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Félix Bautista Undergoes Shoulder Surgery, Expected To Miss 12 Months

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The Orioles announced today that right-hander Félix Bautista has undergone surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff and torn labrum in his right shoulder. He is expected to miss the next 12 months. Jake Rill of MLB.com was among those to relay the news.

The news is obviously brutal for the O’s and Bautista. He just missed the entire 2024 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. He got back on the mound this year and showed some flashes of his old self. However, he’s now going to miss the remainder of the 2025 season and a huge chunk of 2026 as well. Given the estimated timeline, any kind of setback could lead to him missing another entire season.

Prior to the injury setbacks, he had established himself as one of the most dominant relievers in the game. Over the 2022 and 2023 campaigns, he gave the O’s 126 2/3 innings with a tiny 1.85 earned run average. His 10% walk rate was a bit on the high side and his 39.9% ground ball rate wasn’t special but he punched out a massive 40.4% of batters faced.

As mentioned, he showed some hints of that form in 2025, though also with some rust. He logged 34 2/3 innings this year with a 2.60 ERA. His 35.2% strikeout rate was technically a drop-off but still a great figure. Meanwhile, his grounder rate jumped to 50.7%. On the worrying side, his walk rate spiked to 16.2%.

Perhaps he would have continued refining things as he got more innings and shook off the rust, but that won’t happen now. He landed on the 15-day IL in July due to shoulder discomfort. It was announced by the team in August that his injury was “significant” and that he wouldn’t be coming back this year. Today’s news provides more clarity on how dire the situation is. It’s possible that Bautista eventually throws less than 40 innings for the 2024-26 stretch. If he returns late next year, he could push a bit beyond that number, but likely not by much.

Bautista is controllable through 2027. He is making just $1MM this year. He will be due a raise in arbitration for 2026 and 2027 but the missed time cuts into his ability to substantially increase his salary. Given his ceiling, the O’s will surely tender him a contract with the hope of him contributing late in 2026 and/or for the entire 2027 campaign.

For the O’s, it’s the latest kick to the nuts in a season that has seen them pummeled by injuries. They came into the year knowing that Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells would be rehabbing from last year’s surgeries, but then they have also seen guys like Grayson Rodriguez, Zach Eflin, Andrew Kittredge, Albert Suárez and others miss significant time. On the position player side, Tyler O’Neill, Adley Rutschman, Colton Cowser, Ryan Mountcastle and others missed chunks of time.

Those injuries helped push the O’s down in the standings. Though they came into the year with clear postseason aspirations, they wound up deadline sellers. Cedric Mullins, Kittredge, Gregory Soto, Seranthony Domínguez, Bryan Baker, Charlie Morton, Ramón Urías, Ramón Laureano and Ryan O’Hearn were all flipped prior to the deadline.

The club is now playing out the string on the 2025 season, so the Bautista injury is fairly moot for the short term. But his extended timeline obviously hurts for 2026. As mentioned, the O’s already flipped four relievers last month, putting a big dent in the bullpen. Bautista is an even bigger loss.

Though they sold at the deadline, it’s assumed that the club intends to rebound and compete again in 2026, as they have a young and exciting core to build around. Presumably, the Orioles already planned on making a few bullpen moves in the coming offseason. This news should only enhance the need.

More to come.

Tigers’ Ty Madden Not Expected To Return In 2025

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Tigers right-hander Ty Madden won’t pitch competitively this year, manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including Evan Woodbery of MLive) yesterday. While the Tigers have announced that Madden is working on a return-to-play throwing progression, Hinch revealed that the goal of that program is to set him up for a “productive offseason” rather than to try and get him back on the mound for game action before the year ends.

Madden, 25, was a first-round pick by the Tigers back in 2021, drafted 32nd overall after the club took Jackson Jobe with the third overall pick. He was a quick riser through the minors who made his big league debut in his third professional season after entering the 2024 campaign ranked as the club’s #2 pitching prospect behind Jobe. The right-hander’s debut came last year even in spite of him struggling badly at the Triple-A level with a 7.97 ERA in 18 starts, though his strikeout and walk rates were quite good despite those inflated run prevention numbers. He made six appearances for the Tigers last year in the majors, where he pitched much better than those brutal results with Toledo would otherwise suggest.

