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Rockies To Activate Austin Gomber

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The Rockies will reinstate lefty Austin Gomber from the 60-day injured list this weekend, reports Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post. He’ll start Sunday’s game in Atlanta, where he’ll take on reigning Cy Young winner Chris Sale. The Rox announced that Carson Palmquist, who’d been in line to start that game, was optioned to Triple-A today. Righty Anthony Molina was recalled from Triple-A, adding another arm to the ’pen in the meantime. Colorado will need to make a 40-man roster move to reinstate Gomber prior to Sunday’s start.

Gomber, 31, will make his season debut when he takes the mound Sunday. He’s been out all year due to a left shoulder injury but has looked sharp in four Triple-A rehab starts, tossing a dozen innings with three runs allowed on six hits and five walks. He’s fanned 13 of 48 opponents along the way.

In 2024, Gomber tossed a career-high 165 innings over the course of 30 starts, working to a 4.75 ERA. His 16.7% strikeout rate was well shy of the 22% league average, but his 5.5% walk rate was quite strong. Gomber struggled with home runs, as one would expect for a fly-ball pitcher who’s prone to hard contact and plays his home games at Coors Field; he yielded an average of nearly two homers per nine frames at home and a total of 1.64 HR/9 on the season overall.

It’s a fifth starter’s profile, but the pitching-starved Rockies valued his durability and tendered Gomber a contract that pays him $6.35MM in his final year of club control. He’ll be a free agent at season’s end and, if he can get out to a decent start to his 2025 campaign, could end up as a trade chip for the Rox ahead of next month’s deadline as well. Colorado traditionally tends to avoid trading away too many veterans even in non-contending seasons, but at 12-55 with a -202 run differential, there are no delusions of a second-half run. Shipping out Gomber won’t bring much of a return, prospect-wise, but at the very least they’d trim some payroll and add some depth to the minor league ranks.

Poll: Who Will Lead The League In Stolen Bases?

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By this time of year in each of the previous two seasons, the players who would go on to lead their respective leagues in stolen bases were already atop the leaderboards. As of June 12, 2024, Elly De La Cruz led Brice Turang for the NL lead by 10 steals, while José Caballero led Bobby Witt Jr. for the AL lead by three. De La Cruz would finish the year with an MLB-leading 67 swipes, while Caballero would finish atop the Junior Circuit with 44. The year before, Esteury Ruiz held a comfortable lead in the AL with 31 steals on June 12, and Ronald Acuña Jr.’s 28 put him well ahead of the NL competition. Acuña would go on to lead the majors with 73 stolen bases, while Ruiz would lead the AL with 67 of his own.

That being said, there is plenty of season left to play and plenty of stolen base excitement yet to be had. By this day last year, Shohei Ohtani had only stolen 15 bases, putting him on pace for 35 by the end of the year. He famously finished with 59, en route to the first 50-50 season in MLB history. In contrast, Witt was on pace for 44 steals at this time last season. If he’d kept that up, he would have tied for the league lead. Instead, he only swiped 12 more bags over the rest of the season, finishing with a mere 31. With all that to consider, let’s take stock of the stolen base leaderboards and try to figure out who might sit at the top by the end of the year.

Looking to defend his AL stolen base crown, Caballero currently leads the majors with 25 steals. He is one ahead of Oneil Cruz for the MLB lead and four ahead of Witt and Luis Robert Jr. in the AL. So, is the Rays utilityman the clear frontrunner (no pun intended) to lead the AL once again? He’s been running more often this season than last, and he’s been safe at a higher rate. As things stand today, he is the only player in the majors on pace to reach 60 steals. No other AL runner is on pace for more than 50. What’s more, he’s been especially hot as of late, with 16 steals in 17 attempts over the past month.

Yet, if it weren’t for all the bases Caballero has already stolen, I don’t think anyone would peg him as a likely stolen base king. His sprint speed has declined notably in each of the past two seasons, dropping from the 90th percentile in 2023 to the 75th percentile in 2024 and now the 63rd percentile in 2025. Similarly, his average home plate to first base time has increased. This year, 84 qualified runners (per Statcast) have a faster average home-to-first time than Caballero. In addition, he hasn’t “bolted” at all this season. As defined by Statcast, a bolt is any run where the runner’s sprint speed is above 30 feet per second in his fastest one-second window. Caballero bolted five times in 2023 and five times in 2024, but he has yet to bolt at all in 2025. For context, 103 runners have bolted at least once this year, while Witt leads the majors with 47 bolts.

