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Sergio Alcantara Accepts Outright Assignment With D-backs

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July 22: Alcantara cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Reno, reports Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com.

July 20: The Diamondbacks announced that infielder Sergio Alcantara has been designated for assignment.  The move opens up roster space for the return of Ketel Marte, who has been activated from the restricted list.

Alcantara was just signed by the D’Backs on Friday, but his brief time on the roster didn’t result in any playing time.  Because Alcantara is out of minor league options, he must be passed through waivers whenever his team wants to send him to Triple-A and outright him off the 40-man roster.  Because Alcantara has been outrighted in the past, he has the ability to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency.

The infielder used this exact mechanism just over a week ago, opting for the open market after the Giants DFA’ed him and attempted to outright him to Triple-A.  It seems possible Alcantara could be more open to staying in Arizona’s organization since he only just arrived, but time will tell if Alcantara might prefer to join a club that has more infield vacancies than the fairly loaded Diamondbacks.

Alcantara made his MLB debut with the Tigers in 2020 and then saw semi-regular work as a depth option with the Cubs, Diamondbacks, and Padres during the 2021-22 seasons.  He spent the 2023-24 seasons at the minor league level with three clubs (the D’Backs, Cubs, and Pirates) without seeing any more action in the Show, and after signing a minors deal with San Francisco last offseason, his tenure in San Francisco did result in a single Major League game.  Alcantara was the starting shortstop in the Giants’ 11-2 loss to the Athletics on July 4.

With only a .207/.278/.340 slash line to show for 506 career plate appearances in the majors, Alcantara is much better known for his multi-positional glove than his bat.  Alcantara is a good defender at shortstop, second and third base, so a club in need of some infield depth might consider putting in a waiver claim.

Marte missed the Diamondbacks’ first two games after the All-Star break due to a personal matter, with USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reporting that Marte’s home was robbed during the break.  The second baseman will return to the lineup today and look to continue what has been another tremendous season (290/.394/.567 over 297 PA) for the three-time All-Star.

Mets Prioritizing Bullpen Help

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The Mets have several areas where they could plausibly pursue upgrades prior to next week’s trade deadline, but president of baseball operations David Stearns indicated yesterday that his primary focus is on improving the bullpen (link via ESPN’s Jorge Castillo).

Mets relievers have been a middle-of-the-pack unit overall, ranking 13th with a combined 3.87 ERA on the season. They’ve struggled to a 5.30 mark over the past month, however, due in no small part to injury. A.J. Minter’s season ended in early May when he required surgery to repair a torn lat. Fellow southpaw Danny Young had Tommy John surgery that same month. Righties Max Kranick and Dedniel Nunez both went down with season-ending arm injuries as well.

The Mets have used a staggering 30 different relief pitchers this season, including 23 over just the past 30 days. They’ve treated the final couple spots in the relief corps as a revolving door, frequently shuttling in waiver claims and minor league signees when they need a fresh arm, than designating those players for assignment in favor of the next arm that comes down the conveyor belt. It’s led to a dizzying number of Mets transactions and constant turnover among the relief corps. Many of those stopgaps have been hit hard, and mainstays Reed Garrett and especially Huascar Brazoban have struggled over the past month.

Edwin Diaz, Ryne Stanek, Garrett and Brazoban have been constants in Carlos Mendoza’s bullpen. The Mets clearly have room to add multiple arms and should likely be expected to do just that. They were in the mix to sign David Robertson before he opted to reunite with the Phillies, and they reportedly have some interest in Twins left-hander Danny Coulombe (at a time when Minnesota is said to be increasingly open to offers on rental players).

The Mets have been tied to rotation upgrades, reportedly showing interest in Pirates righty Mitch Keller and in Marlins righty Edward Cabrera. Stearns downplayed the possibility of adding to his starting staff, however, stating that he’s “comfortable” with the in-house group and its ability to navigate a postseason series. If Kodai Senga, Sean Manaea, Clay Holmes, David Peterson and Frankie Montas can all remain healthy, New York’s starting five indeed looks sharp, but health is hardly a given. Each of Senga, Manaea and Montas has had a monthslong IL stint within the past 15 months. Holmes is in his first season stretching back into a rotation role after years as a high-leverage reliever.

Similarly, while Stearns acknowledged that he expects to explore the market for center fielders, an acquisition isn’t necessarily likely. The Mets have been pleased with Jeff McNeil’s increased comfort in center and Tyrone Taylor’s defensive play. “[T]he bar to improve center field has probably risen over the past, let’s say, two weeks,” Stearns said.

