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Royals Promote Jac Caglianone

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June 2: The Royals formally announced that Caglianone’s contract has been selected from Triple-A Omaha. Their 40-man roster is now full. Outfielder Dairon Blanco was optioned to Omaha to clear a space on the active roster. Kansas City is off today, so Caglianone’s debut will come tomorrow in St. Louis against Cardinals righty Andre Pallante.

June 1: One of baseball’s top hitting prospects is headed to the majors, as ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports that the Royals are calling up Jac Caglianone.  The Royals have an off-day on Monday, which lines Caglianone up for his big league debut on Tuesday when the Royals start a series in St. Louis against the Cardinals.  There are only 39 players on Kansas City’s 40-man roster, so the club can select Caglianone’s contract on Tuesday and then make just one corresponding transaction to create space on the active roster.

It was less than a year ago that Caglianone was still awaiting his draft call, as the University of Florida product was selected just in the 2024 draft when Kansas City took him sixth overall.  Caglianone joins Cam Smith and Nick Kurtz as 2024 first-rounders that have already made their way to the Show, and Caglianone has (as you might expect) forced the issue by obliterating minor league pitching.  While he had only a .690 OPS in 126 plate appearances at high-A ball in 2024, Caglianone has a combined .323/.391/.600 slash line in 225 combined PA at the Double-A and Triple-A levels this year.

Caglianone just played in his 12th Triple-A game today, so as dominant as the 22-year-old slugger has been, a case can be made that the Royals are being hasty in bringing him up to the majors this early in his pro career.  That said, as MLBTR’s Steve Adams noted just a few days ago, K.C. might’ve felt a bit of added motivation due to how little the team has gotten from its lineup, particularly in the outfield.

Today’s 1-0 loss to the Tigers marked the Royals’ sixth shutout loss of the season.  Kansas City is tied with the Pirates for the second-lowest run total (194) in baseball, ahead of only the woeful Rockies.  With the Royals ranking at or near the bottom of the league in several other major offensive categories, something had to give, especially since the team’s strong rotation was almost single-handedly keeping K.C. in the AL Central race.

The seeds for Caglianone’s quick promotion were planted when he made his first appearance as an outfielder with Double-A NW Arkansas back in late April.  Both a star first baseman and pitcher during his college days, Caglianone gave up on pitching to solely focus on hitting as a professional, and he has received a regular dose (though not an exclusive position change) of right field work over the last five weeks of minor league action.

With Vinnie Pasquantino playing first base in K.C. and several players getting cycled through the DH spot, putting Caglianone into right field is a logical way on paper for the Royals to both get a star prospect to the majors, and to help solve their longstanding need for outfield help.  Even as the Royals reached the playoffs in 2024, their entire outfield was a major weak link, and Kansas City’s attempts to upgrade the position over the offseason just didn’t really pan out.  Caglianone’s promotion is the latest step in a shake-up that has already seen MJ Melendez optioned to Triple-A in April, and Hunter Renfroe released earlier this week.

The left-handed hitting Caglianone figures to split time between right field, first base, and probably DH on occasion.  Drew Waters and Kyle Isbel will continue to platoon in center field, while Mark Canha, Michael Massey, and Jonathan India will likely share left field duties, with Massey/India also playing at second base and Canha likely getting some time in right field spelling Caglianone against some southpaws.  Broadly speaking, manager Matt Quatraro could be creative with his lineup given how Bobby Witt Jr. and Maikel Garcia are the only regulars with above-average production, and even Witt’s 121 wRC+ is a sizeable step back from his MVP runner-up season in 2024.

It makes for a pressurized situation for Caglianone in his first taste of MLB action, as K.C. fans have, if anything, felt Caglianone was overdue for a promotion.  Royals GM J.J. Picollo spoke of the situation to Passan earlier this week, saying “The hardest part about this for us is we’re trying to do what’s best for the player.  That’s ultimately what this is.  You want the player to be as prepared as he can when he comes in the major leagues.  It’s not fair to any player, whether it’s Jac Caglianone or whoever, when a team may be scuffling offensively, to try to put it on him and hope he’s going to come save the day.”

Caglianone’s minor league numbers indicate that he is ready for a step up in competition.  MLB Pipeline ranked him as the 22nd-best prospect in baseball prior to the season, ESPN had him 29th, and The Athletic’s Keith Law (60th) and Baseball America (63rd) also had the slugger deeper in their rankings.  The pundits agree that Caglianone is a gifted hitter with huge power and exit-velocity numbers, but the only question is whether or not there’s too much swing-and-miss in his game to handle big league pitching.  Caglianone has done well in posting respectable strikeout rates in the minors this year though his chase rate is still ungainly.

