Astros Outright Cody Bolton
Astros right-hander Cody Bolton went unclaimed on waivers following this week’s DFA and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Sugar Land, the team announced this afternoon. It’s the first outright of his career and he has fewer than three years of MLB service, so he won’t have the option to reject in favor of free agency. Bolton will remain with the organization as non-roster depth in the upper minors.
Bolton, 28 next month, has pitched 20 innings out of the Houston ‘pen this season and been tagged for a dozen runs (5.40 ERA) on 21 hits and 14 walks. Three of those hits have been home runs. He’s fanned 22 of the 95 batters he’s faced (23.2%) despite a paltry 6.6% swinging-strike rate and 22.8% opponents’ chase rate. (League-average in both regards would be 10.8% and 32.5%, respectively.)
Bolton entered the season with only 42 major league frames under his belt. He’s now pitched for four clubs, having previously suited up for the Pirates, Guardians and Mariners as well. Bolton has a deep arsenal, headlined by a fastball that sits 95.1 mph. He also works in a cutter and changeup both averaging about 90 mph, a 94.5 mph sinker, a low-80s slider and, as of this season, an upper-70s curveball.
Although his work in the big leagues has produced an ERA north of 5.00, Bolton has pitched in parts of five Triple-A seasons and worked to a combined 3.32 ERA with a 24.8% strikeout rate and an 11% walk rate. Houston’s bullpen has been among the worst in the sport this season, so Bolton could find himself with another opportunity later this year if he can go on a nice run in Sugar Land.
Astros Activate Jeremy Peña, Designate Cody Bolton
The Astros made a few moves going into tonight’s series opener in Minnesota. Jeremy Peña is back from the injured list, while the Astros officially placed Jose Altuve on the 10-day IL with a Grade 2 left oblique strain. Houston also recalled righty Jason Alexander from Triple-A Sugar Land and designated right-hander Cody Bolton for assignment.
Peña returns after a near five-week absence due to a Grade 1 strain of his right hamstring. He jumps right back atop the lineup tonight against Minnesota rookie southpaw Kendry Rojas. Peña had collected hits in eight of his first 10 games before the injury, albeit without much power. He batted .256 and is still looking for his first home run of the season.
Carlos Correa initially replaced Peña as Joe Espada’s primary shortstop. Correa’s season-ending ankle surgery has left Houston with a combination of Braden Shewmake and Nick Allen over the past two weeks. Shewmake has dramatically outhit Allen to seize the majority of the playing time. He’ll now slide to second base in Altuve’s stead, though he’ll be hard-pressed to continue hitting as well as he has. Shewmake is a career .241/.305/.384 hitter at the Triple-A level, so the Astros will mostly be counting on him to hold the fort defensively.
Alexander is up for the third time this season to provide a fresh arm in long relief. He hasn’t pitched in Triple-A since last Tuesday. Houston is pitching Tatsuya Imai tonight, leaving them without much certainty about the workload they’ll get from their starter. Imai has only gone beyond four innings once in his first four MLB starts. He gave up six runs on five hits and three walks over four frames last Tuesday against Seattle, his first big league appearance after a month-long IL stay.
Bolton pitched three innings of mop-up work in yesterday’s blowout loss at the hands of the Rangers. He wouldn’t have been available for at least a day or two. He’s out of options, so the Astros needed to DFA him to swap him off the big league roster. Bolton has logged 20 innings since Houston called him up in late March. He has a 5.40 ERA with a league average 23.2% strikeout rate but a near-15% walk percentage. Bolton has struggled to get opponents to expand the strike zone, leading to a lot of free passes.
The Astros have five days to trade the 27-year-old swingman or place him on waivers. An acquiring team would need to plug him directly onto the big league staff. Bolton has never been outrighted in his career, so he would not have the ability to elect free agency if he goes unclaimed.
Astros Recall Spencer Arrighetti
3:00pm: Per Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle, right-hander Cody Bolton has been placed on the 15-day IL due to right mid-back inflammation. That’s the corresponding move for Arrighetti.
