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Brewers Designate Vinny Capra For Assignment

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The Brewers announced Friday that they’ve designated infielder Vinny Capra for assignment. Infielder Andruw Monasterio and lefty Bryan Hudson have been recalled from Triple-A Nashville in a pair of corresponding moves. (Righty Elvin Rodriguez was optioned to Nashville yesterday, hence the recall of two players.)

Capra, 28, is out of minor league options and thus cannot be sent to the minors without first clearing waivers. He homered on Opening Day but has been in a lengthy slump ever since, recently snapping an 0-for-32 with a single. That prolonged cold spell leaves Capra with an eyesore of a batting line: .074/.121/.130. Between this year’s struggles and his sparse track record prior to 2025, Capra is just a .105/.170/.163 hitter in 96 big league plate appearances.

It’s a rough look, certainly, but the versatile infielder has unsurprisingly been worlds better in Triple-A. He’s appeared in parts of four seasons at the top minor league level and slashed .271/.366/.384 with 15 homers, 45 doubles, three triples, 21 steals (in 27 tries), a 12.2% walk rate and just a 16.5% strikeout rate. He’s compiled those results while splitting time between shortstop, second base, third base and (much more briefly) all three outfield positions.

Capra started five of Milwaukee’s first seven games but has seen his playing time diminish amid that cold snap and following the Brewers’ promotion of Caleb Durbin, whom they acquired from the Yankees in the offseason Devin Williams trade. Durbin hasn’t exactly seized an everyday spot with authority, but his .224/.313/.328 performance is a clear improvement over Capra and the already-optioned Oliver Dunn. Brewers third basemen have been far and away the least-productive group at the position in all of MLB this year, hitting just .168/.221/.256 (33 wRC+).

The Brewers will have five days to trade Capra. If no deal comes together by then, he’d need to be placed on outright waivers or release waivers. He can be waived at any point beforehand, but waivers are a 48-hour process and, by rule, his DFA must be resolved within a week’s time. If Capra clears outright waivers, he’ll stick with the organization as a depth option. He does not have the requisite service time or prior outright needed to elect free agency after going unclaimed.

Brewers Promote Logan Henderson

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The Brewers announced Tuesday that righty Logan Henderson has been recalled from Triple-A Nashville. Fellow right-hander Elvin Rodriguez was optioned to Nashville in his place.

Whenever Henderson takes the mound for Milwaukee, he’ll be making his MLB debut. The 23-year-old was their fourth-round pick back in 2021, and while he’s never cracked into the very top echelon of leaguewide prospects, he’s consistently ranked among the Brewers’ top 20 or so prospects. He currently sits No. 20 in their system at Baseball America and No. 12 at MLB.com.

Henderson, 23, opened the season with a clunker in Nashville (four innings, five runs on six hits and three walks) but has bounced back with 10 straight shutout frames. He’s punched out eight hitters in each of his three starts this year and is now sitting on a 3.21 ERA with a gargantuan 40.7% strikeout rate but also a sky-high 16.9% walk rate. Command hasn’t been an issue in the past, however; Henderson has walked only 7.7% of his opponents since being drafted in ’21. Last year, he made 19 starts across three levels and turned in a 3.32 ERA, 32.8% strikeout rate and 4.7% walk rate. His changeup, in particular, draws praise as a potential plus offering in the big leagues.

Though Henderson has been a starter in the minors, it seems he’ll be tasked with providing some length in the bullpen for now. Righty Quinn Priester is set to start for the Brewers today, and veteran Jose Quintana is slated to be on the bump tomorrow. The Brewers then have an off-day Thursday before a weekend slate against the visiting A’s. Unless there’s an injury the team hasn’t revealed at this time, Henderson will provide a long relief option in place of the optioned-out Rodriguez, who tossed five innings of one-run ball yesterday in mop-up duty when the Tigers trounced lefty Tyler Alexander for eight runs.

