IL Transactions: DeLuca, Winn, Coulombe, Baddoo
Here’s the round-up of some players departing and joining the injured list on Sunday…
- The Rays placed outfielder Jonny DeLuca on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to May 23) due to a right hamstring strain, and called up Victor Mesa Jr. from Triple-A Jacksonville. DeLuca suffered the injury while running the bases in Friday’s 4-2 Rays victory over the Yankees, and he underwent an MRI today to determine the severity of the strain. DeLuca has hit .269/.298/.412 over 125 plate appearances while chipping in at all three outfield positions, though most of his work has come as the right-handed hitting side of a right field platoon with Jake Fraley. Both sides of that platoon are now on the IL since Fraley is recovering from sports hernia surgery, leaving Ryan Vilade, Richie Palacios, and Mesa as the top candidates to pick up the slack in the outfield.
- The Rangers placed right-hander Cole Winn on the 15-day IL due to fatigue in his throwing arm, and called up right-hander Gavin Collyer (this was the only corresponding move since Collyer was already on the 40-man roster). Winn has a 25.8% strikeout rate and 7.9% walk rate over 19 1/3 innings out of the Texas bullpen, but a lot of hard contact and an unfavorable .345 BABIP have resulted in a 5.59 ERA that is far higher than his 3.25 SIERA. While Winn’s arm issue doesn’t seem too serious, he missed significant time in both the 2024 and 2025 seasons due to shoulder and rotator cuff problems.
- The Red Sox activated Danny Coulombe from the 15-day IL prior to today’s game with the Twins, and the left-hander tossed a scoreless inning of relief in Boston’s 6-5 loss. (Left-hander Tyler Samaniego was optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding move.) Coulombe missed a little over three weeks due to back spasms, and his 5.00 ERA over nine innings this season can be largely attributed to one very rough outing against the Yankees on April 23. Beyond that bad game, the southpaw has only allowed two runs over his other 8 1/3 frames of work.
- The Brewers announced that outfielder Akil Baddoo was activated from the 60-day injured list and optioned to Triple-A Nashville. After signing a split contract with Milwaukee during the winter, Baddoo suffered a quad strain near the end of Spring Training and has spent the entire season on the 60-day IL. The outfielder has logged some rehab games in Nashville already and will continue to bide his time until a possible call-up to the Show.
Rangers Notes: Gore, Seager, Jung
Rangers left-hander MacKenzie Gore is expected to start tonight against the Angels, per Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News. Texas fans can now breathe a sigh of relief. Gore was removed from his start on Monday with a back injury, but appears good to go for his next turn in the rotation.
Gore seemed to be shaken up after diving for a groundball in the first inning against the Rockies last time out. He managed to finish the frame, but was then relieved by Peyton Gray. Gore was charged with two earned runs on three hits and two walks in his lone inning of work.
The Rangers landed Gore in a blockbuster deal with the Nationals that sent five players back to Washington. The 27-year-old is off to an uneven beginning to his tenure in Texas. Gore piled up 25 strikeouts over his first three starts, recording a pair of wins. The lefty battled control issues from there, handing out 16 free passes over his next 23 2/3 frames. Gore bounced back with eight innings of one-run ball in his outing before the abbreviated appearance on Monday.
Gore was expected to form a three-headed monster at the top of the rotation with Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi. It hasn’t exactly come to fruition. After a strong April, deGrom has been tagged for 16 earned runs in four May outings. He’s allowed eight home runs in that stretch. Eovaldi has settled in recently, but a brutal start to the campaign still has his numbers lagging behind his tremendous 2025 output.
Here are a couple of other injury items for the Rangers…
- Shortstop Corey Seager will not face live pitching today as originally planned. His balky back didn’t respond properly after a workout on Friday. “We’re trying to figure out the next steps,” manager Skip Schumaker told reporters, including McFarland. Seager hit the injured list earlier this week with lower back inflammation. After missing a series last weekend against the Astros, he was sent to see the Rangers’ back specialist. The 32-year-old Seager is scuffling through his worst offensive season as a big leaguer.
