Rangers, Elias Díaz Agree To Major League Contract
The Rangers are in agreement on a major league deal with veteran catcher Elias Díaz, reports Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase. The ACES client recently became a free agent after being waived by the Royals.
Texas designated Sam Haggerty for assignment on Friday afternoon, so they have an opening on the 40-man roster. They’ll need to clear an active roster spot once Díaz reports to the team. Texas has a veteran catching tandem of Danny Jansen and Kyle Higashioka.
Higashioka has earned the recent playing time with hits in four straight games, including a home run off Parker Messick in tonight’s 3-2 win over the Guardians. Jansen has had a tough year, batting .171/.277/.309 across 142 plate appearances. He’s a couple months into a two-year, $14.5MM free agent contract. Jansen doesn’t figure to be in jeopardy of losing his roster spot at this point.
That seemingly points to a three-catcher arrangement for the time being. Texas just activated Corey Seager and Wyatt Langford from the injured list to put their lineup pretty close to full strength. Ezequiel Duran can move back from shortstop to second base, pushing Nicky Lopez to a bench role. He and Jansen have five-plus service years and cannot be sent to the minors without their consent. Michael Helman and Justin Foscue each can be optioned. Foscue’s start at designated hitter tonight was his first time in the lineup since May 27.
More to come.
Astros Release Rhylan Thomas
The Astros have placed outfielder Rhylan Thomas on release waivers, according to the MLB.com transaction log. Houston designated him for assignment yesterday when they finalized the LaMonte Wade Jr. signing.
A release was basically inevitable as soon as the Astros took Thomas off the 40-man roster. He was placed on the minor league injured list last week. Injured players cannot be placed on outright waivers. They can be traded, but there wasn’t going to be any trade interest in an injured depth outfielder.
Houston claimed Thomas off waivers from Seattle in early May. They kept him in Triple-A, where he has spent the entire season. He has a modest .253/.304/.307 line over a combined 185 plate appearances between the two AL West affiliates. Thomas’ scant big league experience consists of three games for the Mariners last May. He went 1-8 with a double.
The 29 other teams will have an opportunity to claim Thomas off release waivers. He’ll be a free agent if he clears. Houston would presumably look to bring him back on a minor league deal, assuming he’s not dealing with a major injury.
Yankees To Select Ali Sánchez
The Yankees will select catcher Ali Sánchez onto the MLB roster, reports Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. New York hasn’t confirmed that move but announced tonight that backup catcher J.C. Escarra was optioned to Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre. New York has had room on the 40-man roster since early-season DFAs of Cade Winquest and Randal Grichuk, so no other move is necessary.
Sánchez will take over as the backup catcher behind Austin Wells, giving them a right-handed bat in the process. The Yankees have used a left-handed hitting duo of Wells and Escarra all season. Neither player has done anything offensively, with the latter hitting .177 without a home run in 22 games. Wells has a putrid .166/.278/.255 line across 169 plate appearances. He only has five hits in 50 at-bats against lefty pitching.
The 29-year-old Sánchez, who signed an offseason minor league deal, isn’t going to provide much of an offensive boost. He’s a .183 hitter in 50 career big league contests. This year’s .227/.327/.375 line over 40 Triple-A contests is below average and has come with reverse platoon splits. The Yankees figure to look for a clearer upgrade behind the dish before the trade deadline. They’ll hope Sánchez can provide a small spark, or at least better balance, in the interim.
Sánchez has a solid defensive reputation. He showed a plus arm in ranking among the top 20 catchers in average pop time last year in very brief stints with the Red Sox and Blue Jays. Sánchez has thrown out nearly a quarter of attempted base stealers at the MLB level and is 12-43 (28%) with Scranton this season. Statcast also graded him favorably for his blocking ability during his most extended MLB action, a 31-game stint with the Marlins two seasons ago.
Tigers Release Bryan Sammons, Dugan Darnell
The Tigers have released left-hander Bryan Sammons and righty Dugan Darnell, according to the transaction trackers at MLB.com. They signed minor league deals with Detroit in the offseason but are now free to sign with any club.
Sammons has been with Triple-A Toledo this year, working as a starter. Two of his ten appearances were officially as a reliever but he tossed at least 4 1/3 innings in both of those. On the whole, he has thrown 41 innings, allowing 4.83 earned runs per nine. He has struck out 19.8% of batters faced, given out walks at an 11.3% pace and induced grounders on 30.8% of balls in play.
