A’s Move Jack Perkins Into Rotation
Jack Perkins will make his first start of the season for the A’s on Friday. The second-year righty will go opposite Peter Lambert to kick off a weekend series with the Astros.
Manager Mark Kotsay told Martín Gallegos of MLB.com this week that Perkins will be part of the rotation. The A’s have lost Aaron Civale and Luis Severino to injury within the past 10 days. They optioned struggling left-hander Jacob Lopez to Triple-A on Tuesday. That has overhauled three-fifths of the rotation they’d used for most of the season.
Top prospect Gage Jump was called up when Civale went down. He had a shaky debut against the Mariners but fired seven innings of one-run ball to beat the Cubs in his second career start. They brought up another rookie, Kade Morris, this week. He’ll make his MLB debut on Saturday against Tatsuya Imai in the second game of the Houston series. Morris doesn’t have Jump’s upside but is viewed as a potential back-end starter.
Jeffrey Springs is the only member of the season-opening starting five currently in the rotation. Luis Morales opened as the fifth starter but pitched poorly and was optioned in early April. He’s now working short relief in Triple-A and still struggling.
J.T. Ginn moved from the bullpen to take Morales’ rotation spot and has had a quietly strong year. He carries a 2.74 ERA with a 23% strikeout rate over 65 2/3 frames. Ginn pitched six innings of one-run ball against the Cubs tonight, but a bullpen meltdown spoiled the strong start. The A’s gave up four in the bottom of the ninth and got walked off.
They’ll hope that Perkins can make a similarly successful transition from relief. The 26-year-old has started four of his 29 big league appearances. The A’s brought him up last June as a multi-inning reliever. They moved him to the rotation in August until a shoulder strain ended his season. Perkins opened this season at Triple-A Las Vegas. The A’s recalled him in early April.
Perkins owns a 5.46 ERA across 28 innings on the season. He’s striking out 26.4% of opponents behind an excellent 14.3% swinging strike mark. Perkins has also halved his walk rate, but he has hit six batters. He issued a lot of free passes at every stop throughout his minor league career. This year’s 5.6% walk percentage is probably a blip, but Perkins has quality stuff. He’s sitting in the 96 mph range with his fastball while getting lots of chases and whiffs with his breaking ball and changeup.
The next few weeks will essentially be audition time for all three of Jump, Perkins and Morris. The non-Lopez depth starters at Triple-A (i.e. Morales, Joey Estes and Chen Zhong-Ao Zhuang) have not performed well. Mason Barnett is in long relief but would probably be the next one up for a rotation look if Perkins or Morris falter. Braden Nett, acquired in the Mason Miller trade, just came off the Triple-A injured list. Last year’s first-round pick Jamie Arnold is at Double-A and has been inconsistent.
Pitching, starting and relief, would be the apparent priorities for the A’s if they’re in position to add at the deadline. They sit 2.5 back of the Mariners in the AL West after today’s tough loss. They’re in possession of the final Wild Card spot despite being two games under .500 at 30-32.
Rangers Re-Sign Josh Sborz To Minor League Deal
The Rangers are re-signing reliever Josh Sborz to a minor league contract, reports Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News. He’d been granted his release earlier in the week.
Sborz pitched parts of four MLB seasons with Texas between 2021-24. While he had a mostly nondescript 4.86 earned run average across 150 regular season innings, he carved out a place in team history in October ’23. Sborz worked 12 frames of one-run ball over 10 appearances during the Rangers title run. He was one of Bruce Bochy’s top setup arms and fired 2 1/3 scoreless innings to earn the save in the World Series clinching Game 5 at Chase Field.
Shoulder problems have mostly hampered him since that triumphant moment. Sborz was limited to 16 2/3 innings in 2024. He missed all of last season working back from a debridement procedure, as he encountered a setback during a brief minor league rehab attempt. Texas opted not to tender him an arbitration contract but was able to retain him via minor league deal.