- Third baseman Josh Jung left Saturday’s matchup against the Angels due to left shoulder soreness. He went 0-for-2 before being replaced in the lineup by Michael Helman. Jung told reporters he was “scared more than anything” and “should be alright” moving forward (h/t again to McFarland). The infielder had surgery to repair a torn labrum in that same shoulder heading into the 2022 season. Duran slid over to cover third base when Jung left yesterday. He’s been the regular shortstop since Seager went down. It’ll likely be Duran at third and Helman at short tonight if Jung can’t go.
Photo courtesy of Brad Penner, Imagn Images
Rangers Claim Blaine Crim
The Rangers announced that first baseman Blaine Crim has been claimed off waivers from the Rockies. Crim has been optioned to Triple-A Round Rock, and right-hander Carter Baumler was moved from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL to open up a 40-man roster spot.
A 19th-round pick for the Rangers in the 2019 draft, Crim spent his first six pro seasons in the Texas organization, and he made his Major League debut in a Rangers uniform in 2025. Crim was designated for assignment at last year’s trade deadline in the aftermath of the deal that brought Merrill Kelly to Arlington, and the Rockies then claimed Crim away on waivers. Crim’s 2025 campaign ended with a .200/.270/.462 slash line and five home runs over 74 plate appearances and 20 combined games with Texas and Colorado.
This remains Crim’s full MLB resume, as he began the season on the Rockies’ 10-day IL while recovering from an oblique strain and was then optioned to Triple-A after being activated. Colorado designated Crim for assignment earlier this week, and the 28-year-old now finds himself in the familiar environs of Round Rock.
Crim has spent parts of the last five seasons at the Triple-A level, and he hit .281/.370/.479 with 70 home runs over 1882 PA at the top rung of the minor league ladder. These impressive numbers come with the caveat that Crim’s entire Triple-A career has been spent in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, and for his minor league career as a whole, Crim’s wRC+ is a relatively modest 113. Crim’s path to consistent MLB playing time has also been hampered by the fact that he has become a first base-only player in recent years, after getting some limited action as a third baseman and corner outfielder earlier in this minor league days.
From the Rangers’ perspective, Crim is a known quantity of a depth option. He is also in the second of his three minor league option years, giving Texas some flexibility in sending him back and forth from Triple-A if a need arises.
Baumler was a selection in this offseason’s Rule 5 Draft, as the Pirates took him out of the Orioles’ organization and then dealt the right-hander to Texas. Baumler posted a 3.18 ERA despite recording as many walks as strikeouts (six apiece) over 5 2/3 relief innings over four appearances, which represented his first taste of Major League action. A right intercostal strain sent him to the 15-day IL in early April, and it has now been almost a month since Baumler’s minor league rehab assignment was halted due to an injury setback.
The move to the 60-day IL now ensures that Baumler can’t return to the Rangers’ active roster until the first week of June at the earliest, and it’ll likely be a lot longer than that considering that his throwing progression may have to be restarted from scratch. The Rule 5 regulations require Baumler to be on Texas’ active roster for at least 90 days this season, and if not, the Rangers will again have to keep him on their 26-man for all of the 2027 campaign in order to officially secure his right from Baltimore.
Rangers, Joe Ross Agree To Minor League Deal
The Rangers have signed veteran righty Joe Ross to a minor league contract, Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News reports. Ross was recently released by the D-backs. He’d been pitching with their Triple-A club in Reno.
Ross made Arizona’s Opening Day roster this season after signing a minor league deal in free agency, but the Snakes designated him for assignment after 3 2/3 innings. He elected free agency and returned on a minor league deal.
Ross, who turned 33 yesterday, enjoyed decent results in a hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League setting. He threw 21 innings for the D-backs’ Triple-A club, most of them in long relief, and logged a 4.29 ERA. His 14% strikeout rate is way below average, but Ross’ 5.8% walk rate was excellent and his 47.8% grounder rate was strong. He also induced plenty of weak contact, evidenced by an 87.7 mph average exit velocity and 38% hard-hit rate.
