Orioles Place Cedric Mullins On Injured List
12:35pm: Interim skipper Tony Mansolino tells the Orioles beat that an MRI revealed a “mild” strain in Mullins’ hamstring (via Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com). He’s not expected to miss much time and could even be back on the first day he’s eligible to return. Cowser, meanwhile, will likely be activated during a road trip that kicks off next Tuesday. It seems he won’t be an option for the O’s beleaguered outfield while they host the White Sox this weekend.
12:10pm: The Orioles announced Friday that center fielder Cedric Mullins has been placed on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to May 29) due to a right hamstring strain. He’ll be the corresponding active roster move for the previously reported signing of Cooper Hummel, whose new deal with Baltimore is now official. The O’s transferred right-hander Cody Poteet to the 60-day injured list to clear a 40-man spot for Hummel.
Mullins’ injury is the latest setback for an Orioles club that stands as arguably the most disappointing team in Major League Baseball this year. Baltimore is just 19-36, and the loss of Mullins, his .232/.324/.448 batting line and his glove in center field won’t do them any favors.
It should be noted, however, that Mullins has had a wildly uneven season. He looked like an MVP candidate through the end of April, mashing at a .278/.412/.515 clip (171 wRC+), but he’s tanked in May. This month, Mullins has punched out in an extremely uncharacteristic 30.7% of his place appearances while posting a dreadful .179/.205/.369 batting line (57 wRC+).
On the one hand, the injury could offer him a mental reset at a time when he’s clearly been pressing in the box. Mullins chased just 22.3% of balls off the plate and swung at 42.6% of the overall pitches he saw when he was dialed in last month. Dating back to mid-May, he’s chased one-third of balls off the plate and offered at 52% of his total pitches seen.
On the other hand, any injury is unwelcome in the midst of a platform season. Mullins is a free agent at season’s end, and while a mild hamstring strain with a quick return wouldn’t materially harm his stock, it’s a worrying ding on his record at a time when he’s also floundering in the batter’s box.
The Orioles haven’t indicated how long Mullins will be sidelined. He’s joining Colton Cowser, Tyler O’Neill and Ramon Laureano on the injured list, meaning Baltimore now has an entire big league outfield unit — potentially a very good one — on the shelf. With that quartet ailing, outfield reps will fall to Heston Kjerstad, Dylan Carlson and the newly re-signed Hummel. Fortunately for the O’s, Cowser has played four minor league rehab games and is on the cusp of returning. He’s on the 60-day injured list, but today marks his 60th day on the IL. He’ll be eligible to return Saturday.
Marlins To Designate Matt Mervis, Ronny Simón For Assignment
The Marlins are planning to make several roster moves, per Craig Mish of the Miami Herald. It was already reported earlier today that they would be selecting the contract of outfielder Heriberto Hernández. Kevin Barral of Fish on First reports that infielder Jack Winkler will also be selected to the roster. Per Mish, the club is planning to designate infielders Matt Mervis and Ronny Simón for assignment. That would open two 40-man spots for Hernández and Winkler.
Mervis, 27, was acquired from the Cubs in December with the Fish sending Vidal Bruján to Chicago. Mervis got out to a hot start but with some red flags. Through April 23rd, he already had seven home runs but had also struck out in 36.2% of his plate appearances. The feast-or-famine approach has since pushed hard to the famine side. He hasn’t hit a homer since then while still striking out at a 38.5% clip.
Combining this year’s struggles with his time with the Cubs, Mervis now has a .165/.238/.322 line and 34.5% strikeout rate in 261 major league plate appearances. He had tremendous minor league production in 2022 and 2023, slashing .297/.388/.576, but the strikeouts became a big issue last year. He spent most of 2024 in Triple-A and was punched out at a 30% rate at that level.
There’s clearly some pop in the bat but the Marlins ran out of patience. Mervis is only really capable of playing first base, so he needs to hit in order to have any value. Eric Wagaman isn’t doing much better, with a .227/.277/.382 line this year, but it seems he’ll be the regular first baseman now.
The Marlins will now have a week of DFA limbo to figure out what’s next. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so that gives the club five days to see if there’s any trade interest. He does still have an option, so it’s possible some club out there grabs him and sends him to the minors to try to catch lightning in a bottle.
