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Royals Sign Rich Hill To Minor League Deal

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The Royals announced that they have signed left-hander Rich Hill to a minor league deal. He will report to the club’s spring training/Complex League facility in Surprise but will be heading to Triple-A Omaha soon.

The veteran lefty has already defied the normal aging curves and seems determined to do so again. Now 45 years old, Hill would easily be the oldest player in the majors if he eventually has his contract selected. 42-year-old Justin Verlander is oldest active player at the moment.

Hill has a long and storied career that dates back to his 2005 debut. He had some success in the subsequent years, followed by a long stretch of being injured and/or ineffective. He returned to prominence about a decade ago, amazingly having some of his best seasons while in his mid-30s.

Lately, the results haven’t been quite as strong. His last full season was 2023, in which he finished with a 5.41 earned run average. That was fairly lopsided, as he had a 4.76 ERA with the Pirates but then struggled badly after being traded to the Padres.

He believed that he could be better with an unconventional approach, so he intentionally waited until late in 2024 to sign a new deal. This would allow him to spend more time with his family, in addition to saving his best results for later in the year, theoretically giving him a better chance to thrive in competitive games down the stretch.

The plan didn’t quite work out. He signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox in the middle of August. After a couple of weeks in the minors, he was added to the big league roster but wasn’t given a rotation job. He made four low-leverage relief appearances before being designated for assignment and then released.

Over the winter, he said he was still planning to pitch in 2025, but without trying the same late-signing strategy. As recently as three weeks ago, he said he was still throwing and hoping to sign. Whether it’s by design or simply due to a soft market, Hill is now splitting the difference somewhat. He is signing and getting started later in the year, but with a few extra months of potential ramp-up time relative to last season.

The Royals don’t really need starting pitching. They have one of the best rotations in the majors, something that MLBTR’s Anthony Franco recently took a detailed look at. They have a strong front four in Cole Ragans, Kris Bubic, Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha, with Michael Lorenzen a serviceable back-end guy as well. Noah Cameron, one of the better pitching prospects in the majors, is on the 40-man and pitching in the Triple-A rotation.

However, there’s little harm in adding some extra depth, just in case the injury bug bites. The Royals have also recently seen both Alec Marsh and Kyle Wright suffer setbacks in their rehabs, so perhaps they have added Hill in response to those developments.

Even if they don’t need him, they can let him take the ball and get into game shape. If he finds himself in good form as the trade deadline approaches, they could perhaps flip him to some other club with a greater rotation need. It’s also possible that the deal contains some opt-outs or upward mobility clauses, so Hill can get out of the deal if the Royals don’t call him up.

If Hill is able to get back to the majors, with the Royals or some other club, he would get a chance to add to his career stat lines. He has 1,409 big league innings over his career with a 4.01 ERA, 24% strikeout rate and 9.1% walk rate.

Photo courtesy of Rick Osentoski, Imagn Images.

Kyle McCann, Art Warren Sign With Mexican League Teams

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Former A’s catcher Kyle McCann signed with los Piratas de Campeche in the Mexican League over the weekend, the team announced. He’s not the only former big leaguer headed to Mexico this week. MLBTR has learned that former Reds and Mariners reliever Art Warren is signing with los Tecos de los Dos Laredos. McCann is represented by the Ballengee Group. Warren is a client of Gaeta Sports Management.

McCann, 27, made his big league debut last year and got into 54 games with Oakland. He posted a .236/.318/.371 slash in 157 plate appearances, smacking five homers and six doubles along the way. The former fourth-rounder drew walks at a strong 10.2% clip but was also set down on strikes in an ugly 37.6% of his plate appearances. The year prior, McCann posted a .270/.351/.474 line in Triple-A Las Vegas, but in that ultra-hitter-friendly setting, that seemingly strong slash line actually checked in 11% worse than league average by measure of wRC+ (89).

Defensively, McCann had some issues. His 19% caught-stealing rate was worse than the 21.9% league average, and he posted well below-average framing marks in his 324 innings behind the plate. Statcast credited him with average numbers in terms of blocking balls in the dirt. McCann didn’t play any first base in the majors, but he’s played more than 800 minor league innings there and Baseball America called him an average defender at the position back in their 2021 scouting report.

Warren, 32, posted strong numbers in his first two big league looks with the 2019 Mariners and 2021 Reds. In 26 1/3 innings between those two teams, he notched a sparkling 1.03 earned run average with a massive 37.9% strikeout rate against a 9.7% walk rate. He looked set for a nice run in the Reds’ bullpen after that 2021 showing, but his 2022 follow-up was wrecked by injury.

