Category: Projections

Pitcher Playing Time Changes: June 19, 2026

by Jon Becker

June 19, 2026

Last week didn’t have significant projection changes worth reporting, but we’re back this week with news aplenty. The relief pitcher table now looks different; instead of showing percent change, which can over-inflate minute projection changes in actual innings, I’m now calculating remaining innings pitched and selecting for significant swings there.

Significant Remaining Projected Playing Time Changes, SP, 6/5 to 6/19

Name	Team	Old Remaining GS %	New Remaining GS %	% Chg	Old GS	New GS	Chg	Reason
Martín Pérez	ATL	8%	14%	6%	4	8	3	Stronger hold on rotation spot with Strider out
Eury Pérez	MIA	9%	15%	6%	5	8	3	Nearing IL return
Shane Drohan	MIL	2%	8%	6%	1	4	3	Pitching like he should stick in the rotation at least a little longer, but Woodruff and Henderson loom
Ian Seymour	TBR	2%	7%	5%	1	4	3	Getting some bulk chances with Matz in bullpen
Cole Ragans	KCR	15%	10%	-5%	8	5	-3	Continued uncertainty with arm injury
Andrew Painter	PHI	16%	11%	-5%	9	6	-3	Optioned to minors
Spencer Strider	ATL	17%	7%	-10%	9	4	-5	Elbow inflammation, already on 60-day IL
Quinn Priester	MIL	10%	0%	-10%	5	0	-5	Nerve decompression surgery
Chase Dollander	COL	10%	0%	-10%	5	0	-5	UCL surgery soon
Steven Matz	TBR	15%	4%	-11%	8	2	-6	Moved to bullpen
Jack Kochanowicz	LAA	13%	0%	-13%	7	0	-7	Tommy John surgery

Significant Remaining Projected Playing Time Changes, RP, 6/5 to 6/19

Name	Team	Old Remaining RP IP	New Remaining RP IP	Chg	Reason
Joel Kuhnel	MIL	8	32	24	Has gotten hit around since joining Brewers, but big stuff uptick
Steven Matz	TBR	5	26	21	Moved to bullpen
Kyle Backhus	PHI	9	24	15	Nearing return from IL
Matt Gage	SFG	14	29	15	Back from IL
Keider Montero	DET	9	23	14	Moved to bullpen with Justin Verlander’s return impending
Reiver Sanmartin	SFG	10	23	13	Back from IL
Drew Sommers	DET	19	30	11	Quickly becoming an important part of the bullpen mix
Simeon Woods Richardson	TOR	15	26	11	Two scoreless outings since joining Blue Jays
Victor Vodnik	COL	23	33	10	Back from IL but hasn’t yet looked sharp enough for closing opportunities
Mason Barnett	ATH	22	32	10	The A’s keep spinning the closer wheel and it may have landed on Barnett for now
Tommy Nance	TOR	17	27	10	Back from IL
Cooper Criswell	SEA	30	20	-10	Won’t return until after All-Star Break
Matt Brash	SEA	34	23	-11	Won’t return until after All-Star Break
Jovani Morán	BOS	29	17	-11	Elbow inflammation
Shane Drohan	MIL	32	18	-14	Probably sticking in rotation
Brenan Hanifee	DET	30	15	-15	Optioned to minors
Brian Fitzpatrick	MIL	28	0	-28	UCL sprain, still working out course of action but return this season seems improbable
Drew Pomeranz	LAA	32	0	-32	Released

Position Player Playing Time Changes: June 16, 2026

by Jon Becker

June 16, 2026

Welcome back once again to Position Player Playing Time Changes. As a refresher, the table now includes new columns to better detail the percent changes. League-wide, the 30 teams average 90 remaining games, so the remaining plate appearances are right-sized to that number.

