Braves Claim Connor Seabold Off Waivers From Rays
The Braves have claimed right-hander Connor Seabold off waivers from the Rays, as announced by the Rays this afternoon. He was designated for assignment on Friday. David O’Brien of The Athletic notes that Seabold has been optioned to Triple-A, while right-hander Domingo González has been designated for assignment to open a space on the 40-man roster.
Seabold, 29, pitched for the Red Sox from 2021-22, the Rockies in 2023, and the Rays in 2025. Initially drafted by the Phillies in 2017, he was traded to Boston in August 2020. After starting a total of six games for the Red Sox and giving up 26 runs (25 earned) on 38 hits in 21 1/3 innings, he was DFA’d and traded to the Rockies. He filled a swingman role for Colorado in 2023, tossing 87 1/3 frames with a 7.52 ERA and 5.03 SIERA.
The Rockies released Seabold the following winter, and he signed a one-year pact with the KBO’s Samsung Lions. A successful year overseas (3.43 ERA and 158 strikeouts in 28 starts) earned him a minor league contract with the Rays this past February. However, he only made it into three games across two short stints with the big league club before he was DFA’d. While he pitched just fine in those three appearances (6 2/3 IP, 1 ER, 5 K), the problem was his performance at Triple-A Durham. In 16 games (10 starts), he allowed 44 runs, including 14 homers, with a concerning 57:26 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Nevertheless, the Braves must see something they like in Seabold. He will provide depth at Triple-A Gwinnett for now, and perhaps he’ll eventually contribute to a pitching staff that has been ravaged by injuries this year.
As for González, 25, the Braves will now risk losing the right-hander on waivers before he ever had the chance to pitch for their big league team. Originally a prospect in the Pirates organization, he went to the Braves in the minor league portion of the 2022 Rule 5 draft. Two years later, the Braves added him to their 40-man to prevent him from qualifying for minor league free agency. Yet, he hasn’t been as effective at Triple-A this year as he was last year, never impressing the front office enough to earn a call-up to the big league club. If González passes through waivers unclaimed, the Braves can outright him back to Gwinnett, but he’ll be eligible for minor league free agency again at the end of the season.
Tigers Place Matt Vierling On 10-Day IL With Oblique Strain
The Tigers announced today that they have placed Matt Vierling on the 10-day injured list with a left oblique strain. Trey Sweeney was recalled to take his place on the active roster. Manager A.J. Hinch told reporters, including Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic, that the strain is “mild.” Yet, with just seven weeks left in the regular season, it’s not out of the question that Vierling could be done for the year. Hinch, however, remains optimistic, saying, “We have not eliminated the chance for him to come back.”
Vierling played a big part in Detroit’s surprising success last year but hasn’t been able to contribute much in 2025. He missed the first two months of the season with a rotator cuff strain in his throwing arm and only made it back for four games in late May before inflammation in the same shoulder shelved him for another month. When healthy, he has struggled to impact the baseball. His hard-hit rate is roughly in line with his career average, and his barrel rate is a career high, but his power numbers have never been worse. He has just three doubles and one home run in 31 games, good for a .307 slugging percentage. His .068 isolated power is the worst on the team (min. 100 PA).
Hinch told reporters yesterday, including Christian Romo of the Detroit Free Press, that Vierling had been nursing “intermittent soreness” in his oblique throughout August. Evidently, the issue eventually proved serious enough for the outfielder to hit the IL.
For now, the Tigers can move Javier Báez back to center field in Vierling’s place. Wenceel Pérez is another option to play the position; he suffered a right foot contusion on Saturday, but tests came back negative. He expects to be available today off the bench (per Evan Woodberry of MLive.com). As for Sweeney, he can cover at shortstop when Báez is playing the outfield. At some point further down the line, however, Detroit will hope to have Parker Meadows back as the everyday center fielder. He has been out with a quad strain since late July. While he doesn’t yet have a timeline to return, Hinch told Chris McCosky of The Detroit News that Meadows is “doing better and better” in his rehab. The skipper said the Tigers are trying to move him along “as fast as [they] can” without causing a setback.
