Royals Select Taylor Clarke, Option Noah Cameron
The Royals have selected the contract of righty Taylor Clarke from Triple-A Omaha and optioned lefty Noah Cameron back to Triple-A after yesterday’s MLB debut, per a team announcement. Righty James McArthur was transferred from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Clarke. McArthur has been on the IL all season while recovering from surgery to repair an olecranon fracture in his elbow — a procedure that saw two screws installed to help stabilize the joint.
Clarke, 32 in a couple weeks, pitched for Kansas City from 2022-23. That stretch marks the last time he took the mound in the big leagues. The Royals traded him to the Brewers in the 2023-24 offseason, and he spent last year with Milwaukee’s Triple-A club in Nashville, pitching to a 4.90 ERA in 68 frames.
Clarke was solid for the Royals in 2022 and struggled in 2023. He’s had something of a rollercoaster career between the D-backs and Royals, which has evened out with a 5.03 ERA, 21.4% strikeout rate and 8% walk rate in 279 1/3 innings of major league experience. The lanky 6’4″ righty returned to the Royals on a minor league contract over the winter and has enjoyed decent performances both in spring training and in Omaha. In 14 1/3 innings of Triple-A work this year, he’s logged a 4.40 ERA with a rough 15.3% strikeout rate but a respectable 8% walk rate. The vast majority of his struggles in Omaha came in one particularly rough appearance, wherein the Orioles’ Triple-A squad trounced him for four runs.
Cameron is considered to be one of the Royals’ top pitching prospects. The 2021 seventh-rounder fired 6 1/3 shutout innings during yesterday’s debut and even took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, although he did so while issuing five walks against only three strikeouts. It was a nice debut all the same, and he was rewarded with his first big league win in his first day on the job.
That was always known to be a spot start, however, so it should come as little surprise to see Cameron sent back to Omaha. He was filling in for ace Cole Ragans, who’s nursing a minor groin injury, but the Royals have (at least thus far) opted not to even place Ragans on the injured list. He’s slated take the mound for Kansas City on Sunday after being afforded some extra downtime with Cameron’s spot start. With Ragans, Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Kris Bubic and Michael Lorenzen all healthy, Cameron will head back to Omaha. He’ll be a top option for the club, should a need in the rotation arise in the weeks ahead.
Rangers Trade Daniel Robert To Phillies
The Rangers have traded right-hander Daniel Robert, whom they’d recently designated for assignment, to the Phillies in exchange for minor league right-hander Enrique Segura, per announcements from both clubs. The Phillies optioned Robert to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Robert, 30, made his MLB debut with the Rangers in 2024 and pitched quite well in a small sample. He tossed 5 2/3 innings, holding opponents to two runs (3.18 ERA) on six hits and a pair of walks. He averaged just under 95 mph on his four-seamer, dodged hard contact of nearly any sort, and fanned six of his 26 opponents (23.1%).
It’s a tiny sample, of course, but Robert has also pitched well in the upper minors. It took several passes through Triple-A — he struggled there in 2022 and logged pedestrian numbers in 2023 before thriving in 2024 — but the recent results are impressive. Last year, Robert tossed 43 1/3 innings and notched a tidy 2.70 ERA. He punched out a weighty 31% of his opponents against a lower-than-average 7.7% walk rate. He’s picked up right where he left off so far in 2025, firing 11 2/3 frames with a 1.54 ERA, 34% strikeout rate and 8% walk rate.
Overall, Robert has a 2.45 ERA, 31.7% strikeout rate, 7.8% walk rate and 43.3% ground-ball rate in his past 55 Triple-A innings. That comes on top of his solid MLB debut in ’24. He’s averaged better than 95 mph during during that pair of Triple-A seasons and recorded a swinging-strike rate of nearly 14%. It’s been a nice run for the former 21st-round pick — who’s in the second of three minor league option years — making his DFA something of a surprise in the first place.
Given that recent run, it’s not a surprise that the Rangers were able to acquire a prospect in exchange for Robert — as opposed to the more common cash swaps we see involving players who’ve been designated for assignment. Segura entered the 2025 season ranked 21st among Phillies prospects, per FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen. He’s coming off a season in which he pitched well for six games with the Rangers’ Rookie-level club before moving up to Class-A at just 19 years old (about three years younger than the average player in that league).
Segura was hit hard in A-ball, as one might expect, but he’s been more effective there so far in 2025, his age-20 campaign. He posted a combined 5.76 earned run average in 75 minor league frames last year, all coming as a starter. This year, he’s tossed 17 innings with a 4.24 ERA, 25% strikeout rate and 10.5% walk rate. Those early rate stats represent modest gains over his 2024 levels (22 K%, 11.4 BB%).
