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Archives for August 2025

Diamondbacks Designate Jose Herrera For Assignment

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The D-backs have designated catcher Jose Herrera for assignment, reports Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. His spot on the roster will go to fellow catcher Gabriel Moreno, who is being reinstated from the injured list.

Herrera, 28, has been a backup behind the plate for the Snakes dating back to 2022. He’s never provided much with the bat, hitting only .200/.280/.259 (53 wRC+) in 562 plate appearances over the course of 190 big league games. He was outstanding at thwarting opposing runners on the basepaths in his first two seasons but has slipped in that regard over the past two years and now has a league-average 21.8% caught-stealing rate in his career. Herrera typically hasn’t drawn plus framing grades but does have solid blocking skills, per Statcast.

This year’s 204 plate appearances are a career-high at the MLB level for Herrera — due primarily to the aforementioned Moreno injury. Moreno, the 2023 NL Gold Glove winner, suffered a broken finger earlier this summer and has been out for more than two months. He’s hitting .187/.285/.259 in that time with a pair of home runs (the only multi-homer season of his big league career thus far).

Shortly after Moreno hit the injured list, the D-backs signed veteran catcher James McCann, who’d been on a minor league deal with the Braves. McCann has hit the ground running with the Diamondbacks, hitting .247/.337/.403 with three home runs. That performance has been enough to earn him the backup job to Moreno for the remainder of the season, it seems. McCann will be a free agent at the end of the year, so he’s not a long-term backup partner unless the D-backs choose to re-sign him, but he’s clearly leapfrogged Herrera on the depth chart at this point.

Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript

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Anthony Franco

  • Hey everyone, hope you've enjoyed your week!
  • Have a bunch going on today so I need to keep this one at an hour

Olereb

  • Who do you see the Braves targeting to upgrade at ss, also do you see the Braves trying to rid themselves of Justin Profar?

Anthony Franco

  • Bichette would be uncharacteristic for them but they've got Iglesias and Ozuna coming off the books short term and there's a case they need to move off their usual operating procedure of prioritizing trades/extensions based on how poorly they've played this year
  • Albies doesn't look like a core piece anymore, so they'd be able to slide Bo over to second in a couple years if he can't stick at SS long term. Trade market at the position has been bad for a while. Sox would probably move Story to make room for Marcelo Mayer (eh), could try to get the Royals to give up Maikel Garcia but it'd take a lot
  • Profar's mashing since he's been back. They'd need a new left fielder if they trade him. I'm sure they're not happy with how things went down, but keeping him at 2/30 seems fine to me

Sam

  • What's the Twins' offseason ahead look like? Will it be frugal once again due to the Pohlads retaining ownership of the team, or will they decide to start spending again (a la Correa) to try to get back into contention?

Anthony Franco

  • I have a hard time seeing them kick up spending dramatically. Teams almost never follow up a massive teardown by throwing a bunch of money at it and trying again
  • I expect Ryan and Jeffers to go at least. Feels like they could hold Pablo into next season because of the injury impacting his trade value. Then backfill with a bunch of smaller deals in the bullpen (similar to last winter's Rangers approach) at catcher, and for a right-handed outfield bat
  • They brought back enough upper level talent, particularly in the rotation, that I could see a path to contention in 2027. Much harder for me to envision it next season

Brian

  • with Samuel Basallo now locked up long term, what are chances the O's trade Adley this offseason?

Anthony Franco

  • I don't think the Basallo extension moves the odds much. They had him under team control for six seasons and knew how good he was already
  • They can coexist with the DH but Rutschman's offensive decline has made it feel for a while that he's running out of time there. Guess I'd put the odds of an offseason trade at 55%? Feels like at least 75% chance he's dealt by the 2026-27 offseason

The best evah

  • Can you explain what makes Mackenzie Gore so attractive to MLB teams? Despite a higher K/9 this year compared to previous years (10.7), he has a career 4.01 ERA and (as far as I can tell) striking out half a batter more per nine seems to be the only thing he's improved in his game this year. To throw out another data point, Will Warren is a year younger and sporting a HR9/BB9/K9 of  1.0/3.9/10.1, compared to Gore's 1.2/3.4/10.7. Is Warren half a strikeout per nine away from being seen in a similar light to Gore?