Yankees Place Amed Rosario On 10-Day Injured List
The Yankees have placed utility player Amed Rosario on the 10-day injured list with a left SC joint sprain. The team announced the move this morning, ahead of their afternoon matchup with the Astros. To replace Rosario on the active roster, they recalled catcher J.C. Escarra from Triple-A.
The 29-year-old Rosario signed a one-year, $2MM contract with the Nationals over the offseason, and Washington sent him to New York ahead of the trade deadline last month. While he slashed a respectable .270/.310/.426 (104 wRC+) in 47 games with the Nationals, he hit the ground running with his new team, going 3-for-7 with a double over his first four games. The Yankees acquired him to help against left-handed pitching, and that’s precisely what he did, taking six of his seven plate appearances against southpaws.
Rosario is no longer an everyday player like he was during his years with the Mets and Guardians, but he remains a productive short-side platoon bat. He has a career .801 OPS and 121 wRC+ against opposite-handed opponents, and he’s only improved those numbers in 2025, with an .838 OPS and 132 wRC+ with the platoon advantage. Rosario also offers value through versatility. Once an everyday shortstop, he now sees more time at second and third base and can also cover a corner outfield spot.
Unfortunately for the Yankees, Rosario is the second of their recently acquired righty bats to hit the shelf this month; outfielder Austin Slater suffered a hamstring strain and won’t be back for about four to six weeks. As for Rosario, he injured his non-throwing shoulder running into the outfield wall on Friday, but the sprain does not seem to be serious. According to Chris Kirschner of The Athletic, Rosario does not expect to be out for any more than the minimum of 10 days.
In his place, the Yankees will have to rely a little more heavily on fellow righty-batting utility player José Caballero. Escarra is a lefty bat (of which the Yankees already have many), but with Aaron Judge leading an offense that also features Giancarlo Stanton, Paul Goldschmidt, Anthony Volpe, Caballero, and the switch-hitting Jasson Domínguez, it’s not as if the team is devoid of right-handed bats. In fact, the Yankees lead the majors in OPS and wRC+ against left-handed pitching.
Phillies Recall David Robertson
The Phillies announced today that they have recalled right-handed reliever David Robertson for his 2025 debut. In a corresponding move, fellow righty Alan Rangel was optioned to Triple-A. If Robertson appears in today’s game, he’ll be facing his team from last season, the Rangers.
Robertson, who turned 40 in April, is gearing up for his 17th MLB season (and his third with the Phillies). Aside from an injury-plagued rough patch from 2019-21, he has been one of the best relievers in the league since his breakout season with the Yankees in 2009. In 876 2/3 career innings, he owns a 66-46 record, 177 saves, and a sub-3.00 ERA. Just over 200 of those frames came in the past three years (2022-24), when Robertson pitched to a 2.82 ERA with a strikeout rate over 30%. He ranked among the top 10 relievers in innings pitched and Win Probability Added (WPA).
So, it was more than a little surprising that Robertson, no. 47 on MLBTR’s Top 50 Free Agents list, failed to secure a contract this past offseason. It wasn’t until mid-July that he signed with the Phillies on a prorated one-year, $16MM deal that will ultimately pay him about $6MM in 2025. While $6MM is well below the $11MM salary MLBTR predicted for Robertson on a one-year deal and the $10MM salary Robertson was reportedly seeking in the offseason, the $16MM value of his contract technically makes him one of the highest-paid relievers in the game this year.
There is little question that Robertson’s advanced age is what gave potential suitors pause during the offseason. The question now is if their resistance to sign him becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. The veteran showed last season that he was still one of the game’s elite relievers at 39 years old. However, he’s now trying to get back to that level after missing spring training and the first four-plus months of the year. If his shaky performance during his handful of Triple-A outings is any indication, he could be in for a rough adjustment period in the majors. With only seven weeks left to play before October, that adjustment period could end up being most of his season.
