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Archives for August 2024

Orioles Designate Nick Avila For Assignment

By Steve Adams | August 21, 2024 at 9:36am CDT

The Orioles announced Wednesday that they’ve designated right-hander Nick Avila for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to lefty Cole Irvin, whose previously reported promotion from Triple-A Norfolk has now been formally announced. In addition to selecting Irvin’s contract and designating Avila, the O’s optioned righty Dillon Tate to Norfolk.

Avila, 27, was claimed off release waivers from the Giants organization back in June. He was on the minor league injured list with a shoulder impingement at the time (hat tip to Christopher Correa of the Turlock Journal), and since injured players can’t be placed on outright waivers, San Francisco instead requested release waivers.

Avila hasn’t looked right all season. In 2023, the 6’4″ righty posted a strong 3.00 ERA in 72 innings out of the bullpen in Triple-A Sacramento (anecdotally recording a flawless 14-0 record along the way), but he’s been rocked for 19 earned runs in 18 innings in the minors this season. That includes a staggering 10 runs on nine hits and a pair of walks in just 1 1/3 innings with the Orioles’ Triple-A club in Norfolk since returning from that shoulder impingement that kept him out of action for nearly two months.

With the trade deadline behind us, the Orioles will have no choice but to place Avila on waivers. Since he’s no longer on the injured list, they can place him on outright waivers. Given his struggles and injuries this season, there’s a good chance Avila will clear, allowing the O’s to keep him in the organization without dedicating a 40-man roster spot to him.

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Baltimore Orioles Transactions Cole Irvin Nick Avila

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The Opener: World Baseball Classic, Verlander, Robles

By Nick Deeds | August 21, 2024 at 8:30am CDT

As the 2024 regular season continues, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. World Baseball Classic first-round reveal:

Per a report from ESPN’s Enrique Rojas, organizers for the 2026 World Baseball Classic will announce the brackets for the first round of the tournament today. Sixteen of the 20 participants have already been determined, as the United States, Japan, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Puerto Rico, South Korea, Mexico, Venezuela, the Netherlands, Israel, Italy, Australia, Canada, Panama, Great Britain, and the Czech Republic all qualified automatically thanks to their performance in last year’s tournament. The final four spots in the tournament won’t be determined until next year’s qualifiers. The 2026 WBC will play out across four venues: Houston’s Minute Maid Park, Miami’s loanDepot Park, Japan’s Tokyo Dome, and Puerto Rico’s Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan.

2. Verlander to return to action:

One of the league’s most decorated pitchers is returning from the injured list today, as the Astros are poised to hand the ball to Justin Verlander for his first start since June. The future Hall of Famer is on the 15-day IL, meaning the club will only need to make a corresponding move that clears space on the active roster to accommodate his return. He’ll square off against Red Sox righty Cooper Criswell (4.56 ERA) in Houston.

In ten starts prior to the injury, Verlander had been solid but didn’t look quite like himself, with a 3.95 ERA and 4.99 FIP. The 41-year-old’s return to the Astros rotation should supply the club with some much-needed reinforcement, given each of J.P. France, Cristian Javier, Jose Urquidy, Luis Garcia, and Lance McCullers Jr. have all been lost for the season to injury.

3. Robles injured:

For all of their offensive struggles this year, the Mariners have been extremely pleased with the performance of midseason acquisition Victor Robles. The center fielder signed with Seattle back in June after being released by the Nationals, the only club he had previously known. The change of scenery has served the 27-year-old extremely well. In 50 games with the M’s, he has slashed .280/.340/.413 (120 wRC+) while delivering quality defense in the outfield. The former top prospect’s success impressed Mariners brass enough to earn him a two-year extension that runs through the end of the 2026 season with a club option for 2027.

Unfortunately, the struggling Mariners will be losing that spark at the top of their lineup — for at least the time being. As noted by Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times, Robles suffered a hip injury when he crashed into a wall during last night’s loss to the Dodgers and is expected to miss at least tonight’s game. The loss of Robles leaves Seattle in a bit of a pickle regarding center field, as almost all of the club’s innings in center have gone to Robles or Julio Rodriguez this season. Rodriguez only recently came off the injured list and has not played the field at all since his return. If Rodriguez is unable to return to center field duties, the club could turn to Luke Raley or Dominic Canzone in center, though neither has much experience there. Raley has just 341 career innings there to Canzone’s 231 (big leagues and minors combined).

