Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

A.J. Puk Halts Throwing Program With Elbow Discomfort

By | at

Diamondbacks reliever A.J. Puk has paused his throwing program after experiencing renewed elbow soreness, manager Torey Lovullo told reporters on Friday (link via Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic). Puk will visit Dr. Neal ElAttrache before deciding on next steps. Lovullo called it “slight discomfort” and noted that the star southpaw initially hoped he could continue throwing through it.

Puk has been out since the middle of April with a flexor strain. The organization has remained hopeful that he’ll be able to rehab the injury without requiring surgery. That’s presumably still the case, but any kind of setback for a forearm/elbow injury is worrisome. That’s especially true considering Puk has a 2018 Tommy John surgery on his medical chart. Even if the follow-up visit goes well, the shutdown will push back his return timeline to some extent.

It’s the latest bad news for a reeling Arizona bullpen. Puk and Justin Martinez were supposed to serve as Lovullo’s 1-2 punch in the late innings. Puk made eight appearances before his IL stay. Martinez got into 17 games and suffered an elbow injury of his own last week. That one immediately proved serious, and the team announced this evening that he’s headed for the second elbow surgery of his career.

Arizona’s bullpen has been a huge weakness. They entered play tonight with a 5.21 earned run average that ranks 27th in MLB. The injuries to Puk and Martinez are the biggest factors, but they’ve also seen former key contributors Ryan Thompson and Kevin Ginkel struggle through rough years. Low-cost acquisitions Shelby Miller and Jalen Beeks have been their most reliable relievers. The D-Backs will need to acquire multiple bullpen arms if they’re in position to add at the deadline.

Mariners Select Zach Pop

By | at

The Mariners announced they’ve selected righty reliever Zach Pop onto the big league roster. Rookie starter Logan Evans was optioned back to Triple-A Tacoma to create an active roster spot. Seattle had two openings on the 40-man roster.

Pop will make his team debut whenever he gets into a game. He joined Seattle in mid-April on a minor league deal. That came after he was released by the Blue Jays. Pop was battling elbow inflammation at the time, but he got back on the mound by the middle of May. He made two rehab appearances in the complex league before reporting to Tacoma. Pop has made 11 appearances and tossed 9 2/3 innings, allowing seven runs (though only three were earned). He has fanned nine against five walks.

The 28-year-old Pop has pitched in parts of four MLB seasons. He threw 48 1/3 frames for the Jays last season, working to a 5.59 ERA with a well below-average 15.8% strikeout percentage. Pop doesn’t have huge swing-and-miss stuff, but he sits around 96 MPH with his sinker and has posted a gaudy 55% ground-ball rate in his career. He’ll add a grounder specialist to Dan Wilson’s middle relief corps for the time being. He’s out of minor league options, though, so the M’s would need to designate him for assignment to take him off the big league roster.

Seattle can operate with an extra reliever for this weekend’s series against the Guardians. Luis Castillo, George Kirby and Emerson Hancock are lined up to start those games. Adam Jude of The Seattle Times writes that Logan Gilbert is expected to return from the injured list during next week’s series against the Red Sox, at which point Seattle will go back to five starters and an eight-man bullpen. Gilbert has been down since late April with a flexor strain. He has made a trio of rehab starts with Tacoma, combining for 9 2/3 innings of three-run ball.

Jose Urena Elects Free Agency

By | at

Veteran righty José Ureña elected free agency, according to the MLB.com transaction log. He evidently went unclaimed on waivers after being designated for assignment by the Dodgers on Tuesday.

Ureña made two appearances after signing with L.A. on June 3. He tossed three innings of one-run ball, recording two strikeouts with one walk. Ureña has now suited up for three MLB teams this season. He has also logged time with the Mets and Blue Jays, managing 18 1/3 innings over a combined nine appearances. Ureña has punched out 10 against five walks while recording a 5.40 earned run average in that time.

The 33-year-old righty will again look for an opportunity to pitch in a swing capacity. While he has bounced around this year, Ureña held a spot on the Texas pitching staff throughout the ’24 season. He posted a 3.80 ERA while getting ground-balls at a 50% clip in 109 innings for the Rangers. Ureña has never had good strikeout and walk numbers, but his sinker averages 96-97 MPH and he’s capable of covering multiple innings.

