Here are three things we’ll be watching around baseball today:
1. Cristian Javier makes his return:
Cristian Javier was a key piece of the Astros’ World Series-winning squad in 2022, earning himself a five-year, $64MM contract extension with his performance that year. He followed that up with his first qualified season as a full-time starter in 2023. While he wasn’t as sharp as he’d been the year before, he was still an important innings eater, tying for the team lead in starts (31) and starting another three contests in October. Unfortunately for Javier and the Astros, he wasn’t able to participate in the team’s next postseason push. The right-hander suffered a UCL injury in May 2024, ultimately requiring Tommy John surgery after just seven starts.
Over the offseason, Javier suggested he’d be back at some point following the 2025 All-Star break, while GM Dana Brown said he could be pitching for the Astros again as soon as late July. On Sunday, manager Joe Espada told reporters (including Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle) that Javier would take the ball tonight against the Red Sox. If late July was the original goal, a mid-August return is only slightly behind schedule. Considering how long and difficult the road to come back from Tommy John can be, Javier’s timely return is a good sign for Houston. With the Mariners breathing down their necks in the AL West and a serious lack of rotation depth behind co-aces Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown, the Astros are surely glad to have Javier back in the fold. They’ll hope he can rediscover his 2022 form, but even the 2023 version of Javier would be a much-needed reinforcement for this club.
2. Will the Twins activate Byron Buxton today?
On Sunday, The Athletic’s Aaron Gleeman reported that oft-injured superstar Byron Buxton was likely to rejoin the Twins during their upcoming series against the Yankees, possibly as soon as tonight. Bobby Nightengale of The Minnesota Star Tribune offered a similar update, noting that Buxton is traveling with the team to New York and could be activated for the series opener.
The center fielder has been on the shelf since just before the trade deadline with inflammation in his left rib cage. Prior to his injury, he was enjoying arguably the best season of his career to date, and Minnesota will hope to see him pick up right where he left off. Despite selling big before the deadline, the Twins have been playing well in August, taking their last two series against the Tigers and Royals – a pair of division rivals with playoff aspirations. While their playoff chances are still slim, they’re now only five games below .500. Having a healthy Buxton for the final seven weeks of the schedule could perhaps help them to salvage something from a highly disappointing season.
3. Can the Brewers make it 10 in a row?
The Brewers have yet to lose a game in August. After sweeping the Nationals, Braves, and Mets, they’re 9-0 on the month and comfortably ahead of the Phillies for the best record in MLB. Tonight, they’ll go for a 1oth consecutive win, this time against the Pirates. Staff ace Freddy Peralta was originally expected to take the bump, but he’s been swapped out for former Pirate Jose Quintana, who will face off against Andrew Heaney in a battle of veteran left-handers. Peralta will take the ball tomorrow instead, when he’ll face fellow 2025 All-Star Paul Skenes.
After winning 11 in a row from July 6-21, Milwaukee already boasts the longest winning streak in the NL this year. They’re still four wins away from tying the Twins for the longest winning streak in MLB this season (Minnesota won 13 straight in May), but with a win tonight, the Brewers will become the only team with multiple 10-game winning streaks in 2025. The Red Sox and Blue Jays are the only other clubs with double-digit win streaks so far.
I’m not entirely convinced Javier wasn’t through some sort of issue in 2023. He looked like the same pitcher in 2024 before the injury. And knowing how Houston handles injuries, it sadly wouldn’t surprise anyone.
*wasn’t pitching through
Twins won 13 straight …. just goes to show you shouldn’t get too excited about hot streaks, nearly every team has them. Lots of factors go into them including strength of schedule, opposing starting pitchers, injuries on both sides, etc.
I’m rooting for the Brew Crew though!
I think we are past the point, with the Crew, being on a hot streak. They are something like 52-19 over their past 71 games. This hot streak has gone on for half a season (ironically when some of their staff got healthy).
We’re talking about a Brewers streak lacking the presence of Jackson Chourio and Rhys Hoskins, as well as a prolonged cold spell by Christian Yelich. The resilience and depth this team has shown since mid-May has been otherworldly. Huge amount of credit belongs to pitching coach Chris Hook for the wealth of talent he keeps sending to the mound. The Brewers’ upcoming five-game series against the Cubs will test both teams’ pitching depth.
