Reds To DFA Fairchild, Place Hays On IL; Steer Will Not Go On IL
The Reds have a few notable moves on tap ahead of Opening Day, as reported by Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. Despite previous reports that infielder/outfielder Spencer Steer will start the season on the injured list due to a right shoulder injury, he actually will make the Opening Day roster but will be the designated hitter only. However, outfielder Austin Hays will go on the 10-day injured list due to a calf injury. Additionally, outfielder Stuart Fairchild will be designated for assignment tomorrow.
At this point, the details on Hays aren’t clear. He was in the lineup for the club on Sunday, stepping to the plate three times. It hasn’t been publicly reported how he sustained his injury or how severe it is. Opening Day IL stints can be backdated by three days, so it’s possible he could rejoin the club as soon as one week into the season if it’s minor.
As for Steer, his right shoulder has been bothering him going back to last year. Here in camp, he’s been able to swing a bat without pain but the shoulder bugs him when he throws. Manager Terry Francona told members of the media a few days ago that Steer would start the season on the IL but it seems the club has changed that plan recently.
It’s understandable that they don’t want to lose his bat. He hit .271/.356/.464 for a 117 wRC+ in 2023. His line dropped to .225/.319/.402 last year but that seems to have been at least partially bad luck, with his batting average on balls in play dropping from .318 to .260 in those respective seasons. Having him in the DH spot will give the club a bit less flexibility but ideally some extra thump.
As for Fairchild, he has largely been serving as a glove-first depth outfielder for the Reds lately. He exhausted his final option year in 2023 but then managed to stick on the roster last year as the club suffered through a number of injuries.
His glovework has been strong but he has a career batting line of .224/.308/.389, which translates to an 88 wRC+. In camp this year, his numbers were far worse, as he slashed .132/.233/.184 in 45 plate appearances. That performance seems to have sealed his fate. The Reds could have kept Fairchild and optioned guys like Jacob Hurtubise and Blake Dunn to the minors, but will open the season with those two and bump Fairchild off the roster.
Once he’s officially DFA’d, he’ll have at most a week to find out his fate, whether that’s a trade or some destiny on the waiver wire. Despite the poor offense, he does have ten Defensive Runs Saved and nine Outs Above Average in his 1,389 1/3 innings. He’s also stolen 23 bases over the past two years. Perhaps some other club will be interested in grabbing him as a fourth outfielder. If that comes to pass, he can be controlled for four seasons since his service time is between two and three years at the moment.
Without Steer, Hays or Fairchild, the outfield might be in flux to start the season. TJ Friedl and Jake Fraley should be regulars in two spots. Gavin Lux might play a decent amount of left field with Matt McLain at second and Jeimer Candelario at third. Candelario can also play first but it seems as though Christian Encarnacion-Strand will be the regular there. Dunn and Hurtubise could also factor into the mix alongside Lux.
Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images
White Sox Designate Oscar Colas For Assignment, Claim Greg Jones From Rockies
The White Sox have designated outfielder Oscar Colas for assignment and claimed infielder/outfielder Greg Jones off waivers from the Rockies, per a team announcement. Chicago optioned Jones and righty Justin Anderson to Triple-A Charlotte. The Sox also reassigned infielders Bobby Dalbec, Tristan Gray and Chase Meidroth to minor league camp alongside righties James Karinchak and Steven Wilson.
Now 26 years old, Colas came to the White Sox with considerable fanfare. The Cuban-born slugger was touted as one of the more intriguing prospects on the 2020-21 and 2021-22 international amateur markets. He bizarrely (and frankly, unfairly) drew comparisons to Shohei Ohtani, of all players, for his plus raw power and because he’d dabbled in pitching during his time in Cuba and a brief foray into Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. Outlandish as that comparison was, it did set some unrealistic expectations among fans who were dreaming on Colas as a potential superstar.
