Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Cardinals To Select Jose Barrero’s Contract, Option Thomas Saggese

By | at

The Cardinals will select Jose Barrero’s contract prior to Monday’s game with the Reds, according to reporter Francys Romero.  Infielder Thomas Saggese will be optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding 26-man roster move, and the Cards will need to make another transaction to open up space for Barrero on the 40-man roster.

Though Saggese has hit .341/.364/.512 in 44 plate appearances this season, MLB.com’s John Denton writes that the Cardinals would prefer to have Saggese in everyday action at Triple-A rather than more sporadic playing time on a crowded roster.  Injuries to Nolan Gorman and Masyn Winn opened the door for Saggese to get called up in early April, though now that both players are back in action, Saggese’s role would be reduced if he remained in St. Louis.

The situation implies that Barrero will be just a depth piece with the Cards, and his out-of-options status means that he might be facing a relatively quick trip to the waiver wire should St. Louis need to make another roster move.  Still, the contract selection puts Barrero on track for what would be his first big-league appearance since the 2023 season.  Barrero might even get a chance to face his old team during this upcoming series, as Barrero spent his entire pro career with the Reds before he was claimed off waivers from the Rangers back in March 2024.

A highly-regarded prospect during his time in Cincinnati’s farm system, Barrero has hit only .186/.242/.255 over 447 career PA in the majors from 2020-23.  Between this lack of production and the rise of several other Reds infield prospects, Barrero found himself the odd man out.  The move to Texas didn’t result in any big-league playing time last year, as Barrero was hampered by injuries and hit .188/.277/.346 in only 188 Triple-A plate appearances.

Barrero chose to become a minor league free agent following the season and quickly signed on with St. Louis on a minors contract.  The change of scenery has worked so far, as Barrero’s bat came alive to the tune of a .301/.396/.530 slash line over 96 PA at Triple-A Memphis.  Barrero has spent the large majority of his career as a shortstop, but he has a good chunk of experience as a second baseman and center fielder, and a handful of games as a third baseman and in right field.

Red Sox Notes: Wong, Narvaez, Yoshida, Crawford, Anthony

By | at

Connor Wong started a Triple-A rehab assignment today, as the catcher appears to be nearing a return from the left pinkie finger fracture that sent him to the 10-day injured list back on April 8.  Speaking with MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith (multiple links) and other reporters today, Red Sox manager Alex Cora indicated the team will “play it day by day and we don’t have to rush” Wong, as the backstop will need more than one rehab appearance anyway.

Wong seemingly solidified his place as Boston’s first-choice catcher by hitting .280/.333/.425 with 13 home runs over 487 plate appearances last season.  He was ice-cold at the plate over his first 26 PA of 2025, so this early injury could serve as something of a fresh start for Wong’s season.

Carlos Narvaez has taken the bulk of the catching duties in Wong’s absence, and he has been impressive enough defensively that Cora said Narvaez will continue to get a good share of playing time even when Wong is back on the field.  “I’m not saying we split up the week but [Narvaez] will play a lot,” Cora said.

Known as a defensive specialist even during his time in the minors, Narvaez has lived up to that rep over his brief MLB career.  He has hit only .205/.279/.333 in 86 PA (15 with the Yankees in 2024, 71 with the Red Sox this year), but Narvaez has been outstanding in all facets of catcher-related glovework except for his ability to throw out baserunners.  With the Sox committing to Narvaez and Blake Sabol also on the roster as the current backup, Yasmani Grandal could trigger the May 1 opt-out clause in his minor league contract given the rather crowded path to big-league playing time once Wong is back.

Cora provided updates on some other injured Sox players, including something of a non-update on Masataka Yoshida.  The outfielder/DH began the season on the 10-day IL as he continued his recovery from October shoulder surgery, but though we’re now a month into the 2025 campaign, it doesn’t appear Yoshida is expected back any time in the near future.  Yoshida is still “just taking at-bats down there [at Boston’s Spring Training complex] and his throwing program,” Cora said.

Yoshida was healthy enough to hit during Spring Training but hasn’t been able to play the field, as he continues to build up his arm strength.  Given the amount of time Yoshida has already missed, it stands to reason that a shift to the 60-day IL might come sooner rather than later.  Such a roster move would sideline Yoshida until late May at the earliest, though that might not be an issue given Yoshida’s unsettled timeline.

