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Rays Designate Forrest Whitley, Promote Joe Rock

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The Rays announced that right-hander Forrest Whitley has been designated for assignment.  Replacing Whitley on the active roster is left-hander Joe Rock, who has been called up from Triple-A Durham to make his first appearance on a big league roster.

It was just over two weeks ago that Tampa Bay acquired Whitley in a trade with Houston, after the Astros also DFA’d the right-hander.  The move marked the end of Whitley’s nearly nine-year run in the Astros organization, as the 17th overall pick of the 2016 draft dealt with a bunch of injuries and a 50-game PED suspension (in 2018) over the course of what had been a star-crossed career.  Whitley didn’t make his MLB debut until 2024 when he made three appearances for Houston, and the Astros opted to finally move on after the righty posted a 12.27 ERA over 7 1/3 innings this season.

Things haven’t gone much better for Whitley since the trade, as he has a 15.43 ERA in 4 2/3 innings over five appearances with the Rays.  All of the damage came in the final two of those appearances — Whitley didn’t retire any of six batters faced and was charged with all six runs in a disastrous outing on June 22, and he was tagged for four runs (two earned) in an inning of work in yesterday’s 22-8 Rays loss to the Orioles.

As you might expect from such a football-esque score, the Rays ran through a lot of their bullpen last night, so Rock represents a fresh arm for the relief corps.  Whitley is out of minor league options, so the Rays had to first go the DFA route before Whitley can be moved to Triple-A and off the 40-man roster.  Tampa Bay could work out another trade to send Whitley elsewhere during the DFA period, or an interested team could simply claim him away on waivers.

Whitley’s prospect pedigree is such that another club might well pick him, though his out-of-options status complicates matters.  It could be that Whitley might be in for a string of claims/trades and designations, unless he shows enough immediate results to get himself a longer look in a team’s bullpen.  In the small sample of his time with the Rays, he threw his cutter far more often (51% of the time) than he did during his previous MLB stints with the Astros, though that attempted fix didn’t last long.

Rock will be making his Major League debut whenever he officially appears in a game.  The southpaw has a notable draft position in his own right, as the Rockies selected 68th overall of the 2021 draft.  Tampa acquired Rock in a trade in March 2024, and added him to its 40-man roster last November in advance of the Rule 5 Draft.  After posting a 4.58 ERA in 137 2/3 Triple-A innings last year, Rock has pretty similar numbers in Durham this season, delivering a 4.81 ERA along with a 19.8% strikeout rate and 9.4% walk rate that are each steps backwards from his metrics in 2024.

Rock has worked primarily as a starter during his minor league career, but could be viewed as an innings-eating long reliever in the Show.  MLB Pipeline (which rates Rock as the 21st-best prospect in Tampa Bay’s farm system) suggests that relief work might be in Rock’s future, as his 55-grade slider and fastball could be an effective one-two punch coming out of the pen.

Orioles Select Emmanuel Rivera, Designate Kyle Tyler

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The Orioles announced a trio of roster moves, including the selection of Emmanuel Rivera’s contract from Triple-A Norfolk.  To make room on the 26-man and 40-man rosters, outfielder Dylan Carlson was optioned to Triple-A, and right-hander Kyle Tyler was designated for assignment.

Rivera’s arrival seems like a direct response to Jordan Westburg’s finger injury, which forced him to make an early exit from yesterday’s game.  Westburg jammed his left index finger during a stolen base attempt last weekend and missed three games in recovery, though his attempt to return to action was short-lived.  Interim manager Tony Mansolino told reporters (including the Baltimore Sun’s Jacob Calvin Meyer) that Westburg may again miss a “couple of days” but the injured list isn’t a consideration.

If Westburg is able to return in short order, Rivera will at least get to celebrate his birthday with his Orioles teammates, as the infielder turns 29 tomorrow.  Rivera is no stranger to roster shuffles, as he is out of minor league options and has been designated for assignment four times since the start of the 2024 season — once apiece by the Diamondbacks and Marlins in 2024, and twice this year by the Orioles.  The first two of those DFAs saw Rivera change teams via trade and then claim, whereas this year, the O’s have twice outrighted Rivera to Triple-A after he cleared waivers.