The 32-year-old has been healthy this year but hasn’t pitched well enough to earn a roster spot. Sborz allowed 13 runs across 14 1/3 innings at Triple-A Round Rock. He fanned 17 of 65 opponents (26.1%) but issued nine walks and gave up six home runs. He spent a month working on his mechanics outside of game action before being reassigned to Double-A a couple weeks ago. Texas bumped him back to Round Rock on May 27. He allowed hits to five of 10 batters faced in two innings before briefly testing the market.
It’s not uncommon for players to re-sign on a minor league deal after triggering an opt-out. They get a couple days to gauge whether there are better paths to an MLB opportunity elsewhere. The new deal could have a slightly higher minor league salary and include new upward mobility/opt-out chances that weren’t in the previous agreement.
Twins Sign Austin Voth To Minor League Deal
The Twins signed right-hander Austin Voth to a minor league contract. The move was announced by their Triple-A affiliate in St. Paul, as he’ll start tonight’s game for the Saints.
Voth elected free agency on Tuesday after being outrighted by the Blue Jays. The 33-year-old had two very brief stops on Toronto’s big league roster. He made two long relief appearances, giving up six runs in as many innings. Voth surrendered eight hits, walked five batters, and threw three wild pitches while recording one strikeout.
The big league work wasn’t impressive, but Voth pitched well out of the Triple-A rotation. He made eight starts there and turned in a 2.90 earned run average, albeit while averaging less than four innings per appearance. Voth had a below-average 17% strikeout rate compared to a tidy 6.8% walk percentage. He doesn’t have big stuff but has mixed five pitches and been around the strike zone.
Minnesota pulled the plug on Simeon Woods Richardson with last week’s DFA. They traded him to Toronto for cash yesterday. Bailey Ober recently went down with a mild flexor strain that’ll shut him down completely for 10-14 days. He’ll be on the injured list for most or all of June. Kendry Rojas also recently suffered a triceps strain and Mick Abel has been out since the middle of April.
They’re currently operating with a four-man rotation of Joe Ryan, Taj Bradley, Zebby Matthews and Connor Prielipp. Rookie Mike Paredes is with the big league club in long relief but could draw into the rotation. John Klein is the only depth starter on optional assignment. Voth is the only other starter on the Triple-A team with MLB experience and will probably get a look as a long man at some point this summer.
Rob Manfred Discusses Economic Proposals
Rob Manfred spoke with reporters after this week’s quarterly owners meetings. Jorge Castillo of ESPN, Ronald Blum of The Associated Press and Evan Drellich of The Athletic were among those who relayed the commissioner’s comments.
Manfred spoke publicly for the first time since the league and Players Association exchanged initial economic proposals last week. Those were worlds apart, with the most notable development being MLB’s first official proposal for a salary cap since the 1994-95 players strike. The league proposed a $245.3MM cap and $171.2MM floor. That would come with a 50-50 revenue split between players and ownership, which requires holding some of players’ salaries in escrow in case the league underperforms projections.
[Related Podcast: CBA Standoff Begins]
MLBPA executive director Bruce Meyer unsurprisingly blasted the proposal on Monday, reiterating the union’s opposition to a cap — which he called “a form of institutionalized collusion.” Manfred didn’t directly respond to Meyer’s comment but took his typical approach, framing it as a competitive balance issue.
“We have tried mightily over several rounds of bargaining to use a competitive balance (luxury) tax to address competitive concerns,” Manfred said. “And sometimes you’ve got to admit you failed.” Manfred didn’t expressly state that a cap was the only solution but implied that drastic changes were necessary.
“We made a proposal on one set of topics. At the outset of negotiations, I went and said myself, ‘We’re open to whatever ideas people have, but we need a realistic framework that addresses the fans’ concerns about competitive balance.’ You just can’t ignore that financial penalties have not gotten it done for us.” The luxury tax has been in place since 2003.
That’s a standard talking point for the league. The union’s initial proposal called for more revenue sharing and a “competitive integrity tax” penalizing teams that spend less than $150MM on payroll. The union favors maintaining the luxury tax setup and proposed raising the base threshold dramatically to $300MM.
