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Mets To Promote Francisco Alvarez

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The Mets will promote catching prospect Francisco Álvarez in advance of the team’s pivotal weekend series against the Braves, reports Daniel Álvarez Montes of El ExtraBase (Twitter link). The 20-year-old is one of the sport’s best minor league talents, checking in sixth on Baseball America’s most recent Top 100 prospects list.

It’ll be the first major league call for Álvarez, who entered the professional ranks as an amateur signee out of Venezuela. One of the better prospects in the 2018-19 international signing period, the 5’10” backstop has only raised his stock in pro ball. He hit very well in rookie ball during his first minor league season, but he lost a year of game action with the cancelation of the minors in 2020. Álvarez opened the ’21 campaign in Low-A but quickly proved himself far too advanced for the level, and he spent most of the year in High-A.

Álvarez hit .247/.351/.538 with 22 home runs in 84 games at that level, astonishing production for a 19-year-0ld catcher. It vaulted him near the top of prospect lists entering this season, with Álvarez cracking the preseason top 15 at Baseball America, The Athletic, ESPN and FanGraphs. He opened the year at Double-A Binghamton and connected on another 18 round-trippers in 67 games. His overall .277/.368/.553 line across 296 plate appearances earned him a bump to Triple-A Syracuse in early July.

The minors’ top level has given Álvarez his toughest challenge to date, but he’s still generally held his own. Over 199 plate appearances there, he carries a .234/.382/.443 slash with another nine homers. He’s striking out at a career-worst 26.1% clip, contributing to the mediocre batting average, but the rest of his profile has remained strong. Álvarez has walked in a stellar 17.1% of his trips to the plate there, and he’s collected six doubles in addition to the longballs.

Between the two upper levels, Álvarez owns a .260/.374/.511 line with 27 homers and 22 doubles over 495 plate appearances this season. That excellent showing has been enough to convince the Mets front office he can hold his own against big league arms, even at his age. Installing him into a pennant race and directly in advance of the Mets’ biggest regular season series of the year is a strong show of faith, but Álvarez has performed well at every rung on the ladder thus far.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that the club is likely to break him as a right-handed option at designated hitter. The Mets acquired Darin Ruf from the Giants at the trade deadline in hopes he could fill that role, but that acquisition hasn’t yet panned out. Ruf has a putrid .152/.216/.197 line in 29 games as a Met. He hit a serviceable .216/.328/.373 in 314 plate appearances before the trade, but his struggles since landing in Queens have led to some questions about how manager Buck Showalter will use the DH role. Fellow deadline acquisition Daniel Vogelbach has excelled since coming over from the Pirates and will continue to pick up the playing time against right-handed pitching. Álvarez gives Showalter an alternative to the struggling Ruf for at-bats against left-handers.

It doesn’t seem likely he’ll step directly in as the primary catcher, however. The Mets have veteran James McCann as the starter, with Tomás Nido backing him up. McCann is hitting only .190/.256/.264 in 180 plate appearances, his second straight down year offensively. The veteran has rated as a slightly above-average defender, and he’s drawn strong reviews for his work with the pitching staff. Sending Álvarez behind the plate for the final few games of the season is more than the front office and coaching staff appears to be comfortable with, particularly given McCann’s longstanding familiarity with the staff.

Scouting reports on Álvarez have long suggested he’s more of a bat-first catcher. That’s largely a testament to his offensive potential, but evaluators have expressed some concern about his defense. BA’s scouting report notes that he’s had some inconsistency as a pitch framer and ball blocker. The outlet also suggests that Álvarez’s plus raw arm strength can play down because of some flaws in his throwing mechanics.

There’s general optimism that Álvarez can eventually iron out those concerns and become at least a competent defender. That’s more of a long-term question, though. The immediate pressing issue for the Mets is whether he can make an impact offensively. New York enters the weekend set holding a one-game advantage over Atlanta. New York would also hold the tiebreaker over the Braves if they can take even one of the three contests, so they’d head into next week at the top of the division unless they get swept. Securing their first NL East title since 2015 would come with a corresponding first-round bye, making these final six contests crucial.

Álvarez’s promotion for such important regular season games raises the possibility he’ll also crack the postseason roster. Only players on a team’s 40-man roster by September 1 are automatically eligible to partake in the playoffs. However, players in an organization but not on the 40-man by September 1 can be added to a playoff roster in place of someone on the injured list via petition to the commissioner’s office. That situation is fairly common every postseason, so the Mets shouldn’t have much issue getting Álvarez onto the playoff roster if they desire.