It’s possible that the transaction is due to an injury. His last appearance was on May 21st, a game he started but in which he threw only 11 pitches. As seen in this clip of that game from Tigers ML Report, Sammons slips on the mound and is in obvious discomfort.
Now that Sammons is on the open market, he can look for his next opportunity, though his health status will obviously be a factor. His major league track record consists of 27 1/3 innings with the Tigers in 2024. He had a solid 3.62 ERA in that time, though he got some help from a .143 batting average on balls in play and 85.2% strand rate. He was outrighted off the roster after that season and then signed with the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball for 2025. He put up a 3.78 ERA for the Marines before re-signing with the Tigers on a minor league deal coming into the 2026 season.
The Tigers have lost Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize to the injured list in the past month. Both pitchers could return fairly soon but they have joined Justin Verlander, Jackson Jobe and Reese Olson on the IL. The Tigers are currently running a four-man rotation consisting of Framber Valdez, Keider Montero, Jack Flaherty and Troy Melton, with Ty Madden and Enmanuel De Jesus in multi-inning relief roles. They have Sawyer Gipson-Long and Jake Miller on optional assignment. They could try to re-sign Sammons for more depth if he’s healthy in the near future but they could also look to other options.
Darnell has spent the entire season on the Triple-A injured list. He was recovering from a labrum procedure on his left hip at the time of signing and wasn’t expected to pitch until at least May. Darnell made his MLB debut last season with nine appearances for the Rockies. He allowed five runs with seven walks and five strikeouts across 11 2/3 innings.
Photo courtesy of Patrick Gorski, Imagn Images
Phillies Re-Sign Bryse Wilson To Minor League Deal
The Phillies re-signed righty Bryse Wilson on a minor league contract. The Pro Edge Sports Management client returns to Triple-A Lehigh Valley just two days after being granted his release from a prior minor league deal. Wilson is back on the bump for the IronPigs this evening.
A 28-year-old swingman, Wilson has pitched parts of eight seasons in the big leagues. He hasn’t reached the Majors yet in 2026, spending the entire season with Lehigh Valley. Wilson signed an offseason minor league deal and has started nine of 10 appearances in Triple-A. He has an ugly 7.23 earned run average across 47 1/3 innings. Wilson’s 22.1% strikeout rate and 52.4% ground-ball percentage are more encouraging, as he’s been victimized by opponents batting nearly .400 on balls in play.
The release and quick re-signing are fairly common this time of year. Wilson presumably triggered an opt-out in his previous agreement. Even if his camp knew a big league contract was unlikely, he’d get a couple days to explore his options and potentially renegotiate future opt-out/upward mobility dates into his new deal.
Wilson has pitched nearly 500 MLB innings across four teams. He owns a 4.82 ERA with a modest 16.6% strikeout rate at the highest level. The Phillies are light on Triple-A rotation depth, so Wilson could get a look as a swing option this summer if his minor league results start to align with the peripherals.
Padres Release Nick Castellanos
The Padres announced they’ve released Nick Castellanos. That was all but inevitable after the two-time All-Star was designated for assignment on Wednesday. San Diego also confirmed the previously reported placement of reliever Jeremiah Estrada on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to June 3, with right knee inflammation. David Morgan is back up from Triple-A El Paso to replace him in the bullpen.
San Diego also reinstated righty Jhony Brito from the 60-day injured list and optioned him to El Paso. Ramón Laureano, who is likely done for the season after undergoing hip surgery, was transferred to the 60-day IL in a corresponding move.
San Diego rolled the dice on Castellanos after he was released by the Phillies going into Spring Training. He had a career-worst .191/.221/.339 showing in 39 games, striking out 34 times in 122 plate appearances (28%). The Padres pulled the plug this week and will use a combination of Gavin Sheets and Miguel Andujar for the majority of the designated hitter work. Sheets will also be pressed into some left field reps because of the Laureano injury.
There was no financial cost for the Padres. Philadelphia is paying Castellanos’ $20MM salary, minus the prorated $780K league minimum for any time he spent on another team’s roster. The Padres paid that but would’ve needed to pay the same amount to anyone they called up from the farm system instead. It’d be the same arrangement if Castellanos finds a big league opportunity with any other team this season, though he’d probably need to accept a minor league deal if he wants to continue playing.
