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Blue Jays Select Eric Lauer, Designate Casey Lawrence For Assignment

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The Blue Jays announced that they have selected left-hander Eric Lauer to their roster. To open a 40-man spot for him, Casey Lawrence has been designated for assignment. Prior to the official announcement, Mitch Bannon of The Athletic relayed that Lauer was no longer scheduled to start for Triple-A Buffalo. Shi Davidi of Sportsnet reported that Lauer was on his way to join the Jays.

Lauer, 30 in June, signed a minor league deal with the Jays in the offseason. He’s been pitching out of the Buffalo rotation so far this year, having logged 24 innings over five starts. He has allowed 4.50 earned runs per nine with a 20.6% strikeout rate and 5.9% walk rate.

The Jays need some innings, whether that’s from a starter or a bulk guy pitching behind an opener. Left-hander Easton Lucas took a rotation spot earlier in the year when Max Scherzer landed on the injured list. Lucas had two good starts and two awful ones, getting optioned to Buffalo last week.

The Jays planned to use some off-days in the schedule to have a four-man rotation for a while, though Mother Nature interrupted there. A rainout in the Bronx on Saturday led to a Sunday doubleheader, with Kevin Gausman and Chris Bassitt starting those two games. After an off-day on Monday, Bowden Francis started against the Red Sox last night. José Berríos could have started on regular rest today but the club would have needed someone to start Thursday’s game.

The club grabbed Lawrence off waivers on Monday to give them a long man on the heels of the doubleheader. He was needed immediately, as Francis only lasted three innings yesterday. After Dillon Tate and Mason Fluharty got four and six outs respectively, Lawrence came in and absorbed 2 2/3 innings of long relief. Lauer logged five innings in each of his four most recent starts for the Bisons, so he will ideally give the club some length today. The last of those starts was on Thursday, so he’ll be on five days of rest today.

It’s unclear if he’ll stick on the roster beyond today’s game. The Jays have another off-day on Monday, so they could go back down to four starters for a couple of turns. Lucas was optioned on April 21st, so he’ll be beyond the 15-day minimum by next week and could be recalled. Jake Bloss has also been in better form of late, with his two most recent Triple-A starts resulting in 12 strikeouts and no earned runs allowed. That could get Lauer bumped off the roster, depending on how things go in today’s game. It’s also possible Lauer holds a rotation spot for a few turns while Lucas and Bloss stay in Buffalo as depth.

Either way, Lauer will be making his first major league appearance in quite some time. He had a solid run with the Padres and Brewers earlier in his career. From 2018 to 2022, he had a 4.11 ERA over 550 innings. His 22.1% strikeout rate and 8.7% walk rate were both around league average. But in 2023, a shoulder impingement sent him to the injured list for most of the year. He was only able to toss 46 2/3 innings with a 6.56 ERA. He split 2024 between Triple-A clubs of the Astros and Pirates as well as the Kia Tigers of the KBO League, with an ERA near 5.00 in all of those stops.

He is out of options and can’t be easily sent back down to the minors if this is just a spot start situation. If he’s later designated for assignment and passed through waivers unclaimed, he would have the right to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency. Players gain that right when they have a previous career outright or at least three years of service time, with Lauer meeting both criteria.

Lawrence heads into DFA limbo for the fourth time this year, the first three being with the Mariners. He was called up by Seattle whenever they needed a fresh arm to cover long relief innings. Since he is out of options, he was designated for assignment a few days after being called up in each instance. The first two DFAs resulted in him clearing waivers and returning to the team, though the Jays claimed him on the third try.

Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images

Luke Raley Out At Least Six Weeks; Mariners Select Rhylan Thomas

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12:55pm: Raley will be sidelined for at least the next six weeks, general manager Justin Hollander announced to the Mariners beat (link via Adam Jude of the Seattle Times). Raley suffered the strain during batting practice yesterday.