In 23 innings of work across six appearances (including one start), Madden posted a 4.30 ERA with a 16.8% strikeout rate and an 7.9% walk rate. While that strikeout rate is rather low, his ability to avoid giving up walks and home runs allowed him to post a solid enough 3.99 FIP. That brief cup of coffee in the majors offered some reason for optimism that Madden could provide value as at least a back-end starter or swing man going forward. Unfortunately, it’s also his last work at any pro level to date. Madden suffered a rotator cuff strain in his throwing shoulder during Spring Training. He was transferred to the 60-day IL shortly after Opening Day to make room for outfielder Brewer Hicklen on the club’s 40-man roster and has remained there ever since.

While Madden won’t pitch in the majors this year, it’s certainly possible he could be involved in the club’s pitching staff next year. Alex Cobb, Charlie Morton, Chris Paddack, Rafael Montero, Kyle Finnegan, Paul Sewald, and Tommy Kahnle are all set to hit free agency this winter. Jack Flaherty has a player option for the 2026 campaign, and while he currently seems likely to exercise that option amid a down season he would still reach free agency next winter alongside Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize. With so much room opening up on the Tigers’ pitching staff both this coming offseason and then again after next year, an arm capable of handling work in either the rotation or the bullpen like Madden could be an asset for the Tigers as they look to recreate their pitching staff and keep their current window of contention open.

Guardians Designate Carlos Hernández For Assignment

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The Guardians announced that right-hander Carlos Hernández has been designated for assignment. That’s the corresponding move to select left-hander Parker Messick, a move which was previously reported.

Hernández, 28, was claimed off waivers from the Tigers three weeks ago. Since then, he has tossed seven innings for the Guards, allowing three earned runs but with three walks and just three strikeouts.

The righty has some intriguing attributes but he has struggled lately and is out of options. That has pushed him into fringe roster territory. Dating back to March, he has gone from the Royals to the Phillies, Tigers and Guardians via waiver claims. Now that he’s been designated for assignment and the trade deadline has passed, he will be available on waivers again in the coming days.

Hernández averages in the upper 90s with both his fastball and sinker, in addition to throwing a splitter, slider and knuckle curve. He has occasionally used that arsenal to post some interesting numbers. In 2023, for instance, he logged 70 innings for the Royals. His 5.27 earned run average obviously wasn’t great but he struck out 25.7% of batters faced, a strong figure. His 10.3% walk rate was a tad high but close to normal for a power reliever. In 2024, he dropped his ERA to 3.30, though his strikeout rate fell to 20.9% as his walk rate ticked up to 12.4%.

This year, as he has bounced around the league, he has posted a 6.23 ERA in 43 1/3 innings. His strikeout rate has dropped again, sitting at 19.2% so far. As mentioned, those results and his out-of-options status have led to him continually getting bounced to the waiver wire.

It’s still possible another club out there sees some upside. As mentioned, the pitch mix is enticing. Hernández is also theoretically controllable via arbitration for another two seasons after this one. For a rebuilding club, there would be an argument for taking a flier. However, he is already making $1.16MM this year and would be due a nominal raise for 2026, so it also wouldn’t be a shock if teams find it hard to roster him.

If this is the time he clears waivers, he would have the right to elect free agency but likely wouldn’t do so. Players with at least three years of service time have the right to reject outright assignments but need five years of service to exercise that right and keep their remaining salary commitments. Hernández is between three and five years, meaning he would have to walk away from about $245K to head to the open market. He will likely stay and collect that money but then would be able to elect free agency at season’s end if not added back to the roster beforehand.

Photo courtesy of Ken Blaze, Imagn Images

MLB Mailbag: Konnor Griffin, Extension Candidates, Realignment, Ketel Marte, Detmers

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This week's mailbag gets into extension possibilities, realignment problems, whether a Ketel Marte trade makes sense, Reid Detmers' future, and much more.

Greg asks:

With a good spring is there a possibility of the Pirates signing Konnor Griffin long-term and starting him on Day 1?

In Baseball America's August update, shortstop Konnor Griffin was ranked as the top prospect in all of baseball.  BA wrote, "Griffin has taken off like a meteor this season and his penchant for impact hasn’t slowed down even despite a promotion to High-A. The 19-year-old has made significant strides in allaying concerns about his hit tool and approach, and the rest of his overall game has evaluators buzzing as they envision how his plus power, speed and at least above-average defense at two different positions could come together."

