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Dodgers To Activate Yamamoto Next Week

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Yoshinobu Yamamoto will return to the Dodgers’ rotation on Tuesday. Manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Alden González of ESPN) that the right-hander will get the start for the second game of next week’s set with the Cubs. Yamamoto is on the 60-day injured list and will need to be reinstated onto the 40-man roster.

It’ll likely be a brief appearance. Yamamoto last pitched in the majors on June 15. A rotator cuff strain knocked him out of action for more than two months. The 26-year-old joined Triple-A Oklahoma City on a rehab stint last week. He only pitched there twice, topping out at two innings. He labored through 53 pitches last night, and while his results weren’t good, he built up enough that the Dodgers don’t feel he needs another rehab appearance.

The Dodgers will presumably limit Yamamoto to somewhere in the 60-75 pitch range next week. L.A. has a decent 5.5-game cushion on the Padres in the NL West. They’re a game up on the Phillies for the top seed in the National League and three clear of the Brewers for a first-round bye. They’re still playing meaningful regular season games, but the primary focus is again on October.

Yamamoto should be able to log four turns through the rotation before the regular season concludes. That’d be ample time to build to a typical starter’s pitch count going into the postseason. If his stuff returns to pre-injury levels, he could be Roberts’ choice to start the first game of a playoff series. Yamamoto’s first MLB start was a nightmare, as he allowed four hits and five runs and didn’t make it to the second inning. The former NPB star has been as advertised since then. In the 13 starts since his debut, he sports a 2.34 earned run average with a 28.1% strikeout rate through 73 innings.

While it’s too soon to make definitive judgments about the Dodgers’ $325MM investment, Yamamoto was pitching like the top-of-the-rotation arm that L.A. expected. He’s part of an extremely high-variance rotation. Jack Flaherty and Gavin Stone are leading the group at the moment. Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Clayton Kershaw are on the IL. The Dodgers seem hopeful that both Glasnow and Kershaw will be back with a couple weeks to spare. If they get each of Yamamoto, Glasnow, Flaherty, Stone and Kershaw firing on all cylinders, they’ll go into the playoffs with an excellent rotation. That’s a big ask with the health uncertainty surrounding most of that group.

Kershaw went on the IL over the weekend with a bone spur in his left big toe. The Dodgers will turn to rookie righty Landon Knack in his place for Friday’s series opener with the Guardians, Roberts said (via Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register). Knack has been on and off the MLB roster as an injury replacement throughout the season. He has performed well when called upon, working to an even 3.00 ERA over 48 innings.

Rangers Place Corey Seager On Injured List

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6:31pm: Texas officially announced Seager’s IL placement and brought Fabian up. Jon Gray moved from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list in a procedural move to clear the necessary 40-man roster spot for Fabian. A foot injury ended Gray’s season yesterday.

3:40pm: The Rangers are placing shortstop Corey Seager on the 10-day injured list due to hip discomfort. Manager Chris Young informed members of the club’s beat today, including Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News (X links). Young said it’s too early to tell if Seager is done for the year or if he will require surgery. Outfielder Sandro Fabian will be selected to take Seager’s place on the roster and the club will need to make a corresponding move to open a 40-man spot for Fabian.

There’s not much information about Seager’s injury or how severe it is, but it makes sense for the club to be cautious at this point. At 66-73, the Rangers are 8.5 games back of a playoff spot, making them effectively done for the year. That gives the club little incentive to push Seager through any injury, even if it’s minor. Perhaps he can get into a few more contests before the season is out but it’s also possible that the club just decides to shut him down at some point.

The Rangers will need to cover the shortstop position until Seager returns or possibly for the remainder of the schedule. Josh Smith, Jonathan Ornelas and Ezequiel Durán have each received starts there in the past week as the club has already been backing off Seager’s playing time.

All three of those guys can play the outfield as well, so the club will add to their options on the grass by adding Fabian. The 26-year-old gets added to a major league roster for the first time. He was once a notable prospect in the Giants’ system, as that club gave him a $500K bonus when signing him out of the Dominican Republic in 2014.

