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Mets, Ali Sanchez Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Mets are in agreement with catcher Ali Sánchez on a minor league contract, reports Will Sammon of The Athletic. He’d elected free agency after being outrighted by the Red Sox.

It was only a matter of hours before Sánchez found a new landing spot. The Mets placed Francisco Alvarez on the injured list this week. He’s dealing with a thumb injury that’ll require surgery at some point, though he and the team are holding out hope that can be delayed until the offseason. That leaves them with a catching duo of Luis Torrens and Hayden Senger.

Torrens had his own brief injury scare on Wednesday after being struck on the glove hand by a swing in a catcher’s interference. He was able to finish the game and said afterwards that he believes he’s avoided any real injury, though he conceded he felt some soreness while gripping the bat (link via Tom Hanslin of SNY).

Senger started yesterday and is back in the lineup tonight. Torrens is capable of playing. Otherwise, the Mets would’ve made a roster move for another catcher in case Senger is knocked out of the game early. It nevertheless highlights how tenuous their catching depth is after the Alvarez injury. Neither of their current Triple-A catchers, Matt O’Neill and Onix Vega, appear to be viable big league options. Sánchez would very likely be the next man up if Torrens or Senger requires an injured list stint.

The 28-year-old Sánchez played in the Mets’ farm system between 2014-20. He had a very brief big league stint five years ago and was traded to the Cardinals during the 2020-21 offseason. He has since been a member of seven different organizations, reaching the big leagues with four of them. He’s a .185/.222/.235 hitter in 47 career MLB contests. It’s a very light bat, but Sánchez has a solid defensive reputation that makes him a capable third or fourth catcher on the depth chart.

Diamondbacks Name Tim Bogar Third Base Coach

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The D-Backs are hiring Tim Bogar as third base coach, report Nick Piecoro and José M. Romero of The Arizona Republic. He’d already been in the organization’s player development department but now returns to coaching. Arizona skipper Torey Lovullo announced on Wednesday that they were removing prior third base coach Shaun Larkin from that responsibility; Larkin will remain on staff in a different capacity.

After playing parts of nine MLB seasons as a utility infielder, Bogar has spent over two decades in coaching. He has plenty of minor league managerial experience, including with Arizona’s Double-A club last year. He has been on big league staffs in various roles going back to 2008. Bogar spent a couple seasons as a base coach with the Red Sox. He has worked as a bench coach in Boston, Texas, Seattle and Washington and spent a month as Rangers’ interim manager in 2014. Bogar’s most recent MLB coaching experience came in 2023, when he worked as Dave Martinez’s bench coach with the Nationals.

Larkin, previously the organization’s farm director, was hired as third base coach last offseason. That came after Tony Perezchica departed to take the same role in Houston. Steve Gilbert of MLB.com writes that Larkin had garnered criticism for some poor send/hold decisions.

The final of those came on Wednesday. Larkin waved Alek Thomas around from first base after Guardians center fielder Angel Martínez stumbled following a bloop single. Martínez got to his feet and set up shortstop Gabriel Arias for a relay to the plate. Cleveland threw Thomas out, the first in what would be a scoreless inning. Arizona came back to win in extras, but Lovullo decided it was time for a change. Gilbert writes that Larkin will focus on infield instruction.

Red Sox Move Walker Buehler To Bullpen

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August 22: Buehler is indeed headed to the bullpen, Cora told reporters (video provided by NESN). Monday’s start has yet to be determined.

August 21: A disappointing season for Red Sox’s righty Walker Buehler continued on Tuesday. He only completed four innings while allowing four hits and as many walks in a home loss to the Orioles. It was the fourth time in his past five outings that Buehler issued at least three free passes, and his season earned run average is up to 5.40 across 22 starts.

Asked this evening whether Buehler would make his scheduled start on Monday, manager Alex Cora said the team “(hasn’t) talked about it yet” (via Tim Healey of The Boston Globe). While Cora wasn’t interested in discussing the situation publicly, Chris Cotillo of MassLive reports that the Sox are having internal conversations about moving Buehler to the bullpen. It’s not out of the question that he pitches in relief at some point during this weekend’s series against the Yankees. That’d obviously rule him out of starting Monday in what would be a rematch against Baltimore.

Buehler hasn’t been anywhere near as effective as hoped. The Sox signed him to a one-year, $21.05MM free agent deal that matched the price of the qualifying offer that he didn’t receive from the Dodgers. Buehler had a very poor regular season in 2024 (5.38 ERA in 16 starts) but hit the market with positive buzz after closing out the World Series. That convinced the Sox he was a solid upside play, but Buehler’s numbers this year are even worse than those of the 2024 regular season.

The righty has a career-low 16.5% strikeout rate and has gotten whiffs on just 7.7% of his pitches. The recent command woes have pushed his walk rate north of 10% for the first time in his career (outside of a 2017 debut in which he pitched fewer than 10 innings). Buehler carried a 6.12 ERA into the All-Star Break. While he has managed a serviceable 3.66 mark in the second half, he has walked as many batters as he has struck out over his past six starts.

