Rangers Sign Robert Dugger To Minor League Deal
The Rangers have signed right-hander Robert Dugger to a minor league deal, reports Shawn McFarland of The Dallas Morning News. McFarland also confirmed the Ty Blach signing, which MLBTR reported last week.
Dugger, 29, has a bit of major league experience. He has 86 2/3 innings under his belt, mostly as a swingman/spot starter/long reliever. He has allowed 7.17 earned runs per nine innings in that time with a 16.5% strikeout rate and 9.6% walk rate. He also had a brief stint with the SSG Landers in the KBO League but was released after six rough starts there.
As one would expect, his minor league performance has been more serviceable. From 2022 to 2024, he tossed 306 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level with a 4.49 ERA, 21.2% strikeout rate and 11.2% walk rate. He started this year with the Guerreros de Oaxaca in the Mexican League and made three starts for that club, with a 3.97 ERA over 11 1/3 innings.
The Rangers have Kumar Rocker, Jon Gray and Cody Bradford all on the injured list right now. Also, Jack Leiter isn’t fully established as a big league starter yet. He recently returned from an IL stint and allowed six earned runs in his most recent outing. The Rangers are about to start a stretch of playing 13 games in a row followed by one day off and then a nine-gamer. If the staff gets taxed at any point, Dugger could potentially come up for a spot start or to serve in a long relief role.
Photo courtesy of Jeff Hanisch, Imagn Images
Nationals Sign Adrian Sampson To Minor League Deal
The Nationals signed righties Adrian Sampson and Parker Dunshee to minor league contracts this evening. Both players were assigned to Triple-A Rochester, which announced the moves.
Sampson is the far more experienced of the duo. The 33-year-old righty has pitched in parts of five big league seasons. He has worked 292 2/3 innings in a swing role, turning in a 4.43 earned run average. Sampson’s 17.5% strikeout rate isn’t especially impressive, but he throws enough strikes to be a serviceable depth arm. He spent all of last season working out of the rotation for the Rangers top affiliate. Sampson posted a 5.64 ERA with an 18.8% strikeout percentage against a solid 7.2% walk rate through 28 appearances in a tough setting in the Pacific Coast League.
Texas never promoted Sampson last year, and he returned to minor league free agency at season’s end. He’d remained unsigned throughout the offseason but now gets another opportunity. Shinnosuke Ogasawara and prospect Andry Lara are on the 40-man roster and working out of the Rochester rotation. The Nats are light on non-roster rotation depth. Joan Adon and Konnor Pilkington have some big league experience but are working mostly in relief (exclusively in Adon’s case) in the minors this year.
Dunshee, 30, is a former A’s draftee who received a cup of coffee with the Braves last year. He made one appearance for Atlanta, allowing five runs over 2 1/3 relief innings in his big league debut. The Wake Forest product had strong numbers at the top two levels of the Braves’ system, however. He combined for a 3.34 ERA while striking out nearly 32% of opposing hitters over 59 1/3 frames. Dunshee was bombed for five runs in two-thirds of an inning in the Mexican League earlier this year, but he’ll get a chance to work out of Rochester’s bullpen.
Angels, Andrew Vasquez Agree To Minor League Contract
The Angels reached agreement with lefty reliever Andrew Vasquez on a minor league deal, reports Ari Alexander of KPRC 2. The Gaeta Sports Management client would be paid at a prorated $800K rate for whatever time he spends in the majors. According to Alexander, the deal includes an upward mobility clause on July 1 and an August 1 opt-out if the Angels haven’t selected Vasquez onto the major league roster.
Vasquez had begun the season in the Mexican League. The 31-year-old pitched well in a small sample. He only surrendered three unearned runs over 7 2/3 innings in an extremely hitter-friendly league. He fanned six with one walk while picking up a trio of saves. It was enough to get Vasquez back to the affiliated ranks, where he spent last season in Triple-A with the Tigers.
