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AL Central Notes: Lugo, Ragans, Castro, Meadows

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Seth Lugo was scratched from a scheduled start today against the Cardinals, as the Royals right-hander is battling inflammation in the middle finger of his throwing hand.  The hope is that Lugo will be out for just one turn in the rotation, manager Matt Quatraro told reporters (including Jaylon Thompson of the Kansas City Star) though “we are in the very early stages of it and we are going to see how [Lugo] responds” to the extra rest.  Last season’s AL Cy Young Award runner-up is having another good year with a 3.02 ERA over 56 2/3 innings, though Lugo’s 4.26 SIERA and his Statcast metrics aren’t nearly as flattering.

It was just a few weeks ago that the Royals skipped a Cole Ragans start due to a minor groin strain for the southpaw, but while Ragans was able to avoid the injured list at the time, his nagging injury continues to be a concern.  Ragans left during the sixth inning of yesterday’s game due to left groin tightness, though Quatraro described the removal as somewhat preventative.  Rookie Noah Cameron will be recalled from Triple-A to start today’s game in Lugo’s place, and Cameron might well be in line for an extended look in the majors if one or both of Lugo or Ragans ultimately require a 15-day IL stint to fully heal up.

More from around the AL Central…

  • X-rays were negative on Willi Castro’s right knee after the Twins utilityman made an early exit from yesterday’s 3-0 win over the Brewers.  Castro fouled a ball off his knee during a first-inning at-bat and was able to play in left field in the bottom of the frame, but was replaced in the bottom of the second.  The injury was officially termed as a knee contusion, and it remains to be seen if Castro will be okay after a day or two of rest, or if he may require a stint on the 10-day injured list.  Castro’s numbers (.235/.306/.367 in 108 plate appearances) are down from his All-Star production in 2024, though he has continued to be a versatile option all over the diamond, already logging starts at five positions this year.  The injury bug already bit Castro once this season, as he missed over two weeks recovering from an oblique strain.
  • Parker Meadows is traveling with the Tigers on their current road trip in Toronto, and the outfielder is scheduled to throw from the outfield to the bases in pre-game drills today.  Manager A.J. Hinch told Jeff Seidel of the Detroit Free Press and other reporters that Meadows’ ability to throw is “the last step for him to hopefully get him to a rehab assignment soon,” and the club will monitor how Meadows’ arm is feeling tomorrow.  Meadows has missed the entire season due to a musculocutaneous nerve problem in his right arm, and his placement on the 60-day injured list will keep him off Detroit’s roster until May 26 at the earliest.  Given the long layoff and Hinch’s observation that Meadows “doesn’t have to be fully 100% back throwing wise to go on a rehab assignment,” it would seem like the outfielder will need quite a few games in the minors to get up to full readiness, so a June return seems more likely.  While the 30-15 Tigers have baseball’s best record even without their starting center fielder, the club will be even stronger with a healthy Meadows, a superb defender who was also an offensive sparkplug during Detroit’s late-season surge in 2024.

Oswaldo Cabrera Undergoes Surgery To Repair Fractured Ankle

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May 17: It is “probably unlikely” that Cabrera will play again in 2025, Boone told Greg Joyce and other reporters on Friday, though an official diagnosis won’t be known for 7-10 days.  Beyond the fracture, Cabrera’s ankle also had some related ligament damage, which Boone said made the surgery “a little more involved” than initially expected, “but all things considered, fairly successful, too.”

May 16: Cabrera announced on Instagram that he underwent ankle surgery yesterday. A timetable for his return still isn’t clear, but the 26-year-old offered some heartfelt perspective after having time to reflect:

“After such a sad night for me, having so many negative thoughts after twisting my ankle so brutally, in so much pain, I went to try to sleep so I wouldn’t give in to more bad thoughts,” he wrote. “When I woke up, one of the first things I did was grab my phone. I didn’t have hundreds, I had THOUSANDS of messages from my family, friends, fans, agents, coaches, teammates — I simply had messages from EVERYONE. I dropped the phone on the bed and with a big SMILE on my face, the first thing I could say was ’God, how blessed I am.’  … I want to THANK YOU ALL. Thank you for worrying about me, for every message, for keeping me in your prayers, for making me feel so supported. This is something that my family and I will never forget!”

