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Royals Release Nelson Velazquez

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The Royals released Nelson Velázquez this afternoon. The news was announced by their Triple-A affiliate in Omaha. The club also announced that they’ve activated Cavan Biggio, suggesting the veteran infielder has agreed to accept the minor league assignment after being optioned over the weekend. Velázquez had already been outrighted off Kansas City’s 40-man roster during Spring Training, so this does not impact the MLB roster count.

Velázquez landed with Kansas City in an under-the-radar deadline trade in 2023. The Royals took a flier on the power-hitting outfielder while dealing reliever José Cuas to the Cubs in a one-for-one swap. Both players had some success early on with their new organizations, but it proved fleeting in each case.

The 26-year-old Velázquez drilled 14 home runs in his first 40 games as a Royal. He hit .233 with a .299 on-base percentage, though the power jolt was enough for him to open the ’24 season as Matt Quatraro’s primary designated hitter. Velázquez was unable to maintain anything close to the pace of his previous year. He managed eight longballs in a career-high 230 plate appearances. His already middling batting average and on-base marks each went in the wrong direction. He finished the season with a .200/.274/.366 batting line while striking out nearly 27% of the time.

Velázquez has been unable to turn things around early this year. He hit .208 in 12 Spring Training games and was batting .202/.298/.377 across 131 plate appearances in Omaha. Velázquez is averaging a robust 92.5 MPH on his batted balls in the minors, but he’s striking out in over a quarter of his trips while hitting a lot of infield pop-ups. He doesn’t have much to fall back on beyond the power, as he’s a poor defensive outfielder who has spent more time as a DH this year. He’ll presumably look for another minor league opportunity elsewhere.

J.P. Feyereisen Elects Free Agency

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Right-hander J.P. Feyereisen has elected free agency, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. The Dodgers designated him for assignment a few days ago. The log shows that he was sent outright to Triple-A Oklahoma City, indicating he cleared waivers, but he has exercised his right to head to the open market. Players have the right to reject an outright assignment if they have a previous outright or at least three years of service time. Feyereisen qualifies on both counts.

Feyereisen, 32, had some strong results for the Rays a few years back. Unfortunately, shoulder surgery wiped out his 2023 season and he hasn’t seemed the same since. He logged 56 innings for Tampa in 2021 with a 2.73 earned run average. The following year, he amazingly added another 24 1/3 innings without allowing an earned run. Putting those two seasons together, he had 80 1/3 innings with a 1.90 ERA, 24.4% strikeout rate and 11.9% walk rate.

But since recovering from shoulder surgery, he hasn’t been able to get back to that level. Going back to the start of 2024, he’s logged just 15 big league innings with 15 earned runs allowed. That’s a small sample of work but his 18.3% strikeout rate has been subpar, along with an average walk rate of 8.3%. He’s also tossed 56 2/3 minor league innings in that time frame with a 5.08 ERA. That’s been in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League but he hasn’t helped himself with a 16.5% strikeout rate. His fastball has been averaging around 91 miles per hour this year, a couple of ticks below his pre-surgery velo.

He started this year with the Diamondbacks on a minor league deal. He was called up in the third week of April but only made two appearances before being designated for assignment. The Dodgers claimed him off waivers and shuttled him between OKC and LA for a bit. He was able to make another two big league appearances before getting designated for assignment again.

He’ll now look for his next opportunity, which will likely be a minor league deal. The fact that no club claimed him off waivers suggests that no one is willing to give him a big league spot at the moment.

Photo courtesy of Isaiah J. Downing, Imagn Images

Jose Azocar Elects Free Agency

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Outfielder José Azocar elected free agency after being outrighted by the Mets, relays Mike Puma of The New York Post. He’d been designated for assignment over the weekend. It’s the second time in the past couple months in which Azocar went unclaimed on waivers. Players with multiple career outrights can test free agency.

Azocar will be limited to minor league offers but could look for a team with less outfield depth. He didn’t have much of a path to playing time behind Brandon Nimmo, Tyrone Taylor, Juan Soto and fourth outfielder Starling Marte. The Mets had carried him on the MLB roster since April 17, and he only started five games in as many weeks. Azocar made an appearance as a pinch-runner the night before being DFA, the first time he’d played in any capacity since May 14.

