1 MLB Player From Each Team Trending Towards Being DFA'ed
When younger Major League Baseball players struggle, it's not uncommon to see them optioned back to the minors until they turn things around.
However, for players with at least five years of service time—or players who have been optioned in at least three previous seasons—that is no longer, well, an option. When teams want to remove those players from their 26-man roster, the player can reject a minor league stint and instead has to be designated for assignment, or DFA'ed.
Within seven days of designating a player for assignment (removing him from the 40-man roster), the team has to either trade him, put him on waivers, release him outright or re-assign him to the 40-man roster. Usually, though, a DFA'ed player becomes a free agent.
Already since Opening Day, there have been nearly 200 instances of players being designated for assignment, most of which went completely unnoticed by the majority of baseball fans.
For every former All-Star like Nick Castellanos, Craig Kimbrel or Andrew McCutchen whose pink slip generates a little bit of national buzz, there are a few dozen like Matthew Lugo, Eduarniel Núñez and Rhylan Thomas who were DFA'ed without even appearing in a game this season.
With the exception of the Boston Red Sox, though, every team has designated at least one player for assignment.
Who's next?
AL East
1 of 6
Baltimore Orioles: LHP Keegan Akin
Tyler O'Neill has been disastrous this season, entering play on Sunday with a .495 OPS and only one complete game played in the past two weeks. However, it's hard to see the Orioles—even in their post-Angelos-ownership, willing-to-spend-money-now era—admitting defeat and just eating what is a $16.5M salary in each of 2026 and 2027.
But Akin's $2.975M salary? When he has already had not one but two relief appearances in which he allowed six earned runs? He and his 8.64 ERA could be one minor implosion away from landing on the chopping block.
Boston Red Sox: LHP Danny Coulombe
As mentioned above, the Red Sox are the lone team that has yet to DFA anyone. But in Coulombe and Ryan Watson, they do have two relievers who are very much on thin ice.
Instead of the Rule 5 draft pick with an ERA north of 5.00, though, give us the veteran southpaw with a 6.17 ERA on his one-year, $1M deal. Coulombe also struggled over the final two months of last season after being traded to the Rangers, and Boston just acquired another left-handed reliever (Joe La Sorsa) on Thursday.
New York Yankees: 3B Ryan McMahon
Now that Aaron Judge is on the shelf for the foreseeable future, McMahon's .609 OPS and overall replacement level production feels like an even bigger black hole in this lineup.
The two-fold problem with trying to do anything about it is that McMahon is owed $32M between this season and next, and the ideal player to replace him on the 40-man roster—NYY's top prospect George Lombard Jr.—hasn't been hitting well since his promotion to Triple-A in late April.
But if Lombard heats up—or if New York simply becomes content with a rotation of Anthony Volpe, José Caballero and Amed Rosario on the left side of the infield—Ryan McMahon could be in trouble. The money factor didn't prevent the Yankees from kicking both D.J. LeMahieu and Marcus Stroman to the curb last year, and it may not protect McMahon now.
Tampa Bay Rays: OF Cedric Mullins
To his credit, Mullins has been better in recent weeks. His home run this past Friday was the capstone on a 16-game stretch with an .881 OPS. However, he was at .421 prior to that, after closing out last season with a .419 OPS in his final 24 games played.
If outfield prospect Jacob Melton hadn't suffered a Grade 2 ankle sprain in late April, he might have taken over Mullins' job prior to that aforementioned 16-game stretch.
Toronto Blue Jays: C Tyler Heineman
Heineman was, out of nowhere, a critical piece of Toronto's puzzle last year, posting a .777 OPS while playing roughly one out of every three games at catcher. But while he has gotten out to a terrible start to this season (.420 OPS), rookie Brandon Valenzuela has done an admirable job, becoming the primary catcher while Alejandro Kirk has spent the past two months on the IL.
With Kirk presently on a rehab assignment, it's only a matter of days before Heineman becomes the odd man out.
AL Central
2 of 6
Chicago White Sox: RHP Jordan Hicks
Hicks is presently on the IL with a lat strain and the White Sox still owe him another $8M next season. Factor in the $4M per season that Boston retained when it sent him to Chicago and he actually has the third-highest salary on this roster.
But after both the Giants and Red Sox found a way to trade him away in the past calendar year, the White Sox might just throw in the towel on Hicks if he returns from the shelf every bit as erratic as he had been before the injury: 17.2 IP, 17 BB, 3 WP, 1 HBP.
Cleveland Guardians: OF Stuart Fairchild
Most of Cleveland's 40-man roster still has options available. And of the eight who don't, most are key contributors.
Fairchild, however, is the low-hanging fruit here.