This year’s brief run in the majors with Arizona brought Ross up to nine partial seasons in the majors. He’s one day shy of eight years of service time. Ross showed glimpses of breaking out as a quality big league starter early in his career, but much like his older brother (Tyson Ross) was routinely set back by injuries. He’s had a pair of Tommy John surgeries in his career in addition to a procedure to remove bone spurs from his elbow. Ross has also had multiple IL stints due to lower back injuries and shoulder troubles.
Ross had a nice season with the ’24 Brewers, tossing 74 innings with a 3.77 ERA and rate stats that were only slightly worse than league average. He was hit hard in a partial season with the ’25 Phillies though, yielding a 5.12 ERA with a career-low 17.1% strikeout rate. Overall, the 6’4″ righty has a 4.37 ERA, 20.6% strikeout rate, 7.7% walk rate and 43% ground-ball rate in 572 major league frames.
The Rangers haven’t specified what type of role Ross will fill. He’ll head to Triple-A Round Rock and presumably continue to operate at least as a long reliever — if not a member of the rotation. The Rangers’ big league staff includes Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi, MacKenzie Gore, Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker. The depth options behind that quintet aren’t great, and the latter three have all had varying levels of struggles. Rocker’s hold on a rotation spot appeared to be fading, but he just rattled off 7 2/3 shutout innings behind an opener in his most recent appearance. That brings him to 12 2/3 straight scoreless frames, dropping his ERA from north of 5.00 all the way to 3.60 (albeit with subpar rate stats that suggest some regression).
Veteran righty Cal Quantrill has pitched well in a long relief role, so it’s unlikely Ross will quickly jump to the majors in a swingman capacity. That said, if Texas incurs an injury in the rotation, that could nudge Quantrill into a starting role and create a space for Ross. Ross himself could be a rotation option at some point, too. He’s not fully stretched out right now but has made multiple three-inning relief appearances this season — most recently in early May.
Rangers Place Corey Seager On Injured List
The Rangers announced that shortstop Corey Seager has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to May 15th, due to lower back inflammation. Infielder/outfielder Michael Helman has been recalled as the corresponding move. Prior to the official announcement, president of baseball operations Chris Young revealed the Seager news on 105.3 The Fan, per Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News and Kennedi Landry of MLB.com noted that Helman was with the club in Colorado.
It’s been a rough campaign for Seager so far. He currently has a batting line of .179/.286/.353. His defensive metrics are also notably worse than last year. He last played on Wednesday, with the back issue keeping him sidelined since then. It was reported yesterday that he had undergone an MRI and would be visiting a specialist. It appears the Rangers decided that he could use a bit more time off. Due to the backdating, he could be back in a week, though it’s unclear if that’s a realistic expectation.
Ideally, some time off can get Seager healthy and then back on track. He has dealt with plenty of injuries throughout his career, as he has topped 123 games played in a season only once since 2019. However, he has usually been incredibly productive when on the field, with a .285/.359/.504 line in his career.
In the meantime, the Rangers will have to proceed without their season-opening middle infield tandem. They began the campaign with Seager as the regular shortstop and Josh Smith the primary second baseman. Smith landed on the IL earlier this month due to a glute strain. He won’t be returning soon. Since hitting the IL, he has dealt with some wrist soreness and then was hospitalized with viral meningitis. He’ll be in the hospital for another week or so before resuming baseball activities.
Since Seager has been out of action, Texas has had Ezequiel Durán at short and Justin Foscue at second. Duran is hitting .270/.336/.443 but Foscue’s line is way down at .182/.182/.318. Foscue’s work is in a tiny sample, as he was only just recalled when Smith hit the IL. The Rangers will need Foscue to pick up the pace or he could lose playing time to Helman, Sam Haggerty or someone not currently on the roster.
Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron, Imagn Images
Corey Seager To Visit Back Specialist
The Rangers are sending Corey Seager to see the club’s back specialist, per Jeff Wilson of DLLS Sports. The shortstop was sidelined for all three games of a weekend series against the Astros. The team is still waiting on the results of an MRI.
