AL West Notes: Rangers, Thomas, Pena, Trout, Moncada
The Rangers had some interest in signing Lane Thomas last offseason, the Dallas Morning News’ Evan Grant reports. The outfielder instead joined the Royals on a one-year, $5.25MM free agent deal that was “too rich for the Rangers’ blood,” as Grant puts it, but Thomas could be a possibility for Texas as the trade deadline approaches. Less than half of Thomas’ salary remains on the books, and he could be a fit as a platoon partner for Evan Carter in left field (or as a part-time center fielder since Wyatt Langford is currently on the IL).
Thomas is at least healthier and more productive than he was during his injury-marred 2025 campaign with the Guardians, but the outfielder has only an 86 wRC+ to show for a .214/.319/.338 slash line across 235 plate appearances in Kansas City. A part-time piece like Thomas would likely only do so much to help a Rangers team that could use a bigger offensive boost to stay afloat in the playoff race. Grant floats a few other speculative names that might be on the Rangers’ radar as Texas looks to add a bat and some bullpen help, among other needs.
More from around the AL West…
- A left calf strain sent Jeremy Pena to the 10-day injured list on June 30, but the Astros shortstop has resumed defensive and running drills. Manager Joe Espada told reporters (including the Houston Chronicle’s Matt Kawahara) that Pena is on pace to be activated in time for the Astros’ series with the Rangers just prior to the All-Star break, provided that Pena gets through a planned rehab game or two with Triple-A Sugar Land. Getting Pena back in minimal time would be a nice break for an Astros club that already without the shortstop for about a month earlier this season, when Pena was sidelined with a hamstring strain. Pena has been his usual productive self when healthy, hitting .295/.356/.443 over 202 PA this season.
- The Rangers might face another returning star before they face the Astros, as Mike Trout told MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger and other reporters that he is hoping to be activated from the 10-day IL during the Angels‘ upcoming series with Texas that begins on Tuesday. Trout hasn’t played since June 17 due to a hamstring strain, but the three-time MVP said he is back to doing his usual pregame routine. Baserunning was the only thing missing from Trout’s baseball activities, but he said his running drills are up to roughly 85 percent of his usual intensity. Under normal circumstances, the Angels might’ve held Trout out until after the All-Star break as an extra precaution, though Trout has a particular interest in playing in this year’s All-Star Game in Philadelphia near his hometown of Millville, New Jersey.
- In other Angels news, Yoan Moncada‘s recovery timeline was unknown when he underwent knee surgery in early June, but Francys Romero reports that Moncada was expected to miss 4-to-6 weeks. We’ve just entered the earliest part of that timeline now, though Moncada’s placement on the 60-day IL means that he isn’t eligible to return until at least July 20. Between the final stages of the recovery process and a minor league rehab assignment, Moncada projects to return to the Halos by late July or early August.
Kyle Isbel Diagnosed With Grade 3 Plantar Fascia Tear
The Royals placed center fielder Kyle Isbel on the 10-day injured list last night due to plantar fasciitis. Manager Matt Quatraro announced at the time that Isbel was undergoing an MRI to determine the severity of the issue. That imaging came back with unfavorable results, it seems. The Royals announced this morning that Isbel has a Grade 3 tear of a portion of the plantar fascia in his left foot. Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports that the team isn’t putting a formal timetable on his return but that it’ll be quite some time before he’s even able to resume baseball activity — let alone embark on a rehab assignment or return to the big league roster.
There’s better news on righty Seth Lugo, who exited last night’s game after taking a 106 mph comebacker to the head. Lugo rather incredibly quickly rose back to his feet, assuring distraught former Mets teammate Brandon Nimmo (who hit the ball in question) that he thought he was OK. Per the Royals, a CT scan was clean. Lugo will continue to be monitored, but for the time being, it seems he’s thankfully avoided any kind of significant injury.
Isbel, 29, has handled the vast majority of the Royals’ center field work this season. He’s long graded as a plus defender on the grass, though his grades in 2026 have dipped a bit. That’s not entirely surprising, given the full context of his season; Jaylon Thompson of the Kansas City Star writes that Isbel has been playing through considerable pain in his left foot for quite some time. He finally reached a point where he couldn’t continue. Even with that ailing foot, Isbel drew a positive grade from Statcast’s Outs Above Average (4) and was only slightly below average in the estimation of Defensive Runs Saved (-2).
