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Mariners Designate Casey Lawrence, Activate Trent Thornton

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The Mariners announced that right-hander Trent Thornton has been reinstated from the 15-day injured list.  To make room on the active roster, the M’s have once again designated righty Casey Lawrence for assignment.

Thornton returns after missing a month due to appendicitis.  The righty has allowed five homers in only 15 1/3 innings of work out of the Mariners’ bullpen, which has been the biggest culprit in Thornton’s 5.87 ERA.  A 16.9% strikeout rate also hasn’t helped, but in something of an all-or-nothing statistic, Thornton has a career-best 51% grounder rate and a .250 BABIP, so he has been successful when he has been able to keep the ball in the park.

In under two months’ time, Lawrence has already made an early bid for MLBTR’s most written-about player of 2025.  Lawrence has been designated for assignment six times in the last eight weeks, with Seattle logging five of those DFAs and the Blue Jays the other instance.  The right-hander has cleared waivers five of those six times (except for when the Jays claimed him away from the Mariners), and on three occasions Lawrence elected free agency before quickly re-signing with Seattle.

Chances are that Lawrence’s latest trip to DFA limbo will again result in the right-hander staying with the M’s, whether he just accepts an outright assignment or if he again clears waivers, elects free agency, and re-signs a new minor league deal.  Throughout this transactional whirlwind, Lawrence has also posted a 4.08 ERA over 17 2/3 innings with Seattle and Toronto, with only an 8.8K% but also a tiny 1.3BB%.

Braves Claim Jose Ruiz From Phillies

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The Braves announced that right-hander Jose Ruiz has been claimed off the Phillies’ waiver wire.  Atlanta has yet to announce a corresponding move for the 26-man roster, and a 40-man move doesn’t need to be made since the Braves only had 39 players on their 40-man roster.

Philadelphia designated Ruiz for assignment last week, after the righty posted an 8.16 ERA in 14 1/3 relief innings this season.  A 4.11 SIERA paints a better picture of Ruiz’s quality, as a .383 BABIP and a 57% strand rate contributed to that inflated ERA.  Still, Ruiz didn’t help his cause by allowing a lot of hard contact, and striking out only 17.6% of batters.  He also spent just under three weeks on the injured list in May due to neck spasms, and he was charged with seven earned runs (over three innings) over his three appearances after returning from the IL.

Ruiz has pitched in parts of the last nine Major League seasons, amassing a 4.55 ERA in 284 2/3 innings with four different teams (primarily the White Sox from 2018-23).  Inconsistency has marked Ruiz’s career, though he has been a solid bullpen piece during his better seasons — a 3.05 ERA over 65 innings for the AL Central champion White Sox in 2021, and a 3.71 ERA over 51 frames for the Phillies just last year.  Ruiz has always been a hard thrower, but his 95.7mph fastball this season is down a mile from the 96.7mph average he posted prior to 2025.

While the results haven’t been there this season, the Braves saw enough in Ruiz to put in a claim, and absorb the 30-year-old’s remaining 2025 salary (roughly $765.6K of a $1.225MM salary).  It isn’t a huge figure, and it’s enough for the Braves to take a flier on Ruiz and add him to the long list of pitchers cycled through the back of Atlanta’s struggling bullpen.

Dodgers Place Tony Gonsolin On 15-Day IL; Activate Michael Kopech, Kirby Yates

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The Dodgers’ injury-plagued bullpen got some reinforcements today, as the team activated Kirby Yates from the 15-day injured list and Michael Kopech from the 60-day injured list.  Right-hander Chris Stratton was designated for assignment to open up space for Kopech on the 26-man and 40-man rosters, while Yates returns to take the place of yet another injured pitcher, as Los Angeles placed Tony Gonsolin on the 15-day IL due to right elbow discomfort.

Turning to Gonsolin first, the idea of another elbow issue is particular ominous for a pitcher who is only just returning from a Tommy John surgery.  Recovering from that August 2023 procedure kept Gonsolin sidelined for all of last season, and then a back injury suffered during Spring Training delayed his 2025 debut until April 30, and Gonsolin has since posted a 5.00 ERA over 36 innings and seven starts.

