Angels Re-Sign Hunter Strickland, Chris Taylor To Minor League Deals
The Angels are re-signing reliever Hunter Strickland and utilityman Chris Taylor on minor league contracts, the team told reporters (including Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register). Both players will report to Triple-A Salt Lake after opting out of their previous contracts at the end of Spring Training.
Strickland, 37, has spent the past two seasons with the Halos. He has managed a low-3.00s ERA in both years, though he was limited to 19 appearances by a shoulder injury last summer. Strickland worked five innings of one-run ball in camp, striking out just two of 19 opponents. His fastball averaged 91.8 mph, a couple ticks down from last year’s 93.6 mph regular season mark.
Taylor hit .231 this spring. He walked 10 times in 49 plate appearances to get on base at a .388 clip. The Angels nevertheless opted for a pair of different non-roster infielders, Adam Frazier and Jeimer Candelario, to break camp. Taylor circles back to the organization with which he ended the 2025 season. The Angels signed him last May after he was released by the Dodgers. He missed a few months with a broken arm and batted .179/.278/.321 with 29 strikeouts over 90 trips to the plate.
Astros Outright César Salazar
The Astros announced today that catcher César Salazar has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Sugar Land. He had been designated for assignment earlier this week when Houston set its Opening Day roster. He’ll stick in the organization as non-roster depth.
Salazar, 30, has effectively been Houston’s #3 catcher for several years. Yainer Diaz has been the primary guy since 2023. Martín Maldonado split the time with him in his first year, then Victor Caratini replaced Maldonado for 2024 and 2025. Salazar got sporadic playing time in that mix, playing in 36 games over the 2023 to 2025 seasons. He has a decent defensive reputation but produced a .232/.318/.268 batting line in his 67 plate appearances.
He exhausted his final option last year, meaning he is now out of options. With Caratini departing in free agency this offseason, Salazar was bumped up into the #2 spot by default. However, the Astros grabbed Christian Vázquez via a minor league deal a few weeks ago. They decided to add him to the roster for Opening Day, meaning Salazar had to be bumped off.
This is Salazar’s first career outright and he has less than three years of service time. That means he does not have the right to elect free agency, so he’ll report to the Space Cowboys. He could be the first man up if Diaz or Vázquez suffers an injury as the Astros don’t have another catcher on the 40-man roster. His main competition would be Carlos Pérez, who is in the system via a minor league deal and will be in Sugar Land as well.
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Jorge Alcala Triggers Assignment Clause In Blue Jays Deal
Right-hander Jorge Alcala has triggered an assignment clause in his minor league deal with the Blue Jays, reports Ari Alexander of 7News Boston. Alexander writes that Alcala will now be available to all 29 teams, so it sounds like this is an upward mobility clause.
Alcala, 30, signed a minor league deal with the Jays in the offseason. He tossed 7 1/3 innings in Grapefruit League action but allowed seven earned runs via 12 hits and three walks while striking out six. He didn’t break camp with the club.
The upward mobility clause is a potential way for him to get to the big leagues with another team. The way such clauses usually work is that the player is offered up to the 29 other teams. If one of them wants to give the player a roster spot, the signing team then has to either give him a spot or trade him to another club that will. Alcala has enough service time where he can’t be optioned to the minors without his consent, so he should only get claimed if a club is willing to put him directly onto its active roster. If no team claims him, the Jays can send him to Triple-A.
Alcala has a power arm, with both his four-seamer and sinker having averaged around 97 miles per hour in his career. However, his results have been up and down over the years. He had a 3.92 earned run average with the Twins back in 2021. He hardly pitched in 2022 and 2023 due to various injuries. He got back on track in 2024 by posting a 3.24 ERA, but then that spiked to 6.22 last year as he bounced to the Red Sox and Cardinals. He was non-tendered by St. Louis at the end of the year.
On the whole, Alcala has a 4.29 ERA in 218 1/3 innings. His 9.3% walk rate is around average for a reliever. Despite the big velocity, his 24.9% strikeout rate is only a bit above par for a bullpen arm. Typically, a player will know in about 48 hours if someone claimed him via his upward mobility clause, so Alcala should be able to head towards his destination at some point before the weekend is through.
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Mets Outright Vidal Bruján, Ben Rortvedt
The Mets have sent infielder/outfielder Vidal Bruján and catcher Ben Rortvedt through waivers unclaimed, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. The two were designated for assignment when the Mets set their Opening Day roster earlier this week. Both players have the right to elect free agency but would have to walk away from the money on their contracts. That means they are likely to report to Triple-A and stick around as depth.
A player with at least three years of service time has the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of electing free agency. However, he needs five years of service to both reject an assignment and also keep his salary commitments in place. Both Bruján and Rortvedt are between three and five years. That means they would have to be willing to leave money on the table to choose free agency.