Longenhagen highlights Segura’s projectable frame as reason to believe his stuff might play up as he continues to mature. That, paired with a smooth and repeatable delivery that is quite deceptive for right-handed opponents in particular, pushed him into the middle tiers of the Phillies’ prospect rankings at FanGraphs. Baseball America tabbed Segura 28th in Philadelphia’s system a couple years back, praising that same projectable build, his mechanics, and the potential for a plus slider.
Segura is a project, to be sure, but he’s a better prospect than most who are flipped in DFA trades, which seems reflective of the intriguing numbers Robert has posted over the past calendar year.
Braves Release Chasen Shreve
The Braves recently released Chasen Shreve from his minor league contract (h/t to Matt Eddy of Baseball America). The veteran lefty is again a free agent.
Shreve signed a non-roster deal with Atlanta in January. It was a return to the organization that drafted him in 2010 and with which he made his big league debut more than a decade ago. He received an invite to major league Spring Training but was reassigned to the minors after three appearances. Shreve has worked exclusively in relief as a big leaguer, but he pitched out of the rotation at Triple-A Gwinnett.
The 34-year-old started four of five outings with the Stripers, working four frames in each start. The results weren’t good, as he allowed 15 runs (11 earned) over 17 1/3 innings. He struck out 12 against five walks while allowing 21 hits, three of which left the yard. His fastball averaged what would be a career-low 88.8 MPH, though that’s not all that surprising with the rotation move. His fastball sat around 90 MPH during his relief work last season.
Shreve made one MLB appearance as a member of the Rockies last year. He tossed a scoreless inning. That extended his streak to 11 consecutive years logging some major league action. Shreve spent most of the ’23 season in the big leagues. He combined for 50 appearances between the Tigers and Reds, working to a 4.63 ERA across 44 2/3 frames.
While his big league appearance came with Colorado, Shreve played for a trio of Triple-A affiliates last year. He spent time in the Rangers, Yankees and Rox systems. Shreve turned in a cumulative 2.62 earned run average across 34 1/3 innings. He fanned a strong 26.7% of opponents against a slightly higher than average 9.2% walk percentage. He got swinging strikes at a near-14% clip. That could get him attention on another minor league deal from teams seeking lefty relief depth.
Tigers, Nick Margevicius Agree To Minor League Deal
The Tigers reached agreement with left-hander Nick Margevicius on a minor league deal, relays Chris McCosky of The Detroit News. The 6’5″ southpaw had been pitching in the Mexican League with the Tecos de los Dos Laredos.
Margevicius, 28, pitched in the majors each season from 2019-21. He suited up with both the Mariners and Padres, combining for a 6.12 earned run average in 110 1/3 innings. He split the following two seasons between the upper levels of the Seattle and Atlanta farm systems. Margevicius signed in Taiwan last year and worked to a 2.82 ERA with 86 strikeouts over 108 1/3 frames. He made the move to Mexico last winter.
The Mexican League is a tough landing spot for a pitcher. Margevicius pitched well over two starts there, though, allowing just two runs in 10 1/3 innings. While he only struck out seven of 42 opponents, he limited free passes (three walks and one hit batter) while managing solid overall results. It was enough to get him back to affiliated ball for the first time since 2023. He’ll look to improve upon a 4.55 ERA in 369 2/3 minor league innings over five seasons.
Jake Diekman Signs With American Association’s Lincoln Saltdogs
The Lincoln Saltdogs of the independent American Association announced last week that they have signed veteran left-hander Jake Diekman. The southpaw is a Nebraska native and spoke to Chase Matteson of 10/11 News about the homecoming.
“Pitch in front of my family, my friends,” Diekman said, “people who haven’t really watched me pitch in a while, yeah, it’ll be fun.” Diekman also spoke about the opportunity to impart some wisdom to the younger players on the team.
Now 38, Diekman pitched in the majors in each season from 2012 to 2024. He generally found success with a high number of strikeouts, working around a large number of walks. He has logged 602 1/3 innings in the big leagues with a 3.91 earned run average, 28.7% strikeout rate, 13.4% walk rate and 46.9% ground ball rate. He earned 19 saves and 187 holds along the way.
With the Mets last year, his ERA jumped to 5.63 and he was released in August. He stayed unsigned until the winter, when he landed a minor league deal with Atlanta. He was in camp with them as of last month, but they released him ahead of Opening Day.