Even if he’s not in the rotation right now, Henderson is a clear candidate to join Milwaukee’s rotation at some point this year. The Brew Crew currently has Brandon Woodruff, Aaron Civale, Nestor Cortes, Tobias Myers, Aaron Ashby, Robert Gasser and DL Hall on the injured list. The rotation presently includes Peralta, Quintana, Priester, Alexander and 26-year-old rookie Chad Patrick. If Henderson shows well, he’ll be in line to potentially secure a long-term rotation spot. Each of Woodruff, Civale, Quintana, Cortes and Alexander is a free agent at season’s end, so there’s ample long-term opportunity for a promising young righty like Henderson.

Jose Quintana Agrees To Optional Assignment; Jake Bauers Makes Brewers’ Roster

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The Brewers are wrapping up their final decisions on the Opening Day roster. Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports that veteran lefty Jose Quintana has consented to be optioned to Triple-A Nashville to finish building up. The 36-year-old signed midway through spring training and has thus far only pitched five official spring frames (in addition to side sessions and work on the back fields). It’s a largely procedural move; Quintana will join the big league rotation in early-to-mid April, though it’s not yet clear how many starts the Brewers want him to make in Triple-A.

Beyond that, the Brewers will have to clear at least one 40-man spot. McCalvy further reports that first baseman/outfielder Jake Bauers has made the roster. He’d been in camp as a non-roster invitee and will take a bench spot in Milwaukee. He held a similar role last year. Bauers, 29, appeared in 117 games with the Brewers and hit .199/.301/.361 with a dozen homers. He was far too strikeout-prone, fanning in 34.1% of his plate appearances, but he also drew walks at a stout 11.3% clip, went 13-for-14 in stolen base attempts and played 553 innings of solid defense at first base.

The Brewers non-tendered Bauers rather than pay him a projected $2.3MM salary. He returned on a minor league deal and has mashed his way onto the roster with a big Cactus League performance. In 42 turns at the plate, he’s logged a .263/.333/.605 slash with three homers, four doubles and a pair of stolen bases. He’ll presumably need to outpace last year’s production to stick around for the long haul, but he’s off to a nice start this spring.

Right-handers Chad Patrick and Elvin Rodriguez and utilityman Isaac Collins have all made their first Opening Day rosters as well. All three are already on the 40-man roster. Rule 5 southpaw Connor Thomas is also breaking camp.

Per McCalvy, Milwaukee will open the season with only three true starting pitchers: Freddy Peralta, Nestor Cortes and Aaron Civale. Quintana will be a fourth once he’s ready. Righty Brandon Woodruff is still on the mend from 2023’s shoulder surgery but could be an option in the season’s first month or so as well. In the meantime, the Brewers have Rodriguez, Patrick, Thomas and veteran swingman Tyler Alexander stretched out for multiple innings to piece things together at the back end of the staff.

Patrick, 26, is not only making his first Opening Day roster but will make his MLB debut the first time he takes the mound. Milwaukee acquired him from the A’s in exchange for Abraham Toro in November 2023. Patrick spent the entire 2024 season in the Brewers’ Triple-A rotation, turning heads with 136 1/3 innings of 2.90 ERA ball. He fanned 26.1% of his opponents against a 7% walk rate.

Thomas, also 26, will also make his debut the first time he throws a pitch for the Brewers. Milwaukee plucked him from the Cardinals’ system in December’s Rule 5 Draft, and he posted 11 1/3 frames with just three runs on nine hits and five walks against 11 punchouts this spring. He spent 2024 as a multi-inning reliever in Triple-A Memphis and logged 90 1/3 innings with a tidy 2.89 earned run average. Thomas logged a below-average 20.6% strikeout rate but notched plus walk and grounder rates of 6.3% and 53.5%, respectively.

The 26-year-old Rodriguez is a former Angels and Tigers prospect who very briefly pitched with Detroit earlier in his career. He drew a big league deal from Milwaukee after spending the past season and a half pitching with Japan’s Yakult Swallows. In 78 NPB innings, Rodriguez recorded a sharp 2.77 ERA, albeit with a sub-par 20.4% strikeout rate. He was tagged for nine runs in 10 2/3 innings this spring, but his 15-to-2 K/BB ratio offers more encouragement.

