Astros GM: “Zero Discussions” About Trading Alvarez, Peña
The Astros came back from a ninth-inning deficit to take an extra-inning win tonight over the Angels. That improves their record to 31-37. They’ve evened out after an 8-18 April but haven’t really cut into the early-season hole they dug, playing slightly above .500 since the beginning of May.
That would ordinarily point toward a likely deadline seller. However, a mediocre American League playoff picture has kept every team aside from the Angels within range of a postseason spot. With almost two months to go until the trade deadline, front offices aren’t going to be eager to sell. That’s certainly true in Houston, where general manager Dana Brown said the team hasn’t even considered the possibility of trading its two best position players.
“We’ve had zero discussions about trading (Jeremy Peña or Yordan Alvarez) internally,” Brown told Matt Kawahara of The Houston Chronicle. “We’ve had zero conversations. So we can’t go trading two pillars. Both those guys hit at the top of our lineup.”
It’s not surprising given the playoff picture and Houston’s general win-now posture. No one would’ve expected the Astros to seriously entertain trading either of those players in June. Alvarez has been the best hitter in MLB this year and is signed for two seasons beyond this one at $26MM annually. Peña is making $9.475MM and will likely land around $15MM for his final season of arbitration in 2027.
Both players would have immense appeal on the trade market. They’re also crucial to Houston’s hope of returning to the postseason after a narrow miss in 2025. Owner Jim Crane has operated with a win-now mentality for more than a decade. Brown, who is in his fourth season as GM, is in the final year of his contract. He’ll surely be motivated to add if the Astros are around the playoff mix.
“To be sellers, for me, it would be like we failed,” the GM told Kawahara. “So I don’t think this team is a team that’s going to be sellers at the deadline. I think we’re good enough. I think the division is wide open. We’ve gone through some injuries; I think other teams are starting to experience some injuries as well. The division is wide open, the postseason is wide open. So, I don’t foresee us being sellers.”
The Mariners, generally viewed as the preseason division favorites, are 35-32 and have the second-best run differential in the American League (+32). They’re two games up on the Rangers, three up on the A’s, and 4.5 clear of Houston. The Astros have a better path in the Wild Card, where a 32-33 Texas team currently holds the last playoff spot. Toronto, the A’s, and Baltimore sit between the Rangers and the Astros.
Alvarez, Peña, and Hunter Brown (eligible for arbitration through 2028) would be impact trade chips if Houston reversed course. It stands to reason the Astros haven’t given any thought to dealing their ace either. Christian Walker and Isaac Paredes were much discussed over the offseason. Walker, signed for $20MM annually through next season, has rebounded from a middling ’25 campaign to hit .252/.324/.500 with 16 homers through 278 plate appearances. Paredes is hitting a slightly disappointing .241/.331/.415 in 257 trips, though his bat has picked up over the past couple weeks.
Houston’s injury-riddled pitching staff was the biggest issue during their ugly first month. That has been better of late, particularly a bullpen that has the fifth-lowest ERA (2.88) over the past 30 days. They recently welcomed Josh Hader back in the ninth inning and could see Hunter Brown return from a shoulder strain next week. A lineup that was among MLB’s best early in the season has gone cold as the arms have come around, however. Houston hitters own a .221/.293/.375 slash line in the last month.
Injuries to Carlos Correa and Yainer Diaz have exposed preexisting concerns about the lineup depth. Walker has cooled after a blistering start to the season. Second-year right fielder Cam Smith has been inconsistent. Center fielder Jake Meyers hasn’t hit since coming back from an oblique injury. Left field has been a revolving door. Diaz’s own oblique issue has left them with Christian Vázquez as their starter behind the dish.
Adding to the outfield feels like a must if they’re in position to buy. They unsuccessfully tried to acquire a proven lefty-hitting outfield bat over the offseason, reportedly by floating Paredes in trade conversations. That was motivated by a perceived infield surplus that no longer exists with Correa out for the season, but Houston’s thin farm system and lack of margin under the luxury tax limit their flexibility on the trade front.
Yoán Moncada To Undergo Knee Surgery
Yoán Moncada will require surgery to address his right knee injury, reports Francys Romero. Specifics on the procedure aren’t clear, nor is it known whether Moncada is expected back this season. He’s out until at least mid-July after the Angels transferred him to the 60-day injured list this evening.
