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Read The Transcript Of Nicklaus Gaut’s Fantasy Baseball Chat

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Nicklaus Gaut will be talking fantasy baseball with Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers today at 11 am Central Time. Get your question in early or participate in the live event at the link below!

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MLB Mailbag: Duran, Bregman, Mariners, Yoshida, Donovan, Giants, Angels

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I'm pinch-hitting for Tim Dierkes on this week's edition of the MLBTR Mailbag. We'll tackle questions on Jarren Duran and the Padres, Alex Bregman's opt-out status, Donovan Solano and Tyler Locklear in Seattle, Masataka Yoshida, Brendan Donovan, some Giants rotation standouts, the Angels' bullpen and more!

Ross asks:

With the report that the Padres are interested in Jarren Duran, what would be a reasonable return for the Red Sox?

As we discussed on the podcast this week, the Padres/Duran connection feels like it's drawing a bit more attention than it should, at least based on the chances of him actually changing hands (even more so if we specifically zero in on the Padres). That's not to say there's no chance of a Duran deal, but the Padres have a clear need in the outfield and an ultra-aggressive baseball operations leader in A.J. Preller. It'd frankly be more surprising if they hadn't inquired on Duran.

That said, it's worth diving into a bit. Duran had a borderline MVP-caliber season last year, hitting .285/.342/.492 with plus defense and elite baserunning. Baseball-Reference valued him at 8.7 wins above replacement. We've seen players named MVP with lesser WAR totals than that, but Duran was an afterthought in the 2024 race thanks to outrageously good seasons from Aaron Judge, Bobby Witt Jr. and (to a slightly lesser extent) Juan Soto.

The Padres' farm system was once a powerhouse but is now top-heavy and lacking depth. Shortstop Leo De Vries and catcher Ethan Salas are among MLB's 25 best prospects, but there's not a lot of other talent in the hopper. It makes a deal difficult to envision -- for multiple reasons.

Unlock Subscriber-Exclusive Articles Like This One With a Trade Rumors Front Office Subscription

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  • Access weekly subscriber-only articles by Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams, and Anthony Franco.
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MLB To Propose Automatic Ball-Strike Challenge System For 2026

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The challenge system for calling balls and strikes seems to be less than a year away. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred tells Evan Drellich of The Athletic that the league will propose that change, to go into effect in the 2026 regular season, to the Competition Committee. While the term “propose” may sound uncertain, MLB essentially has the ability to pass any on-field rule changes it wants.

MLB and the Players Association established the Competition Committee within the 2022 collective bargaining agreement. It’s an 11-person panel that consists of six league personnel, four player representatives, and one umpire. That committee can pass rule changes by majority vote.

The league reps have a majority of their own, so they’re able to pass any league initiatives over the objections of the players as long as there’s no dissension within their ranks. That happened with the 2023 changes that included the introduction of the pitch clock and limits on defensive shifts, which the Committee passed over unanimous “no” votes from the four players.

The MLBPA knew at the time of the 2022 CBA that the setup was essentially handing over complete control of on-field rules to the league. MLB had a formal unilateral right to implement rule changes under previous CBAs, but the union had the ability to block any change for one year before the league could override it. The Competition Committee has the authority to implement a rule change after 45 days, so any offseason measures go into effect the following season.

The players on the Committee may well be in support of the automatic zone regardless. (It’ll perhaps be more interesting, if ultimately irrelevant, to see how the lone umpire representative votes.) MLB initially had floated the concept of using a completely electronic strike zone, but it backed off that after receiving player feedback that it’d have too adverse an impact on catchers who make a living off their pitch framing acumen. They’ve tested the challenge system for years in the minors and introduced it to MLB Spring Training this year.

Human umpires will continue to make the vast majority of the ball-strike calls. Each team receives two challenges that would turn to the electronic zone to potentially overrule a call they feel is incorrect. Challenges must be called for in real time by either the hitter, catcher or pitcher. An overturned call does not result in a forfeited challenge. The limit on the number of incorrect challenges encourages players to challenge only if the call is either so egregious that they’re confident they’ll get it overturned or comes on pitches that might be particularly decisive to the outcome of the game.

Additionally, Manfred was noncommittal on when the league had interest in moving forward with a potential change to allow hitters to use bat tracking metrics to challenge check swing calls. The league began testing that with minor league players in the Arizona Fall League last season. It has not been used in any MLB exhibition games. MLB is unlikely to propose it without testing it in big league Spring Training, as they did with the ABS challenge. Manfred suggested that testing might not happen next year because of the more pressing strike zone change.