Stearns naturally did not decisively rule out a center field addition, but it’s a thin market in terms of options. Cedric Mullins is likely available in Baltimore, and the O’s have multiple relievers available (e.g. Gregory Soto, Seranthony Dominguez and perhaps Andrew Kittredge). Similarly, if the Mets already have interest in Minnesota’s Coulombe, they could look into both him and old friend Harrison Bader, who’s on a one-year deal and has performed well on both sides of the ball in the Twin Cities. The White Sox have both Luis Robert Jr. and Mike Tauchman available. The former has finally begun to heat up in recent weeks, while the latter has hit well for much of the season. If the Mets wanted to take a bigger swing, they could try to pry Oneil Cruz from Pittsburgh. He (reportedly) is not completely off the table, but the asking price would surely be extreme.

The Mets are willing to deal from their collection of young infielders, which includes Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, Ronny Mauricio and Luisangel Acuña. They also have several pitching prospects on the cusp of the majors, including Brandon Sproat, Nolan McLean and Blade Tidwell. Stearns noted that any of the three could be a candidate to join the bullpen down the stretch but added the Mets will be cautious with such decisions, as once a starting pitcher is ramped down to a bullpen role during the season, it’s hard to stretch him back out.

Pirates Sign First-Round Pick Seth Hernandez

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The Pirates announced today that they have signed right-handed pitcher Seth Hernandez. They selected him with their first-round pick, sixth overall, at last week’s draft. Jim Callis of MLB.com reports that the signing bonus is $7.25MM, which is about $300K shy of the $7,558,600 slot value for the sixth overall pick. Callis notes it’s the highest bonus ever for a high school pitcher.

Heading into the draft, Hernandez was considered one of the top 25 guys available, though there was a wide range of opinions on exactly where to rank him among those top guys. Baseball America had him second overall, MLB Pipeline had him at #3, ESPN at #4, FanGraphs at #9, while Keith Law of The Athletic had him way down at #21.

All evaluators generally agree that there is ace potential here. Hernandez sits in the mid-90s with his fastball and can push triple digits. His changeup and curveball are considered great weapons. He has a slider which is inconsistent but could develop into another useful pitch in time. He also could have been a viable hitter/shortstop prospect, though his pitching potential is so strong that it’s agreed that he should be on the mound. The Bucs announced him as a right-handed pitcher, so that seems to be their thinking as well.

Law’s bearishness seems to be more about high school pitchers in general, as opposed to any specific criticism of Hernandez. “The history of high school pitchers taken in the first round is dismal, however, given their high attrition rates,” Law writes, “and as talented as Hernandez is, he’s still in that same category. There’s at least No. 2 starter upside here, but the risk of any high school arm is that they get hurt or don’t have the command and control to get to the majors.” Kiley McDaniel of ESPN mentions in his Hernandez blurb that some clubs will never take a prep righty with a top-ten pick.

On the more optimistic side of things, BA’s writeup says that Hernandez has the talent be ranked alongside recent prep picks like Hunter Greene, MacKenzie Gore and Jackson Jobe. In the 2017 draft, Greene and Gore went second and third overall, respectively. Both have now become strong major leaguers and arguable aces. Jobe went third overall in 2021 and still has a limited track record. He won’t be able to build on it anytime soon either, as he recently required Tommy John surgery. However, he had become one of the top pitching prospects in the sport prior to this year.

The Pirates haven’t done a great job developing hitters but their work with pitchers is stronger. Their rotation currently features homegrown pitchers Paul Skenes, Mitch Keller and Mike Burrows. If he weren’t currently recovering from surgery, Jared Jones would be in there as well. Bubba Chandler is one of the best pitching prospects right now and he’s pitching in the Triple-A rotation. Tom Harrington and Hunter Barco are also notable Pittsburgh draftees who are there in Indianapolis alongside Chandler.

Hernandez is still quite young, having just turned 19 less than a month ago. It will likely take him a few years but he naturally wants to follow that path. “He shoved yesterday,” Hernandez said of Skenes, per Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “and he’s probably going to shove for the rest of his life. If I could kind of follow his footsteps, that’d be great.”

Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images

Royals Designate Tyler Gentry For Assignment

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The Royals announced Tuesday that they’ve designated outfielder Tyler Gentry for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster goes to left-hander Rich Hill, whose previously reported promotion from Triple-A Omaha is now official. Righty Andrew Hoffmann was optioned to Omaha to open an active roster spot for the 45-year-old Hill.