The Phillies will hope Robertson can pick up right where he left off last year. Their bullpen has done well as of late, but on the year, it hasn’t been the strength it was in 2023 or ’24. Offseason signing Jordan Romano has not been able to rediscover his All-Star form from 2020-23, while long-tenured fireballer José Alvarado has missed much of the season on a PED suspension. He’ll be back soon but won’t be eligible to pitch in the playoffs. The addition of Jhoan Duran is already helping – he has three saves in three perfect appearances – but the Phillies could certainly use another high-leverage arm to join Duran, Orion Kerkering, and Matt Strahm as the club looks to go on a deep postseason run.
Phillies, Blue Jays Could Consider Six-Man Rotations
Both the Phillies and Blue Jays are hoping to bolster their starting rotations by reinstating an All-Star right-hander from the injured list later this month. Aaron Nola has not pitched for Philadelphia since mid-May, when he hit the IL with a sprained ankle. While he was originally expected back in June, he suffered a stress reaction in his rib cage that prolonged his IL stint. He is now finally nearing his return. Earlier this month, MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki reported that Nola could rejoin the Phillies after three rehab outings; he has since made his first two, striking out six over 6 2/3 total innings at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, giving up one earned run on seven hits. Per Lochlahn March of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Nola is expected to make his next (and possibly final) rehab start this Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Shane Bieber has been recovering from Tommy John surgery since last April. A free agent over the winter, he re-signed with the Guardians, but Cleveland flipped him to Toronto ahead of last month’s trade deadline. He had already begun a rehab assignment in the Guardians system, and he picked up right where he left off with his new team, tossing five innings of two-run ball for the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons last weekend and 5 2/3 yesterday afternoon. Blue Jays manager John Schneider told reporters (including Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi) that Bieber will most likely require one more rehab start before he’s ready to make his 2025 debut.
When Nola and Bieber return, their teams will have to figure out how to integrate them into rotations that have been functioning just fine in their absence. Since Nola last pitched on May 14, Phillies starters rank second in MLB in ERA but first in FIP, xFIP, SIERA, strikeout-to-walk ratio, innings per start, and FanGraphs WAR. Their current starting five includes Cy Young contenders Zack Wheeler and Cristopher Sánchez; Ranger Suárez, who might have been a Cy Young candidate himself if he hadn’t missed the first five weeks of the season; Jesús Luzardo, whose peripherals have stayed strong, even though his ERA has shot up after a hot start; and Taijuan Walker, who has bounced back from a dreadful 2024 campaign to post an ERA in the mid-3.00s as both a starter and a reliever.
Nola had a rough stretch of starts to begin the season, pitching to a 6.16 ERA in his first nine outings. Yet, it’s important to consider that a nine-run blow-up outing two days before he hit the IL significantly affected his surface-level stats. Moreover, several of his underlying numbers suggest he was much better to start the 2025 campaign than his ERA would have you think. His 3.77 SIERA this year is almost identical to his 3.72 SIERA from 2023-24, and while his FIP sits at 5.04, his xFIP is a much more respectable 3.65. He also boasts a lengthy track record of major league success. Long story short, there is no question he will have a spot in Philadelphia’s rotation upon his return.
The most straightforward course of action for the Phillies once Nola comes back would be to move Walker back to the bullpen. While he has pitched to a 3.48 ERA in 13 starts, his 4.64 SIERA out of the rotation is much less promising. It’s also impossible to forget just how much he struggled as a starter last season, producing a 7.18 ERA and 5.11 SIERA in 15 starts. However, the Phillies might also want to take advantage of the fact that Walker is throwing well right now. After all, most teams don’t have the luxury of six healthy, MLB-caliber starting pitchers.
Luzardo missed significant time with injuries in 2022 and ’24, and only once has he pitched a full, qualified season. Suárez has never qualified for the ERA title, topping out at 155 1/3 innings in 2022. Before this year, Nola could claim to be the most durable pitcher in the game, but his health is now something of a question mark. Wheeler’s health, too, is something to monitor after he underwent an MRI for shoulder soreness earlier this month (per The Athletic’s Matt Gelb). It came back clean, and the team doesn’t appear to be worried, but Wheeler is 35 and critical to his team’s World Series aspirations. Finally, Sánchez hasn’t given the Phillies any reason to worry so far, but the one-two punch of Wheeler and Sánchez has been paramount to Philadelphia’s success in 2025. Keeping both of them at full strength is a top priority.
