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Tony Kemp Announces Retirement

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Veteran infielder/outfielder Tony Kemp has announced his retirement via social media (X link, Instagram link).

“After 12 years of professional baseball and nine seasons in the big leagues, I’ve decided to hang up the spikes,” Kemp wrote. In a lengthy farewell, he went on to thank his parents, his wife, his brother, Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin, all of the organizations for which he suited up in the majors (Astros, Cubs, A’s, Orioles) and all of the training staffs who incredibly helped him avoid spending even one day of his career on the injured list. The 5’6″ Kemp also offered a heartfelt message for “undersized” ballplayers everywhere:

“To the undersized ballplayer: I see you, I hear you, and I understand you. With all of the metrics and data in the game of baseball today, there is still one measurement they can’t compute: your heart. Continue to play the game the right way and respect it. The game will reward you, I promise. Leave no doubt and give everything you have like someone is watching you play baseball for the first time. I’m rooting for you all.”

Kemp, 33, was the Astros’ fifth-round pick out of Vanderbilt back in 2013. He was in the big leagues three years later, appearing in 59 games and hitting .217/.296/.325 in a small sample of 136 plate appearances. Kemp received a fleeting cup of coffee with the 2017 Astros (39 plate appearances) but landed his first real look in the majors in 2018. He totaled 97 games and 295 plate appearances for Houston that year and delivered a nice .263/.351/.392 batting line (110 wRC+) with a strong 10.8% walk rate against a tiny 14.9% strikeout rate.

The following season, Kemp turned in a decent performance through 66 games with Houston before being flipped to the Cubs in a deadline deal that brought catcher Martin Maldonado to the Astros. He struggled in a short 44-game tenure with the Cubs, who traded him to the A’s in an offseason deal netting them first baseman Alfonso Rivas III.

It proved to be a terrific move by the Athletics. Kemp delivered the best work of his career in green and gold, spending four seasons with the A’s and playing quite well for the first three. From 2020-22, he posted a .252/.341/.361 slash (105 wRC+) with savvy baserunning and quality defense at both second base and in left field. Kemp never hit for much power, but during that three-year peak with the A’s he drew walks at a 10.5% clip and flashed continually plus bat-to-ball skills, fanning in only 12.5% of his plate appearances.

The 2023 season was a tough one, as Kemp hit just .209/.303/.304 in 417 turns at the plate. Oakland cut him loose that offseason. Kemp went on to sign minor league deals with the Reds, Orioles and Twins. He briefly appeared in the majors with Baltimore last season, getting into five games but going hitless in 10 plate appearances.

Kemp spent a dozen years in pro ball, saw MLB time in nine seasons with four teams, and will retire with a .237/.324/.351 batting line in 739 MLB games and 2247 plate appearances. He picked up more than six years of big league service and, per Baseball-Reference, secured more than $8.5MM in career earnings (in addition to his $250K signing bonus out of the draft). Kemp was a popular teammate and a fan favorite based on his self-described “grinder mentality” on the diamond. Congrats to Tony on a successful career, and best wishes in whatever steps lie ahead.

Dodgers Notes: Rushing, Sasaki, Snell, Glasnow

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The Dodgers have gotten top catching prospect Dalton Rushing looks at first base and in the corner outfield to expand his defensive portfolio, but Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports that at least for the time being, Rushing will serve only as a catcher in the majors. The 24-year-old is set to make his MLB debut tonight when catching a bullpen game, and the plan is for him to catch twice a week while also participating in daily game-planning meetings, catching bullpen sessions and serving as a true understudy to veteran backstop Will Smith.

Rushing, the No. 40 overall draft pick in 2022, has torched Triple-A pitching dating back to 2024. He’s tallied 301 plate appearances there and turned in a .289/.409/.512 batting line, taking walks in more than 15% of his plate appearances along the way. Perhaps down the road, Rushing could see time at other positions if his bat again forces the team’s hand, but manager Dave Roberts likened today’s promotion to that of Smith several years ago.

“We did it with Will before his rookie year (when we) brought him up in September to get assimilated with how we do things on the game-planning stuff,” said the skipper. “In one sense, to not take at-bats every day, you could see some downside. But I think that having (him) here in this environment, around our pitchers, around our coaches … I think just net sum was more positive.”

Rushing will likely get the nod behind the dish tonight in a bullpen game that would have gone to right-hander Roki Sasaki were it not for a trip to the 15-day injured list due to a shoulder impingement. ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez writes that Sasaki’s shoulder discomfort began earlier this month. The right-hander himself described the issue as not necessarily painful, but limited mobility in his shoulder. Even in the absence of strict pain, sub-optimal range of motion in the shoulder is an obvious detriment to any pitcher’s ability on the mound.

