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Orioles Outright Matt Bowman To Triple-A

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TODAY: Bowman accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A after clearing waivers, the Orioles announced.

MAY 8: The Orioles announced Thursday that they’ve designated right-hander Matt Bowman for assignment and recalled fellow righty Colin Selby from Triple-A Norfolk. Selby will give the O’s a fresh arm for today’s series finale in Minnesota, which is set to begin at 12:10pm CT. Selby was already on what was a full 40-man roster, so Baltimore now has a vacancy after designating Bowman.

Bowman, 33, pitched in each of the past two games against the Twins and now finds himself on the outs in Baltimore as the O’s look to get some reinforcements for a beleaguered pitching staff. Bowman actually came to the O’s last summer after opting out of a minor league deal with Minnesota. The Orioles eventually passed him through waivers but re-signed him on a new minor league deal after he opted for free agency.

Baltimore selected Bowman to the major league roster late in spring training. He’s been a heavily used arm for manager Brandon Hyde, appearing in 16 of the Orioles’ 35 games (46%). The journeyman right-hander posted a sparkling 1.98 ERA through his first dozen appearances but has hit a rough patch of late, surrendering seven runs across his past four outings. Overall, Bowman carries a 5.19 earned run average with a sub-par 15.2% strikeout rate but a terrific 3.8% walk rate.

Bowman pitched for four teams in 2024, including both the Twins and Orioles. He’s now suited up for seven teams across parts of seven major league seasons. In 233 1/3 frames at the MLB level, he’s produced a 4.24 ERA, 18.7% strikeout rate and 8% walk rate. Bowman doesn’t miss many bats and has never thrown hard — his 91.3 mph average on his sinker in 2025 is an exact match for his career mark — but he’s consistently proven capable of avoiding hard contact. Opponents have mustered a putrid 86.3 mph average exit velocity against Bowman in his career and posted similarly bleak barrel and hard-hit rates of 5.1% and 29.6%, respectively.

Because he’s out of minor league options, Bowman couldn’t simply be optioned to Norfolk to bring up a fresh arm. The O’s will have five days to find a trade partner for him before they have to place him on outright or release waivers (which is another 48-hour process). He could be waived at any point prior to that, of course, but his DFA will be resolved within a maximum of one week.

Dodgers Sign Lou Trivino To Minors Deal

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The Dodgers have signed right-hander Lou Trivino to a minor league contract, MLBTR’s Anthony Franco reports.  Trivino was only briefly on the open market, as he elected to become a free agent just yesterday after he was designated for assignment by the Giants and cleared waivers.

Trivino inked a minors deal with San Francisco during the offseason, and he locked in a $1.5MM salary from that contract after an impressive spring performance earned Trivino a spot on the Opening Day roster.  Unfortunately, the righty’s Spring Training numbers didn’t translate to the regular season, as Trivino posted a 5.84 ERA over 12 1/3 innings out of the Giants’ bullpen.  His strikeout and walk rates were below average, but the largest issue was the long ball, as Trivino gave up four home runs in his short span as a Giant.

The Pro Edge Sports Management client now looks for a fresh start with the Giants’ arch-rivals in Los Angeles.  A minor league deal is a no-risk endeavor for the Dodgers in seeing what Trivino can bring, and the club’s ever-present need for healthy arms means that Trivino could see some action with the World Series champs in pretty short order.  Given the Dodgers’ history of reviving pitchers’ careers, it wouldn’t even be a surprise to see Trivino return to pre-injury form.

Trivino posted a 3.86 ERA in 284 2/3 innings with the A’s and Yankees from 2018-22, with the bulk of that work coming with Oakland before the Athletics dealt him to the Bronx at the 2022 trade deadline.  Trivino’s penchant for walks led to some inconsistent performances, but when he was on, he was very sharp.  For instance, he performed well as the Athletics’ closer in 2021, and he had 1.66 ERA in 21 2/3 innings with the Yankees over the remainder of the 2022 season.

