40-man, La Sorsa will remain with the club at Triple-A going forward.

Turning to Miley, the 38-year-old veteran of 14 MLB seasons is certainly the bigger name of the two lefty pitchers the Reds are at risk of losing tomorrow. Miley has more than 300 starts in the majors under his belt and boasts a career 4.07 ERA (103 ERA+) with a 4.15 FIP. The lefty underwent Tommy John surgery after just two appearances with the Brewers last year and is still in the midst of his rehab following that procedure. While an aging veteran who is rehabbing from major surgery on a minor league deal isn’t exactly the type of pitcher that normally jumps out as a potentially impactful addition, Miley has arguably gotten better with age: from 2018 to 2023, his posted a 3.43 ERA (131 ERA+) with a 4.24 FIP in 582 2/3 innings of work.

A mid-to-back of the rotation veteran like that would normally be a slam dunk to be added to the club’s roster, making the opt-out somewhat irrelevant. Unfortunately, Miley is still shaking off the rust after his long layoff in somewhat hit-or-miss rehab starts; he’s pitched to a 5.93 ERA in four rehab starts at Triple-A this month, and while that includes an encouraging outing where he allowed just two runs in five innings of work he’s also striking out just 11.1% of his opponents across these outings. Perhaps there are pitching-hungry teams who would like to roll the dice on the veteran, but it would be understandable if the Reds weren’t one of them given their solid rotation of Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, Andrew Abbott, Nick Martinez, and Brady Singer.

NL West Notes: King, Waldron, Ohtani, Giants

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The Padres provided an update on the status of right-hander Michael King earlier today, as relayed by Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune. The good news is that King’s shoulder issue, which sent him to the injured list just last weekend, is not structural in nature. Rather, Sanders writes that the right-hander is dealing with a pinched nerve. Less fortunate, however, is that the Padres remain in the dark about what King’s timetable for a return to action will ultimately look like.

“Now that we’ve been able to locate what the issue is … just trying to get a handle on how to release that nerve a little bit that’s preventing that (scapula) from being able to fire appropriately,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said, as relayed by Sanders. “We’ve got some really smart people, including Michael himself, involved with that process that will get that going as soon as possible, and how soon that is is to the discretion of that nerve.”

The cause of the pinched nerve isn’t known, though King was initially scratched from his start last week due to discomfort in his shoulder after sleeping on it uncomfortably the night prior. Sanders adds that King sought a second opinion on the issue earlier this week and that, because he’s already started to improve, the Padres are not yet ruling out him resuming playing catch by the end of next week. That would potentially allow him to return to the rotation shortly after his minimum stint on the injured list expires without a rehab start, although ultimately King won’t be able to return until the nerve issue has completely resolved itself. Sanders suggests that right-hander Matt Waldron, who pitched 146 2/3 innings for San Diego last year but has been sidelined all season so far due to an oblique strain, could be ready to return from the injured list in the near future and take up King’s rotation spot while he’s on the shelf.

More from around the NL West…

  • The Dodgers watched as Shohei Ohtani continued his slow-going return to pitching earlier today, as Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times was among those to report that the superstar threw two innings of live BP against the Dodgers’ minor league hitters this afternoon. Harris notes that’s a slight uptick from last week’s 22 pitches, and that Ohtani recorded one strikeout and one walk along during the session. After the session, manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including USA Today’s Bob Nightengale) that the outing was a “positive” one for Ohtani, though his command wasn’t quite as sharp as his last time out. That Ohtani is continuing to make progress in his rehab is encouraging, although he remains expected to not pitch until some point in the second half of the season. Fortunately, rehabbing hasn’t seemed to slow him down one bit at the plate, as he entered play today slashing .294/.394/.670 with a 187 wRC+, 22 homers and 11 steals.
  • The Giants could be looking to make a change at first base in the near future, even with top prospect Bryce Eldridge not yet at Triple-A. As Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle reported on yesterday, the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Sacramento tabbed former top prospect Marco Luciano to serve as their first baseman in a game earlier this week. It’s a new position for the 23-year-old, who has already appeared at second base, shortstop, and in left field over the years, but Rubin notes that the River Cats are expected to continue using Luciano at first going forward as concern mounts about the club’s production at the position in the majors. LaMonte Wade Jr. is the club’s starter at the position, but after entering the year with a 115 wRC+ in a Giants uniform he’s slashed just .171/.278/.279 with a wRC+ of 60 across 48 games. Luciano has yet to hit in the majors himself, with a career 68 wRC+ in the majors, but even his meager production in 126 career plate appearances would be an improvement over Wade’s numbers this season. Plus, Luciano is a former consensus top-20 prospect in the sport who may be able to tap into that potential if offered regular reps at the big league level. While Luciano begins to learn the new position, the Giants will hope that Jerar Encarnación’s eventual return from the injured list is enough to help improve the club’s first base production going forward.

