Pedro

Leon

The 27-year-old outfielder was designated for assignment earlier in the week by the Orioles. After a terrific minor league campaign in 2024, León was limited to just 25 minor league contests in 2025 due to injury. In his limited time, he slashed .253/.314/.505 with six homers and 15 RBI in only 106 plate appearances. With a strong showing in the spring, he could compete for a reserve spot on the Phillies’ Opening Day roster.

León was claimed off waivers earlier this month from the Astros and simply gets caught up in a roster crunch with Baltimore needing to guard a couple prospects from next month’s Rule 5 Draft. Vázquez batted .160 (8-for-50) in 32 games for the Orioles this past season in a reserve infielder role.

León heads to Baltimore after being cast off from Houston’s 40-man mix earlier this week in a roster crunch. The 27-year-old has battled knee issues this past season and hasn’t appeared in the big leagues since getting into seven contests for the Astros back in 2024.

No real surprises here as Houston does a little housekeeping to clear space on their 40-man roster at the outset of the offseason. McCormick and Garcia are the most prominent names here and were virtual locks to be non-tendered in a couple weeks. León was one of the better prospects in Houston’s system before knee injuries derailed his development.

It’s merely a procedural move to free up a spot on Houston’s 40-man roster. The 27-year-old outfielder has been out all season recovering from a left knee sprain and re-aggravated the issue a couple weeks ago during his minor league rehab assignment.

León re-aggravated his left knee sprain during his recent minor league rehab assignment and is likely going to be shut down for a while. The 27-year-old outfielder is likely ticketed for Triple-A Sugar Land once he’s finally healthy.

It was his first game action of the year. León will most likely be optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land once his rehab assignment is complete.

There’s still no clear timeline for when the 26-year-old outfielder may be able to return, the general consensus is just that he’s going to be “shut down for a while.” Even when he is healthy, expect that León will have to prove himself at Triple-A Sugar Land before earning an opportunity with the big league club.

There’s no exact timeline for León’s return, but this is a tough blow for the 26-year-old who was once one of the more exciting prospects in the Astros’ system. The Astros need some help in the outfield this season with Kyle Tucker gone, but this injury essentially takes León out of the battle for the opening day roster.

Leon, 26, was once considered among the best hitting prospects in the Houston system, but things have not gone to plan since signing out of Cuba. The outfielder will need to have a fantastic spring training — and obviously be healthy — for him to have any chance of making Houston out of the Grapefruit League.