Unfortunately, Trivino missed the entirety of the 2023-24 seasons due to a Tommy John surgery, and then some elbow and shoulder soreness that held up his rehab enough that he couldn’t make it back it back onto a big league mound before 2024 was over.  His early-season struggles and a minor dip in his pre-2023 velocity could well be some side effects of Trivino just working his way back into form after the long layoff, adding to the possible upside for the Dodgers.

Brewers Sign Bobby Dalbec To Minors Deal

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The Brewers have signed Bobby Dalbec to a minor league deal and assigned the infielder to Triple-A, according to Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

After signing a minor league deal with the White Sox during the offseason, Dalbec’s contract was selected to Chicago’s active roster a little over three weeks ago, and he hit .222/.333/.278 over 21 plate appearances in his brief time in a Pale Hose uniform.  The Sox designated him for assignment earlier this week, and once Dalbec cleared waivers, he opted for free agency instead of an outright assignment to Triple-A, as was his right since Dalbec has previously been outrighted in his career.

It wasn’t long ago that Dalbec was a top-100 prospect, and viewed as a potential first baseman of the future in Boston.  A big .959 OPS over 92 PA in 2020 hinted at this potential, and a .240/.298/.494 slash line and 25 homers over a large sample size of 453 PA in 2021 seemed to be a step forward, even if his 34.44% strikeout rate that season underlined his major flaw at the plate.  Since Opening Day 2022, Dalbec has hit only .199/.272/.328 in 520 PA at the big league level, with 195 whiffs in those 520 trips to the dish.

Now 29 years old, Dalbec may be a depth option in Milwaukee, though the Brew Crew’s relative weakness at third base may provide an opening for more MLB playing time.  Rookie Caleb Durbin has been getting most of the time at the hot corner, and with Vinny Capra just designated for assignment, Dalbec now gives the Brewers a bit of experienced depth.  Dalbec has primarily been a first baseman for most of his career, but he has amassed a good chunk of playing time at third base, plus a handful of appearances as a right fielder at both middle infield slots.

White Sox Claim Yoendrys Gomez, Release Greg Jones

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The White Sox announced that they have claimed right-hander Yoendrys Gomez off waivers from the Dodgers.  Outfielder Greg Jones was released to open up a 40-man roster space.

After spending the majority of his pro career in the Yankees farm system, Gomez is now joining his third different organization in the last three weeks.  New York designated Gomez for assignment in late April and the Dodgers claimed him off waivers, only to themselves DFA Gomez earlier this week.  Gomez has seen some big league time with both of his 2025 teams, posting a 2.70 ERA in 10 relief innings for the Yankees and a whopping 14.54 ERA over 4 1/3 innings and three appearances with Los Angeles.

This workload makes it 27 2/3 career MLB innings for Gomez since he made his debut during the 2023 season, with a 4.88 ERA for his time in the Show.  Since the start of the 2021 season, Gomez has thrown only 246 2/3 total innings in the majors and minors, as a Tommy John surgery drastically cut into his availability in 2021-22.

Gomez still posted some pretty solid numbers in the minors, including a 3.67 ERA and 27% strikeout rate over 83 1/3 frames at the Triple-A level.  However, Gomez’s walk rate has also crept upwards as he has worked his way up the minor league ladder.  While he has worked almost exclusively as a starter in the minors, he has worked only as a reliever in his brief MLB tenure, albeit usually throwing multiple innings in his appearances.

Since Gomez is out of minor league options, the White Sox will need to keep him on their active roster unless they’re willing to expose him to waivers again in an effort to outright him off the 40-man roster and send Gomez down to Triple-A.  The pitching-needy Sox should be able to make use of a multi-inning reliever who may yet have some utility as a depth starter, so this latest move could give the 25-year-old Gomez a clearer path to big league playing time than he would’ve likely found with the Yankees or Dodgers.

Jones was a waiver claim himself in late March, as the White Sox plucked him away from the Rockies just prior to Opening Day.  Jones appeared in just three MLB games with Chicago, after making his debut in the Show last season and playing in six games with Colorado.  In a nod to his speed and defense, Jones has been a late-game sub in all but one of his nine career games in the majors, and he has one hit (a home run) in eight plate appearances.