Due to his inclusion in the top-100 lists, Caglianone qualifies as a Prospect Promotion Incentive player.  This means that if he finishes in the top two in AL Rookie of the Year voting, he’d earn a full year of service time despite not being called up until June.  The timing of Caglianone’s call-up means that if he stays in the majors for the remainder of 2025, he’d be on pace to earn Super Two status and an extra year of arbitration eligibility down the road.

Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea — Imagn Images

Dodgers Place Luis Garcia On 15-Day Injured List

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The Dodgers have placed right-hander Luis Garcia on the 15-day injured list due to a right adductor strain.  The placement is retroactive to May 29.  Righty Noah Davis was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move.

Now in his 13th Major League season, Garcia has a 4.50 ERA in 26 innings for Los Angeles, along with a below-average 19.8% strikeout rate and an ungainly 12.9% walk rate.  Garcia’s 4.13 SIERA is a bit more favorable since the groundball specialist has been hampered by a .364 BABIP, but he is also allowing a lot of hard contact.

Garcia signed a minor league contract with L.A. in February and locked in $1.5MM in guaranteed salary when that contract was selected in advance of the Dodgers’ early Opening Day in Tokyo.  While his results have been up and down over his lengthy career, Garcia has generally been pretty durable, which probably helped his bid to make the team given the injury woes that have only worsened for the Dodgers’ pitching staff as the season has developed.

Incredibly, Garcia is the 15th pitcher currently on the team’s injured list.  (That number could be viewed as 16, if you consider that Shohei Ohtani is still going through his pitching rehab.)  Some help may be coming soon, as manager Dave Roberts told MLB.com’s Sonja Chen and other media today that relievers Michael Kopech and Kirby Yates could both be activated within the next week.

Getting those two quality bullpen arms back is a nice boost for the team, but needless to say, pitching health is once again a major subplot of the Dodgers’ season.  While the elite L.A. offense has carried the Dodgers back to first place in the NL West, pitching figures to be a deadline need for Los Angeles regardless of how many hurlers have returned from the IL by July 31.

Dominic Smith Opts Out Of Minor League Deal With Yankees

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Dominic Smith has become a free agent after triggering the opt-out clause in his minor league deal with the Yankees, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports.  Smith wasn’t an Article XX(b) free agent with a built-in June 1 opt-out date in any minor league contract, but his deal still apparently contained some opt-out flexibility if he hadn’t been called up to New York’s active roster.

This is the second time in three months that Smith has opted out of a minors deal with the Yankees, as he also opted out of his initial contract near the end of Spring Training but re-signed with the club just after Opening Day.  Smith has since been playing at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, hitting .255/.333/.448 with eight home runs over 189 plate appearances.  Smith has primarily been a left fielder, with a good chunk of playing time at first base and DH and a handful of games in right field.

Despite his decent numbers and his defensive flexibility, it isn’t hard to understand why the Yankees haven’t felt the need to bring Smith to the majors.  Even with Giancarlo Stanton missing the entire season to date, Ben Rice capably stepped into the regular DH role, and Paul Goldschmidt has been excellent at first base.  The outfield picture is also crowded between Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger, Jasson Dominguez, and Trent Grisham surging into more playing time than expected due to some unexpectedly big production at the plate.  With Stanton slowly working his way back to good health, the situation will only get more crowded in the Bronx barring future injuries, so another new contract might not be in the cards for Smith if he wants a clearer path to Major League playing time.

A former top prospect and near-breakout star during his time with the Mets from 2017-22, Smith’s production has tailed off and he has become something of a journeyman since leaving Queens.  Smith has been a part of six different organizations since January 2023, and has hit .247/.321/.370 over 893 PA with the Nationals, Red Sox, and Reds.

Blue Jays Place Daulton Varsho On 10-Day IL, Activate Erik Swanson

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Prior to today’s 8-4 win over the Athletics, the Blue Jays placed center fielder Daulton Varsho on the 10-day injured list and activated right-hander Erik Swanson from the 60-day IL to make his season debut.  Left-hander Easton Lucas was optioned to Triple-A and second baseman/outfielder Davis Schneider was called up in the corresponding moves.