The onset of the discomfort appears particularly evident when looking at Sasaki’s game log. He averaged 96.4 mph on his heater through his first six starts of the season but sat at 94.8 mph in each of his two most recent turns. His splitter had a similar drop, going from 85.2 mph on average to 84 mph. Even prior to his recent velo dip, Sasaki wasn’t throwing as hard as he did in Japan. Still, the results in those two most recent outings weren’t pretty — eight runs on 11 hits and four walks with only four strikeouts in nine innings pitched — and the Dodgers will now give that ailing shoulder a break.

A firm timetable for Sasaki’s absence isn’t yet established. Gonzalez notes that at least for now, Sasaki isn’t expected to receive any kind of injection to treat the shoulder. He’ll be down for a to-be-determined period, but the Dodgers will be back to a five-man rotation in short order, with Clayton Kershaw’s return set for this weekend.

Also on the mend are top starters Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow. Jack Harris of the L.A. Times reports that Snell was throwing in the outfield yesterday and is again moving forward with his throwing program after it was pushed back last week. Gonzalez adds that Glasnow, too, has been cleared to resume throwing. Both former All-Stars will need to progress through several milestones and then head out on a minor league rehab assignment, so a return for either isn’t exactly just around the corner — but it’s nevertheless encouraging to hear that both are trending in the right direction.

The Opener: Astros, Rangers, Bochy, Twins, Dodgers

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

1. Series Preview: Astros @ Rangers

The Astros are headed four hours north to face their intrastate rivals in a four-game series. The first of those games is scheduled for 7:05pm local time this evening and will feature a pair of the league’s best starters: 36-year-old veteran Jacob deGrom, who sports a 2.72 ERA and a 32.6% strikeout rate in eight starts, will be on the bump for the Rangers. The Astros will counter with 26-year-old righty Hunter Brown. Brown has been dominant dating back to last May and has continued his breakout performance into 2025, with a sterling 1.48 ERA and a 32.0% strikeout rate through his first eight starts.

Later in the series, the Astros will send Lance McCullers Jr. to the mound for his third outing since 2022 opposite Rangers righty Nathan Eovaldi, who has a 1.78 ERA through nine starts. Righty Ronel Blanco (4.04 ERA) will toe the rubber for Game 3 opposite righty Tyler Mahle (1.47 ERA). The ’Stros haven’t announced who will take on Rangers youngster Jack Leiter (4.34 ERA) in the series finale. Notably, if the Rangers win even one of these games, Bruce Bochy will earn the 2,195th win of his career, pushing him ahead of Sparky Anderson into sole possession of the sixth-most managerial wins in baseball history.

2. Twins go for 11 in a row:

The Twins swept their doubleheader against the Orioles yesterday, which officially took their recent winning streak to ten games — the longest in MLB this season. Minnesota remains in fourth place in the crowded AL Central division at the moment, but their 23-20 record is actually enough to put them in the driver’s seat for the third AL Wild Card spot (one game ahead of the previously mentioned Astros).

If the Twins want to sweep Baltimore and extend their winning streak to 11 games, they’ll need to go through 35-year-old Tomoyuki Sugano. The storied NPB ace is in the midst of his first season in the majors, and so far he’s excelled with a 2.72 ERA in eight starts despite some shaky peripherals (most notably the fourth-lowest strikeout rate in MLB, at 14.2%). Will the Twins and righty Chris Paddack — who has a 4.76 ERA on the season but a terrific 2.51 mark over his past six turns — be able to overcome him?

3. Rushing time in L.A.:

The Dodgers announced yesterday that they were calling up top catching prospect Dalton Rushing, and it seems likely he’ll make his big league debut tonight against the A’s and righty Osvaldo Bido, with first pitch set for 7:10pm local time in Los Angeles. The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya wrote last night that Rushing is expected to be behind the plate for a bullpen game today. Righty Matt Sauer is in line to open tonight’s game, which would’ve been started by Roki Sasaki were it not for a recent IL placement due to a shoulder impingement.

Rushing, 24, was the 40th overall pick back in 2022 and forced the Dodgers’ hand on a call to the big leagues with a terrific .308/.424/.514 batting line (145 wRC+), five homers, and a huge 15.9% walk rate in 132 plate appearances in Triple-A this year. That came on the heels of similarly excellent production in Triple-A late last season. Overall, he’s a .289/.409/.512 hitter in 68 games and 301 plate appearances at the top minor league level. Virtually every set of prospect rankings around the game has Rushing in the top 40 of the game, with MLB.com lauding him as baseball’s No. 15 prospect. FanGraphs pegged him eighth in the sport heading into the season.

