More to come.

The 2026 season is humming along. Do you have a question about a hot or cold start in the early going? The upcoming trade deadline? Next winter’s potential labor showdown? If you have a question on those topics or anything else baseball-related, we’d love to hear from you! You can email your questions to mlbtrpod@gmail.com.

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1. Dodgers relievers continue scoreless streak

The L.A. bullpen only had to cover two innings on Sunday with Yoshinobu Yamamoto tossing seven frames. Will Klein and Tanner Scott got the job done, combining for two perfect innings with four strikeouts. The Dodgers’ relievers have now delivered 38 consecutive scoreless innings, a franchise record in the modern era. It’s the longest leaguewide streak since Cleveland’s bullpen posted zeroes for 38 2/3 innings in 2017 (h/t Sarah Langs of MLB.com). The Dodgers’ bullpen has done it without star closer Edwin Diaz, who underwent elbow surgery in April.

2. Mariners swap piggyback roles on Monday

Mariners right-handers Bryce Miller and Luis Castillo tag-teamed in their last appearance. Miller covered the first 5 2/3 innings, then Castillo went 2 1/3 innings in relief. The starters got some help from relievers Jose A. Ferrer and Andres Munoz along the way. Seattle is flipping the order on Monday against the A’s. It’ll be Castillo making the start with Miller coming in relief, per Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times. It’s an interesting choice considering Miller’s strong work this season. The righty has allowed just two earned runs over 11 frames since returning from an oblique injury. Castillo has an ERA well above 6.00.

3. Detmers dominates Rangers

Angels left-hander Reid Detmers racked up 14 strikeouts on Sunday against Texas. He allowed just one hit over eight innings, a solo homer by Jake Burger. It was a much-needed outing after Detmers was tagged for eight earned runs in his last start. The lefty’s return to the rotation has had some bumps, but he’s pitched better than his 4.57 ERA. Detmers has a 2.87 xERA. His xFIP and SIERA are below 3.50. He’s been unlucky with a 59.4% strand rate. That number is 69.1% for his career. If Detmers can emerge as a reliable rotation option, he’ll provide a nice 1-2 punch with Jose Soriano. He could also be an attractive trade piece.

Photo courtesy of Benny Sieu, Imagn Images

Senzatela is in the last guaranteed year of a five-year, $50MM extension he signed with Colorado back in October 2021, as the Rockies hold a $14MM club option (with no buyout) on his services for 2027.  In this sense Senzatela is basically a rental player for any interested trade suitors, as that club option is unlikely to be exercised regardless of how well the righty pitches over the rest of the 2026 campaign.

Since signing that extension, Senzatela has tossed only 274 1/3 big league innings, as a torn ACL and a Tommy John surgery led to two extended stints on the injured list.  Finally fully healthy heading into the 2025 season, Senzatela struggled to a 7.42 ERA over 108 innings and 23 starts before the Rockies moved him to the bullpen in August.  The role switch seemed to work immediately, as Senzatela then delivered a 2.86 ERA over his first 22 innings as a reliever.

The improvement has carried over to some extent in 2026, though Senzatela’s sparkling 1.13 ERA carries several red flags.  A .195 BABIP is probably the biggest reason why Senzatela’s 3.48 SIERA more than triples his real-world ERA.  It isn’t just good luck, however, as Senzatela’s 6.8% walk rate is quite solid and his hard-contact numbers are vastly improved from his career norms.  His 22% strikeout is a bit below league average, but also markedly better than the 14.7K% Senzatela posted over his first nine MLB seasons.

As one might expect, Senzatela’s move to relief pitching has bumped his velocity — after averaging 94.2mph on his fastball prior to 2026, Senzatela is now up to 97.1mph.  Moreso than just the velo, Senzatela’s decreased usage of his four-seamer has made the pitch much more effective, as Senzatela has now introduced a cutter to his arsenal.  The four-seamer has been thrown 35.2% of the time while the cutter isn’t far behind at 30.8%, and Statcast’s Run Value metric gives the cutter an impressive +6.