Collins, 27, made his MLB debut last year and went 2-for-17 in a quick cup of coffee. The Brewers claimed him off waivers from the Rockies back in 2022. He spent the majority of the 2024 season in Triple-A Nashville, where he hit .273/.386/.475 with 14 homers, 24 steals and a gaudy 14.2% walk rate. He has significant experience at second base, in left field and in center field in his pro career, in addition to more sparse work at third base and in right field. He’s a switch-hitter with good speed who can back up at nearly any position on the diamond.

Looking At The Brewers’ Rotation Depth Options

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The Brewers have won the National League Central two years in a row and three of the last four. They will be looking to defend that title in 2025 but might face a steeper challenge than in years past. The Cubs have had an aggressive offseason, adding Kyle Tucker, Matthew Boyd, Ryan Pressly, Ryan Brasier and more. The Reds added Brady Singer, Gavin Lux, Austin Hays and will be getting several players back from injury. The Pirates have had a quiet winter but have a rotation loaded with young talent, fronted by Paul Skenes and Jared Jones. The Cardinals planned to do a teardown but ended up standing pat, so they’re going into the year with a very similar roster to the one that finished above .500 last year.

Milwaukee hasn’t done a lot to remake its roster relative to last year. They have added Nestor Cortes and Caleb Durbin but lost Willy Adames, Devin Williams and others. Whether the team is better or worse than last year is debatable.

The rotation wasn’t a strength in 2024. Their starters put up a collective 4.09 earned run average, putting them 17th out of the 30 teams in the league. Their bullpen was one of the best, however. Their relievers had a collective ERA of 3.11, second only to the Guardians, which helped the team cruise to that division title. That was despite Williams being injured for much of the year.

Going into 2025, the rotation looks like it could be in a similar situation overall, though with some personnel changes. Of the seven players that made at least nine starts for the club last year, four of them are gone. Frankie Montas and Joe Ross hit free agency at season’s end, the former by declining a mutual option. Bryse Wilson was outrighted and Colin Rea had a club option turned down, so they also hit the open market as well.

Freddy Peralta, Tobias Myers and Aaron Civale are the three holdovers. Cortes was brought in from the Yankees as part of the Williams trade. In an interview this week with Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, manager Pat Murphy confirmed that those four make up his rotation core to start the season. Brandon Woodruff, who missed 2024 recovering from shoulder surgery, will be in there at some point but probably won’t be ready by Opening Day.

“I would think those four guys are [penciled in],” Murphy said, “and you can put Woody in there, too. But you can’t have him ready to start the season; he probably won’t be. But I think it’s pretty safe to say that those five guys are starters that, when healthy, are going to get opportunities.”

Taking things easy with Woodruff makes sense after his lost season, but that means the club will likely have to reach into its depth. Perhaps that will only be for a short time, but injuries are inevitable over the course of a season. For the long term, the need will be even greater. Civale and Cortes are both slated to be free agents after the upcoming season. Woodruff will certainly join them, as his deal has a $20MM mutual option for 2026 with a $10MM buyout. That was basically designed so that he would re-sign but with the club able to kick most of the payment down the line until the end of 2025. Peralta can be retained for 2026 via an affordable $8MM club option but is slated for free agency after that.

That means Myers is the only guy slated to still be on the roster when November of 2026 rolls around. Even he is not a lock to keep a spot going forward, as his strong 2024 season came after several years of poor minor league numbers. In short, the long-term rotation is wide open. Can the Brewers fill some of that in with guys already in the system? Let’s take a look at some of the options.

Aaron Ashby

Ashby, 27 in May, seemed like a potential rotation building block a few years ago. He tossed 139 innings in a swing role over the 2021 and 2022 seasons. His 4.47 ERA wasn’t especially impressive but his 27.1% strikeout rate, 9.7% walk rate and 57.8% ground ball rate seemed like a solid recipe for success.

The Brewers were intrigued enough to make a bet on the lefty, signing him to a five-year deal during the 2022 campaign which guaranteed him $20.5MM and also came with club options for 2028 and 2029.

