Headlines

  • Giants Acquire Rafael Devers
  • Shohei Ohtani To Make Dodgers Pitching Debut On Monday
  • Roki Sasaki No Longer Throwing; No Timetable For Return
  • Nationals To Promote Brady House
  • White Sox, Brewers Swap Aaron Civale, Andrew Vaughn
  • Justin Martínez To Undergo Tommy John Surgery
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2024-25 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2024-25 Top 50 MLB Free Agents With Predictions
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2025
    • Free Agent Contest Leaderboard
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Transactions

Dodgers Claim Travis Blankenhorn

By Steve Adams and Connor Byrne | May 14, 2021 at 4:15pm CDT

Infielder Travis Blankenhorn, who was designated for assignment by the Twins over the weekend, is headed to the Dodgers on a waiver claim, tweets SKOR North’s Darren Wolfson. Leroy Boyer of Blankenhorn’s hometown Pottsville Herald first reported that the 24-year-old was headed to the Dodgers. To make room for Blankenhorn, the Dodgers transferred injured righty Dustin May (Tommy John surgery) to the 60-day IL, per a team announcement.

A third-round draft pick in 2015, Blankenhorn appeared in only two games with the Twins — one last year and one in 2021. He’s tallied just four plate appearances in that time and collected one hit, a double. Blankenhorn has also totaled a mere 13 trips to the plate at the Triple-A level, though he has otherwise produced solid numbers in the minors.

Blankenhorn made his Double-A debut during the most recent full minor league season, 2019, and slashed .278/.312/.474 (125 wRC+) with 18 home runs and 11 stolen bases in 410 PA. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen ranked Blankenhorn as the Twins’ 29th-best prospect coming into this season, writing that the 24-year-old is “a situational bat-first piece who might need a change of scenery to carve out the sort of bench role I think he’s capable of playing.”

Blankenhorn now has that change of scenery with the reigning World Series champions, whose infield depth has taken a couple shots in recent weeks. Zach McKinstry has been on the IL since April 20 with a strained oblique, and Edwin Rios needs season-ending surgery on a partially torn labrum in his shoulder.

Share 0 Retweet 10 Send via email0

Los Angeles Dodgers Minnesota Twins Transactions Dustin May Travis Blankenhorn

31 comments

Tigers Re-Sign Franklin Perez To Minors Deal

By Connor Byrne | May 14, 2021 at 3:22pm CDT

The Tigers have re-signed right-hander Franklin Perez to a minor league contract, the team announced. Detroit put Perez on release waivers on Wednesday, but he cleared and will return to the organization he has been with since 2017. He won’t occupy a 40-man roster spot as a result of this deal.

Perez was a prospect of significance when the Tigers acquired him as part of their Justin Verlander trade with Houston, but he hasn’t been able to stay healthy since switching organizations. The Tigers’ version has thrown just 27 minor league innings, none above the High-A level, owing in part to ongoing shoulder problems. Perez won’t pitch at all this season after the Tigers revealed Tuesday that he will undergo right shoulder surgery.

Despite his health issues, the Tigers understandably don’t want to give up on Perez, who’s still just 23 years old. While he’s no longer the high-end farmhand he used to be, Perez still ranked as a top 35 Tigers prospect at Baseball America (No. 28) and FanGraphs (No. 34) entering the season. Of course, this latest setback hasn’t done anything to help Perez’s stock.

Share 0 Retweet 4 Send via email0

Detroit Tigers Transactions Franklin Perez

17 comments

Dodgers Sign Nate Jones

By Steve Adams | May 14, 2021 at 3:07pm CDT

The Dodgers have signed veteran right-hander Nate Jones to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Oklahoma City, per their Triple-A communications director Alex Freedman (Twitter link). Jones, a client of Sterling Sports Management, was designated for assignment and released by the Braves earlier in the week after a brief stint with Atlanta.

The 35-year-old Jones parlayed an excellent Spring Training effort into an Opening Day spot in the Atlanta ’pen but struggled mightily out of the gates with his new club. In 10 1/3 innings, he surrendered six runs (four earned) on the strength of eight hits and 10 walks.

Jones was once an excellent setup man with the White Sox but has struggled to stay on the field and put up lackluster results when healthy in recent seasons. In parts of eight seasons with the ChiSox, he pitched to a 3.12 ERA over the life of 291 1/3 innings. Whether he can ever reclaim that form remains to be seen, but Jones came out of the gates in 2021 with a still-very-healthy 95.8 mph average velocity on his heater. He’ll give the Dodgers some experienced depth in Oklahoma City and could eventually work his way onto the big league roster, particularly given the number of injuries in the L.A. bullpen. The Dodgers are currently without David Price, Corey Knebel, Brusdar Graterol and Scott Alexander.