It wasn’t a great season. Vasquez allowed 5.11 earned runs per nine over 68 2/3 frames for Detroit’s top affiliate last year. His 19.4% strikeout percentage and 9.6% walk rate were each a little worse than average. That’s a departure from the norm, as Vasquez usually posts big strikeout numbers in the minor leagues. He carried a career 35.2% Triple-A strikeout rate into last season.
Vasquez’s fastball only sits in the upper 80s. He throws his low-80s breaking ball more than 80% of the time. It’s translated to roughly average results over parts of five seasons in the big leagues. Vasquez carries 4.24 ERA with a 21.5% strikeout rate over 63 2/3 innings between 2018-23.
White Sox Outright Penn Murfee; Bobby Dalbec Elects Free Agency
The White Sox have sent right-hander Penn Murfee to Triple-A Charlotte, reports Scott Merkin of MLB.com. There had been no previous indication that the righty had been removed from the 40-man roster but the Sox evidently passed him through waivers in recent days. Their 40-man count drops to 39. Merkin adds that infielder Bobby Dalbec, who was designated for assignment two days ago, also cleared waivers but has exercised his right to elect free agency.
Murfee, 31, was claimed off waivers from the Astros in November. His White Sox tenure got off to a rough start. He logged 12 2/3 innings over 15 appearances, allowing 11 earned runs for a 7.82 ERA. That’s a small sample and it’s possible luck played a part in it. His .390 batting average on balls in play and 67.3% strand rate are both to the unfortunate side. His 3.85 SIERA suggests he deserved better. But on the other hand, his 20.6% strikeout rate was a big drop from his previous work.
Prior to joining the White Sox, Murfee logged 83 1/3 innings with the Mariners over 2022 and 2023. In that time, he had a 2.70 ERA, 27.9% strikeout rate and 8.5% walk rate. Unfortunately, he required UCL surgery in June of 2023, wiping out the remainder of that season and his 2024.
After the 2023 season, the Mariners put him on waivers. Even though he was facing a notable absence, his numbers were good enough that he bounced to the Mets, Braves, Astros and White Sox on waiver claims. All his pitches have seen a slight drop in velocity this year relative to 2022. Perhaps that provides some explanation for the reduced strikeout rate and, in turn, the lack of interest on the waiver wire.
Murfee finished 2024 with two years and 169 days of service time, just three days shy of the three-year line. By spending the first month-plus of the 2025 season on the active roster, he pushed over that three-year marker. He qualified for arbitration in the winter as a Super Two player but couldn’t push his salary up terribly high due to his injury absence. He and the White Sox avoided arbitration in January by agreeing to a salary of $780K, just a bit above this year’s $760K minimum.
Since he has over three years of service, he has the right to reject this outright assignment in favor of free agency. But since he has less than five, he would have to forfeit his remaining salary in order to exercise that right. As such, he is likely to report to Charlotte and attempt to work his way back onto the roster.
Dalbec, 30 next month, signed a minor league deal with the Sox in the winter. He got added to the roster about two weeks ago when Chase Meidroth hit the injured list but was bumped off when Josh Rojas returned from the IL. He has shown huge power in his career, with 47 home runs in 1,065 plate appearances, but has undercut that with a massive 36.6% strikeout rate.
Like Murfee, Dalbec is between three and five years of service. His deal with the White Sox reportedly came with a $1.25MM salary in the majors but it’s possible that it was some kind of split deal that wasn’t fully guaranteed and/or wouldn’t pay him as much in the minors. Whatever the details, Dalbec felt comfortable walking away and heading to the open market to see what other opportunities are out there.
Photo courtesy of Patrick Gorski, Imagn Images
Angels Select Héctor Neris, Connor Brogdon
The Angels announced that they have selected the contracts of right-handers Héctor Neris and Connor Brogdon. Infielder Yoán Moncada was also reinstated from the 10-day injured list. In corresponding moves, right-hander Michael Darrell-Hicks and infielder Niko Kavadas have been optioned to Triple-A, while righty Touki Toussaint has been designated for assignment. The club had one open 40-man vacancy coming into today.