Kutter Crawford has also yet to play in 2025, but the right-hander continues to make progress in his recovery from right patellar soreness.  Cora said that Crawford is set to throw a bullpen session at Boston’s extended spring camp, and Crawford will then advance to throwing a live batting-practice session later this week.  While Crawford looks to be on track, he might also be a candidate for a 60-day IL move if the Red Sox need the roster space, as the righty will still need to make multiple rehab starts to make up for all of the time he missed during the spring.

Star prospect Roman Anthony had an injury scare on Friday when the outfielder left a Triple-A game early after fouling a ball off his left foot.  X-rays were negative on Anthony’s foot, as Red Sox senior director of player development Brian Abraham said during an appearance on the Baseball Isn’t Boring radio show (hat tip to Rob Bradford), so it appears as though a worst-case scenario has been avoided.

Anthony is day-to-day for now, though all eyes will continue to monitor his status both in the short term and in regards to how any sort of injury might impact his inevitable MLB debut.  Between last season and this season, Anthony has a scorching .332/.459/.545 slash line over 266 Triple-A plate appearances, making it only a matter of time before arguably the sport’s best prospect arrives in Boston.  Where exactly Anthony would fit into a crowded Red Sox outfield has been a hot topic, though needless to say, Anthony might simply force the issue if his initial big-league production is anything close to his Triple-A work.

Phillies, Diamondbacks Interested In Ryan Helsley

By | at

The calendar has not yet even flipped to May, leaving more than three months to go until MLB’s trade deadline on July 31. That hasn’t stopped some teams from assessing their needs and even beginning to look into potential targets for the summer, however, and USA Today’s Bob Nightengale writes that the Phillies and Diamondbacks both already have an eye on Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley. There’s no indications that St. Louis is currently listening to offers on their closer, nor that either Philadelphia or Arizona has reached out to Cardinals brass at this point, though Nightengale goes on to suggest that Helsley is “likely” to be dealt prior to the deadline.

It’s easy to see why Helsley would be an attractive candidate for teams looking for a closer. The righty emerged as the Cardinals’ closer in 2022 and has been nothing short of dominant ever since, with a combined 1.83 ERA (225 ERA+), a 34.6% strikeout rate, and and 2.35 FIP to go with 83 saves over the past three years. Those numbers are nothing short of elite: Among all qualified relievers during that stretch, Helsley’s ERA is third (behind Emmanuel Clase and Devin Williams), his FIP is fourth (behind Williams, Matt Brash, and Edwin Diaz), his saves total ranks sixth, and his strikeout rate ranks eighth.

Those sensational numbers made Helsely a prime trade target for clubs in need of relief help over the winter, including Arizona and Toronto. The Cardinals seemingly rebuffed offers on their closer throughout the offseason, however, even as they opted not to discuss an extension with their closer as they shied away from making long-term commitments this winter. St. Louis’s 12-15 record puts them 4.5 games back of the Cubs in the NL Central and three games underwater. It’s still plenty early enough for virtually any team in the majors to go on a run and get themselves into the playoff conversation, but failing a surprise reversal in fortune a Cardinals front office that attempted to soft-launch a retooling over the offseason appears likely to sell rental pieces like Helsley this summer.

Should Helsley be dangled by the Cardinals later this year, they’ll surely find plenty of suitors. Toronto pivoted to sign Jeff Hoffman after they failed to land Helsley, and that decision is going swimmingly so far. The Diamondbacks did not find a closer over the offseason, however, so Nightengale’s report that they have continued interest in Helsley makes plenty of sense. That’s particularly true after A.J. Puk was shelved last week due to elbow inflammation that seems likely to keep him out of action for the foreseeable future, further denting a bullpen that relied primarily on Puk and Justin Martinez to close out games.

The Phillies, meanwhile, attempted to address the losses of Hoffman and Estevez in free agency by signing non-tendered Jays closer Jordan Romano. The 32-year-old had been one of the league’s top closing pitchers not long ago, with a 2.29 ERA and two All-Star appearances between 2020 and 2023. Things changed last year, however, as Romano battled elbow inflammation and pitched to an ugly 6.59 ERA in the 15 appearances he did make. That led the Jays to non-tender Romano, and the Phillies eventually snapped him up on an $8.5MM guarantee. That deal was signed with the idea that Romano would join lefties Jose Alvarado and Matt Strahm in the late innings for the Phillies this year, but things haven’t gone to plan as he’s allowed a whopping 15 runs (14 earned) in just 9 1/3 innings of work over 11 appearances.

