Headlines

  • Blue Jays To Promote Trey Yesavage For MLB Debut
  • Dodgers Place Will Smith On Injured List
  • Dipoto: Mariners Interested In Re-Signing Josh Naylor
  • Anthony Volpe Playing Through Partial Labrum Tear
  • Orioles Promoted Mike Elias Prior To 2025 Season
  • Anthony Rizzo Retires
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2026-27 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Transactions

A’s Sign Robert Dugger To Minors Contract

By Mark Polishuk | May 18, 2024 at 7:59am CDT

The Athletics have signed right-hander Robert Dugger to a minor league deal, according to Dugger’s MLB.com profile page.  Dugger has been assigned to the team’s Arizona Complex League affiliate, indicating that Dugger could be undergoing a mechanical overhaul or simply be getting some Spring Training-esque ramp-up before his next assignment higher up the minor league ladder.

Dugger returns to North American baseball after a brief and unsuccessful stint in the Korea Baseball Organization.  After signing a one-year, $750K deal with the SSG Landers over the offseason, Dugger posted a 12.71 ERA over six starts and 22 2/3 innings before being released at the end of April.

Despite those rough numbers, the 28-year-old Dugger could now provide the A’s with some rotation depth, given his more recent track record in the Pacific Coast League.  The righty had a 4.31 ERA over 146 1/3 Triple-A innings with the Rangers’ top affiliate in 2023, which stood out as a particularly solid number in a very hitter-friendly league.  A 22.6% strikeout rate and 9.5% walk rate weren’t overly impressive, but providing quality innings in the PCL is no small feat, and the Athletics surely have interest in seeing what Dugger can do at their own PCL team at Triple-A Las Vegas.

Dugger is a veteran of four Major League seasons, posting a 7.17 ERA across 86 2/3 innings with the Marlins, Mariners, Rays, and Reds from 2019-22.  Never a hard thrower or a big strikeout pitcher, Dugger has relied on control to get good results, though his walk rates have been pretty modest over his last three minor league seasons.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Oakland Athletics Transactions Robert Dugger

14 comments

Dodgers Place Max Muncy On Injured List, Option James Outman

By Anthony Franco and Darragh McDonald | May 17, 2024 at 5:54pm CDT

The Dodgers made a series of roster moves today, activating outfielder Jason Heyward from the injured list while recalling outfielder Miguel Vargas and right-hander Ricky Vanasco. To open roster spots for that group, they placed third baseman Max Muncy on the 10-day injured list with a right oblique strain and optioned outfielder James Outman and left-hander Nick Ramirez.

Prior to the official announcement, Francys Romero reported on X that Vargas would be called up. Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic was among those to relay on X that Outman no longer had a locker with the club.

While oblique strains typically lead to absences of multiple weeks, the Dodgers don’t seem especially concerned. Manager Dave Roberts told the team’s beat (including Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic) that it’s a mild strain. The club is hopeful he’ll only require a minimal stint. Muncy is out to his typical start to the season: drawing plenty of walks and hitting for power to compensate for a low batting average. Through 167 plate appearances, he has a .223/.323/.475 line with nine homers.

Muncy has gotten the start at third base for 36 of L.A.’s 46 games. Enrique Hernández is in the lineup tonight against Cincinnati right-hander Frankie Montas. Roberts told reporters that Hernández and Miguel Rojas will take the third base work while Muncy is out.

Heyward draws back into the lineup after missing six weeks with a back issue. The veteran should be in the lineup in right field against right-handed pitching. That bumps rookie Andy Pages from right field to center field, while Teoscar Hernández will be in one of the corners on an everyday basis. The Dodgers shield Heyward from left-handed pitching. Roberts said one of Vargas or Chris Taylor will be in left field against southpaws, pushing Hernández to right and Heyward to the bench.

The outfield shuffling sends Outman to the minors for the first time since 2022. The 27-year-old finished third in NL Rookie of the Year balloting last season, hitting 23 homers with a .248/.353/.437 slash line. His offensive production has plummeted this season. Outman has been one of the least productive hitters in MLB, turning in a .147/.250/.266 mark. He has fanned in more than 32% of his plate appearances and hasn’t made the same level of power impact he did last season.