Seager hasn’t suited up since Wednesday. He’d appeared in 42 of the Rangers’ 43 games before the back issue popped up. The 32-year-old is scuffling through his worst offensive campaign to date. He’s currently stuck in a 0-for-27 slump. Seager is slashing .179/.286/.353 across 182 plate appearances. His 80 wRC+ is his worst mark as a big leaguer by a significant margin.
It’s unclear how long Seager’s been dealing with the injury. His Statcast metrics certainly haven’t aligned with his lofty standards. Seager has a 45.4% hard-hit rate this year, which is still an above-average mark, but a couple of ticks below his career norm. It’s also well behind his recent work with Texas. Seager has posted a hard-hit rate above 50% in each of the past three campaigns. His barrel rate has remained steady this year, but his average exit velocity has slipped by nearly 2 mph compared to 2025.
Seager is also struggling to make contact like never before. He has a career-high 27.5% strikeout rate. It’s the first time he’s been above 20% since 2017 with the Dodgers. Seager’s 16.2% swinging-strike rate is easily a career worst. His 68.0% contact rate is the 12th-lowest mark among qualified hitters.
Texas signed Seager to a massive 10-year, $325MM deal heading into the 2022 season. He’s been incredibly productive with the club, including a second-place MVP finish in 2023. He also earned World Series MVP honors that year. Seager has a wRC+ of 138 or better in each of the past three campaigns.
Similar to his time in L.A., injuries remain the drawback with Seager. After playing in 151 games in 2022, he’s missed time with thumb, sports hernia, and hamstring issues the past few years. An appendectomy also cost Seager most of September last season. While it’s hard to hold that last one against him, the soft tissue injuries have been prevalent.
Ezequiel Duran has stepped in at shortstop this year with Seager out. The utilityman is off to a solid start at the plate. Duran is slashing .270/.339/.441 with three home runs and four steals. The versatile veteran has spent time at every infield spot except first base, plus both corner outfield positions. Duran has been a decent defender up the middle in his career. He’s posted +5 Outs Above Average across 525 2/3 innings at shortstop. Duran has -2 Defensive Runs Saved at the position, which would still be passable, at least temporarily.
A Seager injury would normally lead to a Sebastian Walcott mention, but the top prospect is set to miss most of the year after undergoing an internal brace procedure on his elbow. Cameron Cauley is a borderline top 10 prospect in the organization. He’s bounced around the diamond this year at Triple-A, with at least seven starts at four different positions, including shortstop. While the glove might be viable, Cauley has scuffled to an 82 wRC+ with Round Rock.
Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron, Imagn Images
AL West Notes: D’Arnaud, Smith, Clarke
Plantar fasciitis in his right foot sent Travis d’Arnaud to the Angels‘ 10-day injured list on May 7, and it will be some time yet before the catcher is back on the field. D’Arnaud is currently using a scooter to get around, and he told MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger that it will be at least two weeks before he can put any weight on his right foot. Between this recovery time, a ramp-up of baseball activities and a minor league rehab assignment, a mid-June return looks like the absolute best-case scenario for d’Arnaud’s return.
After signing a two-year, $12MM deal with Los Angeles in November 2024, d’Arnaud struggled to a .197/.255/.343 slash line over 231 plate appearances in the first year of the contract. He had a modest .614 OPS over his first 40 PA this season, so between the lack of production and now this extended IL stint, d’Arnaud’s time in Anaheim is looking like a bust for all sides. D’Arnaud’s absence is just one of many issues plaguing the woeful Angels, whose 16-30 record is the worst in the majors.
More from the AL West…
- Josh Smith will spent 7-10 days in hospital being treated for viral meningitis, the Rangers announced in a press release on Friday. As per the release, “the club will determine an appropriate return to play program for Smith once he is able to resume physical activity.” Smith has been on the 10-day injured list since May 4 due to a right glute strain, since he has since been set back by wrist soreness and now this illness. These health concerns add to what has already been a tough year on the field for Smith, as he was hitting only .217/.324/.239 in his first 108 plate appearances.
