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Guardians Release Cody Bolton

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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

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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

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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

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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

Mariners Designate Cody Bolton For Assignment

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The Mariners announced this afternoon that they’ve designated right-hander Cody Bolton for assignment. Bolton’s 40-man roster spot will go to right-hander Jesse Hahn, whose contract has been selected from the minors. Left-hander Tayler Saucedo was optioned to Triple-A to make room for Hahn’s addition to the active roster.

Bolton, 27 in June, was a sixth-round pick by the Pirates back in 2017 and made his big league debut with Pittsburgh in 2023. That first stint in the majors did not go especially well, as the righty posted a lackluster 6.33 ERA (72 ERA+) with a 20.6% strikeout rate against a hefty 14% walk rate in 21 1/3 innings of work. While he pitched better at Triple-A Indianapolis, with a 3.86 ERA and a more reasonable 9.2% walk rate, that still wasn’t to convince the club to keep Bolton on their 40-man roster throughout the winter; in early November, the club traded Bolton to the Mariners in a cash deal.

Bolton’s time in Seattle went better than his time in Pittsburgh, but still left something to be desired. The right-hander pitched impressively for the Mariners at Triple-A Tacoma, with a 3.07 ERA in 29 1/3 innings of work that’s made all the more impressive by the inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League. Strong as that work was, however, the righty still posted a below-average 4.34 ERA (85 ERA+) with a 20.5% strikeout rate and a 10.8% walk rate that were largely reminiscent of his time with the Pirates. While Bolton stuck with the Mariners on the 40-man roster throughout this past offseason, a rough start to the 2025 campaign at Triple-A where he’s surrendered three runs in two innings of work was evidently enough for Seattle to pull the plug. The club will now have one week to either trade Bolton or attempt to pass him through waivers. Should he clear waivers successfully, the Mariners can outright him to the minor leagues as a non-roster depth option going forward.

The departure of Bolton makes room for Hahn, whose debut with the Mariners will be his first MLB appearance since 2021. A sixth-rounder drafted by the Rays back in 2010, the 35-year-old hurler made his debut with the Padres back in 2014 and enjoyed an impressive rookie campaign where he posted a 3.07 ERA in 73 1/3 innings spread between 12 starts and a pair of relief appearances. His 10.5% walk rate was a bit elevated, but he largely made up for it with a strong 22.9% strikeout rate to post solid results in line with those expected of a #4 starter.

Hahn was included by the Padres in an offseason trade with the A’s that sent catcher Derek Norris to San Diego, and his first year in Oakland saw the righty continue to fill the role of a potential mid-rotation arm with a 3.35 ERA and 3.51 FIP in 16 starts. Unfortunately, much of Hahn’s 2015 season was wiped out by a flexor tendon injury, and when he came back to the mound in 2016 he no longer looked like the same pitcher. The righty posted a lackluster 5.59 ERA in 116 innings of work for the A’s over the next two seasons before being traded once again, this time to the Royals in a trade that brought back reliever Ryan Buchter.

Hahn did not appear in the majors for the Royals until 2019 due to a UCL injury that eventually required surgery, and when he came back late in the 2019 season it was as a reliever. The right-hander ultimately made just 29 appearances for the Royals over parts of three seasons, with a 4.62 ERA (105 ERA+) and a 4.81 FIP in 25 1/3 innings of work. Hahn hit the injured list due to shoulder issues back in 2021 and didn’t pitch again professionally at any level until 2024, when he latched on with the Dodgers on a minor league deal. He’s thrown 51 1/3 solid innings for the Dodgers and Mariners at Triple-A since then, and now appears poised to make his comeback to the majors. He was released from his minor league deal with Seattle just a couple of weeks ago ahead of Opening Day, but evidently re-signed with the club on a fresh minor league deal since then.

Making room for Hahn on the active roster is Saucedo, who served as a solid middle relief option for Seattle in each of the past two seasons with a 3.54 ERA and 3.79 FIP in 86 1/3 innings of work across 105 outings. Things have not gone well for the southpaw so far this year, however, with four runs allowed and more walks than strikeouts in his first three appearances. He’ll head to Tacoma to serve as optionable depth for the Mariners for the time being as he awaits his next big league opportunity.

Mariners Announce Several Roster Moves

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4:15pm: Bolton is dealing with kidney stones, per Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times.

3:10pm: The Mariners shook up their bullpen with a series of roster moves Monday. Right-handers Brett de Geus and Tyson Miller were selected to the 40-man roster from Triple-A Tacoma, with righty Ty Adcock being designated for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Right-handers Cody Bolton and Collin Snider were both placed on the 15-day injured list — the latter due to a knee contusion and the former with what the team labeled a “general medical issue.” The Mariners also reinstated first baseman Ty France from the paternity list and optioned infielder/outfielder Samad Taylor to Tacoma.