Outman will try to get on track at Triple-A Oklahoma City to put himself back on the radar for an MLB call. He’ll need to do so quickly to stay on pace to reach free agency after the 2028 season. Outman entered the season with one year and six days of MLB service. A service year is tallied at 172 days, so he needs to spend at least 166 days on the MLB roster to surpass the two-year threshold in 2024. If he spends more than a couple weeks in Triple-A, he’ll fall short of that mark.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Los Angeles Dodgers Transactions James Outman Jason Heyward Max Muncy Miguel Vargas Nick Ramirez Ricky Vanasco

55 comments

White Sox Outright Rafael Ortega

By Darragh McDonald | May 17, 2024 at 5:22pm CDT

Outfielder Rafael Ortega cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Charlotte, reports Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times on X. The outfielder was designated for assignment by the White Sox earlier this week. He had the right to elect free agency but has chosen to accept his outright assignment.

Ortega, 33, signed a minor league deal with the Sox in the offseason and was added to their roster in late April. He was put into 14 games but mostly off the bench, getting just 17 plate appearances. He hit .071/.176/.071 in those and was designated for assignment when the club acquired Corey Julks from the Astros a couple of days ago.

It’s been a rough few years for Ortega after a strong 2021 campaign that now looks like it may have been his peak. He hit 11 home runs in 330 plate appearances for the Cubs that year. His .291/.360/.463 batting line translated to a 122 wRC+. He also stole 12 bases and spent a lot of time covering center field.

But his production dipped to .241/.331/.358 in 2022 and he was non-tendered at the end of that season. He eventually got back to the majors late in 2023, getting called up by the Mets after the trade deadline to play out the final months of a lost season for that club. He hit just .219/.341/.272 in that time and was sent back to the open market at season’s end.

Ortega will now head to Charlotte and try to get back into good form. It’s not hard to imagine a path opening up that would allow him to get back to the big leagues. The rebuilding Sox will likely make any veteran player available this year and have already traded Robbie Grossman to the Rangers. 36-year-old Tommy Pham is on a one-year deal and will almost certainly be moved if he’s healthy and playing well. Gavin Sheets and Eloy Jiménez are also trade possibilities who could, along with Pham, open up playing time in the outfield/designated hitter mix. For now, the Sox will keep running out those guys and Andrew Benintendi, as well as younger players like Julks and Dominic Fletcher.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Chicago White Sox Transactions Rafael Ortega

1 comment

Dodgers Acquire Anthony Banda From Guardians

By Darragh McDonald | May 17, 2024 at 2:00pm CDT

The Guardians announced that they have traded left-hander Anthony Banda to the Dodgers in exchange for cash considerations. The southpaw was not on Cleveland’s 40-man and therefore won’t need to be added to the Dodgers’ roster.

Banda, 30, signed a minor league deal with the Guards in January. He has been pitching for their Triple-A club, throwing 17 innings over 12 appearances. He has a 2.12 earned run average in that time, striking out 37.9% of batters faced, giving out walks at a 9.1% rate and getting grounders on 67.9% of balls in play. It’s a small sample but it seems to have intrigued the Dodgers enough to put some cash on the barrel to get a deal done.

The lefty was once a notable starting pitching prospect but underwent Tommy John surgery in 2018, which wiped out the remainder of that season and most of the following year as well. Since that time, he’s spent more time as a reliever but has struggled to establish himself in that role.

He has bounced to the Mets, Pirates, Blue Jays, Yankees and Nationals since the start of 2021. That’s partly due to him burning his final option year in 2020 but also his struggles in recent seasons. He has thrown 67 1/3 big league innings over the past three years with a 5.48 ERA, 21.1% strikeout rate and 9.6% walk rate. He also threw 126 1/3 innings in the minors during the 2021-23 period with a 6.91 ERA, though that’s likely somewhat misleading. His 20.9% strikeout rate and 9.7% walk rate were both similar to his major league work, but his .345 batting average on balls in play and 51.7% strand rate were both on the unlucky side for that stretch.

The Dodgers will see if the recent improvement in his results can be continued. If it does, they can reap long-term benefits. Banda came into this year with three years and one day of major league service time. There’s not enough time left in this season for him to get to the four-year mark. That means he could potentially be retained for three seasons beyond this one.