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The Opener

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Cardinals Release Brandon Crawford, Option Jordan Walker

By Darragh McDonald | August 20, 2024 at 11:58pm CDT

The Cardinals announced today that infielder Matt Carpenter has been reinstated from the injured list while fellow infielder Luken Baker has been recalled from Triple-A Memphis. In corresponding moves, the club optioned outfielder Jordan Walker and granted infielder Brandon Crawford his unconditional release.

Crawford, 37, signed with the Cardinals in the offseason, a one-year deal with a modest $2MM salary. It seemed as though he was a bit of veteran insurance for rookie Masyn Winn, who the club was planning to have as their everyday shortstop. That was a sensible move at the time, as Winn had just 37 games of major league experience coming into the year and hit just .172/.230/.238 in those.

But here in 2024, Winn has delivered on his prospect hype. He has 11 home runs and a slash of .274/.324/.419, which translates to a wRC+ of 108. His glovework has led to 11 Defensive Runs Saved and 3 Outs Above Average at shortstop, and he has also stolen 10 bases. His all-around contributions have led to FanGraphs crediting him with 2.8 wins above replacement, which is third among National League rookies, just behind Jackson Merrill and Tyler Fitzgerald.

As Winn has been doing all of that, Crawford has hardly been used. Though he has been on the active roster all season, he has only appeared in 29 games and has only been sent to the plate 80 times. In that sporadic playing time, he has struck out at an uncharacteristic 32.5% rate and slashed .169/.263/.282 for a wRC+ 58. Perhaps it was difficult for Crawford to get into a groove with so little time in the lineup, but that rough performance is actually not too far off from last year, when he hit .194/.273/.314 for the Giants and produced a 62 wRC+.

Regardless of the cause, that performance from Crawford and the emergence of Winn have gotten him bumped off the roster. That will likely leave utility player Brendan Donovan as the Cardinals’ backup for Winn at the shortstop position. Perhaps Baker can give a jolt to the lineup, as he has hit 32 home runs in Triple-A this year and walked at a 14.8% clip.

For Crawford, rather than put him on waivers and be forced to go wherever he’s claimed, the Cards have given him a bit of agency over his next steps by releasing him instead. His brief time in St. Louis will seemingly be destined to a future bit of esoteric trivia for the Giants’ legend.

Any team could now sign Crawford for the prorated league minimum, with that amount subtracted from what the Cardinals pay. The level of interest is likely tempered by his recent string of poor results, but he also has a lengthy track record. Since debuting with the Giants back in 2011, he has just under 1700 games of major league experience with roughly league average offense and very strong defensive grades. In the offseason, he seemed to at least give some thought to retiring before getting the deal with the Cards, which could perhaps be on the table again if he doesn’t get a tempting opportunity in the coming weeks.

As for Walker, this is the latest in his up-and-down treatment from the Cards. He was recalled just over a week ago with Carpenter landing on the IL and is now back to Memphis after getting one hit in 12 plate appearances while Carpenter was out.

Last year, he rode a wave of excitement to the club’s 2023 Opening Day roster but his performance was inconsistent throughout the year. Though he was optioned for a spell last summer, he was recalled and hit .277/.346/.455 from the start of June to the end of the year, leading to a 119 wRC+.

But here in 2024, he struggled out of the gate and was optioned before the end of April. His .257/.321/.426 batting line in Triple-A this year leads to a subpar 92 wRC+ but he still got recalled to cover for Carpenter briefly.

It’s a strange spot for him to be in as he is still looking to properly break through and cement himself at the major league level but there’s a bit of a ticking clock now. Because he burst onto the roster last year but has been optioned in two straight seasons, he’ll have just one option remaining after this one even though he’s only 22 years old. If he exhausts his final option next year, he could perhaps be out of options by 2026, which will be just his age-24 season.

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Newsstand St. Louis Cardinals Transactions Brandon Crawford Jordan Walker Luken Baker Matt Carpenter

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Orioles To Select Cole Irvin

By Anthony Franco | August 20, 2024 at 9:42pm CDT

The Orioles will call up Cole Irvin to start tomorrow afternoon’s matchup with the Mets, tweets Danielle Allentuck of the Baltimore Banner. Baltimore outrighted Irvin from their 40-man roster shortly after the trade deadline. They’ll need to select his contract again.

