Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Transactions

White Sox Place Austin Slater On 10-Day IL Due To Right Meniscus Tear

By | at

The White Sox announced that outfielder Austin Slater has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a meniscus tear in his right knee.  The IL placement is retroactive to April 11.  Outfielder Greg Jones was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move.

With Andrew Benintendi (groin strain) and Mike Tauchman (hamstring strain) already on the IL, Chicago’s outfield has now been further reduced by Slater’s injury, which looks to be significantly longer term in nature depending on the severity of the tear.  The best-case scenario could see Slater back on the field in a few weeks’ time, while he might be shelved for a couple of months if surgery is required.  Manager Will Venable told SoxMachine’s JamesFegan and other reporters that the team doesn’t have a timeline yet for Slater.

This is actually the second injury Slater has suffered during his brief tenure with the White Sox, after an oblique issue cost him a couple of weeks during Spring Training.  Slater signed a one-year contract worth $1.75MM in guaranteed money back in November, as the Sox aimed to use the right-handed hitting Slater in a platoon capacity in one or both of the corner outfield positions.  Now, all of Chicago’s planned corner outfield candidates are on the IL, leaving Michael A. Taylor, Brooks Baldwin, Joshua Palacios, and now Jones as the makeshift group flanking center fielder Luis Robert Jr.

Slater posted solid to very good numbers as a part-timer with San Francisco from 2020-23, but his production cratered badly last year, as he slashed just .209/.321/.266 over 212 combined plate appearances with the Giants, Reds, and Orioles.  He has actually logged more big league innings as a center fielder than he has in left or right field, though defensive metrics indicate that Slater is much better suited to corner outfield work.

Nationals Place CJ Abrams On 10-Day Injured List

By | at

The Nationals announced that shortstop CJ Abrams has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a right hip flexor strain.  Infielder Nasim Nunez was called up from Triple-A to take Abrams’ spot on the active roster.

Abrams’ injury has been bothering him for the better part of a week, as he didn’t play on Monday or Tuesday before returning to action on Wednesday.  The Nationals didn’t play on Thursday, but that extra day of rest didn’t help Abrams, as he made an early exit during the fourth inning of Friday’s game with the Marlins.  Manager Davey Martinez told reporters (including MLB.com’s Santos Perez) that Abrams had hip discomfort while trying to steal a base in the top of the third, and then again when fielding a grounder in the bottom half of the inning.

Given the lingering nature of the injury, it isn’t surprising that the Nats decided to shut Abrams down entirely for at least 10 days to let him fully shake the hip issue.  Paul DeJong will likely shift over from third base to take over most of the starting duties at shortstop, with Amed Rosario and Jose Tena probably handling things at third.  Nunez also has a lot of shortstop experience in the minor leagues, and the former Rule 5 Draft pick figures to get some playing time in his second MLB season.

Not that there’s ever a great time to visit the IL, but the placement cuts short Abrams’ heavy-hitting start to the 2025 campaign.  Abrams has already hit four homers and delivered a .585 slugging percentage in his first 46 trips to the plate, even if his batting average (.244) and OBP (.289) are far more modest.

Abrams also had a big first half in 2024, earning the shortstop a spot on the NL All-Star team.  Just when it looked like Abrams was having a proper breakout year, however, his production tailed off in the second half, and he was optioned to Triple-A for the last week of the season as a disciplinary response to an off-the-field issue.  Washington president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo made a point of confirming his team’s commitment and belief in Abrams during the Nats’ end-of-season press conference, and the matter might end up being a footnote if Abrams continues as a cornerstone piece for a Nationals team that is emerging from the end of a rebuild.

Athletics Designate Angel Perdomo For Assignment

By | at

The Athletics announced that left-hander Angel Perdomo has been designated for assignment.  Right-hander J.T. Ginn was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding roster move, and Ginn will get the start today against the Mets in West Sacramento.

