Blue Jays Acquire Lenyn Sosa
The Blue Jays have acquired infielder Lenyn Sosa from the White Sox, according to announcements from both clubs. In exchange, Chicago receives minor league outfielder Jordan Rich and a player to be named later or cash considerations. The Jays transferred right-hander Shane Bieber to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man spot. Sosa is out of options and will also need an active roster spot once he reports to the team.
Sosa, 26, is coming off the best season of his big league career. In 2025, he stepped to the plate 544 times for the Sox and launched 22 home runs. Despite those long balls, his offense was only league average overall since Sosa doesn’t get on base very much. His 3.3% walk rate last year was less than half of the 8.4% league average. Michael Harris II was the only qualified hitter in the majors with a lower walk rate.
He also doesn’t provide much on defense, though he is versatile. He has played all four infield positions in his career but hasn’t played shortstop since 2022. Most of his time has been spent at second base, where his grades have not been good. Outs Above Average puts him four below par at that position in his career while Defensive Runs Saved has him 17 below average. His grades at the corner spots have also been below average.
He has been out to a slow start this year, with something less than an everyday role. The Sox were surprisingly able to sign Munetaka Murakami this winter and made him their regular first baseman. Sosa has been used a few times in the designated hitter spot, in addition to one start at first base and one at second. He has a .212/.212/.303 line in 33 plate appearances.
Sosa came into 2026 with just over two years of service time, meaning he can be controlled through 2029. However, he may have been getting squeezed a bit with the Sox. The Murakami signing filled the first base slot and also made Miguel Vargas the everyday third baseman. The Sox have been using Chase Meidroth as their regular at second base. Sosa is out of options and can’t be sent to the minors.
For the Jays, they have been bit hard by the injury bug in the early going this year. On the position player side, Anthony Santander required shoulder surgery back in February and will be out for several more months. Since the season has started, the Jays have lost catcher Alejandro Kirk to a thumb fracture, designated hitter George Springer to a toe fracture and infielder/outfielder Addison Barger to an ankle sprain.
In response to those injuries, the Jays have had to reach into their depth. Brandon Valenzuela has been recalled to help Tyler Heineman behind the plate. Eloy Jiménez was added to the roster to replace Springer. Tyler Fitzgerald, recently acquired from the Giants, has been on the bench but hasn’t been put into a game yet.
Most of the time, the Jays have an infield of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at first, Ernie Clement at second, Andrés Giménez at shortstop and Kazuma Okamoto at third. With Springer no longer in the DH spot every day, there could be a bit more flexibility to move some guys around. Okamoto is off to a slow start in his big league career, with a 35% strikeout rate through 60 plate appearances, effectively double his strikeout rate in Japan. Perhaps the Jays could put him in the DH spot a bit more regularly to have him focus on getting his approach down. Or if the Jays want to give Guerrero a little breather, he could DH while Okamoto or Sosa covers first base.
Sosa could also slot into the DH spot himself. Fitzgerald has options and could perhaps be the corresponding move for Sosa in the coming days, though if the Jays are squeezing Jiménez from DH at-bats, then perhaps he could be designated for assignment. Sosa’s righty bat could be used to pinch hit for some lefties. He had fairly even splits in 2025 but they have been wider overall. He has a .277/.301/.431 line and 102 wRC+ against lefties in his career and a .232/.261/.369 line and 73 wRC+ against righties.
There are certainly flaws in Sosa’s profile but the Jays felt they needed to bolster the position player group and there aren’t many options for doing that at this time of the year. Sosa has some pop and some flexibility, even if he’s not a standout defender. If things go especially well, he can be controlled for three more seasons after this one. But since he’s out of options, it’s also possible he gets squeezed in the coming weeks if the guys on the IL can get healthy.