Share 0 Retweet 12 Send via email0

Los Angeles Dodgers Transactions Nate Jones

25 comments

Mariners Sign David Huff

By Steve Adams | May 14, 2021 at 2:23pm CDT

The Mariners announced Friday that they’ve inked veteran lefty David Huff to a minor league deal and assigned him to Triple-A Tacoma.

It’s been five years since the now-36-year-old Huff last pitched in the big leagues with the division-rival Angels. That pairing didn’t go particularly well, as Huff was clobbered for seven runs in a tiny sample of 5 1/3 innings. From 2011-15, Huff tossed 180 innings of 4.20 ERA ball between the Indians, Yankees, Dodgers and Giants.

In the years since his last big league appearance, Huff has spent considerable time pitching overseas and found a good bit of success along the way. He pitched with the Korea Baseball Organization’s LG Twins from 2016-17, totaling 199 innings of 2.66 ERA ball before jumping to Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. Huff spent the 2018-19 seasons pitching to a 4.50 ERA in 160 innings with Japan’s Yakult Swallows, and he tossed 14 1/3 solid innings last year in the independent Constellation Energy League during the shortened 2020 campaign. He’d previously signed a minor league deal with the D-backs for the 2020 season, but Huff was among the many minor leaguers cut loose after the season was halted.

Huff is a depth add for the Mariners at this point, but it’s feasible that given the number of injuries Seattle has incurred on its pitching staff, he could eventually get a look for a spot start or perhaps a long relief role out of the ’pen. The Mariners have lost James Paxton to Tommy John surgery and are in danger of losing righty Ljay Newsome to the same procedure. They also announced yesterday that Nick Margevicius has been diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome. Marco Gonzales, meanwhile, has been sidelined with a forearm strain, although the expectation is that he’ll return to the club sometime next week.

Regardless, the slate of injuries has thinned out the team’s Triple-A depth and pushed ballyhooed prospect Logan Gilbert up to the big leagues, where he’ll likely be given a chance to claim a rotation spot in the long term. As such, there’s room for a veteran like Huff to join the rotation in Tacoma and give the club a veteran option on which they can call, should a need arise.

Share 0 Retweet 8 Send via email0

Seattle Mariners Transactions David Huff

11 comments

Reds Claim Michael Feliz, Designate Sal Romano For Assignment

By Steve Adams | May 14, 2021 at 1:36pm CDT

The Reds have claimed right-handed reliever Michael Feliz off waivers from the Pirates, per a club announcement. In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster, Cincinnati designated righty Sal Romano for assignment.

Feliz, 27, was one of four players the Pirates acquired in the 2017 trade that sent Gerrit Cole to Houston. He came to the Bucs with a heater that averaged better than 96 mph and a 33.8 percent strikeout rate compiled between the 2016-17 seasons. Those numbers have all taken a step back since the trade.

Feliz posted a 3.99 ERA for the Pirates through 56 1/3 innings in 2019 — his best season in the big leagues to date. However, he was hampered by shoulder and forearm issues during his time in Pittsburgh, and his fastball was averaging a career-low 94.1 mph through 7 2/3 innings in 2021. He still posted an above-average 27.7 percent strikeout rate in Pittsburgh, but his walk rate rose a bit (to 10.6 percent) and Feliz was also quite homer-prone, serving up 18 long balls in 113 1/3 frames.

Overall, Feliz has pitched 234 1/3 innings in the Majors and has only a 5.07 ERA to show for it. Fielding-independent marks are more bullish on the righty (4.01 FIP, 3.31 SIERA), so the Reds will hope that a change of scenery will help him get on track and tap into the potential that once made him one of the Astros’ most promising farmhands. Feliz is out of minor league options, so he’ll immediately join the Reds’ bullpen and try to sort things out at the MLB level.

The 27-year-old Romano showed some promise as a rookie back in 2017, when he logged a 4.45 ERA through 16 starts (87 innings). He’s struggled through every big league opportunity he’s had since that time, working to a collective 5.48 ERA through 184 frames with a well below-average strikeout rate (16.3 percent) and roughly average marks in terms of grounder and walk rates (44.4 percent and 8.6 percent, respectively).

Like Feliz, Romano is out of options, meaning any club that claims him or acquires him in a trade would have to carry him on the big league roster. The Reds will have a week to see if there’s a team interested in acquiring him or to try to pass him through outright waivers.