Cionel Perez Accepts Outright Assignment

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The Orioles announced this evening that left-hander Cionel Perez has cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk. He’ll report to the minors and be utilized as a non-roster depth option going forward.

Perez, 29, came up to the big leagues with the Astros back in 2018. He ultimately didn’t get much run with the club, serving as an up-and-down piece for Houston across three seasons with the club where he posted a 5.74 ERA in 26 2/3 innings of work. An equally disappointing and short-lived stint with the Reds followed in 2021, but ahead of the 2022 season Perez was plucked off waivers by the Orioles and placed into their bullpen mix for the coming year.

Once given regular reps on a club that entered the year still in the midst of a rebuild, Perez began to blossom. The lefty enjoyed the best season of his career in 2022 as he pitched to a sterling 1.40 ERA (278 ERA+) with a 2.80 FIP in 57 2/3 frames. A 23.5% strikeout rate and a 9.0% walk rate were both solid figures, but what made Perez truly stand out was his ability to keep the ball in the park. A 51.3% ground ball rate proved to be a big part of that, but Perez’s 4.3% home run to fly ball ratio appeared unsustainable from the jump. That made it far from surprising when his results regressed the following year, though he still remained an effective reliever with a 3.54 ERA and 3.84 FIP in 65 appearances.

Things started to take a turn for the worse last year, however. Despite peripheral numbers that were generally about the same or better as compared to 2023, Perez’s 2024 season saw his ERA balloon all the way up to 4.53. Perez’s strikeout and walk rates had slipped incrementally over the past two years and now sat at a lackluster 19.3% and 11.8%, respectively. While his 55.8% grounder rate and continued ability to avoid allowing home runs was enough to inspire some optimism about the possibility of a return to form in 2025, those hopes were quickly snuffed out by his early-season performance. Perez pitched to an 8.31 ERA with a 5.71 FIP across 21 2/3 innings of work this year before the Orioles decided to pull the plug last week.

Between those brutal results and a $2.2MM salary for 2025, it’s hardly a shock that no club opted to claim the lefty off waivers and try to help him improve his results going forward. Perhaps a club will view him as a low-cost reclamation project in the offseason when he won’t come with such an expensive price tag, assuming he hasn’t already turned things around by then. For now, Perez figures to attempt to get right at the Triple-A level in hopes of being utilized in the big league bullpen once again later this year. The floundering Orioles are appearing increasingly certain to sell at least some pieces at the trade deadline, so if the club fails to turn things around it’s not hard to imagine Perez getting another opportunity after the trade deadline if Baltimore parts ways with some of the pitchers currently in their bullpen mix.

Nationals Designate Jorge Lopez For Assignment

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8:20pm: Prior to this evenings’ game, manager Davey Martinez spoke to reporters (including Spencer Nausbaum of The Washington Post) about the Nationals’ decision to part ways with Lopez. According to Martinez, the Nationals decided that it was time to start focusing more on younger, internal bullpen arms and added that he didn’t think the organization was “the right fit” for Lopez.

Nausbaum goes on to reference an incident that occurred on May 29 where Martinez had to visit the mound to calm Lopez as he argued balls and strikes with the home plate umpire before allowing the game-tying runs in a game the Nationals would eventually lose. In reference to that situation, Martinez acknowledged his frustration but did not specifically connect it to the club’s decision to cut Lopez loose.

“It was tough,” Martinez said, as relayed by Nausbaum. “I can’t sit here and lie — I wasn’t happy about that whole situation. He needs to focus. He needs to understand that, in situations like that, he needs to get to that next pitch.”