Perdomo has only been in West Sacramento for two weeks, after the A’s claimed him off waivers from the Angels following another DFA.  This brief stint saw Perdomo make four relief appearances for the Athletics, posting a 5.40 ERA across 3 1/3 innings of work.  Perdomo pitched in yesterday’s game (albeit with only nine pitches in one-third of an inning), so he was the odd man out given the Athletics’ need to open up a roster spot for Ginn today.

Perdomo is out of minor league options, so the A’s had to designate him and expose him to the waiver wire before sending him to Triple-A.  If he does clear waivers, Perdomo has the ability to reject an outright assignment and become a free agent, since he has been previously outrighted off a 40-man roster during his career.

Tommy John surgery kept Perdomo off the mound entirely in 2024, and his return to action hasn’t seen an answer to the control problems that have plagued the southpaw for much of his limited MLB career.  Perdomo has a 16% career walk rate across his 52 career big league innings with the Brewers, Pirates, and Athletics, and a 5.54 career ERA reflects the lack of control.  Perdomo has only two strikeouts in 19 batters faced this year, but owns a whopping 34.2% strikeout rate over his time in the majors.

This ability to miss bats has gotten Perdomo attention from multiple teams.  The Braves took a flier on Perdomo with a split contract in the wake of his 2023 TJ procedure, but after getting a look at him in action this spring, Atlanta dealt Perdomo to the Angels late in camp.  The lefty’s time in the Angels’ camp was also limited to just a few days before he was designated and claimed away by the A’s.  It could be that another team in need of southpaw depth could be willing to make a claim and take a shot at fixing Perdomo’s control, since even an average amount of walks combined with his strikeout power could make him an interesting bullpen weapon.

Cardinals Place Masyn Winn On 10-Day IL, Activate Nolan Gorman

By | at

The Cardinals announced that shortstop Masyn Winn was placed on the 10-day injured list due to back spasms.  Winn will be replaced by fellow infielder Nolan Gorman, whose own 10-day IL stint (due to a hamstring strain) has now ended with Gorman’s activation to the big league roster.

Winn lasted just an inning into yesterday’s game before his bad back required his removal from the lineup.  Winn also fought through some back problems last season, and told reporters (including MLB.com’s John Denton) yesterday that his current issue “was similar” but “last year was actually a little bit worse.”  Winn felt he might miss a couple of games but wouldn’t need an IL trip, yet the Cardinals have apparently decided to take the cautious route in giving the shortstop 10 days to fully recover.

A second-round pick for St. Louis in the 2020 draft, Winn went from highly-touted prospect to everyday shortstop when he hit .267/.314/.416 with 15 homers over 637 plate appearances in 2024.  With both this above-average hitting and strong glovework in the view of some defensive metrics, Winn earned himself an everyday role in the Cardinals’ lineup, though he was off to a slow start at the plate this year.

Thomas Saggese now looks to play shortstop while Winn is out, though super-utilityman Brendan Donovan will also receive his first taste of shortstop playing time since 2023 as the Cardinals figure out how to juggle their roster.  Having Donovan at shortstop would open up second base for Gorman, since third base will only be a possibility if Nolan Arenado is given a rest day.  Gorman appeared in two games before hitting the IL, but he’ll now make it back after just a minimal 10-day absence.

Rays Place Kevin Kelly On 15-Day Injured List

By | at

Prior to Friday’s 6-3 win over the Braves, the Rays placed right-hander Kevin Kelly on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to April 10) with a left gluteal strain.  Righty Cole Sulser was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding roster move.

Rays manager Kevin Cash told the Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud and other reporters that Kelly woke up feeling sore on Thursday, following the reliever’s scoreless inning of work against the Angels the previous night.  There was some initial uncertainty over whether Kelly might’ve been dealing with a nerve issue or not, but Cash said “it’s an actual glute strain.  So, pretty unique in that fact.  We’ll see if it shrunk down in a couple days and get a ball back in his hands and see where he’s at.”

As Cash noted, a timeline isn’t yet in place for when Kelly might return, but the Rays will be without one of their more underrated relievers for at least the next two weeks.  The Rockies selected Kelly out of the Guardians’ organization in the 2022 Rule 5 Draft, and after Tampa acquired Kelly in a trade that same draft day, the right-hander has become the latest in a long line of pitchers to blossom with the Rays.