“We haven’t made a decision about the check-swing thing. … I think we got to get over the hump in terms of either doing ABS or not doing it before you’d get into the complication of a separate kind of challenge involved in an at-bat, right,” he told Drellich. “You think about them, they’re two different systems operating at the same time. We really got to think that one through.”

MLBTR Podcast: Jarren Duran Rumors, Caglianone And Young Promoted, And Pitching Injuries

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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 Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • If the Diamondbacks can’t climb in the standings, what does their deadline look like? (48:45)
  • As a thought experiment, if the Orioles were willing to listen on Gunnar Henderson, what teams would even have the pieces to pull off a trade? (54:10)

Check out our past episodes!

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

Photo courtesy of Brett Davis, Imagn Images

Yasmani Grandal Steps Away From Red Sox

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Yasmani Grandal informed the Red Sox’s Triple-A team that he is stepping away from his minor league deal. Grandal did not officially announce his retirement, but it appears he’s leaning that way.

“At the moment, it looks like he’s probably going to walk away and potentially hang them up,” Triple-A manager Chad Tracy told MassLive’s Katie Morrison-O’Day on Tuesday. “We talked (Monday), and I knew he was going to pack up and go…his response was ‘it’s time to be dad.’” The Sox technically placed him on the restricted list, according to the MLB.com transaction log. Francys Romero confirms that Grandal does not intend to return to the Boston organization.

Grandal signed a minor league deal with the Sox in mid-April. He bypassed a contractual opt-out on May 1 and ultimately appeared in 23 games for Worcester. While he posted a decent .256/.372/.397 batting line, the Sox have a more locked-in catching duo than they did at the time he signed. Connor Wong had just broken his finger. Carlos Narváez was playing in front of Blake Sabol. Wong returned on May 2, while Narváez has impressed enough to take over as the primary catcher. Sabol was recently designated for assignment, so Grandal would probably have been the first one up in the event of an injury, but that was his only real path to the big leagues.

If this is the end of his playing days, he’ll walk away as one of the more productive catchers of his generation. Grandal was a two-time All-Star who twice received down-ballot MVP votes. He has spent parts of 13 seasons in the big leagues. A first-round pick by the Reds in 2010, he was dealt to San Diego as a prospect in a blockbuster deal for Mat Latos. Grandal played parts of three seasons with the Padres before he was packaged in another significant trade, moving to the Dodgers alongside then-prospect Zach Eflin for Matt Kemp.

Grandal arguably did his best work in a Dodger uniform. He hit .238/.337/.453 while grading as an elite pitch framer over four seasons. He played one All-Star season with the Brewers before joining the White Sox on a four-year, $73MM free agent deal. The contract didn’t end well, but he posted a career-best .420 on-base percentage over 93 games in 2021. His most recent (and potentially final) MLB work came with the Pirates last season, when he hit .228/.304/.400 across 72 contests as the veteran in a catching group that also included Joey Bart and Henry Davis.

Mariners, Daniel Bard Agree To Minor League Contract

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The Mariners are in agreement with veteran reliever Daniel Bard, reports Rob Bradford of WEEI. The ISE Baseball client will head to the team’s Arizona complex for some work before reporting to Triple-A Tacoma. Bradford adds that the deal contains multiple opt-out dates if Bard isn’t called up to the big league roster.

Bard is a few weeks shy of his 40th birthday. He missed all of last season recovering from surgeries to address a meniscus tear in his left knee and, more concerningly, a flexor tendon tear in his forearm. It seemed the latter injury might end Bard’s career, but he embarked on a comeback effort and threw in front of roughly ten teams last month. The Mariners evidently liked what they saw.

It has been a winding career path. Bard was a quality setup man in Boston for a few seasons until running into significant command woes. He bounced around the minors and even retired for a time to take a non-playing role with the Diamondbacks. Bard announced he was making a comeback in 2020. It improbably kickstarted a second act with the Rockies, with whom he eventually emerged as closer. He combined for 54 saves between 2021-22, working to a 1.79 ERA in the latter season.

Colorado signed Bard to a two-year, $19MM extension shortly before the 2022 trade deadline. That didn’t pan out, as his control issues resurfaced the following year. He managed a 4.56 ERA across 49 1/3 innings while walking more than 21% of opposing hitters. The second season of the deal was wiped out by the aforementioned injuries. Bard is a much less risky flier for the Mariners, who will see how his stuff plays in Tacoma after his tune-up at the complex. His fastball still had good life before the flexor surgery, as he averaged 95 MPH on his sinker in 2023.