Known as one of the fastest players in baseball, Jones has stolen 167 bases (out of 192 attempts) during six minor league seasons.  This speed and multi-positional defensive ability drew some top-100 prospect attention from MLB Pipeline in 2022 when Jones was in the Rays’ farm system, though he has also struck out in 567 of his 1662 career PA at the minor league level.  He had posted solid Triple-A numbers before his production drastically fell off with Triple-A Charlotte this season, and thus the Sox have decided to move on in the form of a proper release.

Jones is still only 27, and his speed is the type of premium ability that usually intrigues teams.  It wouldn’t be surprising to see another club scoop Jones up as at least a depth piece, with an eye towards possibly unlocking something at the plate that can turn Jones into more of a functional asset at the MLB level.

Lou Trivino Elects Free Agency

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Lou Trivino elected free agency after going unclaimed on waivers, relays Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle. He’d been designated for assignment by the Giants when they recalled Kyle Harrison last weekend.

Trivino, a former closer of Bob Melvin’s in Oakland, signed a minor league deal with the Giants in February. He made the team out of Spring Training and pitched 11 times over the season’s first few weeks. The overall results weren’t great. He allowed eight runs on 11 hits and four walks over 12 1/3 innings. That said, the bulk of the damage came in one five-run drubbing at the hands of the Brewers. Trivino held the opposition scoreless in eight of his other 10 appearances.

This marked the veteran righty’s first big league work in two years, as he spent the 2023-24 campaigns on the Yankees’ injured list. Trivino missed the ’23 season due to an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery. He tried to rehab in time to contribute to New York’s playoff run late last year. Shoulder discomfort shut down his rehab assignment, though, and the Yankees made the easy call to decline a $5MM option.

Trivino’s stuff hasn’t been quite as crisp as it was before the surgery. He averaged 94.9 MPH on his sinker with the Giants, down a tick from his 95.8 MPH average from the ’22 season. It’s not a dramatic dip, but his ground-ball rate was down and he surrendered four home runs in the early going. While it’s conceivable that he could find an immediate MLB roster spot as a free agent, he might wind up taking another minor league deal as he searches for a more extended opportunity.

Orioles Outright Walter Pennington

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The Orioles announced on Friday that lefty reliever Walter Pennington cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk. He’d been designated for assignment on Wednesday as the corresponding move when the O’s acquired Luis F. Castillo from Seattle.

Pennington, 27, had been designated for assignment and released by the Rangers at the end of April. Baltimore grabbed him off release waivers. He made one appearance apiece at High-A Aberdeen and with Norfolk. Pennington hasn’t been able to find the strike zone, walking six of 10 batters faced while allowing seven runs (five earned) in one combined inning.

Initially drafted by the Royals, Pennington was traded to Texas last summer in the Michael Lorenzen deadline deal. He’s only a season removed from posting a 2.13 ERA with a 32.2% strikeout rate over 63 1/3 Triple-A innings. Pennington had been pitching at the Rangers’ complex before they moved on, and his pair of appearances with Baltimore affiliates were alarming.

Now that he’s cleared waivers, the O’s can keep Pennington in Norfolk without carrying him on the 40-man roster. He’ll obviously need far better control than he has shown in his limited work so far, but he’d be a solid depth arm if he can find last year’s form. He recorded an even 3.00 earned run average with 17 punchouts and 11 walks over his first 18 big league innings last season.

Nationals Release Lucas Sims

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The Nationals announced that they’ve placed veteran reliever Lucas Sims on release waivers. They’ll make a corresponding bullpen move tomorrow. They now have a vacancy on the 40-man roster.

It’s an abrupt end to what proved to be a brief stint in Washington. Sims was on the mound for the Nats roughly an hour ago. He had a nightmare outing in a blowout loss to the Cardinals. Sims entered in the eighth inning with the Nationals trailing 6-0. He hit a batter (his MLB-leading seventh HBP of the season), walked four more, and gave up a hit in a three-run inning. He recorded two outs before being lifted for Andrew Chafin.

Sims joined the Nats a one-year, $3MM free agent deal early in Spring Training. He made 18 appearances but proved far too prone to blow-up outings. He allowed multiple runs in six appearances, including each of his last two. His Washington tenure concludes with 19 runs allowed across 12 1/3 innings. He issued 14 walks while recording 13 strikeouts.

