Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Mets Select José Azócar

By | at

The Mets announced that they have selected the contract of outfielder José Azócar. Fellow outfielder Jose Siri has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a left tibia fracture. The club also optioned right-hander Justin Hagenman and recalled right-hander Max Kranick. The 40-man roster already had a couple of vacancies, so no corresponding move was required in that department.

It was reported late on Monday that Siri had a fracture and would be placed on the injured list but the Mets delayed the move until today. That was seemingly a conscious decision the club made in order to take advantage of a roster technicality. A pitcher optioned to the minors cannot be recalled for 15 days, unless they are replacing an injured player.

Yesterday, the Mets recalled Hagenman to work a spot start of sorts, optioning Kranick out to make room for him on the roster. The scheduled starter was Griffin Canning but he had come down with an illness and was pushed by a few days. Hagenman didn’t technically start, as Huascar Brazobán served as an opener, but Hagenman did eat 3 1/3 innings after that. By delaying Siri’s IL placement until today, the Mets were able to bring Kranick back just one day after optioning him, as he is technically taking the place of an injured player.

While that sequence of events helped them out on the pitching side, the position player group has been short-handed, with Siri taking up a bench spot while unable to play. Now they can finally get back to full strength with today’s moves.

Azócar, 29 in May, was claimed off waivers from the Padres in September and mostly kept on optional assignment. But he exhausted his final option year in 2024 and was therefore out of options going into 2025. He didn’t make the club’s Opening Day roster and was designated for assignment on Opening Day, but he passed through waivers unclaimed and stuck around as non-roster depth until today.

Broadly speaking, he’s been a speed-and-defense outfielder thus far. He stepped to the plate 397 times with the Padres over the 2022-24 seasons but hit .243/.287/.322 for a 74 wRC+. However, has stole 18 bases, though also got caught 9 times. In 1,011 outfield innings, he’s been credited with two Defensive Runs Saved and eight Outs Above Average.

The Mets have Juan Soto and Brandon Nimmo in the outfield corners but center field has been a weak spot thus far. Siri hit .050/.208/.100 before fouling a ball off his leg and suffering his aforementioned fracture. Tyrone Taylor, who has been splitting the spot with Siri, has a .163/.200/.209 line on the year.

As mentioned, Azócar hasn’t hit much in his major league career, but the minor league numbers have generally been better. He has a .283/.333/.434 line and 93 wRC+ dating back to the start of 2021. That includes a .244/.367/.366 showing and 109 wRC+ so far this year. He could try to push Taylor for some playing time or just serve as a solid bench guy who can do some pinch-running and/or defensive replacement work. As mentioned, he is out of options, so he would have to be pushed off the 40-man if the Mets want him off the active roster when Siri gets back.

Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images

Twins Acquire Jonah Bride

By | at

April 17: The Twins officially placed Wallner on the IL today, with Bride taking his spot on the active roster.

April 16: The Twins announced that they have acquired infielder Jonah Bride from the Marlins. Miami, who designated Bride for assignment yesterday, will receive cash considerations in return. Dan Hayes of The Athletic was among those to report the move prior to the official announcement. The Twins have had an open 40-man spot since righty Scott Blewett was designated for assignment a few days ago. It was reported earlier today that outfielder Matt Wallner is heading to the 10-day injured list with a hamstring strain, which will open an active roster spot. Bobby Nightengale of the Minnesota Star Tribune was among those to relay the Wallner news.

Bride, 29, has a pretty good track record of minor league performance. Dating back to the start of the 2021 season, he has stepped to the plate 1,166 times on the farm with a 17.1% walk rate, higher than his 16% strikeout rate. That helped him produce a combined .289/.421/.489 batting line and 137 wRC+ in that time.

That got him some brief major league opportunities with the Athletics in 2022 and 2023, but he didn’t hit will in those, slashing .192/.296/.232. He was acquired by the Marlins going into 2024 and seemed to show some promise. He got into 71 games for the Fish last year, hitting 11 home runs and walking at an 11% pace. That led to a .276/.357/.461 line and 123 wRC+.

But he got out to a rough start here in 2025, with a .100/.200/.100 line and 33.3% strikeout rate through 45 plate appearances. Now out of options, he got bumped off Miami’s 40-man roster this week when Jesús Sánchez returned from the injured list.