So, it’s not hard to understand why a six-man rotation might appeal to manager Rob Thomson, especially with his club having just begun a stretch of 24 games in 25 days. Indeed, Charlotte Varnes of The Athletic reports that the skipper will at least consider switching to a six-man cycle when Nola comes off the IL.
It’s worth noting that the Phillies also thought about using a six-man rotation earlier this season, only to ultimately stick with the traditional five-man setup. When Suárez was nearing his return from the IL in May, Thomson fielded questions about adding Suárez to a group that already included Wheeler, Sánchez, Nola, Luzardo, and Walker. Could it happen? “Possibly,” he said at the time. “We’re kind of walking through that a little bit right now” (per Noah Levick of NBC Sports Philadelphia). Yet, Gelb suggested the Phillies were “highly unlikely” to go with a six-man rotation, and he proved to be correct. The circumstances are undoubtedly different in August than they were in May, but there’s a good chance the same outcome will prevail, and the Phillies will return to the five-man rotation they had always planned to use before injuries got in the way.
Toronto’s rotation has not been nearly as strong as Philadelphia’s this year, but the Blue Jays have been in much better shape since Eric Lauer forced his way into the starting rotation and Max Scherzer came back from the injured list, joining the steady and reliable trio of Kevin Gausman, José Berríos, and Chris Bassitt. Dating back to the week of Scherzer’s return, Blue Jays starters have a 4.00 ERA in 41 games. They rank 10th in both SIERA (3.93) and FanGraphs WAR (3.1). That’s a notable improvement from their performance over the three months prior, when they pitched to a 4.65 ERA (26th in MLB), a 4.16 SIERA (18th), and just 2.7 fWAR (27th) in almost twice as many games.
As is the case for the Phillies, there is really only one solution if the Blue Jays want to keep a five-man rotation when Bieber joins the squad: move Lauer to the bullpen. However, Lauer has been far more than just a stopgap for Toronto. In 18 games (12 starts), the southpaw has a 2.59 ERA and 3.62 SIERA. He has yet to allow more than three earned runs or seven hits in a start this year. His middling stuff and unimpressive track record are valid causes for concern, but there’s no denying how well he’s pitched. Since he formally joined the starting staff in mid-June, one would be hard-pressed to argue he hasn’t been better than all four of his much more established rotation-mates.
Much like with Nola, there is no question that Bieber, the 2020 AL Cy Young winner, will have a spot in Toronto’s rotation when he’s ready for it. Thus, Schneider told Davidi that a six-man rotation is “a definite possibility,” at least for “10 days or two weeks.” Needless to say, such an arrangement would be great for Lauer. Not only would he get to keep his job in the rotation a little longer, but some extra rest would probably do him well, considering he’s never pitched a full, qualified season. Extra rest would also benefit the injury-prone, 41-year-old Scherzer and the returning Bieber. On the other hand, it might not please the workhorses Gausman, Berríos, and Bassitt, each of whom has pitched just about every five games like clockwork since he arrived in Toronto. Unlike the Phillies, the Blue Jays have several off-days coming up, so a six-man rotation could mean that, at times, their starters would go a week between outings. Any potential benefits of a six-man rotation would be cancelled out if the extra time off negatively impacts any of their veteran arms. The Blue Jays would also have to consider the fact that their bullpen, a group that has struggled to a 8.48 ERA over the last two weeks, would be pitching one man down.
Images in article courtesy of Reggie Hildred, Imagn Images (Nola) and Ross Cameron, USA TODAY Sports (Bieber).
Rob Manfred Downplays Salary Cap Dispute With Bryce Harper
An altercation between MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and Phillies star Bryce Harper made headlines in July, with the two-time MVP reportedly standing “nose to nose” with the commissioner and telling him he could “get the [expletive] out of our clubhouse” if he was going to talk about implementing a salary cap (per ESPN’s Jeff Passan). Manfred was holding his annual meeting with the Phillies’ players at Citizens Bank Park.