Justin Martínez To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

By | at

Diamondbacks right-hander Justin Martínez will undergo Tommy John surgery. Arizona manager Torey Lovullo relayed the info today, per John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Phoenix. He’ll miss the remainder of this season and a decent chunk of 2026 as well. He is already on the 15-day injured list but will be transferred to the 60-day IL once the club needs to open a roster spot.

The news is devastating but not especially surprising. Earlier this week, Martínez landed on the IL and the Diamondbacks announced his injury as a sprain of his right ulnar collateral ligament. A sprain, by definition, involves some degree of stretching or tearing. Not all UCL sprains lead to surgery but many do.

Now that Martínez will go under the knife, he’ll be out of action for a long time. The surgery usually takes 14 to 18 months of recovery, so he’ll certainly out for the rest of this season. A return in the second half of 2026 is possible but not a guarantee.

That’s a huge blow for the Arizona bullpen. Martínez broke out last year with 72 2/3 innings with a 2.48 earned run average. His 11.7% walk rate was a bit high but he punched out 29.5% of batters faced and got opponents to pound 58.9% of balls in play into the ground.

Coming into 2025, he and A.J. Puk were supposed to be the anchors of the bullpen. The Snakes even gave Martínez a five-year, $18MM extension to cement him as part of the long-term plans. But Martínez has been on and off the IL this year, first due to shoulder inflammation and now this UCL injury. Puk has also been on the IL for almost two months now due to elbow inflammation.

Naturally, missing those two has hampered the bullpen. Arizona relievers have a collective 5.21 ERA this year, which is better than just the Angels, Nationals and Athletics. The club is 34-34 on the year, 4.5 games back of a playoff spot. Puk could be back at some point later in the year but they will have to try to survive without Martínez. If they hang in the race long enough to be buyers, then adding bullpen help at the deadline would make plenty of sense.

For the team, there is one silver lining. The extension they signed with Martínez contained two club options for 2030 and 2031, followed by a conditional club option for 2032. That conditional option would be worth $3MM and would be unlocked if Martínez required elbow surgery or spent a certain number of days on the injured list during the course of the deal. Now that he is going under the knife, that option will be officially available to them.

That’s assuming Martínez can get back on the mound and return to his previous form, which would prompt the Snakes to pick up those club options. Though Tommy John surgeries are quite common, not all pitchers can get 100% effectiveness back afterwards. Martínez is also undergoing the procedure for a second time, which adds to the risk. He first went under the knife as a prospect in 2021.

Photo courtesy of Rick Scuteri, Imagn Images

White Sox Claim Ryan Noda, Designate Joshua Palacios For Assignment

By | at

The White Sox announced that they have claimed first baseman Ryan Noda off waivers from the Red Sox and optioned him to Triple-A Charlotte. Boston had designated him for assignment a few days ago. Outfielder Joshua Palacios has been designated for assignment to open a 40-man spot. Infielder Brooks Baldwin has been recalled to take the active roster spot of Palacios. There was also a swap on the pitching side, with left-hander Tyler Gilbert reinstated from the injured list and righty Owen White optioned as the corresponding move.

Noda, 29, has an extreme profile. He strikes out a lot but also draws plenty of walks and has some pop. He has done that all throughout his minor league career and then showed it at the big league level in 2023 after the A’s grabbed him from the Dodgers in the Rule 5 draft. He got into 128 games and stepped to the plate 495 times. He struck out in 34.3% of those plate appearances but also walked at a massive 15.6% clip and hit 16 home runs. That all added up to a .229/.364/.406 line and 122 wRC+.

Last year, he got out to a rough start and ended up getting optioned to the minors for most of the year. The A’s put him on waivers at the end of the season, with the Angels putting in a claim. He was designated for assignment about a month ago and got flipped to the Red Sox in a cash deal. Both the Angels and the Red Sox kept him on optional assignment.

His minor league numbers have continued along with Noda’s usual style. Dating back to the start of last year, he has 655 Triple-A plate appearances with 29 homers, a 20.2% walk rate and a 30.4% strikeout rate.

The White Sox came into this year with Andrew Vaughn as their primary first baseman. He struggled badly enough to get optioned to the minors a few weeks back. Earlier today, the Sox flipped him to the Brewers for Aaron Civale and cash. Tim Elko has been getting a lot of the playing time at first lately but is hitting .155/.222/.379. If that continues, perhaps the Sox will make a switch.