Griffin has mostly played shortstop this year, with the occasional start in center field.  He posted a 156 wRC+ in A ball and got even better in High-A with a 169 mark.  Though he doesn't turn 20 until next April, Griffin got another promotion to Double-A this past weekend.

Given that Griffin has played one game in Double-A and the Altoona Curve only have 23 more on the schedule, putting him on the Pirates' Opening Day roster next year at age 19 would be aggressive, perhaps to the point of being detrimental.  Even Jackson Chourio played 122 games at Double-A and had a brief taste of Triple-A.  But let's explore the likelihood of an extension.

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Reds Place Tyler Stephenson On Injured List With Thumb Fracture

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The Reds announced today that catcher Tyler Stephenson has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a thumb fracture. In a corresponding move, the club has selected the contract of catcher Will Banfield from Triple-A. He’ll take the 40-man roster spot of Jake Fraley, who was designated for assignment over the weekend and claimed off waivers by the Braves yesterday.

Stephenson, 29, was selected 11th overall by Cincinnati back in 2015 and has been the club’s primary catcher since 2021. Long considered a bat-first option behind the plate, he’s also seen occasional time at DH and first base over the years but entered the 2025 season with a solid .267/.343/.427 (107 wRC+) slash line for his career, including a 113 wRC+ during the 2024 campaign. Unfortunately, he’s struggled to produce at the plate this year and has ceded much of his playing time to Jose Trevino behind the dish. Stephenson gotten into 72 games this year, with a .226/.313/.393 (90 wRC+) line in 288 plate appearances. Most concerning is his massive 34.4% strikeout rate, which is eleven points north of his career mark of 23.4%.

That Stephenson is injured isn’t exactly a surprise, seeing as he suffered the injury on a pitch caught from Hunter Greene last week against the Phillies. He’s played just one game since then due to the issue, and now that he’s on the shelf it’s unclear when he’ll be back in the lineup. The Reds have given no indication about his timeline for return at this point, and that leaves Trevino to take over regular duties behind the plate after spitting time with Stephenson throughout the year.

After getting his start with the Rangers back in 2018, Trevino developed into a top-tier defender behind the plate before being traded to the Yankees. He posted just a wRC+ of just 81 across his three seasons in the Bronx but won a platinum glove for his work at catcher before being shipped to Cincinnati in exchange for Fernando Cruz and Alex Jackson over the offseason. The 32-year-old hasn’t looked quite as good this year behind the plate and is hitting just .176/.205/.206 since the start of July, but remains a plus pitch framer. Still, for a club with an excellent rotation but a lackluster offense, losing Stephenson’s bat from the lineup is a considerable blow as the Reds look to sneak their way into the NL Wild Card conversation.

For the time being, Trevino will be backed up by Banfield. The 25-year-old spent his whole career in the Marlins organization before electing free agency and signing a minor league deal with the Reds last November. He’s struggled badly at the plate in 73 games at Triple-A this year, hitting just .220/.277/.304 with a wRC+ of 53. Brutal as that slash line may be, however, Banfield is viewed as a solid defender behind the plate who should serve as an adequate backup for Trevino while Stephenson’s thumb recovers. Behind Banfield, the club’s additional catching depth leaves much to be desired. P.J. Higgins and Eric Yang are both in the club’s minor league system but Yang has just one game of big league experience and is hitting poorly at Triple-A while Higgins is generally viewed as a lackluster defender behind the plate, hasn’t appeared in the majors since 2022, and has hit just .210/.291/.348 (85 wRC+) in 83 games at the big league level for his career.

Pirates To Promote Bubba Chandler On Friday

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The Pirates are promoting top pitching prospect Bubba Chandler to the major leagues, according to a report from Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Alex Stumpf of MLB.com adds that Chandler’s contract will be selected to the roster on Friday, while Hiles notes that Chandler will pitch in a long relief role.

It’s a long-awaited promotion for Chandler, who entered the season viewed as a consensus top-20 prospect in the sport and on the shortlist for the league’s very best pitching prospects. The 22-year-old hurler reached the Triple-A level last year and opened eyes with a brilliant 1.83 ERA in seven starts where he struck out 34.0% of batters faced, and that led many to speculate upon whether or not Chandler would be brought up to the majors early in the 2025 campaign or perhaps even join the club’s Opening Day rotation.