Diekman has decided to land closer to home. He was born and raised in Wymore, Nebraska, which is about an hour’s drive from Lincoln. The Saltdogs start their season just over a week from now, on May 9th. Perhaps Diekman will pitch well enough to get offers to return to affiliated ball, but he might also be content to be back in his home state and around some familiar faces.
Photo courtesy of Gregory Fisher, Imagn Images.
Mariners Sign Bryan Shaw To Minor League Deal
The Mariners signed veteran right-handed reliever Bryan Shaw to a minor league deal yesterday. The team never formally announced it, but Shaw’s signing appears on their transaction log at MLB.com and the righty pitched in last night’s game for Triple-A Tacoma.
Shaw’s return to the Mariners organization — he also pitched for Seattle in 2020 — didn’t go particularly well. He retired only one of the five batters he faced, allowing a hit and three walks (one intentional) to the others. The 37-year-old right-hander had previously yielded five earned runs in 1 2/3 innings for the Reds’ top affiliate in Louisville before being cut loose.
Shaw pitched only four big league innings last year, his fewest single-season total since making his MLB debut with the Diamondbacks in 2011. It’s been several years since his peak as an iron man in Cleveland’s bullpen, but the well-traveled Shaw was an effective middle reliever as recently as 2023 with the White Sox. He tossed 45 2/3 innings that year and recorded a respectable 4.14 ERA with a 21.1% strikeout rate and 8.9% walk rate.
From 2013-17, Shaw tied lefty Tony Watson for the MLB lead among relievers at 358 2/3 innings. Shaw’s 378 total appearances during that time were by far the most in MLB. He wasn’t just a rubber arm, either; in those 358 2/3 innings, Shaw logged a 3.11 ERA and ranked third among all relievers with 110 holds (in addition to nine rogue saves). He’s had more shaky seasons than good ones in the time since that peak run. It seems fair to presume that Shaw’s nearly unrivaled workload took some toll on his arm, but it’s worth noting that he still has only one appearance on the MLB injured list in his entire career: a three-week stint due to a calf strain with the Rockies in 2018.
Rangers Select Tucker Barnhart, Designate Dane Dunning For Assignment
6:12pm: Texas officially announced the Barnhart selection and Dunning’s DFA. They did not place Higashioka on the injured list tonight.
4:45pm: The Rangers are going to select catcher Tucker Barnhart to their roster, reports Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News. That will give them some help behind the plate as Kyle Higashioka battles hamstring tightness. Right-hander Dane Dunning will be designated for assignment as the corresponding move. This will give the active roster a 14/12 split in terms of position players and pitchers, at least for now.
Higashioka played last night but it appears he hurt his hamstring in the process. Per Kennedi Landry of MLB.com and Jeff Wilson of DLLS Sports, an injured list stint is possible but the MRI results are still pending. Whether he goes on the IL or not, it seems he might be unavailable for a day or two, so the club has brought up another backstop to support Jonah Heim.
Barnhart, 34, signed a minor league deal with the Rangers in the offseason. He has been playing for Triple-A Round Rock thus far, hitting .246/.354/.391 in 20 games for that club. He appeared in each big league season from 2014 to 2024, so this will be his 12th straight campaign if he gets into a game.
Broadly speaking, he’s been a glove-first catcher. He has a career .241/.318/.351 batting line, production which translates to a wRC+ of 78. He has tapered off a bit in recent years, with a .208/.286/.255 line and 58 wRC+ since the start of 2022, which is why he had to settle for a minor league deal.
Defensively, his framing marks have been subpar for his entire career, but better recently. With both Baseball Prospectus and Statcast, his early-career framing was considered poor, but closer to average over the past six years. His blocking and throwing have been more consistently strong. He’ll step in as Heim’s backup until Higashioka is ready to return to action.
Dunning, 30, was only added to the roster on Monday. The Rangers are in a patch of playing 13 straight games, leading to heavy use of the pitching staff. Caleb Boushley tossed two innings on Sunday, so the Rangers swapped Dunning in to take over as the club’s long man. Dunning entered last night’s game with the Rangers up 12-0 after six innings, relieving starter Jacob deGrom. Dunning absorbed the final three frames as they went on to win 15-2. He allowed two earned runs on four hits and two walks.
He’ll now head into DFA limbo and will likely be placed on waivers. Back in March, he was passed through outright waivers unclaimed, which allowed the club to keep him as non-roster depth and bring him back this week.
He and the club avoided arbitration in November, agreeing to a salary of $2.66MM this year. No club was willing to claim him and take on that salary just over a month ago, not too surprising since he had a 5.31 earned run average last year. He posted a 5.40 ERA in five starts for Round Rock before being called up this week. Since he has more than three but less than five years of service time, he will have the right to elect free agency if he clears waivers again. However, doing so would mean forfeiting what’s left of that money, so he would likely accept as he did last month.