First, he will have to get a spot on the Dodgers’ roster. They already have Alex Vesia, Ryan Yarbrough and Nick Ramirez as southpaws in their bullpen but Banda will give them some non-roster depth in that department.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Cleveland Guardians Los Angeles Dodgers Transactions Anthony Banda

48 comments

Padres Release Matt Festa

By Steve Adams | May 17, 2024 at 10:12am CDT

The Padres released right-hander Matt Festa, who’d been pitching with their Triple-A affiliate in El Paso, per the MiLB.com transaction log.

Festa, 31, has appeared in parts of four seasons with the Mariners. He inked a minor league deal with San Diego over the winter. The former seventh-round pick sports a career 4.32 ERA and 3.93 SIERA with a strong 25.3% strikeout rate against a less-encouraging 10.9% walk rate. Festa’s time with the M’s was split between the 2018-19 seasons and the 2022-23 seasons. He had an elbow injury in 2020 that eventually required Tommy John surgery, completely erasing his 2020 season and limiting him to 25 2/3 minor league frames late in the ’21 campaign.

It’s been a decent start to the season for Festa in El Paso. He’s pitched to a 4.50 earned run average — eight runs in 16 innings — while fanning 21.6% of his opponents with a 9.5% walk rate. He’s typically been a fly-ball pitcher in the past but this year sports an above-average 46% grounder rate. He’s been plagued by a .360 average on balls in play, with fielding-independent metrics pegging him about a run lower than his actual ERA.

Festa has pitched reasonably well, and mid-May is a common time for minor league contracts to include opt-out dates, so it’s possible (if not likely) that such a clause came into play here. The Padres only have three bullpen spots on the roster they can shuffle up, as none of Robert Suarez, Wandy Peralta, Enyel De Los Santos, Yuki Matsui or Rule 5 pick Stephen Kolek can be optioned. That leaves righty Jeremiah Estrada, lefty Adrian Morejon and long reliever Jhony Brito as the only players who could’ve been sent down if the Friars had wanted to select Festa to the big league roster. Each member of that trio has performed fairly well this season, however, and Festa himself is out of minor league options. As such, selecting his contract would’ve only further limited San Diego’s bullpen flexibility.

As a result, Festa will head back to the open market and look to latch on with another club seeking some experienced bullpen depth. He’s not a flamethrower, averaging just 92.6 mph on his heater in his career, but he’s nevertheless managed to miss bats at a high level. His 12.5% career swinging-strike rate checks in north of the league average, and he sat at an even heftier 14.3% in that regard from 2022-23. In parts of five Triple-A seasons (108 2/3 innings), Festa owns a 2.15 ERA, a 27% strikeout rate and a 9.5% walk rate.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

San Diego Padres Transactions Matt Festa

20 comments

Giants, Jerar Encarnación Agree To Minor League Deal

By Darragh McDonald | May 16, 2024 at 9:15pm CDT

The Giants and Jerar Encarnación are in agreement on a minor league deal, reports Mike Rodriguez on X. The outfielder had been with Guerreros de Oaxaca in the Mexican League, who also posted on X about the deal with the Giants. It’s not yet official as Encarnación is still waiting on his work visa and needs to take his physical, per Rodriguez.

Encarnación, 26, came up as a prospect in the Marlins’ system and spent some time in the big leagues with them. He was outrighted off their roster in July of last year and was able to elect free agency at the end of the season.

He has shown big power throughout his career but also a troubling tendency to strike out. In his 81 major league plate appearances in 2022, he hit three home runs but was also punched out in 39.5% of them. He spent all of last year in Triple-A, getting into 122 games at that level. He hit 26 homers there but also struck out 38.8% of the time.

With Oaxaca this year, he stepped to the plate 107 times and amazingly launched 19 home runs. That helped him produce an absurd batting line of .366/.439/.989. His 24.3% strikeout rate wasn’t as bad as his most recent stint in affiliated ball, though it’s hard to quantify the quality of pitching he’s been facing in Mexico.