Of course, both sides are going to push for competitive balance measures that are in their favor on revenue split. Fixing spending on players would also go towards owners’ goals of escalating franchise values. It’s debatable whether either really cares about competitive balance, though that’s obviously a primary concern for many fans — especially those of smaller-market clubs.
An offseason lockout seems inevitable once the current bargaining agreement expires on December 1. The 2021-22 lockout lasted 99 days and narrowly avoided the cancelation of games. “Of course I do,” Manfred replied when asked if he was worried about a more disastrous work stoppage like the ’94-95 strike. He declined to answer a question about whether the league’s desire for a cap would make an extended lockout worthwhile, saying he wouldn’t “speculate about work stoppages.”
There’s no incentive for Manfred to answer that question. The extent of both sides’ willingness to tolerate a lockout that’d cost them game revenue is a pivotal piece of information that neither will disclose publicly. It behooves both parties to stress their resolve more generally.
The commissioner also touched on a few non-CBA topics. He provided an update on the sale agreement that values the Padres just shy of $4 billion. That’s still pending approval from the other 29 owners. Manfred said that’s “not ready for a vote today” but is likely to come up at some point this summer. He also touched on expansion, noting that’s a topic which will be on the back burner until a new CBA is in place.
Cardinals Return Rule 5 Pick Matt Pushard To Marlins
The Cardinals returned Rule 5 draftee Matt Pushard to the Marlins, relays Jeff Jones of The Belleville News-Democrat. St. Louis designated the righty for assignment over the weekend.
Pushard didn’t get much of an opportunity to establish himself. He landed on the injured list almost immediately due to patellar tendinitis in his right knee. That kept him on the shelf for six weeks. The 28-year-old righty pitched pretty well after coming off the injured list, tossing scoreless appearances in each of his first four outings. He labored through 28 pitches in a mop-up appearance against the Cubs on Saturday, however, leading the Cards to swap him out for Hunter Dobbins after the game.
Rule 5 picks can’t be optioned. The Cardinals needed to designate him for assignment and run him through outright waivers. After he cleared, they offered him back to the Marlins for $50K. Miami accepted and will presumably assign him back to Triple-A Jacksonville, where he spent the entire 2025 season.
An undrafted free agent out of the University of Maine in 2022, Pushard has been a pure reliever throughout his minor league career. He worked 62 1/3 innings of 3.61 ERA ball with the Jumbo Shrimp last season, striking out 28.5% of opposing hitters. He’ll be eligible for the Rule 5 draft again next offseason if he doesn’t earn a spot on Miami’s 40-man roster before then. Their bullpen has a little above average this season.
Blue Jays Acquire Simeon Woods Richardson From Twins
The Blue Jays announced they’ve acquired right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson from the Twins for cash considerations. Toronto transferred lefty reliever Joe Mantiply from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man roster spot. Mantiply recently underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.
It’s the second time the Toronto front office has acquired Woods Richardson. The first came as a prospect back in 2019, when the Jays landed him from the Mets as part of the Marcus Stroman deal. Woods Richardson was one of the better pitching prospects in MLB and found himself in another notable deadline trade two years later. Toronto packaged him and then-top prospect Austin Martin to Minnesota in ’21 for José Berríos.
Woods Richardson debuted the following year with one start. He also made one appearance the following season. The former second-round pick held a rotation spot for the better part of the next two years. Woods Richardson was a decent mid-rotation arm, posting a low-4.00s earned run average in consecutive seasons. He combined for a 4.11 ERA with a league average strikeout and walk profile across 245 innings from 2024-25.
That included a strong September last year that added optimism about Woods Richardson’s form going into 2026. Things have gone completely off the rails this year instead. Woods Richardson made two strong starts to open the season. He was knocked around over his next seven appearances, allowing almost 10 earned runs per nine innings. Minnesota pushed him to the bullpen for two scoreless outings. He drew back in as a spot starter on May 28 and was blitzed for five runs in 2 2/3 innings by the White Sox.