Significant Projected Remaining Playing Time Changes, 6/9 to 6/16

Name	Team	Positions	Old PT	New PT	PT Change	Old PA	New PA	PA Change	Reason
Braden Montgomery	CHW	RF	13%	76%	63%	51	296	245	Making a big impact since his call up and looking like he’ll stick around
Cooper Pratt	MIL	SS	7%	70%	63%	27	272	245	Getting the call to the majors a couple months after big extension
Blaze Jordan	STL	3B, 1B	1%	47%	46%	4	183	179	Starting 3B with Gorman demoted in first taste of the majors
Gabriel Rincones Jr.	PHI	RF	5%	51%	46%	19	198	179	Will get plenty of run against RHP unless and until the Phillies trade for someone
Cole Carrigg	COL	CF, SS	6%	46%	40%	23	179	156	Three homers already, versatility could keep him around even when injured OFs come back
Kameron Misner	KCR	CF	2%	33%	31%	8	128	121	Starting CF against RHP with Isbel out
Samad Taylor	SDP	LF, CF, RF, 2B	26%	54%	28%	101	210	109	One of the very, very few Padres actually producing
Will Wagner	SDP	2B, 3B, DH, LF	5%	32%	27%	19	124	105	Ditto the Taylor note
Tyler Callihan	PIT	RF, LF, 3B, 2B	23%	47%	24%	89	183	93	Filling in for Cruz in OF and hitting like he belongs
Jordan Lawlar	ARI	CF, LF, DH	48%	72%	24%	187	280	93	Back from the IL
James Outman	DET	CF, RF	5%	26%	21%	19	101	82	From waiver wire to semi-starting CF in Detroit, for now
Miguel Andujar	SDP	DH, 3B, LF	71%	51%	-20%	276	198	-78	Strained hamstring
Vinnie Pasquantino	KCR	1B, DH	92%	68%	-24%	358	264	-93	Fractured hamate
José Ramírez	CLE	3B, DH	97%	71%	-26%	377	276	-101	Fractured hamate
Oneil Cruz	PIT	CF, DH	85%	59%	-26%	331	229	-101	Multiple finger fractures
Joey Ortiz	MIL	SS, 3B	76%	45%	-31%	296	175	-121	Playing time is uncertain with Pratt coming up
Bryce Johnson	SDP	LF, RF, CF	33%	1%	-32%	128	4	-124	DFA’d + outrighted
Nolan Gorman	STL	3B, DH, 1B	75%	43%	-32%	292	167	-124	Demoted to minors
Ryan Waldschmidt	ARI	CF, LF	64%	29%	-35%	249	113	-136	Demoted to minors
Kyle Isbel	KCR	CF	74%	38%	-36%	288	148	-140	Grade 3 plantar fascia tear, out a while
Adolis García	PHI	RF	86%	21%	-65%	334	82	-253	Torn lat, return this season uncertain

Position Player Playing Time Changes: June 9, 2026

by Jon Becker

June 9, 2026

Welcome to this week’s iteration of Position Player Playing Time Changes. As with last Friday’s post for pitchers, I added some new columns to better contextualize the percent changes. Since each team has, on average, 96 games remaining, the rest-of-season remaining plate appearance totals are pegged to that number, in addition to showing the percentages as usual. That should help you better wrap your head around the impact of the changes.