Bruján was once a top prospect but hasn’t clicked in the major leagues. He has a lot of defensive versatility but has a career batting line of just .199/.267/.276. He has exhausted his options and been bumped into fringe roster territory. He bounced from the Cubs to Baltimore and Atlanta last year. He finished the season with Atlanta and qualified for arbitration.
The team and Bruján avoided arbitration by agreeing to a split deal for 2026 which pays him $850K in the majors and $500K in the minors. They later tried passing him through waivers but the Twins claimed him. A week later, the Twins designated him for assignment and traded him to the Mets for cash. Presumably, Bruján won’t want to walk away from that deal. The minor league salary on that pact is actually not too far from this year’s major league minimum, which is $780K.
Assuming he reports to Triple-A Syracuse, he’ll try to position himself for a call-up at some point. He has experience all over the diamond but has spent a lot of his time in the middle infield. The Mets are currently rolling without a backup middle infielder. If something happens to Francisco Lindor, the fallback plan would be for third baseman Bo Bichette to slide over. If they decide to bring someone up later, it could be Bruján, though Ronny Mauricio is on the 40-man and will be playing in Triple-A on an optional assignment.
Rortvedt’s situation is fairly comparable. He has a good defensive reputation but has hit .190/.279/.270 in his career. He finished last year with the Dodgers and quickly avoided arbitration by signing a $1.25MM deal for 2026. The Dodgers tried to pass him through waivers but he was claimed by the Reds. The Dodgers later claimed him back but a second attempt to get him through waivers led to the Mets claiming him.
For the Mets, they probably never planned to have Rortvedt on the Opening Day roster, since they have Francisco Alvarez and Luis Torrens as their catching tandem. They held Rortvedt as injury insurance but had to bump him from the roster this week because he is out of options. Now that he has cleared, he can continue to be injury insurance without taking up a roster spot. The Mets also have Hayden Senger on the 40-man, so he’ll be in Triple-A as optionable depth.
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Yankees, Luis Garcia Agree To Minor League Deal
The Yankees and former Astros righty Luis Garcia are in agreement on a minor league contract, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. It’s presumably a two-year minor league pact, as Garcia underwent his second career Tommy John surgery back in October.
That latest surgery marked another setback in what’s become a grueling stretch of injuries. From 2021-22, Garcia looked to be breaking out as a cornerstone in Houston’s rotation. The 6’1″, 240-pound righty started 28 games and turned in a mid-3.00s ERA in each of those two seasons, combining for 312 2/3 frames with a 3.60 earned run average, a 25.4% strikeout rate and a 7.5% walk rate. Garcia was never a flamethrower, averaging 93.6 mph on his four-seamer even in that two-year peak, but he had good command and generated big whiff rates on his cutter, slider and changeup alike, helping him to an overall 13.2% swinging-strike rate that sat a couple percentage points north of average.
It was more of the same to begin the 2023 season. Garcia notched a flat 4.00 ERA through his first five starts. He punched out 26.4% of his opponents against an 8.7% walk rate. He leaned more heavily on that cutter, his best pitch, through those first 27 innings and posted a career-best 14.5% swinging-strike rate.
Garcia’s sixth start of the 2023 season, however, lasted only one batter. He left with a trainer after eight pitches, citing elbow discomfort. The right-hander was quickly diagnosed with a UCL tear and underwent Tommy John surgery in early May. Astros fans braced for an absence of 12 to 14 months — standard practice for UCL reconstructions of this nature. Garcia’s rehab has since proven anything but standard.
The Astros deemed Garcia “ahead of schedule” in April 2024. He was throwing off a mound about 11 months out from surgery, and things appeared to be tracking well. Garcia set out on a minor league rehab stint in June 2024, but the Astros scaled him back after he struggled to recover between starts. Manager Joe Espada noted in July that Garcia’s elbow was a bit sore, and the team was proceeding with caution. A shutdown of his throwing program lingered into August, and on the 19th of that month the team announced he would not return in 2024, instead shifting his focus to the 2025 season.
The following January, the Astros announced that Garcia would not be ready for Opening Day. He’d continued throwing but was building up very cautiously following the 2024 setbacks. Two months later, Garcia was shut down with renewed elbow discomfort. He opened the season on the 15-day IL. After receiving a second opinion on his elbow, he was diagnosed with inflammation and shut down for another month.
Garcia began another rehab assignment in August 2025, more than two years removed from his surgery. He finally returned from the injured list in September and quickly looked like his old self. His first MLB action in 28 months produced six innings wherein he allowed three runs on just three hits and no walks with six punchouts. His next start lasted only 1 2/3 innings, and Garcia headed straight back to the IL due to elbow discomfort. Less than a month after making that return, he underwent Tommy John surgery again.