May 13, 1:30pm: The Yankees announced that Cabrera has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a left ankle fracture. LeMahieu has been reinstated from the IL as the corresponding move.

7:40am: While the Yankees beat the Mariners 11-5 last night, the primary focus in the aftermath of last night’s game was not on the score but on the status of infielder Oswaldo Cabrera. As noted by Greg Joyce of the New York Post, Cabrera went down while attempting to score on a sac fly due to an ankle injury, and eventually had to be loaded onto a stretcher so an ambulance could take him off the field and transport him to a local hospital. Some sort of update on Cabrera’s status will likely be made available at some point today, although it seems all but certain he’s ticketed for an extended absence.

“I think everyone understands it was a pretty serious situation,” manager Aaron Boone said of the injury, as relayed by Joyce. “Just praying for our guy Cabby tonight and hoping for the best. Trust that he’s in good hands as he goes through the night. Obviously a great game in a lot of ways, but a lot of guys feeling for their teammate, who’s the best of them.”

With Cabrera presumably out for the foreseeable future, the Yankees will need to figure out how to address an infield mix that already had questionable depth with him in the mix. Anthony Volpe and Paul Goldschmidt are both everyday players at shortstop and first base respectively, but second and third base are both major question marks. Jazz Chisholm Jr. can play one position or the other on a regular basis but is currently on the shelf with a “high-grade” oblique strain that will keep him out of commission for at least another month. The Yankees are getting DJ LeMahieu back from the injured list tomorrow, as he was already expected to rejoin the club today even prior to Cabrera’s injury.

LeMahieu was previously expected to get regular playing time at second base for the time being, but it’s possible that Cabrera’s injury shifts that expectation. While he hit just .204/.269/.259 in his age-35 campaign last year, LeMahieu offers a lengthy track record as an average-or-better hitter in the majors and hit quite well during his rehab assignment at the minor league level. That’s likely enough to make him the Yankees’ top infielder after Volpe and Goldschmidt due to the slim pickings.

Jorbit Vivas is currently holding things down at second base but has hit just .158/.304/.211 in ten games at the position. Pablo Reyes and Oswald Peraza are both on the roster as well, but Reyes is hitting an even more lackluster .174/.240/.174. Peraza has slashed only a slightly more more respectable .204/.278/.388 in 54 plate appearances this year, and could be platooned with the lefty-swinging Vivas at whichever position LeMahieu doesn’t play.

Outside of the players currently in the active roster mix, the depth is lacking. Braden Shewmake offers a left-handed alternative to Vivas and is already on the 40-man roster, but he’s hitting just .197 with a 94 wRC+ at Triple-A this year. Andrew Velazquez and Max Burt are both in the organization as potential upper-level depth options, but Velazquez has never hit much in either the majors or minors while Burt has just 47 games at Triple-A under his belt as a 28-year-old. Perhaps the Yankees could look for an external addition to their infield, but any players available at this point in the calendar would likely be relatively low-impact options.

The Mariners Need To Shake Up Their Offense

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Mariners fans entered the season with something of a sour outlook on the 2025 season. That's understandable, given an offseason in which the front office was clearly handcuffed by payroll limitations and a paper-thin trade market for big league hitters. Armed with a only a reported $15-16MM to patch over multiple needs in the infield, there wasn't a lot out there for president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto and general manager Justin Hollander to realistically pursue.

Seattle wound up rolling the dice on a handful of cost-effective infield options. Jorge Polanco returned on a one-year deal with a conditional player option. Donovan Solano snagged a $3.5MM guarantee. Rowdy Tellez signed a minor league deal and made the team after a big spring showing (.298/.320/.574 in 50 plate appearances).

Frustration was understandable. The Mariners had made a big splash at the prior deadline, reeling in Randy Arozarena from the Rays, but fans hoping for a similarly bold strike in the offseason after another narrow playoff miss were left wanting.

