San Diego designated Johnson for assignment on Friday. The 30-year-old had held a bench spot for the entire season but didn’t provide much at the plate. Samad Taylor has played well since being called up a couple weeks ago and has played his way into regular playing time in left field. Rookie Jase Bowen continues to hold a bench spot, while the Padres brought up Nick Solak over the weekend to replace the injured Miguel Andujar.

Johnson took 49 plate appearances over 32 games this year. The switch-hitter batted .178 without a home run while striking out 18 times. Johnson batted .342 over 84 plate appearances last year, but his broader track record is that of a fifth outfielder. He’s a .229/.286/.290 hitter over parts of five MLB campaigns.

San Diego is light on upper minors position player depth. Mason McCoy is their only hitter on the 40-man roster who isn’t already on the big league club. Solak, Taylor and Bowen have been three of their four best Triple-A hitters this year and have since been promoted. Journeyman utility player Pablo Reyes and 27-year-old Marcos Castañon have been El Paso’s only other above-average hitters this year among those with 40+ plate appearances.

Carrasco’s return felt inevitable, as he’s been on and off the roster all season. The only question was whether he’d sign a minor league contract or jump directly back onto the MLB roster after he elected free agency. Carrasco will probably be back up before long, especially after the Spencer Strider injury. That pushed JR Ritchie back into the rotation, so they may want another long man alongside Reynaldo López in the bullpen.

The 39-year-old Carrasco has made five MLB appearances this season, working nine innings of three-run ball. He has started six games with Triple-A Gwinnett, allowing 3.00 earned runs per nine across 30 frames. Carrasco has fanned 21% of opponents against a 5.6% walk rate.

Handley is back in the system as a depth catcher. Atlanta released him when they activated Hurston Waldrep from the 60-day injured list and needed to open a 40-man roster spot. Handley was injured at the time and has only played five games since the Braves claimed him off waivers from Baltimore in late May.

The Braves welcomed Drake Baldwin back from injury today. That pushes Sandy León to the backup role, leading Atlanta to outright Austin Wynns off the roster. (The Wynns move also opened a 40-man spot if the Braves want to re-select Carrasco’s contract and option Anthony Molina.) If Wynns reports to Gwinnett, that’d drop Handley to no higher than fourth on the organizational depth chart once he’s healthy.

Seattle added González on a waiver claim from Atlanta last August. The 26-year-old reliever had previously spent time in the Pittsburgh farm system before securing a spot on the Braves’ 40-man roster. He never reached the big leagues in Atlanta and finished last season in Triple-A in the Mariners system. González made it to MLB last month and has pitched in five big league contests. He has allowed four runs through 7 2/3 innings, striking out and walking five batters apiece.

González was designated for assignment last week when Seattle brought up Michael Rucker as a fresh bullpen arm. He doesn’t have the previous career outright or three years of MLB service to decline an outright assignment. González will remain in the organization with Tacoma, where he has an excellent 1.66 ERA despite a middling 21.3% strikeout percentage across 21 2/3 innings.

Stopgap backup catcher Chuckie Robinson and fourth outfielder Alex Call are the only players on the L.A. bench who have minor league options remaining. They can’t send Robinson down while Will Smith is on the injured list, and Call has done a decent job as a short side platoon outfielder all season. The only other position players they could consider optioning are Ryan Ward, who is hitting well as the left fielder against right-handed pitching, and starting second baseman Alex Freeland.

Assuming they don’t want to drop to 12 pitchers, the decision probably comes down to Freeland versus Santiago Espinal. They’d need to designate the latter for assignment to take him off the roster, which they already did a few weeks ago. They like Espinal as a clubhouse presence but haven’t gotten him much playing time as a multi-positional infielder. Freeland has played regularly since being recalled on May 27, hitting a league average .231/.340/.359 with one home run in 16 games.