These results bode well for Senzatela’s chances of landing a decent contract when he hits free agency this winter, as it looks like the move to the pen has resurrected his career.  In the shorter term, it makes him an obvious trade chip on a rebuilding Rockies team that is tied with the Angels for the worst record in baseball (20-34).  Barring injury, Colorado will surely be moving Senzatela in advance of the trade deadline.

The wrinkle in regards to the Padres is that San Diego is apparently looking to make a move sooner rather than later.  San Diego relievers have already logged 213 2/3 innings, the seventh-highest total of any relief corps in baseball.  Though this heavy workload hasn’t stopped the Friars’ bullpen from being one of the best in the game, the front office is looking to be proactive in adding a relief arm or two to help keep everyone fresh for what the Padres hope is an even deeper playoff run.

On the flip side, the fact that the Padres’ desire for bullpen help is more of a want than a true need, they may not be operating with much desperation.  That reduces what leverage the Rockies may have as one of the few teams in pure seller mode.  While the Rox will definitely be selling and the Padres will (barring a total collapse in the next two months) definitely be buying, most prominent trades don’t take place until much closer to the deadline since clubs usually want to take their time in accessing their needs and gauging the market.

Since the Rockies’ priority should be on amassing talent rather than cutting payroll, Colorado could offer to eat virtually everything remaining on Senzatela’s contract (roughly $8MM of a $12MM 2026 salary) in order to maximize the prospect return.  Such an offer could be of particular interest to the Padres, who project to be luxury tax-payors for the second straight season and didn’t much this past winter.  Of course, the incoming new ownership group led by Jose E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones could be willing to stretch the budget in pursuit of the franchise’s elusive first World Series ring.

It is perhaps worth noting that the Padres and Rockies are very infrequent trade partners who haven’t completed a non-cash considerations type of trade since December 2011.  This may have less to do with a division rivalry than the fact that the Rockies generally made less trades as an organization than most other clubs, though president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta has already swung several lower-level deals in less than a year on the job.

• The Rays placed outfielder Jonny DeLuca on the 10-day injured list (retroactive to May 23) due to a right hamstring strain, and called up Victor Mesa Jr. from Triple-A Jacksonville.  DeLuca suffered the injury while running the bases in Friday’s 4-2 Rays victory over the Yankees, and he underwent an MRI today to determine the severity of the strain.  DeLuca has hit .269/.298/.412 over 125 plate appearances while chipping in at all three outfield positions, though most of his work has some as the right-handed hitting side of a right field platoon with Jake Fraley.  Both sides of that platoon are now on the IL since Fraley is recovering from sports hernia surgery, leaving Ryan Vilade, Richie Palacios, and Mesa as the top candidates to pick up the slack in the outfield.
• The Rangers placed right-hander Cole Winn on the 15-day IL due to fatigue in his throwing arm, and called up right-hander Gavin Collyer (this was the only corresponding move since Collyer was already on the 40-man roster).  Winn has a 25.8% strikeout rate and 7.9% walk rate over 19 1/3 innings out of the Texas bullpen, but a lot of hard contact and an unfavorable .345 BABIP have resulted in a 5.59 ERA that is far higher than his 3.25 SIERA.  While Winn’s arm issue doesn’t seem too serious, he missed significant time in both the 2024 and 2025 seasons due to shoulder and rotator cuff problems.
• The Red Sox activated Danny Coulombe from the 15-day IL prior to today’s game with the Twins, and the left-hander tossed a scoreless inning of relief in Boston’s 6-5 loss.  (Left-hander Tyler Samaniego was optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding move.)  Coulombe missed a little over three weeks due to back spasms, and his 5.00 ERA over nine innings this season can be largely attributed to one very rough outing against the Yankees on April 23. Beyond that bad game, the southpaw has only allowed two runs over his other 8 1/3 frames of work.
• The Brewers announced that outfielder Akil Baddoo was activated from the 60-day injured list and optioned to Triple-A Nashville.  After signing a split contract with Milwaukee during the winter, Baddoo suffered a quad strain near the end of Spring Training and has spent the entire season on the 60-day IL.  The outfielder has logged some rehab games in Nashville already and will continue to bide his time until a possible call-up to the Show.