On the pitching side, Brito returns to the roster for the first time since last May’s elbow surgery. He was nearing the end of his rehab window after beginning a minor league assignment in early May. He has made four rehab starts at Double-A, getting up to six innings. He’ll continue his ramp-up with El Paso but could be an option for a rotation that doesn’t have much certainty beyond Michael King and Randy Vásquez. If he spends another 20 days in the minors this year, he’ll be out of options going into 2027.
Angels, Logan Porter Agree To Minor League Deal
The Angels are in agreement with catcher Logan Porter on a minor league contract, reports Ari Alexander of Boston 7 News. The Gaeta Sports Management client had elected free agency this morning after being outrighted by the Giants. He’ll report to Triple-A Salt Lake.
Porter backfills the catching depth after the Halos traded Austin Wynns to the Braves on Thursday. Atlanta selected Wynns onto the MLB roster, so it’s likely his minor league deal contained some kind of upward mobility provision. That left them with Omar Martinez and 28-year-old non-roster catcher Zach Humphreys at the Triple-A level. Martinez is the only healthy catcher on the 40-man aside from the MLB duo of Logan O’Hoppe and Sebastian Rivero.
The 30-year-old Porter spent two days on the Giants’ active roster in early May. They called him up after trading Patrick Bailey to Cleveland, getting him into one game as a pinch-runner after Christian Koss was hit by a pitch. Porter was quickly optioned back to Triple-A, where he hit .241/.292/.362 in 65 plate appearances this season. He’s a .244/.359/.389 batter over five Triple-A campaigns and has appeared in 17 big league contests over parts of three seasons.
Angels Select Samy Natera
The Angels announced they’ve selected lefty reliever Samy Natera onto the big league roster. He’ll step into the bullpen in place of Shaun Anderson, who has again been designated for assignment.
Natera is up for the first time in his career. The 26-year-old southpaw, a native of Mexico, pitched his college ball at New Mexico State. The Halos drafted him in the 17th round in 2022. Natera spent his first year as a starter, then lost almost of 2024 to injury. Los Angeles moved him to the bullpen a year ago. He showed a high strikeout, high walk profile in Double-A that has carried over at the top minor league level this year.
The 6’4″, 230-pound lefty owns an even 3.00 earned run average across 30 innings this year with Triple-A Salt Lake. He has punched out an excellent 34.4% of opponents but issued walks to more than 14% of batters faced. It’s a typical fastball-slider reliever profile, with Natera averaging 94-95 mph on the heater and sitting in the mid-80s with the breaking ball.
Baseball America has never rated Natera among the top 30 prospects in a weak Halos farm system. However, Brendan Gawlowski of FanGraphs slotted him 21st in the system last offseason. Gawlowski credits him with a plus slider but noted that a high-effort delivery has given him problems with his control. Natera joins Drew Pomeranz, Brent Suter and Mitch Farris in a rare four-lefty bullpen.
Anderson is off the roster in what has become a familiar routine. The Angels call him up, typically designate him for assignment after an appearance or two, then run him through waivers. He usually elects free agency and immediately re-signs on a minor league deal. His most recent call-up came on Wednesday, but he didn’t make an appearance in that day’s 11-4 blowout win over Colorado. The team was off yesterday. Anderson did get into nine MLB games in March and April, allowing a 5.94 ERA through 16 2/3 innings.
Brewers Designate Jake Woodford For Assignment
The Brewers announced that they have recalled left-hander Brian Fitzpatrick and right-hander Craig Yoho from Triple-A Nashville. In corresponding moves, lefty DL Hall has been placed on the 15-day injured list with a left pectoral strain and righty Jake Woodford has been designated for assignment.
Woodford, 29, signed a minor league deal with the Rays in the offseason. He triggered an upward mobility clause in that deal and got flipped to the Brewers just before Opening Day. The righty has been working a long relief role for Milwaukee since then. He has thrown 23 1/3 innings over 16 appearances, allowing 6.94 earned runs per nine. That probably exaggerates how bad he has pitched this year. His .378 batting average on balls in play and 62.5% strand rate are both unlucky figures. His 3.96 FIP and 3.92 SIERA suggest he has deserved far better.