Even before the White Sox signed him, Colas had signaled that he no longer intended to pitch and that he’d focus his efforts on his work as a position player. He formally signed with Chicago in Jan. 2022 for a reported $2.7MM bonus. Colas went on to tear through minor league pitching that season, slashing .314/.371/.524 with 23 homers across three levels. Strong as those rate stats were, his production came with some red flags. Colas spent the bulk of the season playing against younger and less experienced competition, and he rarely walked. His strikeout rates also climbed rapidly as he moved from High-A to Double-A to Triple-A.
The Sox gave Colas his big league debut in 2023, and he quickly looked overmatched. In 75 games and 263 plate appearances, he hit just .216/.257/.314 with a tiny 4.6% walk rate and a bloated 27.6% strikeout rate. Of the 328 big league hitters with at least 250 plate appearances in 2023, Colas chased balls off the plate at the 13th-highest rate, per Statcast, despite also turning in a well below-average contact rate on such swings. Only 39 of those 328 hitters had a lower overall contact rate than Colas.
For all of Colas’ big league struggles in 2023, he at least turned in a .272/.345/.465 line in Triple-A Charlotte. That was league-average production by measure of wRC+ — a testament to the hitter-friendly nature of the Triple-A International and Pacific Coast Leagues. Colas showed solid discipline in the minors, walking at a 9.2% clip against a roughly average 22.3% strikeout rate.
The 2024 season brought considerable regression. Colas hit only .246/.332/.400 in Triple-A. His 11% walk rate was an improvement, and his 23.1% strikeout rate effectively matched the prior season, but Colas’ power deteriorated. He also became increasingly prone to hitting grounders and harmless infield flies; nearly one-quarter of his fly balls in Triple-A last year registered as infield flies. That’s more than double the 10.3% MLB average. Despite the Sox fielding a historically bad team, they scarcely gave Colas a look; he logged only 38 plate appearances and hit .273/.368/.273 while fanning 10 times (26.3%). Spring training hasn’t done Colas any favors. He received only 18 official plate appearances and went 4-for-16 with seven strikeouts.
The White Sox will now trade Colas or place him on waivers within the next five days. Outright waivers are a 48-hour process, which could drag his stay in DFA limbo out to a maximum of one week. Though he was a touted prospect not long ago, Colas’ struggles and limited skill set might allow Chicago to keep him. Today’s front offices typically aren’t enamored of power-focused corner bats with questionable on-base skills and sub-par defensive acumen.
In Jones, the Sox will pick up one of the sport’s fastest players. The 27-year-old has only six MLB plate appearances to his credit — he went 1-for-6 with a homer for Colorado last year — but drew 80 grades for his speed as a prospect. Jones went 46-for-49 in stolen bases at the Triple-A level last year despite being limited to just 89 games by injury. He hit .267/.344/.453 with the Rockies’ top affiliate (99 wRC+).
Jones is in the last of his three minor league option years. The former Rays first-rounder has split the bulk of his pro career between shortstop and center field. He’ll give the South Siders some depth at both spots and would presumably be an option in the outfield corners or at second base and third base as well. The Rockies gave him 64 games in center, 16 at shortstop, eight at second base and four in right field last year.
Colorado picked Jones up in a March 2024 trade sending left-handed pitching prospect Joe Rock to the Rays. The Rockies are left without anything to show for that swap now, whereas Rock has blossomed into a nearly MLB-ready rotation prospect for Tampa Bay. Rock profiles as more of a back-end starter or multi-inning reliever than a top-of-the-rotation talent, but the swap has clearly worked out in the Rays’ favor to this point.
Nationals To Select Brad Lord
The Nationals are going to promote right-hander Brad Lord to their Opening Day roster, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. The righty is not yet on the 40-man, so a corresponding move will be required. That could be an easy call since DJ Herz has been recommended for Tommy John surgery. It’s not fully confirmed that Herz will go under the knife but he will likely miss a decent chunk of time even if he avoids the surgeon’s table.