Kelly posted a 2.88 ERA, 21.5% strikeout rate, and a superb 4.3% walk rate over 137 2/3 relief innings for Tampa Bay in 2023-24.  That walk rate ranks among the best in the game over the last two seasons, and Kelly augmented that excellent control with very good soft-contact numbers.  His grounder rate also jumped from a very good 47.7% in 2023 to an elite 56.8% mark in 2024.  Kelly isn’t a hard thrower, but he rarely uses a traditional four-seamer, as he relies heavily on a devastating slider and an above-average sweeper to retire batters.

If that production wasn’t enough, Kelly is also a workhorse, often working multiple innings.  He has yet to go beyond one inning of work in any of his five outings this season, and his numbers are a bit more on the modest side in the small sample size of those five innings — a 3.60 ERA and an equal number of walks and strikeouts (two apiece).  All of the damage came on a two-run homer Kelly allowed to the Rockies’ Mickey Moniak on March 30, which marked only the tenth home run Kelly has surrendered in his MLB career.

In the short term, Cash said the Rays view Sulser as a candidate to take over from Kelly in that multi-inning capacity.  Tampa acquired Sulser from the Mets in a cash transaction last July, and Sulser tossed 11 2/3 scoreless innings for the Rays over the rest of the season.  Sulser had an excellent season out of the Orioles’ bullpen in 2021, but has since posted a 4.69 ERA over 55 2/3 innings with four different Major League teams.

Twins Designate Scott Blewett For Assignment

By | at

The Twins announced that right-hander Scott Blewett has been designated for assignment.  The move opens up a roster spot for left-hander Kody Funderburk, who was called up from Triple-A.

Blewett’s minor league deal was selected to Minnesota’s roster earlier this week, and the righty made a good accounting for himself by allowing one run over 4 2/3 relief innings, while striking out five of 19 batters faced and allowing no walks in his two appearances.  Today’s transaction simply seems to be about getting a fresh arm into the Twins pen, since Blewett tossed 36 pitches over 2 1/3 innings in yesterday’s 7-6 loss to the Tigers.

Blewett now has a 1.80 ERA over 25 big league innings for Minnesota over the last two seasons, though the strong bottom-line results haven’t earned him any kind of roster stability.  The Twins twice outrighted him off the 40-man roster in 2024, with Blewett both times clearing waivers and electing free agency, only to resign with the club on a new minors contract.  Assuming Blewett clears waivers again, the same scenario could play out this time around, though a team in need of some swingman help could consider putting in a claim.

The return to the big leagues and then to DFA limbo has made for quite the birthday week for Blewett, who turned 29 on Thursday.  Blewett is out of minor league options, so the Twins had no choice but to pursue the DFA/outright route in order to try and send him to Triple-A.  Blewett has worked only as a reliever over his 33 career MLB innings, but he has a lot of experience as a starter in the minors and during a brief stint in the Chinese Professional Baseball League in 2023.

Angels Place Ben Joyce On 15-Day Injured List

By | at

The Angels placed right-hander Ben Joyce on the 15-day injured list Friday, prior to the club’s 14-3 loss to the Astros.  Joyce is dealing with inflammation in his throwing shoulder, and the IL placement is retroactive to April 9.  Righty Michael Darrell-Hicks was called up from Triple-A to take Joyce’s spot on the active roster.

Shoulder inflammation brought Joyce’s 2024 season to a premature end, as the reliever didn’t pitch after September 3.  Joyce posted a 2.08 ERA, 23.2% strikeout rate, 58.9% grounder rate, and 9.9% walk rate over 34 2/3 innings in between his June call-up and that September 3 date, establishing himself as a force out of the Angels’ bullpen.  While Joyce had the high grounder rate and modest strikeout total of a pitch-to-contact type of hurler, he is best known for being one of the baseball’s hardest throwers, as Joyce averaged an absurd 102.1mph on his fastball last season.