New York will have to add him to their 40-man roster before tomorrow evening’s game. Their roster is currently full, so they’ll need to make a corresponding transaction. He’d have been added to the 40-man after the season anyhow to keep him from being taken in the Rule 5 draft, so there’s little harm in bringing him up a few weeks early. Álvarez will collect his first few days of major league service but won’t be eligible for free agency until after the 2028 season at the earliest. His fastest path to arbitration-eligibility is after the 2025 campaign, and it’s certainly possible he’ll spend more time in the minors polishing up his defense and at least delaying his free agency trajectory.

In the meantime, Mets fans will get their first glimpse at a player they hope to be a key piece of the franchise’s future. McCann is under contract for two more seasons, due $12.15MM annually through 2024. It stands to reason Álvarez will have an opportunity to supplant him on the depth chart at some point next year. For now, he’ll get his feet in the majors as a bat-first option for the stretch run — with some postseason action perhaps on the horizon.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Angels Place Archie Bradley, Mickey Moniak On Injured List

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The Angels announced a series of roster moves in advance of tonight’s contest with the A’s. Reliever Archie Bradley and outfielder Mickey Moniak have each landed on the injured list, officially ending their 2022 seasons. Infielder David Fletcher was reinstated from the 10-day IL to take one of the vacated active roster spots, while reliever Nash Walters was recalled from Triple-A Salt Lake in the other transaction.

Bradley is dealing with a forearm strain, a disappointing conclusion to a season that has been marred by injury. The right-hander missed about three months after fracturing his elbow in late June, just returning from the IL on Tuesday. Without making an appearance, he heads back on the shelf. It’s unclear how serious the issue is, but Bradley has now had a successive elbow fracture and forearm strain since his most recent major league pitch.

That’s certainly not the way he’d have wanted to return to the open market. The veteran righty signed a $3.75MM guarantee with the Halos last offseason, and he’ll reach free agency again in a few months. Even prior to the injuries, the 30-year-old had a down season. Bradley posted a 4.82 ERA across 18 2/3 innings, the first time he’s pitched to an ERA above 4.00 since moving to the bullpen in 2017. He still averaged around 94 MPH on his fastball and induced ground-balls at an excellent 57.1% clip, but his 19.2% strikeout percentage and 8.1% swinging strike rate are each a few points below the league average.

Moniak, meanwhile, suffered a left hand contusion after a Kirby Snead pitch struck him on a check-swing last night. Moniak has been the victim of some brutal injury luck this season, as this marks his third hand-related IL stint of the season. He opened the year on the shelf with a fracture in his right hand while still a member of the Phillies, then lost a month recently due to a fractured finger on his left hand.

In the interim, Moniak was dealt from Philadelphia to Anaheim in the deadline swap that sent Noah Syndergaard to the Phils. The former first overall pick never emerged as the everyday center fielder the Phillies had hoped they were selecting, and he’d continued to scuffle over his first 19 games as an Angel. Moniak’s season concludes with a .170/.207/.302 line in 112 cumulative plate appearances.

Walters is now in line to make his major league debut. A third-round pick of the Brewers out of a Texas high school in 2015, the right-hander spent parts of seven seasons in the Milwaukee system. The Angels acquired him for cash considerations in the first week of September. Anaheim immediately added him to the 40-man roster but kept him on optional assignment to Salt Lake. After seven appearances with the Bees, the 25-year-old will get his first crack against big league hitters. Walters has spent most of the year in Double-A, working to a 4.60 ERA but striking out a third of opponents through 47 frames. He’ll look to compete for a spot in next season’s bullpen.

Offseason Outlook: Colorado Rockies

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The Rockies perpetual effort at contention came up short this year. Colorado will finish below .500 for a fourth consecutive season, and they’re likely headed for a last place finish in the NL West. With no appetite for a rebuild, they’ll make another run at competing this offseason. There are a lot of holes to fill and a sizable number of financial commitments on the books. General manager Bill Schmidt and his staff will have their work cut out for them yet again.