Minnesota pulled the plug at that point. Woods Richardson is out of options and can’t be sent to the minors, so the Twins designated him for assignment on Saturday. That gave them five days to see if they could line up a trade before exposing him to waivers. They were able to find a trade partner but only for cash.
Woods Richardson is averaging 92.7 mph on his fastball. That’s down marginally from last year’s 93.2 mark but not a dramatic drop. He has scaled up the usage of his splitter while abandoning his changeup and cutting back on his curveball. Nothing has worked this year, but his splitter and slider were both effective offerings last season.
Toronto’s rotation has been decimated by injuries. Berríos and Cody Ponce are done for the year. Shane Bieber remains weeks away from his season debut. Dylan Cease and Max Scherzer are both out of action but on rehab assignments, so they’ll be back soon. Woods Richardson could make a spot start or two in the interim or work out of the bullpen. The Jays are using Kevin Gausman, Trey Yesavage and Patrick Corbin as traditional starters and have Rule 5 pick Spencer Miles working mostly in 3-4 inning stints behind an opener.
Woods Richardson is playing for around the league minimum salary. He’ll qualify for arbitration as a Super Two player this winter if he holds his roster spot. He’s under club control for four seasons beyond this one.
Mitch Bannon of The Athletic first reported the trade. Image courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn, Imagn Images.
Angels Re-Sign Joey Lucchesi On Minor League Deal
The Angels announced they’ve re-signed reliever Joey Lucchesi to a minor league contract. He’d been released from his previous deal yesterday, presumably after triggering an opt-out clause.
Lucchesi has been on and off the roster since the end of Spring Training. He was in camp with the Giants on a minor league deal, opting out when San Francisco informed him he wouldn’t make the roster. Lucchesi signed a big league deal with the Halos and was on the Opening Day club. He was designated for assignment a couple weeks into the season.
The 6’5″ southpaw cleared waivers, elected free agency, then returned on a minor league deal. He was called back up in late April and the cycle repeated itself. Lucchesi returned on a second minor league contract after another quick DFA and free agent stint. He has made five MLB appearances this year, allowing six runs on seven hits and six walks over 3 1/3 innings.
Lucchesi has logged 18 frames with Salt Lake. He carries a 4.50 earned run average with a strong 28% strikeout rate against a manageable 9.9% walk percentage. They’re decent numbers overall, though he issued three walks and gave up two runs in his most recent appearance. He’ll re-join Tayler Saucedo and the just optioned Sam Aldegheri as depth options with the Bees. The Halos are carrying Drew Pomeranz, Brent Suter and Mitch Farris in the big league bullpen.
Rule 5 Update: June Edition
MLBTR checks in with periodic updates on last offseason’s Rule 5 class throughout the year. There have been a few changes since our most recent check-in during the first week of the regular season. Four players who were on their selecting team’s roster at the time have since lost their spots.
Rule 5 draftees must remain on a team’s major league roster or injured list for the entire following season. If they spend less than 90 days on the active roster, the stipulations carry into the following year. A team that carries a Rule 5 pick for the entire year — plus the 90-day active roster requirement — gets the player’s full contractual rights.
If the drafting team wants to remove the player from the MLB roster, they need to trade or waive them, giving all other clubs an opportunity to take on the Rule 5 requirement. Most DFA’d Rule 5 picks will clear waivers and then need to be offered back to their original organization for $50K — half of what the drafting team paid the previous club to make the selection in December. The original organization gets the player back without requiring a 40-man roster spot. They almost always take the player back, though it’s not universal (as we’ll see with one member of this year’s Rule 5 group).
There were 13 players selected in last year’s draft. Only three remain on the active roster, but two of them have had significant impacts. A right-hander who entered the season with almost zero minor league experience is now a de facto starter for the defending American League champions. Another draftee’s hot start to his MLB career factored into a team’s willingness to trade their two-time Gold Glove catcher.
Two more players remain with their drafting team on the injured list. The other eight were pushed off the roster, but one worked his way back to the Majors via a circuitous journey this week.