For the Sox, as mentioned, Sosa was one of their better hitters last year but has been pushed into a part-time role this year. He is only 26 years old, so they could have held onto him, hoping for improved plate discipline and/or better defense going forward. But that would be hard to do with limited playing time and no ability to be sent to the minors, so they’ve cashed him in for future talent.
If they get any payoff from Rich, it won’t be soon. He was just drafted last year out of high school, in the 17th round, and is only 18 years old. He hasn’t yet appeared in an official game since being drafted. He doesn’t appear on lists of the top prospects in the Jays’ system, so he’s a long-term lottery ticket for the Sox. They could also add more talent later, depending on the player to be named later.
As for Bieber, he had some forearm fatigue in the offseason and the Jays have been building him up slowly. This transaction means he is ineligible to be reinstated until late May. He has been throwing off a mound lately but hasn’t yet begun a rehab assignment. Since he missed all of spring training, he’ll effectively need a full ramp-up, even though he’s now up on the mound. Whenever he begins an official rehab assignment, that can last as long as 30 days.
Photo courtesy of Brad Mills, Imagn Images
Blue Jays Re-Sign Austin Voth To Minor League Deal
The Blue Jays brought right-hander Austin Voth back on a minor league deal, according to the MLB.com transaction tracker. He’d elected free agency last week after being designated for assignment. Voth returns to Triple-A Buffalo a few days later.
Toronto also re-signed lefty Josh Fleming on a non-roster contract over the weekend. Both pitchers were called into spot duty as the Jays battle various rotation injuries. Voth had only started one Triple-A game before the MLB club needed him for a long relief outing. He worked 2 2/3 innings of one-run ball against the White Sox on April 5 and was designated for assignment the next day as the Jays cycled through fresh arms.
That was Voth’s first major league appearance since 2024. The 33-year-old spent last season in Japan as a member of the Chiba Lotte Marines. Voth started 22 games and turned in a 3.96 ERA across 125 innings during his lone NPB campaign. His most recent extended big league work was solid, as he provided the 2024 Mariners with 61 frames of 3.69 ERA ball in low-leverage relief.
Voth mixed six pitches in his lone MLB appearance for the Blue Jays. He sat around 91 mph with his four-seam fastball and sinker while leaning most heavily on his cutter.
Angels Outright Jeimer Candelario
The Angels announced that Jeimer Candelario was outrighted to Triple-A Salt Lake after being designated for assignment on Saturday. The team didn’t specify whether the veteran infielder will accept the assignment or elect free agency.
Candelario may prefer to stick in the organization rather than pursue what would surely be a minor league opportunity elsewhere. The 32-year-old broke camp with the Halos as a non-roster invitee. He appeared in seven regular season games, going 2-18 while striking out eight times. Candelario had slugged four home runs during Spring Training but fanned 19 times in 59 exhibition plate appearances.
The switch-hitter hasn’t been able to find his footing since signing a three-year free agent deal with Cincinnati over the 2023-24 offseason. Candelario was coming off a .251/.336/.471 showing and had been a well above-average hitter in three of the preceding four years. He owns a .204/.263/.389 batting line in 574 plate appearances over the past two-plus seasons.
Candelario played through knee discomfort during the 2024 season. He spent time on the injured list with a broken toe and a lumbar spine strain over the past two years. He couldn’t get on track after being released by the Reds, hitting .203/.289/.357 over 61 Triple-A games in the Yankees system to close the ’25 campaign.
The Halos are looking for consistent production out of second and third base. Adam Frazier, Oswald Peraza and Vaughn Grissom are all rotating through the keystone. Peraza also offers a glove-first alternative to the struggling Yoán Moncada at the hot corner.
Orioles Acquire Christian Encarnacion-Strand
The Orioles have acquired first baseman Christian Encarnacion-Strand from the Reds, according to announcements from both clubs. Cincinnati, who designated him for assignment last week, gets cash considerations in return. Baltimore optioned him to Triple-A Norfolk. To open a 40-man spot for him, the Orioles transferred right-hander Yaramil Hiraldo to the 60-day injured list. The O’s also selected Weston Wilson and put Ryan Mountcastle on the 60-day injured list, moves that were previously covered in this post.
