Twins Select Cody Laweryson
The Twins announced that right-hander Justin Topa has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a left oblique strain, retroactive to September 9th. Fellow righty Cody Laweryson has been selected to take Topa’s place on the roster. The Twins had just 37 men on their 40-man, so no other corresponding move is required as this brings their count up to 38.
It’s unclear how serious Topa’s injury is but this presumably ends his season. Even with the backdating of the move, he could only come back for the final few days of the schedule. With the Twins buried in the standings, there’s not much motivation for him to rush back. Assuming he’s done, he finishes the year with a 3.90 earned run average in 60 innings. His 18.3% strikeout rate was subpar but his 6.7% walk rate and 47.7% ground ball rate were good figures.
The Twins will have to decide whether or not to trigger a $2MM club option for 2026 or go for a $225K buyout. Even if they go for the buyout, they could still keep Topa for next year via arbitration. Assuming they want Topa back next year, the decision would simply come down to which path they expect to be cheaper.
His injury allows Laweryson to get up to the majors for the first time. Now 27, Laweryson was drafted with a 14th-round pick back in 2019. He worked both as a starter and a reliever as he climbed the minor league ladder but has been working exclusively out of the bullpen in recent years.
On the most recent FanGraphs list of top prospects in the system, Laweryson got an honorable mention, with the report noting that his deception helps him get better results than one would expect from his middling stuff. He has thrown 44 innings this year between Double-A and Triple-A with a 2.86 ERA, 24.6% strikeout rate, 7.7% walk rate and 46.3% ground ball rate. Laweryson will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game. Since this is his first time cracking a big league roster, he has a full slate of options.
Photo courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck, Imagn Images
Phillies To Select Walker Buehler, Place José Alvarado On IL
The Phillies are going to select right-hander Walker Buehler to the roster to start tonight’s game. Left-hander José Alvarado will be placed on the injured list to open an active roster spot, per Matt Gelb of The Athletic. The nature of Alvarado’s injury is unclear. The Phils will also need to open a 40-man roster spot.
Buehler signed a minor league deal with the Phils a couple of weeks ago, after he had been released by the Red Sox. It was a bit of a surprise that Boston let him go, if only because they had made a notable $21.05MM commitment to him this year, but the move was also justified by Buehler’s poor performance.
Earlier in his career, Buehler was arguably an ace. While pitching for the Dodgers, he twice finished in the top ten in National League Cy Young voting, including a fourth-place finish in 2021. But he missed the 2023 campaign recovering from Tommy John surgery, the second such procedure of his career, and hasn’t looked the same since. From the start of 2024 until the present, he has logged 187 2/3 innings with a 5.42 earned run average, 17.4% strikeout rate, 9.7% walk rate and 45.1% ground ball rate.
Despite his recent struggles, he was a sensible pick-up for the Phils. They recently lost Zack Wheeler due to a blood clot/thoracic outlet syndrome diagnosis. Even without Wheeler, they had a solid rotation group consisting of Aaron Nola, Ranger Suarez, Jesús Luzardo, Cristopher Sánchez and Taijuan Walker. But bringing in Buehler added another arm at no extra cost. Since the Sox released him, they are on the hook for the majority of his remaining salary. The Phils will only have to pay him the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the roster.
At this point, it’s unclear exactly how long he will spend on the roster. The Phils are currently in the midst of a stretch where in they play 15 days in a row. After today, there are five more games in that span. They then only play three times in the following five days, before finishing out the schedule with six in a row.
It’s possible this is just a spot start to give the starters some extra rest during a tough part of the schedule. After today, it would make sense to go back down to five guys. The Phils are cruising to a playoff spot and also to a bye through the Wild Card round. They have an 11-game lead over the Mets in the East and will surely win that division. They are two games behind the Brewers for top spot in the National League but 4.5 games clear of the Dodgers.