Edman has positional versatility but won’t immediately jump back into an everyday role. The 31-year-old is coming back from last fall’s right ankle surgery. Roberts suggested they’ll continue ramping him up slowly, starting him a few times a week while moving around the diamond. Edman is primarily a second baseman but can spell Max Muncy at the hot corner and play the outfield. A switch-hitter who is better from the right side of the plate, he could take some at-bats against lefty pitching that would’ve otherwise fallen to any of Call, Espinal or Miguel Rojas.

Acquired from the Cardinals at the 2024 trade deadline, Edman has hit .229/.280/.392 over 530 regular season plate appearances in a Dodger uniform. He had a fantastic playoff run, including an NLCS MVP award, two years ago. His October production last year was more middling, presumably at least partially because of the ankle injury. Edman had started the ’25 season hot, connecting on eight home runs through the end of April, but hit .213/.264/.315 while playing at less than 100% the rest of the way.

Pomeranz, now 37, was once one of the best relief pitchers in the league. Unfortunately, injuries prevented him from pitching in the majors for three straight years from 2022 to 2024. He had a great comeback with the Cubs last year, posting a 2.17 earned run average in 49 2/3 innings, striking out 28.1% of opponents while only giving out walks at a 7.4% pace.

The Halos gave Pomeranz a $4MM deal for 2026, betting that he could keep it rolling. They have lost that bet. Pomeranz has given them 23 1/3 innings this year, around a minimal IL stint in May for elbow inflammation, with a 5.01 ERA. He might even be lucky to have that number where it is. His 14.8% strikeout rate and 11.1% walk rate are both awful figures. His .274 batting average on balls in play and 78.1% strand rate are a bit to the fortunate side, which is why his 6.32 FIP and 5.45 SIERA are even higher than his actual ERA.

He now heads into DFA limbo. The Angels can try to work out a trade but it’s hard to imagine him garnering much interest considering his performance this year, his salary, his age and his health history. He has more than enough service time to reject an outright assignment while keeping his salary in place. The Halos might skip that formality and release him.

Assuming he ends up on the open market in the coming days, the Halos will be on the hook for the remainder of the money he’s owed. Another club could sign him and would only have to pay him the prorated portion of the league minimum for any time spent on the roster. That amount would be subtracted from what the Angels pay.

The news on Rodriguez is also notable for the Halos. They have been without Yusei Kikuchi for almost two months due to shoulder inflammation. Jack Kochanowicz required Tommy John surgery this month. Now Rodriguez lands on the IL, further undercutting their rotation. The club is currently tied with the Royals in the basement of the American League with matching 29-43 records. Thanks to several other clubs struggling, they are technically only 6.5 games back of a playoff spot but making gains will be tough with this rotation picture.

Their current group consists of Walbert Ureña, Reid Detmers, Sam Aldegheri and José Soriano. They only have one off-day between now and July 6th, so they will need to figure out some kind of replacement for Rodriguez in the coming days.

That could be Kerry. A fifth-round pick from 2021, he has continued to work as a starter as he has climbed the minor league ladder. He has generally received more praise for his command than his stuff, as his fastball sits in the low-90s. He has been able to make his arsenal work in the lower levels, mixing in a cutter, slider, curveball and changeup, but has been torched at Triple-A, where the Salt Lake Bees play in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. Kerry has a 6.89 ERA in 271 2/3 innings at that level.

It’s unclear if the Halos plan on giving Kerry some starts or if he is in the bullpen as long relief. Since this is his first call to the majors, he has a full slate of major league options and could be easily sent down in a few days, if need be. The Angels have George Klassen and Caden Dana on optional assignment at Triple-A and could call up one of those two, though Klassen has a 5.53 ERA in Triple-A this year and Dana 5.66. Taijuan Walker, Alek Manoah, Huascar Ynoa and Shaun Anderson are non-roster options with some major league experience.

Photo courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski, Imagn Images

Wynns, 35, is a journeyman depth catcher. Over the years, he has suited up for the Orioles, Giants, Dodgers, Rockies, Reds and Athletics. He has a .228/.273/.342 line in 840 major league plate appearances. That’s well below league average but teams presumably value his work on defense and working with pitchers.