Simón, 25, was was just added to the 40-man roster last month. He had signed a minor league deal with the Marlins in the offseason. He has since received 56 plate appearances and hit .234/.327/.277.
He got an unfortunate moment in the baseball spotlight this week, as recapped by Jason Foster and Christina De Nicola of MLB.com. Simón made several errors and other defensive miscues as the Marlins blew a 6-0 lead to the Padres on Tuesday, eventually losing 8-6. Simón was seen wiping tears from his face amid the ordeal. But later, he received plenty of encouragement from his teammates and even text messages from players on the opposing team such as Manny Machado, Luis Arráez and Fernando Tatis Jr..
But he’ll now have to endure another challenge, as he’s heading to DFA limbo. He was putting up good numbers in the minors earlier this year, which is why he got up to the big leagues in the first place. He had hit .354/.441/.521 in 15 Triple-A games. That was bolstered by an unsustainable .410 batting average on balls in play but he was drawing walks at a 15% clip while only striking out 16.7% of the time.
As recently as July, FanGraphs considered him to be one of the top 20 prospects in the Rays’ system. But he didn’t get called up last year and hit free agency, which led to his deal with the Marlins. He’s a switch-hitter and capable of bouncing around the diamond while stealing 20-35 bases a year. He still has a full slate of options.
Winkler, 26, gets the call to the big leagues for the first time. He’s never really been a top prospect but the Fish nabbed him from the Athletics in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft in November. He has gone on to hit .275/.331/.423 at the Triple-A level this year. That’s propped up by a .351 BABIP but Winkler already has 15 steals. He has played all four infield positions in his career as well as the outfield corners.
Photo courtesy of Mady Mertens, Imagn Images
White Sox Sign Dan Altavilla To Major League Deal
Just two days after opting out of his minor league deal with the White Sox, righty Dan Altavilla is back with the club — this time on the big league roster. The Sox announced Friday that they’ve signed Altavilla to a major league contract that’ll pay the MAS+ client a prorated $1MM base salary. Fellow righty Miguel Castro has been placed on the 15-day injured list to open a spot on the active roster. Castro suffered a season-ending knee injury while covering first base on a grounder earlier this week, which the Sox have now confirmed as a torn patellar tendon. Chicago already had a 40-man roster vacancy, and Altavilla’s signing now brings them to capacity.
At the time Altavilla was granted his release, it seemed odd that the Sox had passed on giving him a look in the majors. He’s tallied 21 2/3 innings with a strong 2.49 ERA with Triple-A Charlotte this season and had just rattled off a run of 11 2/3 shutout frames. The righty’s 19.8% strikeout rate and 11% walk rate were both worse than average, but he’s averaged 96.1 mph on his heater and held opponents to an awful 24.6% hard-hit rate. Considering the general state of the rebuilding White Sox’ big league bullpen, he seemed like a natural candidate to get an opportunity.
Whether this was always the plan or was borne out of Castro’s unfortunate injury, Altavilla will now get that chance in the majors. This will be his eighth season logging time in the big leagues. He’s previously suited up for the Mariners, Padres and Royals, combining for 119 2/3 innings of 4.36 ERA ball.
Altavilla did his best work early in his career with the Mariners. From 2016-18, he pitched to a tidy 3.28 earned run average with a 25.3% strikeout rate and 10.7% walk rate over 79 2/3 frames. Persistent injuries have limited his time on the field, however. He’s managed only 40 total big league innings since that early run with Seattle.
Flexor strains in both 2018 and 2019 shortened two of Altavilla’s seasons with the Mariners. He struggled to a 5.52 ERA in the latter campaign and in 2020 was included alongside Austin Nola and Austin Adams in the lopsided trade that sent Andres Munoz, Ty France, Luis Torrens and Taylor Trammell from San Diego to Seattle. Altavilla then underwent Tommy John surgery in 2021, which wiped out nearly all of his 2021-22 seasons.