Baltimore needs a fifth starter after placing Zach Eflin on the 15-day injured list this evening. The O’s recalled rookie lefty Cade Povich, who started nine games earlier this season, as the corresponding move for Eflin’s placement. Povich tossed 6 1/3 innings on Saturday, so he’d be on three days rest tomorrow. Rather than push him up, Baltimore tabs Irvin for what could be a spot start in what would have been Eflin’s turn through the rotation.

Irvin last pitched for Triple-A Norfolk on Wednesday, so he’ll have six days rest. He has only pitched twice for the Tides since clearing waivers, allowing four runs (three earned) in 6 2/3 innings with six walks and five strikeouts. Irvin made 21 MLB appearances (14 starts) earlier in the season. He started the year well, but opponents teed off on him in June and July. That pushed him off the roster with a 4.85 ERA in 94 2/3 innings.

The 30-year-old Irvin has had an inconsistent O’s tenure. Baltimore dealt infield prospect Darell Hernaiz to Oakland for Irvin heading into the 2023 season. He has continued to pound the strike zone with a pitch-to-contact approach but hasn’t gotten the same caliber of results as he had for the A’s. Irvin owns a 4.66 earned run average through 172 frames in an O’s uniform.

Baltimore’s 40-man roster is at capacity. They’ll need to make corresponding active roster and 40-man moves tomorrow. Irvin is out of options, so the Orioles would again need to place him on waivers if this represents a spot start and they want to send him back to Norfolk at any point.

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Baltimore Orioles Transactions Cole Irvin

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Giants Place Patrick Bailey On IL With Oblique Strain

By Anthony Franco | August 20, 2024 at 7:49pm CDT

The Giants lost Patrick Bailey to the 10-day injured list, retroactive to Monday, because of a right oblique strain. San Francisco recalled Jakson Reetz from Triple-A Sacramento to take the open roster spot. Reetz will back up Curt Casali behind the plate for as long as Bailey is on the shelf.

That’ll be a significant blow defensively. Bailey is arguably the best defensive catcher in the majors. He has neutralized the running game with a 30.4% caught stealing rate. Statcast also grades him as a top-tier pitch framer. Bailey leads catchers in Defensive Runs Saved both this season and dating back to his MLB debut last year.

The former first-round pick has had a less consistent offensive track record. Despite showing flashes of promise at the plate, he’s a career .233/.292/.351 hitter. Bailey looked as if he’d turned a corner at the plate early in the year. He carried a .283/.354/.430 slash into the All-Star Break. He has fallen into a tailspin over the past few weeks, running a .115/.157/.135 line with a spike in ground-balls in the second half.

Recent slump aside, Bailey remains the Giants’ clear #1 option behind the dish. That job temporarily falls to Casali, who has only picked up 82 plate appearances in 24 games this season. He’s hitting .200/.309/.229 without a home run. Casali draws plenty of walks but doesn’t provide much else in the way of offense. The Giants trail the Braves by 3.5 games for the National League’s last playoff spot going into tonight’s game against the White Sox.

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San Francisco Giants Patrick Bailey

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Padres Place Ha-Seong Kim On Injured List

By Anthony Franco | August 20, 2024 at 7:12pm CDT

The Padres placed Ha-Seong Kim on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to August 19, with right shoulder inflammation. San Diego recalled Matthew Batten to take the open spot on the active roster.

This isn’t much of a surprise after Kim left Sunday’s game with what the team initially called a jammed shoulder. The versatile infielder dove into first base on a pickoff attempt and came up in obvious pain. Manager Mike Shildt said yesterday that the team was encouraged by the initial MRI results, but they’ll nevertheless go without their shortstop for at least a week and a half. Shildt said today that the club wasn’t especially concerned and believed Kim could’ve made it back within 10 days, but the team instead decided to play things cautiously (X link via AJ Cassavell of MLB.com).

It marks the first injured list stint of Kim’s MLB career. The South Korea native has been exceptionally durable since signing a four-year deal going into the 2021 season. He reached the 150-game plateau in both 2022 and ’23. While that won’t happen this year, he could top 140 contests if the injury proves relatively insignificant.

Kim is having his typically solid season. He’s walking enough to compensate for fringy power and carries a league average .233/.330/.370 slash in 470 plate appearances. He has swiped 22 bases on 27 attempts. San Diego committed to Kim as a full-time shortstop this season after bouncing him around the infield during his first three years. He has better than average defensive grades in more than 1000 innings at the infield’s toughest spot. Tyler Wade is taking over at shortstop in his absence.