That frustration likely faded for many as the Mariners raced out to a blistering start. On May 7, they sat with a 22-14 record, leading the American League West by a three-game margin and sporting a +31 run differential. One might imagine that the Mariners were again being carried by their brilliant rotation, but that wasn't the case -- at least not entirely. George Kirby has still yet to throw a pitch in 2025 as he recovers from some shoulder inflammation. Logan Gilbert hit the injured list on April 25 and remains there. Bryan Woo has been brilliant. Luis Castillo has been good. Gilbert was his typically excellent self prior to his flexor injury. But the Mariners' starting pitching, as a whole, has been a middle-of-the-pack unit.

Instead, Seattle's hot start was largely attributable to a surprisingly potent offense. Through that previously mentioned May 7 date, M's hitters were slashing .247/.340/.415, resulting in a 122 wRC+ that ranked third in the majors. They were fourth in home runs, seventh in runs scored, 12th in batting average, second in on-base percentage and ninth in slugging percentage.

In the week-plus since that time, the Mariners have lost five of six games and posted a collective .206/.259/.326 batting line (70 wRC+). Typically, there's little sense panicking over a week of poor results, but there was already reason to be a bit skeptical of Seattle's sudden offensive prowess. Good as Cal Raleigh is, he's not going to continue at a 50-homer pace. Polanco isn't going to keep his OPS north of 1.000. J.P. Crawford isn't sustaining a .410 OBP, nor will Leo Rivas keep hitting .341. Those timely early-season hot streaks buoyed the Seattle offense but can't all be sustained.

The Mariners seemingly recognize that some new blood is needed; they claimed Leody Taveras off waivers from the division-rival Rangers and took on about $3.7MM in salary to do so. That was an understandable move with both Victor Robles and Luke Raley on the injured list for the foreseeable future, but it shouldn't be the only one the Mariners consider.

Let's run through a few easy ways to bolster a lineup that is facing even more pressure than usual now that Bryce Miller has joined rotation-mates Kirby and Gilbert on the injured list...

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Mets’ Anthony Gose, Jon Singleton Trigger Upward Mobility Clauses

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Mets minor leaguers Anthony Gose and Jon Singleton each triggered upward mobility clauses in their contracts, reports Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. That requires New York to offer them to other teams. If another club is willing to give either player a big league roster spot, the Mets would need to call them up themselves or let them head elsewhere (likely in a trade for cash).

Gose signed a minor league deal last December and was with the Mets in Spring Training. He worked six innings of one-run ball in camp. Gose has pitched 15 times for Triple-A Syracuse, pitching to a solid 3.31 earned run average over 16 1/3 frames. He has fanned a quarter of opponents but is walking more than 15% of batters faced. That’s par for the course for Gose, a former outfielder with a mid-90s fastball and scattershot command.

The Mets are stretched on left-handed relief depth after the A.J. Minter and Danny Young injuries. They called up minor league signee Génesis Cabrera to work as Carlos Mendoza’s primary southpaw. They added a second lefty last night, acquiring José Castillo in a DFA trade with the Diamondbacks. Gose has a relatively clear path to the big leagues in Queens, though they’ve already added two other depth arms to their bullpen instead of promoting him.

Singleton, a lefty-hitting first baseman, was in camp with the Astros. Houston released him at the end of Spring Training. He signed a minor league deal with New York at the beginning of April. He has appeared in 33 Triple-A games, batting .216/.358/.432 with seven home runs.

He’s hitting for power and drawing plenty of walks, but he has fanned in nearly 30% of his plate appearances. Singleton had a career-high 405 trips to the plate with Houston last year, batting .234/.321/.386 with 13 homers. With Brett Baty hitting well since being recalled two weeks ago, the Mets probably wouldn’t have room for Singleton if another team were willing to call him up.

Fantasy Baseball: Happy Stabilization Day!

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Hello, friends.

It's finally here. Like a baseball Christmas morning, we can finally say everything matters. No more, "it's just April" or "don't worry, regression is coming" -- none of that couching is necessary anymore. The numbers are in. Or, at least, enough of them are.

The Rubicon has been crossed and there is no turning back because it's officially official, fellow number-nerds...

It's Stabilization Day!

That's right, fellow nerds; all of your favorite fantasy numbers have officially stabilized, with much of the relevant player pool either having crossed or getting ready to cross the necessary thresholds for doing so. Let me explain, completely.

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Kristian Campbell Taking Drills At First Base

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Kristian Campbell started doing first base drills before the Red Sox’s series opener against the Braves. Boston has been patching things together at the position since Triston Casas suffered a season-ending knee injury two weeks ago.