With the White Sox, there should be plenty of innings available over the final four months. The Sox would be thrilled if Altavilla could approach his minor league run-prevention levels in the majors, but even if he can simply replicate his career norms, it’d be a help for a bullpen that’s pitched to a 4.53 ERA on the season — ninth-highest in MLB. Even that pedestrian number is a bit misleading, however, as it includes two “relief” appearances from starter Jonathan Cannon, who followed an opener on those days. Cannon pitched 13 2/3 innings with a 1.98 ERA in those two outings. Subtracting that from the equation, White Sox relievers have a 4.70 ERA on the year.
Orioles, Cooper Hummel Agree To Major League Deal
For the second time in the past week, the Orioles have agreed to a big league deal with outfielder/first baseman Cooper Hummel, reports Ari Alexander of KPRC-2. Baltimore originally signed the Gaeta Sports Management client five days ago, but the O’s designated him for assignment the next day before he even appeared in a game. Hummel cleared waivers, rejected an outright assignment in favor of free agency, and is now headed right back on the Orioles’ major league roster.
Hummel’s first DFA was spurred by a day-to-day injury to Adley Rutschman. Baltimore’s starting catcher was knocked out of Sunday’s game after taking a foul tip off the mask. He missed the next few days before drawing back into the lineup as a designated hitter on Wednesday. Rutschman and Maverick Handley were the only healthy catchers on the 40-man roster. The O’s needed another catcher to back up Handley while Rutschman was unavailable. They selected the contract of Chadwick Tromp, squeezing Hummel off the roster.
After Rutschman returned to the lineup, he might be ready to resume catching duties as soon as tonight. That’d allow the O’s to designate Tromp for assignment and go back to their previous catching tandem. Hummel would draw back in as their final bench bat. Handley is the only player on Tony Mansolino’s bench who has minor league options.
That’ll include Hummel, who exhausted his final option year as a member of the Astros last season. The switch-hitter spent the bulk of the year on optional assignment with Houston’s Triple-A team. He turned in a strong .277/.419/.454 showing with 10 home runs and 15 stolen bases. An extremely patient hitter throughout his career, Hummel took walks at a near-18% clip in the minors last year. He only got into six big league games, and the Astros elected to designate him for assignment this spring rather than carry him on the Opening Day roster.
Hummel signed a minor league deal with the Yankees in April. He spent most of his tenure on the injured list, only appearing in 10 games for their top farm team before triggering an opt-out clause. He hit .258 with only one extra-base hit, but he drew nine walks to post a .415 on-base percentage. The O’s liked the offensive profile enough to add him to the MLB roster twice in as many weeks.
The 30-year-old Hummel has plenty of minor league catching experience, but he hasn’t logged any time behind the dish since 2023. Baltimore wasn’t comfortable using him as even an emergency option while Rutschman was banged up. He’s essentially limited to the corner outfield and first base at this point.
Braves Sign Jose Azocar, Transfer AJ Smith-Shawver To 60-Day IL
The Braves announced this morning that they’ve selected the contract of outfielder Jose Azocar to the major league roster. Azocar just elected free agency two days ago after being outrighted by the Mets. Atlanta hadn’t announced their signing of him, but it seems he signed a minor league pact and has quickly been summoned to the majors. In a concerning development, righty AJ Smith-Shawver, who was recently placed on the IL due to an elbow strain, has already been transferred to the 60-day injured list. He’ll now miss at least two months of action.
Atlanta also placed outfielder Stuart Fairchild on the 10-day IL with a dislocated pinkie finger, optioned righty Michael Petersen to Triple-A Gwinnett and recalled left-hander Dylan Dodd.
Azocar, 29, appeared in a dozen games for the Mets this year and went 5-for-18 (all singles). He’s seen action in each of the past four MLB seasons, primarily with the Padres, and carries a career .245/.290/.320 slash with two homers and 19 steals in 417 plate appearances.
The righty-swinging Azocar’s game is focused on defense and baserunning, much like the injured Fairchild, who he’s effectively replacing on Atlanta’s roster. Azocar is actually a narrow tick faster, averaging 28.9 ft/sec to Fairchild’s 28.7, per Statcast’s measurements. The specifics aren’t all that important with a gap that small; the larger takeaway is that the Braves aren’t losing any speed off the bench and are swapping out the injured Fairchild for another solid defender who can handle all three outfield spots. There is, however, a notable gap in offensive skill set. Neither is a plus hitter overall, but Fairchild has solid splits against lefties in his big league career. Azocar, despite swinging right-handed, actually has considerably better career marks versus righties than lefties.
