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Rays Claim Caleb Boushley

By Steve Adams | September 9, 2025 at 2:11pm CDT

The Rays have claimed right-hander Caleb Boushley off waivers from the Rangers, per a team announcement. Fellow righty Brian Van Belle was transferred from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL to make roster space.

Boushley, 32 next month, has pitched a career-high 43 1/3 innings with Texas in 2025 but has been tagged for an unsightly 6.02 earned run average in that time. However, he’s posted respectable strikeout and walk rates of 21.2% and 7.3% in that time, and he’s done a nice job keeping the ball in the park (1.04 HR/9). Boushley has been plagued by a sky-high .374 average on balls in play, which has surely contributed to his struggles in terms of stranding baserunners (just 58.7%).

Tampa Bay has placed two relievers — Van Belle and Mason Englert — on the injured list within the past five days. Boushley adds a fresh arm to the bunch, bringing those decent rate stats and the ability to be optioned to his new organization. He’ll give the club some flexible depth that is stretched out enough to throw multiple innings, if need be. Boushley has just one outing greater than an inning so far this month, but he tossed three innings of long relief with the Rangers as recently as Aug. 20.

Boushley didn’t make his big league debut until he was already 29 years old (with the Brewers in 2023). As such, despite being on the cusp of his 32nd birthday, he can be controlled for a full six seasons. Given his minimal track record, it’s unlikely that’s a prominent consideration right now, but if he impresses the Rays enough to stick on the 40-man roster this winter (or to re-sign as a minor league free agent in the event that he is cut loose), it could become part of the thinking in 2026.

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Tampa Bay Rays Texas Rangers Transactions Brian Van Belle Caleb Boushley

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MLBTR Chat Transcript

By Steve Adams | September 9, 2025 at 1:00pm CDT

Steve Adams

  • Good morning! We’ll get going at 1pm CT, but as always, feel free to send in questions ahead of time.
  • Happy Tuesday all — let’s get rolling

Bo Bichette

  • The Blue Jays cant really sign me if my price tag reaches $250-300 million right?  I mean you can barely call me a shortstop.  Any predictions?

Steve Adams

  • I don’t think anyone is going to sign Bichette at that price point. I suppose it’s always possible someone loses their mind and goes to Xander Bogaerts levels, but Bogaerts is the only prominently paid infield free agent who hit the market as a shortstop but with clear long-term doubts about his viability at the position. I have Bichette around $200MM flat, give or take $10-15MM either way, depending on market context, how he finishes, hits in the postseason, etc.I do think the Jays can afford to sign him long-term.

87 champs

  • Why are the Twins collecting left-handed hitting outfielders, including their top prospects?  Are Larnach and Walbeck gone during the off season?

Steve Adams

  • I’d be surprised if Larnach is back next year. They’ve had him for in the majors for parts of five seasons now, and he just kind of is what he is … defensively limited, big power, can’t hit lefties, good-not-great against righties.I don’t really understand why they acquired James Outman, particularly since he’s out of options next year, but I suppose he’ll be a fourth OF in 2026 with Buxton and two of Wallner/Jenkins/Rodriguez rounding things out (pending any offseason additions via trade or free agency — the former seemingly likelier than the latter)

PhilsPhansince1965

  • Low and high projections for a Ranger Suarez deal this winter?

Read more

Steve Adams

  • I don’t see any reason he comes in under Eduardo Rodriguez’s four-year, $80MM deal, and I think he has a good case to push into the Kevin Gausman/Robbie Ray range of $22-23MM annually over five years.

O’s close

  • Every time Ryan Helsley gets shelled with the Mets, his prospects for a big free agent contract fade. Looking like a 1-year pillow contract for a team desperate for a closer, like the Orioles, right?

Steve Adams

  • His stock was already down after a good-not-great run in St. Louis this year (still don’t know why they didn’t trade him in the winter). It comes down to a matter of preference for him, probably. I’m sure plenty of teams would love to “buy low” on a weighty one-year deal (still worth $10MM+). Helsley could go that route, try to rebound, and look for the big long-term deal next winter. But he’s already 31 (32 next July), and if he takes another step back, his chances of a lucrative long-term deal are shot.There are probably teams still willing to bet on the stuff and track record to put forth two- and three-year deals with more modest AAVs than he’d have gotten with a typical Helsley season. Does he want to go like 1/15 and try again, or would he take 2/26 or 3/30 and max out right now?Those are the scenarios I expect he’ll have to weigh.

Don Kelly

  • Is there any chance the Pirates DON’T bring me back next year? If so what would be there reason not to. I’ve managed the team to a 0.491 win % as opposed to Shelty’s 0.316%

Steve Adams

  • At this point, I’d be surprised if he’s not back. Your mileage may vary on whether that’s a good or bad thing, but I’m kind of in the “it doesn’t matter all that much as long as Nutting owns this team,” honestly.At the very least, I don’t think Kelly has done anything to hurt his chances of keeping the job for a few years beyond the current season.

Merrill Kelly

  • How do you like my chances of a three-year deal?

