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A’s Designate Noah Murdock For Assignment

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The A’s designated Rule 5 pick Noah Murdock for assignment, relays Martín Gallegos of MLB.com. Righty Elvis Alvarado was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas to take his spot in the bullpen. Alvarado is already on the 40-man roster, so the move drops their count to 39.

Murdock, 26, was the fourth player selected in last winter’s Rule 5 draft. (The A’s had the fifth pick, but Colorado passed at #2.) The A’s took the reliever out of the Kansas City farm system. Murdock divided his 2024 season between Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha. He worked to a 2.22 earned run average over 24 1/3 innings at the former level. Murdock posted a 3.76 ERA through 38 1/3 frames in Triple-A. He combined for a 27% strikeout rate and a huge 59.7% ground-ball percentage, though that came with an alarming 15.4% walk rate.

The 6’8″ righty broke camp and has made his first 14 big league appearances. They haven’t gone well, as he’s been blitzed for 25 runs across 17 1/3 innings. The free passes have remained far too problematic. Murdock has walked 20 batters and hit two more among the 98 he has faced. The grounder rates that have been his calling card in the minors haven’t been there against big league competition. Murdock posted a 42.6% ground-ball percentage and a 21.4% strikeout rate — both decent numbers but not nearly enough to offset the free passes.

Teams must keep their Rule 5 picks on the major league roster or injured list for the entire season to gain their long-term contractual rights. The A’s are out to a solid 20-18 start and at the very least look like a fringe Wild Card contender. They decided they could no longer afford to devote a middle relief spot to a pitcher who was struggling to such an extent.

The A’s will trade Murdock or, much more likely, place him on waivers in the next few days. That’ll give the rest of the league an opportunity to acquire him, though they’d assume the same Rule 5 obligations if they do so. If Murdock clears waivers, the A’s would need to offer him back to the Royals for $50K. (Teams pay the former club $100K when they make a Rule 5 pick.) Kansas City would not need to put him on the 40-man roster and could return him to the minor league ranks, probably back in Omaha.

Alvarado receives the first major league call of his career. The 26-year-old righty signed a split major league contract with the Pirates at the start of the offseason. He didn’t last the entire winter on Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster, but the A’s claimed him off waivers in January. He’s out to a decent start in Las Vegas, tallying 15 2/3 frames of eight-run ball in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. He has recorded 22 strikeouts against four walks while picking up five saves in 14 appearances. His fastball is averaging a blistering 99 MPH. Alvarado has been prone to walks for most of his career, but he’s a power arm with a track record of missing bats in the minors.

Angels Select Shaun Anderson, Transfer Ben Joyce To 60-Day IL

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The Angels made several roster moves this afternoon, selecting Shaun Anderson’s contract and recalling Matthew Lugo from Triple-A. To make room on the active roster, they optioned Ryan Johnson to High-A and placed Gustavo Campero on the 10-day injured list. In addition, they made room for Anderson on the 40-man roster by transferring Ben Joyce to the 60-day IL.

Anderson, 30, signed a minor league deal with the Angels over the offseason. From 2019-22, the right-hander threw 135 2/3 innings over 63 games (16 starts) for five different teams: the Giants, Twins, Orioles, Padres, and Blue Jays. He struggled to limit baserunners or to strand them, pitching to a 5.84 ERA and 5.24 SIERA. He then spent the first half of the 2023 campaign as a starter for the Kia Tigers of the KBO. He pitched well, putting up a 3.76 ERA and 3.83 FIP in 14 starts, but lost his job halfway through the season to another former big leaguer, Thomas Pannone. After finishing out 2023 in the Phillies’ minor league system and briefly playing in the Mexican League in early 2024, Anderson returned to the majors, pitching for both the Rangers and Marlins last season. It didn’t go well. He gave up 19 runs (15 earned) over 16 1/3 innings, striking out just 10 of the 85 batters he faced. Nevertheless, the Angels saw something to like in his arm. He has a 5.06 ERA and 5.77 FIP in seven starts at Triple-A this season, and he will presumably offer a bit of depth to a bullpen that has been something of a disaster as of late.