It’s understandable why the Giants are willing to give him a shot and see if he can bring that strong performance with him to their system. They currently have seven position players on the injured list, including four outfielders in Jung Hoo Lee, Jorge Soler, Austin Slater and Michael Conforto. While Blake Sabol can play some outfield, he’s tied to the catcher position now with Patrick Bailey and Tom Murphy both on the IL. Wade Meckler is on the 40-man roster but dealing with a wrist injury in the minor leagues.

Mike Yastrzemski is the most established member of the outfield that’s currently healthy. The other two spots have mostly been filled by Heliot Ramos and Luis Matos lately, with each of those two fairly lacking in experience. Tyler Fitzgerald, who is also light on inexperience, is moving around to play both the outfield and the infield.

With all of those moving parts, the Giants will bring Encarnación to Triple-A Sacramento and see how he fares. If he keeps crushing the ball like he has been with the Guerreros, it’s not hard to see him earning some big league at-bats, whether he can tamp down the strikeouts or not.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

San Francisco Giants Transactions Jerar Encarnacion

25 comments

Ken Waldichuk Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

By Darragh McDonald | May 16, 2024 at 2:50pm CDT

May 16: The A’s announced Thursday that Waldichuk’s surgery repaired his flexor tendon and also reconstructed his left ulnar collateral ligament (in other words, Tommy John surgery). As we’ve seen with increasing frequency in recent months, Waldichuk opted for a hybrid Tommy John/internal brace procedure in hopes of prolonging the lifespan of his new elbow ligament. He’ll miss the remainder of the 2024 season and likely be sidelined for the bulk of the first half of the 2025 campaign.

May 13: Athletics left-hander Ken Waldichuk is slated for elbow surgery on Wednesday, per Martín Gallegos of MLB.com on X, though the club is not providing any details until after the procedure. Additionally, the club is going to select right-hander Aaron Brooks to start Wednesday’s contest, per Gallegos on X. Brooks isn’t on the 40-man roster and will need to be added.

The A’s announced in December that Waldichuk was going through a non-surgical rehab for a strained left flexor tendon and sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow. That news came from out of the blue, as the lefty did not spend any time on the injured list in 2023, making 22 starts and 13 relief appearances. He was transferred to the 60-day injured list when the club signed Scott Alexander in February.

Waldichuk tried ramping up a throwing program in April but didn’t seem to make much progress there. Gallegos relayed on X last week that the lefty would be seeing Dr. Neal ElAttrache today. It seems the renowned surgeon recommended that Waldichuk go under the knife, though the full extent of the procedure won’t be publicly known for a few more days.

Since Waldichuk had a UCL sprain, it seems fair to speculate that he may be in line for Tommy John surgery, which would obviously be bad news for him and the club. Acquired from the Yankees as part of the 2022 Frankie Montas trade, Waldichuk has tossed 175 2/3 innings at the big league level since that deal. His 5.28 earned run average in that time wasn’t especially impressive but his 21% strikeout rate, 10% walk rate and 39% ground ball rate were all close to league averages.

The club surely hoped he could progress towards even better results going forward. He tossed 95 innings in the minors in 2022, most of it in Triple-A, with a 2.84 ERA, 34.5% strikeout rate and 9.1% walk rate. Now it seems possible that 2024 could be a lost season, rather than one that saw him take a step up as a major league pitcher. He’s currently on pace to qualify for arbitration after 2025 and reach free agency after 2028.

Waldichuk is one of several Oakland starters currently on the injured list. Freddy Tarnok, Luis Medina, Joe Boyle and Paul Blackburn are also on the shelf, with Blackburn landing there earlier today due to a stress reaction of the fifth metatarsal of his right foot. Gallegos relays that Blackburn will be in a walking boot for at least two weeks, making his future timeline unclear.

Alex Wood is also battling a shoulder injury, though it’s not yet clear if he will go on the injured list as well. If he does end up missing time, the rotation will be left with just Ross Stripling and JP Sears as its consistent members. Joey Estes was recently recalled and made one decent start, allowing one earned run in five innings, though he had a 6.04 ERA in Triple-A before being recalled.

To help bolster that group, the A’s will call upon the 34-year-old Brooks. Signed to a minor league deal in the winter, Brooks has made eight Triple-A starts this year with a 4.57 ERA. His 16.8% strikeout rate isn’t strong but he has walked just 5.3% of hitters who have stepped to the plate while getting grounders on 49.6% of balls in play.