Steve Adams

  • You can see in our handy Contract Tracker (cheap plug!) that he’d be just the third SP in the past decade to get three guaranteed years in a deal that starts with his age-37 season or later
    https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/contracttracker?name=&team=0&position=S…
  • I think two is far likelier
  • (Scherzer and Rich Hill were the others … long live Mad Max and Dick Mountain)

Billy Heywood

  • Bregman will surely opt out, does he stay or go? What does his next contract look like?

Steve Adams

  • Yeah I don’t see any way he passes on the opt-out, barring some awful injury here in the final few weeks.Red Sox will be in the mix to keep him. Cubs, Tigers, Jays, Phillies all seem like viable alternatives. (I’d say Mariners, but they just don’t spend at this level on free agents under Dipoto)A five-year deal in the $160-170MM range feels safe/conservative, but I wouldn’t entirely rule out six years and $30MM+ annually.

Guest

  • As a long-time Mets fan, it seems clear that a miss of the playoffs is looming over us 🙂  But should we make it, I know that Tong and McLean are eligible, but will Sproat be eligible for a playoff roster? Otherwise, this may be the most disastrous pitching staff the Mets assembled since the late 1970s.

Steve Adams

  • Sproat is eligible, yes. You just need to be in the organization. (I wrote as much in his promotion post the other week) We’ve seen prospects who weren’t on the 40-man roster make their MLB debuts in the playoffs (Alex Kirilloff, Shane McClanahan, Adalberto Mondesi)He’d need to be an injury replacement, technically speaking, but they have no shortage of IL guys whose postseason roster spot he could effectively take over.

Matt M

  • Could the Padres look to dump Bogey? Say put him with Salas and J Estrada?

Steve Adams

  • He’s still owed eight years and $200MM, beginning in his age-33 season, and has posted basically league-average offensive numbers, Even if they paired him with Salas and Estrada and told another team “He’s all yours if you take the contract,” I highly doubt they’d find a taker at that rate.They can try to dump him, but it’s among the least tradeable contracts in the game.

Brian

  • What does Schwarber next deal look like?  33 next year, with one + trait …

Steve Adams

  • It’s not one plus trait — it’s one 80-grade trait (power) with plus plate discipline and probably a better hit tool than he gets credit for (not that it’s elite or anything). Every clubhouse he’s ever been in has absolutely raved about the leadership he brings and the benefit of having him around young players.Entering the season, I was squarely at like three years and $80-90MM since players of his age with his limited defensive ability just don’t get paid.I’ve completely thrown that out the window now and think he’s getting $30MM+ per season, probably over four years. If you told me 5/140, I’m not even sure I’d say it’s impossible.

    Some team is going to fall in love with him — in the Phillies case, a big-payroll club is already actively in love with him — and do something crazy.

Ryan

  • Would Donovan and Nootbaar be enough for Woo from the Mariners this offseason? Or is more likely Donovan and a prospect?

Steve Adams

  • Donovan/Noot isn’t even in the ballpark. And unless that unnamed prospect is like … JJ Wetherholt, I don’t think “Donovan + prospect” gets it done either. Four cheap years of a proven playoff-caliber starter like Woo is going to be priced exorbitantly on the trade market, even if you think he’s more like a very strong No. 2 than a true No. 1/ace (which is where I’m at).

Beachcomber

  • Odds on Braves retained Boros client HSK?

Steve Adams

  • I think he’ll just pick up the $16MM player option, but sure, there’s a chance they say “yeah this year was bad, but the SS market is terrible and we’re going to try to go get a frontloaded 3/39 with another opt-out,” I suppose. (Or another 2/30ish with an out)

woodruff

  • Will I receive and reject a qualifying offer?

Steve Adams

  • Yeah

BTinVT

  • Bergert got lit up last night. Was going well. Thoughts? Thank you.

Steve Adams

  • Lit up last night but otherwise quite good for both KC and SD. My colleague Anthony Franco and I were genuinely surprised the Royals pulled Bergert for Fermin at the deadline — and that was before we knew Kolek was in there too.I get the trade for the Padres but really like it for the Royals and think Bergert has a good chance to just be a solid No. 4 starter for them for the next several years.

Guest

  • How does AA redo next season? Pitching or offense or both? They’ve got the money

Steve Adams

  • Alex Anthopoulos got a headstart on the Braves’ offseason by claiming Kim. I think the bigger focus will be on deepening the rotation, just given all the injuries they’ve had, but the bench needs a lot of help too. Someone in the Willi Castro mold who can capably handle multiple infield and outfield positions would be prudent (though a lot of teams are going to have interest in Castro)

Justin

  • Does Devin Williams end up on the Angels next year?

Steve Adams

  • Angels love them some high-profile short-term guys like that

Guest

  • OK now that we know Volpe isn’t the answer do we trade him in the office season

Steve Adams

  • It wouldn’t shock me. I’d have said the Braves are a good fit before they claimed Kim, but they would be if Kim decides to opt out and test the market. Tigers, Marlins, Nats, Pirates… there are plenty of young clubs that I think  would be pretty intrigued with a buy-low scenario there, and he’s still young enough that he’d net a real return.Side note: remember all the “The Yankees can’t trade either Peraza or Volpe” talk a few years ago? Teams should be more willing to trade prospects than they are (and that extends well beyond the Bronx)

Make MLB Draft Like NFL Draft

  • Hi Steve. What do you think of the idea of MLB allowing the trading of draft picks during the draft like in the NFL? I think it could make an added dimension to the July trading deadline and make the draft more exciting?

