Bryan De La Cruz

Outright Assignments: 8/3/25

By Mark Polishuk | August 3, 2025 at 4:46pm CDT

Here’s the latest on a few players recently designated for assignment, and now removed from their clubs’ 40-man rosters…

The Yankees announced that outfielder Bryan De La Cruz has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A. Because De La Cruz has more than three years of Major League service time, he has the right to elect free agency rather than accept the outright assignment, so it remains to be seen if he’ll remain in the organization. A regular with the Marlins from 2022-24, De La Cruz has struggled badly since a deadline trade to the Pirates last year, and his only MLB work in 2025 came in the form of 16 games with the Braves. New York claimed De La Cruz off waivers from Atlanta in May and the outfielder has hit .251/.323/.438 over 229 plate appearances for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
The Mariners outrighted Collin Snider to Triple-A after the right-hander cleared waivers. This is the first time Snider has been outrighted, and since he also doesn’t have the required amount of MLB service time, he’ll have to report to Triple-A rather than consider electing free agency. An underrated bullpen arm for the Mariners in 2024, Snider struggled to a 5.47 ERA in 26 1/3 innings this year and hasn’t pitched since a right forearm flexor strain sent him to the injured list two months ago. Snider had begun a minor league rehab assignment but he is out of minor league options, so the Mariners had to pursue the DFA/outright route rather than activate Snider directly back onto the 26-man roster.
The Phillies announced that right-handers Brett de Geus and Devin Sweet both cleared waivers and have been outrighted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The two pitchers were each designated on deadline day to create roster space for new acquisitions Harrison Bader and Matt Manning. De Geus made a single appearance with Philadelphia this season, and he has now tossed 63 1/3 innings over 61 career games at the big league level, posting a 7.39 ERA across his three seasons. Sweet has a 10.38 ERA over 8 2/3 career innings with the Mariners and A’s, all during the 2023 season. Both pitchers have previous outrights on their resume, so they can each elect free agency rather than accept the assignment to Triple-A.

Yankees Acquire Jake Bird

By Anthony Franco | July 31, 2025 at 4:27pm CDT

4:27pm: The deal has been officially announced. Outfielder Bryan De La Cruz was designated for assignment to make room for Bird on the 40-man roster. De La Cruz did not appear in a game with the Yankees but hit .191/.240/.213 in 16 games with Atlanta earlier this year.

2:42pm: The Yankees are reportedly in agreement to acquire reliever Jake Bird from the Rockies for two minor leaguers. Second baseman Roc Riggio and pitcher Ben Shields are going back to Colorado.

Bird is the second, lower-profile bullpen pickup for the Yanks this afternoon. They’re adding two-time All-Star David Bednar in a deal with the Pirates. While Bednar will join Devin Williams and Luke Weaver at the back of the bullpen, Bird projects more as a middle relief type. The 29-year-old righty has a 4.57 earned run average over parts of four seasons with the Rox. That includes a 4.73 mark across 53 1/3 innings this year, though he’s only a few weeks removed from what seemed to be a breakout season.

Through the end of June, Bird was sitting on a 2.68 ERA across 47 innings. He had punched out 29.1% of batters faced while getting ground-balls at a 48% rate. The past few weeks have been a disaster. Bird has been rocked for 15 runs on 16 hits and four walks with five strikeouts in his last 6 1/3 innings. It’s an unfortunate way to end his Colorado tenure.

Bird has been durable and logged almost 90 innings out of Bud Black’s bullpen a couple seasons ago. He has gotten above-average grounder rates in all four MLB seasons — a common trait for Yankee relievers — and has still shown decent swing-and-miss stuff this year. He’s a three-pitch pitcher who sits around 94 MPH with his fastball and leans most often on a mid-80s breaking ball. The horrendous past few weeks didn’t completely detract from Bird’s strong start to the season.

This is Colorado’s second significant trade of deadline season — both of which have involved the Yankees. They sent third baseman Ryan McMahon to the Bronx last week. While the McMahon trade also involved a significant contract changing hands, Bird won’t cost the Yankees much financially. He’s in his final pre-arbitration season and controllable for three years after this. Bird doesn’t have any kind of closing experience that tends to lead to significant arbitration earnings for a reliever. He should be fairly cheap throughout the arbitration window.