It is perfectly normal for pitchers to look rusty in the wake of such long absences from the mound, though there hasn’t been a lot to love about Gonsolin’s 2025 performance.  Pluses include an above-average 24.2% strikeout rate and the fact that his 93.5mph fastball velocity matches his pre-surgery career average, though Gonsolin was never a high-velo pitcher.  Beyond those numbers, Gonsolin has been allowing a lot of hard contact and been walking batters (11.2BB%) at an ungainly rate, plus the home run increase that emerged in 2023 has carried over to 2025.

Any lingering elbow issues could explain these struggles, though Gonsolin and the Dodgers can only hope that this discomfort is only a temporary problem.  Gonsolin is surely disappointed over being sidelined again so soon after returning to action, and Los Angeles has now lost another arm from its starting rotation.

Even with Kopech and Yates activated today, the Dodgers’ injured list stands heavy with pitchers, as 14 hurlers remain sidelined.  Gonsolin, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, and Roki Sasaki comprise most of the rotation names on the list, with other starters like Gavin Stone, River Ryan, and Kyle Hurt gone for 2025 due to longer-term injuries.  Emmet Sheehan had a Tommy John surgery in May 2024 and is only in the early stages of a rehab assignment, but he could be available after the All-Star break.  Shohei Ohtani has also been ramping up his throwing progression and is expected to return to pitching in the second half, and by this point, the Dodgers may need Ohtani’s arm as much as the lineup has relied on his MVP-level bat.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May, and Justin Wrobleski comprise the current makeshift L.A. rotation, and Ben Casparius is the likeliest candidate to get starts in Gonsolin’s place.  The question must again be asked if the Dodgers’ staff will ever reach a true breaking point on the pitching front, as the club has remarkably remained a top contender (and last year’s World Series champion) in spite of the seemingly never-ending stream of injured arms.

Getting Kopech and Yates back will at least deepen the relief corps, which recently lost former closer Evan Phillips to a Tommy John surgery.  Tanner Scott remains the Dodgers’ first choice for saves but manager Dave Roberts recently said Scott wasn’t a lock for the closer role, so an experienced former closer like Yates or perhaps Kopech might get some consideration for ninth-inning work.

Yates had a 4.34 ERA over 18 2/3 innings for the Dodgers, though his peripherals suggest that Yates has suffered from a lot of bad luck.  The right-hander returns after a three-week stint on the IL due to a hamstring strain, while Kopech is making his season debut.  Kopech dealt with some forearm soreness early in Spring Training, and then developed a shoulder impingement near the end of camp that led to his placement on the 15-day and eventually the 60-day IL as he needed more time to properly rebuild his arm strength.

Los Angeles signed Stratton to a Major League deal on May 25, and this is already the second time the righty has been DFA’ed during his brief time in Dodger Blue.  Stratton cleared waivers, opted for free agency over an outright assignment to Triple-A, and then quickly re-signed with the Dodgers just yesterday to a new contract.  After allowing a run during an inning of work in yesterday’s game, Stratton has a 6.75 ERA over four innings and three total appearances with L.A.  It could be that today’s move is a paper transaction that could see Stratton soon back with the Dodgers in a few days’ time, or he could again choose free agency and this time seek out a role on a new team.

Royals Select Trevor Richards

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The Royals announced that right-hander Trevor Richards’ minor league contract has been selected to the 26-man roster.  Right-hander Jonathan Bowlan was optioned to Triple-A Omaha in the corresponding move.

It was almost exactly a month ago K.C. signed Richards, shortly after the reliever had been released from a previous minors deal with the Cubs.  Since Richards wasn’t called up to the majors during his brief tenure in Wrigleyville, his first appearance with the Royals will mark his season debut, and an eighth straight season of MLB action for the 32-year-old.

It has been some time, however, since Richards has been particularly effective at the big league level.  Since Opening Day 2022, Richards has a 4.95 ERA and a 12% walk rate over 202 innings with the Blue Jays and Twins.  While Richards managed an impressive 31.4% strikeout rate during the 2022-23 seasons, that statistic plummeted to 22.4% over 65 1/3 frames with Toronto and Minnesota last year.