Most clubs operate with the 13-pitcher maximum at all times but the Rangers should be okay at 12 for a short spell. Since Dunning was the only reliever to pitch last night, the rest of the bullpen got a night off. Perhaps another pitcher will be added if Higashioka goes on the IL. Or if he avoids the IL, Barnhart might be bumped off the roster for a fresh arm.
Photo courtesy of Joe Camporeale, Imagn Images
Mets Select Chris Devenski, Place Danny Young On IL With Elbow Sprain
The Mets announced today that they have selected right-hander Chris Devenski from Triple-A Syracuse. He takes the active roster spot of left-hander Danny Young, who has been placed on the 15-day IL with a left elbow sprain, retroactive to April 27th. Left-hander Brooks Raley has been transferred to the 60-day IL to open a 40-man spot for Devenski.
The moves suddenly leaves the Mets with no lefties in the bullpen. Young and A.J. Minter are the only lefty relievers to have pitched for the Mets this season. Minter landed on the 15-day IL due to a lat strain a few days ago and there’s a chance he’ll require season-ending surgery. It’s unclear how long Young is going to be out of action but an injury to a pitcher’s throwing elbow is always somewhat concerning.
Raley was just officially signed yesterday. He is recovering from last May’s Tommy John surgery. The fact that the Mets have immediately placed him on the 60-day injured list suggests that they don’t expect him to be with the big league club in the next two months. Brandon Waddell was added to the roster today to serve as a bulk guy behind opener Huascar Brazobán tonight and may return to Triple-A after.
Some of their righties have reverse splits and may be deployed as pseudo lefty specialists. For instance, lefties have a career .165/.304/.239 line against José Buttó, while righties have hit .237/.314/.385 against him.
Devenski, 34, fits into that category as well. Righties have hit .247/.305/.429 against him in his career but he’s held lefties to a .211/.268/.385 slash. He’s a few years removed from his best results, however. He logged 189 innings for the Astros over 2016 and 2017 with a 2.38 earned run average, 28.2% strikeout rate and 6.4% walk rate. Since then, he has a 5.42 ERA in 211 innings for various teams. He had a 6.75 ERA with the Rays last year, which is why he had to settle for a minor league deal with the Mets coming into 2025.
He’s out to a good start this year, in a sense, as he has a 1.93 ERA through 9 1/3 Triple-A innings. However, a look under the hood reveals some less impressive numbers. His 20% strikeout rate and 11.4% walk rate thus far are both subpar numbers. He’s been helped by a .136 batting average on balls in play and 100% strand rate. He has kept the ball on the ground at a 65.2% clip but that’s never been a strength of his over a large sample.
Regardless, Devenski will come up and give the Mets a fresh bullpen arm for the time being. Tonight is their sixth of 13 straight games, leading to heavy usage of the pitching staff. That’s part of the reason why Waddell is coming up to make a spot start and Devenski will try to help the club get through as well.
Photo courtesy of Reinhold Matay, Imagn Images
Reds Promote Chase Petty, Tyler Callihan
April 30: The Reds announced earlier today that Callihan has been recalled. As a corresponding move, Candelario was placed on the 10-day injured list with a lumbar spine strain, retroactive to April 28th. Petty was officially selected to the 40-man between games and will be the 27th man for the twin bill.
April 29: A pair of Reds prospects will receive their first major league calls. C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic reports that right-hander Chase Petty will be tabbed to start the second game of tomorrow’s doubleheader against the Cardinals. He’ll go opposite Steven Matz in his major league debut. Meanwhile, Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 reports that infielder Tyler Callihan is also coming up.
Cincinnati will not need an active roster spot for Petty, who can serve as the allotted 27th man in the doubleheader, but they will need to formally select him onto the 40-man roster. They already have an opening after waiving Randy Wynne last week. Callihan is on the 40-man, but they’ll need to make an active roster move to accommodate his promotion.
Petty, 22, was Minnesota’s first-round pick in the 2021 draft. He didn’t spend a whole lot of time in the Twins’ farm system. Minnesota shipped him to the Reds the following spring in a one-for-one trade that netted Sonny Gray. It worked out well for both clubs. Gray had a fantastic two-season run in the Twin Cities, while Petty has become one of the better pitching prospects in baseball.
As a high schooler, Petty received plenty of attention for a fastball that ran into the triple digits. He’s not throwing quite as hard in pro ball, but he’s still averaging 95-96 MPH on his four-seam and sinker. Prospect evaluators credit him with a plus slider that serves as his best secondary offering. He rounds out a four-pitch mix with a cutter and changeup that’ll hopefully allow him to handle left-handed hitters multiple times through a lineup.