Rivera has hit .232/.303/.275 over 76 plate appearances with Baltimore this season, which is a step back even from his modest .243/.306/.363 career slash line in 1118 PA and 365 MLB games.  Rivera has primarily played third base over his five big league seasons, so he can provide some depth at the hot corner while Westburg is sidelined.

Tyler is another veteran of the DFA process, as a whirlwind stretch of transactions in March-April 2022 saw Tyler join four different teams on waiver claims.  The Phillies also claimed Tyler away from the Marlins in August 2024, and the Orioles claimed him from Philadelphia less than two weeks ago after the right-hander was designated yet again.

Tyler has a 4.31 ERA over 48 career innings in the majors but he has yet to see any big league work this year.  With a 4.19 ERA over 66 2/3 combined innings with the Phillies’ and Orioles’ Triple-A affiliates, Tyler might well find himself on the move again to another team in need of some rotation or long relief depth.

Reds Place Jake Fraley On 10-Day Injured List

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The Reds activated outfielder Austin Hays from the 10-day injured list yesterday, and placed Jake Fraley on the 10-day IL (retroactive to June 24) in the corresponding move.  Fraley may be facing an extended or even season-ending absence, as the outfielder told MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon and other reporters that he has a partial right labrum tear, even though the Reds officially listed a right shoulder sprain as the reason for his IL placement.

Surgery might be required to fix Fraley’s shoulder, though he is in the process of seeking out what Sheldon describes as a third opinion for what has apparently been a longstanding shoulder problem.  Fraley spent a couple of weeks on the IL due to right shoulder soreness late in the 2021 season when he was still with the Mariners, and he has been dealing with “some achiness” ever since, and that lingering soreness went up a level during a play last season.

“I had a play going into the wall that I jammed up the shoulder,” Fraley said.  “I never went on the IL.  I played through it, still had a good season and it was fine but it was excruciating.”

Fraley hasn’t played since Monday, when he made a diving attempt to try and catch what ended up being a Cody Bellinger double.  He felt the tear might have occurred during that particular play, even though he felt good enough to stay on the field and finish the last two innings of the Reds’ 6-1 win over the Yankees.

“We’re just trying to figure out if it’s something that’s just an old injury that kind of showed its face again,” Fraley said.  “This is something new with the tear in the front.  We’re just trying to figure out the best option for, obviously, me and this season on this team and then as well trying to gauge what is the best thing for me in my career.  Just because it is something that has been chronic and now you’re throwing a tear on top of it.”

This is the second IL stint of the year for Fraley, who missed a little over three weeks dealing with a calf injury in May.  The outfielder is hitting .224/.331/.376 with five home runs over 145 plate appearances, translating to a 96 wRC+ that is virtually identical to the 95 wRC+ that Fraley posted over 382 PA in 2024.  His walk and hard-contact numbers are way up from last year’s stats, yet Fraley only has a .250 BABIP this season, as opposed to the .331 BABIP he enjoyed last season.

Injuries have long been a subplot of Fraley’s career, and it could be that these varied health issues (headlined by this recurring shoulder problem) have limited his production over the last two years.  The Reds have primarily used the left-handed hitting Fraley in a platoon role in their outfield since acquiring the outfielder from Seattle in March 2022, and Fraley’s solid numbers against right-handed pitching have declined since the start of the 2024 campaign.

If a season-ending shoulder surgery is in the cards for Fraley, Cincinnati would still have TJ Friedl, Will Benson, and Gavin Lux as left-handed hitting options for the outfield, with Lux perhaps getting even more time in left field as opposed to playing second or third base.  While the Reds aren’t hurting for depth in terms of pure players available, the club hasn’t gotten much offense from its outfield as a whole this season.  Getting Hays back can help, but since Hays has been on and off the IL himself all year and might see a lot of DH time.