Guaranteed Contracts

Option Decisions

Additional Financial Commitments

Would owe Cardinals $5MM as part of the Nolan Arenado trade if he foregoes opt-out opportunity

Total 2023 commitments (if Blackmon exercises option and Arenado doesn’t opt out): $117.25MM
Total future commitments (if Arenado doesn’t opt out): $389.25MM

Arbitration-Eligible Players

Free Agents

Few organizations value continuity as much as the Rockies. Even as they’re headed for a fourth straight subpar season, they’ve worked to keep the core of their roster intact. Last offseason saw a spate of extensions, with Elias Díaz, Ryan McMahon, Antonio Senzatela, C.J. Cron and, shortly after Opening Day, Kyle Freeland inked to multi-year deals. The Rox continued the pattern at the trade deadline even as it had become clear they weren’t postseason bound. Closer Daniel Bard would’ve been a slam-dunk trade candidate on most teams as he was headed towards free agency, but Colorado tacked on two years and $19MM to keep him in Denver through 2024.

The Rockies didn’t trade away anyone this summer, reinforcing their longstanding resistance to a major overhaul. It came as little surprise when general manager Bill Schmidt announced over the weekend the club had no plans to make a change atop the dugout, either. Manager Bud Black will return for a seventh season at the helm, and he’ll likely be tasked with getting better results from a roster than looks a lot like the 2022 iteration.

Colorado isn’t facing many noteworthy free agent departures. Fifth starter Chad Kuhl signed a $3MM deal last offseason after spending his career with the Pirates. That looked like a bargain after a strong first half, but he’s been crushed to the tune of an 8.42 ERA while allowing opponents to hit .318/.392/.636 since the All-Star Break. Kuhl didn’t lose any velocity, but his sinker has been hit hard in recent months. His season line is up to a career-worst 5.45 ERA with a below-average 18.1% strikeout rate over 26 starts.

The Rockies didn’t trade Kuhl this summer, ostensibly because there was mutual interest in a contract extension. Whether the team is still anxious to keep him around after his second-half performance is unclear, but they should be able to do so rather affordably if they’d like. Even if they bring Kuhl back, then adding at least another lower-cost starter in the Zach Davies mold feels like a must. Midseason signee José Ureña hasn’t pitched well and is headed back to free agency. Depth starter Ryan Feltner has an ERA pushing 6.00, while former second-round pick Peter Lambert has spent most of the season on the minor league injured list and looks like a non-tender candidate.

One can argue for the Rockies to pursue a more impactful rotation pickup than either of Kuhl or Davies. Colorado’s rotation ranks 29th in the majors in both ERA (5.29) and strikeout rate (17.1%) with a week remaining in the season. Spending half their games at Coors Field doesn’t do the Rockies’ staff any favors, but even park-adjusted metrics like ERA-minus and SIERA have been underwhelmed by the results. Six of Colorado’s seven starters have an ERA north of 5.00, while Freeland leads the club with a 4.63 mark.

In believing themselves to be contenders, the Rockies envisioned the rotation as the lifeblood of the club. They had seen varying levels of success from Germán Márquez, Freeland and Senzatela in prior seasons, and they’ve signed all three to long-term extensions. Márquez, in particular, looked like a high-quality hurler between 2018-21, but he’s had a nightmare 2022 season. Over 30 starts, he has a 5.12 ERA and has seen his strikeout (18.8%) and swinging strike (10.1%) rates fall precipitously from their above-average levels of seasons past. Márquez still throws hard and has an excellent curveball, but his slider has lost a bit of effectiveness while both his four-seam and sinking fastballs have been hit hard.

Getting Márquez back on track this offseason will be a top priority for Black and pitching coach Darryl Scott. He’s certain to get another crack in the rotation alongside Freeland. Senzatela will probably be back in the mix at some point, but he’s unlikely to be ready for Opening Day after tearing the ACL in his left knee last month. That leaves as many as three rotation spots up for grabs, at least to start the year.

The club had hoped Austin Gomber could plug one of those holes, but the key piece of the Nolan Arenado trade struggled to a 5.85 ERA through 16 starts before being moved to the bullpen in July. He’s pitched a little better as a long reliever but not dramatically so. Gomber may get another chance to compete for a rotation spot come Spring Training, but it’s hard to bank on him. Former first-rounder Ryan Rolison could get an opportunity as well, but he’s yet to make his major league debut and missed most of this season after undergoing shoulder surgery in early June.