Baseball America ranked Petty third among Cincinnati prospects and among the back 10 of their overall Top 100 over the offseason. He landed among the sport’s Top 50 prospects at FanGraphs, while ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel had him in the back half of his Top 100. Keith Law of The Athletic had him outside his overall 100 but slotted him among the 10 best minor league talents in the Cincinnati system.
Petty spent most of last season in Double-A, where he turned in a 4.39 earned run average across 127 innings. He earned a late-season promotion to Triple-A Louisville, where he’s spent the first month of the ’25 campaign. Petty has pitched well through five starts. He carries a 3.52 ERA with a plus 27% strikeout rate. That includes six scoreless frames with seven strikeouts in his most recent outing last Wednesday.
Tomorrow’s appearance may simply be a spot start. Players promoted as the 27th man in a doubleheader are usually sent back to the minors the following day. Still, it’s unlikely to be the only time Petty gets the call this season. He’ll remain on the 40-man roster even if he’s returned to Louisville postgame. The Reds wouldn’t have made that move unless they anticipated Petty factoring in as rotation depth throughout the season.
The Reds added Callihan to the 40-man roster last November to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. The left-handed hitting infielder has been on optional assignment to Louisville all season. He has raced out to a strong start to the season, batting .303/.410/.528 with four homers and six stolen bases in 24 games. Callihan has walked 16 times in 106 plate appearances, though he’s also punched out on 29 occasions.
Cincinnati’s third-round pick in 2019, Callihan has battled injuries (including a 2021 Tommy John surgery) during his pro career. He’s generally regarded as a bat-first infielder. Inconsistent minor league production had dropped him to 21st among Reds prospects on BA’s offseason list, but the Reds liked him enough to ensure they didn’t lose him in the Rule 5 draft. The hot start at Louisville earns him an opportunity to contribute to an infield facing some injury questions.
They’ve been without Christian Encarnacion-Strand for a couple weeks, while Jeimer Candelario is day-to-day with lower back soreness. Candelario went for an MRI today, according to the MLB.com injury tracker. A trip to the 10-day IL doesn’t seem out of the question. Callihan is primarily a second baseman and has experience at both corner infield spots (and in left field). Candelario had already ceded the starting third base job to Noelvi Marte, but Callihan could replace him as a bench bat.
Image courtesy of Imagn Images.
Zach Thompson Elects Free Agency
Right-hander Zach Thompson has rejected an outright assignment to Triple-A Gwinnett in favor of free agency, per David O’Brien of The Athletic. Thompson was designated for assignment earlier this week and clearly went unclaimed on waivers. As a player who’s previously been outrighted in the past, has has the right to turn down all future outright assignments in favor of a trip back to the open market.
Thompson, 31, appeared in two big league games and fired 3 2/3 scoreless innings with the Braves. He yielded three earned runs on seven hits and three walks with a pair of strikeouts during 4 1/3 innings with Triple-A Gwinnett. That limited action so far in 2025 marks Thompson’s first time on a mound since 2023. He missed the entire 2024 season after undergoing surgery to repair a tear in his right flexor tendon.
Prior to his run with the Braves organization, Thompson has seen big league time with both the Marlins and Pirates. He made his MLB debut with the 2021 Marlins, pitching 75 innings of 3.24 ERA ball with a 21% strikeout rate, an 8.9% walk rate and a 43.4% ground-ball rate. That proved enough for the Pirates to acquire him as one of three players in their return for trading catcher Jacob Stallings to Miami.
Thompson’s time with the Pirates didn’t pan out. Pittsburgh surely hoped to be adding a controllable back-end starter who could be plugged right into the rotation after trading Stallings away. Thompson did indeed step right onto the starting staff, but he was roughed up for a 5.18 ERA in 121 2/3 innings. The majority of that time was spent in the rotation (22 starts), but Thompson struggled just as much in seven bullpen appearances later in the year. The Bucs designated him for assignment that offseason and traded him to Toronto. Thompson spent the entire year in the minors before requiring that flexor surgery in October.
A team in need of some rotation depth or long relief help may take a look at Thompson in the near future now that he’s once again a free agent. He pitched decently with the Jays’ Triple-A squad in 2023 (105 innings, 4.61 ERA), has had some degree of success in the majors, and most importantly now appears healthy after missing all of the 2024 season. Thompson also has a full slate of three minor league option years, which may not immediately come into play if he signs a minor league deal but would be a benefit to his next club if he pitches his way into 40-man consideration.