Astros, Cooper Hummel Agree To Minor League Deal
The Astros are bringing back outfielder/first baseman Cooper Hummel on a minor league deal, reports Ari Alexander of KPRC 2. The Gaeta Sports Management client will head to Triple-A Sugar Land after electing free agency from the Orioles yesterday.
Hummel spent most of the 2024 season in the Houston organization. The Astros grabbed him off waivers from the Giants in early April. They quickly outrighted him off the roster but would later reselect his contract. Hummel didn’t get much MLB action, appearing in six games and going 0-8 with two strikeouts. He hit well in the minors, though, running a .277/.419/.454 slash line across 442 trips to the plate. He walked at a massive 17.9% clip while hitting 10 homers and stealing 15 bases.
The switch-hitting Hummel remained on the roster throughout the winter and Spring Training. He’s out of options and the Astros decided not to have him break camp. They had no choice but to place him on waivers as a result. Hummel signed a minor league deal with the Yankees and was limited to 10 Triple-A games by injury. He went on to sign a pair of MLB contracts with the Orioles but was only on the active roster for a combined four days and took one at-bat.
Hummel figures to have a little more stability in a familiar setting in Sugar Land. This is the second reunion signing in as many days for the Astros. They brought back veteran catcher Omar Narváez, who finished last year with their Triple-A team, on a minor league deal last night.
Dodgers Re-Sign Chris Stratton
The Dodgers announced that they’ve re-signed veteran reliever Chris Stratton to a major league deal. He had been designated for assignment on Monday. Stratton went unclaimed on waivers, elected free agency, and immediately returned on a fresh contract. Fellow righty Ryan Loutos was designated for assignment to open space on the active and 40-man rosters. Additionally, catcher Chuckie Robinson went unclaimed on waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Oklahoma City after being DFA on Tuesday, according to the MLB.com transaction log.
Stratton’s first stint as a Dodger lasted a week. He signed an MLB deal on May 25 and was DFA on June 2. He made two intervening appearances, giving up two runs while striking out five over three innings. Stratton had been released by Kansas City midway through May after allowing an earned run average approaching 8.00 across 17 appearances. That followed up a rough first year with the Royals, as Stratton posted a 5.55 ERA across 58 1/3 frames last year.
The 34-year-old owns a 6.09 ERA in 71 outings over the past two seasons. He’d been a capable middle reliever for the few years before that. Stratton worked 82 2/3 innings of 3.92 ball between the Cardinals and Rangers two seasons ago. His velocity has tapered off since then. Stratton averaged north of 93 MPH on his fastball a couple years back but is down to 91 this season.
He’ll return as a fresh arm in the middle innings who doesn’t cost the Dodgers anything financially. The Royals are on the hook for what remains of his $4.5MM salary. Los Angeles only pays him the prorated portion of the $760K minimum for whatever time he spends in the big leagues — the same amount they’d have paid Loutos.
Loutos, 26, landed with the Dodgers via DFA trade with St. Louis in early May. He has spent the majority of the past month in Triple-A, only twice appearing in the big leagues. Loutos gave up three runs in two innings to the Mets in mop-up work on Wednesday. He has allowed five runs in 5 1/3 major league innings. He has posted a 2.41 ERA over 18 2/3 Triple-A frames this year.
Robinson was dropped from the 40-man roster this week when the Dodgers signed José Ureña. They had just claimed him from the Angels. The 30-year-old catcher has a previous career outright, so he can either report to OKC or elect free agency and seek out other opportunities.
Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reported that Stratton was re-signing. Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic was first on the Loutos DFA.
Guardians Select Dom Nuñez
The Guardians announced that they have selected the contract of catcher Dom Nuñez. Fellow backstop Austin Hedges has been placed on the seven-day concussion-related injured list. Right-hander Andrew Walters has been transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man spot.
Guardians manager Stephen Vogt spoke on the Hedges situation today, with video relayed by Daryl Ruiter of 92.3 The Fan. Vogt says that Hedges was hit in the head by a backswing from Jazz Chisholm Jr. on Wednesday night (video of the incident from MLB.com). Vogt says that Hedges was experiencing some “low-level concussion symptoms” yesterday which have not gone away. Vogt adds that the club wants to be cautious due to previous concussions suffered by Hedges. According to his MLB.com transaction tracker, Hedges has previously gone on the IL for a concussion in 2017, 2021, 2022 and 2023. Concussions tend to get more dangerous with each subsequent incident, so the caution is understandable.
