Diamondbacks To Option Jordan Lawlar, Sign Ildemaro Vargas
The Diamondbacks are optioning infielder Jordan Lawlar to Triple-A Reno, reports John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Phoenix. Infielder Ildemaro Vargas will be taking Lawlar’s roster spot. Vargas triggered an opt-out from his minor league deal and was released earlier this week. Gambadoro adds that Vargas will be re-signed to a major league deal. Arizona has an open 40-man roster spot at the moment, though it will be full once Vargas is officially added.
Lawlar, 22, earned a promotion to the majors earlier this month. One of the top prospects in the league, he had a monster line of .336/.413/.579 in Triple-A and it was getting harder and harder for the club to justify keeping him in Reno. However, they didn’t really have a great way to get him into the big league lineup. His primary position is shortstop, though he’s also spent some time at second and third base.
The Diamondbacks have Geraldo Perdomo at short, Eugenio Suárez at third and Ketel Marte at second. Pavin Smith and Randal Grichuk usually platoon in the designated hitter spot. They’re all performing well this year, to varying degrees. Nonetheless, manager Torey Lovullo felt there was a path to get Lawlar into the lineup about four times per week while others rested.
That hasn’t really come to pass. Lawlar was called up on May 12th and has subsequently appeared in eight games. Only six of those were starts. He entered one other game as a pinch hitter and another as a pinch runner. He hasn’t performed well in that sporadic playing time. In 22 plate appearances, he has three walks but nine strikeouts and no hits. Optioning him down therefore makes sense, as there’s not much use in having him scuffle in a part-time role. It’s far better for his long-term outlook to play regularly as he continues his development.
An injury to one of the current infielders would likely result in him making a quick return to the majors. His long-term path to playing time looks stronger since Suárez and Grichuk are impending free agents. With the Diamondbacks five games out of a playoff spot, it’s possible they end up traded this summer, which could get Lawlar another look in the big leagues. First baseman Josh Naylor is also an impending free agent, which could allow Smith to take over that spot in the near future.
For now, Vargas is a more logical bench infielder. A 33-year-old veteran, he has 422 big league games under his belt, having bounced around the field to every position except catcher and center field. He also hits from both sides of the plate. His .246/.289/.354 career batting line amounts to a wRC+ of 75, which is below average production in a vacuum but generally around what a club would expect from a versatile bench piece. He started this year with the Diamondbacks on a minor league deal but, as mentioned, opted out a few days ago. Before triggering that opt-out, he hit .261/.330/.397 over 49 games for Reno.
Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images
Angels Re-Sign Shaun Anderson To Minor League Deal
Right-hander Shaun Anderson cleared waivers after being designated for assignment by the Angels, briefly elected free agency and quickly re-signed with the Halos on a new minor league pact, per the transaction logs at MiLB.com.
The 30-year-old Anderson pitched 10 innings for the Halos prior to his DFA and was tagged for seven runs on 14 hits and three walks with 10 strikeouts. He averaged a pedestrian 92.1 mph on his four-seamer but still notched a hearty 12.2% swinging-strike rate thanks in part to a changeup he’s incorporated into his mix at a career-high rate of usage (23.3%). Anderson entered the season with 152 MLB innings under his belt and had thrown just seven percent changeups in his career (11.5% in 2024). It’s a small sample of innings, but he was also using his changeup more frequently (albeit not to this extent) in Triple-A as well.
Anderson has seen action in parts of six major league seasons and suited up for eight different teams along the way. He’s been hit hard, yielding a 6.11 ERA with a 16.8% strikeout rate and 8.7% walk rate in 162 MLB frames overall, but teams have continued to give him looks based on a solid Triple-A track record and some appealing traits in his pitches. He’s shown good aptitude for generating spin on both his four-seamer and slider throughout his career, and the 6’6″ righty gets excellent extension on his pitches, which can help his lackluster velocity play up.