The Brewers got beat up a bit yesterday, in a few ways. They lost 12-9 to the Giants, with both Hall and Grant Anderson departing due to injury. As mentioned, Hall is now on the IL due to his pec injury. Woodford tossed the final three frames, allowing four earned runs, throwing 56 pitches in the process.
Milwaukee plays three games at Coors Field against the Rockies tonight, followed by three games against the Athletics at Sutter Health Park. Those are two of the most hitter-friendly venues in the league. Rather than go into that stretch with a banged-up Hall and a gassed Woodford, they have decided to bring some fresh arms onto the roster. Since Woodford is out of options, he needed to be removed from the 40-man entirely.
He now heads into DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Brewers could take as long as five days to see if there’s trade interest, but they could also put him on waivers sooner than that. Players with at least three years of service time or a previous career outright have the right to reject outright assignments and elect free agency. Woodford qualifies on both counts and could opt for the open market if he clears waivers again.
In his career, he has generally been around the strike zone and induced ground balls but without missing a ton of bats. In 279 1/3 innings, he has a 5.25 ERA, 15.2% strikeout rate, 7.4% walk rate and 44.4% ground ball rate.
Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images
Diamondbacks Select LuJames Groover
The Diamondbacks announced that they have selected the contract of infielder LuJames Groover. Fellow infielder José Fernández has been optioned to Triple-A Reno in a corresponding active roster move. Right-hander Taylor Rashi has been designated for assignment to open a 40-man spot.
Groover, now 24, was a second-round pick in the 2023 draft. As a hitter, Groover is known for his quality plate discipline, though there are questions about how much impact he can make when he does connect.
In 2024, he missed time due to a broken wrist and only got into 61 games. Last year, he stayed healthy enough to play 123 Double-A contests. He stepped to the plate 547 times. He walked at a 11.5% pace and only struck out 14.4% of the time, both strong figures, but he hit only 12 home runs. On the whole, his .309/.399/.434 line led to a 120 wRC+, but got some help from a .347 batting average on balls in play.
He has been in Triple-A this year, with some similarities in the output. His 14.5% walk rate and 16.8% strikeout rate are good but he has just three home runs in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. His .322/.421/.452 line leads to a 116 wRC+ but has gotten a lot of help from a .381 BABIP.
Defensively, Groover has primarily been a corner infielder, with some very limited second base experience. Baseball America currently lists him as the #5 prospect in Arizona’s system. FanGraphs put him at #9 in the offseason.
Arizona has Nolan Arenado at the hot corner, so Groover will perhaps be used more in the first base/designated hitter mix. Pavin Smith just came off the injured list and should be getting regular playing time, though he is a left-handed hitter with notable platoon splits. Groover is a righty and could cover Smith, though perhaps the Snakes would also be comfortable with him facing righties.
While Smith was out, the Snakes used a combination of Fernández and Ildemaro Vargas to cover first, with Adrian Del Castillo getting a lot of DH time. Del Castillo is hitting just .192/.252/.325 on the year. Vargas started his season with an amazing 24-game hit streak, which was actually a 27-game streak dating back to last season, but he has hit .186/.218/.237 since then. Fernández also hit .342/.359/.500 through 78 plate appearances to start the year but just .180/.232/.225 in 99 plate appearances since.
Rashi, 30, signed a minor league deal with the Diamondbacks in the offseason. He was added to the roster in early April, though he was optioned to the minors after allowing four earned runs in 3 2/3 innings. Combined with his work from last year, he now has 20 big league innings under his belt, with a 5.40 earned run average, 29.9% strikeout rate, 10.3% walk rate and 44.2% ground ball rate.
His numbers in the minors are somewhat similar, as he gets strikeouts but also has subpar control. Dating back to the start of 2025, he has thrown 67 1/3 Triple-A innings with a 3.48 ERA. His 10.3% walk rate is a bit high but he has punched out 24.7% of batters faced and induced grounders on about half of the balls in play he’s allowed. He is able to get punchouts despite subpar velocity, as his four-seamer barely averages 90 miles per hour. He also throws a splitter, slider and curveball.
DFA limbo can last as long as a week, though the waiver process takes 48 hours. That means the Snakes could take five days to explore trade interest, though they could also put him on waivers sooner. If he were to pass through waivers unclaimed, he would stick around as non-roster depth. He doesn’t have three years of service time nor a previous career outright, so he wouldn’t have the right to elect free agency.
Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images