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Cardinals To Activate Nolan Arenado On Monday

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The Cardinals are activating veteran third baseman Nolan Arenado ahead of tomorrow night’s game against the Reds, as noted by Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Arenado is on the ten-day injured list, meaning a corresponding move will only be needed to clear space for him on the club’s active roster.

Arenado, 34, was perhaps the most frequently speculated upon trade candidate of the 2024-25 offseason. Although multiple teams, including the Astros and Red Sox, were reportedly involved in negotiations to deal for him, Arenado remained in St. Louis for the 2025 season after blocking a trade to Houston and Boston’s decision to pivot towards signing Alex Bregman. Unfortunately for St. Louis, Arenado’s fifth season with the Cardinals figures to go down as the worst of his career. In 96 games this year, Arenado has hit just .235/.294/.366 with ten home runs.

That’s undeniably lackluster offensive production for an everyday player in the big leagues, and it’s surely all the more frustrating to produce at that level for an eight-time All-Star and multi-time MVP finalist like Arenado. The veteran’s bat slipping has been accompanied by a similar decline in his defense. The stalwart who once won ten consecutive NL Gold Glove awards at third base was worth just +2 Outs Above Average on the infield this year. His +6 Defensive Runs Saved is a bit more impressive than that, but still leaves him in a three-way tie for eighth in the majors among third basemen.

Arenado’s disappointing season has come alongside an equally disappointing one for the Cardinals. With a 72-77 record, St. Louis finds itself in fourth place in the division and seems unlikely to even reach .500 this year, marking their second sub-.500 campaign in three years after they pushed just over .500 with an 83-79 record last season. The team’s future is in flux somewhat with longtime president of baseball operations John Mozeliak set to step aside after this season and hand the reins of the organization off to Chaim Bloom, former chief baseball officer of the Red Sox who was announced as Mozeliak’s successor in St. Louis last year.

With a new head of baseball operations set to take over, the Cardinals are surely hoping to finish on a solid note. Those efforts will now include Arenado, who was sidelined by a shoulder strain in late July and has been on the shelf ever since. Nolan Gorman has handled every day duties at the hot corner in Arenado’s absence, but with the veteran set to return tomorrow it seems as though Gorman will move into a timeshare with super utility man Brendan Donovan at second base and perhaps pull occasional starts away from Ivan Herrera at DH. Gorman has a 95 wRC+ overall this year after he was sidelined by an injury around the All-Star break, and since his return in August has found himself mired in a slump on offense.

Cubs Place Owen Caissie On 7-Day Concussion IL

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The Cubs announced this afternoon that they’ve placed outfielder Owen Caissie on the 7-day concussion-related injured list. Outfielder Kevin Alcantara was recalled from Triple-A to replace Caissie on the active roster.

The move comes just one day after the Cubs recalled Caissie to the big league roster and optioned Alcantara to the minors. Caissie started yesterday’s game against the Rays but exited the game after hitting his head against the outfield wall at Wrigley Field while making a catch. Manager Craig Counsell told reporters (including Vinnie Duber of the Chicago Sun Times) that Caissie was being put through the concussion protocol after yesterday’s game. Evidently, Caissie’s symptoms were severe enough that they opted to place him on the shelf and get him time to recover.

That decision well might bring Caissie’s first season in the big leagues to an end, depending on the severity of his concussion symptoms. If that’s the case, he’ll end 2025 with just 12 games and 27 plate appearances in the big leagues, during which he collected five hits (including a double and a homer) and one walk against eleven strikeouts. That cup of coffee pairs with a strong performance with Iowa this year, where he slashed .286/.386/.551 with 22 homers and 28 doubles in just 99 games. A consensus top-50 prospect in the game, Caissie could get a lot more runway with the Cubs come next season if Kyle Tucker departs the club via free agency in the offseason.

