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Dodgers Acquire Zach Penrod From Red Sox, Transfer Roki Sasaki To 60-Day IL

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2:50pm: The Dodgers have made it official, announcing that they acquired Penrod in exchange for cash considerations. Right-hander Roki Sasaki has been transferred to the 60-day injured list as the corresponding active roster move. Sasaki has been on the IL since mid-May due to a shoulder impingement. He can be reinstated 60 days from that initial IL placement, which would be mid-July. He was recently shut down from throwing and has an uncertain timeline.

1:37pm: The Dodgers and Red Sox have agreed to a trade that’ll send left-hander Zach Penrod from Boston to Los Angeles, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. The Sox designated Penrod for assignment earlier this week in the wake of the Rafael Devers blockbuster, as they were acquiring two 40-man players (Jordan Hicks, Kyle Harrison) and only trading away one.

Penrod, 28, is an interesting story. He signed as an undrafted free agent with the Rangers in 2018 and pitched briefly in their system before being cut loose during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. He then spent three years pitching in the independent Pioneer League before catching the eyes of Red Sox scouts and returning to affiliated ball.

A nice minor league showing across multiple levels in 2024 pushed Penrod up onto the 40-man roster. He tossed 62 2/3 frames across three levels and logged a 4.16 ERA with a huge 34.8% strikeout rate but a similarly hefty 12.4% walk rate. The Sox summoned him to the majors in the season’s second half, and he pitched four innings down the stretch, holding opponents to a run on three hits and four walks with three strikeouts.

Penrod was in the mix for a bullpen spot heading into the 2025 season, but an elbow injury in spring training knocked him out for nearly three months. He returned to the mound in late May and has pitched 7 1/3 minor league innings. It’s been a mixed bag. He’s allowed four runs and only seven hits while punching out nine of 36 batters (25%). However, he’s also issued seven walks, plunked a batter and tossed three wild pitches.

Command has never been a particularly strong suit, but it’s also understandable if there’s some rust after he was initially diagnosed with elbow inflammation in late February and didn’t get back onto a mound in a game setting until May 24. Penrod’s 95 mph average fastball this year is a match for his 2024 mark, and he’s posted a huge 15% swinging-strike rate after logging a even more-impressive 16.6% mark in that regard during last year’s minor league run.

Penrod will give the Dodgers a hard-throwing lefty with clear bat-missing ability and, as critically, a full slate of three minor league option years remaining. Los Angeles churns through the final few spots of its bullpen as much as — if not more than — any other team in the sport, so flexible arms with Penrod’s general skill set are always going to be somewhat appealing to the Dodgers.

White Sox Place Davis Martin On IL With Forearm Strain

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The White Sox announced a series of moves ahead of tonight’s series opener in Toronto. They have recalled right-hander Wikelman González, a move that was reported earlier. They have also selected the contract of left-hander Jake Palisch from Double-A Birmingham. Left-hander Cam Booser has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a left shoulder strain. Right-hander Davis Martin also hits the 15-day IL, in his case due to a right forearm strain, retroactive to June 17th. Right-hander Caleb Freeman has been designated for assignment to open a 40-man spot for Palisch.

In the immediate short term, the Martin injury is quite unfortunate for the Sox. He was scheduled to start tonight’s game in Toronto, though that obviously won’t be happening now. It further hobbles a rotation that has taken a few hits recently. Jonathan Cannon landed on the IL due a lower back strain earlier this month. Adrian Houser is away from the club for a few days on the paternity list.

Without Martin taking the ball tonight, the Sox will perhaps have to cobble together a bullpen game, which is unfortunate timing. They just played a doubleheader yesterday and used eight different relievers to get through the day. Tyler Alexander was the one guy in the bullpen who didn’t throw yesterday, so perhaps he will soak up some innings tonight, while González and Palisch provide two fresh arms. The club also doesn’t have a starter listed for Sunday, with Aaron Civale going on Saturday. Perhaps Houser will be back by Sunday or maybe another bullpen game will be in order.

Putting the short-term concerns aside, it’s always unnerving when a pitcher’s throwing arm is injured. Martin underwent Tommy John surgery in May of 2023, missing that entire season. He returned last year and logged 50 innings with a 4.32 earned run average. He’s added another 80 2/3 innings this year with a 3.91 ERA. Adding to that total will be on pause for now and the Sox will presumably provide some more information about how severe the injury is and how long they expect him to be out of action.