The 30-year-old outfielder was hitting well at Triple-A Columbus (.896 OPS in 40 games), but he only got added to the 40-man roster and called up last week because Steven Kwan was placed on bereavement leave. When Kwan returned, the Guardians optioned Petey Halpin to Triple-A instead of DFA'ing Fairchild. But that figures to change if and when Halpin, George Valera or CJ Kayfus is ready for a return to the big leagues.
Detroit Tigers: OF/DH Jahmai Jones
Last season, Jones was so productive against left-handed pitching (.970 OPS) that AJ Hinch twice in the postseason had him pinch hit for two-time All-Star and 2025 Silver Slugger Riley Greene.
This season, however, Jones has a .579 OPS against lefties—not to mention an .000 OPS in 14 plate appearances against righties—and may well be out of a job soon. He is 4-for-49 overall with 19 strikeouts dating back to April 25.
Right-handed hitting 2B/3B prospect Max Anderson has had multiple four-hit games at Triple-A Toledo during that time, and has an absurd 1.341 OPS against southpaws in 2026. Just saying.
Kansas City Royals: OF Starling Marte
When Craig Kimbrel got DFA'ed by the Mets in late May, there were a lot of "Oh wow, I didn't even realize he was on the Mets in the first place" responses to that news.
It's probably going to be a similar story if the Royals give up the ghost on Marte, who has yet to homer or steal a base despite being on Kansas City's active roster since Opening Day.
It's surprising they haven't given either Kameron Misner or John Rave a shot in Marte's spot. The pair of 28-year-old outfielders with a bit of MLB experience has combined for 21 home runs and 23 stolen bases at Triple-A Omaha. (Then again, the Royals seem to have their sights set on draft lottery odds, so maybe they'll just let it ride with Marte on his $1M deal.)
Minnesota Twins: 1B/DH Josh Bell
Fun fact: OF James Outman was originally the choice here, but he was DFA'ed on Saturday, forcing us to pivot instead to Bell.
In each of the past five seasons, this journeyman has hit at least 17 home runs and posted an OPS of at least .725. But after getting out to a hot start through the first two weeks (3 HR, 1.066 OPS), Bell has been a mess over the past 50 games (2 HR, .524 OPS)—a DH who doesn't get many hits.
The only question is: When will a top prospect be ready to replace Bell? If outfielders Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez hadn't both gotten injured in early May, they might have already helped to push Bell out of the DH spot. Infielder Kaelen Culpepper is also an option, with 14 home runs and 13 stolen bases at Triple-A this season.
AL West
3 of 6
Athletics: C Jonah Heim
Heim was already sort of DFA'ed once this season, with the A's purchasing his contract from the Braves when the latter no longer had a use for him.
Since becoming the backup to Shea Langeliers, though, Heim is batting .158, providing little to no value to the A's in his part-time role.
Meanwhile, they've got a 31-year-old catcher down in Triple-A Las Vegas by the name of Brian Serven, and he's batting .310 with a .923 OPS this season, champing at the bit for another shot in the big leagues.
Houston Astros: RHP Bryan Abreu
This would've been an unthinkable proposal three months ago, as Abreu had been maybe the best set-up man in all of baseball from 2022-25.
But something is clearly not right.
The four-seamer that had sat in the 96.5-98.0 MPH range over the course of the past four seasons has been down in the 94.5 range this year. And the slider against which opponents had slugged .261 for four years? It is getting tattooed for a .524 SLG this year.
For a guy with a two-pitch arsenal, that ain't a good combination.
Abreu was much more effective in May than he had been in April, but he still hasn't looked like his old self, striking out only seven of 39 batters faced that month. And at six games below .500, Houston can't afford many more late-inning missteps.
Los Angeles Angels: 2B Adam Frazier
The Angels' infield has been all sorts of banged up recently, but even that hasn't been enough for Frazier to get regular work.
The 11-year veteran started out the year hot, but he has triple-slash stats of .140/.189/.220 dating back to April 19.
Meanwhile, Vaughn Grissom (who is out of options) has been playing reasonably well in what has been a near-everyday role since mid-April. So, once both Nolan Schanuel and Yoán Moncada return from the IL, it would make sense for the Halos to keep Grissom as their utility infielder while showing Frazier the door.
Seattle Mariners: OF Rob Refsnyder
During his four seasons with the Red Sox, Refsnyder was a ridiculously good "right-handed half of a platoon" option. We're talking seventh-best OPS vs. LHP from 2022-25 good, his .924 mark slightly better than Mookie Betts' .919.
So, the Mariners gave him a one-year, $6.25M contract to pair him primarily with Luke Raley, who has a career .805 OPS vs. RHP and .505 vs. LHP. Except Refsnyder has gone from a one-trick pony to a zero-trick pony, presently 9-for-66 with 23 strikeouts and a .483 OPS against southpaws.
Texas Rangers: LHP Jalen Beeks
Beeks was Colorado's closer for a hot minute back in 2024, but Texas has been reluctant to use this southpaw in high-leverage situations.