Unfortunately, shoulder problems got in the way. Arthroscopic surgery wiped out his 2023 season. He returned last year and was kept mostly in a relief role, but with some good results. Down the stretch, he tossed 19 2/3 innings over 12 appearances with a 1.37 ERA, 36.8% strikeout rate, 3.9% walk rate and 51.1% ground ball rate.

With those numbers, it might be tempting to keep him in a bullpen role, but the club seems interested in stretching him out. Back in November, Murphy said the club still hopes to see what Ashby can do as a starter. He still has one option year and can be sent to the minors if the club would like.

DL Hall

Hall, 26, was a first-round pick of the Orioles in 2017 and went on to be a top 100 prospect. He came to the Brewers as part of the Corbin Burnes trade last offseason. He hasn’t lived up to that prospect hype just yet.

He has pitched in the past three seasons but logged only 76 innings. His 4.74 ERA doesn’t impress but his 25.1% strikeout rate, 9.4% walk rate and 46.5% ground ball rate make for a decent mixture. A left knee sprain hobbled him last year, limiting him to just 84 frames between the majors and minors. In 2022 and 2023, the Orioles shuttled him between the majors and the minors, as well as moving him between starting to relieving. He tossed 98 innings in 2022 between the majors and minors, then 71 1/3 in 2023. His minor league work has generally featured big strikeout numbers but also plenty of walks.

Hall is still a work in progress but the Brewers probably don’t want to give up on him, given the upside here. Like Ashby, he has one option year remaining, so pitching out of the Triple-A rotation isn’t off the table. He has one year and 74 days of service time, meaning he is currently slated for five years of club control, though a lengthy optional assignment could push that to six. Either way, he’s cheap and controllable for a long time to come.

Robert Gasser

Gasser, 26 in May, won’t be an option in the short term but is definitely part of the long-term plans. A former top 100 prospect, he debuted with a splash last year by posting a 2.57 ERA in his first five big league starts. Unfortunately, he required Tommy John surgery in June, wiping out the second half of his 2024. He’s now slated to miss most or perhaps all of 2025. He has less than a year of service time at the moment and the Brewers therefore have six years of club control over him.

Jacob Misiorowski

Misiorowski, 23 in April, is not yet on the 40-man roster but is one of the top pitching prospects in the league. He reached as high as Triple-A last year, though the club eased off his workload by having him pitch shorter stints out of the bullpen to finish the year. Between Double-A and Triple-A, he tossed 97 1/3 innings on the year with a 3.33 ERA. He struck out 30.5% of hitters and got grounders at a 45.8% clip but also gave out walks 14.4% of the time. Though the club eased off the gas, that innings total is still his personal high thus far.

The righty is clearly going to factor into the mix at some point, but there’s clearly still some development going on. 2025 will likely be about reining in the control and getting the workload beyond the 100-inning mark, but it’s entirely possible that he throws some big league innings this year.

Elvin Rodríguez

Rodríguez, 27 in March, is a wild card at the moment. He spent 2024 in a multi-inning role for the Yakult Swallows in Japan. He logged 45 innings over 32 appearances with a 1.80 ERA, 24% strikeout rate and 6.5% walk rate. Whether the Brewers view him more as a starter or a reliever is unknown.

Carlos Rodríguez

Rodríguez, 23, made a limited MLB debut last year. He tossed 12 1/3 innings over three starts with a 7.30 ERA. Over the past three years, he has logged 365 2/3 innings on the farm with a 3.49 ERA, 27.4% strikeout rate and 10.4% walk rate. Most prospect evaluators consider him a capable back-end starter but he’s still young and has a couple of options remaining, so he’ll likely be in the Triple-A rotation until circumstances change.

Chad Patrick/Logan Henderson

These two were each just added to the 40-man roster in November, to keep them out of the Rule 5 draft. Henderson, 23, is considered more of a legit prospect but he is still a question mark. Elbow surgery limited him to just 13 2/3 innings in 2022. He got that up to 78 2/3 in 2023 and then 81 1/3 last year. His minor league numbers are strong overall, with a 3.11 ERA, 34.1% strikeout rate and 6.9% walk rate. However, he mostly gets by with a fastball/changeup mix that leads some to predict he’ll end up in the bullpen. Patrick is considered more of a depth/spot starter.