Palacios, 29, signed a minor league deal and then was added to the roster in April. He has 145 plate appearances so far this year with a .203/.292/.305 line. That now gives him a career .223/.287/.349 batting line and 75 wRC+.

Since he’s out of options, he can’t be easily sent down to the minors. He’ll now be in DFA limbo, which can last for at most a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Sox could take five days to try to line up a trade. He cleared waivers back in March and hasn’t done much to improve his stock since then, so the level of interest should be low. If he clears waivers, he will have the right to elect free agency.

Photo courtesy of Rick Scuteri, Imagn Images

Fantasy Baseball: Targeted Streaming for LHPs

By | at

Hello, friends.

Considering we're well past Stabilization Day, let's check in on one of my favorite topics to leverage for fantasy success: team splits. This might not be late-breaking news and/or rocket science but attacking teams via their performances with different splits continues to be one of the easiest ways to guide your streaming decisions.

Unlock Subscriber-Exclusive Articles Like This One With a Trade Rumors Front Office Subscription

BENEFITS
  • Access weekly subscriber-only articles by Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams, and Anthony Franco.
  • Join exclusive weekly live chats with Anthony.
  • Remove ads and support our writers.
  • Access GM-caliber tools like our MLB Contract Tracker

Gunnar Hoglund Done For Season Due To Hip Surgery

By | at

4:10pm: The A’s have now announced the surgery, per Jessica Kleinschmidt of Baseball America, saying the Hoglund will indeed miss the rest of this year.

2:05pm: Athletics right-hander Gunnar Hoglund will be undergoing hip surgery today and is likely done for the year. The news was reported by his agent Nate Heisler of Klutch Sports (hat tip to Ari Alexander of KPRC 2). Hoglund is already on the 15-day IL but will be transferred to the 60-day IL once the A’s need to open a 40-man roster spot.

It’s an unfortunate setback for Hoglund, a notable young talent who has been held back by health issues. He required Tommy John surgery in May of 2021 while pitching in college, just a few weeks ahead of that year’s draft. Originally projected to be selected in the top ten picks of the draft, the injury seemingly knocked him down a bit, but the Blue Jays took him with the 19th pick.

Before he was even done rehabbing from that surgery, he was flipped to the A’s as part of the Matt Chapman deal in March of 2022. He was able to get back on the mound that year but only logged eight innings. He got up to 61 innings in 2023, though with a 6.05 earned run average.

Last year was a nice step forward, as he logged 130 2/3 innings on the farm with a 3.44 ERA. His 22.7% strikeout rate and 7% walk rate were both solid numbers. He was added to the club’s 40-man roster to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft.

He started this year back at Triple-A and posted a 2.43 ERA over six starts. That got him called up to make his major league debut. The initial results were shaky, with a 6.40 ERA and 16.5% strikeout rate, but that was a small sample of just six starts and it’s possible his hip injury was already bothering him. He was placed on the IL at the start of June.

Now it’s going to be another extended stretch of injury rehab, which is tough timing on a couple of fronts. As mentioned, he had some momentum from a strong 2024 season, both in terms of the quality and quantity of his work. Now 2025 is going to be a step back.

Also, the A’s are 26-44, below every American League team except the White Sox. That’s exactly the right time for exciting young players like Hoglund to develop at the major league level. Ideally, he could have made 20 or more big league starts over the rest of the campaign, but that won’t happen now. He could get back on track in 2026 but will be coming off a mostly lost season. He’ll collect major league pay and service time while on the IL but will come up short of one year of service time since he wasn’t called up until May.

For the A’s, they will likely proceed through the rest of the season under the assumption that Hoglund won’t be a factor. The current rotation consists of Luis Severino, Jeffrey Springs, JP Sears, Mitch Spence and Jacob Lopez. Guys like Joey Estes and Luis Morales are down in Triple-A, though Estes is on the minor league IL. The major league IL features guys like Ken Waldichuk, J.T. Ginn and Brady Basso, who could be factors after getting healthy.