Share 0 Retweet 5 Send via email0

Cincinnati Reds Pittsburgh Pirates Transactions Michael Feliz Sal Romano

31 comments

Tyler Flowers To Retire

By Steve Adams | May 14, 2021 at 11:18am CDT

Just over a week after agreeing to a minor league deal to return to the field with the Braves organization, veteran catcher Tyler Flowers has now changed course and decided to retire, MLB.com’s Mark Bowman reports (via Twitter). Bowman notes that Flowers has spent the past few seasons playing through a pair of degenerative discs in his back and has learned from doctors that he’s now developed a third. That unfortunate diagnosis has prompted him to hang it up for good, it seems.

Tyler Flowers | Adam Hagy-USA TODAY Sports

It’s a disheartening way to end what was a very fine big league career. Simply making it to the Majors after being a 33rd-round pick by the Braves back in 2005 is an accomplishment on its own, but Flowers went on to spend parts of a dozen seasons in the big leagues — all of which were spent with the White Sox or Braves.

Atlanta initially traded Flowers to the ChiSox as part of a package that sent Javier Vazquez and Boone Logan to Atlanta in Dec. 2008. Flowers would make his MLB debut the following season in 2009, and he spent parts of the next seven seasons as a backstop with the South Siders. His bat didn’t come around to the levels that the Sox had hoped when he was regarded as one of the organization’s top prospects, but Flowers’ defensive contributions were significant. Moreover, his top-of-the-scale ratings in the early days of pitch-framing metrics helped to shine a light on an element that is now widely accepted as a critical component of catcher defense.

That framing ability and a knack for hitting left-handed pitching no doubt contributed to the Braves’ interest when he reached free agency in the 2015-16 offseason. Flowers returned to his original organization on a two-year, $5.3MM deal with a third-year option, and he parlayed that into a pair of additional seasons donning a Braves uniform. His bat improved quite a bit in Atlanta, particularly in his first two seasons back with the club. While the degenerative condition in his back may have impacted him in his final years, Flowers’ framing remained sharp up through last year’s 60-game sprint — which will now prove to be his final season in the Majors.

All told, Flowers will retire as a career .237/.319/.391 hitter with 86 home runs, 111 doubles, five triples, 267 runs scored and 301 knocked in. He went 3-for-11 in limited postseason action with the Braves from 2018-20 and was part of three straight division winners in his final few years. Overall, Flowers took home more than $23MM in salary over a 12-year MLB career that was valued at 20 WAR by FanGraphs, largely on the strength of his work behind the plate.

Flowers had taken an off-field role with the Braves organization prior to re-signing that minor league deal, wherein he helped incorporate data from the club’s analytics department into game preparation. He’ll return to that role, Bowman notes, meaning the Georgia native will continue to try to help his hometown club achieve a fourth consecutive NL East crown and return to the World Series for the first time since 1999.

Share 0 Retweet 12 Send via email0

Atlanta Braves Chicago White Sox Newsstand Transactions Retirement Tyler Flowers

66 comments

Zack Godley Accepts Outright Assignment With Brewers

By Anthony Franco | May 14, 2021 at 10:35am CDT

May 14: Godley has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Nashville after clearing waivers, MLBTR has learned. He’ll remain with the club and look to position himself for another big league opportunity at some point down the line.

May 10: The Brewers announced this morning they’ve reinstated right-hander Zack Godley from the injured list and designated him for assignment. Godley had been out since April 29 with a right index finger contusion.

That injury knocked him out of action in the fourth inning of what may go down as his only start as a Brewer. Facing a rash of pitcher injuries, Milwaukee had selected Godley to the roster that afternoon as a fill-in spot starter. Unfortunately, he quickly wound up on the shelf himself and has now been removed from the 40-man.

It’s been a tough few years for Godley, who once looked like a potential rotation building block in Arizona. The 31-year-old has only managed a 5.48 ERA/4.57 FIP over the past three-plus seasons after tossing 155 innings of 3.37 ERA ball in 2017. He’s since bounced from the Diamondbacks to the Blue Jays to the Red Sox and Milwaukee but has yet to get back on track. The Brewers have a week to trade or waive Godley. Having already been outrighted in his career, he would have the right to elect free agency in lieu of any minor-league assignment if he clears waivers.

Share 0 Retweet 7 Send via email0

Milwaukee Brewers Transactions Zack Godley

39 comments

Albert Pujols Clears Waivers, Becomes Free Agent

By Steve Adams | May 13, 2021 at 11:07pm CDT

Following last week’s abrupt DFA, future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols has cleared release waivers and is now a free agent, tweets USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. He’s free to sign with any club.