Varsho is dealing with a left hamstring strain suffered in Saturday’s game, as he came up limping while rounding second base in an attempt to stretch a double into a triple.  Varsho was immediately removed from the game and an IL placement seemed inevitable, though manager John Schneider told MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson and other reporters today that Varsho sustained a relatively less-serious Grade 1 strain.

This still means Varsho will miss at least a couple of weeks of action, and it puts him back on the IL for the second time this season.  Varsho had surgery last September on his right rotator cuff, and spent the first month of the 2025 campaign finishing off his injury rehab and getting his throwing arm back in game-ready shape.  Since making his season debut on April 29, Varsho is hitting .207/.240/.543 with eight home runs over an even 100 plate appearances, displaying his usual recipe of power but not much in the way of average, OBP, or steady contact (Varsho has struck out in 31 of those 100 PA).

Beyond the numbers at the plate, Varsho has also displayed his customary stellar glovework in center field.  The Jays have another quality defender in Myles Straw who can fill in while Varsho is out, and as Matheson notes, the club will probably re-deploy the Straw/Nathan Lukes platoon used in center field during Varsho’s first IL stint.  George Springer, Alan Roden, or Jonatan Clase could also rotate into center field in a pinch, though Schneider said Springer had a minor ankle tweak in today’s game.

While it doesn’t appear as though Springer’s ankle issue is too serious, Toronto can hardly afford another outfield injury with Varsho and Anthony Santander already sidelined.  Given the thin outfield, Davis Schneider is likely to primarily be used in left field during his latest stint in the majors.  Second baseman Andres Gimenez is also expected back from his own IL stint in a few days’ time, and the resulting shuffle in the infield could see the hot-hitting Addison Barger moved into corner outfield duty.

Turning to the mound, Swanson ended up as the winning pitcher today, despite looking a little shaky (1 ER on a wild pitch, and a hit batter) in his lone inning of work.  A median nerve entrapment sidelined Swanson during Spring Training, and he ended up being moved to the 60-day IL in early May when some forearm soreness delayed the start of a planned minor league rehab assignment.

Overall, Swanson has been quite solid in his two-plus seasons in Toronto, as he was outstanding in 2023 and then recaptured that form in the second half of the 2024 campaign.  However, the first half of 2024 was marred by injuries, as well as some off-the-field trauma when Swanson’s four-year-old son was hospitalized after being hit by a car in February of that year.  (Fortunately, young Toby was released from hospital within two weeks.)

Yankees Select Carlos Carrasco; Jake Woodford Triggers Opt Out

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3:29PM: Right-hander Yerry De los Santos was optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding move for Carrasco, the Yankees announced.

12:56PM: Right-hander Jake Woodford has opted out of his minor league deal with the Yankees and become a free agent, according to a report from MLBTR’s Steve Adams. In addition, Jack Curry of YES Network reports that the Yankees are selecting the contract of right-hander Carlos Carrasco from Triple-A Scranton and that he’ll be active ahead of tonight’s game against the Dodgers. A corresponding 40-man move won’t be necessary as the Yankees have multiple spots available, but room will need to be made for Carrasco on the active roster.

The 28-year-old Woodford was a first-round pick by the Cardinals back in 2015 who made his major league debut during the shortened 2020 campaign. That rookie campaign didn’t go especially well as he posted a 5.57 ERA in a multi-inning relief role, but he did enjoy stronger seasons in 2021 and ’22. Across those two years, Woodford pitched to a 3.26 ERA (121 ERA+) with a 3.93 FIP in 116 frames. He struck out just 15.4% of opponents faced during that time against a 7.5% walk rate, though he made up for his lack of strikeout stuff and pinpoint command in part thanks to a strong 45.8% groundball rate. His lack of strikeouts caught up to him after that, however, as he posted a lackluster 6.23 ERA with a 6.61 FIP over 47 2/3 innings of work in 2023 before being non-tendered by the Cardinals that November.

Since then, Woodford has been bouncing around the league as a journeyman. The 2024 season saw him split time between the White Sox and the Pirates, for whom he pitched to a 7.97 ERA overall across 35 innings of work with a 4.94 FIP while in the majors. At the Triple-A level, the right-hander posted a solid enough 3.93 ERA across 94 innings. His results weren’t enough for him to keep a roster spot with the Pirates over the offseason, but after he was designated for assignment he elected free agency and found a minor league deal with the Rockies during the winter. Woodford was granted his release by the Rockies prior to Opening Day when he didn’t break camp with the club and then latched on with the Yankees, for whom he’s posted a 4.54 ERA in 39 2/3 innings of Triple-A work.