The Angels have been busy swapping in fresh arms to their bullpen lately. After some heavy bullpen usage on Thursday and Friday, Toussaint and Darrell-Hicks were called up on Saturday. On Sunday, the club got torched, losing 13-1 to the Tigers. Both pitchers took on some mop-up duty and have been swapped out for more fresh arms today.
Neris, 36 next month, just signed a minor league deal with the club a couple of months ago. He started the season on a minor league deal with Atlanta and made the Opening Day roster but was bumped off after two bad appearances. He elected free agency and landed a new deal with the Halos. He has since made four Triple-A appearances, allowing two earned runs with eight strikeouts and one walk.
The righty has a lengthy track record of major league success but has been more wobbly in recent years. In 2021, he had a 31.6% strikeout rate but that dropped to 30%, 28.2% and 24.6% in subsequent seasons. He was able to work around that with a 1.17 ERA in 2023 but that jumped to 4.10 last year, which likely led to him settling for a minor league deal with Atlanta coming into 2025.
Brogdon, 30, signed a minor league deal with the Halos in January. He has thrown 14 2/3 Triple-A innings this year, allowing 21 earned runs for an eye-popping 12.89 ERA. His 25.3% strikeout rate is actually pretty good and his 9.6% walk rate passable but he has allowed six home runs already in that span.
He was a solid major leaguer as of a few years ago but has been struggling more recently. He tossed 113 innings for the Phillies over the 2020 to 2022 seasons with a 3.42 ERA, 25.1% strikeout rate and 7.3% walk rate. But in 2023, his ERA jumped to 4.03, with a 20.5% strikeout rate and 10.2% walk rate. Last year was mostly lost due to injuries, with plantar fasciitis being the main culprit. The Angels presumably hoped to get him back on track but the Triple-A results so far this year have been mixed, to say the least.
As mentioned earlier, Toussaint gets bumped off the roster just a few days after being added. He tossed two innings in his lone appearance, allowing two earned runs on four hits and a walk while striking out three.
He should be placed on waivers in the coming days. Once a notable prospect, he has never been able to rein in his control enough to find success. In 282 1/3 major league innings, he has a 5.42 ERA, 23.1% strikeout rate and 47.6% ground ball rate but a big 14.1% walk rate.
Photo courtesy of Denis Poroy, Imagn Images
Reds’ Tyler Callihan Suffers Forearm Fracture
May 6: The Reds placed Callihan on the 10-day IL today and optioned right-hander Yosver Zulueta. They recalled outfielder Jacob Hurtubise and righty Lyon Richardson in corresponding moves. Manager Terry Francona tells Mark Sheldon of MLB.com that Callihan underwent successful surgery on his arm. He won’t be able to do baseball activities for six to eight weeks. After that, he will presumably need a ramp-up period and rehab assignment, so he’ll probably be on the IL into July.
May 5: The Reds announced that rookie infielder/outfielder Tyler Callihan suffered a left forearm fracture in tonight’s game against Atlanta. He’s obviously in for a long-term absence.
Callihan suffered the gruesome injury while he was playing left field. He tracked a Matt Olson fly ball that sliced down the line. Callihan, a right-handed thrower, reached up for the ball with his glove hand. He went into a slide and was unable to avoid crashing into the wall with limited foul territory. His outstretched left arm took the brunt of the collision. It was immediately apparent that he’d suffered a significant injury. (Olson came around to score on an inside-the-park home run after Callihan understandably dropped the ball in pain.)
The 24-year-old Callihan just received his first major league call last week. He came up to serve as a left-handed hitting bench bat when Jeimer Candelario went on the injured list. He recorded his first MLB hit and RBI with a base knock against Washington’s Trevor Williams on Saturday. He’s 1-6 with a strikeout in four games.
