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The Nick Castellanos experiment in San Diego is over after just 39 games.

The Padres designated the veteran outfielder for assignment on Wednesday after an abysmal first two months of the season in which he slashed .191/.221/.339 for an OPS of .560 in 122 plate appearances, career lows across the board in his 14-year big league career.

INF/OF Samad Taylor has been called up from Triple-A El Paso in the corresponding roster move.

The timing of the move comes as the Padres are currently in Philadelphia for a three-game series, where Castellanos played four seasons before he was released in February ahead of the final year of a five-year, $100 million contract that began in 2022. During his time in Philadelphia, Castellanos averaged .260 with a .732 OPS and hit 82 home runs.

He emerged as a key player during the Phillies' 2022 NLCS run and was an All-Star for the second time in his career the following season, but his relationship with the organization and then-manager Rob Thomson became strained in 2025 after his antics — such as drinking an El Presidente beer in the dugout after being removed from a game — made more headlines than his declining production.

"Apparently, they thought it was just best for the organization that my personality wasn’t in the clubhouse," Castellanos told reporters recently of his unceremonious end in Philadelphia.

Castellanos last appeared in a game for the Padres on May 31 against the Washington Nationals, where he went 1-for-2 with an RBI and a stolen base.

I always say it is hardest to blog about a middling team. A bad team, lots to talk about. A good team, lots to talk about. One in the middle?

I think the Jays will get better. I think getting Alejandro Kirk back will help a lot. I think getting, you know, five actual starting pitchers will help. Teams tend to do well on bullpen days, but I think using everyone in the pen in one game out of five (or in the Jays’ case, two games out of five) puts a lot of stress on the relievers. As much as I like the old days when Mark Eichhorn could throw 160 innings in a season, Tom Henke could throw 90 innings, and Duane Ward could throw 110, it was a different game back then. Having Louis Varland pitch in every other game isn’t a recipe for long-term success.

It would also help if we could get 4-5-6 runs a game. Yesterday, we had nine hits, including a home run, and we still only scored three runs. Until we start scoring consistently, we really can’t blame the pitching for a mediocre record. There is hardly anyone on the offense who is heading better than we would have expected, except for Yohendrick Piñango (and I don’t know of anyone who expected he would get playing time in the majors this year.

Even defensively, we haven’t been the team I expected. Gimenez has been terrific at short. And Daulton Varsho seems to be coming back to what we expected. But Ernie Clement has been a -5 runs above average at second base, and I didn’t see that coming. Jesus Sanchez and Piñango look like two guys who are new to playing the outfield.

Anyway, I do think things will get better with some of the guys coming off the IL. I don’t know if it will be better enough, but the AL has been pretty crappy, and we aren’t far out of a playoff spot, just one game back at the moment. Some or one of those teams hovering around the .500 mark are going to have to get better; maybe it will be the Jays. They had a great second half last year. Who is to say it can’t happen again?

Baseball America has made some changes to its top 100 prospect list, and Jays prospect Nolan Perry has jumped on the list at #85. BA says:

Perry is one of this season’s biggest risers. He’s used a dynamic combination of speed and spin to flummox hitters at both Class A stops, and his ERA entering June 2 sat at a sparkling 1.37. He’s punched out 72 hitters in 46 innings and has the makings of a future rotation piece if he can bring his changeup forward.

Of course, Trey Yesavage is one of ten players from their list to have graduated off their list.

Beyond that, Arjun Nimmala has moved up from #65 to #48 (Jo Jo Parker has moved down, 41s

Another Wednesday, that means it must be Ohtani on the bump day.

Just a few weeks ago people were wringing their hands about Shohei Ohtani being stellar on the mound, but putrid at the plate. Well, the two-way superstar has definitely turned things around with his bat.

In Tuesday night’s game, his first two at bats were a double and a triple. His reappearance of his old self at the plate came into play later, when he was intentionally walked in the seventh inning – which is the first time in 26 games that he had been walked intentionally. He later came around to score what would be the winning run. In his last five games, Ohtani is 11-for-22 with a homer, a triple, and two doubles.

On the pitching side, Ohtani sits at 5-2 with a 0.82 ERA. Despite tossing six no-hit innings last week against the Colorado Rockies, Shohei didn’t actually have one of his best outings. He had a season low 56% strike rate and walked a season high four batters. He stated after the game he “just really couldn’t find it”.