Bruce Zimmermann/Thomas Pannone/Easton McGee

These three signed minor league deals with the club this offseason. They all have a bit of major league experience and give the club some non-roster depth. Zimmermann has a 5.57 ERA in 158 1/3 innings and Pannone a 5.46 ERA in 118 2/3 innings, while McGee hasn’t allowed a run in his 9 2/3 innings.

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Though the Woodruff timeline creates some uncertainty, there are plenty of intriguing options here for the short term. But as mentioned, the Brewers will likely see three starters departing at the end of the year and a fourth after 2026. Ideally, guys like Ashby, Hall, Misiorowski and Gasser would step up take those spots, because the club usually doesn’t have a lot of spending power for bringing in free agents. That makes 2025 a key season in Milwaukee, since their future rotation plans are completely in flux.

Brewers Sign Elvin Rodriguez, Designate J.B. Bukauskas For Assignment

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The Brewers have signed right-hander Elvin Rodriguez to a one-year deal with a club option for the 2026 season, reports Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Rodriguez, represented by A&F Sports Agency and JP Sports Advisors, spent the 2024 season in Japan and is returning stateside on a big league deal after an impressive showing overseas. The Associated Press reports that he signed a split deal that comes with a $900K salary for his MLB work and a $300K sum in the minors. The team option is valued at $1.35MM, while Rodriguez could unlock another $250K this season via performance bonuses. Fellow right-hander JB Bukauskas has been designated for assignment to open space on the 40-man roster.

Rodriguez, 27 in March, pitched in the majors with the 2022 Tigers and the 2023 Rays. He’s logged a total of 33 MLB frames and been hit hard, surrendering a gruesome 9.55 earned run average. The bulk of that work came as a starting pitcher, but Rodriguez worked out of the bullpen in 2024 and delivered generally impressive results.

In 45 innings for Japan’s Yakult Swallows, Rodriguez logged a tiny 1.80 ERA with a 24% strikeout rate and 6.5% walk rate. He spent nearly as much time with Yakult’s minor league club early in the ’24 season as he did with their big league club later in the year, pitching to a similar 1.67 ERA with their farm team.

Milwaukee’s rotation is largely set at the moment, with Freddy Peralta, Nestor Cortes, Aaron Civale, Tobias Myers and a returning Brandon Woodruff expected to comprise that quintet. Southpaws DL Hall and Aaron Ashby are on hand as potential options as well.

Rodriguez could still factor in as a depth option. Given his experience in both a starting role and in the bullpen, it’d be sensible if Milwaukee brought him to camp and stretched him out. He could pitch in the Triple-A Nashville rotation — Rodriguez has two minor league option years remaining — and still be a big league bullpen option at any point. It’s easier to take a starter and move him to the ’pen than it is to stretch a reliever out as a starter in-season, however, so there’s good sense in at least letting Rodriguez build up in preparation for a rotation role even if he’s ultimately viewed as a relief option first and foremost.

As for Bukauskas, he’s been with the Brewers since being plucked off waivers early in the 2023 season. The former first-rounder and top prospect has pitched a dozen big league innings and turned in a pristine 0.75 ERA in that small sample, also brandishing an impressive 12-to-2 K/BB ratio. However, a lat strain limited him to just 12 total innings between Triple-A and the majors in 2024. Bukauskas hit the injured list in mid-April, headed out on a rehab assignment in mid-June and almost immediately had a setback. He got back on the mound in late July, made four rehab appearances in the minors, and was shut back down for the rest of the season.

The Brewers will have the next five days to trade Bukauskas. If he’s not moved in that time, he’ll head to waivers, which take another 48 hours to process. Within the next week, the outcome of his DFA will be known.

Rays Make Four Roster Moves

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The Rays announced four roster moves, including the selection of Javy Guerra’s contract and the call-up of infielder/outfielder Jonathan Aranda from Triple-A Durham.  Outfielder Josh Lowe has been placed on the family medical emergency list and right-hander Elvin Rodriguez has been designated for assignment.