By the time he’s healthy enough to even be an option in 2027, Garcia will have made just two MLB appearances in a span of nearly four years. There’s no doubting that he’s a major league-caliber arm, but that lengthy injury layoff makes him a pure wild card for the Yankees moving forward. He’s a nice piece to stash for future depth and an intriguing name for Yankees fans to keep in the back of their mind — even if he won’t factor into the plans this season.
Orioles Outright Jackson Kowar, Bryan Ramos
The Orioles announced this evening that reliever Jackson Kowar and infielder Bryan Ramos were outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk. Both players cleared waivers and will remain in the organization without holding a spot on the 40-man roster.
Kowar and Ramos were designated for assignment yesterday when Baltimore set their Opening Day roster. Waivers are a 48-hour process, so the O’s evidently began that before officially announcing the DFA. Both players are out of minor league options. They needed to hold an MLB spot or be dropped from the 40-man.
The Orioles added Ramos and Kowar late in the offseason. They acquired the former from the White Sox for cash, briefly lost him on waivers to the Cardinals, then claimed him back. The latter came over from the Twins in a cash trade at the beginning of Spring Training.
Ramos had a solid camp, batting .316 with a home run in 15 games. The righty-hitting corner infielder hasn’t hit much over 36 regular season contests, nor is he coming off a good year in the minors. Ramos batted .216/.309/.396 across 431 plate appearances with the White Sox’s top affiliate last year. The O’s opted for a more versatile defender, Jeremiah Jackson, as their final bench player to open the season.
Kowar, 29, has draft pedigree as a former supplemental first-round pick. He throws hard but hasn’t found much success at the big league level. The University of Florida product has allowed more than eight earned runs per nine with worse than average strikeout (20.3%) and walk (13.1%) rates over 91 MLB innings. Kowar had four walks and strikeouts apiece over six innings this spring. Yaramil Hiraldo and rookie Anthony Nunez secured Opening Day middle relief jobs, pushing Kowar off the roster.
Rockies Select Valente Bellozo
The Rockies announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Valente Bellozo and optioned him to Triple-A Albuquerque. To open a 40-man spot for him, they placed right-hander RJ Petit on the 60-day injured list. Petit underwent Tommy John surgery recently and will miss the entire 2026 season.
Bellozo, 26, signed a minor league deal with Colorado in the offseason. When a team adds a player to the 40-man roster and immediately options him, it’s usually a sign that the deal had some sort of opt-out or upward mobility clause. Going this route prevents the player from getting away but also doesn’t require the team to bump anyone else off the active roster.
The righty didn’t have an especially strong camp, allowing 11 earned runs in 15 2/3 innings, but the Rockies presumably like his larger track record. He spent the past two years working in a swing role for the Marlins, tossing 150 innings over 45 games, including 19 starts. He allowed 4.20 earned runs per nine. His 15.2% strikeout rate was subpar but he limited walks to a 6.8% clip. The Rockies also might like his arsenal, as he has thrown six different pitches in his career, something the organization is seemingly trying to prioritize this year.
Miami outrighted him off the roster at the end of last season and he elected free agency, which led to his deal with the Rockies. Colorado’s pitching was historically bad last year. They have tried to make it more respectable for 2026 by signing Michael Lorenzen, Jose Quintana and Tomoyuki Sugano. Those three are joining Kyle Freeland and Ryan Feltner in the rotation to start the season. Chase Dollander is beginning the campaign in long relief.
The optionable rotation depth includes Carson Palmquist, Gabriel Hughes and Tanner Gordon. Now Bellozo will jump into that mix. Teams generally need 10 to 15 starters to get through an entire season these days, so Bellozo and those other guys should have opportunities throughout the year.
As for Petit, the Rockies selected him with the first pick in last year’s Rule 5 draft. Due to his surgery, he’ll spend the entire year on the IL. The IL goes away five days after the World Series. If he sticks on the roster through the offseason, the Rule 5 restrictions would carry over until he has spent 90 days on the active roster.
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Luis F. Castillo Signs With Diablos Rojos De México
Right-hander Luis F. Castillo has signed with the Mexican League’s Diablos Rojos De México, reports Francys Romero of BeisbolFR. The righty is represented by A & F Sports Agency.
Castillo, 31, is a journeyman depth starter. Last year, he briefly shared a roster with his namesake, the much more well known Luis Castillo. The lesser known Castillo began his big league career with three appearances for the Tigers in 2022.
He then went overseas for two years, pitching in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. He was with the Chiba Lotte Marines in 2023 and the Orix Buffaloes in 2024. Over those two seasons, he tossed 143 1/3 innings with a 3.01 earned run average.