It’s hardly a shock that such an ugly performance has inspired the Phillies to begin surveying closing possibilities on the trade market. The club’s core is continuing to age and with players like Ranger Suarez, Kyle Schwarber, and J.T. Realmuto set to hit free agency this winter the team could look extremely different this time next year. If 2025 proves to be the Phillies’ last opportunity to win with their current core, it would make sense to be aggressive in supplementing it this summer even as they enter play today with a relatively pedestrian 14-13 record. Adding a solid back-end reliever like Helsley, as they did when they dealt for Estevez last year, could go a long way to helping Philadelphia gear up for a playoff run in what looks to be an extremely competitive National League this year.

As sensible as the addition of a player like Helsley may be, Nightengale is quick to note that the Phillies aren’t interested in trading their very best and most impactful prospects. Specifically Nightengale writes that both Andrew Painter and Aidan Miller won’t be included in any trade, and that’s hardly a surprise given that both are well-regarded pieces with high ceilings who are already in the upper levels of the minors. It would be a shock if either of them were traded this summer and it’s almost unfathomable that either could ever be considered in a deal for a rental relief arm, even one as electric as Helsley.

Blue Jays Re-Sign Jacob Barnes To Minors Contract

By | at

TODAY: The Blue Jays have re-signed Barnes to a new minor league deal, according to The Athletic’s Mitch Bannon.

APRIL 22: Reliever Jacob Barnes elected free agency after being outrighted by the Blue Jays, relays Keegan Matheson of MLB.com. Toronto designated the veteran righty for assignment over the weekend.

Barnes broke camp after signing a minor league contract in February. He made six appearances, allowing nine runs (eight earned) on 10 hits and a trio of walks through eight innings. He struck out five. Barnes allowed multiple earned runs in each of his first two outings. He followed up with three consecutive scoreless appearances but surrendered five runs in an inning against Seattle on Saturday. That wound up costing him his roster spot.

A veteran of parts of 10 MLB seasons, Barnes has bounced all around the league. This was his second stint in Toronto, as he’d also made 10 appearances for the Jays in 2021. He has pitched at the MLB level with nine teams overall. Barnes kicked off his career with three and a half seasons in the middle innings for the Brewers. He hasn’t spent multiple consecutive seasons with the same team since 2019, instead moving around as a journeyman depth arm.

Barnes did spend all of last season with the same team. He agreed to a minor league deal with the Nationals and made their big league roster in mid-April. He held his middle relief spot from then on, working to a 4.36 ERA through 66 innings. He struck out just under 20% of opposing hitters against a solid 7.2% walk rate. He should catch on somewhere via minor league contract in the coming days.

Padres Select David Morgan

By | at

The Padres announced this afternoon that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander David Morgan. Righty Logan Gillaspie is headed for the 15-day injured list due to a left oblique strain, which creates space for Morgan on the active roster. Righty Bryan Hoeing was transferred to the 60-day IL to open up a 40-man roster spot for Morgan.

Morgan, 25, is in line to make his big league debut once he gets into a game. Signed as an undrafted free agent by the Padres back in 2022, the right-hander made just three complex league appearances in his first year with the club. He pitched to decent results in Single- and High-A in 2023 but took a step backwards last year when he struggled to a 5.35 ERA in 22 appearances at the Double-A level. He struck out just 18.9% of his opponents while walking 11.2%, but the first few appearances of his return to the level this year have gone much more smoothly. Morgan has pitched to a 3.12 ERA across seven outings this season with an incredible 50% strikeout rate and just one walked allowed. That dominating run of outings at Double-A was evidently enough for the Padres to give Morgan a look at the big league level despite it lasting just 8 2/3 innings and the righty having no experience at even Triple-A so far in his career.

Morgan’s addition to the roster is made possible by the departure of Logan Gillaspie, who was selected to the roster earlier this month. Gillaspie was added as a long relief option and had pitched to a 2.57 ERA in seven innings despite walking as many batters as he’s struck out (4). The right-hander has now been sidelined by an oblique strain, however, and figures to be on the shelf for at least the next couple of weeks. Gillaspie has made only a handful of big league appearances prior to this year between San Diego and Baltimore, though he’s struggled in those limited outings with a 5.02 ERA in 37 2/3 innings of work entering this season.

