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Phillies Select Andrew Painter, Two Others

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The Phillies added three prospects to their 40-man roster on Rule 5 protection day: pitchers Andrew Painter and Alex McFarlane and outfielder Gabriel Rincones Jr. Their roster count sits at 33.

Painter, 23 in April, was one of the most obvious calls to be kept out of the Rule 5 draft. The 6’7″ right-hander was arguably the best pitching prospect in MLB a couple seasons ago. Painter’s stock has dropped over the last two and a half seasons because of injuries and an underwhelming performance at Triple-A. The Phillies were never going to let an arm as talented as Painter go in the Rule 5 draft, though.

A first-round pick out of high school in 2021, Painter turned in a 1.56 earned run average over 22 starts during his first full professional season. Painter reached Double-A in his age-19 season. The Phillies were open to him pitching his way to the big leagues by the end of the ’23 campaign, but an elbow injury intervened. Painter eventually required Tommy John surgery and missed the entire 2024 minor league campaign (though he returned to get 15 2/3 innings of Arizona Fall League action).

Painter’s first season at the Triple-A level didn’t go well. He was tagged for a 5.40 ERA while walking almost 10% of batters faced. Painter gave up more than 1.5 home runs per nine innings. It wasn’t enough to earn a late-season debut, but he still sits around 97 MPH on his fastball and struck out a solid 23.4% of Triple-A opponents. He’s one of the better pitching prospects in the game and should debut next season. Baseball America ranks him the #2 prospect in the Philly system.

Rincones, 25 in March, is seventh on that list. He’s a left-handed hitting outfielder who turned in a .240/.370/.430 line across 506 Triple-A plate appearances. Rincones is a limited defender with concerns about his ability to hit lefty pitching, but he has big power in a 6’3″ frame and is clearly willing to wait until pitchers come into the zone.

McFarlane, a 24-year-old righty, is a former fourth-round pick out of the University of Miami. He spent much of the season in High-A, where he struggled to a 4.72 ERA through 74 1/3 frames. The minor league numbers aren’t encouraging, but the Phils still clearly like McFarlane as a developmental play and had plenty of roster space with which to work.

Mariners Acquire Alex Hoppe, Designate Tayler Saucedo For Assignment

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The Mariners announced that they have acquired right-hander Alex Hoppe from the Red Sox in exchange for minor league catcher Luke Heyman. Hoppe has been selected to the 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. Left-hander Tayler Saucedo has been designated for assignment in a corresponding move. Chris Cotillo of MassLive first reported that Hoppe was heading to the Mariners. Tim Healey of The Boston Globe first reported that Heyman was heading to the Sox.

More to come.

D-Backs Select Four Players, Designate Tommy Henry

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The Diamondbacks have added four players to keep them out of the Rule 5 draft: pitchers Kohl Drake, Mitch Bratt and Dylan Ray and infielder Jose Fernandez. Arizona only had three openings on the 40-man roster, so they designated lefty Tommy Henry for assignment.

More to come.

Royals Select Ben Kudrna, Steven Zobac

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The Royals announced that they have selected right-handers Ben Kudrna and Steven Zobac to their 40-man roster. That protects both players from being selected in next month’s Rule 5 draft. Kansas City’s 40-man roster count climbs from 37 to 39.

The 22-year-old Kudrna was a second-rounder back in 2021. He’s long ranked among the top pitchers in what’s now a thin Royals system. Kudrna struggled to a 5.30 ERA in 106 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A this season, posting an average 22.9% strikeout rate and a worse-than-average 10.8% walk rate. He’s 90-93 with his sinker, generating a slightly above-average ground-ball rate and a better swinging-strike rate (12.3%) than one might expect for a sinker pitcher with pedestrian velocity.

Zobac, 25, was a 2022 fourth-rounder who missed time this season with a knee injury. He logged an ugly 7.25 ERA with a sub-par 21.7% strikeout rate but has drawn average or better grades for his heater, slider and command. Zobac posted a 3.64 ERA in 126 minor league innings during a healthy 2024 season, and the Royals unsurprisingly didn’t want to risk losing someone they’re envisioning as a potential big league starter even on the heels of an injury-marred ’25 campaign.