It’s one of the thinner rotation outlooks in the majors, but the Rockies may not have a ton of room to add notable upgrades from the outside. Colorado will have roughly $112MM in player payroll committed to their 2023 roster once Charlie Blackmon exercises his $15MM player option (which is an inevitability). That’s before accounting for potential additional future payments to the Cardinals as part of the Arenado swap. As the Associated Press reported in April 2021, the Rox will owe St. Louis an additional $5MM annually through 2025 if Arenado declines to opt out of his contract at the end of the season. There’s a chance the Rockies are on the hook for around $117MM before getting to their arbitration class or considering any outside additions.

The franchise-record payroll is a hair north of $145MM, which they reached back in 2019, according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts. It seems likely they’ll set a new franchise mark next season. That’s particularly true if they tender an arbitration contract to Dinelson Lamet, whom they claimed off waivers from the Brewers in early August. Lamet had struggled with injuries and underperformance his past couple seasons as a Padre, but he’s pitched to a 3.00 ERA with a hefty 32.5% strikeout rate in 18 innings of relief for Colorado. The right-hander is making $4.775MM this season and would be due a salary north of $5MM in 2023 if tendered a contract.

Those payroll limitations could lead Colorado to look towards the trade market in search of more affordable starting pitching. The Rockies farm system isn’t especially robust, particularly on the pitching side, but Colorado has seen the emergence of a few lower-level position players. Colorado has four of the top 53 prospects on Baseball America’s most recent Top 100 update. Their top prospect, shortstop Ezequiel Tovar, likely isn’t going anywhere now that he’s in the majors. Corner outfielder Zac Veen, catcher Drew Romo and shortstop Adael Amador are among the better minor league talents in the sport, though, and lower level hitters like Warming Bernabel, Yanquiel Fernandez and recent first-rounder Benny Montgomery have all had solid seasons. Dealing from that group to add an arbitration-eligible or pre-arb starter to the mix isn’t out of the question.

Aside from any external pickups, Lamet could be an option to battle Rolison, Gomber and Feltner for jobs in the rotation. It may be tempting to keep Lamet in the bullpen, where he’s been successful of late. Colorado will need a few quality arms to bridge the gap to Bard in the ninth inning. Among Rockies relievers with 15+ innings, the only four with a sub-4.00 ERA this season are Bard, Lamet, Carlos Estévez and Tyler Kinley. Estévez is set to hit free agency, while Kinley underwent elbow surgery this summer and might not return before the All-Star Break.

Left-hander Lucas Gilbreath has shown an intriguing enough combination of strikeouts and grounders to warrant a spot in next year’s bullpen, but there’s opportunity here as well. Estévez’s intriguing power arsenal makes him a candidate for a multi-year deal that might price out of Colorado’s range, given the various other holes on the roster. The Rox will probably bring in a veteran middle reliever or two, likely a lower-cost type like their $4.1MM flier on Alex Colomé last winter. Colomé himself will be a free agent and seems unlikely to return after a tough year.

Just as the Rockies are committed to bounceback years from a good chunk of their starting rotation, they’ll have to hope for better from many on the position player side. No player is more integral to the lineup than Kris Bryant, of course. Signed to a seven-year, $182MM free-agent deal last offseason, Bryant only appeared in 42 games because of a host of injuries. None was more impactful than the plantar fasciitis in his right foot that ended his season. The former MVP did hit well when healthy enough to take the field (.306/.376/.475). A full season from Bryant is critical if the Rox are to have any chance of competing, as he was brought in to serve as the lineup anchor the club lost when Arenado and Trevor Story departed.

Bryant will be back in left field, where he was supposed to see the bulk of playing time this year. Right field, Blackmon’s primary home for the past few seasons, is more of a question mark. Blackmon will be back for another year on the player option, but he’s seen more action at designated hitter than in the outfield in his age-35 campaign and will undergo knee surgery next week to repair a torn meniscus. He’ll presumably continue to see a bit of right field work, but the Rockies could also look outside the organization for help.