For now, however, his roster spot will go to Alcantara. A fellow top Cubs prospect generally viewed as sitting near the back of the league-wide top 100, Alcantara has appeared in just three games this year. He’s gone 1-for-7 with three strikeouts this year and figures to serve mostly as a bench piece for the Cubs in the coming weeks, though injuries could offer him more opportunities. Both Kyle Tucker and Seiya Suzuki are currently unavailable; Suzuki due to an illness that has left him day-to-day in recent days, and Tucker due to a calf issue that’s sent him to the injured list. Fellow top prospect Moises Ballesteros (7-for-28 with three extra base hits) is getting a look at DH at the moment, and that leaves right field open for some combination of Alcantara and Willi Castro until Suzuki is ready to return to games. Once Suzuki is back, Alcantara, Ballesteros, and Castro will all be competing for playing time until Tucker’s eventual return to the lineup.

That might not be for a while, as Counsell told reporters (including Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic) on Friday that Tucker returning as soon as he’s eligible to be activated on Tuesday is “unlikely right now.” Perhaps that stance could change in the coming days, but Tucker has not yet resumed running since he was placed on the injured list. While the Cubs aren’t in danger of losing their playoff spot at this point, getting the star’s 140 wRC+ bat back into the lineup with enough time for him to get settled in before the playoffs begin seems sure to be a top priority for the Cubs over the season’s final two weeks.

Rangers Activate Adolis Garcia

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The Rangers announced this morning that they’ve activated outfielder Adolis Garcia from the injured list. Dustin Harris was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock to create a spot on the active roster.

Garcia, 32, has spent the entire month so far on the injured list due to a quad strain. The veteran has had a tough year this season, hitting just .235/.277/.408 with a wRC+ of 87. While he’s hit 18 homers with 13 steals and even posted a career-low 24.8% strikeout rate, walking at just a 5.1% clip with his lowest hard contact rate since he became a regular player in 2021 has led Garcia to post below-average numbers for a second straight season.

While Garcia’s numbers haven’t been anywhere near the level they were from 2021-23, when he made two All-Star appearances and won a World Series with Texas, he’s actually improved to around league average as the season has gone on. Since June, Garcia is hitting .254/.292/.432 with a wRC+ of 99,  That’s unlikely to be enough production to stop Garcia from being a non-tender candidate this winter, but with the Rangers still hanging on in the playoff picture it’s valuable to get a league average bat with power and speed back into the lineup for the final weeks of the season.

Garcia is in the lineup and batting fourth today, and he’ll likely push Michael Helman and Alejandro Osuna into a platoon with each other going forward. With the Rangers just two games back in both the Wild Card and AL West races, the Rangers will hope that Garcia can help make up for the ongoing absences of Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, and Evan Carter from the lineup—not to mention the club’s losses in the rotation like Nathan Eovaldi and Tyler Mahle.

It seemed as though the Rangers might be in for another injury scare last night when Chris Martin abruptly exited last night’s win over the Mets. Fortunately, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News provided a positive update on Martin’s status after the game. Grant noted that while Martin had felt some “tingling” in his hands during last night’s appearance, the Rangers do not believe the situation will require a trip to the IL for Martin. That’s surely a relief for Texas, as an IL stint at this stage in the calendar would end Martin’s regular season even if he missed only the minimum time. Martin has been a key piece of the Rangers’ bullpen when healthy this year, with a 2.54 ERA and 3.30 FIP in 39 innings of work.

As for Harris, the 26-year-old made his big league debut with the Rangers last year and has appeared in just 21 big league games over the past two seasons. A .217/.280/.435 hitter across 50 trips to the plate, Harris has experience at all three outfield spots in the majors and has showed solid pop in his bat despite a 30% strikeout rate. He has some experience at the infield corners in the minor leagues as well, but has stuck exclusively to the outfield in the majors. He’ll head back to Triple-A and wait for his next opportunity, which at this point may not come until next season.

Blue Jays To Promote Trey Yesavage For MLB Debut

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September 14: Yesavage will start Monday’s game against the Rays, manager John Schneider told reporters (including Nicholson-Smith) today. Schneider went on to make clear that Yesavage’s role beyond Monday’s game has not yet been decided. Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet adds that Schneider told reporters that Yesavage is not on an innings limit this year.