Though the Twins are going to put Wallner on the injured list, they need more help on the infield, particularly on the left side. In terms of outfielders, without Wallner, they have Byron Buxton, Harrison Bader, Trevor Larnach and DaShawn Keirsey Jr. on the active roster and prospect Emmanuel Rodriguez on optional assignment.

The infield mix is pretty banged up, however. Shortstop Carlos Correa was removed from yesterday’s game with some left wrist soreness. He told Nightengale that he’s been dealing with it since late last year. He’s out to a rough start this season, hitting .164/.227/.246 thus far.

Correa didn’t start this afternoon’s contest, with Willi Castro plugging in at short. However, Castro was removed with some tightness in his right oblique, per Hayes. Correa was subbed in defensively in the ninth but the Twins were not planning to let him hit if that spot in the order came around, per Matthew Leach of MLB.com. The Twins walked off the Mets in the tenth, so manager Rocco Baldelli didn’t have to figure out a plan for what to do once Correa’s spot in the order came up.

The Twins are already without Royce Lewis, who is on the IL with a strained hamstring. They optioned the struggling José Miranda to the minors recently and he got hurt almost immediately after in a strange accident. Per Nightengale, Miranda was shopping at Target and dropped a case of water. He caught it and suffered a left hand strain in the process, getting placed on the minor league seven-day IL. Austin Martin is also on the minor league IL, per his transactions tracker at MLB.com, getting put on the shelf with a right hamstring strain on April 11.

The Twins have Ty France and Edouard Julien at first and second but shortstop and third are more up in the air with Lewis, Correa, Castro, Martin and Miranda all banged up or out of commission. Bride has played all of the non-shortstop infield positions, so he will give them another guy capable of playing third. Perhaps Brooks Lee will then cover shortstop while Correa and Castro get some time off to heal up.

The Twins are off tomorrow, so they have a bit of time to assess how things go before the weekend, but Bride was available and fits nicely with their current predicament. As mentioned, he is out of options, but he has less than two years of service time. That means he can be affordably retained well into the future if he manages to hold onto a roster spot.

Photo courtesy of John Jones, Imagn Images

Braves Recall Alex Verdugo, Option Bryan De La Cruz

By | at

The Braves announced that they have recalled outfielder Alex Verdugo from Triple-A Gwinnett. Fellow outfielder Bryan De La Cruz was optioned down to Gwinnett as the corresponding move.

Verdugo, 29 next month, is a veteran with at least five years of major league service time. That means he can’t be optioned to the minors without his consent. However, he agreed to accept an optional assignment due to his lingering free agency. He remained unsigned until the second half of March, eventually getting a $1.5MM deal from Atlanta. Since he had missed spring training, he agreed to head down to the farm for a while, effectively as a delayed spring training.

His inability to get a deal to his liking earlier in the offseason was surely due to his poor platform season. He had hit .282/.338/.430 from 2018 to 2023, production which translated to a 106 wRC+. That means he was only 6% above league average but that was still decent production, especially considering he’s a solid outfield defender. But with the Yankees in 2024, he hit just .233/.291/.356 for a wRC+ of 83. He was actually pretty decent through the end of May but hit just .219/.274/.315 from June onwards. He then added 56 postseason plate appearances with a .208/.309/.313 line.

That gave him little momentum going into the winter, which led to his aforementioned struggle to get a deal. For Atlanta, they were probably happy that he was out still out there, as their outfield wasn’t in great shape at the end of last year. Ronald Acuña Jr. tore his ACL and missed the second half, with an expected return at some point during 2025. The club took a shot on Jarred Kelenic last year, which didn’t work, as he hit .231/.286/.393. Michael Harris II saw his production drop for a second straight season after his Rookie of the Year performance in 2022.

The club made one big splash to upgrade the outfield this winter, signing Jurickson Profar to a three-year, $42MM deal. But just 11 days after they signed Verdugo, it was reported that Profar had been given an 80-game suspension for a positive PED test. Given the close proximity, it’s possible Atlanta knew of Profar’s test at the time of the Verdugo deal, but with the appeal process having not yet run its course.

Since the Verdugo deal, things have broadly gotten worse for the club. They are out to a 5-13 start, with their outfield being one of the key problems. Kelenic is hitting .146/.239/.244 thus far and Harris is at .179/.208/.299. Before getting optioned today, De La Cruz put up a line of .191/.240/.213.