The 28-year-old Kim is headed back to free agency next offseason. He’ll certainly decline his end of an $8MM mutual option in favor of a $2MM buyout. Kim has a shot at another four- or five-year deal that’d come with a much stronger average annual value than the $7MM he received when he was first coming over from Korea. A serious shoulder injury could naturally impact his market value. It seems he dodged a bullet with a fairly minor issue that might only sideline him for a minimal amount of time.

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San Diego Padres Ha-Seong Kim

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Blue Jays Notes: Bassitt, Guerrero, Bichette

By Anthony Franco | August 20, 2024 at 6:38pm CDT

The Blue Jays are playing out the stretch on a rough season. Toronto is well below .500 and seems headed for a last place finish, a very disappointing outcome for a team coming off consecutive playoff berths that believed they were squarely in the midst of their contention window. Toronto had little choice but to sell at the deadline once it became clear they weren’t going to come close to the postseason.

Even as they shopped veteran pieces, the front office wasn’t keen on a huge overhaul. Most of the Jays’ trades shipped off impending free agents (e.g. Yusei Kikuchi, Justin Turner, Yimi García, Trevor Richards, Danny Jansen, Kevin Kiermaier). They moved a couple role players under contract or team control beyond this season, shipping out Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Nate Pearson. Yet they never seemed close to dealing any core players whom they could keep around for 2025.

Chris Bassitt is one such veteran. The right-hander is in the second season of a three-year, $63MM free agent deal. He’s playing on an $18MM salary and will make a matching amount next year. Bassitt finished tenth in Cy Young balloting a season ago. This year’s work has been solid but not as impressive, as he carries a 4.34 ERA through 139 frames.

There was an argument for the Jays to shop Bassitt this summer, especially if they could find a taker for his entire ’25 salary. While he remains an effective pitcher, he’ll be going into his age-36 campaign on a roster that needs a lot of work next offseason. Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith reported five days before the deadline that the Jays had no intention of moving either Bassitt or Kevin Gausman, though. Neither pitcher found himself in any trade rumors of substance.

In an interview with Chris Rose of Jomboy Media last week (YouTube link), Bassitt said that the Toronto front office made clear early in the process that he would not be traded. “There (were) a lot of articles and a lot of people saying that I was leaving or should be leaving. They told me I wasn’t leaving,” Bassitt said. While he didn’t specify the exact time of that conversation, he added that he “knew for a while” in advance of the deadline that he wasn’t moving. Bassitt acknowledged some disappointment that he wasn’t in position to battle for a playoff spot this year, though he added that he’s optimistic about the organization’s desire to make another effort to compete in 2025.

Talented as Bassitt is, he’s only the third-most important Blue Jays player who is on track for free agency after next season. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette will be two of the headlining pieces of the 2025-26 free agent class. GM Ross Atkins made clear early in deadline season that the Jays had no interest in trading either. There’s no indication they ever seriously reconsidered even as the team fell firmly out of ’24 playoff contention.

Asked by Rose whether the Jays should’ve traded or extended Guerrero this summer, Bassitt expressed some optimism that the Jays will be able to keep him around for the long haul. “I don’t know this, I don’t want to speak for him on this, but I think Vladdy wants to be a Blue Jay for the rest of his career. I don’t think he wants to leave,” the pitcher opined. “I don’t think it’s a super, super, super rush to get an extension done. They obviously didn’t trade him because they don’t want him to be in another uniform. … I think both sides want to be together. I don’t think it’s a bad relationship.”

Guerrero is playing this year on a $19.9MM salary. He should exceed $25MM and could push near $30MM for his final arbitration season. After a slow start to the season, Guerrero has been on a massive tear since the beginning of May. He’s up to a .317/.390/.552 slash with 26 home runs across 543 plate appearances. This has been Guerrero’s best year since his MVP runner-up campaign in 2021. He’s on track to get to free agency in advance of his age-27 season and could command a deal that exceeds $300MM.

Over the weekend, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale wrote that the Jays indeed remain hopeful of working out an extension with Guerrero before he gets to free agency. Nightengale suggests there’s less optimism about an extension with Bichette, writing that the Jays could field trade offers on the shortstop during the upcoming winter if they don’t feel they’ll make progress on an extension.

This would arguably be a poor time for either a trade or an extension. Bichette has had by far the worst season of his career. He’s hitting .222/.275/.320 with only four homers through 331 trips to the plate. The two-time All-Star has had a pair of injured list stints because of right calf issues. He has been out of action for exactly a month with a notable calf strain and seems unlikely to return until some point in September.