The struggles carried over into Richards’ minor league performance this season, though he has somewhat righted the ship since joining the Royals organization.  Richards had a 7.27 ERA in 8 2/3 innings with the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate, but a far more impressive 1.69 ERA in 10 2/3 innings over 10 innings in Omaha.  With a 22.4K% and a 10.2BB% rate for the Royals’ top affiliate, Richards isn’t exactly in top form, yet it was enough to get him a look in the Show with Kansas City in need of a fresh arm.

Bowlan pitched 1 1/3 innings in yesterday’s 7-2 Royals loss to the White Sox, and he was charged with five runs (three earned) while allowing four walks and two hits.  Richards has often been a multi-inning reliever over his career, so he can eat some innings should circumstances arise this weekend.

Phillies Place Bryce Harper On 10-Day IL Due To Wrist Inflammation

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The Phillies announced that Bryce Harper has been placed on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to June 6) due to inflammation in his right wrist.  Utilityman Otto Kemp had his contract selected from Triple-A in a corresponding move, and no 40-man transaction was needed since the Phillies only had 39 men on their 40-man roster.  Philadelphia also sent right-hander Alan Rangel down to Triple-A while calling up righty Daniel Robert to provide a fresh arm for the bullpen.

Harper didn’t play in the Phils’ 5-4 loss to the Pirates yesterday, and manager Rob Thomson told reporters (including Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer) that Harper was being given a rest day to deal with a wrist problem that has been bothering the first baseman “for a while,” as Thomson put it.  Lauber wrote that it isn’t known if this current injury is similar to or a continuation of the right wrist issue that also nagged at Harper during the 2024 season.

It’s been a rough stretch overall for Harper on the health front, as he was hit on the right elbow by a Spencer Strider pitch on May 27 and then missed Philadelphia’s next five games.  No IL stint was ultimately required for that injury, though Harper had only one hit in 11 plate appearances after returning to the lineup.  Between both Harper’s wrist and any lingering soreness with his elbow, a proper IL placement seems like a good idea to allow Harper to get fully rested and healed up.

Harper is hitting .258/.368/.446 with nine home runs over 253 PA this season — good for a strong 129 wRC+ but down from Harper’s usual superstar levels of production.  While there’s never a good time to get drilled on the elbow by a Major League pitch, Harper’s painful encounter with Strider came at a particularly inopportune moment, as Harper had a .936 OPS in the 20 games prior to May 27.

With Harper either unavailable or not hitting much, the Phillies have hit a slump in the last week, losing seven of their last eight games.  Alec Bohm moved over to play first base in Harper’s previous absence and Edmundo Sosa played third base, so that will likely be the most standard alignment for the Phils while Harper is on the IL.  Weston Wilson could also factor into the infield picture if utilityman Sosa is spending more time in an everyday role, and Kemp has seen a lot of time at first, second, and third base (plus a handful of games at shortstop and in the corner outfield) during his four minor league seasons.

Kemp will be making his Major League debut whenever he first appears in a game for the Phillies, which marks quite a journey for a player who went undrafted in 2022.  Philadelphia signed Kemp as a free agent following the draft and he has only gotten better as he has risen through the minor league ranks, including some sensational numbers at Triple-A Lehigh Valley this year.  The 25-year-old Kemp is hitting .317/.417/.602 with over 264 Triple-A plate appearances, and he leads the International League with 14 home runs.

This kind of production is more than worthy of a look at the MLB level, and Kemp figures to also be part of the third base picture while Harper is out.  Like Bohm, Sosa, and Wilson, Kemp is also a right-handed hitter, so it doesn’t make for a smooth platoon situation.  Since Kemp has played some left field in Lehigh Valley, however, he might get some time in left field in place of the left-handed hitting Max Kepler if a southpaw is on the mound.

Blue Jays Outright Michael Stefanic

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The Blue Jays outrighted Michael Stefanic off their 40-man roster and assigned the infielder to Triple-A Buffalo after Stefanic cleared waivers, according to Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling.  Stefanic had the opportunity to elect free agency since he has been previously outrighted in his career, but he instead chose to remain in Toronto’s organization.