As for Hoeing, the righty was acquired alongside Tanner Scott from the Marlins at the trade deadline last year. After struggling in his first two seasons with the Marlins, 2024 proved to be something of a breakout for Hoeing as he pitched to a 2.18 ERA in 53 2/3 innings of work, including a 1.52 ERA in 18 appearances with San Diego down the stretch. Hoeing was considered for a move into the starting rotation by the Padres throughout the offseason, though they ultimately opted to keep him in the bullpen instead. Unfortunately, even a relief role hasn’t been available to him so far this year as he’s been sidelined since the start of camp due to shoulder soreness.

Hoeing will now be unavailable for at least another month, as he’ll first be eligible to be activated on May 26 due to having spent the entire season to this point on the injured list. His transfer to the 60-day IL may seem alarming at first glance, but it appears as though it may be nothing more than a procedural move. After all, MLB.com notes that Hoeing has already begun throwing bullpen sessions. It’s unclear when the righty could begin a rehab assignment, but given his lack of work in camp it would be understandable if the Padres wanted to give him a relatively long one to build up towards a return to the majors. A longer rehab stint could leave Hoeing away from the Padres until late May anyway.

Diamondbacks Select Scott McGough

By | at

The Diamondbacks announced a series of roster moves this afternoon, headlined by them selecting the contract of right-hander Scott McGough. Right-hander Yilber Diaz was optioned to the minors in a corresponding move, and righty J.P. Feyereisen was designated for assignment to make room for McGough on the 40-man roster.

McGough, 35, was a fifth-round pick by the Dodgers in 2011 who debuted in the majors with the Marlins back in 2015. He made just six appearances for Miami before spending the following years bouncing around the minor leagues with Colorado and Baltimore until he departed stateside ball entirely ahead of his age-29 season to pitch for Nippon Professional Baseball’s Yakult Swallows. He put together a very impressive resume in four seasons as the Swallows’ closer, with a 2.94 ERA in 232 2/3 innings of work and a 26.0% strikeout rate.

That performance was enough to get him stateside attention from Arizona, and McGough departed Japan to sign with the Diamondbacks prior to the 2023 season for $6.25MM guaranteed over two years. That decision proved to be a mistake for the Snakes. McGough was a below average but relatively passable middle reliever for Arizona in his first year with the club, posting a 4.73 ERA (93 ERA+) and a matching 4.76 FIP across 70 1/3 innings of work for the team. While he struck out a solid 25.6% of his opponents, McGough was held back by a 10% walk rate and troubles with the long ball as a whopping 24.6% of his fly balls left the yard for home runs.

That poor fortune led to some advanced metrics like his 3.49 SIERA pointing to better days ahead, but things got even worse in 2024 when his peripherals collapsed across the board. The righty’s age-34 season saw him post a 16.7% strikeout rate against a 14% walk rate, leaving him with a ghastly 7.44 ERA and a 6.04 FIP across his 26 appearances. The Diamondbacks made the easy decision to decline a 2025 club option on his services last winter, though they eventually re-signed him to a minor league deal in April. Now, he’ll be tabbed to help eat innings for a Diamondbacks bullpen that has surrendered a 4.69 ERA and recently lost one of its top relievers, A.J. Puk, to the injured list.

Making room for McGough on the 40-man roster is Feyereisen, who has been at Triple-A with the Diamondbacks after surrendering three runs (two earned) on three hits in two innings of work. The move comes as something of a surprise given his dominance at Triple-A Reno, where he’s posted a 0.96 ERA in 9 1/3 innings of work. That work came with just a 17.9% strikeout rate, however, and Feyereisen was torched for an 8.18 ERA in ten appearances with the Dodgers at the big league level just last year. The 32-year-old has been struggling to get back into a regular role in the majors ever since he underwent shoulder surgery with the Rays back in 2022 and has just 13 innings of work in the majors in the years since then. The Diamondbacks will have one week to either trade Feyereisen or attempt to pass him through waivers, at which point he’ll be able to either accept an outright assignment or reject it in favor of free agency should he not get claimed by a rival club before then.

Braves Claim Ian Anderson

By | at

The Braves and Angels announced this afternoon that Atlanta has claimed right-hander Ian Anderson off waivers from Los Angeles after he was designated for assignment by the latter club earlier in the week. This morning’s DFA of Jesse Chavez cleared a 40-man roster spot, so no corresponding move was necessary to complete the transaction.