Boston recalled former fifth starter Richard Fitts from Triple-A Worcester this afternoon. Cora said that Fitts, who has started all 17 appearances between MLB and the upper minors, will be available out of the bullpen. Fitts averaged only four innings per start while posting a near-5.00 ERA in the big leagues. The Sox pushed him out of the rotation when they acquired Dustin May at the deadline. They could reverse course and have him start on Monday.

Boston could also use both Buehler and Fitts in relief and recall one of Kyle Harrison or Cooper Criswell to work as the fifth starter. Harrison has made 10 Triple-A starts since being acquired in the Rafael Devers deal. He has a solid 3.69 ERA but has walked 12% of batters faced while averaging fewer than five innings per start with Worcester. Criswell has a 3.70 mark in 65 2/3 frames over 16 Triple-A outings.

If the Sox do pull Buehler from the rotation, it’d impact him financially. He has already picked up $1MM in bonuses by reaching 20 and 22 starts. He’d unlock another $500K each at 24, 26, and 28 starts. He’ll be a free agent next offseason when the Sox decline their end of a mutual option in favor of a $3MM buyout.

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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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).

Orioles Place Adley Rutschman On Injured List With Oblique Strain

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For the second time in three months, an oblique strain has sent Adley Rutschman to the injured list. Baltimore placed the switch-hitting catcher on the 10-day IL, retroactive to August 18, due to a right oblique injury. Outfielder Daniel Johnson is up from Triple-A Norfolk to take the vacated roster spot.

Rutschman missed five weeks between mid-June and the end of July with a left oblique strain. He’s now dealing with an injury to the opposite side. Interim skipper Tony Mansolino told reporters (including Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun) that it’s a “mild” strain. That’d seem to give Rutschman a shot to return this season, but even minor oblique strains usually cost a hitter a few weeks.

This has been a career-worst season for the two-time All-Star. Rutschman is batting .227/.310/.373 in 348 plate appearances. It’s his first subpar offensive showing in his four-year career. Last season’s .250/.318/.391 line was only narrowly better than average. Rutschman’s bat has fallen off since his excellent first two seasons.

The declining production comes as top catching prospect Samuel Basallo reaches the big leagues. Baltimore promoted the 21-year-old on Sunday. Basallo has started one game apiece at catcher and designated hitter. The initial plan was for Rutschman and Basallo to split catching work with a decent amount of DH at-bats for the rookie. Basallo will now be the #1 catcher while Rutschman is on the shelf. The youngster’s bat has long been ahead of his glove. A few weeks of regular reps behind the plate won’t entirely wipe away concerns about Basallo’s defense, but it should be a good developmental opportunity.

Baltimore was already operating with three catchers on the active roster. They didn’t want to lose the out-of-options Alex Jackson when they called up Basallo. Jackson will back him up for the time being. That meant they could add an extra outfielder, Johnson, in the corresponding move rather than bringing up another catcher.

Kyle Tucker Was Diagnosed With Hairline Hand Fracture In June

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Cubs star Kyle Tucker suffered a hairline fracture in his right hand back in June, reports Jesse Rogers of ESPN. Tucker jammed his right hand diving into second base on a stolen base attempt in a game against the Reds on June 1. Manager Craig Counsell subsequently confirmed the June fracture but says Tucker is now healthy (via Rogers).

Initial x-rays came back negative. However, Rogers writes that follow-up testing revealed a small fracture at the top of his hand between his ring finger and pinky. The Cubs did not announce the diagnosis at the time, and Tucker has not spent any time on the injured list. The four-time All-Star preferred to play through the injury.

In retrospect, it’s fair to question whether that was prudent. Tucker had been one of the best hitters in MLB for the season’s first two months. He owned a .284/.395/.524 slash with 12 homers across 269 plate appearances through June 1. Since then, he’s batting .236/.352/.368 in almost the exact same amount of playing time. Tucker has connected on six longballs over the past two and a half months.

While the injury certainly seems to be having an impact, it’s worth noting that Tucker actually continued to play well in the immediate aftermath. He hit .311 with five homers in June. It wasn’t until July that things went completely off the rails. He’s batting .189/.325/.235 with one homer in his past 38 games.

Tucker’s plate discipline remains strong — he has actually walked more often than he has struck out during that stretch — but his power has completely evaporated. His rate of hard contact (batted balls with an exit velocity of at least 95 MPH) was between 44-50% in each of the first two months. It remained solid at 42.9% in June but has plummeted below 30% in each of the past two months.

That kind of play from a hitter of Tucker’s caliber has naturally led to speculation about his health. Pat Murphy, manager of the Milwaukee team that is playing the Cubs this week, opined that the outfielder was playing through an injury. “I think Tucker’s hurt. I don’t have any information, but Tucker’s not the same,” Murphy said on 670 The Score.