Atlanta has been shuffling catchers for quite a while. Both Sean Murphy and Drake Baldwin hit the IL in May, Murphy due to a finger fracture and Baldwin with an oblique strain. They added Sandy León and Chadwick Tromp to the roster in order to cover for those two. Wynns was acquired from the Angels earlier this month, bumping Tromp off. Now that Baldwin is back, they will go with León as the backup. Wynns got one hit in 14 plate appearances while on the team.

Wynns finished last season with the A’s. He and that club avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $1.1MM salary. He was later designated for assignment and released. He signed a minor league deal with the Halos, who then traded him to Atlanta.

Since Wynns has at least five years of big league service time, he has the right to reject outright assignments in favor of electing free agency while keeping his salary commitments in place. If he exercises that right, any club could sign him for the prorated league minimum salary. That amount would be subtracted from what the A’s pay, as they are still on the hook for the rest of the money.

Photo courtesy of Matt Marton, Imagn Images

Short, 31, is a glove-first infielder who doesn’t provide much at the plate. He has 640 big league plate appearances spread across six seasons and has produced a .172/.273/.292 line in those. That includes a .167/.304/.222 line in 46 plate appearances for the Tigers this year.

He continues to get opportunities because he has a strong reputation with the glove. He has hundreds of innings at shortstop, second base and third base, in addition to very brief stints in the outfield. Most of that time has been at shortstop, with over 900 innings there. Publicly available metrics aren’t particularly glowing about his shortstop work. He’s been credited with minus-10 Outs Above Average and minus-1 Defensive Runs Saved but teams presumably have internal metrics that look at him more favorably.

The Mets have been on their backup plan at shortstop for quite a while. A left calf strain put Francisco Lindor on the injured list almost two months ago. Bo Bichette, signed to play third base, has been back covering shortstop basically on an everyday basis since then. Bichette isn’t really considered a strong defender at short, which is why he was being moved to begin the year. Presumably, Short will take a spot on the bench and will be used at short when stronger defense is warranted, perhaps later in games when the club is trying to hold a tight lead.

Vidal Bruján has been on the club’s bench for about six weeks but he has a .100/.182/.100 line in 12 plate appearances. He is out of options and could get squeezed off the roster when Short joins it, though another option would be to keep both Bruján and Short while optioning Eric Wagaman to the minors. Wagaman was selected to the roster about three weeks ago but has only received three plate appearances this month.

As for Polanco, transaction is a formality. His initial IL placement, due to a right wrist contusion, was retroactive to April 15th. That means he has already been out for 60 days and can be reinstated at any time. Last week, his rehab assignment was paused due to ankle soreness and his current timeline is unclear.

Photo courtesy of Junfu Han, Imagn Images

Seabold, 30, has been a starter or swingman for most of his career. The Blue Jays brought him into camp this spring via a minor league deal. His velocity ticked up in camp, so the Jays decided to try him out in a more traditional reliever role.

He wasn’t going to crack the roster out of camp, so he triggered an opt-out and quickly landed a big league deal with the Tigers. He spent about two months in the Detroit bullpen and had solid results. He logged 15 2/3 innings with a 3.45 earned run average. His 20.3% strikeout rate was a bit lower than par but he paired that with a strong 7.2% walk rate. His fastball averaged 93.5 miles per hour, a tick north of where he was in 2025. He threw his new cutter 6.9% of the time while cutting back on his slider.

He got squeezed off the Tigers’ roster. The Jays had suffered some injuries during the season and therefore had more roster space than they did two months prior. They wanted Seabold back enough to send prospect Juanmi Vasquez to Detroit so that they could skip the waiver queue. He logged just 3 1/3 innings for the Jays, allowing three earned runs, before some of Toronto’s injured pitchers got healthy and squeezed him into DFA limbo again.

