D-Backs To Select Ildemaro Vargas
The Diamondbacks informed infielder Ildemaro Vargas he’ll be on the Opening Day roster, manager Torey Lovullo tells Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic. The Snakes reassigned fellow minor league signee Jacob Amaya to minor league camp yesterday.
Vargas finished last season on Arizona’s big league roster. The Snakes waived the switch-hitting utilityman at the beginning of the offseason, bringing him back on a minor league deal. Vargas is an organizational favorite as a depth infielder. This will be his seventh season logging some time with the Diamondbacks in the big leagues. They’ve been split among four separate stints dating back to 2017.
The 34-year-old Vargas batted .270/.292/.383 across 121 plate appearances a season ago. He had an excellent camp, hitting .378 with a pair of home runs and four doubles. That probably didn’t move the needle much for Arizona’s front office, as they’re not going to expect Vargas to morph into an offensive force at this stage of his career. He’s on the team for his defensive versatility and clubhouse presence. Arizona will run out an infield of Carlos Santana, Ketel Marte, Geraldo Perdomo and Nolan Arenado on most days.
Arizona will need to open at least three spots on their 40-man roster on Wednesday. Jonathan Loáisiga and Joe Ross also went into camp on minor league deals and secured MLB roster spots. Cristian Mena, Blake Walston, Tyler Locklear and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. are all candidates to land on the 60-day injured list — particularly the pitchers. If the Snakes don’t want to rule at least three of them out through the end of May, they’d need to designate one or more players for assignment.
Additionally, Piecoro reports that the team is carrying Juan Morillo and Andrew Hoffman as the last two middle relievers in their Opening Day bullpen. Those players are already on the 40-man roster, so there aren’t any roster complications, but it interestingly leaves them without a lefty to begin the season.
Paul Sewald, Taylor Clarke, Ryan Thompson and Kevin Ginkel are also in an all right-handed bullpen, while southpaws Brandyn Garcia and Philip Abner begin the season in Triple-A. The D-Backs open in Los Angeles against a Dodger lineup that includes Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Kyle Tucker and Max Muncy.
Rockies Release John Brebbia
The Rockies announced that right-hander John Brebbia has been released from his minor league deal. It’s unclear if he triggered an opt-out or was simply let go. In either case, he’ll head to free agency in search of his next opportunity.
Brebbia has some good seasons on his track record but is coming off a couple of rough campaigns, which is why he had to settle for a minor league deal with Colorado, no pitcher’s first choice for a landing spot. He was looking to bounce back but his results in camp were mixed. On the one hand, he struck out 11 of the 37 batters he faced, a strong 29.7% clip. He hit one batter but did not issue a walk. On the other hand, he allowed three home runs. That led to seven earned runs crossing the plate in nine innings.
That evidently wasn’t enough for him to earn a spot with the Rockies, so he’ll be looking for opportunities elsewhere. The interest he receives will mostly be based on his past results. As mentioned, his recent work hasn’t been great. Since the start of 2024, he has a 6.41 earned run average. From 2017 to 2023, he logged 299 2/3 innings with a 3.42 ERA, 25.5% strikeout rate and 7.2% walk rate.
Since his past two seasons have been such a challenge, he’ll surely be limited to minor league offers in the coming days. He may even circle back to the Rockies on a new deal. Those kinds of reunions are fairly common when guys get cut just before Opening Day.
Photo courtesy of Rick Scuteri, Imagn Images
A’s Trade Cooper Bowman To Rays
The Athletics and Rays announced a swap of minor league players. Infielder Cooper Bowman goes to Tampa Bay, while the A’s acquire right-handed reliever Gerlin Rosario. Neither player has appeared in the big leagues, nor are they on their respective clubs’ 40-man rosters.
Bowman is the closer of the two to the majors. A 26-year-old second baseman/left fielder, he was selected by the Reds in the 2024 Rule 5 draft. Bowman hit .120 in 13 Spring Training contests. Cincinnati passed him through waivers and returned him to the A’s halfway through camp. Bowman had a rough season in the minors, twice landing on the injured list and struggling when healthy. He hit .234/.328/.385 across 326 plate appearances, most of which came in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.
The A’s opted not to extend Bowman a non-roster invitation to big league camp this year. He’ll open the season with Tampa Bay’s top affiliate in Durham. Bowman has shown some stolen base acumen in the minors and posted solid offensive numbers back in 2024, when he hit .262/.351/.419 between the top two levels. He’ll provide non-roster second base depth with Richie Palacios pressed back into MLB action by the shoulder impingement sending Gavin Lux to the injured list.