5:16pm: The Nationals are designating right-hander Jorge Lopez for assignment, according to a report from TalkNats. Right-hander Eduardo Salazar will be recalled from Triple-A Rochester to fill Lopez’s spot on the active roster. The Nationals subsequently announced the moves. The report elaborates on the decision to DFA Lopez, suggesting that it was not for performance reasons despite the righty’s tough start to the 2025 season. The specifics of the situation leading to Lopez’s DFA are not currently known.

Lopez, 32, signed with the Nationals back in January on a $3MM guarantee. A veteran of ten big league seasons Lopez was a below-average starter and swing man for the Brewers, Royals, and Orioles from his debut in 2015 through the end of the 2021 season. The right-hander appeared in 102 games, made 58 starts, and threw 350 innings at the big league level over those years, but that volume was accompanied by an ugly 6.04 ERA and a 5.15 FIP. After years of trying to break into the majors on a consistent basis as a back-end starter without much success, Lopez and the Orioles decided to give a move to full-time relief a go in 2022.

The move to the bullpen hardly could’ve gone better. Lopez was an All-Star in his age-29 season, with a 2.54 ERA and 3.42 FIP across 71 innings of work between the Orioles and the Twins that year. That strong production was backed up by solid peripherals, including a 24.2% strikeout rate and a 57.8% groundball rate. It wasn’t hard to imagine that Lopez could have a future as a late-inning bullpen arm after that performance, but he took a big step back in 2023. While bouncing between the Twins, Marlins, and Orioles, the right-hander pitched to a 5.95 ERA with a 5.76 FIP in 59 innings of work. He elected free agency shortly before the end of the 2023 campaign, but bounced back with the Mets and Cubs last year to pitch to a 2.89 ERA with a 3.94 FIP across 53 innings of work.

That was enough to convince the Nats to give Lopez a $3MM contract and a shot at the closer role, though that job ultimately went back to Kyle Finnegan once he re-signed with the club following his non-tender earlier in the offseason. Lopez has delivered an ugly 6.57 ERA in 24 1/3 innings of work so far this year for Washington, but his peripherals have actually been quite solid with a 3.44 FIP, a 46.8% grounder rate, and a career-low 6.6% walk rate. That and a unsustainable strand rate of 50.6% that’s all but guaranteed to improve are enough to easily imagine Lopez turning things around this year, and the Nationals will now have one week to either work out a trade involving Lopez or put him on waivers for any of the league’s other 29 teams to claim should they have interest.

Of course, reporting indicates that Lopez’s departure from the Nationals is not due to his performance. Details about the situations leading to his departure are not presently clear, but it’s not the first time Lopez has been cut loose from an organization due to something other than his performance; the Mets parted ways with the right-hander just last year after a controversy where he tossed his glove into the stands following a difficult outing and was believed to have said in an interview with reporters after the game that the Mets were “the worst team in probably the whole f***ing MLB.” Lopez later clarified that what he had been calling himself “the worst teammate in probably the whole f***ing MLB,” though reporting from the Mets beat later indicated that the club planned to DFA him due to his actions regardless of the confusion surrounding his exact wording.

Whether whatever caused the Nats to part ways with Lopez today will be overlooked by other clubs in the league or not remains to be seen. The Mets clearly viewed Lopez’s actions last year as unacceptable, after all, but that didn’t stop the Cubs from signing the right-hander just one week after his release from the Mets organization. Regardless, the Nationals will now turn to Salazar in their bullpen for the time being. The righty has a 9.77 ERA in 17 appearances for the club this year, though he had some success in the majors as recently as last season when he posted a 2.76 ERA between the Dodgers and Nationals.

Craig Breslow Discusses Red Sox’ Struggles, Future Plans

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The Red Sox have been one of the more disappointing teams in baseball this year. While they’re shielded from consideration for the most disappointing club in MLB thanks to their division rivals in Baltimore, Boston entered the season as a trendy pick to win the AL East but currently sit three games under .500, 3.5 games back of a Wild Card spot, and 8.5 games back of the Yankees for the division title. While the calendar has not yet flipped to June and there’s plenty of time for a club floating around .500 to turn things around, that didn’t stop chief baseball officer Craig Breslow from expressing urgency in his comments to reporters (including Chris Cotillo of MassLive) regarding the state of the team earlier today.