That’s not the route that Pittsburgh decided to take. Chandler has spent the entire 2025 campaign at Triple-A to this point and will now will only get promoted to the majors for the final weeks of the season. The right-hander did everything he could to force the issue early in the season, with a sterling 2.03 ERA and a 35.0% strikeout rate in 11 starts through the end of May. His call to the majors never came, however, and Chandler began to struggle as the summer began. Since June began, Chandler has struggled to a 5.96 ERA due in part to vanishing command. He’s struck out just 22.1% of his opponents during that time while walking a hefty 13.1%.

A .377 BABIP since the start of June is surely the culprit for at least some of those struggles, however, and it’s also possible that the challenge of a new level could help invigorate Chandler upon his arrival to the majors. After all, this is the same prospect who dominated Triple-A to the tune of a 1.94 ERA, 2.79 FIP, and 34.6% strikeout rate across his first 18 starts at the level. High as the right-hander’s upside clearly appears to be, however, his recent struggles can’t be ignored. Perhaps that’s why the Pirates will look to ease him into the majors with a bullpen role to start off his big league career.

It’s hardly an unprecedented path for even a potential star player to take. Chris Sale and, more recently, Garrett Crochet both spent years pitching out of the bullpen before moving into the rotation and becoming the ace-level arms we know today. That doesn’t appear to be the plan for Chandler, of course, as Stumpf writes that the Pirates view Chandler as a starter long-term and he could get starts at the big league level later this year. Future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer served as a swing man for the Diamondbacks during his first year in the big leagues, while current rookies like Joey Cantillo, Brad Lord, and Ryan Gusto have also broken into the majors by starting out in a hybrid role between starting and relief work. That’s also true for a few of Chandler’s Pirates teammates like Braxton Ashcraft and Mike Burrows.

Chandler’s impending ascension to the major leagues brings together Pittsburgh’s fleet of young starting pitchers. Led by likely NL Cy Young award winner Paul Skenes, the Pirates’ 2026 rotation figures to feature Ashcraft, Chandler, and Jared Jones as young, talented arms who have yet to reach arbitration. It’s a highly talented, exciting group of arms that should be a strong basis for a contending team, but if the 2025 season has been any indication the club will need to assemble a much better lineup than what they’ve put together this year if they hope to compete with the rest of the NL Central for a playoff spot.

Oneil Cruz is a toolsy player with star upside, and perhaps Bryan Reynolds will rebound from his down season in order to put up the solidly above-average numbers fans in Pittsburgh have grown to expect from him. Outside of that duo, however, there isn’t much to get excited about. While top prospect Konnor Griffin turned heads in the lower minors earlier this year, he’s only just made his debut at Double-A and isn’t especially likely to debut next year. If the team is to compete next year, the team will either need massive steps forward from under-performing young players like Spencer Horwitz, Henry Davis, and Nick Gonzales or they’ll need to make meaningful external additions to the lineup via either trade or free agency.

Strong performances from young arms like Chandler and Ashcraft down the stretch this year could go a long way to convincing Pittsburgh brass that now is the time to make a significant investment in short-term competitiveness. For now, however, the focus will simply be on getting Chandler acclimated to the majors in his first few weeks as a big league player. The Pirates have space on their 40-man roster already, so they’ll only need to make an active roster move in order to bring Chandler into the fold later this week.

Though Chandler struggled a bit in the summer, that’s surely not the only factor that went into the timing of this promotion. At this point in the schedule, it’s no longer possible for a player with no major league experience to accrue 45 days of service time before the season is done. That means a prospect promoted now will still be a rookie going into 2026, as long as his club limits him to fewer than 50 innings pitched or 130 at-bats.

That’s notable in this era of baseball, with the prospect promotion incentive. The PPI rules are designed to reward clubs who promote top prospects for an entire season, or enough of a season for the player to earn a full year of service time. As such, teams will often target these promotions so that the player will keep that rookie status going into the following season.

To qualify, a player needs to begin a season on two of the top 100 lists from Baseball America, MLB Pipeline and ESPN. As mentioned, Chandler is already a consensus top-20 prospect in the league. If the Pirates keep him under 50 innings this year and then put him on their 2026 Opening Day roster, he will be PPI eligible. He will then earn the Pirates an extra draft pick if he wins Rookie of the Year or finishes top three in Cy Young or MVP voting during his pre-arbitration seasons.