Lugo, 24 today, was added to L.A.’s 40-man roster over the offseason to protect him from the Rule 5 draft, but this marks his first promotion to the major leagues; he’ll be making his MLB debut as soon as he gets in a game. A second-round pick by the Red Sox in 2019, he was traded to the Angels ahead of the deadline last summer as part of the return for Luis García. Interestingly, he is now the third player from that seemingly minor trade to appear for the Angels, following first baseman Niko Kavadas and right-handed reliever Ryan Zeferjahn, who is currently in the big league bullpen. Initially an infielder, Lugo started playing the corner outfield in 2023 and ’24 and has exclusively played center field this season. He is struggling at the plate this year, with just a .656 OPS and 66 wRC+, but he showed impressive power last season, posting a .291 isolated power between Double and Triple-A. With Campero injured, he’ll take over as the backup outfielder on the bench.

Campero, 27, made it into just five games for the Angels this season before injuring his ankle during an at-bat. He has been placed on the 10-day IL, retroactive to Wednesday, with left ankle inflammation. The fact that the injury has been diagnosed as inflammation seems to be a good sign that Campero won’t miss too much time. While he has a .605 OPS and 71 wRC+ in 18 big league games, he has crushed minor league pitching throughout his career. With Mike Trout on the IL, the Angels are short on outfield depth, so they’ll hope Campero can get back on the field before too long.

Johnson, 22, was yet another prospect the Angels promoted shockingly quickly. The team took him in the second compensatory round of the draft (74th overall) just last summer, and he made his big league debut on Opening Day 2025. There’s no doubt he has promise, as evidenced by his 3.35 SIERA and 3.60 xERA through 14 appearances. However, he has also given up 15 runs (12 earned) on 24 hits, including six runs and nine hits in his last four appearances. There’s no doubt he could benefit from some time in the minor leagues. It’s not every day that you see a player optioned from the big leagues all the way down to High-A, but then again, it’s not every day you see a player debut in the majors before he’s pitched a single game in the minor leagues.

Last but certainly not least is the news about Joyce. The 24-year-old with a triple-digit fastball has not pitched in over a month. In mid-April, he went on the 15-day IL with what the Angels initially believed to be relatively minor shoulder inflammation. The team hasn’t offered an update, but he is now ineligible to return for another month. In other words, no matter what, the word “minor” is no longer an accurate descriptor of his injury. According to Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register, Joyce tried to throw earlier in the week, but his shoulder “still didn’t feel right.” He will go for further evaluation next week. The Athletic’s Sam Blum adds that Joyce is “obviously concerned,” though Blum stresses the point that there will not be a formal update until Joyce meets with a doctor. It’s always concerning to hear that a hard-throwing young pitcher has suffered a setback, but the Angels will hope their promising fireman can avoid surgery and get back on the bump later this season.

Angels, Buck Farmer Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Angels have agreed to a minor league contract with right-handed pitcher Buck Farmer, FanSided’s Robert Murray reports. Farmer had been a free agent since mid-April, when the Braves released him from a minor league deal.

Farmer, 34, spent the first eight seasons of his career with the Tigers. After moving into a full-time bullpen role in 2018, he was a solid middle reliever for Detroit for three seasons, pitching 158 1/3 innings with 29 holds and a 3.92 ERA from 2018-20. He was never an overpowering presence on the mound, and indeed, many of his underlying metrics suggested his ERA in that span was unsustainable. Still, he was a reliable inning eater out of the bullpen for some mediocre Tigers teams that desperately needed those innings. Unfortunately, he struggled so badly in 2021 that he was designated for assignment and passed through waivers twice. The first time, the Tigers sent him outright to Triple-A. The second time, he was granted his release.

After a brief stint in the Rangers’ minor league system, Farmer resuscitated his career with the Reds. Across three seasons in Cincinnati from 2022-24, he pitched to a 3.68 ERA and a 3.99 SIERA over 193 innings. Rarely did he enter in high-leverage spots, but even so, he was a key player in the Reds’ bullpen all three years. In that time, only 15 relievers threw more innings than Farmer. That’s all the more impressive considering it took him some time to establish himself in 2022, and he only threw 47 innings in the majors that year.

Despite his solid, dependable performance over the previous three seasons, Farmer was only able to land a minor league deal this winter, which he signed just days before spring training began. He struggled in five spring appearances with the Braves, giving up four runs on eight hits and four walks. His struggles continued at Triple-A, where he gave up five runs (four earned) on seven hits and four walks in 4 2/3 innings.

Nonetheless, Farmer’s big league track record, and particularly his time with the Reds, speaks louder than his poor performance in a handful of spring training and Triple-A appearances. Thus, it’s hardly surprising that he landed a new minor league deal, and one would have to think his chances of returning to the majors are much better with the Angels than they were with the Braves. Indeed, just a few days ago, the Angels selected the contracts of two veteran relievers whom they had signed to minor league deals: Héctor Neris and Connor Brogdon. Angels relievers have an ugly 7.15 ERA this season, and their bullpen ranks second-to-last in the majors in FanGraphs WAR. So, if Farmer pitches well at Triple-A, L.A. won’t have trouble making room for him in the big league bullpen.