These transactions are becoming routine for Suarez, who has now been DFA’ed three times by the Orioles in under a month.  The first designation saw Suarez clear waivers and then elect free agency, as a previous outright on his resume allowed him to decline the Orioles’ outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk.  However, Suarez quickly re-signed with the O’s on a minor league contract, then was selected back to the active roster, and DFA’ed and outrighted again within the span of five days.

This time, Suarez chose to just accept the outright assignment, and spent a couple of weeks in Norfolk before the Orioles selected his contract again last Tuesday.  Unless Suarez is claimed off waivers, it seems probable that Suarez will end up staying with the O’s in some fashion, either via accepting the outright assignment or another free agent trip that results in another fresh minor league deal.

Suarez is out of minor league options, so the O’s have to designate him and expose him to the waiver wire whenever the club wants to shift him off the active roster.  Suarez has some leverage in this back-and-forth situation given his ability to reject outright assignments, but it could be that he is content to stick it out in a familiar environment with the knowledge that he’ll probably get another look in the majors pretty soon.

Amidst all this roster shuffling, Suarez has a 2.75 ERA over 19 2/3 big league innings this season, including four shutout frames in Game 2 of today’s doubleheader (a 4-1 Orioles loss).  Suarez’s ability to eat innings has made the former swingman and starter into a useful long man for Baltimore, though he has barely more strikeouts (10) than walks (nine) and he benefited greatly from a minuscule .186 BABIP.

1:51PM: The fifth inning on Sunday against the Pirates was a double whammy for the Blue Jays. Dylan Cease departed in the top of the frame with a leg injury. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. took a Mitch Keller sinker to the elbow in the bottom of the inning and was immediately replaced.

The team announced left hamstring discomfort as the reason for Cease’s removal. Guerrero has been diagnosed with a right elbow contusion. The first baseman had X-rays taken, which came back negative for a fracture, per the club.

Toronto has been among the most injured squads in the league. Catcher Alejandro Kirk, outfielder Nathan Lukes, and infielder/outfielder Addison Barger are currently on the injured list. Outfielder Anthony Santander is out for the season after shoulder surgery. On the pitching side, Jose Berrios, Bowden Francis, and Cody Ponce are done for the year. Shane Bieber has yet to appear this season. Max Scherzer remains out.

Cease is well-known for his impressive durability. The right-hander has never been on the 15-day injured list since debuting with the White Sox in 2019. He did spend a bit of time on the 10-day IL in early 2021, but that was for COVID-19 reasons. Cease has made 32+ starts in every season since the shortened 2020 campaign.

Guerrero also has a clean injury history. He’s never been on the injured list in his eight years in the big leagues. Guerrero has topped 155 games and 675 plate appearances in five consecutive seasons. An absence for either Cease or Guerrero would be challenging for Toronto to navigate, but neither injury seems like a major issue.

Photo courtesy of Nick Turchiaro, Imagn Images

Nishida will be making his Major League debut whenever he appears in a game.  The 25-year-old Osaka native arrives in the Show without the NPB background of most Japanese players, but he played college ball at Oregon and was an 11th-round draft pick for the White Sox in 2023.

With two more hits today for Charlotte, Nishida is now hitting a blistering .347/.454/.395 over 129 plate appearances, which comprises his only experience at the Triple-A level.  Nishida made his Double-A debut in 2024 and then spent the entire 2025 campaign and the start of the 2026 season at Double-A.  He got off to a good enough start (.250/.434/.350 in 54 PA) in Birmingham to finally get to the call to Triple-A, and Nishida hit the ground running at the higher level.