Aranda will get his first MLB opportunity of the season, and a chance to follow up on his 32 games played in his 2022 rookie season.  The 25-year-old hit .192/.276/.321 over 87 plate appearances last year, and it becoming clear that Aranda has nothing left to prove at the Triple-A level.  Over 784 PA in Durham over the last two seasons, Aranda has crushed the ball to the tune of a .327/.418/.548 slash line with 34 home runs.

Beginning his career as a second baseman, Aranda has followed the path of many Rays prospects and become a multi-positional threat, getting a lot of playing time at third base, first base, left field, and a bit of shortstop time.  This gives manager Kevin Cash some flexibility in trying to figure out where to slot Aranda around the diamond, though it remains to be seen how long he’ll remain in the majors — hopefully Lowe returns quickly from his family situation, and Aranda could again be the odd man out.

Due to the Rays’ position-player depth at both the MLB and minor league levels, Aranda has been mentioned as a possible trade candidate if there’s no regular spot for him on Tampa’s roster.  Depending on how long he remains in the majors, this stint could serve as something of an audition for rival scouts in advance of the trade deadline, though it’s safe to assume that other teams have had eyes on Aranda in Durham for quite some time.

Not to be confused with 11-year MLB veteran reliever Javy Guerra, the Rays’ Guerra is the 27-year-old who converted to pitching after being a top-100 shortstop prospect during his time in the Padres’ farm system.  The Rays acquired Guerra from the Brewers in late April and he has a 3.60 ERA over five innings with Tampa Bay this season, though he was outrighted off the 40-man roster in May.

Guerra chose to accept the outright assignment to Triple-A rather than test free agency, and his 5.94 ERA over 16 2/3 innings in Durham isn’t quite reflective of his performance, given his secondary metrics.  His 23% strikeout rate and 9.5% walk rate aren’t spectacular, though his 58.3% grounder rate has been hurt by some unfortunate batted-ball luck, as Guerra has a .340 BABIP.

Bullpen churn is a staple of Tampa Bay’s pitching strategies, and Rodriguez hits the DFA wire just a day after being selected to the 26-man roster.  He looked very sharp in throwing 3 1/3 perfect innings in the Rays’ 2-1 loss to the Braves, but Rodriguez is now on his way out of the organization altogether, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports that Rodriguez will be released so he can sign with a team in Japan.  Somewhat curiously, this plan was in place before Rodriguez had his contract selected yesterday, but fortunately it looks like Rodriguez avoided any injury and got to bank a big league appearance before heading to Nippon Professional Baseball.

Rodriguez’s first seven MLB games came with the Tigers in 2022, when he posted a 10.62 ERA over 29 2/3 innings.  The Rays signed him to a minors deal in the offseason, but without a long-term spot available in Tampa Bay, the 25-year-old Rodriguez chose to take what Topkin calls “a lucrative offer” from an NPB club.

Rays Select Elvin Rodríguez, Designate José López

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The Rays have made some roster moves today, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. They have selected right-hander Elvin Rodríguez to their roster, with righty Ryan Thompson optioned in a corresponding move. To open a spot on the 40-man roster, left-hander José López has been designated for assignment.

The Rays recently lost Shane McClanahan to the injured list and have been scrambling to get to the All-Star break, deploying bullpen games in each of the past two days. They used six different pitchers on Wednesday and then eight yesterday. With the staff fairly taxed and three games against a potent Atlanta offense to get through before the break, they’ve brought in a fresh arm to help out.

Rodríguez, 25, spent the past few years in the Tigers’ system. He split 2021 between Double-A and Triple-A, posting a 5.68 ERA but striking out 24.6% of hitters while walking 8.6%. The Tigers added him to their 40-man roster after that season and he was able to make his major league debut in 2022. Unfortunately, his first 29 2/3 major league innings resulted in a 10.62 ERA. He also had a 4.98 ERA in Triple-A last year over 99 1/3 innings.

The Tigers non-tendered him at season’s end and he landed with the Rays on a minor league deal. He’s tossed 47 1/3 innings in the minors this year over 11 starts with a 3.42 ERA, 27.2% strikeout rate and 9.7% walk rate. The Rays have Tyler Glasnow, Taj Bradley and Zach Eflin lined up to start the next three games but will likely call on Rodríguez if they need multiple innings at any point.