Lord, 25, isn’t a typical prospect. As Passan mentions in his report and as detailed by Spencer Nusbaum of The Washington Post last month, Lord has had to grind. While some top draft picks get multi-million-dollar signing bonuses, Lord was an 18th-round selection in 2022 and signed for $125K. He spent this past winter working at a Home Depot in Bradenton, lifting bags of mulch and Christmas trees, around his offseason training.
That makes it all the more impressive that he’s been able to improve his stock in recent years. In 2023, he tossed 104 2/3 innings at the Single-A and High-A levels, working both as a starter and reliever. He posted a 4.04 earned run average, 18.5% strikeout rate, 6.5% walk rate and huge 61.6% ground ball rate.
Last year, he climbed from High-A to Double-A and Triple-A, logging 129 2/3 innings across a combined 29 starts at those three levels with a 2.43 ERA. His grounder rate dropped to 42% but he upped his punchouts to a 25.3% clip. Baseball America ranked him the #29 prospect in the system going into 2025.
Here in camp, his 6.08 ERA doesn’t look so nice, but that’s in a tiny sample of 13 1/3 innings. He was very unfortunate in that time, with an unlucky .348 batting average on balls in play and 50% strand rate. He only struck out 13.8% of batters but got the grounders back up to 55.6%.
He seems likely to start the season working a long relief role for the Nats. They project to have a rotation of MacKenzie Gore, Trevor Williams, Jake Irvin, Mitchell Parker and Michael Soroka. By having Lord serve the longman role, it will allow the club to keep other potential starters like Shinnosuke Ogasawara and Jackson Rutledge stretched out in Triple-A.
Photo courtesy of Jim Rassol, Imagn Images
Tigers, Ben Gamel Agree To Minor League Deal
The Tigers have agreed to terms on a minor league contract with free agent outfielder Ben Gamel, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. Gamel, a Wasserman client, was released by the Astros earlier in the week. His new deal with the Tigers will have the same $1.2MM base as the non-guaranteed big league deal from which he was released in Houston.
Gamel, 32, has appeared in each of the past nine big league seasons. He’s a career .252/.334/.382 hitter in 2320 trips to the plate in the majors. Gamel, who’s suited up for the Yankees, Mariners, Brewers, Guardians, Pirates, Padres, Mets and Astros over his near-decade in the big leagues, was a semi-regular from 2017-22 but has just 114 big league plate appearances over the past two seasons. He’s an OBP-oriented corner bat who’s best suited for left field.
Detroit has seen its outfield mix hobbled considerably by injuries to begin the season. Parker Meadows is dealing with a nerve issue and is still shut down for another four weeks at the very least. He’ll need to build back up to game readiness after his shutdown period. He’s already on the 60-day injured list and won’t return until June at the earliest.
Right fielder/third baseman Matt Vierling is opening the season on the injured list due to a strained rotator cuff. Utilityman Wenceel Perez who’d been ticketed for regular work in the outfield after Meadows and Vierling were injured, will instead miss at least the first month of the season due to a back injury.
Following that slate of injuries, the Tigers signed veteran Manuel Margot to a big league deal. He was granted his release by the Brewers over the weekend after spending camp with them as a non-roster invitee. Margot, Riley Greene and Kerry Carpenter are now poised to log the bulk of the time in the outfield. Utility options like Zach McKinstry, Ryan Kreidler and Andy Ibanez could all see time in the outfield as well, and Detroit has even gotten Spencer Torkelson some reps in right field. Gamel will join prospect Justyn-Henry Malloy as one of the top depth options in the minors, though Malloy is already on the 40-man roster and could have a leg up as a result.
Astros To Select Brendan Rodgers
March 26: Rodgers’ contract contains a $2MM base salary plus another $300K of incentives tied to plate appearances, Ari Alexander of KPRC-2 reports. Rodgers would receive $50K bonuses for reaching each of 200, 250, 300, 350, 400 and 450 plate appearances.
March 25: The Astros will select Brendan Rodgers onto the major league roster, manager Joe Espada told reporters (including Matt Kawahara of The Houston Chronicle). The former Rockies second baseman breaks camp after signing a minor league deal last month.