It seemed possible that Woodford’s time to return to the majors had come when the Yankees were forced to use seven pitchers in last night’s blowout loss to the Dodgers, but the righty triggered his opt out clause and will now return to free agency after the Yankees decided to turn to Carrasco instead. It will be the 38-year-old’s second stint with the Yankees this season. The right-hander made the Opening Day roster after a number of injuries left the Yanks with questions in their rotation, but Carrasco is far removed from his days as a mid-rotation arm in Cleveland at this point and surrendered a 5.91 ERA and 5.30 FIP across 32 innings of work with the Bronx earlier this year. Despite those lackluster numbers, Carrasco is a good bet to offer volume at a time where the Yankees bullpen is sure to be gassed, and he’s been universally hailed over his 16 seasons in the majors as a fantastic clubhouse presence.

Rangers Place Nathan Eovaldi On Injured List, DFA Tucker Barnhart

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The Rangers are placing right-hander Nathan Eovaldi on the 15-day injured list, according to a report from Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News. Right-hander Codi Heuer is being selected to the big league roster to replace Eovaldi on the pitching staff, while catcher Tucker Barnhart was designated for assignment to make room for Heuer on the 40-man roster. It’s not yet clear who will replace Barnhart on the active roster.

Eovaldi has been utterly dominant in his age-35 campaign, with a 1.56 ERA through 12 starts this year. His last start on May 27 was abbreviated due to fatigue in his right triceps, and his departure from that game was initially labeled as precautionary. Losing him for any amount of time is a brutal blow to an already struggling Rangers club, but the good news is that manager Chris Young told reporters (including McFarland) that this IL stint is still largely out of precaution; Eovaldi isn’t dealing with any structural damage, but the team is just hoping to get the veteran additional time to heal up. His IL stint can be backdated to May 28, meaning that Eovaldi could return as soon as June 12 against the Twins. Eovaldi’s spot in the rotation is expected to be taken by Kumar Rocker, who Young suggested will come off the injured list on Wednesday.

In the short-term, Eovaldi’s spot on the roster will go to Heuer. The right-hander turns 29 next month, but hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2021. He excelled with the White Sox out of the bullpen during his rookie season in 2020 and then was included alongside Nick Madrigal in the trade that sent Craig Kimbrel from the Cubs to the White Sox at the 2021 trade deadline. At the time of the deal, Heuer looked like a future high-leverage arm and posted a solid 3.14 ERA in 28 2/3 innings of work down the stretch for the Cubs.

Unfortunately, Heuer underwent Tommy John surgery in Spring Training of 2022. He missed that entire season, and then missed all of the 2023 season as well when he suffered an elbow fracture while rehabbing from that surgery. The devastating sequence of injuries led the Cubs to non-tender Heuer following the 2023 season. He signed a minor league contract with the Rangers prior to the 2024 season and has remained in the organization ever since. He finally made it back to a professional mound earlier this year and has pitched quite well at Triple-A, with a 3.27 ERA in 22 innings of work to go with a 26.3% strikeout rate. Heuer will now have an opportunity to re-establish himself as a potential late-inning arm in the majors for a Rangers club that could use additional help in the bullpen with top setup man Chris Martin on the shelf.

As for Barnhart, the journeyman catcher is in his 12th season as a big leaguer. After winning two Gold Glove awards in his seven seasons as the primary catcher for the Reds from 2015 to 2021, Barnhart signed with Detroit for the 2022 season and appeared in 94 games but has bounced around the league as a part-time player ever since. After stints with the Cubs and Diamondbacks in 2023 and ’24, Barnhart was serving as a third catcher for the Rangers this year while Kyle Higashioka was getting more regular reps at DH. He made it into just eight games with the club in total, however, and now the Rangers will have one week to either trade Barnhart or attempt to pass him through waivers. If Barnhart clears waivers, he’ll have more than enough service time to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency.

Phillies Designate Jose Ruiz For Assignment

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The Phillies announced this morning that they’ve designated right-hander Jose Ruiz for assignment. The move makes room for right-hander Seth Johnson to be recalled to the big league roster.

Ruiz, 30, was a valuable piece of the Philadelphia bullpen as recently as last year but has struggled badly so far in the 2025 campaign. In 14 1/3 innings of work across 16 appearances, the right-hander has pitched to an ugly 8.16 ERA with a 5.39 FIP to this point in the season. Some of that can be chalked up to a low strand rate and high BABIP that indicate poor luck with batted balls and sequencing, but Ruiz’s career-worst 17.6% strikeout rate and elevated 8.8% walk rate have served to exacerbate an overall profile that already lent itself to elevated home run rates.