He posted some good results at the lower levels of the minors and Baseball America ranked him #8 in the Giants’ system going into 2017. However, he struggled in subsequent seasons and fell off the prospect radar. By the end of 2021, he had topped out at Double-A and qualified for minor league free agency.

He has signed minor league deals with the Rangers in three straight years now and has generally been performing around league average at the Triple-A level. That includes 116 games for Round Rock this year with 17 home runs and a .270/.343/.462 batting line. In the strong offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League, that line translates to a 99 wRC+. He can play all three outfield spots and will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game.

Daniel Castano Announces Retirement

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Left-handed pitcher Daniel Castano announced his retirement via a post on his personal Instagram account. “After 25 Baseball seasons, 9 years pro, 3 in college, 4 in HS, and 10 years of little league, I’m finally hanging up the cleats and for my more important career in life,” the post reads. “To be a loving Husband, father, friend, churchman and employee.” He goes on to thank the many people who helped him on his journey and mentions he will be pivoting to a role with Entrusted Contracting.

As Castano himself mentioned, his baseball journey had many stops. He pitched at Lake Travis High School in Austin, Texas, which then led him to Baylor University. He pitched three seasons for the Bears before the Cardinals selected him in the 19th round of the 2016 draft.

Just over a year later, Castano was flipped to the Marlins. Zac Gallen, Sandy Alcántara, Magneuris Sierra and Castano were sent to Miami in the December 2017 trade that sent Marcell Ozuna to St. Louis. Castano made it to the big leagues with the Fish in 2020, the first of four straight major league campaigns in which he appeared. He logged 88 2/3 frames over those four seasons, allowing 4.47 earned runs per nine. His 12.4% strikeout rate wasn’t especially strong but he limited walks to a 7.9% clip and kept 45.2% of balls in play on the ground.

The Marlins shuffled Castano on and off their roster in 2023 but he wasn’t holding a 40-man spot at the end of the season and became a free agent. In December, he landed a deal with the NC Dinos of the Korea Baseball Organization. He made 19 starts for the Dinos this year, posting a 4.35 ERA in 111 2/3 innings. At the end of July, the Dinos signed Eric Jokisch and bumped off Castano, as a KBO team can only have two non-Korean pitchers on its roster.

Now it seems Castano has decided it’s time to move on from baseball and move towards, as he puts it, his “more important career in life.” We at MLBTR salute him on carving out a big league career and we wish him the best for the upcoming chapters of his life.

Cubs To Place Justin Steele On Injured List

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5:30pm: Right-hander Jack Neely will be recalled as the corresponding move for Steele, per Montemurro on X.

4:35pm: The Cubs announced to reporters that left-hander Justin Steele will be placed on the 15-day injured list. His issue is left elbow flexor tendinitis, per Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times on X. The corresponding move has not been revealed yet.

Steele was supposed to start Monday’s game but was scratched due to some elbow soreness. The Cubs took a couple of days to evaluate things and have now seemingly decided that Steele will need some down time.

Manager Craig Counsell tells Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune (X link) that it’s possible Steele could be back after a minimum stint, depending on how things develop in the next ten days. “If we can get him back to normal he’s gonna pitch,” Counsell says. Presumably, Steele’s IL placement will be backdated by three days, the maximum allowed. That means he could technically be back in 12 days if everything goes well.

Whether that’s a realistic expectation or not will be revealed in time. Either way, it’s a blow for the Cubs in the short term. The club is still clinging to contention here in September, currently sitting 4.5 games back of a playoff spot. The lefty has 477 1/3 innings under his belt at this point with a 3.24 earned run average. That includes 128 innings this year with a 3.09 ERA, 24.9% strikeout rate, 6.5% walk rate and 48.4% ground ball rate.

Losing that kind of performer will hurt a club with little room for error. Jordan Wicks was just reinstated from the injured list a few days ago, so the club can still have a five-man rotation without Steele, with Wicks slotting in next to Jameson Taillon, Shota Imanaga, Javier Assad and Kyle Hendricks. It’s been a rough year for Hendricks, who currently sports a 6.60 ERA overall and was been bumped to the bullpen earlier in the season. Perhaps the return of Wicks would have sent him to a relief role again but that might not be possible now that Steele has been subtracted from the equation.