Though Seabold hasn’t been dominant this year, with a 4.26 ERA and 17.2% strikeout rate on the whole, teams are clearly intrigued by him. As mentioned, his velo has ticked up a bit and he has changed his pitch mix. He is not racking up huge punchout numbers but his hard hit rate, average exit velocity and barrel rate are all better than average. This is the second time he has been designated for assignment in the past month but both instances resulted in a team giving up a minor league player to get him before he hit waivers.

For the Royals, their pitching staff has had a rough go of it lately. Seth Lugo was hit by a comebacker a few days ago and was placed on the concussion-related injured list. Last month, starters Cole Ragans and Kris Bubic hit the IL and are still out of action. In terms of the bullpen, Estévez has been out almost the whole year. James McArthur and Nick Mears joined him on the IL last month.

On Friday, Luinder Avila got a start but couldn’t get out of the first frame, forcing the bullpen to cover 8 1/3 innings. Noah Cameron only went 4 1/3 on Saturday, putting more strain on the relief group. Thankfully, Stephen Kolek went 7 1/3 yesterday. Though Kolek gave the group a break, today will be another challenge. Mitch Spence has been recalled and will take the ball. He has a 6.54 ERA in Triple-A this year. Whenever Seabold reports to the team, he’ll give them a fresh arm to hopefully bolster the bullpen.

To get that fresh arm, the Royals are subtracting from their minor league system. The Jays gave up a minor leaguer to get Seabold last month but now get another one back. Samudio, 21, is an international signee from Panama. He has thrown 56 1/3 minor league innings with a 2.56 earned run average, 29.2% strikeout rate and 8.8% walk rate. In April, FanGraphs gave him an honorable mention on their list of top prospects in the Royals’ system, noting that he touches 95 mph and has the best vertical break in the system. He was at the Single-A level for the Royals and could be headed for the Blue Jays’ equivalent.

As for Estévez, this transaction is a formality. He has already been on the IL for more than 60 days, so he can be reinstated at any time. He was hit by a comebacker early in the season and hit the IL due to a left foot contusion. While rehabbing in May, he suffered a rotator cuff strain. It’s unclear when he will be able to resume his rehab assignment.

Photo courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel, Imagn Images

9:41 am: The Cubs are acquiring right-hander Yosver Zulueta from the Mariners, according to reporter Francys Romero.  Seattle will reportedly receive a minor leaguer and cash considerations for Zulueta, who was designated for assignment earlier this week.  Another transaction will need to be made to open up a spot for Zulueta on Chicago’s 40-man roster.

This is the third time Zulueta has changed teams following a DFA.  Originally an international signing for the Blue Jays in 2019, he sent from Toronto to Cincinnati on a waiver claim in March 2024.  This led to Zulueta making his MLB debut that year, and he posted a 5.32 ERA in 23 2/3 innings for the Reds over the 2024-25 seasons.  When the Reds designated Zulueta this past January, the Mariners worked out a trade to bring the righty to the Pacific Northwest.

Zulueta’s entire stint in Seattle’s organization has been spent at Triple-A Tacoma, and the results haven’t been good — a 5.75 ERA and a 16.3% walk rate over 20 1/3 innings for Rainiers, as well as a modest 21.4% strikeout rate.  Zulueta has been generating grounders at a 56.9% rate but he has a .339 BABIP, so some of the damage has come just from some misfortune.

That said, the inflated walk rate has continued the control problems that have followed Zulueta during his pro career.  He has a 13.93BB% over 254 1/3 innings during his minor league career, as well as an unspectacular 10.9% walk rate during his brief time in the majors.  Zulueta generates a ton of grounders and his high-90s fastball led to some bigger strikeout numbers earlier in his career, so it’s easy to see why teams keep showing interest in the 28-year-old.

Chicago becomes the latest club to see if a fix can be found for Zulueta’s control issues.  There’s no real risk for the Cubs in using a 40-man spot as a flier on Zulueta, and he brings a live arm and some big league experience to a bullpen depth chart that has been stretched by injuries this season.