Only seven current Diamondback players have faced Ohtani before, and all combined have 21 at bats against, with no homers and no RBI amongst them.

The Dodgers will face Zac Gallen, whom they have seen plenty of times. Gallen has been much better at home so far this season, going 3-1 with a 3.09 ERA as opposed to a 7.57 ERA on the road. The Dodgers did see him to start the season where they tagged him for four runs, but not until the fifth inning, which included a three-run homer off the bat of Andy Pages.

The Diamondback have been tough so far this series, with Arizona taking the first game 4-1, and almost completing a comeback, losing 6-5 in Tuesday’s game.

In that game, five relievers were needed to hold on to that win. Ohtani would do well to go deep into the game, at least the six he usually goes. Gallen is one of the weaker pitchers in the Diamondbacks arsenal, and Dodgers have done really well against right handers this season. Ohtani last pitched at Chase Field last September, where he went six scoreless innings with eight strikeouts.

Wednesday game info

• Teams: Dodgers at D-backs
• Ballpark: Chase Field, Phoenix
• Time: 6:40 p.m.
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

The Tigers did the seemingly impossible on Wednesday afternoon as they wrapped up their series against the American League’s top team with a sweep, winning 7-2.

I’d be very curious to know if someone in the Tigers’ front office has promised their firstborn child to an Etsy witch, or something, because I don’t know who the June Tigers are, but they are not the same team that dragged their feet and bats through the whole month of May. I am not complaining, because if there’s one thing I love, it’s fun (and winning) baseball. The Tigers had already won the series heading into the Wednesday afternoon game, but they were hoping to come away with their first sweep in, like, a million years. To get there, they had Troy Melton on the mound, up against Nick Martinez for the Rays.

Gleyber Torres got things going in the first with a leadoff double. A Kevin McGonigle flyout advanced the runner to third, and then a Dillon Dingler single brought Torres home for the first run of the game.

With two outs, Riley Greene singled, but the Tigers weren’t able to convert another runner for the inning. In the home half, Junior Caminero got a one-out single, followed by a Jonathan Aranda walk. Yandy Diaz then singled, bringing in Caminero and tying the game. They’d have to settle for just the one run, but it was the first time the entire series they weren’t trailing the Tigers.

The second inning started with two outs, but Jake Rogers then hit a solo home run to left to push the Tigers back into the lead.

Cedric Mullins fought back in the bottom of the inning with a leadoff home run to re-tie the game. Nick Fortes then followed that with a single, but the Rays weren’t able to convert another baserunner.

Kevin McGonigle got the third started with a single. With one out, Kerry Carpenter singled into center, the ball deflected off the glove of Chandler Simpson. Riley Greene walked, and then a Spencer Torkelson sac fly brought McGonigle home.

In the home half, Aranda used the ABS to get himself a leadoff walk, but Yandy Diaz then grounded into a double play. That made things a fair bit easier for Melton to get out of the inning.

Matt Vierling started the fourth with a single, then advanced to second on a sac bunt from Rogers. Gleyber Torres then singled. With two outs, Dillon Dingler hit a three-run home run to push the Tigers into the lead by a wide margin.

The Rays did little to fight back in the bottom of the inning as they went 1-2-3 back to the dugout.

Martinez’s day was done as the game headed into the fifth, and he was replaced by Mason Englert. Greene got a leadoff single, but was then eliminated in a double play off the bat of Torkelson. A pop-out ended the inning. In the home half, the Rays once again went three-up, three-down.

In the sixth, Jake Rogers got a one-out single. A wild pitch from Englert allowed Rogers to advance to second. Two outs followed though, leaving the baserunner stranded. The Rays had another 1-2-3 inning.

Dingler got a free bag in the seventh after getting hit by a pitch. That’s certainly one way to keep him from hitting home runs. Carpenter grounded into a force out to eliminate Dingler. Then, with two outs, another wild pitch by Englert allowed Carpenter to advance to second, but the Tigers left another runner stranded. Bold of them to think a four-run lead is enough considering history. The Rays, however, didn’t do much to stage a comeback in the bottom of the inning, as they were set down in order.

