Brewers Sign Luis Lara To Extension
The Brewers have signed yet another extension with one of their prospects. Milwaukee announced the signing of Triple-A outfielder Luis Lara to a seven-year deal with club options covering the 2033-35 seasons. It’s reportedly a $31MM guarantee that could climb as high as $79MM depending on the option specifics and bonuses.
Lara will remain in Triple-A on optional assignment. The Brewers needed to add him to the 40-man roster to finalize the Major League contract. Left-hander Brian Fitzpatrick has been moved from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list in a corresponding move. The rookie reliever suffered a partial UCL sprain and is going for a second opinion, relays Todd Rosiak of The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
It has become more common in recent years for clubs to commit to their young players before the make it to the majors, or perhaps after just a handful of games in the big leagues. As shown in MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, from 2006 to 2016, there were six extensions signed by players with less than a year of service time. From 2017 to the present, that number is 25, with 15 of them being inked in the past four years.
Milwaukee has played a notable role in that data set, particularly in signing pre-debut deals. In 2023, they gave Jackson Chourio an eight-year, $82MM pact when he was considered one of the top two prospects in the league. That was the record deal for a pre-debut player at the time, though Colt Emerson later broke that record when he signed a $95MM deal with the Mariners. Earlier this year, the Brewers signed another pre-debut deal, though on a lesser scale. They and Cooper Pratt agreed to an eight-year deal worth $50.75MM back in April, though Pratt has remained in the minors on optional assignment since signing that deal.
This deal with Lara comes in at an even lower level. The guarantee is barely a third of what Chourio received and just a bit more than half of Pratt’s deal. Coming in well shy of Chourio is no real surprise. As mentioned, Chourio was one of the top prospects in the league at that time. Lara is a solid prospect but is perhaps more of a borderline top 100 guy right now. Pratt and Lara have some similar prospect rankings but the Pratt deal was seen by some as a bit of an overpay.
Lara, now 21, was an international signee of the Brewers back in 2022. Milwaukee gave him a $1.1MM signing bonus at that time. Lara’s size is notable, as he is listed at 5’7″ or 5’8″, depending on the source. As you would expect for such a player, there’s not a ton of power, but he does have speed. He has 447 minor league games under his belt to this point with just 17 home runs but 144 stolen bases. On account of that speed, his defense also receives high praise, with some evaluators considering him a future Gold Glover.
The offense is more of a question. As mentioned, the power is light, though perhaps Lara is building strength as he ages. He never hit more than four homers in any previous season but is already up to seven in 2026, in just 247 Triple-A plate appearances. The plate discipline appears to be strong, however, as he has often posted strong walk and strikeout rates. This year, his first at the top level of the minors, he has a 15.8% walk rate and 13% strikeout rate. Those are both excellent figures.
Baseball America currently lists Lara as the #5 prospect in the system, a couple of spots behind Pratt. That outlet has Pratt #44 on their Top 100, with Lara in the #50 spot. FanGraphs had Lara #11 in the system back in the winter, before he started putting up good numbers at Triple-A here in 2026. ESPN bumped Lara up to #5 in the system in a recent system update. MLB Pipeline has Lara listed #91 overall and the #5 Brewer.
The Brewers presumably feel good about Lara coming up and being a major league contributor. It seems that Lara’s speed and defense would give him a solid floor even if he doesn’t hit much. If he can maintain his strong approach at the plate and add a bit of power as he gets deeper into his 20s, then that just makes the deal all the more attractive for them.
From Lara’s perspective, he is cutting off the most extreme edges of his earning abilities, as is the case for any prospect signing an early extension. If he hadn’t been able to hit in the majors, he could have ended up in the role of a speedy fourth outfielder, which likely wouldn’t have paid him much. Accepting this deal allows him to bank more money than he would have in that scenario. But if he turns into an All-Star caliber regular, he won’t have as much ability to cash in on that. This deal will lock in his age-21 through age-27 seasons, with the three club options taking him through age-30. He could still theoretically get a nice deal at that point, going into his age-31 season, but could have had more earning power if he managed to hit the open market in his late 20s.
