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Orioles Place Tyler O’Neill On 10-Day Injured List

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The Orioles announced that outfielder Tyler O’Neill has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to neck inflammation.  The placement is retroactive to April 24.  Outfielder Dylan Carlson was called up from Triple-A to take O’Neill’s place on the 26-man roster.

O’Neill didn’t play in Baltimore’s game on Thursday and presumably wouldn’t have played yesterday either, had the Orioles’ game with the Tigers not been rained out.  Manager Brandon Hyde told reporters (including Jacob Calvin Meyer of the Baltimore Sun) that the IL placement was meant “to get [O’Neill] right” and completely over his neck soreness, though the outfielder isn’t expected to miss more than the minimum 10 days.

Signed to a three-year, $49.5MM guarantee in December, O’Neill was the biggest acquisition of the Orioles’ offseason, though the deal could end up being a one-year, $16.5MM pact if O’Neill triggers an opt-out clause at season’s end.  After hitting his customary Opening Day home run, O’Neill has yet to really get rolling this season, as he has hit only two homers in total while batting .215/.284/.385 in 74 plate appearances.  The outfielder’s walk and hard-contact rates are down, and he has continued his high-strikeout ways with a 28.4% strikeout rate.

O’Neill’s .337 xwOBA is much higher than his .293 wOBA, so there is at least some evidence that he has just been somewhat unlucky in the season’s first month.  His IL stint might well act as an unofficial reset point for O’Neill’s 2025 season and Orioles tenure, once his neck heals up.

Twins Place Luke Keaschall On 10-Day IL Due To Forearm Fracture

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TODAY: The Twins officially announced that Keaschall has been placed on the 10-day injured list.  His roster spot will be taken by Clemens, as the trade between the Twins and Phillies has now been officially announced.

APRIL 25: Twins rookie infielder Luke Keaschall suffered a non-displaced fracture in his right forearm during tonight’s win over the Angels. The team announced the injury to reporters (including Phil Miller of The Minnesota Star-Tribune and Dan Hayes of The Athletic).

Keaschall was hit by a Kyle Hendricks pitch on the inside of the arm. He stayed in the game to run the bases but was lifted for Mickey Gasper the next time through. Keaschall started tonight at designated hitter, so it wasn’t clear that he suffered an injury until the pinch-hit appearance. It halts a scorching start to the 22-year-old’s big league career. Keaschall has hit .368 with a .538 on-base percentage through his first 26 plate appearances. He has walked five times with just a pair of strikeouts.

Manager Rocco Baldelli quickly bumped Keaschall to the third spot in the Minnesota batting order. This was his fourth consecutive start there. The righty-hitting infielder has raked since entering pro ball as a second-round pick in 2023. He’s a .297/.415/.470 hitter over 662 minor league plate appearances. The bat has quickly put him among the sport’s top 50-100 prospects.

The Twins have been without Royce Lewis all season after a Spring Training hamstring strain. They lost Willi Castro to an oblique strain yesterday. Brooks Lee returned from an IL stint not too long ago. That pushed the scuffling Jose Miranda back to Triple-A. Minnesota has needed to look outside the organization to patch some of the holes. They acquired Jonah Bride from the Marlins last week and are reportedly in agreement to bring in Kody Clemens from the Phillies.

Keaschall is probably headed for an extended stay on the IL. The Twins will presumably shuffle most of their depth infielders through the DH spot, with Clemens an option to play second base on days when Edouard Julien works as the designated hitter.

Guardians Select Kolby Allard

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The Guardians announced that they have selected the contract of left-hander Kolby Allard from Triple-A Columbus.  Left-hander Erik Sabrowski was moved to the 60-day injured list and right-hander Zak Kent was optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding moves. As reported yesterday, Cleveland also called up Doug Nikhazy as the 27th man for today’s doubleheader with the Red Sox.

Allard signed a minor league deal with the Guards back in February, after the Phillies outrighted the southpaw off their roster following the 2024 season and Allard elected free agency.  It was essentially an early non-tender move for Philadelphia, as Allard was arbitration-eligible and projected to earn $1.1MM in 2025, though the Phils still opted against paying this modest sum.

The veteran didn’t make a sterling case for himself in posting a 5.00 ERA in 27 innings for the Phillies last year, with only a 19.7% strikeout rate but a solid 6.8% walk rate.  Allard’s 4.18 SIERA was notably better than his ERA, and it was the second-best SIERA Allard has posted during a seven-year MLB career that has seen the lefty post a 5.99 ERA across 272 innings with three different teams.  Allard hasn’t posted particularly good numbers as either a starter or as a reliever, but his ability to work in both capacities as a swingman has kept getting him opportunities at the big league level.