Photo courtesy of Nick Turchiaro, Imagn Images

Michael Tonkin Accepts Outright Assignment With Twins

By | at

Right-hander Michael Tonkin has cleared outright waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A St. Paul. He was on the 60-day injured list and pitching on a rehab assignment but it seems the Twins decided not to reinstate him to the roster. He had the right to reject the assignment and elect free agency but has decided to forgo that right. Dan Hayes of The Athletic was among those to relay the information.

Tonkin, 35, has been posting good numbers over the past few years but is out of options. That’s led to plenty of bouncing around the league. He signed with the Mets going into 2024 but ended up going to the Twins, back to the Mets, the Yankees and Twins again throughout the season via waiver claims or small trades. He and the Twins avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $1MM salary for the 2025 campaign.

Unfortunately, he’s been on the shelf for all of this year so far. He was diagnosed with a right rotator cuff strain in March and started the season on the 15-day IL. He was on a rehab assignment from mid-April to mid-May but was pulled off that rehab due to biceps tendinitis. He was transferred to the 60-day IL shortly thereafter. He restarted the rehab assignment about a week ago.

As mentioned, Tonkin is out of options, meaning the Twins would have had to plug him onto the active roster in order to reinstate him from the IL. They went the waiver route instead. Players with more than three years of major league service time have the right to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency. However, players with less than five years of service have to forfeit any remaining salary commitments in order to exercise that right.

Tonkin came into this year with his service clock at four years and 74 days, putting him 98 days shy of the five-year mark. By my count, 78 days have elapsed in the 2025 season so far, putting Tonkin 20 days shy of that line. That means he would have to walk away from what remains to be paid out of his salary in order to head to free agency, making it fairly unsurprising that he has accepted.

That means the Twins get to hang onto an experienced pitcher without him taking up a roster spot. Over the 2023 and 2024 seasons, Tonkin tossed 159 1/3 innings for various clubs with a 3.95 earned run average, 24.1% strikeout rate and 8% walk rate. He’ll keep pitching for the Saints and try to stay ready for his next major league call. If he’s not added back to the roster by season’s end, he would be able to elect free agency, like all players with three-plus years of service who have been outrighted during the season.

Photo courtesy of Rick Osentoski, Imagn Images

Mariners Outright Leody Taveras

By | at

The Mariners announced that outfielder Leody Taveras has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Tacoma. He had been bumped off the 40-man roster when the Mariners designated him for assignment earlier this week.

Taveras has the right to elect free agency but will likely forgo that right. Players with at least three years of service time have the right to reject an outright assignment and head to the open market. However, if they have less than five years of service, they have to forfeit any remaining salary commitments in order to exercise that right. Taveras is between three and five years of service and is making $4.75MM this year, so it seems fair to presume he’ll report to Tacoma in order to keep the remainder that money coming to him.

That money has been an undercurrent to all things related to Taveras in the past year or so. He had a down season in 2024 and was arguably a non-tender candidate coming into 2025. With the Rangers attempting to stay under the competitive balance tax, they could have cut Taveras and given center field to Evan Carter.

The Rangers did tender Taveras a contract but there were trade rumors surrounding him in January. Though the club had a tight budget, it’s possible that concerns around Carter’s back surgery may have motivated them to stick with Taveras. But his production fell even further from his 2024 levels while Carter was getting into game shape. They decided to move on and put Taveras on waivers.

The Mariners made a somewhat surprising claim, given their own financial constraints. Reports throughout the winter suggested they only had about $15MM to spend on upgrading their roster for the 2025 season. They signed Jorge Polanco and Donovan Solano to one-year deals worth a combined $11.25MM, leaving them with a bit of wiggle room for in-season moves.

At the time they claimed Taveras, he still had about $3.7MM of his salary to be paid out, a notable sum for a fringe roster player. Perhaps not coincidentally, that money and the Polanco/Solano contracts add up to almost exactly $15MM.

Presumably, the M’s felt they could get the 2022-23 version of Taveras. In those seasons, he had slashed .264/.311/.400 for a 97 wRC+ while stealing 25 bases and providing strong outfield defense. They also had lost Víctor Robles and Luke Raley to the injured list, perhaps motivating them to take a gamble.