Miz has also been on reduced innings, pitching only 3-4 innings when he starts, and even he has been shelved with an injury to his leg allowing for extra rest.
Miz was shelved as much to limit his innings during a soft spot in the schedule as to allow his shin bruise to heal. During his time off, some of the other kids get to show how they’re progressing.
Love to see a plan like that NOT backfire. Thats how you know something special is happening.
Dont forgey that William Contreras has been a shell of himself until very recently as well!
SO good to see!
Luke Keaschell has fhe Twins playing good again, he looks like a young Mike Trout. With Buxton back, they could win some games in the next two months.
Is it too early to dream about a Brewers/Mariners WS? Former Seattle Pilots team moves to Milwaukee…
Perhaps Brewers/Tigers? Battle of two northern Midwest industrial powerhouses back in the day.
Just fun that they’re playing so well right now. Enjoy it!
k-b
To DREAM of it? Of course not.
Definitely to early to think it has any substantial chance of happening. FanGraphs gives it around a 3% chance of happening.
Any specific World Series matchup is unlikely simply because there are so many potential pairings.
Well then, how about the Reds and Padres?
GBS
Right
Jim, unless and until there is realignment, the odds of a Reds-Padres World Series matchup are 0.0%.
That would be a fun nlcs
thats funny.
kripes: I would LOVE a Brewers/Mariners WS. Last year’s WS teams aren’t looking like their 2024 selves.
The lowest grossing World Series in history!?
USA Today is running a story that an unprecedented number of MLB fans across the nation are demanding that the owners of their teams sell. What could have possibly triggered that? Could it be a small-market team with a $115M payroll that has been taking the measure of fatcats and small-market revenue pirates alike?
The only thing that article shows is that fan bases are never happy. If they owner doesn’t spend they are “cheap”. If they spend big money and the player sucks they are “incompetent”. Win the World Series one year and finish poorly the next the team needs a new owner. There really is no winning no matter who owns what
As a small market team fan, you have to realize that fielding a competitive team year in and year out is a helluva task for teams like Rays/Crew/Guardians etc… “On paper” these teams’ talent ceilings are closer to the floors of teams like the Yankees/Dodgers/Phillies/Mets. The superstars simply have that much talent. Injuries, chemistry, coaching and organizational effectiveness can’t be ignored of course, and you can see how those factors play out as the season goes along. The playoffs are a different animal altogether. Those ‘82 Brewers were one of those special teams that just couldn’t quite get there and fans old enough to remember that can’t forget it!
The only reason the Brewers lost the ’82 World Series was because they were missing the injured Rollie Fingers, the ’81 Cy Young winner and Fireman of the Year.
Sounds like clickbait.
Fans are happy when an owner spends and cares about the team… And doesn’t throw hissy fits and moves them like John Fisher, Rsox.
Since its all about the money, Yankees Dodgers must be your play. Heaven forbid any small to medium markets play well, and be deserving.
Being that the stolen SuperSonics won the NBA title this year, it seems fitting for the stolen Pilots to go to the World Series. But this time, Seattle can stop the title hope of its runaway team.
We don’t care about the pilots because they gave us the mariners back, comparing the pilots to the mariners insane
Brewers/mariners World Series would be so fun because it would be the low spenders series but my prediction is Astros/dodgers or tigers/phillies
Mariners vs Marlins
Stnmf
“my prediction is Astros/dodgers or tigers/phillies”
But not Astros/Phillies or Tigers/Dodgers?
LOL, “stolen Pilots.”
Their bankruptcy caused the move to Milwaukee. No one stole anything.
That was a long while ago. It might be time to let go of the bitter resentment.
Hey, some of us are still pissed about the Braves’ move to Atlanta.
I don’t know if anyone is still alive and angry about the Milwaukee braves
Oh, they are. It was only 60 years ago, surely there are some oldsters (like me) whose childhoods were permanently scarred by this. I didn’t grow up in Milwaukee, but those folks are still here.