“The simple answer is it’s not good enough. It’s not the performance we expected in the offseason,” Breslow said, as relayed by Cotillo. “It’s too late in the season and I think the the evidence is too strong to just say, ‘We’re gonna be OK tomorrow when we wake up.’”

Those comments seem to indicate that changes are necessary in order for the Red Sox to reach their maximum potential, though Breslow did not announce any specific changes ahead of this afternoon’s game against Atlanta. Reporting has subsequently indicated that there will be a handful of roster moves ahead of tomorrow’s game, but one name that does not yet appear to be coming up to the majors is top prospect Roman Anthony. Widely viewed as the sport’s top prospect and boasting a .306/.435/.505 slash line for Triple-A Worcester, fans have grown impatient waiting for his highly-anticipated major league debut.

Breslow’s comments didn’t shut the door to the possibility of Anthony coming up in the near future but didn’t provide any new hints that his debut could be on the horizon, with Cotillo suggesting that Breslow simply repeated past comments about wanting to call Anthony up into a situation where he’ll be able to thrive. Aside from the possibility of a promotion for Anthony, Breslow was also asked about the job status of manager Alex Cora. Breslow stood by his manager, referencing his decision to offer Cora a three-year extension last summer.

“We obviously made a commitment to Alex,” Breslow said, as relayed by Cotillo. “We’re gonna see that through. Right now, it’s about making sure that we’re doing everything we can to enable the 26 guys on our roster to help us win as many games as possible.”

It would certainly be a shock to find out that Cora is on the hot seat after the club committed to more $7MM annually to him for the 2025-27 seasons, so it’s hardly a surprise that Breslow shut down the idea of parting ways with his manager. Even so, the fact that the possibility of a change in the dugout came up at all during the scrum highlights the sense of urgency surrounding the Red Sox, and Cotillo adds that Breslow did not fully rule out the possibility of changes to the coaching staff. Breslow emphasized that the club is prepared to “pull a string that that we think will impact our success on the field” should one arise, though he also made clear that he wouldn’t want any changes made to “paper over a more deeply rooted problem.”

One place where the Red Sox appear poised to make some substantial changes in the near future is first base. While Rafael Devers seemingly remains unlikely to move to the position anytime soon, Kristian Campbell has been doing drills at the position in recent weeks and is expected to make his first career start at the position tomorrow, as Cotillo noted yesterday. Romy Gonzalez is also expected back from the injured list in the relatively near future after serving as the club’s primary first baseman during the brief stretch between Casas’s injury and his own. It’s unclear what sort of timeshare will be had at first base once Gonzalez and Campbell join Abraham Toro and Nick Sogard as players capable of handling the position on the roster, but it seems safe to expect everyone from that group who remains on the roster to make at least occasional appearances at first for the time being.

Red Sox To Select Nate Eaton

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The Red Sox are poised to select the contract of infielder/outfielder Nate Eaton ahead of their game against Atlanta tomorrow, according to a report from Chris Henrique of Boston Sports Journal. MassLive’s Chris Cotillo adds that the Red Sox are expected to recall right-hander Luis Guerrero tomorrow. The club’s 40-man and active rosters are both at capacity, meaning additional corresponding moves will be necessary to complete those transactions before tomorrow’s game.

Eaton, 28, made his big league debut with the Royals back in 2022 and posted solid numbers for the club across 44 games with a .264/.331/.387 slash line in 122 trips to the plate. The performance was enough to earn him a role on the 2023 club, but unfortunately he wasn’t able to maintain the previous year’s league average production in year two. His slash line collapsed to just .075/.125/.075 in 56 plate appearances, and that was all she wrote for Eaton’s big league career until now. He spent all of last year at Triple-A Omaha with the Royals but didn’t get called up to the majors, and this past offseason he signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox. He’s hitting a solid but unspectacular .277/.364/.446 (117 wRC+) in 225 plate appearances for Triple-A Worcester so far this year.

It’s not the most exciting profile, and it certainly won’t sate Red Sox fans who have been calling for the promotion of star outfield prospect Roman Anthony since Opening Day. With that said, Cotillo made the observation in the aftermath of today’s reporting regarding Eaton that Boston is likely to face a number of left-handed starting pitchers in the near future during series against the Angels and Yankees; given that the Red Sox have previously cited Anthony’s work against left-handed pitching as one area where they hope to see growth from the budding star, it’s not hard to see why the club might prefer an extra right-handed bat in the mix rather than bringing another lefty bat like Anthony into the fold, at least in the short term.