Randal Grichuk, acquired from the Blue Jays for Raimel Tapia just before Opening Day, is under contract for one more year but didn’t play particularly well during his debut campaign with the team. He’s in the center field mix but could also play right field regularly if the Rockies wanted to give the speedy Yonathan Daza a chance in center. Daza makes a ton of contact and hits for high batting averages, but his power impact is limited enough he’s better suited for fourth outfield work. Younger players like Elehuris Montero, Michael Toglia and Sean Bouchard could play their way into DH reps if the Rockies eschew an outfield addition and are comfortable plugging Blackmon back in right field regularly. Bouchard had the least prospect hype of that trio coming through the minors, but he’s the only one who has impressed in his limited big league work this year.

If Colorado were to look to free agency, there are a few mid-tier corner outfielders from which to choose. Adam Duvall and Joey Gallo are buy-low types whose huge power would make them interesting fits in Coors Field. Tyler Naquin has hit at a slightly above-average level for the second straight season. The Padres are sure to buy out Wil Myers, who wouldn’t be especially expensive.

The infield mix looks to be the most straightforward area of the roster. Cron has tailed off in the second half after an excellent start to the year, but he’s under contract for another season and should return as the primary first baseman. Former top prospect Brendan Rodgers has been up-and-down offensively as a major leaguer, but he’ll probably get another opportunity at second base. McMahon is the best player on the infield and will be back at the hot corner, while Tovar should be ready to step in at shortstop.

Colorado signed José Iglesias as a stopgap shortstop for the 2022 season. Iglesias had a fine year but will hit free agency this winter, and Colorado figures to move on and turn things over to the 21-year-old Tovar before long. Regarded by scouts as a plus defender, Tovar skyrocketed up prospect rankings after hitting .318/.386/.545 with 13 home runs and 17 stolen bases through 295 plate appearances at Double-A Hartford. He has almost no Triple-A experience, but Colorado brought him up for his MLB debut last week.

Carrying Tovar on next season’s Opening Day roster could have the added bonus of gaining the Rockies some extra draft capital down the line if he hits the ground running. Under the new collective bargaining agreement, players with less than 60 days of service who appear among two preseason Top 100 lists at Baseball America, ESPN or MLB Pipeline can net their team a bonus amateur draft choice based on their early-career finishes in awards voting, so long as their club carries them on the MLB roster for a full service year. Tovar seems certain to qualify as a top prospect this winter, so there’s a bit of additional incentive to have him play regularly from the outset.

If the Rockies did want Tovar to get some run in Triple-A, they could sign someone like Elvis Andrus as a temporary shortstop option. When Tovar is ready for everyday reps, that player could kick to the bench and upgrade the infield depth over Garrett Hampson, who might be non-tendered this winter.

Behind the plate, the Rockies have relied upon a combination of Díaz and Brian Serven. Neither has played well enough the team should be satisfied running it back with that duo, but the Rox’s surprising decision to sign Díaz to a three-year extension last fall means he’s still due $11.5MM through 2024. Much of this winter’s free agent catching class is coming off down years, with Willson Contreras handily topping the market. It’d be a surprise to see the Rockies go to the level it’d take to bring in Contreras, unless owner Dick Monfort is prepared to shatter the organization’s previous spending levels. They could consider a run at a second-tier option like Christian Vázquez while relegating Díaz to the bench, even if doing so not long after signing the latter to an extension isn’t the outcome they had in mind. As with much of the roster, there’s room on paper for an addition, but budgetary limitations could lead the Rox to stick with an underperforming in-house option.

The Rockies are locked in to this core, and they’re clearly still of the belief the group can salvage better results. In Colorado’s defense, their visions of a Bryant-anchored lineup never got a chance to come to fruition this season. Even an MVP-caliber season from Bryant wouldn’t have gotten this team close to the postseason, but things wouldn’t have looked quite so bleak had he’d stayed healthy. Of course, Bryant’s durability (or lack thereof) was one of the primary red flags against him in free agency to begin with, and he’s now played in just 66% of his teams’ possible games dating back to 2018.

Most of the players in whom the club invested last year didn’t play up to the team’s expectations. They’ll need the bulk of that group to bounce back, since the Rockies have invested heavily enough in the roster there’s not likely to be a ton of room to supplement from the outside. Modest additions in the rotation, bullpen, outfield and behind the dish are all viable, but it’s unlikely they’ll make a splash at the top of the free agent market for a second consecutive winter. So much would need to break right it’s hard to envision the Rockies competing next season, but they’ve got little recourse but to hope for more from their top starters and last year’s big free agent addition.