Anderson, 27 next week, returns to Atlanta after spending just a month away from the organization. Drafted by the Braves third overall in the 2016 draft, Anderson made his MLB debut during the shortened 2020 season and made a huge impression over his first two seasons. in 30 starts between those two years, Anderson tallied 160 2/3 innings of work, pitched to a 3.25 ERA with a 3.80 FIP, and struck out 24.5% of opponents. He was also a key factor in both the club’s trip to the NLCS in 2020 and their World Series championship run the following year, giving him a tidy 1.26 ERA and 27.6% strikeout rate for his career in the postseason.

While the righty entered his age-24 season as a front-end starter for Atlanta and a beloved postseason hero, Anderson’s 2022 campaign did not go as planned. He struggled badly through 22 starts, posting a lackluster 5.00 ERA despite a decent 4.25 FIP in 111 2/3 frames. The righty was sidelined in August of that year and then went under the knife for Tommy John surgery in early 2023 before making an appearance. He missed all of that year while rehabbing, and made 15 starts at the minor league level last year, though he didn’t come back up to the majors despite his solid 3.44 ERA in 68 innings of work.

With Anderson out of options entering 2025, Max Fried and Charlie Morton having departed the club via free agency, and Spencer Strider ticketed to begin the season on the injured list, many penciled Anderson in for a starting job with Atlanta entering this season. Unfortunately for the righty, he looked wild in camp with a 24% walk rate and was designated for assignment ahead of Opening Day. He was then swapped to the Angels in exchange for Jose Suarez and headed to Anaheim for his first big league appearance in two and a half years. His brief stay in California did not go well, as Anderson struggled to a 11.57 ERA across seven appearances before being DFA’d again. Now back in Atlanta, he appears ticketed for a bullpen role once he rejoins the club in Colorado tomorrow. Righty Davis Daniel replaced Jesse Chavez in the bullpen as the primary long relief option earlier this morning, though it seems as though his stay with the Braves may be short now that Anderson is back in the fold.

Mariners Place Logan Gilbert On 15-Day IL, Plan To Select Logan Evans; Casey Lawrence DFA’d

By | at

TODAY: Evans has officially been selected to the roster ahead of his start today. Saucedo was optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding move.

April 26: The Mariners placed right-hander Logan Gilbert on the 15-day injured list today with a flexor strain in his pitching elbow. Additionally, Seattle designated right-hander Casey Lawrence for assignment and recalled right-hander Troy Taylor and left-hander Tayler Saucedo from Triple-A.

Losing Gilbert for any period of time is a tough blow for the Mariners. Thankfully, however, he seems to have avoided the worst. He exited his most recent start with the always ominous-sounding “forearm tightness,” and the M’s anxiously awaited the results of his MRI. Yet, his injury has been diagnosed as a Grade 1 (a.k.a. mild) strain. According to Daniel Kramer of MLB.com, the righty will be shut down for two weeks before being re-evaluated. While there is no timeline for his return, Gilbert seems optimistic. He told reporters (including Kramer) that the injury wasn’t “really bad” and said he feels “better today already than I did yesterday.”

Gilbert has been one of the most durable and productive starters in the American League since his debut in May 2021. In that time, he has a 3.55 ERA, a 3.56 SIERA, a 4.84 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and he is tied for first among AL pitchers in starts. After making his first All-Star appearance and earning some Cy Young votes last season, he has looked better than ever in 2025, with a 2.37 ERA through six starts. His 1.87 SIERA and 37.6% strikeout rate both rank first among qualified pitchers.

Taylor and Saucedo are relievers, so neither is a replacement for Gilbert. Having the two of them on the active roster will simply offer manager Dan Wilson some additional bullpen depth tonight against the Marlins. Instead, the Mariners will replace one Logan with another, as Adam Jude of The Seattle Times reports that pitching prospect Logan Evans will make his major league debut tomorrow. Gilbert’s turn in the rotation wouldn’t have come again until Friday against the Rangers, and thanks to off days coming up on Monday and Thursday, Seattle theoretically could have survived with a four-man rotation until May 6. Instead, however, they will give the ball to Evans tomorrow afternoon.

