Submit Your Questions For A Mailbag Episode Of The MLB Trade Rumors Podcast
On the MLB Trade Rumors podcast, we regularly answer questions from our readers and listeners. We’re now a few weeks removed from the offseason and even the early-season extensions. The trade deadline is still a few months away. That gives us some time to dig into the mailbag!
If you have a question about a past transaction, a look ahead to trade season or anything else baseball-related, we’d love to hear from you! You can email your questions to mlbtrpod@gmail.com.
Also, if you want to hear your voice on the podcast, send us your question in audio form and we might play it. iPhone users can find instructions on how to do so here.
In the meantime, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
MLB Mailbag: Starting Pitcher Trade Candidates, Retirements, Giants, Rockies, Mets
This week's mailbag gets into potential Giants trade targets, long shot front of the rotation trade candidates this summer, players who might retire after the season, and much more.
Todd asks:
Since the Giants have done so much better than expected, chances of them doing something significant before the trade deadline seem likely. Who do you expect the Giants to be pursuing, or at least who should they be pursuing?
The Giants sit at 15-9 with a 47% chance at the playoffs. I agree they'll be looking to upgrade at the deadline.
Offensively, left field and first base seem like potential areas to improve. Heliot Ramos, manning left field, hasn't hit much over his last 200 PA dating back to last year. The Giants have some options in Triple-A, but none that seem clearly better than the likely 2-WAR-ish Ramos. Looking through the various unlikely playoff teams' outfields, I could see Taylor Ward being a decent target. Still, I'm not convinced he's better than Ramos. We'll get to Luis Robert Jr. later in this mailbag.
Bryce Eldridge homered in his first at-bat of the year yesterday, and if he gets to Triple-A quickly and hits well, I could see a fast track to the Majors. The bottom line is that I don't see an obvious position player for the Giants to target - yet.
As I said last week, the Giants will need more starting pitching behind Logan Webb. Landen Roupp and Justin Verlander both pitched well against the Angels over the weekend. Robbie Ray is entrenched salary-wise. Jordan Hicks could wind up in the bullpen, though he would probably not prefer that.
Sandy Alcantara is the name on everyone's lips, and he's back throwing 98 and getting groundballs, though he hasn't actually pitched well through four starts. Sonny Gray could be interesting, though there's no suggestion he'd waive his no-trade clause. Which other pitchers might be available at the deadline?
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Rich Hill Still Planning To Pitch This Year
Rich Hill continues to throw in hopes of signing soon, he tells Chris Cotillo of MassLive. Cotillo adds that multiple teams — including one from the AL East that is not the Red Sox — have shown interest in the 45-year-old lefty.
Hill told The San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser in January that he planned to continue pitching. There haven’t been any definitive reports within the past three months, but Hill evidently still hopes to reach the big leagues for a 21st consecutive season. Last year, he waited until the middle of August to agree to a minor league contract with the Red Sox (on what was his eighth different deal with Boston). The Sox called him up a couple weeks later but released him after 3 2/3 innings.
Last year’s late signing was deliberate. Hill wanted to spend time with his family early in the season, while the later signing would theoretically keep him fresh and allow him to prioritize a deal with a potential playoff team. That didn’t really work out as hoped, as Hill didn’t get much of a look on a Boston team that was only a fringe contender. He has previously suggested he could pursue more of a traditional full-season schedule this time around, though he obviously remains unsigned nearly a month after Opening Day.
Submit Your Questions For This Week’s Episode Of The MLBTR Podcast
On the MLB Trade Rumors podcast, we regularly answer questions from our readers and listeners. With the next episode set for Wednesday, we’re looking for MLBTR’s audience to submit their questions and we’ll pick a few to answer.
The 2025 season is chugging along. If you have a question about the season, a look ahead to the deadline or anything else baseball-related, we’d love to hear from you! You can email your questions to mlbtrpod@gmail.com.
Also, if you want to hear your voice on the podcast, send us your question in audio form and we might play it. iPhone users can find instructions on how to do so here.
In the meantime, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Brooks Raley Throws For Teams
Free agent reliever Brooks Raley threw a bullpen session for scouts in Texas this morning, reports Will Sammon of The Athletic. According to Sammon, there were 12+ teams in attendance.