Rosario, 24, spent the entire 2025 season at High-A Bowling Green. He worked to a 2.27 ERA across 47 2/3 innings, albeit with a modest 21.7% strikeout rate. He has never appeared in MLB camp. The A’s will probably send him to Double-A for the first time in his career.
Josiah Gray Diagnosed With Flexor Strain
Nationals right-hander Josiah Gray has been diagnosed with a flexor strain, the team announced. He has been placed on the 60-day injured list and will miss at least the first two months of the season. That opens a 40-man roster spot for lefty reliever Cionel Pérez, whose contract has officially been selected. Washington also placed righty reliever Paxton Schultz on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to March 22, with elbow inflammation.
It’s a tough blow for Gray, as he’d seemingly just gotten healthy after undergoing Tommy John surgery two years ago. Gray missed the entire ’25 season rehabbing from the operation, which took place the previous July. The ligament damage was ominously preceded by a flexor strain diagnosis three months earlier.
The Nats hadn’t provided any indication that Gray was dealing with renewed elbow discomfort. His most recent Spring Training appearance came on March 7, though it’s common for teams to give pitchers additional rest in camp when they’re coming off a significant injury. The Nationals announced last week that Gray had been optioned and would begin the season in Triple-A. That’ll be rescinded with the flexor sending him to the major league injured list instead.
Manager Blake Butera will presumably provide some kind of update on Gray’s health outlook in the coming days. It’s not clear whether another procedure is a possible outcome, though any significant arm injury this close to a previous surgery is disheartening. Gray is making a $1.35MM salary this season and under arbitration control through 2027.
Reds Select Nathaniel Lowe’s Contract
March 23rd: The Reds made it official today, announcing that they have selected Lowe’s contract and placed Greene on the 60-day IL.
March 21st: Nathaniel Lowe has earned a spot on the Reds’ roster, reports C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic. The veteran first baseman signed a minor league deal with the club in mid-February. He’s set to make $1.75MM with the big-league squad, with an additional $250K available in incentives. Rosecrans notes that Lowe is expected to take the 40-man roster spot of Hunter Greene, who is headed to the 60-day IL after undergoing elbow surgery.
Cincinnati announced outfielders Rece Hinds and J.J. Bleday were optioned to Triple-A. Lowe and Dane Myers will round out the bench, along with backup catcher Jose Trevino and utilityman Spencer Steer. The Reds also sent right-hander Zach Maxwell to Triple-A. Left-hander Sam Moll has secured the final bullpen spot, per Rosecrans.
Lowe was dealt from the Rangers to the Nationals for reliever Robert Garcia last offseason. He hit just .216 in 119 games with Washington and was cut in mid-August. Lowe then latched on with the Red Sox. He recovered some value in Boston, slashing .280/.370/.420 across 119 plate appearances. The final result was still a career-worst 91 wRC+. The 30-year-old received minimal interest this winter, but a strong Spring Training will propel him to a major league gig. Lowe posted a 143 wRC+ in 15 spring games. He racked up seven extra-base hits, including three home runs.
Hinds did all he could to earn a job in the spring. He belted five home runs and drove in 11 across 43 plate appearances. The 25-year-old is known for his big power, but he also hit .410 in the limited Spring Training sample.
The Reds didn’t necessarily need to keep another first baseman, with Steer a capable backup behind Sal Stewart, but the decision came down to getting Hinds regular reps. “I was very careful with how I worded it with him,” manager Terry Francona said about breaking the news to the outfielder. “(Hinds) did enough to make the team, but the role is a bench role, and we want you to play.”
Bleday signed a one-year deal in late December. He made a strong case for a roster spot himself, launching four home runs and getting on base at a .364 clip. Bleday had seemingly emerged as a consistent contributor with the Athletics, slashing .243/.324/.437 with a career-best 20 home runs in 2024. He stumbled to a .656 OPS over the first two months of the 2025 campaign and found himself back in Triple-A. Bleday returned to the big-league club in August, but was designated for assignment at the end of the season. He and Hinds both have a minor league option remaining.
Maxwell, affectionately known as Big Sugar, will head back to the minors as the Reds opt for another lefty in the pen. The 6’6″, 275-pound righty with the triple-digit fastball delivered solid results in his first taste of the majors last year. Maxwell posted a 30.2% strikeout rate with an xFIP and SIERA just above 3.00. He punched out hitters at a 31% clip this spring, though a few shaky outings to begin Cactus League action led to a 5.40 ERA.
Moll is out of options, while Maxwell still has three left. The veteran gives the Reds another left-handed middle reliever while Caleb Ferguson is sidelined. Cincinnati also added Brock Burke in a trade this offseason. Brandon Williamson is in the pen, though he’ll be more of a long relief/piggyback starter option.