The news on Smith-Shawver comes as a significant concern. He started the first game of yesterday’s doubleheader but was tagged for two runs in 2 2/3 innings before departing with elbow discomfort. Atlanta placed him on the 15-day IL with an elbow strain between starts. The immediate move to the 60-day IL rules Smith-Shawver out until at least late July, and the specter of an even lengthier absence will now loom until the Braves provide a more detailed update on his status.
Smith-Shawver’s injury is the latest in a long line of notable injuries for Atlanta this year. The former top prospect was among the leaders in a weak National League Rookie of the Year field. Through his first seven starts, Smith-Shawver coasted to a terrific 2.33 ERA, fanning nearly a quarter of his opponents (albeit against a less-encouraging 10.6% walk rate). Things have taken an ugly turn over his past two starts. The Nats trounced him for seven runs in three innings last week, and he was shaky before being lifted from yesterday’s start.
Smith-Shawver joins Reynaldo Lopez and Joe Jimenez as key pitchers on the 60-day injured list for the Braves. Atlanta has also endured notable absences from ace Spencer Strider, star outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. and catcher Sean Murphy, though all three are healthy and active at the moment.
Marlins To Select Heriberto Hernandez
The Marlins are planning to select the contract of outfielder Heriberto Hernandez from Triple-A Jacksonville, as first reported by Jeremiah Geiger of the Locked On Marlins podcast. He’ll be added to the roster today, Daniel Alvarez Montes of El Extra Base adds. Miami has a full 40-man roster, so they’ll need to free a spot to add Hernandez, although that could be accomplished by simply transferring injured reliever Declan Cronin from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL. Cronin has been out all season so far due to a hip injury and has thus already spent more than 60 days on the IL.
Hernandez, 25, will be making his MLB debut the first time he gets into a game. The former catcher was originally signed by the Rangers as an amateur out of the Dominican Republic and was traded to the Rays in the 2020 swap that shipped first baseman Nathaniel Lowe to Texas. That swap didn’t pan out for Tampa Bay, as none of Hernandez, Osleivis Basabe or Alexander Ovalles made a significant impact on their roster. Lowe, of course, broke out as the Rangers’ everyday first baseman and held that role for four years before being flipped to the Nationals this past offseason in a trade for reliever Robert Garcia.
The Rays and Hernandez parted ways this offseason when he became a minor league free agent. Hernandez didn’t go far, signing with Florida’s other club on a minor league pact and heading to Jacksonville to open his season. He’s hitting .220/.319/.454 on the season (109 wRC+), though he enjoyed a torrid 11-game stretch in the middle of this month before falling into a hitless slump over his past four contests.
Hernandez boasts big raw power and draws plenty of walks, but his offensive ceiling is capped by a questionable hit tool. He’s fanned in 35% of his 163 plate appearances this season and in nearly 28% of his total minor league turns at the dish dating back to 2018. He’s limited to the outfield corners, defensively, and has played left field exclusively this season. Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix is plenty familiar with Hernandez’s strengths and shortcomings, having served as the Rays’ GM prior to being hired away and elevated to his current president title in Miami.
The Marlins optioned infielder Graham Pauley to Triple-A last night and didn’t announce a corresponding roster move. Hernandez will step into that roster spot, providing manager Clayton McCullough with some right-handed thump on a bench that previously skewed quite right-handed. The Fish are slated to face left-handed starters Kyle Harrison and Robbie Ray today and tomorrow, so Hernandez could slot right into the starting lineup on either or both days. He’s posted middling numbers against southpaws in a tiny sample of 25 plate appearances this year but turned in a .247/.397/.527 performance against left-handers in the Rays’ system last year.
Reds Trade Alexis Díaz To Dodgers
The Dodgers acquired reliever Alexis Díaz from the Reds for minor league right-hander Mike Villani on Thursday afternoon. Los Angeles transferred Evan Phillips to the 60-day injured list to create a spot on the 40-man roster. According to Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times, Díaz will report to the Dodgers’ Arizona facilities to work with the club’s pitching team.