Rays Designate Cristofer Ogando For Assignment

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The Rays announced they’ve selected right-hander Easton McGee onto the big league roster. Reliever Calvin Faucher was optioned to Triple-A Durham to open an active roster spot, while Tampa Bay designated righty Cristofer Ogando for assignment to create a vacancy on the 40-man roster.

Ogando was just selected onto the big league club last week. That marked his second stint on the 40-man roster this year, but each has proven brief. Ogando made one appearance during Tampa Bay’s series in Toronto in early July, and he came out of the bullpen twice last week before being optioned back to Durham. Those marked the 28-year-old’s first MLB outings, and he’s tossed 4 1/3 innings of two-run ball. Ogando has struck out a pair, issued one walk and averaged 94.6 MPH on his fastball and 81.3 MPH on his breaking pitch.

A former Marlins and Diamondbacks farmhand, Ogando has spent the past few years in the Rays system. Aside from his limited big league action, he’s spent the entire year in Durham. Working as a multi-inning reliever, the Dominican Republic native has pitched to a 4.66 ERA with an average 23.5% strikeout rate and an alarming 11.5% walk percentage through 53 1/3 frames with the Bulls.

This is the second time the Rays have designated him for assignment, and he’ll find himself on waivers in the next few days. Ogando went unclaimed the last time his name was on the wire. If he goes unclaimed again, he’d have the right to refuse an outright assignment in favor of free agency. Even if he accepts an assignment back to Durham, he’ll qualify for minor league free agency at the end of the season unless the Rays put him back on the 40-man roster in the interim.

Taking Ogando’s place on the 40-man is McGee, who’ll be making his major league debut if he’s called upon by manager Kevin Cash. A fourth-round pick out of a Kentucky high school in 2016, the 6’6″ righty has spent seven years in the minors. McGee has never appeared on an organizational prospects list at Baseball America or FanGraphs, but he’s shown excellent control throughout his time in pro ball. He’s never walked more than 5% of opponents at any full-season affiliate, with his strike-throwing ability standing out as his primary attribute.

McGee has never missed many bats in the minors, and that’s continued this season. He has a below-average 17.4% strikeout rate through 107 2/3 innings with Durham this year. The 24-year-old had posted decent ground-ball rates until this year, but he’s given up a fair bit more airborne contact during his first extended crack at Triple-A. McGee has induced grounders on just under 40% of batted balls and has surrendered more than two home runs per nine innings en route to a 5.43 ERA. He’s worked primarily as a starter in the minors but figures to assume a long relief role during his initial big league look, with Cash able to count on him to throw strikes when called upon.

Brewers Place Adrian Houser On Injured List

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Sep. 28: The Brewers have made it official, announcing Houser’s placement on the 15-day injured list with a right groin strain. Right-hander Justin Topa was recalled in a corresponding move.

Sep. 27: The Brewers are planning to place starter Adrian Houser on the 15-day injured list, manager Craig Counsell informed reporters (including Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel). The righty left today’s start against the Cardinals in the fourth inning due to what appeared to be a right groin injury.

It’ll be Houser’s second IL stint of the season. He lost around six weeks this summer after suffering a flexor strain in his forearm. Houser returned from that issue around a month ago and reassumed his role in the starting rotation after a couple brief appearances to build up his pitch count. Unfortunately, he’s now done for at least the remainder of the regular season, and it’s possible he won’t throw another pitch at any point this year.

Milwaukee wound up dropping tonight’s contest to St. Louis, officially eliminating them from the NL Central race. They’ve long known they were playing for a Wild Card spot, and they remain a game and a half back of the Phillies with a week to play. The Brew Crew play St. Louis again tomorrow before closing the season with four games against the Marlins and three against the Diamondbacks. Philadelphia has two games against the Cubs, then four with the Nationals and three against the Astros to wrap things up. The Phils hold the tiebreaker over the Brewers, so Milwaukee will need to leapfrog Philadelphia (or, less likely, San Diego) in the standings to earn a playoff berth.

They’ll have to cover one of Houser’s scheduled starts along the way. Rotation injuries have been a major problem for the Brewers, as they’ve also lost Freddy Peralta and Aaron Ashby for extended stretches recently. Both pitchers were reinstated from the injured list last week, but they’ve each been on tight pitch limits without the benefit of a minor league rehab stint. Milwaukee has been left mostly trying to patch things together behind their top duo of Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff, and Houser’s injury only exacerbates the issue.