Photo courtesy of Frank Bowen IV of The Enquirer via Imagn Images
JJ Wetherholt To Make Cardinals’ Opening Day Roster
Infield prospect JJ Wetherholt has made the Cardinals’ Opening Day roster. President of baseball operations Chaim Bloom passed the news along to reporters, including Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat. Infielders Thomas Saggese and José Fermín as well as outfielder Nathan Church will also break camp with the club, though outfielder Nelson Velázquez will be assigned to Triple-A Memphis. A corresponding move will be necessary to open a spot for Wetherholt.
The news on Wetherholt is notable but not surprising. It has seemed all winter long as though the Cards had planned for him to get a shot in the big leagues. They cleared out their roster this winter by trading guys like Willson Contreras, Nolan Arenado and Brendan Donovan. Those trade were partly for cost savings but also to open some playing time for younger players as the Cards are rebuilding and need to assess their young guys in a major league environment.
Wetherholt was one of the main guys who needed some room. The seventh overall pick of the 2024 draft, he climbed to the cusp of the majors last year. He split his time between Double-A and Triple-A, making 496 plate appearances in total. His 14.5% walk rate was excellent and almost as high as his 14.7% strikeout rate. He produced a combined .306/.421/.510 batting line, which translated to a 154 wRC+. He stole 23 bases on the year. His defense at shortstop was considered good enough for him to stay there as a big leaguer but he also played some second and third base.
As the 2026 season drew closer and the annual top 100 lists came out, Wetherholt was in the top 10 of most of them. But at the beginning of the season, the Cards had a fairly crowded infield. Masyn Winn is one of the best defensive shortstops on the majors and is controlled for another four seasons. They had Arenado at third. Donovan could bounce around the diamond but played second base more than any other spot.
As mentioned, the Cards clarified their roster picture over the winter and opened a spot for Wetherholt, though Wynn’s glovework is so strong that he never seemed at risk of being unseated at short. It felt likely that Nolan Gorman would take over at third, with Wetherholt the favorite for the second base gig. In camp, Wetherholt hit two home runs and also drew walks in 20.5% of his 44 plate appearances. Though he was held back by a .200 batting average on balls in play, he still produced a .212/.386/.394 line and 115 wRC+.
That performance was enough to solidify the expected plan, so the Cards will indeed open the season with Wetherholt on the roster. By giving him an Opening Day spot, they will keep the Prospect Promotion Incentive on the table. Since Wetherholt is a consensus top 100 guy, if he spends enough time on the big league roster to earn a full service year this season, he could net the Cards an extra draft pick by winning Rookie of the Year or finishing top three in MVP voting during his pre-arbitration seasons.
That will be a secondary concern. For the Cards, the focus is on putting together a core that can get them back to contention. Ideally, Wetherholt will be a big part of that in the long run, though sometimes even the best prospects don’t find immediate success. The Cards are in a position to let him get a lot of reps in order to maximize the chances of him getting acclimated to the big leagues.
As for the other moves, the Velázquez decision is perhaps the most surprising. In the offseason, the Cards had been looking to add a right-handed complement for their outfield, as Lars Nootbaar and Victor Scott II are both lefties. They didn’t sign any such player to a major league deal but brought Velázquez into camp as a non-roster invitee. As of a week ago, it seemed likely that Velázquez would be getting a spot, especially with Nootbaar slated to start the season on the injured list.
Velázquez put up a monster .357/.449/.667 line in spring training but that evidently wasn’t enough. Perhaps that’s due to roster concerns. As mentioned, the Cards need to open one 40-man spot for Wetherholt. Nootbaar is going to start the season on the 10-day IL but there hasn’t been anything to suggest he will need a move to the 60-day IL. Hunter Dobbins is still rehabbing a torn ACL from last year. It’s unclear how much longer it will take for him to be game ready.
Unless Dobbins ends up on the 60-day IL, the Cards will have to remove someone to make room for Wetherholt, whether that’s a trade or designating someone for assignment. Adding Velázquez would have meant another such move. It doesn’t appear Velázquez has any kind of opt-out in his deal, so the Cards will send him to the minors and keep him around without using a roster spot.
Photo courtesy of Reinhold Matay, Sam Navarro, Imagn Images
Thairo Estrada Granted Release After Opting Out Of Orioles Deal
Veteran utilityman Thairo Estrada has been granted his release, the team announced. He had an opt-out provision in his minor league contract with Baltimore and is once again a free agent. The O’s also reassigned catcher Maverick Handley and outfielder Jhonkensy Noel to minor league camp. Both were non-roster invitees this spring.