Indeed, Witt is much faster than Caballero in every measurable way. In addition to bolts, Witt leads the majors in sprint speed, while his home-to-first time ranks sixth. (All five players ahead of him are left-handed hitters, which gives them a slight advantage in getting out of the box.) Moreover, Witt is also a vastly superior hitter to Caballero. Not only does that mean he reaches base more often, giving him more chances to steal, but it also means he plays more often and hits higher in the batting order, giving him more chances to reach base. According to Baseball Reference, Witt has already had 121 stolen base opportunities this year, to Caballero’s 64. There’s a good chance that gap will only increase; Witt is underperforming his expected on-base percentage by 25 points this year, while Caballero is overperforming his xOBP by 12 points. The worse Caballero hits, the less likely he is to see playing time in Tampa Bay, while Witt’s spot in the two-hole of the Royals lineup is secure. Caballero has 47 steals to Witt’s 33 over the past calendar year, despite playing less often, typically batting lower in the order, and reaching base at a lower clip. That certainly seems like an argument in Caballero’s favor. On the other hand, it’s impossible to ignore Witt’s superior skill set.

Somewhere in between those two is Robert. His sprint speed ranks in the 89th percentile, while his nine bolts put him among the top 30 runners in the league. He doesn’t run quite as well as Witt, but he’s been faster than Caballero. Still, it’s surprising to see Robert so high on the stolen base leaderboard. He has never stolen more than 23 bags in a season, which means he’s just three steals away from surpassing his previous career high. Robert is keeping pace with Witt and Caballero right now, but he stands out. We’ve seen both of them steal upwards of 40 bags in a season before. We’ve never seen this kind of stolen base prowess from Robert. All the more interesting, he has stolen all these bases despite slumping badly at the plate. His on-base percentage is a career-worst .269, putting him among the bottom 10 qualified hitters in the sport. Due to his low OBP, he has only had 64 stolen base opportunities this year. That’s the same number as Caballero, even though Robert has taken 66 more trips to the plate. In theory, this is a point in Robert’s favor when it comes to his chances to lead the league in steals. Simply put, it’s hard to imagine his OBP will remain this low all season. He’s only two years removed from being a well-above-average hitter, and his xOBP is 43 points better than his actual on-base percentage. If Robert starts reaching base significantly more often and continues to steal at such a high clip, he could blast ahead of Witt and Caballero.

Another AL contender to keep in mind is José Ramírez. The veteran has never led the league in steals, but his 263 career stolen bases rank fourth among active players. He topped 40 steals for the first time last year and has already swiped 20 bags in 2025. That puts him on pace for a career-high 48 in his age-32 season. Finally, Chandler Simpson is a dark horse in the race. The Rays rookie didn’t make his debut until mid-April and has been playing at Triple-A for the past two weeks. Even so, he ranks fifth in the AL with 19 steals this season. Considering he stole those 19 bases in just 35 games, I wouldn’t be all that shocked if the Rays waited to call him up again until after the trade deadline and he still ended up pacing the AL in steals. After all, we’re talking about a guy who swiped 104 bags in the minors in 2024.

The competition is more straightforward in the NL, where three talented young speedsters enjoying strong seasons rank 1-2-3 on the stolen base leaderboard. Oneil Cruz is just three steals ahead of Pete Crow-Armstrong for the NL lead, while last year’s stolen base king, Elly De La Cruz, is hot on their tails. Two-time NL stolen base king Trea Turner is close behind in fourth place, while Victor Scott II, arguably the fastest runner in the Senior Circuit, is fifth. All told, those five players are separated by just six steals.

Cruz leads the way with 24 steals, despite having missed a handful of games here and there with minor injury issues. On a per-game basis, he sits comfortably ahead of all qualified NL players, and he’s been successful on all but two attempts. Crow-Armstrong is slightly faster, according to both sprint speed and home-to-first time. However, his on-base skills are poor, which will limit his opportunities to steal. As for De La Cruz, he was faster than either Cruz or Crow-Strong in 2023 and ’24, but he’s been a bit slower this season. That could be due to a minor leg injury he has played through (per reporter Charlie Goldsmith). As he regains strength, perhaps De La Cruz will start stealing at the same pace as last year, leaving everyone else in the dust. At his best, De La Cruz moves faster than Cruz and reaches base at a higher clip than Crow-Armstrong.