Encarnacion-Strand, 26, put up big numbers on his way up the minor league ladder and had an exciting big league debut a few years ago. The Reds, who acquired him from the Twins in the 2022 Tyler Mahle trade, called him up in July of 2023. In his first 63 games, he hit 13 home runs and slashed .270/.328/.477 for a 113 wRC+. That was buoyed by a .336 batting average on balls in play but was encouraging nonetheless.
It was hoped that he could be a long-term staple of the lineup in Cincinnati but that didn’t come to pass. He struggled early in 2024 and underwent season-ending wrist surgery in June. He was back on the field in 2025 but struggled badly and got optioned to the minors. His performance on the farm was decent but not overwhelming.
Over the past two years, Encarnacion-Strand got pushed down the depth chart. He has primarily been a first baseman, with a decent amount of time at third as well. The Reds got Ke’Bryan Hayes at last year’s deadline to cover the hot corner and Sal Stewart has taken over at the other corner.
Encarnacion-Strand clearly has power but his stock is down. Over the past two years, he has a combined line of .199/.227/.337 in the majors. In Triple-A last year, he hit 11 home runs in 62 games but his 6.7% walk rate and 24.6% strikeout rate were both worse than average. His .245/.310/.493 line translated to a 107 wRC+, above average offense on the whole but not overpowering, especially for a guy whose main position is first base.
That got him squeezed off the roster in Cincinnati but Baltimore will take a shot on him. He still has options, so he can be kept in the minors for the foreseeable future. Not so long ago, the O’s didn’t have much need for more first base depth. They have Pete Alonso in there and also had Ryan Mountcastle on the roster. The designated hitter spot was often being used for Samuel Basallo, who was sharing catching duties with Adley Rutschman.
Suddenly, the path is clearer. Rutschman, Mountcastle and Tyler O’Neill all hit the IL in the past few days. That subtracts some depth on the offensive side and also means Basallo is catching more regularly, freeing up some at-bats in the DH spot. If another injury pops up, perhaps Encarnacion-Strand will be recalled. For now, he should be slated for regular at-bats with Norfolk.
As for Hiraldo, he hit the 15-day IL just over a week ago due to inflammation in his throwing shoulder. His current status is unknown but this move makes him ineligible to return until early June, so the O’s evidently don’t expect him back before then.
Photo courtesy of Paul Rutherford, Imagn Images
Mets Select Tommy Pham
April 13th: The Mets officially selected Pham’s contract today with infielder Ronny Mauricio optioned to Triple-A Syracuse as the corresponding move. Joel Sherman of The New York Post reported earlier that Mauricio would be the corresponding move.
April 12th: The Mets are planning to select the contract of veteran outfielder Tommy Pham, according to a report from Will Sammon of The Athletic. The veteran outfielder is on a minor league deal with the club, so he’ll need to be added to the 40-man roster before he officially joins the club. That shouldn’t be a major obstacle, as the Mets’ 40-man currently stands at 37 players and will move up to 38 upon the addition of Pham. That means only an active roster move will be necessary to make Pham’s addition to the roster official, which could happen as soon as tomorrow given that Sammon writes Pham is expected to meet the team in L.A. for their series against the Dodgers.
The 38-year-old veteran signed a non-roster pact with the Mets on Opening Day. He’s gotten into just four games at the Single-A level since then, but a combination of need at the big league level and Pham’s status as a veteran hitter appear to have combined to give the Mets confidence in bringing him to the majors with only minimal time to get game-ready. He’ll be joining a beleaguered outfield group that recently lost Juan Soto to the injured list due to a calf strain that figures to leave him sidelined for at least another week or two. With Soto out of commission, the Mets have been relying on rookie Carson Benge, infielder Brett Baty, and bench bats like Tyrone Taylor and Jared Young in the outfield corners.