12:25pm: The Mariners announced Wednesday that they’ve designated right-hander Sauryn Lao for assignment and selected the contract of outfielder Rhylan Thomas from Triple-A Tacoma. Thomas will take the active roster spot of outfielder Luke Raley, who is headed to the 10-day injured list due to a right oblique strain.

Raley’s injury comes at a particularly poor time. The 30-year-old slugger has been in the process of shaking off a dreadful early slump — like the majority of Seattle’s offense — and had heated up with a .273/.419/.424 output over his past 43 trips to the plate. Even while he was slumping early on, Raley maintained a patient approach and is now up to 10 free passes on the season. His 11.9% walk rate is nearly double that of the 5.9% he posted in 2024, and he’s also posting career-best batted-ball metrics (91.6 mph average exit velocity, 49% hard-hit rate).

Raley becomes the second Mariners right fielder lost to the injured list before the calendar even flips to May. He’d already shifted from first base to right field to cover for the injured Victor Robles, who’s out until midseason.

Thomas, 25, came to the Mariners last summer in the trade sending reliever Ryne Stanek to the Mets. The former 11th-round pick has enjoyed a terrific start to his season in Tacoma, slashing .319/.363/.362 in 104 plate appearances. He’s always posted low strikeout rates in the minors but has taken his hit tool to new heights in 2025, fanning just four times so far (3.8%). Thomas has never hit for power and has only one round-tripper and one double on the current season, but he’s 6-for-9 in stolen base attempts. He’ll give the Mariners some speed in the outfield mix and the type of high-contact bat the team has lacked in recent seasons.

Thomas, Samad Taylor and Miles Mastrobuoni all figure to see time in the outfield while Raley is out. Utilityman Dylan Moore would’ve been an option as well, but he just landed on the injured list this week due to shoulder inflammation. The M’s will go with a patchwork group for the time being, although given the length of Raley’s absence and the typically active nature of Seattle’s front office — this past offseason notwithstanding — it stands to reason that the Mariners could add to that mix via waivers, free agency or a small trade. True difference-making regulars aren’t likely to be available until closer to July’s trade deadline, but there are veterans on minor league deals and fringe big league outfielders who’ll be designated for assignment throughout the course of Raley’s IL stint.

The 25-year-old Lao was only selected to the big league roster last week. He made his MLB debut with the M’s on April 22 and pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings with three strikeouts. He was optioned back to Tacoma shortly thereafter.

Lao originally signed out of the Dominican Republic with the Dodgers and spent the first four seasons of his career as an infielder. He moved to the mound in 2023 and hasn’t looked back. The 6’2″ righty has a career 3.61 ERA in 122 minor league frames, including a 2.25 mark in 12 Triple-A innings this season. Lao doesn’t have the glaring command troubles displayed by so many former position players who transition to the mound; he’s walked only 6.5% of his minor league opponents against a robust 26.6% strikeout rate.

Lao is averaging a pedestrian 92.9 mph on his four-seamer in Triple-A and sat at just 90.7 mph with the pitch in his lone MLB appearance, which could work against him, but Lao has a solid (if brief) track record on the mound and a full slate of minor league options remaining. The track record and slate of options could appeal to another club. The Mariners will have five days to trade Lao or place him on outright waivers. If he hits waivers, that’d be a 48-hour process, meaning the maximum length of his DFA window will be one week.

Astros Select AJ Blubaugh

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April 30: The Astros have made Blubaugh’s promotion official. His contract has been selected to the 40-man roster, which is now at capacity. Righty Bryan Abreu has been placed on the paternity list to clear a spot on the active roster.

April 29: The Astros are tabbing AJ Blubaugh to start tomorrow against the Tigers, the team announced to reporters (including Chandler Rome of The Athletic). The righty will go opposite another rookie, Jackson Jobe, in his major league debut. Houston already has an opening on the 40-man roster; they’ll only need to make an active roster move involving a pitcher.