That comfortable position could entice them to rest some of their starters. But on the other hand, since they are likely to be sitting out the first round, the pitchers are already looking at having almost a full week off between the regular season and the Division Series round. In order to avoid rust build-up, they may want their pitchers to keep throwing all the way through the end of the schedule. Time will tell if Buehler sticks around with the aim of making another start, gets moved to a long relief role or bumped back off the roster entirely.
As for Alvarado, his absence shouldn’t be too consequential, especially in the short term. He’s been putting up good numbers this year but isn’t eligible for the postseason due to the PED suspension he received earlier this year. His absence hurts the bullpen for the final few weeks of the regular season but, as mentioned, the Phils are in a pretty comfortable position in the playoff picture.
If it’s a long-term injury, then that would be more notable. The club has a $9MM club option for his services in 2026 with a $500K buyout. Naturally, a serious injury that would extend into next year could impact the club’s decision on that option.
Photo courtesy of Brian Fluharty, Imagn Images
Anthony Volpe Playing Through Partial Labrum Tear
Anthony Volpe has been the Yankees’ regular shortstop for close to three years now. Lately, he has struggled enough that José Caballero has taken some playing time. It’s possible that health is playing a role in Volpe’s downturn. He injured his left shoulder back in early May. Today, Joel Sherman of The New York Post reports that the shoulder discomfort has lingered since then and Volpe received a cortisone shot in that shoulder yesterday.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone spoke to the media before tonight’s game and provided more details, per Brendan Kuty of The Athletic and Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. Boone confirmed the report of the cortisone shot and said Volpe has a small labrum tear in his shoulder. When the injury was discovered in May, they believed it was an old injury that he could play through. He has since aggravated it multiple times, including on Sunday. He also had a cortisone shot during the All-Star break, per Kuty. The Yanks don’t believe he needs an IL stint now. He will have another MRI after the season.
At the time of that injury, Volpe said he heard a “pop” in his shoulder but quickly felt better. “It happened quick and it was scary, but after that, I felt OK and I felt like I had my strength,” Volpe said at the time. “I’ve never really had anything else pop or dislocate or anything like that, so I have nothing to compare it to.”
Greg Joyce of The New York Post writes that the Yankees have consistently downplayed the shoulder injury even though Volpe is usually wrapped up in ice after most games. Just yesterday, Boone brushed off the problem, per Chris Kirschner of The Athletic.
“I think early on after that, maybe a little bit,” the skipper said, when asked if Volpe’s shoulder has been impacting his performance. “I think it’s something that’s also improved over the course of the year. I feel like, even lately, it’s been in as good of a place as it’s been. I don’t necessarily think that’s the case, but he’s also a very tough kid and a gamer. I don’t think so, but I guess shouldn’t rule it out.”
As noted by Sherman, there’s a stark contrast between Volpe’s pre- and post-injury numbers. On May 4th, he had a .233/.326/.442 batting line. That translated to a 114 wRC+, indicating he was 14% better than league average at that point in the season. Since then, he has a .197/.248/.378 line and 70 wRC+.
It’s also possible that the injury is impacting Volpe defensively. He was credited with 15 Defensive Runs Saved in 2023 and six last year but is at just one here in 2025. Outs Above Average is even more notable. That metric gave Volpe a +1 grade in 2023 and +14 last year but has dropped him all the way to -9 here in 2025. Volpe made eight throwing errors in 2023 and nine last year but already has 13 in 2025, in a smaller sample of playing time.
Despite the declining numbers, Boone has stuck by Volpe. A couple of weeks ago, the skipper said that he still considered Volpe to be the club’s shortstop while Caballero was considered a “10th man” who could bounce around to various positions in a utility capacity.
More recently, it’s possible there’s been a shift. Caballero has started in place of Volpe in two of the past five games. It’s possible the cortisone shot leads to Volpe missing some more time, as players usually require a few days’ rest after receiving such injections.