Prior to striking out Travis Bazzana in the seventh inning on Friday, Beeks had a 5.54 ERA with just one hold in his last 14 appearances. Even in that one, he allowed three consecutive batters to reach base before getting pulled for (and bailed out by) Peyton Gray.
And now that the Rangers have called Robby Ahlstrom up for the first time in his career, they have four lefties in their bullpen. Beeks and his 4.96 FIP might drop to the bottom of that quartet in a hurry, if he isn't already there.
NL East
4 of 6
Atlanta Braves: C Sandy León
If we had to pick 25 of these 30 players for a depressing DFA bingo card, León would be the free space in the middle.
It won't happen today or tomorrow, as Drake Baldwin (oblique strain) isn't expected back for another week while Sean Murphy (broken finger) is likely to be out until early July. But since singling in two of his first three plate appearances of the season, León has not reached base.
They only signed him in the first place because they needed a warm body while Murphy was on the IL, and he'll be DFA'ed as soon as both of Atlanta's catchers are available.
Miami Marlins: 1B/DH Christopher Morel
When Morel was playing on a regular basis for the Cubs in 2022-24, he struck out a ton, but at least he homered on a fairly regular basis.
Those round-trippers came less often with Tampa Bay between 2024 and 2025, but he did occasionally annihilate a baseball.
But since signing with the Marlins—after getting non-tendered by the Rays in November—Morel has no home runs and 27 strikeouts in 69 trips to the plate. If Kemp Alderman hadn't injured his wrist a few weeks ago, he might have already taken Morel's spot.
New York Mets: OF Tyrone Taylor
You might think the disappointing Mets would be drowning in somewhat high-profile candidates for this spot. But unless you think Mark Vientos is in danger of getting cut, that isn't the case.
Taylor landed on the IL two weeks ago with a strained hip flexor, but that may have merely delayed the inevitable. After posting a .598 OPS in 2025, Taylor is at .530 this season. And it was already clear prior to the injury that the center field job is A.J. Ewing's to lose.
If Luis Robert Jr. ever makes it back from his back injury, Taylor might not have a role in this outfield any longer.
Philadelphia Phillies: C Rafael Marchán OR C Garrett Stubbs
First, an "honorable" mention to Adolis García, who is hitting at the Mendoza Line, but at least providing some value in right field. The Phillies may well replace him at the trade deadline, but he isn't in any sort of imminent danger of being released.
At some point soon, though, they're either going to dump Marchán or Stubbs, right?
They already did DFA Stubbs to open the season, but he accepted the assignment to Lehigh Valley, crushed to the tune of a 1.045 OPS for 10 games and got called back up in late April. But while he has a .492 OPS in 24 trips to the plate for the Phillies, Marchán is at a horrific .275 OPS in 22 games played as JT Realmuto's back-up.
It'd be one thing to roster three catchers if they were all producing, but this borders on madness.
Washington Nationals: RHP Miles Mikolas
When the Nats signed Mikolas for $2.25M in mid-February, the goal was to get an experienced arm into an inexperienced pitching staff; one who could eat some innings while maybe blossoming into a chip for the trade deadline for a team that seemed to be going nowhere fast.
At this point, though, his habit of getting shelled more often than not is holding back a team that would have a postseason pulse right now if it had invested in an arm with more potential.
If they could just get any of Josiah Gray, DJ Herz or Trevor Williams back from the IL at some point, they could kiss Mikolas goodbye.
NL Central
5 of 6
Chicago Cubs: RHP Jameson Taillon
Pick just about any Cubs pitcher aside from Ben Brown and there's a decent chance you're going to be correct here. They've been a complete mess on the mound over the past month.
But Taillon, in particular, has been a glorified batting practice arm this season, allowing an MLB-worst 20 home runs en route to a career-worst 5.13 ERA—and a 6.33 FIP that suggests he's lucky things haven't gone even worse.
His saving grace is that the Cubs rotation has been all sorts of banged up, and they might as well just let it ride with a healthy arm until Matthew Boyd and Justin Steele get healthy and force them to make a decision. However, whether Taillon makes it to the end of the final season of his four-year, $68M deal is questionable at best.
Cincinnati Reds: RHP Tony Santillan
As with the Cubs, plenty of pitchers to choose from here, including Brady Singer with a 5.89 ERA and 6.79 FIP. Could also make a case for 3B Ke'Bryan Hayes and his .420 OPS, even though he is signed through 2029.
But Santillan is a shell of his former self, allowing home runs to nine of the last 66 batters he has faced.
The average velocity on his four-seam fastball (94.4 mph) is down nearly three mph from where it was two years ago (97.2 mph). And his slider/slurve combo that generated nearly a 40 percent whiff rate in 2025 simply isn't fooling anyone this year, with opponents slugging .704 against the slurve.