Yesterday’s rainout gave the Guardians an unexpected off-day, and it lines up a busy upcoming stretch of the schedule.  Cleveland will now play 13 games over the next 12 days, so having a versatile innings-eater like Allard on hand is a useful way to help the pitching staff cope with this increased workload.  It remains to be seen exactly how long Allard might stick on the Guardians’ roster, however, and since he is out of minor league options, the Guards would have to first designate him for assignment and expose him to waivers before outrighting him back to the minors.  Allard would again have the ability to opt for free agency over an outright assignment, should this situation play out.

Sabrowski began the season the 15-day IL after elbow inflammation kept him from pitching during Spring Training.  A move to the 60-day injured list counts as no surprise since Sabrowski will still need a lengthy ramp-up period to make up for the lack of his regular prep time, though it means his 2025 debut will be held off until late May at the earliest.  (As a reminder, the clock for a 60-day IL placement starts at the time of an initial IL placement, not from the time a player is officially moved to the 60-day.)

Twins Acquire Kody Clemens From Phillies

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TODAY: The trade has been officially announced, with the Phillies receiving cash considerations in exchange for Clemens.

APRIL 25: The Phillies are trading infielder Kody Clemens to the Twins, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Philadelphia had designated him for assignment earlier in the week. Minnesota adds infield depth within an hour of losing rookie second baseman Luke Keaschall to a broken arm.

It’s the second DFA infield pickup for the Twins in as many weeks. They made a similar move to bring in corner bat Jonah Bride from Miami. Clemens, a left-handed hitter, has 402 MLB plate appearances under his belt. He owns a .197/.244/.367 slash over parts of four seasons. The Texas product has been far more productive in Triple-A. Clemens has hit .259/.331/.507 in nearly 1300 plate appearances at the top minor league level.

Clemens spent two-plus seasons in Philadelphia. He was included as part of the Gregory Soto/Matt Vierling trade during the 2022-23 offseason. They’d shuttled him on and off the active roster for the first two seasons, but he has now exhausted his minor league options. Philadelphia couldn’t get him back to Triple-A without running him through waivers. While he broke camp as a result, Clemens wasn’t playing enough to make that a worthwhile use of a roster spot. He didn’t start a single game and had come off the bench for just six plate appearances.

There should be a better path to at-bats in Minnesota. The Twins recently lost Willi Castro to the injured list as well. Clemens and Bride are multi-positional infielders off the bench. Neither can really play shortstop, but Clemens could factor at any of the other infield spots and in the corner outfield. He could play some second base when the Twins want to use Edouard Julien as the DH.

They’ll open an active roster spot by placing Keaschall on the injured list. They created a 40-man roster spot by running minor league catcher Diego Cartaya through outright waivers this afternoon.

Dodgers, Nick Senzel Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Dodgers have reached agreement with infielder Nick Senzel on a minor league contract, reports Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase. He’ll presumably head to Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Senzel makes his return to affiliated ball after a brief stop in Mexico. The former #2 overall pick had signed with the Mexican League’s Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos. It didn’t take long for him to find interest from a big league club. Senzel hit .591 with three homers, four walks, and one strikeout over six games. That attracts attention even in an exceptionally hitter-friendly league.

A veteran of parts of six MLB seasons, Senzel divided last year between a pair of rebuilding clubs. He signed a $2MM deal with the Nationals and was released in July after hitting .209/.303/.359 over 64 games. Senzel briefly caught on with the White Sox, but they moved on after just 10 appearances. He elected free agency in August and had remained unsigned until getting the opportunity in Mexico.

Senzel never panned out as the Reds had expected when they drafted him so highly. He turned in a .239/.302/.369 line through parts of five seasons — much of that spent as Cincinnati’s primary third baseman. He’ll try to get back to the highest level in Los Angeles, where third base has been an issue. Max Muncy is out to a .171/.273/.237 start with 32 strikeouts in 88 plate appearances.

Rockies Select Owen Miller

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The Rockies announced the selection of infielder Owen Miller onto the major league roster. Colorado optioned third catcher Braxton Fulford back to Triple-A Albuquerque in a corresponding move. The Rox opened a 40-man roster spot by transferring Thairo Estrada from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list.