It’s unclear what sort of production Verdugo can provide, but even something like his diminished 2024 offense would be miles ahead of what the club has received from its outfield so far. For what it’s worth, Verdugo hit .207/.303/.448 during his recent optional assignment.

Verdugo, Kelenic and Harris are all lefties, so that’s likely to be the alignment against right-handed pitchers. Even after optioning De La Cruz, the club has a couple of righty-swinging outfielders in Stuart Fairchild and Eli White, giving manager Brian Snitker some ability to navigate around tough southpaws. Ideally, Verdugo can stabilize things somewhat as the club tries to get the season back on track. Acunña will perhaps start a rehab assignment soon and be back with the club in the coming weeks. That will cut into the playing time of someone, likely Kelenic or Verdugo, depending on what happens between now and then.

Photo courtesy of Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images

MLBTR Podcast: Free Agent Power Rankings

By | at

The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams and Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss MLBTR’s first edition of the 2025-26 Free Agent Power Rankings, including these focal points…

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of David Frerker, Imagn Images

Padres, Pirates Swap Brett Sullivan, Bryce Johnson

By | at

The Padres announced that they have acquired outfielder Bryce Johnson and cash considerations in exchange for catcher Brett Sullivan. Neither player was on a 40-man roster at the time of the deal and they won’t immediately take roster spots with their new clubs. Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported the deal prior to the official announcement.

Sullivan, 31, was outrighted off San Diego’s roster just prior to Opening Day. His big league experience is pretty minimal, with a .206/.243/.299 line in 103 plate appearances. He’s done better in the minors, with a .271/.342/.449 line and 97 wRC+ in 1,594 Triple-A appearances dating back to the start of the 2021 season.

His glovework has been more of a mixed bag. Baseball Prospectus has given him negative grades for his framing in the majors but with better marks in Triple-A. His blocking numbers are a bit middling but his throwing grades are decent.

The Bucs have had seen a number of changes in their catching group recently. They designated Jason Delay for assignment and traded him to Atlanta earlier this month. Shortly after that, both Joey Bart and Endy Rodríguez got hurt. Bart has been dealing with a back issue while Rodríguez suffered a finger laceration and was placed on the injured list. Bart has not yet been placed on the IL but hasn’t played since April 11.

On the active roster, the Bucs are down to just Henry Davis and a banged-up Bart. Abrahan Gutierrez has been with the club on the taxi squad, just in case the club wants him to take Bart’s place. Sullivan will give them another non-roster guy with some big league experience. Perhaps he will join the taxi squad and Gutierrez will head back down to Triple-A, or maybe Sullivan will go to Indianapolis.

The Padres have less need for Sullivan as a depth catcher. They are going with veterans Martín Maldonado and Elias Díaz on the big league roster, while Luis Campusano is on optional assignment at Triple-A. That has allowed them to exchange Sullivan for a bit of cash and another player at a position of greater need.

Johnson, 29, is an outfielder who is known more for his speed and defense than his hitting. He was non-tendered by the Padres at the end of last year and then signed a minor league deal with the Pirates. He has a .177/.248/.226 batting line in 140 big league plate appearances but he has better minor league numbers and some wheels. Dating back to the start of 2021, he has hit .282/.377/.423 on the farm while stealing 100 bases in 116 tries.

The Padres have been scrambling in the outfield a bit lately. Center fielder Jackson Merrill landed on the IL just over a week ago due to a right hamstring strain. Brandon Lockridge took over that spot but suffered a left hamstring strain and followed Merrill to the IL. Lately, they’ve been using utility guy Tyler Wade and veteran Jason Heyward to cover that spot.

The Pirates have an outfield mix consisting of Oneil Cruz, Bryan Reynolds, Jack Suwinski, Andrew McCutchen, Tommy Pham, Alexander Canario and Adam Frazier. Reynolds hasn’t been playing the field lately due to triceps soreness but has been serving as the designated hitter.

In short, both players were more needed by their new clubs than their previous ones, so each will land in a spot where they have a better chance of helping out a big league club.

Photo courtesy of Rick Scuteri, Imagn Images.