Brown has been out since April 2 with a Grade 2 shoulder strain. The injury came just two starts into the season for last year’s third-place AL Cy Young finisher. Brown had allowed only one run while recording 17 strikeouts through his first 10 2/3 innings. He got through both starts without issue but reported discomfort during a between starts throwing session and went for an MRI that revealed the strain.

Houston was obviously not going to replace Brown’s production while he was injured. He broke through as a true #1 starter with a 2.43 earned run average across 185 1/3 innings a season ago. He finished eighth in MLB with 206 strikeouts and tied for fourth with 21 quality starts. Brown has made four rehab starts going back to May 24. He reached five innings and 78 pitches in Triple-A on Wednesday.

Starting pitching has been an issue for the Astros all season. Brown’s injury is the biggest factor. They’ve also gone the past two months without Cristian Javier because of a shoulder strain of his own. He’s on a rehab stint and should only be a week or two away from rejoining the rotation.

Offseason acquisitions Tatsuya Imai and Mike Burrows have been major disappointments, though they’ve at least gotten stronger than expected work from Spencer Arrighetti and Peter Lambert. Swingman Kai-Wei Teng has held a rotation spot for the past six weeks. He made consecutive strong starts in mid-May but has gotten knocked around by the Pirates and Angels, respectively, in his past couple outings. Teng will start tonight’s series opener against Detroit.

The Astros will need to open space on the active and 40-man rosters to officially reinstate Brown from the 60-day injured list. Bryan King, Alimber Santa and AJ Blubaugh are the only pitchers currently in the bullpen who have minor league options. King certainly isn’t getting sent to Triple-A, and Blubaugh and Santa have both pitched well.

If they don’t want to make any changes to the bullpen, they could option Teng postgame and remain on a five-man rotation. Burrows has an option remaining as well and has pitched very poorly of late, but it seems unlikely the Astros would demote him after trading two of their better prospects (Jacob Melton and Anderson Brito) to acquire him over the winter. For the 40-man move, Lance McCullers Jr. or LaMonte Wade Jr. are candidates for a transfer to the 60-day injured list.

Pratt will be making his Major League debut whenever he appears in a game, which will surely come on Tuesday when the Brewers host the Guardians.  Pratt was already added to the 40-man roster when he finalized his eight-year, $50.75MM extension with the Brewers in early April, so only a 26-man roster move will need to made as the corresponding transaction on Tuesday.

The $50.75MM marked the third-largest extension ever guaranteed to a player without any Major League experience, and it came just a few days into Pratt’s first season of Triple-A ball.  The Brewers wanted to give Pratt some more minor league seasoning before giving him a look in the majors, and the infielder has delivered an okay but unspectacular slash line of .244/.353/.392 over 258 PA with Nashville.

While the Brewers certainly aren’t going to rush Pratt before they think he’s ready for the Show, the total lack of offense being provided by starting shortstop Joey Ortiz is surely a factor in Milwaukee’s decision.  Ortiz is still providing quality defense at short but is hitting only .207/.299/.262 over 170 plate appearances.  Regular third baseman Luis Rengifo is posting similar numbers, so the entire left side of the infield has been a glaring weakness for the NL Central leaders.

David Hamilton has been getting an increasing share of the playing time at both third base and shortstop, so the Brewers’ plan could be to have Hamilton, Rengifo, and Ortiz in a timeshare at third base and in a bench role, while giving Pratt an everyday assignment in his first taste of the big leagues.  The right-handed hitting Pratt has been a lot more productive against lefties than against righties at Triple-A, so the Brew Crew could also spell Pratt against some tougher right-handed pitching.

The pricey extension put a big spotlight on a player who was viewed as a solid but not necessarily blue-chip prospect heading into 2026.  The preseason prospect rankings saw Pratt land 50th on Baseball America’s list, while MLB Pipeline (62nd), ESPN (70th), and The Athletic’s Keith Law (99th) were less bullish on the 21-year-old’s future potential.