Remaining Projected Playing Time Changes, Hitters, 6/2 to 6/9

Name	Team	Positions	Old PT	New PT	PT Change	Old PA	New PA	PA Change	Reason
Taylor Trammell	HOU	CF, LF, RF	16%	65%	49%	66	270	203	Back from the IL and starting against RHP
Jimmy Crooks	STL	C, DH	12%	50%	38%	50	207	158	They called him up to play, and he’s playing
Ty France	SDP	1B, DH, 3B	45%	76%	31%	187	315	129	The only Padre who’s hitting lately
Jase Bowen	SDP	LF, RF	6%	37%	31%	25	153	129	Playing semi-regularly as they try to find a combo that works
Jacob Gonzalez	CHW	1B, 3B, 2B, SS	6%	36%	30%	25	149	124	Hitting well to start his career
Edwin Arroyo	CIN	2B, SS, 3B	25%	53%	28%	104	220	116	Hasn’t shown a lot yet but he’s up to play
Pavin Smith	ARI	1B, DH, LF	28%	55%	27%	116	228	112	Back from the IL
Tristan Gray	MIN	2B, 3B, SS, 1B	25%	51%	26%	104	212	108	Playing regularly against RHP
Samad Taylor	SDP	LF, 2B	1%	26%	25%	4	108	104	Ditto the Bowen note
Mickey Gasper	BOS	C, DH, 1B	16%	41%	25%	66	170	104	Taking significant time away from Carlos Narváez
Denzer Guzman	LAA	3B	5%	30%	25%	21	124	104	Called up to be starting 3B
Jose Altuve	HOU	2B, DH	65%	89%	24%	270	369	100	Back from the IL
Lars Nootbaar	STL	LF, RF, CF	53%	76%	23%	220	315	95	Back from the IL and hitting the ground running
Blake Dunn	CIN	CF, RF, LF	23%	45%	22%	95	187	91	Unquestioned starting CF with TJ Friedl optioned
Ryan O’Hearn	PIT	RF, 1B, DH	60%	80%	20%	249	332	83	Back from the IL
Jasson Domínguez	NYY	LF, DH	34%	54%	20%	141	224	83	Still on IL, but he’ll be important when back with Aaron Judge out
Tristan Peters	CHW	CF, RF	33%	52%	19%	137	216	79	Keeps hitting, keeps playing
Max Muncy	ATH	3B, SS, 2B	41%	59%	18%	170	245	75	Back from the IL
Gleyber Torres	DET	2B	77%	94%	17%	319	390	71	Back from the IL, lengthening that lineup big-time
LaMonte Wade Jr.	HOU	LF, 1B, DH	2%	19%	17%	8	79	71	Just placed on IL (hamstring) but showed enough when added to roster for him to play a good amount when back
Tyler Callihan	PIT	2B, 3B, LF	6%	23%	17%	25	95	71	Hitting well since call-up
Max Kepler	ARI	LF, RF	12%	28%	16%	50	116	66	Signed to one-year deal, could be on roster as soon as June 25 (PED suspension)
Trey Mancini	LAA	1B	1%	16%	15%	4	66	62	Welcome back to the bigs!
Nick Madrigal	LAA	2B	1%	16%	15%	4	66	62	Injury-ravaged Angels are getting production out of Nicky One-Bags
Kerry Carpenter	DET	DH, RF, LF	55%	70%	15%	228	290	62	Back from the IL and has been clutch so far
Wyatt Langford	TEX	LF, CF, DH	73%	88%	15%	303	365	62	Finally back with the club after injury setbacks
LuJames Groover	ARI	1B, 3B	3%	18%	15%	12	75	62	Starting 1B until Carlos Santana (on rehab) is back
Jung Hoo Lee	SFG	RF, CF, DH	68%	83%	15%	282	344	62	One of the hottest hitters in the majors now playing against LHP, too
Jhostynxon Garcia	PIT	RF, CF, LF, DH	32%	17%	-15%	133	71	-62	Optioned to minors
Rikuu Nishida	CHW	RF, 2B, LF	34%	19%	-15%	141	79	-62	Hasn’t hit well enough, hard to see him sticking around long with Everson Pereira close to returning
Harrison Bader	SFG	CF	75%	59%	-16%	311	245	-66	With Lee and Casey Schmitt hitting so well, how much will he play when he and Heliot Ramos are healthy?
Jake Cronenworth	SDP	2B, SS, 1B, 3B	67%	50%	-17%	278	207	-71	Just started ramp-up on Monday, return unclear
Konnor Griffin	PIT	SS	88%	70%	-18%	365	290	-75	Will miss more time than expected (forearm)
TJ Friedl	CIN	CF, LF	56%	35%	-21%	232	145	-87	Optioned to minors after horrid start
Darell Hernaiz	ATH	3B, 2B, SS	34%	12%	-22%	141	50	-91	Optioned to minors
Victor Scott II	STL	CF	77%	50%	-27%	319	207	-112	Optioned to minors
Pedro Pagés	STL	C	54%	20%	-34%	224	83	-141	Losing time to Crooks, as expected
Jose Fernandez	ARI	DH, 1B, 3B, SS	63%	23%	-40%	261	95	-166	Optioned to minors
Aaron Judge	NYY	RF, DH	95%	43%	-52%	394	178	-216	Fractured rib is perhaps the most consequential injury of this season so far

Pitcher Playing Time Changes: June 5, 2026

by Jon Becker

June 5, 2026

Below are the biggest notable swings in remaining projected playing time for starters and relievers for the last two weeks. To help provide additional context, I’ve added a couple columns to the starting pitcher table to illustrate the change in projected starts for the rest of the season, in addition to the percentage. Because teams have about 100 games left at the time of writing this, the percentages ironically would have been just fine for this week, but I’m introducing the widened table this week anyhow.