MLBPA, Tony Clark Hire Counsel Amid Federal Investigation

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Last week, ESPN’s Jeff Passan and Don Van Natta Jr. reported that the MLB and NFL Players Associations were the subjects of a federal investigation. According to ESPN, the FBI had contacted multiple players involved with the MLBPA regarding OneTeam Partners — a joint venture initially co-founded by the two players unions and a private equity firm that is concerned with issues outside the collective bargaining agreement (e.g. licensing deals for the use of player likenesses).

The players themselves are not the target of the investigation. ESPN wrote that an anonymous complainant filed allegations with the National Labor Relations Board late in 2024 that — among other things — accused MLBPA executive director Tony Clark of “improperly (giving) himself and other executives equity” in OneTeam. It seems that’s the cause for this investigation; the MLBPA has previously denied those allegations. According to ESPN, the NFLPA commissioned its own audit after the NLRB filing and determined that the NFLPA was in compliance with accepted practice.

There aren’t many specifics available. Evan Drellich of The Athletic wrote last night that Clark (as an individual) and the MLBPA have hired separate attorneys. That’s sensible because the allegations in the NLRB complaint, if true, could involve a conflict of interest between Clark and the union.

Clark has been the head of the Players Association since 2013. He has led two rounds of collective bargaining negotiations. He’s currently positioned to do so again in 2026. Last spring, he and deputy director Bruce Meyer weathered an internal push from a segment of the players who wanted to oust them in favor of former minor league advocate Harry Marino.

Rangers Re-Sign Tucker Barnhart To Minor League Deal

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The Rangers announced that catcher Tucker Barnhart has been re-signed to a minor league deal. He had just elected free agency yesterday after clearing waivers. He’ll presumably report to Triple-A Round Rock in the coming days.

Though the Rangers just bumped Barnhart off their roster, they are likely happy to have him back in a non-roster capacity. At the big league level, they have Jonah Heim and Kyle Higashioka splitting the catching duties but they don’t have any other backstops on the 40-man.

Barnhart, 34, signed a minor league deal with the Rangers and came into the year as the top depth option at the position. That got him to the majors when Higashioka suffered a hamstring injury. He didn’t get much playing time, however. In over a month on the roster, he got into eight contests and made 15 plate appearances with a .231/.333/.231 line.

If either Heim or Higashioka heads to the injured list later this year, Barnhart will have a good chance of coming back up to the majors since he has over a decade of big league experience. He’s never been a huge threat at the plate, with a career .241/.318/.351 line and 78 wRC+, but he has received lots of praise for his glovework over the years.

Photo courtesy of David Butler II, Imagn Images

Tigers Activate Sawyer Gipson-Long

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June 4: The Tigers announced Gipson-Long’s activation today. Righty Dylan Smith was optioned to Triple-A Toledo as the corresponding active roster move. To open a 40-man spot, righty Jason Foley was recalled and placed on the major league 60-day IL. Foley underwent season-ending shoulder surgery in May while on optional assignment. Due to this move, he’ll get major league pay and service time while spending the rest of the year on the IL.

Foley came into this year with his service time clock at three years and 33 days. He should finish this season at 3.149, give or take a day. The Tigers can now retain him via arbitration through the 2028 season. However, he’ll be a non-tender candidate at the end of this year due to his health status. He is making $3.15MM this year and shouldn’t be able to push that any higher due to his injury absence.

June 3: The Tigers will activate Sawyer Gipson-Long to start tomorrow’s game against the White Sox, manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free-Press). He’ll be reinstated from the 60-day injured list, which will require a 40-man roster spot. The Tigers don’t have an obvious candidate to move to the 60-day IL. They’ll likely designate someone for assignment tomorrow.

Gipson-Long will take an MLB mound for the first time since September 2023. He injured his elbow last spring and required an internal brace UCL surgery. Knowing he’d miss the entire season either way, he also underwent a labrum repair on his left hip over the summer. He’ll make his return a little more than 13 months after the elbow procedure. He has taken the ball five times on a rehab stint going back to May 8. He reached 5 1/3 innings and 53 pitches during his final appearance with Triple-A Toledo last week.

Now 27, Gipson-Long has four MLB starts to his name. Those all came at the end of the 2023 season. He pitched well over 20 innings, working to a 2.70 ERA while striking out nearly 32% of opponents. It came against a soft slate of lineups, but it would have put him in the mix for the fifth or sixth spot on the rotation depth chart last year had he been healthy.

Injuries to Reese Olson and Jackson Jobe have opened that opportunity for now. Detroit has Tarik Skubal, Jack Flaherty, Casey Mize and Keider Montero operating as their top four at the moment. Veteran righty Alex Cobb recently began a rehab assignment; he’s been out all season with a hip issue.

