Félix Bautista Undergoes Shoulder Surgery, Expected To Miss 12 Months
The Orioles announced today that right-hander Félix Bautista has undergone surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff and torn labrum in his right shoulder. He is expected to miss the next 12 months. Jake Rill of MLB.com was among those to relay the news.
The news is obviously brutal for the O’s and Bautista. He just missed the entire 2024 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. He got back on the mound this year and showed some flashes of his old self. However, he’s now going to miss the remainder of the 2025 season and a huge chunk of 2026 as well. Given the estimated timeline, any kind of setback could lead to him missing another entire season.
Prior to the injury setbacks, he had established himself as one of the most dominant relievers in the game. Over the 2022 and 2023 campaigns, he gave the O’s 126 2/3 innings with a tiny 1.85 earned run average. His 10% walk rate was a bit on the high side and his 39.9% ground ball rate wasn’t special but he punched out a massive 40.4% of batters faced.
As mentioned, he showed some hints of that form in 2025, though also with some rust. He logged 34 2/3 innings this year with a 2.60 ERA. His 35.2% strikeout rate was technically a drop-off but still a great figure. Meanwhile, his grounder rate jumped to 50.7%. On the worrying side, his walk rate spiked to 16.2%.
Perhaps he would have continued refining things as he got more innings and shook off the rust, but that won’t happen now. He landed on the 15-day IL in July due to shoulder discomfort. It was announced by the team in August that his injury was “significant” and that he wouldn’t be coming back this year. Today’s news provides more clarity on how dire the situation is. It’s possible that Bautista eventually throws less than 40 innings for the 2024-26 stretch. If he returns late next year, he could push a bit beyond that number, but likely not by much.
Bautista is controllable through 2027. He is making just $1MM this year. He will be due a raise in arbitration for 2026 and 2027 but the missed time cuts into his ability to substantially increase his salary. Given his ceiling, the O’s will surely tender him a contract with the hope of him contributing late in 2026 and/or for the entire 2027 campaign.
For the O’s, it’s the latest kick to the nuts in a season that has seen them pummeled by injuries. They came into the year knowing that Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells would be rehabbing from last year’s surgeries, but then they have also seen guys like Grayson Rodriguez, Zach Eflin, Andrew Kittredge, Albert Suárez and others miss significant time. On the position player side, Tyler O’Neill, Adley Rutschman, Colton Cowser, Ryan Mountcastle and others missed chunks of time.
Those injuries helped push the O’s down in the standings. Though they came into the year with clear postseason aspirations, they wound up deadline sellers. Cedric Mullins, Kittredge, Gregory Soto, Seranthony Domínguez, Bryan Baker, Charlie Morton, Ramón Urías, Ramón Laureano and Ryan O’Hearn were all flipped prior to the deadline.
The club is now playing out the string on the 2025 season, so the Bautista injury is fairly moot for the short term. But his extended timeline obviously hurts for 2026. As mentioned, the O’s already flipped four relievers last month, putting a big dent in the bullpen. Bautista is an even bigger loss.
Though they sold at the deadline, it’s assumed that the club intends to rebound and compete again in 2026, as they have a young and exciting core to build around. Presumably, the Orioles already planned on making a few bullpen moves in the coming offseason. This news should only enhance the need.
For Bautista personally, it’s another delay in him unlocking a notable paycheck. The late bloomer didn’t crack the big leagues until he was in his age-27 season. Despite his excellent results, he’s now 30 and hasn’t made more than $1MM in a season, which is barely above the league minimum. The two lengthy surgery absences will dampen his earning power in arbitration. He’s not slated to reach free agency until after his age-32 campaign. It’s possible he’s healthy by that point but the injury track record will be still be noted by clubs.