Steve Adams

  • I think it’s nonsensical that MLB teams can’t trade standard draft picks (only the handful of Competitive Balance ones that are awarded every year … and that those can only be traded once)

I wish Mark Reynolds had hit 2 more career HRs

  • Travis Bazzana looks like he’s living up to his draft stock now at AAA

Steve Adams

  • Guardians’ Opening Day second baseman!

OZ

  • Is the turn-around in the performance of Bryce Elder for real?  In a dismal season, his re-emergence and the arrival of Hurston Waldrep have offered a glimmer of hope.  What moves do you envision Alex Anthopoulos making this Winter?

Steve Adams

  • Elder has had 4-5 really good starts, but he’s had a sub-.200 BABIP in there and stranded about 82% of his runners. He looks like the same guy to me … not as good as his random All-Star year but not nearly as bad as 2024 or even earlier this season. Modest stuff, decent command, passable but volatile fifth starter.Waldrep looks better, but he’s also getting by with a crazy-low BABIP, crazy-high strand rate and a minuscule homer-to-flyball rate — all of which looks unsustainable. Still more bullish on him long-term, but I wouldn’t expect him to be close to this good

DelightfulDon

  • Two Questions: Daylen Lile vs Dylen Crews – They both offer a different perspective and increasing potential. How do you see the Nats utilizing these players in 2026?  My second question is about STL closers.  JoJo and O’Brian have pitched well this year. Historically, between the two O’Brian would be the pick as JoJo is a lefty.  In 2026, how do you foresee the Cards managing their closers?

Steve Adams

  • Crews will get every opportunity to be a cornerstone outfielder. Lile feels more like a guy who you’re fine with as your starting LF while he’s cheap but who has a much more limited long-term ceiling.I would imagine that with one year of control remaining, JoJo Romero is getting traded this offseason. Riley O’Brien will be in the ’pen next year, but I would imagine a good bit of roster turnover in St. Louis this winter, so I expect the late-inning relief corps to look pretty different

Dave R.

  • Robbie Snelling has a 1.27 ERA in his last 12 minor league starts. Do the Marlins just hate him? I know he’s not on the 40-man, but there are plenty of guys who are that shouldn’t be.

Steve Adams

  • Could easily justify calling him up. My assumption is they don’t want to right now since they don’t need to add him to the 40-man this winter to protect him from the Rule 5. Keeping him in AAA effectively buys them an extra roster spot all winter, and they can just select him in camp next year or early in the season.

Early

  • Could Lodolo be on the move this coming offseason with two years of control?

Steve Adams

  • I could see the Reds listening, for sure. I don’t think they’ll necessarily shop him outright, but with Greene, Burns, Abbott, Lowder, Singer and Petty all around, plus Aguiar and Williamson still in the org and mending from injury, there’s decent pitching depth.Moving Singer is the safer bet, since he only has one pricey year of control left, but Lodolo would net a better return

Turang Test

  • Why does the Giants bullpen hate Justin Verlander?  Would his return to SF in ‘26 be contingent on pen upgrades?

Steve Adams

  • Yeah, he’s pitched decently but can’t seem to buy a win more often than not. I don’t think that in a vacuum, the bullpen would dissuade him from returning there. But in general, there are a lot of questions about San Francisco’s ability to contend next year, and I could see Verlander simply preferring to sign as a fifth starter for a more clear-cut contender.We’ll see what the Giants do early in the offseason, of course. If they come out and sign Kyle Tucker, Gleyber Torres and Edwin Diaz or something nutty like that, then Verlander obviously thinks differently about their chances of competing than he would at the outset of free agency.Bottom line: Verlander is going to be capped at one year, probably in the $10-15MM range again. A lot of teams will be interested.

Tom Kelly’s blues

  • If the Twins move Pablo Lopez and Joe Ryan this off season are they writing off 2026 and 2027?

Steve Adams

  • Yeah, if they move that pair, they’re basically waving the white flag and committing to a mini-rebuild. If they do go that route, the farm is already stacked — and will be further so due to those returns — and the long-term payroll outlook is nearly blank.I don’t think they’d need a yearslong rebuild, but that’s also an argument against them moving Ryan/Lopez at all. You could easily see them investing in the ’pen, a couple bats and leaning on their farm to quickly turn things around in a so-so division.But based on how the Pohlads have operated in recent years, I have a hard time keeping a straight face while talking about them jumping right back into free agency and win-now mode.

Doug

  • Has Cease pitched himself into a 2/3 year deal with opt outs and an AAV in the low to mid $20s?