Running is a major part of Nishida’s offensive arsenal, as he has 110 steals (out of 140 attempts) during his minor league career.  This speed has helped turn a lot of grounders into hits, which partially explains Nishida’s inflated .421 BABIP in Charlotte as more than just a ton of good fortune.  Nishida makes a lot of contract and draws a ton of walks, as evidenced by his .410 OBP during his minor league career.

The big flaw in Nishida’s game is a near-total lack of power, as he has two homers and a .340 slugging percentage over 448 games in Chicago’s farm system.  This may be why Baseball America and MLB Pipeline don’t list Nishida among the top 30 White Sox prospects, though Chicago’s pretty deep minor league system may also be a factor.  Defensively, Nishida has primarily been used as a second baseman and left fielder, though he has a good deal of experience at the other two outfield positions.

The x-factor here is clubhouse impact.  As White Sox director of player development Paul Janish tells MLB.com’s Scott Merkin, Nishida is “one of the best baseball players that we have in our organization. He is contagious in the best way.  The players around him get better, the teams that he is on win.  It’s really hard for me to express how much I think of Rikuu as a player.”

Nishida’s skillset on and off the field makes for an intriguing new addition to a Pale Hose team that has already exceeded expectations with a 26-26 record.  It remains to be seen if the Sox can actually contend even in a weak American League, yet it certainly seems like the club has made leaps and bounds in the rebuild process.

Since the Sox are already overloaded with left-handed hitting outfielders, the lefty-swinging Nishida will probably be used in some sort of platoon situation with Chase Meidroth (another low-power source) at second base.  Meidroth has been markedly better against lefties than righties in his career, whereas Nishida has started crushing right-handed pitching in 2026.  Chicago ranks 11th among all teams in OBP and 14th in stolen bases, so Nishida should help the White Sox improve those already respectable numbers.

Mark P

• Greetings! We’ll open up the Weekend Chat in a minute or two, once we get some tasty questions rolling in….

B

• What do you think the Phillies do in terms of trades soon or before the deadline they are turning it around but what do they still need? Third base? Right field? Garcia and bohm haven’t been good.

Mark P

• Bullpen will again be a target area, and rotation depth is a need.  Nola just isn’t pitching well at all and Painter is inconsistent, leaving the Phils with just three reliable starters.But, you’re correct that 3B/RF will both also be on the radar.  Bohm and Garcia are simply running out of time to get their seasons turned around.  The Phillies could also use bench depth in general, and someone they obtain for a part-time role could well work their way into more of a regular job at 3B/RF depending on what’s available out there on the market.

Undecided CT

• Somebody just officially announced on his instagram he is actually retiring. I’ve never seen someone change their mind twice on retirement in two days.

Mark P

• Annnnnd, the chat is immediately halted for a couple of minutes since I needed to update our Chris Taylor retirement post.Reading between the lines, I wonder if Taylor decided that he just didn’t feel like going through the grind of the rehab process after fracturing his forearm.  It’s understandable how a major injury like that might be the final push to get a veteran player on the fence over into retirement.  And hey, can’t blame Taylor for taking some time and a few second thoughts about ending a career path that has dominated most of his life.

Doofus

• How much would the Red Sox have to give up for Yordan Alvarez?

Mark P

• Alvarez is signed through 2028, so unless the Astros decide to entirely blow things up and rebuild, he isn’t being traded.  While it is increasingly looking like the Astros may be deadline sellers, Alvarez doesn’t seem likely to be moved.It would require a huge offer of top prospects and MLB-ready young players for the BoSox to pry Alvarez away.  Franklin Arias, at least one of Tolle or Early, etc.

Scott Harris

• Of course I’ve failed to build a sufficient offense but can some of my teams shortcomings be attributed time injury?