In short, the outfield was already looking like a need for the Reds at the trade deadline, as Cincinnati is looking to boost what has been an overall middling offense.  While the team sits in fourth place in the competitive NL Central, the 43-39 Reds are only five games back of the division-leading Cubs and two games out of the final NL wild card berth, so Cincinnati projects to be a buyer to some extent before the July 31 deadline.

Blue Jays Release Spencer Turnbull

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The Blue Jays released Spencer Turnbull, according to the MLB.com transaction log. Assuming he clears release waivers, he’ll return to free agency. Toronto had designated the veteran righty for assignment on Wednesday.

Turnbull has over five years of MLB service time and had the right to refuse an outright assignment while retaining his prorated (approximate) $1.27MM salary. The Jays didn’t get much from that modest investment. They were shuttling through fifth starters after losing Max Scherzer to the injured list when they signed Turnbull in early May. He had gone unsigned all winter and wasn’t ready for MLB action, so he spent a little over a month on optional assignment building into game shape in the minors.

By the time Turnbull was ready to be called up, Eric Lauer had impressed the club in a swing role. Lauer subsequently took hold of the fifth starter job and remains in the rotation even after Scherzer’s activation, as Bowden Francis landed on the injured list. Turnbull only made three appearances — two in relief and one abbreviated start — and gave up five runs in 6 1/3 innings. He surrendered 12 hits with four walks and strikeouts apiece.

Despite the shorter stints, Turnbull’s fastball speed was down a tick. He averaged roughly 91 MPH after sitting at 92 as a swingman for the Phillies last season. He pitched well for Philadelphia, working to a 2.65 ERA while striking out 26% of batters faced in 54 1/3 innings. His 2024 season ended when he sustained a lat strain in late June.

Diamondbacks Outright Aramis Garcia

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June 27: Garcia was outrighted back to Reno, per the MLB.com transaction log. He’ll have the right to elect free agency but may decide to accept the assignment as he did earlier in the year.

June 23: The Diamondbacks have announced their signing of catcher James McCann, which was reported yesterday. Fellow backstop Aramis Garcia has been designated for assignment as the corresponding move.

Garcia, 32, went 0-for-4 in his limited time with the D-backs. Arizona selected him to the 40-man roster last week after Gabriel Moreno was placed on the injured list due to a broken finger. It appeared as though he might get a bit of runtime with Jose Herrera — typically Moreno’s backup — struggling in an increased role since Moreno was first banged up. Instead, the D-backs scooped up the veteran McCann, who’s been playing with Atlanta’s Triple-A affiliate but had a rolling opt-out/upward mobility clause in his minor league deal there.

Garcia has played in parts of six major league seasons and carries a career .208/.245/.321 batting line in 331 trips to the plate. He hit well with the Diamondbacks’ top minor league affiliate in Reno this year, slashing .250/.399/.524 in 38 games. Garcia is a lifetime .235/.306/.430 hitter in parts of seven Triple-A seasons.

This is the second time the D-backs have designated Garcia for assignment this year. He cleared waivers the first time and accepted an outright assignment back to Reno. Arizona will have five days to trade him before he has to be placed on waivers, although he can be placed on waivers at any point prior to that as well. Waivers are a 48-hour process, so we’ll know within a week’s time how his latest DFA will play out. If Garcia again passes through waivers unclaimed, he’ll have the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency (although he also had that right last time around and opted to stick with the D-backs).

Guardians Reinstate Erik Sabrowski, Transfer Will Brennan To 60-Day IL

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The Guardians announced today that left-hander Erik Sabrowski has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. Right-hander Zak Kent has been optioned to Triple-A Columbus as the corresponding active roster move. To open a 40-man spot, outfielder Will Brennan has been transferred to the 60-day IL. The 40-man roster remains full.