Steve Adams

  • As with Helsley before, he’ll have various scenarios to consider. I do think a two-year deal worth, say, $45MM with an opt-out is one such scenario. Given the durability and the quality of his stuff, I have to imagine there are teams that would still put down a Gausman/Ray-esque five years and $110-120MM on him, thinking that it’s a bargain rate for someone with No. 1 upside and a relatively high floor.My assumption is that between those two options, Cease would go the short-term route and bet on himself, a la Blake Snell a couple winters ago.

Guest

  • What happens to Buehler next year?

Steve Adams

  • He signs a cheaper one-year deal than the one he did this past winter and takes another shot at bouncing back

Gaurdiansjoe

  • With clase facing a ban and Espino to injury prone to be a starter, will we be seeing him head to the bullpen (if he ever gets off the IR)?

Steve Adams

  • Espino has pitched like 18 innings since the end of the 2021 season. You can’t bank on ever getting anything from him, but if he ends up quasi-healthy in the next year or so, yeah I would say a move to short relief is in his best interest.

Guest

  • Where will the Cardinals stand next year with Jordan Walker, Thomas Saggese, and their pitching prospects

Steve Adams

  • As I alluded to earlier, I think there’ll be plenty of changes to the roster this winter. Walker, Gorman, Saggese, Graceffo, Nootbaar, Herrera … a lot of the formerly young core seems like it’ll be very much available. The Cards have gotten tons of looks at this group over the years, and while it’s hard to sell low on some formerly well-regarded prospects, it’s easier when the guy making the trades isn’t the one who drafted/acquired them. I think Chaim Bloom will have a pretty active winter.

Strident’sTrident

  • Do you think Josh Naylor signs with Seattle Mariners this off season. What’s your prediction on his contract?

Steve Adams

  • He’s one of our tougher ones to predict, because the market doesn’t really turn out for 1B-only guys, but he’s one of the steadiest and most consistent bats available and doesn’t turn 29 until June, so age is on his side.I still question whether someone would go 5+ years on him, but four years and $15-17MM per year doesn’t feel outrageous to me.Mitch Garver is the only free agent hitter the Mariners have signed for multiple years under Jerry Dipoto since he took over baseball operations in Seattle a decade ago, so I lean against them re-signing him.

Terry

  • Keep hearing Kyle Tucker to Dodgers next year? Your thoughts?

Steve Adams

  • I think it’s natural that a lot of people would predict the top free agent to sign with the biggest-spending team, but outside of players in very unique circumstances (Ohtani, Yamamoto), the Dodgers haven’t spent like this in free agency. They usually offer shorter-term deals with higher annual rates.They’re also pretty deep in OF, with Pages, Teoscar, Edman, Zyhir Hope, Josue De Paula. Could always try to dump the final couple years of Teoscar, but the Dodgers don’t stand as the best or most logical Tucker pick to me.
  • I’ve got to call it for the week. Anthony will have a chat with Front Office subscribers tomorrow. I’m on X @Adams_Steve and Bluesky @adams-steve.bsky.social.If you want more opinions from the MLBTR team, you can learn about our Front Office subscription package and sign up here. In addition to ad-free viewing on the site and in the app, you’ll get weekly analysis/opinion columns from Anthony Franco and myself, a weekly mailbag column from Tim Dierkes, weekly fantasy baseball chats and columns with Nicklaus Gaut, weekly subscriber-only chats with Anthony and with me (where your odds of getting a question answered are much, much higher), extra insight from Darragh McDonald, access to our Contract Tracker (a vital offseason resource) our Agency Database, our GM Tracker and more.Thanks everyone, and enjoy your week!

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MLBTR Chats

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Braves Notes: Murphy, Kim, Snitker

By Steve Adams | September 9, 2025 at 12:19pm CDT

Catcher Sean Murphy has been playing through hip discomfort for the past three years, president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos told the Braves beat last night (link via Mark Bowman of MLB.com). While Murphy had been playing through pain that “would come and go,” per Anthopoulos, the issue reached a tipping point recently and prompted an MRI to take a look at how severe the issue had become. That revealed a torn labrum in Murphy’s hip, which will require season-ending surgery. The procedure will be performed Thursday.

“…in talking to [Dr. Thomas Byrd, who’ll perform the surgery] today, he was stunned [Murphy] had been playing the last three years with a significant tear,” said Anthopoulos.

Murphy hit .233/.332/.491 (126 wRC+) with 16 homers and a dozen doubles in 271 plate appearances through the end of July this season, but his offensive production cratered beginning in August. From Aug. 1 through what’ll now go down as his final plate appearance of the season on Saturday, he went 4-for-59 with a 34.8% strikeout rate. The resulting .068/.167/.085 batting line served as a screaming indicator that something clearly wasn’t right with Murphy.

Anthopoulos also touched on the topic of recently claimed shortstop Ha-Seong Kim, who has a $16MM player option for the 2026 season (link via David O’Brien of The Athletic). Atlanta’s longtime president of baseball ops acknowledged talking with the Rays about Kim at the deadline as well, and while no deal came together, the organization is glad to have nabbed Kim off waivers and hopes the 29-year-old (30 next month) will opt into the second season of his contract.