It hasn’t been a great season for the 29-year-old Houser, who entered tonight’s start with a 4.62 ERA through 99 1/3 innings. He rode an elite 59% ground-ball rate to a 3.22 ERA in 28 outings last season, but that grounder rate has dropped to 47.2% this season. Houser’s strikeout and swing-and-miss rates have also gone in the wrong direction, but Milwaukee has continued to rely upon him as a back-of-the-rotation arm when he’s been healthy enough to take the mound.

White Sox Shut Down Tim Anderson For Season

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The White Sox are shutting down star shortstop Tim Anderson for the season, acting manager Miguel Cairo informed reporters (including Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times). Anderson hasn’t played since August 9, when he suffered a tendon injury in his left middle finger that required surgical repair.

Chicago had held out hope for the former batting champion to make it back as recently as last week, but the team’s ongoing free fall changed the equation. The Sox were within a game and a half in the AL Central race as recently as September 10, but they’ve gone 4-10 since that point to end any hope they had of a playoff berth. A sweep at the hands of the Guardians last week sewed up the division for Cleveland. The White Sox are still mathematically alive in the Wild Card race, but they could be officially eliminated as soon as tomorrow.

As they’re now playing out the string, there’s little incentive for the White Sox to push Anderson back onto the field. Veteran Elvis Andrus, who signed for the stretch run a couple days after being released by the A’s in mid-August, will finish the year as the shortstop. Andrus is headed for free agency at season’s end, and it seems likely he’ll depart in search of a clearer path to playing time elsewhere this winter.

Anderson finishes the season with a .301/.339/.395 line across 351 plate appearances. That’s still above-average production, but it was the two-time All-Star’s least valuable campaign since 2018. After some offensive inconsistency early in his career, Anderson broke out as one of the game’s top shortstops with a .335/.357/.508 showing in 2019. He’s remained at that level the past few years, consistently hitting above .300 while rating as a solid defender and high-end baserunner.

The 2022 campaign is the final guaranteed year on the contract extension Anderson inked back in 2017. The Sox can keep him around for another two seasons via eminently affordable club options, though. They’re certain to bring him back for $12.5MM next year in lieu of a $1MM buyout, and they hold a $14MM option on his services for 2024.

Phillies Outright Johan Camargo

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The Phillies announced this evening that infielder Johan Camargo cleared waivers and was assigned outright to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The switch-hitter was designated for assignment over the weekend.

Camargo signed a $1.4MM free agent deal with the Phils over the winter after being cut loose by the Braves. It marked his first stint outside the Atlanta organization, and he spent the first half of the year serving as a depth infielder. Philadelphia gave Camargo some early run at third base, but he quickly ceded that job to Alec Bohm. He served as a fill-in shortstop while Didi Gregorius was injured, but the Phils eventually turned back to rookie Bryson Stott there. Camargo was optioned to Lehigh Valley at the end of July, but he hit only .213/.311/.298 with two home runs in 167 trips to the plate with the IronPigs.

It’s the fourth straight subpar offensive season for the 28-year-old. Camargo broke into the majors with a pair of above-average years, but he owns a cumulative .219/.271/.348 mark dating back to the start of the 2019 campaign. Even with the ability to cover anywhere on the infield, that tepid offensive output has squeezed Camargo off a pair of rosters in as many years.

As a player with between three and five years of major league service, he has the right to refuse the outright assignment in favor of free agency. Doing so would mean forfeiting his final week’s worth of salary, though, so it seems likely he’ll accept the assignment and report to Lehigh Valley for the final game of their season tomorrow. He’ll hit minor league free agency anyhow at the end of the season, unless the Phils reselect him onto the 40-man roster before November.

Byron Buxton Undergoes Season-Ending Knee Surgery

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SEPTEMBER 27: Buxton underwent successful surgery this afternoon, tweets Dan Hayes of the Athletic. The recovery timeline is 6-8 weeks, so Buxton should have plenty of time for an offseason ramp-up before Spring Training.

SEPTEMBER 23: Twins star Byron Buxton is set to undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right knee next week, reports Dan Hayes of the Athletic. It’s a cleanup procedure that is not expected to affect his availability for next Spring Training, but it’ll officially close the book on his 2022 season.