Raley is around 11 months removed from last May’s Tommy John procedure, so he’s presumably not yet ready for game action. The surgery ended his two-year stint with the Mets. Raley had an impressive 2023 season, working to a 2.80 earned run average through 54 2/3 innings. He had reeled off seven scoreless frames with nine strikeouts last season before his elbow gave out. Raley recorded three saves and 29 holds while only surrendering three leads over his season-plus in a Mets uniform.
The 36-year-old southpaw is a breaking ball specialist. Raley relies mostly on his low-80s sweeper and a mid-80s cutter. He’s annually among the game’s best at avoiding hard contact. He also fanned nearly 26% of opposing hitters with a solid 11.8% swinging strike rate back in 2023. Raley was loosely tied to the Cubs and Yankees in January but could be of interest to virtually any team as affordable bullpen depth.
Spencer Turnbull Throws For Teams
Free agent righty Spencer Turnbull has thrown for teams and continues to seek a big league opportunity, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. Turnbull, who placed #50 on MLBTR’s Top 50 free agents list last offseason, surprisingly remains unsigned into the second week of the regular season.
The 32-year-old is coming off a solid, albeit injury-shortened, season with Philadelphia. The Phillies signed him to a $2MM free agent deal in February 2024. Turnbull took six turns through the rotation before kicking into multi-inning relief. He made 10 appearances out of the bullpen and one final start. Turnbull put up a 2.65 ERA with a quality 26.1% strikeout rate and a 47.5% ground-ball percentage through 54 1/3 innings.
All that work came within the season’s first three months. A lat strain sent him to the injured list in late June. While he made one rehab appearance late in September, he was not able to get back to the majors before the end of the season. It clearly wasn’t how Turnbull hoped to finish his walk year, though it seemed his early-season numbers would make him an interesting target for teams seeking affordable rotation help.
Turnbull has generally been a productive pitcher on a rate basis but hasn’t stayed healthy consistently. He tossed 148 1/3 innings across 30 starts for the Tigers back in 2019. He hasn’t reached 60 MLB frames in a season since then. Turnbull took 11 turns through the rotation during the shortened 2020 season, but his elbow blew out early in ’21. He required Tommy John surgery that July and missed the entire 2022 campaign.
He only made seven major league starts during his final season in Detroit. He struggled to a 7.26 ERA and missed time with neck soreness and a toenail avulsion. The relationship between Turnbull and the organization seemingly soured amidst those injuries and the team’s attempt to option him to the minors. They non-tendered him at year’s end, leading to his brief but effective stint with the Phils.
Last offseason’s market clearly didn’t materialize to Turnbull’s liking. Even if he’s able to secure a major league contract, he’d probably need to agree to an optional assignment so he can build up over multiple minor league appearances.
Reds Notes: McLain, Spiers, Abbott, Stephenson
The Reds announced a few moves before tonight’s game in San Francisco. Cincinnati placed second baseman Matt McLain on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to April 5, with a left hamstring strain. They also optioned righty Carson Spiers while recalling outfielder Will Benson and infielder Noelvi Marte from Triple-A Louisville.
The team specified that McLain’s hamstring strain was “slight,” so it’ll probably be a short-term absence. He had not played since Friday. Injured list stints can be backdated by a maximum of three days. The Reds were initially hopeful that McLain would be able to avoid the IL but seemingly knew he’d need at least a few more days and did not want to continue playing with a short bench. He’ll be eligible to return a week from today.
McLain had started seven of the first eight games at the keystone. The former first-round pick hit three home runs but was batting .214. Santiago Espinal has made three starts at second base, while Gavin Lux has started one game. The latter is in the lineup tonight against Giants right-hander Landen Roupp. Lux has mostly played left field in the early going. Blake Dunn gets the start there this evening. Marte, Benson and Espinal are all available off the bench.
Spiers heads to Louisville after opening the season in the rotation. The 27-year-old got the fifth rotation spot with Rhett Lowder and Andrew Abbott beginning the year on the injured list. Spiers combined for 9 1/3 frames of five-run ball over two starts. He allowed one run over six innings against the Rangers in his season debut before surrendering four runs across 3 1/3 innings in Milwaukee on Sunday.