The McMahon and Bird trades demonstrate that Colorado is more willing to deal controllable pieces than they’ve been in past seasons. They’re trending towards the worst season in modern history and have a tough time justifying making anyone untouchable. Riggio placed 22nd on Baseball America’s writeup of Yankee prospects, while he checked in 10th in the system at MLB Pipeline. Shields ranked 28th at MLB Pipeline and was not in the top 30 at BA. Both players will not be eligible for the Rule 5 draft until after the ’26 season.

Riggio, a left-handed hitting second baseman, has split the season between High-A and Double-A. He has put together a huge .264/.370/.567 slash between the two levels. Riggio has taken walks at a strong 12.2% clip while striking out at a league average 22.2% rate. He has drilled 18 home runs, 14 doubles and a triple. A fourth-round pick out of Oklahoma State in 2023, Riggio is viewed as a bat-first player. Scouting reports question his pure hitting ability, but there’s no question he’s putting together a huge statistical season in the minors.

Shields is a 6’4″ left-handed pitcher who went undrafted out of George Mason in 2023. Despite lacking amateur pedigree, Shields has put together a solid minor league résumé. He posted a 3.48 ERA in 26 minor league appearances a season ago. He missed the first few months of this season due to injury but has since returned to start five games with Double-A Somerset. He has turned in a 3.42 ERA with 26 strikeouts across 23 2/3 innings. Shields is already 26 and facing mostly younger competition, but MLB Pipeline credits him with a potential plus slider. He could be short-term rotation or long relief depth for the Rockies.

Jack Curry of The YES Network first reported the Yankees were acquiring Bird. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com had Colorado’s return.

Image courtesy of James A. Pittman, Imagn Images.

Yankees Claim Bryan De La Cruz

By Darragh McDonald | May 1, 2025 at 2:10pm CDT

The Yankees have claimed outfielder Bryan De La Cruz from the Braves, according to announcements from both clubs. The Yanks optioned him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and transferred Giancarlo Stanton to the 60-day injured list as the corresponding 40-man move.

There was no previous indication that Atlanta had designated De La Cruz for assignment, but it appears they quietly put him on waivers in recent days in an attempt to get him off the 40-man. It didn’t work, with the Yanks scooping him up. Atlanta’s 40-man roster count drops from 39 to 38.

Atlanta signed BDLC to their roster in the offseason and he started the season in the majors with the Atlanta outfield in flux this year. Ronald Acuña Jr. is still working back from last year’s ACL tear. Jurickson Profar tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug early in the season and received an 80-game suspension. The club signed Alex Verdugo to help out but that deal got done so late that Verdugo had to start the season on optional assignment as a sort of delayed spring training.

De La Cruz got 50 plate appearances with Atlanta but was punched out in 36% of them as he produced a dismal .191/.240/.213 line. He was optioned down to Triple-A Gwinnett when Verdugo was ready to join the big league club. The team later signed Eddie Rosario and optioned Jarred Kelenic. With Acuña slated to be back in the next month or so and Kelenic available in Triple-A, De La Cruz didn’t have great odds of getting back to the majors, which is surely what prompted the club to push him onto the waiver wire.

For the Yankees, they effectively had an open roster spot. Stanton has been on the 10-day injured list all year due to problems in both elbows. He has been trying to get healthy but still isn’t ready for game action. Even once cleared to get into a lineup somewhere, he will need a rehab assignment of a few weeks to get into game shape. His 60-day count is retroactive to his initial IL placement, so he will be eligible to be reinstated later this month if he’s able to get healthy by then.

For now, they have used Stanton’s roster spot to add some extra outfield depth. Their big league outfield group is currently strong, consisting of Aaron Judge, Trent Grisham, Cody Bellinger and Jasson Domínguez. But De La Cruz has options and there’s little harm in stashing him in Triple-A to see how things go.

As mentioned, his 2025 is out to a brutal start, but he’s been better in the past. He stepped to the plate 574 times for the Marlins over 2021 and 2022 with a combined .269/.318/.430 line and 103 wRC+ over those seasons. However, a .333 batting average on balls in play helped him out a lot there and his production has tailed off since. Since the start of 2023, he has a .243/.285/.390 line and 81 wRC+. Strikeouts have become a growing problem, with a 28% rate of punchouts since the start of 2024.

Even as he was struggling last year, he was still able to be useful in a platoon setting. A right-handed hitter, he put up a .285/.309/.425 line and 99 wRC+ versus lefties, so perhaps that is part of the appeal. Grisham and Bellinger are both lefties, though Grisham has reverse splits in his career. Domínguez is a switch-hitter but has been vulnerable to southpaws so far. He has a .277/.353/.529 line against righties but just .100/.239/.150 against lefties.