The Mariners selected Evans late in the 2023 draft, but the young righty put up strong numbers as he pitched his way through the minor league system. Entering the season, Baseball America ranked him as Seattle’s eighth-best prospect, describing him as a “safe No. 3 or 4 starter who should be able to post strong innings totals every season.” Keith Law of The Athletic had a similar evaluation, ranking Evans tenth in the organization and writing, “He’s at least a No. 4, though, and I’ll bet on any pitcher who’s already shown this kind of capacity to make adjustments.” His stuff isn’t overpowering, but his arsenal is deep, and his above-average abilities to throw strikes and induce grounders should help him pitch deep into games. Through five starts at Triple-A in 2025, he has a 3.86 ERA and 2.90 FIP in 25 2/3 innings of work.

Lawrence has already been DFA’d by the Mariners twice this year. After first pitching for the Mariners from 2017-18, he returned in 2024 and spent the season at Triple-A Tacoma. He re-upped with the club on another minor league pact this offseason and has so far pitched 10 innings over two separate stints in the majors, giving up 11 runs, but only four earned runs, in that time. He took over for Gilbert on Friday after he exited early and ate five innings for the Mariners in an 8-4 loss. That surely explains why he was DFA’d; he won’t be able to pitch for several days, and the Mariners’ bullpen would have been thin had they kept him around. Considering he has already cleared waivers, elected free agency, and re-signed with Seattle twice this season, there’s a good chance that’s exactly what will happen again.

Rockies Designate Lucas Gilbreath For Assignment

By | at

The Rockies announced a series of roster moves this morning, including their previously reported trade for infielder Alan Trejo. Trejo has been selected to the roster, with catcher Braxton Fulford having been optioned to make room for Trejo on the active roster. Southpaw Lucas Gilbreath was designated for assignment to clear space for Trejo on the 40-man roster. Additionally, right-hander Jaden Hill was optioned to the minors while righty Bradley Blalock was recalled to the big league roster.

Trejo, 29 next month, returns to the organization for whom he was a 16th-round pick in 2017 draft. The infielder debuted with the club in 2021 and has appeared in 173 major league games since then, all of which came as a member of the Rockies. He’s hit just .228/.276/.334 in that time, though he’s been a serviceable depth option for the club’s bench over the years thanks to strong defense all around the infield. Still, Trejo’s lack of offense led the Rockies to designate him for assignment in June of last year. He promptly cleared waivers and elected free agency. Since then, he’s played for the Dodgers and Rangers in the minor leagues but will now make his return to both the Rockies and the majors in general as an infield bench option now that Kyle Farmer has been pushed into an everyday role by an injury to Ezequiel Tovar.

Making room for Trejo on the 40-man roster is Gilbreath, a seventh-rounder selected by Colorado as part of the same draft class as Trejo. The southpaw also made his big league debut during the 2021 season, and he enjoyed a solid rookie campaign out of the bullpen with a 3.38 ERA in 42 2/3 innings of work. That’s a particularly impressive figure for the player who calls Coors Field home, though he walked a worrisome 12.4% of his opponents while striking out 23.8%, leaving him with a less impressive 4.32 FIP. Even so, he was able to build on his success in 2022 and deliver another solid year of work when he pitched to a 4.19 ERA (111 ERA+) with a much stronger 3.53 FIP in 43 frames, though his strikeouts and walks were largely unchanged from the year prior.

Despite the shaky command, Gilbreath looked like a bullpen piece with real potential for the Rockies headed into the 2023 season. Unfortunately, he underwent Tommy John surgery and wound up not only missing the whole year, but nearly the entire 2024 season due to his rehab. Gilbreath returned to the majors in August of last year but was torched to the tune of a 54.00 ERA across three appearances that totaled just one inning of work. He remained with the Rockies after signing a pre-tender deal back in November, but he’ll depart the roster without making a big league appearance this year. In seven appearances at Triple-A this year, Gilbreath has posted a solid 2.70 ERA but has struck out just 14.7% of his opponents while walking 11.8%.

Making room for Trejo on the active roster is Fulford, who made his big league debut earlier this month. He went 1-for-8 with a home run and five strikeouts in his four-game cup of coffee in the majors and is now ticketed for Triple-A, where he’ll serve as optionable catching depth for the time being. Joining him in the minors is Hill, who has looked solid with a 3.38 ERA in three appearances for the Rockies this year, while Blalock rejoins the pen after surrendering two runs in three innings of work earlier this year.