It seems Abbott will be back from the injured list this weekend. The left-hander has made a pair of rehab appearances in Louisville. He got up to 92 pitches across 4 1/3 innings on Sunday. He’s back to essentially a full workload after falling slightly behind schedule in camp because of some residual shoulder discomfort. Abbott, who turned in a 3.72 ERA over 25 starts last season, will slot behind Hunter Greene, Nick Martinez, Brady Singer and Nick Lodolo.
Cincinnati also provided an encouraging update on Tyler Stephenson last night. Pat Brennan of The Cincinnati Enquirer writes that Stephenson was cleared to begin baseball activities after an MRI. The fifth-year catcher suffered a mild oblique strain halfway through March. Jose Trevino has been pushed into primary catching duty while being backed up by Austin Wynns. They’ve played very well, combining for a .286/.333/.536 line over 31 plate appearances.
Submit Your Questions For This Week’s Episode Of The MLBTR Podcast
On the MLB Trade Rumors podcast, we regularly answer questions from our readers and listeners. With the next episode set for Wednesday, we’re looking for MLBTR’s audience to submit their questions and we’ll pick a few to answer.
The 2025 season is now in swing, which means it’s time to wildly overreact to small sample sizes. If you have a question about the season, a look ahead to the deadline or anything else baseball-related, we’d love to hear from you! You can email your questions to mlbtrpod@gmail.com.
Also, if you want to hear your voice on the podcast, send us your question in audio form and we might play it. iPhone users can find instructions on how to do so here.
In the meantime, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Fantasy Baseball Subscriber Chat With Nicklaus Gaut
Nicklaus Gaut is off the IL after a wrist injury, and he'll be chatting live with Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers Monday at 11am central time. Get your question in early or participate in the live event at the link below!
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Julio Urías Suspended Through 2025 All-Star Break
Major League Baseball has announced that free agent left-hander Julio Urías has been suspended through the 2025 All-Star break. He will be reinstated from the restricted list on July 17. “The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball has completed its investigation into allegations that free agent pitcher Julio Urías violated Major League Baseball’s Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy,” commissioner Rob Manfred says in the league statement. “Having reviewed all of the available evidence, I have concluded that Mr. Urías violated our Policy and that discipline is appropriate.” Urías becomes the first player to receive a second suspension for a violation of this policy.
In September of 2023, Urías was arrested and charged with felony domestic violence charges. An alleged altercation occurred outside BMO Stadium in downtown Los Angeles following a Major League Soccer game between LAFC and Inter Miami. Law enforcement obtained civilian video of the incident, which appeared to show Urías in a physical altercation with a woman. He was booked and released on a $50K bond. A member of the Dodgers at that time, he was placed on administrative leave shortly thereafter. He became a free agent at the end of the 2023 season.
In December of that year, it was reported that law enforcement official had completed their investigation and turned their findings over to the L.A. County District Attorney’s office to determine whether charges would be filed. In January of 2024, it was reported that no felony charges would be filed, with the investigation forwarded to the L.A. City Attorney’s Office to determine whether misdemeanor charges are warranted.
In April, he was charged with five misdemeanors: spousal battery, two counts of domestic battery involving dating relationship, one count of false imprisonment and one count of assault. In May, he pleaded no contest to one domestic battery charge, with the other charges dropped as a condition of his plea. At that time, the L.A. City Attorney’s office said that Urias would be placed on 36 months of probation, complete 30 days of community service, complete a year-long domestic violence counseling program, pay a fee to a domestic violence fund, pay restitution to the victim and abide by a protective order, in addition to being forbidden from possessing any weapons.
As mentioned, Urías is the first player to best twice suspended for violations of the domestic violence policy. In 2019, he was arrested after after reportedly shoving a female companion to the ground. The Los Angeles City Attorney ultimately deferred prosecution in that matter, conditional on Urías completing a 52-week domestic violence counseling program, among other criteria. Under the joint domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse policy agreed to by Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association, the league can impose discipline even in the absence of charges and Urías ultimately received a 20-game suspension.
Photo courtesy Orlando Ramirez, Imagn Images.