I blame the Twins. The Braves had the upper midwest all to themselves until the Twins arrived in 1961. One year later, Lou Perini sold the Braves to the dastardly carpetbaggers. The Brewers never would’ve gotten an expansion team due to the diminished size of their market, so credit Bud Selig for pilfering the Pilots.
He means the Boston Braves…
Weren’t the Pilots only in Seattle for 1 season?
Yup, 1969. In a minor league stadium with poor water pressure and with undercapitalized ownership. The Pilots actually played a game at Milwaukee County Stadium in ’69 against a White Sox team that almost moved to Milwaukee.
Brewers/Mariners would guarantee a 1st-time Champion.
The only other realistic matchup is M’s/Padres, who are crosstown rivals. grrrrrr padres hisssss
How can you have a problem with the padres? They share 50 years of sadness with us and are in the shadow of the dodgers just like we are to the Astros
The padres are like our distant cousin
The Vedder Cup means nothing to you? What about their clear, sunny and warm winters? Those people don’t know the beauty of an overcast month!
Makes my blood boil just thinking about em!!
No they are our neighbor from the wrong side of the Peoria parking lot.
Brewers have been amazing, they are definitely my second favorite team just behind the Whitesox. Brewers all the way in 2025!!
Can’t help wonder what the careers of Sale, Trout, Acuna jr. and Buxton would look like if they would have stayed healthy. I’m sure there are others on that list.
1. Welcome back. Good luck helping your team win the world series again.
2. Isn’t it a bit early for Buxton to be removed from the IL?
3. Should be able to win, as they will be facing the Bucs for 3 games.
“oft-injured superstar Byron Buxton”
Superstar?!?
I applaud for get a $15M / yr contract. Brilliant.
“I applaud for get…” – also brilliant
RR
“I applaud for get a $15M / yr contract. Brilliant.”
He’s almost certainly going to outproduce that contact
Brilliant contact by the Twins.
@RockinRobin: You obviously have no idea what you are talking about. Even with his current contract at $15M/year he consistently out performs his contract, even with his injuries.
Here is a direct quote from a 2024 article on his contract:
“In 2024, he has already been worth $14.1 million, and the season is only a little over half over. Minnesota has paid him $51 million to this point in his career, and Buxton has provided the Twins with nearly $163 million in total value. Buxton is living up to his contract, even if his performance declines in the second half. There are limits to what a team can get with $15 million per season on the market these days, and the Twins can get plenty of excess value when Buxton is playing at his current level.”
twinsdaily.com/news-rumors/minnesota-twins/byron-b…
I can vouch for that as a Brewers fan living in the Twin Cities. Buxton would have been a perfect trade-deadline fit for Milwaukee due to his blend of foot speed and slugging, not to mention his terrific personality. But he’s firm on his no-trade clause, and I wish him well.
Who would Buxton replace in the Brewers lineup? Chuorio? Collins? There was an argument for another infield bat but not CF.
The guy Buxton would have replaced was center fielder Garrett Mitchell. An outfield of Chourio, Buxton and Frelick would’ve been formidable. Yelich would’ve been confined to DH-ing or platoon DH-ing with Rhys Hoskins. In future seasons, Buxton and Mitchell could’ve platooned on the IL. Collins would’ve been a dangerous bat/pinch runner/defensive replacement off the bench. Believe me when I say that Buxton and Vaughn would have formed a compound slugging threat that would have perfectly balanced the lineup. We don’t know how much slugging Contreras will supply.
If Buxton could stay healthy he would indeed be a superstar in this league. There’s no harm in recognizing that
He spent too much time crashing into unpadded walls in Cedar Rapids.
As a Brewer fan from waaay back, they are heartbreakers.
`1981 and 1982 you just felt they had a shot.
Then 2011 and 2018 teams–I thought maybe, just maybe.
This 2025 has the vibes of “maybe this is it”.
But they are my heartbreakers for a reason.