Moncada seemingly never fully recovered from the right knee issue that cost him five weeks last summer. The veteran switch-hitter said the injury most severely impacted him when he would bat from the right side. The Angels accordingly limited him to 26 plate appearances versus lefty pitching this year. That wasn’t enough to avoid an IL stint, nor apparently to stave off surgery.
This is the fifth straight season in which Moncada has missed time. He has lost over a month in each of the past four years and hasn’t reached 400 plate appearances in a season since 2022. Moncada remained a slightly above-average hitter when he was able to take the field between 2023-25. That hasn’t been the case this season, as he batted .189/.308/.297 in 130 trips before going on the shelf.
Moncada is playing his second season in Anaheim on a $4MM contract. He’ll return to free agency in November. If this procedure winds up sidelining him for most or all of the remaining 2026 schedule, he’d very likely be limited to a minor league deal next offseason.
Journeyman utility player Donovan Walton has gotten the bulk of the third base playing time over the last couple weeks. The Halos recalled 22-year-old Denzer Guzman from Triple-A this evening. He’s mashing at a .336/.403/.571 clip in the minors and is one of the better prospects in a weak farm system. Guzman is in the lineup at the hot corner tonight against Houston. That’ll be the plan for the time being, as skipper Kurt Suzuki told reporters (including Jack Janes of The Sporting Tribune) that Guzman will be the primary third baseman.
Nationals Notes: Herz, Alvarez, Henry, Ortiz
Nationals lefty DJ Herz tossed two scoreless innings in the Florida Complex League on Friday. It’s the southpaw’s first game action in almost two years, as Herz underwent Tommy John surgery at the beginning of the 2025 season.
It’s the start of what’ll likely be more than a month-long buildup. Acquired from the Cubs as a prospect in the 2023 Jeimer Candelario deadline trade, Herz started 19 games for the Nats a year later. He posted a solid 4.16 ERA while striking out nearly 28% of batters faced as a rookie. He was the top swing-and-miss arm in the rotation that year.
Washington starters are middle of the pack in strikeout rate this season. They’re nevertheless in the bottom third of MLB with a 4.59 earned run average, largely thanks to one of the sport’s highest home run rates. The rotation has been better of late, albeit with the aid of a heavy usage of openers.
Their actual rotation has been fairly settled all season, however. Cade Cavalli, Foster Griffin, Jake Irvin, Miles Mikolas and Zack Littell have gone every fifth day as either a starter or bulk arm behind an opener for most of the season. The Nats lost Irvin to a shoulder strain in late May, necessitating their first real change of the year.
Lefty Andrew Alvarez appears to have that job for the time being. The 26-year-old made his first start of the season on Wednesday, working 4 2/3 innings of one-run ball against the Marlins. He’s slated to start the second game of their ongoing series in San Francisco tomorrow.
Alvarez was on and off the active roster twice early in the season. He has worked as a starter in Triple-A but had pitched long relief at the MLB level in 2026 until last week. Alvarez only sits in the low-90s, but he has recorded a 27% strikeout rate over 20 1/3 big league innings this year. He had some of the best swing-and-miss stuff in Triple-A as well, relying mostly on his slider and curveball to compensate for the mediocre fastball.
“Right now, we have our rotation set,” manager Blake Butera said over the weekend (link via Jessica Camerato of MLB.com). They are carrying Mitchell Parker and Brad Lord on the big league roster, but they’ve been full-time long relievers this season after holding rotation spots for a good chunk of 2025. Rookie righty Riley Cornelio is also in a multi-inning relief role despite working as a starter with Triple-A Rochester.
Cornelio just came back up over the weekend. Washington optioned righty reliever Cole Henry in a corresponding move. Henry goes back down for the first time since his MLB debut last April. The former second-rounder tossed 52 2/3 innings of 4.27 ERA ball as a rookie. He has been limited to 12 frames this year by a rotator cuff strain that cost him six weeks. Henry has surrendered 10 runs (eight earned) on 14 hits and six walks.
While they’ve tinkered on the pitching staff, the Nationals have not made any roster moves on the position player side in almost a month. They’ve carried the same 13-man hitting group since they optioned Brady House and Joey Wiemer to recall Dylan Crews and Andrés Chaparro in the middle of May. House’s demotion opened the third base job, which Curtis Mead has seized.