7:58am: Astros right-hander Spencer Arrighetti is expected to get the ball for an upcoming matchup against the Rockies, reports Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. It’ll come either today or tomorrow, adds McTaggart. The 26-year-old didn’t break camp with the team, but he’s been dominant across three Triple-A starts. He’ll get a shot to fill the rotation void left by Tatsuya Imai, who hit the IL on Monday with arm fatigue.
Arrighetti is already on the 40-man roster, so his recall won’t require a move there. It’s unclear who will be sent down from the big-league club to make room for him. J.P. France and Colton Gordon were recalled on Monday to add length to a battered pitching staff. France tossed two scoreless innings in relief against the Mariners on Monday. Gordon drew the start on Tuesday. Colorado knocked him around for four earned runs over 3 2/3 innings. One of France or Gordon seems like a logical candidate to head back to Triple-A as Houston adds a fresh arm.
A freak thumb injury cost Arrighetti most of the 2025 campaign. He was hit by a ball on his right hand during batting practice and missed nearly four months of action. Arrighetti returned for five starts in August. He was largely ineffective across 25 innings, posting a 5.26 ERA with a 23:15 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Elbow inflammation ended Arrighetti’s season in early September.
Arrighetti’s recent results would suggest he’s fully recovered from the elbow issue. He was a bit wild in MLB Spring Training, but racked up 12 strikeouts across eight frames. He’s continued to miss bats at a considerable clip with Sugar Land. Arrighetti has a 36.4% strikeout rate through 14 minor-league innings this year. He’s allowed just two earned runs in three appearances. The righty is coming off a quality start against Tacoma, striking out seven over six innings. He got up to 82 pitches in that outing.
A former consensus top 10 prospect, Arrighetti seemed like a mainstay in the rotation when he debuted in 2024. The righty tossed a career-high 145 innings in 29 appearances with the big-league club. Arrighetti’s 4.53 ERA was unimpressive, but it came with a 4.01 xFIP and a sub-4.00 SIERA. He struck out MLB hitters at a strong 27.1% clip in his first taste of the majors.
Houston could desperately use a healthy and effective Arrighetti to boost a rotation missing Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Imai. The Astros have allowed five more runs than the next-closest team (the Nationals). The club’s starters have combined for a 6.60 ERA, nearly a run higher than the 29th-place squad (again, Washington).
Photo courtesy of Troy Taormina, Imagn Images
Cody Bolton To Undergo Imaging For Mid-Back Tightness
Right-hander Cody Bolton only recently stepped into a beleaguered Astros rotation, but his spot already appears to be in danger. As noted by Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle, Bolton was removed from his start for the Astros today in the second inning due to what was described as “mid-back tightness.” That’s the same spot where Bolton was hit by a pitch during a spot start against the Rockies last week, and while he underwent imaging on the area in the aftermath of that incident he’s now set to undergo another round of imaging after the injury resurfaced tonight.
While the Astros haven’t said yet whether or not Bolton will require a trip to the injured list or how long he’ll be out, it certainly seems to be trending that way. Chandler Rome of The Athletic reported this evening that right-hander J.P. France is headed back to Seattle to re-join the Astros just one day after being optioned to the minors. As Rome notes, that’s only an allowable transaction if France is replacing a player on the injured list. That would certainly indicate that the Astros expect Bolton (or another pitcher with an as-of-yet unknown ailment) to require a trip to the shelf, though it’s at least possible that France is rejoining the team purely as an insurance policy against the possibility of Bolton heading to the IL.
Bolton, 28 in June, entered this year with a career 5.79 ERA in the majors but had been pitching rather well with the Astros in his limited opportunities. In 7 1/3 innings of three-run ball this year entering today, Bolton had struck out ten while walking just three. That all unraveled today, when he surrendered two runs on one hit and four walks before exiting with manager Joe Espada and a team trainer. France, 31, made his big league debut with the Astros back in 2023 and enjoyed a strong season at the back of Houston’s rotation. Since then, however, he’s pitched to a 7.31 ERA and 5.19 FIP in 32 innings of work at the big league level, including 2 2/3 innings of four-run ball earlier this year.