Mark P

• There are currently 14 players on Detroit’s IL, so yeah, “some” is understating things.  One can certainly take issue with how the Tigers chose to build their roster, but there aren’t many teams that can get by with so many key injuries

Guest

• Is it possible the Cards are for real?

Mark P

• “For real” in the sense that they can make the playoffs…..probably not, since their pitching (both the rotation and pen) still doesn’t seem like it’ll hold up over the long haul.”For real” in the sense that they’re looking like a solid team?  Absolutely.  The Cardinals don’t need to reach the postseason for 2026 to be a nice step in the right direction.  Even a .500 record is a big success for a step most expected to be terrible.

Scott

• Who loses there job if the cubs dont make the playoffs, Hoyer or Counsell? Thanks

Mark P

• Hoyer just signed a new extension last summer, whereas Counsell is signed through 2028.  Counsell is earning more than $8MM per season, so that would be over $16MM that Cubs ownership would have to eat in the event of a managerial change.This is another situation where the injuries have to be acknowledge, since it isn’t Counsell’s fault that the Cubs’ list of pitching injuries is well into the double figures.

Dave

• Can the Giants find a trade for Chapman? I know he has a no trade clause but moving him is a key for both Schmitt and Eldridge.

Mark P

• I believe June 15 is the first day teams are allowed to trade players they signed to a free agent deal the previous offseason.  So that means San Francisco has a few more weeks to gauge their situation before opening the door to Luis Arraez offers.  It is far, far more likely that an impending free agent like Arraez is dealt before guys like Chapman on long-term contracts.
• If Arraez is dealt, Schmitt then plays second base, and Eldridge now has a regular spot at either 1B or DH.

Chaim Bloom

• Will I have to ruin the farm system to buy at the deadline if we continue winning?

Mark P

• Bloom’s not going to shift course from this long-planned rebuild just to suddenly trade key prospects for short-term upgrades.  If St. Louis is still in the running at the deadline, I can see the Cards making a few modest adds (likely for pitching) but nothing earth-shaking

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MAY 23: Taylor has reversed his decision to retire, according to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. Instead, he’s been placed on the minor league injured list with a left forearm fracture, which he sustained on Wednesday at Triple-A Salt Lake.

MAY 22: Two-time World Series winner Chris Taylor is retiring, according to the MiLB.com transaction log. He had been in Triple-A with the Angels.

Taylor played parts of 12 seasons in the big leagues. The University of Virginia product was a fifth-round pick by Seattle in 2012. He played a bench role with the Mariners for a couple seasons before being traded to the Dodgers for right-hander Zach Lee in June 2016. That seemingly minor trade would haunt the Mariners, as then-GM Jerry Dipoto would call it “the worst deal I ever made” a year later.

Although Taylor wasn’t much of a factor in his first half-season with the Dodgers, that changed following his recall from Triple-A in April ’17. Taylor hit .288/.354/.496 with 21 home runs and 34 doubles over 140 games. He carried that form into the postseason, posting a near-.900 OPS in his first October action. That included a pair of homers in a five-game NLCS victory over the Cubs, in which Taylor was named the co-series MVP with Justin Turner.

That was the start of a five-year stretch in which Taylor was a key piece of very successful Dodgers teams. He’d hit .258/.340/.450 with 57 homers from 2018-21, earning an All-Star selection in the final of those years. He’d win his first World Series ring when L.A. defeated the Rays in 2020. That was ironically one of the only postseasons in which Taylor didn’t have good numbers, but he’d go on an absolute tear the following October.

Taylor had a signature moment when he hit a walk-off home run against Alex Reyes to knock out the Cardinals in the ’21 Wild Card Game. That was the first of four he’d hit in that postseason despite Dodgers getting bounced by the Braves in the NLCS. Taylor carried that momentum into his first trip to free agency, eventually re-signing on a four-year contract that guaranteed him $60MM.