Martin will also need to be replaced in the rotation beyond today’s game. Once Houser is back, he’ll slot in alongside Civale, Shane Smith and Sean Burke. Mike Vasil has started his last three appearances and could perhaps take Martin’s spot.

Palisch, 26, is having a decent season but seems to be something of an emergency call. An undrafted free agent signing from 2022, he has never really popped up on the radar of prospect evaluators. He came into this year with a 4.24 ERA in 97 2/3 minor league innings.

Here in 2025, he has a 1.19 ERA in 53 Double-A innings, though that doesn’t paint the whole picture. His 7% walk rate is good but his 17.4% strikeout rate is subpar. He’s benefitted from a .225 batting average on balls in play, 79.8% strand rate and 1.7% home run to fly ball rate. Regardless of what his true skill level might be, he can help the Sox eat some innings. He has thrown either five or six frames in each of his past seven appearances.

Freeman, 27, was added to the club’s roster just last month. He has since thrown 3 1/3 innings over five appearances, allowing two earned runs on five hits and a walk while striking out three. He’ll now head into DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. If he were to pass through waivers unclaimed, he would stick with the Sox as non-roster depth. From 2021 to the present, he has thrown 166 2/3 minor league innings with a 3.89 ERA, 26.1% strikeout rate and 14.9% walk rate.

Photo courtesy of Thomas Shea, Imagn Images

Mariners Designate Rowdy Tellez For Assignment

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The Mariners have designated first baseman Rowdy Tellez for assignment, per a team announcement. His spot on the roster will go to outfielder/first baseman Luke Raley, who’s been activated from the injured list after missing seven weeks with an oblique strain.

Tellez, 30, is in his eighth big league season and has popped 11 home runs while serving as Seattle’s primary first baseman. Early in the year, he was expected to see more time at designated hitter for skipper Dan Wilson, but the injury to Raley and ongoing injury issues for infielder Jorge Polanco (who was accordingly relegated to DH work) pushed Tellez into the field on a regular basis.

After a disastrous start to his season, Tellez righted the ship in mid-April and has been a serviceable but flawed source of power in the heart of the Mariners’ order. He reached base just once in his first 23 plate appearances but has since swatted 11 homers and slugged .484. That power comes with a low average and bottom-of-the-barrel OBP, however. Tellez rarely walks, is easy to position against defensively due to his extreme-pull approach, and is measured by Statcast as the slowest player in baseball (eliminating virtually any chance of him reaching via infield hit).

Dating back to April 11, Tellez has taken 162 turns at the plate and is hitting .229/.265/.484. He’s been shielded almost entirely from left-handed pitching, receiving just 14 plate appearances and reaching base only twice (one single, one hit-by-pitch). He’s hitting .219/.257/.463 against right-handed pitching this year.

With Raley nearing a return, it seemed likely that either Tellez or fellow veteran first base option Donovan Solano could be pushed off the roster. Since both Tellez and Raley hit left-handed, the Mariners opted to move on from the veteran who can keep a platoon intact. Solano has helped his cause by hitting better over the past month, albeit in an excessively limited role. He’s batted .333/.394/.467 since May 20 but done so in only 33 plate appearances (26 of them against lefties).

For the time being, Solano and Raley will presumably platoon at first base. That’s not an ideal setup, as Raley is more comfortable in the outfield than at first and Solano has struggled this season overall. The Mariners will, at the very least, likely explore the trade market for righty-swinging options at first base in the weeks ahead. Dominic Canzone has provided slightly better-than-average offense in right field since being called up earlier this month (.233/.303/.400 in 33 plate appearances), but if he struggles like he has in two prior MLB seasons, the Mariners could move Raley to right field. That would set them up to either give prospect Tyler Locklear a run at first base or explore the trade market for a full-time upgrade either at first base or in right field.

The Mariners will have five days to trade Tellez or place him on waivers. He originally signed a minor league contract with Seattle but locked in a $1.5MM salary when he made the roster after a big spring performance. He’s still owed about $806K of that sum, as of this writing.