The Phillies will have one week to either trade Ruiz or place him on outright waivers. If the righty goes unclaimed, he has the necessary service time to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency. A veteran of parts of nine big league seasons, Ruiz has enough past success on his resume that it’s not hard to imagine him attracting interest either on the waiver wire or in free agency. In addition to last year’s 3.71 ERA in 51 innings with the Phillies, he also pitched to a 3.00 ERA in 69 innings for the White Sox from 2020-21, with a 3.98 FIP and a 23.9% strikeout rate. If one of the league’s other clubs can help Ruiz get back into something approaching that form, it would be a major boost to virtually any relief corps around the league.

Replacing Ruiz on the roster is Johnson, who the Phillies acquired in the Gregory Soto trade last summer. The 26-year-old made his big league debut with the Phillies last year in a spot start that went quite poorly, as he surrendered nine runs in 2 1/3 frames. The righty has a 4.02 ERA in 56 innings of work for the Phillies at the Triple-A level over the past two years, although he’s primarily been used out of the bullpen this season to lackluster results (4.91 ERA). That’s the role Johnson figures to fill with the big league club this time around, providing multi-inning relief as necessary for the club while he’s on the roster.

Red Sox Place Justin Slaten On IL, DFA Blake Sabol

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The Red Sox announced a flurry of roster moves this morning. Right-hander Justin Slaten was placed on the 15-day injured list with shoulder inflammation, and was replaced on the roster by right-hander Luis Guerrero. Meanwhile, Boston selected the contract of infielder/outfielder Nate Eaton. Infielder Nick Sogard was optioned to Triple-A in order to make room on the active roster, while catcher Blake Sabol was designated for assignment to clear a 40-man roster spot. The additions of Eaton and Guerrero were previously reported last night.

Slaten, 27, has emerged as a crucial piece of the Red Sox bullpen over the past two years. Plucked from the Rangers in the 2023 Rule 5 draft, the right-hander has posted a 3.09 ERA with an even stronger 2.77 FIP across 78 2/3 innings of work. That’s been enough to make him one of the top set-up men on the roster in both of his years with the Red Sox, serving in a high-leverage role setting up closer Kenley Jansen last year and Aroldis Chapman this season. Impressive as those results have been, however, Slaten’s taken a bit of a step back this year. His strikeout rate has dipped to 17.8%, his walk rate has jumped to 7.8%, and he’s shaved nearly ten points off his ground ball rate relative to last year.

Perhaps today’s placement on the injured list offers some level of explanation for that step backwards in production. The right-hander told reporters (including Chris Cotillo of MassLive) that he’s just dealing with some “fatigue” in his shoulder and hopes to be back in action after only a minimum stint. Losing a key piece of the bullpen is never a good thing, but if a two-week trip to the shelf can help Slaten get back to the dominant form he flashed in 2024 that could be well worth it for the club.

As for Sabol, the 27-year-old is a fellow alumnus of the Rule 5 draft. Selected by the Giants in the 2022 installment of the draft, Sabol hit .243/.313/.392 (95 wRC+) in 121 games with the Giants between the 2023 and ’24 seasons while splitting time between catching and the outfield. Unfortunately, Sabol did not show enough offensive potential to serve as a regular outfield option nor enough growth defensively behind the plate to be rostered as a regular catcher in the eyes of San Francisco. That led the club to designate him for assignment back in January, and he was traded to the Red Sox shortly thereafter.

Sabol has largely been a depth option for the Red Sox this year, and has only appeared in eight games with the big league club with a -14 wRC+ in that extremely limited opportunity. The Red Sox will have one week to trade Sabol or attempt to pass him through waivers. If he goes unclaimed, Boston will have the opportunity to outright him to the minor leagues to use as non-roster depth going forward. Connor Wong and Carlos Narvaez have settled in as the club’s primary catching tandem, and depth options like Yasmani Grandal and Seby Zavala remain in the fold at the minor league level.

Brewers Designate Tyler Alexander For Assignment

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The Brewers announced this morning that they’ve designated left-hander Tyler Alexander for assignment. The move makes room for southpaw Jose Quintana to be activated from the injured list.