Mead, acquired from the White Sox after failing to break camp with Chicago, has hit .247/.356/.487 with nine home runs through 180 trips to the dish. He’s making contact at a career-high rate and chasing fewer pitches off the plate. The 25-year-old former top prospect has played his way into the middle of the lineup. He’s mostly at the hot corner after beginning the season in a first base/designated hitter role (though he was back at first base tonight).
Luis García Jr. has been the primary first baseman all season. He has a league average .256/.284/.442 slash through 208 plate appearances. 24-year-old Abimelec Ortiz, one of five prospects acquired from Texas in the MacKenzie Gore deal, has 10 longballs with a .263/.361/.514 line in Rochester. Although there’s a case for giving Ortiz a look, Spencer Nusbaum of The Athletic wrote last week that the Nationals are unlikely to call him up until after the All-Star Break.
That seemingly suggests they’re content with García, whose bat picked up in May after a rough April, continuing as an everyday first baseman. García has plenty of second base experience in his career but seems to have firmly moved off the position. No team has gotten less offensive production from the keystone, where Nasim Nuñez and Jorbit Vivas (plus a few scattered at-bats from Mead and José Tena) have combined to hit .185/.279/.208.
D-Backs Trade Taylor Rashi To Twins
The Diamondbacks announced they’ve traded reliever Taylor Rashi to the Twins for cash considerations. Arizona designated him for assignment on Friday to open a 40-man roster spot for infield prospect LuJames Groover.
Minnesota has an opening on the 40-man after designating outfielder James Outman for assignment on Saturday. Rashi has a full slate of minor league options, so the Twins wouldn’t need to make any corresponding moves if they assign him to Triple-A St. Paul.
It’s the latest bullpen dart-throw for a team trying to cheaply build a functional relief group. The Twins have also acquired Yoendrys Gómez and Justin Lawrence via in-season trades. They added mostly reclamation targets or minor trade pickups over the winter, taking a volume approach after tearing down an excellent bullpen at the 2025 deadline.
Rashi is a 30-year-old righty who has appeared in 13 MLB games over the past two seasons. He owns a 5.40 earned run average despite a near-30% strikeout rate over 20 big league frames. Rashi has a stellar 1.03 ERA over 26 1/3 innings with Triple-A Reno this year. He has fanned an above-average 25.5% of batters faced but walked nearly 12% of opponents.
Despite the Triple-A production, an Arizona team light on bullpen depth dropped Rashi from the roster. That’s explained mostly by his below-average velocity, as he averages around 91 mph with his fastball. He leans heavily on his secondary stuff as a result, mixing a slider, curveball and splitter.
The Twins have the sixth-highest bullpen ERA in MLB. They’ve been better of late, ranking 14th over the past month, but that has come in spite of the third-highest walk rate. Gómez and Anthony Banda have worked around some free passes to manage strong recent results as part of a committee approach to leverage spots.
Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic first reported the trade.
Chadwick Tromp Elects Free Agency
Catcher Chadwick Tromp elected free agency over the weekend, according to the MLB.com transaction log. He was designated for assignment by the Braves on Thursday when they acquired Austin Wynns in a minor trade with the Angels.
Tromp spent a couple weeks on Atlanta’s active roster. He was called up in mid-May when Drake Baldwin went on the injured list. Atlanta lost Sean Murphy and Baldwin in quick succession almost immediately after they’d squeezed Jonah Heim off the roster. Murphy had returned from hip surgery but quickly broke his finger. Baldwin then strained his oblique, leaving the Braves with a light-hitting catching duo of Tromp and Sandy León.
It’s now León and Wynns. Tromp started six of his 12 appearances during his brief MLB stint. He went 5-25 with a double. Tromp didn’t walk and struck out seven times. He was charged with a couple errors and a passed ball while throwing out one of six attempted base stealers. Tromp has now played at the highest level in each of the last seven seasons. He has yet to top the 64 plate appearances he logged as a rookie with the 2020 Giants.
The Braves like the out-of-options Tromp enough as a third or fourth catcher that they’ve given him some MLB time every year since 2022. It wouldn’t be a surprise if they look to bring him back on a minor league deal despite his .169/.253/.325 showing over 24 games with Triple-A Gwinnett.
Atlanta is light on healthy organizational catching depth. Jair Camargo and 25-year-old Adam Zebrowski are the current catching tandem for the Stripers, who placed Maverick Handley on the injured list last week. Handley is on the 40-man roster. Camargo and Zebrowski, who have a combined five games of MLB experience, are not. Baldwin could be back within the next two weeks but Murphy will likely be down beyond the All-Star Break.