Callihan will at least collect major league pay and service time during what figures to be a long injured list stint. He’ll go on the major league IL and should end up on the 60-day injured list once the Reds need to open a 40-man roster spot. Gavin Lux, who started at designated hitter tonight, will continue getting the majority of playing time in left field. Blake Dunn came off the bench to handle the position this evening.
Yankees Designate Carlos Carrasco For Assignment
The Yankees announced today that they have recalled right-hander Yerry De los Santos to the active roster. Righty Carlos Carrasco has been designated for assignment as the corresponding move. The club’s 40-man roster count drops to 39.
Carrasco, 38, signed a minor league deal with the Yankees in the offseason. The Yankee rotation took a number of hits during spring training, with Gerrit Cole, Luis Gil and JT Brubaker starting the season on the IL with significant injuries. That allowed Carrasco to crack the Opening Day roster. He has made six starts and two relief appearances so far this year, allowing 5.91 earned runs per nine innings. His 7% walk rate is good but he only punched out 17.6% of batters faced.
The health situation hasn’t improved much for the Yankees and has in fact gotten worse. Since Opening Day, Marcus Stroman has joined Cole, Gil and Brubaker on the IL. Clarke Schmidt also battled some flank soreness last week, though he managed to avoid the IL.
However, the Yanks feel they no longer need Carrasco on the roster. It’s possible that’s due to the schedule, as they have four off-days over the rest of this month, including two in the next nine days. That might put a little less pressure on the staff. It’s also possible that Carrasco has been jumped on the depth chart by Ryan Yarbrough. The lefty has been working a long relief role for the Yankees, with 19 1/3 innings over nine appearances. He has a 3.72 ERA, 22.2% strikeout rate and 11.1% walk rate in that time.
The current rotation consists of Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, Will Warren and Schmidt. With the off-days, they may be able to ride with a four-man group for a while, perhaps with Yarbrough making a spot start. Allan Winans is also stretched out in Triple-A and could be recalled to contribute at some point.
The club’s plans should become more clear in the coming days. Regardless, Carrasco is bumped off the roster today. Carrasco’s numbers this year haven’t been great but it’s possible he can still find interest from a club looking for a veteran to eat innings. Players like José Ureña, Casey Lawrence and Ian Anderson have been bouncing around the league recently, with some with gassed pitching staffs looking for relief.
Carrasco has a lengthy track record of big league success but hasn’t been at the same level in recent years, which is why he had to settle for a minor league deal coming into 2025. Dating back to the start of 2023, he has logged 225 2/3 innings for the Mets, Guardians and Yankees. In that time, he has a 6.14 ERA and 17.9% strikeout rate, though his 8.1% walk rate and 44.9% ground ball rate in that span are close to average.
Photo courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck, Imagn Images
Dodgers Designate Yoendrys Gomez For Assignment
The Dodgers have designated right-hander Yoendrys Gomez for assignment, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports. His spot on the roster will go to fellow righty J.P. Feyereisen, who’s been recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City. The Dodgers claimed Feyereisen off waivers from the D-backs last week.
Los Angeles claimed Gomez off waivers from the Yankees late last month. The 25-year-old once ranked among New York’s top prospects but hasn’t gotten much of a look in the majors. A move to the National League West didn’t change that. Gomez appeared in three games for L.A., impressing in his first appearance (three scoreless frames, four strikeouts against the Pirates) before being trounced by the Marlins for seven runs in 1 1/3 innings across his next two outings.
In a total of 27 2/3 big league frames, Gomez now owns a 4.88 earned run average. He’s fanned 19.1% of his opponents against an ugly 13.7% walk rate. Both the Yankees and Dodgers had little recourse but to DFA Gomez when he struggled, as he’s out of minor league options and can’t simply be sent to Triple-A; he’d first need to clear waivers in order to be sent down.
Though the big league track record is minimal, it’s at least possible that Gomez will draw a look from another club. Granted, nearly every team in baseball passed on him the last time he was on waivers — the Dodgers were 28th in waiver priority at the time and still won the claim — but Gomez has a nice minor league track record. The 6’3″, 212-pound righty has near-identical ERAs of 3.67 and 3.64 in Triple-A and Double-A, respectively, and those have come in nearly identical samples of 83 1/3 innings and 81 2/3 innings.