September 13: The Blue Jays are promoting right-hander Trey Yesavage to the majors, according to a report from Shi Davidi and Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. Yesavage is expected to be active on the MLB roster for Monday’s game against the Rays in Tampa.

Yesavage, 22, was selected 20th overall in last year’s draft by Toronto. Viewed by most draft prospect evaluation services as a top-15 talent in his class at the time, he earned some top-100 prospect consideration this past offseason despite not having made his MLB debut yet thanks to a dominant 40.4% strikeout rate a 2.03 ERA in 15 starts for East Carolina last year. Yesavage began his season at the Single-A level and was promoted three separate times throughout the year. He made just four starts for High-A Vancouver before he was promoted to Double-A, and despite a 4.50 ERA in 30 innings at that level 38.0% strikeout rate was enough to convince Blue Jays brass to promote him to Triple-A last month.

Since then, he’s pitched to a 3.63 ERA in 17 1/3 innings of work while striking out 36.1% of his opponents. That’s an impressive enough figure that the Blue Jays decided to scratch Yesavage from his scheduled start with Buffalo tomorrow and call him up to the majors, though it shouldn’t be taken to mean Yesavage is completely without flaws. The youngster has walked 10.5% of his opponents this year, including 15.3% of his opponents at Triple-A. Those struggles with his command have generally been made up for by his impressive stuff, headlined by a fastball that sits 94-95 to go along with a splitter and a slider.

While the Blue Jays are still hard at work fending off the Yankees (who sit just three games back of Toronto in the AL East), they’re more or less assured of a spot in the postseason at this point. The club has a veteran rotation featuring Kevin Gausman, Max Scherzer, Shane Bieber, Chris Bassitt, and Jose Berrios as things stand. Yesavage is very unlikely to bump anyone from that group from the postseason rotation. It’s at least plausible the Jays could use Yesavage in spot starts over the season’s final weeks to help them line up their ideal postseason rotation for a potential Wild Card series, but the Jays have a real shot at a bye through the Wild Card round and would most likely benefit from seeing what Yesavage can do out of the bullpen.

Toronto’s bullpen has been flagging in recent weeks. Closer Jeff Hoffman has an ERA near 5.00, and deadline acquisition Louis Varland hasn’t taken to Canada very well despite his success in Minnesota earlier this year. With the late innings looking like a major question mark for the Jays headed into the postseason, trying Yesavage out of the bullpen and seeing if he can use his impressive stuff to dominate major league hitters in short bursts could result in the Jays having another power arm for their relief corps to lean on in October if the experiment goes well.

All that talk of October may sound confusing, given that the league’s rules state that a player may not be on a club’s postseason roster if not on the 40-man roster come September 1. There are ways around that, however, and one such loophole that would allow Yesavage to make a postseason roster this year is that clubs are allowed to replace players who are eligible to be activated off the injured list but not yet healthy enough to return, so long as the replacement was active in the organization prior to September 1. Yesavage meets those conditions, and the Jays have plenty of players who he could be considered a replacement for, such as Yimi Garcia.

Yesavage’s September call-up means that he’ll get at least a bit of major league service time this year, but we’ve long past the time where he would be in danger of losing rookie eligibility for the 2026 campaign. Toronto will need to create space on their 40-man roster in order to officially call Yesavage up to the majors on Monday by designating someone for assignment.

Braves Select Luke Williams, Place Jake Fraley On Injured List

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The Braves announced a pair of roster moves this morning. Outfielder Jake Fraley was placed on the 10-day injured list with a strained right oblique muscle in a move backdated to September 11. To replace Fraley on the roster, Atlanta has selected the contract of infielder Luke Williams. The team already had a vacancy on its 40-man roster, so no additional corresponding move was necessary to accommodate Williams.