Angels Select Trey Mancini
For the first time in three years, Trey Mancini is in the big leagues. The Angels selected the veteran first baseman onto the MLB roster before tonight’s series opener with the Astros. Mancini is starting at first base and batting seventh against his old team, who are sending Spencer Arrighetti to the mound.
The Halos also confirmed their previously reported call-up of rookie infielder Denzer Guzman, who’ll make his season debut tonight with a start at third base. In corresponding moves, they placed Vaughn Grissom (left oblique strain) and Adam Frazier (right elbow inflammation) on the 10-day injured list. Grissom’s placement is retroactive to June 5, while Frazier’s is retroactive to June 6. Yoán Moncada moves from the 10-day to the 60-day IL to clear a 40-man roster spot for Mancini.
Mancini signed an offseason minor league contract. He had sat out the 2024 campaign and only played a half-season in Triple-A with the Diamondbacks last year. Mancini never seemed likely to break camp as a result. Assigned to Triple-A Salt Lake, he has hit .273/.377/.464 with six home runs across 224 plate appearances. Mancini has walked at a huge 14.3% clip against an average 22% strikeout rate.
They’re not dominant numbers but are a little better than those of the average Pacific Coast League hitter. Mancini struggled in his most recent look at big league pitching, as he posted a .234/.299/.336 slash over 79 games for the Cubs in 2023. He hasn’t been an above-average MLB hitter since he was traded from the Orioles at the ’22 deadline, but he made a couple strong defensive plays to help the Astros win that year’s World Series.
The Angels welcomed Nolan Schanuel back from the injured list over the weekend. Schanuel missed a couple weeks with left ankle inflammation. He played on Saturday and Sunday but will get a day off tonight after reporting lingering soreness (relayed by Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com). Schanuel said he does not expect to need another stint on the injured list.
Moncada has been on the injured list since May 22. He has battled right knee discomfort going back to last summer. He’s now officially out into the middle of July, all but removing any chance the Angels could find a trade partner at the deadline willing to assume any portion of his $4MM salary.
Jake Woodford Elects Free Agency
The Brewers designated Jake Woodford for assignment on Friday. As of today, he has cleared waivers and rejected an outright assignment in favor of free agency (per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com).
Woodford, 29, signed a minor league contract with the Rays this offseason. The deal included an upward mobility clause, which he triggered before Opening Day, prompting a trade to the Brewers. They added him to their active roster, and he pitched in 16 games for the club, tossing 23 1/3 innings with a 6.94 ERA. Woodford has never been a strikeout arm, which means he needs to generate groundballs and limit hard contact to succeed. He wasn’t doing that for Milwaukee. Indeed, it’s now been several years since the right-hander was a solid swingman for the Cardinals from 2021-22. Over the last four seasons, he’s 3-13 with a 6.83 ERA in 142 1/3 innings pitched.
Despite that, Woodford shouldn’t have much trouble finding another minor league contract. He has seven years of MLB experience with the Cardinals, White Sox, Pirates, Diamondbacks, and Brewers, and he’ll still be under 30 for the rest of the season. His arsenal is deep and diverse, highlighted by a sweeper with good movement and a sinker he consistently throws for strikes. Perhaps there’s another team that wants to tinker with his pitch mix, and even if there isn’t, there’s always someone looking for inexpensive bullpen depth.
Rangers Trade Richie Martin Jr. To Rockies
The Rangers have traded Richie Martin Jr. to the Rockies, according to the infielder’s transaction log on MLB.com. He has been assigned to Triple-A Albuquerque. There’s no word on what Colorado is sending Texas in return, although it’s likely cash considerations.
Martin, now 31, was the Athletics’ first-round pick in the 2015 draft. Three years later, the Orioles took him with the first pick in the 2018 Rule 5 draft. He would play 120 games for Baltimore in his rookie season and another 50 between 2021 and ’22. Throughout his time with the O’s, he hit .212 with seven home runs and a .572 OPS, swiping 13 bases on 17 attempts. In the field, he mostly played shortstop, though he also started a handful of games at second base. Defensive metrics like DRS and OAA rated him as a well-below-average glove. All told, Martin produced -1.1 fWAR in 170 games from 2019-22. He has not played in the majors since.