Since the Pirates aren’t competing here in 2025, they didn’t have much incentive to bring up Chandler in the summer, apart from starting the process of him getting acclimated to the big leagues. By waiting until now, they are giving Chandler less big league time in 2025 but will keep that potential extra draft pick in play for future seasons.

The Pirates aren’t the only club to follow this playbook. The Mets recently promoted Nolan McLean. The Orioles called up Samuel Basallo and Dylan Beavers. Surely, other top prospects will get the call in the coming days and weeks.

MLBTR Podcast: The Pohlads Aren’t Selling The Twins, Nathaniel Lowe, And Service Time Manipulation

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • Are there some notable relievers who could be on waivers this month? Also, what happens to a player when he is on waivers? (44:55)
  • If I told you that the Dodgers signed Kyle Tucker, would you believe me? (52:40)
  • What’s the craziest out-of-nowhere team to make the playoffs and could a team do it this year? (56:35)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn, Imagn Images

Latest On Aaron Judge’s Flexor Strain

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Aaron Judge is currently limited to DH-only duties after he was briefly sidelined by a right flexor strain last month. He’s still hitting a solid .229/.426/.429 in 11 games since coming off the injured list, but manager Aaron Boone cast some doubt on his ability to return to full strength this year when it comes to throwing yesterday. As noted by The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner, Boone said in both a radio appearance on WFAN and an appearance on Jomboy Media’s Talkin’ Yanks podcast that Judge may not be “throwing like normal” again this year.

Notably, Boone did not say that Judge won’t throw again this year. On Talkin’ Yanks, Boone suggested that Judge will probably need “to play with a little bit of a governor” on his throws before adding that he won’t return to the field until he can throw safely. Kirschner adds that Boone went on to suggest that his comments may have been “a little” overstated, while Judge challenged his manager’s framing of the situation by noting that Boone hadn’t seen him throw in two weeks before adding that he’s “pretty confident” he’ll get back to throwing at full strength this year. At the same time, Judge emphasized that he’s going to “be smart about it” in order to ensure he doesn’t aggravate his ailing elbow and miss more time than his initial ten-day stint on the shelf.

Judge’s injury has forced the Yankees into a difficult balancing act. Any day where the reigning AL MVP can’t hit for the Yankees is a crushing blow, so giving him as long as he might need to act as a pure DH and rest his elbow makes plenty of sense. At the same time, Giancarlo Stanton has been incredibly productive (hitting .299/.377/.576) in 44 games since returning from the injured list earlier this year. A laundry list of past injuries and the likelihood that playing the field could cause additional wear and tear on Stanton’s body has essentially made him into a full-time DH of late, and his recent appearances in right field while Judge has been forced into the DH slot have been his first outings on the grass since 2023.

Stanton has not appeared in more than 38 games in the outfield since 2018, suggesting that playing Stanton in the field can’t be viewed as more than a short-term solution. With Stanton hitting well and unlikely to be able to handle regular outfield work for long, the Yankees will be better off the sooner Judge can return to the field—so long as Judge doesn’t cause himself to miss time by doing so. The change has also caused Ben Rice to get more starts behind the plate in order to allow both him and Paul Goldschmidt to stay in the lineup on a regular basis, cutting the playing time of Austin Wells. Of course, Wells has struggled at the plate recently with a .119/.172/.186 slash line since the All-Star break, so he may well have been in line to lose some playing time even before Judge took over at DH.

While the club waits for Judge to be healthy enough to play the field, they’re locked in a tight playoff race. The Blue Jays have opened up a five game lead over New York to take control of the AL East, but the Yankees are just one game ahead of the Red Sox and Mariners among the AL’s Wild Card teams, with Kansas City lurking just 2.5 games back of a playoff spot and Cleveland only three games out. The final few weeks of the season will be crucial as those five clubs vie for their league’s three Wild Card spots, and if the playoff race tightens further that will only give further importance to the Yankees’ decision-making going forward regarding Judge and Stanton.