On Drafting Team’s Active Roster
- Spencer Miles, Blue Jays RHP (selected from Giants)
Miles was probably the most surprising pick in this year’s class. A fourth-rounder by the Giants out of Missouri in 2022, he has thrown 14 2/3 career minor league innings. Miles had a back injury shortly after the draft, then underwent Tommy John surgery. He returned last year in the Arizona Fall League but had two career appearances above rookie ball, both in Low-A.
The Giants left him unprotected, reasoning that no team would roll the dice on a player with such scant experience. It might’ve made sense for a rebuilding team to take a flier on a pitcher with a 96 mph sinker and a plus curveball, hoping to stash him in low-leverage relief. However, Miles was selected by an all-in Jays team coming off an AL pennant. What were the odds they’d actually be willing to keep him on the roster?
High enough, it turns out. The Jays carried Miles as their final reliever out of camp. He rewarded their faith in low-leverage spots while building up to 2-3 inning stints. Toronto’s rotation became progressively more decimated by injury. By May, they’d reached a point where Miles was essentially in the rotation. He might pitch behind an opener and would only work around four innings, but he was pitching every fifth day and logging the biggest workload of any Toronto pitcher on that day.
The 6’3″ righty has pitched quite well. Miles carries a 3.47 ERA with league average strikeout and walk rates and a near-56% grounder percentage over 36 1/3 innings. The Orioles knocked him around in his most recent appearance, but he’d reeled off 15 1/3 frames of one-run ball in his preceding four outings.
It’ll be interesting to see how John Schneider manages Miles’ workload throughout the season. They’re probably not going to have him throw 100+ innings. Dylan Cease, Shane Bieber, José Berríos, Max Scherzer and Cody Ponce are all on the IL. Berríos and Ponce are done for the year, while Bieber still seems around a month off.
- Daniel Susac, Giants C (selected from A’s via trade with Minnesota)
Susac was the A’s first-round pick in 2022 out of the University of Arizona. He hit 18 homers in Triple-A last season, batting .275/.349/.483 over 407 plate appearances. That’s actually middling production in an extremely offense-friendly Pacific Coast League environment. Susac struck out at a 27% clip while chasing a lot of pitches off the plate.
The A’s have Shea Langeliers entrenched behind the dish. They opened the season with journeyman Austin Wynns in the backup role, leaving Susac off the 40-man roster. The Giants jumped the Rule 5 draft order by sending rookie ball catcher Miguel Caraballo and cash to the Twins, who held the fourth pick.
Susac broke camp as the backup catcher behind Patrick Bailey. He played sporadically in April but seemed to collect two or three hits every time he was in the lineup. Bailey was hitting terribly as part of an overall punchless San Francisco offense. Susac went on the injured list with ulnar neuritis on April 20. By the time he returned in the middle of May, the Giants had traded Bailey to the Guardians for the #29 pick in this year’s draft and depth arm Matt Wilkinson.
The Giants didn’t make the trade based entirely on two weeks of strong performance from Susac, but he was no doubt part of the consideration. They briefly carried another rookie catcher, Jesús Rodríguez, and are now operating with a Susac-Eric Haase combination.
Susac is hitting .323 in his first 70 plate appearances. He has thrown out seven of 16 stolen base attempts. There’s a decent chance that MLB pitchers will be able to exploit his aggressiveness over a larger sample, and it’s much too soon to declare Susac the Giants’ catcher of the future. He has a knack for hitting line drives, though, and his stock is certainly higher than it was coming into the year.
- Ryan Watson, Red Sox RHP (selected from Giants via trade with A’s)
The 28-year-old Watson has had a winding career arc. A former undrafted free agent, he came up through the Orioles’ system and spent the past couple seasons with the Giants. Watson posted strong strikeout and walk numbers in Triple-A last year to catch the attention of the Red Sox. They swung a deal with the A’s, who held the #8 pick, trading minor league infielder Justin Riemer for Watson’s draft rights.
