Twins Designate Christian Roa For Assignment
The Twins have designated righty Christian Roa for assignment, per a club announcement. His spot on the 40-man roster goes to newly acquired right-hander Yoendrys Gómez, whose acquisition has now been formally announced by Minnesota.
Roa was only claimed off waivers from the Astros a couple weeks back. He hasn’t appeared in a game for the big league club. The 27-year-old tossed 2 1/3 innings with Triple-A St. Paul and allowed a pair of runs on two hits and two walks with three strikeouts. He’s pitched a total of 11 2/3 major league innings between the Marlins and Astros, allowing five runs (3.86 ERA) with more walks than strikeouts.
The 6’4″, former Texas A&M standout was the No. 48 overall pick by the Reds back in 2020. He’s drawn praise for a plus slider and average or better fastball and changeup over the years, but he’s regularly received 30 and 40 grades (on the 20-80 scale) for his command along the way. Roa has pitched to a 4.56 ERA in parts of four Triple-A seasons, fanning 25.5% of his opponents there but also issuing walks at a dismal 14% clip.
The Twins will have five days to trade Roa, place him on outright waivers or release him. Waivers would be a 48-hour process, so his DFA will be resolved within a maximum of one week’s time.
Marlins To Select Robby Snelling
The Marlins are calling up pitching prospect Robby Snelling. He’ll be selected to the roster and will start Friday against the Nationals. They have an open 40-man spot after designating Chris Paddack for assignment earlier this week, so they will only need to open an active roster spot for him. Manager Clayton McCullough announced the news to reporters, including Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extra Base.
The Snelling promotion has been expected since not long after Paddack’s DFA. He and fellow lefty Braxton Garrett were possibilities to take the ball Friday in place of Paddack, but Garrett tossed 80 pitches in a start for Triple-A Jacksonville last night, strongly hinting that Friday would be Snelling’s big league debut. The team has now made that official.
Selected by the Padres with the No. 39 overall pick back in 2022, Snelling made his way to the Marlins organization as part of the return in the deadline trade sending relievers Tanner Scott and Bryan Hoeing to San Diego. His stock was down a bit at the time of the swap, but he’s rebounded nicely with the Marlins organization — so much so that Baseball America ranked him 26th on this morning’s refresh of their top-100 prospect rankings.
The 22-year-old Snelling has been excellent this year in six Triple-A starts, recording a 1.86 ERA and a mammoth 40% strikeout rate — albeit against a concerning 13.6% walk rate. He’s kept 57% of batted balls against him on the ground. Snelling was also lights out in 11 Triple-A starts last year (1.27 ERA — 2.51 overall ERA between Double-A and Triple-A). At this point, he seems more than ready for a look in the majors, even with the sub-par command.
Snelling, listed at 6’3″ and 210 pounds, works primarily off a four-seam fastball that averages just over 94 mph and a curveball that sits 82-83 mph. He mixes in an occasional changeup and slider, but the four-seamer/curveball combo has accounted for more than 80% of his pitches in 2026. Snelling’s four-seamer and curveball both drew plus grades (60) on BA’s scouting report, while his lesser-used changeup and slider still garner above-average (55) ratings on the 20-80 scale. He’ll need to rein in his command, but it’s not hard to see why the Marlins are eager to take a look at a 22-year-old southpaw with four above-average pitches and a sub-2.00 ERA in 18 career Triple-A starts.
Since Snelling opened the season in the minors and wasn’t called up until early May, he won’t qualify to net the Marlins an additional draft pick under MLB’s prospect promotion incentive (PPI) program. Enough time has elapsed this season that the only way for him to accrue a full year of major league service time would be to finish first or second in National League Rookie of the Year balloting. Snelling certainly has the pedigree to do so, but young standouts like Nolan McLean, JJ Wetherholt and Sal Stewart all have a considerable head start on him in that race.
Barring a top-two Rookie of the Year finish, Snelling will remain under club control for at least six years beyond the 2026 campaign. If he sticks in the majors for good from this point forth, he’ll be a surefire Super Two player, thereby making him eligible for arbitration four times (beginning after the 2028 season) rather than the standard three.
With Paddack on his way out the door, there’s a long-term spot in the Miami rotation open. This figures to be more than just a simple spot start. Snelling should have a clear runway to prove he can be a building block in the rotation. Triple-A teammate Thomas White, who ranked 11th on the aforementioned Baseball America top-100 update, should get the chance to join him at some point down the road this year.