López, 24, had spent his entire career with the Rays until the Padres selected him in the Rule 5 draft last November. The Friars were undoubtedly intrigued by his 2022 season wherein he tossed 59 1/3 innings between High-A, Double-A and Triple-A with a 2.43 ERA. He struck out 37.7% of hitters while walking 15.1%. That obvious lack of control continued into the spring, with López walking five batters in six innings before being offered back to the Rays in late March.

He was able to make his major league debut with Tampa this year, allowing one earned run in a two-inning appearance. Otherwise, he’s been in Triple-A, posting a 7.89 ERA there while walking 13.2% of opponents and striking out just 22.2%.

The Rays will now have one week to trade López or pass him through waivers. His command is clearly an ongoing concern but left-handed relief tends to always be in demand. He’s shown an ability to rack up strikeouts in the past and still has a full slate of options. Any club willing to give him a 40-man roster spot could keep him as an optionable depth piece for the foreseeable future and hope he reins in his stuff.

Rays Sign Elvin Rodríguez, Trevor Kelley To Minor League Deals

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The Rays have signed right-hander Elvin Rodríguez to a minor league deal, reports Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free Press. Fellow righty Trevor Kelley also has a minor league deal with the club, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Both players will receive invitations to major league Spring Training.

Rodríguez, 25 in March, began his professional career with the Angels but went to the Tigers as the player to be named later in the 2017 trade that sent Justin Upton to Anaheim. He worked his way up the minor league ladder and spent 2021 primarily in Double-A but with a brief move to Triple-A. Between the two stops, he made 18 starts and one relief appearance, tossing 77 2/3 innings with a 5.68 ERA, but he struck out 24.6% of batters faced and walked 8.6% of them.

Despite that high ERA, the Tigers added him to the roster in November of 2021 to prevent him from reaching minor league free agency. That allowed him to serve as optionable depth for the club in 2022, though his first taste of the majors didn’t go well, to put it mildly. Over five starts and two relief appearances, he tossed 29 2/3 innings with a 10.62 ERA. His 17.5% strikeout rate and 10.5% walk rate were both subpar and he allowed an incredible 12 home runs in that brief time. Things didn’t go much better on the farm, as tossed 99 1/3 innings in Triple-A with a 4.98 ERA.

Rodríguez was outrighted off the club’s roster in November but will now try to get a fresh start with the Rays. His new club will surely try to get better results out of a fastball that was in the 89th percentile in terms of spin last year. If they can succeed and Rodríguez earns his way onto their roster, he still has a couple of option years and just a small amount of service time, allowing them to retain him for the foreseeable future.

Kelley, 30, had some brief and unsuccessful time in the majors with the Red Sox in 2019 and the Phillies in 2020. He signed a minor league deal with the Brewers for 2022 and cracked the club’s roster in May. From that point on, he was optioned to Triple-A and recalled five times, moving on and off the roster as the club needed. He didn’t find much success in the majors, posting a 6.08 ERA in 23 2/3 innings. In 34 1/3 frames for Nashville, however, he registered a 2.36 ERA while striking out 30% of batters faced and walking just 7.1% of them.

The Brewers designated him for assignment when they acquired Bryse Wilson and Kelley cleared waivers. He was eligible to elect free agency by virtue of having a previous career outright and has used that opportunity to join the Rays. If he can crack their roster, he still has one option year and less than a full season of MLB service time.

Tigers Claim Andy Ibanez, Outright Six Players

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The Tigers have claimed infielder Andy Ibáñez off waivers from the Rangers, according to announcements from both teams. Detroit also outrighted six players — infielders Jermaine Palacios and Luis Garcia, right-handers Elvin Rodríguez, Bryan Garcia and Luis Castillo and outfielder Víctor Reyes — off their 40-man roster. After reinstating all their players from the injured list, Detroit has a full 40-man roster.