Latest On Cubs’ Rotation Plans

By | at

The Cubs’ rotation took a huge hit recently with Justin Steele requiring season-ending elbow surgery. However, they don’t plan to rush out and scramble for external options. Per a report from Patrick Mooney of The Athletic, the club is focused on internal solutions for now.

That’s a fairly understandable position to take at this part of the calendar. There are some unsigned free agents, with Spencer Turnbull arguably the most notable one, but that wouldn’t provide any help in the short term. Such a player would effectively require a delayed spring training ramp up, meaning they wouldn’t be an option for a few weeks even if they were signed today.

The trade market could provide some more hot-and-ready options but there are problems there as well. This early in the season, most clubs are still hoping to contend. The clubs that have no hope of contending this year don’t have a ton of exciting pitchers available.

It could be argued that Sandy Alcantara of the Marlins is the perfect storm of an exciting player on a rebuilding club that should be willing to deal him at any time. The Marlins did trade Luis Arráez in early May of last year, so it’s a possibility with some precedent. However, Will Sammon of The Athletic reported this week that the Fish haven’t yet decided if they will trade Alcantara. There is no real rush for them to decide, as the trade deadline is still months away and they are out to a respectable 8-8 start. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports similarly, noting that the Marlins feel they will get better offers in July.

Some less-established pitchers might be available. For instance, the Brewers just acquired Quinn Priester from the Red Sox to bolster their own injury-battered rotation. Priester is a former first-round pick and notable prospect but had a 6.23 earned run average in 99 2/3 career innings when Milwaukee grabbed him. The Brewers gave up the 33rd overall pick in this summer’s draft, a mid-tier prospect (Yophery Rodriguez) and a player to be named later to get him.

The Cubs already have some guys who are more or less in that Priester bucket. Jordan Wicks is a former first-round pick with a 5.02 ERA in 80 2/3 innings. Cade Horton, another first-rounder, hasn’t made his big league debut yet but is in the Triple-A rotation.

They also have a couple of other options. Javier Assad started the season on the injured list due to an oblique strain but has begun a rehab assignment and should be able to rejoin the club soon. As noted by Mooney, the club has a number of off-days coming up on the schedule. That could allow them to ride with a four-man rotation of Shota Imanaga, Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon and Ben Brown for a while, with swingman Colin Rea contributing from time to time via spot starts or bulk outings until Assad is back in the mix.

That’s a decent amount of depth for the time being and the club is out to a strong 12-8 start, so they probably don’t feel the need to make a panic move. Once the deadline draws nearer, it seems fair to expect their willingness to trade for external options will increase. It’s possible that guys like Wicks or Horton could take over roles in the coming months but other injuries are also a distinct possibility.

Photo courtesy of Kiyoshi Mio, Imagn Images

Cubs Option Matt Shaw

By | at

The Cubs have optioned third baseman Matt Shaw to Triple-A Iowa, reports Keith Law of The Athletic. That’s part of a larger slate of moves, relayed by Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. Infielder Vidal Bruján has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list. On the pitching side, the club recalled left-hander Luke Little and right-hander Daniel Palencia. To make room for those two, righty Nate Pearson has been optioned to Iowa as well, while righty Eli Morgan has been placed on the 15-day IL due to an elbow impingement.

Shaw, 23, came into the season as one of the top prospects in the league. The club clearly believed he was worthy of a shot at the majors, as they traded Isaac Paredes to the Astros as part of the Kyle Tucker deal in the offseason. That didn’t guarantee Shaw a spot on the Opening Day roster but it opened a door for him, which he walked through. He cracked the club’s roster ahead of the Tokyo Series and has been serving as their regular third baseman up until this point.

The results have been mixed. Across his 68 plate appearances thus far, he has drawn a walk in 14.7% of them, but he’s also been struck out at a 26.5% clip. He has a tepid .172/.294/.241 batting line, though with a .231 batting average on balls in play. That number is on the unlucky side but Shaw hasn’t been doing himself many favors in terms of putting good wood on the ball. His 82.7 mile per hour average exit velocity in the second percentile of qualified MLB hitters, per Statcast. His hard-hit rate is in the fifth percentile, his bat speed in the tenth and his barrel rate 15th. His defense has also been a bit of a question mark. In 141 innings at third base thus far, he already has four errors.