Anthony Franco

  • I'm sure there are plenty of teams that really like Warren but Gore throws two MPH harder from the left side, and there's a huge gap in swinging strikes on a per-pitch basis. Gore's eighth among pitchers with 100+ IP with a 13.4% swinging strike rate. Warren is 69th at 9.5%
  • Warren gets a ton of called strikes, so they're pretty close in overall strikeout rate, but that's a little tougher to bank on year over year. Gore getting tons of whiffs with plus stuff from the left side feels like a higher upside play
  • Also feels like Gore's results are weighed down a little bit pitching in front of a Nationals infield that is by far the worst in MLB. It's a good shout though. Warren's good, just a tier down below Gore for me

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Reds Select Zach Maxwell

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The Reds announced Friday that they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Zach Maxwell from Triple-A Louisville. Fellow righty Ian Gibaut, who’s been out since late June due to a shoulder impingement, was transferred from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL to create space on the 40-man roster.

Maxwell, 24, was Cincinnati’s sixth-round pick out of Georgia Tech back in 2022. The hulking 6’6″, 275-pound righty ranked 24th among Reds prospects on the post-draft updates from both Baseball America and MLB.com. He’s spent the entire season in Triple-A so far, tossing 49 2/3 innings out of the bullpen and recording a 4.17 earned run average. Maxwell boasts a plus-plus fastball and slider/cutter, per those scouting reports, with Baseball America noting that he can “look unhittable” when his command is dialed in.

That’s a prominent caveat, however. Maxwell has poor command and has struggled with walks dating back to his college career, when he walked a combined 20.6% of his opponents in his final two years before being drafted. He’s scaled that back a bit, but he’s still doled out a free pass to an untenable 14.5% of opponents this year in Louisville.

Maxwell can miss bats in droves, as one would expect from a massive righty whose velocity climbs as high as 102 mph (and likely appears even faster to opponents, given the extension he can get on a 6’6″ frame). If he can continue to make incremental gains with his command — he’s scaled back from a 16% walk rate in ’24 to this year’s 14.5% mark — he has the makings of a formidable late-game bullpen weapon. It’s a similar skill set to another towering Reds righty, the 6’5″ Luis Mey, though Mey uses a sinker as his primary offering rather than a four-seamer. The Mey/Maxwell pairing could potentially be lethal at the end of Reds games, but both will need to improve their command to reach their ceilings. Mey was optioned to Louisville last night, and Maxwell is taking his spot on the active roster.

Maxwell will be auditioning for a future bullpen spot in the final five weeks or so of the season (while, of course, also trying to help push the team into the postseason). Emilio Pagan is a free agent at season’s end, while other veterans like Scott Barlow and Brent Suter both have club options. The former seems unlikely to be picked up, though the latter could well return, given his Cincinnati roots and the option’s affordable net $2.75MM price point. Either way, there are some potential openings in the 2026 ’pen that could be claimed by some of the organization’s young arms.

Red Sox Outright Ali Sanchez

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The Red Sox have assigned catcher Ali Sanchez outright to Triple-A Worcester, according to the transactions tracker on Sanchez’s MLB.com profile page. Sanchez had previously been designated for assignment by the Red Sox earlier this week to make room for first baseman Nathaniel Lowe on the active roster after he recently signed with the club following his release by the Nationals.

Sanchez, 28, signed with the Mets out of Venezuela as an amateur and made his pro debut prior to the 2014 season. He made it to the majors during the shortened 2020 season and has played in parts of four MLB seasons since then but has just 47 MLB games under his belt in that time as he’s served mostly as a depth catcher while bouncing between Queens, St. Louis, Miami, Toronto, and Boston at the big league level to go along with stints in the minor league systems of the Tigers, Cubs, and Diamondbacks.

While Sanchez is viewed as an excellent defender, he’s held back by lackluster offense at the dish. In 132 big league plate appearances, he’s hit just .185/.222/.235 with just five walks and only two extra-base hits. That’s a small sample split up over many years, of course, but even with that context Sanchez isn’t an impressive hitter. With 334 career games at the Triple-A level, he’s mustered a career slash line of just .269/.340/.399 at the level with with less than 100 total extra-base hits. That lack of substantial power even at the minor league level will hold him back as a hitter enough that it’s unclear if he’ll ever get a look as more than a depth option in the majors, though his defensive skills are strong enough to make him rather coveted for that minor league depth role.