The 29-year-old Azocar spent parts of three seasons in the big leagues with the Padres. He operated as a speed and defense specialist off the bench. Azocar hit .243/.287/.322 with a couple home runs and 18 stolen bases in just under 400 plate appearances in a San Diego uniform. The Mets added him via waivers last September. They kept him on an optional assignment to Triple-A for the rest of that season.

That was his final option year, so the Mets had to carry him on the MLB roster or expose him to waivers this year. He went unclaimed at the end of Spring Training. The Mets brought him back up after a couple weeks in Triple-A, where he’d been hitting .244 with a .367 on-base mark over 11 games. Azocar has a .286/.322/.434 slash in nearly 900 career Triple-A plate appearances. He’s a plus-plus runner with more than 5000 professional innings of center field experience.

Cubs, Genesis Cabrera Agree To Major League Deal

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May 28: It’s a big league contract, reports Thomas Harrigan of MLB.com. Cabrera will draw directly into Craig Counsell’s bullpen once he passes a physical. The Cubs will need to create space on the active and 40-man rosters.

May 27: The Cubs are in agreement with reliever Génesis Cabrera, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. Mike Rodriguez first reported that the sides were nearing a deal. Cabrera had just elected free agency after being waived by the Mets.

Cabrera, 28, was called up by the Mets at the beginning of May. He managed decent results during his few weeks on the MLB roster. He worked 7 2/3 frames of three-run ball, striking out seven while issuing three walks. He averages around 96 MPH on his sinker and four-seam fastball, better than average velocity from the left side.

That has resulted in decent swing-and-miss rates over his career, but it hasn’t been enough to offset spotty command. Cabrera had walked at least 10% of opposing hitters in every big league season before this year’s small sample. He’d dished out five free passes in eight Triple-A innings before being called up.

Cabrera is a former division rival of Chicago’s. He spent his first five seasons with the Cardinals, who dealt him to the Blue Jays at the 2023 deadline. Cabrera pitched well down the stretch for Toronto but fell on harder times a year ago. While he managed a respectable 3.59 ERA across 62 2/3 frames, that came with a diminished 18.5% strikeout rate. The Jays opted to non-tender him instead of retaining for his final year of arbitration.

The Cubs have a pair of veteran lefties in the bullpen: Drew Pomeranz and Caleb Thielbar. Pomeranz has been fantastic, striking out 14 across 12 2/3 scoreless innings to begin his Cubs tenure. Thielbar has been effective as well, posting a 2.37 ERA while striking out nearly a quarter of batters faced in 22 appearances. Luke Little and Tom Cosgrove are on the 40-man roster and on optional assignment to Triple-A Iowa.

Mariners Reinstate Jackson Kowar, Option Logan Evans

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The Mariners announced that right-hander Jackson Kowar has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. The 40-man roster had a vacancy due to right-hander Jesse Hahn being designated for assignment last week but is now full. To open an active roster spot, righty Logan Evans has been optioned to Triple-A Tacoma.

Kowar, 28, has been with the Mariners for over a year but will be making his team debut whenever he gets into a game. He was acquired from Atlanta in December of 2023 but required Tommy John surgery in March of 2024. He spent all of last year and the first few months of this year on the IL.

Prior to going under the knife, he had shown promise with a recent change in role. A starter for most of his career, he showed a velocity bump while moving to a relief role in 2023. He had averaged around 95.7 miles per hour with his fastball as a starter but got that up to 97 mph out of the bullpen. The results didn’t immediately click, as he had a 6.43 earned run average that year, as well as subpar strikeout and walk rates of 21.2% and 14.6%.

Still, the M’s clearly feel there are good ingredients to work with. After the Royals flipped Kowar to Atlanta as part of the Kyle Wright deal, the M’s grabbed him as part of the Jarred Kelenic deal. They kept him on the roster throughout the winter, when there’s no IL, so they’re surely hoping their patience will pay off now that he’s healthy.

Evans got called up about a month ago, making his major league debut as the M’s dealt with various rotation injuries. He generally performed well, with a 2.83 ERA over six starts. Looking under the hood, there are some less impressive numbers, such as a 17.4% strikeout rate. But as far as injury replacements go, the M’s have to be thrilled with what Evans gave them.