It’s a group that hasn’t inspired confidence so far. Young has hit well so far in a 23 plate appearance sample, but he’s got just 56 MLB games under his belt since making his debut with the Cubs back in 2022. Taylor’s .211/.250/.421 (91 wRC+) slash line this year isn’t exactly encouraging, and he was last an above-average MLB hitter by wRC+ in 2022 as a member of the Brewers. Benge has been heralded as the future of the franchise in the outfield and is a consensus top-20 prospect in the sport, but he’s hitting a paltry .130/.231/.196 (33 wRC+) in 14 games to kick of his MLB career. Baty showed signs of life last year after struggling to hit in the majors for the first few years of his career but currently sports a 60 wRC+ and a 29.4% strikeout rate while playing a mostly unfamiliar position.
All in all, that’s an outfield mix that could clearly use some veteran stability. That’s surely not an insignificant part of why the Mets were generally expected to carry veteran outfielder Mike Tauchman on their Opening Day roster following several successful years in Chicago and a torrid Spring Training, but Tauchman unfortunately underwent meniscus surgery just before Opening Day that will leave him sidelined into May. With Tauchman unable to play, the Mets will instead turn to a player who lacks his recent success but makes up for it with an impressive overall resume. Pham is now set to gear up for his 13th MLB campaign and has appeared in at least 116 games in each of the league’s past eight 162-game seasons. In that time, he’s suited up for ten different clubs and sports a career 111 wRC+ in more than 1200 MLB games.
Despite that history, it’s been a while now since Pham was a consistently above-average MLB player. Since the start of the 2020 season, Pham has slashed .241/.323/384 with a wRC+ of just 96, indicating he’s been 4% worse than the league average MLB hitter in that time. With that said, he’s just a few years removed from an extremely successful stint with the Mets. After signing on with the club for the 2023 season, Pham slashed .268/.348/.472 (124 wRC+) in 79 games for the Mets before being dealt to the eventual NL-champion Diamondbacks at that year’s trade deadline. If Pham can rediscover any of the magic from the last time he suited up for Queens, that would be a huge win for the Mets. Even the roughly league average consistency Pham has become known for in recent years would be a boost for the club, however, and he should get plenty of opportunities now that he’s being recalled to the majors.
Orioles Place Ryan Mountcastle On 60-Day IL, Select Weston Wilson
4:12pm: The Orioles officially announced that Wilson’s contract has been selected and that Mountcastle has been placed on the 60-day IL. That’s one of just several moves for the O’s today. Baltimore also recalled righty Dean Kremer earlier today and just announced the acquisition of corner infielder Christian Encarnacion-Strand in a cash swap with the Reds.
3:43pm: Orioles first baseman/designated hitter Ryan Mountcastle is headed to the injured list after suffering a broken fourth metacarpal in his left foot while legging out a double this past weekend, manager Craig Albernaz tells the Baltimore beat (link via MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko). Albernaz didn’t tip the team’s hand on whether Mountcastle would head to the 10-day or 60-day IL, suggesting only that both are under consideration. He added that he has not yet been told whether surgery is on the table.
Kubatko adds that infielder/outfielder Weston Wilson is on the Orioles’ taxi squad at the moment, making him a likely replacement, though the team hasn’t announced anything on that front. Jackson Holliday is with the club today at Camden Yards but is not yet ready for reinstatement from the IL. He’s merely taking some infield drills while Triple-A Norfolk is off. Holliday has yet to play this season after suffering a hamate fracture early in spring training.
Wilson isn’t on the 40-man roster, so assuming he is indeed the corresponding move, he’d need to have his contract selected. The Orioles have a full 40-man roster, though if Mountcastle heads to the 60-day IL, that’d open a spot.