Defensively, Pratt is considered to have a good enough glove to stick as a big league shortstop.  He has also swiped 79 bags in 88 attempts over his minor league career, so Pratt should fit right into a speedy Brewers team.  The question with Pratt is now well his bat can translate against MLB pitching, and his so-so results at Nashville haven’t done much to quiet the doubters.

Milwaukee obviously felt strongly enough about Pratt’s potential to lock him into such a big commitment, even if evaluators felt Pratt was maybe the fourth-best infielder in the Brewers’ farm system.  Jesus Made is arguably the top prospect in all of baseball and Luis Pena and Jett Williams are also highly-touted top-100 types, though Pratt is viewed as the most polished defensive shortstop of the group.

Though naturally much can change over the long term, the Brewers might view their infield of the future as Pratt at shortstop, Made and Pena at second or third base in some combination, and Williams in the outfield.  This scenario also assumes that Brice Turang will be (like so many established Brewers veterans) traded before he reaches free agency, but that day is a while away since Turang is arbitration-controlled through 2029.

There’s no such thing as having “too many” promising young infielders, of course, and the Brewers’ player development system continues to be the envy of most franchises.  Milwaukee has been aggressive in locking up its top prospect to pre-career extensions, between Pratt, Jackson Chourio, and (just a few days ago) outfield prospect Luis Lara.

JUNE 12: As expected, infielder/outfielder Jordan Lawlar has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. In a corresponding move, the Diamondbacks have designated catcher Aramis Garcia for assignment. Over the next week, the D-backs must either trade Garcia or place him on waivers. If he clears waivers, Arizona could send him outright to Triple-A Reno, although he’d have the right to reject that assignment in favor of free agency.

This is the second DFA of the season for Garcia. Arizona first selected his contract in mid-April, after Gabriel Moreno suffered an oblique strain. When Moreno returned, Garcia got the boot. He then cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Reno. A couple of weeks later, the D-backs called on him again, this time to replace an injured James McCann. It’s a pattern Garcia has gotten used to over the years. The 33-year-old has appeared in seven MLB seasons dating back to 2018, suiting up for the Giants, Athletics, Reds, Phillies, and Diamondbacks. In all that time, he has played a total of 129 games.

Garcia was the third catcher on Arizona’s active roster, along with Moreno and Adrian Del Castillo. The D-backs could return to a three-catcher setup once McCann returns from the IL, which might be in the next week or two, barring a setback. However, they probably don’t need three catchers. In the six weeks Garcia has spent with the big league team this year, he has only appeared in eight games, catching 50 innings and stepping to the plate 19 times.

Unless he really struggles, Lawlar will be a lot more valuable than a third backstop. Formerly Arizona’s consensus top prospect, he graduated from rookie status in 2025, although he has still only amassed 128 major league plate appearances in his career. In other words, he has huge potential, but he also has a ton to prove. Not only is he trying to live up to his top-prospect pedigree, but he’s coming back from a broken wrist, and he’s adjusting to a new position. Lawlar came up as a shortstop, but Geraldo Perdomo is blocking him there, and the presence of Ketel Marte and Nolan Arenado means he can’t make the easier transition to second or third base. So, Lawlar will be learning to play the outfield for the Diamondbacks this year. Prior to his injury, he started five games in left field and one in center. He also moved between left and center field during his minor league rehab assignment.

Arizona had one of the best offenses in the National League in 2024 and ’25, but so far in 2026, that hasn’t been the case. Things have been particularly bad as of late. Over the past two weeks, no team has scored less often than the D-backs. What this club really needs is another lefty bat, but until they can find one, they’ll have to hope that the return of a former star prospect injects some energy into their lineup.

Winn is dealing with a right elbow strain, though Giants manager Tony Vitello downplayed the seriousness of the strain when speaking with MLB.com’s Maria Guardado (separate links) and other reporters.  The reliever could be able to start throwing again in a “handful” of days, as per Vitello, and it doesn’t appear as though an MRI revealed any notable structural damage.