Alexander, 31 next month, has pitched to an ugly 6.19 ERA in 36 1/3 innings of work to this point in the season. That’s 35% worse than league average by ERA+, but it must be noted that Alexander’s peripherals tell a different story. An elevated .331 BABIP and comically low 47.2% strand rate indicate poor fortune for the lefty when it comes to batted balls and sequencing, and that’s reflected in his 3.58 FIP and 4.27 SIERA.

Both of those are fairly solid figures, and it’s not hard to imagine Alexander bouncing back if offered the opportunity to do so by another club. Alexander’s career 4.67 ERA hardly jumps off the page, but his ability to handle multiple roles and eat innings should make him an attractive arm for teams in need of pitching help. The Brewers will have one week to either trade the lefty or place him on outright waivers. If he clears waivers, Alexander could be outrighted to the minor leagues but has the requisite service time to reject an assignment in favor of free agency.

Alexander’s departure makes room for the return of Quintana to the active roster. The lefty made six starts with an impressive 2.65 ERA despite a lackluster 4.56 FIP for Milwaukee earlier this year but went on the shelf with a shoulder impingement in early May. Quintana is set to rejoin the club’s rotation today, taking the ball against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, and will round out a staff that had previously been relying on just four pitchers: Rookie Quinn Priester and Chad Patrick as well as veterans Freddy Peralta and Aaron Civale. Tobias Myers, Elvin Rodriguez, and Logan Henderson have been called upon to fill in as necessary throughout the season but are all currently in the minor leagues.

Quintana’s return to action comes at a time when the Brewers are attempting to turn what had been a tough start to the season around. They’ve won their last six games in a row, putting them back up above .500 with a 31-28 record, and now sit just 2.5 games back in the Wild Card race. First baseman Rhys Hoskins has helped to carry a lineup that’s finally beginning to heat up, and Brandon Woodruff is expected to make his long-awaited return to the rotation in the not-too-distant future as well.

Astros Promote Jacob Melton

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June 1: The Astros today announced Melton’s promotion to the big leagues. In corresponding moves, Dezenzo was placed on the 10-day injured list due to left hand inflammation while right-hander Ronel Blanco was transferred to the 60-day injured list.

May 31: The Astros are poised to select the contract of outfielder Jacob Melton, per a report from Ari Alexander of KPRC2. A corresponding move is not yet known, but Houston will need to create room on both the 40-man and active rosters in order to promote Melton.

Melton, 24, was Houston’s second-round pick in the 2022 draft. He is rated as the club’s #2 prospect by MLB Pipeline and became the club’s top prospect according to Baseball America’s ranking when fellow youngster Cam Smith graduated from prospect status earlier this month. Scouts have typically viewed Melton as a roughly average offensive performer, with above average raw power and solid bat-to-ball skills that are held back by an aggressive approach at the plate that leads to poor swing decisions and struggles identifying certain offspeed pitches.

Those flaws at the plate may restrict Melton’s offensive upside, but he’s universally lauded as a solid contributor both in the field and on the basepaths. Additionally, whatever concerns scouts may have about Melton’s approach haven’t stopped him from succeeding in the minors to this point. In 17 games at the Triple-A level so far this year, Melton has hit an impressive .254/.371/.508. That’s good for a 132 wRC+ even in the inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League. Given those solid numbers, it’s not hard to see why the Astros have decided to give their young outfielder a shot at the big league level.

The timing of Melton’s promotion is especially prudent considering Houston’s current lineup situation. The switch-hitting Victor Caratini has been the club’s only regular hitter who bats from the left side ever since Yordan Alvarez went on the injured list in late April. Meanwhile, center fielder Jake Meyers is the club’s only true outfielder on the roster at the moment; longtime second baseman Jose Altuve has begun to split time between left field, DH, and the keystone this year, while both Smith and Zach Dezenzo have become fixtures in the corner outfield mix as well despite spending the vast majority of their minor league careers at third base.

Chas McCormick was also on the roster as a true outfielder alongside Meyers, but he was placed on the injured list today due to an oblique strain and replaced by infielder Shay Whitcomb on the roster. Altuve, Smith, and Dezenzo may have been enough to handle the outfield corners even without McCormick, but Dezenzo left today’s game with what the organization referred to as “left hand discomfort” and (according to Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle) is scheduled to undergo imagine tomorrow morning. With Dezenzo potentially out as well, it makes plenty of sense for Houston to get a lefty bat back into the lineup and shore up an outfield mix in desperate need of reinforcements by bringing Melton into the fold.

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