The 29-year-old Mountcastle has hit decently in a far more limited role than he’s used to so far in 2026. He’s appeared in eight games and tallied only 15 plate appearances, going 4-for-14 with a double and a walk in that time. Baltimore’s signing of Pete Alonso and the ascension of catcher/designated hitter Samuel Basallo has substantially cut into Mountcastle’s playing time.
Even before the O’s signed Alonso, Mountcastle looked like a prime non-tender candidate. Injuries limited him to 89 games last season, and he slashed just .250/.286/.367 (81 wRC+) when healthy. He was due for one final raise in arbitration, and with a $6.787MM salary last year, he felt like a relatively pricey rebound candidate, given his limited defensive utility. Baltimore also had longtime top prospect Coby Mayo ready for a full-time run at first base (though obviously the Alonso signing changed that calculus).
The Orioles made the somewhat surprising call to tender him. They wound up coaxing some additional value by getting Mountcastle to agree to repeat his 2025 salary and tack on a $7.5MM club option for what should’ve been his first free agent year in 2026. However, Mountcastle still entered camp with a “square peg in a round hole” vibe as a clearly imperfect fit for an Orioles roster that had changed considerably since his run as a regular in the middle of the order. Unsurprisingly, the O’s looked into various trade possibilities throughout spring training, but no deal came together.
Mountcastle now heads to the injured list for a potentially prolonged absence. He’ll join third baseman Jordan Westburg, who’s hoping to avoid Tommy John surgery after being diagnosed with a UCL tear, in that regard. With Westburg sidelined, the aforementioned Mayo has been manning the hot corner but has struggled with the bat. An absence of some note for Mountcastle could give Mayo a longer leash to get right at the plate even when Holliday and possibly Westburg return to the fold.
Wilson, 31, was an offseason waiver claim out of the Phillies organization. He’s spent parts of the past three seasons in the majors with Philadelphia, hitting a combined .242/.328/.428 with nine home runs in 245 trips to the plate. Almost all of that production came in 2023-24, however. Wilson hit just .198/.282/.369 in a career-high 125 plate appearances in 2025 but raked at a .288/.375/.490 clip the prior two seasons.
Wilson has never hit righties much but feasted on southpaws in ’23-’24 before taking a huge step back in ’25. Even with last year’s lack of production in platoon settings, he’s a career .250/.359/.475 hitter (130 wRC+) against left-handed pitching. Wilson also owns a solid .247/.339/.462 output in nearly 1700 plate appearances of Triple-A work and will give Baltimore an option at all four corner positions. He batted .233/.395/.433 in 36 spring plate appearances but has mustered only a .195/.298/.366 slash in a comparable sample at Triple-A this year.
Guardians Designate Kolby Allard For Assignment
The Guardians announced today that outfielder George Valera and right-hander Hunter Gaddis have each been reinstated from the injured list. In corresponding moves, outfielder/first baseman CJ Kayfus has been optioned to Triple-A Columbus and left-hander Kolby Allard has been designated for assignment. The Allard DFA drops their 40-man roster tally to 39.
Allard’s out-of-options status has squeezed him off the roster a few times. Last year, Cleveland ran him through outright waivers in early July, only to re-sign him five days later. He finished the season with the big league club and was waived again at season’s end. Allard returned on an offseason minor league deal and was called back up within the first week.
The southpaw was a valuable long relief piece for skipper Stephen Vogt last season. Allard managed 65 innings of 2.63 ERA ball despite sitting around 90 mph with his fastball and running one of the league’s lowest strikeout rates. He has tossed 8 2/3 frames over four low-leverage relief appearances this year. Allard has surrendered 10 runs on 16 hits, including a five-run outing over three frames in yesterday’s blowout loss at the hands of the Braves.
Cleveland will very likely place Allard back on waivers this week. There’s a decent chance he clears again, at which point he’d have the right to elect free agency. The Guardians like him as a depth arm given the number of times they’ve brought him back, so they’d presumably have interest in re-signing him to a minor league deal.