The A’s Position Player Core Is Emerging

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The A's have quietly been one of the better teams in the American League for the past two months. As USA Today's Bob Nightengale observed last night (on X), only the Astros have a better record among AL clubs since the start of July. Oakland was above .500 in both July and August; last night's walk-off win over Seattle has pushed them to 31-22 since July began. They've outscored opponents by 37 runs in that time.

Their second-half success doesn't have much impact this year. The A's had a dreadful first half that ensures they're headed to a third straight losing season. They'll probably avoid a third last-place finish in as many years, but they're not likely to finish higher than fourth in the AL West. Even with 90 losses still in play, the past few months offer a glimpse at a better future for A's fans who'll stick with the team in Sacramento and Las Vegas. That's particularly true in the lineup, where a controllable core is beginning to take shape.

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Athletics Claim CJ Alexander

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The Athletics announced that they have claimed infielder CJ Alexander off waivers from the Royals and assigned him to Triple-A Las Vegas. Alexander was listed as released on the MLB.com transactions logs but it appears he was still on waivers. Outfielder Esteury Ruiz has been transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man spot.

Alexander, 28, was drafted by Atlanta back in 2018 but was one of three players who came to the Royals in the July 2022 trade that sent a Competitive Balance draft pick the other way. The Royals selected him to their roster this summer and he has a small sample of major league experience. He has been sent to the plate eight times with three strikeouts and one hit, a single.

The A’s are surely more interested in his larger sample of work in the minors. That includes 350 Triple-A plate appearances this year with 16 home runs and a line of .303/.352/.554. That production leads to a 130 wRC+, indicating that Alexander was 30% above league average even in the heightened offensive environment in the International League this year.

That production is likely propped up a bit by a .355 batting average on balls in play that will be hard for him to maintain. But even with a bit of regression, his bat could perhaps still be an asset and he also provides some defensive versatility as he is capable of playing all four corner positions. He will still have two option years remaining after 2024, so the A’s don’t need to add him to the active roster any time soon. He also has just a few days of major league service time, meaning he has plenty of cheap club control remaining.

The club effectively had a free roster spot due to the status of Ruiz. He landed on the 10-day IL back in May due to a strained left wrist, so he’s already been out well beyond 60 days already. He is eligible to be reinstated at any point, but that won’t be happening. He began a rehab assignment in July but was shut down due to continued soreness in the wrist. Manager Mark Kotsay said last week that Ruiz won’t be able to return this year, per Martín Gallegos of MLB.com on X.

Ruiz will stay on the 60-day injured list for the remainder of the season, collecting major league pay and service time. There’s no IL from five days after the World Series until the start of Spring Training, so Ruiz will need to retake a roster spot in the offseason.

Cubs Place Jorge López On Injured List

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The Cubs have placed right-hander Jorge López on the 15-day injured list due to a right groin strain, with fellow righty Trey Wingenter recalled as the corresponding move. Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune was among those to relay the news on X.

López, 31, was added to the Cubs’ roster at the end of June and he quickly took on a prominent role in the club’s bullpen. In just over two months as a Cub, he made 22 appearances, logging 24 2/3 innings. He allowed 2.19 earned runs per nine, struck out 28% of batters faced, limited walks to an 8% clip and got grounders on 60.3% of balls in play. He recorded a pair of saves and three holds.

Now he’ll be removed from the club’s high-leverage relief mix, which is an unfortunate blow to a bullpen that has been fairly unstable this year. Adbert Alzolay took over the closer’s job last year but he spent a lot of 2024 on the injured list and eventually required Tommy John surgery in August. Héctor Neris grabbed the closer’s role for most of this season but was shaky enough to get released in August and has since signed with the Astros. Mark Leiter Jr. was one of Chicago’s key setup men but he was traded to the Yankees prior to the deadline. Other key pieces like Yency Almonte and Julian Merryweather are on the injured list at the moment.

All of those issues opened the door for López to step up but now he, too, will be unavailable. It’s unclear exactly when he sustained this injury but perhaps it explains his poor results the last time out. Though his numbers as a Cub have been great overall, they were even better before Monday, when he faced the Pirates and allowed four earned runs on four hits, including two home runs.