- Denzel Clarke began a minor league rehab assignment yesterday, with MLB.com’s Martin Gallegos writing that Clarke will play two games at A-level Stockton before likely heading onto the Athletics‘ Triple-A affiliate. Clarke hasn’t played since April 20 due to a bone bruise in his right foot, so it’ll be a full month on the shelf for the outfielders even though he seems to be making good progress. Already one of baseball’s top defensive center fielders in just his second MLB campaign, Clarke’s bat is a long ways behind his glove, as he has hit just .214/.262/.323 over 219 career PA with the Athletics.
Braves Sign Austin Gomber To Minor League Deal
The Braves have signed left-hander Austin Gomber to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News previously reported that the Rangers released Gomber from their own minor league pact. Gomber is a client of THE·TEAM agency.
Gomber, 32, joined the Rangers organization in a non-roster deal in January. He was a candidate to be their fifth starter, though Gomber was sent to Triple-A when the job ultimately went to Kumar Rocker. Gomber’s results at Triple-A haven’t been pretty. In 33 2/3 innings over nine appearances (eight starts), Gomber had a 7.75 ERA while allowing 41 hits and 14 unintentional walks.
That follows a 2025 season defined by injuries and underperformance. Gomber started the year on the injured list with left shoulder soreness and did not return to the Rockies until June 15th. He made 12 starts in the following two months, but the results were a far cry from Gomber’s previous back-of-the-rotation work. In 57 2/3 innings, Gomber had a 7.49 ERA and just a 12.5% strikeout rate.
Although his control was typically excellent, Gomber allowed a staggering 16 home runs in that time, or 2.50 HR/9. That mark was unacceptable even for Coors Field. Gomber was released by the Rockies on August 22nd. He quickly signed a minor league pact with the Cubs, but he did not make it back to the Majors by the end of the year. Gomber elected minor league free agency in November.
That said, Gomber is only two seasons removed from being a serviceable starter. He threw 165 innings over 30 starts for the Rockies in 2024, with an impressive 5.5% walk rate and a 4.75 ERA. The latter figure seems uninspiring on the surface, but it’s roughly league average when adjusting for Coors Field. FanGraphs valued Gomber at 1.3 WAR that year – perfectly fine for a No. 5 starter.
Even though that performance is two years old now, there’s no harm in the Braves taking a flier on Gomber. Atlanta’s rotation leads the Majors with a 2.93 ERA through 45 games, and their 23.6% strikeout rate is tied for eighth with the Pirates. Chris Sale and Bryce Elder have ERAs under 2.00. Spencer Strider returned from the injured list on May 3rd and has done well in three starts (aside from walk issues). Grant Holmes is a fine as a No. 4 starter. JR Ritchie is 22 and only just debuted, so he’ll continue to get chances in the back of the rotation.
Spring injuries to Spencer Schwellenbach and Hurston Waldrep depleted the group’s depth somewhat, but Martin Perez is on hand as a long reliever and has made five starts of at least five innings this year. With Perez as the main depth option for now, Gomber can try to re-establish himself at Triple-A and stay ready for a callup if somebody else gets injured.
Photo courtesy of Arianna Grainey, Imagn Images
2026-27 Club Options: AL West
In recent weeks, MLBTR has looked forward to next winter’s option classes. We’ll move now to the AL West, where the Athletics have the two most notable decisions.
Previous: AL East, AL Central
Athletics
- Jeff McNeil, 2B: $15.75MM club option (Mets responsible for $2MM buyout as part of December trade)
The A’s landed McNeil in what amounted to a salary dump trade for the Mets. The A’s needed a second baseman and pivoted to the former batting champion shortly after Ha-Seong Kim declined a four-year free agent offer. They picked up $10MM of McNeil’s $15.75MM salary for this season, with the Mets agreeing to cover the $2MM buyout on a matching club option if the A’s don’t bring him back in 2027.