Gentry, 26, made his big league debut last year but went hitless in his five plate appearances. He’s spent the 2025 season in Triple-A, where he’s struggled to a .205/.277/.365 batting line with five homers, 16 doubles, two triples, a 7.6% walk rate and a 28.5% strikeout rate in 249 plate appearances. This is his third season in Triple-A and also his least-productive. The 2020 third-round pick posted big numbers in High-A and Double-A as he climbed the minor league ladder but has struggled at the top level.

Gentry is a right-handed hitter who has had good success against lefties in the past. He’s a corner outfielder who’s played primarily right field but does have 461 career innings in left field as well. This is his second of three minor league option years.

The Royals will either trade Gentry or place him on outright waivers within the next five days. Waivers would require an additional 48 hours to process. He hasn’t been outrighted in the past and doesn’t have three years of major league service time, so if Gentry goes unclaimed on waivers, the Royals can assign him outright to Omaha and keep him as a depth option while no longer dedicating a 40-man roster spot to him.

Rockies Sign No. 4 Overall Pick Ethan Holliday

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The Rockies have signed No. 4 overall draft pick Ethan Holliday, reports Jim Callis of MLB.com. He’ll receive a $9MM signing bonus that clocks in about $229K over slot value. It’s the largest bonus ever received by a high school player.

Holliday, 18, was in the mix for the top overall selection, though that distinction went to another second-generation high school shortstop: Eli Willits. Instead of heading to D.C., Holliday will don the jersey worn by his father for the first five years of his career. Matt Holliday, of course, starred for the Rockies from 2004-08, making three All-Star teams and winning three Silver Slugger Awards along the way. He also returned to the Rockies for a 25-game stretch to close out his career and has now had two sons — Ethan and Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday — come off the board as top-four picks in a major league draft.

Ethan Holliday ranked as the No. 1 prospect in the draft at Baseball America, MLB.com and at The Athletic. He landed second at FanGraphs and ESPN. He draws praise for his athleticism and plus raw power, with scouting reports also crediting him for the defensive tools and actions needed to stay at shortstop for at least the early portion of his career. Holliday may eventually move to third base or an outfield corner. He’s thought to possess some of the best raw power in the draft — and the ability to get to that power in games — but there are some swing-and-miss concerns and he’s only an average runner (or slightly below).

Holliday should immediately become Colorado’s top prospect, supplanting last year’s No. 3 overall pick Charlie Condon for that title — though Condon is far closer to MLB readiness, having been selected out of college. He’s already reached Double-A.

Poll: Will The Angels Sell This Summer?

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The Angels have been mired in mediocrity for more than a decade now, despite employing both Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani at the peak of their powers in that time. It’s been tough to be an Angels fan for a very long time, but this year has offered the Anaheim faithful at least some hope. The team, while two games under .500, is still at least nominally in the Wild Card race as they sit just four games back of a playoff spot in the expanded postseason field.

It wouldn’t be the first time the club has been aggressive in spite of long postseason odds. They bought aggressively at the 2023 trade deadline, adding a group of players headlined by Lucas Giolito as they fought to make the playoffs during Ohtani’s final year under club control despite Fangraphs giving the club just a 19.5% chance at the postseason on July 31 of that year. The Angels find themselves in a situation with at least some parallels to that season now.

While Trout remains under club control for quite some time, he has a chance to finish this season healthier than he’s been at any point in his thirties and has looked very much like the player he was throughout the 2010s since returning from his latest IL stint at the end of May. In 45 games since being activated, Trout has hit a robust .279/.424/.468 (147 wRC+) and tied Juan Soto for the highest walk rate in all of baseball. His .397 xwOBA this season is the eleventh-highest figure in the sport among qualified hitters, suggesting even better days could be ahead if he can just stay on the field. For a team that hasn’t made the postseason since Trout was 22 years old, any opportunity to get their franchise face and future Hall of Famer onto the sport’s biggest stage is one that the Angels should take seriously.

On the other hand, Trout’s continued health is obviously far from a guarantee. It’s already unknown when he’ll be ready to do more than DH. And after the past half decade, no one should be surprised if another injury were to sideline him down the stretch. What’s more, the Angels are simply not in the same position they found themselves in back in 2023. They’re four games out of a playoff spot entering play today, compared to just half a game out on July 31 of 2023. Only five teams in all of baseball have a lower run differential than Anaheim, which has allowed 61 more runs than it’s scored this year, and Fangraphs gives the Halos just a 4.8% chance of the postseason entering play today.