Turner and Scott rank just below those three on the stolen base leaderboard, and their names aren’t quite as buzzy. Still, they’re not to be forgotten in this conversation. Turner led the National League in steals in both 2018 and 2021. He is in his thirties, but he remains one of the fastest players in the game. His sprint speed is tied for third among qualified NL runners, while his 42 bolts rank second in the Senior Circuit. He has also received more plate appearances and has a higher OBP than any of Cruz, Crow-Armstrong, and De La Cruz. Meanwhile, Scott is the only NL runner who ranks ahead of Turner in both sprint speed and bolts. His 18 steals are one fewer than Turner’s 19, but his success rate is better; Scott has only been caught once, while Turner has been gunned down on five occasions. Yet, Scott is not the same caliber of hitter as Turner (or as Cruz, Crow-Armstrong, or De La Cruz).

Last but certainly not least, I’d be remiss were I not to mention Ohtani. From this date onward in 2024, Ohtani stole 44 bases. If he were to do that again, he would finish with 55 steals this year, while Cruz is currently on pace to finish with 56. Another second-half surge from Ohtani is unlikely, to be sure, but it’s a possibility worth mentioning. We know he’s capable of pulling it off.

So, who do MLBTR readers think will lead the AL and NL in stolen bases this season? Have your say in the polls below:

Photos courtesy of Philip G. Pavely and Joe Camporeale, Imagn Images.

Brewers Promote Jacob Misiorowski

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June 12: The Brewers announced today that they’ve formally selected Misiorowski’s contract. He’ll start tonight’s game. Righty Easton McGee was optioned to Triple-A in his place, while Woodruff was indeed moved to the 60-day IL to clear a 40-man spot.

June 10: The Brewers are calling up pitching prospect Jacob Misiorowski, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. The righty will start Thursday’s game against the Cardinals. Milwaukee will need to make room for him on the active and 40-man rosters. The latter should be as easy as Brandon Woodruff being transferred to the 60-day injured list since he’s already been out longer than that.

Misiorowski, 23, is one of the top prospects in baseball. The Brewers selected him with a second-round pick in the 2022 draft and signed him with a $2.35MM bonus, more than double the $1.1MM slot value for that pick.

Since then, he has been climbing the ladder with very exciting results. His fastball sits in the high-90s and can get into triple digits. He also has a curveball, slider and a lesser-used changeup. Those pitches have helped him strike out a lot of opponents though control is clearly still a work in progress.

He got a brief professional debut in 2022, making just two Single-A appearances. In 2023, he logged 71 1/3 innings while climbing as high as Double-A. He posted a 3.41 earned run average while punching out 35% of hitters, but he also gave out free passes at a high rate of 13.4%. Last year, he split his time between Double-A and Triple-A, logging 97 1/3 innings. The Brewers moved him to a relief role late in the year as a way of monitoring his workload. He had a 3.33 ERA, 30.5% strikeout rate and 14.4% walk rate.

The numbers have been similar this year. He has logged 63 1/3 Triple-A innings thus far with a 2.13 ERA and 31.6% strikeout rate. His 12.3% walk rate is an improvement for him but still about four ticks above typical major league average, which is 8% for starters this year.

Misiorowski still has some things to work on, particularly the control and the workload, but the arsenal is clearly exciting. Baseball America currently lists him as the #21 prospect in the league. FanGraphs has him at #27. ESPN’s most recent update put him at #30. Baseball Prospectus had him at #65 in the offseason. MLB Pipeline currently has him further down at #68, with a bit more concern that the control issues will eventually push him to the bullpen. Keith of Law of The Athletic had similar concerns when giving Misiorowski the #87 slot coming into the year.

Time will tell if Misiorowski is destined for the bullpen or can stick in the rotation but it’s understandable that the Brewers will keep trying the starting path until they get some clarity. There’s simply far more value in an excellent starting pitcher compared to an excellent reliever. Even if it doesn’t work out, the bullpen path will still be available as a fallback. Even Law, the most bearish of those prospect evaluators, believes Misiorowski has a future as an elite closer.