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Position Player Playing Time Changes: June 2, 2026

by Jon Becker

June 2, 2026

Below is our weekly table of the most significant swings in remaining projected playing time for position players, headlined by Jacob Gonzalez and Edwin Arroyo benefitting from hamstring injuries to Munetaka Murakami and Elly De La Cruz:

Significant Projected Playing Time Changes, 5/26 to 6/2

Name	Team	Positions	Proj. Remaining PT%, 5/26	Proj. Remaining PT%, 6/2	PT Change	Reason
Jimmy Crooks	STL	C, DH	12%	50%	38%	Called up and taking time away from Pedro Páges in three-headed catching group
Taylor Trammell	HOU	RF, LF, CF	16%	48%	32%	Back from the IL and in the middle of the lineup
Jacob Gonzalez	CHW	1B, 3B, 2B, SS	6%	37%	31%	Earned first call-up to the bigs, will bounce around but mostly 1B vs. RHP
Pavin Smith	ARI	DH, 1B, RF	28%	57%	29%	Back from the IL
Edwin Arroyo	CIN	2B, SS, 3B	25%	53%	28%	Called up to replace Elly De La Cruz (who just missed the cutoff for a significant PT decrease), will bounce around
Mickey Gasper	BOS	1B, DH, C	16%	37%	21%	Continues to play pretty well and start often
Ryan O’Hearn	PIT	RF, 1B, DH	60%	79%	19%	Back from the IL
Blake Dunn	CIN	CF, RF, LF	23%	41%	18%	Continues to take time away from TJ Friedl and hitting leadoff lately
Jase Bowen	SDP	LF, RF, CF	6%	23%	17%	Welcome to the big leagues!
Abimelec Ortiz	WSN	1B, DH	19%	35%	16%	Has gotten hot at Triple-A, first call-up soon?
Eric Haase	SFG	C, LF	23%	38%	15%	Jesus Rodriguez demotion makes him the clear backup C to Daniel Susac
Kerry Carpenter	DET	DH, RF, LF	55%	70%	15%	Back from the IL
Jung Hoo Lee 이정후	SFG	RF, CF, DH	68%	83%	15%	Back from the IL
Harrison Bader	SFG	CF	75%	59%	-16%	Plantar fasciitis
Carson Williams	TBR	SS, 2B	58%	39%	-19%	Optioned back to Triple-A
Davis Schneider	TOR	2B, LF, DH, 3B	45%	21%	-24%	Optioned down after tough start to the year
Munetaka Murakami	CHW	1B, DH	89%	65%	-24%	Hamstring strain will keep him out 4-6 weeks
Zach Cole	HOU	LF, RF, CF	47%	22%	-25%	Optioned to minors
Jesus Rodriguez	SFG	C, DH, LF	40%	14%	-26%	Optioned to minors
Pedro Pagés	STL	C	54%	20%	-34%	Will lose significant time to Jimmy Crooks

Position Player Playing Time Changes: May 26, 2026

by Jon Becker

May 26, 2026

Below is our weekly chart of significant rest-of-season playing time changes for hitters, led by a lot of shuffling of the Rockies’ outfield playing time due to injury:

Significant Projected Playing Time Changes, 5/19 to 5/26

Name	Team	Positions	% of Remaining PT, 5/19	% of Remaining PT, 5/26	PT Change	Reason
Jake McCarthy	COL	LF, CF, RF	41%	68%	27%	IL-ravaged OF creates more playing time
José Caballero	NYY	SS, 2B, 3B, LF, RF	45%	65%	20%	Back from IL and bouncing around
Wade Meckler	LAA	LF	1%	21%	20%	Called up to replace Lowe
Victor Bericoto	SFG	RF, LF, DH, 1B	1%	20%	19%	The Giants continue to try anything and everything to spark the offense
Henry Bolte	ATH	CF, RF, LF	34%	52%	18%	Taking playing time away from Lawrence Butler
Tommy Troy	ARI	LF, CF, 2B	3%	20%	17%	Welcome to the big leagues!
Eugenio Suárez	CIN	DH, 3B, 1B	67%	83%	16%	Back from IL
Kody Clemens	MIN	1B, DH, 2B, RF, 3B	38%	54%	16%	Matt Wallner, Royce Lewis demotions keep him in the lineup against RHP
Bryan Torres	STL	LF, RF	4%	20%	16%	Called up to replace the IL’d Nathan Church
Nick Morabito	NYM	RF, LF, CF	1%	17%	16%	Called up and not hitting well so far, but he’ll continue to play
Alex Jackson	MIN	C	1%	16%	15%	Contract selected to replace Jeffers
Nick Sogard	BOS	2B, SS, 1B, RF, 3B	13%	28%	15%	Has taken playing time away from Caleb Durbin since recall
Victor Mesa Jr.	TBR	RF, LF, CF	1%	16%	15%	Brought up for the injured DeLuca, should get some PT against RHP
Troy Johnston	COL	LF, 1B, DH, RF	39%	54%	15%	Ditto McCarthy’s note
Yoán Moncada	LAA	3B, DH	57%	42%	-15%	Knee inflammation
Spencer Jones	NYY	DH, CF, LF, RF	27%	12%	-15%	Optioned to minors after tough first MLB showing
Josh Lowe	LAA	RF, LF, CF, DH	63%	47%	-16%	Optioned to minors for a reset
Mickey Moniak	COL	DH, RF, LF, CF	76%	60%	-16%	Sprained ankle
Kyle Teel	CHW	C, DH	56%	40%	-16%	Suffered knee sprain while rehabbing hamstring injury, out another 6+ weeks
Denzel Clarke	ATH	CF	38%	20%	-18%	Significant hamstring strain while rehabbing foot bone bruise, out until after All-Star break
Drake Baldwin	ATL	C, DH	91%	73%	-18%	Oblique strain
Brenton Doyle	COL	CF	76%	56%	-20%	Oblique contusion
Jordan Beck	COL	LF, RF	52%	32%	-20%	Hamstring strain
Trevor Story	BOS	SS	70%	48%	-22%	Hernia surgery
Jonny DeLuca	TBR	CF, RF, LF	63%	38%	-25%	Hamstring strain
Brady House	WSN	3B	80%	52%	-28%	Optioned to minors
Ke’Bryan Hayes	CIN	3B	66%	30%	-36%	Lumbar bulging disc
Ryan Jeffers	MIN	C, DH	77%	34%	-43%	Hamate surgery

Pitcher Playing Time Changes: May 22, 2026

by Jon Becker

May 22, 2026

Below are the most significant changes in projected playing time for starting pitchers and relief pitchers from the last four days, after taking last week off due to a lack of important moves. Unfortunately, there were plenty of injuries in the past week to make up for a slow prior seven days.

Significant Projected Playing Time Changes, SP, 5/8 to 5/22

Name	Team	% of Team’s Remaining GS, 5/8	% of Team’s Remaining GS, 5/22	PT Change	Reason
Ben Brown	CHC	1%	8%	7%	Getting fully stretched out
Patrick Corbin	TOR	9%	14%	5%	Berríos injury solidifies spot
Dax Fulton	MIA	1%	6%	5%	Snelling injury should get him in rotation sooner
Chase Dollander	COL	15%	10%	-5%	Sprained elbow
Simeon Woods Richardson	MIN	14%	9%	-5%	Moved to bullpen
Lance McCullers Jr.	HOU	14%	9%	-5%	Shoulder inflammation
Chad Patrick	MIL	16%	11%	-5%	Moved to bullpen
Alek Manoah	LAA	6%	1%	-5%	Outrighted to minors
Max Fried	NYY	19%	13%	-6%	Elbow bone bruise
José Berríos	TOR	10%	0%	-10%	Tommy John surgery
Clay Holmes	NYM	17%	6%	-11%	Fractured fibula
Robby Snelling	MIA	15%	0%	-15%	Tommy John surgery