Although it was an obvious move for the Dodgers at the time, that didn’t work out the way Taylor or the team would’ve hoped. He missed time in each of the first three seasons while his power production dropped. His game always came with a lot of strikeouts, so the declining slugging numbers made him a below-average hitter. He remained a valued clubhouse presence, though, and he’d win another championship when the Dodgers knocked off the Yankees in a five-game World Series in 2024.

Taylor spent the first six weeks of the 2025 season holding a spot on Dave Roberts’ bench. He’d get released in May and joined the Angels on a big league deal. He broke his hand early in his Halos’ tenure and spent most of the year on the injured list. He hit .186 in 58 games between the two clubs, but he’d collect a third ring for his early-season work once the Dodgers repeated as champions. Taylor also achieved the 10-year service milestone last August, albeit while on the injured list.

Taylor re-signed with the Angels but was unable to snag a roster spot out of camp. After 32 games with Triple-A Salt Lake, he evidently decided he was prepared to call it a career. It’s unclear if that’s due to some kind of injury. Taylor played on Wednesday and departed in the sixth inning after being hit by a pitch in what’ll seemingly be his final professional plate appearance.

Over more than a decade in the Majors, Taylor tallied 860 hits and 110 home runs. He had a league average .248/.327/.419 batting line overall, though he was an above-average hitter for five straight seasons at his peak. His .247/.351/.441 postseason slash was superior to his regular season mark despite the higher quality of competition.

Taylor was a part of two World Series winners and four NL pennants in L.A., three of them as an everyday player. He also suited up at six positions — all three outfield spots and the infield positions to the left of first base — as a versatile defender. Baseball Reference and FanGraphs credited him with roughly 16-17 Wins Above Replacement, and he racked up nearly $78MM in earnings. Congratulations to Taylor on an excellent run and all the best in retirement.

Image courtesy of Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images.

Beginning his big league career in 1973, Moore spent his first few seasons backing up Darrell Porter at the catcher position while also getting a good chunk of playing time as a corner outfielder.  Porter was traded to the Royals after the 1976 campaign, which opened up more time behind the plate for Moore over the next five seasons.  The Brewers than moved Moore into more or less an everyday right field role from 1982-84 before he returned to regular catching duty in his final three seasons.

It was something of an unusual career arc for a catcher, yet Moore was a good athlete who held his own defensively as a right fielder.  Reggie Jackson learned this the hard way during Game 5 of the 1982 ALCS, when Moore threw out Jackson at third base when the superstar was trying to go from first to third on a Fred Lynn single.  Jackson’s Angels held a 3-2 lead at that point in the do-or-die Game 5, and Moore’s big play was a key moment as Milwaukee went on to a 4-3 victory.

The 1982 squad is still the only Brewers team to reach the World Series, falling just short to the Cardinals in a seven-game Fall Classic.  Moore was a huge part of Milwaukee’s playoff run, hitting .385/.429/.462 over 44 plate appearances during that postseason.

Moore finished his career with 36 homers and a .261/.319/.355 slash line over 4483 PA and 1334 career games.  He also had 51 career stolen bases, with two of them coming on October 1, 1980 when Moore also hit for the cycle.  That huge all-around day made Moore the first player in modern baseball history to both hit for a cycle and steal two bases in the same game.  In another historical note for Moore, the last of Henry Aaron’s MLB record 2297 RBIs was recorded when Aaaon singled to drive in Moore from third base on the final day of the 1976 season.

We at MLB Trade Rumors send our condolences to Moore’s family, friends, and many fans.

An IL stint seemed inevitable when Irvin left Saturday’s game after five innings and 80 pitches, despite the fact that Irvin still hasn’t allowed a hit against the powerful Atlanta lineup.  An MRI revealed the strain but nothing more serious, and manager Blake Butera told MLB.com’s Rick Farlow and other reporters that Irvin may miss just the minimum 15 days.  Irvin described the diagnosis as the “best news that we could have heard….[I’ll] just attack it with treatment and strengthening and just trying to do whatever we can to get this thing to heal up as quick as possible.”

