Mets Designate Jared Oliva For Assignment
The Mets designated outfielder Jared Oliva for assignment Thursday morning, per a team announcement. His spot on the 40-man roster goes to reliever Dan Hammer, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Syracuse (as was reported last night). Righty Tobias Myers has been optioned to Syracuse to open an active roster spot.
Oliva, 30, was picked up off waivers from the Giants last month. The Mets optioned him to Syracuse upon claiming him. He’s yet to appear in a major league game with them and will now head back to DFA limbo.
Oliva took seven plate appearances with the Giants early this season before hitting the injured list — his first big league work since a 2020-21 stint with the Pirates. He’s batted .175/.212/.206 in a tiny sample of 66 big league plate appearances. Oliva is a plus runner and versatile outfielder defender who swiped 57 bags in only 95 games with the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate last year. He also has a minor league option year remaining beyond the current season.
In 77 Triple-A plate appearances this season, Oliva has just a .232/.289/.290 batting line. He posted a solid .252/.335/.413 slash with the Brewers’ Nashville club last year. Clubs in need of a right-handed bat with speed and a glove that can handle all three outfield spots could look to Oliva as a depth option, but there’s a decent chance he’ll clear waivers, too. He’d have the right to reject an outright assignment if he indeed goes unclaimed.
Braves Designate José Azócar For Assignment
The Braves announced Thursday that outfielder José Azócar has been designated for assignment. His roster spot goes to fellow righty-swinging outfielder Eli White, who has been reinstated from the paternity list.
Azócar, 30, was only selected to the 40-man roster Monday when White went on the paternity list. He went hitless in two plate appearances during this, his third Braves stint of the season. He was also up with the big league club for two separate stints in May. He’s tallied 18 plate appearances and gone 6-for-17 with a pair of doubles and a walk, leading to an impressive-looking .353/.389/.471 slash. Taking a broader look at Azócar’s career, however, reveals a lifetime .249/.294/.326 batting line in 436 trips to the plate.
That career output in the majors is a close facsimile of Azócar’s performance in Triple-A thus far in 2026. He’s stepped to the plate 228 times with Atlanta’s Triple-A club in Gwinnett and turned in a tepid .243/.295/.343 batting line.
Azócar is a quintessential speed-and-defense fourth outfielder. He’s lost a step since his 2022 debut, falling from 96th percentile sprint speed (29.4 ft/sec) to “only” 81st percentile sprint speed in 2026 (28.4 ft/sec). He’s still a well above-average runner, clearly, and both Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average give him positive grades at all three outfield spots in his big league career. It’s a similar skill set to that of White, but White currently has the top sprint speed in all of baseball (30.3 ft/sec) and accordingly has even stronger defensive grades across the three outfield positions.
Atlanta has five days to trade Azócar or place him on outright or release waivers. The waiver process would add another 48 hours, so if they wait until the fifth day, his DFA will take a week to process. Given Azócar’s journeyman status and tough showing in Gwinnett, they’ll probably start the waiver process sooner than later. Azócar cleared waivers following each of his past two DFAs. He then briefly elected free agency before quickly re-signing a minor league deal with Atlanta each time.
Bryse Wilson Elects Free Agency
6:11pm: Wilson indeed elected free agency, according to the transaction tracker.
11:39am: Cubs right-hander Bryse Wison went unclaimed on waivers following his recent DFA, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. He’s been assigned outright to Triple-A Iowa, but Wilson has the right to reject that assignment in favor of free agency.
The Cubs originally added Wilson via waiver claim from the Phillies, who’d designated him for assignment themselves. He appeared in two games with the Cubs, both of them long relief appearances. The first could scarcely have gone better. The 28-year-old righty held the NL Central-leading Brewers scoreless over 4 1/3 pristine innings, punching out four batters without issuing a walk. Chicago went on to eke out a 4-3 victory. The second appearance played out in near-opposite fashion. Wilson pitched 3 1/3 innings against the Cardinals but was torched for seven runs on eight hits and a walk — although that eventual 17-1 drubbing was already well out of hand by the time he took the mound.
Wilson has pitched in each of the past nine major league seasons. He had a nice run with the 2023-24 Brewers (3.42 ERA in 181 2/3 innings) but has otherwise struggled more often than not. In 470 2/3 innings between Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Chicago (both teams), he’s logged a 4.86 ERA with a well below-average 16.6% strikeout rate. Wilson typically has good command (career 7.4% walk rate) but gives up too much hard contact and is too susceptible to home runs.