The rotation has been getting healthier of late. George Kirby is now off the IL. It seems like Bryce Miller and Logan Gilbert are nearing returns as well. The M’s could therefore have their ideal quintet shortly, with Luis Castillo and Bryan Woo the other two pieces. Evans has been bumped into a depth role for now, while Emerson Hancock could be next.

Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images

Angels Designate Tim Anderson For Assignment

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The Angels announced a series of roster moves today. They have selected the contract of infielder Scott Kingery and reinstated right-hander Robert Stephenson from the 60-day injured list. To make room for those two on the active roster, left-hander Jake Eder has been optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake and infielder Tim Anderson has been designated for assignment. To open another 40-man spot, catcher Chuckie Robinson has been designated for assignment.

Anderson, 32 next month, signed a minor league deal with the Angels in the offseason. A former All-Star and batting champion, Anderson’s production tailed off in 2023 and 2024, which is why he had to settle for a minor league pact. Injuries to infielders like Zach Neto, Anthony Rendon and Yoán Moncada opened a path for him to crack the roster but he hasn’t done much with the opportunity.

Across 31 games, Anderson stepped to the plate 90 times for the Halos. His 3.3% walk rate was very low but that’s always been his style. Unfortunately, his 32.2% strikeout rate was way above both his personal track record and the league average. He had only three extra-base hits, which were all doubles. It all added up to a .205/.258/.241 line and 42 wRC+.

As mentioned, Anderson was once an All-Star and batting champion. He slashed .318/.347/.473 for a 123 wRC+ from 2019 through 2022. But from the start of 2023 to the present, he has 855 plate appearances with a .232/.269/.270 line and 49 wRC+. With other players getting healthy and/or performing better than Anderson, he’s been squeezed off the roster. He will likely be placed on waivers in the coming days but probably won’t find much interest, given his ongoing struggles. If he is passed through waivers unclaimed, he’ll have the right to elect free agency.

His playing time will seemingly be going to Kingery, who was acquired from the Phillies in the offseason but then outrighted off the 40-man. He has been excelling at Triple-A Salt Lake this year, with a .373/.418/.578 line, though those numbers need to be taken with some grains from that lake. The Bees play in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League and Kingery also has a massive .433 batting average on balls in play that he won’t be able to sustain.

Still, it’s understandable to consider him a better bet than Anderson. Kingery’s major league track record isn’t strong but he had a solid .268/.316/.488 slash and 103 wRC+ for the Phillies’ Triple-A club last year. He also stole 25 bases while playing second base, shortstop and center field. Given how bad Anderson has been struggling, Kingery doesn’t need to be a star to be an upgrade.

The return of Stephenson is a notable moment for the Angels. They signed him to a three-year, $33MM deal going into 2024 but he still hasn’t made his team debut. Some elbow issues plagued him at the start of last year and he ultimately required Tommy John surgery at the end of April. He has been rehabbing from that procedure for just over a year now.

His track record is mixed, with a 4.64 earned run average in his career, but the Angels made a bet that he had broken out just prior to the signing. A former first-round pick and top prospect, he couldn’t stick in a rotation and eventually moved to a relief role. He occasionally showed flashes of promise there before putting together an elite run in 2023.

He started that year with the Pirates and had an uninspiring 5.14 ERA when he was traded to the Rays. With Tampa, he reeled off 38 1/3 innings with a 2.35 ERA, 42.9% strikeout rate and 5.7% walk rate. In short, he was one of the best relievers on the planet for a few months.

The Angels haven’t yet received any return on their investment but Stephenson’s return could be a massive boost, as their bullpen is one of the worst in the league. Their relievers have a collective 6.31 ERA, dead last in the majors, slightly behind Washington’s 6.22 mark. Even if Stephenson doesn’t fully return to his dominant form from the second half of 2023, he should be a nice upgrade to the group. Kenley Jansen will perhaps continue in the closer’s role but Stephenson should be in line for meaningful innings one way or another.

Robinson, 30, was acquired from the White Sox in the offseason. He has been serving as Triple-A depth so far this season, hitting .272/.315/.388 for the Bees. He’ll head into DFA limbo alongside Anderson. He still has options and could perhaps appeal to a club in need of catching depth. He generally hasn’t hit much but has a decent defensive reputation. The Angels are now down to just two catchers on their 40-man roster in Logan O’Hoppe and Travis d’Arnaud.