“[G]etting him in our clubhouse, him getting to know us, us getting to know him — whether he doesn’t opt out or does, we’re both in a better position,” Anthopoulos said of Kim. “We know more about each other. Had he been in Tampa and opted out (of the option), and now we’re coming to the table to talk to him, I can’t tell you we separate ourselves from any other team that he hasn’t played for.”

It’s been a lost season overall for Kim. The former Padres standout had shoulder surgery last October and inked a two-year, $29MM deal with Tampa Bay — the second season of which is a player option. Kim returned in early July but has twice been on the injured list since that time due to lower back troubles. Kim is hitting just .231/.302/.346 overall this season (81 wRC+), but he’s been good in six games with Atlanta: 6-for-20 with a home run, a walk and only three strikeouts in 23 plate appearances.

At his best, Kim is a plus defensive shortstop and plus runner with nearly average power. He’ll draw walks at an above-average clip and put the ball in play more often than the standard big leaguer. He hasn’t been at his best in 2025, but given the thin market for free-agent shortstops and the lack of in-house alternatives to defensive standout but light-hitting Nick Allen, it makes sense that Atlanta proactively jumped to bring Kim into the fold. There’s no firm guarantee he’ll pick up his $16MM player option, but his struggles this year make that a real possibility, at which point the Braves are effectively bringing him into the ’26 fold on a one-year pillow contract.

Of course, one of the biggest questions on the minds of Braves fans is who’ll manage the club next season. Brian Snitker just notched his 800th managerial win this week, but the 69-year-old Braves lifer was noncommittal when asked about continuing on beyond the current season when asked back in March.

Asked about his manager’s future, Anthopoulos said (via O’Brien) that Snitker would be “in this organization forever” but declined to discuss whether that means Snitker will continue managing the team. Anthopoulos did reveal that the team has “absolutely not” begun doing background work on a potential replacement, adding that it would be “completely disrespectful” to Snitker to do so.

Snitker, second to only Bobby Cox in Braves managerial wins, has been in the organization for nearly 50 years — the past nine as the major league manager. He’s previously managed at nearly every minor league level in the system, spent more than a decade on the major league coaching staff (bullpen coach, third base coach) and has worked in a variety of instructional capacities in the Braves’ minor league ranks.

Fans — Braves fans in particular — will want to check out O’Brien’s piece for a full slate of quotes on Murphy, Kim, Snitker, Drake Baldwin’s Rookie of the Year candidacy, the struggles (and recent turnarounds) from Ozzie Albies and Michael Harris II, and a good bit more.

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Atlanta Braves Notes Brian Snitker Ha-Seong Kim Sean Murphy

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Padres Expected To Activate Michael King

By Steve Adams | September 8, 2025 at 11:59pm CDT

The Padres are expected to reinstate right-hander Michael King from the injured list to start tomorrow’s game versus the Reds, reports Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. He’s been out since early Aug. 9 due to knee troubles. That August start stands as King’s only appearance since mid-May, as he’d previously missed more than two months with a nerve issue in his right shoulder.

King hasn’t pitched in a minor league rehab game, though skipper Mike Shildt said in a radio appearance late last week that he’d tossed five innings in a scrimmage setting at the team’s Arizona Complex League facility. That put him on turn to take the ball Tuesday, which would’ve been Nestor Cortes’ spot in the rotation had he not gone down with a biceps strain this past Friday.

Those shoulder and knee injuries have limited King to just 11 starts this season, though he’s been every bit as excellent in that slate of appearances as he was with the Padres in 2024 and with the Yankees’ rotation late in 2023. King has pitched 57 2/3 frames on the season and carries a terrific 2.81 ERA with a 27.5% strikeout rate, an 8.1% walk rate, a 38.3% ground-ball rate and 0.94 homers per nine innings. Since moving into a starting role full-time, the former swingman has started 49 games and pitched to a 2.77 ERA. He’s punched out 28.2% of his opponents against an 8.2% walk rate.

King will step back into a San Diego rotation that’s been anchored by offseason signee Nick Pivetta, in terms of both workload and quality. Pivetta’s 164 1/3 innings lead the Friars, and his 2.85 ERA is tops among Padres starters (with the exception of King’s 2.81 in about one-third as many innings). The ultra-durable Dylan Cease has been healthy all season but has continued to struggle to strand runners, leaving him with a 4.71 ERA despite a premium 30% strikeout rate and passable (albeit somewhat elevated) 10% walk rate. Veteran righty Yu Darvish has a 5.75 ERA in his 11 starts, though he’s trimmed that considerably over his past seven trips to the bump (4.11 ERA). Randy Vasquez has kept his ERA under 4.00 despite walking a tightrope with nearly as many walks (9.7%) as strikeouts (12.3%). There’s likely some regression in store for him.

All of that makes getting King back into the mix all the more critical. The Padres added lefties Cortes and JP Sears at the deadline but didn’t deepen their staff overall, given that they sent out starters Ryan Bergert and Stephen Kolek in the trade that brought catcher Freddy Fermin to Petco Park. Getting King back could be pivotal, particularly since it’ll give him three to four starts to ramp up and get back into form ahead of the Padres’ looming postseason berth.