Gaddis returns from a minor forearm issue that bothered him early in Spring Training. He has quietly been one of the better relievers in MLB over the past two seasons. If he’s fully healthy, he projects as one of Cleveland’s top two setup arms (along with Shawn Armstrong) in front of Cade Smith. Gaddis’ fastball velocity was down a couple ticks to a 92.8 mph average during a five-game rehab assignment with Columbus. They might try to ease him back into action in medium-leverage situations in the early going.
Valera is also back from a season-opening IL stay. The 25-year-old corner outfielder suffered a mild calf strain late in camp. Valera hit well over eight games on a rehab stint. He’ll join Steven Kwan, Chase DeLauter, Angel Martínez and utilityman Daniel Schneemann in a lefty-heavy outfield. His return pushes Kayfus back to Triple-A after a .182/.280/.364 start over his first nine games.
Yankees Return Rule 5 Pick Cade Winquest To Cardinals
The Yankees have returned Rule 5 pick Cade Winquest to the Cardinals, according to announcements from both clubs. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week. Winquest does not take a spot on the Cards’ 40-man roster. He has been assigned to Triple-A Memphis.
Winquest, 26 this month, had a bit of an unusual Rule 5 experience. The Yankees don’t make a lot of selections in that draft but decided to take a shot on Winquest. He didn’t have a dominant spring. He tossed ten Grapefruit League innings, allowing eight earned runs via 13 hits, four walks and one hit batter while striking out eight.
The Yanks had some roster breathing room to begin the year. Due to some off-days, they started the season with a four-man rotation and optioned Luis Gil to the minors. That was enough room for Winquest to hold a spot for a bit but the Yankees didn’t put him into a game. A couple of weeks into the season, Gil was recalled to rejoin the rotation and Winquest was designated for assignment.
Per the parameters of the Rule 5 draft, another club could have acquired him but would have been subject to the standard restrictions, namely that Rule 5 guys can’t be optioned to the minors throughout the year. If a Rule 5 guy is passed through waivers, he has to be offered back to his original club, with that team not having to give him a roster spot.
Though not making his debut might have been awkward for him, Winquest at least got to hang around big leaguers for a few weeks, getting major league pay and service time. He’ll now report to Triple-A to continue his development with the Cards. He split last year between High-A and Double-A, tossing 106 innings with a 3.99 earned run average, 23.9% strikeout rate, 8.5% walk rate and 48% ground ball rate.
Photo courtesy of Imagn Images
Cardinals Designate Jared Shuster For Assignment
The Cardinals announced that right-hander Ryan Fernandez has been recalled from Triple-A Memphis. To open a spot for him, left-hander Jared Shuster has been designated for assignment. The 40-man roster count drops to 39.
Shuster, 27, was just selected to the St. Louis roster a little over a week ago. He made two appearances since then, including a relatively long outing yesterday. Starter Andre Pallante allowed the Red Sox to score seven times in five innings. George Soriano threw one inning and then Shuster spared the rest of the bullpen by tossing three innings, allowing two runs on 50 pitches. Presumably, Shuster would not have been available for a few days after throwing that much. Instead of continuing with the bullpen a bit shorthanded, the Cards have knocked Shuster into DFA limbo.
The lefty was once a notable prospect but his big league career hasn’t panned out as hoped. Atlanta took him 25th overall back in 2020. He was later flipped to the White Sox as part of the Aaron Bummer deal in November of 2023. Last year, he ended up on waivers and went to the Athletics. He was outrighted off the roster at season’s end and was later released, which led to a minor league deal with the Cards.
Along the way, Shuster exhausted his three option seasons. He has thrown 145 1/3 big league innings with a 5.26 earned run average. His 15.3% strikeout rate, 10.2% walk rate and 36.7% ground ball rate are all subpar figures.