Hedges has been backing up Bo Naylor at the catcher position this year but Nuñez will now tag in and take over that job while Hedges recovers. Calling up Nuñez was necessary because the Guards previously had just Hedges and Naylor as the two catchers on their 40-man roster. David Fry has catching experience but is limited to designated hitter duties this year due to undergoing elbow surgery in November.
The 30-year-old Nuñez signed a minor league deal with the Guards in the offseason. He has been playing at the Triple-A level since then, putting up a line of .136/.266/.369 in 32 games. That’s not a pretty slash but it’s held back by a .131 batting average on balls in play. Nuñez has six home runs and has been drawing walks at a 13.6% clip, though he’s also been striking out 30.4% of the time.
His major league track record consists of 111 games with the Rockies over the 2019-22 period. He hit just .180/.280/.373 in that time but generally received solid marks for his defense. Nuñez still has one option remaining and could be easily sent back down to Triple-A when Hedges gets healthy.
As for Walters, he landed on the 15-day IL a week ago due to a lat strain. His current status is unclear but it appears that the Guardians don’t expect him back anytime soon. With this transfer, he can’t be reinstated until 60 days from his initial IL placement, which means late July.
Photo courtesy of Joe Camporeale, Imagn Images
Athletics Designate Drew Avans For Assignment
The Athletics announced that they have selected the contract of infielder/outfielder Seth Brown, a move that was previously reported. They also recalled catcher Jhonny Pereda. Catcher Shea Langeliers has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained left oblique and outfielder Drew Avans has been designated for assignment.
Avans, 29 next week, was added to the roster just over a week ago. His first taste of the major leagues didn’t go especially well. He got into seven games and made 15 plate appearances. He recorded two hits, both singles, with five strikeouts and no walks.
That’s obviously a tiny sample and not much to go on but the A’s probably never envisioned a large role for Avans regardless. He’s never been a highly-touted prospect and only just made it the majors ahead of his 29th birthday. He’ll now head into DFA limbo for a week at most. Since the waiver process takes 48 hours, the A’s could take five days to explore trade interest.
He has generally been a solid Triple-A performer, with a .275/.374/.408 line and 103 wRC+ dating back to the start of the 2021 season. He usually steals 20 to 40 bases annually and can play all three outfield positions.
As for Langeliers, it’s unclear how long he is expected to be out but his IL placement isn’t a surprise. He departed yesterday’s game with a “left flank injury” and was sent for an MRI. Langeliers was previously taking the bulk of the playing time behind the plate with Willie MacIver as the backup. Pereda is up to replace Langeliers but it’s unclear how the club plans to divide the playing time now. It’s also unclear if they have any designs on moving Tyler Soderstrom back behind the plate to cover for Langeliers. Soderstrom was once a catching prospect but has mostly been playing first base in the majors.
Photo courtesy of Allan Henry, Imagn Images
Phillies Recall Alan Rangel For MLB Debut
The Phillies announced that right-hander Alan Rangel has been recalled to the big league roster. He’ll be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game. Fellow righty Seth Johnson was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley as the corresponding move.
Rangel, 27, has actually been in the big leagues before. He was on Atlanta’s roster during the 2022 season but on optional assignment for most of it. They recalled him late in September but optioned him back to the minors three days later without getting him into a game. He was non-tendered after that season and has been stuck in the minors since then.
The Phillies signed him to a minor league deal last summer and evidently liked what they saw. They added him to their 40-man roster in November to prevent him from qualifying for minor league free agency. He has been in good form this year, having tossed 57 1/3 innings over 12 Triple-A starts. The 5.02 earned run average doesn’t look too exciting but his 25.4% strikeout rate and 8.7% walk rate are both good numbers. The ERA has seemingly been inflated by a .325 batting average on balls in play and 16.2% home to flyball ratio.
Philadelphia is doing a bullpen game tonight, with Aaron Nola on the injured list and Zack Wheeler on the paternity list. Joe Ross will technically be the starter, though he’s been in the bullpen this year and likely can’t go more than two innings. Taijuan Walker was stretched out earlier in the year but has only thrown one inning in the past week. Rangel gives the club a fresh arm capable of covering multiple innings.
Photo courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck, Imagn Images
Tigers Designate Akil Baddoo For Assignment
The Tigers announced that they have designated outfielder Akil Baddoo for assignment. That’s the corresponding 40-man move for the club to select Jahmai Jones, a move that was reported earlier today.