As mentioned, Lara is going to stay in the minors for now. At the major league level, Milwaukee has an outfield group consisting of Chourio, Garrett Mitchell and Sal Frelick, with Christian Yelich, Jake Bauers and Blake Perkins chipping in on occasion. They also have Brandon Lockridge on the injured list, Tyler Black and Akil Baddoo on optional assignment, and Jett Williams in Triple-A in a non-roster capacity.
In the long run, it’s fair to wonder if the Brewers will trade from that group in order to open up playing time. Bauers is an impending free agent but everyone else is under club control for a while. Yelich’s deal is guaranteed through 2028. Chourio is signed through 2031 with two club options. Mitchell can be retained via arbitration through 2028, Frelick and Perkins through 2029.
For now, the Brewers have enviable outfield depth on a club that has few obvious holes. They have a 41-23 record which is second-best in the National League, behind only Atlanta. Though they will undoubtedly be looking to add to the roster ahead of the trade deadline, perhaps they could do so while flipping out an outfielder from their big league roster as they look for more pitching or help on the left side of the infield.
Spencer Michaelis of the Brewers Fanatic Podcast first reported that the sides had agreed to a deal of roughly $30MM over eight years with two club options. Jon Heyman of The New York Post clarified that it’s actually a seven-year deal worth $31MM. Jeff Passan of ESPN confirmed the 7/$31MM framework and noted there are three club options, with a $79MM max. Passan also added that Lara will be staying in the minors for now. Photos courtesy of Dave Kallmann, Imagn Images.
Angels Re-Sign Shaun Anderson To Minor League Deal
The Angels announced another minor league deal with Shaun Anderson. He’s back at Triple-A Salt Lake in a non-roster capacity.
Halos fans are familiar with the shuffle at this point. Anderson is out of options and needs to get through waivers every time the Angels want to send him back to Triple-A. They select his contract, keep him on the roster for a few days, then designate him for assignment. He clears waivers, elects free agency, then signs a new minor league deal.
They’ve done this six times over the past two seasons. It’s not unique to the Angels, as the Braves have done the same with Carlos Carrasco all year. Anderson is clearly on board with the arrangement since he continually re-signs. He has gotten into 16 MLB games over the past two seasons as a result, working 28 innings with a 7.71 earned run average.
Anderson’s big league work has come in long relief. He stayed stretched out as a starter in Triple-A last season but has been in more of a swing role this year, starting four of seven appearances. The 31-year-old righty has a 6.35 career ERA at the big league level and a 4.34 mark over eight Triple-A campaigns.
Cubs Place Jameson Taillon On Injured List
The Cubs placed starter Jameson Taillon on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to June 8, with a left hamstring strain. Chicago brought up two relievers, Tyler Ferguson and Ethan Roberts, from Triple-A Iowa. Trent Thornton goes on the paternity list in the other pitching move. The Cubs also activated Matt Shaw from the 10-day injured list and optioned outfielder Kevin Alcántara back to Iowa.
Chicago also added lefty reliever Antoine Kelly to the 40-man roster, according to the MLB.com transaction log. Kelly was optioned to Triple-A. The Cubs acquired him in a cash trade with the Dodgers over the weekend. That suggests the Chicago native triggered an upward mobility clause in his minor league deal with Los Angeles. Kelly has still yet to reach the Majors.
Taillon has a moderate hamstring strain, skipper Craig Counsell told reporters (including Meghan Montemurro of The Chicago Tribune). The Cubs expect him to miss more than a month and be sidelined beyond the All-Star Break. Taillon has had a middling first couple months, allowing a 5.19 earned run average through 67 2/3 innings.
The Cubs will turn to Colin Rea, Shota Imanaga and Edward Cabrera for this series at Coors Field. They haven’t listed any plans for their weekend set in San Francisco. Matthew Boyd went five innings and 80 pitches on a rehab start for Iowa on Saturday. He’s expected to make his return from meniscus surgery at some point this weekend. Boyd and Ben Brown should take the first two games of the Giants series in some order, which would put Rea back on regular rest for the finale.
Brown is the only Cubs starter who has gotten strong results this year. He only moved into the starting staff when Boyd went down in early May. Brown has responded with a 1.44 ERA and 29% strikeout rate over six starts. He has also continued throwing strikes while turning a lineup over multiple times. Cabrera, Imanaga and Rea have all been far too home run prone. No team’s rotation has given up more longballs than Chicago’s 32.