Miami only has Sandy Alcantara signed through the 2027 season, but the allure of a rotation including Alcantara, Snelling, White, Eury Pérez and Max Meyer — with Garrett and Janson Junk also in the mix — is readily apparent. Even if the Fish finally trade Alcantara this summer, the starting staff has several high-upside young pieces who could form the nucleus of a contending staff … if the Marlins can find a way to put together a decent offense. Only twice in the past two decades have the Marlins put together an offense that was better than league-average, by measure of wRC+. The 2007 and 2017 Marlins both logged collective wRC+ marks of 101, indicating they were 1% better than average. They’re exactly average (100) so far in 2026.
Mets, Cionel Pérez Agree To Minor League Deal
The Mets and left-handed reliever Cionel Pérez are in agreement on a minor league contract, reports Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com. The Octagon client will presumably head to Triple-A Syracuse once the deal is official.
Pérez opened the season in the division-rival Nationals’ bullpen. He signed a minor league deal in free agency but won a roster spot with seven shutout spring innings. He allowed only two hits and a walk during Grapefruit League play and punched out seven batters along the way.
The good vibes for Pérez didn’t last long. He tossed a scoreless frame in his Nats debut but then surrendered runs in each of his next three appearances. He struggled on and off for the next month before being designated for assignment, clearing waivers and rejecting an outright assignment in favor of free agency earlier this week. Pérez wrapped up his five-week Nationals stint with a 6.19 ERA and more walks (11) than strikeouts (nine) through 16 frames. It’s the second straight ugly year for Pérez, who had a nice 2022-24 run in Baltimore but was tagged for 20 runs in 21 2/3 innings as an Oriole last year.
Pérez, 30, originally signed with the Astros in 2017 after defecting from his native Cuba. He scuffled through some rocky seasons in Houston and Cincinnati before breaking out with the 2022 Orioles. From 2022-24 in Baltimore, Pérez notched a 3.12 ERA with a 20.2% strikeout rate and 10.6% walk rate. He picked up 57 holds and six saves during that solid run.
Pérez has never had great command, but he kept his walk rate at a manageable level during that Orioles peak. The walks and hit batters have begun to pile back up over the past few seasons. He’s given out a base on balls to 13.5% of his opponents dating back to 2024 and has plunked another seven hitters and tossed nine wild pitches in the process. On the plus side, he did add a bit of life back to his heater during his short time in Washington, bumping his average fastball back north of 96 mph (96.2); he averaged 96.6 mph from 2021-25 before dipping to 95.5 mph last year.
The Mets rank eighth in the majors in bullpen ERA, but not because of the free agent additions they brought into the fold. Both Devin Williams and Luke Weaver have struggled in the fist several weeks of the season (albeit while posting more encouraging rate stats than their ERAs would suggest). Tobias Myers, Huascar Brazoban, Brooks Raley and David Peterson — who’s moved into the ‘pen at least temporarily after struggling in the rotation — all have earned run averages south of 2.50. Craig Kimbrel, who signed a minor league deal, has allowed three runs in 7 1/3 innings while setting down 30% of his opponents on strikes.
Raley, Peterson and former starter Sean Manaea currently give Mets skipper Carlos Mendoza three options from the left side, though Manaea hasn’t pitched well. The Mets are also hoping to have A.J. Minter back soon. He’s nearing the end of a minor league rehab window and has held opponents to one earned run in 7 2/3 innings as he makes his way back from last May’s hip surgery. There’s no dire need for left-handed relief help in the Mets organization, but there’s also no harm in taking a low-cost look at a 30-year-old with a 96 mph heater who was a quality setup option for the Orioles not long ago.
Twins To Acquire Yoendrys Gómez
The Twins are going to acquire right-hander Yoendrys Gómez from the Rays, reports Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase. It’s unclear what Tampa, who designated Gómez for assignment a few days ago, will receive in return. The Twins have a full 40-man roster and will need to make a corresponding move to make this official. He will also need an active roster spot whenever he reports to the team.
Gómez, 26, wa once a notable prospect with the Yankees but he hasn’t been able to click in the majors yet. He exhausted his final option season in 2024, which has pushed him into fringe roster territory. He pitched for the Yankees, Dodgers and White Sox last year. He was traded to the Rays in November and began this season with them.