It’s the second time in the past year that the Tigers have designated Baddoo for assignment. The first came in December, with Baddoo getting passed through waivers unclaimed at that time. He was outrighted to Triple-A Toledo came into 2025 as non-roster depth and performed well enough in Triple-A to get called back up in mid-May. But he hit .118/.167/.176 in seven big league games and got optioned back down to Toledo a couple of weeks ago.
He’s now been bumped off the roster again and will likely head to the waiver wire for a second time. A player with a previous career outright has the right to elect free agency. That means that the chances of Baddoo departing the organization are far higher now compared to December. If he is claimed, he’s obviously gone. If he’s not claimed, he could be gone in that scenario as well.
He has always performed well in the minors but his major league track record is more mixed. The Tigers took him from the Twins in the Rule 5 draft heading into 2021 and Baddoo went on to have a nice season, slashing .259/.330/.436 for a 108 wRC+ while also stealing 18 bases. But his big league time since then has resulted in a .201/.288/.323 line and 74 wRC+.
He still produces on the farm, with a .250/.351/.433 line and 111 wRC+ in that 2022-25 window when he hasn’t been hitting in the majors. Given his speed, defensive acumen and remaining option year, it’s possible he finds interest elsewhere. DFA limbo can last as long as a week but the waiver process takes 48 hours, meaning the Tigers could explore trade interest for as long as five days.
Photo courtesy of Junfu Han, Imagn Images.
Rockies Release Jacob Stallings
The Rockies announced a series of roster moves today. Infielder Ryan Ritter has been selected to the roster, catcher Braxton Fulford has been recalled and right-hander Zach Agnos has been reinstated from the bereavement list. Right-hander Angel Chivilli was optioned after yesterday’s game. To open two more spots, the club has placed shortstop Ezequiel Tovar on the 10-day injured list with a left oblique strain, retroactive to June 3rd, while catcher Jacob Stallings has been unconditionally released.
Stallings, 35, had a solid season for the Rockies last year but he’s been dreadful this year. Going into 2024, he signed a $2MM deal and went on to hit .263/.357/.453 for a 114 wRC+ in 82 games for Colorado. The defensive reviews were mixed but the Rockies clearly liked him, as it was reported in September of last year that they wanted to bring him back. The two sides eventually reunited on a one-year deal for 2025 with a $2.5MM guarantee, in the form of a $2MM salary and $500K buyout on a $2MM mutual option for 2026.
Unfortunately, his performance has dropped off significantly so far this year. Through 93 plate appearances, he has a .143/.217/.179 line. A drop from last year’s .324 batting average on balls in play to this year’s .226 doesn’t help but that’s not the only thing going on here. He has struck out in a third of his plate appearances, a huge jump from last year’s 23.1% clip. His walk rate has dropped from last year’s 9.6% pace to this year’s 5.4%.
While Stallings has been doing that, Hunter Goodman has been taking over the catcher position. Goodman has ten home runs in 241 plate appearances, helping him produce a .281/.328/.491 line and 114 wRC+. His defensive marks aren’t great but it’s understandable that the Rockies have leaned towards that stronger offensive output. Fulford has been playing well in the minors so he’ll get to come up and join the big league catching ranks, while Stallings has been let go.
Once Stallings clears release waivers, he’ll be able to sign with any club. The Rockies will remain on the hook for the remainder of his salary. If any other club gives him a spot, they would only have to pay him the prorated portion of the league minimum salary for any time spent on the roster.
It’s unclear how long Tovar will be out of action but oblique strains can be difficult, with minor strains sometimes taking weeks or months to recover from. That opens the shortstop position and Thomas Harding of MLB.com suggests that Ritter should get regular playing time, though Orlando Arcia, Tyler Freeman and Kyle Farmer all have some experience at the position.
Ritter, 24, was a fourth-round selection of the Rockies in the 2022 draft. He has since climbed the minor league ladder and is having a good season in Triple-A. He has a .305/.413/.635 line and 149 wRC+ in 52 games for the Isotopes. He already has 16 home runs while drawing walks at a 13.9% clip and keeping his strikeouts down to a 20.4% rate.
Prospect evaluators have often worried about his chase tendencies but he has continued to lower his strikeout rate. He was punched out 29% of the time in 2023 but got that down to 23.6% last year and he’s dropped it even more this year. His defensive reviews are mixed but he’s capable of swiping 20 bags annually. Baseball America now lists him as the #4 prospect in the club’s system.
Even the best prospects can sometimes flounder when first reaching the majors, so time will tell how Ritter handles the jump. If he doesn’t succeed right away, he could be optioned back down to Albuquerque when Tovar is healthy. If he succeeds, he has played some second base in the minors and could perhaps kick over to the other side of the bag, depending on how Thairo Estrada is performing.