It’s a sign of Irvin’s bad luck this season that the injury occurred during what was shaping up as the best outing of an otherwise rough 2026.  Irvin has a 5.23 ERA over 11 starts and 51 2/3 innings, but a 3.79 SIERA is perhaps more reflective of his work.  The righty is allowing a lot of hard contact and his 9.6% walk rate is below average, but Irvin is striking out batters at a solid 25.4% rate — easily the best K% of his four MLB seasons.

Washington’s rotation hasn’t been very effective on the whole but they have been durable.  Beyond the starting five of Irvin, Cade Cavalli, Foster Griffin, Zack Littell, and Miles Mikolas, the only other pitchers to make “starts” this season were Poulin and Richard Lovelady, who combined for eight appearances as an opener.

Since the Nats have an off-day on Thursday, Irvin’s spot in the rotation doesn’t need to be addressed until June 2.  The club could obviously have a fill-in starter interrupt the usual rotation order if the other starters are given an extra rest day, or a bullpen day could be scheduled if an actual starter isn’t used to take Irvin’s place.

Anderson inked a minor league deal with the Athletics in November. He earned an invitation to Spring Training, where he pitched reasonably well, tossing 10 1/3 frames with a 4.35 ERA and more than a strikeout per inning. The veteran fell short of a big-league roster spot out of camp. He triggered an upward mobility clause in his deal, but no club stepped in to add him.

With no MLB roster spot waiting for him, Anderson headed to Triple-A Las Vegas. He pitched well with the Aviators. The righty posted a 2.16 ERA with a 16:5 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 15 appearances. It wasn’t enough for him to earn a call-up to the A’s.

The Twins signed Anderson as an undrafted free agent in 2015. He was already 24 years old when he got his first look in pro ball. Anderson pitched well in the minors with Minnesota, reaching Triple-A by 2018. He was dealt to Miami for third baseman Brian Schales that offseason. Anderson broke camp with the Marlins in 2019. He delivered a sub-4.00 ERA with a massive 37.1% strikeout rate over 45 appearances. Miami shipped Anderson and righty Trevor Richards to Tampa Bay at the trade deadline for outfielder Jesus Sanchez and righty Ryne Stanek.

Anderson put together the best stretch of his career with the Rays, though injuries limited him from emerging as a true shutdown reliever. He closed the 2019 season with a ridiculous 52.6% strikeout rate in 23 appearances with his new team. Anderson was just as good in the postseason, allowing one earned run over 5 2/3 innings with eight strikeouts. He continued his strong work in the shortened 2020 season, opening the year with 11 scoreless appearances. He missed time with forearm inflammation, but returned in time to pick up three saves and two holds in September.

The 2020 postseason marked a shift in Anderson’s career. He struggled mightily as the Rays marched to the World Series. The righty was scored upon in eight of 10 outings. Anderson blew leads in Game 4 and Game 7 of the Fall Classic. He was charged with the loss in the final game of the series.

Anderson threw just six innings from 2021 to 2022 as he dealt with a back injury, a torn UCL, and plantar fasciitis. He departed for the Braves in free agency ahead of the 2023 season. Anderson bounced around frequently after his tenure with the Rays. He spent time with eight different organizations over the past four years. Anderson posted decent seasons with the Braves and Royals, but was ineffective in a brief stint with the Rockies last year.

Anderson wraps up his time as a big leaguer with a 3.43 ERA over 173 innings. He recorded 10 saves. The righty was one of the league’s best bat-missing relievers for a couple of seasons. Despite tailing off in the past few years, he’ll conclude his career with a 30.2% strikeout rate. We at MLBTR wish Anderson the best in whatever comes next.