MLB Mailbag: Cubs, Astros, Yankees, Mets

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This week's mailbag gets into potential starting pitcher trade targets for the Cubs, possible left-handed bats for the Astros, which Rangers have trade value, infield options for the Yankees, and the Mets' reported connection to Luis Robert Jr.

Colin asks:

As great as Colin Rea and Matt Boyd have been this season, the Cubs need more starting pitching, especially with Steele out for the year and Imanaga out for a couple more turns through the rotation. Sandy Alcantara seems like an obvious shout, but he has struggled so far this year. Who else could the Cubs feasibly target?

Marc asks:

Do you think the Cubs can survive til the trade deadline considering the perilous situation their in with starters?

I do think the Cubs can survive until the trade deadline with a rotation of Matthew Boyd, Colin Rea, Ben Brown, and Jameson Taillon, with Imanaga probably rejoining sometime in June.  I also don't think they have much of a choice, as sellers rarely make early deals.

But yes, the Cubs need to add a starter this summer.  Boyd has not topped 88 innings in a season since 2019, a threshold he's projected to reach on June 25th.  I made the case in March that Boyd's recent injury history doesn't necessarily mean he can't get to 150+ innings, but he is 34 and the Cubs' depth can't be pushed much further.  Ben Brown has never exceeded 104 innings, and he's on pace to get there by the end of July.  Cade Horton's career high is 88 1/3 innings in 2023.  In his next outing he'll pass last year's total of 34 1/3 frames.

The following teams have less than a 1% chance at the playoffs, so most of them could probably be persuaded to trade a starting pitcher now: the White Sox, Nationals, Marlins, Pirates, and Rockies.  The Angels belong here as well, but since they're 4.5 games out of a wild card, perhaps they'll need more time to wave the white flag.  Here's a look at starting pitchers who might be available from these clubs:

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MLBTR Podcast: Devers Drama, Managerial Firings, And Jordan Lawlar

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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…

  • Should the Orioles try to extend Cedric Mullins or Tomoyuki Sugano (35:05)
  • How real are the Twins and the Tigers? (39:00)
  • What should the Cardinals do in right field if Jordan Walker doesn’t get going? (44:50)
  • Why do the Mets seemingly do better with external pitching additions than their homegrown arms? (49:25)

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 Ken Blaze, Imagn Images

The Marlins Could Face Another Rotation Dilemma

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Last winter's offseason trade market featured mostly "baseball trades," swaps of big leaguers at positions of need between contenders. The handful of rebuilders had torn the roster so far down that they didn't have much to offer in the more common type of deal -- a quality player being dealt from a bad team to a good one in exchange for prospects.

The Jesús Luzardo trade was probably the biggest exception. The Marlins dealt him to the Phillies in the middle of December for a pair of low minors prospects, shortstop Starlyn Caba and center fielder Emaarion Boyd. A talented player down to his final two seasons of arbitration control on a team that lost 100 games is generally an obvious trade chip. Luzardo's candidacy was made more complicated by his injury history, most notably a back problem that ended his '24 season in June.

Miami's front office faced a risk-reward calculus. Should they hold Luzardo until the deadline? A strong first half could make him the best controllable starting pitcher available. Another injury would sap most of his remaining value. An offseason trade was the safer play, but it also came with lower upside as a bit of a sell-low move. For slightly different reasons, they may be faced with a similar decision two months from now on Sandy Alcantara.

It's too soon to render definitive judgments on the Luzardo trade. The southpaw's first eight starts with the Phillies couldn't have gone much better, though. He took a 2.11 ERA into this afternoon's start against the Cardinals, in which he fired another seven innings of one-run ball. Luzardo has struck out 26.6% of opposing hitters. His stuff looks as sharp as it did before last year's elbow and back issues. He's performing at a top-of-the-rotation level.

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Giants, Drew Ellis Agree To Minor League Contract

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The Giants are signing corner infielder Drew Ellis to a minor league deal. The move was announced by the Atlantic League’s Lexington Legends, where he had opened the season.

Ellis, 29, is a former second-round pick of the Diamondbacks. The Louisville product spent parts of two seasons with Arizona, batting .134 with 33 strikeouts in 97 plate appearances. He made a one-game cameo with the Mariners in 2022 and appeared in 12 contests for the Phillies the following year. That remains his most recent big league experience. Ellis spent some time in Triple-A with the Angels last season, posting a .243/.373/.414 line with almost as many walks as strikeouts in 134 plate appearances.

The right-handed hitter only spent two weeks with Lexington. He mashed over his 13 games, connecting on five home runs while batting .373 with nine walks and 11 strikeouts in 60 plate appearances. It was enough to get Ellis back into affiliated ball. He’s a career .247/.365/.490 hitter over parts of four Triple-A seasons.

Rich Rollins Passes Away

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Former All-Star Rich Rollins passed away this week at age 87, according to multiple reports. A third baseman, he spent the majority of his career with the Twins in the 1960s.