Ibáñez was Texas’ Opening Day starter at third base in 2022. He’d earned a look from the Rangers after hitting .277/.321/.435 through his first 76 big league games in 2021. The Cuban-born infielder looked like a viable late-blooming utilityman, but his offense dropped this year. Ibáñez hit .218/.273/.277 over 128 MLB plate appearances, connecting on just one home run. He had a better but still unimposing .255/.330/.390 mark over 315 plate appearances at Triple-A Round Rock.

Tough season aside, Ibáñez does have quality bat-to-ball skills and a typically solid track record of upper minors performance. He’s a career .288/.358/.456 hitter through parts of four Triple-A seasons. He’ll be 30 at the start of next season but has yet to reach arbitration and still has a minor league option year remaining. Ibáñez can play first, second or third base and adds a contact-focused depth infielder to the Tigers organization.

Of the players coming off the roster, Reyes is the most notable. He’s played parts of five seasons with the Tigers, tallying a personal-high 336 plate appearances in 2022. The switch-hitting outfielder put up a .254/.289/.362 mark with just three homers. He’s capable of defending all three outfield spots but has consistently provided below-average offense. Projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a $2.2MM salary for his penultimate season of arbitration eligibility, he proved a fairly straightforward non-tender for first-year president of baseball operations Scott Harris.

Rodríguez debuted this year and started five of seven games. He surrendered a 10.62 ERA through 29 2/3 innings, posting a 4.98 mark over 99 1/3 innings with Triple-A Toledo. Bryan Garcia had spent his entire career as a reliever until 2022, when he took a few starts late in the year for an injury-battered rotation. He had a 3.80 ERA over 85 1/3 innings with the Mud Hens. Castillo, a 27-year-old reliever, made his first three big league appearances this year after posting a 1.74 ERA in 40 games for Toledo.

Palacios and Luis Garcia, meanwhile, never suited up for the Tigers. Palacios played in 30 games for the Twins, and Detroit nabbed the infielder off waivers from their division rivals after the end of the season. Garcia was once an interesting prospect in the Phillies farm system, but his bat stalled out in High-A this year. He has very little Double-A experience. Detroit claimed him late in the season but it always looked likely they’d try to run through waivers at some point.

Luis Garcia will remain in the organization without occupying a 40-man roster spot. Palacios, Bryan Garcia, Rodríguez, Castillo and Reyes all have the requisite service time to refuse an outright assignment and test minor league free agency.

Tigers Reinstate Victor Reyes, Option Elvin Rodriguez

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The Tigers made a pair of corresponding roster moves, reinstating Victor Reyes from the injured list and optioning Elvin Rodriguez to Triple-A, per the team.

The Tigers outfield is slowly but surely getting a little bit healthier, with Robbie Grossman returning to the club yesterday. It will be interesting to see if Reyes can keep up the pace he established in his first 11 games this season. Reyes was slashing .292/.346/.458 through a small-sample 26 plate appearances, good for an unsustainable 131 wRC+. While it’s unfair to expect that level of production from Reyes, even topping the 100 wRC+ mark would be a win for a Detroit team desperate for offense. A quad strain has kept the 27-year-old out of action since May 16th.

Reyes has yet to see regular playing time this season, but he absolutely could step into center field for the time being. Derek Hill and Daz Cameron have largely been sharing that responsibility, but Cameron is now on the COVID injured list and Hill has a 61 wRC+ on the season through 92 plate appearances. Cameron was better with a 94 wRC+ across 61 plate appearances. But neither guy had been receiving regular run as the everyday guy. Willi Castro has been the third piece, stepping in at all three outfield spots while posting an 82 wRC+.

Rodriguez, meanwhile, gets sent to Triple-A after getting knocked around in Friday’s ballgame, yielding eight earned runs in just 4 1/3 innings against the Blue Jays. This comes on the heels of allowing 10 earned runs in 4 1/3 against the Yankees. Outside of a scoreless four-inning outing against the Guardians on May 29th, Rodriguez has largely struggled this season.

Furthermore, Eduardo Rogriguez is expected to return sometime this week and take back his rotation spot. It will be interesting to see if Detroit decided to go back to a three-man bench at that point. If that’s the case, Hill or Kody Clemens could be the odd man out, with both outfielders having options remaining.

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