On the whole, Gómez has thrown 93 1/3 big league innings spread over the past four seasons. He has has allowed 5.11 earned runs per nine. His 20.2% strikeout rate, 10.5% walk rate and 32.7% ground ball rate are all subpar. There’s more potential to be seen in his minor league numbers. In 130 Triple-A innings, he has a 3.12 ERA and 28.9% strikeout rate. His 11% walk rate is still too high but the punchouts are enticing.
He has mostly worked as a starter in the minors but has largely been kept in a long relief role in the majors. The Twins will probably put him in that role as well. Simeon Woods Richardson is scheduled to start Thursday’s game. He has a 6.49 ERA on the year and has only gone longer than five innings in one of his seven starts. Connor Prielipp is scheduled to make just his fourth career big league start on Friday. On Saturday, Joe Ryan is scheduled to pitch despite departing his last start due to elbow soreness after just two batters.
There’s a decent chance of needing a long man at some point in that stretch, which is perhaps part of the appeal in adding Gómez. Due to his out-of-options status, he’ll need to be removed from the 40-man if the Twins want to bump him off the active roster at any point in the future.
Photo courtesy of Michael McLoone, Imagn Images
Athletics Select Brooks Kriske
The Athletics announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Brooks Kriske. Fellow righty Tyler Ferguson was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas in a corresponding active roster move. A 40-man move will be necessary to open a spot for Kriske. Martín Gallegos of MLB.com reported earlier that Kriske would be called up.
Kriske, 32, signed a minor league deal with the A’s in the offseason. He has been with Triple-A Las Vegas so far this year. He has faced 67 batters and struck out 25 of them, a huge 37.3% rate. He has also given out 11 walks, a 16.4% pace, and thrown two wild pitches. He has a 2.25 earned run average in 16 innings.
The lack of command has been a consistent feature in his career. He has 39 2/3 major league innings under his belt with a 9.53 ERA, with a 16.8% walk rate playing a role in that. In 167 2/3 Triple-A innings, he has a huge 36% strikeout rate and a nice 3.70 ERA but a 12.4% walk rate. He spent 2022 and 2023 in Japan, where he had a 2.31 ERA and 26.9% strikeout rate but also walked 15.1% of batters faced.
The A’s will be latest club to try to take a chance on the stuff. His four-seamer averages about 93 miles per hour but isn’t his primary pitch. He throws his splitter about half the time, with the four-seamer and the cutter roughly splitting the remaining half. The combo clearly allows Kriske to miss bats but also the zone. If it doesn’t work out for the A’s and they want to bump him off the roster later, Kriske is out of options.
Photo courtesy of Rick Scuteri, Imagn Images
Rockies Sign Erasmo Ramirez To Minor League Deal
The Rockies have signed veteran righty Erasmo Ramirez to a minor league contract, as announced by his now-former Mexican League club, los Algodoneros del Unión Laguna. He’ll presumably start his Rockies tenure with their Triple-A club in Albuquerque. Ramirez is represented by NPG Sports.
Ramirez opened the season in Mexico and was hit hard, surrendering 11 runs on 17 hits and a pair of walks with nine punchouts in a dozen innings. Poor small-sample results notwithstanding, the Rockies were clearly intrigued by Ramirez’s stuff. He’ll hope to pitch his way into what would be a 15th season with some big league experience.
The Nicaraguan-born Ramirez debuted with the Mariners back in 2012. He’s pitched for seven teams — Mariners, Rays, Nationals, Tigers, Twins, Mets, Red Sox — most recently suiting up for Minnesota late last season. Ramirez tossed 11 innings as a Twin and held opponents to three runs (2.45 ERA) on 10 hits and a pair of walks with five strikeouts.
Ramirez has never been a hard thrower, but a heater that averaged 92-94 mph earlier in his career sat 90.4 mph with Minnesota in 2025. In 860 career innings, he has a 4.34 earned run average with an 18% strikeout rate, 6.4% walk rate and 43.8% grounder rate. He’s worked as both a starter and reliever and stands as a possible swingman option for a Rockies staff that ranks 25th in the majors with a 4.59 ERA.
Braves Select Jim Jarvis, Designate Jose Azocar
The Braves announced they’ve selected the contract of infielder Jim Jarvis from Triple-A Gwinnett. He’ll head to the majors for the first call-up of his career. Outfielder Jose Azocar has been designated for assignment in a corresponding move.