He returned to North America by signing a minor league deal with the Mariners ahead of the 2025 season. He was added to the roster in early April and made two starts, allowing six earned runs in seven innings. He was then optioned to the minors. In May, he was designated for assignment and flipped to the Orioles but spent most of the remainder of the season on the minor league injured list. He was outrighted off the 40-man in the summer and became a free agent at season’s end.
Once again, he is heading to another country for an opportunity. Most deals for guys heading to Mexico have clauses that allow them to depart if they get an offer from an affiliated club, so it’s possible that could happen with Castillo. In the meantime, he’ll face the challenge of pitching in one of the most hitter-friendly environments. The league-wide slash line in the Mexican League was .295/.378/.465 last year.
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Mets, Tommy Pham Agree To Minor League Deal
The Mets and veteran outfielder Tommy Pham are in agreement on a minor league contract, reports ESPN’s Jorge Castillo. It’ll be the Vayner Sports client’s second stint with the organization. He’d earn a prorated $2.25MM upon being selected to the majors and has an April 25 opt-out date in the deal, per USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. He can tack on another $850K worth of incentives, Castillo adds.
Pham, 38, spent the 2025 season with the Pirates and turned in a slightly below-average .245/.330/.370 batting line (95 wRC+), though last year’s production was skewed by an awful start to his season. The well-traveled outfielder caught fire in mid-June and slashed .278/.363/.468 with 10 homers, 13 doubles, a triple, an 11.7% walk rate and a 17.2% strikeout rate over his final 273 turns at the plate.
Pham’s first stint with the Mets came back in 2023, when he signed a one-year deal in free agency and enjoyed a productive stretch before being traded to the Diamondbacks. He logged 264 plate appearances with the Amazins, hit .268/.348/.472, and was flipped to Arizona in a deadline deal netting teenage infield prospect Jeremy Rodriguez.
Now back with the Mets, he’ll ramp up in Triple-A in hopes of hitting his way onto the big league roster. The Mets broke camp with top prospect Carson Benge as their starting right fielder, and the hope is that he’ll hit the ground running, but one of New York’s top fallback plans, Mike Tauchman, is out for the foreseeable future after suffering a meniscus tear that will require surgery at the very end of spring training.
Pham gives the Mets another veteran option to consider in the event that Benge, who’ll make his big league debut with only 116 professional games under his belt, is overmatched against big league pitching early in the year. He also provides a potential righty-hitting complement to the left-handed Benge; Pham is a career .261/.368/.434 against lefties.
Back in November, Pham told The Athletic that he’s still hoping to play several more seasons. His past few years haven’t been especially productive, though he revealed in that November interview that he played through plantar fasciitis the past couple seasons. He’s since undergone a stem cell treatment that he feels can alleviate the issue and help him regain some value on the basepaths. Pham hit .256/.326/.448 with 16 homers and 22 steals (in 25 attempts) between the Mets and D-backs in 2023. He posted a .246/.317/.369 line and gone 12-for-18 in stolen base attempts in the two subsequent seasons.
Red Sox Release Brendan Rodgers
The Red Sox have released infielder Brendan Rodgers, according to his MLB transactions page. The veteran is facing shoulder surgery after a hard fall in late February. The injury ended his bid to earn a roster spot with Boston.
As Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com notes, Rodgers could be headed toward a renegotiated deal with the Red Sox as he recovers from the shoulder issue. The former Rockie signed a minor league agreement in early February. If Rodgers is going to miss the entire season, Boston could look to ink him to a two-year contract, similar to a free agent pitcher rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.
Rodgers was competing for second base reps with Marcelo Mayer, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and David Hamilton. The Caleb Durbin trade clarified some of the questions in the Boston infield, but it also sent Hamilton to Milwaukee. Andruw Monasterio came back in the swap and entered the second base conversation. Mayer ultimately secured the gig.
The 29-year-old Rodgers spent last season with the Astros. He broke camp with the team, but struggled mightily at the plate. The veteran posted a 55 wRC+ across 128 plate appearances. Rodgers’ strikeout rate ballooned to a career-worst 35.9%. An oblique strain in June effectively ended his season. Rodgers managed a couple of rehab appearances at Triple-A before electing free agency at the conclusion of the campaign.
Rodgers was among the most promising hitters in Colorado’s minor league system heading into the decade. He entered 2020 ranked No. 1 among Rockies’ prospects by FanGraphs and MLB Pipeline. A shoulder injury limited Rodgers in the shortened season, but he got his first extended look in 2021. The infielder slashed a respectable .284/.328/.470 in 415 plate appearances. He delivered similarly league-average numbers the following year. After 135 games of an 87 wRC+ in 2024, Rodgers hit free agency. He’s signed minor league deals the past two offseasons.
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