Brewers Designate Vinny Capra For Assignment

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The Brewers announced Friday that they’ve designated infielder Vinny Capra for assignment. Infielder Andruw Monasterio and lefty Bryan Hudson have been recalled from Triple-A Nashville in a pair of corresponding moves. (Righty Elvin Rodriguez was optioned to Nashville yesterday, hence the recall of two players.)

Capra, 28, is out of minor league options and thus cannot be sent to the minors without first clearing waivers. He homered on Opening Day but has been in a lengthy slump ever since, recently snapping an 0-for-32 with a single. That prolonged cold spell leaves Capra with an eyesore of a batting line: .074/.121/.130. Between this year’s struggles and his sparse track record prior to 2025, Capra is just a .105/.170/.163 hitter in 96 big league plate appearances.

It’s a rough look, certainly, but the versatile infielder has unsurprisingly been worlds better in Triple-A. He’s appeared in parts of four seasons at the top minor league level and slashed .271/.366/.384 with 15 homers, 45 doubles, three triples, 21 steals (in 27 tries), a 12.2% walk rate and just a 16.5% strikeout rate. He’s compiled those results while splitting time between shortstop, second base, third base and (much more briefly) all three outfield positions.

Capra started five of Milwaukee’s first seven games but has seen his playing time diminish amid that cold snap and following the Brewers’ promotion of Caleb Durbin, whom they acquired from the Yankees in the offseason Devin Williams trade. Durbin hasn’t exactly seized an everyday spot with authority, but his .224/.313/.328 performance is a clear improvement over Capra and the already-optioned Oliver Dunn. Brewers third basemen have been far and away the least-productive group at the position in all of MLB this year, hitting just .168/.221/.256 (33 wRC+).

The Brewers will have five days to trade Capra. If no deal comes together by then, he’d need to be placed on outright waivers or release waivers. He can be waived at any point beforehand, but waivers are a 48-hour process and, by rule, his DFA must be resolved within a week’s time. If Capra clears outright waivers, he’ll stick with the organization as a depth option. He does not have the requisite service time or prior outright needed to elect free agency after going unclaimed.

Rangers Select Sam Haggerty

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The Rangers have selected outfielder Sam Haggerty’s contract from Triple-A Round Rock, the team announced. In a corresponding move, fellow outfielder Dustin Harris has been optioned to Triple-A. The Rangers had an open spot on the 40-man roster, so no additional move was necessary.

Following five seasons with the Mariners, Haggerty moved on to a new AL West club after Seattle non-tendered him this offseason. He was a productive bat for the M’s from 2022-23, producing a .727 OPS and a 113 wRC+ in 309 PA, but he missed most of 2024 after tearing his Achilles tendon. The Rangers added him on a minor league deal in February. He failed to win a job out of spring training and packed his bags for Round Rock to begin the year.

Harris had been with the big league club since Wyatt Langford went on the IL in early April. He hit well enough over his first handful of games to stick around when Langford returned. However, he went 1-for-18 over his last 20 plate appearances, with a single, two walks, and six strikeouts. Meanwhile, Haggerty has been swinging a hot bat at Triple-A. Over the past three weeks, he hit .347 with an .879 OPS and a 129 wRC+. Furthermore, as a switch-hitter with MLB reps at all three bases and all three outfield spots, he offers the Rangers more versatility and experience. It’s only been a few years since Harris was widely considered a top-10 prospect in the Rangers organization. While his prospect sheen has faded, he is still just 25, and some more time at Triple-A could surely do him some good. Haggerty, on the other hand, has little to learn or prove in the minors. He’ll turn 31 later this month and has played in parts of six big league seasons.

Although he bats from both sides of the plate, Haggerty has much more impressive numbers in 216 career PA against left-handed pitchers than he does in his 260 career PA against righties. He has walked more and struck out less against southpaws, and he’s hit seven of his nine career home runs as a righty batter. The Rangers currently rank 21st in MLB with a .622 OPS and a 79 wRC+ against left-handed pitching, due in large part to the struggles of hitters like Corey Seager and Adolis García. Haggerty is no solution to that problem, but the Rangers will hope he can offer a bit of help off the bench. A fast runner with 33 career steals in 36 attempts, Haggerty can also help the Rangers on the basepaths; they currently rank 14th in stolen bases and 13th in FanGraphs baserunning value.