For now, the Brewers will see if Misiorowski can evolve into a big league starter. The rotation has been constantly shifting for Milwaukee this year, mostly due to injuries. Woodruff was expected to start the season on the injured list, recovering from last year’s shoulder surgery, but his rehab has also hit a few snags. He battled some ankle tendinitis and also suffered an elbow contusion from a comebacker and is still likely a few weeks away. Robert Gasser had Tommy John surgery last summer and is another guy the club knew would be on the IL to start this year.

In addition to Woodruff and Gasser, several other pitchers have missed some time. Nestor Cortes is still on the shelf, having suffered a flexor strain back in April. Tobias Myers missed time due to an oblique strain. Aaron Civale had a hamstring strain, Jose Quintana a shoulder impingement and DL Hall a lat strain.

Around all those transactions, the club has been trying to find various solutions. Quintana was a spring signing. The Brewers traded for Quinn Priester a week into April. Several minor leaguers have been called up. As the club has been spinning those plates, 12 different pitchers have started for the team already this year. Some of those have been openers, but it’s clearly been a bit of a whirlwind.

As of this moment, the rotation consists of Freddy Peralta, Civale, Priester, Quintana and Chad Patrick, with Hall doing some starting but also some long relief work. It’s not totally clear what the club plans to shift with Misiorowski’s promotion. It could simply be a spot start. Perhaps they will go with a six-man rotation for a while. Priester and Patrick both have options and could be sent down, though Patrick’s numbers this year have been far better than Priester’s.

The Brewers are still in the playoff race. Their 35-32 record currently has them just three games back of the final National League Wild Card spot. Regardless of how they perform over the next few weeks, it’s possible to imagine them trading some starting pitching this summer. Woodruff, Quintana, Civale and Cortes are all impending free agents, which would make them logical trade chips. A bolder move would be Peralta, who can be controlled through 2026 via an $8MM club option.

Sending one or more of them out of town would theoretically downgrade this year’s rotation but the Brewers could perhaps provide replacements from within the system while bolstering another part of the roster or simply adding some prospect talent. Hall could be given a more proper rotation gig. Gasser could get back in the mix later in the year. Myers, Logan Henderson and other arms are in Triple-A and could be recalled.

The Brewers don’t have a lot of spending capacity, so this kind of tough balancing act is normal for them. Recent years have seen them trade away guys like Josh Hader and Corbin Burnes while still trying to field a competitive team. Those trades usually see them targeting a mix of MLB-ready talent and prospects or draft picks. Given the number of rotation options they have in the mix now, another move of that nature may be in the cards this summer.

That will be a situation for the next few weeks. For now, one of the most electric arms in the minor leagues is coming up to the show. As a consensus top prospect, Misiorowski is eligible for the prospect promotion incentives. The Brewers can’t earn an extra draft pick based on his performance in awards voting this year because they didn’t call him up early enough. Misiorowski can earn himself a full year of service time if he finishes in the top two in Rookie of the Year voting, though that will be a long shot. The race is still fairly wide open but Misiorowski is getting called up late and is already near his personal high in innings pitched in a season, so it’s possible the club eases off his workload at some point later in the year.

Photo courtesy of Dave Kallmann, Imagn Images

Yankees’ Jake Cousins Dealing With Potential UCL Injury

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Yankees reliever Jake Cousins has yet to pitch in the majors this season due to a flexor strain. He’d recently set out on a minor league rehab assignment in hopes of a return in the near future but was pulled from his most recent appearance in High-A with a setback. It’s the second setback in his rehab — he also dealt with a pectoral issue last month — and manager Aaron Boone revealed yesterday that Cousins is now dealing with what “seems to be a UCL injury” (link via Jackson Stone of MLB.com).

The Yankees and Cousins are still in the process of gathering opinions, but it’s an unwelcome development. At the time of the 30-year-old right-hander’s initial forearm/flexor injury in early spring training, imaging showed that Cousins’ ligament was intact (as noted by the New York Post’s Greg Joyce back in February). The pitcher himself told the Yankees beat back then that doctors had said his ulnar collateral ligament “looked great” in the MRIs he’d undergone.