Anderson was working as a starter in Salt Lake prior to being called up by the Angels. He’d tossed 37 1/3 innings across seven starts and logged a 5.06 ERA, a 17.6% strikeout rate and a 7.6% walk rate in that time. He worked as a multi-inning reliever with the Angels and saw his pitch count climb as high as 51 in one of his appearances with the Angels, on May 11. He’ll now remain with the Halos and again serve as a versatile depth arm who could come to the majors and help in a variety of roles.
Rangers Sign Alan Trejo, Billy McKinney To Minor League Deals
The Rangers signed Alan Trejo and Billy McKinney to minor league contracts. Both moves were initially reflected on the MiLB.com transaction log, and they’ve each already appeared for Triple-A Round Rock.
It’s the second Texas stint of the season for Trejo. The glove-first utility player signed with the Rangers over the offseason. He spent a month in Round Rock before the Rockies expressed interest in calling him up. Texas dealt him to Colorado for cash considerations to facilitate the promotion. Trejo spent a few weeks on the Rox’s MLB roster while they navigated injuries to Ezequiel Tovar and Tyler Freeman. He appeared in 13 games and hit .175 with a pair of doubles.
A former 16th-round draft choice, Trejo has appeared in parts of five MLB seasons. All of that time has come in Colorado. He’s a lifetime .224/.269/.325 hitter against big league pitching. Trejo has spent time in the Dodgers system plus his brief early-season stint in Round Rock but hasn’t gotten to the majors with any team besides the Rockies. He’s hitting .211/.247/.352 in 19 Triple-A games this year. He won’t provide much at the plate but can competently cover any infield position.
McKinney, 30, was released from a minor league deal with the Mets last week. He’s a left-handed hitting first baseman/corner outfielder who has played at the big league level with seven different clubs. McKinney carries a .209/.284/.386 batting line in a little under 1000 MLB plate appearances. He’d been out to a rough start for the Mets’ top farm team, hitting .184/.285/.307 with 34 strikeouts over 33 games. McKinney has a much more solid .266/.354/.487 slash in parts of eight Triple-A seasons. He’ll try to find that form in the Pacific Coast League.
White Sox Release Dan Altavilla
The White Sox have released right-handed reliever Dan Altavilla, per the transaction log at MiLB.com. He’d been on a minor league deal and pitching with their Triple-A affiliate in Charlotte.
Altavilla, 32, boasts a sharp 2.49 ERA in 21 2/3 frames with the Knights this season, including a recent run of 11 2/3 shutout innings. He’s fanned only 19.8% of his opponents against a bloated 11% walk rate, but it’s been a nice run of run-prevention for the journeyman righty, who’s averaging a hearty 96.1 mph on his four-seamer in Charlotte while yielding a lowly 24.6% hard-hit rate.
A veteran of seven major league seasons, 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 Altavilla’s 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.
Altavilla made a brief big league return with the 2024 Royals, tossing 3 2/3 innings for Kansas City. He was tagged for six runs in that short look and subsequently designated for assignment. The former fifth-round pick spent the rest of the 2024 season with the Royals’ top minor league affiliate in Omaha, where he logged 41 innings with a 3.51 ERA, a league-average 22.2% strikeout rate and a heavy 12.9% walk rate. The rate stats were shaky, but the combined 44 2/3 frames between Triple-A and the majors were the most Altavilla had pitched in a season since 2019.
There’s no indication that Altavilla is dealing with any kind of injury in 2025. He pitched for the Knights just a few days prior to his release and tossed a scoreless inning. As was the case in 2024, Altavilla’s rate stats are a bit wobbly, but he’s throwing hard, limiting hard contact and keeping runs off the board. That should earn him a new opportunity before long.
Royals Release Nelson Velazquez
The Royals released Nelson Velázquez this afternoon. The news was announced by their Triple-A affiliate in Omaha. The club also announced that they’ve activated Cavan Biggio, suggesting the veteran infielder has agreed to accept the minor league assignment after being optioned over the weekend. Velázquez had already been outrighted off Kansas City’s 40-man roster during Spring Training, so this does not impact the MLB roster count.
Velázquez landed with Kansas City in an under-the-radar deadline trade in 2023. The Royals took a flier on the power-hitting outfielder while dealing reliever José Cuas to the Cubs in a one-for-one swap. Both players had some success early on with their new organizations, but it proved fleeting in each case.