While no team was willing to claim the out-of-options Wilson and plug him right onto the big league roster, he could still appeal to teams looking to stockpile bullpen length and/or rotation depth on a minor league deal if he chooses to elect free agency. Wilson does have a solid track record at the Triple-A level, where he’s spent parts of six seasons and logged a 4.21 earned run average in 337 2/3 innings.
Mariners Sign Stuart Fairchild To Minor League Deal
The Mariners added outfielder Stuart Fairchild on a minor league contract after he rejected an outright assignment with the Guardians earlier this week and instead opted for free agency. The Mariners didn’t formally announce the addition, but the CAA client made his organizational debut yesterday when he homered in a 1-for-3 showing with Seattle’s affiliate in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League. That’s surely just a brief stop for a tune-up; the veteran Fairchild figures to be with the Mariners’ Triple-A club in Tacoma sooner than later.
Fairchild had previously spent the entire season in the Guardians organization. He logged 14 big league games for Cleveland but only took 27 plate appearances due to his role as a late-game defensive replacement and/or pinch-runner. Fairchild managed only a 3-for-19 showing in that seldom-used role, though he also drew seven walks and swiped a pair of bags.
In parts of six major league seasons, the 30-year-old Fairchild is a .221/.309/.377 hitter. He’s a good runner who’s capable of playing all three outfield positions well. He lacks much in the way of offensive impact, but the right-handed-hitting Fairchild does at least have a solid .240/.347/.390 batting line in his career versus lefties. That’s about 5% better than average, by measure of wRC+. Between that and his speed/defense, he’s a viable bench outfielder who can draw occasional starts versus lefties.
The Mariners are currently without star center fielder Julio Rodríguez (concussion list) as well as reserve outfield options Rob Refsnyder (hamstring strain) and Will Wilson (broken thumb). Infielder/outfielder Brendan Donovan has been out since mid-May due to a groin strain. The M’s currently have right-handed-hitting journeymen Weston Wilson and Buddy Kennedy on the big league bench while Randy Arozarena, Victor Robles, Luke Raley and Dominic Canzone handle the bulk of the outfield work.
Fairchild offers more of a traditional speed-and-defense option to back up that outfield quartet, should the Mariners want to make a change at some point. He could also be used in a platoon setup with Raley while the M’s wait on Rodriguez and others to mend.
Mets Designate Matt Seelinger For Assignment
The Mets on Wednesday announced that they’ve selected the contract of righty Xzavion Curry from Triple-A Syracuse and recalled righty Tobias Myers. Right-hander Matt Seelinger was designated for assignment in order to open a roster spot for Curry, while Myers will fill a spot vacated by right-hander Austin Warren‘s placement on the 15-day injured list. He’s dealing with a right forearm strain.
Seelinger’s DFA marks a swift end to what was a feel-good story. The 31-year-old righty came over earlier this week in a cash swap with the Tigers. The Mets selected Seelinger, a Long Island native who went to high school and college (SUNY Farmingdale) not 40 miles from Citi Field, to the big league roster for his major league debut after a decade-long grind through the minors and indie ball.
Unfortunately, the fairy tale debut went sour in a hurry. Seelinger came into a 9-9 tie after the Mets had already squandered a 9-4 lead and was ambushed for seven runs in his first major league inning. He returned for a second frame and posted a scoreless inning. The seven runs in two innings leaves Seelinger with a career 31.50 ERA at the game’s top level.
Prior to that rough debut, Seelinger had been effective in Triple-A. With the Tigers’ Toledo affiliate, Seelinger logged 39 1/3 innings in a swing role and turned in a 3.89 ERA. The right-hander’s 29.3% strikeout rate was quite sharp, but he also showed wobbly command with an 11.4% walk rate. Seelinger averages 92.4 mph on his four-seamer and rounds out a three-pitch repertoire with an 86.1 mph cutter and an 80.1 mph curveball. The Mets can trade him or place him on waivers any time in the next five days. Waivers would take another 48 hours.
The Mets signed Curry, 27, out of indie ball earlier this year. The former Guardians prospect has previously pitched in parts of four major league seasons — most recently with the 2025 Marlins. Curry has pitched exactly 150 innings in the majors and has a 4.38 ERA with a 15.5% strikeout rate and a 7.2% ground-ball rate. He’s been an extreme fly-ball pitcher (29.3% grounder rate) and has at times run into considerable home run troubles, as one might expect for a low-velocity righty with a penchant for airborne contact.