Warren logged 36 innings for the ’22 Reds but was rocked for a 6.50 ERA. His four-seam fastball, which had averaged 95.2 mph in 2021, saw a sharp drop to a 93.5 mph average. The right-hander’s eye-popping 19.2% swinging-strike rate plummeted to 12.1%, resulting in a deflated 24.2% strikeout rate. His command also eroded, evidenced by a 13.3% walk rate.

The Reds placed Warren on the injured list with a flexor strain that July. He returned six weeks later, struggled for about a month, and was optioned to Triple-A Louisville. That option was quickly rescinded when elbow damage was discovered, and Warren was instead placed on the major league injured list. Two weeks later, the team announced that Warren had undergone a UCL procedure that would wipe out the rest of his 2022 campaign and his entire 2023 season.

Warren was non-tendered and eventually signed a minor league deal with the Yankees once he was healthy. He struggled immensely with their Triple-A squad last year in his return from surgery. In 26 2/3 frames, he served up 26 runs (8.78 ERA) on 36 hits and 22 walks. Eight of those hits were long balls. Warren still punched out 29 batters in his 26 2/3 innings of work, but with the barrage of walks, that only came out to a 21.2% strikeout rate (against a 16% walk rate). His average fastball in Triple-A sat at the same 93.5 mph average he showed in 2022 before undergoing his UCL repair.

The hope for both McCann and Warren is surely to parlay solid play in Mexico into a return to affiliated ball on a minor league deal. McCann has actually already suited up for three games — two at catcher, one as a DH — and gone 3-for-11 with a pair of doubles but also seven strikeouts. Warren’s new club, los Tecos, has been picked over by MLB teams in recent weeks. They’ve seen Cory Abbott (Rangers), Beau Burrows (Pirates), Nick Margevicius (Tigers), Sean Poppen (Angels) and Andrew Vasquez (Angels) all sign minor league deals with affiliated clubs.

A’s Return Rule 5 Pick Noah Murdock To Royals

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The A’s returned Rule 5 draftee Noah Murdock to the Royals, as first reflected on the MLB.com transaction log. Kansas City assigned him to Triple-A Omaha. Murdock does not occupy a spot on their 40-man roster.

This was the likeliest outcome after the A’s designated Murdock for assignment last Friday. Any team that traded for him or claimed him off waivers would have taken on the same Rule 5 restrictions. They would have needed to carry him in the big league bullpen. Murdock evidently went unclaimed and heads back to the team that drafted him in the seventh round in 2019.

Murdock, 26, divided his 2024 season between Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Omaha. He worked to a 2.22 earned run average over 24 1/3 innings at the former level. Murdock posted a 3.76 ERA through 38 1/3 frames in Triple-A. He combined for a 27% strikeout rate and a huge 59.7% ground-ball percentage, though that came with an alarming 15.4% walk rate.

The 6’8″ righty broke camp with the A’s after being selected with the fifth pick in last winter’s Rule 5 draft. His first 14 big league appearances did not go well, as he was blitzed for 25 runs across 17 1/3 innings. The free passes remained far too problematic. Murdock walked 20 batters and hit two more among the 98 he faced. The grounder rates that have been his calling card in the minors weren’t there against big league competition. Murdock posted a 42.6% ground-ball percentage and a 21.4% strikeout rate — both decent numbers but not nearly enough to offset the free passes.

White Sox Outright Nick Maton

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May 12: Maton cleared waivers and was outrighted back to Charlotte, relays James Fegan of Sox Machine. He’ll again have the right to test free agency but seems likelier to accept another outright and remain in the organization.

May 10: The White Sox announced that infielder Nick Maton has been designated for assignment.  First base prospect Tim Elko’s contract was selected in the corresponding move, as was reported yesterday.

This is the second time in two weeks that the Sox have designated Maton, and his first trip through DFA limbo saw him clear waivers and then accept an outright assignment to Triple-A Charlotte.  Maton had the option of becoming a free agent because he has been outrighted in the past, but chose to remain in the organization and wait for another crack at a spot on Chicago’s big league roster.  That chance came when Maton’s contract was selected again as a corresponding move to Andrew Benintendi’s placement on the injured list, though Maton’s latest stint with the White Sox lasted just a couple of days.

Maton has hit .167/.286/.315 over 63 plate appearances, and he has played in 25 of Chicago’s 39 games this season primarily as a first baseman and designated hitter.  Since Maton is out of minor league options, the White Sox have to designate him and expose him to the waiver wire whenever they wish to send him to Triple-A, thus giving Maton repeated chances to elect free agency.