The righty has 180 innings of majors league experience under his belt, though he’s a few years removed from most of it. He appeared for the Royals, A’s and Orioles over the 2014-2019 period before spending 2020 and 2021 with the Kia Tigers in the KBO. He posted a 2.79 ERA in Korea and then came back to North America to sign with the Cardinals for 2022. He pitched just 9 1/3 innings that year with a 7.71 ERA before getting outrighted off the roster.

He spent last year with the Padres on a minor league deal, posting a 4.95 ERA for that club’s Triple-A team. He then got a minor league deal with the A’s, which has led to this week’s return to the big leagues.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Oakland Athletics Transactions Aaron Brooks Ken Waldichuk Paul Blackburn

35 comments

Pirates Trade Roansy Contreras To Angels

By Steve Adams | May 16, 2024 at 1:50pm CDT

1:50pm: The Angels sent cash to the Pirates in the deal, reports Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

1:18pm: The Angels are acquiring right-hander Roansy Contreras in a trade with the Pirates, reports Alex Stumpf of MLB.com. Pittsburgh designated Contreras for assignment five days ago.

The Halos have an open 40-man roster spot after designating lefty Amir Garrett for assignment last night, and they already cleared a 26-man roster spot earlier today when they announced that utilityman Niko Goodrum and righty Davis Daniel were optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake, with infielder Luis Rengifo coming off the injured list. A second 26-man roster move wasn’t revealed at the time, but it now seems that’ll go to Contreras, who’s out of minor league  and thus cannot be sent to Triple-A himself.

Still just 24 years old, Contreras was the headline prospect going from the Yankees to the Pirates in the 2020-21 offseason trade that sent Jameson Taillon to the Bronx. At the time of the swap, Contreras was widely regarded among the top-100 minor leaguers in the sport, and through the early portion of his career, the reasons for his prospect fanfare were apparent. Contreras debuted as a 21-year-old late in the 2021 season and tossed three shutout innings, then went on to make 18 starts and another three relief appearances for the 2022 Pirates. In all, he pitched 98 innings with a 3.67 ERA, 21.4% strikeout rate and 9.5% walk rate in the majors — all before celebrating his 23rd birthday.

That’s a fine start to any big league career, and as recently as April 2023, Contreras looked like a foundational rotation piece alongside Mitch Keller. The 2023 season went about as poorly for Contreras  as possible, however. He made 11 starts between April and mid-June — struggling so much that the Pirates dropped him to the bullpen. Through Contreras’ first 56 1/3 frames last year, he was torched for a 5.91 ERA with a greatly reduced 17.4% strikeout rate and a bloated 10.1% walk rate. His fastball velocity, which sat just shy of 96 mph from 2021-22, averaged a noticeably lesser 94.4 mph. Statcast painted the picture of a right-hander who opponents had little problem squaring up: 90.3 mph average exit velocity, 9% barrel rate, 42.7% hard-hit rate.

The 2024 season hasn’t brought better results. Despite a full-time move to the ’pen, Contreras’ 94.7 mph average fastball is still more than a mile per hour slower than his 2021-22 velocity out of the rotation. His 21.6% strikeout rate is a slight uptick from last year’s 21.4% mark, but his 10.8% walk rate is a career-high. His Statcast profile looks quite similar to the rough numbers he posted as a starter in 2023: 90.8 mph average exit velocity, 10% barrel rate, 42% hard-hit rate. Opponents hit .292/.370/.477 against Contreras this season. He’s sitting on a respectable enough 4.41 ERA, but his 5.01 FIP doesn’t match even that modest number. (His 4.13 SIERA is a bit more optimistic, forecasting some improvement in terms of homer-to-flyball ratio.)

Since the Pirates couldn’t send Contreras to the minors without first passing him through waivers, the club opted to DFA him. It’s clear they no longer viewed Contreras as a viable candidate to take a rotation spot alongside Keller, Paul Skenes, Jared Jones and veteran Martin Perez. With several pitching prospects having leapfrogged Contreras on the depth chart and no set-in-stone place in the team’s bullpen, the decision was made to designate him and evaluate other options. The cash return on the swap will surely frustrate Pirates fans, but that negligible return also speaks to the manner in which the leaguewide perception of Contreras has changed over the past 13 to 14 months.