Estrada, 30, went just 2-for-25 with a pair of singles and nine strikeouts this spring. It wasn’t the camp performance he was hoping for after a 2025 season in which he hit only .253/.285/.370 with the Rockies. Injuries limited Estrada to just 165 plate appearances a year ago. He missed time due to a broken wrist, a sprained thumb and a strained hamstring during a snakebit season.
From 2021 to 2023, Estrada slashed .266/.320/.416 with the Giants (105 wRC+). He eventually found himself upgraded from a utility role to the team’s starting second baseman. He combined that slightly above average bat with a strong glove to become a valuable player for San Francisco for a few years.
Things began to turn the wrong direction in 2024 — a season in which a left wrist sprain limited Estrada to just 96 games. He hit a paltry .217/.247/.343 (68 wRC+) even when he was healthy enough to take the field. The Giants cut him loose, and a one-year deal with the Rockies didn’t help him right the ship.
With Estrada being cut loose, the Orioles’ options for the final spot on Craig Albernaz’s bench include Jeremiah Jackson, Bryan Ramos and Weston Wilson. Jackson and Ramos are both on the 40-man roster. Jackson is hitting .333/.353/.545 in 34 spring plate appearances but has minor league options remaining. Ramos is hitting .297/.366/.459 in 41 plate appearances and is out of minor league options. Wilson has hit .241/.405/.448 and has the most outfield experience of the group.
Non-roster invitee Luis Vázquez had been in the running for a utility role as well, but Albernaz revealed this afternoon that Vázquez suffered a broken thumb yesterday when he was hit by a pitch (link via Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner). There’s no timetable for his return, but the ill-timed injury obviously takes him out of the running for a roster spot. He’ll stick with the O’s as a depth option and rehab the injury in their system.
Padres Nearing Deal With Jose Leclerc
The Padres are close to a deal with veteran reliever José Leclerc, as first reported by journalist Mike Rodriguez. It’ll be a minor league deal for the Munger English Sports Management client once it’s complete, Jon Heyman of the New York Post adds.
Leclerc missed the bulk of the 2025 season after suffering a severe lat strain and eventually requiring shoulder surgery. He threw a bullpen session for interested clubs a couple weeks ago and was said at the time to be targeting a return around July. The Padres will hope his recovery goes well in the next few months, thereby allowing him to bolster their pitching staff midseason.
It’s a buy-low move for the Padres, who are known to be working under some budgetary restraints. The past few offseasons have seen them mostly stick to modest contracts. Even when they have splurged a little bit, such as their deals for Nick Pivetta and Michael King, they have backloaded the money in order to lower the near-term hit.
Leclerc is just over a year removed from earning a $10MM deal from the A’s. That was somewhat surprising at the time but he did have some intriguing stuff on his track record. From 2018 to 2024, he tossed 299 2/3 innings for the Rangers, allowing 3.24 earned runs per nine. His 11.8% walk rate was quite high but his 31.8% strikeout rate was very strong.
In that time, he had worked both as a closer and a setup guy, earning 41 saves and 58 holds. He mixed in six different pitches, with his four-seamer and sinker sitting in the mid-90s as he also threw a high-80s cutter and changeup, a low-80s slider and a curveball in the high-70s.
His 2025 season was mostly lost. He only made ten appearances for the A’s before the aforementioned lat injury put him on the shelf. He will still be recovering from his surgery for another few months. It hasn’t been reported what salary he will make if selected to the Padres’ roster but it is presumably well below $10MM.
The Padres have a strong bullpen, even though they let Robert Suarez walk in free agency. Mason Miller is one of the best closers in the game and he’ll be joined by Adrián Morejón, Jeremiah Estrada and David Morgan. Perhaps Jason Adam can be healthy by Opening Day but he’ll be back in there at some point regardless.
Over a long season, pitcher injuries are inevitable and the outlook will change. As Leclerc is potentially getting back in game shape in July, the Padres will ideally be looking to bolster their roster ahead of the August 3rd trade deadline. If Leclerc looks to be in good form by then, perhaps that will subtract one item from their shopping list.
Photo courtesy of Joe Nicholson, Imagn Images
Carson Benge To Make Mets’ Roster
Outfield prospect Carson Benge is going to break camp with the Mets, reports Mike Puma of The New York Post. He will be the starting right fielder on Opening Day, per Chelsea Janes of SNY. The Mets will need to open a 40-man spot in order to officially select Benge’s contract.