It’ll probably be a one-year stop in Sacramento for the two-time All-Star. McNeil has a league average .276/.343/.362 batting line across 144 plate appearances. He’s following his usual high-contact approach but only has one home run and nine extra-base hits overall. He’s a league average hitter who plays decent but unexceptional defense at second base. McNeil is still a solid player, but he’s not going to command a near-$16MM salary for his age-35 season.
- Jeffrey Springs, LHP: $15MM club option ($750K buyout)
This one could be a trickier decision for GM David Forst and his front office. The A’s acquired Springs from Tampa Bay over the 2024-25 offseason, assuming the remaining two years and $21MM on his contract in the process. Springs was excellent when healthy with Tampa Bay but had barely pitched between 2023-24 on account of April ’23 Tommy John surgery.
The veteran southpaw has avoided the injured list over his year-plus in Sacramento. He hasn’t been as good as he was back in 2022 with the Rays. Springs has settled in as a mid-rotation arm, a control artist with league average strikeout stuff. He can miss bats with his secondary pitches, especially his changeup, but it’s a hittable fastball. He attacks the top of the strike zone with a 90-91 mph heater, an approach that gets a decent number of weak fly balls but also makes him susceptible to home runs.
That’s especially true at the hitter-friendly Sutter Health Park. Springs has a 4.93 ERA over 20 home starts compared to a 3.36 mark in 21 road appearances with the A’s. He’s certainly not their only pitcher to have a tougher time in Sacramento. The end result is a low-4.00s ERA that makes him a #4 caliber starter.
That has value, especially for an A’s team that could be at a disadvantage in pursuing free agent arms. If Springs stays healthy enough to make 30 starts with league average numbers, the A’s would probably bring him back on what amounts to a $14.25MM decision. They have some younger starters on the way (or in the case of J.T. Ginn, already performing at the big league level) but don’t have many proven innings sources behind Springs and Luis Severino.
Houston Astros
- Ryan Weiss, RHP: $5MM club option ($500K buyout)
Houston signed Weiss to a $2.6MM free agent deal over the winter. The 29-year-old righty hadn’t pitched in MLB but was coming off an excellent season and a half with the Hanwha Eagles in Korea. Weiss had turned in a 2.87 ERA over 30 starts while ranking fourth among KBO pitchers with 207 strikeouts last year.
The Astros brought him in to compete for a spot at the back of a wide open rotation. Weiss instead landed in long relief and has struggled to throw strikes, walking 15% of opponents en route to a near-8.00 ERA through his first 26 MLB innings. He has fanned 23% of batters faced and is averaging 95 mph on his fastball, but the walks and early home run issues led the Astros to option him to Triple-A last week. He worked 4 2/3 innings of one-run ball with three strikeouts in his first start for Sugar Land.
The $5MM option is affordable enough that Weiss could still get the front office’s attention if he dials in the command. This addition hasn’t started the way the Astros had hoped, though, and it’s likelier he’ll be bought out.
Isaac Paredes’ arbitration deal includes a $13.35MM club option for 2027. He’d be eligible for arbitration for a final time even if Houston declines the option.
Los Angeles Angels
- Robert Stephenson, RHP: $2.5MM club option (no buyout)
Stephenson’s three-year, $33MM contract has been almost a complete wash. The Angels bet on the righty’s monster second half of the 2023 season, adding what they hoped to be a late-inning weapon. Injuries have unfortunately wiped out essentially all of the last three years.
The former first-round pick blew out during Spring Training ’24 and underwent Tommy John surgery that April. He was unable to make his team debut until May 2025. Stephenson immediately went back down with biceps inflammation and was out into August. He came into Spring Training healthy but suffered yet another elbow ligament injury and underwent season-ending surgery last month.
Stephenson’s contract contained a stipulation that the Angels would get a $2.5MM club option for 2027 if he suffered a serious elbow injury. That’s in play now, but it seems likely the Halos will move on after he was only able to pitch 12 times in a three-year span.