Perhaps that unlikelihood of greener pastures elsewhere is what led Sanchez to accept an outright assignment despite the fact that he’s been outrighted multiple times before in his career and therefore had the opportunity to elect free agency. The Red Sox don’t have much depth behind the dish and currently occupy a playoff spot, so by sticking around at Worcester Sanchez could force his way back onto the roster during the stretch run or perhaps even for the playoffs if an injury creates an opening in the club’s catching tandem. That tandem is currently occupied by Carlos Narvaez and Connor Wong, with Narvaez receiving the lion’s share of playing time amid a standout rookie campaign.

The Opener: Sandberg, Uecker, Beltre

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As the Orioles make a major splash by locking up one of their young hitters long-term, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world headed into the weekend:

1. Sandberg memorial today at Wrigley:

Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg passed away last month at the age of 65 following a battle with cancer, and Cubs fans will have the opportunity to mourn and remember the 1984 NL MVP today. As noted by Selena Kuznikov of the Chicago Sun Times, there will be a free-to-attend memorial for Sandberg at Gallagher Way outside of Wrigley Field from 9:30am until noon local time. That memorial will feature Sandberg’s funeral service streamed to the jumbo screen overlooking Gallagher Way. Attendees may leave tributes to Sandberg at his statue on Gallagher Way, and those who want to participate but won’t be able to make it to Wrigley this morning can watch the service on WGN and stream it online via the Marquee Sports Network app.

2. Celebration of Mr. Baseball’s life:

Bob Uecker was a catcher in parts of six MLB seasons who went on to have a legendary broadcasting career where he spent 54 years as the voice of the Brewers. The Hall of Famer passed back in January at the age of 90 following a battle with cancer, but the Brewers’ series finale against the Giants on Sunday will serve as an opportunity for fans in Milwaukee to mourn their longtime broadcaster and celebrate his storied life and career. As discussed by MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy back in April, Bob Costas will host a pregame program honoring Uecker, and there will be features during breaks in the game on the stadium scoreboard highlighting Uecker’s history. First pitch of Sunday’s game is scheduled for 1:10pm local time, and the pregame program celebrating Uecker will occur before that.

3. Rangers to unveil Beltre statue:

Longtime Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre was part of last year’s Hall of Fame class, and (as noted by NBC Dallas-Fort Worth, among other outlets) he’ll be celebrated by the club with a statue outside of Globe Life Field prior to today’s game against the Guardians. The dedication is open to the public, and fans interested in attending will be able to access the stadium’s parking lots starting at 2pm local time later today. A two-time Silver Slugger, three-time All-Star, and four-time Gold Glover across his eight years with Texas, Beltre hit .304/.357/.509 with 199 homers in 1,098 games as a Ranger. First pitch for tonight’s game is at 7:05pm ET, and the first 20,000 ticketed fans in attendance for the game will receive a miniature replica of the Beltre statue.

MLB, ESPN Nearing Deal Involving MLB.TV And In-Market Rights For Five Clubs

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Major League Baseball and ESPN are seemingly going to continue their relationship but with a new shape. Andrew Marchand of The Athletic reports that the league and the network have an agreement in place which would give ESPN the right to sell all out-of-market games digitally. These rights have previously been sold by the league to consumers as the MLB.TV package. Under the agreement, ESPN will also acquire the in-market rights for the Diamondbacks, Guardians, Padres, Rockies and Twins. ESPN would also have an exclusive weekly game similar to Sunday Night Baseball, but on a different night of the week. The deal is not yet finalized but could be signed in September. It’s unclear how much ESPN would pay the league for this package but Marchand says it will be “substantial”.

MLB and ESPN have an existing contract but it is about to expire. The deal previously ran through 2028 but both sides agreed to opt out after the 2025 season. Under that deal, ESPN still has the rights to Sunday Night Baseball, the Home Run Derby and the Wild Card round of the playoffs. Those rights are open for 2026 and beyond. A week ago, Marchand reported that those rights would likely be split up and sold to multiple companies, with Netflix being the favorite for the Derby while NBC/Peacock and Apple TV+ are each trying to get the other components. He echoes that framing in today’s reporting.

The new developments today are potentially seismic. MLB.TV has existed in essentially the same format since 2002. Baseball fans purchase the product through the league and get access to every MLB game, with some exceptions for local blackouts and other games guaranteed to be exclusives for certain broadcasters. If this deal goes through, it’s not exactly clear how it would impact existing MLB.TV consumers but Marchand writes they would likely have to get an ESPN subscription on top of an MLB.TV subscription. It’s unclear how this would impact those who purchase MLB.TV through cable or other linear subscription.