Reports from Passan and the New York Post’s Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman differ on when the confrontation occurred. Passan writes that Harper sat quietly for most of the meeting, which lasted over an hour, before tensions boiled over and he approached the commissioner. In contrast, Heyman and Sherman write that his comments came “about five minutes into” Manfred’s opening remarks. Regardless of certain discrepancies, what’s clear is that, while Manfred never directly mentioned a salary cap, Harper believed it was implied. He felt strongly enough to claim that players “are not scared to lose 162 games” in their fight against a cap (per Passan). He also questioned what Manfred has ever done “to benefit the players” (per Heyman and Sherman). Despite Harper’s comments, Manfred stayed to finish the meeting, doubling down on the importance of talking about, in Passan’s words, “threats to MLB’s business and ways to grow the game.”
Afterwards, Harper’s teammate Nick Castellanos described the ordeal to ESPN as intense and passionate, and he seemed to confirm it went both ways. “The commissioner [was] giving it back to Bryce and Bryce [was] giving it back to the commissioner,” he explained.
Afterwards, Manfred declined to comment to ESPN or the New York Post, while Harper later told reporters (including Bob Cooney of NBC Sports Philadelphia): “You guys saw what was in the article. But I won’t be getting into the details of what happened or how I felt or anything else like that…I’m just trying to worry about baseball…Everybody saw the words and everything that happened. I don’t want to say anything more than that.”
Harper continued: “I’ve talked labor and I’ve done it in a way that I don’t think I need to talk to the media about it…I’ve always been very vocal, just not in a way that people can see.”
Yesterday, however, Manfred spoke at Wrigley Field to announce that the Cubs would host the 2027 All-Star Game, and he finally addressed his dispute with Harper, claiming: “It was an individual picking a particular way to express himself, and I don’t think you need to make more out of that than that” (per Patrick Mooney of The Athletic).
Perhaps that’s true. Yet, there is no denying it would be in Manfred’s best interests to downplay his altercation with one of the most influential players in the league. It’s also in his best interests to believe this was an isolated incident of an “individual” expressing himself rather than a reflection of how many players feel across all 30 teams.
With the current collective bargaining agreement between MLB and the MLBPA set to expire on December 1, 2026, it’s no secret that several owners are interested in instituting a salary cap. Indeed, according to ESPN’s Jorge Castillo, the MLBPA believes Manfred is pushing for a cap in his clubhouse meetings this year – even if he isn’t using those exact words. Unsurprisingly, the players association is strongly against a cap, arguing it would primarily serve to artificially suppress player salaries rather than increase parity around the league or help to grow the game.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the All-Star Game last month, MLBPA executive director Tony Clark described a salary cap as “institutionalized collusion” (per Castillo). “A cap is not about growing the game,” he said. “A cap is about franchise values and profits. That’s what a cap is about.”
What’s more, while Manfred might not be willing to say “salary cap,” he has already mentioned the possibility of a lockout. Back in March, Clark said that he is expecting a work stoppage after the 2026 season, and many around the league are concerned about the possibility of contentious CBA negotiations eating into the 2027 campaign. It’s not hard to guess what the sticking point in those negotiations might be.
Castellanos told Hannah Keyser and Zach Crizer of The Bandwagon (who first reported on the “heated” meeting between Manfred and the Phillies) that the commissioner was “very eloquently speaking around” the idea of a salary cap. He later said to ESPN: “Rob seems to be in a pretty desperate place on how important it is to get this salary cap because he’s floating the word ‘lockout’ two years in advance of our collective bargaining agreement [expiring].”
Manfred began holding annual meetings with each team’s players three years ago, following the lockout that lasted much of the 2021-22 offseason and delayed the start of the 2022 campaign. One reason for these meetings? He wants to communicate directly to the players rather than have his messages go through the MLBPA. During a recent investor event held by the Braves, he said: “The strategy is to get directly to the players. I don’t think the leadership of this union is anxious to lead the way to change. So we need to energize the workforce in order to get them familiar with or supportive of the idea that maybe change in the system could be good for everybody” (per The Athletic’s Evan Drellich).