Over the last few years, Martin has signed minor league contracts with the Reds, Nationals, Angels, and Rangers. He also spent time in the independent Atlantic League. In a total of 316 games at the Triple-A level, he owns a .238/.339/.352 slash line with 12 home runs, 95 stolen bases, and an 84 wRC+. He will now offer the Rockies some infield depth with MLB experience.
Randy Dobnak Has Upward Mobility Clause In Mariners Deal
Randy Dobnak signed a minor league deal with the Mariners last November, and he’s spent the first 10 weeks of the season with Triple-A Tacoma. However, Ari Alexander of 7News Boston reports that the right-hander has a June 15 upward mobility clause in his contract. Presuming Dobnak triggers the clause, Seattle will have to offer him to the league’s other 29 teams. If another club wants to put him on its 40-man roster, the Mariners must either add him to their 40-man or trade him to a team that’s willing to do so. If no other teams are interested in rostering Dobnak, he will remain in Seattle’s minor league system. It’s worth noting that Dobnak still has minor league options and less than five years of major league service time, so a team that adds him to its 40-man roster could still keep him stashed at Triple-A.
They say there’s no such thing as too much pitching depth, but the 2026 Mariners might be the closest thing you’ll find to an exception. They’re currently running a six-man rotation of Bryan Woo, Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Emerson Hancock, Bryce Miller, and Luis Castillo. They also have Cooper Criswell in their bullpen and veteran Casey Lawrence pitching alongside Dobnak in the Tacoma Rainiers rotation. While the M’s would surely like to keep Dobnak around as depth, the question is whether or not they’re willing to give up a 40-man spot to do so. They’re currently running a seven-man bullpen to accommodate their six-man rotation, and they have four players on the 10-day IL. That means space on their 40-man is at a premium.
Most teams aren’t as well-off as the Mariners in the starting pitching department, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see someone else trade for Dobnak. The 31-year-old has 39 games of MLB experience and perfectly respectable numbers at Triple-A this year. He has pitched into at least the fifth inning in all 12 of his starts, averaging 5 1/3 per outing. While his 4.50 ERA doesn’t jump off the page, it’s important to keep in mind that he’s playing in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. His ERA- is 85, which is 15% better than the league average, and his 59.9% groundball rate is the highest among all qualified Triple-A pitchers.
Photo courtesy of Frank Bowen IV, Imagn Images
Brewers Acquire Joel Kuhnel From Athletics
Today: The Brewers have added Kuhnel to their active roster ahead of tonight’s game against his former team. In a corresponding move, right-hander Craig Yoho was optioned to Triple-A.
June 6: Right-hander Joel Kuhnel is heading to the Brewers for cash considerations. The A’s designated him for assignment on Friday. Both teams have announced the deal. Milwaukee moved Quinn Priester to the 60-day IL to clear a 40-man roster spot for Kuhnel.
The 31-year-old Kuhnel was one of manager Mark Kotsay‘s top options in the ninth inning early in the season. He picked up four saves in his first seven appearances. Kuhnel remained in the high-leverage mix through May, but struggled to close the month, permitting three earned runs over his final two outings.
The final blow came on Thursday against the Cubs. Kuhnel was called upon to preserve a three-run lead in the ninth inning. He gave up four earned runs on five hits while recording just two outs. Righty Luis Medina was unable to put out Kuhnel’s fire, allowing a pair of hits, including a walk-off single to Pete Crow-Armstrong. The disastrous outing raised Kuhnel’s ERA from 2.88 to 4.21.
Kuhnel has pitched for four teams across parts of six big-league seasons. He spent all of 2025 at Triple-A in the Yankees’ and Phillies’ systems. The veteran righty came to the A’s on a minor league deal in December. He didn’t break camp with the team, but reached the majors after just two minor league outings.
Milwaukee is missing several key pieces in the bullpen. Offseason trade acquisition Angel Zerpa was lost to Tommy John surgery. Lefty DL Hall just went down with a pectoral injury. Veterans Jared Koenig and Rob Zastryzny have missed the majority of the season. Kuhnel, being a righty, wouldn’t necessarily alleviate those absences, but he could provide value in a lower-leverage role.
Priester is dealing with symptoms related to thoracic outlet syndrome. He has avoided surgery up to this point. The righty recently had his rehab assignment bumped to Rookie ball after a stretch of poor performances. Priester has 19 walks in 13 1/3 innings across seven minor league outings. Manager Pat Murphy recently said Priester could need another month of rehab.
Photo courtesy of Matt Marton, Imagn Images