For now, De La Cruz can get regular playing time with the RailRiders and try to get in a good groove. If he succeeds or if the Yankees suffer an injury, he could get find himself getting another crack at the majors.

Photo courtesy of Brett Davis, Imagn Images

Braves Recall Alex Verdugo, Option Bryan De La Cruz

By Darragh McDonald | April 17, 2025 at 12:55pm CDT

The Braves announced that they have recalled outfielder Alex Verdugo from Triple-A Gwinnett. Fellow outfielder Bryan De La Cruz was optioned down to Gwinnett as the corresponding move.

Verdugo, 29 next month, is a veteran with at least five years of major league service time. That means he can’t be optioned to the minors without his consent. However, he agreed to accept an optional assignment due to his lingering free agency. He remained unsigned until the second half of March, eventually getting a $1.5MM deal from Atlanta. Since he had missed spring training, he agreed to head down to the farm for a while, effectively as a delayed spring training.

His inability to get a deal to his liking earlier in the offseason was surely due to his poor platform season. He had hit .282/.338/.430 from 2018 to 2023, production which translated to a 106 wRC+. That means he was only 6% above league average but that was still decent production, especially considering he’s a solid outfield defender. But with the Yankees in 2024, he hit just .233/.291/.356 for a wRC+ of 83. He was actually pretty decent through the end of May but hit just .219/.274/.315 from June onwards. He then added 56 postseason plate appearances with a .208/.309/.313 line.

That gave him little momentum going into the winter, which led to his aforementioned struggle to get a deal. For Atlanta, they were probably happy that he was out still out there, as their outfield wasn’t in great shape at the end of last year. Ronald Acuña Jr. tore his ACL and missed the second half, with an expected return at some point during 2025. The club took a shot on Jarred Kelenic last year, which didn’t work, as he hit .231/.286/.393. Michael Harris II saw his production drop for a second straight season after his Rookie of the Year performance in 2022.

The club made one big splash to upgrade the outfield this winter, signing Jurickson Profar to a three-year, $42MM deal. But just 11 days after they signed Verdugo, it was reported that Profar had been given an 80-game suspension for a positive PED test. Given the close proximity, it’s possible Atlanta knew of Profar’s test at the time of the Verdugo deal, but with the appeal process having not yet run its course.

Since the Verdugo deal, things have broadly gotten worse for the club. They are out to a 5-13 start, with their outfield being one of the key problems. Kelenic is hitting .146/.239/.244 thus far and Harris is at .179/.208/.299. Before getting optioned today, De La Cruz put up a line of .191/.240/.213.

It’s unclear what sort of production Verdugo can provide, but even something like his diminished 2024 offense would be miles ahead of what the club has received from its outfield so far. For what it’s worth, Verdugo hit .207/.303/.448 during his recent optional assignment.

Verdugo, Kelenic and Harris are all lefties, so that’s likely to be the alignment against right-handed pitchers. Even after optioning De La Cruz, the club has a couple of righty-swinging outfielders in Stuart Fairchild and Eli White, giving manager Brian Snitker some ability to navigate around tough southpaws. Ideally, Verdugo can stabilize things somewhat as the club tries to get the season back on track. Acunña will perhaps start a rehab assignment soon and be back with the club in the coming weeks. That will cut into the playing time of someone, likely Kelenic or Verdugo, depending on what happens between now and then.

Photo courtesy of Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images

Braves Notes: Profar, Kelenic, De La Cruz, Pitching Staff

By Steve Adams | January 24, 2025 at 11:33am CDT

The Braves finally made their first significant move of the offseason this week, coming to terms with Jurickson Profar on a three-year, $42MM contract that’ll install him as their new everyday left fielder. Atlanta president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos confirmed in chatting with the Braves beat yesterday that Profar will be ticketed for regular work in left field, with Jarred Kelenic and Bryan De La Cruz (who signed a split major league deal earlier this winter) competing for at-bats in right field (link via MLB.com’s Mark Bowman).