Photo courtesy of Robert Edwards, Imagn Images
Orioles Acquire Scott Blewett
The Orioles announced that they have acquired right-hander Scott Blewett from the Braves in exchange for cash considerations. Outfielder Jordyn Adams has been designated for assignment to open a 40-man spot. Fellow outfielder Ramón Laureano has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list and takes the active roster spot vacated by Adams. Blewett has not yet reported to the team and is therefore not on the active roster yet, so a spot will have to be opened for him when he does link up with the O’s.
It was reported yesterday that Atlanta was going to designate Blewett for assignment but it seems they lined up a trade before even getting around to that DFA. Blewett played a key role in yesterday’s heartbreaking loss in Atlanta. He entered the game in the top of the eighth, with Atlanta leading 9-3. He got through that inning while allowing one run, but Atlanta got that back in the bottom of the eighth. That left them with a 10-4 leading starting the ninth. Blewett stayed in and retired the first batter of that inning but the next four reached. Closer Raisel Iglesias was drawn into the 10-7 game and it quickly became 11-10 for the Diamondbacks.
Blewett was charged with five earned runs in an inning and a third. The sting of the loss seems to have prompted a bit of a shakeup, with Atlanta calling up Craig Kimbrel from the minors. That bumped Blewett off the roster but he’s actually been having a pretty decent season on the whole.
Even including yesterday’s unpleasantness, Blewett has a passable 3.91 earned run average in 2025. His 21.8% strikeout rate and 10% walk rate are close to average while his 56.3% ground ball rate is quite strong.
Blewett is out of options but is clearly valued around the league, as he keeps passing from club to club. He started this year with the Twins on a minor league deal. He was called up in April but designated for assignment a few days later. He was claimed by the Orioles but received another DFA a few days after that. He was sent to Atlanta in a cash deal, which led to him holding a roster spot for more than a month, though he’s now on the move again.
Adams, 25, signed a minor league deal with the O’s in the offseason. He was called up to the big leagues a week ago as the O’s were dealing with a number of position player injuries. He’s essentially been used as a defensive replacement since then, getting into five games but only making one plate appearance.
A former first-round pick of the Angels, Adams is considered an excellent athlete but he hasn’t been able to handle pitching since reaching the higher minor league levels. Dating back to the start of 2021, he has stepped to the plate almost 2,000 times on the farm with a .247/.326/.377 line and 84 wRC+. He has enough speed to steal 20 to 40 bases annually and run balls down in the outfield.
He’ll now head into DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the O’s could take as long as five days to explore trade interest. He does have one option year remaining.
Photo courtesy of Dale Zanine, Imagn Images
Braves Select Craig Kimbrel
June 6th: Atlanta made it official today, announcing they have selected Kimbrel’s contract. They also recalled lefty Dylan Dodd, placed right-hander Daysbel Hernandez on the 15-day injured list with forearm inflammation and traded righty Scott Blewett to the Orioles.
June 5th: The Braves are planning to select the contract of right-hander Craig Kimbrel from Triple-A Gwinnett, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The full-circle promotion of the now-37-year-old former Atlanta closer, who’s been pitching well on a minor league deal in Gwinnett, comes less than an hour after the Braves’ bullpen melted down and squandered a six-run ninth-inning lead in an 11-10 loss to the Diamondbacks.
Kimbrel, of course, broke into the majors with Atlanta late in the 2010 season and immediately catapulted himself into stardom. He was the unanimous NL Rookie of the Year in 2011 — winning over teammate Freddie Freeman — after posting a 2.10 ERA with an NL-best 46 saves and a colossal 41.5% strikeout rate. He made the first of four straight All-Star teams that year — a remarkable run of four straight seasons that saw him lead the Senior Circuit in saves while garnering repeated Cy Young and MVP votes. From 2010-14, Kimbrel posted a comedic 1.43 ERA and 42.2% strikeout rate while racking up 186 saves. It’s arguably the best five-year from any reliever in the sport’s history.
Kimbrel has never quite recaptured that dominance, though he was still excellent from 2015-18 before running into some rough patches. He logged ERAs north of 5.00 in 2019-20 before bouncing back with a solid if tumultuous 2021-23 stint where he was often shakier than his surface-level numbers might initially suggest. His 2024 run with the Orioles started well — Kimbrel carried a 2.10 ERA into the All-Star break — but went off the rails in the season’s second half. From July 14 onward, Kimbrel was shredded for an 11.50 ERA in 18 innings before being released.
