He was an All-Star for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2022 (though it says more about the state of the team that year than anything else). Now, after batting just .220 for the LA Dodgers in a utility role this season, Santiago Espinal has been designated for assignment. Kiké Hernández is ACTIVE and expected to make his season debut for the Dodgers tonight 🚨 Santiago Espinal was DFA’d to make space on the roster, and Hyeseong Kim stays up for now. How do you feel about the move? pic.twitt...
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Fernando Tatis Jr. is making news around baseball for all the wrong reasons this season. The San Diego Padres $340 million man has zero home runs in 2026. As Bob Nightengale reports, " He has now gone 215 plate appearances this season without a home run, and has come close only twice. The dude last homered Sept. 27, 2025. Now, off the field, Tatis Jr. has learned that he'll have to pay out a colossal $34M+ to a company he did a business deal with as a minor leaguer. Fernando Tatis Jr. pi...
Tarik Skubal is working his back from a minor surgical procedure on his elbow in record time. The two-time defending Cy Young award winner will be back in plenty of time to show he's fully recovered well ahead of the trade deadline in mid-summer. With the Tigers tanking to near the bottom of the majors this season, holding the third-worst record in MLB, a trade of the pending free agent is pretty much a lock. Skubal, who won an arbitration award of $32M against the team's low-ball offer ...
The Arizona Diamondbacks were taking calls on three-time All-Star second baseman Ketel Marte this past summer. They didn't really want to trade him, but it was known around baseball that they were at least listening . With a middling start to the season (26-24 going into Saturday's action and 3rd place in the NL West), will they eventually decide to waive the white flag, save some money and reload? If so, Marte will still be able to bring them back a huge haul. But not if they wait too l...
His name has been on the rumor mill since before the 2025 season. Now that Sandy Alcantara has a full year under his belt in his return from Tommy John surgery, the former Cy Young winner is looking stronger, and has become an even more sought-after trade candidate. The Miami Marlins' right-hander got out of the gates with an excellent run this season, with a 3.04 ERA across his first seven starts. A couple of blowout losses in May have bumped his ERA up to 4.00, but he will still ...
Major League Baseball's latest PED suspension will leave a young Seattle Mariners prospect with an 80-game ban. 21-year-old right-handed pitcher Jose Zerpa received the punishment after testing positive for Stanozolol. Seattle Mariners Class A pitcher Jose Zerpa receives 80-game suspension after testing positive for Stanozolol. — Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) May 22, 2026 He's been pitching at Class A Inland Empire in the California League, and has a 4-1 record in reli...
The New York Mets have shuffled their pitching staff with two notable moves on Friday. They've called up top pitching prospect Jonah Tong from the minors. But in return, nine-time All-Star and four-time league saves leader Craig Kimbrel has been designated for assignment (DFA'd). Craig Krimbrel has been designated for assignment to make room for Jonah Tong pic.twitter.com/oXSpSHf2cH — Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 22, 2026 Kimbrel was the NL saves leader for four straight years...
The alternate history of MLB has a new entry, and it is one of the most remarkable what-ifs the sport has produced in years.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that the Tampa Bay Rays and Los Angeles Angels engaged in serious trade discussions ahead of the 2023 MLB trade deadline that would have sent Shohei Ohtani to Tampa Bay in exchange for prospects Junior Caminero and Carson Williams.
The deal came close.
Angels owner Arte Moreno ultimately decided against it.
"Imagine if in 20...
The San Diego Padres have one of the best bullpens in baseball and AJ Preller is already making calls to make it better.
Dennis Lin of The Athletic reported that Preller is poking around for bullpen help, hoping to strike an early deal with a team open to parting with relief pitching before the trade market heats up later in the summer.
San Diego's relief corps ranks seventh in team ERA at 3.32, second in strikeout rate at 25.5 percent, first in ground-ball rate at 50.8 percent, third in F...
The New York Yankees have lost their grip on the AL East that they held through the season's first six weeks. They now find themselves 4.0 games back of the Tampa Bay Rays. With high-leverage relievers David Bednar and Camilo Doval each sporting ERAs above 5.00, it's likely they'll try to firm up the back end of the bullpen once again at this year's trade deadline. In 2025, Bednar and Doval were each brought in, but given the volatility of closers, it's a new year, and new reinforcements...
Less than two weeks after undergoing elbow surgery, two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal was back on the mound throwing another full bullpen session at Comerica Park, making his return timeline much earlier than previously believed. Postscript: The bullpen session went well, by all indications. If Skubal continues progressing at this pace, he could return on the early end of the projected timeline following surgery. @MLBNetwork https://t.co/0oF60DZhB7 — Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) May 21, 2...
Joe Ross is a free agent again, and this time his time with Arizona appears to be over for good.
The Diamondbacks released the 32-year-old right-hander from his Triple-A assignment with the Reno Aces.
Ross posted a 4.29 ERA with a 12-to-5 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 21 Triple-A innings after being sent down. Joe Ross Heads to the Open Market
The big league numbers that preceded the Reno assignment were the reason he never truly had a chance to stick.
Ross broke camp with Arizona aft...
The Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago White Sox completed a one-for-one swap, with the Rays sending left-handed pitcher Joe Rock to Chicago in exchange for infielder Oliver Dunn.
The deal was triggered in part by necessity on the Rays' side.