The 26-year-old Velázquez drilled 14 home runs in his first 40 games as a Royal. He hit .233 with a .299 on-base percentage, though the power jolt was enough for him to open the ’24 season as Matt Quatraro’s primary designated hitter. Velázquez was unable to maintain anything close to the pace of his previous year. He managed eight longballs in a career-high 230 plate appearances. His already middling batting average and on-base marks each went in the wrong direction. He finished the season with a .200/.274/.366 batting line while striking out nearly 27% of the time.
Velázquez has been unable to turn things around early this year. He hit .208 in 12 Spring Training games and was batting .202/.298/.377 across 131 plate appearances in Omaha. Velázquez is averaging a robust 92.5 MPH on his batted balls in the minors, but he’s striking out in over a quarter of his trips while hitting a lot of infield pop-ups. He doesn’t have much to fall back on beyond the power, as he’s a poor defensive outfielder who has spent more time as a DH this year. He’ll presumably look for another minor league opportunity elsewhere.
J.P. Feyereisen Elects Free Agency
Right-hander J.P. Feyereisen has elected free agency, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. The Dodgers designated him for assignment a few days ago. The log shows that he was sent outright to Triple-A Oklahoma City, indicating he cleared waivers, but he has exercised his right to head to the open market. Players have the right to reject an outright assignment if they have a previous outright or at least three years of service time. Feyereisen qualifies on both counts.
Feyereisen, 32, had some strong results for the Rays a few years back. Unfortunately, shoulder surgery wiped out his 2023 season and he hasn’t seemed the same since. He logged 56 innings for Tampa in 2021 with a 2.73 earned run average. The following year, he amazingly added another 24 1/3 innings without allowing an earned run. Putting those two seasons together, he had 80 1/3 innings with a 1.90 ERA, 24.4% strikeout rate and 11.9% walk rate.
But since recovering from shoulder surgery, he hasn’t been able to get back to that level. Going back to the start of 2024, he’s logged just 15 big league innings with 15 earned runs allowed. That’s a small sample of work but his 18.3% strikeout rate has been subpar, along with an average walk rate of 8.3%. He’s also tossed 56 2/3 minor league innings in that time frame with a 5.08 ERA. That’s been in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League but he hasn’t helped himself with a 16.5% strikeout rate. His fastball has been averaging around 91 miles per hour this year, a couple of ticks below his pre-surgery velo.
He started this year with the Diamondbacks on a minor league deal. He was called up in the third week of April but only made two appearances before being designated for assignment. The Dodgers claimed him off waivers and shuttled him between OKC and LA for a bit. He was able to make another two big league appearances before getting designated for assignment again.
He’ll now look for his next opportunity, which will likely be a minor league deal. The fact that no club claimed him off waivers suggests that no one is willing to give him a big league spot at the moment.
Photo courtesy of Isaiah J. Downing, Imagn Images
Jose Azocar Elects Free Agency
Outfielder José Azocar elected free agency after being outrighted by the Mets, relays Mike Puma of The New York Post. He’d been designated for assignment over the weekend. It’s the second time in the past couple months in which Azocar went unclaimed on waivers. Players with multiple career outrights can test free agency.
Azocar will be limited to minor league offers but could look for a team with less outfield depth. He didn’t have much of a path to playing time behind Brandon Nimmo, Tyrone Taylor, Juan Soto and fourth outfielder Starling Marte. The Mets had carried him on the MLB roster since April 17, and he only started five games in as many weeks. Azocar made an appearance as a pinch-runner the night before being DFA, the first time he’d played in any capacity since May 14.
The 29-year-old Azocar spent parts of three seasons in the big leagues with the Padres. He operated as a speed and defense specialist off the bench. Azocar hit .243/.287/.322 with a couple home runs and 18 stolen bases in just under 400 plate appearances in a San Diego uniform. The Mets added him via waivers last September. They kept him on an optional assignment to Triple-A for the rest of that season.