One way to read those comments? Manfred knows the MLBPA is staunchly opposed to a salary cap. It certainly seems as if he’s hoping to pit the union’s membership against the union’s leadership, in an effort the push through changes that would, in Clark’s words: “add to the owners’ profits and franchise values, while prohibiting clubs from fully competing to put the best product on the field for the fans and limiting player compensation, guarantees and flexibility” (per Drellich).
If Harper’s reaction is any indication, Manfred might not be having as much success connecting with players as he hoped, even as he has, at times, been accompanied at his clubhouse meetings by respected former players in the Commissioner’s Ambassador Program (CAP). But at least for now, the commissioner insists it’s not that serious: “I think more has been made out of this than needs to be made out of it. Bryce expressed his views. At the end of the meeting, we shook hands and went our separate ways. Not all that significant” (per Andrew Seligman of the Associated Press).
Photo in article courtesy of Bill Streicher, Imagn Images.
Orioles Claim Ryan Noda Off Waivers
The Orioles have claimed first baseman and corner outfielder Ryan Noda off waivers from the White Sox, both teams announced. Baltimore has several open spots on the 40-man roster following the trade deadline, so no corresponding move was necessary. Noda has been optioned to Triple-A. It had not been previously announced or reported that he was placed on waivers. The White Sox also announced that right-hander Jesse Scholtens has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list and optioned to Triple-A Charlotte.
Noda, 29, made his MLB debut as a Rule 5 pick with the A’s in 2023. It wasn’t hard for him to convince them to keep him on the 26-man roster all year, as he showed good power and great plate discipline en route to a .770 OPS and 122 wRC+. He hit 22 doubles and 16 home runs, and his 15.6% walk rate would have led the AL had he taken the seven more plate appearances he would have needed to qualify. Unfortunately for Noda, he could not keep it up the following year, and after a dismal start, he ended up spending most of the season at Triple-A Las Vegas.
The Angels claimed Noda off waivers following the 2024 season, but he failed to earn a spot on the Opening Day roster in 2025. After six weeks of continued struggles with Triple-A Salt Lake, he was designated for assignment and traded to the Red Sox. Barely two weeks later, it was the Red Sox’s turn to DFA him and the White Sox who scooped him up. It was with Chicago that he finally made his season debut. He appeared in 16 games with the White Sox in June and July, going 3-for-34, though he still managed to draw an impressive 10 walks.
Now the Orioles will give Noda a chance as depth. Considering how many bats they traded away at the deadline, it’s hardly out of the question that he could earn a call-up at some point later in August or September. It would certainly help if he starts hitting better at Triple-A than he has so far this year. In 58 games, he is batting .194 with a 103 wRC+. He’s had no trouble drawing walks, but he strikes out a ton. Noda is only two years removed from being an above-average major league bat, but he’s quickly losing the goodwill that season earned him. Figuring out how to punish minor league pitching like he once did would be a great first step as he looks to get back on track.
Royals Designate Thomas Hatch For Assignment
The Royals activated recent trade acquisitions Bailey Falter and Ryan Bergert this morning, ahead of their afternoon matchup with the Blue Jays. To make room on the roster, Jonathan Bowlan was optioned to Triple-A, while Thomas Hatch was designated for assignment. In additional news, the team also announced that Michael Massey has been returned from a rehab assignment.
Hatch, 30, was selected onto the roster earlier this week, taking the place of veteran Rich Hill. However, after bolstering the starting rotation with Falter and Bergert ahead of the trade deadline, the Royals no longer had a job for Hatch. He didn’t help his cause when he gave up two runs on a double and a homer last night in his team debut. (He was also selected to the roster earlier this season but did not appear in a game.)
The Cubs drafted Hatch in 2016, and he debuted with the Blue Jays in 2020. The right-hander went on to appear in parts of four seasons with Toronto, pitching to a 5.40 ERA and 4.81 SIERA in 46 2/3 innings as a long reliever and occasional starter. The Blue Jays DFA’d him during the 2023 season, and he finished the year with the Pirates, pitching to a 4.03 ERA and 4.48 SIERA in another 22 2/3 innings (two starts). Meanwhile, he pitched to a 4.63 ERA and 4.94 FIP over 46 2/3 innings with both teams’ Triple-A affiliates in his first minor league season as a primary reliever.