Turning back to Eaton, the 28-year-old offers another right-handed bat for a heavily left-handed Red Sox lineup and can bring versatility to the table. He’s played all three outfield spots and third base in the majors, with additional cameos at both second base and shortstop during his time with the WooSox. He’s also a threat on the basepaths, having swiped 27 bags in 31 attempts for Triple-A Omaha last year. It’s unclear what the corresponding move for Eaton’s addition to the roster will wind up being, and as such it’s hard to predict where exactly the Red Sox plan to use him in the coming days. If an outfielder like Rob Refsnyder or Ceddanne Rafaela is headed for the injured list, it would make sense for Eaton to get most of his reps on the grass. Meanwhile, if he subs in for a player like Nick Sogard or Abraham Toro, perhaps he’ll see most of his time bouncing around the infield.

As for Guerrero, Cotillo notes that the right-hander is not yet eligible to be recalled back to the big league roster unless it’s to replace an injured player, which suggests at least one member of Boston’s pitching staff is headed to the injured list. Whoever he may end up replacing, Guerrero has long looked ready for an extended opportunity in the majors. Since making his big league debut in 2024, the right-hander has pitched to a 0.59 ERA with a 2.42 FIP and a 22.8% strikeout rate. Those are excellent numbers, but they’ve come in just a 15 1/3 inning sample size in the majors with less encouraging results at Triple-A. Even so, given his success in short bursts at the big league level there’s little harm in giving Guerrero a longer look given the recent struggles of more established arms like the recently-injured Liam Hendriks.

Yordan Alvarez’s Swinging Halted Due To “Very Small” Hand Fracture

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Yordan Alvarez has been on the Astros’ 10-day injured list since May 3 due to inflammation in his right hand, and the slugger was thought to be nearing a return to the lineup as early as today.  However, Alvarez has now been shut down from swinging due to what GM Dana Brown described as a “very small fracture” in the ring finger of Alvarez’s hand.

The fracture was discovered after a live batting practice session on Friday, as Alvarez left the session feeling some discomfort in his hand.  Imaging found a fracture that is already about 60 percent healed, Brown said, and surgery won’t be required.

Though the GM said Alvarez might still be back in “the near future” and will continue other baseball activities besides hitting, this more serious injury raises new questions about exactly how long one of the league’s top hitters will be sidelined.  Hand problems have long been an issue for Alvarez, though his past hand-related injuries have also been just related to inflammation and soreness, rather than structural problems.

Alvarez had yet to get going (a .210/.306/.340 slash line in 121 plate appearances) at the time of his IL placement, but the three-time All-Star has traditionally been a bit of a slow starter.  It speaks to Alvarez’s high standards that a career .265/.350/.488 slash line in March and April counts as his weakest performance in any month of the regular season, though obviously his numbers this year were well below his past March/April production.

Houston’s lineup has still managed to post roughly middle-of-the-pack numbers even with Alvarez either struggling or absent, not to mention a lack of production from such regulars as Christian Walker and Brendan Rodgers.  Despite also dealing with several pitchers on the IL, the Astros are still in first place in the AL West, so another trip to the playoffs (or another deep run) certainly seems plausible if Houston can get everyone healthy and on track.  An in-form Alvarez would naturally be a major piece of that puzzle, but his IL stint will now stretch into June.

As noted by Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle, Alvarez’s situation shares some similarities with Kyle Tucker’s injury absence from last season.  Initial testing of what seemed to be a bone bruise in Tucker’s shin missed a small fracture, and Tucker ended up missing over three months of the regular season.  As with Tucker, Brown said that the amount of inflammation resulted in Alvarez’s fracture being overlooked by the first images, though an MRI did correctly diagnose a muscle strain.

“I think you don’t see the calcium buildup until like five weeks or so and that’s part of the problem,” Brown said.  “And then when you do these imagings and you have so much fluid and inflammation, it’s very, very difficult to diagnose these. And this is for the professionals that do it, it’s very difficult. And even with multiple opinions, it’s very difficult to see.”

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