That was his final option year, so the Mets had to carry him on the MLB roster or expose him to waivers this year. He went unclaimed at the end of Spring Training. The Mets brought him back up after a couple weeks in Triple-A, where he’d been hitting .244 with a .367 on-base mark over 11 games. Azocar has a .286/.322/.434 slash in nearly 900 career Triple-A plate appearances. He’s a plus-plus runner with more than 5000 professional innings of center field experience.
Cubs, Genesis Cabrera Agree To Major League Deal
May 28: It’s a big league contract, reports Thomas Harrigan of MLB.com. Cabrera will draw directly into Craig Counsell’s bullpen once he passes a physical. The Cubs will need to create space on the active and 40-man rosters.
May 27: The Cubs are in agreement with reliever Génesis Cabrera, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. Mike Rodriguez first reported that the sides were nearing a deal. Cabrera had just elected free agency after being waived by the Mets.
Cabrera, 28, was called up by the Mets at the beginning of May. He managed decent results during his few weeks on the MLB roster. He worked 7 2/3 frames of three-run ball, striking out seven while issuing three walks. He averages around 96 MPH on his sinker and four-seam fastball, better than average velocity from the left side.
That has resulted in decent swing-and-miss rates over his career, but it hasn’t been enough to offset spotty command. Cabrera had walked at least 10% of opposing hitters in every big league season before this year’s small sample. He’d dished out five free passes in eight Triple-A innings before being called up.
Cabrera is a former division rival of Chicago’s. He spent his first five seasons with the Cardinals, who dealt him to the Blue Jays at the 2023 deadline. Cabrera pitched well down the stretch for Toronto but fell on harder times a year ago. While he managed a respectable 3.59 ERA across 62 2/3 frames, that came with a diminished 18.5% strikeout rate. The Jays opted to non-tender him instead of retaining for his final year of arbitration.
The Cubs have a pair of veteran lefties in the bullpen: Drew Pomeranz and Caleb Thielbar. Pomeranz has been fantastic, striking out 14 across 12 2/3 scoreless innings to begin his Cubs tenure. Thielbar has been effective as well, posting a 2.37 ERA while striking out nearly a quarter of batters faced in 22 appearances. Luke Little and Tom Cosgrove are on the 40-man roster and on optional assignment to Triple-A Iowa.
Mariners Reinstate Jackson Kowar, Option Logan Evans
The Mariners announced that right-hander Jackson Kowar has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. The 40-man roster had a vacancy due to right-hander Jesse Hahn being designated for assignment last week but is now full. To open an active roster spot, righty Logan Evans has been optioned to Triple-A Tacoma.
Kowar, 28, has been with the Mariners for over a year but will be making his team debut whenever he gets into a game. He was acquired from Atlanta in December of 2023 but required Tommy John surgery in March of 2024. He spent all of last year and the first few months of this year on the IL.
Prior to going under the knife, he had shown promise with a recent change in role. A starter for most of his career, he showed a velocity bump while moving to a relief role in 2023. He had averaged around 95.7 miles per hour with his fastball as a starter but got that up to 97 mph out of the bullpen. The results didn’t immediately click, as he had a 6.43 earned run average that year, as well as subpar strikeout and walk rates of 21.2% and 14.6%.
Still, the M’s clearly feel there are good ingredients to work with. After the Royals flipped Kowar to Atlanta as part of the Kyle Wright deal, the M’s grabbed him as part of the Jarred Kelenic deal. They kept him on the roster throughout the winter, when there’s no IL, so they’re surely hoping their patience will pay off now that he’s healthy.
Evans got called up about a month ago, making his major league debut as the M’s dealt with various rotation injuries. He generally performed well, with a 2.83 ERA over six starts. Looking under the hood, there are some less impressive numbers, such as a 17.4% strikeout rate. But as far as injury replacements go, the M’s have to be thrilled with what Evans gave them.
The rotation has been getting healthier of late. George Kirby is now off the IL. It seems like Bryce Miller and Logan Gilbert are nearing returns as well. The M’s could therefore have their ideal quintet shortly, with Luis Castillo and Bryan Woo the other two pieces. Evans has been bumped into a depth role for now, while Emerson Hancock could be next.
Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images
Angels Designate Tim Anderson For Assignment
The Angels announced a series of roster moves today. They have selected the contract of infielder Scott Kingery and reinstated right-hander Robert Stephenson from the 60-day injured list. To make room for those two on the active roster, left-hander Jake Eder has been optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake and infielder Tim Anderson has been designated for assignment. To open another 40-man spot, catcher Chuckie Robinson has been designated for assignment.
Anderson, 32 next month, signed a minor league deal with the Angels in the offseason. A former All-Star and batting champion, Anderson’s production tailed off in 2023 and 2024, which is why he had to settle for a minor league pact. Injuries to infielders like Zach Neto, Anthony Rendon and Yoán Moncada opened a path for him to crack the roster but he hasn’t done much with the opportunity.
Across 31 games, Anderson stepped to the plate 90 times for the Halos. His 3.3% walk rate was very low but that’s always been his style. Unfortunately, his 32.2% strikeout rate was way above both his personal track record and the league average. He had only three extra-base hits, which were all doubles. It all added up to a .205/.258/.241 line and 42 wRC+.
As mentioned, Anderson was once an All-Star and batting champion. He slashed .318/.347/.473 for a 123 wRC+ from 2019 through 2022. But from the start of 2023 to the present, he has 855 plate appearances with a .232/.269/.270 line and 49 wRC+. With other players getting healthy and/or performing better than Anderson, he’s been squeezed off the roster. He will likely be placed on waivers in the coming days but probably won’t find much interest, given his ongoing struggles. If he is passed through waivers unclaimed, he’ll have the right to elect free agency.
His playing time will seemingly be going to Kingery, who was acquired from the Phillies in the offseason but then outrighted off the 40-man. He has been excelling at Triple-A Salt Lake this year, with a .373/.418/.578 line, though those numbers need to be taken with some grains from that lake. The Bees play in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League and Kingery also has a massive .433 batting average on balls in play that he won’t be able to sustain.
Still, it’s understandable to consider him a better bet than Anderson. Kingery’s major league track record isn’t strong but he had a solid .268/.316/.488 slash and 103 wRC+ for the Phillies’ Triple-A club last year. He also stole 25 bases while playing second base, shortstop and center field. Given how bad Anderson has been struggling, Kingery doesn’t need to be a star to be an upgrade.
The return of Stephenson is a notable moment for the Angels. They signed him to a three-year, $33MM deal going into 2024 but he still hasn’t made his team debut. Some elbow issues plagued him at the start of last year and he ultimately required Tommy John surgery at the end of April. He has been rehabbing from that procedure for just over a year now.
His track record is mixed, with a 4.64 earned run average in his career, but the Angels made a bet that he had broken out just prior to the signing. A former first-round pick and top prospect, he couldn’t stick in a rotation and eventually moved to a relief role. He occasionally showed flashes of promise there before putting together an elite run in 2023.
He started that year with the Pirates and had an uninspiring 5.14 ERA when he was traded to the Rays. With Tampa, he reeled off 38 1/3 innings with a 2.35 ERA, 42.9% strikeout rate and 5.7% walk rate. In short, he was one of the best relievers on the planet for a few months.
The Angels haven’t yet received any return on their investment but Stephenson’s return could be a massive boost, as their bullpen is one of the worst in the league. Their relievers have a collective 6.31 ERA, dead last in the majors, slightly behind Washington’s 6.22 mark. Even if Stephenson doesn’t fully return to his dominant form from the second half of 2023, he should be a nice upgrade to the group. Kenley Jansen will perhaps continue in the closer’s role but Stephenson should be in line for meaningful innings one way or another.
Robinson, 30, was acquired from the White Sox in the offseason. He has been serving as Triple-A depth so far this season, hitting .272/.315/.388 for the Bees. He’ll head into DFA limbo alongside Anderson. He still has options and could perhaps appeal to a club in need of catching depth. He generally hasn’t hit much but has a decent defensive reputation. The Angels are now down to just two catchers on their 40-man roster in Logan O’Hoppe and Travis d’Arnaud.
Photo courtesy of Jonathan Hui, Imagn Images