It’ll also give him a bit more time to build up his case ahead of what’ll be his first trip to the free-agent market. A swift return to form would bode well for the talented righty’s earning power on the open market. If healthy, King should be among the more coveted starting pitchers in free agency this offseason.

King’s return is likely an unwelcome development for the Reds and their fans. Cincinnati sits four games behind the Mets in the National League Wild Card race, tied with the Giants in that regard. A series loss or a sweep at the hands of the Padres could be a backbreaker for their season. From the Padres’ vantage point, winning even two of three would further pad their standing in the Wild Card mix. And, with just a one-game deficit standing between the Friars and the division-leading archrival Dodgers, King could be a pivotal part of a late push for the division.

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San Diego Padres Michael King

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Trade Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript

By Steve Adams | September 8, 2025 at 3:00pm CDT

Steve Adams

  • Good afternoon! Hope everyone enjoyed the weekend. I'll get going at 3pm CT, but as always, feel free to send in some questions ahead of time.
  • Hey all! Sorry for the delay
  • Lot of news happening right now as well.

Tony

  • If Sonny Gray agreed to waive his NTC, what could the Cardinals expect to get in return?  How underwater is his contract?  Thanks!

Steve Adams

  • I don't really think there's any surplus value there. You can say there's no such thing as a bad one-year deal, but Gray is being paid $35MM next year and has a $5MM buyout on a 2027 option. Is he getting $40MM if he goes to the open market and says he'll only sign a one-year deal? I doubt that. Even if you think it's not that much of an overpay, there's no excess value. I think they'd probably have to cover part of the salary to get anything of real note.

thebeatlesshow

  • OK, Steve, you're the Astros.  Next year, do you put Issac Parades at 2nd and move Altuve to Left Field?  Move Parades to left field?  Move Parades to DH and play Yordan to left...or just trade Parades?  What would you do?

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Sean Murphy To Undergo Hip Surgery

By Steve Adams | September 8, 2025 at 2:37pm CDT

2:37pm: Murphy will undergo surgery that requires about four months of rehab, David O’Brien of The Athletic reports. He’s expected to be ready for spring training.

2:24pm: The Braves announced Monday that catcher Sean Murphy has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a torn labrum in his right hip. Veteran catcher Sandy Leon’s contract was selected from Triple-A Gwinnett in a corresponding move. Atlanta also recalled righty Dane Dunning from Gwinnett and optioned lefty Hayden Harris. Obviously, the hip injury ends Murphy’s 2025 season.

This will be the second straight season with a notable injury for the veteran Murphy. He missed significant time with an oblique issue early in 2024. He began this season on the injured list after suffering a ribcage fracture but was back by the second week of April. He hit well for much of the summer — until falling into a deep slump recently. That downturn in production now seems attributable to injury. His season will now draw to a close with a .199/.300/.409 slash and 16 homers in 337 trips to the plate. Murphy has just four hits in his past 66 plate appearances.

Murphy drew plenty of walks, hit for power and played premium defense behind the plate, but it seems obvious that he was physically compromised down the stretch. He’ll take the offseason to mend and presumably return to a catching timeshare with Rookie of the Year candidate Drake Baldwin next year. Atlanta has Murphy signed for three more years at a total of $45MM, and there’s been speculation about a potential trade from that catching tandem, but this injury seems likely to curb interest from potential buyers.

Baldwin and Murphy operated in a catcher/designated hitter tandem down the stretch. If Murphy is healthy next year, it’s easy enough to see the Braves operating with a similar setup, perhaps carrying a third catcher in the mold of Leon on the roster (though not necessarily Leon himself). It’s a dynamic pair of catchers, as Baldwin’s .276/.349/.447 line and Murphy’s pre-injury line both point to a pair of highly productive backstops with solid to plus defensive tools, positioning Atlanta to have a strong core behind the dish for the foreseeable future.

This post has been updated to correct that Murphy’s oblique injury occurred in 2024.

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Atlanta Braves Newsstand Transactions Dane Dunning Hayden Harris Sandy Leon Sean Murphy

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Submit Your Questions For This Week’s Episode Of The MLBTR Podcast

By Steve Adams | September 8, 2025 at 11:48am CDT

On the MLB Trade Rumors podcast, we regularly answer questions from our readers and listeners. With the next episode set to release Thursday this week, we’re looking for MLBTR’s audience to submit their questions and we’ll pick a few to answer.

Under three weeks remain in the 2025 regular season. Do you have a question about the stretch run? A move made at the deadline? The upcoming offseason? If you have a question on those topics or anything else baseball-related, we’d love to hear from you! You can email your questions to mlbtrpod@gmail.com.

Also, if you want to hear your voice on the podcast, send us your question in audio form and we might play it. iPhone users can find instructions on how to do so here.