It continues an incredibly challenging stretch for Sims, who was a high-leverage bullpen pickup for the Red Sox as recently as last summer. He carried a 3.57 ERA with a 26% strikeout rate over 35 1/3 innings with the Reds leading up to the trade deadline. Boston acquired him for A-ball pitcher Ovis Portes. Sims’ production tanked immediately with the Sox. He allowed 10 runs on as many walks while picking up nine strikeouts in 14 innings. A minor lat strain cost him a couple weeks in September.

Sims will remain on waivers for the next two days. Another team would need to assume his remaining salary to claim him. No one is going to do that. He’ll clear and become a free agent. The Nats will pay the remainder of his salary aside from the prorated portion of the $760K league minimum for any time he spends in the majors with another club. The control issues will probably limit him to minor league offers.

Padres Trade Connor Joe To Reds

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The Reds acquired outfielder Connor Joe from the Padres for minor league reliever Andrew Moore and cash considerations, the teams announced. Cincinnati transferred Tyler Callihan to the 60-day injured list to create a spot on the 40-man roster. San Diego’s roster count falls to 38.

Joe, a San Diego native who attended USD, signed with his hometown team on a $1MM contract during the offseason. He was expected to work as the right-handed half of a left field platoon with Jason Heyward. The Padres tabbed speedster Brandon Lockridge for that role instead, optioning Joe to Triple-A El Paso to begin the season. He was recalled in mid-April and went hitless in nine at-bats. He drew one walk while striking out six times.

The Friars optioned Joe back out last week. He made 16 appearances with El Paso, hitting .267/.405/.350 through 74 trips to the dish. He has yet to hit a home run but has stolen four bases and taken more walks (13) than strikeouts (10). He should have a better path to big league at-bats in Cincinnati. Rece Hinds and Will Benson, each of whom were recalled from Triple-A Louisville this week, are operating as backup outfielders. Starting right fielder Jake Fraley has missed four straight games on account of calf soreness.

Cincinnati did welcome righty-hitting outfielder Austin Hays back from the injured list this afternoon. Their primary corner outfielders, Fraley and Gavin Lux, each hit from the left side. Joe had a productive .251/.353/.418 slash in 363 plate appearances against lefty pitching with the Pirates between 2023-24. He didn’t hit much without the platoon advantage (.230/.314/.382 in 525 PAs), but he’s an affordable bench/platoon player.

This is Joe’s second minor league option year. The Reds can shuttle him back and forth between Cincinnati and Louisville for this season and next if he holds his 40-man roster spot for that long. He’s nearing four years of service time and will be eligible for arbitration for at least two more years if he sticks with the club.

Moore, who is not the former Mariners MLB pitcher of the same name, is a 25-year-old reliever. He was, however, drafted by Seattle in 2021. The Mariners included him alongside Noelvi Marte and Edwin Arroyo as part of the 2022 deadline deal for Luis Castillo. Moore has spent the past few seasons working his way up to Double-A. He combines big strikeout rates with astronomical walk tallies. He did not rank among Baseball America’s write-up of Cincinnati’s top 30 prospects, though Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs ranked him 22nd in the Reds’ system just last week.

Longenhagen wrote that Moore’s fastball/slider combination looked like that of a setup man at his peak, though his velocity has been down early this season. He’d need to dramatically improve his control to pitch above a low-leverage role in either case. Moore walked upwards of 17% of opponents across 46 1/3 Double-A innings last year. That resulted in a 4.47 ERA despite an excellent 32.3% strikeout rate. He has surrendered five runs (four earned) on three hits and eight walks with 12 punchouts through his first 8 2/3 frames this season.

As for Callihan, his IL transfer was an inevitability. He broke his left arm in a nasty collision with the left field wall at Truist Park on Monday. He promptly underwent surgery that’ll prevent him from doing any kind of baseball activities for six to eight weeks. He probably won’t be able to resume his rookie season until August or September at the earliest.

Image courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images.