On the one hand, it’s somewhat encouraging that Volpe’s struggles have a possible explanation. On the other hand, it’s a less than ideal situation at this time of year when every game is meaningful. The Yanks currently hold a Wild Card spot but they are in a tight battle with clubs like the Red Sox, Mariners, Rangers, Guardians, Royals and Rays. The Yanks are also surely hoping to chase down the Blue Jays for the division lead, currently trailing by just three games.
Sending Volpe to the injured list or simply sitting him for a few games could perhaps help his shoulder woes a bit but that would leave the club a bit thinner at shortstop as they play meaningful games. There would also be the risk of Volpe getting rusty after a layoff and not having time to get into a better groove.
For now, it seems Caballero could benefit from a bit more playing time. He has a solid .239/.345/.413 line since being acquired at the deadline but he has a career .226/.313/.335 slash and 89 wRC+. Even if his hitting is subpar, his glovework is good and he’s one of the top base stealers in the majors. If Volpe does require a stint on the IL, the Yanks could perhaps recall Braden Shewmake to serve as a glove-first backup to Caballero.
Photo courtesy of John Jones, Imagn Images
Justin Garza Elects Free Agency
Right-hander Justin Garza has elected free agency, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. The Mets had sent him outright to Triple-A Syracuse earlier in the week but he had a previous career outright and therefore had the right to reject the assignment and head to the open market.
Garza, 31, still has a fairly limited big league track record. He has thrown 53 2/3 innings in the majors, but spread out over multiple seasons, having debuted back in 2021. That includes just 6 2/3 innings in 2025. On the whole, he has a 5.70 earned run average, 19.8% strikeout rate and 12.6% walk rate.
His minor league track record is naturally greater in quality and quantity, though he has struggled on the farm this year. From 2021 to 2024, he logged 157 2/3 innings in the minors with a 3.82 ERA, 27.2% strikeout rate and 11% walk rate. Here in 2025, he has thrown 44 Triple-A innings with a 7.16 ERA, 20.4% strikeout rate and 8.7% walk rate. There’s surely some bad luck in there, as his .315 batting average on balls in play and 57.3% strand rate are both to the unlucky side. His 5.47 FIP suggests he has deserved better than that ERA but even that adjusted figure isn’t great.
Teams are clearly intrigued by his arsenal, which includes an upper-90s fastball as well as a cutter, splitter and slider. Over the past few years, he has bounced from the Guardians to the Angels, Red Sox, Giants and Mets via free agency, trade or the waiver wire. He was with the Giants on a minor league deal when the Mets acquired him in a cash trade in June and added him to the roster. He spent a few months as an up-and-down depth arm for the Mets until losing his roster spot in recent days.
Garza will head out to free agency and see what opportunities await him. The fact that he cleared waivers suggests he’ll be limited to minor league offers. He wouldn’t be postseason eligible with any signing club at this point, so it’s possible he just gets a headstart on his offseason. Going forward, he will still have one option season remaining and he only has about a year of service time, meaning he can provide roster flexibility and affordability.
Photo courtesy of Brad Penner, Imagn Images
Marlins Designate Seth Martinez For Assignment
The Marlins announced that left-hander Ryan Weathers has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list, a move which was previously reported. In a corresponding move, right-hander Seth Martinez has been designated for assignment.
Martinez, 31, had some decent run with the Astros earlier in his career. Over 2022 and 2023, he gave Houston 81 2/3 innings, allowing 3.75 earned runs per nine. His 23.7% strikeout rate and 9.4% walk rate were both close to league average. But last year, his strikeout rate dropped to 16.2%. He was sent to the minors a few times, exhausting his final option season.
He was therefore out of options heading into 2025, which gave him a tenuous hold on a roster spot. But given his past success, he still had enough appeal to bounce around the league. In the offseason, he went to the Diamondbacks, Marlins, Mariners and Marlins again via a series of waiver claims. The Fish put him on waivers again around Opening Day, when he finally cleared.