The Tigers went 1-2-3 in the eighth. Melton was back out again for the home half, and despite extra effort to get through the first innings, he was looking dialled in and relaxed. He plowed through the side like he was just coming into the game. Just awesome stuff.

Torres started the top of the ninth with a single, continuing to swing a hot bat since his return. McGonigle doubled right behind him, pushing Torres to third. Dingler lined out directly to Caminero on third but Torres was lightning fast getting back, making sure he avoided the double play. A sac fly from Carpenter brought Torres home. Melton was done after eight, with a final line of 8.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 1 HR on 94 pitches. Drew Anderson came out of the pen to replace him. Anderson got the side out in order, and the Tigers walked away with a sweep.

Final: Tigers 7, Rays 2

After so much time spent winning to start the season, defying expectations and climbing to the top of the American League, it’s safe to say no one had “lose a whole series to the worst team in the league” on their June bingo card. Yet the Rays have struggled consistently against the Tigers in this series, either forcing them to claw back runs to almost tie up a game, or to go completely shut-out against one of Detroit’s most inconsistent pitchers. It’s The Outer Limits. It’s Weird Baseball. And frankly, we don’t want it to continue. The Rays were just hoping to come away with a win in the series heading into Wednesday afternoon’s game, and they were doing it with Nick Martinez on the mound, up against a recently returned from the IL Troy Melton for the Tigers.

Gleyber Torres got things going in the first with a leadoff double. A Kevin McGonigle flyout advanced the runner to third, and then a Dillon Dingler single brought Torres home for the first run of the game. With two outs, Riley Greene singled, but the Tigers weren’t able to convert another runner for the inning. In the home half, Junior Caminero got a one-out single, followed by a Jonathan Aranda walk. Yandy Diaz then singled, bringing in Caminero and tying the game. They’d have to settle for just the one run, but it was the first time the entire series they weren’t trailing the Tigers.

The second inning started with two outs, but Jake Rogers then hit a solo home run to left to push the Tigers back into the lead. Cedric Mullins fought back in the bottom of the inning with a leadoff home run to re-tie the game. Nick Fortes then followed that with a single, but the Rays weren’t able to convert another baserunner.

Kevin McGonigle got the third started with a single. With one out, Kerry Carpenter singled into center, the ball deflected off the glove of Chandler Simpson. Riley Greene walked, and then a Spencer Torkelson sac fly brought McGonigle home. In the home half, Aranda used the ABS to get himself a leadoff walk, but Yandy Diaz then grounded into a double play. That made things a fair bit easier for Melton to get out of the inning.

Matt Vierling started the fourth with a single, then advanced to second on a sac bunt from Rogers. Gleyber Torres then singled. With two outs, Dillon Dingler hit a three-run home run to push the Tigers into the lead by a wide margin. The Rays did little to fight back in the bottom of the inning as they went 1-2-3 back to the dugout.

Martinez’s day was done after four, and he was replaced by Mason Englert. His final line for the game was 4.0 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 2 HR on 5o pitches. A really rough start. Those numbers pretty much tell you the whole story, as does the short leash Kevin Cash used before pulling him. Greene got a leadoff single, but was then eliminated in a double play off the bat of Torkelson. A pop-out ended the inning. In the home half, the Rays once again went three-up, three-down.

In the sixth, Jake Rogers got a one-out single. A wild pitch from Englert allowed Rogers to advance to second. Two outs followed though, leaving the baserunner stranded. The Rays had another 1-2-3 inning.

Dingler got a free bag in the seventh after getting hit by a pitch. That’s certainly one way to keep him from hitting home runs. Carpenter grounded into a force out to eliminate Dingler. Then, with two outs, another wild pitch by Englert allowed Carpenter to advance to second, but the Tigers left another runner stranded. Bold of them to think a four-run lead is enough considering history. The Rays, however, didn’t do much to stage a comeback in the bottom of the inning, as they were set down in order.

In the eighth, the Rays got the Tigers out in order, which was a rare treat in this game. Unfortunately they did the same thing themselves in the bottom of the inning. Hard to make a comeback when you can’t even get a baserunner on.