Perhaps the course of action for the Angels is simply to stand pat. Luis Rengifo is in the midst of a brutal season, leaving the player who would otherwise be their top trade chip unlikely to bring much value to the table. Kyle Hendricks, Yoan Moncada, and other rentals on the club have not done much to position themselves as top-of-the-line trade pieces, meaning closer Kenley Jansen could be the only rental piece on the roster with a substantial market. Trading longer-term pieces like Yusei Kikuchi and Reid Detmers could bring back more value, but would signal a willingness to forgo mid-term competitiveness despite the fact that Trout is already in his age-33 season. That would be something of a shock for Angels ownership to sign off on, given their previous tendencies.

How do MLBTR readers think the Angels will approach this coming deadline? Will they engage in a proper selloff, or could they instead stand pat in hopes of making a postseason run—or perhaps even do some light buying? Have your say in the poll below:

Giants Have Shown Interest In Isiah Kiner-Falefa

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The Giants have reached out to the Pirates about infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa, reports Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He’s presumably just one of several options being considered by a San Francisco club that has a notable need at second base.

Kiner-Falefa, 30, is hitting .274/.318/.340 on the season. He’s been about 16% worse than average at the plate, by measure of wRC+, but has offered value with his legs (12-for-15 in stolen base attempts) and glove. He’s also a tough strikeout, fanning in just over 16% of his plate appearances.

Though Kiner-Falefa isn’t enjoying his best season at the plate, there’s a low bar to clear at second base in San Francisco. Giants second basemen have combined for a .217/.275/.309 slash on the season — one of the least-productive groups in all of baseball. Last year’s breakout infielder, Tyler Fitzgerald, has struggled badly at the position and was optioned to Triple-A in late June. None of Christian Koss, Casey Schmitt or Brett Wisely has provided more offense when manning the position, and Fitzgerald has slashed just .246/.323/.281 in 65 plate appearances since being sent down.

Kiner-Falefa is in the second season of a two-year, $15MM deal originally signed with the Blue Jays. Toronto traded him to Pittsburgh at last year’s deadline. He’s been the primary shortstop for the Bucs this year but has experience playing all over the diamond, including more than 1500 innings at third base and more than 550 innings both at second base and in the outfield. Kiner-Falefa’s defensive marks in the outfield and during a brief experiment behind the plate are poor, but he’s considered a strong infield defender.

Given his status as an impending free agent on a last-place team that’s one of the few clear sellers around the league, Kiner-Falefa feels all but certain to be traded in the next nine days. The Pirates don’t have a prospect who’s knocking down the door for everyday reps at shortstop, but they can use the final two months of the season to look at Cam Devanney (acquired last week from the Royals in exchange for Adam Frazier) or perhaps any other infielders they might acquire as they continue what feels like an interminable rebuilding process.

Twins Claim Jhonny Pereda, Designate Jair Camargo For Assignment

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The Twins have claimed catcher Jhonny Pereda off waivers from the Athletics, per an announcement from the latter club, who designated him for assignment a few days ago. Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports that the Twins have optioned Pereda to Triple-A St. Paul and designated catcher Jair Camargo for assignment as the corresponding move.

Pereda, 29, has a major league track record which is both small and unimpressive. In 39 games with the Marlins and A’s, he has stepped to the plate 86 times and slashed .203/.267/.228. The Marlins designated him for assignment in the offseason and flipped him to the A’s for cash.

His minor league work is greater in both quantity and quality. From 2022 to the present, he has stepped to the plate 811 times at the Triple-A level. In those plate appearances, his 19.1% strikeout rate and 13.3% walk rate are both solid figures. His combined .302/.394/.427 batting line in that span leads to a 118 wRC, indicating he’s been 18% above league average. Defensively, Baseball Prospectus has ranked him as an above-average framer during his Triple-A time, though with his blocking a bit below par.

Camargo, 26, has a somewhat similar big league profile. He has only appeared in five big league games with seven plate appearances, leading to a .000/.143/.000 line. However, his minor league work hasn’t been as strong. Dating back to 2023, the first year Camargo reached Triple-A, he has a combined .237/.305/.439 batting line and 83 wRC+. That includes a rough .212/.258/.319 line here in 2025. He has been punched out in 32% of his plate appearances since the start of 2023 while only drawing walks at a 7.7% rate. BP ranks him as a decent blocker but a subpar framer.

Both players can be optioned for the remainder of this year and one additional season. It seems the Twins view Pereda as a better depth catcher, so they have dropped one backstop onto the roster and knocked out the other. At the big league level, they have Ryan Jeffers and Christian Vázquez. The latter is an impending free agent and theoretical trade candidate. Jeffers is only under club control through 2026. If Pereda performs well with his new organization, there’s a path to more big league playing time for him.