Unlike Guerrero, Bichette has a fixed salary next year. He’ll make $16.5MM in the final season of the three-year deal he signed to buy out all his arbitration years. There’d still be ample trade interest if the Jays shopped him. The free agent shortstop class, headlined by Willy Adames and Ha-Seong Kim, isn’t as barren as this past winter’s was. Things fall off quickly after Kim, though, and there aren’t many everyday shortstops who seem likely to be on the trade block. Bichette arguably still carries a higher offensive ceiling than any other shortstop who could reasonably be available in either free agency or trade.

Whether that’ll result in a deal remains to be seen. Atkins said as recently as last month that the Jays are hopeful of keeping Guerrero and Bichette for the long haul. Jon Heyman of the New York Post wrote shortly before the trade deadline that past extension talks with both players hadn’t made much progress. Heyman suggested at the time that the Jays didn’t have a great chance of extending Bichette — aligning with Nightengale’s recent report. Even if that is the case, trading Bichette would dig another hole for a team that believes it can rebound next season. Rookie Leo Jiménez has taken over shortstop in the past month. He’s hitting .221/.307/.368 with subpar strikeout (32.1%) and walk (5.5%) rates in 34 games.

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Toronto Blue Jays Bo Bichette Chris Bassitt Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

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Athletics Select J.T. Ginn

By Darragh McDonald | August 20, 2024 at 5:55pm CDT

The Athletics announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander J.T. Ginn. He will take the active roster spot of left-hander Scott Alexander, who has been placed on the 15-day injured list with left rotator cuff tendonitis, retroactive to August 18. The A’s already had a vacant 40-man roster spot and don’t need to make a corresponding move in that regard.

Ginn, 25, gets added to a major league roster for the first time, though he’s been a known name in baseball circles for a while. The Dodgers selected him with their first-round pick back in 2018, 30th overall, but Ginn didn’t sign and instead went to Mississippi State. For not signing Ginn, the Dodgers received a compensation pick, the 31st overall selection in the 2019 draft. They used that pick to draft Michael Busch.

While with Mississippi State, Ginn underwent Tommy John surgery in March of 2020. Though he was slated for a lengthy rehab, the Mets nonetheless took him in the second round of that year’s draft, the 52nd overall pick.

He was able to make his professional debut in 2021, making his first official appearance in June of that year. He eventually made 18 starts in 2021 between Single-A and High-A. He tossed 92 innings with a 3.03 earned run average, 21.9% strikeout rate and 5.9% walk rate.

The Mets then sent him to the A’s, alongside Adam Oller, in the March 2022 trade that sent Chris Bassitt to Queens. But Ginn has had plenty of challenges since switching organizations. In 2022, he missed time with a forearm injury and posted a 6.11 ERA in his 35 1/3 Double-A innings on the year. Those forearm issues lingered into 2023, when he tossed 22 1/3 innings at Double-A with an ERA of 8.06.

Here in 2024, the good news is that he’s been healthy enough to pitch. He’s thrown 102 2/3 innings over his 21 outings between Double-A and Triple-A. However, the results haven’t been outstanding. He has a combined 5.26 ERA on the year, with his 21.2% strikeout rate and 8.8% walk rate both fairly pedestrian. He’s getting grounders on more than half the balls put in play against him but has also allowed 13 home runs on the year.

Perhaps some rust is to be expected after he’s hit so many speed bumps in his professional career and the prospecting community seems to still have some faith in his future. Baseball America currently lists him as the #25 prospect in the organization, saying that he could carve out a role as a “back-of-the-rotation sinkerballer” if his health permits. He has the #17 spot in the system at FanGraphs, with that outlet also suggesting Ginn could be a viable back-end starter.

Perhaps Ginn will get his first taste of the major leagues as a reliever, or perhaps a few starts will be on the table. Veteran Ross Stripling was recently moved to a long relief role so that the club could give starts to younger pitchers like JP Sears, Joey Estes, Mitch Spence, Osvaldo Bido and Joe Boyle. Perhaps Ginn can push his way into that group or simply give the club an extra bullpen arm for the stretch run.

Ginn was going to be eligible for the Rule 5 draft this winter and was likely going to get a roster spot soon anyway, so Alexander’s IL placement will get him on there a bit ahead of schedule. He won’t be able to get a full year of service this year, so the A’s will be able to control him for at least six seasons beyond this one. He also has a full slate of options and the amount of time he spends in the minors in the next few years could impact his timeline to arbitration and free agency.