Guardians Designate Nic Enright, Select Four Players

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The Guardians announced Tuesday that they’ve designated righty Nic Enright for assignment. Cleveland has also added righties Austin Peterson and Yorman Gomez, infielder Angel Genao and outfielder Kahlil Watson to the 40-man roster, which is now full. Those four newcomers are now protected from being taken in next month’s Rule 5 Draft.

Enright, 28, was a feel-good story this season. The former Marlins farmhand overcame years of cancer treatment after being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma back in 2022 and made his MLB debut this past May. Readers are highly encouraged to read a pair of stories from The Athletic’s Zack Meisel — the first chronicling the harrowing diagnosis and years of work to get back on the mound, and the second wherein a tearful Enright and his family discussed his first call to the big leagues.

That long-awaited MLB debut went brilliantly. Enright pitched 31 innings with a pristine 2.03 ERA, 23.6% strikeout rate and 9.4% walk rate out of manager Stephen Vogt’s bullpen. Unfortunately, he hit another roadblock in his baseball odyssey when an elbow injury proved to be a torn ulnar collateral ligament that necessitated Tommy John surgery last month.

There’s no 60-day IL in the offseason, so the Guardians had to make what was surely an uncomfortable business decision, jettisoning Enright from the 40-man roster rather than dedicating a spot to him until spring training next year, when the 60-day IL is once again available. He’ll now be available on waivers, but any team claiming Enright would need to carry him all offseason. If he clears, he can become a minor league free agent and sign with any club. A two-year minor league deal to return to the Guardians wouldn’t be a huge surprise, if Enright eventually hits the market.

The 21-year-old Genao is widely regarded as one of Cleveland’s top prospects — if not their No. 1. He’s a top-100 prospect who’s coming off a .263/.332/.382 slash in a season primarily spent as one of the youngest players in Double-A. He’s a contact- and speed-oriented middle infielder with a chance to stick at shortstop.

Peterson, 26, is likely to get his first big league look next year. The 2022 ninth-rounder has posted a 3.21 in 146 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A. Peterson sits 92-93 mph with his heater and has below-average strikeout rates, fanning just 21.5% of his opponents between those two levels and notching a slightly below-average 11.2% swinging-strike rate. He still has plus command with an above-average slider and could be a back-of-the-rotation type or a swingman — particularly since his towering 6’6″ frame helps that pedestrian velocity play up a slight bit.

Gomez, 23, picked up 121 1/3 innings between High-A and Double-A, logging a combined 2.96 ERA. He’s a three-pitch starter — fastball, curveball, slider — with below-average command but three straight seasons of sub-4.00 ERA rotation work in the minors.

Watson, 22, was a first-round pick by the Marlins whose stock cratered in Miami before he was traded to the Guardians as part of the Josh Bell/Jean Segura swap. A change of scenery and move to the outfield has unlocked something in Watson. Long touted as a plus athlete, his performance at the plate in his age-22 season reached new heights. He hit .250/.346/.467 (128 wRC+) with 16 homers and 17 steals — a pronounced uptick from a hitter who struggled to post even league-average results in the lower minors.

Cardinals Select Four Players

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The Cardinals added four prospects to their 40-man roster on Rule 5 protection day: Outfielder Joshua Baez, catcher Leonardo Bernal, and left-handers Cooper Hjerpe and Brycen Mautz. They needed to open one spot, so they designated reliever Jorge Alcala for assignment.

St. Louis signed Bernal as an international free agent in 2021. MLB.com ranks him 4th among the organization’s prospects. Bernal hit .270 with 10 home runs over 96 games at High-A in 2024, earning a bump to Double-A. He scuffled to a 64 wRC+ in a brief sample with Springfield. Bernal was back with the Double-A squad this past season. He put together a league-average performance in terms of wRC+, while chipping in 13 home runs and 13 steals. The 21-year-old has shown decent base-stealing prowess for a catcher, swiping 20 bags over the past two years.

The Cardinals selected Baez in the second round of the 2021 draft. He’s the team’s 11th-ranked prospect on MLB.com. A bloated strikeout rate held Baez back in his first few professional seasons, but he got the contact in check this past season. After three straight years with a strikeout rate above 34%, Baez trimmed it to 20.6% across two levels in 2025. He also showed a new level of power, reaching 20 home runs between High-A and Double-A. Baez had totaled 24 home runs in his previous four professional seasons. He also racked up 54 stolen bases this past year.