The Cubs are 4.5 games out of a playoff spot and still in the race, but will now have to proceed without López. That will likely leave some combination of Porter Hodge, Drew Smyly and Tyson Miller taking the important bullpen roles. The club’s pitching staff also took another hit today, with Justin Steele also heading to the injured list.

Royals Outright Austin Nola, Release CJ Alexander

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September 4: Nola has been outrighted to Triple-A Omaha and Alexander released, per the transactions tracker of each player at MLB.com.

August 31: The Royals announced that catcher Austin Nola and infielder CJ Alexander have been designated for assignment.  The moves open up roster space for Tommy Pham and Robbie Grossman, who are now officially part of the K.C. roster after being respectively claimed off waivers from the Cardinals and Rangers.

Nola signed a split contract with the Royals during Spring Training, but the veteran of five MLB seasons has yet to officially bank any big league playing time during the 2024 campaign.  The Royals briefly called Nola up in June but he was sent back to Omaha without appearing in any games, and Salvador Perez and Freddy Fermin have stayed healthy and handled every single inning behind the plate for Kansas City this season.  Injuries also cost Nola all of April, and he hasn’t provided much offense with only a .156/.248/.296 slash line over 163 plate appearances in Omaha.

This made Nola expendable, and now Brian O’Keefe and Rodolfo Duran are the remaining catching depth options at Triple-A.  The Royals might conceivably try to shore up the catching ranks with another veteran, or Nola might simply remain with the team if he clears waivers.  Nola has been outrighted before, so he can opt for free agency if he clears waivers and Kansas City tries to outright him off the 40-man roster.

Alexander has neither a past outright assignment on his ledger, nor the minimum five years of MLB service time to reject an outright, so he might just be optioned back to Omaha if no other teams make a claim.  Alexander just made his Major League debut this season, appearing in four games for the Royals and knocking one single in eight trips to the plate during his brief stint in the Show.

A 20th-round pick for the Braves in the 2018 draft, Alexander was acquired by the Royals as part of the Drew Waters trade in July 2022.  His minor league numbers generally consisted of solid power but low averages and OBPs prior to 2024, when he has put it all together to hit .303/.352/.554 with 16 homers over 350 Triple-A plate appearances.  In the field, Alexander has played mostly third base during his minor league career, with some time at first base and in both corner outfield slots.

Since Alexander just turned 28, he isn’t exactly an up-and-coming type of prospect, but could be another waiver claim candidate if a team is looking for some infield depth.  He also has two minor league option years remaining, making him a flexible roster piece going forward.

Reds Outright Dominic Smith

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September 4: Smith has been outrighted to Triple-A Louisville, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He has the right to elect free agency though it’s not yet clear if he has chosen to do so.

September 2: The Reds announced that they have recalled outfielder Blake Dunn from Triple-A Louisville. In a corresponding move, first baseman Dominic Smith has been designated for assignment. The club’s 40-man roster count drops to 39.

Smith, 29, was with the Reds for just over a week. He signed with them on August 22 and has since taken 29 plate appearances over nine games, hitting just .192/.276/.269 in that time. That’s obviously not great production but it’s also not a meaningful sample size to draw conclusions from.

The fact that Smith is now being bumped from the roster might say more about the team than about him. The Reds were 5.5 games back of a playoff spot when Smith was signed but they have since fallen to 9.5 games back. With their playoff hopes now essentially dashed, there’s little use for an impending free agent like Smith, especially one with no real defensive versatility. They can instead use their remaining games to give playing time to players trying to earn roles on next year’s club, such as Dunn.

Smith has more than enough service time to reject an outright assignment, so he will likely be a free agent in the coming days, either by a release or by him exercising his right to opt for the open market. Prior to his disappointing stint in Cincinnati, he had a better run in Boston. In 84 games for the Red Sox, he hit .237/.317/.390 for a wRC+ of 96, indicating he was 4% below league average.

He could perhaps try to latch on somewhere else for the remainder of the season, though he won’t be postseason eligible with a new club as it’s now after the September 1 cut-off date. Clubs out of contention like the Reds would probably prefer to give playing time to controllable players. Smith had a strong run in 2019-20, hitting .299/.366/.571 over those two seasons, but it’s been a rough ride side since then. In over 1,500 trips to the plate from 2021 to the present, he’s hit .241/.311/.360 for a wRC+ of 86.