“Looking for options,” manager Alex Cora said about Campbell’s pregame work (link via Chris Cotillo of MassLive). “Obviously, we’re getting Romy (Gonzalez) probably by the end of the week or early next week. But just introducing (Campbell) to first base and seeing how it looks. … It can take 10 days, 15 days, a month, two months, but we started the process.”

Gonzalez, a utility infielder, got first crack at the position after the Casas injury. He was sidelined by a quad contusion a week later. As Cora noted, the Sox expect he’ll be back after a near minimal stint. Abraham Toro and Nick Sogard, each of whom were in Triple-A at the beginning of the month, are splitting first base until Gonzalez returns.

The Sox approached Rafael Devers about taking first base reps. He indicated he wasn’t willing to do so, publicly expressing frustration with chief baseball officer Craig Breslow after the Sox moved him off third base to designated hitter at the beginning of the season. Devers has not played a single defensive inning all year.

Campbell has no collegiate or professional experience as a first baseman. He has played mostly second but also has experience at both left side infield positions and all three outfield spots. Campbell has started 34 games at the keystone during his rookie season. He has added 50 outfield innings — 38 in center and 12 in left. While it’s not worth placing much stock in six weeks of defensive metrics, Campbell has not graded well at second. Statcast has him two runs below average, while Defensive Runs Saved has graded him six runs below par. That’s tied with Jake Cronenworth for second-worst at the position (above Washington’s Luis García Jr.).

It doesn’t seem the Sox are planning an imminent first base move for Campbell. They may be reluctant to kick a 22-year-old top prospect down the defensive spectrum as a short-term response to an injury. There’s little harm in seeing how Campbell takes to pregame work, though, and the Sox have another top middle infield prospect looming. Marcelo Mayer is hitting .274 with eight homers at Triple-A Worcester. He could eventually push the scuffling Trevor Story for playing time at shortstop. If Campbell were to move to first, one of Mayer or Story could slide to second base.

Twins Place Carlos Correa On Concussion IL

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The Twins have placed shortstop Carlos Correa on the seven-day concussion injured list. He and outfielder Byron Buxton collided while attempting to make a catch yesterday and both players entered concussion protocol. Per Bobby Nightengale of the Star Tribune, Buxton is still in the protocol and there won’t be an update before tonight’s game starts. Infielder/outfielder Ryan Fitzgerald has been selected to take Correa’s place on the roster. To open a 40-man spot, right-hander Michael Tonkin has been transferred to the 60-day injured list. Dan Hayes of The Athletic was among those to relay the moves.

In yesterday’s game, Cedric Mullins lofted a pop-up to shallow center field, as seen in this video from MLB.com. Correa drifted out to get it while Buxton charged in. Buxton tried to call off Correa at the last second but Correa wasn’t able to get out of the way. The two collided with both appearing to take a knock on the head. Both were removed from the game and placed in concussion protocol.

It’s unclear how long Correa is expected to be out but his health obviously take priority in a situation like this. The Twins have Brooks Lee at shortstop tonight and he could see regular time there for now. Willi Castro is also an option but he’s in left field tonight, helping to cover on the grass while Buxton and Harrison Bader are both banged up.

Though it’s not under the most pleasant of circumstances, Fitzgerald gets to the majors for the first time, just ahead of his 31st birthday. He has been grinding in the minors for a while, making his professional debut back in 2018.

He’s never really been on the prospect radar but is having a great season. He has taken 148 Triple-A appearances so far this year, drawing a walk in 12.8% of those while only striking out 19.6% of the time. He has four home runs and a .328/.426/.528 line, which translates to a 154 wRC+.

What also probably appeals to this Twins is his defensively versatility. In his minor league career, he has played every position outside of the battery. In addition to Correa and Buxton, the Twins are also working around minor injuries to Bader and Ty France, though the latter is in the lineup tonight. Whatever happens, Fitzgerald should be able to help them out.

As for Tonkin, this doesn’t change much about his status. He has been on the 15-day injured list since the start of the season due to a rotator cuff strain and his 60-day count can be backdated to that initial placement. That means he can technically be reinstated as soon as late May. He started a rehab assignment in the middle of April but that was recently shut down, per Hayes. As of that May 11th update, Tonkin had just experienced a setback due to tendinitis in his right bicep and was set to receive an anti-inflammatory injection.