Rodgers didn’t exactly force his way into the picture with a huge Spring Training. He hit .233 without a home run over 44 plate appearances. Still, it was surprising that he needed to settle for a minor league deal in the first place. Rodgers is a former third overall pick who spent four seasons as Colorado’s primary second baseman. He has never lived up to the top prospect billing, but he’s been a better than replacement level performer.
The 28-year-old hit .267/.314/.407 with 13 homers across 539 plate appearances last season. Like many Colorado hitters, he had extreme home/road splits. Rodgers hit .328/.396/.502 at Coors Field and .214/.247/.323 away from Denver. The thin air in Colorado can flatten pitchers’ breaking stuff, which causes trouble for a lot of Rockies hitters as they try to adjust to sharper stuff when on the road. The Astros will hope for some positive regression in Rodgers’ road production to compensate for the expected drop-off in his numbers at home.
Rodgers won a Gold Glove at second base in 2022. Public metrics have painted that as an outlier season; he has graded as a middling defender by Defensive Runs Saved and Statcast in every other year. Rodgers hasn’t played anywhere other than the keystone since 2021. That’ll limit his versatility as a bench piece.
Houston will use Jose Altuve primarily in left field. While Mauricio Dubón is technically the starting second baseman, he’s capable of playing essentially anywhere. Rodgers could draw into the lineup at second on days when Espada wants to move Dubón around to rest someone else. As a player with more than five years of service, Rodgers cannot be sent to the minors without his consent.
The Astros have two openings on their 40-man roster at the moment. They’ll add Rodgers, Cam Smith, Rafael Montero and Steven Okert by Opening Day. They’ve already informed the out-of-options Cooper Hummel that he won’t make the team. He’ll be designated for assignment or waived. They can easily open the final spot by transferring an injured pitcher (e.g. J.P. France, Cristian Javier) to the 60-day injured list.
Cam Smith To Make Astros’ Roster
Prospect Cam Smith is going to make the Astros’ Opening Day roster as their right fielder, reports Chandler Rome of The Athletic. The youngster isn’t yet on the 40-man roster and they will need a spot for him, as well as Rafael Montero and Steven Okert. They have two openings already and several candidates for the 60-day injured list, meaning they shouldn’t have trouble finding room for all those guys.
It’s been an incredible whirlwind for Smith, who was a student at Florida State a year ago. In July, the Cubs selected him with the 14th overall pick in the draft and signed him to a $5,070,700 bonus. The Cubs put the young third baseman to work right away, getting him into 15 Single-A games, 12 at High-A and five at Double-A. He walked in 11.2% of his plate appearances and was only struck out at a 17.9% clip. He launched seven home runs in 134 plate appearances and had a combined .313/.396/.609 batting line.
That made him one of the top prospects in baseball going into 2025. The Cubs went into the winter with a loaded farm system but a big league roster that had struggled to push beyond the mushy middle, finishing at 83-79 in each of the past two years. They were looking for a big splash and the Astros were reportedly open to moving Kyle Tucker. He’s a tremendous player but was slated for free agency after 2025, with Houston seemingly having no hope of getting an extension done. The Astros also had a preference to avoid the competitive balance tax this year.
The Cubs, as mentioned, had a very strong farm system. That included a couple of infield guys who were viewed as ahead of Smith. Matt Shaw and Owen Caissie are both on many top 100 prospect lists and each of them reached the Triple-A level in 2024.
All those stars aligned to make the trade happen. The Astros sent Tucker to Wrigley in exchange for third baseman Isaac Paredes, pitcher Hayden Wesneski and Smith. From the Cubs’ perspective, they were giving up a lot in the long term in order to make a big upgrade in 2025. Smith, as a prospect, was obviously a long play. Paredes still had three years of club control and would be an affordable replacement for Bregman at third base. Wesneski, with five years of club control, gave the club some affordable rotation depth.