All of that is surely less than the Cubs were hoping for, as he destroyed minor league pitching. After getting selected with the 13th overall pick in the 2023 draft, Shaw got into 159 minor league games between that draft selection and the end of the 2024 season. He had solid walk and strikeout rates of 10.2% and 17.3% respectively while slashing .303/.384/.522 for a 157 wRC+. 35 of those games were at the Triple-A level last year and he hit .298/.395/.534 in those, building the case that he was ready for a major league debut.

Shaw is yet another example of a top prospect who didn’t immediately click at the major league level. While some may jump to declare Shaw a “bust”, this sort of thing is actually quite common. A classic example is Mike Trout, who hit .220/.281/.390 in his first 135 plate appearances back in 2011. It can’t be assumed that a prospect will immediately succeed when reaching the majors for the first time, nor does it mean that they won’t ever find success down the line.

Sending Shaw down is defensible in a vacuum, given his struggles. But outside the vacuum, it’s unclear who the Cubs can turn to as a better option for the hot corner. Bruján has a .189/.261/.270 batting line in his career. Justin Turner has lots of third base experience but is now 40 years old. He’s been more of a first base/designated hitter type in recent years, with just 90 innings at the hot corner since the end of the 2022 season. He’s also having his own struggles at the plate this year, with a .172/.286/.172 line thus far. Jon Berti is a 35-year-old veteran utility guy. Gage Workman is a Rule 5 guy who has received just ten plate appearances thus far this year and has been punched out in five of them.

It’s possible this is just a short-term situation and Shaw will be back up with the big league club soon. How long it takes for his return will be significant for him and the club. By cracking the Opening Day roster, he was on pace to get a full year of service time in 2025. That would have meant qualifying for arbitration after 2027 and free agency after 2030. A quick return to the majors could still make those targets viable. A major league season is 187 days long but a player needs just 172 days in the big leagues or on the injured list to get credited with a full year. It’s also possible for Shaw to qualify for arbitration after 2027 even with less than three years of service time, as he could reach Super Two status.

If Shaw doesn’t return fairly quickly, those timelines will be pushed one year into the future. It will also take off the possibility of the Cubs earning an extra draft pick via the prospect promotion incentive. Under the PPI rules, teams can earn an extra pick by carrying a top prospect on the roster long enough to earn a full service year. The Cubs put that on the table initially by giving Shaw an Opening Day job but it will no longer apply if he’s down for a few weeks.

Photo courtesy of Sergio Estrada, Imagn Images

Rangers Re-Sign Nick Ahmed To Minor League Deal

By | at

The Rangers have re-signed infielder Nick Ahmed to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He was participating in extended spring training this weekend, per Phrake Photography.

Ahmed, 35, signed a minor league deal with the Rangers in February. He put up a strong .324/.361/.647 showing during Spring Training but didn’t break camp with the club. He was released at that time but has returned to the same club a few weeks later.

The Rangers likely didn’t put much stock into Ahmed’s strong spring numbers. He has been in the majors for over a decade and is well established as a strong defender but subpar hitter. His career batting line of .234/.287/.371 translates to a 72 wRC+, indicating he’s been 28% below average overall. That’s been trending down in recent years, as he hit .221/.271/.327 for a 62 wRC+ in the 2021 through 2024 seasons.

There’s little denying the glovework. Ahmed has 79 Defensive Runs Saved and 118 Outs Above Average at shortstop in his career. From 2016 to 2019, his 76 OAA at short was tops in the majors while his 65 DRS was second only to Andrelton Simmons. He also hit close to league average at times and the combination was occasionally quite valuable. He slashed .248/.307/.421 over 2018-2020. His 89 wRC+ in that time indicates he was still 11% below league average but that passable offense and excellent glovework made him worth 8.9 wins above replacement over 368 games in that span, per the calculations of FanGraphs.

But the recent decline in offense has pushed him into journeyman status. He played for the Giants, Dodgers and Padres in 2024. As mentioned, he settled for a minor league deal with the Rangers this winter and didn’t make the big league roster.

He’ll now provide the Rangers with some non-roster infield depth. As mentioned, he’s getting a bit of action in extended spring training, presumably to get back in game shape after being unsigned for about three weeks. His transaction tracker says he’s been assigned to the Arizona Complex League Rangers. Presumably, he’ll head to Triple-A Round Rock eventually after getting some reps.