As Guardado noted, even a seemingly minor elbow issue is notable given Winn’s injury history, which includes a Tommy John surgery and an ulnar nerve transposition surgery.  His lack of durability was one reason San Francisco moved Winn (once a touted starting pitching prospect) into a relief role last year, and Winn has pitched pretty well coming out of the pen in 2026.

Over 30 2/3 innings this season, Winn has a 3.23 ERA, 21.8% strikeout rate, and 7.6% walk rate.  A .235 BABIP has certainly contributed to Winn’s success, but hitters aren’t getting much on the ball when they do put it in play.  Winn’s 27.7% hard-hit ball rate ranks in the 96th percentile of all pitchers, and his 4.8% barrel rate is also very strong.

Winn’s numbers were even better before a slump that saw the righty post an 8.53 ERA over his last five outings and 6 1/3 IP.  That tough stretch included appearances in three straight games on June 6-8, and Winn was tagged for three runs in two-thirds of an inning in the last of those outings on June 8 (which was his last game before his IL stint).

These recent struggles aside, Winn has been one of the more reliable members of an overall inconsistent Giants bullpen.  Beck is up in the majors for the third time this season and is looking to improve on a 9.00 ERA over his eight innings of MLB action.  Left-hander Matt Gage also might not be far away from a return, as Gage began a minor league rehab assignment on Saturday.  Gage posted a 2.63 ERA (albeit with some shaky peripherals) over his first 24 innings before a bout of knee inflammation sent him to the 15-day IL on June 2.

On the rotation front, Tyler Mahle is slated to begin a Triple-A rehab assignment today.  Mahle hasn’t pitched since May 26, as a left hamstring strain sent him to the 15-day IL the next day.  While it looks like the strain wasn’t too severe, the injury added to a tough beginning to Mahle’s San Francisco tenure.

After signing a one-year, $10MM free agent deal this past winter, Mahle posted a 6.04 ERA over his first 56 2/3 innings in the Giants rotation.  Mahle’s 4.17 SIERA is more palatable and it reflects his .331 BABIP, but the right-hander hasn’t helped his cause by allowing 11 home runs.

Mahle will probably rejoin the rotation in place of Trevor McDonald, who has been a useful fill-in first for Logan Webb and now for Mahle.  Guardado suggests that the trade deadline could factor into the Giants’ thinking in giving Mahle more time to right the ship as a starter, as an in-form Mahle is a natural trade candidate if the Giants can’t get back into contention.

Turning to position players, Guardado writes that Heliot Ramos could also be close to starting a rehab assignment.  Ramos sustained a right quad strain while trying to make a sliding catch in the Giants’ 5-2 loss to the Athletics on May 15, but after a month of recovery time, Ramos’ baseball activity has progressed to the point that he looks to be nearing some on-field action in the minors.  Ramos was hitting .267/.307/.424 with four homers in 176 PA at the time of his injury.

Arcia signed a minor league deal with Minnesota in January, and his contract was selected to the active roster on May 19 when Royce Lewis was optioned down to Triple-A.  With Lewis now back in the Show for over a week, the Twins will shuffle their position player alignment once more in bringing Fedko up as depth for both the outfield and perhaps in the infield mix.  Fedko has a good deal of experience as a first baseman, and he had his first two professional appearances as a second baseman while playing for St. Paul this year.

A 12th-round pick for the Twins in the 2021 draft, Fedko isn’t ranked by either MLB Pipeline or Baseball America as a top-30 prospect within Minnesota’s farm system.  Nevertheless, Fedko has now earned his first ticket to the majors on the strength of some very impressive hitting numbers over the last two seasons, including a .278/.364/.532 slash line and 23 home runs over 426 Triple-A plate appearances.

The 26-year-old Fedko can play all three outfield positions, and he has 47 stolen bases (out of 59 attempts) over the last two seasons at the Double-A and Triple-A levels.  With a lot of his offensive production coming against southpaws, the right-handed hitting Fedko provides a natural complement to Trevor Larnach or Kody Clemens in the corner outfield slots.  With Fedko now on hand, Clemens might get moved back to more regular infield duty rather than playing on the grass.