Arguably, the Astros were making themselves worse in the short term, in order to save some money and come out ahead in the long run. Bregman and Tucker were two big losses. Parades could make up for some of Bregman’s production but likely not all. The outfield looked clearly worse on paper when compared to last year, especially with Yordan Alvarez slated to spend more time as the designated hitter. But beyond 2025, they weren’t going to have Tucker anyway. Now they would have Paredes, Wesneski and Smith’s contributions.
The short-term picture has changed a lot since camp opened. Smith put up a massive line of .342/.419/.711 in Grapefruit League action. As he started building those impressive numbers, there were whispers that the club wanted to get him work in right field, with Paredes blocking Smith’s natural third base position. It seems he has impressed the decision-makers enough to get the Opening Day nod, despite his very limited professional track record of just 32 professional games, none at the Triple-A level.
The outfield picture also changed in another way. Jose Altuve, who has been Houston’s second baseman for over a decade, is now going to be the left fielder. His glovework at the keystone was never great but has declined significantly as he has pushed into his mid-30s.
Overall, it’s a fascinating gambit for the Astros. Moving Alvarez out of left field makes sense, given all the health scares he has had over the years. Trading Tucker was also risky in its own way. Now they seem likely to feature a regular outfield mix of Jake Meyers in center, flanked by Altuve and Smith. Meyers hasn’t hit much in his career but is a strong defender. That glovework figures to be important, as he’ll be flanked by two converted infielders with no real experience on the grass.
The Altuve/Smith combo seems to have a good chance of outhitting a corner mix of Ben Gamel and Chas McCormick, which seemed like a possible Opening Day alignment as recently as a few weeks ago. Then again, even the best prospects often struggle when first promoted to the majors, so there are no guarantees Smith will immediately flourish. Still, it’s understandable bet on a higher ceiling.
If Smith does thrive, that would obviously help the club in 2025 but it could also benefit the Astros in another way. The current collective bargaining agreement added measures to discourage service time manipulation. One of those prospect promotion incentives is that clubs can receive an extra draft pick just after the first round under certain conditions. If a player is on two of the three top 100 lists from Baseball America, ESPN or MLB.com, they are PPI eligible if their club promotes them early enough in the season to earn a full service year. If such a player wins Rookie of the Year or finish top three in MVP or Cy Young voting in their pre-arbitration years, the club earns an extra pick. Smith is ranked 55th overall at BA, 73rd at ESPN and 59th at MLB.com and is therefore eligible.
Turning to a few other roster decisions for the Astros, Zach Dezenzo will get a bench spot but Cooper Hummel will not, per Ari Alexander of KPRC 2. Hummel is out of options, so he should be designated for assignment or traded in the coming days.
Hummel has an awful .159/.255/.275 batting line in the majors but has been much better in the minors and has interesting defensive versatility. He has a .285/.419/.480 line over the past four minor league seasons and hit .316/.435/.447 in camp this year. Defensively, he’s an option at all four corner spots. He didn’t play behind the plate in 2024 but did in previous seasons. That could make him attractive to other clubs but he cleared waivers in April of 2024 when he still had an option remaining.
One final bench spot will come down to Brendan Rodgers or Zack Short, manager Joe Espada tells Rome. Both players were signed to minor league deals, so that will be another 40-man spot the team will need to open. But as mentioned, they have lots of 60-day IL candidates and should be fine there.
Images courtesy of Reinhold Matay, Imagn Images
Dan Altavilla Opts Out Of White Sox Deal
Dan Altavilla exercised an out clause in his minor league deal with the White Sox, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. The right-hander was granted his release and is again a free agent.
Chicago gave Altavilla a non-roster invite to big league camp in December. He had a solid Spring Training, working 9 2/3 innings of three-run ball with 11 strikeouts. The White Sox nevertheless opted not to carry him on the big league roster, sending him back to the open market.
Altavilla made five appearances for the Royals last season. He gave up six runs across 3 2/3 frames before sustaining an oblique strain that knocked him out of action for two months. Kansas City waived him rather than reinstate him onto the MLB roster once he was healthy. That was Altavilla’s first major league work since he made two appearances for the Padres in 2021.
