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Rays Outright Forrest Whitley

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The Rays announced that right-hander Forrest Whitley was outrighted to Triple-A Durham. Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times first reported the move. Whitley, once the sport’s top pitching prospect, went unclaimed on waivers after being designated for assignment over the weekend.

It was the second DFA of the season for the former first-round pick. The Astros had carried Whitley on their 40-man roster for years as he battled injuries and struggled to find the strike zone. They finally pulled the plug in mid-June, flipping him to the Rays after taking him off the 40-man roster. Whitley continued to struggle in his brief run in Kevin Cash’s bullpen. He surrendered 10 runs (eight earned) on 10 hits and a pair of walks in 4 2/3 innings.

The 6’7″ righty still has a power arsenal led by a 96 MPH fastball. Yet he has given up 18 earned runs in 15 1/3 major league innings over the past two seasons. His 8% swinging strike rate is well below-average. Whitley managed a 1.89 ERA across 33 1/3 Triple-A frames as recently as last season, but he’s out of minor league options. A claiming team would have needed to carry him on the MLB roster.

Whitley had never been outrighted and doesn’t have three years of MLB service time. He must accept the assignment and report to Durham. The Rays’ player development staff will have a few months to try to get him on track. He would qualify for minor league free agency at the end of the season if Tampa Bay doesn’t select him back onto the MLB roster before then.

Giants Select Sergio Alcantara

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The Giants selected infielder Sergio Alcántara onto the roster for tonight’s series finale in Arizona. Outfielder Daniel Johnson was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento, while catcher Logan Porter was designated for assignment to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.

Alcántara, 29 next week, is a switch-hitting middle infielder. If he gets into a game, it’d be his first big league appearance in three years. He has tallied just over 500 MLB plate appearances between four teams. He’s a .209/.281/.343 career hitter. His overall Triple-A track record is a bit better, though that hasn’t been the case this year. Alcántara has yet to hit his first home run of the season and is batting .206/.319/.252 across 256 trips to the plate with Sacramento.

It’s likely this is a brief call for Alcántara. Shayna Rubin of The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Tyler Fitzgerald has experienced minor back soreness, leading the Giants to look for short-term insurance on the infield. Fitzgerald is in tonight’s starting lineup against Arizona righty Brandon Pfaadt, but it appears they want Alcántara on hand in case Fitzgerald needs to come out of the game. Alcántara is out of options, so the Giants would need to run him through waivers once they decide to take him off the big league roster.

The sequence squeezes Porter off the 40-man roster. The 29-year-old catcher had made five appearances in mid-June, going 1-7 with a walk. He backed up Andrew Knizner for a week while Patrick Bailey was injured and was optioned back out once Bailey returned. Porter has hit .222/.354/.310 in 48 Triple-A games this year. He’s likely to land on the waiver wire in the next few days and could elect free agency if he goes unclaimed.

Max Muncy Expects To Miss Around Six Weeks With Bone Bruise

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The Dodgers placed Max Muncy on the 10-day injured list this evening, an inevitability after he was helped off the field following an ugly left knee injury yesterday. He has been diagnosed with a bone bruise and tells Sonja Chen of MLB.com that he expects to be out for roughly six weeks. Imaging did not reveal any structural damage.

All things considered, this is probably a positive development. Muncy’s knee appeared to snap back awkwardly when he was injured in a collision with White Sox outfielder Michael A. Taylor. Taylor was attempting to steal third base and unintentionally dove directly into Muncy’s knee as the infielder stretched to apply the tag. Muncy was in a lot of pain and gingerly walked off the field with assistance from trainers. It raised initial fears about potential season-ending ligament damage.

Those proved unfounded, though the bone bruise will keep him on the shelf into the middle or end of August. Muncy has been on a tear for the past couple months. After hitting .194 over the season’s first month, he has raked at a .282/.410/.546 clip with 12 home runs since the beginning of May. That shut down any speculation that the Dodgers would trade for a third baseman. A season-ending injury might have changed that calculus, but it’s unlikely they’d alter their deadline plans when they expect Muncy back for the stretch run.

Miguel Rojas gets the first start at third base tonight, drawing into the nine hole against Sox righty Aaron Civale. Manager Dave Roberts told media (including David Vassegh of 570 AM) that Tommy Edman will begin taking third base drills. Rojas, Edman and Enrique Hernández will rotate through the hot corner, allowing the Dodgers to use Hyeseong Kim more frequently at second base. They also claimed CJ Alexander off waivers from the Yankees to add corner infield depth at Triple-A.