Photos courtesy of Nick Wosika, Kim Klement, Imagn Images

Seabold signed a split deal with the Tigers just before the start of the season, and soon after the righty was released from a previous minor league contract with the Blue Jays.  While Seabold broke camp with his new club, a big chunk of his time in Motown has been spent on the injured list, as he missed a little under three weeks recovering from ankle inflammation.

When healthy, Seabold has been pretty effective coming out of the pen, with a 3.45 ERA, 20.3% strikeout rate, and 7.2% walk rate over 15 2/3 innings.  While other Tigers relievers have minor league options and Seabold doesn’t, he may have just been the victim of a roster crunch, as a 40-man spot was needed for Melton’s return.

Detroit now faces the possibility that Seabold is claimed away on waivers, or elects free agency if he clears waivers and is then outrighted (Seabold has been outrighted in the past, giving him the ability to decline future outright assignments).  Seabold has a 7.28 ERA across his 134 2/3 career innings in the Show, but teams in need of immediate relief help may be swayed by his recent performance, or a slight uptick in velocity to 93.5mph from his previous 92.5mph career average.

After developing elbow inflammation during Spring Training, Melton is finally set to make his 2026 debut.  The Tigers initially planned to use Melton as a reliever or swingman this season, but due to multiple injuries within the rotation, Melton will now step right into starting duty.  The righty made his MLB debut in 2025 and posted a 2.76 ERA, 20K%, and 8.3BB% over his first 45 2/3 innings as a big leaguer, starting four of his 16 regular-season games.

Just as one pitcher gets healthy, however, Detroit’s seemingly nonstop parade of pitching injuries continues with Hurter’s IL placement.  Hurter has a 2.84 ERA over 25 1/3 relief innings this season, despite very modest strikeout (17.8%) and walk (11.9%) rates.  The groundball specialist is generating grounders at a 60.3% clip, and Hurter is getting a lot of benefit from a tiny .203 BABIP.

Cabrera was pulled after three innings on Wednesday against the Brewers. He allowed four runs, though only one was earned, thanks to errors by Carson Kelly and Pete Crow-Armstrong. It was Cabrera’s eighth consecutive appearance allowing 3+ runs. He’d opened the season with 11 2/3 scoreless frames.

It’s difficult news for a Cubs rotation already missing Matthew Boyd, Cade Horton, and Justin Steele. Boyd is expected to return sometime in June, but Horton is done for the year, and Steele is out until after the All-Star break. Chicago has stretched out Ben Brown as a starter after he opened the year in the bullpen. Colin Rea has been in the rotation since early April. Wicks likely steps into the No. 5 spot until Cabrera is ready to come back.

Chicago acquired Cabrera in an offseason trade with the Marlins that sent top prospect Owen Caissie and two other minor leaguers to Miami. The 27-year-old was coming off his best all-around season with the Fish. Cabrera delivered 26 starts with a 3.53 ERA as a full-time member of Miami’s rotation. He cut his walk rate below 10% for the first time as a big leaguer.

Injuries plagued Cabrera for much of his time with the Marlins. He missed time with elbow and shoulder issues in 2022 and 2023. A shoulder impingement sent the righty to the IL multiple times in 2024. Cabrera dealt with a blister to begin 2025 on the same finger giving him trouble right now. The injury only cost him the first two weeks of last season. Cabrera was healthy for the majority of the campaign, tossing a career-high 137 2/3 innings. He did go down with an elbow sprain in September, but made it back on the mound for two outings to close the year.

Wicks has been up and down with the big-league club for the past three seasons. He operated as a starter in his first two years with the team, then moved to the bullpen in 2025. The lefty showed improved velocity as a reliever last season, but posted a 6.28 ERA across 14 1/3 innings. Wicks has been back to starting at Triple-A this year. He’s notched a 4.44 ERA over seven outings.

Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron, Imagn Images