Camargo heads to DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Twins could take five days to see if there’s any trade interest. If he were to pass through outright waivers unclaimed, he would not have the right to elect free agency, as he doesn’t have a previous career outright nor three years of big league service time.

Photo courtesy of Ryan Sun, Imagn Images

Nationals Select Konnor Pilkington

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The Nationals announced that they have selected the contract of left-hander Konnor Pilkington. Right-hander Mason Thompson has been optioned to Triple-A Rochester as the corresponding active roster move. To open a 40-man spot, outfielder Dylan Crews has been transferred to the 60-day injured list.

Pilkington, 27, signed a minor league deal with the Nats in the offseason. He has been pitching out of the Red Wings’ bullpen this year, though three of his appearances have technically been starts. Over his 36 games, he has logged 41 2/3 innings with a 2.59 earned run average. His 15.2% walk rate is awful but he’s striking out 28.1% of batters faced and getting grounders on 47.3% of balls in play.

His previous work has been somewhat similar. He tossed 60 big league innings for the Guardians over 2022 and 2023 with a 3.75 ERA, 19.5% strikeout rate, 12.4% walk rate and 39.9% ground ball rate. He tossed 309 2/3 minor league innings from 2021 to 2024 with a 5.58 ERA, 24.3% strikeout rate and 12.9% walk rate. He was largely a starter in his previous seasons. The move to a relief role this year hasn’t helped his control issues but he is getting more strikeouts.

The Nats used six relievers in last night’s game. They’re doing a sort of bullpen game tonight, with Brad Lord starting. Trevor Williams recently required elbow surgery, which opened a rotation gig for Lord, but Lord hasn’t thrown more than 2 1/3 innings in a game since early May. Pilkington gives them a fresh arm capable of working more than an inning.

The Nationals have two lefties in their bullpen already in Jose A. Ferrer and Andrew Chafin. The latter is a veteran on a one-year deal and likely to be traded in the coming week or so, which makes it possible Pilkington is the second lefty on the bullpen chart come August. Pilkington still has an option year, so the Nats could easilty send him back down to Rochester.

As for Crews, this doesn’t impact his timeline. He landed on the 10-day IL on May 21st due to an oblique strain. His 60-day count is retroactive to that initial IL placement. Since it’s already been 60 days, he is eligible for reinstatement at any time.

Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images

Rangers Sign Carl Edwards Jr. To Minor League Deal

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The Rangers have signed veteran right-hander Carl Edwards Jr. to a minor league deal and assigned him to Triple-A Round Rock. Kennedi Landry of MLB.com was among those to relay the news.

Edwards, 33, returns to his original organization. The Rangers drafted him back in 2013, though he was traded to the Cubs prior to his major league debut. He went on to have his best years with the Cubs, winning a ring with them in 2016.

More recently, Edwards has been up and down as he has entered journeyman mode. After a rough 2019 season, he struggled to get playing time for a few years. He had a nice bounceback with the Nationals in 2022. He carried that over into 2023 somewhat but then got shut down in August of that year due to a stress fracture in his shoulder. He was limited to just one major league appearance last year and has made just two this year.

His 2025 season has seen him go to Mexico and back a couple of times now. In early March, he signed with the Tigres de Quintana Roo. But by late March, he had a minor league deal with the Angels. He was called up to the majors in late April, made two appearances for the Halos before being designated for assignment. He cleared waivers, elected free agency and then rejoined the Tigres.

Though he’s been a reliever throughout his MLB career, he’s been starting for the Tigers for the past few months. He tossed 74 2/3 innings over 14 starts with a 3.38 earned run average, 18.9% strikeout rate and 7.5% walk rate. For context, it’s worth pointing out that the Mexican League is very hitter-friendly, with a league-wide ERA of 5.90 this year.

The Rangers have sacrificed some Triple-A starting depth in recent months. Adrian Houser was granted his release in May and signed with the White Sox. Gerson Garabito was released to sign in Korea last month. Dane Dunning was traded to Atlanta last week to trim some payroll. Six pitchers have made eight or more starts for Round Rock this year and three of them are no longer in the organization.

Edwards is stretched out and has been pitching well, relative to the standards of the Mexican League, so he’ll presumably plug into the rotation for the Express and give the Rangers some extra depth in that department.

Photo courtesy of Matt Krohn, Imagn Images

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