It’s not a surprise to see Pujols go unclaimed, given that any team that claimed him would have also been on the hook for the remainder of the $30MM salary he’s owed this year in the final season of a 10-year, $240MM contract. Now that he’s a free agent, the Angels are on the hook for that salary regardless of where he ends up playing. A new team need only pay the prorated portion of the league minimum for any time spent in the big leagues, and that sum would be subtracted from what the Angels owe him.

The decision to part ways with Pujols was sudden and unexpected, even in spite of the aging slugger’s diminished performance. Following the move, Angels brass addressed reporters and explained that the split was agreed upon after the Angels approached Pujols about a reduction in playing time (link via The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya).

“The guy wanted to play, wants to be on the field,” manager Joe Maddon said of Pujols. “He does not want to be a bench player of any kind. This guy’s got a lot of pride, and that’s a big reason why he’s going to be a first-ballot, unanimous Hall of Famer. There’s no question about that.”

Of course, it’s hard to imagine Pujols being dropped into an everyday role with another club. Most National League teams wouldn’t want to play him at first base every day given his range and mobility (or lack thereof). And given the fact that he’s only produced a .198/.250/.372 slash in 2021 and a .240/.289/.405 line since 2016, he’s a tough sell as a regular designated hitter in the American League.

While Pujols’ bat has been anemic, there are some more positive indicators in his overall offensive profile. He’s been plagued by a tiny .176 average on balls in play in 2021, and while some of that is to be expected since he’s less likely than your average hitter to beat out any sort of hit on the ground, he’s also gone hitless on fly-balls that stay in the yard. The league average on non-homer fly-balls is .109.

Pujols’ average exit velocity (90.5 mph) is its best since 2016, as his rate of barreled balls, as measured by Statcast. He’s only walked three times in 92  plate appearances, which is an obvious concern for someone who should be a bat-first player at this point of his career, but his 14.1 percent strikeout rate is also much smaller than the league average. Based on the frequency and quality of Pujols’ contact, Statcast gives him an “expected” .265 average and  a similarly heartening .511 “expected” slugging percentage. Those numbers can change in a hurry, given the small nature of the sample, but there’s reason to believe he might yet have some productive at-bats in him.

Then again, given his lack of defensive and baserunning value, Pujols would need to be considerably better than a league-average hitter to hold much appeal, even at a league-minimum rate. He hasn’t been that — or even been particularly close to it — since the conclusion of a 2016 season in which he batted .268/.323/.457 with 31 homers.

Share 0 Retweet 20 Send via email0

Los Angeles Angels Newsstand Transactions Albert Pujols

306 comments

Todd Frazier Elects Free Agency

By Mark Polishuk | May 13, 2021 at 10:17pm CDT

MAY 13: Frazier has elected free agency, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette tweets.

MAY 10: The Pirates announced that infielder Todd Frazier has been designated for assignment.  Ben Gamel, recently claimed off waivers from the Indians, will take Frazier’s spot on Pittsburgh’s roster.

“The Toddfather” initially signed a minor league deal with the Pirates during the offseason, then opted out of that contract near the end of Spring Training only to re-sign with the club a few days later.  Frazier did end up seeing some time on the Bucs’ big league roster, but he hit only .086/.200/.114 over 40 plate appearances.

Despite this lack of offense, the timing of Frazier’s DFA comes at something of an unexpected moment, given that Colin Moran was just placed on the 10-day injured list and Bryan Reynolds is also day-to-day with an unspecified lower-body injury.  Gamel can fill in for Reynolds, and Phillip Evans seems like the logical choice to be moved to first base, with such other internal options like Troy Stokes Jr., Hunter Owen, and minor league signing Wilmer Difo all vying for playing time until Reynolds, Moran, and Ke’Bryan Hayes are all healthy.

A veteran of 11 MLB seasons and a former two-time All-Star, Frazier was still swinging a productive bat as recently as 2019, when he hit .251/.329/.443 (104 OPS+, 106 wRC+) over 499 PA for the Mets.  Since that season, however, Frazier has only a .616 OPS over 212 PA with the Mets, Rangers, and Pirates.  Assuming he clears DFA waivers, the 35-year-old figures to get some looks from teams in need of corner infield help.  Frazier is still a capable fielder at first base and third base, and apart from his 2021 numbers, he has still been solid against left-handed pitching.