It’s too early for the Cubs to do much on the trade front. President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer acknowledged last week that’ll likely be the focus when the deadline gets closer. They’re not likely to push Cabrera, Imanaga or Boyd out of the rotation anytime soon, but they could certainly move Rea back into a swing role. Jordan Wicks and Doug Nikhazy are the only depth starters on the 40-man roster; they’ve both gotten rocked in Triple-A.
Mariners Acquire Carson Fulmer
The Pirates have traded right-hander Carson Fulmer to the Mariners, reports Alex Stumpf. Fulmer was not on Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster and won’t need a spot with Seattle, unless his minor league deal contained some kind of opt-out or upward mobility clause. It’s unclear what the Bucs are getting in return but it may be a cash deal.
Fulmer, 32, has appeared in nine major league seasons. He has thrown 256 2/3 innings, allowing 5.44 earned runs per nine. His 20% strikeout rate and 11.9% walk rate are both a bit worse than league average, while his 40.9% ground ball rate is right around par.
He finished last season with the Angels but was outrighted off the roster at the end of the campaign. He was able to elect free agency and later signed a minor league deal with the Pirates. He has been pitching for Triple-A Indianapolis this year, logging 34 frames over 16 appearances. His 6.35 ERA in that time certainly doesn’t look good, though it’s likely a bit misleading. His .330 batting average on balls in play and 63% strand rate are both to the unfortunate side. His 17.5% strikeout rate this year isn’t great but his 43.1% grounder rate is decent.
If the Mariners plan to add Fulmer to the 40-man roster, he is out of options and would therefore need to go on the active roster. If not, he’ll provide them with some extra depth capable of pitching multiple innings.
Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images
Rockies Select Cole Carrigg
The Rockies announced that they have selected the contract of infielder/outfielder Cole Carrigg and recalled right-hander Jeff Criswell. In corresponding moves, they placed infielder/outfielder Tyler Freeman on the seven-day concussion injured list and designated Keegan Thompson for assignment.
Carrigg, now 24, was selected with the 65th overall pick in the 2023 draft. He is clearly a talented athlete, capable of doing all kinds of things. He is a switch hitter with speed. At San Diego State, he played every position on the diamond except for first base and right field.
After the Rockies drafted him, they initially had him split his time between catcher, shortstop and the outfield. He hasn’t been behind the plate since 2023, however. In 2025, he only played the outfield. Here in 2026, he has been splitting his time between shortstop and center field.
Offensively, Carrigg has a .283/.359/.474 line throughout his minor league career. He has been at the Triple-A level here in 2026, with 257 plate appearances on the year. His 15.2% strikeout rate is quite low and his 10.5% walk rate above average. He has six home runs, a .338 /.414/.529 line and 129 wRC+, though a .387 batting average on balls in play is helping him out a lot. He has 30 steals in 37 attempts.
Baseball America currently lists Carrigg as the #4 prospect in the Rockies’ system. MLB Pipeline has him at #6 and ESPN recently listed him in the #7 spot. Reports on him generally focus on his aggressiveness, noting that it can be both an asset and a liability for him. He got really swing-happy at Double-A last year and struck out at a 27% clip, though he seems to have reined that in this year. But getting too passive isn’t ideal either since his speed and explosiveness are a big part of his appeal.
The Rockies have Ezequiel Tovar at shortstop. He is having an awful season but Colorado is unlikely to make a change since he signed an extension through 2030. Even though he is struggling, they will presumably let him play to try to work it out.
The outfield is more open. Freeman joins Mickey Moniak, Brenton Doyle and Jordan Beck on the IL. In recent weeks, the Rockies have had an outfield mix of Freeman, Jake McCarthy, Troy Johnston and Sterlin Thompson. McCarthy has been the regular up the middle while Freeman has been taking most of the right field playing time. With Carrigg coming up, perhaps he will take over as the center fielder, with McCarthy sliding over to right.