Photo courtesy of Jonathan Hui, Imagn Images

Rays Sign Kyle Gibson To Minor League Deal

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4:25pm: The Rays announced that they have signed Gibson to a minor league contract.

3:20pm: Right-hander Kyle Gibson is signing with the Rays, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. It’s unclear if it’s a major or minor league deal. If it’s a big league deal, the Rays have an open 40-man spot after designating catcher Ben Rortvedt for assignment earlier today, so they would only need to make a corresponding active roster move.

Gibson, 37, is a veteran with a solid track record but he is having a rough season so far. He lingered in free agency for a long time, eventually signing a one-year, $5.25MM deal with the Orioles less than a week before Opening Day. Since he missed spring training, he agreed to be optioned to the minors to get built up. He was called up at the end of April but got pounded, allowing 23 earned runs in 12 1/3 innings over four starts. The O’s then designated him for assignment and released him.

That leaves Baltimore on the hook for the remainder of that salary, meaning any club can sign Gibson and only pay him the prorated portion of the league minimum salary, with that amount subtracted from what the O’s pay.

It seems the Rays are willing to overlook Gibson’s 16.78 ERA in 2025 to focus more on his career track record. He has 1,878 big league innings under his belt with a 4.60 ERA on the whole. As recently as last year, he was a solid innings eater at the back-end of a rotation. He made 30 starts for the Cardinals in 2024, logging 169 2/3 frames with a 4.24 ERA, 20.9% strikeout rate, 9.4% walk rate and 44.8% ground ball rate.

The Tampa rotation has been without Shane McClanahan all year but has otherwise been remarkably healthy. Apart from one Joe Boyle spot start, every other game has been started by the quintet of Taj Bradley, Ryan Pepiot, Drew Rasmussen, Zack Littell and Shane Baz. No one in that group has an ERA higher than 4.94 this year. The Rays also have guys like Boyle, Joe Rock and Ian Seymour on the 40-man roster and pitching in Triple-A.

Regardless, there’s no real harm to adding Gibson since the O’s are responsible for most of his salary. The Rays could be adding a bit of non-roster rotation depth or perhaps they want Gibson to jump into their big league bullpen and serve as a long reliever. It’s also possible that one of their big league starters has some sort of ailment that has not yet been publicly reported. Time will tell what the Rays have in mind for Gibson’s usage but he’s a respected veteran with a solid track record and essentially no cost.

Photo courtesy of Daniel Kucin Jr., Imagn Images

Royals Select Andrew Hoffmann

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The Royals announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Andrew Hoffmann. Left-hander Evan Sisk has been optioned to Triple-A Omaha as the corresponding active roster move. The club’s 40-man roster had a couple of vacancies and moves to 39 with this move.

Hoffmann, 25, gets up to the big leagues for the first time. Drafted by Atlanta, he was flipped to the Royals almost three years ago, as part of the Drew Waters trade in July of 2022. A starter at that time, he posted some fairly uninspiring numbers for a few years but has been working exclusively in relief this year with signs of improvement.

He tossed 202 1/3 innings on the farm over the 2023 and 2024 seasons, allowing 5.74 earned runs per nine. His 22.8% strikeout rate was close to average but his 10.2% walk rate was on the high side. Here in 2025, he has thrown 25 1/3 innings over 19 Triple-A appearances with a 2.84 ERA, 33% strikeout rate, 8% walk rate and 58.7% ground ball rate.

That strong performance has vaulted him up to the majors, though the circumstances of the big league club likely played a role as well. With Seth Lugo and Cole Ragans both landing on the injured list recently, the club opted for a bullpen game yesterday, using seven pitchers to get through the contest. Sisk was one of those seven, which was his second straight appearance.

The Royals have one more game to get through before the pressure will ease off a bit. They are off on Thursday and again on Monday. It’s possible that Lugo will be back this weekend while Ragans could join the next turn through the rotation. Hoffmann will give them a fresh arm for at least today’s contest, which will be started by Noah Cameron.

Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Imagn Images

Rockies Sign Orlando Arcia

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May 28: The Rockies have just made it official, announcing their signing of Arcia. Infielder Aaron Schunk has been optioned as the corresponding move. The 40-man roster count goes from 38 to 39.