Sabrowski, 27, had a very promising big league debut. He was added to Cleveland’s roster at the end of August last year and tossed 12 2/3 scoreless innings down the stretch, striking out a massive 40.4% of batters faced in that small sample of work. The Guards carried him on the roster into the postseason, where he added 5 1/3 innings with just one earned run allowed.

He hasn’t yet been able to build on that here in 2025. He missed spring training due to some inflammation in his pitching elbow and landed on the IL to start the year. He was healthy enough to start a rehab assignment by the end of May and has since allowed four earned runs in nine minor league innings. He’ll give the Guards a third lefty in the bullpen alongside Tim Herrin and Kolby Allard.

Brennan, 27, underwent Tommy John surgery earlier this month. He’ll spend the rest of the season on the IL, collecting big league pay and service time. He should qualify for arbitration this winter as a Super Two player, though his mostly lost season will hamper his ability to earn a meaningful raise in that system.

Photo courtesy of Wendell Cruz, Imagn Images

Griffin Canning Diagnosed With Ruptured Achilles

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3:40pm: Canning underwent surgery this morning, Mendoza tells reporters (via Laura Albanese of Newsday). Tidwell is indeed available out of the bullpen tonight, but the plan moving forward will eventually be for him to step into Canning’s rotation spot.

2:32pm: The Mets announced that right-hander Griffin Canning has been placed on the 60-day injured list with a ruptured left Achilles. They also optioned right-hander Austin Warren and infielder Jared Young. To fill those three spots, infielder Mark Vientos has been reinstated from the 10-day IL, righty Blade Tidwell has been recalled and left-hander Colin Poche has been selected to the roster. The Mets added that lefty Richard Lovelady, who was designated for assignment earlier this week, has cleared waivers and elected free agency. Outfielder Jose Azocar, who recently elected free agency himself, has been re-signed to a new minor league deal.

The Canning news is devastating but not surprising. He had to be helped off the field last night, clearly unable to put weight on his left leg. It immediately appeared to be an Achilles injury and manager Carlos Mendoza admitted after the game that the club suspected as much.

The Mets haven’t yet relayed an expected timeline but it’s fair to conclude Canning’s season is over. An injury like this can often take a full year to recover from. Given that half the 2025 season is already in the books, Canning is surely going to miss the remainder and likely part of the 2026 campaign as well.

It’s a terrible break for the 29-year-old Canning, a former second-round pick and top prospect with the Angels. He’d looked on the cusp of establishing himself as a regular rotation member in Anaheim back in 2019-20 before a stress reaction in his back wiped out most of his 2021 season and all of his 2022 campaign. He returned with solid numbers in 2023 before crashing with a 5.19 ERA in 31 starts last season. The Halos traded him to the Braves for Jorge Soler in a swap of unwanted salaries following the 2024 season, and Atlanta ultimately non-tendered him.

The Mets brought a fresh start for Canning, and he looked to be taking full advantage. The right-hander has started 16 games and pitched 76 1/3 innings of 3.77 ERA ball, fanning 21.3% of his opponents with a huge 50.9% grounder rate — albeit against a less-encouraging 10.7% walk rate. Canning was terrific up through early June (2.90 ERA) but in the three starts prior to his injury had been tagged for 13 runs in 14 1/3 frames.

Even with that rough stretch, Canning looked well on his way to positioning himself for a nice multi-year deal on the open market. He could still command a two-year deal, in theory, but it’d be small in scale with a backloaded salary structure to reflect the uncertainty surrounding the first year of his contract — similar to the one former Angels rotation-mate Patrick Sandoval signed with the Red Sox.

As for the rest of the Mets’ transactions, a couple were expected. Vientos said yesterday that he was told he’d be activated today. He’ll return after a nearly monthlong absence due to a hamstring strain and hope to get back on track. The 26-year-old broke out with a .266/.322/.516 batting line (133 wRC+) and 27 home runs in just 111 games last year, seemingly cementing himself as a fixture at one of the infield corners for years to come.