Curry has appeared in 10 games, nine of them starts, with the Mets’ Syracuse affiliate. He’s been tagged for a 4.74 ERA but has been better of late, logging a 3.86 ERA and 21-to-9 K/BB ratio over his past 30 1/3 frames. Curry has experience working both as a starter and reliever. He last pitched on July 3, so he’s rested and should be available for whatever the Mets need of him today.
Curry does have one minor league option remaining, so while it doesn’t seem likely to be a long big league stint for him (based on how the Mets use their final couple bullpen spots), he could be optioned rather than designated for assignment if the Mets want to ship him out for another fresh arm after a long relief outing. That doesn’t entirely rule out an eventual DFA, of course; Seelinger had a full slate of three minor league options.
As for Warren, his injury (first reported by The Athletic’s Will Sammon) will subtract one of the team’s steadier arms. Granted, Warren’s 4.63 ERA doesn’t look like much, but that number has nearly doubled within the past week — presumably due at least in part to this injury. In 24 appearances from the time of his mid-April call to the majors through late June, Warren pitched to a 2.45 ERA (33 innings) with a 25.9% strikeout rate and 11.6% walk rate. He’s since given up nine runs in just two innings while fanning only one of his 18 opponents.
Given the stark decline in performance, it’s not all that surprising to hear that Warren is being impacted by a physical issue. The Mets have yet to provide further details or offer a potential timetable for Warren’s recovery. Interim skipper Andy Green will presumably do so prior to today’s game, unless Warren is still set for further testing at that time.
Though the Mets themselves haven’t provided more info, MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo spoke to the pitcher himself. Warren didn’t offer a specific diagnosis, but DiComo notes that the right-hander was emotional when explaining the injury/symptoms and revealing that he’d undergone an MRI. It seems there’s some clear concern for Warren himself, who underwent Tommy John surgery earlier in his career.
Gregory Santos Elects Free Agency
Right-hander Gregory Santos has rejected an outright assignment to Triple-A Sacramento and will instead become a free agent, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. San Francisco had passed Santos through waivers unclaimed earlier in the week.
Santos, 27 in August, returned to the Giants organization (with which he made his 2021 big league debut) as a minor league free agent this past offseason. He found his way back to Oracle Park when the Giants selected his contract in late April. He wound up pitching five innings in the majors, allowing a pair of runs on five hits and three walks with one strikeout. Things have been rockier in Triple-A. Santos has pitched 15 2/3 innings there and been tagged for 12 runs (6.89 ERA) on 17 hits and 11 walks with 11 strikeouts. He also missed about a month due to an adductor strain.
Despite his relative youth, Santos now has experience in parts of six big league seasons — three with the Giants. Originally signed out of his native Dominican Republic by the Red Sox, Santos was traded to the Giants as part of the 2017 Eduardo Nunez deal. He’s since been shipped to the White Sox (for cash) and from Chicago to Seattle (in exchange for Zach DeLoach, Prelander Berroa and a Competitive Balance draft pick).
Santos has one excellent major league season under his belt and several shakier campaigns that have been derailed by injury. In 2023, the right-hander pitched a career-high 66 1/3 innings for the South Siders. He notched a terrific 3.39 ERA with six holds, five saves, a 22.8% strikeout rate, a 5.9% walk rate and a big 52.5% ground-ball rate. The Sox, then rebuilding, promptly sent him to the Mariners in an offseason trade. The Mariners surrendered a pick and a pair of minor leaguers, hoping they’d acquired a bullpen cornerstone they could control for five more seasons.
That might’ve proven to be the case … had Santos stayed healthy. Instead, the injury bug bit almost immediately. Santos suffered a lat strain during spring training 2024, sidelining him into July. He was activated, pitched 5 1/3 innings, and then sustained a biceps injury that sent him back to the injured list for another eight weeks. His 2025 season opened with diminished velocity, and by late April he was undergoing surgery to repair the cartilage in his right knee. He never made it back to a big league mound, and Seattle opted to non-tender him in November.
There’s a clearly talented arm under that pile of injuries, as Santos’ terrific 2023 season illustrates. However, he made his professional debut with Boston’s Dominican Summer League club all the way back in 2016 but still has only 347 1/3 professional innings under his belt due to myriad health troubles. The canceled 2020 minor league season didn’t do him any favors in that regard, but Santos has also never reached even 50 innings in a professional season outside that peak 2023 showing. If he’s healthy, he’ll likely catch on as a minor league free agent somewhere — perhaps back with the Giants. Francys Romero of BeisbolFR.com reports that several clubs have already contacted the righty to show interest. If Santos can pitch his way back to the majors, he’d be optionable for the balance of the 2026 season and controlled three more years via arbitration.