The 32-year-old spent most of last season with K.C.’s Triple-A club. He turned in a 3.51 ERA with a 22.2% strikeout rate and a 12.9% walk percentage across 41 innings. The Triple-A and Spring Training numbers should land him a minor league deal somewhere.
Angels Select Tim Anderson
The Angels announced that they’ve selected shortstop Tim Anderson onto the MLB roster. The Halos also confirmed a few previously reported moves: the promotion of reliever Ryan Johnson, the signing of Nicky Lopez to a one-year deal, and the DFAs of lefty relievers José Quijada and Angel Perdomo.
Anderson, a two-time All-Star, gets another rebound chance after a second straight poor season. He hit only .214/.237/.226 in 65 games for the Marlins last season. Miami had signed him to a $5MM deal in the hope that he’d become a midseason trade chip. Instead, they ended up releasing him before the All-Star Break. Anderson sat out the remainder of the season and signed an offseason minor league contract with the Halos.
The righty-hitting Anderson appeared in 21 games this spring. He hit .263 with one homer and three steals in as many attempts. It wasn’t a dominant showing, but he’ll provide speed and decent contact skills off Ron Washington’s bench. Zach Neto is opening the season on the injured list. Kevin Newman will probably get the starting shortstop job. Anderson, Lopez and Kyren Paris could all work off the bench. The Angels might be without Yoán Moncada to open the season, which could push Luis Rengifo to the hot corner. That’d leave second base open for one of the depth infielders.
Meanwhile, Michael Huntley of The Orange County Register notes that the Perdomo and Quijada designations all but officially secure Garrett McDaniels’ spot on the Opening Day roster. The Angeles took the lefty out of the Dodgers system in the Rule 5 draft. McDaniels got ground-balls at a massive 67.9% clip over nine innings this spring. He only managed four strikeouts and walks apiece, but the 25-year-old’s game is built around grounders.
Angels Sign Nicky Lopez
The Angels have signed infielder Nicky Lopez to a major league deal, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. Earlier, Sam Blum of The Athletic relayed that Lopez has a locker for tonight’s game against the Dodgers. Blum also relayed that left-hander José Quijada does not have a locker, so perhaps he has been removed from the club’s roster. Subsequently, Blum has added that left-hander Angel Perdomo is also without a locker. The 40-man roster count dropped to 39 earlier today with the release of Mickey Moniak. Adding Lopez would bump that back up to 40 but that would drop again if Quijada and/or Perdomo are removed.
Lopez, 30, was in camp with the Cubs on a minor league deal until recently. He was reassigned to minor league camp ahead of that club travelling to Japan for the Tokyo Series. It was reported at that time that he was expected to trigger an opt-out in his deal. He was officially granted his release a few days ago, freeing him up to sign this deal with the Halos.
Broadly speaking, Lopez is a glove-first infielder. He did have one especially strong season at the plate in 2021, though that was largely fuelled by a .347 batting average on balls in play. He has 2,346 big league plate appearances overall with a .248/.312/.314 line and 77 wRC+.
But the defensive profile is strong, with over 2,000 innings at the shortstop position. Defensive Runs Saved has considered him to be roughly average at that spot, before giving him a rough -9 mark last year. Outs Above Average, however, has Lopez at +33 at short in his career. He has also received strong marks for his work at second and third base, with brief showings at first and left field as well.
He was with the White Sox last year and could have been retained for 2025 via arbitration, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting him for a $5.1MM salary. Given his light hitting, the Sox weren’t willing to pay that. He was passed through waivers in November and elected free agency. He later signed a minor league deal with the Cubs, with that pact coming with a modest $1.5MM salary if he made the majors. Presumably, this deal with the Angels comes with a fairly modest salary.