Joyce has such extreme velocity that it registered as unusual when his fastball was humming at “only” 99.3mph during his last outing, but something seemed amiss when he allowed three runs on four hits over just a third of an inning on Tuesday against the Rays.  Joyce told MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger and other reporters that his shoulder was feeling fine during the game, and that he only started feeling sore while playing catch on Wednesday.

There isn’t yet any timeline for when the reliever might be able to return to action, though Joyce indicated that the IL placement was somewhat precautionary in nature.  He said initially, he “just kind of thought it was normal soreness, and ended up getting reevaluated and just a little more inflamed than we wanted it to be.  So [we’re] just trying to get ahead of it.”

The three-run meltdown against Tampa boosted Joyce’s ERA to 6.23 over 4 1/3 total innings this season, though he hadn’t allowed any earned runs in his four prior appearances.  The Angels have been using Joyce as a high-leverage fireman in front of closer Kenley Jansen, and so Joyce’s absence will essentially mean that everyone else in the Los Angeles bullpen might have to take a step up the depth chart.  Ryan Zeferjahn might be the favorite for the role out of default, as Zeferjahn is one of the few pitchers that has gotten off to a decent start within a tough couple of weeks for the Halos relief corps.

Padres Select Tyler Wade, Place Jake Cronenworth On IL

By | at

5:00pm: Cronenworth tells Cassavell that the fracture was discovered from an MRI yesterday, which surprised him. He’s hoping for a quick return but the timeline is “open-ended”.

4:15pm: The Padres announced that infielder Jake Cronenworth has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to April 9, with a non-displaced right rib fracture. Infielder/outfielder Tyler Wade was selected to take his place on the roster. To make room for Wade on the 40-man, right-hander Matt Waldron was transferred to the 60-day IL.

Cronenworth was hit by a pitch in Sunday’s game, as seen in this video from MLB.com. He stayed in that game and also played on Monday and Tuesday, but was removed from the latter contest and didn’t play on Wednesday. Manager Mike Shildt downplayed the issue as cramping while Cronenworth himself believed he would be ready to play by Friday, per AJ Cassavell of MLB.com.

It appears that the club has decided to send him to the IL instead. It’s unclear if he experienced some sort of setback or they just wanted to get him more rest. Since the IL stint has been backdated, he could be back in about a week if he’s healthy.

Fernando Tatis Jr. has also been battling some shoulder soreness this week and Jackson Merrill is on the IL with a hamstring strain, which left the Padres a bit short-handed this week. On Wednesday, they had Jose Iglesias at second base with an outfield rotation of Brandon Lockridge, Jason Heyward and Oscar González. That left Yuli Gurriel as the only non-catcher available off the bench for that game.

Wade, 30, will provide a bit more of a safety net. He’s never been much of a hitter, with a .217/.291/.289 line in his career, but he is a strong defender. He has experience playing all three outfield spots and the three infield spots to the left of first base. He didn’t break camp with the club this year but accepted an outright assignment after clearing waivers. Now the injury situation has quickly created a need for his return to the majors.

To open a spot for Wade, the club has made Waldron unavailable until late May. He started the season on the 15-day injured list with an oblique strain. He can return 60 days from that initial IL placement. His current status is unclear but it seems the Friars don’t expect him back in the next six weeks or so.

Photo courtesy of Rick Scuteri, Imagn Images

Marlins Designate Xzavion Curry For Assignment, Select Rob Brantly

By | at

The Marlins announced a series of roster moves today. Right-hander Edward Cabrera was reinstated from the 15-day injured list and catcher Rob Brantly was selected to the roster. In corresponding moves, catcher Nick Fortes was placed on the 10-day IL with a left oblique strain and righty Xzavion Curry was designated for assignment.

The Marlins started the season with Nick Fortes and Rule 5 pick Liam Hicks as their catching duo. Fortes is generally considered to be more of the glove-first variety. Hicks hasn’t hit much in his first eight major league games but has been known more for his bat, with questionable work behind the plate. Prospect Agustín Ramírez is also on the 40-man and has huge offensive numbers but prospect evaluators have also been suspicious about his work behind the plate.