This potential switch comes against the backdrop of a litany of major pitching injuries for the Astros. Ace righty Hunter Brown is currently sidelined with a shoulder strain, and right-hander Cristian Javier was sidelined with the same ailment not long after. With Tatsuya Imai now back in Houston to be evaluated due to “arm fatigue,” that leaves the Astros’ rotation in tatters. If Bolton and Imai wind up on the IL, that will leave Mike Burrows and Lance McCullers Jr. as the only healthy starters on the major league roster. France could join that group, as could depth arms like Spencer Arrighetti and Colton Gordon.
Astros Select Cody Bolton
The Astros announced they’ve selected pitcher Cody Bolton onto the big league roster. Reliever Christian Roa has been optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land to open an active roster spot. Hayden Wesneski, who’ll miss the majority of the season rehabbing Tommy John surgery, moves to the 60-day injured list to clear space on the 40-man roster.
Bolton returns to the majors for the first time since last April. The 27-year-old righty made one MLB appearance for Cleveland, tossing two innings of three-run ball. Cleveland optioned Bolton to Triple-A after that outing. He was injured in a car accident shortly thereafter, and the Guardians released him in June. Bolton signed a minor league contract with Houston at the end of July.
The 6’2″ hurler was still injured at the time. He made his organizational debut towards the end of August. Bolton pitched 13 2/3 innings with Sugar Land to close the year, allowing three runs. He struck out 15 while issuing eight walks. Bolton remained in the system over the offseason, pitching once this spring. It wasn’t a good outing, as he walked four of the six batters he faced, but the Astros will bring him back up as a long reliever.
Roa has worked as a single-inning reliever this spring and for his first two appearances with Houston. The Astros swap in Bolton to add a long reliever behind Lance McCullers Jr. for tonight’s start against the Red Sox. Houston used six relievers, including Roa, yesterday after Tatsuya Imai failed to escape the third inning in his big league debut.
Astros, Cody Bolton Agree To Minor League Deal
The Astros signed right-hander Cody Bolton to a minor league contract last week, according to the MLB.com transaction log. He has been assigned to the team’s Florida complex. Bolton hasn’t logged any game action since April 23, so the Astros will give him runway to build up before presumably assigning him to Triple-A Sugar Land.
Bolton was released by the Guardians on June 6. The 27-year-old had been on the Triple-A injured list for the previous five weeks. MLBTR has learned that Bolton had unfortunately sustained injuries in a car accident in late April. The Guardians wound up designating him for assignment a month later when they needed a 40-man roster spot to active David Fry from the 60-day IL. Injured players cannot go on outright waivers, so Bolton was subsequently released.
The 6’2″ righty made one appearance for the Guardians in late April, allowing three runs in two innings. He spent time with the Pirates in 2023 and Mariners last year. Bolton owns a 5.79 earned run average in 42 big league frames. He has a stronger Triple-A track record, posting a 3.42 ERA while striking out a quarter of opponents in four seasons at the top minor league level. He sits in the 94 MPH range with both his four-seam fastball and sinker and leans fairly heavily on a low-80s breaking ball.
Bolton has worked from the bullpen over the past couple seasons but was a starter in the Pittsburgh system early in his career. Once he’s back in game shape, he could serve as either middle relief or rotation depth. Bolton has less than a year of MLB service and still has a minor league option, so the Astros would be able to bounce him between Daikin Park and Sugar Land if he secures a 40-man roster spot.
Guardians Release Cody Bolton
The Guardians released right-hander Cody Bolton, according to the MLB.com transaction log. Cleveland had designated him for assignment a week ago when they needed a 40-man roster spot to activate David Fry from the injured list.
Bolton has spent the past month on the injured list with Triple-A Columbus. The Guardians could have taken him off the 40-man roster by placing him on the MLB 60-day IL, but that would have required paying him the prorated $760K minimum salary until he was healthy. They opted to designate him for assignment instead. Teams cannot place injured players on outright waivers, so the DFA made a release a formality.
The Guardians acquired Bolton from the Mariners in a cash trade in April. The 26-year-old made one appearance in a Cleveland uniform. He tossed two innings and allowed three runs on four hits. He’d otherwise been in Triple-A, where he threw four frames of two-run ball with five strikeouts. Bolton has also logged some MLB action with the Pirates and Mariners and carries a 5.79 ERA over 42 career innings.