The Angels have plenty of uncertainty throughout their infield. Shortstop Zach Neto is going to start the season on the injured list as he is still recovering from offseason shoulder surgery. Third baseman Anthony Rendon underwent hip surgery last month and has been moved to the 60-day injured list. The Angels signed Yoán Moncada to replace Rendon at third but he’s been battling some thumb soreness in camp and hasn’t played in an official spring game since March 12. Second baseman Luis Rengifo has been dealing with a nagging hamstring injury. He’s been back in the lineup for over a week but is hitting .150/.261/.150 in Cactus League action.
As of now, Kevin Newman seems likely to be the club’s shortstop. Rengifo seems to be healthy enough to play either second or third base. Lopez gives them a glove-first guy who can bounce around. Non-roster invitees like Tim Anderson or J.D. Davis could also factor into the mix if added to the roster.
Perdomo and Quijada are both out-of-options lefty relievers. That means they need to be on the active roster or else removed from the 40-man. Nothing official has been announced but their absences from the clubhouse seem to suggest they won’t be making the club.
Quijada, 29, has generally been able to rack up lots of strikeouts but also plenty of walks in his career. To this point, he has 128 innings under his belt with a 4.64 earned run average. He has punched out 30.3% of opponents but given out free passes at a 14.8% clip. He underwent Tommy John surgery in May of 2023, meaning he didn’t pitch much in the past two years.
He qualified for arbitration for the first time after that 2023 season. But due to the surgery, he was only able to bump his salary to $840K, barely above league minimum. He and the Angels agreed to a deal in January that will see him make $1.075MM this year, with a $3.75MM club option for 2026.
Hypothetically, if he were to be passed through waivers unclaimed, he would have the right to elect free agency as a player with at least three years of service time. However, he has less than five years of service, meaning he would have to give up that money to head to the open market. In that scenario, he would likely stick with the Angels as non-roster depth in order to keep his 2025 salary in place.
Perdomo, 31 in May, was acquired from the Braves in a cash deal about a week ago. He has a 5.55 ERA, 35.8% strikeout rate and 15.8% walk rate in his career. He only has 48 2/3 innings pitched but has almost three years of service time thanks to many injured list stints. He has a previous career outright and would therefore have the right to elect free agency if passed through waivers.
Padres Return Rule 5 Pick Juan Nunez To Orioles
5:10pm: The O’s have officially announced that Nunez has cleared waivers and is back with them. He has been assigned to their minor league camp.
4:25pm: The Padres are returning Rule 5 pick Juan Nunez to the Orioles, reports Jesse Rogers of ESPN. Rule 5 players have to clear waivers before being offered back to their original club. It’s not clear if that has happened yet. Regardless, the Padres open a 40-man roster spot. If Nunez officially winds up back with the Orioles, he will not need to take a 40-man spot with that club.
Nunez, 24, is a right-handed pitcher who has worked both as a starter and reliever. Originally a Twins prospect, he was one of four players sent to the Orioles as part of the August 2022 Jorge López trade.
In his time in the minors, he has posted a large number of strikeouts but also plenty of walks. From 2021 to 2024, he tossed 230 2/3 innings across various levels with a 3.32 earned run average. He punched out 29.6% of opponents but gave out free passes at an 11% clip.
He started 2024 at the High-A level. He was shut down in May with a shoulder injury, limiting him to just seven starts on the year. That made him something of a surprise pick in the Rule 5, since he still hadn’t even reached the Double-A level. Per J.J. Cooper of Baseball America, he was slowed by that shoulder again to start camp. He eventually made four appearances in the Cactus League but gave out six walks compared to just four strikeouts.
Nunez was already going to have a tough path to breaking camp. He has no upper-level minor league experience and is coming off a mostly lost season. It certainly didn’t help that the shoulder problems carried over to this year and he struggled with his control.
The Padres also need to open a number of 40-man spots. They are planning to select the contracts of several non-roster invitees, with Jose Iglesias, Yuli Gurriel and Martín Maldonado reportedly all making the club. Nunez will open one spot. It also seems that Tyler Wade and Eguy Rosario are going to be removed, since both are out of options and aren’t going to make the Opening Day roster.