Infielder Ben Williamson had been dealing with a stiff back entering Tuesday's game against Baltimore, and after the Rays beat the Orioles 4-1, they moved Williamson to the 10-day injured list with a back strain and activated Dunn to fill the roster hole. Dun...
The official verdict is in. And it's another huge blow to the Toronto Blue Jays pitching staff. Starter Jose Berrios went under the knife on Wednesday to address the stress fracture in his elbow, and once Dr. Keith Meister got inside, it was apparent that a full Tommy John surgery was the only option. Jose Berrios ended up needing full Tommy John surgery, which was performed today, said Blue Jays manager John Schneider. The stress fracture in the elbow ended up damaging the ligament. He’...
Former top prospect in baseball, Wander Franco, could be facing a five-year prison sentence, if the Public Prosecutor's Office has its way. The request came up in his renewed trial in the Dominican Republic on charges of sexual abuse and human trafficking. The new trial follows his 2025 sentence to two years of suspended prison time. He was convicted of sexually abusing a minor and transfering thousands of dollars to the victim's mother. Franco’s attorneys appealed his two-ye...
The Minnesota Twins had a busy day.
Royce Lewis was optioned to Triple-A St. Paul, the second member of Minnesota's Opening Day lineup to be sent down in the past week following Matt Wallner's demotion.
Ryan Jeffers broke his left hamate bone on a foul ball Monday night and will likely require surgery, sidelining their best offensive producer for a significant stretch.
Veterans Orlando Arcia and Alex Jackson were recalled to fill the positional gaps.
And in the middle of all of it, rig...
The New York Mets designated outfielder Austin Slater for assignment, promoting outfield prospect Nick Morabito to the active roster in a corresponding move that will mark Morabito's major league debut.
Slater appeared in nine games as a Met, going 5-for-20 with a 69 wRC+ in 21 plate appearances, and has now been designated for assignment by two organizations in less than a month. Mets DFA'd Austin Slater After Nine Games
The Marlins DFA'd him on April 23 after a dozen games in Miami...
The Chicago Cubs have been slipping lately, losing seven of their last nine games. They now hold only a half-game lead on the Milwaukee Brewers and just one game on the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central Division going into Tuesday's play. The starting pitching woes have started to have an effect, as they've surrendered 26 runs in their last three games, going into Tuesday's play. The Cubs are without several upper-end of the rotation arms, and will need to address that. Per Bob...
One-time Minnesota Twins top prospect Royce Lewis has had a precipitous fall from grace over the past couple of years. After batting .163 this season with a .540 OPS and five errors in the field, Lewis has been sent to the minors. Twins insider Aaron Gleeman says the team has reached its 'breaking point' with the former top draft pick in all of baseball. Twins are sending Royce Lewis to Triple A. The 2017 #1 overall pick is hitting .163 with a .539 OPS in 31 games this season pic.twitter...
The Boston Red Sox continue to scuffle at the bottom of the AL East standings, and with their 19-27 record, they are third-last in the entire American League. It's time for a shake-up of the roster. Zachary Rotman of Fansided calls for four Red Sox players to be either DFA'd, demoted or dealt, ASAP. Isiah Kiner-Falefa IKF, who is still trying to live down the baserunning blunder that cost the Toronto Blue Jays the World Series last fall, seemed to land on his feet (unlike his unnec...
After a ten-year major league career with a lifetime average of .270, versatile infielder Gio Urshela has called it quits. He has announced his retirement at the age of 33. Classy veteran infielder Gio Urshela, who played parts of 10 seasons, announces his retirement — Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) May 18, 2026 Urshela last played for the Athletics in Sacramento last season, posting a .238 average in 197 plate appearances. He became a household name during his three seasons as a regula...
When you think of hot pitchers around the majors, pretty much the last team that would come to mind is the Colorado Rockies. But they actually have not only one of the hottest relievers in the big leagues, but one of the top trade candidates as well, as noted by insider Bob Nightengale in USA Today . Rival executives say that one of the hottest commodities at the trade deadline will be Colorado Rockies pitcher Antonio Senzatela. Senzatela, pitching in relief for the first time in h...
Here we go again. The Toronto Blue Jays' pitching staff has taken another big hit. They were forced to start the year without the injured Shane Bieber, Trey Yesavage and Jose Berrios. Soon after, Cody Ponce joined them, but he went down for the entire season. Max Scherzer has since joined them on the injured list as well. Only Yesavage has been able to return. Now, Berrios has gotten some brutal news on his injury, as he'll be forced to go under the knife. Jose Berrios to undergo elbow s...
The Sacramento Athletics, looking for a little added depth for their middle infield, have swung a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates, acquiring Alika Williams in return for a minor league pitching prospect. A's acquire minor league infielder Alika Williams from Pirates for minor league right-handed pitcher Kyle Robinson. Williams was selected from Triple-A Las Vegas today and infielder Michael Stefanic was designated for assignment to clear space on 26- and 40-man roster. — LVSportsBiz.co...
He's baaaack. You can't keep Tommy Pham off an MLB roster for very long. When one team cut ties with him, another is sure to come along before long. After being DFA'd late last month by the New York Mets, the 13-year veteran has signed a minor league deal with the Baltimore Orioles. It's his 10th team in the past five years, and 11th overall in the majors. Tommy Pham signs a minor league deal with the Orioles, per @JonHeyman If Pham makes the big leagues, Baltimore will be his 11th team,...