At the plate, Isbel has hit at his typical levels. He entered the season with a well below-average .235/.288/.365 batting line in his career (78 wRC+) and has turned in a .244/.298/.354 slash (80 wRC+) that closely mirrors his career marks.
With Isbel sidelined indefinitely, the Royals will piece together the center field mix via in-house options for the time being. Missouri native and Mizzou product Kameron Misner was recalled from Triple-A and is getting the start today. Lane Thomas has also logged some time in center this season and got the start in Isbel’s place last night. Utilityman Tyler Tolbert has four innings in center this season but logged 100 frames there last year. He probably won’t draw many starts in center but could slot in if he’s used as a pinch-runner (as was the case last night) or if the Royals make other defensive/lineup shuffles midgame during Isbel’s absence.
The veteran Thomas signed a one-year deal with Kansas City over the winter. He’s not hitting for any power whatsoever in 2026 but is sporting a career-best 15.8% walk rate in 152 plate appearances. He’s slashing .234/.362/.315 overall and, as is so often the case, has been a menace to left-handed opponents (.262/.395/.361). There’s a natural platoon to be formed between the righty-swinging Thomas and lefty-swinging Misner. Though Misner has batted just .203/.260/.325 in 231 MLB plate appearances with the Rays (and one with Kansas City last night), the former first-rounder has bludgeoned Triple-A pitching at a .276/.373/.547 pace in 252 plate appearances this year. He belted 13 homers and swiped 11 bags with the Storm Chasers prior to yesterday’s recall to the majors.
Royals Sign Lane Thomas
December 17th: The Royals have officially announced their signing of Thomas.
December 11th: The Royals and outfielder Lane Thomas are reportedly in agreement on a one-year contract. The Wasserman client receives $5.25MM with another $1MM available via incentives. Kansas City has a couple of open 40-man spots and won’t need to make a corresponding move once the deal is official.
Thomas and the Royals will be looking for a bounceback season, as he just suffered through an injury-marred 2025 campaign with Cleveland. Early in the season, he missed about a month due to a right wrist bone bruise. In the latter months of the season, he went on the injured list a couple of times due to plantar fasciitis in his right foot. He required surgery in September with a projected recovery time of three to four months. Around those IL stints, he got into 39 games and hit just .160/.246/.272.
Prior to that, he had a solid run as a decent regular in the bigs, suiting up for the Cardinals, Nationals and Guardians. From 2021 to 2024, he got into 510 contests, hitting 67 home runs and stealing 66 bases. He produced a .248/.313/.426 line over that four-year span, which translated to a 103 wRC+, indicating he was 3% better than league average.
He was slightly better in the second half of that stretch. Over 2023 and 2024, he hit 43 home runs and stole 52 bases. His combined .255/.312/.439 line in those two seasons translated to a 105 wRC+. FanGraphs credited him with 4.3 wins above replacement, a bit better than two wins per year.
His defense has been more of a question mark. Outs Above Average has given him a minus-16 ranking for his career, but oddly considered him league average in center and subpar in the corners. Defensive Runs Saved has put a minus-18 mark on him, but most of that due to an odd minus-13 grade in 2024 alone.
He clearly has some wheels, as his sprint speed has been ranked in the 93rd percentile or above since he became a regular. With a bit of pop in the bat as well, he has been able to engineer some decent results when healthy.
The Royals have been struggling for years to get production from their outfield. In 2025, they got a collective .225/.285/.348 line from the grass. That resulted in a 73 wRC+, the worst such mark of any team in the majors.
Obviously, upgrading the outfield was going to be a priority this winter. It was recently reported that the club would be looking to add one outfielder via trade and another via free agency, with a right-handed hitter who can play center field being a specific target. The Royals currently project to have an outfield consisting of Jac Caglianone, Kyle Isbel and John Rave. All three hit from the left side. Caglianone was a top prospect coming into 2025 but he didn’t hit at all in his first 232 plate appearances in the big leagues. Rave has just 175 big league plate appearances without much success either. Isbel has more experience but is a glove-first center fielder. They picked up Kameron Misner, another lefty, from the Rays in a trade a few weeks ago.