He has therefore spent most of this year pitching in Triple-A. He logged 43 2/3 innings for Jacksonville with a 3.71 ERA, 28.9% strikeout rate and 9.6% walk rate. He was called back up to the big leagues about two weeks ago. Between then and now, he tossed 6 2/3 innings for the Marlins, allowing four earned runs via four hits and three walks while striking out four. It appears that wasn’t enough to get him beyond the fringes of the roster, so he’s been bumped off today.
With the trade deadline having passed, Martinez will have to be on waivers yet again in the coming days. He won’t have much short-term appeal to clubs, since he wouldn’t be postseason eligible for any claiming team. But he can be controlled for four seasons beyond this one since he has less than three years of service time. Given the notable interest he garnered in the offseason and his recent uptick in strikeouts in the minors, perhaps there’s a team intrigued enough to make a claim. If such a team exists, they could get a close-up look at Martinez in the final few weeks of the season as they decide about putting him in their 2026 plans.
Photo courtesy of Brad Mills, Imagn Images
Orioles Promoted Mike Elias Prior To 2025 Season
Mike Elias quietly received a promotion in the offseason, per reporting from Ken Rosenthal and Brittany Ghiroli of The Athletic. His previous title with the Orioles was general manager but he was promoted to president of baseball operations before the 2025 campaign began. No announcement was made and the development wasn’t publicly reported until today. Today’s report adds that the O’s plan to hire a GM to work under Elias.
The title change is largely ceremonial. Elias was already the leader in the Baltimore front office. Bumping his title presumably came with some kind of pay increase and contract extension but his job duties should be essentially the same.
He was originally hired by the O’s in November of 2018. The club had just seen their competitive window slam shut. They were a good team for most of the decade up until that point but many of their biggest investments had fallen flat as key players aged.
The early years of the Elias tenure saw the club clearly in rebuilding mode. They spent almost nothing in free agency for many years. Established major league players were traded for prospects. The club lost at least 108 games in each full season from 2018 to 2021.
The consequence of all that losing was the ability to build up a strong farm system. MLB had not yet implemented a draft lottery and the associated rules around teams getting strong draft picks in consecutive years. From 2019 to 2022, the O’s had one of the top five picks in the draft. They took Adley Rutschman first overall in 2019, followed by Heston Kjerstad second overall, Colton Cowser fifth and Jackson Holliday first in the following years. They were also able to grab Gunnar Henderson with a second-round pick in 2019 and Jordan Westburg with a competitive balance round pick in 2020.
The roots of that system eventually blossomed in the majors. The O’s went 83-79 in 2022. They didn’t make the playoffs but that was a huge step forward from their 110-loss campaign in the prior season. More progress followed, as they won 101 and 91 games in 2023 and 2024 respectively. The former campaign saw them win the American League East, while the latter led to a Wild Card spot.
The O’s were swept out of the postseason in both of those years but the trend lines appeared to be fairly good. The club was winning and a lot of the core players were still young, controllable and affordable.
During that span, there had been a change in ownership. The Angelos family sold the club to a group led by David Rubenstein. That sale became official in March of 2024. The 2024-2025 offseason was therefore the first of the Rubenstein era. It seems the new owner was pleased with the way the front office was being run, based on the news of this promotion.
There was plenty of optimism around the club as of last winter, though a lot of that has dissipated since. Many expected Rubenstein to take the O’s to a greater level of spending on the player payroll. The O’s did sign a few guys but didn’t do anything really bold. Their three-year, $49.5MM deal for Tyler O’Neill was a bit bigger than anything they had done in recent memory but not by too much. They also made a few one-year investments in older pitchers like Charlie Morton, Tomoyuki Sugano and Andrew Kittredge.