Dodgers Claim CJ Alexander, Designate Steward Berroa For Assignment

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The Dodgers have claimed infielder CJ Alexander off waivers from the Yankees, according to an announcement from the latter club. The Yanks designated him for assignment earlier this week. To open a 40-man spot for Alexander, the Dodgers have designated outfielder Steward Berroa for assignment, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.

Alexander, 28, has limited big league experience. Between the Royals and Athletics, he has appeared in 10 big league games and stepped to the plate 25 times with a .160/.160/.160 line, produced with four singles and no walks.

His minor league track record is naturally greater in both quantity and quality. Last year, he slashed .302/.361/.559 in 411 Triple-A plate appearances, split between the Royals’ and Athletics’ systems. That production translated to a wRC+ of 130.

This year, his offense has dipped a bit. He started the year with Triple-A Las Vegas and hit .252/.348/.509 in 42 games, but that actually led to a wRC+ of 98 in the inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League. The A’s put him on waivers at the beginning of June and the Yankees claimed him. In 13 games for the RailRiders, he had a .196/.302/.196 line, which pushed him to the waiver wire yet again.

The Dodgers presumably feel there’s a path to getting him back closer to his 2024 form, or perhaps just somewhere in between last year’s production and this year’s. He has a bit of defensive versatility, capable of playing the four corner spots.

Third baseman Max Muncy appeared to injure himself last night and may end up on the injured list. That could push Hyeseong Kim into a more regular role. The Dodgers came into today with four position players on optional assignment: catcher Hunter Feduccia and outfielders Esteury Ruiz, James Outman and Berroa. Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported earlier today that Ruiz would be joining the team, presumably to take Muncy’s roster spot. Grabbing Alexander gives the Dodgers an optionable infielder who could be called upon if their infield group takes another hit.

Berroa, 26, was acquired from the Blue Jays in a cash deal in May. He has since put up a huge .330/.424/.433 slash line in 27 Triple-A games, though aided by a .403 batting average on balls in play in that sample, stealing 11 bases along the way.

Dating back to the start of 2023, he has a combined .268/.367/.401 line and 110 wRC+ in 955 minor league plate appearances. He has also stolen 101 bases in that time while playing all three outfield spots. He made his major league debut with the Jays last year, hitting .189/.333/.216 in 45 plate appearances.

He now heads into DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Dodgers could take as long as five days to explore trade talks. The last time Berroa was in DFA limbo, the Dodgers gave up some cash to skip the waiver line. He has been in good form since then, so it seems like he has a decent chance of getting scooped up in the coming days.

Photo courtesy of Neville E. Guard, Imagn Images

Colten Brewer Opts Out Of Yankees Deal

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Right-hander Colten Brewer has opted out of his minor league deal with the Yankees, reports MLBTR’s Steve Adams. He was on the temporarily inactive list in recent days due to his wife giving birth.

Brewer, 32, signed a minor league deal with the Yanks in the winter. He reported to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and tossed 29 2/3 innings over 22 appearances with a 3.94 earned run average. His 12.7% walk rate was on the high side but he struck out 27.1% of batters faced and kept 44.9% of balls in play on the ground.

The righty also has 120 innings of big league experience with a 5.10 ERA, though it’s come in scattered fashion, dating back to his 2018 debut. Most recently, he tossed 20 2/3 innings for the Cubs last year. The 5.66 ERA with the Cubs wasn’t especially impressive but his 23.2% strikeout rate, 9.5% walk rate and 44.3% ground ball rate were all respectable figures. His overall results were undercut by a .371 batting average on balls in play and 55.2% strand rate. His 3.12 FIP and 3.86 SIERA suggested he deserved better.

Brewer will now head out to the open market and see what kind of opportunities are available to him. Given the rate of pitching injuries around the league and his recent numbers, he should be getting some calls.

Photo courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck, Imagn Images

Royals Sign Michael Fulmer To Minor League Deal

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The Royals announced Thursday that they’ve signed righty Michael Fulmer to a minor league contract. He’s been assigned to Triple-A Omaha. Fulmer, a client of BBI Sports Group, recently passed through waivers and elected free agency after being designated for assignment by the Cubs.

Fulmer, 32, is a former American League Rookie of the Year whose career has been slowed by injuries. He was an integral part of the Tigers’ rotation for three years before elbow and knee surgeries pushed him to the bullpen. He found second life as a reliever with the Tigers, Twins and Cubs from 2021-23 before a torn UCL required Tommy John surgery and wiped out his entire 2024 campaign. He spent all of last year and the beginning of the current season in the Red Sox organization after inking a two-year minor league contract, but the Royals are now his third organization before the All-Star break.