Thomas has pretty strong platoon splits in his career. He has been punched out in 28.2% of his plate appearances against righties with a .220/.287/.383 line and 84 wRC+. With the platoon advantage, his strikeout rate drops to 19.3%. He has a .292/.359/.500 line against southpaws for a 135 wRC+.
The Royals shouldn’t be done adding to their outfield. As mentioned, they have been looking to make two additions. This at least gives them a short-side platoon guy who can be slotted into any of the three outfield positions, while also perhaps coming off the bench for pinch-running opportunities. His health may be a bit of a question mark with the aforementioned surgery, but the estimated timeline should allow him to be healed up by spring training.
It’s a modest free agent add but the Royals apparently didn’t have much to spend. Owner John Sherman said a couple of months ago that the 2026 payroll would likely be similar to what they had in 2025. RosterResource currently projects them for a $139MM payroll in 2026. That’s already above where they finished in 2025, before even adding Thomas onto the ledger. Perhaps the next move will come on the trade market. There have been plenty of rumors suggesting the club may be looking to deal from its starting depth in order to get another bat.
Will Sammon of The Athletic first reported the Royals were signing Thomas. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com had the $5.25MM guarantee and $1MM in bonuses.
Photos courtesy of David Richard, Wendell Cruz, Imagn Images
MLBTR Podcast: The Mets Sign Jorge Polanco, And The Braves, Blue Jays And Royals Make Moves
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 Mets signing Jorge Polanco (2:40)
- The Braves making three signings: Robert Suarez, Mike Yastrzemski and Ha-Seong Kim (17:15)
- The Blue Jays signing Tyler Rogers and Cody Ponce (31:40)
- The Royals extending Maikel Garcia, signing Lane Thomas and trading Ángel Zerpa to the Brewers for Isaac Collins and Nick Mears (46:10)
- The Tigers making three signings: Kenley Jansen, Kyle Finnegan and Drew Anderson (57:25)
Check out our past episodes!
- Winter Meetings Recap – listen here
- An Agent’s Perspective with B.B. Abbott – Also, Cease, Williams, Helsley, And Gray – listen here
- Some “Classic Baseball Trades,” Nimmo For Semien, And Ward For Rodriguez – listen here
The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!
Photo courtesy of Nick Turchiaro, Imagn Images
Royals Have Received Interest In Ryan Bergert, Stephen Kolek
Royals president of baseball operations J.J. Picollo is on record about the club’s willingness to trade from their rotation for outfield help. Most of the focus has been on left-hander Kris Bubic, who is down to his final season of arbitration. Even if Bubic remains the likeliest candidate, K.C. has predictably gotten hits on their controllable arms as well.
Anne Rogers of MLB.com writes that the Royals have gotten calls on each of Noah Cameron, Ryan Bergert and Stephen Kolek. (The Cardinals are among the teams known to like Cameron, who is coming off a 2.99 ERA across 24 starts as a rookie.) Bergert and Kolek are less established but also have extended windows of club control. Bergert has yet to reach a full service year and is under control for six seasons; Kolek has a little over one year of service, so he’s controllable for five years.
The two right-handers landed in Kansas City over the summer in the same deadline trade. The Royals picked up both arms in a trade sending backup catcher Freddy Fermin to the Padres. It was a nice bit of business for Picollo and his staff. Bergert combined for a 3.66 earned run average with a solid 22.6% strikeout rate over his first 19 MLB appearances. He sits in the 93-94 MPH range and has an above-average slider. If he can develop a better changeup or add a cutter against left-handed hitters, he could be a mid-rotation arm.
Kolek is a former Rule 5 selection who moved back to the rotation after spending his rookie year working out of San Diego’s bullpen. He’s also in the 93-94 MPH range with his fastball and uses six pitches with regularity. Kolek’s stuff has never played for many whiffs, but he got ground-balls at a strong 51.4% clip over 19 starts this year. He tallied 112 2/3 innings of 3.51 ERA ball, and while that’s better than his peripherals suggest, he looks like a fine fourth/fifth starter.