As a veteran utilityman on a rebuilding team, Maton isn’t likely to receive the benefit of the doubt when it comes to playing time, as the White Sox are obviously prioritizing young talent.  That said, catching on with another team that has more established players also might not give Maton much time on the diamond.  Maton’s lack of minor league options leaves him with little flexibility, so if he isn’t claimed on waivers this time around, he’ll face another decision about whether or not to stick with the White Sox or test the open market.

Blue Jays Outright Dillon Tate

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The Blue Jays announced this afternoon that reliever Dillon Tate accepted an outright to Triple-A Buffalo. He cleared waivers after being designated for assignment on Friday.

Tate, 31, first landed in Toronto last September. The Jays claimed him off waivers from the division-rival Orioles, with whom the former fourth overall pick had pitched parts of five MLB campaigns. Toronto dropped him over the offseason in lieu of a projected $1.9MM arbitration salary. They re-signed him midway through Spring Training on a split deal that pays at a $1.4MM rate in the big leagues and $500K for whatever time he spends in the minors.

The Jays have mostly kept him in Triple-A early this year. He opened the season on optional assignment to Buffalo. The Jays recalled him in mid-April and kept him on the active roster for around two and a half weeks. He made five appearances, allowing three runs on seven hits and six walks over 5 1/3 frames. He fanned seven hitters but got whiffs on only 6.8% of his total pitches. The results have been much better over his six innings with the Bisons: one run on six hits and a walk with seven strikeouts and a huge 18.2% swinging strike rate.

Tate has spent most of his career working in middle relief. His best season came in 2022, when he provided the O’s with 73 2/3 innings of 3.05 ERA ball behind a 57.4% ground-ball percentage. A flexor strain wound up costing him the entire following year. Tate avoided surgery but was unable to progress through multiple attempts at a rehab assignment.

He wasn’t as effective when he returned last season, allowing 4.66 earned runs per nine across 36 2/3 frames. His stuff hasn’t been as sharp since the injury. Tate’s sinker averaged 94 MPH during the ’22 season. It was down to 92.6 last year and is checking in below 92 MPH on average through this season’s first six weeks.

Tate entered this season with four years and 144 days of major league service. He has collected another 17 days on Toronto’s roster this season. Players reach a full service year at 172 days, meaning Tate will tip beyond the five-year threshold with 11 more days in the big leagues. At that point, he’d be able to refuse any optional assignments and retain his salary if he declines an outright and elects free agency after clearing waivers. Until then, he’d need to forfeit his salary to test free agency, so it’s no surprise that he decided to accept the assignment back to Buffalo.

Dodgers Acquire Steward Berroa

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The Dodgers have acquired outfielder Steward Berroa from the Blue Jays, according to announcements from both clubs. The Jays, who designated Berroa for assignment last week, receive cash considerations in return. The Dodgers have had an open 40-man since designating Yoendrys Gómez for assignment a week ago.

Berroa, 26 next month, got a small amount of major league experience last year. He got into 28 games for the Jays and stepped to the plate 45 times, putting up a .189/.333/.216 line in that time. He also stole six bases in eight tries and got some good reviews for his defense in that small sample, with Statcast placing his sprint speed in the 89th percentile of qualified big leaguers.

His minor league offense has often been better than that major league showing, though he was out to a slow start this year. He was optioned to Triple-A to start 2025 but hit .195/.267/.234 in 24 games before the Jays designated him for assignment.

Last year, he stepped to the plate 300 times at the Triple-A level. He hit ten home runs, drew a walk in 11.7% of those trips to the plate and struck out at a 23.7% clip, all that leading to a 120 wRC+. He also swiped 34 bags.

He also had a good year at the plate in 2023 but was subpar in 2022. As mentioned, he has started this year on a down note. His future offense may be a question, but as the old saying goes, speed doesn’t slump. Berroa had 58 steals on the farm in 2021 and then 47 in each of the two following years.

Berroa still has options and could be sent to the minors, or the Dodgers could bring him directly to the big league club. They currently have both Tommy Edman and Teoscar Hernández on the injured list, subtracting two outfielders from their active roster. That’s led to guys like Hyeseong Kim and James Outman getting playing time lately. Kim has a flat line of .318/.318/.318 thanks to no walks or extra-base hits, while Outman has a dismal .067/.176/.267 slash.

Whether it’s in the minors as depth or in the majors, Berroa seems at least capable of serving as a fourth outfielder. Even if the bat doesn’t come around, he could do some pinch running and defensive replacement work, while any developments at the plate would be a bonus.