Any team that claims Tellez off waivers would assume the entirety of that remaining salary. If the M’s find an interested trade partner, they could include some cash to offset the salary in exchange for what would still likely be a nominal prospect return. Since waivers are a 48-hour process, we’ll know the outcome of Tellez’s DFA within a maximum of one week’s time. In the event that he clears waivers, Tellez has enough service time to elect free agency and retain the remaining money on this year’s salary.

Rockies Outright Keston Hiura

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June 19: Hiura cleared waivers and was outrighted back to Triple-A, according to the MLB.com transaction log. It’s not clear if he’ll elect free agency.

June 16: The Rockies announced that first baseman Michael Toglia has been recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque. Infielder Keston Hiura has been designated for assignment as the corresponding move. The club’s 40-man roster count drops to 39.

This is the reversal of a transaction from a few weeks back. On May 31st, Toglia was optioned to Albuquerque, with Hiura selected to the roster to take his place. Toglia had a nice season in 2024 but got out to an awful start in 2025.

Last year, he hit 25 home runs in just 116 games and took over as the clubs’ regular first baseman. His 32.1% strikeout rate was high and his batting average was low, but he drew walks at an 11.8% clip. His .218/.311/.456 line actually translated to a subpar 98 wRC+, thanks to the hitter-friendly nature of Coors Field, but that still made him one of the better hitters on a bad team.

This year, prior to being sent down, his walk rate fell to 8.7% and his strikeout rate climbed even higher to 39.1%. He currently has a .194/.266/.349 slash and a 55 wRC+. Since getting optioned, he has played 11 Triple-A games, with numbers in line with his 2024 season. He hit three home runs with an 11.8% walk rate and 29.4% strikeout rate for a .273/.353/.568 line and 112 wRC+.

Hiura, 28, got a small amount of big league playing time and didn’t do much with it. He got 21 plate appearances over eight games. He did not draw a walk but struck out seven times. He knocked four hits, including one double. It all added up to a .222/.333/.278 line and 71 wRC+.

Presumably, Toglia will now be retaking the regular first base job after this brief reset. In his absence, Hiura got a decent chunk of the time there, with utility players like Orlando Arcia and Kyle Farmer also chipping in.

Hiura now heads into DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Rockies can technically take five days to explore trades. There’s not likely to be a ton of interest. Hiura was performing well enough in the minors prior to coming up but it’s been the case for years now that he shows pop in the minors and then strikes out too much in the majors. He now has 1,105 big league plate appearances with 50 home runs but a massive 35.9% strikeout rate.

He exhausted his final option year with the Brewers in 2022, which pushed him into journeyman status. Over the past few years, he has repeatedly cleared waivers and signed minor league deals with clubs like the Tigers, Angels and Rockies, occasionally getting brief looks in the majors. If he clears waivers again, he’ll have the choice of electing free agency or reporting back to Albuquerque.

Photo courtesy of Rhona Wise, Imagn Images

Marlins Outright Luarbert Arias

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The Marlins sent right-hander Luarbert Arias outright to Triple-A Jacksonville, according to the MLB.com transaction log. He’d been designated for assignment last weekend when Miami called up Freddy Tarnok.

Miami added Arias to the 40-man roster at the beginning of last offseason. He was coming off a 3.04 ERA over 68 Triple-A innings and would have qualified for minor league free agency if the Fish didn’t select his contract. That put him on the doorstep of the majors, and he received his first MLB call within the season’s first week. Arias began his career with a three-inning scoreless appearance against the Mets on March 31. He gave up runs in each of his next three outings and was optioned back to Triple-A by the middle of April.

The 24-year-old had another brief MLB stint at the end of April. He’d been on optional assignment in Jacksonville since the start of May. Arias hasn’t had the same success he had there a year ago. His 3.93 ERA over 18 1/3 innings isn’t terrible, but he has recorded only seven strikeouts while issuing 13 walks. MLB opponents tagged him for 11 runs through 9 1/3 frames.

Arias has never been outrighted and has almost no MLB service time. He therefore doesn’t have the right to elect free agency. He’ll remain in Jacksonville without occupying a 40-man roster spot and try to recapture last year’s form. He would qualify for minor league free agency at the beginning of the offseason if he doesn’t get back onto the roster before then.

Pablo Reyes Elects Free Agency

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Pablo Reyes elected free agency after going unclaimed on waivers, according to the MLB.com transaction tracker. The Yankees had designated the out-of-options utilityman for assignment when they activated Giancarlo Stanton on Monday.