As it stands, neither Bergert nor Kolek project as one of the top five starters on the depth chart. Cole Ragans, Michael Wacha, Seth Lugo, Bubic and Cameron would be the front five if everyone’s healthy. Bergert and Kolek have minor league options, so they could begin the season in Triple-A. Bailey Falter is out of options and probably ticketed for long relief if he sticks on the roster all offseason.
The Royals are unlikely to trade Wacha or Lugo, each of whom recently signed significant extensions. They’ll probably hear teams out on Cameron, but the asking price would be significant even if his middling 20.5% strikeout rate suggests he’s unlikely to turn in another sub-3.00 season. The only pitcher whom the team is all but firmly taking off the table is Ragans.
“We’re in a really good spot, so if the right trade comes along, and it costs us a starting pitcher, we have to look at it. It’s just not going to be Cole,” Picollo told Rogers. He subsequently left the door ever so slightly open with the caveat that another team could offer “something crazy,” but he pointed out that they’d be selling low on an ace-caliber pitcher who missed a good chunk of the season with a rotator cuff strain.
“We have to ask ourselves: Is this his max value right now? Probably not,” Picollo said. “If Cole pitches like he did in ‘24, who knows what his value is going to be? We just think right now, three years of control on a really good starting pitcher, it would have to be something crazy, something that’s like, ‘How can we pass this up?'”
The focus for Kansas City remains acquiring multiple outfielders, one apiece in trade and free agency. Rogers writes that they’re specifically after a right-handed hitter who can play center field. Harrison Bader is the top free agent center fielder, while Jake Meyers fits that bill on the trade front. The Royals have unsurprisingly been linked to both players this week. Speculatively speaking, Colorado’s Brenton Doyle is another possibility — though he’s coming off a terrible offensive season and might be too redundant to another glove-only player in Kyle Isbel. High-end talents Byron Buxton and Luis Robert Jr. are unlikely to move at all this offseason, and that’s before getting into the difficulty of lining up a trade within the division.
In free agency, Rogers lists JJ Bleday, Adolis García and Lane Thomas as players whom the front office has considered. All three are reclamation targets, and none should be an everyday option in center field. García is a full-time corner outfielder. Bleday and Thomas have played up the middle but fit better in right field, especially in a spacious outfield. García will be the most expensive of that trio but they’re all likely to take one-year deals.
While the outfield is still the priority, Picollo called adding a reliever a “secondary” goal. Bringing in another lefty to join Angel Zerpa and Daniel Lynch IV would be preferable. It’s a rough class for free agent lefty relievers, but the Royals are facing budgetary constrains and weren’t likely to spend big on that either way. Danny Coulombe, Hoby Milner, Caleb Ferguson, Caleb Thielbar and Drew Pomeranz are among the available free agents. The Cardinals’ JoJo Romero is the most obvious bullpen trade candidate of the winter. Tanner Banks, Keegan Akin and Brandon Eisert are a few other players who could be available for a modest trade return.
Lane Thomas Undergoes Season-Ending Foot Surgery
Guardians outfielder Lane Thomas underwent foot surgery to address his plantar fasciitis this morning and will be out of action for three to four months. Zack Meisel of The Athletic was among those to relay the news. Thomas is already on the 15-day injured list. The Guardians could move him to the 60-day IL if they need to open a 40-man roster spot, though they currently have a vacancy there already. Thomas will be a free agent at season’s end.
Thomas, now 30, was acquired from the Nationals at the 2024 deadline. He had a good run in Washington but his production almost immediately took a downturn after coming to Cleveland. Over the 2021 through 2023 seasons, he stepped to the plate 1,436 times for the Nats and hit 52 home runs. That helped him produce a .258/.317/.446 slash line and 108 wRC+ for that span. He also stole 32 bases and spent time in all three outfield positions.
He was largely producing at that same rate in 2024. At the time of the trade, he had a line .253/.331/.407 and a 107 wRC+. He had already stolen 28 bases even though it was only late July. The Guardians sent prospects Alex Clemmey, José Tena and Rafael Ramirez to Washington in order to add Thomas for the stretch run. Unfortunately, he slashed just .209/.267/.390 the rest of the way for an 84 wRC+. He was striking out at a 21.1% clip before the deal but that jumped to 34.8% after.