Poll: Should The Marlins Trade Ryan Weathers?

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When it comes to trade candidates on the Marlins, the majority of the focus has been squarely on right-hander Sandy Alcantara. A recent Cy Young award winner who missed last season while rehabbing Tommy John surgery, Alcantara is earning a healthy salary on a team that is seemingly always looking for opportunities to lower its already-meager payroll and has enough team control remaining for rival clubs to convince themselves to part ways with prospects they’d never consider dealing for a rental arm.

That all makes Alcantara a sensible and attractive trade candidate on paper, but a major issue with those plans has emerged this year: he simply isn’t pitching very well. The righty’s 7.89 ERA through 12 starts is the worst mark among starters with at least 50 innings this year, and even more advanced metrics like his 5.04 FIP and 4.85 SIERA are the 11th- and tenth-worst figures in the sport respectively. It’s going to be hard to convince opposing teams to pay a premium for Alcantara as he’s currently pitching, and that’s a problem for a Miami club that’s in the midst of a deep rebuild.

While Alcantara might not be pitching like the front-line starter the team was hoping to be able to market to needy clubs this summer, another intriguing arm has inserted himself into the discussion with a strong start to the season: left-hander Ryan Weathers. The 25-year-old started the 2025 campaign on the injured list due to a forearm strain he suffered during Spring Training, but in four starts since returning he’s looked nothing short of excellent with a 2.49 ERA, 25.3% strikeout rate, and a 43.1% ground ball rate. Those peripherals don’t quite live up to that ERA, but even his 3.60 SIERA to this point in the year puts him on par with arms like Merrill Kelly and David Peterson who have established themselves as solid mid-rotation, playoff-caliber starters.

On top of his solid performance, Weathers would also be extremely attractive as a trade candidate because he’s making less than $780K this season and comes with plenty of team control. The southpaw won’t be a free agent until the end of the 2028 season, so even clubs facing tight budget restrictions in the short term or who aren’t interested in adding long-term salary commitments could have interest in his services if he’s made available. Weathers’ combination of strong results and a team-friendly contract situation could make him an extremely valuable trade asset for the Fish this summer.

With that being said, there are certainly strong reasons to think the Marlins may not want to part ways with the southpaw. Weathers is still just 25 years old and has yet to complete a full, healthy big league campaign with the club. Four starts is a small sample size that could make him difficult to market, and while good health should allow him to get more like ten to twelve starts under his belt before trade season kicks into high gear, it’s possible he’ll take a step back and wind up pitching closer to the 3.63 ERA and 4.11 FIP he posted in 16 starts last season going forward. Even if he does keep this level of success up, there’s certainly an argument to be made that Weathers could be dealt at a later date when he’s more established and teams might feel more comfortable surrendering a large trade package for him.

What’s more, Weathers’ three seasons of team control after this one could make the Marlins a bit more reluctant to trade the lefty. Miami surely hopes to be competing for the postseason again before 2029, especially with players like Kyle Stowers, Connor Norby, Agustin Ramirez, and Xavier Edwards showing themselves to be solid pieces this year. A potential front three of Eury Perez, Max Meyer, and Weathers under long-term team control would go a long way to making the Marlins legitimate contenders sooner rather than later, and many of those aforementioned pieces only have one more year of team control than Weathers does. Moving someone like Edward Cabrera, who has the same amount of team control remaining as Weathers but is two years older, could also be a preferable option given that Weathers is set to hit free agency ahead of his age-29 season.

Of course, many of the reasons that Weathers would be difficult to part ways with now could be argued as reasons he should be traded at some point. His injury history may make him less valuable in trade, but the Marlins are seeing right now with Alcantara what struggling after a major arm injury can do to a player’s value. The lefty’s youth would mean he’s in the prime of his career when the Marlins will hopefully be trying to contend again, but it also would make him a prime extension candidate for a club with deeper pockets than Miami. The collection of talent the club has at its disposal is impressive, but it still leans much more towards pitching than offense, so swapping a player like Weathers for a bat with similar control could go a long way to improving the team.

How do MLBTR readers think the Marlins should handle Weathers this summer? Should he be kept off the market entirely, shopped aggressively, or moved only if a team makes an overwhelming offer? Have your say in the poll below:

Should The Marlins Deal Ryan Weathers?
The Marlins should only trade Weathers if they get an exceptional offer. 57.72% (1,114 votes)
The Marlins should trade Weathers for whatever they can get this summer. 29.48% (569 votes)
The Marlins shouldn't trade Weathers this summer, no matter what. 12.80% (247 votes)
Total Votes: 1,930

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