Blubaugh, 24, is one of the top pitching prospects in a Houston system that is light on arms. A seventh-round pick from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the 2022 draft, he has turned in a 4.02 ERA over 268 1/3 minor league innings. Drafted as a reliever, Blubaugh began a rotation move in 2023. He worked as a full-time starter a year ago, pitching to a 3.71 ERA in 28 appearances between the top two minor league levels. Blubaugh recorded a solid 24.5% strikeout percentage against a 9.4% walk rate.

The 6’2″ righty pitched in the Futures Game a season ago. He ranked among the top 10 prospects in the Houston system at both Baseball America and The Athletic (via Keith Law) over the offseason. He’s generally viewed as a likely back-end starter who has decent command of a fringe-average pitch mix. Blubaugh’s fastball velocity has ticked up early this year. He’s averaging 93.8 MPH on the pitch after sitting at 92.5 during his Triple-A work last season. He’s mixing five pitches (four-seam, cutter, slider, curveball and changeup) with regularity.

Blubaugh has found early success in a tough pitching environment in the Pacific Coast League. He carries a 3.86 ERA over 21 innings spanning five appearances. He has punched out 30% of opponents while walking batters at an elevated 10.8% rate. Blubaugh joins Colton Gordon as rotation depth options who occupy a 40-man roster spot.

It’s unclear if his first appearance will simply be a spot start. Hayden Wesneski would have been lined up on Wednesday. Manager Joe Espada said on Tuesday afternoon that the righty’s start would be skipped after he was pitching with diminished velocity during his start last Friday (link via Matt Kawahara of The Houston Chronicle). Espada downplayed the notion that Wesneski was injured, though it’s worth nothing the Astros provide less in the way of health specifics than any other team. In any case, Blubaugh will get the ball at least once in his initial call to the big leagues.

Giants Sign Cal Mitchell To Minor League Contract

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The Giants signed outfielder Cal Mitchell to a minor league deal. He was assigned to Double-A Richmond, where he’s making his organizational debut tonight. Mitchell was released from a minor league contract with the White Sox over the weekend.

A second-round pick by the Pirates in 2017, Mitchell reached the majors five years later. He hit .226/.286/.349 with five homers over 69 games as a rookie. Mitchell spent most of the following season on optional assignment to Triple-A before being designated for assignment that September. He cleared waivers and elected minor league free agency during the 2023-24 offseason. The San Diego native signed a minor league deal with his hometown club.

Mitchell spent all of last season with the Friars’ top farm team in El Paso. He had a good year, batting .277/.359/.512 with 22 home runs and 26 doubles across 469 plate appearances. Mitchell walked at a strong 11.7% clip against a serviceable 20.3% strikeout percentage. The Padres nevertheless didn’t bring him up.

The 26-year-old signed with the White Sox early last offseason. He struck out 11 times in 28 Spring Training plate appearances. The whiffs remained an issue in the minors. Mitchell fanned 14 times without drawing a walk over 10 Triple-A games. He hit .111 in 27 plate appearances, leading to his release. Mitchell now drops back a minor league level but gets a change of scenery to try to find his groove offensively.

Braves Release Jake Marisnick

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The Braves have released outfielder Jake Marisnick, who’d been playing with Triple-A Gwinnett after signing a minor league contract, per the transaction log at MiLB.com. He’ll head back to the market and look to latch on with another team needing outfield depth.

Marisnick’s release comes both on the heels of some notable struggles in Gwinnett and a shakeup in Atlanta’s outfield corps. The Braves signed veteran Eddie Rosario to a big league deal yesterday after his recent release from the Dodgers organization. In a corresponding move, they optioned Jarred Kelenic to Gwinnett, hoping a minor league reset can get the former top prospect back on track. Releasing Marisnick will clear roster space and playing time for Kelenic in Triple-A.