He did get a nice finish, as the Guards made it to the ALCS, with Thomas slashing .222/.349/.417 for a 124 wRC+ in ten postseason games. He hit two playoff home runs, including a massive grand slam off Tarik Skubal, as seen in this video from MLB.com.
The Guardians tendered him a contract for 2025, his final year of arbitration control, with the two sides agreeing to a $7.825MM salary. His name popped up in some offseason trade rumors but he stayed on the roster.
Unfortunately, it has turned into a lost season for Thomas. He landed on the IL in April due to a right wrist bone bruise. That stint lasted a month but he returned to the IL about a week later due to his right foot plantar fasciitis. He came off the IL in mid-June but was back there due to the same issue in early July. Around the IL stints, he only got into 39 games this year and put up an awful .160/.246/.272 line in those contests.
The Guards have made an unbelievable charge to thrust themselves back into the playoff mix but probably had a good idea that Thomas wasn’t going to be helping them, even with a deep postseason run. It was reported earlier this month that surgery and a three-month recovery period was a possibility. That has now been confirmed, so the Guards will go into the final games of the regular season with an outfield mix consisting of Steven Kwan, George Valera, Ángel Martínez, C.J. Kayfus, Daniel Schneemann, Jhonkensy Noel and Petey Halpin.
For Thomas, it’s unfortunate timing for him to have this injury-marred season. He is now about to become a free agent for the first time in his career. If he had hit the open market on the heels of one of his previous seasons, he could have had a nice level of interest thanks to his combination of decent offense, glovework and baserunning. Instead, he’ll be a big question mark after this challenging season, now punctuated by this surgery. Given his timeline, perhaps he will focus on rehabbing with the plan of holding some kind of showcase to demonstrate his health to interested clubs in the new year.
Photo courtesy of David Richard, Imagn Images
Guardians Notes: Brito, Bazzana, Thomas
Juan Brito‘s injury-ravaged season has come to an early end, as the Guardians announced yesterday that the infield prospect would be undergoing surgery to fix his damaged left hamstring. The procedure has a recovery timeline of 8-12 weeks, so Brito should be ready for the start of Spring Training.
This marks the second major surgery of Brito’s 2025 campaign, as he missed close to two months recovering from thumb surgery. Returning to action with Triple-A Columbus near the end of June, he appeared in just eight more games with the Clippers before being sidelined again by a left hamstring strain. Brito had resumed baseball activities a few weeks ago, but seemingly with little progress, so the decision was made to fully address the injury with surgery.
Brito will conclude his season with just 31 games played — 24 in Triple-A ball, and seven on a rehab assignment with the Guardians’ rookie league affiliate. He still hit well (.256/.357/.463) over his 99 plate appearances in Columbus, yet that isn’t much consolation given that Brito posted similar numbers over a full Triple-A season in 2024, and looked set to make his big league debut this year.
There was even some chatter last spring about Brito potentially breaking camp with the Guardians and earning at least a platoon role at second base. Cleveland instead optioned him to Triple-A before Opening Day, and while Brito’s injuries perhaps made the team’s decision a moot point, the keystone has been a weak spot for the Guardians. The team’s second basemen (Daniel Schneemann, Brayan Rocchio, Angel Martinez, Gabriel Arias, and Will Wilson) have combined for 0.6 bWAR, ranking the Guards 23rd of 30 teams in second base bWAR.
Going into 2026, the hope is that Brito (who turns 24 later this month) will be healthy and ready to rebound after his lost year. Acquired from the Rockies in the Nolan Jones trade three years ago, Brito has posted good offensive numbers during his rise up the ranks of Cleveland’s farm system. Evaluators aren’t sure if his glove necessarily plays anywhere, but even a bat-first type of infielder might help a Guardians team still struggling for consistent offense.
Brito has already exhausted his number of minor league option years, so for now, he’ll be officially out of options heading into 2026. Since the league can grant a fourth option year to players whose careers have been stalled by injury, however, it seems quite likely that Brito will get that bonus option given how little he played in 2025.
Turning to the top name in the Guards’ minor league system, Travis Bazzana may be facing another oblique issue. Bazzana was removed from Thursday’s Triple-A game due to left oblique soreness, and there hasn’t yet been an update on his status. This injury comes on the heels of a right oblique strain in May that ended up costing Bazzana a little over two months of the Double-A season.