Seattle Mariners
- Andrés Muñoz, RHP: $8MM club option (no buyout)
The Mariners have one of the easiest calls for a team to exercise on Muñoz. Seattle signed him to what became a bargain extension as he completed his rehab from early-career Tommy John surgery. The hard-throwing righty has gone on to consecutive All-Star appearances as one of the best closers in the game from 2024-25.
Muñoz has unexpectedly struggled through his first six weeks of the ’26 season. He has blown a couple save opportunities and allowed 11 runs (10 earned) across 17 innings. The strikeout and walk profile is as strong as ever, though, and only three pitchers with at least 10 frames — Mason Miller, Kyle Hurt and Dylan Lee — have a better swinging strike rate than Muñoz does. He should be just fine, and the M’s will have a $10MM option for 2028. The ’27 option has an $8MM base value that’ll climb to $9MM if he finishes 45 games this year.
- Victor Robles, RF: $9MM club option ($500K buyout)
Seattle signed Robles to a two-year, $9.75MM extension in August 2024. He’d only been on the roster for around two and a half months, as the Nationals had released the outfielder that June. Robles went on an absolute tear in his first few months with Seattle, hitting .328/.393/.467 while stealing 30 bags across 77 games.
The extension window has not gone as hoped. Robles injured his left shoulder making an exceptional catch at the wall in April 2025. He suffered a fracture and dislocation that wound up costing him four months (extended slightly by a seven-game suspension when he threw his bat at a Triple pitcher after a hit by pitch while on a rehab assignment).
Robles suffered another injury within the first two weeks of this season. A right pectoral strain has kept him on the IL for the past month. Robles is with Triple-A Tacoma on a rehab stint and should be back within the next week, but he’ll probably be in a fourth outfield role now that Luke Raley has broken out of a late-April funk. This is trending towards a buyout.
Bryce Miller’s arbitration deal contains a $6.075MM club option with a $15K buyout. He’d remain eligible for arbitration even if Seattle declines the option.
Texas Rangers
- Kyle Higashioka, C: $7MM mutual option ($1MM buyout)
The Rangers have built in a few mutual options, which essentially never get picked up by both parties. They just delay the payment of a portion of the guarantee in the form of an option buyout. Higashioka will collect a $1MM buyout to conclude his two-year, $13.5MM free agent contract signed over the 2024-25 offseason.
The veteran catcher played pretty well in the first year of the deal but is out to a .203/.271/.266 start in 20 games this season. The Rangers signed Danny Jansen to a similar two-year contract last offseason and will probably look for a cheaper catching partner for him in 2027. They should decline their end.
- Jakob Junis, RHP: $5MM mutual option ($1.25MM buyout)
Texas built their bullpen with a bunch of cheap one-year free agent pickups for a second straight offseason. It’s working well again, thanks in no small part to Junis. The 33-year-old has allowed just four runs through his first 19 innings, collecting five holds and three saves without giving up a lead.
The market rarely seems to buy into Junis’ slider-heavy approach. He sits in the 91-92 mph range on his fastball and has one of the lowest swinging strike rates (6.4%) in MLB. Junis nevertheless has made a career of outperforming modest expectations. He has topped 60 innings in four straight seasons and carries a 3.13 ERA over 238 2/3 innings going back to the start of 2023.
There’s only a $3.75MM difference between the option value and the buyout price. That’s similar to his respective $4.5MM and $2.75MM salaries of the past two seasons. There’s an argument that both sides should be happy with their end of the mutual option, but history suggests at least one will opt for the buyout. Junis’ camp might hold out hope he’ll follow the Phil Maton path and find a two-year deal, or the Rangers could cut him loose despite a seemingly reasonable salary — as they did with Jacob Webb in arbitration last winter.
- Joc Pederson, DH: $18.75MM mutual option
Texas will have an easy call to decline their end of Pederson’s mutual option. That’ll conclude his two-year, $37.5MM free agent signing. Pederson has rebounded slightly from a dismal first season in Texas but is still hitting at a below-average level this year. He has a .190/.296/.331 line over 424 plate appearances as a Ranger.
