Working the Waiver Wire: May 6

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  • By Anthony Kates

    Last Updated on May 6, 2026 1:26 am by Anthony Kates | Published: May 6, 2026

    *Note that all listed roster %’s are from Yahoo, at the time of the writing of this article. Almost all of our waiver wire recommendations are widely available across all major platforms, however.*

    Payton Tolle – SP – BOS – 48%

    Tolle has been phenomenal and though Sonny Gray is coming back today, it seems the Red Sox will run out a six-man rotation for a little while (though with Brayan Bello coming in as a follower yesterday, maybe they can just push him to the bullpen), so Tolle’s role in the rotation should be safe…for now.

    Over 17.2 innings, he has a 23:6 K:BB, with two quality starts and one win. He has allowed one home run and four earned runs, to the tune of a 2.04 ERA and a 0.74 WHIP. He has solid batted ball numbers, with a chase rate that is up eight percentage points from his debut last year, an above average swinging strike rate and a very good ground ball rate. He has generated a 29.8% whiff rate and has one of the best strikeout rates in baseball, though his statcast is not exactly great (8.1% barrel rate, 43.2% hard hit rate, 90.8 MPH avgEV), but it’s also not too terrible. Four of his five pitches have performed above league average, generating at least 1 run value each (his 4-seam and curve have generated three apiece).

    He is better than Bello (his follow from yesterday notwithstanding) and gives them better opportunities to win games.

    Jacob Latz – RP – TEX – 30%

    Oh look, another week, another closer candidate.

    Latz has the Rangers’ last three saves, a 15:3 K:BB, has allowed just two earned runs and one home run over 17.2 innings. He has been the Rangers’ best relief pitcher this season and has not walked a batter over his last seven appearances. He minimizes line drives, limits quality contact and has overall solid underlying data. He is a left-handed pitcher, which usually makes it difficult to hold down a closer’s role, but the Rangers have two other lefties in their bullpen, so he shouldn’t have to worry much about being called on in situational spots.

    The Rangers have three separate relievers with multiple saves this season and Latz has been the best of the group. This may very well still be a closer-by-committee situation, but it is very telling that he has been the only arm used in save situations over the past ten days. Ride the hot hand, especially if you’ve been playing closer hot potato this season.

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    May 6, 2026, 1:26 am