Image courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images

Diamondbacks Designate Garrett Hampson, José Castillo For Assignment

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The Diamondbacks announced that they have recalled infielder Jordan Lawlar, a move that was previously reported. They also reinstated right-hander Kendall Graveman from the injured list. To open roster spots for those two, lefty José Castillo and infielder Garrett Hampson were both designated for assignment. The club’s 40-man roster count drops to 38.

Hampson, 30, inked a minor league deal in free agency and broke camp with the D-backs after hitting .283/.393/.348 in 56 trips to the plate this spring. He hasn’t been able to carry that production over to the regular season. He’s appeared in only 18 games and taken just 41 turns at the plate, batting .167/.359/.167 in that span. He’s been a pest for opposing pitchers in the sense that he’s taken 10 walks, but Hampson is also 5-for-30 (all singles) and has bottom-of-the-scale contact metrics when he’s put the ball in play.

Arizona is Hampson’s fourth team in four seasons. He spent the first five seasons of his career with the Rockies but since his final season there has had one-year stints with the Marlins, Royals and now D-backs. He hasn’t hit much in any of those spots, combining for a .237/.308/.323 slash in 750 plate appearances dating back to 2022. However, Hamspon is a plus runner (84th percentile sprint speed, per Statcast) who can be deployed virtually anywhere on the diamond. Even though he’s been seldom used with the D-backs, he’s still seen time at five positions: second base, shortstop, third base, left field and center field.

Castillo, 29, has spent the better part of the past half decade in injury rehab. Since a strong MLB debut with the 2018 Padres, the southpaw has been on the injured list due to a torn ligament in his pitching hand, a torn lat and Tommy John surgery. Just making it back to the majors in the wake of so many rapid-fire injuries is a feat, but Castillo’s brief time with the Snakes didn’t go well. He pitched 6 1/3 innings out of Torey Lovullo’s bullpen — already his most in a big league season since ’18 — and was pounded for eight runs on 10 hits and three walks with three strikeouts.

As a rookie, Castillo fired 38 1/3 innings of 3.29 ERA ball for the Friars, fanning a gaudy 34.7% of his opponents against an 8.1% walk rate. He was terrific in a small 5 1/3-inning sample in Triple-A Reno this year, allowing only a run on four hits and no walks with seven strikeouts and a 58% grounder rate. That performance could lead to some interest from other teams, although Castillo’s once-95-mph heater has understandably dipped to an average of 93.3 mph in the wake of all those injuries.

Both Castillo and Hampson can spend a maximum of one week in DFA limbo. The D-backs can look to trade them during that time or simply place them on outright waivers. Since waivers take 48 hours to process, the team has up to five days to orchestrate trades of either player, should there be a market. In the event that they’re placed on waivers and go unclaimed, both players have enough major league service time to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency.

Guardians Option Brayan Rocchio

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The Guardians announced that outfielder Will Brennan has been recalled from Triple-A Columbus. Infielder Brayan Rocchio has been sent the other way, optioned to Columbus as the corresponding move.

Rocchio, 24, heads to the minors for the first time since the 2023 season. He spent the entire 2024 campaign in the big leagues as Cleveland’s primary shortstop. He appeared in 143 games and stepped to the plate 442 times. His offense wasn’t great, as he hit just .206/.298/.316 for a 79 wRC+, indicating he was 21% below league average on the whole. He did steal 10 bases, but was also caught six times. His glovework was well regarded, as he racked up 11 Defensive Runs Saved and six Outs Above Average.

Put all together, FanGraphs considered him to be worth 1.1 wins above replacement on the season, with Baseball Reference a bit more generous at 1.9. That’s obviously not outstanding production but fine value for a guy making modest pay since he’s in his pre-arbitration years.

It was enough for him to open the 2025 season back in that role, but his performance has tanked and he has gradually ceded playing time to others. Through 102 plate appearances this year, Rocchio is hitting .165/.235/.198. His .208 batting average on balls in play is quite low but he’s also not hitting the ball with much authority. His average exit velocity, hard hit rate and barrel rate are no higher than the 11th percentile of qualified hitters, per Statcast. His 4.9% walk rate is less than half of last year’s 10% clip. The defensive metrics have also soured on him, with OAA having him at league par and DRS at -3.

In recent days and weeks, Gabriel Arias has been taking more of the shortstop time. He has a .264/.319/.416 line and 110 wRC+ on the year, with solid defense to boot. Presumably, he will take over as the regular shortstop now that Rocchio has been optioned. Arias and Daniel Schneemann had previously been sharing second base, so perhaps Schneeman will get more playing time at the keystone as he’s hitting .273/.356/.532 for a 154 wRC+ this year. Ángel Martínez and Will Wilson are on hand to step in to the middle infield, if needed, though Martínez is currently the club’s regular center fielder.