May 27: Arcia and the Rox are in agreement on a big league deal, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post.

May 26: The Rockies and free agent infielder Orlando Arcia are in the final stages of contract talks, according to Daniel Alvarez-Montes of El Extra Base.  Should the deal be completed, it will mark a quick turn-around in the open market for Arcia, who was released just yesterday by the Braves after he cleared waivers. Arcia is repped by World Sports Agency.

Ezequiel Tovar is locked in as Colorado’s everyday shortstop, so adding Arcia probably means the Rockies are either looking at the 30-year-old as a depth piece.  Second baseman Adael Amador hasn’t hit much at all since being called up to the majors, so the Rockies might be considering sending him back down to Triple-A since Thairo Estrada is close to returning from the injured list.  This leaves Arcia, Kyle Farmer, Tyler Freeman and Aaron Schunk on hand as the bench depth, barring another move.

Arcia has mostly played shortstop during his 10 Major League seasons, and his generally solid glovework has helped him carve out that long career despite a modest .241/.294/.373 slash line.  His most consistent offensive run came with the Braves in 2022 and during the first half of the 2023 season, and Arcia was even named to the All-Star team for his strong performance at the plate in the opening months of the 2023 campaign.

Since then, however, Arcia’s bat has normalized back its usual levels, and he lost his starting shortstop job in Atlanta to Nick Allen.  Arcia has appeared in only 14 games this season, and batted .194/.219/.226 in 32 trips to the plate.  Since Arcia was no longer in the team’s plans, the Braves designated him for assignment and released him earlier this week.

Owed $2MM in 2025, Arcia is still owed around $1.376MM of that salary, plus his contract contains a $2MM club option for 2026 with a $1MM buyout.  The Rockies only owe the prorated MLB minimum portion of what remains of his 2025 salary, with Atlanta booting the rest of the bill.

The price tag is small enough that the Rockies may have felt it was worth it to bring in a veteran player with some relatively recent success on his track record — perhaps as a trade chip for the deadline, or perhaps just as an upgrade over its other backup infield options.  Since Colorado certainly looks like it will be a seller at the deadline, any number of roster spots could be opening up after July 31.  If Arcia himself isn’t moved, he can cover innings for the Rockies in the event that perhaps Estrada, Farmer, or Freeman are moved, or if the Rox explore a bigger trade like moving Ryan McMahon.

Diamondbacks Sign Nicky Lopez To Minor League Deal

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The Diamondbacks have signed infielder Nicky Lopez to a minor league deal, per Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports. The veteran has been assigned to the Triple-A Reno Aces and should join that club in the coming days.

Lopez, 30, has been fairly nomadic this year. He signed a minor league deal with the Cubs in February but then opted out when he didn’t make the Opening Day roster. He signed a big league deal with the Angels but was designated for assignment about three weeks into the season. He elected free agency and returned to the Cubs on a major league deal. He lasted about a month on that roster before getting another DFA and heading to the open market yet again, which allowed him to sign this deal with Arizona.

Around those transactions, he has a .042/.179/.042 line in 28 plate appearances this year. For his career, his offense has been better than that but still below league average. He has a .245/.310/.311 line and 72 wRC+ in 2,374 plate appearances on the whole.

Though he lacks punch at the plate, Lopez can provide value with his glove. He has over 2,000 career innings at both middle infield positions. Defensive Runs Saved considered him good at short until souring on him recently. Outs Above Average is still a fan, giving Lopez a +33 in his career, though a lot of that is an outlier +25 in 2021. Both metrics consider him solidly above average at the keystone. He’s also spent time at the infield corners and in left field.

The Diamondbacks have a fairly crowded infield mix at present. Josh Naylor, Ketel Marte, Geraldo Perdomo and Eugenio Suárez are getting regular playing time from right to left, with Jordan Lawlar and Tim Tawa mixing in as well. Pavin Smith and Randal Grichuk are platooning in the designated hitter spot most of the time.

But as the old saying goes, there’s no such thing as a bad minor league deal. The Snakes also just lost a different veteran infielder as Ildemaro Vargas opted out of his minor league deal this week, so Lopez will effectively replace Vargas as the club’s veteran non-roster infielder.

Photo courtesy of Benny Sieu, Imagn Images

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