Miller reaches the majors for the fifth consecutive season. He played somewhat regularly with Cleveland between 2021-22, combining for a .231/.283/.338 slash over 190 games. The Guardians traded him to Milwaukee over the 2022-23 offseason. Miller posted a .261/.303/.371 line in 314 plate appearances during his first season with the Brewers. He wasn’t much of a factor last year, appearing in only 14 games before being designated for assignment in July.

The right-handed hitter cleared waivers and remained in Triple-A with Milwaukee for the rest of the year. The Brewers dealt him to the Rockies in the opening days of the offseason. He made 28 appearances this spring as a non-roster invitee. Miller began the year in Triple-A, where he’s hitting .244/.322/.372 with two homers through 90 trips to the plate. While that’s not especially impressive in the Pacific Coast League, Miller posted a more respectable .276/.354/.392 line in Triple-A last year. He’s not an option at shortstop but can back up the other three infield positions.

Ryan McMahon is the everyday third baseman. The injury to Ezequiel Tovar has pushed Aaron Schunk into regular shortstop work. Youngster Adael Amador is starting at second base on most days, while Kyle Farmer is also mixing into the middle infield. Miller joins Farmer on Bud Black’s bench. He’s out of minor league options, so the Rockies would need to designate him for assignment if they decide to take him off the MLB roster.

Estrada’s IL transfer officially rules him out for the first two months of the season. The 60-day minimum backdates to Opening Day. Estrada broke his right wrist when he was hit by a pitch late in Spring Training. He would have opened the season as the starting second baseman after signing a $3.25MM free agent contract.

Twins Outright Diego Cartaya

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The Twins have sent catcher Diego Cartaya outright to Triple-A Saint Paul, per Dan Hayes of The Athletic. There was no previous indication that he had been removed from the roster but it appears the club quietly put him on waivers recently. Their 40-man roster count drops to 39.

The Twins may have some specific plan for the roster spot they just opened but it’s also possible they just figured now was a good time to get Cartaya through waivers unclaimed. Once a top prospect, his stock was already at a low point to start this year, thanks to some subpar numbers at the plate in 2023 and 2024. He’s out to a horrendous start here in 2025, with a .080/.207/.200 line through seven Triple-A contests. He has struck out in 18 of his 29 plate appearances, an awful rate of 62.1%.

As of a few years ago, Cartaya was in the Dodgers’ system and one of the top prospects in the league. Baseball America had him as high as #18 overall going into the 2023 season. At that point, he had a combined .269/.380/.502 batting line and 136 wRC+ in his minor league career. He battled a number of injuries in that time, particularly in his back, but the results were clearly there when he was on the field.

But it’s been a downhill slide since then. Over the 2023 and 2024 seasons, he hit .205/.300/.371 in the minors for an 81 wRC+. The Dodgers, who had added him to their 40-man in November of 2022, designated him for assignment in January of this year when they signed Hyeseong Kim. He was flipped to the Twins for minor league right-hander Jose Vasquez.

As of a few months ago, his stock was down enough that he lost his roster spot with the Dodgers, but there was evidently still enough league-wide interest that the Twins gave up a minor leaguer to skip the waiver queue. But after his dreadful start this year, it appears the league’s view of him has dropped even further. 29 teams passed on the chance to grab him off waivers and stash him in Triple-A.

For the Twins, they have Ryan Jeffers and Christian Vázquez as their big league catchers. Should an injury situation pop up, Jair Camargo is still on the 40-man and playing at Triple-A. Cartaya will give them some non-roster depth and try to play his way back into a spot. Players need a previous career outright or three years of service time to have the right to reject an outright assignment. Cartaya has no major league service yet and this is his first career outright, so he’ll have to stick with the Saints.

Photo courtesy of Chris Tilley, Imagn Images

Braves Outright Jose Suarez

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The Braves outrighted lefty José Suarez to Triple-A Gwinnett, relays David O’Brien of The Athletic. Atlanta had designated him for assignment on Monday when they acquired Scott Blewett.

Suarez landed with the Braves a month ago. Atlanta and the Angels agreed on a change-of-scenery swap for Ian Anderson. It didn’t work for either team. Suarez has gone unclaimed on waivers, while Anderson is in limbo after the Halos designated him for assignment last night.

The 27-year-old Suarez made three appearances before the DFA. He managed 7 1/3 innings of three-run ball, but he walked a tightrope to do so. Suarez issued free passes to seven of 30 batters faced while recording only five strikeouts. While he only allowed three hits, more than half the batted balls against him were hit at an exit velocity of at least 95 MPH.