Hatch spent the 2024 season in Japan, pitching for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, with whom he returned to a starting role. He then signed with the KBO’s Doosan Bears for 2025, but his contract was later voided due to concerns over his physical. Eventually, he inked a minor league deal with the Royals instead. Over 18 starts (91 2/3 innings) with Triple-A Omaha this season, he pitched to a 4.22 ERA and 4.10 FIP, striking out batters at a mediocre 20.1% rate but inducing grounders on 52.9% of balls in play.
A team in need of some quick innings could put in a waiver claim on Hatch, but a lack of options hurts his case; any club that claims him would need to add him to the active roster. If he passes through waivers, he has the right to reject an outright assignment, having already been outrighted by the Royals once this year.
Massey landed on the IL with a left ankle sprain on June 10. He then suffered a hairline fracture in his right wrist after he was hit by a pitch during his first rehab assignment later that month. While he began another rehab assignment on July 18 – and MLB.com’s Anne Rogers reported at the time that pain from his injuries had decreased – he has not played in a game since July 30. Today, manager Matt Quatraro told Rogers that Massey’s back, which has caused him pain in the past, is giving him trouble again. The team will provide an update on his timeline after he goes for further evaluation.
Tanner Houck To Undergo Tommy John Surgery
Red Sox starting pitcher Tanner Houck will undergo Tommy John surgery. Manager Alex Cora broke the bad news to reporters today, including Christopher Smith of MassLive. The right-hander has been on the injured list since mid-May with a flexor pronator strain, and he was recently transferred to the 60-day IL after the team pulled him off a rehab assignment. Even in a best-case scenario, he will not return to the Red Sox until late in the 2026 season, and possibly not until 2027.
Boston’s first pick (24th overall) in 2017, Houck pitched well for the Sox from 2020-22 (3.02 ERA, 3.50 SIERA in 146 IP). Yet, rotation battles and a bad back kept him from earning a full-time job in the starting five until 2023, and a terrifying liner to the face that summer kept him from pitching his first full season until 2024. It proved to be a year worth waiting for, however, as Houck made 30 starts with a 3.12 ERA and earned an All-Star selection that summer.
Houck came into the 2025 season as Boston’s number two starter, but he struggled badly over the first six weeks of the year. He pitched to an 8.04 ERA with a 15.8% strikeout rate and 8.4% walk rate through nine starts. Those numbers were heavily affected by two different outings in which he gave 11 earned runs and failed to escape the third inning. In fact, as MLBTR noted back in May, “If those two games were scratched from the register, his ERA would drop to 3.92, and his strikeout and walk rates would look much closer to what they were last season.” That said, to overlook two starts of such poor quality would be a mistake. Something was clearly wrong.
Houck began a rehab assignment in mid-June. While he wasn’t particularly sharp in his first three rehab outings, he looked much better in the latter two, tossing a total of 9 1/3 innings while giving up just one run on six hits and two walks. He struck out 10. In his outing against the Rochester Red Wings on July 9, he averaged close to 95 mph on his sinker, topping out at 96.8. Yet, he has not pitched since. He suffered a setback, either during that start or sometime shortly after, and the Red Sox officially returned him from his rehab assignment on July 19. MLB.com’s Ian Browne reported at the time that the issue was most likely “a recurrence of the right pronator strain” that landed him on the IL in the first place.
Earlier this week, Chris Cotillo of MassLive reported that Houck was seeking more opinions on his arm. A couple of days later, the Red Sox transferred him to the 60-day IL, making room for trade acquisition Dustin May on the 40-man roster. Houck had already missed more than 60 days, so the move itself said nothing about his timeline, but chief baseball officer Craig Breslow seemed to imply the righty could be done for the season (per Cotillo). That is indeed the case, and now the question is if he will be able to return at all in 2026. The generally accepted timeline for a pitcher to return from UCL reconstruction is 12-18 months.