Since this is Carrigg’s first major league call, he has a full slate of options and could be sent back down to the minors as those injured guys come off the IL, though Thompson also has options and is hitting .222/.327/.267 on the year. The roster might also get a shake-up at the deadline, since the Rockies are 24-42 and clearly trending towards being sellers this summer. McCarthy is in his arbitration years and would be a trade candidate, even though he’s under club control through 2028. Ditto for Freeman. Moniak is only under club control through 2027 and is even more likely to be available.
There are a few different ways things can go in the coming weeks and months, depending on health, performance and transactions. Ideally, Carrigg can hit the ground running and stay up in the majors. Regardless of how things play out in the short term, the Rockies will hope he can become a building block on their roster for the long term.
Thompson, 31, was claimed off waivers from the Reds in the offseason. The Rockies then outrighted him off the roster just before Opening Day. He could have elected free agency but had agreed to a $1.3MM salary with Cincinnati before the Rockies claimed him. Heading to the open market would have meant walking away from that money, so he reported to Triple-A Albuquerque.
He was added back to the roster about three weeks ago and has been working a long relief role for the Rockies. He has thrown 12 innings over five appearances, allowing 11 earned runs in that time. There’s surely a bit of bad luck in that small sample, as his 3.5% walk rate was quite good and his 19.3% strikeout rate just a few ticks south of par. His .419 batting average on balls in play and 51% strand rate helped push some extra runs across, which is why his 2.86 FIP and 3.71 SIERA were more optimistic.
Ultimately, it’s a small sliver of his larger track record. He came into the year with a 3.64 ERA in 227 1/3 career innings. His 23% strikeout rate and 41% ground ball rate in that time were solid but he gave walks to 11.3% of batters faced. He just cleared waivers a few months ago and could perhaps do so again. If that comes to pass, he would likely accept another outright assignment, as there’s still about $765K to be paid out on his deal.
Photo courtesy of Rick Scuteri, Imagn Images
White Sox Promote Braden Montgomery
12:15pm: The White Sox have formally announced the selection of Montgomery’s contract. Veteran outfielder Austin Hays moves from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL to open a 40-man spot. Chicago also recalled lefty Joe Rock from Triple-A Charlotte and optioned Nishida and righty David Sandlin to Charlotte in a sequence of additional moves.
11:17am: The White Sox are calling up top outfield prospect Braden Montgomery, as first reported by Matt Snyder of CBS Sports. Chicago will have to open space on the 26-man and 40-man roster to accommodate Montgomery, who currently ranks 33rd on Baseball America’s top-100 prospect rankings.
Selected No. 12 overall out of Texas A&M by the Red Sox in 2024, Montgomery landed with the White Sox as the co-headliner (alongside catcher Kyle Teel) of the blockbuster trade sending Garrett Crochet to Boston. The 23-year-old Montgomery opened the 2026 season in Double-A and has since been promoted to Triple-A, tormenting opposing pitchers at both levels. He’s appeared in 56 games this season, taken 258 plate appearances between those two levels, and turned in a stout .314/.422/.548 batting line (152 wRC+) with 10 homers, 13 doubles, three triples, five steals (albeit in 11 attempts), a huge 15.1% walk rate and a 24.8% strikeout rate.
Montgomery has been particularly productive at the dish as of late. After falling into a mini-slump that saw him go hitless for 16 plate appearances, he’s turned things around with a .474/.580/.711 batting line over his past 10 games. In that time, the switch-hitter has popped a pair of homers and three doubles while drawing 10 walks against seven strikeouts. The dip in strikeouts is notable, as the main knock on Montgomery for many scouts is a penchant for swinging and missing that leads to bearish grades on his hit tool; Baseball America pegged his hit tool at a 40 (on the 20-80 scale) heading into the season, while FanGraphs gave him a present-day 30 with a chance to get to a 40.
Even if Montgomery strikes out more than the Sox would prefer, he garners praise for elite bad speed, plus-plus raw power and a prodigious arm in right field. That latter element is to be expected for a former two-way star who ran his heater up to 96 mph as an amateur. Montgomery has focused solely on hitting and playing the outfield in pro ball, but the fact that he was a touted amateur pitcher as well only underscores his natural athleticism.