Elvis Andrus To Retire

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September 4: Now things will be more official shortly. Per another piece from Grant, Andrus will officially retire on as a Ranger Friday, September 6. He will throw out the first pitch prior to that day’s game against the Angels.

August 27: Elvis Andrus has been a free agent since the Diamondbacks released him at the end of Spring Training. While the longtime shortstop has not made any official retirement announcement, it seems he’s prepared to start a new chapter.

Andrus spoke with Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News last week about the considerations in all but officially ending his playing career. The 36-year-old told Grant that he’d initially stayed in shape after being released by Arizona in case another team presented him with an MLB opportunity. After a few weeks, he pulled back on those training efforts.

“Being in the big leagues was always a blessing, but the game has changed, players have changed, teammates changed,” Andrus noted. “Everybody is in their early 20s. Everybody I grew up with is out now. The last five years, I’ve seen all the guys that were my closest friends retire. Over the last few years, I found myself thinking: ‘When is it going to be my time?’

“I thought this was going to be a depressing journey, but it’s been amazing,” he added. “I really thought it was going to be harder to be away, but I’ve really been at peace and I’m at peace with the next decision about the next journey.” Andrus also told Grant that his three children have expressed throughout the summer that they’d prefer he stay home rather than continue to pursue playing opportunities.

Assuming this indeed marks the end of Andrus’ playing days, it’s the conclusion of a very good career. Signed by the Braves as an amateur out of Venezuela, Andrus quickly developed into a top prospect. He and Jarrod Saltalamacchia headlined Texas’ return in the 2007 blockbuster that sent Mark Teixeira to Atlanta.

Andrus reached the majors before his 21st birthday. He emerged as the Rangers starting shortstop by ’09, hitting .267 across 145 games. Andrus finished runner-up behind Andrew Bailey in that season’s Rookie of the Year voting. He earned an All-Star nod during his sophomore campaign and was the everyday shortstop on Texas’ consecutive pennant winners between 2010-11. Andrus topped 30 stolen bases in each of his first three MLB seasons. He earned a second All-Star nod with a .286/.349/.378 showing in 2012.

The Rangers committed to Andrus as their franchise shortstop early in the 2013 season. Texas inked him to an eight-year deal with a $120MM guarantee and a pair of opt-out chances. Andrus remained a fixture of the Ranger infield. He played a strong shortstop while hitting for high averages and playing nearly every game. While he was never a huge power threat, he got to 20 homers with a .297/.337/.471 slash and 88 RBI in a 2017 season that was arguably his best.

Andrus appeared in at least 145 games in each of his first nine seasons. He stole at least 20 bags in all of those years. His offensive productivity was a bit up-and-down, but he remained an average or better overall player throughout the 2010s. His numbers dropped off during the shortened 2020 campaign, leading Texas to ship him to the A’s in a contract swap involving Khris Davis that also netted future starting catcher Jonah Heim.

After spending a year and a half in Oakland, Andrus caught on with the White Sox late in the 2022 season. He hit well over 43 games for Chicago down the stretch and returned to the Sox last year. He hit .251/.304/.358 while splitting time between shortstop and second base in what looks to be his final major league action.

Andrus will be best remembered for his 12-year run with the Rangers. He tallied more than 7000 plate appearances, hitting .274/.330/.372 while stealing 305 bases. A regular on five playoff teams for Texas, he eventually logged more than 17,000 innings at shortstop. Andrus checked off a pair of milestones in his final season, surpassing 2000 career hits and 100 home runs. Baseball Reference credited him with 34 wins above replacement, while FanGraphs graded him at 36 WAR.

Grant also chats with Hall of Fame third baseman Adrian Beltré, Andrus’ longtime infield mate and close friend, about the shortstop’s impact on the Rangers. Texas fans, in particular, will want to read the Dallas Morning News column in full. Grant suggests the Rangers could enshrine Andrus in the organizational Hall of Fame once he officially announces his retirement. If this is the end of his playing days, MLBTR congratulates him on an excellent career and sends our best wishes for his post-playing endeavors.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

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