Maybe he gets a "general arm fatigue" trip to the IL before the Reds go so far as to DFA a guy who had 33 holds and seven saves last season. But it has been a brutal six-week stretch.
Milwaukee Brewers: 3B Luis Rengifo
When Milwaukee signed Rengifo, it hoped to get the 2022-24 version who had a .754 OPS and nearly 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases per 162 games played, as opposed to the 2025 version with a .622 OPS.
Worse yet, the Brewers got the 2020-21 version of Rengifo, who is virtually unplayable with a .518 OPS.
The good news for Milwaukee / bad news for Rengifo is that Cooper Pratt appears to be ready for the big leagues. The top prospect who they signed to an eight-year, $50.75M contract in late March has been red hot over the past month and could be the regular shortstop soon, with Joey Ortiz and David Hamilton becoming a third base platoon.
Pittsburgh Pirates: DH Marcell Ozuna
Former closer Dennis Santana is also a strong candidate for this spot, struggling mightily with his command and already scarcely being used in high-leverage situations.
But Ozuna is the bigger problem, not hitting .200 and barely slugging .300 as Pittsburgh's primary-but-no-longer-everyday DH.
Pretty much every other regular in this lineup has been productive, but not the one who is only paid to hit. And though it'd be tough for them to do anything about it right now, things are surely trending toward the Pirates upgrading at DH at the trade deadline and possibly cutting Ozuna loose.
St. Louis Cardinals: CF Victor Scott II
The Cardinals do still have the option of sending Scott back to the minors, and maybe they would simply go that route if they reach a breaking point with his .532 OPS.
However, we now have three seasons' worth of evidence that Scott is a plus baserunner, an above-average center fielder...and a Mendoza Line hitter. And with Joshua Báez coming sooner rather than later, they might just give up on Scott altogether.
NL West
6 of 6
Arizona Diamondbacks: UTIL Ildemaro Vargas
Has a player ever been named NL Player of the Month and later DFA'ed in the same season?
As April's NL POY, Vargas might be forcing us to look into that one, as his fall from grace has been jarring.
At the end of play on May 1, the 34-year-old had a 1.131 OPS that led all qualified NL hitters, without a close runner-up. But since then, Vargas has a .458 OPS that almost ranks dead last among qualified NL hitters. And with Pavin Smith already back from the IL, Carlos Santana nearing a return and LuJames Groover called up for his MLB debut on Friday, Vargas could be getting squeezed out of a job.
Colorado Rockies: RHP Michael Lorenzen
Coors Field has not been kind to Lorenzen, saddled with a 9.67 ERA in six home starts with the Rockies. But other fields haven't been much kinder, sitting at a 6.68 ERA on the road this season.
He did make one quality start against the Mets back in April, but it has largely been one shelling after the next.
If they do decide to hang onto him, though, here's your early heads up that the most recent pitcher to allow at least 135 earned runs in a single season was José Lima in 2000. Lorenzen is on pace to change that.
Los Angeles Dodgers: UTIL Santiago Espinal
The Dodgers already DFA'ed Espinal once, doing so on May 25 when Kiké Hernández was activated from the IL for the first time in 2026. And when Hernández made it a grand total of two games before going back on the IL, they quickly re-signed the versatile Espinal.
But it's pretty clear he and his .553 OPS are little more than a stopgap solution for a team that is patiently waiting for Tommy Edman to make his 2026 debut after undergoing ankle surgery in November. Barring any setbacks, he should return within two weeks, at which point Espinal very likely gets the boot again.
San Diego Padres: RHP Griffin Canning
Signed for $2.5M in mid-February, Canning was never exactly Plan A for San Diego's rotation. But with Joe Musgrove still recovering from his 2024 Tommy John surgery and Nick Pivetta on the IL since mid-April, beggars can't be choosers.
Through seven starts, Canning has a 6.34 ERA, still searching for his first win with the Padres. And with Germán Márquez nearing a return from the IL, Canning is probably going to get bumped from the rotation soon. If and when both Musgrove and Pivetta return after the All-Star Break, too, it could be curtains on Canning's tenure in San Diego.
San Francisco Giants: LHP Sam Hentges
The most efficient way to pitch yourself out of a job is to incessantly throw pitches out of the strike zone. And with 11 walks in 8.2 innings of work with the Giants, Hentges has all but ensured they never turn to him at a critical juncture of a game.
There is something to be said for his left-handedness, though. Southpaw reliever Matt Gage just landed on the IL with knee inflammation a few days ago, and the Giants DFA'ed a different lefty reliever, Ryan Borucki, on May 31. At this point, Hentges and Erik Miller are the only healthy lefties in the bullpen.
That's hardly a "get out of jail free" card for Hentges if he keeps issuing free passes en masse, though.
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