The Angels have a full five-man rotation — Patrick Sandoval, Reid Detmers, Griffin Canning, Tyler Anderson, Jose Soriano — so it seems likely they’ll plug Contreras into the bullpen for the time being. It’s possible he’ll eventually get a look as a starter, with injuries always standing as an inevitability plus some notable workload concerns for Soriano, who’s making the transition from reliever to starting pitcher this season.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Los Angeles Angels Newsstand Pittsburgh Pirates Transactions Roansy Contreras

99 comments

Astros Trade Brandon Bielak To Athletics

By Steve Adams | May 16, 2024 at 11:22am CDT

The Astros traded right-hander Brandon Bielak to the Athletics in exchange for cash, per a team announcement. Houston designated him for assignment last week. The A’s designated left-hander Easton Lucas for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

Bielak, 28, struggled with the ’Stros this season, posting a 5.71 earned run average in ten appearances (17 1/3 innings). His 10.8% strikeout rate and 5.5% swinging-strike rate both stand as career-low marks.

That said, Bielak was a solid swingman in three prior seasons with Houston. From 2021-23, he notched a 4.05 ERA over the life of 142 1/3 innings, fanning a combined 19.2% of his opponents against a 9.8% walk rate. The former 11th-round pick made 15 starts and tallied another 33 relief appearances during that time. He’s not a flamethrower, but Bielak averaged 93.4 mph on his heater during that three-year stint and kept the ball on the ground at a strong 48.1% clip. He’s posted similar numbers in parts of four Triple-A campaigns, recording a 3.98 ERA with a 24.3% strikeout rate and 9.6% walk rate through 246 2/3 frames.

Bielak is out of minor league options, so he’ll jump right onto the Oakland staff. The A’s have placed starters Joe Boyle (back strain), Paul Blackburn (stress reaction in foot) and Alex Wood (shoulder tendinitis) on the injured list this month. They also announced that injured lefty Ken Waldichuk is done for the season due to elbow surgery. The addition of Bielak will help replenish some of that depth, whether he steps right into the rotation or provides a long-relief option. Rule 5 righty Mitch Spence has been Oakland’s primary long man this year, but he’s pitched well and could feasibly step into the rotation himself.

Because he has just 2.110 years of big league service, Bielak can be controlled for three more years beyond the current season. He’ll need to carve out a role for himself on the Athletics’ roster and get back to his 2021-23 form if that’s to even become a factor, but there’s potential for him to be a multi-year acquisition if Bielak can get back on track. He’ll be arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter and shouldn’t see an especially large raise, given his role as a low-leverage swingman and occasional back-end starter.

The addition of Bielak to the roster comes at the expense of the 27-year-old Lucas, who made his big league debut with the A’s last year but has only seen 10 1/3 total innings in the majors. It’s been a struggle in that small sample, to say the least. Lucas has been charged with a dozen earned runs (10.45 ERA) on 18 hits and a dozen walks with 13 strikeouts. A massive .459 average on balls in play has contributed to his ugly numbers, but Lucas hasn’t done himself any favors by walking just over 12% of his opponents.

As one would expect, things have gone better in the upper minors. Lucas split the 2023 season between Double-A and Triple-A, posting a combined 3.86 ERA in 46 2/3 innings. He punched out 25.8% of opponents against an 8.6% walk rate. The southpaw posted a 2.87 ERA in 15 2/3 innings of Triple-A work this year as well — albeit with just 13 strikeouts against six unintentional walks. The A’s acquired Lucas from the Orioles last July in the trade sending righty Shintaro Fujinami back to Baltimore.

Oakland selected Lucas to the 40-man roster last summer but passed him unclaimed through outright waivers just a couple months later, in November. Because of that prior outright assignment, he’ll have the right to reject a minor league assignment in favor of free agency even if he goes unclaimed a second time. As such, there’s a chance that today’s DFA ends his time with the A’s organization less than a year after he was acquired in a deadline swap.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Houston Astros Oakland Athletics Transactions Brandon Bielak Easton Lucas

52 comments

Eric Lauer Opts Out Of Pirates Deal

By Steve Adams | May 16, 2024 at 9:37am CDT

Left-hander Eric Lauer exercised an out clause in his minor league deal with thee Pirates and has been granted his release, tweets Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He’s once again a free agent.