There aren’t any specifics on Bolton’s injury. In situations like this, teams will often try to re-sign the released player to a minor league contract. That’d keep him in the organization without costing them a 40-man roster spot or an MLB salary. Cleveland could look to go that route with Bolton, but he’ll have the option to explore other opportunities if he’d like in free agency.
Guardians Activate David Fry From 60-Day IL, Designate Cody Bolton
12:54PM: The Guardians also announced that right-hander Andrew Walters has been placed on the 15-day IL due to a right lat strain, and righty Nic Enright was called up from Triple-A. Walters has spent much of the season in Columbus, and was only called up to Cleveland earlier this week to make two appearances before hitting the injured list.
12:22PM: David Fry is ready to make his 2025 debut, as the Guardians announced that the utilityman has been activated from the 60-day injured list. Right-hander Cody Bolton was designated for assignment in the corresponding 40-man roster move, and space on the 26-man roster was already open since Cleveland placed outfielder Lane Thomas on the 10-day IL yesterday (retroactive to May 27) due to plantar fasciitis in his right foot.
After undergoing elbow surgery back in November, Fry needed some extra time to fully recover, hence his season-opening stint on the Guardians’ 60-day IL. He’ll return strictly as a designated hitter, as he still isn’t able to throw in the wake of his surgery. Losing Fry’s defensive versatility is a blow, as he is the rare catcher that can also contribute at several places on the diamond — he saw action at both corner infield and corner outfield spots in 2025, with first base his primary position even moreso than his part-time work behind the plate.
Fry hit .263/.356/.448 with 14 home runs over 392 plate appearances last season, and his 129 wRC+ was topped only by Jose Ramirez and Steven Kwan amongst Cleveland hitters. The offensively-challenged Guardians would love to have that kind of production from Fry back in their lineup, even if his return and DH-only status does create a bit of a positional logjam.
Carlos Santana and Kyle Manzardo have split first base duties this season, with the other usually DH’ing when the other is at the cold corner. Santana has played pretty much every day while the left-handed hitting Manzardo has been mostly shielded from facing southpaws. This likely means that Manzardo will be the biggest reduction in his playing time, though manager Stephen Vogt can get creative in finding at-bats for all of Santana, Manzardo, and Fry.
It is a bit of an unfortunate issue for the Guardians that they’re facing this juggle of playing time for three productive hitters, while dealing with much less production from other spots in the lineup. The outfield again has been a weak link apart from Kwan, though Angel Martinez has recently been on a hot streak and bidding for a more regular role.
Thomas in particular has struggled badly, with only a .119/.169/.136 slash line to show for 65 plate appearances. The outfielder hasn’t had much time to really get on track after his ice-cold start, as a bone bruise in his right wrist sent Thomas to the injured list for a month, and he is only a little over a week removed from his activation from that prior IL visit.
Given the lingering nature of plantar fasciitis, the question Thomas and the Guardians are facing is exactly how long this latest IL stint will be, as Cleveland’s outfield depth chart is now even thinner. With Will Brennan also on the injured list, Martinez, Nolan Jones, and Jhonkensy Noel will have to cover two outfield positions while Kwan is naturally locked into his usual spot in left field.
Bolton was acquired from the Mariners in early April, and he was recalled from Triple-A Columbus for one cup of coffee in the majors (a two-inning relief appearance in Cleveland’s 11-1 loss to Minnesota on April 28) before being sent back down the next day. The right-hander has a career 5.79 ERA over 42 innings with the Pirates, Mariners, and Guardians over the last three seasons, but also a 3.42 ERA in 157 2/3 innings of Triple-A ball. Breaking into the Guards’ deep bullpen may have always been a tall order for Bolton, but a team in need of swingman depth might be interested in putting in a waiver claim.