Fraley, 30, began his career as a second-round pick with the Rays back in 2016. He was swapped to Seattle in the Mike Zunino trade in 2018 and spent parts of three seasons with the big league Mariners before being shipped to the Reds as part of the return for Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suarez prior to the 2022 season. Fraley had blossomed into a solid enough platoon bat by that point, and in 373 games from 2021 to 2024 he hit a respectable .254/.340/.416. He finished just shy of a 20/20 season in both 2023 and ’24, with 18 homers and 21 steals in the former campaign followed by a 19-homer, 20-steal effort in the latter.

Taken together, that all paints a picture of Fraley as a perfectly solid contributor to an MLB club. He suffered a bit of a slump this year, however, and hit just .232/.332/.387 for the Reds this year with numbers that got progressively worse as the season continued. That led to Cincinnati designating him for assignment, and the Braves jumped at the opportunity to claim him off waivers given their struggles to find adequate production in the outfield this year.

Fraley’s role ended up being a fairly minor one, however, as Jurickson Profar’s return from his early-season suspension and Michael Harris II’s late-season resurgence at the plate largely pushed him out of the conversation for regular playing time. He’s made just nine appearances for Atlanta this year, hitting .304/.333/.348 across 24 trips to the plate. He’ll now miss at least the next week due to this oblique strain, though with the Braves out of the postseason and minimal time left in the regular season it’s possible his 2025 campaign has now come to an end.

Replacing Fraley on the active roster is Williams, who played in 38 games for the Braves earlier this year before being outrighted to the minors. Now in his fifth MLB season, Williams bounced between the Phillies, Giants, Dodgers, and Marlins before settling with Atlanta in a depth role for the 2023 season. He’s a career .213/.271/.281 hitter who offers virtually no value with the bat, but does possess a solid, versatile glove that allows him to play quality defense all over the diamond as needed. Williams will join Eli White, Vidal Brujan, and Nick Allen in the bench mix as the Braves head into the final weeks of the season.

Dodgers Place Will Smith On Injured List

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The Dodgers announced this evening that they’ve placed catcher Will Smith on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to September 10, due to a right hand contusion. Catcher Chuckie Robinson was recalled to replace Smith on the active roster.

Smith, 30, has enjoyed a career year with the Dodgers this season as he’s hit .296/404/.497 and landed his third consecutive All-Star appearance. Unfortunately, he was struck by a foul ball on his throwing hand on September 3. He sat out for nearly a week before he returned on September 9, but he hasn’t appeared in a game since. Manager Dave Roberts had previously described the issue as a matter of pain tolerance for Smith, as his ailing hand won’t heal before the end of the year at this point.

That seemed to suggest that Smith and the Dodgers were ready to have him play through the injury while talking days off when possible, but Roberts today told reporters (including Sonja Chen of MLB.com) that “not enough improvement”  has occurred in Smith’s ability to play at this point to continue giving him a spot on the roster and playing without a true backup catcher. Dalton Rushing is already on the injured list due to a shin contusion, which meant that third-string catcher Ben Rortvedt was the only option on the roster who was available in recent days.

Now that Smith has been placed on the shelf, there was room to get Rortvedt some help in the form of Robinson. Robinson has just 51 games in the big leagues to his name, and in that time has hit just .132/.170/.194 with a career wRC+ of -3, meaning he’s 103% worse than a league average hitter. It’s hardly a robust offensive profile, but he’s a very well-regarded defender and his right-handed bat could pair with Rortvedt’s lefty bat to form something of a platoon behind the plate, though neither player is offering much with the bat from either side of the plate.

Solid as Robinson and Rortvedt are defensively, it goes without saying that another week without Smith is a major blow to the Dodgers. He’s arguably been second only to Shohei Ohtani as the team’s most important player this year, and without him impacting the club on both sides of the ball everyday it’s been difficult for the Dodgers to lock up the NL West this September even while the Padres have gone 6-12 over their last 18 games. Surely, L.A.’s lead would be much larger than 2.5 games at this point if they had Smith in the middle of the lineup alongside Ohtani and Freddie Freeman.