In the meantime, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

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Astros’ Bennett Sousa, Kaleb Ort Unlikely To Return In Regular Season

By Steve Adams | September 8, 2025 at 11:21am CDT

Astros relievers Bennett Sousa and Kaleb Ort aren’t likely to make it back to the big league roster before the end of the regular season, general manager Dana Brown revealed in a radio appearance on SportsTalk 790 AM this weekend (via Chandler Rome of The Athletic). A return during the postseason is possible for both pitchers. Sousa has been out since Aug. 20 due to a mild flexor/pronator strain. Ort landed on the 15-day IL this past Friday due to elbow inflammation.

Sousa, 30, emerged from relative obscurity with a breakout performance in 2025. The ’Stros claimed him off waivers in Sept. 2023 and were already his fifth organization of the calendar year at that point. He pitched 6 1/3 shutout frames down the stretch, showing enough to hold a 40-man roster spot. Sousa didn’t pitch in the majors or minors in 2024, however, as he required surgery to alleviate thoracic outlet syndrome in early April.

Returning just over one year later, Sousa’s first appearance in the majors this season came on April 9. He opened the year with eight scoreless innings before finally yielding his first run, and he hasn’t really looked back. In 50 2/3 frames, Sousa has shown virtually no ill effect from the surgery. If anything, he’s better than ever.

Sousa has worked a career-high number of innings and is sitting on a sharp 2.84 ERA that’s supported by metrics like FIP (2.73) and SIERA (2.95). He’s set down a hearty 29.6% of his opponents on strikes, issued walks to just 7.5% of the batters he’s faced, and has allowed only 0.71 homers per nine innings pitched. Left-handers have posted a terrible .145/.191/.242 batting line against him, and while righties have been better than that — it’d be hard to be much worse — they’re still sporting a rather tepid .235/.300/.378 slash against him. Sousa was virtually untouchable through early July (1.83 ERA), but he struggled to a 4.96 mark with vastly worse command in 16 1/3 innings before hitting the IL last month.

Ort hasn’t been as effective, but his 4.89 ERA is arguably a bit misleading. He’s had two complete nightmare outings this season — one in which he was tagged for five runs in one-third of an inning and another one (his last before hitting the IL) where he surrendered four runs in two-thirds of an inning. Any pitcher will look better when you toss out his worst couple outings of the season, but Ort has a 3.20 ERA through 45 innings in his other 47 appearances.

Command has been one of two glaring flaws for Ort, evidenced both by his 13.9% walk rate and his 1.57 HR/9 mark. The other is his susceptibility to left-handed hitters. When facing fellow righties, he’s yielded only a .188/.311/.317 batting line. Left-handers have bludgeoned him at a .254/.342/.524 clip.

Ort hasn’t been a key piece of the Astros’ high-leverage corps. He’s typically worked in middle relief. Sousa has tallied seven holds and four saves, and his role had begun to increase after Josh Hader was lost for the remainder of the regular season in mid-August. Hader, Sousa and Ort all hope to be able to return in October, but their absence complicates Houston’s path to postseason ball.

The Astros are still very, very strong postseason favorites, but they’re hardly locks to win the division. Houston sits 2.5 games up on Seattle at the moment, and the two teams still have a three-game series against each other on the schedule. It’d take a considerable collapse to drop out of the playoff field entirely, but it’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility (even if it’s a long shot).

A full contingent of relievers, obviously, would improve the Astros’ chances of hanging onto the division lead, but they’re instead trying to piece together the bulk of the relief corps. Bryan Abreu, Bryan King and Steven Okert have been strong basically all season, but the rest of the bullpen is filled out by veteran newcomers (Enyel De Los Santos, Craig Kimbrel), rookies (AJ Blubaugh, Jayden Murray, Logan VanWey) and struggling righty Lance McCullers Jr. (6.97 ERA in 50 1/3 innings). Both De Los Santos (0.69 ERA in 13 innings) and Kimbrel (6 2/3 scoreless) have been quite effective, though the latter has walked seven of the 27 batters he’s faced (25.9%).

Houston will keep trying to get by with that patchwork bullpen. Assuming they do make the postseason, it’d be a big boost if even one of those more seasoned arms — Hader or Sousa, in particular — could make it back to Joe Espada’s bullpen, but there’s no guarantee any of the three are back in the fold this year.

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Houston Astros Bennett Sousa Kaleb Ort

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Braves Designate John Brebbia For Assignment

By Steve Adams | September 8, 2025 at 9:15am CDT

The Braves announced Monday morning that they’ve designated right-hander John Brebbia for assignment. His spot on the roster will go to righty Alexis Diaz, whom Atlanta claimed off waivers yesterday. Diaz has formally reported to the club. Atlanta also optioned right-hander Rolddy Munoz to Triple-A Gwinnett and recalled right-hander Connor Seabold in his place.

Atlanta only selected Brebbia to the big league roster on Aug. 29. This brief stay marks his second stint with the Braves, as he also joined them for the final month or so of the 2024 season. Brebbia pitched in three games this time around, yielding three runs on six hits (two homers) and a walk with six strikeouts. The resulting 7.71 ERA matched the mark he’d logged in 18 2/3 innings with the Tigers prior to being cut loose in Detroit.