Buxton has spent the last month on the injured list mending a right hip strain. He’s battled soreness in his right knee off and on for much of the season. Buxton generally played through the discomfort, although the Twins did intersperse rest days in an effort to keep him off the IL. That sufficed until Buxton suffered the hip injury that knocked him out of action in late August.

The Twins had held out hope Buxton would be able to make a late-season return to aid their efforts at claiming what had been a tightly-contested AL Central. The club instead has mustered a woeful 6-15 record this month, including losing four of five games to the Guardians last weekend. That killed any playoff chances and has knocked them four games under .500. The Guardians, meanwhile, swept the White Sox this week and can clinch the division as soon as this weekend.

With official elimination from postseason contention on the horizon, the Twins have elected to shut Buxton down and turn their attention to next season. It’s obviously not the end to the year the team or Buxton had envisioned, and he was just one of a number of players sidelined down the stretch. Minnesota has also been without Tyler Mahle, Max Kepler and Jorge Polanco, among others. The injury-decimated roster stumbled, while the Guardians have gone 15-7 this month to seize control of the division and all but officially book a postseason trip.

Buxton concludes his season with 92 games played and 382 plate appearances. It’s the second-highest workload of his MLB career, trailing only a 2017 campaign in which he played 140 games and hit 511 times. Buxton barely played in 2018, and he’s been limited to a hair more than half the team’s games in the past four years.

The recurring injury troubles are all the more frustrating considering Buxton has been one of the sport’s most electrifying players when able to take the field. He’s a top-tier defensive center fielder, and he’s been a well above-average offensive player since the start of the 2018 campaign. That includes this season, when the former second overall pick connected on 28 home runs and posted an overall .224/.306/.526 slash line. Last November, Buxton and the Twins agreed to an incentive-laden contract extension that guaranteed him $100MM and came with massive possible bonuses depending on his plate appearance tallies and MVP finishes over the next six seasons.

Padres Select Brandon Dixon

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The Padres announced they’ve selected corner infielder/outfielder Brandon Dixon onto the major league roster. San Diego designated outfielder Luis Liberato for assignment in a corresponding move.

Dixon is back on a major league roster for the first time in two years. Initially a Dodgers draftee, the right-handed hitter was dealt to the Reds as a prospect and made his MLB debut with Cincinnati in 2018. He bounced to the Tigers via waivers the following offseason and played his most significant MLB role with Detroit in 2019. Dixon tallied 420 plate appearances and collected a team-leading 15 home runs, but he struck out at a 32.5% clip and hit only .248/.290/.435. The Tigers designated him for assignment and outrighted him off the 40-man roster the following winter.

While Dixon made it back to Detroit briefly at the end of the 2020 campaign, he was granted his release heading into 2021 to pursue an opportunity in Japan. The Arizona product signed with the Rakuten Eagles and split the year between their major league team and their minor league club. While Dixon hit well in the minors, he struggled in 38 NPB games and came back to the United States this past offseason. Dixon inked a non-roster deal with the Friars during Spring Training, and he’s split the season between Double-A San Antonio and Triple-A El Paso.

The 30-year-old has hit extremely well at both stops. He’s cranked 23 home runs in just 50 combined games, posting an on-base percentage above .400 while slugging over .780 for both affiliates. Thanks to those eye-popping minor league numbers, Dixon will get another look against big league arms. He’s split his defensive action between all four corner spots in the minors, but he’ll presumably work mostly as a right-handed bench bat for skipper Bob Melvin. Dixon has yet to reach arbitration eligibility, so the Friars could keep him around beyond this season if they’re willing to devote him a 40-man roster spot.

Liberato just earned his first major league call a few weeks ago. The longtime Mariners prospect signed a minor league deal with San Diego over the winter, and he’s spent much of the season in El Paso. Liberato had an impressive .261/.354/.541 showing with 20 homers for the Chihuahuas, but he’s been used in a very limited role since being promoted. The 26-year-old hasn’t gotten a start, although he’s come off the bench seven times (usually as a pinch runner). He’s gone hitless in his first five MLB at-bats, striking out three times.

San Diego will place Liberato on waivers over the next few days. Given his strong Triple-A numbers this year and ability to cover all three outfield spots, it’s possible another club will take a no-risk flier to add to their outfield depth. Liberato still has all three minor league option years remaining, so any team willing to keep him on the 40-man roster could stash him in Triple-A for the foreseeable future.

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