Rather than recall Ramírez and have two weak defenders for the catching position, the Fish have replaced Fortes with Brantly. He’s a 35-year-old veteran depth guy who signed a minor league deal with the Marlins in the offseason. He made his debut back in 2012 and has received scattered playing time over the years. Despite debuting over a decade ago, he has appeared in just 138 games in his career. 2017 was the last time he got into more than six games in a season. 2013 was the last time he went beyond 14.

He is not really known for his bat, with a .222/.284/.322 line in his major league career. His minor league work has been better, with a .272/.357/.396 slash and 102 wRC+ since the canceled 2020 season. His work behind the plate in Triple-A has generally been well regarded. He can take up some of the catching duties and has certainly been around the game longer than the 25-year-old Hicks. That could provide the club with some veteran experience to help manage the pitching staff, which is largely composed of fairly inexperienced hurlers and veterans the Marlins are hoping to trade.

To open a 40-man spot for Brantly and an active roster spot for Cabrera, they have designated Curry for assignment. Cabrera started the season on the IL due to a blister on his throwing hand but is now ready to return.

Curry, 26, was added to the roster a few days into the season. Thanks to spring injuries suffered by Cabrera and Ryan Weathers, the staff was a bit taxed in the early going. He pitched on March 30 and April 2 but his usage has fallen off, with just one appearance on April 8th since then.

He’ll now head into DFA limbo for a week at most. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Marlins technically have five days to explore trade possibilities. Curry was passed through waivers unclaimed in February. He hasn’t had many opportunities to raise his stock since then but other clubs have been going through injury troubles, perhaps opening an opportunity for him somewhere.

His major league work isn’t terribly inspiring, with a 4.38 earned run average, 15.5% strikeout rate and 7.2% walk rate in 150 innings. He has flashed better numbers in the minors. In 2021 and 2022, he tossed 219 2/3 innings on the farm with a 3.28 ERA, 28.7% strikeout rate and 6.5% walk rate. He does have an option remaining, so an acquiring club would not need to put him on the active roster in the short term.

Photo courtesy of Jim Rassol, Imagn Images

Red Sox Outright Robert Stock

By | at

Right-hander Robert Stock has been outrighted to Triple-A Worcester, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment earlier this week.

Players have the right to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency if they have at least three years of major league service time or a previous career outright. Stock meets the latter criterion but it’s not clear if he will exercise his right. He could return to the open market or stick with the Sox as non-roster depth.

He just had a very brief stay on Boston’s roster, his first time in the big leagues in years. He wasn’t in the majors at any point during the 2022-2024 seasons but he put up some good numbers in Mexico last year. That led the Sox to give him a minor league deal. They played a doubleheader on Sunday with one game going to extra innings.

They added Stock on Monday to give the bullpen a fresh arm. That night, the Sox found themselves losing 5-1 to the Blue Jays after seven innings, so Stock was sent in to mop up the final two frames. He gave up three hits and issued one walk, leading to one run as the Sox lost 6-2. He was designated for assignment the next day.

The Sox ended up going to extras on Wednesday and Thursday as well. They don’t have another off-day until the 17th and then play another ten straight after that. Perhaps they may need a fresh arm in the bullpen again soon but they also might be able to strengthen the staff with Lucas Giolito and Brayan Bello, who are both currently on rehab assignments and almost ready to rejoin the big league club. That could push Richard Fitts or Sean Newcomb from the rotation into a long relief role.

Stock now has 74 2/3 innings in the majors, most of that coming from 2018 to 2021. Overall, he has a 4.70 earned run average, 22.5% strikeout rate, 12.1% walk rate and 49.3% ground ball rate. He pitched in Korea in 2022 then split 2023 between the minors and Indy Ball. Last year, he had a 3.38 ERA over 19 starts for Tecos de los Dos Laredos in the Mexican League. He then remained in Mexico for the winter ball season to put up a 1.60 ERA for Naranjeros de Hermosillo, which led to a minor league deal with the Red Sox.

Photo courtesy of David Butler II, Imagn Images

Show all

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

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top