That makes losing Smith for at least another week a tough pill to swallow, but at this point the Dodgers seem to view it as a necessary sacrifice in order to get Smith as healthy as possible in time for the start of the postseason. The Dodgers have just a 6.8% chance of clinching a bye through the Wild Card series according to Fangraphs, which means that Smith won’t get a substantial break between the regular season and the postseason to rest. The remaining regular season games are far less important than that three-game Wild Card set coming up in October, so it’s understandable that the Dodgers would be prioritizing getting Smith ready for that series at all costs at this point.

Given the nagging, day-to-day nature of Smith’s injury, it wouldn’t be a shock to see him activated after a minimum stay on the injured list. With that being said, it’s possible the Dodgers will want to give him as much time to heal up as possible over the final two weeks of the regular season, so perhaps they’ll take a more careful route with him and wait to bring him back until it’s time for him to tune up ahead of the postseason.

Angels Designate Scott Kingery For Assignment, Promote Denzer Guzman

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The Angels announced this afternoon that they’ve selected the contract of infielder Denzer Guzman from Triple-A. Utility infielder Scott Kingery was designated for assignment to make room for Guzman on the 40-man and active rosters. In addition, Anaheim announced that they’ve optioned outfielder Matthew Lugo to Triple-A and recalled infielder Christian Moore.

Guzman, 21, was signed by the Angels as an amateur out of the Dominican Republic and made his professional debut during the 2021 season. After hitting his way out of rookie ball in late 2022, Guzman began to climb the minor league ladder but generally didn’t show much promise with the bat. That was, at least, until this year, when Guzman enjoyed a breakout at the Double- and Triple-A levels. He’s slashed .247/.343/.426 in 129 games between those two levels this year, with 30 doubles, 17 homers, and a 14-17 record on the bases. Some of that breakout seems to have been fueled by the inflated offensive environment found in the Pacific Coast League, but given Guzman’s youth it’s still impressive that he’s been able to hold his own offensively in the upper minors.

The overwhelming majority of Guzman’s work over the years has come at shortstop, though he does have a small amount of experience at third base as well. In the short term, Guzman figures to fill in for Zach Neto at short while the latter player nurses a day-to-day injury. Looking into the future, however, Neto’s presence leaves a long-term roadblock to Guzman getting much time at the position in the majors. Perhaps other spots around the infield could become available as soon as next year with Luis Rengifo and Yoan Moncada ticketed for free agency this winter, and if that comes to pass then a strong first impression for Guzman could get him into the conversation for a larger role in the majors in 2026.

To make room for Guzman on the roster, the Angels are cutting ties with Kingery. The 31-year-old journeyman got his first MLB work since 2022 in with Anaheim this year after signing an MLB deal, though he only ended up appearing in 19 games as he slashed a brutal .148/.207/.185 with a 37.9% strikeout rate in 29 trips to the plate. A former top prospect who signed an ill-fated extension with the Phillies to begin his career, Kingery seemed to take a step forward and become an average regular in 2019 but hit just .144/.205/.250 across 52 MLB games from 2020 to 2022. Assuming he goes unclaimed on waivers, Kingery will have the option either elect free agency or stick with the Angels organization in the minors for the remainder of the year.

As for Moore, the rookie returns to the majors without having even used a minor league option, since his assignment lasted less than 20 days. The eighth overall pick of last year’s draft debuted back in June and hit .195/.287/.336 in 39 games for the Angels this year between trips to the injured list and Triple-A. As for Lugo, the 24-year-old made his MLB debut this year but has hit just .232/.243/.464 in 70 appearances, with his excellent slugging numbers boosted by six extra-base hits in his first eight games as a big leaguer.

Masyn Winn Shut Down For Remainder Of Season

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TODAY: The Cardinals have officially announced Winn’s IL placement.  Jose Fermin was called up from Triple-A to take Winn’s spot on the active roster.