Gomez missed most of the 2021-22 seasons recovering from Tommy John surgery. Coupled with the canceled 2020 minor league season, that’s cut into his ability to build a more extensive track record in the minors. Still, the innings he’s thrown have generally been quality ones. Gomez punched out 27% of his Triple-A opponents last year — a nice number that was backed by a healthy 13.5% swinging-strike rate. Command was not and never has been a strong point — he walked 11.3% of opponents in 2024 and has a career 10.8% mark in the minors — but he’s managed to find success in spite of that flaw.
Gomez has worked primarily as a starting pitcher in the minors. A team in need of some rotation depth, perhaps one with some flexibility to install him as a long man in the bullpen, could feasibly take a look via a small trade or waiver claim. If the Dodgers manage to pass him through waivers unclaimed, he’d stick with the organization in Triple-A as a depth arm, as Gomez does not have enough service time or the prior outright assignment required to elect free agency after clearing waivers.
Diamondbacks, Michael Perez Agree To Minor League Deal
The D-backs have agreed to a minor league contract with free agent catcher Michael Perez, per their transaction log at MLB.com. He’s been assigned to Triple-A Reno.
Perez, 32, has played in parts of six big league seasons, splitting time with the Rays, Pirates and Mets from 2018-23 and accruing more than three years of service time along the way. He’s a career .179/.248/.306 hitter in 599 major league plate appearances but draws strong defensive ratings, particularly when it comes to his ability to block balls in the dirt and control the running game (28.7% caught-stealing rate).
Though he hasn’t appeared in the majors with Arizona, Perez is signing on for his second stint with the D-backs organization. He appeared in 24 games for Reno last year as well. The lefty-hitting backstop split the 2024 season between the Triple-A affiliates for the D-backs, Orioles and Mariners, batting a combined .259/.354/.453 in 246 plate appearances. He’s a lifetime .246/.336/.424 hitter in 272 Triple-A games.
The Diamondbacks haven’t gotten much production out of Gabriel Moreno and Jose Herrera behind the plate this year — their combined .215/.291/.273 line translates to a 61 wRC+ that ranks 27th in MLB — and they’ve been without prospect Adrian Del Castillo all season due to a shoulder injury. He’s on the minor league injured list. Glove-first veterans Rene Pinto and Aramis Garcia have both hit well in Reno, even when adjusting for the heightened run-scoring environment there, but Perez will give them some extra depth who can also handle first base.
Cubs Release Trevor Richards
The Cubs released reliever Trevor Richards from his minor league deal over the weekend, according to Tommy Birch of The Des Moines Register. He’d been pitching with Triple-A Iowa.
Richards, who turns 32 later this month, signed with Chicago in January. He pitched five times in Spring Training as a non-roster invitee, striking out six while working five innings of two-run ball. He didn’t pitch as well during his seven appearances with Iowa. Richards gave up eight runs (seven earned) through 8 2/3 frames. He fanned 12 but walked seven of 41 opponents (a 17.3% rate).
A fastball-changeup reliever, Richards has spent most of the past four seasons in the big leagues. He posted big strikeout numbers with the Blue Jays between 2021-23, though he also allowed walks and home runs at higher than average rates. Toronto traded Richards to the Twins last summer. He only spent around a month in Rocco Baldelli’s bullpen. Richards walked 11 batters and hit two more while throwing seven wild pitches in 13 innings as a Twin. Minnesota designated him for assignment in late August; he finished the season in Triple-A after clearing outright waivers.
Richards should be able to find another minor league opportunity despite the inconsistent control. He has been durable, topping 60 relief innings in each season between 2021-24. Richards punched out more than 29% of opposing hitters over that stretch, allowing 4.60 earned runs per nine in 266 1/3 cumulative innings.