As noted, the 2025 season has been a struggle for Marisnick anyhow. The 34-year-old has appeared in a dozen games and taken 45 turns at the plate. He’s produced a woeful .098/.178/.195 batting line in that time. Marisnick has homered and was successful in his only stolen base attempt, but he’s fanned in 29% of his plate appearances and posted bottom-of-the-scale batted ball metrics (81.7 mph average exit velocity, 28.6% hard-hit rate).

Although he didn’t hit well in Gwinnett, Marisnick logged a big .286/.371/.549 slash in the Angels’ minor league ranks just last year. He’s a veteran of 11 major league seasons who has more than nine years of major league service time under his belt. Marisnick has never been a big threat with the bat — as evidenced by a lifetime .228/.281/.385 line in 2247 MLB plate appearances — but Statcast regularly places him in the 85th to 90th percentile in terms of sprint speed, and Marisnick is a superlative defender in center field; in 4448 career innings, he’s been credited with 54 Defensive Runs Saved and 40 Outs Above Average in center. He’s chipped in another 26 DRS and 12 OAA in 908 career innings in the corners.

Marisnick has at least held his own against left-handed pitching in his major league career (.237/.293/.417, 92 wRC+). That, coupled with his speed and glovework, ought to earn him a look with a new organization — albeit likely on another minor league contract.

Mets Sign Brooks Raley

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April 29: The deal is now official and Mike Fitzpatrick of the Associated Press has the details. Raley is guaranteed $1.85MM, which comes in the form of a $1.5MM salary this year and a $300K buyout on a $4.75MM club option for 2026. Raley will get a $250K bonus if added to the active roster this year. There are also performances bonuses worth $900K this year and $1.75MM next year. In 2025, he will earn an extra $125K for appearing in 10, 15 and 20 games, then $175K at 25, 30 and 35 games. In 2026, it’s $250K for 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60 and 65 games.

April 25: The Mets and left-hander Brooks Raley have agreed to a deal, pending a physical, reports Joel Sherman of The New York Post. It will be a one-year pact with a club option for 2026. The Mets have an open 40-man roster spot, so no corresponding move will be necessary if it’s a major league deal. The financial components of the deal for the Vanguard Sports client have not yet been reported.

Raley, 37 in June, was with the Mets last year when he required Tommy John surgery in May. That put him on the shelf for the remainder of the campaign and the start of 2025 as well. He is evidently making progress in his rehab, as it was reported last week that he threw for interested clubs. Sherman relays that Raley’s doctors believe he can start a rehab assignment in June.

Prior to his surgery, he had a good run as an effective lefty reliever. He spent 2015 to 2019 pitching as a starter in Korea but was able to return to affiliated ball and carve out a bullpen job. From the start of 2020 to the present, he tossed 184 1/3 innings, allowing 3.42 earned runs per nine. He had a 29% strikeout rate and 8.5% walk rate in that time.

The Mets are plenty familiar with him, as they acquired him from the Rays ahead of the 2023 season. He posted a 2.80 ERA in 54 2/3 innings for them that year. That compelled them to pick up a $6.5MM club option on his contract for 2024, which was a net $5.25MM decision at that time on account of the $1.25MM buyout. Unfortunately, they only got seven innings out of that investment before he got hurt.

The two sides have now reunited on a fresh deal. The structure reflects his current injury status. Raley will presumably bank a bit of money this season, even though he will only pitch about half of it in a best-case scenario. For the Mets, by investing in Raley now, they are hoping to get a bit of a payoff later this year with the option giving them a chance to carry it into 2026. Such arrangements are common for pitchers in this position.

The Mets have one of the best bullpens in the league so far this year. Their relievers have a collective 2.35 ERA, which is second only to the Padres. The lefty contingent currently consists of A.J. Minter and Danny Young. They don’t strictly need Raley but pitching injuries are fairly inevitable and the Mets love to stack depth. He’ll work his way into their plans in the coming weeks. If he is getting a big league deal, he could be moved to the 60-day injured list if he Mets don’t expect him to be big league-ready by late June.