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Oakland Athletics Transactions J.T. Ginn Scott Alexander

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Fantasy Baseball: Streaming Endgame – The Righties

By Nicklaus Gaut | August 20, 2024 at 5:13pm CDT

Hello friends.

Why don't we get right into it? Last week, we looked at some updated data on how to be more selective about your streaming targets according to pitcher handedness. We covered the left-handers last week, so it's time to pivot over to the right side of things. There's only six(ish) weeks still left - there's no time to wait.

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Rangers To Place Tyler Mahle On Injured List

By Darragh McDonald | August 20, 2024 at 5:11pm CDT

Rangers manager Bruce Bochy informed the club’s beat today that right-hander Tyler Mahle is going to be placed on the 15-day injured list with some shoulder stiffness. Righty Jon Gray will be reinstated from his own IL stint in a corresponding move. Kennedi Landry of MLB.com was among those who relayed the news on X.

Mahle, now 29, underwent Tommy John surgery last summer just before hitting free agency for the first time in his career. The Rangers then signed him to a two-year, $22MM deal, knowing that they wouldn’t be able to count on him to join the club until some point in the middle of the 2024 season at the earliest. He was on the IL until two weeks ago and has since made three starts. He went five innings in the first of those, then four and two thirds, followed by just three innings in Sunday’s game.

It’s unclear if the shoulder was bothering him in his last outing or has been nagging at him since. While he was removed after just three innings, he also allowed four earned runs on six hits while recording just one strikeout, so his removal might simply have been about his performance rather than his health.

Shoulder issues have been a problem for him before, as he only made six starts after July 2 in the 2022 season due to a strain and some inflammation. Between those shoulder issues and his recent Tommy John layoff, it’s been three straight seasons of having a truncated workload.

The Rangers have fallen back in the standings lately and are now 11 games back of the Astros in the West and 12.5 games back of a Wild Card spot. Both the Playoff Odds at FanGraphs and the PECOTA Standings at Baseball Prospectus give them just a 0.4% chance of cracking the postseason at this point.

With the club’s season on the ropes, they can make their decisions based on optimizing results next year. Ideally, Mahle would be building up his workload since he hasn’t pitched much in recent years, but pitching through an injury would run the risk of aggravating a shoulder that has given him problems in the past, so it seems the club has decided a breather is the best decision for now. Assuming the issue isn’t major, perhaps he can return for the final few weeks and log some innings in September.

Going forward, the club’s rotation could be facing notable changes. Jacob deGrom is starting a rehab assignment this week and Max Scherzer will be as well, per Landry on X. When those two come back, they will likely slot into the rotation with Gray, Nathan Eovaldi and Andrew Heaney, with Cody Bradford and Dane Dunning also in the mix and perhaps Mahle coming back down the line.

Looking ahead to next year, Scherzer and Heaney are impending free agents with Eovaldi perhaps heading to the open market along with them. Eovaldi’s contract has a conditional $20MM player option that he unlocks if he totals 300 innings pitched over 2023 and 2024 or finishes in the top five in Cy Young voting this year. Even if he unlocks that option, which is possible since he’s at 271 innings since the start of last year, he might turn it down and elect free agency since he’s having a strong season and could look for a bigger guarantee in free agency.

Without those three, the Texas rotation for 2025 projects to include deGrom, Mahle and Gray. The latter two, as mentioned, are coming off lengthy Tommy John rehabs and could have workload concerns next year. Bradford has also missed significant time this year, due to a low back strain, and only has 14 big league starts to his name. Dunning has often been in the club’s swingman/sixth starter role, moving between the bullpen and rotation as needed. Prospects Jack Leiter and Owen White are on the 40-man roster but both have ongoing control issues.

The Rangers are still the reigning World Series champions for a few more months but the title defense has obviously not been what they had in mind. Perhaps that will lead them to shake up their rotation mix in the offseason, as there’s plenty of uncertainty in next year’s group.

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Texas Rangers Jon Gray Max Scherzer Tyler Mahle

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    Yordan Alvarez Shut Down Due To Setback With Hand Injury

    Astros Place Jeremy Peña On Injured List With Fractured Rib

    Tucker Barnhart To Retire

    Tyler Mahle To Be Sidelined Beyond Trade Deadline

    Reds Release Jeimer Candelario

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