Fulmer started 75 games with the Tigers from 2016-18 and posted a combined 3.81 ERA. His 2021-23 work as a closer and setup man resulted in another 190 1/3 innings of 3.55 ERA ball. He fanned 24.6% of his opponents in that time against a 9.4% walk rate, and Fulmer added in 19 saves and 45 holds along the way.

Though his return from Tommy John surgery hasn’t yet netted him a lengthy look in the majors, he did get into three games between Boston and Chicago this season. In that time, he pitched a combined 5 2/3 innings and allowed three runs on six hits and a pair of walks with three strikeouts.

The bulk of Fulmer’s 2025 season, however, has been spent in Triple-A. He’s tossed 36 innings between the top affiliates for the Red Sox and Cubs, recording a sharp 3.00 ERA with a huge 33.8% strikeout rate against a shaky 11.5% walk rate. He’s sitting 92.7 mph with his four-seamer in Triple-A, which is down about 1.5 mph from his pre-surgery form.

Kansas City has had a quality bullpen in 2025, ranking sixth in the majors with a collective 3.55 ERA. They’ve been more of a middle-of-the-pack group over the past month, however, pitching to a 16th-ranked 3.94 ERA in that time. They’ve still gotten mostly solid work from their top relievers, but they’ve cycled through several names in the final couple bullpen spots and received poor performance over the past month. Trevor Richards, Sam Long and Taylor Clarke all have ERAs north of 6.50 in that span (albeit in a total of just 19 innings between the three of them). Fulmer will add a veteran arm to the depth chart in Omaha and could get a look as the summer wears on.

Yankees To Sign Nicky Lopez To Minor League Deal

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The Yankees are signing infielder Nicky Lopez to a minor league deal, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. Lopez will presumably report to the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders in the coming days.

Lopez, 30, has been a major league regular for a few years now. However, he has bounced around in 2025, hitting the fringes of various rosters. He started the year with the Cubs on a minor league deal but opted out when he didn’t break camp. That led to a big league deal with the Angels, though he was designated for assignment three weeks into the season. He was then signed by the Cubs, this time to a big league deal, though he was designated for assignment a month later. He then landed a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks but opted out of that deal a few days ago.

He has an awful .042/.179/.042 slash line in the majors this year, though in just 28 scattered plate appearances. He hit .267/.303/.317 on that minor league deal with the Snakes more recently, though that only translated to a wRC+ of 46 in the inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League.

In his big league career, he has generally been a glove-first player. He had a strong .300/.365/.378 showing in 2021 but that now looks like a clear outlier. Since then, in over 1200 plate appearances, he has a .229/.300/.283 line. On defense, he has extensive experience in the middle infield, with plenty of time at third base as well. He’s also made brief appearances at first base, left field and even on the mound.

The Yankees aren’t getting much out of their second base position, with DJ LeMahieu not having a great season. They seem likely to pursue a third base upgrade at the deadline, with Jazz Chisholm Jr. then being moved to second base, pushing LeMahieu into a bench role. For now, Lopez gives them some veteran non-roster depth.

Photo courtesy of Benny Sieu, Imagn Images

Angels Select Chad Stevens

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The Angels announced today that they have selected the contract of infielder Chad Stevens. He’ll take the active roster spot of infielder Christian Moore, who has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a left thumb sprain. The 40-man roster already had a vacancy due to right-hander Héctor Neris being designated for assignment recently. The Halos also announced today that Neris has been released.

Moore just got his first big league call a few weeks ago. He has taken 64 plate appearances thus far. He has struck out in 31.3% of them but also drawn walks at a 12.5% pace and hit three home runs. He tells Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register that he hopes he’s only out of action for a couple of weeks. If that comes to pass, he might not actually miss too many games, with the All-Star break just over a week away.

For now, Stevens will draw into the club’s infield mix. Now 26, Stevens was an 11th-round pick of the Astros in 2021. He was released in May of last year and signed with the Angels. He’s never really been a top prospect but is having a good season. In 72 games for Triple-A Salt Lake this year, he has 14 home runs and a .307/.383/.542 batting line. Even in the inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League, that translates to a 125 wRC+. In addition to that offense, Stevens has swiped nine bags and has lined up defensively at all four infield spots and left field.

In addition to Moore, the Angels also have Yoán Moncada, Anthony Rendon and Chris Taylor on the injured list. Zach Neto has been banged up a bit and Jorge Soler just came off the IL. Neto is playing shortstop with Luis Rengifo at third and Nolan Schanuel at first. The Halos have Stevens at second tonight and perhaps he’ll get some run there for a while, though Kevin Newman is another possibility.

As for Neris, once he was designated for assignment, it was basically assured that he would hit the open market. He has a 7.80 earned run average this year, meaning there wouldn’t be much trade interest. As a veteran with years of experience, he has the right to reject outright assignments. The Halos have skipped that formality and sent him more directly to free agency.