Hjerpe is one of the team’s top arms in the minors, but he’s currently on the shelf after undergoing Tommy John surgery back in April. The lefty sits at 13th on MLB.com’s prospect list. Hjerpe was a first-rounder back in 2022. He posted a solid 3.27 ERA between High-A and Double-A in 2024. Hjerpe had a strikeout rate above 35% at both stops.

More to come.

Rockies To Acquire Brennan Bernardino

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The Red Sox have traded left-hander Brennan Bernardino to the Rockies for a minor leaguer, reports Hunter Noll of Beyond the Monster. That minor league is Braiden Ward, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive.

Bernardino, 34 in January, has pitched between 50 and 52 innings for Boston in each of the past three seasons. He has a 3.46 ERA, 23.6% strikeout rate and 9.9% walk rate over 153 1/3 innings during that time. An indie ball find by the Mariners back in 2022, Bernardino has carved out a role as a solid middle reliever, though his average sinker dipped from 91.4 mph in ’24 to 90.7 mph this past season. That modest velo dip was accompanied by more problematic downturns for his strikeout rate (24.8% in ’24, 19.6% in ’25) and walk rate (9.7% in ’24, 11.6% in ’25).

Colorado can control Bernardino for another four years. He’s projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $1.1MM in arbitration this season. He’s a Super Two player, so he’d be due three more raises after that if the Rox keep through his entire six-year window of control.

The 26-year-old Ward was the Rockies’ 16th-round pick in 2021. He hit .290/.395/.391 in 368 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A last year. Ward fanned at just a 16.6% clip and walked 9.5% of the time he stepped into the batter’s box. He’s a center fielder with plus speed who’s also seen time at second base. Ward will be eligible to be selected in next month’s Rule 5 Draft, though the Red Sox are presumably confident he won’t be taken.

Padres Select Garrett Hawkins, Miguel Mendez

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The Padres announced that they have selected right-handers Garrett Hawkins and Miguel Mendez to their 40-man roster. That protects both of them from being selected in next month’s Rule 5 draft. San Diego’s 40-man roster count climbs to 36.

Hawins, 25, was the Padres’ ninth-round pick in 2021. He pitched 60 innings with a sparkling 1.50 ERA with a massive 35.1% strikeout rate against a 10.1% walk rate. He’s a pure bullpen prospect who returned from Tommy John surgery in 2025 with even better velocity and strikeout rates. Hawkins still hasn’t pitched in Triple-A but is an obvious candidate to get a big league look at some point in 2026.

Mendez, 23, climbed through three levels this season, topping out in Double-A and posting a collective 3.22 ERA, 29.4% strikeout rate and 11.2% walk rate. The Dominican-born hurler draws plus grades for his fastball and slider — the former, in particular — but he has subpar command that still needs refinement if he’s to continue as a starter. For the time being, the Padres have continued to try to develop him in a rotation role; he started 21 games in 2025.

Orioles Announce Four Roster Moves

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The Orioles have designated outfielder Pedro Leon and infielder Luis Vazquez for assignment, per a team announcement. Their roster spots go to right-hander Cameron Foster and outfielder Reed Trimble, who have been selected to the 40-man roster and are now protected from being poached in December’s Rule 5 Draft.

Once a high-profile international signing by the Astros, Leon originally received a $4MM signing bonus from Houston. He ranked as one of the Astros’ top prospects for several seasons but has stalled out in the upper minors and landed with the O’s by way of waiver claim earlier this offseason. He’s just 2-for-20 in seven big league games and has a .252/.354/.447 batting line in parts of five Triple-A seasons. Leon still runs well, but he’ll be 28 next May and has yet to make a big impact in Triple-A, let alone in the majors.

Vazquez, 26, signed a big league deal for the 2026 season when earlier this month. He was already on Baltimore’s 40-man roster, so agreeing to terms was a matter of setting his salary for the upcoming season. The O’s tend frequently sign depth pieces like this to salaries slightly north of the league minimum, often times with a minor league split that’s also higher than average, with the aim of passing them through waivers and stashing them. The slightly higher major league and Triple-A salaries both help the player pass through waivers and ensure that they won’t elect free agency if and when they’re outrighted.

In parts of two big league seasons, Vazquez is a .145/.194/.210 hitter, but that’s in a minuscule sample of 67 plate appearances. In parts of five Triple-A seasons, Vazquez is a .252/.340/.408 hitter. He can play three infield positions and popped 20 homers in a season between Double-A and Triple-A back in 2023.