Those investments largely didn’t work out. Many of the club’s core players got injured and/or underperformed this year. Put together, that resulted in a dreary first half, which led to a deadline sell-off. The O’s traded away Morton, Kittredge and plenty of other players ahead of the deadline. They are now 68-77 and 9.5 games back of a playoff spot. They will certainly miss the postseason and will likely finish with a losing record as well.
Elias received his promotion prior to all of that happening but it will naturally lead to more pressure to turn things around. The O’s still have a lot of talent on the roster but they traded away a lot of their bullpen and might be without Félix Bautista for all of 2026. The rotation is also a big question mark with Morton gone, Sugano an impending free agent and Grayson Rodriguez having missed the entire 2025 season.
It’s possible the club can be better next year simply by getting healthier seasons from their controllable core but the front office might also want to increase the margin for error by more aggressively making offseason upgrades. Time will tell what kind of approach they take. As for the GM search, it’s unclear what sort of timeline they have in mind but they will likely want to make a hire by the early part of the offseason, if not sooner.
Photo courtesy of Tim Heitman, Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images
John Brebbia Elects Free Agency
Right-hander John Brebbia elected free agency rather than accept an outright assignment to Triple-A Gwinnett, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment by the Braves earlier this week.
Brebbia, 35, is undeniably having a bad season. He has tossed 23 1/3 innings between Detroit and Atlanta, allowing 7.71 earned runs per nine. His 22.6% strikeout rate is close to average but his 10.4% walk rate is a bit high. It’s surely not quite as bad as the ERA would indicate. His .338 batting average on balls in play and 56.8% strand rate are both to the unfortunate side. His 5.76 FIP and 4.21 SIERA aren’t amazing figures but they do suggest that the ERA isn’t a perfect reflection of his work this year.
Regardless, he hasn’t been able to stick on a roster for long. The Tigers signed him to a one-year, $2.75MM deal in the offseason. He wasn’t released until mid-June but he also missed close to a month due to a right triceps strain. Atlanta scooped him up on a minor league deal after Detroit let him go. He was back in the majors in late August but lasted barely a week on Atlanta’s roster.
Players with at least five years of service time have the right to reject outright assignments and keep their salary commitments in place. Brebbia is well over that line and has exercised his right. Since the Tigers released him, they are on the hook for the majority of what remains to be paid out of his salary. Any other club could sign Brebbia and would only have to pay him the prorated portion of the league minimum for any time spent on the roster.
As mentioned, he has not been in good form this year but the track record is decent. He came into this year with 355 big league innings, a 3.80 ERA, 25.9% strikeout rate and 7.3% walk rate. This year’s major league results haven’t been at that level but he showed potential on the farm. Between signing that minor league deal with Atlanta and getting selected to the majors, he tossed 19 Triple-A innings with a 1.89 ERA, 26.9% strikeout rate and 3.8% walk rate.
It’s possible there are clubs who can see past this year’s struggles in the majors, though there’s still limited short-term appeal. Though Brebbia is cheap and has a good résumé, the regular season has barely two weeks remaining and he wouldn’t be postseason eligible for any club he signs with now. Perhaps he will latch on somewhere for the next few weeks but it’s also possible he goes into offseason mode a bit early.
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The Opener: Gore, Detmers, Mets
Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. Gore to return to Nats
The Nationals placed left-hander MacKenzie Gore on the injured list a couple of weeks ago due to inflammation in his throwing shoulder. Thankfully, he’s coming back after a minimal stint and will start today’s game. Reliever Orlando Ribalta has been optioned as the corresponding move for Gore, per Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com. The Nats aren’t playing for much at this part of the schedule but it’s nice for the club and for Gore that he’s getting back on the mound before the winter kicks in. That will at least provide some assurance that nothing is lingering into the offseason. Gore is a speculative trade candidate this winter since he’s down to two remaining years of club control and the Nats don’t seem close to contending. His health is therefore of interest to other clubs around the league as well.