Both Miller and de Geus have big league experience, albeit fairly minimal. The 28-year-old Miller was a fourth-round pick by the Cubs back in 2016 and has pitched for five different teams over the past four years (Cubs, Rangers, Mets, Dodgers, Brewers). In 31 career innings, he’s been tagged for an ugly 6.97 ERA, though his Triple-A work is far better. Miller was roughed up for an ERA north of 7.00 in his first taste of Triple-A as a 23-year-old back in 2019. In parts of three seasons since that time he’s logged a 3.85 ERA in just under 200 innings. That includes 43 2/3 innings of 3.50 ERA ball with the Triple-A clubs for the Dodgers and Mets last year, during which he punched out 28% of his opponents.

The 26-year-old de Geus pitched 50 MLB frames between the Mariners and D-backs back in 2021 after Texas plucked him from the Dodgers in the 2020 Rule 5 Draft. He made 19 appearances as a Rangers and another 26 as a D-back, struggling mightily in both stops. Given that de Geus pitched in A-ball in 2019 then didn’t pitch with an affiliate in 2020 due to the canceled minor league season, it’s not all that surprising that he was hammered by MLB hitters in his debut campaign. In those 50 frames, he yielded a 7.56 ERA.

Even to this point in his career, de Geus only has 14 Triple-A frames under his belt. He’s been hit hard in that tiny sample as well, but he pitched 35 1/3 innings with a 2.80 ERA in Double-A for the Royals last season. De Geus has plenty of experience working multiple innings as a reliever and has also been a starter in the past, so he can provide some length to the Seattle bullpen while he’s up.

Adcock, 27, made his big league debut with the Mariners in 2023. The former eighth-round pick tossed 15 2/3 innings with a 3.45 ERA and 19% strikeout rate out of Scott Servais’ bullpen and didn’t issue a walk or hit any of his 58 opponents with a pitch. Adcock was never going to sustain that level of command, but he still walked only five of the 75 hitters he faced between High-A and Double-A last year (6.66%). However, he’s already issued three free passes in 2024 despite facing just a dozen opponents. The Mariners will have a week to trade Adcock, attempt to pass him through outright waivers or release him.

Mariners Acquire Cody Bolton From Pirates

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The Pirates have traded reliever Cody Bolton to the Mariners for cash considerations, according to an announcement from Pittsburgh.

Bolton, 25, was drafted in the sixth round in 2017 out of Tracy High School in California.  By the end of the 2019 season, Bolton had made his way to Double-A as a starter.

However, the 2020 minor league season was wiped out by COVID-19, and Bolton missed all of 2021 due to knee surgery.  Fortunately, Bolton recovered and made his MLB debut for the Pirates on April 29th on the road against the Nationals.  He spent the season moving up and down from Triple-A.  Bolton pitched fairly well at Triple-A, but only managed a 6.33 ERA, 20.6 K%, and 14.0 BB% in the Majors across 21 1/3 innings.

Though still in contention, the Mariners traded closer Paul Sewald to the Diamondbacks at the deadline this year due to the strength of their bullpen.  Their projected bullpen for 2024 is currently anchored by Andres Munoz, Matt Brash, Justin Topa, and Gabe Speier.  Bolton will vie for a spot with that group and hope some of the team’s success with less than household names carries over to him.

Pirates Designate Travis Swaggerty For Assignment

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The Pirates announced several roster moves today, selecting the contract of right-hander Quinn Priester and recalling prospects Endy Rodríguez and Liover Peguero, moves which were reported on over the weekend. In corresponding moves, they optioned catcher Jason Delay, right-hander Cody Bolton and outfielder Josh Palacios. In order to open a 40-man roster spot for Priester, outfielder Travis Swaggerty was designated for assignment.

Swaggerty, 25, was the club’s first round draft pick in 2018, getting selected with the 10th overall pick. He was considered one of their top prospects during his time in the minors but encountered some obstacles on his path to the majors. He suffered a dislocated shoulder in 2021 that required surgery, limiting him to 12 games that year. When combined with the minor leagues being cancelled by the pandemic in 2020, he essentially missed two whole years of normal development.

Those setbacks aside, the club still didn’t want to risk losing him in the 2021 Rule 5 draft and gave him a 40-man roster spot that November. He was able to make his major league debut last year but took just nine trips to the plate in five games. He spent most of the year in Triple-A, hitting .254/.348/.399 at that level for a wRC+ of 102.

Here in 2023, Swaggerty has spent the entire year in the minors but has only been able to play 22 games. A report from Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from last month detailed how Swaggerty has been battling vertigo and migraines while his wife Peyton has been dealing with a rare and painful blood disease caused by a bite from a rabid raccoon. Swaggerty has made frequent trips to the IL in the minors this year, having played in just one game in the past six weeks.

The Bucs have fully embraced their youth movement this year, calling up Priester, Rodríguez and Peguero today, in addition to recent promotions of players like Henry Davis, Jared Triolo and Nick Gonzales. The unfortunate side effect of those aggressive promotions is that they will bump Swaggerty off the roster.