Torres started the top of the ninth with a single, continuing his hot streak in his first series back from the IL. McGonigle doubled right behind him, pushing Torres to third. Dingler lined out directly to Caminero on third but Torres snuck back, narrowly avoiding the double play. A sac fly from Carpenter brought Torres home. The Tigers would have to settle for one, but it was another run the Rays would have to try to get back. Melton was done after eight, and Drew Anderson came out of the pen to replace him. Anderson got the side out in order, and the Tigers walked away with a sweep, while the Rays would have to ask themselves some difficult questions.

Final: Tigers 7, Rays 2

Rhett Lowder took the mound in a professional baseball game on Tuesday night for the first time in nearly a month. What he produced didn’t matter nearly as much as how he felt after getting in the work with AAA Louisville, and apparently he’s feeling just fine.

According to MLB.com’s Mark Sheldon, Lowder came out of his 5.0 IP outing against the Memphis Redbirds feeling as he was supposed to feel as a starting pitcher, and will rejoin the Cincinnati Reds to make a start on Sunday when the team is in St. Louis facing the Cardinals. So said manager Terry Francona, per Sheldon.

Lowder yielded a trio of runs in his rehab outing, but he threw 70 pitches, logged 8 strikeouts, and didn’t walk a soul in an outing more reminiscent of him at his finest.

What we’ll be anxious to see now, though, is just how much the ‘clicking’ in his shoulder that shut him down early in a May 7th start against the Chicago Cubs was something that caused him to stumble a bit against big league pitching prior to hitting the shelf. Between that start and his previous one – a brutal 1.1 IP outing against the Pittsburgh Pirates in which he was hammered for 8 ER while walking the world – he allowed a whopping 11 ER and 8 walks against just 2 K in 4.1 IP combined.

In part due to Lowder’s scheduled return, Chris Paddack has seemingly been bumped from the starting rotation for the time being. He’ll be available in relief in the meantime, though it remains to be seen what kind of role he’ll have when Lowder is activated in time for Sunday’s game.

Note: a version of this article was originally published on February 25, 2026.

Who is he and where did he come from?

He’s Anthony Seigler. Do you think the Red Sox don’t have enough infield depth pieces? You’re in luck, because here’s another one.

This particular infield depth piece started 25 games at third base for the playoff-bound Brewers in 2025 after making his MLB debut in July. The 26-year-old lefty from Cartersville, Georgia was a first round draft pick for the Yankees (three picks in front of Triston Casas!) and spent the first five years of his professional career in that organization. The Yankees-Red Sox crossover comps don’t stop there, because he is just the second Navajo player of all-time to make a Major League roster, joining none other than Jacoby Ellsbury.

Is he any good?

Stop me if you’ve heard thus one before: he’s exactly okay. Which is fine! Seigler has not quite found it yet at the plate in his short Major League career, batting just .194 with one extra base hit (a double) in his 62 at-bats. He fared a lot better at Triple-A, slashing .285/.414/.478 in 2025 and then a similarly healthy .295/.425/.471 this year. This is bolstered by his ability to draw walks, as his percentage as a pro approaches 20 percent. He’s patient, quick, and can pull a ball when he does hit it. Check out his Prospect Savant page for this hot chart (minimum 700 pitches seen.)

Clearly, Seigler has more work to do about getting that ball out of the park.

One more thing about Seigler: he’s played all over the diamond, splitting most of his minor league innings between catcher and second base before spending more time at third in 2026. And if that’s not enough versatility for you, he was drafted as a two-way player who also pitches, something that is great in, uhhh, emergency situation. But, I wouldn’t put too much stock in it, as he was only called upon to take the mound once in 2025.

Tl;dr, just give me his stats.

MLB: 34 G, .194/.292/.210, 0 HR, 5 RBI, -0.2 WAR, 16 K, 8 BB

AAA: 102 G, .289/.417/.476, 11 HR, 60 RBI, 78 K, 74 BB

Show me a cool highlight.

Here’s his first Major League hit. He has a really interesting swing here, as he appears to choke down a little. Which, if you’re hitting well, great! With Seigler, though, you almost wonder if an adjustment is needed.

But believe it or not, Seigler has even cooler highlights than his first Major League hit. That’s because, not only is he a two-way player, he’s a two-way player who throws with both hands:

What’s he doing in his picture up there?

Grinning as if the Red Sox equipment team finally got him the right bag.