Profar told reporters via Zoom this morning that landing with the Braves is a near-ideal scenario. As a native of Curacao, he grew up idolizing countryman Andruw Jones and watching him with the Braves. He’ll now be united with friend and countryman Ozzie Albies with those same Braves. Profar indicated that as soon as free agency began, his top two preferences were to remain in San Diego or sign in Atlanta (via Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution). The Padres, who are dealing with a payroll crunch and ownership infighting, never came close to Atlanta’s offer at any point in free agency, per Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune.

With Profar slated for everyday work in left field and Michael Harris II in center, that leaves right field as the only place for Kelenic and De La Cruz to get playing time early in the season. Ronald Acuña Jr. will be back to man right field eventually but is expected to miss more than a month of the season as he finishes off rehabbing last year’s torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. A platoon is possible, but Anthopoulos made clear that Kelenic “will get a lot of reps in right field” this spring and “will have every opportunity to be that guy.”

Kelenic, 25, came to the Braves by way of a convoluted series of salary dump trades last year. The former No. 6 overall pick and top prospect was effectively purchased from the Mariners, with Atlanta taking on the underwater contracts of first baseman Evan White and lefty Marco Gonzales to get Kelenic to Atlanta. Gonzales was subsequently traded to the Pirates, who took on about $3MM of his $12MM salary. White was shipped to Anaheim in return for another pair of underwater contracts: David Fletcher and Max Stassi. The Braves quickly flipped Stassi to the White Sox for a player to be named later, agreeing to pay the bulk of Stassi’s salary. When factoring in the dead money they absorbed and the associated luxury tax hits, they spent around $32MM to acquire Kelenic.

Suffice it to say, year one of the gambit didn’t play out as hoped. Kelenic got out to a decent start in April, slumped in May, had a monster showing in June, and then tanked for the majority of the final three months. On the whole, he hit .231/.286/.393. His 15 homers were a new career-high, but he also fanned in almost 30% of his plate appearances while providing slightly below-average defense in the outfield and slashing only .206/.236/.279 against lefties.

That anemic performance against southpaws is where De La Cruz could come into play. The longtime Marlin and brief Pirate was non-tendered earlier this winter and quickly scooped by by Atlanta. De La Cruz makes for an odd platoon partner for Kelenic, however. His right-handed bat is very clearly more productive versus lefties than the lefty-swinging Kelenic, but De La Cruz has still been a below-average hitter against southpaws in his career: .270/.315/.390 (92 wRC+). Considering Kelenic has only been about average versus righties in his career, it’s an underwhelming platoon unless one or both players take a substantial step forward.

That shouldn’t be a long-term issue, of course. Acuña should be back sometime in May or June. At that point, the Braves can rely on a Profar-Harris-Acuña alignment from left to right. Kelenic, whom Anthopoulos praised as an option capable of playing all three outfield spots, could then slide into more of a fourth outfield role with De La Cruz serving as a depth option in Triple-A.

With the outfield largely settled, the question of what’s next for the Braves naturally arises. Anthopoulos said last night that he has the flexibility needed to add to the rotation and/or bullpen (via David O’Brien of The Athletic). No deal in either department is close, however, and the veteran baseball ops leader emphasized that any rotation arm that’s brought in would need to be a decisive upgrade over in-house arms like Grant Holmes and Ian Anderson. Both are out of minor league options and thus very likely ticketed for roster spots to begin the season. O’Brien speculates that Atlanta will add a reliever and forgo a prominent rotation acquisition.

The Braves currently have Chris Sale, Reynaldo Lopez and Spencer Schwellenbach in the top three spots of the rotation. Spencer Strider will return at some point in the season’s first half after undergoing UCL surgery last April. Depth options in Triple-A include Davis Daniel, Bryce Elder and prospects Hurston Waldrep and AJ Smith-Shawver. Once Strider returns, that’s a lot of arms for what’s effectively one rotation spot — assuming good health for each of Sale, Lopez and Schwellenbach.

As O’Brien suggested then, a bullpen addition makes a bit more sense. The Braves will likely be without Joe Jimenez all season after the right-hander underwent knee surgery, subtracting a key piece of their late-inning relief group. With Raisel Iglesias, Aaron Bummer, Pierce Johnson and Dylan Lee all on board, there’s still a strong high-leverage foundation, but there’s plenty of room to add a reliever and still remain under the luxury tax threshold, if that’s a goal.