That may still be the case, but Vientos hasn’t looked the part so far in 2025, slashing just .230/.298/.380. He’s actually cut his strikeout rate and improved his walk rate while continuing to hit the ball hard, however, creating good reason to be optimistic about a turnaround. The Mets have been waiting for some combination of their long-vaunted quartet of infielders — Vientos, Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio, Luisangel Acuña — to seize spots around the infield, and that’s yet to happen. A return to form for Vientos would be a step in that direction and a boon for a Mets lineup that has struggled in recent weeks.

Tidwell was reported to be joining the Mets last night as well. The Mets’ second-round pick in 2022, he’s regarded as one of the system’s most promising young arms. His two starts earlier this year didn’t go well (eight runs in 7 1/3 innings), and the 24-year-old is coming off a tough start in Triple-A, where he served up six runs to the Yankees’ top affiliate. Prior to that ugly outing, he’d rattled off a 3.55 ERA with a 28.9% strikeout rate and 8.6% walk rate in 45 2/3 innings across eight starts. He’ll be in the bullpen for now, per SNY’s Andy Martino, which makes sense with David Peterson, Paul Blackburn and Frankie Montas lined up for weekend starts against the Pirates and an off-day on Monday.

Poche, 31, signed a minor league deal with the Mets back in May. He opened the season with the division-rival Nationals but was rocked for 11 runs in 8 2/3 innings before being cut loose. The Mets themselves contributed to that damage, tagging him for a run in two-thirds of an inning during a late-April meeting.

Ugly as that brief stint was, Poche had a nice track record in four prior seasons with the Rays, pitching to a combined 3.63 ERA with a 27% strikeout rate and 9.2% walk rate in 208 1/3 innings. Since signing with the Mets, he’s pitched 12 2/3 innings down in Syracuse, logging a 4.26 ERA with an uncharacteristic and alarming 17.9% walk rate.

If Lovelady’s tenure with the Mets is any sort of indication, it could be a brief stay on the big league roster for Poche. The 29-year-old opted out of a minor league deal with the Twins earlier this month, signed a big league deal with the Mets and was designated for assignment after just one appearance (two runs in 1 2/3 innings). Lovelady was excellent in Triple-A with Minnesota and has a nice track record at that level. He’s shown consistent ability to generate grounders, miss bats and limit walks at passable levels, but he’s struggled with men on base in the majors and limped to a 5.35 ERA in 102 2/3 innings across parts of six seasons.

Azocar, also 29, appeared in a dozen games with the Mets earlier this year and hit .278/.350/.278 in 20 plate appearances. He’s a righty-swinging, glove-first outfielder with good speed who can handle left, center and right on any given day. The former Padre is a career .244/.290/.319 hitter in 418 major league plate appearances.

Jose Barrero Elects Free Agency

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Infielder/outfielder Jose Barrero, who was recently designated for assignment by the Cardinals, went unclaimed on waivers and has rejected an outright assignment in favor of free agency, MLBTR has learned. Barrero will explore opportunities around the league but also has interest from at least one team in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball and is weighing whether to pursue an overseas opportunity.

Barrero, 27, appeared in 22 games with the Cardinals but was only given 31 plate appearances. He hit just .138/.194/.276 in that scattershot playing time. This was his fifth season of big league work, but he’s yet to deliver on his former top prospect billing in the majors, with a .182/.238/.257 slash in 478 plate appearances between the Reds (who initially signed him out of Cuba) and Cardinals.

Although Barrero hasn’t yet found his stride in the majors, he has a more solid track record in Triple-A. He’s a career .247/.324/.475 hitter in parts of five seasons there, including a huge .299/.396/.517 showing in 101 plate appearances with the Cardinals’ Memphis affiliate in 2025. In 252 Triple-A games, Barrero has swatted 51 homers and gone 48-for-56 (86%) in stolen base attempts.