Share 0 Retweet 25 Send via email0

Pittsburgh Pirates Transactions Todd Frazier

70 comments

Tony Cingrani, Jordan Pacheco Sign With Lexington Legends

By Connor Byrne | May 13, 2021 at 8:01pm CDT

The Lexington Legends of the independent Atlantic League announced that they have signed left-hander Tony Cingrani and infielder Jordan Pacheco.

A third-round selection of the Reds in the 2011 draft, Cingrani became a major leaguer a year later and immediately held his own in the majors. To this point, Cingrani has thrown 334 2/3 innings of 4.01 ERA/3.76 SIERA ball between 2012-18 with the Reds and Dodgers, who acquired him from Cincinnati at the 2017 trade deadline. Shoulder problems have hampered Cingrani, though, and he hasn’t pitched in the bigs in the past two-plus seasons.

Pacheco, 35, became a big leaguer when the Rockies used a ninth-round pick on him in 2007. The former catcher most recently appeared in MLB with the Reds in 2016 and has batted .272/.310/.365 in 1,149 PA at the game’s highest level.

Share 0 Retweet 6 Send via email0

Transactions Jordan Pacheco Tony Cingrani

27 comments
AJAX Loader
Load More Posts
Show all
  • Top Stories
  • Recent

Giants Acquire Rafael Devers

Shohei Ohtani To Make Dodgers Pitching Debut On Monday

Roki Sasaki No Longer Throwing; No Timetable For Return

Nationals To Promote Brady House

White Sox, Brewers Swap Aaron Civale, Andrew Vaughn

Justin Martínez To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

Brewers’ Aaron Civale Requests Trade

Angels To Promote Christian Moore

Brewers Promote Jacob Misiorowski

Red Sox Acquire Jorge Alcala

Jackson Jobe To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

Shane McClanahan Pauses Rehab, Seeking Further Opinions On Nerve Issue

Royals Place Cole Ragans On IL With Rotator Cuff Strain

Red Sox Promote Roman Anthony

Craig Kimbrel Elects Free Agency

Marlins Place Ryan Weathers On 60-Day IL With Lat Strain

White Sox To Promote Grant Taylor

Mariners Designate Leody Taveras For Assignment, Outright Casey Lawrence

Angels Acquire LaMonte Wade Jr.

Corbin Burnes To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

Jake Cousins To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

Astros Place Lance McCullers Jr. On IL With Foot Sprain

Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript

Yankees Designate Pablo Reyes For Assignment

Pirates Designate Brett Sullivan For Assignment

Tigers Claim Carlos Hernández

Nationals Designate Juan Yepez For Assignment

Rays Acquire Forrest Whitley

Yankees To Reinstate Giancarlo Stanton

Rockies Designate Keston Hiura For Assignment

MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

Latest Rumors & News

Latest Rumors & News

  • 2024-25 Top 50 MLB Free Agents With Predictions
  • Nolan Arenado Rumors
  • Dylan Cease Rumors
  • Luis Robert Rumors
  • Marcus Stroman Rumors

 

Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android

MLBTR Features

MLBTR Features

  • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
  • Front Office Originals
  • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
  • MLBTR Podcast
  • 2024-25 Offseason Outlook Series
  • 2025 Arbitration Projections
  • 2024-25 MLB Free Agent List
  • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
  • Contract Tracker
  • Transaction Tracker
  • Extension Tracker
  • Agency Database
  • MLBTR On Twitter
  • MLBTR On Facebook
  • Team Facebook Pages
  • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

Rumors By Team

  • Angels Rumors
  • Astros Rumors
  • Athletics Rumors
  • Blue Jays Rumors
  • Braves Rumors
  • Brewers Rumors
  • Cardinals Rumors
  • Cubs Rumors
  • Diamondbacks Rumors
  • Dodgers Rumors
  • Giants Rumors
  • Guardians Rumors
  • Mariners Rumors
  • Marlins Rumors
  • Mets Rumors
  • Nationals Rumors
  • Orioles Rumors
  • Padres Rumors
  • Phillies Rumors
  • Pirates Rumors
  • Rangers Rumors
  • Rays Rumors
  • Red Sox Rumors
  • Reds Rumors
  • Rockies Rumors
  • Royals Rumors
  • Tigers Rumors
  • Twins Rumors
  • White Sox Rumors
  • Yankees Rumors

Navigation

  • Sitemap
  • Archives
  • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

MLBTR INFO

  • Advertise
  • About
  • Commenting Policy
  • Privacy Policy

Connect

  • Contact Us
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • RSS Feed

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrows scroll to top

Register

Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version