Photo courtesy of Jonathan Dyer, Imagn Images
MLBTR Podcast: The Pohlads Aren’t Selling The Twins, Nathaniel Lowe, And Service Time Manipulation
The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…
- The Pohlad family taking the Twins off the market and what that could mean for the club’s future (2:10)
- Nathaniel Lowe getting released by the Nationals and signing with the Red Sox (18:35)
- The Astros losing Josh Hader due to a shoulder capsule sprain (29:25)
- The Phillies losing Zack Wheeler due to a blood clot (32:20)
- Why late August/September is prospect promotion season (36:00)
Plus, we answer your questions, including…
- Are there some notable relievers who could be on waivers this month? Also, what happens to a player when he is on waivers? (44:55)
- If I told you that the Dodgers signed Kyle Tucker, would you believe me? (52:40)
- What’s the craziest out-of-nowhere team to make the playoffs and could a team do it this year? (56:35)
Check out our past episodes!
- Walk-Year Performances, Roman Anthony’s Extension, And More! – listen here
- Sifting Through The Trade Deadline Deals – listen here
- Megapod Trade Deadline Preview – listen here
The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!
Photo courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn, Imagn Images
Paul Blackburn Clears Release Waivers
Right-hander Paul Blackburn has cleared release waivers and is now free to sign with any club, reports Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. The Mets designated him for assignment on Saturday and it was later reported that he had been placed on release waivers.
It’s not a shock that Blackburn has gone unclaimed. He is making $4.05MM this year, leaving close to $900K still to be paid out. That’s more than some pitchers get for a full season, so it would be a notable amount for the final few weeks of the campaign. Blackburn has also been largely injured this year, only pitching in seven games with a 6.85 earned run average.
Now that he has cleared waivers, it’s possible clubs give him a call. The Mets will remain on the hook for the majority of what remains of his salary. A club could sign Blackburn and only pay him the prorated portion of the $760K league minimum for any time spent on the roster, which would be less than $4K per day. Any amount paid by another club would be subtracted from what the Mets pay.
Blackburn hasn’t been in amazing form this year. He started the season on the injured list due to inflammation in his right knee. He was activated in June but a shoulder impingement put him back on the shelf. As mentioned, he has posted a 6.85 ERA around those IL stints.
However, he is stretched out and was in good form during his rehab assignment, which could appeal to clubs needing innings. He started a rehab assignment in July and his final four rehab outings were Triple-A games where he went five innings or more. He had a 2.42 ERA, 18.3% strikeout rate and 4.3% walk rate in those. He was then reinstated from the IL and tossed five innings of long relief against Atlanta on August 13th, allowing two earned runs. He was designated for assignment shortly thereafter.
While it’s not been a great season overall, Blackburn has some major league success. From 2022 to 2024, he tossed a combined 290 1/3 innings with a 4.43 ERA, 20.2% strikeout rate, 7.5% walk rate and 44.8% ground ball rate. It’s been a challenging year but he is stretched out and has been putting up decent numbers over the past month. Since he is basically free, it’s possible some club takes a chance on him, especially with the inherent difficulties of adding impact talent after the trade deadline.
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Orioles Outright Jordyn Adams
The Orioles announced that outfielder Jordyn Adams has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Norfolk. He had the right to elect free agency but has accepted the assignment. It wasn’t previously reported that Adams had been designated for assignment, so this move drops Baltimore’s 40-man count to 39.
Adams, 25, signed a minor league deal with the Orioles in the offseason and has been on and off the roster this year. He was selected to the 40-man in late May but was designated for assignment and outrighted a few days later. He was added back to the roster August 1st, after the O’s made a number of deadline trades.
Around those transactions, he has appeared in ten big league games but mostly as a pinch runner or defensive replacement. He has only been sent to the plate five times, going hitless in those with two strikeouts.
He has received more playing time in the minors with his speed being his biggest asset. He only has 11 steals this year but has gotten that figure as high as 44, which came back in 2023. He has slashed .252/.332/.405 in 1,272 minor league plate appearances since the start of 2023.