Breslow’s quiet trade deadline now looks even more disappointing. May adds depth to a pitching staff that has been severely hampered by injuries this year, but he’s not a high-upside arm. His days as a top-100 prospect are a ways behind him, and he has a 4.85 ERA and 4.30 SIERA in 19 games (18 starts) this year. He is also already well past his previous career-high in innings pitched. In other words, he’s not an arm the Red Sox can feel confident about starting in the playoffs (although they very well might have to). Until today, Red Sox fans could at least dream about Houck returning late in the season, pitching like he did in 2024, and taking the ball for game two of a postseason series. Now, however, that job will likely go to either Brayan Bello or Lucas Giolito, should the Red Sox hold onto their Wild Card spot.
Dodgers Activate Blake Snell
The Dodgers have activated Blake Snell from the 60-day injured list, the team announced this morning. The two-time Cy Young winner signed a five-year, $182MM contract with L.A. in the offseason but landed on the injured list with left shoulder inflammation after just two starts with his new team. As expected, he will start this afternoon against the Rays. Right-hander Paul Gervase, whom the Dodgers acquired as part of the three-team trade that sent Zack Littell to the Reds, has been optioned to the minor leagues. MLBTR’s Steve Adams reports that the Dodgers will make room for Snell on the 40-man roster by designating fellow left-hander Zach Penrod for assignment.
When healthy, Snell is one of the most fearsome pitchers in the game. While injuries limited him to just 20 starts last year in his lone season with the Giants, the southpaw produced a 3.12 ERA and 3.16 SIERA in 104 innings of work. The Dodgers will hope he enjoys similar success upon his return in 2025, though it’s worth keeping in mind that neither of the injuries that sidelined Snell in 2024 (nor the injuries that sidelined him in 2022 or 2021) were arm injuries. On the bright side, he was utterly dominant in his four rehab starts, striking out 24 minor league batters in 13 2/3 innings of work and touching 97 on the radar gun.
Perhaps no team has suffered as many pitching injuries as the Dodgers this season, but no team entered the season equipped with more pitching depth, either. With Snell back in the mix, L.A.’s rotation is finally starting to look like the supergroup fans imagined it could be in the offseason. The two-time ERA leader joins Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani, Clayton Kershaw, and Emmet Sheehan in what will be a six-man rotation for the time being. Considering all six of those pitchers have dealt with injuries over the past 12 months, manager Dave Roberts’s decision to move to a six-man rotation is easy to understand.
The Dodgers are enjoying yet another strong season, but they have not been the unstoppable force many expected them to be. Injuries have been a big reason why. According to FanGraphs, they are the closest team to a lock to make the playoffs (99.4% playoff odds), but their division odds took a notable hit after on trade deadline day. San Diego made a huge splash, adding Mason Miller, Ryan O’Hearn, Ramon Laureano, Nestor Cortes, Jorge Quintana, Freddy Fermin, and Will Wagner, while L.A. had a relatively quiet deadline, picking up Brock Stewart and Alex Call but parting with Dustin May. The Dodgers remain the clear frontrunners in the NL West and the favorites to win World Series, according to both the FanGraphs and PECOTA odds, but they are now relying on their many injured players to get healthy (and their many injury-prone players to stay healthy) more than ever.
The Dodgers acquired Penrod for cash consideration in June after the Red Sox designated him for assignment. The left-hander initially signed with the Rangers as an undrafted free agent in 2018, and went under the knife for Tommy John surgery the following year. He did not pitch in affiliated ball again until he signed a minor league pact with the Red Sox in August 2023.
Penrod made his MLB debut for Boston the following September, pitching four innings over seven games and giving up two runs (one earned). He struck out three and walked four. Unfortunately, a left elbow sprain kept him from competing for a spot in the Red Sox’s Opening Day bullpen this year, and not long after he returned from the IL, Boston cut him from the 40-man roster. Clearly, the Dodgers were intrigued enough to strike a trade and keep him on the 40-man for six weeks, but he failed to earn his way back to the majors. L.A. will now have to place Penrod on waivers, and perhaps the potential that attracted the Dodgers to his arm will convince another team to put in a claim in the coming days. He still has three option years remaining.