2. Detmers injured?
Angels lefty Reid Detmers departed yesterday’s game with an apparent injury. Per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register, the southpaw said afterwards that he wasn’t in pain but his arm felt “dead” on the outside of his elbow. He’s getting an MRI today. Detmers is having a really good season out of the bullpen. The Halos will have to decide this winter whether to keep him in a relief role or stretch him back out as a starter next year. Perhaps the outcome of this MRI will play a role in that decision.
3. Mets sliding
As of a few weeks ago, it looked like the National League playoff race would be a real snooze. Going into the day on September 3rd, the Mets had the final Wild Card spot. The Reds and the Giants were each five games back. Fast forward to today and the Mets still have that final playoff spot but the situation is far less cozy. They have lost five in a row, which has shrunk their lead over the Reds and Giants to just two games, with the Diamondbacks and Cardinals also in the mix. It doesn’t get easier from here, as the Mets take on Jesús Luzardo and the Phillies today. The subsequent six games are also against tough teams, as the Mets host the Rangers and Padres for three each.
Astros Place Luis Garcia On IL Due To Elbow Discomfort
The Astros have placed right-hander Luis Garcia on the 15-day injured list due to right elbow discomfort, per Chandler Rome of The Athletic. Fellow righty Nick Hernandez has been recalled as the corresponding move.
At this point, it’s unclear how severe this elbow issue is, but it’s an ominous development. Garcia just returned from an absence of more than two years related to that elbow. He had undergone Tommy John surgery in 2023. He tried to get back on the mound in 2024 but repeatedly hit setbacks, eventually missing that entire season. Here in 2025, he was on the IL until just over a week ago.
Garcia took the ball on September 1st against the Angels, his first big league game since May of 2023. That start went well, as he allowed three earned runs over six innings. He made a second start against the Blue Jays yesterday but his velocity was noticeably down. He averaged 91.4 miles per hour against the Angels. He was largely in the 93-94 mph range earlier in his career but that drop wasn’t necessarily a flag. Pitchers sometimes return before they are back to 100% strength and Garcia had spoken of his belief that more velocity was to come. Instead, his fastball velo dropped to 90.2 mph against Toronto. In the second inning, he summoned the training staff to the mound and was quickly removed from the game.
Time will tell if this is another minor setback or something more serious. The fact that the Astros have quickly placed him on the IL doesn’t bode well for the short term. Even a minimum stint would extend into the final days of the regular season schedule. An absence of three weeks or more would push into October. It’s entirely possible his season is done, though the club will presumably release more info at some point.
Obviously, a more extreme outcome would be awful. At this point, another major elbow surgery would put his 2026 season in jeopardy. He’s already lost most of the 2023-2025 seasons. Another lengthy surgery rehab would give him a stretch of four years with each season either being totally or partially lost.
Over the 2021 and 2022 seasons, Garcia tossed 312 2/3 innings with a 3.60 earned run average, 25.4% strikeout rate and 7.6% walk rate. He also made seven postseason appearances in that span, helping the club win the 2022 World Series. Since then, as mentioned, he has hardly been on the mound.
The absences have cut into his earning power. He first qualified for arbitration going into 2024 and earned $1.875MM that year. After missing that entire campaign, he agreed to the same salary for 2025. Next year would be his final arb year before he’s slated for free agency. Given his very limited workload this year, he should be in line for effectively the same salary again in 2026. That’s barely above the league minimum and a fine price for Houston if they think he can get healthy. Though if he’s slated for another long absence, he would become a clear non-tender candidate.
For the Astros, this adds to their injury pile for the stretch run. They have already lost Ronel Blanco, Hayden Wesneski and Brandon Walter to season-ending surgeries. Spencer Arrighetti is on the IL due to elbow inflammation and going for a second opinion. In the bullpen, Josh Hader, John Rooney, Kaleb Ort and Bennett Sousa are all on the IL. The position player group is without Isaac Paredes and others.