Boston stuck with Watson through an ugly April in which he gave up 13 runs across 17 2/3 innings. He has started to find his footing in May, allowing seven runs over 16 frames while doubling his strikeout rate. The overall season line still isn’t particularly good: a 5.35 ERA, 19.2% strikeout rate, and six home runs across 33 2/3 innings (1.60 HR/9).
Of the three players in this group, Watson seems the least likely to hold his spot all season. He gets a lot of extension and has a five-pitch mix which the front office clearly likes, but almost all of his work thus far has come in mop-up situations.
On Major League Injured List
- Carter Baumler, Rangers RHP (selected from Orioles via trade with Pittsburgh)
Baumler broke camp and made four appearances before going down with an intercostal strain in early April. He had a setback while trying to rehab last month and is without a clear return timeline. Baumler has only logged 11 of the necessary 90 days on the active roster. A long-term injury could carry the Rule 5 restrictions into next season if the Rangers keep him.
- RJ Petit, Rockies RHP (selected from Tigers)
Petit, the #1 selection, blew out in Spring Training and underwent Tommy John surgery. He’ll spend the entire season on Colorado’s injured list and at least pick up a $780K MLB salary. The Rockies will need to decide whether to reinstate him to the 40-man roster or offer him back to Detroit at the beginning of the offseason. If they hold him, he’ll need to log at least 90 days in their MLB bullpen in 2027 to stick around.
On New Team’s MLB Roster
- Zach McCambley, Reds RHP (selected by Phillies from Marlins)
The Phillies took McCambley out of the Miami system. They returned him at the end of Spring Training after he had more walks than strikeouts in camp. The Fish accepted McCambley back but wound up trading him to the Reds in mid-May for outfielder Rece Hinds. Cincinnati called him up yesterday as they cycle through middle relievers.
The Coastal Carolina product has yet to make his MLB debut. He has a 2.37 ERA with a 31% strikeout rate and 15% walk percentage across 30 1/3 Triple-A innings this year. The Reds are not subject to any Rule 5 restrictions because McCambley already passed through waivers and was returned to his original club in March. They’ll likely shuttle him up and down from Triple-A Louisville throughout the season.
DFA Limbo
- Matt Pushard, RHP (selected by Cardinals from Marlins)
Pushard is currently in DFA limbo after St. Louis designated him for assignment over the weekend. The 28-year-old reliever lost six weeks to patellar tendinitis in his right knee. He made six appearances for St. Louis, allowing five runs (four earned) with a 6:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio over seven innings. The Cards have been surprisingly competitive and evidently felt they could make a better use of that bullpen spot. Assuming he clears waivers, the Marlins will likely accept him back.
Returned To Original Organization
- Alexander Alberto, RHP (returned to Rays by White Sox)
Alberto, the second of the White Sox’s Rule 5 picks, struggled in camp and was returned to the Rays midway through Spring Training. He’s pitching well out of the bullpen at Double-A Montgomery, working 22 innings of 2.86 ERA ball with a huge 35.2% strikeout rate.
- Griff McGarry, RHP (returned to Phillies by Nationals; subsequently traded to Dodgers)
McGarry has monster stuff but has never been around the strike zone. It was more of the same in Spring Training. Despite the Nationals having one of the worst bullpens in MLB, they returned him to the Phillies at the end of camp. Philadelphia traded him to the Dodgers a few weeks later for $500K in international bonus pool space, which went towards their $1.2MM agreement with South Korean amateur pitcher Chan-min Park.
Over 18 Triple-A appearances between the Philly and Dodger organizations, McGarry holds a 5.51 earned run average. He has 24 strikeouts but has walked 22 batters and hit two more in just 16 1/3 innings.
- Jedixson Paez, RHP (returned to Red Sox by White Sox)
Paez was the first of Chicago’s Rule 5 selections and went second overall. Unlike Alberto, he broke camp. It was a leap to expect him to stick all year without having previously pitched above High-A, however. Paez gave up six runs over three innings and was returned to Boston in early April. The Red Sox assigned him to Double-A Portland and have been gradually building him back up as a starter. He has allowed eight runs over 14 2/3 innings across six appearances in his first stint at that level.