The first overall pick of the 2024 draft has started his pro career in impressive fashion, already advancing to Triple-A ball and hitting .225/.420/.438 over his first 120 PA with Columbus. As much as some Cleveland fans were hoping Bazzana might provide the big league team with a boost during the playoff push, there probably wasn’t much chance the Guardians were going to call Bazzana up even before Thursday’s injury scare. That said, Bazzana’s quick rise through the minors has certainly put him on the radar for 2026, and he might now be the second base prospect under consideration for an Opening Day assignment.
Speaking of injury-marred seasons, Lane Thomas has played in only 39 games for the Guardians due to three different IL stints. The first IL trip was due to a bone bruise in his right wrist, and the latter two have been as a result of Thomas’ ongoing battle with plantar fasciitis in his right foot. The outfielder has been on the 10-day injured list since early July, and he played in three rehab games with Double-A Akron earlier in September before he was sidelined again with more foot soreness.
The next step might be surgery, as Thomas told The Athletic’s Zack Meisel and other reporters that he will speak with a foot specialist this coming week to decide on how to best treat the injury. Should Thomas go under the knife, he’d need a three-month recovery period. This timeline would leave him ready to go for the start of spring camp, yet a surgery would add another complication to what will already be a tricky ride through the free agent market for the 30-year-old.
It was less than two years ago that Thomas hit 28 homers as the everyday right fielder for the 2023 Nationals, but his production has dropped sharply since that career year. His bat particularly cooled off after he was dealt to the Guards at last year’s trade deadline, and his nightmare of a 2025 season has seen Thomas hit just .160/.246/.272 over 142 PA.
Teams will want to ensure Thomas is healthy before signing him to any sort of contract, so he’ll probably have to complete his rehab before his market gathers any kind of momentum. At best he’ll receive a one-year deal with a modest guaranteed salary, and it is certainly possible Thomas may have to settle for a minor league deal. Thomas told Meisel and company that he would welcome a return to Cleveland, and since the Guardians will be looking for outfield help anyway, the team might be open to bringing Thomas back on a low-cost deal.
AL Central Notes: Thomas, Ragans, Lynch, Cobb
Prior to today’s game, the Guardians placed outfielder Lane Thomas on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to July 5), as Thomas is again dealing with plantar fasciitis in his right foot. Infielder Will Wilson was called up from Triple-A to replace Thomas, who is headed to the IL for the third time this season. The first placement was due to a bone bruise in his right wrist, and the last two placements were prompted by Thomas’ recurring foot problems. Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt told MLB.com’s Tim Stebbins and other reporters that Thomas again started to feel discomfort in his foot during Friday’s game, so the team decided to see if the combination of an IL stint and the All-Star break can provide enough time for Thomas to finally heal up.
The injuries have contributed to a brutal .160/.246/.272 slash line over 142 plate appearances for Thomas, though he was starting to heat up a little with an .816 OPS and three homers in last 38 PA. Thomas’ struggles have been emblematic of an ugly offensive year for the Guardians as a whole, and today’s loss to the Tigers extended the Guards’ losing streak to 10 games. It increasingly seems like Cleveland will be sellers at the deadline, yet Thomas’ injuries and lack of production will probably mean the Guards won’t be able to move the impending free agent.
More from around the AL Central…
- Cole Ragans will resume throwing tomorrow after an MRI came back clean, Royals manager Matt Quatraro told MLB.com’s Anne Rogers and other reporters. The Royals ace hasn’t thrown since suffering a left rotator cuff strain in early June, so with that four-week shutdown period now over, Ragans can get started on the early stages of what could be a lengthy ramp-up plan. It doesn’t appear likely that Ragans will be back in the K.C. rotation before the July 31 deadline, and his progress will surely be a factor in whatever decisions the Royals face about buying or selling. Today’s win over the Diamondbacks bumped Kansas City up to a modest 43-48 record, and the club sits 5.5 games out of the final AL Wild card slot.