RosterResource currently projects the Braves for a bit more than $230MM of tax obligations, leaving them nearly $11MM from the $241MM threshold. Notable unsigned relievers who could fit into that budget include Kyle Finnegan, Phil Maton, Andrew Chafin, Danny Coulombe, Tim Hill and injury rebound candidates such as Kendall Graveman, Lou Trivino and Keynan Middleton. If the Braves are willing to cross the tax threshold for a third straight season (or engineer a trade to clear up a bit more breathing room), names like Carlos Estevez and David Robertson remain available on the market.

Braves Sign Bryan De La Cruz

By Mark Polishuk | December 16, 2024 at 9:11pm CDT

December 16: De La Cruz will be paid at an $860K rate for time spent in the majors, according to The Associated Press. He’ll make $180K for his time in the minor leagues.

December 15: The Braves announced that outfielder Bryan De La Cruz has been signed to a non-guaranteed deal for the 2025 season. De La Cruz’s deal is specifically a split contract, not a minor league deal. The contract is an early birthday present for De La Cruz, who turns 28 years old tomorrow.

No stranger to the NL East, De La Cruz broke into the majors with the Marlins in 2021 and spent parts of the next four seasons in the Miami outfield. A part-time role turned into essentially everyday duty by the end of the 2022 campaign, and De La Cruz hit .263/.311/.420 with 37 homers over 1200 plate appearances for the Fish during the 2021-23 seasons.

Unfortunately, the production trended downward, from a 111 wRC+ in 219 PA in De La Cruz’s rookie season to a 99 in 2022, then a 90 in 2023, and down to a 77 wRC+ in 2024. De La Cruz hit 21 homers this past season but only with a .233/.271/.384 slash line in 622 combined PA with the Marlins and Pirates. The bulk of the struggles came after Pittsburgh acquired De La Cruz at the trade deadline, as De La Cruz hit only .200/.220/.294 in 168 PA with his new team.

The dropoff was so drastic that the Pirates opted to non-tender De La Cruz rather than pay him a projected $4MM salary in the first of three arbitration-eligible seasons. Given those three years of control and the fact that the Bucs gave up two prospects for De La Cruz at the deadline, it would’ve been understandable if the Pirates had kept De La Cruz around for another look, yet the $4MM price tag and his sub-replacement level play made the non-tender a justifiable call.

De La Cruz has essentially been a power-only player to this point in his career, and he has had consistently solid hard-contact numbers. However, making contact has been a struggle since De La Cruz has a 25% career strikeout rate, and he doesn’t often take walks. De La Cruz has experience at all three outfield positions and he has a good throwing arm but is considered a middling defender at best.

The non-guaranteed nature of the contract means that the Braves lose nothing by seeing what De La Cruz can do in Spring Training. If he can get himself on track at the plate and more consistently translate his power into steady production, the Braves suddenly have a controllable outfielder in the fold through the 2027 season. De La Cruz has two minor league option years remaining, adding more flexibility to Atlanta’s decision-making about whether or not to deploy him on the active roster.

The Braves’ need for outfield help is no secret. Ronald Acuna Jr.’s recovery from a torn ACL could stretch well into May, Jarred Kelenic wasn’t particularly productive in his first season in Atlanta, and Jorge Soler (though mostly a DH) was traded to the Giants in a salary dump right at the outset of the offseason. De La Cruz could ideally pair with Kelenic in a platoon in left field once Acuna is back, and perhaps might be viewed as a starter capable of holding the fort in right field in Acuna’s absence. That said, De La Cruz’s contract certainly won’t preclude the Braves from continuing to seek out a more clear-cut starting outfield option in the coming months.

National League Non-Tenders: 11/22/24

By Darragh McDonald | November 22, 2024 at 6:09pm CDT

The deadline to tender a contract to arbitration-eligible players is tonight at 7pm CT. Here’s a rundown of the players on National League teams that have been non-tendered today. This post will be updated as more decisions are revealed. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected salaries for all players eligible for arbitration last month. All players who are non-tendered before this evening’s deadline go directly into free agency, where they’re eligible to sign with any of MLB’s 30 clubs.