Lauer, 29 next month, pitched well for most of his time in Indianapolis, though his ERA ballooned from 3.95 to 5.52 after he was tagged for six runs through just two innings in his final appearance there. He’d signed a minor league contract back on March 7 after being non-tendered by the Brewers earlier in the offseason.

Though Lauer looked well on his way to a breakout with the Brew Crew in 2021 after adding a slider to his arsenal, his 2023 campaign was a disaster. From 2021-22, Lauer pitched to a 3.47 ERA in 277 1/3 innings, showing strong strikeout and walk rates along the way — particularly after incorporating that new breaking ball into his repertoire. However, last year saw the southpaw post a grisly 6.46 ERA in 46 2/3 innings. The Brewers optioned him to Triple-A Nashville in hopes of getting him right, but he served up a 5.15 ERA there as well.

Lauer incurred both shoulder and elbow injuries from 2022-23, so it’s certainly possible he wasn’t pitching at full strength during that miserable 2023 campaign. He lost more than two miles per hour off his heater last year, dropping from a 93.3 mph average in 2022 to just 91.2 mph before he was optioned.

While that ugly final outing in Indy skewed Lauer’s 2024 ERA, he fanned a sharp 29.1% of opponents in his brief stint with the Pirates organization, coupling that mark with a solid 8.7% walk rate. Even if he doesn’t get all the way back to his 2021-22 form, Lauer has a 4.30 earned run average in nearly 600 big league innings — a 4.11 mark if excluding last year’s tough showing. He also only has 4.111 years of big league service time, so if a team signs him and brings him to the majors at some point, he can be controlled through the 2025 season via arbitration (or even through 2026, if his MLB promotion comes with 60 or fewer days remaining on the season’s calendar).

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Pittsburgh Pirates Transactions Eric Lauer

60 comments
« Previous Page
Load More Posts
Show all
    Top Stories

    Blue Jays To Promote Trey Yesavage For MLB Debut

    Dodgers Place Will Smith On Injured List

    Dipoto: Mariners Interested In Re-Signing Josh Naylor

    Anthony Volpe Playing Through Partial Labrum Tear

    Orioles Promoted Mike Elias Prior To 2025 Season

    Anthony Rizzo Retires

    Cubs Place Kyle Tucker On Injured List

    Blue Jays Place Bo Bichette On Injured List

    Phillies Place Trea Turner, Alec Bohm On Injured List

    Sean Murphy To Undergo Hip Surgery

    Trea Turner To Undergo MRI Due To Hamstring Strain

    Davey Johnson Passes Away

    Mets Option Kodai Senga

    NPB’s Kazuma Okamoto, Tatsuya Imai Expected To Be Posted For MLB Teams

    Shelby Miller Likely Headed For Tommy John Surgery

    Red Sox To Place Roman Anthony On Injured List

    Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Diagnosed With Torn ACL

    Braves Claim Ha-Seong Kim From Rays

    Jason Adam Likely Headed For Season-Ending Quad Surgery

    Mariners Promote Harry Ford, Release Donovan Solano

    Recent

    Blue Jays To Promote Trey Yesavage For MLB Debut

    Jose Altuve Exits Game With Foot Discomfort

    Dodgers Place Will Smith On Injured List

    Angels Designate Scott Kingery For Assignment, Promote Denzer Guzman

    Giants Place Dominic Smith On Injured List

    Phillies Notes: Wheeler, Romano, Turner, Bohm

    Rockies Place Chase Dollander On Injured List

    Red Sox Shut Down Liam Hendriks Due To Forearm Tightness

    Tarik Skubal Day-To-Day After Leaving Game Due To Side Tightness

    Masyn Winn Shut Down For Remainder Of Season

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Every MLB Trade In July
    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android App Store Google Play

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
    • Front Office Originals
    • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
    • MLBTR Podcast
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2026-27 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

    hide arrows scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version