The Rangers have Corey Seager at shortstop but he has a spotty health history. Second baseman Marcus Semien has been incredibly reliable in the health department but will turn 35 this year. If either of them needed to miss some time, the Rangers have Jonathan Ornelas and Ezequiel Durán on the 40-man. Ahmed joins Sam Haggerty and Alan Trejo as non-roster middle infield options.

Photo courtesy of Joe Camporeale, Imagn Images

Orioles Release Luis Gonzalez

By | at

The Orioles have released left-hander Luis Gonzalez. Jake Rill of MLB.com was among those to relay the news. He was designated for assignment yesterday when the club claimed righty Scott Blewett off waivers. Gonzalez is currently injured, meaning he can’t be placed on outright waivers.

It’s a bit of a heartbreaking development for the southpaw. Gonzalez was just added to Baltimore’s 40-man in November, just ahead of his 33rd birthday, which was in January. He had been grinding away for years, having made his professional debut as a prospect with the Phillies back in 2010. He has been in affiliated ball for most of the past decade and a half, but also had stints in Japan, Italy and Mexico.

Going into 2024, he was with the Orioles on a minor league deal. He tossed 60 innings over 44 Triple-A appearances. He allowed 4.50 earned runs per nine, which isn’t terribly impressive, but other numbers were more eye-catching. He struck out 28.9% of batters faced while limiting walks to a 4.9% clip.

The Orioles were impressed enough that they added him to their 40-man at the end of the year, putting him in line to finally make his major league debut at some point in 2025. However, he landed on the minor league injured list on April 11 with an undisclosed injury. As mentioned, injured players aren’t allowed to be placed on outright waivers. Once Gonzalez was DFA’d, it made it inevitable that he would be released.

It wouldn’t be a surprise if the O’s and Gonzalez quickly reunited on a minor league deal, as that often happens in cases like these. However, he will technically be able to speak to the 29 other clubs once he officially clears release waivers.

Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images

Cardinals’ Cooper Hjerpe Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

By | at

The Cardinals announced that pitching prospect Cooper Hjerpe has undergone Tommy John surgery. The left-hander will miss the entire 2025 season and won’t be expected back until midway through the 2026 campaign.

Hjerpe, 24, is one of the club’s top pitching prospects. He was selected in the first round, 22nd overall, in the 2022 draft. He received a signing bonus of just under $3.2MM. He has since posted some intriguing minor league numbers, with plenty of strikeouts though also lots of walks. He logged 93 1/3 innings over 2023 and 2024, splitting his time between High-A and Double-A. He allowed 3.37 earned runs per nine, punching out 32.8% of batters faced but also giving out free passes at a 13.7% clip.

His elbow health, or lack thereof, has been a part of the trajectory in that time. He required surgery to remove loose bodies from that elbow in 2023, limiting him to just eight starts that year. In 2024, his final start of the season was on July 2, with an elbow injury shutting him down from then on.

Clubs and pitchers generally prefer to take non-surgical approaches to injuries for as long as they can, as going under the knife is such a lengthy time commitment and there are no guarantees that a player will return to 100% effectiveness afterwards. But in this case, it could be avoided no longer, so Hjerpe is now going to be on the shelf for a while.

Despite the limited workload, Hjerpe is well regarded. Baseball America currently lists him as the #7 prospect in the Cards’ system, highlighting his unique sidearm delivery as he throws an arsenal that includes a fastball, curveball, cutter and changeup. Back in May of last year, Eric Longenhagen and Travis Ice of FanGraphs had him in the #5 spot.

If Hjerpe were healthy here in 2025, he likely would have returned to Double-A and could have pushed for a Triple-A promotion at some point during the season. All that will have to be kicked down the road now.

Some interesting decision points will come this winter, as Hjerpe will be eligible for the Rule 5 draft in December. The Cards will have to decide if it’s worth giving him a 40-man spot by the Rule 5 protection deadline in November. He’s obviously an important prospect in the system but has a limited track record and will still be rehabbing at that time. However, grabbing an injured pitcher in the Rule 5 isn’t unprecedented. In the most recent iteration, the Blue Jays took Angel Bastardo from the Red Sox while the Rays grabbed Nate Lavender from the Mets. Both of those pitchers underwent Tommy John surgeries last summer and could potentially return later this year.

Photo courtesy of Jim Rassol, Imagn Images

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top