Photo courtesy of Mitch Stringer, Imagn Images

Diamondbacks Place Eduardo Rodríguez On IL With Shoulder Inflammation

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The Diamondbacks announced today that left-hander Eduardo Rodríguez has been placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to May 15th, with left shoulder inflammation. Lefty Joe Mantiply has also been optioned to Triple-A Reno. To take those two spots, the club has recalled right-hander Scott McGough and selected the contract of righty Christian Montes De Oca. The 40-man roster had two vacancies due to Garrett Hampson and José Castillo being designated for assignment earlier this week. Per John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Phoenix, righty Ryne Nelson will take E-Rod’s rotation spot, taking the ball on Tuesday.

There haven’t been a lot of publicly reported details about Rodríguez or his injury, but it’s possible he was feeling it last time out. He started on Wednesday against the Giants but wasn’t very effective. He allowed four earned runs in four innings and was pulled after throwing just 76 pitches. The velocity on most of his offerings was down about one mile per hour relative to his previous start. Perhaps the club will provide more information but it seems the lefty will need to miss at least a couple of starts.

That will give Nelson a chance to retake a rotation spot, at least for now. He logged 150 2/3 innings for the Snakes last year, mostly as a starter. He had a 4.24 earned run average, 20% strikeout rate and 5.4% walk rate.

Despite those strong numbers, he got pushed down the depth chart when the Snakes signed Corbin Burnes in the offseason. Burnes joined a rotation group next to Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Brandon Pfaadt, Jordan Montgomery and Rodríguez. Montgomery required Tommy John surgery in March, but Nelson was still unable to get a rotation job.

He opened the year in a long relief role and has thrown 26 1/3 innings with a 5.13 ERA, but better peripherals. He has struck out 25% of batters faced while giving out walks at an 8.9% clip. A low 62.5% strand rate is not doing him favors, perhaps why his FIP is 3.71 and his SIERA at 3.45.

Kelly, Gallen and Montgomery are all free agents at the end of this year, while Burnes has an opt-out after 2026. Nelson is under club control through 2028 and could perhaps earn a long-term rotation spot with some strong results this year. Though if Rodríguez returns in relatively short order, it’s possible Nelson finds himself back in the bullpen again.

Montes De Oca, 25, gets the call to the big leagues for the first time. An international amateur signing out of the Dominican Republic, he has 181 1/3 minor league innings under his belt to this point in his career. In that time, he has a 4.17 ERA, 25.2% strikeout rate and 8.2% walk rate. He’s out to a good start this year, despite pitching in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. In 19 Triple-A innings, he has a 2.37 ERA, 23.3% strikeout rate, 5.5% walk rate and 57.7% ground ball rate.

Photo courtesy of D. Ross Cameron, Imagn Images

Athletics Option Osvaldo Bido, Designate Jason Alexander For Assignment

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The A’s made a few moves on the pitching staff before tonight’s series opener in San Francisco. They selected relievers Anthony Maldonado and Matt Krook into the big league bullpen. They’ll take the roster spots of righties Osvaldo Bido and Jason Alexander. Bido was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas, while Alexander was designated for assignment. They only needed to open one 40-man roster spot, as they still had a vacancy after returning Rule 5 pick Noah Murdock to Kansas City last week.

The pitching staff took a beating yesterday. The Dodgers put up 19 runs. Bido and Alexander took most of the damage. Bido started the game but was unable to escape the second inning, allowing six runs. Alexander was the first man out of the bullpen. He had an even tougher time, allowing nine runs on seven hits (including a trio of homers) and four walks across 2 1/3 frames. Mitch Spence took the next three innings before backup catcher Jhonny Pereda got a mop-up frame.

Bido has operated as Mark Kotsay’s fifth starter all season. He’d pitched well in a swing role last year, turning in a 3.41 ERA through 63 1/3 innings. This year has been a struggle. Bido has allowed 5.82 earned runs per nine over 43 1/3 frames. His strikeout rate has plummeted from a solid 24.3% mark to this year’s 14.6% clip. He has surrendered 10 home runs, more than two per nine innings. Bido has yet to complete six innings and has allowed four or more runs in all but one of his last five starts.