Onto the transactions…

The Braves non-tendered outfielder Ramón Laureano, left-hander Ray Kerr, as well as right-handers Griffin Canning, Huascar Ynoa and Royber Salinas, which you can read more about here.
The Brewers parted ways with lefty reliever Hoby Milner, who’d been projected at $2.7MM for his final arbitration season. The typically reliable southpaw was tagged for a 4.73 ERA in 64 2/3 innings this year.
The Cardinals have non-tendered right-hander Adam Kloffenstein, per Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat (Bluesky link). The righty only just made his major league debut in 2024 and was not yet arb-eligible. He immediately becomes a free agent without being exposed to waivers.
The Cubs have non-tendered infielder Nick Madrigal, per Jesse Rogers of ESPN (X link). Madrigal has hit .251/.304/.312 for a 76 wRC+ over the last three seasons with the Cubs and was projected for a $1.9MM salary next year. Chicago also announced they non-tendered outfielder Mike Tauchman, which comes as a bit of a surprise after he reached base at a .357 clip this year. Patrick Wisdom, Adbert Alzolay, Brennen Davis and Trey Wingenter — all of whom were designated for assignment earlier this week — were also dropped.
The Diamondbacks non-tendered lefty reliever Brandon Hughes, per a club announcement. The 28-year-old southpaw allowed 16 runs over 17 2/3 big league innings this year. He wasn’t eligible for arbitration but would’ve occupied a 40-man roster spot if offered a contract.
The Dodgers are non-tendering right-hander Brent Honeywell Jr. and left-hander Zach Logue, per Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times (X link). Both pitchers are still in their pre-arbitration years, so this was more about the Dodgers sending them to free agency without exposing them to waivers, as opposed to cost cutting. Perhaps the club will look to re-sign them on minor league deals.
The Giants only made two non-tenders, parting with lefty Ethan Small and righty Kai-Wei Teng. Teng had been designated for assignment earlier in the week. Small, who was in his pre-arbitration years, spent the season in the minors or on the injured list.
The Marlins had zero non-tenders. They offered contracts to everyone on the 40-man roster.
The Mets dropped a trio of players from the 40-man roster: relievers Grant Hartwig and Alex Young and outfield prospect Alex Ramirez. Young was the only member of that group who’d been eligible for arbitration. The southpaw pitched well in a depth role, but the Mets didn’t want to keep him around at a $1.4MM projection. Hartwig made four appearances this year, while the 21-year-old Ramirez (a former top prospect) had a .210/.291/.299 showing in Double-A.
The Nationals announced that they have non-tendered right-hander Kyle Finnegan and Tanner Rainey, which you can read more about here.
The Padres dropped four players from the roster: righties Luis Patino and Logan Gillaspie, outfielder Bryce Johnson and infielder Mason McCoy. Patino, who underwent Tommy John surgery last summer, was the only member of the group who’d been eligible for arbitration. The other three cuts are simply about roster maintenance. The Padres could try to bring anyone from that group back on minor league deals.
The Phillies will not be tendering a contract to outfielder Austin Hays, which MLBTR covered earlier today.
The Pirates are expected to non-tender first baseman/outfielder Connor Joe and outfielder Bryan De La Cruz, per Alex Stumpf of MLB.com (Bluesky link). They are also non-tendering right-hander Hunter Stratton, per Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (X link). Joe was projected for a salary of $3.2MM next year and De La Cruz $4MM. Stratton had not yet qualified for arbitration. Joe has been around league average at the plate in his career but doing more damage against lefties. De La Cruz has hit .253/.297/.407 in his career for a wRC+ of 90. Startton had a 3.58 ERA this year but his season was ended by knee surgery, giving him an uncertain path forward.
The Reds have non-tendered right-hander Ian Gibaut, per Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Bluesky link). The righty was projected for a salary of $800K. He spent the vast majority of 2024 on the injured list due to arm trouble and only made two appearances on the season.
The Rockies moved on from starter Cal Quantrill and second baseman Brendan Rodgers, which MLBTR covered here.

East Notes: Grissom, Suarez, Volpe, Lowe, De La Cruz, Shim

By Mark Polishuk | August 8, 2024 at 11:52pm CDT

The Red Sox activated Vaughn Grissom from the 10-day injured list today and optioned the infielder to Triple-A, a move that The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey reported the team was considering last week. Grissom hasn’t played in the majors since June 1 due to a right hamstring strain, adding to his troubled first season in Boston. Between this injury and a left hamstring strain in Spring Training, Grissom has been limited to 23 Major League games, and a dismal .148/.207/.160 slash line in 87 plate appearances.

Some kind of decision was required since Grissom’s 20-day minor league rehab assignment was up tomorrow, but his .604 OPS in 58 Triple-A PA during that assignment didn’t exactly force Boston’s hand for a promotion. Even as the Sox continue to look for answers at second base, Grissom will need to perform better to earn another call-up, and it remains to be seen when (or even if) he might be back in the majors before 2024 is over.