Rays Select Connor Seabold, Transfer Ha-Seong Kim To 60-Day IL

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The Rays have selected the contract of right-hander Connor Seabold from Triple-A Durham, as first reported by Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. To open roster space, the Rays optioned righty Mason Englert to Durham and transferred infielder Ha-Seong Kim to the 60-day injured list. The team has since announced the moves.

Seabold, 29, is a former top prospect in the Phillies and Red Sox organizations who’s struggled to find his footing in the majors. He’s pitched in parts of three seasons between the Red Sox and Rockies, working to a combined 8.12 ERA in 108 2/3 innings. His 16.6% strikeout rate is well below average, though the right-hander carries a sharp 7.3% walk rate. Home runs have been his downfall; he’s surrendered a whopping 25 long balls in his career (2.07 homers per nine innings pitched).

That said, Seabold pitched well for the Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization last year and has had decent start in Durham. He piled up 160 innings in the KBO last season and notched a 3.43 earned run average. Seabold punched out 23.8% of his opponents with the Lions and limited walks at a strong 6% clip. He’s pitched 27 2/3 innings with the Bulls this season (five starts, one relief appearance) and logged a 4.55 ERA, 22.4% strikeout rate and 6% walk rate. Seabold is sitting just 90.9 mph with his four-seamer — down from the 92.5 mph he averaged in his most recent MLB work — but is relying on the pitch less. He’s throwing more changeups and sliders than in the past and has notched an impressive 13.5% swinging-strike rate.

Kim’s move to the 60-day injured list comes as little surprise. There’d been some thought that in a best-case scenario, he could be recovered from last October’s shoulder surgery by mid-May. Late last month, the Rays suggested it’d be closer to mid-June or perhaps even July before Kim was ready. The 29-year-old hasn’t had a setback, but the Rays are taking his progression slowly and cautiously.

Kim signed with the Rays on a two-year, $29MM deal over the winter. That contract affords him the opportunity to opt out at season’s end. It’s impossible to tell which way he’ll go with regard to that decision until he gets back to the field and we see how he performs in the wake of a major shoulder procedure. Kim hit .250/.336/.385 with plus defense at three infield spots and plus baserunning across the past three years in San Diego. Once he’s healthy, he’s expected to slot in as the Rays’ primary shortstop, though his versatility opens up several paths to get him into the lineup, depending on the health and performance of the rest of Tampa Bay’s infield mix in the weeks ahead.

The move from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL is largely procedural. It does not reset the clock, so to speak, on Kim’s IL stint. He’s required to be on the injured list for 60 days dating back to his original placement on the 10-day IL. He’s already logged 47 days of IL time and wasn’t going to be ready for activation within the next 13 anyhow, so today’s shift doesn’t impact his expected return in any meaningful capacity.

Carl Edwards Jr., Matt Foster Sign With Mexican League Teams

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A pair of former big league relievers are among those who recently signed with Mexican League teams. Carl Edwards Jr. rejoined the Tigers de Quintana Roo on Tuesday, while Matt Foster signed with the Algodoneros del Unión Laguna last week.

This is the second time this year that Edwards has signed with Quintana Roo. He initially joined the team in mid-March. He left to sign a minor league deal with the Angels before the season began. Edwards made seven Triple-A appearances and was called up by the Halos last month. He pitched twice in the big leagues, allowing three runs in as many innings. The Angels designated him for assignment, and he elected free agency after going unclaimed on waivers.

Edwards evidently preferred to return to Mexico rather than accept an outright assignment with the Halos. He’s making his Mexican League debut tonight. This year’s brief stint with the Angels marked his 11th consecutive season logging major league action. He’s only made three combined appearances over the past two years but was a decent middle reliever for the Nationals between 2022-23.

Foster, 30, is a righty who elected free agency at the start of the offseason after being waived by the White Sox. The Alabama product had pitched in parts of four seasons with Chicago, tallying 119 1/3 innings. He spent most of the 2020-22 seasons in Chicago’s middle relief group. Foster underwent Tommy John surgery early in the ’23 campaign.

That cost him nearly a year and a half of action. He tossed 6 2/3 frames of two-run ball for the Sox late last season after his return. That came with a 91.9 MPH average fastball velocity that was down two ticks from where he’d been sitting before the surgery. MLB teams were clearly skeptical of the diminished stuff. He allowed a run on three hits in an inning of work in his debut with the Algodoneros.