They will now have one week to trade the young outfielder or pass him through waivers. It will be interesting to see how much interest he will receive from other clubs around the league. On the one hand, he’s a former first-round pick and was a notable prospect not too long ago. But he’s faced so many difficulties and hasn’t seemed to be in peak form in quite a while. He does have two option years, one of which he’s burning here in 2023. If some club thinks they can help him figure out the migraine issues and get him back on track, he can still be sent to the minors for another season.

Pirates Place Bryan Reynolds On IL

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The Pirates announced they have placed outfielder Bryan Reynolds on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to June 20, due to low back inflammation. Right-hander Cody Bolton has been recalled in a corresponding move. Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette relayed the moves on Twitter prior to the official announcement.

Reynolds, 28, sat out the club’s past two games due to this back issue and it seems it has lingered enough that the club will give him some extra time to recuperate. Since the move is backdated by a couple of days, he can theoretically return in just over a week if he heals up quickly.

Since the club waited a few days before making this move, it’s possible that it’s not a significant injury and Reynolds will be back after a minimum stint. Nonetheless, it’s an ill-timed development for the club. The Pirates got off to a hot start this year but have fallen on hard times recently and are currently mired in a nine-game losing streak. They will now have to try to pull out of this tailspin without one of their best players.

Since debuting in 2019, Reynolds has hit 82 home runs and has a career batting line of .281/.360/.480 for a wRC+ of 126. He’s been essentially right in line with that production this year, hitting .279/.350/.473 on the season for a wRC+ of 122. He’s also swiped eight bags on the year and has solid marks from advanced defensive metrics for his work in left field.

With Reynolds out of action, the club has a few options available for filling the corner outfield spots next to center fielder Jack Suwinski. They recently recalled catcher/outfielder Henry Davis, who is in right field tonight with Connor Joe in left. There’s also Andrew McCutchen, who has missed a few recent games with an elbow issue but is back in the lineup as the designated hitter tonight. Calvin Mitchell and Josh Palacios are also on the roster and could factor into the mix.

Despite the club’s recent struggles, their 34-39 record has them just five games behind the Reds in the weak National League Central. The Bucs are reportedly open to going into the deadline as buyers this year, though that would surely depend upon them stopping their recent slide and staying relevant in the next five to six weeks. For at least the next week or so, they will have to do so without the contributions of Reynolds.

Pirates Designate Chris Owings For Assignment, Select Angel Perdomo

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The Pirates announced a series of roster moves this morning as the club selected the contract of left-hander Angel Perdomo and recalled right-hander Yerry De Los Santos to the big league club. In corresponding moves, infielder Chris Owings was designated for assignment while right-hander Cody Bolton was optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis.

Perdomo, 29, has not pitched in the majors since 2021 after making a 2 2/3 inning MLB debut for the Brewers in 2020. In 19 2/3 career innings in the big leagues, Perdomo sports a 8.24 ERA and 6.43 FIP. While he’s struck out a strong 33.7% of batters faced over that time, his massive 23.5% walk rate has held him back from being a quality big league reliever to this point. While Perdomo has posted a strong 2.47 ERA at the Triple-A level since the start of the 2022 season, it’s been accompanied by continued control issues, as evidenced by his 15.3% walk rate in that timeframe. The Pirates are clearly hoping Perdomo can harness his excellent stuff to contribute to the bullpen alongside fellow lefties Rob Zastrynzy and Jose Hernandez.

De Los Santos, on the other hand, made his big league debut for the Pirates last season, posting a 4.91 ERA and 4.01 FIP in 26 appearances. Now 25, he figures to help the likes of Perdomo and Yohan Ramirez cover the middle innings for the Pirates bullpen.

On the other end of things, the moves likely bring Owings’s time with the Pirates to an end. A former first round pick by the Diamondbacks in the 2009 draft, Owings signed with the Pirates this past offseason on a minor league deal, eventually being selected to the roster in early May after initially being re-assigned to the minor leagues after failing to make the roster out of spring training. Owings appeared in ten games for the Pirates, with 12 strikeouts, no walks, and four hits (all singles) in 25 trips to the plate.

Though Owings has not managed to find regular playing time at the big league level since leaving the Diamondbacks in 2019, he’s appeared in parts of 11 big league seasons thanks in large part to his versatility, which has allowed him to appear in every defensive position throughout his big league career except for first base and catcher.

Meanwhile, Bolton heads to Indianapolis less than two weeks before his 25th birthday. A sixth-round pick by the Pirates in the 2017 draft, Bolton saw considerable success in the lower levels of the minors and was considered one of the better prospects in the Pirates organization early in his professional career. Unfortunately, he struggled with his command in 2022 at the Triple-A level, with a 12.4% walk rate in 75 2/3 innings split between the rotation and the bullpen. Nonetheless, he made his big league debut earlier this season, but in five appearances in the majors, Bolton has struggled to a 12.83 ERA in just eight innings of work. He figures to act as depth in Triple-A going forward as he tries to get things back on track.

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