He’ll now be in DFA limbo for a week at most. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Cards could take five days to field trade interest, but they might also put him on waivers sooner than that. If any other club acquires him, he is out of options but he has under two years of service time. That means he hasn’t yet qualified for arbitration and is theoretically controllable for many years, though he would have to put up some good numbers somewhere for that to be a consideration. Since he has a previous career outright, he would have the right to elect free agency if he is outrighted again.
Photo courtesy of Jeff Curry, Imagn Images
Tigers Claim Yoniel Curet, Transfer Parker Meadows To 60-Day IL
The Tigers announced Monday that they’ve claimed righty Yoniel Curet off waivers from the Phillies, who’d designated him for assignment last week. In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster, Detroit transferred center fielder Parker Meadows from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day injured list. Meadows suffered a concussion and a forearm fracture last week in an outfield collision with teammate Riley Greene when both were tracking down a ball hit to the left-center gap.
Curet, 23, was optioned to the Tigers’ Rookie affiliate in the Florida Complex League. He’ll presumably ramp up there before heading to Triple-A Toledo. He hasn’t pitched since spring training, so he’s not ready to join a minor league affiliate just yet.
Originally signed by the Rays as an amateur out of his native Dominican Republic, Curet landed in Philadelphia by way of an offseason trade sending righty Tommy McCollum back to Tampa Bay. The Rays had designated Curet for assignment themselves in order to clear a roster spot for free agent signee Cedric Mullins.
Curet has yet to make his big league debut. He’s a hard-throwing, command-challenged righty who’s posted decent numbers in the upper minors and briefly cracked FanGraphs’ top 100 prospect list prior to the 2025 season. The 6’2″, 250-pound righty sits mid-90s with a four-seamer and sinker that can both reach the upper 90s. His go-to breaking pitch is a slider in the 87-88 mph range.
A shoulder injury limited Curet to 14 starts and a pair of relief outings in the Rays’ system last year. He totaled 55 1/3 innings with a 3.90 ERA, a sharp 25.5% strikeout rate but a concerning 12.8% walk rate.
While Curet has consistently missed bats in the minors, he regularly runs up poor walk rates. He looked to be on the right track in 2024, when he posted a sub-3.00 ERA with a 31.5% strikeout rate and a 10.7% walk rate that was down several percentage points from the year prior. That shot him up the rankings at FanGraphs, but last year’s shoulder injury was accompanied by that nearly 13% walk rate — including a 17.4% walk rate in 33 1/3 Triple-A innings. This spring, Curet faced 14 hitters and walked four of them. He plunked another. Overall, he was tagged for eight runs in 1 2/3 innings.
Time will tell what role the Tigers envision for the righty, but he’s worked consistently as a starter to this point in his career. Detroit could build him back up for some rotation depth, but it’s hard not to wonder what Curet’s already powerful arsenal might look like in short relief. The 95-96 he averages on his pair of heaters would presumably tick up a couple miles, and that slider could creep into the 90 mph range on average. Max-effort relievers tend to have a bit easier time running a higher-than-average walk rate than a starter who needs to turn the lineup over multiple times.
Scouting reports at FanGraphs, Baseball America, MLB.com and other public outlets have long suggested a move to relief could be in the offing eventually. For now, Curet is in his final minor league option year, so there’s no immediate urgency to sort it out. The Tigers can get him built up and see how he looks in a variety of roles.
As for Meadows, the move to the 60-day IL isn’t all that surprising in light of the fractured radius he sustained in pursuit of a potential game-saving catch. Today’s move to the IL means he’ll be sidelined into at least mid-June. A light-hitting plus defender who runs well, Meadows opened the season with a .250/.308/.333 slash in 39 turns at the plate. The 2018 second-rounder was hoping to move past a rough 2025 season (.215/.291/.330) and get back closer to his 2024 form (.244/.310/.433), but that rebound effort is on hold for a couple months at the very least. In the meantime, the Tigers have Wenceel Pérez, Javier Báez and Matt Vierling as options in center field.