Yankees Outright Carlos Carrasco

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The Yankees announced that Carlos Carrasco went unclaimed on waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The veteran righty has more than enough service time to decline the assignment in favor of free agency, though the team did not provide any indication that he’ll do that. He’d been designated for assignment on Tuesday.

Carrasco, 38, signed a minor league deal a couple weeks before the opening of Spring Training. He posted a 1.69 ERA over 16 innings in March. Between the strong camp and injuries to Gerrit Cole and Luis Gil, Carrasco opened the season in Aaron Boone’s rotation. He couldn’t carry the spring success into the regular season. Carrasco surrendered nearly six earned runs per nine across 32 innings. His 17.6% strikeout rate was a few percentage points below league average, while he gave up seven home runs (1.97 per nine).

That’s more or less a match for Carrasco’s 2023-24 production. He held rotation spots with the Mets and Guardians, respectively, for the bulk of those two years. He hasn’t missed bats and has struggled to keep the ball in the park. Carrasco allowed a combined 6.18 ERA in 41 starts over that stretch. His 1.75 HR/9 rate over the past three seasons is the highest among active pitchers who have logged at least 200 innings.

Carrasco has been an upper mid-rotation starter for the majority of his career. He’s now a depth arm as his velocity has declined into his late 30s. He’s still a solid strike-thrower and a highly-respected veteran, so the Yankees would presumably be happy to keep him in the organization at Scranton. Brandon Leibrandt and Jake Woodford are the most experienced non-roster depth starters with the RailRiders.

Royals Sign Trevor Richards To Minor League Deal

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The Royals have signed right-hander Trevor Richards to a minor league deal, according to an announcement from the Omaha Storm Chasers, Kansas City’s Triple-A affiliate. The righty has been assigned to Omaha and will give the Royals some non-roster bullpen depth.

Richards, 32 next week, hasn’t been in good form lately. The Twins acquired him from the Blue Jays at last year’s deadline, sending minor league infielder Jay Harry the other way. Richards logged 13 innings for Minnesota but he gave out 11 walks in that time, an awful rate of 18.6% of batters faced. He also hit two opponents and threw seven wild pitches. Less than a month after being acquired, he was designated for assignment and outrighted to the minor leagues.

He had to settle for a minor league deal with the Cubs coming into 2025, which didn’t pan out. He tossed 8 2/3 innings for Triple-A Iowa with a 7.27 earned run average in that small sample. He struck out 29.3% of batters faced but with a 17.1% walk rate. The Cubs released him earlier this week.

The Royals will surely be hoping for a bounce back, as Richards had some success prior to this rough patch. He tossed 201 big league innings over the 2021 to 2023 seasons, mostly with the Jays but also with the Rays and Brewers. His 4.61 ERA in that time wasn’t amazing but he had a huge 31.3% strikeout rate. His 10.9% walk rate was still a bit high but far more acceptable than his recent work.

For the Royals, there’s no harm in adding another arm on a minor league deal. Their bullpen is in good shape this year, with a collective 2.93 ERA, fifth-best in the majors. But pitcher injuries are fairly inevitable, so it’s nice to have some experienced non-roster depth on hand.

Photo courtesy of Jesse Johnson, Imagn Images

Padres Release Andrew Bellatti

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The Padres released right-hander Andrew Bellatti, who’d been pitching with their Triple-A affiliate, per the team’s transaction log. The former Phillies righty signed a minor league deal with the Friars late during spring training.

Bellatti has pitched only 4 2/3 innings in El Paso, but they haven’t gone well. The 33-year-old surrendered six runs on 10 hits and five walks with five punchouts en route to a regrettable 11.57 earned run average. That follows up a tough 2024 season spent entirely at the Triple-A level, wherein Bellatti was tagged for a 5.48 ERA while walking more than 16% of his hitters with the Phillies’ top affiliate.

Back in 2022, Bellatti had an out-of-the-blue campaign in Rob Thomson’s bullpen. He’d previously pitched only 26 2/3 MLB frames, most of which came with the Rays in 2015, but after signing a minor league deal with the Phils, Bellatti rattled off 54 1/3 innings with a 3.31 ERA with a massive 33.9% strikeout rate. He was slowed by a triceps injury the following season and recorded just 24 2/3 innings with an inflated 5.11 ERA and diminished walk and strikeout rates.

Overall, Bellatti has a 3.83 ERA in 105 2/3 big league innings, with the vast majority of his production coming back in 2022. The righty averaged 94.4 mph on his four-seamer during that peak season but was sitting at just 91.7 mph in his brief run with the Padres’ top affiliate.

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