Rollins was born a little outside Pittsburgh and moved to Ohio as a child. He attended Kent State and signed with the Washington Senators in 1960. The franchise moved to Minnesota and rebranded as the Twins the following year. Rollins earned a cup of coffee during the first season in Minnesota. He opened the following season as the starter at the hot corner.

That rookie year was probably the best of Rollins’ career. He appeared in 159 games and hit .298/.374/.428 with career marks in homers (16) and RBI (96). He was selected to both All-Star teams — the league briefly had both a midseason and postseason All-Star Game at that time — and placed eighth in AL MVP balloting. Rollins hit another 16 homers while batting a personal-best .307 the following season. He again received a few down-ballot MVP votes.

Rollins had one more quality season and posted a cumulative .291/.356/.425 batting line between 1962-64. He placed among the top 30 qualified hitters in both average and on-base percentage during that stretch. His numbers declined sharply in the middle of the decade, perhaps due to recurring knee injuries. Rollins had brief stints with the Seattle Pilots/Milwaukee Brewers franchise and Cleveland before retiring after the 1970 season. He’d later spend some time as a scout in the Cleveland organization.

Over 10 seasons in the big leagues, Rollins appeared in a little more than 1000 games. He hit .269/.328/.388 with 77 home runs, 399 RBI and 419 runs scored. MLBTR sends our condolences to his family, friends and loved ones.

Guardians Hire Corey Kluber As Special Assistant

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Corey Kluber is back in Cleveland. The Guardians announced that they’ve hired the two-time Cy Young winner as a Special Assistant of Pitching. Zack Meisel of The Athletic first reported the news this morning.

Kluber spent nine of his 13 MLB seasons in Cleveland. Acquired from San Diego as an unheralded minor league pitcher as part of a three-team deal involving Jake Westbrook and Ryan Ludwick, Kluber reached the majors in 2011. He didn’t establish himself until 2013 but broke out as arguably the game’s best pitcher one season later. He won his first Cy Young while leading the AL with 18 wins and firing 235 2/3 innings of 2.44 ERA ball.

That was the first of five straight seasons in which Kluber finished top 10 in Cy Young balloting. He placed among the AL’s top three on four occasions during that stretch. He won his second Cy Young while winning the ERA title in 2017. Kluber finished his nine-year tenure in Cleveland with a 3.16 earned run average and 98 wins during the regular season. He made another nine postseason starts, headlined by a 1.83 ERA across six outings during Cleveland’s pennant run in 2016.

Kluber ranks third on the organization’s all-time leaderboard with 1461 strikeouts. He’s second behind Shane Bieber in strikeout to walk rate and behind only Hall of Famer Addie Joss in WHIP. He’s eighth among pitchers in franchise history in Baseball Reference’s Wins Above Replacement. The Guardians continue to benefit from that run, as they acquired Emmanuel Clase from the Rangers in the 2019 trade that ended Kluber’s tenure in Cleveland. Injuries wrecked his lone season in Texas, but he rebounded with decent seasons for the Yankees and Rays before struggling with the Red Sox in his final year.

Brewers Sign Eddie Rosario To Minor League Deal

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The Brewers signed Eddie Rosario to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Nashville, relays Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. The Rimas Sports client had elected free agency after being designated for assignment by the Braves last week.

Rosario is already on his third organization of the season. He began the year in Triple-A with the Dodgers. He hit .339 with a pair of homers in 14 games to earn a brief call-up while Shohei Ohtani was on paternity leave. Rosario was DFA after two games because of Ohtani’s return. He elected free agency rather than accept an assignment back to Triple-A.

That led to a major league contract with Atlanta. Rosario replaced Jarred Kelenic as a lefty-hitting outfield bench bat for a couple weeks. He only started one game and went hitless with two strikeouts in four plate appearances. The Braves turned to speedy utility player Luke Williams for the final bench spot and dropped Rosario on Friday.

The veteran outfielder was a league average hitter back in 2023. He had a terrible ’24 campaign, combining for a .175/.215/.316 slash over 91 games between the Nationals and Atlanta. He’s a .221/.267/.379 hitter in more than 1100 plate appearances since his huge 2021 run that helped the Braves to a title.

Milwaukee is a bit shorthanded in the outfield. Blake Perkins has been out all year after suffering a Spring Training shin fracture. Garrett Mitchell went down with an oblique strain a few weeks ago. With Christian Yelich mostly limited to DH, Jake Bauers is working as Pat Murphy’s primary left fielder. Bauers is out to an excellent start to cement himself alongside Jackson Chourio and Sal Frelick as regulars. They’re a little more limited on the bench, where Isaac Collins and Daz Cameron as working as depth outfielders.

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