Significant Projected Playing Time Changes, RP, 5/8 to 5/22

Name	Team	% Change in Proj. RP IP, 5/8 to 5/22	Reason
Alimber Santa	HOU	156%	Welcome to the big leagues!
Adam Macko	TOR	150%	Called up and already looks like a key cog in the bullpen
Jason Foley	SFG	117%	On rehab assignment
Didier Fuentes	ATL	68%	Cracking the rotation will be hard when he’s in single-inning spurts
Rob Zastryzny	MIL	62%	On rehab assignment
Kyle Hurt	LAD	44%	Amidst breakout season
Tyler Samaniego	BOS	43%	Scoreless streak ended, but coaching staff’s
Sam Hentges	SFG	33%	Back from IL
Nate Pearson	HOU	30%	Back from IL
Kody Funderburk	MIN	-30%	Optioned to minors
Ryan Walker	SFG	-30%	Optioned to minors
Ryan Weathers	NYY	-31%	Fried injury keeps him in rotation longer
Ryan Weiss 와이스	HOU	-35%	Optioned to minors
Ben Brown	CHC	-37%	Moved to rotation
Brock Stewart	LAD	-37%	Bone spur in foot
Janson Junk	MIA	-38%	Snelling injury should keep him in rotation for longer
Patrick Corbin	TOR	-38%	Berríos surgery should keep him in rotation for longer
Aaron Bummer	ATL	-100%	Released
Kyle Harrison	MIL	-100%	No way he’s moving from the rotation at any point now

Position Player Playing Time Changes: May 19, 2026

by Jon Becker

May 19, 2026

Below are all the significant swings in projected playing time for position players over the last seven days. This week has a prospect-y flair, with A.J. Ewing joining the Mets, Colt Emerson up with the Mariners, and post-prospect Dylan Crews set to rejoin the Nationals.

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Position Player Playing Time Changes: May 12, 2026

by Jon Becker

May 12, 2026

Below you’ll find all the latest in significant playing time projection changes for position players since Cinco De Mayo. Headlining the list is a bunch of Astros increases to balance out the crushing loss of Carlos Correa, who will miss the rest of the season after undergoing ankle surgery.

Significant Position Player Playing Time Changes, 5/5 to 5/12

Name	Team	Positions	% of Remaining PT, 5/5	% of Remaining PT, 5/12	PT Change	Reason
Ryan Waldschmidt	ARI	CF, LF	15%	60%	45%	Welcome to the big leagues!
Daniel Susac	SFG	C	19%	46%	27%	Bailey trade creates playing time when back from injury
Jesus Rodriguez	SFG	C, DH, LF, 2B	20%	45%	25%	Bailey trade opens PT for him, too
Spencer Jones	NYY	DH, LF, CF	3%	27%	24%	Playing every day against RHP until Giancarlo Stanton or Jasson Domínguez is back
Henry Bolte	ATH	CF, RF	5%	28%	23%	Welcome to the big leagues!
Casey Schmitt	SFG	2B, 1B, DH, 3B, SS, LF	51%	67%	16%	Has been the Giants’ best hitter, plus he’s versatile
Harrison Bader	SFG	CF	60%	75%	15%	Back from the IL
Mookie Betts	LAD	SS	76%	90%	14%	Back from the IL
Edmundo Sosa	PHI	2B, 3B, LF, SS	40%	53%	13%	Continues to earn more playing time, including in LF
Isaac Paredes	HOU	3B, DH, 1B, 2B	81%	94%	13%	Carlos Correa injury means fewer days off
Zach Dezenzo	HOU	RF, LF	2%	15%	13%	Carlos Correa injury = more PT
Braden Shewmake	HOU	SS, 2B	6%	18%	12%	Carlos Correa injury = more PT
JJ Bleday	CIN	RF, LF, CF	41%	53%	12%	Has become a key cog in the lineup since recall
Justin Foscue	TEX	2B, 1B	4%	16%	12%	Struggles for Jake Burger et al. means he’s playing more
Christian Vázquez	HOU	C	34%	46%	12%	Díaz injury has him as the starting C
Zack Gelof	ATH	2B, CF, 3B, RF, DH	40%	51%	11%	Versatility has him playing often
Sung-Mun Song 송성문	SDP	2B, 3B, SS, 1B, LF	32%	43%	11%	Filling in for Jake Cronenworth (concussion symptoms)
Jeremy Peña	HOU	SS	71%	81%	10%	Nearing return from IL
Tyrone Taylor	NYM	CF, RF, LF	43%	33%	-10%	A.J. Ewing recall muddies playing time
Luis Robert Jr.	NYM	CF, DH	71%	61%	-10%	Downward adjustment with continued uncertainty around timetable
Jake Cronenworth	SDP	2B, SS, 1B, 3B	83%	72%	-11%	Concussion symptoms, on 7-day IL
Jasson Domínguez	NYY	LF, DH, CF	44%	33%	-11%	AC joint sprain in shoulder
Drew Gilbert	SFG	CF, RF, LF	50%	39%	-11%	Harrison Bader return cuts into playing time
Alex Freeland	LAD	2B, 3B, SS	22%	10%	-12%	Optioned to minors with Mookie Betts back
Kerry Carpenter	DET	DH, RF, LF	69%	55%	-14%	Sprained shoulder AC joint
Josh Smith	TEX	2B, SS, 1B, 3B	72%	57%	-15%	Strained glute
Graham Pauley	MIA	3B, DH, 1B, 2B	41%	26%	-15%	Optioned to minors
Anthony Volpe	NYY	SS	60%	44%	-16%	Activated from IL and optioned to minors
Yainer Diaz	HOU	C, DH	67%	46%	-21%	Strained oblique
Bo Naylor	CLE	C	60%	12%	-48%	Optioned to minors with Patrick Bailey acquired
Carlos Correa	HOU	3B, SS	82%	0%	-82%	Season-ending ankle surgery