Yankees Remove Devin Williams From Closer Role

By | at

TODAY: Boone confirmed to reporters this morning that Williams is being removed from the ninth inning, as relayed by multiple reporters, including Jack Curry of the YES Network. Curry adds that Boone suggested he wants Williams to get into some lower leverage situations to “build momentum” after his difficult first month. William Ladson adds that Weaver is likely to take over as the club’s closer for the time being while Williams attempts to right the ship.

April 26: Devin Williams’ first month in the pinstripes could hardly have gotten off to an uglier start, as the former NL Rookie of the Year has an 11.25 ERA over his first eight innings of the season.  The Yankees’ 4-2 loss to the Blue Jays on Friday saw Williams record his first blown save of the year, as he was charged with three earned runs after failing to retire any of the three batters he faced in the ninth inning.

In the aftermath of that rough outing, Yankees manager Aaron Boone indicated that the team may be considering a change to the closer role.  When asked if the Yankees might move Williams to lower-leverage work, Boone told The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner and other reporters “we’ll see,” adding that “We’ll kind of talk through that stuff.  This is raw right now.  We want to do everything we can to get him right because we know how good he is and how valuable he’s going to be for us.”

The Yankees were rained out in today’s scheduled game with the Jays, but Boone still met with the media (including the New York Post’s Greg Joyce), and said that he hadn’t yet gotten a chance to speak with Williams about the situation.  The skipper also framed Williams’ struggles as just temporary, saying that Williams has “been one of the dominant closers in the league.  I know the results haven’t been great yet.  A lot of the stuff is still there, the profile of the changeup is still there….He hasn’t gotten swung and miss.  He’s been behind in the count a little bit.  Once he starts flipping that and starts getting some count leverage, I expect him to go back to being the dominant closer he’s been.”

Boone isn’t wrong in noting that eight innings shouldn’t erase the six seasons of elite work that Williams delivered with the Brewers from 2019-2024.  Starting as a set-up man and then as Milwaukee’s closer once Josh Hader was traded, Williams posted an eye-opening 1.83 ERA and 39.4% strikeout rate in 235 2/3 innings in a Brewers uniform.  An inflated 11.8% walk rate was the only question mark in an otherwise spectacular run for the right-hander, whose “Airbender” changeup became one of the sport’s deadliest pitches.

This season, the Airbender has only led to crooked numbers on the scoreboard, as Statcast ranks Williams’ changeup as a below-average pitch (a -1 in Run Value in 2025 following a +15 RV in 2024).  This one of several metrics that have fallen off the cliff for Williams, as his strikeout rate is down to 18.2% and he is allowing far more hard contact than usual.

The lack of production was obviously not at all what the Yankees expected when they acquired Williams from the Brewers in December for a trade package of Nestor Cortes, Caleb Durbin, and $2MM to help cover the $7.6MM that Cortes is earning for the 2025 season.  Since Cortes is on the 60-day injured list due to a flexor strain and Durbin has only just made his Major League debut, the deal has basically been a lose-lose for both teams thus far — a shocking outcome for what was one of the winter’s biggest trades.

The deal was intended to reinforce the back end of New York’s pen, even though Luke Weaver blossomed after becoming the closer in the wake of Clay Holmes’ struggles last year.  Weaver has continued to look great this season, and would be the logical choice as the top saves candidate if Williams was temporarily removed from the closer role.  With Williams as the glaring exception, the Yankees’ relief corps has largely pitched quite well in 2025, as a less-heralded trade acquisition in Fernando Cruz has delivered the type of shutdown work New York expected from Williams.

While Williams still pitched well in 2024, his output came over only 21 2/3 innings, as a stress fracture in his back kept him on the injured list until late July.  Williams’ year then ended on the sour note of an infamous blown save in Game 3 of the NLDS, as a 2-0 lead in the ninth inning for the Brewers turned from a probable series victory to devastation, as Williams allowed the Mets to score four runs in an eventual 4-2 win for the Amazins.

With still just eight innings of a sample size to gauge, it is too simplistic to say that Williams is still dwelling on that brutal loss, or that he isn’t adjusting well to the change of scenery from Milwaukee to the Bronx.  The move to the higher-pressure environment, however, does come with a larger spotlight that tends to magnify any slump, and the fact that such slumps have been so rare for Williams in his career tend to raise questions, and invite the possibility of a role change.  It could be that this is just a bump in the road and Williams will be back in his old form soon, though every rough outing could hamper Williams’ earning potential in free agency this coming winter.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrows scroll to top