Montgomery is the latest promising young hitter to join an increasingly exciting White Sox core. The Sox have already called up Sam Antonacci and former first-rounder Jacob Gonzalez this season. They’re getting a full-fledged breakout from former top prospect Miguel Vargas. Former first-rounder Colson Montgomery has cemented himself as a potent source of power and claimed the long-term shortstop role. Chase Meidroth (also acquired alongside Montgomery and Teel) is light on power but has hit for average and gotten on base while staking a claim as the organization’s long-term second baseman. And, of course, the White Sox struck gold when they signed NPB slugger Munetaka Murakami to a two-year contract after the market failed to produce the type of long-term pact most envisioned for the 26-year-old. The aforementioned Teel has been out all season due to a knee injury but hit .273/.375/.411 in 78 games as a rookie last year.
For all that young potential, Chicago’s outfield is still pretty open. Antonacci has been a nice tablesetter in left field. Tristan Peters has hit well in center, but he’s a 26-year-old rookie whose production is buoyed by a .385 average on balls in play that he won’t sustain over a larger period. None of Derek Hill, Luisangel Acuna, Everson Pereira, Tanner Murray, Rikuu Nishida or veteran Andrew Benintendi has been a standout thus far; Pereira has hit reasonably well in 71 plate appearances but has a 30% strikeout rate and is out with a pectoral injury. Montgomery should have a path to regular at-bats in either center field or right field moving forward.
Based on the timing of Montgomery’s promotion, he’s not going to receive a full season of big league service unless he hits the ground running and finishes top-two in AL Rookie of the Year voting with a massive four-month finish to the season. Barring that unlikely event, the Sox will have six years of club control over him beyond the current season. He’s probably going to fall just a few days shy of Super Two eligibility, meaning he’ll be eligible for arbitration the standard three times rather than four, though that assumes he’s in the majors to stay. Whether that proves to be the case will hinge on how well he adjusts to big league opponents.
Brewers Re-Sign Jake Woodford To Minor League Deal
The Brewers are re-signing righty Jake Woodford on a minor league contract, reports MLBTR’s Steve Adams. He’ll head to Triple-A Nashville after going unclaimed on waivers and electing free agency yesterday. Woodford, an Excel Sports Management client, can opt out and retest free agency on July 1 or August 4 if the Brewers don’t add him back to the big league roster.
The 29-year-old had previously spent the season in Pat Murphy’s relief group. Woodford is a low-leverage arm who logged 23 1/3 innings across 16 appearances. He allowed just under seven earned runs per nine innings with a bel0w-average 17.9% strikeout rate. Woodford has never missed bats but is willing to attack the strike zone and can cover multiple innings.
It’s the seventh straight season in which Woodford has picked up a decent amount of big league work. His rate metrics have been well below-average for the past few seasons, but he’s been a durable depth arm. Woodford has a 5.25 earned run average in a little under 300 big league innings. He owns a 4.07 mark across parts of seven Triple-A campaigns. Woodford has been a starter for most of his minor league career and could work from the rotation in Nashville.
D-Backs Trade Taylor Rashi To Twins
The Diamondbacks announced they’ve traded reliever Taylor Rashi to the Twins for cash considerations. Arizona designated him for assignment on Friday to open a 40-man roster spot for infield prospect LuJames Groover.
Minnesota has an opening on the 40-man after designating outfielder James Outman for assignment on Saturday. Rashi has a full slate of minor league options, so the Twins wouldn’t need to make any corresponding moves if they assign him to Triple-A St. Paul.
It’s the latest bullpen dart-throw for a team trying to cheaply build a functional relief group. The Twins have also acquired Yoendrys Gómez and Justin Lawrence via in-season trades. They added mostly reclamation targets or minor trade pickups over the winter, taking a volume approach after tearing down an excellent bullpen at the 2025 deadline.
Rashi is a 30-year-old righty who has appeared in 13 MLB games over the past two seasons. He owns a 5.40 earned run average despite a near-30% strikeout rate over 20 big league frames. Rashi has a stellar 1.03 ERA over 26 1/3 innings with Triple-A Reno this year. He has fanned an above-average 25.5% of batters faced but walked nearly 12% of opponents.