The move is notable but not shocking. During the offseason, president of baseball operations David Stearns consistently said that Benge would have a chance to break camp with the club. The 19th overall pick from 2024, he mashed his way through High-A and Double-A last year.
He seemed to stall out at Triple-A, with a .178/.272/.311 line in 24 games to finish the year, but there were reasons to not worry about that too much. His 18.4% strikeout rate was good and his 8.7% walk rate around average. His .188 batting average on balls in play was tiny. It seemed more like fluky bad luck than a young hitter being overmatched.
The Mets, as mentioned, wanted to leave a path open for him to reach the big leagues. They did bring in some contingency plans. They signed Mike Tauchman to a minor league deal. MJ Melendez got a 40-man spot but still has an option. It felt like the right field job would be Benge’s to lose and he didn’t do anything to lose it. He hit .366/.435/.439 in Grapefruit League action. That line got some help from an unsustainable .469 BABIP but the Mets were trending towards giving Benge the job as long as he didn’t look overwhelmed.
Melendez was optioned to the minors last week. The Mets were perhaps trending towards rostering both Benge and Tauchman, but the latter tore the meniscus in his left knee a few days ago. That only gave Benge a firmer hold on the job.
There’s always risk in handing a job over to a prospect, as even some very talented young players struggle when first called up, but Benge has shown he deserves a shot. Even including his Triple-A swoon, he hit a combined .281/.385/.472 last year for a 150 wRC+. He stole 22 bases. His defensive abilities are considered strong enough for him to be a plus corner outfielder and maybe even a decent center fielder. He’ll begin the season in right but it’s not out of the question that he eventually spends a decent amount of time in the middle spot with center field manned by the oft-injured Luis Robert Jr..
By carrying Benge on the Opening Day roster, the Mets will open up the possibility of the Prospect Promotion Incentive. He’s a consensus top 25 prospect in the league. If he stays in the majors for enough of the campaign to earn a full year of service, he could net the Mets an extra draft pick by winning Rookie of the Year or with a top three finish in MVP voting during his pre-arbitration seasons.
If things don’t go well with Benge, then the Mets will have to turn to some backup plans. Tauchman has an opt-out in his minor league deal but presumably won’t trigger it while hurt, so he’ll be back in the mix whenever he’s healthy again. Melendez will be on optional assignment in Triple-A, alongside Jared Young and Nick Morabito. Brett Baty is going to be in a super utility role now that Bo Bichette and Marcus Semien are at third and second base respectively. Tyrone Taylor will be on the bench as a glove-first fourth outfielder. The Tauchman injury might also allow Vidal Bruján to stick on the bench in a utility role.
Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Mitch Alcala, Imagn Images
Nationals To Select Cionel Pérez
Left-handed reliever Cionel Pérez has been informed that he’s made the Nationals’ Opening Day roster, reports Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com. Pérez is in camp as a non-roster invitee, so the Nats will need to open a 40-man roster spot in order to formally add him to the club.
Pérez, 29, signed a minor league deal back in February and has had a terrific spring. The veteran southpaw has pitched six innings and held opponents scoreless on only two hits and a walk with five strikeouts. He’s kept a hearty 53.3% of batted balls against him on the ground and sat 95.7 mph with his four-seamer and 95.5 mph with his sinker.
Originally signed by the Astros after defecting from Cuba, Pérez struggled through several seasons in Houston and Cincinnati before breaking out with the Orioles in 2022. A then-26-year-old Pérez fired 57 2/3 innings with a pristine 1.40 ERA. For three seasons, Pérez was a largely reliable arm in Baltimore, compiling 164 2/3 innings with a 3.12 ERA, 57 holds and six saves.
In 2025, Pérez stumbled badly out of the gate and never managed to find his footing. He opened the season with 21 2/3 innings of 8.31 ERA ball, including five runs in his final appearance, before being designated for assignment. He went unclaimed on waivers and spent the rest of the season in Triple-A Norfolk, where he posted a 6.65 ERA in 22 1/3 innings.
Pérez’s undoing last season was a sudden erosion of his already sub-par command. Even during his three quality seasons with the O’s, he walked 10-11% of his opponents. In 2025, he walked more than 16% of the batters he faced both in the majors and in Triple-A. He also lost a mile per hour off his four-seamer and a half-mile off his sinker.
Pérez will reportedly earn $1.9MM on his deal now that he’s made the roster. He can pick up another $700K worth of incentives. He has just under five years of big league service, meaning if he gets back on track, the Nats can control him through 2027 via arbitration. Pérez instantly becomes the most experienced reliever in the rebuilding Nationals’ bullpen and could even find himself in high-leverage spots, given the team’s lack of established relievers.