FRIDAY: Winn will be placed on the IL Saturday and is out for the season, according to manager Oli Marmol (as reported by Katie Woo of The Athletic).  Thomas Saggese played shortstop tonight as the Cardinals fell to the Brewers at American Family Field; he’s started each of the last three games there.

WEDNESDAY: Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn has a torn meniscus in his right knee. He will require arthroscopic surgery at some point but is going to attempt to play through the ailment for the rest of the year. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Katie Woo of The Athletic relayed the details of the situation. Goold says that Winn has actually been playing with the tear for months.

On the surface, it seems like an odd decision. But the way it’s framed, Winn has been assured that he’s unlikely make the issue any worse by continue to run out there, so there’s no risk of exacerbating the issue. Once he goes under the knife, the recovery period will be short enough that his 2026 season won’t be impacted. Even if he delays the procedure through the end of the season, he can still be healthy by spring training.

Since there’s nothing much to be gained by having the surgery now and no apparent harm in delaying things, he’ll try to help the Cards as they hover on the fringes of the playoff race. They are currently 72-74, which puts them 4.5 games back of the floundering Mets, who currently hold the final National League Wild Card spot.

“I feel like I owe it to these guys to finish the year strong,” Winn said. “I definitely don’t want to cash it in this early. We technically still have a shot (at the playoffs). I want to go out there and compete for that. But I want to do it for my pitchers, really. I know these guys want me out there at shortstop. I want to be there. So I’m going to have time in the offseason to recover. I feel like I can play this one out.”

Though he can tolerate the pain somewhat, he may still need some days off. “One of those days that it doesn’t feel as good as others,” manager Oli Marmol said of Winn not playing on Tuesday. “So, no reason to push through it. We’ve agreed to if it’s not feeling good enough to go then we would give him the day. And he’s amazing at communicating that.”

Winn is having a strong season in terms of his shortstop defense. He has been credited with four Defensive Runs Saved and a huge tally of 22 Outs Above Average. The former figure puts him in the top ten of shortstops this year, while the latter figure is the best in the majors regardless of position.

The offense has been a bit less impressive. He has hit .253/.310/.363 for a 91 wRC+ this year, a drop from last year’s .267/.314/.416 line and 104 wRC+. It’s possible the knee issue has been holding him back at the plate. He was hitting .276/.352/.435 for a 123 wRC+ through the end of May but has a .240/.287/.324 line and 73 wRC+ since the start of June.

Winn is still under club control for four more seasons after this one. He won’t qualify for arbitration until after the 2026 season. Perhaps a healthier knee will help him take a step forward at the plate next year, but he’s still a valuable player now thanks to his excellent glovework.

When Winn is not playing, Thomas Saggese has taken some time at short and will likely continue to do so. Some extra infield help is on the way, as Goold and Woo note that Brendan Donovan and Nolan Arenado are each nearing returns from the injured list.

One thing that is not under consideration is a promotion of shortstop prospect JJ Wetherholt. He has good numbers in his first 38 Triple-A games but Woo notes that he has missed the five most recent contests due to soreness from a non-baseball ailment. Even though he’s returning to action this week, the Cards will seemingly keep him on the farm. He won’t be Rule 5 eligible until December of 2027, so delaying his promotion means that the Cards won’t need to have him on the 40-man this winter.

He has dabbled at second base and third base in the minors. Given Winn’s elite defense, perhaps Wetherholt will be moved to one of those positions going forward. The Cards have Arenado signed through 2027 and he’s still a good defender but his offense has been subpar this year. Moving his contract may be tough, especially with his no-trade clause, so perhaps he will be at the hot corner again next year. Second base is a bit more open. Guys like Saggese, Donovan and Nolan Gorman are in the mix there but they can play other positions.

Photo courtesy of Jeff Curry, Imagn Images

Red Sox Sign John Brebbia To Minor League Contract

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The Red Sox have signed right-hander John Brebbia to a minor league deal, according to NESN’s Tom Caron.  Brebbia wasn’t on the open market for long, as it was just two days ago that he elected free agency rather than an accept an outright assignment to the Braves’ Triple-A affiliate.