Foster, 27, came to the O’s as part of the July trade sending Gregory Soto to the Mets. He posted a 3.11 ERA, 32.6% strikeout rate and 8.4% walk rate in 46 1/3 innings between the Mets’ Double-A affiliate, their Triple-A affiliate and the Orioles’ Triple-A affiliate. He’ll turn 27 next March.

Trimble, 25, was selected with the No. 65 overall pick by Baltimore back in 2021. He hit .259/.342/.486 with 17 home runs and 21 steals across four minor league levels — mostly Double-A and Triple-A. He’s not considered one of the Orioles’ most prominent prospects, but Trimble is a switch-hitter with some power and speed who can handle all three outfield slots.

Tigers Designate Six Relievers For Assignment

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The Tigers designated six relief pitchers for assignment: Dugan Darnell, Jack Little, Sean Guenther, Jason Foley, Tanner Rainey and Tyler Mattison. They added five prospects to the roster to keep them out of the Rule 5 draft: Hao-Yu Lee, Thayron Liranzo, Trei Cruz, Eduardo Valencia and Jake Miller. The sixth roster spot is filled by Gleyber Torres, who officially accepted the qualifying offer.

Liranzo, 22, isn’t too far removed from being one of the better catching prospects in the game. The Tigers landed him alongside Trey Sweeney in the 2024 deadline deal that sent Jack Flaherty to Los Angeles. He’d posted a .378 on-base percentage that season but dropped to a .206/.308/.351 slash line in 88 games with Double-A Erie this year. The Tigers weren’t going to jump ship after one bad year, but he may need to repeat Double-A.

Lee, a 22-year-old infielder out of Taiwan, came over from Philadelphia in the 2023 Michael Lorenzen deadline trade. He spent the entire season at Triple-A Toledo, where he hit .243/.342/.406 across 579 trips to the dish. He walked at a strong 11.2% clip while striking out 21% of the time. Lee can’t play shortstop and isn’t going to have a path to second base playing time behind Torres. His best chance of carving out MLB playing time in 2026 comes at third base.

Cruz gets a 40-man spot for the first time going into his age-27 season. The Tigers had left the former third-round pick unprotected in the past two offseasons. The switch-hitting infielder, the son of former big league outfielder José Cruz, earned his way onto the roster with a breakout year in the upper minors. Cruz hit .279/.411/.456 while leading all minor league hitters with 102 walks between the top two levels. The Rice product can play both left side infield positions and has the athleticism to play some center field.

Valencia is a 25-year-old catcher/first baseman who posted a monster .311/.382/.559 slash line between Erie and Toledo. He blasted 24 home runs while keeping his strikeout rate around 20%. The Venezuela native has never been viewed as much of a prospect, but the offensive performance in the high minors was too much to ignore.

Miller, a 24-year-old lefty, ranked 16th in the Detroit system at MLB Pipeline. An eighth-round pick in 2022 out of Valparaiso, he has shown an intriguing three-pitch mix with enough command and deception to project as a starter. Miller was limited to six starts between High-A and Double-A this year by a back injury, but Detroit likes him enough to keep him as a developmental play. He should begin next season in Erie.

Getting all those players onto the roster required cutting most of their depth relievers. Little and Darnell were just claimed off waivers. Detroit knew they’d be likely non-tenders but could try to bring them back on minor league deals. That’s also the case for Mattison, whom they kept out of the Rule 5 draft last winter but who had a middling year in the minors. Guenther has been up and down for the past couple seasons and missed the second half of 2025 recovering from hip surgery.

Rainey is a journeyman righty who cracked Detroit’s big league bullpen in the final week of the season. He’s narrowly shy of six years of service and therefore could have been retained via arbitration. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected a modest $1.2MM salary, but Rainey is looking at minor league deals as a free agent.

Foley was probably the toughest cut. He’d been a valuable late-innings arm between 2021-24, a run which he capped off by saving 28 games last year. Foley missed all of ’25 recovering from shoulder surgery, and he would have been set to match this year’s $3.15MM salary if they tendered him a contract. They opted not to do so and are likely to cut him loose on Friday, though they have the next few days to see if there’s any trade interest.

Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free-Press first reported the Cruz, Valencia and Miller additions.

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