Jarvis, a product of the University of Alabama, was an 11th-round pick by the Tigers in 2023. Detroit traded him to Atlanta at last summer’s deadline for middle reliever Rafael Montero. Jarvis was amidst a middling offensive season in Double-A but has posted stronger numbers since joining the Braves’ system.
The lefty batter hit .265/.344/.361 over 21 games with Atlanta’s Double-A affiliate after the trade. He earned a late-season bump to Gwinnett, where he has played the first five weeks of this season. Jarvis is out to an excellent .308/.415/.445 start through 153 plate appearances. He has worked walks at a lofty 15% clip against a lower than average 17.6% strikeout rate while stealing 15 bases in 17 tries.
Jarvis has shown a strong awareness of the strike zone throughout his minor league career. He hasn’t been much of a power threat despite connecting on four home runs and six doubles in Triple-A. That accounts a third of the longballs he has hit in nearly 1200 professional plate appearances. Jarvis’ exit velocities in Gwinnett are still middling, so he’s unlikely to hit for much power at the MLB level.
The lack of offensive impact has kept Jarvis mostly off the prospect radar. Baseball America ranked him 28th in the Atlanta system over the offseason, while Brendan Gawlowski of FanGraphs had him as an honorable mention in his March writeup of the organization. Both outlets credit Jarvis as a steady, if not particularly flashy, shortstop with a contact-based offensive approach.
Atlanta has moved Mauricio Dubón from shortstop to center field over the past week. That was initially driven by Michael Harris II battling minor quad discomfort that kept him out of the field. Harris donned a glove last night but started in left field for the first time in his career. They kept Dubón in center while pushing Mike Yastrzemski over to right field. That’ll probably be their primary outfield trio while Ronald Acuña Jr. is out, even if they flip Harris back up the middle and Dubón to left once Harris is back to full speed.
Jarvis gives them a little more depth on the infield behind stopgap shortstop Jorge Mateo. The Braves should get Ha-Seong Kim back from injury within the next week to 10 days. That’ll push Mateo back to a depth role alongside Kyle Farmer and could nudge Jarvis back to Triple-A.
Azocar was just selected onto the MLB roster as outfield depth when Acuña went down on Sunday. He made one start in right field, going 0-2. He pinch ran and stole a base on Monday. The 29-year-old has had a couple very brief stints on Atlanta’s roster over the last two years. Azocar was out to a .270/.348/.420 start with Gwinnett but has a modest .243/.288/.318 batting line over parts of five MLB campaigns.
Atlanta will trade Azocar or place him on waivers within the next five days. The latter outcome seems likelier. There’s a decent chance he’ll clear because he’s out of minor league options, meaning a claiming team would need to be willing to carry him on the big league roster. Azocar has been outrighted in his career a few times, giving him the right to elect free agency if he goes unclaimed again.
Nationals Sign Max Kranick
May 6: Kranick’s deal pays him $800K this season, reports Jessica Camerato of MLB.com. The 2027 option value is to be determined, in a sense. It’ll either be valued at $850K or $50K north of whatever the new league minimum is in 2027 — whichever of the two is higher. With the current collective bargaining agreement expiring, it’s of course possible that the $780K league minimum will increase further next year under a new agreement.
May 5: Washington officially announced the signing of Kranick to a one-year contract with a club option for 2027. He has been placed on the 15-day injured list as he continues working back from the elbow procedure. The team did not disclose salary terms.
May 1: The Nationals and right-hander Max Kranick have agreed to terms on a deal, reports Will Sammon of The Athletic. The former Pirates and Mets righty underwent flexor tendon surgery last July and was non-tendered by the Mets in November. The Covenant Sports Group client’s contract is still pending a physical.
Kranick, 28, has pitched in parts of three seasons but never been able to carve out any staying power, thanks largely to injuries. He underwent Tommy John surgery in June of 2022 and missed the vast majority of the 2023 season as a result. The Mets claimed him off waivers in the 2023-24 offseason but didn’t call him to the majors in ’24 — despite solid results in the minors.
In 2025, the Mets gave Kranick a real look. He got out to a nice start and was sitting on a 3.65 ERA through 37 frames at the time of his flexor injury. Kranick’s 16.9% strikeout rate was well south of the 22.3% league average, but his 3.4% walk rate was outstanding. Those trends have been fairly typical for Kranick. He’s never missed many bats but has generally run a better-than-average walk rate (granted, not quite to his 2025 extent) when healthy.