For Rocchio, instead of sitting on the big league bench, he can get some regular playing time with Columbus as he tries to get out of his recent funk. Getting his offense back to a more acceptable level could put him in position to return to the majors when an opportunity arises. He is still young and it’s certainly possible that there are better days ahead for him.

How long he spends on this optional assignment could impact his financial position in the future. He came into 2025 with one year and 37 days of service time. That put him on track to qualify for arbitration after 2026 and free agency after 2029, though those timelines will no longer be possible if he ends up spending several months down on the farm. He also has just one option season left, so he’ll be out of options next year if he spends at least 20 days in the minors this season.

Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images

White Sox Designate Gage Workman For Assignment

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The White Sox announced that infielder Gage Workman has been returned from his rehab assignment, reinstated from the 10-day injured list and designated for assignment. The club’s 40-man roster count drops to 39.

Workman started the season with the Cubs as a Rule 5 pick, selected from the Tigers. He managed to stick with the Cubs for about the first month of the regular season before being designated for assignment.

The White Sox acquired him for cash considerations, with the Rule 5 parameters transferring to Workman’s new club. He got into three games with the Sox before landing on the IL with a right hip flexor strain. He’s now healthy, but the Sox evidently didn’t want to add him back to their active roster. Per the Rule 5 restrictions, he can’t be optioned to the minors, so they have gone the DFA route instead.

The 25-year-old Workman shined for the Cubs in spring training, hitting .364/.420/.705 in 50 plate appearances. A contending Cubs team never found a way to get him any real playing time, however. He went 2-for-14 with a walk in his 15 plate appearances before being designated for assignment. He received even less playing time with the Sox, tallying all of two plate appearances.

Workman is viewed as a plus defender at third base with plenty of raw power and too much swing-and-miss in his offensive profile. He spent the 2024 season with the Tigers’ Double-A affiliate, where he batted .280/.366/.476 with 18 homers, 30 steals, an 11.7% walk rate and a bloated 27.5% strikeout rate in his third season of action at that level. He’s yet to appear in a Triple-A game.

The ChiSox could try to trade Workman in the coming days or simply put him on outright waivers. Any acquiring club would still be bound by the same Rule 5 limits. If he were to pass through unclaimed, he would be offered back to the Tigers. If that happens, Detroit could put Workman back in their system without having to put him on the 40-man roster. DFA limbo can last a week but the waiver process takes 48 hours, so any trade talks would have to come together in the next five days.

Eddie Rosario Elects Free Agency

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May 12: Rosario went unclaimed on waivers and rejected an outright assignment in lieu of free agency, per the transaction log at MiLB.com.

May 9: The Braves announced Friday that they’ve designated outfielder Eddie Rosario for assignment. His spot on the roster will go to infielder Luke Williams, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Gwinnett.

Rosario’s latest Braves stint will last under two weeks. He signed a big league deal back on April 28 after being cut loose by the Dodgers. Atlanta gave him only four plate appearances across three games this time around. The 33-year-old veteran went hitless in that minuscule sample. He’s 1-for-8 with a single between his limited stints with the Dodgers and Braves in 2025.

Of course, Rosario is no stranger to Atlanta. The Braves acquired him from the Guardians in a salary-dump deal at the 2021 trade deadline, and Rosario caught absolute fire down the stretch, helping to fuel an improbable World Series victory for an Atlanta club that was under .500 at the trade deadline. He re-signed on a two-year deal and also returned for a short stint in 2024. He’s spent the better part of the past five years in a Braves uniform but carries a tepid .235/.283/.413 batting line in that time — with most of his damage coming during that sizzling 2021 run.

Rosario was a solid regular with the Twins for the majority of his early career, but his best full-season production since leaving in 2021 have been league-average performances in 2021 and 2023. He’s struggled immensely outside those two seasons and carries an overall .231/.277/.394 slash in his past 1525 major league plate appearances (81 wRC+). The Braves will have a week to resolve Rosario’s DFA, though the likely outcome is that he’ll either be released or reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency.

As for Williams, he’s also returning for a third go-around with Atlanta. He appeared with the Braves in each of the past two seasons but turned in a .164/.233/.218 showing in 61 plate appearances. He’s struggled even more than that in Gwinnett this season, hitting only .132/.205/.145 in 83 trips to the plate. He’ll add a right-handed bat with experience at all four infield positions and all three outfield positions to manager Brian Snitker’s bench.

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