White Sox To Select Tim Elko

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The White Sox are selecting first baseman Tim Elko onto the big league roster, reports Vinnie Duber of The Chicago Sun-Times. He’ll be in line for his MLB debut tomorrow against the Marlins. Chicago’s 40-man roster is at capacity, so they’ll need to make corresponding active roster and 40-man moves.

Elko has never gotten much prospect fanfare, but his minor league production has certainly warranted a promotion. The right-handed hitter is out to a monster .348/.431/.670 slash over 31 games with Triple-A Charlotte. He has already hit 10 homers and six doubles in 130 plate appearances. He’s tied with Otto Kemp for the Triple-A home run lead. Among hitters with 100+ trips to the plate, only Carson McCusker has a higher OPS.

The 6’3″, 250-pound Elko has been a productive power bat dating back to his college days at Ole Miss. He nevertheless signed for a minuscule $35K bonus as a 10th-round draft pick in 2022. Scouts viewed him as an organizational depth type because of his defensive limitations and lofty swing-and-miss rates. Those are still present, though Elko has made slight improvements to his plate discipline this season. He’s drawing walks at what would be a personal-best 11.5% clip. That comes alongside an alarming 28.5% strikeout rate.

It’s a difficult profile to pull off, one that major league pitchers tend to exploit. Still, the Sox have scored the fourth-fewest runs in MLB. They’ve received a combined .215/.273/.356 slash from their first basemen and designated hitters. There’s little reason not to give Elko an opportunity to try to continue to defy expectations.

Andrew Vaughn has worked as the primary first baseman. The former third overall pick has posted middling numbers for the majority of his career. He entered play tonight with a dismal .186/.223/.293 line. A homer in his first at-bat will boost that a little bit, but it’s increasingly difficult to see Vaughn emerging as a legitimate trade chip for GM Chris Getz and company.

He’s playing on a $5.85MM arbitration salary and looks much more like a DFA or non-tender candidate than someone who could net the Sox a prospect of any regard. They haven’t had a set DH, so Vaughn and Elko could coexist in the same lineup, but it’s fair to wonder how much more runway Vaughn will have as an everyday player.

Blue Jays Select Michael Stefanic, DFA Dillon Tate, Place Andrés Giménez On IL

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The Blue Jays announced that they have placed second baseman Andrés Giménez on the 10-day injured list with a right quad strain. Infielder Michael Stefanic had his contract selected from Triple-A to replace Giménez on the active roster. In a corresponding move to open a space on the 40-man, right-handed reliever Dillon Tate was designated for assignment.

Giménez exited Wednesday’s game against the Angels early after hurting himself while running to first base on a bunt hit. He sat out the series finale on Thursday, so his IL placement is retroactive to May 8. The second baseman has struggled at the plate so far in his first season with the Blue Jays. Still, he has offered value with his Gold Glove-caliber defense and strong baserunning. Needless to say, his glove and his legs will be missed for however long he is out. As of right now, it’s hard to say how long that will be; the severity of his strain has not yet been made clear. In Giménez’s place, Ernie Clement will most likely get the bulk of the starts at second base.

Stefanic signed with the Angels as an undrafted free agent in 2018 and made his big league debut for L.A. in 2022. He appeared in 90 games for the Angels from 2022-24, seeing time at both second and third base. The infielder slashed .232/.317/.275 with a 72 wRC+ in 264 trips to the plate. Stefanic elected free agency last fall after he was outrighted off of L.A.’s 40-man roster, and he quickly latched on with the Blue Jays, signing a minor league pact in November. He has continued to mash at Triple-A Buffalo, much like he did as a minor leaguer in the Angels’ system. So far this year, he hit .319 with an .826 OPS and a 142 wRC+ prior to his call-up.

The Blue Jays claimed Tate off waivers from the Orioles in September 2024. He was a dependable middle reliever for Baltimore from 2020-22, pitching 158 innings with a 3.65 ERA and a 3.62 SIERA. However, he missed the 2023 season with a right elbow flexor strain and has not looked nearly as effective since his return. He pitched particularly poorly in his five appearances for Toronto this season, giving up three runs on seven hits and six walks in 5 1/3 innings of work.

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