MLBTR Podcast: Fallout From The Trade Deadline And Mike Trout Injured Again

By Darragh McDonald | August 7, 2024 at 9:56am CDT

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…

The Mariners acquired Randy Arozarena from the Rays (2:10)
Seattle also got Justin Turner and Yimi García from the Blue Jays (6:30)
The Pirates and their multiple deadline deals (11:20)
Pittsburgh’s long-term starting pitching depth (15:45)
Pirates acquired Bryan De La Cruz from the Marlins (18:30)
The Phillies’ deadline moves (19:45)
The Brewers acquired Frankie Montas from the Reds (25:15)
The Reds acquired Joey Wiemer from the Brewers (30:10)
The Diamondbacks acquired A.J. Puk from the Marlins with Deyvison De Los Santos in the return (35:15)
The Angels are going to be without Mike Trout for the rest of the year (42:15)

Check out our past episodes!

Trade Deadline Recap – listen here
Trade Deadline Preview – listen here
Top Trade Candidates, Hunter Harvey To KC And The Current State Of The Rays And Mets – listen here

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

Pirates To Acquire Bryan De La Cruz

By Darragh McDonald | July 30, 2024 at 4:14pm CDT

The Pirates are acquiring outfielder Bryan De La Cruz from the Marlins, according to multiple sources. The Marlins receive right-hander Jun-Seok Shim and infielder Garret Forrester in return.

De La Cruz, 27, was in the midst of his fourth season as a Marlin prior to this deal. An international signing of the Astros, he went to Miami in the 2021 deadline trade that sent Yimi García to the Astros. He’s now appeared in 431 major league games with his standout trait being his home run power.

In his 1,654 plate appearances, he has walked in 6.2% of them and struck out in 24.4% of them, with both of those rates being a bit worse than average. But he has launched 55 home runs in that time and stolen 12 bases. His .258/.305/.419 batting line translates to a wRC+ of 97.

Though De La Cruz has been three percent below league average at the plate in his career, the Bucs likely still consider that a notable upgrade. Pittsburgh outfielders have hit a collective .227/.300/.352 this year for a wRC+ of 83, or 17% below league average. That includes a monster showing from Bryan Reynolds, who is hitting .288/.354/.483 this year for a 133 wRC+. The rest of that output includes rough performances from Jack Suwinski, Michael A. Taylor, Edward Olivares, Joshua Palacios and others.

Defensively, De La Cruz doesn’t get strong grades. In over 3,000 innings at all three outfield spots, he’s currently been worth -10 Defensive Runs Saved and -16 Outs Above Average. He’s been close to league average in right field but that only makes up roughly 600 of those innings, as he has spent most of his time in left field.

The Bucs use Reynolds in left field almost every day so perhaps they are hoping that De La Cruz can be passable in right field and around average at the plate. While that might not be the most exciting development, it could still be a notable one for the Pirates. The club is just two games out of a playoff spot despite its warts, so a patch here and there might be enough to help them retain more water and stay afloat.

For a low-spending club like the Pirates, they are also undoubtedly attracted to his contract status. De La Cruz has not yet qualified for arbitration and is earning around the league minimum. He will pass three years of service time this season and qualify for arb this winter, with the Bucs able to retain him for three seasons after this one.

As for the Marlins, despite making the postseason last year, they have been in sell mode for a while. They did almost nothing in the offseason and then their cold start in 2024 prompted them to start selling early. It was in early May that they flipped Luis Arráez to the Padres for prospects. In the past week, they have leaned hard into that process, sending out A.J. Puk, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Trevor Rogers, Tanner Scott, Bryan Hoeing, Josh Bell, JT Chargois, Huascar Brazobán and De La Cruz, which has totally remade their farm system with a pile of new prospects.

In this deal, they get the 20-year-old Shim. He’s missed a lot of time due to injury, with just eight official innings on this ledger so far. However, Baseball America lists him as the Pirates’ #28 prospect at the moment. Forrester, 22, was a third-round draft pick last year. He’s hitting .273/.413/.382 in High-A this year while splitting his time between catcher, first base and third base.

Last week, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that the Bucs were interested in De La Cruz. Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported on X today that he was indeed going to Pittsburgh. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com first reported Shim’s inclusion on X while Christina De Nicola of MLB.com had Forrester on X.

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