KBO’s SSG Landers Sign Pedro Avila
The SSG Landers of the Korea Baseball Organization announced Wednesday that they’ve signed right-hander Pedro Avila for the remainder of the 2026 season. Cleveland released Avila, who’d been pitching with their Triple-A club, last week in order to facilitate the move. Per Jee-ho Yoo of South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency, Avila is guaranteed $380K for the final few months of the season and can earn another $200K via incentives. He’s taking the roster spot of former big league lefty Anthony Veneziano, whom the Landers released after 16 shaky starts.
Avila, 29, is a veteran of five big league seasons. He’s pitched 146 1/3 major league innings between the Padres and Guardians. In that time, he’s logged a solid 3.51 ERA with a 23.8% strikeout rate, a 10.6% walk rate and a 49.2% ground-ball rate, working primarily as a multi-inning reliever/swingman. Avila also spent a season in Japan, starting 14 games (plus a relief appearance) for the Yakult Swallows in 2025. He turned in a 4.04 ERA, 17.8% strikeout rate, 8.7% walk rate and 43.9% grounder rate in that brief stint before opting to return to the Guards on a minor league pact in the offseason.
Avila’s return to the Guardians organization hasn’t gone as hoped. He’s worked primarily out of the rotation in Triple-A Columbus but been tagged for a 7.50 ERA in 60 innings. His strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates have all trended the wrong direction. This year’s 92.1 mph average fastball is down considerably from his career mark of 93.6 mph, though perhaps that’s to be expected for a pitcher that’s typically functioned as a reliever but is now working four to six innings at a time.
By signing on in the KBO, Avila will guarantee himself more money than he’d have earned while playing out the rest of the 2026 season on a minor league contract. A strong half-season with his new club could position him to re-sign in the KBO for the 2027 season — be it with the Landers or another team — at which point a guarantee in the $700K to $1MM range would be in play.
Veneziano, 28, signed a one-year deal that guaranteed him $750K with the opportunity to earn another $100K via incentives. He’s been hit hard in 16 starts, working to a 6.10 ERA with a subpar 18.3% strikeout rate for the Landers. His 8.6% walk rate is fine, but he’s given up far too much loud contact, evidenced by 14 homers allowed in just 79 2/3 innings (1.58 HR/9).
Veneziano has a 3.98 ERA in 40 2/3 major league innings as a reliever. He’s sat a bit better than 94 mph with his heater and logged an above-average 11.8% swinging-strike rate in that role. Perhaps he hoped a nice run working as a starter in the KBO would produce some rotation opportunities back home in North America, but Veneziano could still garner some interest bullpen-hungry teams looking for a lefty to add to the depth chart on a minor league contract.
Cardinals Planning To Select Luis Gastelum
The Cardinals are planning to select the contract of right-handed reliever Luis Gastelum, per reports from Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat and Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The specific timing of the move is up in the air, perhaps pending how the pitching staff is used in today’s doubleheader. Jones notes that Gastelum was traveling to St. Louis this morning and would be on the roster within the next couple days.
Gastelum, 24, has enjoyed a terrific season in Triple-A thus far. He’s pitched 43 2/3 innings out of the bullpen and notched a 2.27 ERA with a 28% strikeout rate, 9.7% walk rate and 51% ground-ball rate. It’s an impressive season taken in total, but drilling down a bit, Gastelum has been even better than the surface-level numbers might indicate.
Nearly all of the damage against Gastelum this season has come in one awful outing. He’s allowed a total of 11 earned runs this season, but six of those came on May 13, when he faced nine batters from Miami’s Triple-A affiliate and recorded only two outs. Since that nightmare outing, Gastelum has been borderline unhittable. He allowed one run his next time out (four days later) … and hasn’t been scored on since. Gastelum has rattled off 22 1/3 shutout innings with a 30-to-5 K/BB ratio. He’s allowed only eight hits along the way.
Gastelum originally signed with the Cardinals as an amateur free agent out of Mexico three years ago. He’d never ranked among the Cardinals’ top 30 prospects coming into the season but had turned in consistent, quality numbers as he climbed the minor league ladder. This year’s dominant showing in Triple-A has jumped him to 21st and 25th among Cards minor leaguers on the midseason rankings at MLB.com and Baseball America. He’s not an especially hard-throwing reliever, sitting around 94 mph on his four-seamer and sinker, but scouting reports tout his changeup as a true plus pitch. He’s a pure bullpen prospect but one who has a chance to carve out a lasting role.