The signing is a homecoming for Brebbia, who was born in Boston and grew up in Sharon, Massachusetts.  Perhaps the return to familiar surroundings will help turn around what has been a difficult year for Brebbia, who has a 7.71 ERA over 23 1/3 combined innings with the Tigers and Braves.

After inking a one-year, $2.75MM free agent deal with Detroit, Brebbia was designated for assignment and subsequently released in June after struggling badly over 19 appearances in a Tigers uniform.  The Braves inked him to a minors deal shortly thereafter and selected his contract to the majors at the end of August, but Brebbia had a 7.71 ERA in 4 2/3 innings and three games.  Atlanta designated Brebbia for assignment earlier this week, and (unsurprisingly) he cleared waivers, resulting in Brebbia opting for free agency.

Since the Tigers are responsible for the bulk of Brebbia’s remaining salary, the Red Sox will owe him only the prorated portion of the MLB minimum salary for any time the reliever might spend on Boston’s active roster.  (Brebbia’s contract also includes a $4MM club option for 2026, yet that option is sure to be declined.)  Because he is joining the organization after August 31, Brebbia isn’t eligible for postseason play.

For the cost of next to nothing, the Red Sox aren’t risking much in bringing Brebbia aboard as a depth arm for the remainder of September.  A big spike in home run rate has led to a lot of struggles for Brebbia over the last two seasons, but he was a mostly effective bullpen arm earlier in his career with the Cardinals and Giants.  There’s not a ton of time left in 2025 to see if Brebbia can get things turned around, but if nothing else, his time in the Sox organization could serve as an audition for another minor league deal this winter.

Rays Select Garrett Acton

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The Rays announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Garrett Acton.  Righty Eric Orze was optioned to Triple-A Durham to create room on the 28-man roster, and outfielder Jonny DeLuca was moved to the 60-day injured list to create space for Acton on the 40-man roster.

Acton made his Major League debut in less than stellar fashion with the A’s in 2023, as the 27-year-old was rocked for a 12.71 ERA over six games and 5 2/3 innings of work.  Acton allowed three home runs in that brief sample, and issued an equal number of walks and strikeouts (five apiece).  Any attempts at a follow-up were then put on hold by a Tommy John surgery, which kept Acton from any game action at either the major or minor league levels in 2024.

Released by the A’s in June 2023, Acton landed with the Rays on a two-year minor league deal the following offseason, with the understanding that Acton would spend all of 2024 recuperating.  He got back to the mound this year and has looked pretty sharp, posting a 3.64 ERA, 30.7% strikeout rate, and an 11.0% walk rate that is on the high side.  The velocity isn’t all the way back, as Acton’s fastball is averaging 93.7 mph this year after clocking in at 95.3mph during his brief stint in the Show in 2023.

Acton’s homer rate is a respectable 8.6% this season in Durham, which is a career best for an extreme fly-ball pitcher.  Acton’s attempts to keep the ball in the park will be immediately tested this weekend in Wrigley Field against a powerful Cubs lineup, and his promotion represents the Rays’ need for a fresh arm in the bullpen.  Tampa Bay used five relievers (including Orze) in yesterday’s 6-4 loss to the Cubs, since starter Shane Baz was chased in the third inning.

DeLuca’s 2025 season has now officially been ended with the move from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL.  The outfielder was first sidelined by a left hamstring strain back on August 7, and seemed to be working his way back on a Triple-A rehab assignment before suffering a quad strain earlier this week.

This is unfortunately DeLuca’s second trip to the 60-day IL in 2025.  An April shoulder strain that was initially expected to keep DeLuca out for 2-4 weeks ended up keeping him off the Rays’ roster for over 3.5 months.  DeLuca’s lost year will end with just 20 big league games, though he did hit well (.333/.356/.456 in 59 plate appearances) when he was able to play.

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