Cousins was quietly excellent for New York in 2024 after coming over from the White Sox in a spring trade that sent cash to Chicago. He wound up pitching 37 games for the Yanks and logged a 2.37 ERA with a huge 34.2% strikeout rate but an unsightly 12.9% walk rate across 38 innings. Cousins had previously seen time in parts of three big league seasons with Milwaukee but bounced from the Brewers to the Astros via waivers before becoming a minor league free agent, signing a minor league deal with the South Siders, and finally making his way back to the majors in the Bronx.

When healthy, Cousins has regularly looked the part of a useful bullpen arm — he just hasn’t been healthy all that often in recent years. Dating back to the 2021 season, the former Nationals draftee has missed time with a biceps strain, elbow effusion/bursitis, shoulder inflammation and a pectoral strain, among other maladies. He’s pitched to a 2.78 ERA in 90 2/3 innings and fanned just shy of one-third of the batters he’s faced since making his MLB debut as a Brewer back in 2021. However, he’s pitched only 169 2/3 innings — majors and minor leagues combined — over the past four-plus seasons because of frequent trips to the injured list.

Most of Cousins’ injuries have occurred while on the major league roster, so despite his limited innings tally in the big leagues, he’ll cross three years of major league service in 2025. That’ll qualify him for arbitration in the coming offseason, although if he’s unable to get on a big league mound this year, his price tag would still be close to the minimum. For now, the hope will obviously be that Cousins can avoid surgery, as a Tommy John procedure or internal brace operation could cost him a year or more. Presumably, the Yankees will have more information on the extent of Cousins’ injury and a treatment plan in the coming days, but it seems unlikely he’ll be able to return to a major league mound anytime soon.

The Opener: Misiorowski, Chisholm, Freeman

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Here are three things to follow around Major League Baseball today:

1. Jacob Misiorowski to debut:

Brewers top pitching prospect Jacob Misiorowski is ticketed to make his MLB debut this evening as Milwaukee welcomes its division rival from St. Louis for a four-game set at American Family Field. The 23-year-old Misiorowski will face Cardinals ace and 13-year major league veteran Sonny Gray as Milwaukee looks to take advantage of this series to jump ahead of St. Louis in the standings. The Brewers are currently half a game back of the Cardinals, while the Cardinals are five games back of the Cubs for first place in the NL Central and 2.5 games back of a Wild Card spot.

Misiorowski was a consensus top-100 prospect entering the season and widely considered the most promising pitching prospect in the Brewers organization. Despite several injuries, the Brewers’ rotation has been a strength this season, much like it was last year. They will hope that Misiorowski – who has pitched to a 2.13 ERA with 80 strikeouts in 63 1/3 innings at Triple-A – will help their staff continue to flourish.

2. Yankees monitoring Jazz Chisholm Jr.:

Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr., who returned from an IL stint just last week, exited yesterday’s game early with what the team later told reporters (including Greg Joyce of the New York Post) was “left groin tightness.” According to manager Aaron Boone, the Yankees aren’t overly concerned, but considering Chisholm felt discomfort while running the bases, they’ll continue to monitor him and see how he feels before this evening’s game against the Royals. Chisholm has been on fire since he came off the IL last Tuesday, batting .346 with a 1.015 OPS and four stolen bases in eight games. He has also returned to playing third base, after having moved back to second to start the season. His lefty bat, strong baserunning, and defensive flexibility have made Chisholm a terrific asset for the Yankees since he arrived ahead of the deadline last summer, so the team will surely hope he doesn’t need to miss any more time.

3. Freddie Freeman playing through quad injury:

Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman suffered a quad injury Tuesday, which manager Dave Roberts relayed to reporters (including Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic). The skipper suggested the injury was manageable, and indeed, it wasn’t enough to keep him out of the lineup on Wednesday, when Freeman went 1-for-4 with a walk and a run. However, the injury prevented Freeman from running at full speed on a double play ball Tuesday, and Roberts has told him to “not go crazy on the bases” (per Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times). While Freeman is no stranger to playing through pain, his latest injury issue is certainly something for the Dodgers to monitor. Hopefully, today’s off day will help him recover before this weekend’s upcoming series against the division-rival Giants.

Red Sox Acquire Jorge Alcala

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June 12: The trade is now official, with both teams formally announcing the move late last night.