- Another injury arose for the Royals prior to today’s game, as the club placed left-hander Daniel Lynch IV on the 15-day IL due to nerve irritation in his throwing elbow. Right-hander Jonathan Bowlan was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move. Lynch will undergo further testing tomorrow to determine the severity of the injury. The former top prospect has settled into a relief role (with a pair of opener starts this season) in Kansas City, and has managed a 2.59 ERA over 41 2/3 innings despite lackluster strikeout and walk rates. With Lynch out, Angel Zerpa and the struggling Sam Long are the remaining left-handed options in the Kansas City bullpen.
- Alex Cobb was slated to resume playing catch yesterday after receiving an anti-inflammatory injection in his left hip, as per a Tigers medical update from Friday. Cobb has yet to pitch this season due to inflammation in his right hip, and he has made three minor league rehab outings but recurring discomfort in both hips has halted those rehab assignments. Cobb has now received multiple injections in both hips, and it remains to be seen when (or even if) the right-hander will be able to make his official debut on Detroit’s big league roster. The Tigers signed Cobb to a one-year, $15MM free agent deal this past winter, taking the risk on the veteran following his injury-riddled 2024 campaign.
Guardians’ Will Brennan, Andrew Walters Undergo Season-Ending Surgeries
Two players on the Guardians’ injured list underwent surgeries that will end their 2025 campaigns. (MLB.com’s Tim Stebbins was among those to report the news.) Outfielder Will Brennan had a Tommy John surgery to fix his damaged left UCL, and right-hander Andrew Walters had surgery to repair his right lat tendon. The TJ recovery timeframe for position players is usually around 6-8 months, so Brennan should be ready to go for Opening Day 2026, while Walters could miss some time at the start of next season given his projected timeline of 8-to-10 months. Walters is already on the 60-day injured list and Brennan will be shifted from the 10-day IL to the 60-day whenever Cleveland needs some room on its 40-man roster.
Brennan was a regular in Cleveland’s outfield in 2023-24, hitting .265/.303/.370 over 808 plate appearances (all but 121 of them against right-handed pitching). The platoon shield didn’t much help Brennan produce at the plate, and his very solid glovework in right field also took a big dip from 2023 to 2024. The Guardians’ acquisition of Nolan Jones just prior to Opening Day indicated that the team was moving in a new direction with its outfield platoon, and Brennan was indeed optioned to Triple-A to begin the season.
Called up on May 12, Brennan appeared in just six games with the Guards before he was placed on the 10-day injured list with what was initially deemed to be left forearm inflammation. Subsequent testing revealed the much more severe UCL damage, and it’ll now be a long while before Brennan is able to play in his next Major League game. He entered the season with two years and 15 days of official MLB service time, and so his earlier stint in the minors means that Brennan won’t gain a full third year even as he continues to amass service time on the Guardians’ big league IL.
As much as Brennan had become a backup plan for the Guardians, losing him for the remainder of 2025 will rob Cleveland of a depth option for its long-struggling outfield mix. Steven Kwan has again been the Guardians’ only productive outfielder, so adding some help on the grass would again appear to be a priority for the club heading towards the trade deadline.
Lane Thomas can hopefully provide some help from within, as Cleveland activated the outfielder from the 10-day IL today. Thomas has hit only .119/.169/.136 over 65 PA while missing most of the season due to two separate IL stints for a bone bruise in his right wrist and for plantar fasciitis in his right foot.
Walters was a second-round pick for the Guardians in the 2023 draft, and he made his MLB debut just over a year after his draft date when he made nine appearances for Cleveland last September. He started this season at Triple-A Columbus and spent just shy of three weeks on the minor league IL due to elbow inflammation, so he banked only 12 minor league innings this season to go along with his 1 1/3 innings in two appearances with the Guardians. Walters’ injury arose in the second of those appearances on May 30, when he left the mound in obvious discomfort after throwing a pitch to Mike Trout during the Guards’ 4-1 loss to the Angels.
The only slight silver lining here for Walters is that he’ll earn big league service time while on the IL, yet the lat surgery is obviously a rough setback for the 24-year-old righty. Somewhat of a rare case of a pitcher who has been almost exclusively a reliever both in college and in the pros, Walters has a 2.17 ERA and a 36.3% strikeout rate over 62 1/3 innings in the Guardians’ farm system. A 13% walk rate is a concern, but if Walters can manage his control, his live fastball and strikeout ability makes him a very intriguing candidate for high-leverage relief work once he gets healthy.
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.