Despite the Triple-A production, an Arizona team light on bullpen depth dropped Rashi from the roster. That’s explained mostly by his below-average velocity, as he averages around 91 mph with his fastball. He leans heavily on his secondary stuff as a result, mixing a slider, curveball and splitter.
The Twins have the sixth-highest bullpen ERA in MLB. They’ve been better of late, ranking 14th over the past month, but that has come in spite of the third-highest walk rate. Gómez and Anthony Banda have worked around some free passes to manage strong recent results as part of a committee approach to leverage spots.
Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic first reported the trade.
Chadwick Tromp Elects Free Agency
Catcher Chadwick Tromp elected free agency over the weekend, according to the MLB.com transaction log. He was designated for assignment by the Braves on Thursday when they acquired Austin Wynns in a minor trade with the Angels.
Tromp spent a couple weeks on Atlanta’s active roster. He was called up in mid-May when Drake Baldwin went on the injured list. Atlanta lost Sean Murphy and Baldwin in quick succession almost immediately after they’d squeezed Jonah Heim off the roster. Murphy had returned from hip surgery but quickly broke his finger. Baldwin then strained his oblique, leaving the Braves with a light-hitting catching duo of Tromp and Sandy León.
It’s now León and Wynns. Tromp started six of his 12 appearances during his brief MLB stint. He went 5-25 with a double. Tromp didn’t walk and struck out seven times. He was charged with a couple errors and a passed ball while throwing out one of six attempted base stealers. Tromp has now played at the highest level in each of the last seven seasons. He has yet to top the 64 plate appearances he logged as a rookie with the 2020 Giants.
The Braves like the out-of-options Tromp enough as a third or fourth catcher that they’ve given him some MLB time every year since 2022. It wouldn’t be a surprise if they look to bring him back on a minor league deal despite his .169/.253/.325 showing over 24 games with Triple-A Gwinnett.
Atlanta is light on healthy organizational catching depth. Jair Camargo and 25-year-old Adam Zebrowski are the current catching tandem for the Stripers, who placed Maverick Handley on the injured list last week. Handley is on the 40-man roster. Camargo and Zebrowski, who have a combined five games of MLB experience, are not. Baldwin could be back within the next two weeks but Murphy will likely be down beyond the All-Star Break.
Angels Select Trey Mancini
For the first time in three years, Trey Mancini is in the big leagues. The Angels selected the veteran first baseman onto the MLB roster before tonight’s series opener with the Astros. Mancini is starting at first base and batting seventh against his old team, who are sending Spencer Arrighetti to the mound.
The Halos also confirmed their previously reported call-up of rookie infielder Denzer Guzman, who’ll make his season debut tonight with a start at third base. In corresponding moves, they placed Vaughn Grissom (left oblique strain) and Adam Frazier (right elbow inflammation) on the 10-day injured list. Grissom’s placement is retroactive to June 5, while Frazier’s is retroactive to June 6. Yoán Moncada moves from the 10-day to the 60-day IL to clear a 40-man roster spot for Mancini.
Mancini signed an offseason minor league contract. He had sat out the 2024 campaign and only played a half-season in Triple-A with the Diamondbacks last year. Mancini never seemed likely to break camp as a result. Assigned to Triple-A Salt Lake, he has hit .273/.377/.464 with six home runs across 224 plate appearances. Mancini has walked at a huge 14.3% clip against an average 22% strikeout rate.
They’re not dominant numbers but are a little better than those of the average Pacific Coast League hitter. Mancini struggled in his most recent look at big league pitching, as he posted a .234/.299/.336 slash over 79 games for the Cubs in 2023. He hasn’t been an above-average MLB hitter since he was traded from the Orioles at the ’22 deadline, but he made a couple strong defensive plays to help the Astros win that year’s World Series.
The Angels welcomed Nolan Schanuel back from the injured list over the weekend. Schanuel missed a couple weeks with left ankle inflammation. He played on Saturday and Sunday but will get a day off tonight after reporting lingering soreness (relayed by Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com). Schanuel said he does not expect to need another stint on the injured list.
Moncada has been on the injured list since May 22. He has battled right knee discomfort going back to last summer. He’s now officially out into the middle of July, all but removing any chance the Angels could find a trade partner at the deadline willing to assume any portion of his $4MM salary.