Photo courtesy of Stephen Brashear, Imagn Images
Francisco Alvarez Could Play Through Thumb Injury But Will Require Surgery Eventually
The Mets placed catcher Francisco Alvarez on the 10-day injured list earlier today with a right thumb UCL sprain, announcing that he will be evaluated again in 10 to 14 days. Manager Carlos Mendoza later provided more information to reporters, including Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. Alvarez will require surgery at some point but the Mets are going to see if he can play through it before going under the knife. If he can’t play through it a few weeks from now, he could be done for the year.
It seems that the Mets and Alvarez are in a weird limbo area due to the calendar. Andy Martino of SNY relays that the typical recovery time for this thumb surgery is six to seven weeks. If he were to have it done now, it would essentially end his season.
The Mets are battling for a playoff spot and will instead see if Alvarez can be a factor for them later in the year. It might not work out but it doesn’t appear there’s a serious downside. Even if the surgery is delayed until the offseason, Alvarez should have time to recover for a normal offseason and be ready for spring training.
Alvarez struggled earlier this year and got optioned down to the minors for a spell. Since coming back up, he has been on a tear. His recent hot streak has brought his season-long line up to .265/.349/.438, which translates to a 126 wRC+.
As Alvarez has been hot, the club has been cold. The Mets have been sliding in the standings and their 66-58 record has them barely hanging onto a playoff spot, just one game up on the Reds. If there’s a chance of getting Alvarez back in the lineup for a few weeks, it’s understandable that they would try, especially when considering the alternatives. Luis Torrens is hitting .214/.280/.301 this year while Hayden Senger has a .174/.208/.196 line.
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Víctor Robles Given 10-Game Suspension For Bat-Throwing Incident
Major league baseball announced that Mariners outfielder Víctor Robles has received a 10-game suspension and an undisclosed fine from the league. The suspension will begin as soon as Robles is reinstated from the injured list, though Robles has filed an appeal and the suspension is being held in abeyance until the appeals process is complete. Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reported these details prior to the official announcement. Divish notes that the M’s would have to play a man short during the suspension.
Robles has been on the injured list for most of the year. Back in early April, he made a sensational catch in San Francisco but crashed into the sideline netting and dislocated his left shoulder, causing a small fracture in the humeral head of said shoulder.
A week ago, he was finally able to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Tacoma. During that week, he was hit by pitches multiple times, as shown in this video breakdown from Jomboy Media. Though he was hit five times, only three of them were technically counted as hit-by-pitches, with the other two counting as swings. Regardless, the final incident saw Robles hit by Joey Estes of the Las Vegas Aviators. Of the five times Robles was hit, three of them were out of the hand of Estes, though the final two were counted as swinging strikes.
Regardless of how it was scored, Robles was clearly upset and threw his bat towards the pitcher’s mound. It doesn’t appear as though it hit Estes or anyone else, but major league baseball is understandably taking a firm stance against a player using his bat in this dangerous manner and sending Robles a message.
President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto spoke to members of the media, including Adam Jude of the Seattle Times, noting that the club tentatively planned to reinstate Robles from the IL next week but those plans may change with the suspension. Divish suggests that perhaps the best plan is to reinstate Robles on September 1st, so that the M’s can at least play with a 27-man roster, though that would push his reinstatement into the middle of September. Reinstating him earlier would mean playing with a 25-man roster for a while, though that would also mean Robles would be able to be reinstated for more games.
It’s also unclear how long the appeals process will take. Sometimes, players appealing a suspension will hang in limbo until their team goes to New York, where the MLB head offices are located. The M’s don’t play in New York again this year, so it’s not clear when the appeal would be scheduled for. Robles being in the minors could also complicate factors. The M’s would surely love for the appeal to drag out into the winter and for Robles to serve his suspension next year, since they are currently in a playoff race, though MLB presumably wouldn’t let it play out like that.
Photo courtesy of Stephen Brashear, Imagn Images
Mariners Select Sauryn Lao
The Mariners announced a series of roster moves today, including the previously-reported reinstatement of Bryce Miller from the 15-day injured list. They also selected the contract of fellow righty Sauryn Lao. To open active roster spots for those two, righties Jackson Kowar and Casey Legumina were both optioned to Triple-A Tacoma. To open a 40-man spot for Lao, righty Trent Thornton has been transferred to the 60-day injured list.