After signing a minor league deal with the Jays back in November, Stefanic had his contract selected to the MLB roster in early May since Toronto wanted more infield depth in the wake of Andres Gimenez’s quad strain.  Stefanic appeared in nine games for the Blue Jays and hit .182/.280/.182 over 25 plate appearances before he was designated for assignment earlier this week, as the Jays needed roster room to accommodate Gimenez’s return from the 10-day injured list.

The 29-year-old Stefanic has hit only .227/.314/.267 across 289 career PA in the majors over the last four seasons, with most of that experience coming with the Angels before his Blue Jays stint this year.  While known more for his defensive versatility than his bat, Stefanic has an eye-opening .344/.436/.468 slash line in 1561 career plate appearances at the Triple-A level.

Since this hot hitting in the minors has yet to translate to much success against MLB pitching, Stefanic may have felt more comfortable staying with the Jays rather than testing a potentially uncertain free agent market.  His removal from the 40-man roster will make a future call-up slightly trickier from a transactional standpoint, plus the Jays could also turn to Will Wagner, Orelvis Martinez, or Leo Jimenez (who are all on the 40-man) in the event of another infield vacancy on the active roster.

KBO’s Kiwoom Heroes Sign Stone Garrett

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The Kiwoom Heroes of the KBO League have signed outfielder Stone Garrett.  Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap News writes that Garrett will make roughly $35K on a short-term contract, as Garrett is joining the Heroes as an injury replacement for fellow outfielder Ruben Cardenas.  A right flexor injury will sideline Cardenas for roughly the next six weeks, which provides some idea as to the eventual length of Garrett’s stay with the South Korean team.

This isn’t Garrett’s first trip overseas, as he played 39 games with the Sydney Blue Sox during the 2016-17 Australian Baseball League season.  It was an excursion during Garrett’s time in the Marlins’ farm system, though it wasn’t until he joined the Diamondbacks as a minor league free agent in 2021 did Garrett get onto a path to the majors.  He made his MLB debut with Arizona in 2022, then received semi-regular action with the Nationals in 2023 before appearing in just two big league games with the Nats last season.

Garrett has hit .276/.341/.492 over 361 plate appearances in the Show, though a whopping .369 BABIP and a 30.2% strikeout rate undermine what is a very impressive set of bottom-line numbers.  Most (271) of Garrett’s 361 career playing time came with Washington in 2023, but that season ended in late August after Garrett broke his left ankle and fractured his left fibula after crashing into the outfield wall in pursuit of a home run.

Understandably, Garrett hasn’t looked quite in the same in the aftermath of such a major injury.  He hit .249/.348/.333 over 302 combined PA with the Nationals’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates in 2024, and he was hitting only .087/.176/.130 in his first 51 trips to the plate with Triple-A Rochester this season when the Nats released Garrett in late April.  According to Yoo, Garrett was on the verge of signing with a Mexican League team before joining the Heroes.

Though Garrett might only be a fill-in for Cardenas, a quality stint in the KBO League could get Garrett’s career back on track, and perhaps line him up for another contract in either a foreign league or with an MLB organization.  Garrett is still just 29 years old and he has two years of minor league options remaining, so that status might draw some particular interest from big league clubs looking for roster flexibility.

Blue Jays Outright Ali Sánchez

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TODAY: Sanchez has re-signed with the Blue Jays on a new minor league contract, as his MLB.com profile page indicates that he did indeed opt for free agency before quickly rejoining the club.  Sanchez has been assigned to Triple-A Buffalo.

JUNE 5: Catcher Ali Sánchez has been sent outright to Triple-A Buffalo, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment earlier this week. He has the right to elect free agency though it’s not currently clear if he will exercise that right.

Sánchez, 28, signed a minor league deal with the Jays in the offseason. He started the year with 28 Triple-A games, hitting five home runs to produce a solid .253/.324/.440 line and 104 wRC+ in those contests.

The Blue Jays have had Alejandro Kirk and Tyler Heineman as their big league catching duo for most of the year, with no other backstops on the 40-man roster. Heineman required a stint on the concussion-related injured list late last month, so Sánchez was called up. He was on the roster for just over a week, getting into five games and receiving 11 plate appearances. He struck out three times and got two hits, one of them being a double. Since he is out of options, he essentially had to be designated for assignment when Heineman was reinstated.

