TBNL #305 — Bobby Witt Jr. keeps stealing bases; seven MLB umpires will retire at season’s end; the Twins add a potential late-inning arm; the Mets pick up a local pitcher; one of the top HS draft prospects is facing another major elbow surgery; a reliever returns to Japan for a second go; and a new hurler heads to Korea.

Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. worked a leadoff walk to start the 8th inning of Sunday’s game against the Phillies. Following a flyout by Jac Caglianone, Witt promptly stole second base — his 30th of the season in Kansas City’s 90th game (the Royals were 36-54 after Sunday’s 5-2 win).

Witt has reached the 30-steal mark in each of his first five seasons in the big leagues. He’s just the fourth player in MLB history to do so, joining Rickey Henderson, Ichiro Suzuki, and Vince Coleman.

Henderson, the all-time record-holder with 1,406 stolen bases over a 25-year career, totaled 427 over his first five seasons.

Coleman, who stole 752 bases over a 13-year career, had 472 in his first five seasons.

Suzuki stole 509 bases in his 19-year MLB career, plus another 199 in 9 seasons in Japan, swiped 190 bases in his first five seasons in the U.S.

Witt, with half of his fifth MLB season remaining, has 178.

Per reporting from USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, seven long-time MLB umpires — CB Bucknor, Laz Diaz, Brian O’Nora, Lance Barksdale, Marvin Hudson, Tony Randazzo, and Andy Fletcher — have decided to accept buy-out offers from the league and will retire after the conclusion of the 2026 season. Bucknor, who first became a full-time umpire for the league in 1996, was among the more notable veteran umpires to push back against the league’s decision to implement the ABS (automated balls-and-strikes) system this season.

There is some thought (and hope) within baseball circles that this could open a door for Jen Pawol to become the first full-time female umpire in 2027.

Also notable in Nightengale’s Sunday column: Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns is earning nearly $14M per year under his five-year contract with the team (he’s in Year 3 of that deal). That’s almost triple the average salary of other GMs/POBOs.

Continuing with July trades ….

Korean right-hander Woo-Suk Go — the brother-in-law of Giants outfielder Jung-hoo Lee (Go married Kim’s sister) — spent seven seasons pitching in the KBO, posting a 3.18 ERA over 368.1 IP with 139 saves before the LG Twins agreed to make him available via the posting system after the 2023 season. Go agreed to a two-year, $4.5M deal with the San Diego Padres in Jan. 2024. The Padres assigned him to Double-A out of spring training. That May, Go and three other minor leaguers (including OF Jakob Marsee) were traded to the Marlins for Luis Arraez. The Marlins removed him from the 40-man roster just a few weeks later.

Go signed a non-roster minor league deal with the Tigers this past offseason, electing to remain in the U.S. and pursue an opportunity in MLB rather than return to the KBO. The 27-year-old posted a 1.96 ERA with 13 BB and 54 SO in 41.1 IP this year between the Tigers’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates.

On Sunday, the Tigers traded Go to the Twins for cash considerations. Per The Athletic’s Dan Hayes (via Twitter, so no link; as a matter of principle, I’m no longer sending traffic to that cesspool of a website), Go had an assignment clause in his contract, so the Twins will add him to the MLB roster. He’s expected to join the team in Minnesota on Tuesday to start a three-game series with the Guardians.

The second player in as many days has been traded out of Detroit after the Tigers opted not to add him to the 40-man roster due to an upward mobility clause. The Tigers traded right-hander Matt Seelinger to the Mets on Monday for cash considerations. New York will need to add Seelinger to their 40-man roster.

The 31-year-old Long Island, NY, native has spent nine seasons in the minor leagues with five organizations (plus a season in the independent Atlantic League) and has yet to make his MLB debut. Including this year, he holds a 3.33 ERA across 389.2 IP with 179 BB and 521 SO.

Massachusetts high school left-hander Brody Bumila is hard to miss, standing 6’9” with a 100 mph fastball. The southpaw has drawn plenty of attention from MLB scouts this spring, especially after throwing a 20-strikeout, no-hitter in early May for Bishop Feehan High School (Attleboro, MA). Several early mock drafts connected the 18-year-old to both the Boston Red Sox and San Diego Padres as a potential late first-round pick (that connection has lessened in more recent mocks).

MLB Pipeline has Bumila ranked at No. 23 on its final Top 250 prospect list ahead of the draft.

The chances of Bumila being taken early in this weekend’s draft may have just taken a substantial hit, however. The Athletic’s Keith Law reported on Monday that Bumila re-injured his UCL (ulnar collateral ligament) in his left elbow and could be facing Tommy John surgery. Bumila already has a history of elbow injuries, having undergone an internal brace procedure at the age of 15 and suffering a UCL sprain in 2025. Teams may be hesitant to draft a player who won’t step on a mound for at least the next 14-16 months. Bumila is committed to enrolling at the Univ. of Texas in the fall if he doesn’t sign after the draft.

Right-handed reliever Yunior Marte is returning to Japan’s NPB, reportedly signing with the Rakuten Eagles for the remainder of the season. The 31-year-old had been pitching with the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Triple-A affiliate before being granted his release on Saturday.

Rakuten (29-46) enters play on Monday in last place in the Pacific League.

Marte spent the 2025 season in Japan with the Chunichi Dragons, posting a 1.95 ERA with 11 BB and 25 SO in 32.1 IP. The production was good enough for the Cincinnati Reds to bring him to spring training this season on a minor league contract. Marte started the year in the minors and made a single appearance for the Reds in April — allowing 4 ER in 0.1 IP — before being designated for assignment and rejecting an outright assignment to Triple-A. He signed a new minor league deal with the Pirates days later. In 26.0 IP between the two organizations at Triple-A, he has a 5.54 ERA, 19 BB, and 36 SO.

Looking to improve the production from their foreign-born players on the roster, the KBO’s SSG Landers (33-50-3, 9th in the 10-team league) are reportedly set to sign right-hander Pedro Avila. The 29-year-old had been pitching with the Guardians’ Triple-A affiliate until he was released on July 1.

Avila posted a 3.51 ERA (118 ERA+) with 67 BB and 151 SO over 146.1 IP during his five seasons in MLB before spending 2025 in Japan with the Yakult Swallows, where he had a 4.04 ERA in 82.1 IP.