Arcia hit .271/.300/.354 over 50 PA for the Twins, which isn’t far off the .240/.292/.369 slash line he has posted over 3587 career PA over 11 Major League seasons.  Formerly a regular with the Brewers and Braves, Arcia’s long career has included a World Series ring with Atlanta in 2021 and an All-Star appearance as recently as 2023, but he is best known as a defensive specialist in his heyday.

Since Arcia has more than enough MLB service time to reject an outright assignment, he’ll get to make the next call on his future if he clears waivers.  He can choose to remain with the Twins as a Triple-A depth piece, or elect free agency in lieu of an outright assignment and look for an opportunity elsewhere.  For what it’s worth, Arcia already declined an opt-out opportunity in his minor league deal when he didn’t make Minnesota’s Opening Day roster, so he could be content again to stick with the organization and wait for his next selection.

10:00 am: The Royals have placed first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino on the 10-day injured list with a right hamate fracture, per a team announcement. Outfielder John Rave is being recalled in a corresponding active roster move.

Pasquantino suffered the injury in the fifth inning of yesterday’s 8-7 loss to the Astros. Facing Houston’s Mike Burrows, Pasquantino swung at an inside pitch and popped out to third base. He immediately grimaced after the swing and ultimately left the game (video courtesy of MLB.com). Jac Caglianone slide from right field to first base, and Isaac Collins took Pasquantino’s spot in the lineup, playing left field.

The hamate fracture is the same injury suffered by the Twins’ Ryan Jeffers and more recently the Guardians’ José Ramírez. The Royals have not yet announced a timeline on Pasquantino, but as noted by MLBTR’s Steve Adams, hamate fractures tend to sideline players for four to five weeks. Jeffers landed on the IL on May 19th and is expected back in July, per the Twins’ official injury report. Others like Corbin Carroll and Francisco Lindor returned within the expected time frame, while the Orioles’ Jackson Holliday took about three months after experiencing setbacks.

At a minimum, Pasquantino will be out of action through the All-Star break. That will leave the Royals without a key player, albeit one who has struggled in 2026. Pasquantino has so far batted .224/.309/.350 in 291 plate appearances, which is 19% below average by wRC+. That’s a far cry from last year, when Pasquantino was 16% above average, and it’s easily the worst mark of his career. Adding in his subpar defense, the 28-year-old has been below replacement level this year.

Pasquantino’s drop in hard contact is the biggest culprit for his downturn at the plate. He had a 44.7% hard-hit rate last year, but that’s fallen to 37.7% in 2026, which ranks in the 34th percentile according to Statcast. Pasquantino is also running a career-low 88.5 MPH average exit velocity. There’s some evidence that he’s gotten unlucky, as Pasquantino’s .350 slugging percentage lags behind his .394 expected slugging. However, even the latter mark would be a career low, so the reality is that Pasquantino is both unlucky and a lesser hitter this year.

For now, the Royals will probably go with the alignment they used last night after Pasquantino’s exit: Caglianone at first base, then Collins and Lane Thomas in the outfield corners. Caglianone has rarely played first base in the Majors, though he played 516 innings there in the minors from 2024-25. Caglianone is hitting very well this year (118 wRC+), so he can get by if he’s even a passable defender. Offensively, the net result of Pasquantino’s injury is swapping him out for more of Thomas. The latter’s 99 wRC+ is technically below average but still exceeds Pasquantino’s output this year.

In the meantime, Rave gets called up to fill in as a backup outfielder. Rave, a fifth-round draft pick by Kansas City in 2019, debuted last year and batted .196/.283/.307 in 175 plate appearances, which amounted to a 65 wRC+. In contrast, he’s batted .278/.395/.475 with a 126 wRC+ at Triple-A this year, his third straight season of above-average output at that level. Rave has two option years remaining and will probably get sent down when Pasquantino returns.

Photo courtesy of Denny Medley, Imagn Images