ESPN recently launched a streaming service, allowing anyone to pay $29.99 per month to access the network’s wares, whether or not they subscribe to cable or satellite. The network has recently been building out their portfolio, signing a number of deals with the NFL and WWE.

It now seems they hope to add a number of MLB components to their menu. It’s unclear exactly how MLB.TV customers would be impacted financially. Marchand reports that the basic MLB.TV sticker price should stay the same or could even drop. Paying the ESPN subscription fee as well would lead to customers paying more, though they would also gain access to other ESPN offerings outside of the baseball world. That new arrangement would naturally be a plus for some but a minus for others.

In addition to the MLB.TV plan, it seems ESPN will be gaining local rights for five clubs. Due to cable cutting, the regional sports network (RSN) model has been slowly eroding in recent years. The five aforementioned clubs have all seen their local broadcast deals collapse in recent years, which has led the league to step in and take over. Fans of those clubs have been able to purchase streaming rights, without blackouts, directly from the league. It seems likely these customers will be able to continue in a somewhat similar fashion, though Marchand suggests they would likely have to get an ESPN subscription and then pay an added fee for the specific team they want to access.

In addition to the MLB.TV rights and the local rigths of those five clubs, ESPN will also be getting the rights for some exclusive games to be broadcast nationally. It seems this will basically function the same way as Sunday Night Baseball, though on a different day of the week. It appears the details in this arena are still being worked out, as it’s unclear which day of the week is being targeted. Apple already has the rights to a game every Friday while Roku has an early game every Sunday. Marchand adds that MLB Network could also be part of the deal but that’s more up in the air.

Whatever deal is signed would be fairly temporary. Various different reporters have frequently suggested the league doesn’t want to sign anything that goes beyond 2028. They already have a number of deals expiring after that season. It seems commissioner Rob Manfred is hoping to market a large package, or packages, of rights to multiple broadcasters ahead of the 2029 season. All recent broadcast deals have been relatively short, with nothing going beyond 2028. Marchand reports that is expected to be the case with this ESPN deal as well.

These ongoing broadcast shuffles could hang over the upcoming labor strife. It is widely expected that there will be a lockout after the 2026 season. A prolonged stoppage could lead to games being cancelled in the 2027 season. Manfred and the owners would have to be cognizant of playing chicken with the players and how that could impact these broadcast negotiations. MLB is currently experiencing an uptick in popularity, with measures such as the pitch clock credited with increased attendance and TV ratings. That kind of momentum would help the league sell future broadcast rights but a lockout extending into the summer of 2027 could undermine that.

Photo courtesy of Kirby Lee, Imagn Images

Royals Release Mark Canha

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August 21: Canha has officially been released, according to the MLB.com transaction log.

August 18: The Royals announced today that outfielder Mark Canha, who was on the 10-day injured list, has been returned from his rehab assignment and designated for assignment. The club’s 40-man roster count drops from 39 to 38.

Canha, 36, signed a minor league deal with the Brewers in the offseason. He had a looming opt-out date just before Opening Day but the Brewers evidently weren’t willing to give him a roster spot. They flipped Canha for a player to be named later or cash. The Royals gave him a roster spot to prevent him from opting out and later announced minor league righty Cesar Espinal as the PTBNL.

The deal hasn’t worked out for the Royals. Canha has twice gone on the IL, once for a left adductor strain and more recently due to left elbow epicondylitis. Around those IL stints, he stepped to the plate 125 times but produced a dismal .212/.272/.265 line.

The club’s outfield performed quite poorly throughout the first half of the season, with Canha’s production just part of the picture. His most recent IL stint began in early July. While he was on the shelf, a lot changed, with the Royals trading for Adam Frazier, Mike Yastrzemski and Randal Grichuk. Canha started a rehab assignment a little over a week ago. However, with the new additions to the roster, they have decided they don’t have room for him anymore.

He now heads into DFA limbo. With the trade deadline having passed, he’ll be placed on waivers. Given his performance and $1.4MM salary this year, it seems unlikely any club would claim him. If he clears, he has enough service time to reject an outright assignment and keep that money coming to him. It’s possible the Royals skip that formality and simply release him.

If he ends up on the open market, either by rejecting an outright assignment or being released, the Royals will remain on the hook for that money. At that point, another club could sign him and would only have to pay him the prorated $760K league minimum salary for any time spent on the roster, with that amount subtracted from what the Royals pay.