Photo courtesy of Wendell Cruz, USA TODAY Sports

Jesse Chavez Elects Free Agency

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April 29: Chavez cleared waivers and elected free agency yet again, as relayed by David O’Brien of The Athletic. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he signs a new minor league deal in the next day or two.

April 27: The Braves announced this morning that they’ve designated right-hander Jesse Chavez for assignment. The move makes room on the active roster for right-hander Davis Daniel, who has been recalled to the majors.

Chavez, 41, made just one appearance in his latest stint with the Braves when he surrendered one run on two hits and a walk while striking out two in an inning of work against the Diamondbacks. He’s so far posted a 6.00 ERA in three innings at the big league level for Atlanta this year, his sixth season in a Braves uniform. The veteran journeyman has pitched to a 4.24 ERA (99 ERA+) and 4.22 FIP in his 18 seasons as a big leaguer but has enjoyed something of a resurgence in recent years.

In 2018, Chavez posted a 2.55 ERA and 3.54 FIP for the Rangers and Cubs across 95 1/3 innings of work. It would’ve been easy to think of that performance as a flash in the pan after he returned to Texas and struggled in both 2019 and the shortened 2020 season, but he signed with Atlanta in 2021 and has looked quite good ever since with a 2.96 ERA and 3.50 FIP in 204 innings of work since then. That ERA drops to an even more impressive 2.59 when looking just at the time he’s spent in Atlanta over the past five seasons, and a strong relationship between the organization and player has seen him return to the club repeatedly in recent years after brief stints elsewhere.

It seems likely that relationship will continue even after today’s DFA. The Braves now have one week to either trade Chavez or pass him through waivers going forward, but if he does clear waivers it would hardly be a shock to see Chavez reject an outright assignment before re-signing in Atlanta on a minor league deal, as he did the last time he was DFA’d by the Braves earlier this month. Should he accept an outright assignment return to the Braves organization on a fresh deal, he’ll remain available to Atlanta as a non-roster depth option who can be called upon to provide length out of the bullpen as needed.

Chavez’s departure from the roster makes room for Daniel, who Atlanta acquired from the Angels back in December. The righty was a seventh-round pick by Anaheim in the 2019 draft and made his big league debut in 2023. In total, he’s pitched 42 2/3 innings of work across nine appearances (six starts) with a 5.06 ERA and 4.41 FIP during that time. Last season, Daniel struck out 20.9% of batters faced at the big league level while walking just 4.5%, but was held back by the long ball as he surrendered five in just 30 1/3 innings of work. For a Braves club that doesn’t have a clear starter for Monday’s game against the Rockies after losing Spencer Strider to the injured list, Daniel could be an option for a spot start if he’s not needed out of the bullpen against the Diamondbacks this evening.

Yuli Gurriel Elects Free Agency

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May 3: Gurriel has cleared outright waivers and elected free agency, the Padres announced this afternoon.

April 29: The Padres are going to designate first baseman Yuli Gurriel for assignment and place infielder Mason McCoy on the 10-day injured list, per AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. McCoy dislocated his left pinky finger recently. Those will open roster spots for outfielder Jason Heyward and infielder Luis Arráez to be activated from the IL.

Gurriel, 41 in June, signed a minor league deal with the Friars in the offseason. They were looking for some cheap ways to add some offense, with holes in a couple of spots, including their designated hitter and bench mix.

Both Gurriel and Gavin Sheets had good spring performances and cracked the Opening Day roster. Sheets has done a better job of carrying it into the regular season, as he’s hitting .275/.314/.438 for a wRC+ of 111. Gurriel, on the other hand, has produced a dismal .111/.200/.139 line.

Arráez recently landed on the concussion IL, which moved Sheets from a regular designated hitter to a regular first base role. That allowed Gurriel to hang around for while but he would have been hard pressed to find playing time going forward with Arráez back in action. Presumably, Arráez and Sheets will share most of the first base and DH playing time going forward.