Last night, Seattle starter Logan Gilbert had a surprisingly rough start. He lasted only two innings against the Phillies but not before allowing six runs. To get through the rest of the game, the M’s got three innings from Carlos Vargas, two from Legumina and one from Kowar. Legumina tossed 38 pitches and Kowar 30.
Miller is starting tonight and it’s unclear how much length he can give. He has been on the IL for over two months due to elbow inflammation. He got to 5 2/3 innings and 76 pitches in his most recent rehab start. It’s possible he could give the M’s something like that tonight but there’s also some natural uncertainty. To freshen up the bullpen behind Miller, the M’s have sent out Kowar and Legumina to bring in Lao.
Lao was selected to the roster in April. He got to make his major league debut on April 22nd, tossing one and two thirds scoreless innings. He was optioned to the minors the next day and designated for assignment a week later. He cleared outright waivers, allowing the Mariners to bring him back in a non-roster capacity.
Interestingly, the M’s have been stretching him out in Triple-A, even though he’s primarily been a reliever throughout his career. He has thrown 66 innings over 21 appearances this year with a flat earned run average of 3.00. He has struck out 26.3% of batters faced while limiting walks to a 6.7% clip. That should allow him to provide the M’s with multiple innings of relief, if needed.
As for Thornton, it was reported a couple of weeks ago that he is done for the season due to a torn left Achilles tendon. He will be spending the rest of the year on the IL. He is making $2MM in 2025 and could be retained for 2026 via arbitration. However, given his health uncertainty, it’s entirely possible the Mariners decide to non-tender him.
Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images
Braves Claim Jake Fraley
The Braves announced that they have claimed outfielder Jake Fraley off waivers from the Reds. Cincinnati designated him for assignment a couple of days ago. Atlanta has multiple 40-man vacancies. They will need to open an active roster spot once Fraley reports to the team, as he can’t be optioned to the minors without his consent.
Fraley has had some major league success but isn’t having his best season. He has had a couple of stints on the injured list, one due to left calf tenderness and another due to a right shoulder sprain. Those injuries limited him to 67 games with the Reds. His .232/.332/.387 batting line translated to a 98 wRC+, indicating he was 2% below league average. He only stole four bases, despite getting at least 20 in the previous two seasons.
The Reds squeezed him off their roster, opting to give some of his playing time to Will Benson as they are trying to make a playoff push. Atlanta is in a different situation, as they are out of contention this year. Fraley can be retained for 2026, so they can give him some playing time down the stretch to see if he’s worth tendering a contract for next year.
His career has had ups and downs but there are things to like in his profile, particularly his ability to succeed with the platoon advantage. A left-handed hitter, he has a career .260/.344/.434 line and 112 wRC+ against righties. Against southpaws, that line is just .172/.269/.234, leading to a 45 wRC+. As mentioned, he can swipe a few bags as well. He only has four this year but got 21 in 2023 and 20 last year.
Defensively, the reviews are mixed. Playing all three spots, he’s been credited with four Outs Above Average in his career. Defensive Runs Saved gives him a far worse grade of -9. However, DRS hates his work in center and right field but likes him in left.
Fraley is making $3.125MM this year and, as mentioned, can be retained for next year via arbitration. This year’s injuries will limit his ability to earn a massive raise. Atlanta evidently feels there’s a possibility to him serving a role on next year’s club, so they have grabbed him today.
Atlanta’s current outfield mix includes Ronald Acuña Jr., Jurickson Profar, Michael Harris II, Eli White and Vidal Bruján. They have Marcell Ozuna as the designated hitter on a regular basis but he’s an impending free agent. It’s possible the club wants to use next year’s DH spot to get more at-bats for the catching duo of Drake Baldwin and Sean Murphy, but they could also rotate some outfielders through there. It’s been speculated that they might make Murphy available in trades this winter to give the job to Baldwin and clear some payroll space. Others have speculated that they might make Profar available since he got hit with a PED suspension shortly after signing. Trading either would open up some more playing time for others.