The Opener: Messick, Phillies, Royals

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Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Messick to make MLB debut:

The Guardians are bringing southpaw Parker Messick up to the majors for his MLB debut today. The club’s second-rounder back in 2022 has climbed the minor league ladder fairly quickly to emerge at Triple-A this year, where he’s posted a solid 3.47 ERA and 29.1% strikeout rate across 98 2/3 innings of work. Those are impressive numbers for the 24-year-old, and now he’ll get the opportunity to see if his high strikeout rate can translate into the majors. The Guardians have managed to hang around the AL Wild Card picture despite soft selling this summer, but with Shane Bieber in Toronto and Tanner Bibee in the midst of a tough season they’ll need contributions from young arms like Messick if they’re going to stay relevant down the stretch.

2. Harper, Castellanos race towards milestone:

Phillies veterans Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos are both a considerable way into their respective careers at this point. While Harper’s status as a two-time MVP far eclipses Castellanos’s resume as a two-time All-Star, both have had impressive careers where they’ve generally served as above-average hitters across their combined 27 years in the major leagues. Now the two teammates are chasing the same milestone: 400 career doubles. They’ll likely become the 199th and 200th players in MLB history to reach that benchmark in the coming weeks, as Harper currently sits at 397 career doubles while Castellanos sits just one behind him at 396 two-baggers for his career. The pair will look to tee off of Mariners right-hander Luis Castillo (3.48 ERA) as the Phillies go for the sweep against Seattle this afternoon.

3. Royals pushing for Wild Card spot:

Kansas City made the somewhat surprising decision to buy at the trade deadline despite being slightly below .500 at that point and on the periphery of the AL Wild Card race, but that decision is paying off to this point. An 11-6 record in the month of August has put them just 2.5 games back of the Red Sox and Mariners in the race for a playoff spot with a 65-61 record. Deadline additions have improved the club considerably, with Randal Grichuk, Adam Frazier, and Mike Yastrzemski all injecting life into a previously weak offense while Ryan Bergert has settled in as a quality rotation arm with a 2.70 ERA in three starts for the club. Today they’ll go for their second consecutive series sweep when they face the Rangers and an as-of-yet unannounced starting pitcher. Whoever starts for Texas will have to contend with rookie Noah Cameron, who has a 2.47 ERA in 17 starts.

Guardians To Promote Parker Messick

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The Guardians list left-hander Parker Messick as the probable starter for tomorrow’s series finale in Arizona. He’ll go opposite Brandon Pfaadt in his major league debut. Cleveland has an opening on the 40-man roster after outrighting reliever Trevor Stephan last week. They’ll only need to make an active roster transaction tomorrow.

Messick, 24, was a second-round pick out of Florida State in 2022. The 6’0″ southpaw has never blown evaluators away with his velocity, but he has carved through minor league hitters behind an excellent changeup. Messick has only used the changeup around a quarter of the time in Triple-A this year. He has gone to his four-seam fastball, which sits between 92 and 93 MPH, half the time. He has both a slider and curveball, neither of which get more than fringe-average grades from scouts, and infrequently uses a sinker.

It has seemingly left evaluators split on his value. Baseball America and MLB Pipeline each rank him between 12th and 15th in the Cleveland farm system, projecting him as a stable back-end arm. Eric Longenhagen at FanGraphs has him much higher, slotting him fourth among Guardians prospects and among the top 50 prospects in the sport. Longenhagen projects Messick as a league average starter and grades the changeup as a potential plus-plus offering. While it doesn’t seem there’s a huge gap in his perceived upside, FanGraphs appears to place a higher value than do the other outlets on Messick’s big league proximity and minor league success.

That’s all the more true now that Messick has shown it at the top minor league level. After recording 165 strikeouts between High-A and Double-A a year ago, he has spent this whole season at Triple-A Columbus. Messick has turned in a 3.47 earned run average across 20 starts, striking out 29% of batters faced. He has issued walks at a career-high 10.3% clip while averaging fewer than five innings per start, but he has worked at least into the sixth inning in six of his past seven appearances.

Messick last pitched on Thursday, so he’ll be operating with an extra day of rest. The Guardians optioned Joey Cantillo over the weekend, giving Messick a good chance to hold a rotation spot for the rest of the season. John Means could be a late-season factor as he works back from elbow surgery, though that could also come in long relief. For now, Messick slots behind Gavin Williams, Tanner Bibee, Slade Cecconi and Logan Allen in Stephen Vogt’s starting five. The Guardians have fallen three games back in the Wild Card picture after being swept by Atlanta over the weekend.

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