Tucker himself has maintained that he’s physically ok. However, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer conceded to Rogers “that when you look at his numbers, it’s had an impact on him, for sure. That’s the nature sometimes of these small injuries. They can do that.” Counsell has kept Tucker out of the lineup for the past three games — two days, including a doubleheader on Tuesday. Chicago won all three games over the MLB-best Brewers with Owen Caissie playing right field. Counsell hasn’t committed to Tucker’s status for tomorrow’s series finale.

The Cubs remain six games back of Milwaukee in the NL Central. They’re comfortably in Wild Card position, which gives them the flexibility to mix in more off days for Tucker if necessary. They’ll need to find a way to get him back to being productive if they hope to make a deep playoff run. The injury and slump obviously come at an inopportune time for Tucker personally, as he’s a couple months from free agency. He’s the clear #1 player in the class and generally expected to command $400MM+ as he enters his age-29 season.

Tigers Hoping For Alex Cobb To Return In Relief

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The Tigers plan to use Alex Cobb in a multi-inning relief role if he’s able to make it back from the injured list, manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (link via Chris McCosky of The Detroit News). Cobb signed a one-year deal to work as a starter but has missed the entire season due to left hip issues.

“We shrunk down the expectations internally on how long he can go in a game,” Hinch told McCosky and others. “We’re trying to see how the two- and three-inning stints go and how he bounces back from that.”

It has long since passed the point for the Tigers to get the return they expected on a $15MM free agent investment. At this point, they’d welcome any contributions from the 37-year-old. Cobb has been on a rehab assignment at Triple-A Toledo for the past week. He has worked between two and three innings in each of his first two appearances. He’s expected to make his next appearance this weekend.

Rehab assignments for pitchers can last up to 30 days. Using Cobb in a relief role could get him back before the end of that window. Speculatively speaking, the Tigers could view September 1 as a target for his reinstatement. That’s when active rosters expand from 26 to 28 and teams are permitted to carry a 14th pitcher.

That’d at least give Cobb a few weeks to audition for a spot on the playoff roster. Detroit’s bullpen remains arguably its biggest weakness. They’ve gotten excellent work out of deadline pickup Kyle Finnegan, while righty Will Vest has been very good all season. Tyler Holton is established as their best option from the left side.

The middle relief group remains very much in flux. Cobb and deadline acquisition Paul Sewald could each return late in the regular season. One of Jack Flaherty or Chris Paddack could move to the bullpen once the postseason begins and teams shrink their rotations in short series. The club also hasn’t closed the door on Reese Olson pitching in October, but that’s a long shot after he sustained a significant shoulder strain at the end of July.

Cobb missed almost all of last season because of issues in his right hip. He began the year with the Giants and was on the injured list through the trade deadline. The Guardians acquired him while he was rehabbing. He made three regular season starts and pitched twice in the postseason with Cleveland. A lower back injury knocked him out of the playoffs during the AL Championship Series.

Giants To Place Landen Roupp On Injured List With Knee Sprain

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The Giants are placing starter Landen Roupp on the 15-day injured list with a left knee sprain, manager Bob Melvin informed reporters (including Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area). The right-hander is flying back to San Francisco for an MRI that’ll provide a more specific diagnosis.

Roupp suffered the injury in the third inning of tonight’s start in San Diego (video via SF Giants on NBCS). Ramón Laureano hit a comeback line drive that struck Roupp in the right thigh. While the ball itself didn’t cause an injury, the pitcher slipped on the mound as he tried to avoid it, tweaking his knee in the process. Trainers called for a cart to take him off the field.

With five weeks remaining in the regular season, it seems unlikely Roupp will make it back this year. The Giants have fallen five games under .500 and firmly out of contention. They’ll hope that testing doesn’t reveal any significant ligament damage that’d impact his offseason or threaten his availability for the early portion of next season.

Roupp, 27 next month, has had a solid first full season as a big league starter. He has taken the ball 22 times and worked to a 3.80 ERA over 106 2/3 innings. He has recorded a 21.4% strikeout rate while getting ground-balls at a league average 45.3% clip. He has looked the part of a capable mid-rotation arm until battling injuries over the past couple weeks. A minor bout of elbow inflammation sent him to the IL shortly before the trade deadline. Tonight’s start was his second since that three-week absence.

Justin Verlander pitches the finale in San Diego tomorrow. The Giants would have Logan Webb, Robbie Ray and Kai-Wei Teng lined up for their weekend set in Milwaukee. An off day on Monday could allow them to skip Roupp’s turn in the rotation one time, but they might prefer to add a fifth starter to take the ball next Tuesday against the Cubs and give their rotation an extra day of rest. They’ll need another starter by the end of next week at the latest.

Unfortunately, one of their most intriguing depth arms won’t be a factor. Blade Tidwell, one of three players acquired from the Mets for Tyler Rogers, has begun his organizational tenure with 16 innings of three-run ball in Triple-A. Tidwell seemed to be on the verge of a call-up but reported shoulder discomfort yesterday (relayed by John Shea of The San Francisco Standard). He’s headed for an MRI of his own and won’t be an option for a big league call in the short term.

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