Suarez looked like a capable back-end starter for the Angels between 2021-22. His production has tanked since then, as he carries a 6.56 earned run average over the past three seasons. He lost a good chunk of the ’23 campaign to a shoulder strain, and he spent time in Triple-A last year after being waived by the Halos.

While Suarez could have declined this assignment in favor of free agency, he would have forfeited what remains of his $1.1MM salary to do so. He’ll head to Gwinnett as long relief depth and try to pitch his way back onto the big league roster. He’d become a minor league free agent at season’s end if the Braves don’t call him back up.

Pirates Select Matt Gorski

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The Pirates announced the selection of outfielder/first baseman Matt Gorski onto the major league roster. Pittsburgh also recalled righty Mike Burrows. They optioned Jack Suwinski to Triple-A Indianapolis and placed Justin Lawrence on the 15-day injured list with elbow inflammation. Pittsburgh transferred lefty reliever Tim Mayza from the 15-day to the 60-day IL to create a 40-man roster spot for Gorski. Mayza is facing a weeks-long shutdown with lat and shoulder strains, so the transfer is a formality.

It’s the first major league call for the 27-year-old Gorski. A second-round pick out of Indiana in 2019, he ranked in the middle of Pittsburgh’s top 30 prospects for his first couple pro seasons. Evaluators credited Gorski with solid speed and power but questioned his pure hit tool. He posted alarming strikeout rates for a college draftee in the low minors. He nevertheless reached Triple-A by the end of 2023 and has played there for the past two years.

Gorski batted .257/.319/.522 over 113 games a year ago. He connected on 23 homers and stole 15 bases, though he was also caught nine times. Gorski struck out at a near-29% clip, so Pittsburgh decided not to add him to the 40-man and left him exposed to the Rule 5 draft. He went unselected and remained with the Bucs. He received a Spring Training invite and hit .360 with four homers in 27 trips to the plate.

The Bucs assigned Gorski back to Triple-A to begin this year. He’s out to a nice start, connecting on three homers and seven doubles while hitting .300 over 18 games. He has fanned 18 times in 73 plate appearances (23.4%) but done enough for the Pirates to see if he can improve the lineup. The Pirates are hitting .222/.304/.335 on the season. They’re in the bottom 10 in both average and on-base percentage, while only the White Sox and Royals have a lower slugging mark.

Primarily a right fielder, Gorski has experience at all three outfield spots and at first base. Oneil Cruz has center field locked down, while Bryan Reynolds is back in right after spending time at DH because of triceps discomfort. Gorski could take some at-bats from left fielder Tommy Pham, who is hitting .184/.267/.224 without a home run. Lefty-hitting utility infielder Enmanuel Valdez has been playing first base. Gorski could factor in there against lefty pitching.

Meanwhile, Burrows draws into Derek Shelton’s bullpen with Lawrence on the shelf. Pittsburgh claimed Lawrence off waivers from the Rockies early in Spring Training. The righty had pitched well in the early going, working 11 1/3 frames of one-run ball. He struck out 15 and was getting grounders at a strong 52.4% clip. It’s unclear for how long he’ll be out of action.

Alex Stumpf of MLB.com first noted that Gorski was in the clubhouse. Colin Beazley of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was first to report that Suwinski would be optioned and Burrows was being recalled.

Marlins Outright Patrick Monteverde

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The Marlins have sent left-hander Patrick Monteverde outright to Triple-A Jacksonville, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment on Sunday.

Monteverde, 27, was just selected to a big league roster for the first time on Saturday. The Fish had used four relievers in their previous game and wanted to add a fresh arm to their bullpen. Cal Quantrill took the ball on Saturday but allowed seven earned runs to the Phillies through 3 1/3 innings. Monteverde came in for some mop-up work and tossed 3 2/3 innings, allowing four earned runs on nine hits and a walk, with four strikeouts.

He likely wasn’t going to be available for a few days after that, so he was promptly designated for assignment on Sunday as the Fish called up another couple of fresh arms. He has now cleared waivers and will stick with the Marlins as non-roster depth. Since he doesn’t have a previous career outright or three years of service time, he doesn’t have the right to elect free agency.

An eighth-round pick from 2021, Monteverde has primarily been working as a starter. He has 369 1/3 minor league innings under his belt to this point, having allowed 4.26 earned runs per nine. His 23.6% strikeout rate and 8.6% walk rate are both pretty close to par. As recently as June of last year, FanGraphs ranked him the #24 prospect in the system, calling him a “high-floored depth starter type.”

Photo courtesy of Kyle Ross, Imagn Images

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