Despite all those injuries, the Astros are clinging to a narrow division lead. The still sit atop the American League West, but the Mariners are only one game back with the Rangers only 2.5 games behind. The Astros still have a very good shot at making the postseason but every new injury will make it more challenging to hang on.
Their rotation now consists of Hunter Brown, Framber Valdez, Jason Alexander and Cristian Javier. They have Lance McCullers Jr. and J.P. France in the bullpen and could put one of them in the rotation, though neither is having a great year. Colton Gordon is on the 40-man roster but was just optioned four days ago. He can’t be recalled until 15 days after that optioning unless directly replacing a player going on the IL. Non-roster options in Triple-A include Miguel Ullola, Ethan Pecko and Jose Fleury.
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Cubs To Move Javier Assad To Bullpen
The Cubs are going to welcome right-hander Jameson Taillon back from the injured list today, which will bump fellow righty Javier Assad to the bullpen, per Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic. Sharma also lists Michael Soroka as someone who could help the bullpen down the stretch, suggesting he’ll likely end up in a relief role when he comes off the injured list.
Assad, 28, was a solid member of the Chicago rotation last year. He made 29 starts, allowing 3.73 earned runs per nine innings. His 19.4% strikeout rate and 9.9% walk rate were a bit worse than league average but he had a decent 43.6% ground ball rate. He may have benefitted from a high strand rate of 80.3% but his 4.64 FIP and 4.72 SIERA still pointed to him being capable of passable work as a big league starter.
But this year has been challenging. Oblique issues kept him on the injured list until August. He has since made five starts with a 4.62 ERA. His walk rate and grounder rate have improved in that small sample but he has only struck out 13.2% of opponents.
It’s not a drastic drop-off overall but the Cubs don’t feel Assad is one of their five best rotation options. When Taillon returns, he will slot in alongside Matthew Boyd, Shota Imanaga, Cade Horton and Colin Rea. Boyd and Horton are both having really strong seasons. Imanaga isn’t pitching as well as last year but has still managed to post a 3.21 ERA. Rea and Taillon are solid back-end options with ERAs of 4.20 and 4.15 respectively.
Assad will therefore end up in the bullpen, likely in long relief. The Cubs already have guys like Aaron Civale and Ben Brown capable of soaking up multiple innings from the bullpen but Assad will give them one more.
As for Soroka, his potential bullpen move is logical and should be more impactful. He had a lot of success in a relief role last year. He started 2024 in the White Sox’ rotation but ended up getting bumped to the bullpen. He finished out the year with 36 relief innings with a 2.75 ERA and 39% strikeout rate. His 13% walk rate was certainly high but that kind of strikeout stuff made him an intriguing leverage relief option this winter.
He came into 2025 still with the hope of being a starter. He signed a one-year, $9MM deal with the Nationals and joined that club’s rotation. He had a decent 4.87 ERA, 25.4% strikeout rate and 7% walk rate with Washington, though notable splits later in games. This year, he has held opponents to a .193/.250/.329 line when going through the order for the first time. That line jumps to .218/.302/.395 the second time through and then there’s a big spike to .319/.467/.574 for the first time through.
The Cubs acquired him at the deadline even though his velocity had been trending down throughout July. They nonetheless hoped to get a few starts out of him. But he made just one, lasting two innings, before a shoulder strain put him on the shelf. In his recent bullpen sessions, his velo has been back up to the mid-90s. He’s set to go on a rehab assignment this week and could rejoin the big league club soon.
Given last year’s bullpen success, his third-time-through-the-order penalty and recent health concern, a bullpen move makes lot of sense. If he can posts some results similar to last year’s, he could jump into a leverage role. That would help the Cubs going into the stretch run, as they recently lost Daniel Palencia and Ryan Brasier to the IL due to a shoulder strain and groin strain respectively.
Photo courtesy of Christopher Hanewinckel, Imagn Images