Reyes had been on New York’s active roster for the first two and a half months of the season. He broke camp after signing an offseason minor league deal. There wasn’t much playing time available for either Reyes or Oswald Peraza, another utility infielder who can’t be optioned. The Yankees essentially needed to decide between the two players once Stanton returned from his elbow injuries. They gave a longer leash to the 25-year-old Peraza, a former highly-regarded prospect whose bat has stalled in recent seasons.

The righty-hitting Reyes is a veteran journeyman whose primary asset is his versatility off the bench. He made 24 appearances overall but was only penciled into the starting lineup on seven occasions — four times at second base, twice at third base, and once in right field. He batted .194 in 34 trips to the plate. Reyes had similarly brief playing time with the Red Sox and Mets last season. His best season came two years ago, when he hit .287/.339/.377 in 64 games with Boston.

Reyes returns to free agency as a lifetime .245/.305/.342 hitter in a little over 600 MLB plate appearances. He has some experience at every position aside from catcher. He might be limited to minor league offers but should find interest as a depth piece. Reyes owns a .278/.349/.452 line in nearly 400 career Triple-A games.

Dodgers Select Jack Little

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The Dodgers announced they’ve selected reliever Jack Little onto the MLB roster. They optioned Emmet Sheehan to Triple-A Oklahoma City in a corresponding move. Tony Gonsolin was transferred from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man roster spot. Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register first observed that Little was in the clubhouse, while Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic noted that Sheehan was heading out.

Little gets his first big league call after five-plus seasons in the minor leagues. The 6’4″ righty has been a pure reliever dating back to his college days at Stanford. The Dodgers drafted him in the fifth round in 2019. Little has never been a high-end prospect but has posted solid numbers in the upper minors. He combined for a 3.79 ERA over 57 innings between the top two levels a year ago.

The 27-year-old Little has spent all of this year in OKC, allowing only 2.20 earned runs per nine across 32 2/3 frames. He’s 10-11 in save chances and has fanned a slightly above-average 24.3% of batters faced. He averages 94 MPH on his fastball while mixing in a slider and changeup. Little is an extreme fly-ball pitcher, but he’s done well at avoiding home runs in the minors. He has the sixth-lowest ERA among the 84 pitchers with 30+ innings in the Pacific Coast League this year.

Sheehan heads to OKC one day after being activated from the 60-day IL following Tommy John rehab. He pitched pretty well in his return last night, striking out six while working four innings of one-run ball against San Diego. The Dodgers evidently preferred a fresh arm in their bullpen rather than keeping Sheehan in the rotation in the short term. He’ll need to spend at least 15 days in the minor leagues unless he’s recalled to replace a pitcher going on the injured list.

Gonsolin’s move to the 60-day IL is even more notable. He went on the shelf on June 7 with elbow discomfort. The Dodgers announced that initial imaging didn’t reveal any UCL damage. While they haven’t provided any indication that has changed, they’ve already ruled him out for at least two months. Gonsolin has made seven starts this season in his return from an August ’23 Tommy John surgery. The 60-day clock backdates to his initial IL placement, but that still rules him out into the first week of August at the earliest.

Diamondbacks Sign Trevor Richards To Minor League Deal

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The Diamondbacks have signed right-hander Trevor Richards to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He has been assigned to Triple-A Reno alongside lefty Anthony Gose, per the southpaw’s tracker. It was reported earlier this week that the Snakes would be signing Gose but it wasn’t clear if it was a major or minor league deal.

Richards, 32, has had some major league success but has been in poor form for about a year now. The Blue Jays dealt him to the Twins at last year’s deadline but Richards lasted only 13 innings with Minnesota before being outrighted off the roster. In that time, he walked 11 opponents, a rate of 18.6% of batters faced. He also hit two other batters and issued seven wild pitches.

Here in 2025, he has signed minor league deals with the Cubs and Royals, getting a brief look in the majors with the latter club. He has thrown 19 1/3 minor league innings this year with a 4.19 earned run average, 25.6% strikeout rate and 13.6% walk rate. In his quick major league stint with Kansas City, he allowed four earned runs in three innings.