Now back in the Braves organization after signing a minor league deal, he’s looked terrific in Triple-A. Kimbrel carries flat 2.00 ERA in 18 innings. He’s set 33% of his opponents down on strikes, albeit against a 13% walk rate. He’s also working with a fastball that’s now sitting just 93.2 mph — nowhere near the sizzling 97-98 mph he averaged at his peak. Even as recently as 2023 with the Phillies, Kimbrel’s heater sat at 95.8 mph, but he’s now dropped nearly three ticks off that velocity.
Time will tell whether Kimbrel can get big league hitters out with such diminished power on his pitches and with command that’s clearly not up to par, but the bar to clear in Atlanta is low right now. Closer Raisel Iglesias saw his ERA balloon from 5.79 to 6.75 today. Scott Blewett, who’s been designated for assignment to make room on the roster for Kimbrel, yielded five runs on his way out the door. Daysbel Hernandez has a 2.22 ERA but has walked more than 19% of his opponents, so there’s no way he can continue at that pace. Trade acquisition Rafael Montero has a 5.29 ERA in 17 innings.
Atlanta has gotten good to great results from Pierce Johnson, Aaron Bummer, Enyel De Los Santos and Dylan Lee, but Iglesias has floundered all season and the final couple spots in the ‘pen have been a revolving door. The hope will be that Kimbrel can help to solidify things, but recent seasons have shown that he’s susceptible to lengthy slumps not all that dissimilar from the one in which Iglesias is currently mired.
A’s Agree To Minor League Deals With Nick Martini, Aaron Brooks
The A’s have agreed to minor league deals with a pair of old friends, signing outfielder Nick Martini and righty Aaron Brooks, per the transaction log at MLB.com. Martini has been assigned to Triple-A and Brooks to Double-A.
Martini, 34, was recently designated for assignment by the Rockies and elected free agency after clearing waivers. He inked a minor league deal with Colorado over the winter and broke camp with the Rox after an excellent showing in spring training. However, Martini struggled greatly in 111 plate appearances, despite taking only five left-on-left turns at the plate and despite playing his home games at Coors Field. He slashed .225/.288/.294 during his time in purple — a tepid follow-up to a similarly rough showing with the 2024 Reds (.212/.272/.370 in 163 plate appearances).
Rough as Martini’s 2024-25 seasons have been, he’s only a season and a third removed from batting .264/.329/.583 in 79 plate appearances with Cincinnati. That was the final season of a limited but productive six-year stretch that saw the lefty-swinging walk machine bat .268/.362/.412 while drawing a free pass in 11.2% of his plate appearances. Martini regularly posts gaudy walk rates in the minors and has had little trouble frequenting the basepaths in Triple-A, as evidenced by his career .294/.399/.454 slash in parts of eight seasons at the top minor league level.
Brooks, 35, opened the 2025 season with el Caliente de Durango in the Mexican League. He’s posted an unsightly 5.92 ERA in 38 innings so far, although in the supercharged run-scoring environment of that league, a 5.92 mark is actually a slight bit better than the 5.99 league average. Brooks has fanned only 14.6% of his opponents but also touts a sharp 4.6% walk rate.
Brooks pitched for the A’s just last season — his third stint with the A’s dating all the way back to the time he was traded to Oakland alongside Sean Manaea in a deal that shipped Ben Zobrist to the eventual 2015 World Series champion Royals. Last year, Brooks tossed 26 2/3 big league innings and logged a 5.06 ERA with a similarly poor strikeout rate (10.1%) and strong command (6.7% walk rate).
If he ends up back in the majors, Brooks will be in his seventh season with at least some big league time. He’s totaled 206 2/3 innings in the majors and logged a 6.36 ERA, a 15.3% strikeout rate and a 6.8% walk rate between the Royals, A’s, Orioles and Cardinals. In addition to that MLB work, Brooks enjoyed a strong two-year run in the Korea Baseball Organization and has pitched a 4.65 ERA in 720 Triple-A innings.
The A’s have five starting pitchers on the injured list and have seen healthy rotation candidates like Osvaldo Bido and Joey Estes pitch poorly in 2025. Brooks is hardly a high-ceiling addition, but he’ll give them some more depth. On the position-player side of things, the A’s have Miguel Andujar on the IL, have already passed Seth Brown through waivers (though he’s reportedly coming back today), and recently optioned a struggling JJ Bleday to Triple-A (though he’s since been recalled). Martini gives them an experienced option to stash in Triple-A.