The 2025 season marks a second consecutive season of rough results for Brebbia, but his struggles really only extend a bit more than the past calendar year. The right-hander pitched pretty well for the first three-plus months of the 2024 season with the White Sox before melting down around the time of the All-Star break. Brebbia surrendered 18 runs in his final 18 1/3 innings last year, ballooning his ERA nearly two runs up to 5.86.

Brebbia was reliable bullpen arm in St. Louis and San Francisco from 2017-23. He carried a career 3.53 ERA, 26% strikeout rate and 7% walk rate (336 2/3 innings) into last year’s All-Star break. Even with his struggles late last year and throughout the 2025 season, the 35-year-old Brebbia has a solid 4.04 ERA in 378 1/3 big league innings. He’s collected four saves and 62 holds while striking out 25.6% of his opponents against a solid 7.5% walk rate.

Brebbia will now head to outright waivers or be released. He’ll head into the offseason and likely latch on as a minor league signee with a non-roster invitation to spring training somewhere.

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Atlanta Braves Transactions Alexis Diaz John Brebbia

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Mets Option Kodai Senga

By Steve Adams | September 5, 2025 at 10:58pm CDT

The Mets announced Friday that right-hander Kodai Senga has been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse. Catcher Francisco Alvarez has been reinstated from the injured list. New York also optioned catcher Hayden Senger and activated righty Wander Suero, whom they claimed off waivers yesterday.

Senga’s five-year, $75MM contract stipulated that he needed to consent to being optioned at any point, meaning he gave his approval for the move. It’s obviously a bit surprising at first glance to see a former Rookie of the Year runner-up with a 3.02 ERA optioned to Triple-A, but the Mets have been mulling this move in recent weeks as Senga’s struggles have mounted. He’s pitched to a bleak 6.56 ERA over his past eight starts and lasted only 35 2/3 innings in that time. He’ll bite the bullet and head to the minors as he looks to get back on track before the Mets’ overwhelmingly likely trip to the postseason.

SNY’s Andy Martino reports that the decision to option Senga doesn’t appear to have strained the relationship between player and team. He was included in multiple discussions on the possibility and ultimately “felt respected by the process and consented without issue,” per Martino.

The demotion for Senga coincides with the expected promotion for pitching prospect Brandon Sproat, who’ll reportedly make his major league debut when he starts Sunday’s game against the Reds. He’ll join a youth movement in a rotation that currently includes fellow top prospects Nolan McLean and Jonah Tong. That trio of rookies will join David Peterson, Clay Holmes and the also-struggling Sean Manaea as the Mets’ starters for the time being.

Senga has to spend at least 15 days in the minors and can only be recalled sooner if it’s to replace an injured player on the roster. The Mets surely want him to get multiple Triple-A starts to try to get back on track anyhow, but his results in Syracuse will determine whether he’s back to rejoin the rotation in the final week or so of the regular season — and in the playoffs.

While the recent struggles are notable, it bears mentioning that Senga started the 2025 campaign in excellent fashion. Through his first 13 starts, he posted an exceptional 1.47 earned run average, albeit with less-impressive rate stats (23.9% strikeout rate, 10.6% walk rate) and some more skeptical grades from metrics like SIERA (4.28) and FIP (3.25). A hamstring strain sent Senga to the injured list in mid-June, and while he tossed four shutout innings in his return to the big leagues just under one month later, his struggles began immediately thereafter.

If Senga were still feeling the effects of that hamstring injury, he’d likely have been placed on the injured list rather than optioned. However, it’s possible that he developed some bad mechanical habits while compensating for that injury. He’s displayed uncharacteristically poor command since the All-Star break, walking 13% of his opponents (plus another two plunked batters) and yielding an average of 2.02 homers per nine innings pitched. Prior to his hamstring injury, he’d walked 10.7% of his career opponents and surrendered just 0.81 homers per nine frames.

There are no real service time or salary implications with Senga’s demotion. He’s guaranteed the full freight of that $75MM sum regardless, and his contract stipulates that he become a free agent at its conclusion, even though he’ll have under six years of major league service time. Sending him to Syracuse doesn’t alter his window of control with the team — it merely provides him a lower-stakes environment to try to get back to his All-Star form.

The other side of today’s notable slate of transactions will see the astonishing return of Alvarez. The Mets’ catcher had been one of baseball’s hottest hitters since mid-July but tore a ligament in his thumb while sliding into second base. That injury occurred less than three weeks ago, and his health troubles were compounded when Alvarez suffered a broken pinky finger upon being hit by a pitch on his minor league rehab assignment.

That damaged thumb ligament will require offseason surgery, but Alvarez will remarkably gut out both of those injuries as he tries to help his club down the stretch. Alvarez, like Senga, was optioned to the minors earlier this summer amid some pronounced struggles but returned with a vengeance, hitting .323/.408/.645 in 71 plate appearances before his injury. He went just 4-for-19 with eight strikeouts in 21 plate appearances during his rehab stint, though he did belt a grand slam in his final minor league game prior to today’s activation.

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New York Mets Newsstand Francisco Alvarez Hayden Senger Kodai Senga Wander Suero

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