Prior to those struggles, he had a good run in the big leagues. He tossed 201 innings over the 2021-23 seasons with a 4.61 ERA, 31.3% strikeout rate and 10.9% walk rate. He earned one save and 25 holds in that time.

The Arizona bullpen has taken a few punches this season. The relief group was supposed to be anchored by A.J. Puk and Justin Martínez but both are currently out of commission. Martínez recently required Tommy John surgery and will be out for the year. Puk is on the IL with a flexor strain and was recently shut down due to some renewed discomfort. In addition to those two, Kendall Graveman and Christian Montes De Oca are also on the IL.

Amid those injuries, the club’s bullpen numbers are unsurprisingly poor. Arizona relievers have a collective 5.39 ERA, which puts them ahead of only the Nationals and Athletics. If they stay in the playoff race, adding relievers will surely be a deadline focus. For now, they’ll take chances on guys like Richards and Gose while hoping for the best.

Photo courtesy of Matt Marton, Imagn Images

Marlins Designate Connor Gillispie For Assignment

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The Marlins announced that they have selected right-hander Robinson Piña, a move that was reported earlier. In corresponding moves, righty Adam Mazur has been optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville and righty Connor Gillispie has been designated for assignment.

Gillispie, 27, was claimed off waivers from Atlanta in January. He earned a rotation job to start the season but couldn’t hold it. In six starts, he allowed 25 earned runs in 26 innings, leading to an unsightly 8.65 ERA.

That got him optioned down to Triple-A, where he has since logged 33 2/3 innings with a 4.28 ERA. While that was obviously a big improvement, luck was a big factor. He struck out just 15.7% of batters faced in the minors while giving out walks at an 11.4% clip. If it weren’t for a tiny .161 batting average on balls in play, he would have fared far worse, hence his 6.55 FIP.

He’s now been nudged off the 40-man roster and will likely end up on waivers in the coming days. His minor league work prior to this year was better. From 2021 to 2024, he logged 406 innings on the farm with a 4.12 ERA. His 9.6% walk rate was a tad high but he also punched out 24.1% of opponents. He is still optionable for the rest of this year and one further season, so perhaps a club with a need for depth and a plan to get Gillispie on track could have interest. If he clears outright waivers, he would stick with the Marlins as non-roster depth.

Photo courtesy of Ryan Sun, Imagn Images

Braves To Select Didier Fuentes

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The Braves are going to promote right-handed pitching prospect Didier Fuentes, reports Mark Bowman of MLB.com. The youngster will start tomorrow’s game against the Marlins. Corresponding moves will be required to add him to both the 40-man and active rosters.

It’s an extremely aggressive promotion, as Fuentes only just celebrated his 20th birthday two days ago. A fairly unheralded international signing out of Colombia, Fuentes has raised his stock as he has climbed the minor league ladder. Last year, he tossed 75 2/3 innings at the Single-A level with a 2.74 earned run average. He struck out 32.1% of batters faced while only giving out walks at a 6.9% pace.

That got him some prospect love ahead of 2025, with Baseball America giving him the #7 spot in Atlanta’s system coming into the year. They mentioned his mid-90s fastball and slider, while noting he was still working on a splitter to neutralize lefties.

Here in 2025, he has seemingly raised his stock even farther. He has gone from High-A to Double-A and Triple-A, tossing a combined 39 1/3 innings. The 4.81 ERA might not jump off the page but he has a 28.9% strikeout rate and 7.2% walk rate. He’s been hurt by a 58.4% strand rate, which is why his 2.81 FIP suggests he has deserved better this year.

Coming into the year, FanGraphs listed Fuentes as the #11 prospect in the Atlanta system but they now list him as third in the system and #82 in the entire league. Both FanGraphs and Kiley McDaniel of ESPN use Bryan Woo of the Mariners as a comp for Fuentes.

The Atlanta rotation has taken a few hits this year. AJ Smith-Shawver required Tommy John surgery and Reynaldo López has been sidelined by arthroscopic shoulder surgery. At the moment, the starting group consists of Chris Sale, Spencer Strider, Spencer Schwellenbach, Bryce Elder and Grant Holmes. It’s possible that Fuentes will just be making a spot start. The club just began a stretch of playing 13 games in a row, so he can give all the other starters an extra day of rest in the midst of that, while getting his first taste of the majors.

Photo courtesy of Brett Davis, Imagn Images

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