Rays Reinstate Ha-Seong Kim

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The Rays have reinstated infielder Ha-Seong Kim from the 60-day injured list, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Infielder Curtis Mead has been optioned as the corresponding move. The 40-man roster already had a vacancy.

Kim, 29, spent the 2021 to 2024 seasons with the Padres. He didn’t hit much in his first North American season but was a bit above average at the plate in the next three. He slashed a combined .250/.336/.385 from 2022 through 2024, which translated to a wRC+ of 106.

That production made him a very valuable player, when combined with his speed and defense. He also stole 72 bases in 88 tries in that 2022-24 stretch. He played the three positions to the left of first base, with his glovework highly rated at all three spots. Put together, FanGraphs credited him with 10.5 wins above replacement for that span.

He seemed to be trending towards a nice market in the most recent offseason, with some suggesting a nine-figure deal as a possibility, before a shoulder injury intervened. He sustained the injury diving into first base on a pickoff attempt in August of last year. He ultimately underwent surgery in October, which put his 2025 timeline into question. Agent Scott Boras suggested late-April return would be possible. Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller floated a more nebulous “May, June, July” timeline.

That uncertainty naturally impacted his market and it seemed likely he would sign either a one-year deal or a two-year deal with an opt-out. Surprisingly, it was the Rays who ultimately took him off the board. In February, they signed him to a two-year, $29MM deal with a $13MM salary this year and $16MM next year, though with Kim having the opportunity to opt out after the first season.

That $29MM guarantee is the largest the Rays have ever given to a free agent position player but they are probably not planning to pay the whole thing. The ideal outcome here is likely that Kim returns and plays well enough to opt out, in search of a long-term deal. At that point, they can make him a qualifying offer and collect draft pick compensation as he departs. That’s contingent on him playing well over the next few months, of course.

In the meantime, he can help the Rays fortify a relatively weak position as they gear up for a playoff push. They Rays are 48-39, putting them in possession of a Wild Card spot and just half a game back of the Blue Jays and Yankees in the super tight American League East division.

They have done that despite getting little production from the shortstop position. As a team, they have a .201/.284/.280 line from that spot, translating to a 63 wRC+. Both José Caballero and Taylor Walls have produced good defense and stolen some bases but without providing much punch from the plate. If Kim can return to his old form, he should provide an upgrade there while bumping those two into bench infield roles.

Photo courtesy of Chadd Cady, Imagn Images

Guardians Designate Kolby Allard For Assignment

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The Guardians designated left-hander Kolby Allard for assignment Thursday, per a team announcement. Between Allard’s DFA and right-hander Luis Ortiz’s placement on paid administrative leave while he is the subject of a gambling investigation by the league, Cleveland needed to fill a pair of roster spots. They’ve recalled lefties Joey Cantillo and Doug Nikhazy from Triple-A to round out the staff. Cantillo will start tonight’s game in place of Ortiz.

Allard, 27, was a first-round pick by the Braves back in 2015. He ranked among Atlanta’s most promising young pitchers for several years but never established himself in the rotation there, in no small part due to a series of back injuries that limited his time on the field and impacted his production when he was able to take the mound.

Atlanta traded Allard to Texas in exchange for Chris Martin back in 2019, and he spent parts of four seasons struggling as an up-and-down member of the Rangers’ staff. He returned to the Braves in 2023 and spent 2024 with the Phillies, getting hit hard in both stops. By the time Cleveland signed Allard to a minor league deal this past offseason, he had a career 5.99 ERA in 272 innings.

On the surface, things have gone well for Allard in Cleveland. He’s pitched 35 1/3 innings, mostly in long relief, and posted a terrific 2.55 earned run average. That number doesn’t tell the whole story, however; Allard’s 10.5% strikeout rate is the lowest among the 318 pitchers who’ve tossed at least 30 innings in 2025. Entering the season, he’d seen nearly 16% of the fly-balls he’s allowed in his career land over the fence as home runs. He’s at just 3.6% in that regard this year, which seems bound to regress — as does his 81% strand rate (66% entering the season). Allard’s 3.60 FIP is more than a full run north of his actual ERA, and metrics like xFIP (5.19) and SIERA (5.07), which normalize that fluky home run rate, are even more bearish.

The Guardians will either trade Allard or place him on waivers within the next five days. Waivers are a 48-hour process, so he’ll know the outcome of his DFA within a week’s time. If he passes through waivers unclaimed, Allard will be able to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency — as is his right as a player who’s previously been outrighted in his career. Any team that takes a flier on Allard would be able to control him through the 2026 season via arbitration.

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