The Friars should put Gurriel on waivers in the coming days. Based on his age and recent performance, he’s not likely to garner much interest. He hit .243/.297/.356 for a wRC+ of 82 over the 2022 through 2024 seasons. As a veteran with at least five years of service time, Gurriel would have the right to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency in the event he clears waivers.

McCoy’s injury will subtract a bit of infield depth but Heyward might indirectly help with that. Tyler Wade has been covering center field lately due to injuries to Jackson Merrill and Brandon Lockridge. With Heyward now off the IL, he can rejoin the outfield mix alongside Wade, Fernando Tatis Jr., Tirso Ornelas, Oscar González and Connor Joe. If there’s an injury to middle infielders Xander Bogaerts or Jose Iglesias, Wade is capable of moving to the dirt and leaving center field to someone in that group.

Photo courtesy of David Banks, Imagn Images

Rockies Outright Lucas Gilbreath

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The Rockies announced that left-hander Lucas Gilbreath has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Albuquerque. He had been designated for assignment on the weekend to make room on the roster for Alan Trejo.

Gilbreath, 29, once seemed to be cementing himself as a solid piece of the Colorado bullpen. Over the 2021 and 2022 seasons, he tossed 85 2/3 innings with a 3.78 earned run average. His 13.2% walk rate was on the high side but he managed to punch out 25% of opponents and get grounders on almost half the balls in play he allowed. He earned four holds in the first of those two seasons and then 12 more in the second.

But as is so often the case, arm troubles got in the way. Tommy John surgery in March of 2023 wiped out that entire season for him. He was reinstated from the injured list in August of 2024 but made just three appearances before landing back on the shelf due to shoulder inflammation, staying there for the rest of the season.

Gilbreath crossed three years of service time during those two lost seasons. The lefty and the Rockies avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $785K salary for this year, a bit above this year’s league minimum, which is $760K. Since he has hit the three-year service line, Gilbreath has the right to elect free agency and reject this outright assignment. But since he’s below the five-year line, he would have to walk away from what’s left of that money.

He will presumably accept his outright and keep pitching for Triple-A Albuquerque. He’s already been with that club this year, having been optioned before Opening Day. He has a 2.70 ERA through seven appearances so far. He should provide the Rockies with some non-roster depth as he tries to earn his way back to the majors.

Photo courtesy of Allan Henry, Imagn Images

Angels Designate J.D. Davis For Assignment

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The Angels announced that outfielder Gustavo Campero has been recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake. In a corresponding move, infielder J.D. Davis has been designated for assignment. The club’s 40-man roster count drops to 38.

Davis, 32, signed a minor league deal with the Halos in the offseason. He cracked the big league roster earlier this month when Yoán Moncada landed on the injured list. Moncada is still on the IL but Davis has hardly played. Since being added to the roster April 10th, he has stepped to the plate nine times over five games. He recorded three strikeouts and one single, leading to a .111/.111/.111 line.

That’s a rough showing but also a tiny sample size. Regardless, the Angels seem to prefer other options for their infield mix. Luis Rengifo is covering third while Nolan Schanuel is the regular at first. Defensive specialist Kevin Newman is presumably the backup for those two at the moment, as no one else on the roster has much experience at those spots.

The Angels will likely put Davis on waivers in the coming days. He is coming off a down year, as he hit .218/.293/.338 for an 86 wRC+ in 2024, which is why he had to settle for a minor league deal coming into this year. But over the five prior seasons, he hit .268/.352/.443 for a 119 wRC+.

Campero is out to a strong start this year, hitting .333/.397/.472 in Triple-A. However, it’s unclear how he’ll get into the lineup as a corner outfield guy. The Angels have Taylor Ward and Mike Trout as their regulars in the corners and Jorge Soler acting as the designated hitter most days. Campero does have some catching experience but the Halos have Logan O’Hoppe and Travis d’Arnaud back there. Campero is a threat for double-digit steals, so perhaps he will be utilized as a pinch runner.

Photo courtesy of Rick Scuteri, Imagn Images

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