- Peyton Pallette, RHP (returned to White Sox by Guardians)
A former second-round pick, Pallette had a flawless camp to earn a middle relief spot with the Guardians. He pitched well in April and looked like one of the better finds in the class, but his command backed up after that. Pallette had nine walks and strikeouts apiece over eight innings in May. Cleveland moved on last week, swapping him out for long man Logan Allen.
Pallette went unclaimed on waivers over the weekend. The White Sox assigned him to Triple-A Charlotte, where he worked around a walk to throw a scoreless inning yesterday. Pallette had a 29.3% strikeout rate in Triple-A last season and could get a look from Chicago later in the summer if he’s around the zone.
- Cade Winquest, RHP (returned to Cardinals by Yankees)
The Yankees carried Winquest for the first couple weeks of the season as part of a nine-man bullpen. They never got him into a game and pushed him off the roster when they needed a fifth starter as the schedule picked up. The Cardinals assigned Winquest to Triple-A Memphis and have used him as a reliever after he’d been a starter throughout his career. He missed a month to injury and has only made seven appearances, allowing five runs despite 13 strikeouts over 8 2/3 innings.
Declined By Original Organization
- Roddery Muñoz, Astros RHP (selected from Reds)
Muñoz was an unconventional Rule 5 selection. While most draftees have no MLB experience, he’d pitched in the Majors with the Marlins and Cardinals from 2024-25. Muñoz had just signed a minor league contract with Cincinnati when Houston snagged him in the Rule 5. He had a strong spring and broke camp but was bombed for seven runs in four innings over three regular season outings.
The Astros designated Muñoz for assignment in early April. He cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Sugar Land. The Reds evidently preferred not to send the $50K to bring him back, which isn’t all that surprising considering he’d spent a total of one week during the offseason as part of the organization. Muñoz has a 4.58 ERA with a 31% strikeout rate across 19 2/3 Triple-A frames. Houston’s bullpen has been a disaster but should be in a little better shape with Josh Hader and Nate Pearson back from the injured list.
White Sox’ GM Chris Getz Discusses Deadline Approach
The White Sox are probably the most surprising team in playoff position through the season’s first two months. Chicago takes a 32-28 record into tonight’s game in Minnesota, placing them three games up on the competition for the second AL Wild Card spot. They’re only a game and a half back of the Guardians in the AL Central.
Chicago’s front office surely anticipated taking a step forward after their third straight 100-plus loss season. They added Munetaka Murakami to the middle of the order and took a handful of one- and two-year fliers on the pitching staff. That said, even they probably didn’t project this team as an especially likely playoff team entering the season. They’ve been in rebuilding mode for the entirety of Chris Getz’s three-year tenure as general manager.
The Sox now find themselves in a different spot as teams sketch out their preliminary trade deadline trajectories. Should they look to move prospect capital for MLB talent this summer to aid a potential unexpected playoff push?
Getz spoke with Chad Jennings of The Athletic last week, indicating the front office’s focus remained on the longer term. “It’s never been about 2026. It isn’t. It’s still very big picture,” Getz told Jennings. At the same time, he mentioned that the club is “starting to really have this winning kind of mindset.” That may be changing the front office’s approach just a few days later, as Getz has already somewhat walked back last week’s comments.
“We are focused on 2026. I know I have stated that it’s not about 2026, but this team is playing really good baseball,” the GM said on Tuesday (link via James Fegan of Sox Machine). “We know where we are in the standings, both within the division and Wild Card, and we’re monitoring it. If there’s opportunities to add to this — we have higher hopes than just 2026 because we want to have a continual winner here — but if there’s chances to really add to this group, we’re going to do that.”
Getz didn’t tip his hand on what the front office would prioritize. That’s fairly easy to project from the outside. The Sox have had a top 10 offense overall and are tied for third in home runs behind the Yankees and Braves. They’re tenth in on-base percentage and fifth in slugging. Pitching has been the relative weakness, as they’re 19th in earned run average and 20th in strikeout rate.