Diaz, 28, has seen his stock drop precipitously since finishing fifth in 2022 Rookie of the Year voting and making the All-Star team in 2023. He’s lost nearly three miles per hour off his once-96 mph fastball and seen his already problematic walk rate climb to untenable levels. He appeared in six games with Cincinnati this season, surrendered four homers, walked 15.6% of his opponents against just a 9.8% strikeout rate, and plunked two other batters — all en route to a catastrophic 12.00 ERA.
Things haven’t gone much better since he was sent down to Louisville. Diaz’s 4.61 ERA is a far sight better than his small-sample mark of 12.00 in the majors, but he’s walked 17.1% of his Triple-A opponents, hit two more batters and also unleashed a pair of wild pitches. His 93.1 mph average fastball is right in line with the career-worst 93.0 mark he flashed in this year’s six major league innings.
Were Diaz’s struggles confined to just the 2025 season, it’d be easier to view him through a more optimistic lens. That’s not the case. While last year’s 3.99 ERA looks serviceable on the surface, that number belies many of the same worrying trends that have plagued Diaz in 2025. Last year’s average 93.9 mph fastball marked a drop of nearly two miles per hour from Diaz’s rookie rate. His 22.7% strikeout rate and 11% swinging-strike rate were both miles worse than his rates in 2022-23. Diaz’s contact rate jumped from about 67% in 2022-23 to 76.3% last year (and a dismal 87.1% in 2025). All of those worrying trends made Diaz stand out as a viable non-tender candidate, but the Reds kept him around and agreed to a $4.5MM contract to avoid an arbitration hearing. They’re surely regretting that decision at this stage.
Suffice it to say, while Diaz has plenty of name value — both as a former All-Star and as the younger brother of Mets closer Edwin Diaz — he’s a pure project at this point. The Dodgers made no mention of cash considerations in their swap, so it seems they’ll take on the entirety of Diaz’s remaining salary. As of this writing, that’s a total of $2.95MM in salary. Los Angeles will pay a 110% luxury tax on that figure, tacking another $3.25MM onto the bill and bringing the total financial outlay to $6.2MM.
That’s a steep price to pay — before even getting into any prospects changing hands — but if L.A. can successfully get Diaz back on track, he’ll be under club control for three additional seasons via arbitration. Entering the year, that was scheduled to be another two seasons, but his demotion to Triple-A has already cost him enough service time to push that timeframe back by a year. The Dodgers passed on a similar buy-low opportunity with Brewers righty Joel Payamps, who was designated for assignment and passed through waivers, presumably on account of Payamps’ lack of minor league options. Diaz entered 2025 with a full slate of minor league options and will have two remaining beyond the current season.
It’ll be interesting to see if the Dodgers keep Diaz on the 40-man roster. There’d be some risk in running him through waivers, but most clubs would probably balk at the idea of taking on nearly $3MM in guaranteed money for a reclamation project who’s struggled this much both in the majors and in Triple-A. If the Dodgers were to pass Diaz through waivers, they could assign him outright to Triple-A and free the 40-man spot back up, knowing that Diaz would never reject the assignment in favor of free agency (because doing so would require forfeiting the remainder of this year’s guaranteed money).
As for the 22-year-old Villani, he’s a long-term play for the Reds. The Dodgers selected him out of Long Beach State in the 13th round of last year’s draft. Baseball America ranked him 453rd on their top-500 list of draft prospects last year, praising a fastball that runs up to 98 mph but questioning his lack of spin and feel for secondary pitches. Villani commands that heater well, per BA, but he’s barely gotten a chance to show it in pro ball, as injuries have limited him to just two innings with the Dodgers’ Rookie-level affiliate.
Villani is effectively a lottery ticket relief prospect who’s probably two or three years away from even emerging as a realistic option for the Reds — all of which speaks to the extent to which Diaz’s stock has tumbled since he stopped missing bats and lost two to three miles per hour on his fastball.
Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman of The New York Post first reported the Dodgers were nearing a trade for Diaz. Robert Murray of FanSided reported that Villani was going back to Cincinnati.
Blue Jays Trade Josh Walker To Phillies
The Phillies announced the acquisition of lefty reliever Josh Walker from the Blue Jays for cash considerations. Philadelphia has had a free 40-man roster spot since José Alvarado was suspended. They optioned Walker to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, so no additional move was necessary.