Canha has plenty of good seasons on his track record and was a solid player as recently as last year. He split 2024 between the Tigers and Giants, slashing .242/.344/.346 for a 102 wRC+. He also stole seven bases and played all four corner spots. He hasn’t been at that level in 2025 but perhaps there’s a club out there who will focus more on the larger body of work.

Photo courtesy of William Purnell, Imagn Images

Nationals’ Luis Garcia Jr. Taking Pregame First Base Reps

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Nationals second baseman Luis García Jr. has begun taking pregame drills at first base, writes Andrew Golden of The Washington Post. While the Nats don’t have any plans to get García imminent game action there, Golden writes that they could give him a look at some point as they plan ahead to 2026.

García hasn’t played anywhere other than second base since the end of 2022. He got a few months of shortstop run that year but clearly wasn’t cut out for that position. He’s not a particularly good second baseman either. Defensive Runs Saved has graded him negatively in three straight years. Statcast’s Outs Above Average gave him above-average marks in 2024 but has had him as a subpar defender in every other season of his career. Both metrics have him alongside Kristian Campbell and Brandon Lowe among the league’s three worst defensive second basemen this season. Statcast feels he’s been particularly poor at tracking balls hit up the middle.

Infield defense has been a team-wide issue for a few seasons. CJ Abrams grades as one of the sport’s weakest defensive shortstops. José Tena was a non-viable option at third base earlier in the year. Rookie Brady House is getting everyday run at the hot corner now and raised the floor with the glove, but he hasn’t hit enough to stake a firm claim to the job going into next season.

Statcast grades the Nats’ overall infield defense at -31 Outs Above Average. That’s not only the worst in MLB, it’s 11 outs below the 29th-place Angels. Washington ranked 25th in that category a year ago. The Nats have allowed an MLB-high .278 batting average on ground-balls despite ranking middle of the pack in hard contact. They need to be far better defensively if they’re to take a step towards contention in 2026.

García has been a solid but not elite hitter over the past couple seasons. He turned in a career-best .282/.318/.444 showing with 18 homers and 22 stolen bases last year. The slash line has regressed to a .260/.300/.397 mark this season, but his results have lagged more impressive batted ball metrics all year. García doesn’t seem dramatically different than he was a year ago: a slightly above-average hitter who shouldn’t be playing up the middle on an everyday basis.

The bat is probably too light for him to be an average or better regular at first base. That said, the Nationals don’t have an obvious in-house candidate to play there next season. The Nathaniel Lowe trade didn’t work. Josh Bell is an impending free agent. Even if Washington re-signs him on a one-year deal, his streakiness makes him a better bench bat than a regular. There’s nothing to suggest the Nationals are projecting García to make a full-time move there, but there’s little downside in getting him comfortable at another position.

Washington’s offseason plans won’t be known until they hire a permanent GM and manager. Mike DeBartolo and Miguel Cairo are currently holding those roles on interim bases. Whether they keep that leadership structure in place or hire externally, they’ll need to address the infield over the offseason. First base is the most obvious priority, but getting García some kind of versatility would provide more flexibility for a free agent run at Gleyber Torres or to explore trade possibilities at the keystone.

Brewers Notes: Ortiz, Hoskins, Gasser

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Brewers shortstop Joey Ortiz is headed for an MRI on his left hamstring after leaving this afternoon’s game, manager Pat Murphy told reporters (including MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy). The second-year infielder pulled up after running out a ground-ball and immediately favored the back of his left leg. It certainly had the look of a hamstring strain that’d require an injured list stint, though that won’t be official until tomorrow.

Andruw Monasterio finished the game at shortstop. Aside from one early-season appearance from Vinny Capra (who is no longer in the organization), Monasterio is the only player other than Ortiz to start a game at shortstop. He’s the likeliest option to step into an everyday role if Ortiz heads to the IL. A career .243/.318/.336 hitter, Monasterio has only tallied 72 plate appearances in 43 games this season.

The Brewers don’t have any other natural shortstops on the 40-man roster. Calling up Triple-A shortstop Freddy Zamora would require a 40-man move. Oliver Dunn, who is on the 40-man, has gotten some shortstop work in the minors and could be recalled as an emergency option off the bench. It’s unlikely Milwaukee would disrupt the routines of Brice Turang or Caleb Durbin by moving them to shortstop on an everyday basis, but either player could move there as a late-game substitute if the Brewers remove Monasterio for pinch-hitting or injury purposes.