Rangers Notes: Eovaldi, Latz, Smith
The Rangers are sending Nathan Eovaldi for imaging after the veteran starter reported left side tightness, manager Skip Schumaker told reporters (including Kennedi Landry of MLB.com). Texas scratched Eovaldi from his scheduled start tonight in Arizona. Jakob Junis got the first couple innings of an impromptu bullpen game.
Schumaker’s bullpen should be well rested. The Rangers are coming off consecutive shutouts of what had been a hot Cubs lineup. They used three relievers after Jack Leiter on Saturday, but only Gavin Collyer tossed more than 13 pitches. Jacob Latz was their only reliever yesterday, tossing 20 pitches over two scoreless innings behind a masterful start from Jacob deGrom (seven scoreless with 10 strikeouts).
Although the pitching staff is well equipped to handle one missed start, it’d be tougher to weather an injured list stint if that proves necessary. Eovaldi has been one of the American League’s best pitchers over his time in Arlington. His 4.15 earned run average this year is higher than his ERA from any of his first three seasons, thanks mostly to a spike in his home run rate.
Eovaldi has had a trio of rough outings but has also reeled off four quality starts, including two excellent appearances against the Yankees each of his past two times out. He held New York to one run (an Aaron Judge homer) with 15 strikeouts in as many innings over those two starts. Texas won both games.
The Rangers have a below-average offense for the third straight season. Only the Giants and Mets have scored fewer runs entering play Monday. Texas has stayed close to .500 (19-21) thanks to a pitching staff that has the sixth-best ERA. Their bullpen deserves more of the credit for that than does the starting rotation, as their stitched together relief group has an MLB-low 2.80 mark. The top half of the rotation is Texas’ biggest on-paper strength, however.
Texas hasn’t made any changes to their rotation of deGrom, Eovaldi, Leiter, MacKenzie Gore and Kumar Rocker. Latz’s start in the second game of the season was the only one until tonight opened by someone other than the aforementioned quintet. deGrom is again pitching at a level that’ll have him in the Cy Young conversation if he stays healthy. The others all have an ERA north of 4.00, though all but Rocker are racking up strikeouts.
The rotation falls off sharply after the front five. Latz pitched well when called upon as a spot starter last season, but the Rangers could be hesitant to ask him to do that again. The lefty has seized the closer role after Texas opened the season with a committee approach. Latz has only allowed two runs across 20 2/3 innings on the year, recording the save in four of his last five times out.
Junis, Tyler Alexander and Cole Winn all recorded at least one save early in the season. Latz has gotten all the opportunities going back to April 13. He’s probably too valuable at the back of the bullpen to stretch back out as a starter, particularly if Eovaldi’s injury turns out to be mild.
Cal Quantrill has been working in long relief and could get a look. Jose Corniell, the only depth starter on the 40-man roster, had spent the last five weeks at the team’s Arizona complex and only made his first Triple-A appearance on Friday. Josh Stephan, who went unselected in last offseason’s Rule 5 draft and has no MLB experience, has been the organization’s best starter in Triple-A.
Schumaker also provided an update before Monday’s game on Josh Smith. The second baseman, who has been out for the past week with a glute strain, is also dealing with wrist inflammation (link via Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News). Schumaker said the team is hopeful he’ll only be shut down for a few days, but it all but ensures that Smith won’t be activated from the injured list when first eligible on Thursday.
A productive utility player from 2024-25, Smith was tabbed as the everyday second baseman after the Marcus Semien/Brandon Nimmo trade. He has started very slowly, hitting .217/.324/.239 without a home run through 108 plate appearances. His strikeout and walk profile is strong, but he’s not making any impact. Smith, who has traditionally played very well in April, has also posted subpar defensive grades this year.
Ezequiel Duran has taken over second base in Smith’s absence. He’s hitting too well to take out of the lineup, batting .286/.359/.451 over 32 games. Duran had previously been playing mostly left field due to the Wyatt Langford injury, so the Smith injury indirectly opened the most playing time for outfielder Alejandro Osuna. The 23-year-old has reached base 16 times in his first 37 plate appearances since being recalled from the minors on April 22.