Guardians Select Vince Velasquez
The Guardians made a series of roster moves today, as relayed by Tim Stebbins of MLB.com. Right-hander Vince Velasquez has been selected to the roster and left-hander Joey Cantillo has been recalled. To make room for those two on the active roster, righty Cody Bolton has been optioned to Triple-A Columbus and righty Paul Sewald lands on the 15-day injured list due to a right shoulder strain. To open a 40-man spot for Velasquez, righty Shane Bieber has been transferred to the 60-day IL.
Sewald departed last night’s game with shoulder inflammation. It’s unclear how long the Guardians expect him to be out of action but this move means it will be at least a couple of weeks. The Guards signed the former closer this winter, a $7MM guarantee on a one-year deal. That was a bet on a bounceback after he posted a 4.31 earned run average in 2024.
The early results have been mixed, with his ERA up to 6.17 in the early going. He has already allowed three home runs in 11 2/3 innings. However, his 31.3% strikeout rate and 4.2% walk rate are both excellent figures. If it weren’t for a .357 batting average on balls in play and a 64.8% strand rate, fewer runs would have crossed the plate, which is why his 4.35 FIP and 2.94 SIERA look far nicer in the small sample. If Sewald is going to get back on track, it will have to wait.
Thanks to a rainout on Friday and a doubleheader on Saturday, the Guards are now in a stretch where they play 13 games in 12 days. Yesterday, starter Gavin Williams only lasted two innings against the Twins. The bullpen then had to cover the remaining seven, though position player Will Wilson absorbed two of them. Still, they used four traditional relievers, including Sewald and Bolton, with the latter throwing 40 pitches over his two innings.
The need for fresh arms will get Velasquez back to the majors. He signed a minor league deal with the Guards in February and has been pitching for out of the rotation at Columbus. He had missed the 2024 season due to UCL surgery but had a 4.88 ERA in his career prior to that.
The results haven’t been pretty so far this year, with an ERA of 6.00 through 15 innings and four starts. He has allowed 16 walks and hit one batter while only striking out 11 opponents. Regardless of the quality, Velasquez is at least stretched out and could cover multiple innings if the Guards find themselves in another blowout. He tossed four innings on Thursday and should therefore be able to take on a decent chunk of work out of the bullpen.
If they want to remove him from the roster in the coming days or weeks, he would have to be removed from the 40-man entirely. As a veteran with far more than five years of major league service, he can’t be optioned to the minors without his consent.
As for Bieber, he’s still working his way back from last April’s Tommy John surgery. His 60-day clock is retroactive to when he landed on the 15-day IL at the start of the season. That means he can be reinstated from the IL in late May. That doesn’t seem to be a possibility since he still hasn’t begun a rehab assignment. Even if he were to start such an assignment today, he would presumably need a month to six weeks to get ready, effectively a delayed Spring Training.
Photo courtesy of Ken Blaze, Imagn Images
Guardians Acquire Cody Bolton
The Mariners announced that right-hander Cody Bolton has been traded to the Guardians for cash considerations. He was designated for assignment a few days ago when the M’s selected Jesse Hahn. The Guardians transferred John Means to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man roster spot and optioned Bolton to Triple-A Columbus.
Bolton, 27 in June, has 40 innings on his major league track record at this point. Between the 2023 Pirates and 2024 Mariners, he has a combined 5.40 earned run average. His 20.5% strikeout rate, 12.6% walk rate and 39.5% ground ball rate are each a bit worse than league average.
The Guards are presumably more interested in his minor league work. After missing the entire 2021 season due to a knee injury, he has since thrown 153 2/3 Triple-A innings with a 3.40 ERA. His 11.1% walk rate is still on the high side but he struck out 25% of opponents in that time. He averages almost 95 miles per hour on both his four-seam fastball and a sinker, as well as throwing a changeup, sweeper and cutter.
For Cleveland, they effectively had an open 40-man spot. Means underwent UCL surgery in June of last year. He also underwent Tommy John surgery on that same ligament in April of 2022. He’s likely to be out until midseason even in a best-case scenario. They have used that free roster spot to grab Bolton and stash him in Triple-A as some extra depth. He has less than a year of service time and can be cheaply retained into the future. However, he has just one option year remaining, so he’ll be out of options next year if he burns his last one here in 2025.
Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images