Washington’s pitching staff has been one of the worst in the game this year. The Nats’ 5.11 team earned run average sits 29th in the majors. That’s due largely to struggles in the rotation (Miles Mikolas and Zack Littell, in particular), but Washington’s collective 4.90 ERA from the bullpen ranks 23rd in the game as well.
Given those poor results, it’s hardly a surprise to see the Nats bring in some outside arms. Kranick isn’t going to be ready to jump right into the mix, however. He threw for teams back in January and was said at the time to be targeting a second-half return from the injured list. Once the deal is finalized, he’ll presumably need to work through a throwing progression and then go through a lengthy minor league rehab stint.
Kranick has 3.011 years of big league service time, so if he makes it back to the majors with the Nats and pitches well, he can be controlled for another three seasons beyond the current campaign. He’s out of minor league options, so once he’s added to the active big league roster, Washington won’t be able to send him to the minors unless he clears outright waivers.
Angels Re-Sign Joey Lucchesi To Minor League Contract
The Angels re-signed lefty reliever Joey Lucchesi to a minor league contract, according to the MiLB.com transaction tracker. He’ll report back to Triple-A Salt Lake after electing free agency last week. Additionally, the log indicates the Halos released Hunter Strickland and Angel Perdomo from their non-roster deals.
Lucchesi has signed with the Angels three times within the past six weeks. He joined late in Spring Training on a big league deal. The Halos designated him for assignment after three appearances, re-signed him to a minor league contract, then selected him back onto the MLB roster in late April. He pitched twice more before being DFA again and choosing free agency when he cleared waivers.
The 32-year-old southpaw has given up six runs (five earned) across 3 1/3 innings. He has recorded four strikeouts while issuing six walks. Lucchesi worked 8 1/3 frames of five-run ball with 11 punchouts over four Triple-A outings in between his stints on the MLB roster.
Strickland and Perdomo have each been out to very tough starts to the season in Salt Lake. Strickland has allowed 18 earned runs on 21 hits over 12 1/3 innings. Perdomo has surrendered 16 earned across 12 frames, walking 14 batters and hitting three more. He has given up free passes to nearly a quarter of opposing hitters.
Rockies, Jordan Romano Agree To Minor League Deal
The Rockies are in agreement with veteran reliever Jordan Romano on a minor league contract, reports Thomas Harding of MLB.com. He’d been released by the Angels last week. The VC Sports Group client will report to the organization’s Arizona complex before being assigned to a minor league affiliate, Harding adds.
Romano signed a $2MM free agent deal with the Halos in December. It was a rebound flier on the two-time All-Star, who was coming off an ugly 8.23 ERA showing with the Phillies last year. Season-opening injuries to Robert Stephenson and Kirby Yates — plus Ben Joyce’s rehab from shoulder surgery — pushed Romano into the closer role.
Things started promisingly. Romano reeled off six straight scoreless appearances to begin the year, nailing down four saves in the process. A trip to the Bronx proved his undoing, however, as Romano allowed five runs while retiring one of nine opponents and taking two losses in that series. He rebounded with two straight scoreless outings with five strikeouts before surrendering four runs in a blowout loss in Kansas City on April 25. The Angels then designated him for assignment.
Romano wound up allowing nine runs over eight innings. He fanned 12 while recording a strong 13% swinging strike rate but issued six walks and hit a batter. His fastball averaged 94.5 mph and slider sat around 85 mph, down a tick from last season’s velocity. Both pitches were around three miles per hour harder during his peak years as one of the American League’s best closers in Toronto.
The 33-year-old has battled injuries in the interim. Romano missed time in 2023 with back inflammation and battled elbow injuries in ’24, eventually culminating in arthroscopic surgery. His 2025 season was cut short by inflammation and numbness in his right middle finger.
Colorado will take a low-risk flier to see if they can get Romano on track. The assignment to the complex indicates the Rockies will try to work out some mechanical or pitch mix tweaks before sending him back to game action.
The Rox have had a solid bullpen overall, though that’s skewed to an extent by the team using Chase Dollander behind an opener. Antonio Senzatela and Brennan Bernardino have had excellent starts to the year. The rest of the group has been up and down. Senzatela and Jimmy Herget are the only Colorado relievers who can’t be optioned.