June 11: The Red Sox are acquiring right-hander Jorge Alcala from the Twins, as first reported by Phil Miller of the Star Tribune. Chris Cotillo of MassLive reports that infield/outfield prospect Andy Lugo is headed to Minnesota in return for Alcala’s services. The Athletic’s Dan Hayes reports that no cash is being sent from the Twins to Boston in the deal. Both teams subsequently announced the deal officially, and Boston designated right-hander Brian Van Belle for assignment to create room for Alcala on the 40-man roster.

According to The Athletic’s Aaron Gleeman, the Twins were planning to designate Alcala for assignment in the coming days, and after the club claimed southpaw Joey Wentz off waivers earlier today it’s fairly easy to surmise that the decision to part with Alcala was motivated by a desire to make room for Wentz on the active roster. By trading for Alcala preemptively, the Red Sox were able to bypass the waiver process in order and add the right-hander to their bullpen more directly. Even if the Twins were planning to part ways with Alcala prior to this trade, it’s clear that the Red Sox were very interested in the 29-year-old righty given that they gave up a low-level prospect to acquire him and took on the remainder of Alcala’s $1.5MM salary for this year despite the fact that most trades of DFA candidates wind up being cash deals.

Looking just at Alcala’s surface-level numbers, it may be hard to see why the Red Sox would be enamored with him. Across 22 appearances with Minnesota this year, he’s pitched to an 8.88 ERA with a 5.42 FIP and an elevated 13.2% walk rate. Those numbers are certainly concerning, but Alcala’s 24.6% strikeout rate has remained quite good even in this down season and he entered the year with a career 3.64 ERA and 4.33 FIP. His 2024 campaign was even better, as he posted a 3.24 ERA and 4.14 FIP in 58 1/3 innings of work during a season where his walk rate sat at a much more manageable 8.5%. Alcala’s .369 BABIP allowed and 52.6% strand rate are both certain to improve over a larger sample size, and if the Red Sox can help restore his command it’s not at all difficult to see them making him into a viable option for the middle innings of even a setup role.

That would be a fantastic development for Boston if it were to come to fruition, as they’re without Justin Slaten and Liam Hendriks while both are on the injured list. That’s left them a bit weak from the right side, with Garrett Whitlock and Greg Weissert forced to step into high leverage roles. Zack Kelly is currently in the club’s bullpen despite a 6.61 ERA, and the club has zero full-time relievers who throw from the right-hand side on the 40-man roster in the minors at the moment. The depth Alcala could provide to the bullpen if he manages to get right is considerable, and it was enough of an upgrade that the Red Sox opted to DFA Van Belle just one day after adding him to the roster. The Red Sox will have one week to either trade Van Belle, who has still not yet made his big league debut despite his brief call-up, or put him through waivers.

Heading to Minnesota in return for Alcala’s services is Lugo. The 21-year-old has been in the Red Sox organization since 2022 and is currently hitting .265/.327/.430 across 44 games at the High-A level. He’s split time between first base, third base, and left field throughout his pro career to this point, but is unranked on MLB.com’s Top 30 Red Sox Prospects list. That’s not necessarily a shock given his age and the fact that he’s not yet reached to the Double-A level, but it’s not impossible to imagine him getting called up to Double-A by the end of the year now that he’s in the Twins organization, so long as he can continue hitting fairly well in his new organization.

Fantasy Baseball Subscriber Chat With Nicklaus Gaut

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Nicklaus Gaut will be talking fantasy baseball with Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers today at 11 am Central Time.  Get your question in early or participate in the live event at the link below!

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MLB Mailbag: Williams, Trade Deadline, Valdez, Keith, Red Sox, Muncy, Jays’ Outfield

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It's time for another installment of our weekly MLB Mailbag. I'm pinch-hitting for Tim Dierkes once more this week before he takes back over next week. In today's mailbag, we'll look at Devin Williams' signature changeup, a group of potential first base targets on the trade market and what they might cost, Framber Valdez's earning power, Colt Keith's role in Detroit, the Red Sox' struggles and Rafael Devers' future, the Dodgers' third base outlook and Toronto's collection of outfielders. Let's dive in.

Elden asks:

I admittedly never followed Devin Williams before the NYY acquired him but isn't it odd to have a closer so heavily reliant on changeups? What is the current timeline to get Weaver back?