Those are questions still to be answered in the long run. Atlanta is not committed to including Fraley in next year’s plans as they could always non-tender him after 2024. For now, Fraley will jump into the current outfield mix. Perhaps Acuña will get some time off his feet down the stretch since his health has been touch-and-go this year. He was still recovering from last year’s ACL tear at the start of the 2025 campaign. More recently, he missed a few weeks due to a calf strain.
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White Sox Option Sean Burke
The White Sox announced today that right-hander Sean Burke has been optioned to Triple-A Charlotte. Fellow righty Owen White has been recalled in a corresponding move. Per Scott Merkin of MLB.com, left-hander Martín Pérez will start Wednesday’s game.
Burke came into this season with just 19 big league innings under his belt. He broke camp with a job in the season-opening rotation and has held it until today. His results have generally been decent. He has made 24 appearances. Only 20 of those were technically starts, as he pitched behind an opener four times. He has logged 117 2/3 innings with a 4.28 earned run average. His 21.1% strikeout rate is just barely below league average for a starter this year. His 10.3% walk rate is more than two ticks worse than par.
Despite his generally cromulent performance, there are a few reasons the Sox are probably sending him down. Monitoring his workload is likely one of them. His highest innings total as a minor leaguer was 108, back in 2022. Shoulder troubles limited him to just 36 2/3 innings in 2023. Last year, between the majors and minors, he got to 90 2/3.
Here in 2025, he’s already shot past his personal high. It’s possible the Sox have already been dialing things back for him, as they haven’t let him go longer than five innings since July 2nd. He didn’t get through four innings in his most recent two outings. Optioning him down to the minors makes it easier to continue down that path.
On top of that, the Sox also recently welcomed Pérez back from the injured list. They also selected Yoendrys Gómez to the roster after getting him stretched out in the minors. Giving rotation spots to those two led to Jonathan Cannon and now Burke getting optioned out.
It also might not be a total coincidence that Burke is just shy of getting to one year of service time. He came into this season with 20 service days. By my count, he has added 144 days to that so far in 2025, bringing him to 164. A year rolls over at 172, so Burke is eight days away from that line.
It’s possible he could come back up as a September call-up and get over the one-year marker. If he does, then he would have a path to reaching six years of service and free agency after 2030. If not, the Sox will add an extra year of club control for themselves, as he wouldn’t be able to reach free agency until after 2031.
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Tigers Reinstate Alex Lange From 60-Day Injured List
The Tigers announced that right-hander Alex Lange has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. Left-hander Bailey Horn has been optioned to Triple-A Toledo in a corresponding active roster move. The 40-man roster had a vacancy but is now full.
It’s been quite an odyssey for Lange in recent years. He took over the closer’s role in Detroit in 2023, recording 26 saves that year. He tossed 66 innings with a 3.68 earned run average. His 15.6% walk rate was awful but he struck out 27.4% of batters faced while getting grounders on 50.6% of balls in play.
His results backed up early in 2024. He started the season with a 4.34 ERA through 18 2/3 innings. His 23.3% strikeout rate, 18.9% walk rate and 45.8% ground ball rate all moved in the wrong direction relative to the year before.
The Tigers optioned him to the minors in late May. He injured himself a few weeks later, requiring lat surgery in mid-June. The Tigers didn’t announce an expected recovery timeline but it has taken Lange 14 months to get back to the majors. They put him on the major league 60-day IL when they signed John Brebbia back in February.
Now Lange finally gets a chance to get things back on track after all those challenges. For what it’s worth, his recent rehab numbers have been similar to his previous performance. He tossed 13 1/3 Triple-A innings with a 4.73 ERA, 31.5% strikeout rate, 13% walk rate and 62.1% ground ball rate.
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