Milwaukee’s win over the Cubs today pushed their lead in the NL Central back to seven games. They’re five and a half games clear of the Phillies for the top seed in the National League. That gives them the cushion to weather an Ortiz absence unless he suffered a significant enough strain to threaten his readiness for the postseason.

On the other side of the equation, Milwaukee has a few players nearing returns. Rhys Hoskins began a rehab assignment at Triple-A Nashville on Tuesday. Hoskins has been sidelined since July 6 with a left thumb sprain. That injury forced the Brewers to call up Andrew Vaughn from Triple-A. They certainly wouldn’t have foreseen Vaughn going on a .320/.386/.578 tear with dramatically improved plate discipline metrics relative to his early-season stint with the White Sox.

Vaughn has mashed his way to an everyday role. Christian Yelich continues to get a lot of designated hitter work. Even if the Brewers felt Yelich could shoulder a bigger workload in left field, Isaac Collins has played far too well to leave the lineup. It leaves Hoskins without a clear path to playing time once he’s ready to return, which could be within the next week or two.

Hoskins may be relegated to part-time first base and DH work. The veteran got out to a great start to the season, hitting .276/.374/.475 through the end of May. He’d slumped to a .170/.269/.330 line in the next five weeks leading up to the injury. The Brewers wouldn’t have considered replacing him with Vaughn despite the slump, but the injury and the latter’s performance changed the calculus.

Robert Gasser has been rehabbing in Triple-A for the past few weeks. The lefty is working back from last June’s elbow surgery. Gasser is closing in on reinstatement after throwing four scoreless innings and building to 52 pitches on Tuesday. He may only need one or two more minor league starts. According to the MLB.com injury tracker, the Brewers are weighing whether to keep him built up as a starter or kick him to the bullpen in anticipation of his likelier postseason role.

Gasser impressed with a 2.57 ERA over his first five big league starts last summer. The Brewers no doubt view him as a long-term starter but have sufficient rotation depth that he’s unlikely to get a starting job this season. Gasser still has a full slate of minor league options, so the Brewers could keep him in Nashville even after he returns from the injured list (though they’ll need to clear a spot for him on the 40-man roster).

Connor Brogdon Elects Free Agency

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Right-hander Connor Brogdon has elected free agency, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. The Angels had outrighted him to Triple-A earlier this week but he has exercised his right to reject that assignment. Players have the right to elect free agency in lieu of accepting an outright assignment if they have either three years of service time or a previous career outright. Brogdon qualifies on both counts.

Brogdon, 30, signed a minor league deal with the Halos in the offseason. He was called up to the big league club in early May. He gave the Angels 37 1/3 innings with a 5.30 earned run average. His 20.9% strikeout rate and 10.1% walk rate were both a bit worse than average. He eventually wore out his welcome with the Angels. Since he’s out of options, he had to be bumped off the 40-man completely. The 29 other clubs passed on the chance to grab him off waivers.

He’ll now see what opportunities are out there for him. The fact that he cleared waivers suggests that he’ll be limited to minor league offers. It’s possible some club out there sees a bit of upside. Brogdon had much better results a few years back. He tossed 113 innings for the Phillies over the 2020-22 seasons with a 3.42 ERA, 25.1% strikeout rate and 7.3% walk rate.

Things trended in the wrong direction from there. His ERA climbed a bit to 4.03 in 2023, while his strikeout and walk rates went in the wrong direction to 20.5% and 10.2% respectively. 2024 was mostly a lost season due to injuries. The Phils designated him for assignment early in the year. The Dodgers claimed him but plantar fasciitis limited him to just three big league innings.

This year’s results don’t qualify as a bounceback, but at least the stuff has improved. Brogdon averaged between 95 and 96 miles per hour on his fastball during those 2020-22 seasons. That dropped to 94.7 mph in 2023 and just 92.8 mph in last year’s tiny sample of work. He has got that back up to 95.5 mph so far in 2025. His cutter and changeup have similarly bounced back after recent drops.

Given his past success and recent uptick in velo, he should at least get some interest. All clubs need depth arms, given the rate of injuries in the modern era. If he signs somewhere before September 1st, he’ll be playoff eligible with that club, even if it’s just a minor league deal. He has just over four years of service, so he could also be retained beyond this year via arbitration if he’s on a 40-man roster at season’s end.

Photo courtesy of Ed Szczepanski, Imagn Images

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