As mentioned, Taveras had seen his production drop lately. He put up a line of .229/.289/.352 last year, leading to an 82 wRC+. This year, his line was at .241/.259/.342 when Texas bumped him off the roster. While the M’s hoped for a bounceback, he actually got worse after coming to Seattle, with a .174/.198/.272 line in 28 games. They decided to pull the plug and it seems no other club was willing to take on the roughly $2.7MM of his salary still to be paid out.

It’s a less than ideal use of resources for the Mariners, especially given how little they had to work with. That is something which could impact their moves in the rest of the season. Unless ownership greenlit some extra spending, this move used up a few million bucks that could have been used to acquire a more surefire upgrade at the deadline.

There’s still some time to flip the narrative. Perhaps Taveras can get back on track with Tacoma and earn his way back onto the roster. However, that may get tougher in time. Raley is now on a rehab assignment and should be back on the roster in the next few weeks. Robles is further away but could rejoin the club later in the year. Presumably, adding another outfielder or two at the deadline will be a possibility.

If Taveras doesn’t get called back up to the majors, he will be able to elect minor league free agency at season’s end. That’s the case for all players with at least three years of big league service time who are outrighted during the course of a season.

Photo courtesy of Kirby Lee, Imagn Images

Mets Place Kodai Senga On IL With Hamstring Strain

By | at

June 13th: The Mets have now made it official. Senga has been placed on the 15-day IL with a right hamstring strain, with Kranick recalled to take his roster spot.

June 12th: Mets right-hander Kodai Senga has a strained hamstring and will go on the 15-day injured list. Manager Carlos Mendoza informed reporters, including Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, after today’s game. Further details about the severity of the injury and his absence won’t be known until he undergoes an MRI tomorrow. Will Sammon of The Athletic reports that reliever Max Kranick will be recalled to take Senga’s roster spot.

Senga’s injury was obvious during today’s game, with video relayed by SNY. He started the contest and was pitching a gem, with no runs allowed as he pitched into the sixth inning. During that sixth frame, CJ Abrams hit a grounder between second and first, which was corralled by first baseman Pete Alonso. Senga ran to cover first and leaped to receive the throw from Alonso. While he made the catch and recorded the out, he then collapsed on the ground in obvious pain, clutching at his right leg. Senga told Alonso he felt a pull in his leg before leaping for the ball, per DiComo.

Regardless of whether the leap had anything to do with it, the larger point is that it’s a blow for the Mets. Senga has been a dominant pitcher throughout his entire big league career, with a 2.59 earned run average in 239 2/3 innings. However, injuries have played a role in the volume of his contributions. Last year, a shoulder strain and a calf strain limited him to just one regular season start. He did get healthy enough to pitch in the postseason, adding another five innings there.

He’s been healthy to this point in 2025, having made 13 starts with a 1.47 ERA. Now, however, he’s facing another injury absence. As mentioned, the full details of the strain and the timeline won’t be known until tomorrow.

The injury is the latest example of how anything resembling a pitching surplus is a temporary condition in the modern game. Just a few minutes before Senga collapsed on the field, Joel Sherman of The New York Post reported that the Mets were getting calls on righty Paul Blackburn due to their seeming abundance of starting pitching options.

If the Mets had any interest in trading from their rotation, that desire has presumably gone done in the wake of this injury. Without Senga, the rotation now consists of Clay Holmes, David Peterson, Tylor Megill and Griffin Canning. Blackburn has been in the mix since coming off the IL, having made one start and one long relief appearance. Presumably, Blackburn can slide into a more proper rotation role while Senga is on the shelf.

That won’t fully settle things, as both Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea are both currently on rehab assignments and could be back in the next week or two. That will give the Mets seven starters for five rotation spots. If Senga’s injury is mild and he makes a quick return, they have eight guys. Just as Senga’s injury popped up out of nowhere, other guys could drop off in the coming weeks, but it’s also possible some the club has to make some tough decisions.

Of those eight guys, Senga, Peterson and Megill are the only ones who can be optioned to the minors. Senga is too good to send down to the farm. That’s likely true of Peterson as well, who has a 2.49 ERA this year. Megill is perhaps a bit more likely to be squeezed out but even his 3.76 ERA is quite good.

Time will tell how all the pieces fit. For now, the Mets will have to proceed without their ace. They have a number of quality options to soften the blow but it’s still a notable development for the coming weeks.

Photo courtesy of Brad Penner, Imagn Images

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

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top