Now that he has cleared waivers, he has the right to elect free agency since he has previously been outrighted in his career. The Jays are probably hoping he will stick around, either by accepting the assignment or signing a new minor league deal after electing free agency. The Jays are once again down to just two catchers on the 40-man roster, so having non-roster depth will be important. They also have Christian Bethancourt at the Triple-A level but he just spent a few weeks on the minor league IL. Phil Clarke is putting up decent numbers for the Bisons but has no major league experience.

Sánchez has generally produced decent offensive numbers in the minors, with a .269/.348/.423 line and 96 wRC+ dating back to the start of 2022. He hasn’t hit well in the majors, with a .176/.217/.222 line, but has only received 121 plate appearances scattered across multiple seasons dating back to 2020. Baseball Prospectus has generally given him strong grades for his Triple-A defense.

Photo courtesy of Kevin Jairaj, Imagn Images

Guardians Release Cody Bolton

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The Guardians released right-hander Cody Bolton, according to the MLB.com transaction log. Cleveland had designated him for assignment a week ago when they needed a 40-man roster spot to activate David Fry from the injured list.

Bolton has spent the past month on the injured list with Triple-A Columbus. The Guardians could have taken him off the 40-man roster by placing him on the MLB 60-day IL, but that would have required paying him the prorated $760K minimum salary until he was healthy. They opted to designate him for assignment instead. Teams cannot place injured players on outright waivers, so the DFA made a release a formality.

The Guardians acquired Bolton from the Mariners in a cash trade in April. The 26-year-old made one appearance in a Cleveland uniform. He tossed two innings and allowed three runs on four hits. He’d otherwise been in Triple-A, where he threw four frames of two-run ball with five strikeouts. Bolton has also logged some MLB action with the Pirates and Mariners and carries a 5.79 ERA over 42 career innings.

There aren’t any specifics on Bolton’s injury. In situations like this, teams will often try to re-sign the released player to a minor league contract. That’d keep him in the organization without costing them a 40-man roster spot or an MLB salary. Cleveland could look to go that route with Bolton, but he’ll have the option to explore other opportunities if he’d like in free agency.

Cardinals Sign Zach Plesac To Minor League Deal

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Zach Plesac is back in affiliated ball. The Cardinals announced that they’ve signed the righty to a minor league deal and assigned him to Triple-A Memphis. Plesac had spent the past couple months pitching in the Atlantic League for the Long Island Ducks.

Plesac pitched well in the independent ranks. He turned in a 2.84 ERA with a 22% strikeout rate over seven starts. His stuff was sharp enough for the Cardinals to view him as a viable depth starter. Plesac needed to pitch his way back to affiliated ball after a rough 2024 season with the Angels. He only made three MLB starts and was blitzed for 11 runs across 12 innings. Things didn’t go much better in Triple-A, where he allowed a 5.69 ERA through 99 2/3 frames spanning 18 appearances.

It has been a while since Plesac was an effective starter. He was brilliant for Cleveland during the shortened 2020 season, turning in a 2.28 ERA over eight outings. That came against a generally weak slate of lineups with teams playing a limited schedule, though, and the former 12th-round pick wasn’t able to build off it. He owns a 4.86 ERA in 58 MLB appearances since that season.

St. Louis has had the best rotation health of any team this year. They’ve only used six starters. Sonny Gray, Miles Mikolas, Matthew Liberatore, Andre Pallante and Erick Fedde have each taken all 12 turns. Steven Matz briefly joined the group when they used a six-man rotation to navigate a busy part of the schedule. He started twice and is now back in the bullpen.

They have another hectic stretch coming up, as they only have one off day (on June 16) for the remainder of the month. That could lead them to go back to a six-man rotation. Liberatore also left yesterday’s outing a little early with general fatigue, though there’s no indication it’ll impact his ability to make his next start. John Denton of MLB.com suggested this week that pitching prospect Michael McGreevy could be recalled as soon as this Sunday to fill out the staff — presumably with Matz staying in the bullpen. If that’s how things play out, Plesac can backfill the Triple-A rotation.

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