It's odd, yes, but when said changeup is arguably the best pitch in baseball since Williams' debut, it's hard to argue with the approach. First, let's look at historical changeup usage by Williams.

Sports Info Solutions began tracking pitch types back in 2002. Since the 2002 season, there have been 6500 individual seasons by relievers with more than 20 innings thrown. Only 20 of them have seen a reliever deploy his changeup at a 50% clip or higher. Williams has five of those. Tommy Kahnle has four of them.

Williams isn't the only reliever to make a career out of a lethal changeup, of course. Trevor Hoffman rode his changeup to the Hall of Fame. Francisco Rodriguez and Fernando Rodney had dominant changeups at their peaks. None threw their changeup even close to as frequently as Williams, however. Broadly speaking, yes, it's quite rare for relievers to be this reliant on changeups. It's rare for relievers to even have a changeup as their go-to secondary offering; fastball/slider combos have been en vogue for years and remain so.

Statcast and its pitch tracking data were rolled out in all 30 MLB parks back in 2015. Since 2015, Williams' "Airbender" unsurprisingly grades out as the best changeup in the sport, but it's also the eighth-most valuable pitch overall. The only individual pitches that carry greater value in that time are (in order): Kenley Jansen's cutter, Josh Hader's sinker, Chad Green's four-seamer (!!), Edwin Diaz's slider, Zack Britton's sinker, Emmanuel Clase's cutter and Liam Hendriks' four-seamer. Of course, it bears mentioning that Jansen, Hader, Green, Hendriks and Diaz have all pitched far more in that decade-long window than Williams, who only debuted in 2019.

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Jackson Jobe To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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Tigers right-hander Jackson Jobe will undergo Tommy John surgery. Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press was among those to relay the news. He’ll miss the remainder of his season and possibly all of 2026 as well. He is already on the 15-day injured list but will be transferred to the 60-day IL whenever the Tigers need to open a roster spot.

The news is obviously brutal for both Jobe and the Tigers. Jobe, third overall pick of the 2021 draft, was one of the top pitching prospects in the league as he climbed the minor league ladder. The Tigers called him up late last year to factor into their postseason run even though he was only 21 years old. He got to make two regular season appearances and then two more in the postseason.

He came into this year as a member of the rotation. He wasn’t exactly dominant, with a 4.22 earned run average, 17.9% strikeout rate and 12.4% walk rate through ten starts. However, that’s a small sample of work and he’s also still quite young.

It’s also possible, in the wake of this news, that he wasn’t fully healthy. His velocity was down in his final start and the Tigers placed him on the 15-day IL a couple of weeks ago with a flexor strain. Now it seems the determination has been made that he’ll need to go under the knife. Tommy John surgery usually requires 14 to 18 months of rehab. Given that window, Jobe will miss the remainder of the year and a return in the second half of 2026 can’t be guaranteed either.

For Jobe, it’s obviously a gut punch for him to lose most of his age-22 season and potentially all of his age-23 campaign. For the Tigers, they are going to lose almost two whole seasons of their six-year window with Jobe.

They will have to proceed without him in their plans for the foreseeable future. Their current rotation consists of Tarik Skubal, Jack Flaherty, Casey Mize, Keider Montero and Sawyer Gipson-Long. They could get Alex Cobb into the mix soon, as he’s currently on a rehab assignment. Reese Olson is out with a finger issue that doesn’t seem terribly serious. Jose Urquidy had Tommy John surgery around this time last year and could be a factor later in the year. Ty Madden has a rotation cuff strain and could also return from the IL later this year.

Most of that group will be in the mix for the 2026 rotation as well. Cobb is the only one fully slated for free agency. Flaherty has a player option for 2026 and could decide to return to the open market. The Tigers have a club option for Urquidy’s services for next year. It’s also possible that the Tigers change this picture via trades ahead of this year’s deadline.

Photo courtesy of Junfu Han, Imagn Images.

MLBTR Podcast: White Sox Ownership, Roman Anthony, And The Diamondbacks’ Rotation

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • Do the Mariners need a left-hander in the rotation? (40:45)
  • What will the Braves do with the rest of the season and would they trade Chris Sale? (45:30)
  • With the Mets seemingly having too many young infielders, who stays and who goes? (53:35)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski, Imagn Images

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

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