This is the year of the Brewers,
The Brewers are heartbreakers until they aren’t. They are not stagnating by any means, and because they don’t overspend on second contracts for aging players, they don’t have to rebuild. Their org is flush with great prospects, and they’re finally growing their own corner infield sluggers. As Lou Brown once said, “It’s all coming together.”
If my Phils don’t get there, I will be rooting for the Brewers. There is just so much to respect about how they continue to compete in the smallest of markets. And the fanbase deserves it as well.
Carver: They remind me, in a way, of the Rays. Small budget, big results.
Speaking of fan base, yesterday’s game was a sellout (like Friday’s and Saturday’s) but “only’ 33k fans showed up after historic flooding and the closure of two access roads to the stadium. They will draw somewhere between 2.5-2.7 million this year after a slow start at the gate. (in a region with only 2 million people.)
The Brewers follow the Tampa Bay model. President/GM Matt Arnold spent nine years in the Rays’ front office under Andrew Friedman before coming to Milwaukee. He is the reigning MLB Executive of the Year.
Brewers are kicking it up a notch at the right time, plus you guys don’t have Devin Williams bombing games for you. Meanwhile the Cubs are sputtering to possibly a third year in a row of them falling apart at the end…
I honestly have more faith in Megill than in the Hader days, certainly more than Williams even if I think Hader and Williams had a better elite pitch. Megill just comes in and slams the door with minimal drama and there isnt a question of which version you get on any given night. Yes, I have clearly been spoiled by closers over the last decade.
They’ve done this old man’s heart a ton of good this year. For eight years now they’ve been solid contenders every year, and this team has very good balance with still more potential to get better. William seems like maybe he’s found it for good this time; Vaughn just needs to be steady; Turang is finding out that he can hit; Joey O has relaxed since the break; Collins (NL Player of the Weed) could be ROY; Chourio coming back; defense excellent; pitching deep enough to withstand some slumps…
It’s kinda exciting.
Buxton has been in the majors 11 yrs
Only once had over 355 atbats, Career high is 462. Might be the most talented often injured player of all time . Perennial 30-20 if he stayed healthy
Love watching the Brewers play. Their hitting coach says “We want to make people play the game and we want to drag them through hell doing it.” and they sure do. The bats are going to make contact and will make every team play great defense the entire game. Good things happen when you put the ball in play.
Exactly. And that’s why the Brewers flourished after Stearns and Counsell left — and why the Mets and Cubs are slumping. The Brewers lead MLB in infield hits and forced errors.
They flourished with them, too.
Not to this degree. Stearns and Counsell built a pitching factory and a run-prevention team, but their adherence to analytics prevented the table setters from contributing as much as they are now. The Cubs and Mets became slug happy, and they’re not doing the little things like getting on base and moving runners along these days.
The Brewers behaved poorly during the last series. Karma will sort them.
LOL
I don’t believe in Karma. What comes around doesn’t go around.
Not sure what they didn’t to behave poorly in highly competitive professional sports world.
Care to elaborate? Or is this a case of sour grapes?
Must be a Mets fan, complaining about karma.
Fingers crossed, 15 more games and we get back to back seasons with 100 games of Buxton!ĺ
Brewers will run out of luck come October.
Could be. Then their skill will take over.
When their victory parade is cancelled due to a snowstorm.
I cannot imagine the level of snowstorm that would stop that kind of party.
It almost happened to the Twins in ’91. The day after the two-city parade came the famous Halloween Blizzard.
If the Twins activate Buxton today, what is the over under on how many games he will play before heading back to the IL?
He’s only played over 100 twice in his career. I’d say he’s got two weeks in him before a 10-day IL stint for his hamstring is in play.
Going to be a bullpen game in Houston today. Don’t see Javier going more than 3 innings. He’s been walking everyone during his rehab.
Buxton did get activated off IL by the way
World Series predictions are hard to get right, whether you want the Brewers or overreacting when the Dodgers were “signing everybody, that’s it, 162-0! Baseball is dead!”
Brewers will make the playoffs, heck I’ll say it, they’re going to win the division. They just need to get past the first round of the playoffs.
At their current pace, the Brewers will get past the first round without throwing a pitch. They’ll receive a bye into the divisional round.