Toronto had designated Walker for assignment earlier in the week. An injury to backup catcher Tyler Heineman forced the Jays to select Ali Sánchez to pair with Alejandro Kirk. That required a 40-man roster move and squeezed Walker off the depth chart. The 6’6″ southpaw had been on optional assignment and pitching in Triple-A for most of this month.
Walker had a brief stay on Toronto’s MLB roster earlier in the year. He made three appearances and allowed four runs over five innings. He struck out eight against two walks while relying primarily on a mid-80s curveball. Walker backs up that breaking pitch with both a four-seam and two-seam fastball that typically land in the 93-94 MPH range.
A product of the University of New Haven, Walker entered the professional ranks as a 37th-round draft choice by the Mets in 2017. He overcame that lack of prospect pedigree to get to the majors in 2023. Walker hasn’t had much success against big league hitters, tallying a combined 6.59 earned run average through 27 1/3 frames. He has pitched well up through the Double-A level, though his Triple-A results are more mixed.
Walker carries a 4.45 ERA with an above-average 26.6% strikeout rate over parts of five seasons at the top minor league level. He has struggled there in the early going, giving up eight runs (seven earned) on 13 hits and seven walks through his first 10 innings this season. He has managed 16 strikeouts on only 51 batters faced, however, which is presumably a selling point for Philadelphia.
Matt Strahm and Tanner Banks are each pitching well in Rob Thomson’s bullpen. They were the only two lefty relievers on the 40-man roster. Walker is in his last option year and can bounce between Philadelphia and Lehigh Valley for the remainder of the season.
Cooper Hummel Elects Free Agency
The Orioles informed reporters that outfielder/first baseman Cooper Hummel elected free agency after going unclaimed on outright waivers. He’d been designated for assignment on Monday when the O’s called up Chadwick Tromp.
Hummel spent a grand total of one day on Baltimore’s active roster. The switch-hitter had just exercised an out clause in his minor league deal with the Yankees last week. Baltimore signed him to a big league deal on Sunday. He didn’t appear in that day’s game. Adley Rutschman suffered an injury scare that has kept him from catching for a few days. The Orioles needed another catcher to back up Maverick Handley, so they pushed Hummel off the roster to bring up Tromp.
It’s an unfortunate sequence for the 30-year-old Hummel. He returns to the open market and will probably be limited to minor league offers this time around. It stands to reason the Orioles would be interested in bringing him back on a non-roster deal, but he’ll be able to weigh that against other opportunities.
Hummel appeared in 66 MLB contests for the Diamondbacks during his 2022 rookie season. He’s only made 16 big league appearances in the two-plus years since then. A career .159/.255/.275 hitter, he’s shown more offensive ability in the minors. Hummel has a .284/.419/.475 slash line over parts of five Triple-A seasons. He reached base at a .415 clip in 10 games with the Yankees’ affiliate before opting out.
Rockies Re-Sign Owen Miller To Minor League Deal
The Rockies have re-signed Owen Miller to a minor league deal, a move reflected in his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He has already reported to Triple-A Albuquerque and played for the Isotopes yesterday.
Miller, 28, was acquired from the Brewers in the offseason. He had been outrighted by Milwaukee last year, so he gave the Rockies some non-roster depth to start the season. He was selected up to the majors in late April. He got into nine games and stepped to the plate 17 times, hitting .143/.294/.143. He was designated for assignment a couple of weeks ago. He cleared outright waivers for the second time in his career, which gave him the right to elect free agency, but he has circled back to the Rockies on a fresh minor league deal.
He hasn’t been able to do much with his big league opportunities so far, having also spent time with the Guardians before becoming a Brewer. He now has a .238/.287/.342 career line in 1,032 big league plate appearances, production which translates to a 75 wRC+. But he has bounced around to all four infield spots and the outfield corners. He also has 18 steals in 20 attempts.
His minor league offense has naturally been better than his major league work. He has a .279/.354/.427 line and 106 wRC+ at the Triple-A level dating back to the start of the 2021 season. He could perhaps serve as a useful utility piece if he could provide something close to that in the majors. For now, he’ll try to get in a good groove with the Isotopes and earn his way back to the show.
Photo courtesy of Kelley L Cox, Imagn Images