Barrero has primarily been a shortstop, logging more than 5100 innings at the position since turning pro, but he’s gradually begun to see time at other positions as well in recent years. He’s played just shy of 300 innings at second base and 94 innings at third base, but his most frequent non-shortstop position has been center field, where he’s now piled up 719 innings. There are some justifiable concerns about his hit tool — Barrero has fanned in 30% of his Triple-A plate appearances — but Barrero offers an enticing blend of power and speed as well as the ability to play multiple up-the-middle positions on the defensive end of things.

Athletics Designate T.J. McFarland For Assignment

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The Athletics announced today that right-hander Elvis Alvarado has been recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas. Left-hander T.J. McFarland has been designated for assignment as the corresponding move. They also announced their release of Seth Brown, which MLBTR covered yesterday. The 40-man roster count drops to 38.

McFarland, 36, was also with the A’s last year. He posted a solid 3.81 earned run average in 2024, with his usual blend of low strikeout totals but high numbers of ground balls. The two sides reunited for 2025 on a one-year deal worth $1.8MM.

Unfortunately, things have been far less pleasant this year. The veteran lefty has made 27 appearances here in 2025 but has logged just 15 2/3 innings with a 6.89 ERA. It’s not quite as bad as that number would suggest. A .393 batting average on balls in play and 66.2% strand rate aren’t helping him, which is why his 4.61 FIP and 3.81 SIERA are far more pleasant numbers. However, his 9.5% strikeout rate is low, even for him. He has a 13.7% strikeout rate in his career and was at 16.6% just last year.

On the other hand, he is still getting those grounders. This year, opponents are pounding the ball into the dirt at a 61.3% clip. That’s right in line with his career rate of 61.7%. Major league average is usually around 42%, give or take, so that’s clearly a strong range to be in.

Perhaps McFarland would fit better on a club with stronger defense. The A’s have a collective -20 Outs Above Average this year, tied with the Nationals for worst in the majors. Their -37 Defensive Runs Saved tally is ahead of only the Rockies. Perhaps that explains some of the poor batted ball luck and difficulties stranding runners.

But given his poor results and salary, he’s likely to end up a free agent shortly. Clubs will be reluctant to claim him off waivers, as doing so would mean absorbing what’s left of the contract. If he clears waivers, he has more than enough service time to reject an outright assignment while keeping that salary intact. It’s possible the A’s skip that formality and release him.

If he does end up a free agent, the A’s would be on the hook for his salary. Another club could then sign him and pay him the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the roster, with that amount subtracted from what the A’s pay. At that point, it’s possible a club takes a shot on a bounceback.

McFarland has 546 1/3 big league innings under his belt with a 4.18 ERA, thanks largely to that ability to keep the ball on the ground. It has been backfiring on him this year but, as mentioned, it could work out better somewhere else. With the trade deadline still a month away and bullpen upgrades difficult to come by at the moment, there may be clubs willing to take a cheap flier on the veteran to see how it plays out.

Photo courtesy of Darren Yamashita, Imagn Images

Diamondbacks Sign Albert Almora To Minor League Deal

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The Diamondbacks have signed outfielder Albert Almora to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Reno. The move was announced by the minor league affiliate. Almora had been playing in Triple-A with the Marlins but was released last week.

A former sixth overall pick by the Cubs, Almora played parts of five seasons with Chicago as a light-hitting defensive specialist in center field. He logged a bit of time with the Mets in 2021 and appeared in 65 games for Cincinnati three seasons ago. The right-handed hitter turned in a .223/.282/.349 line through 235 plate appearances with the Reds in what remains his most recent big league action.

Almora spent all of last year in the Arizona system. He tallied nearly 600 plate appearances with Reno, batting .292/.349/.438 with nine home runs. That’s a solid slash line on the surface but is below average once one accounts for Reno’s status as one of the most hitter-friendly parks in affiliated ball. Almora never got an MLB look from the Snakes and signed a minor league deal with his hometown Marlins over the winter. He was batting .240/.289/.315 with their top affiliate in Jacksonville when they released him.

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