Chicago can use help in both the rotation and the bullpen. Starting pitching figures to be the biggest priority, as there are a couple obvious areas to upgrade at the back end. Davis Martin has had an excellent season to cement himself as the staff’s top arm, tonight’s ugly start at Target Field notwithstanding. Sean Burke and Anthony Kay have been capable mid-rotation arms.
Re-signing Erick Fedde on a $1.5MM reclamation deal hasn’t worked, while top prospect Noah Schultz hasn’t been efficient enough in his first eight MLB starts. Schultz landed on the injured list with patellar tendinitis last week but should be back after a short-term absence. Another prospect, David Sandlin, has drawn his first two big league starts in the interim. If the Sox remain in contention, they figure to add at least one starter to take over Fedde’s spot.
The bullpen has found its footing to an extent after a poor April. Second-year righty Grant Taylor is a weapon at the back end. Sean Newcomb, Seranthony Domínguez and Bryan Hudson are all effective and in the mix for leverage roles. They could use another arm or two in the middle innings, however.
There’s not as much to be done on the position player side assuming Murakami and Kyle Teel are back from injury, though they’ll probably explore the outfield market. Sam Antonacci has taken over left field and quickly hit his way to the top of the lineup as a strong on-base threat. They’ve gotten good work from Tristan Peters in center field, but he entered the season without any real big league track record. Right field has been a revolving door, currently falling to a Rikuu Nishida/Randal Grichuk platoon.
Getz told Fegan that the Sox expect to get a look at outfield prospect Braden Montgomery this season. Acquired alongside Teel and Chase Meidroth in the Garrett Crochet deal, the 23-year-old Montgomery is hitting .281/.366/.461 over 23 Triple-A contests. He mashed in a similar amount of Double-A playing time before getting the bump to Triple-A in early May.
Even if the Sox bring Montgomery up before the trade deadline, they could look for a left-handed hitting outfielder from outside the organization. Montgomery is a switch-hitter who can play center or right field. Although the Sox presumably would want him playing regularly once he’s up, there’d likely be some growing pains. Between that and the potential for Peters to take a step back offensively, adding some kind of veteran outfield help makes sense.
None of that means the front office is likely to deal from the top of the farm system. The prospect cost for a back-end starter, middle relief help and/or complementary outfield bat should all be fairly manageable. It’s still too early to delineate many clear buyers and sellers, but Mickey Moniak, Jake McCarthy and Trevor Larnach are among lefty-hitting outfielders who seem likely to be available.
Giants’ Grant McCray, Christian Koss Diagnosed With Fractures
The Giants provided updates on a pair of injured minor leaguers on Tuesday (via Evan Webeck of The California Post). Infielder Christian Koss has a broken left wrist and outfielder Grant McCray fractured the hamate bone in his left hand/wrist. McCray is undergoing surgery on Thursday, while Koss will be reevaluated in two weeks.
Koss and McCray both occupy spots on the 40-man roster. They’re two of San Francisco’s four position players on optional assignment. Outfielder Will Brennan and rookie catcher Jesús Rodríguez, both of whom were just sent down, are the only healthy options. The Koss injury explains why the Giants selected Buddy Kennedy yesterday when they wanted an extra infielder off the bench.
McCray was optioned to begin the season and has spent the entire year with Triple-A Sacramento. He’s hitting .237/.360/.370 with four home runs across 211 plate appearances. McCray appeared in 59 big league contests between 2024-25 as a depth outfielder, batting .185 while striking out 67 times in 156 trips.
Koss spent the first six-plus weeks on Tony Vitello’s bench. He only tallied 15 plate appearances over 10 games before being optioned in mid-May. Koss suffered the injury after three Triple-A games. He hit .264/.309/.368 over 76 games as a rookie in 2025. San Francisco could place either player on the 60-day injured list if they need to open a spot on the 40-man roster.