That kind of production clearly isn’t cutting it. The A’s don’t have an off day until Memorial Day. They’ll need to find another starter to operate behind Luis Severino, Jeffrey Springs, Gunnar Hoglund and JP Sears. That might be J.T. Ginn, who has been out for three weeks with elbow inflammation. He tossed 64 pitches in a rehab start in Las Vegas on Wednesday and might make his next start in the big leagues.

Alexander loses his 40-man roster spot entirely. The A’s had signed him to an offseason minor league deal and selected his contract two weeks into the season. He has given up 13 runs (12 earned) in six innings over four MLB appearances. Alexander has been far better over five Triple-A starts: a 1.27 ERA with a 23.6% strikeout rate and massive 63.6% grounder percentage across 21 1/3 frames.

Maldonado and Krook were offseason acquisitions who’ll be in line for their team debuts. The 27-year-old Maldonado debuted with 19 innings of 5.68 ERA ball for the Marlins last year. The A’s claimed the righty off waivers early in the offseason and ran him through waivers a few months later. He has been excellent for Las Vegas, reeling off 12 1/3 frames of one-run ball with 17 strikeouts. Maldonado leans most heavily on a mid-80s breaking ball and has a low-90s sinker.

Krook, 30, is a left-hander who has five career big league innings. He signed a minor league deal over the winter. Krook has allowed six runs (five earned) over 14 innings with the Aviators. He has racked up 21 strikeouts but has walked eight batters and hit another. He has gotten an impressive combination of whiffs and ground-balls throughout his minor league career, but that has been undercut by well below-average command.

Pirates Select Nick Solak

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The Pirates made a move just before tonight’s game in Philadelphia, selecting second baseman/corner outfielder Nick Solak onto the big league club. Pittsburgh optioned Ji Hwan Bae to Triple-A Indianapolis to create an active roster spot, while recently-claimed utilityman Michael Helman was designated for assignment in the 40-man roster move.

Solak, 30, is back in the big leagues for the first time since 2023. The right-handed hitter only made two appearances that year, one apiece with the Braves and Tigers. He’d appeared in 35 games for Texas the year prior. His most recent regular MLB action came with the 2021 Rangers, when he suited up in 127 games and batted .242/.314/.362 with 11 home runs.

A former second-round pick by the Yankees, Solak has bounced around to various organizations over the past few seasons. He was viewed as a bat-first prospect without a clear defensive home. He hasn’t hit enough to make that work at the major league level, running a modest .252/.327/.372 slash line in nearly 1000 career plate appearances. Solak has reliably hit minor league pitching, including a .291/.379/.472 mark over parts of six Triple-A seasons.

This year is no exception. Solak is out to a massive .393/.452/.625 start through 32 games with Indianapolis. He leads the International League in average and ranks among the top four hitters (minimum 100 plate appearances) in both on-base percentage and slugging. He has connected on six homers and doubles apiece, plus one triple. He’s drawing walks at a decent 9.5% rate and has kept his strikeouts to a tidy 13.5% clip.

The Bucs are hoping he can carry a fraction of that production over against big league pitching. They’ve again had one of the sport’s weakest offenses. Solak draws into the lineup tonight at first base against Phils southpaw Ranger Suárez. The Pirates will activate lefty-hitting Spencer Horwitz either tomorrow or Sunday. Horwitz is going to be the primary first baseman, especially against righty pitching. Solak could see more playing time in left field, where neither Tommy Pham nor Alexander Canario has been effective. He’s out of options, so the Pirates could not send him back down to the minors without running him through waivers.

The move almost immediately costs Helman his roster spot. Pittsburgh had grabbed him off waivers from the Cardinals on Wednesday; he has yet to make an appearance in the organization. The 28-year-old Helman debuted with nine games for the Twins late last season. He was traded to St. Louis shortly before the start of Spring Training. Helman is out to an awful .185/.260/.292 start in Triple-A this year, but he hit .271/.350/.487 with 14 homers in 72 games at that level a year ago. Pittsburgh will likely place him back on waivers in the next few days.

@smokeymeats45 first reported that Solak was being called up.

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