Pitcher Playing Time Changes: May 8, 2026

by Jon Becker

May 8, 2026

Evan Petzold – USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

As you may have noticed, I skipped last week’s Pitcher Playing Time Changes because when I ran the query of our database to find the significant changes there really weren’t any. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case this week, as evidenced by Tarik Skubal’s surgery to remove a bone chip. Here are the notable swings for starters and relievers alike:

Significant Projected Playing Time Changes, SP, 4/24 to 5/8

Name	Team	% of Team’s Remaining GS, 4/24	% of Team’s Remaining GS, 5/8	PT Change	Reason
Keider Montero	DET	4%	11%	7%	Rotation spot solidified with Skubal out
Janson Junk	MIA	6%	13%	7%	Paddack DFA makes his job pretty ironclad
JR Ritchie	ATL	7%	12%	5%	Pretty impressive so far + López in bullpen
Quinn Priester	MIL	14%	9%	-5%	Injury setback (TOS), pulled off rehab
Brandon Woodruff	MIL	17%	12%	-5%	Shoulder inflammation appears minor
Germán Márquez	SDP	10%	5%	-5%	Forearm nerve inflammation
Brandon Williamson	CIN	8%	2%	-6%	Shoulder fatigue, already transferred to 60-day
Tarik Skubal	DET	20%	12%	-8%	Bone chip surgery appears to have gone well but he’ll still be out a month-plus
Reynaldo López	ATL	16%	8%	-8%	Probably in bullpen for foreseeable future
Yusei Kikuchi	LAA	19%	10%	-9%	Shoulder inflammation, shut down 3-4 weeks
Ryan Pepiot	TBR	10%	0%	-10%	Season-ending hip surgery
Chris Paddack	MIA	13%	0%	-13%	DFA’d

Significant Projected Playing Time Changes, RP, 4/24 to 5/8

Name	Team	% Change in Proj. RP IP, 4/24 to 5/8	Reason
Gregory Santos	SFG	108%	Up from Triple-A helping beleagured bullpen
Tejay Antone	CIN	105%	Back in the majors after his third TJS
Didier Fuentes	ATL	89%	Has become valuable multi-inning arm
Ryan Rolison	CHC	56%	Craig Counsell is trusting him more and more
Ian Seymour	TBR	34%	Continues to work way up trust tree
Dietrich Enns 엔스	BAL	30%	Back from IL and pitching well
Jordan Leasure	CHW	-38%	Sent to Triple-A
Carlos Estévez	KCR	-40%	Rotator cuff strain, reevaluated in three weeks
Colin Rea	CHC	-44%	Matthew Boyd injury will keep him in rotation
Griffin Jax	TBR	-61%	Getting stretched out to start
Angel Zerpa	MIL	-100%	Season-ending TJS

Archive for Projections