Mets Activate Jorge Polanco, Designate Alex Carrillo
The Mets announced that infielder Jorge Polanco has been activated from the 60-day injured list. He’ll rejoin the club tonight. Right-hander Alex Carrillo was designated for assignment to open a spot on the 40-man roster, and fellow infielder Ronny Mauricio was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse to open a spot on the 26-man roster. New York also confirmed the DFA of righty Guillo Zuniga and selected the contract of newly acquired righty Matt Seelinger, both of which were first reported earlier this afternoon.
Polanco, 33, has been out since mid-April due to an Achilles injury. The Mets signed the longtime middle infielder to a two-year, $40MM contract this past offseason on the heels of a rebound season with the Mariners. New York was largely set up the middle but still added Polanco with the idea of getting him frequent work at first base and designated hitter.
Instead, injuries have limited Polanco to only 14 games. He’s totaled 61 plate appearances and has just a .179/.246/.286 slash with a homer and three doubles. He’s walked five times (8.2%) against 11 strikeouts (18%).
With Marcus Semien sidelined for awhile due to a Grade 3 hip flexor strain, the Mets could plug Polanco back into the mix at his customary second base. There’s no solidified option at first base or at designated hitter either, which will give interim manager Andy Green some options to mix and match. Young infielders Brett Baty and Mark Vientos have both had one strong season recently — Vientos in ’24, Baty in ’25 — but struggled since.
If Polanco is back to his typical form, he’d be a boon for the Mets’ offense. The switch-hitter mashed at a .265/.326/.495 pace and swatted 26 homers in 138 games as a Mariner last year. Polanco has been a well above-average hitter nearly every season dating back to 2018. He had a down year in the shortened 2020 season and a below-average 2024 in Seattle while playing trough a knee injury that required eventual surgery. Even with that pair of ugly seasons skewing things, Polanco ran a .262/.331/.448 line from 2018-25.
Mauricio heads back to Syracuse increasingly looking like a player whose chances with his current organization are dwindling. The Mets reinstated Mauricio from a nearly eight-week absence 12 days ago. He started five games between that return and today’s option, tallying 18 plate appearances. Mauricio has appeared in 17 games this season and hit .180/.180/.260 in 50 plate appearances. He’s in his final minor league option year but has only 342 big league plate appearances under his belt, during which he’s batted .226/.278/.345.
The trio of Mauricio, Baty and Vientos gave Mets fans varying levels of optimism over the years, but the returns of Polanco and Francisco Lindor, coupled with Bo Bichette‘s hot streak dating back to mid-May, will further diminish playing opportunities for that group. Solid play from rookies Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing have solidified the outfield, too, leaving even fewer opportunities for that once-promising trio (Mauricio, Baty, Vientos) — all of whom look like viable change-of-scenery candidates.
As for the 29-year-old Carrillo, he’s spent the entire season in Syracuse. The Mets originally signed him out of indie ball back in November of 2024. He made a brief big league debut last July but allowed seven runs in 4 1/3 innings. Carrillo posted a huge 36.2% strikeout rate in Triple-A last year but a concerning 14.7% walk rate. His K-BB profile has gone the wrong direction in ’26. He’s fanned a still-strong but diminished 29% of opponents against a mammoth 24.3% walk rate. That’s led to a 5.57 ERA in 21 innings.
Carrillo hasn’t pitched in more than a month with the Mets’ Syracuse affiliate. The team didn’t specify an IL placement for him, but if he’s indeed out with an injury he’ll need to be released, assuming the Mets can’t find a trade partner. Injured players cannot be placed on outright waivers. The Mets have five days to look around for a trade partner before they’d need to request release waivers.
Astros Option Mike Burrows
The Astros have optioned struggling right-hander Mike Burrows to Triple-A Sugar Land, the team announced Tuesday. Fellow right-hander Alimber Santa has been recalled from Sugar Land in his place.
Burrows, 26, was one of the most notable additions to the Houston pitching staff this winter. The Astros added him in the three-team trade that sent touted outfield prospect Jacob Melton and minor league righty Anderson Brito from Houston to Tampa Bay. Slugging second baseman Brandon Lowe, lefty Mason Montgomery and outfielder Jake Mangum went from Tampa Bay to Pittsburgh.
Houston’s hope was surely that Burrows, a then-25-year-old righty with six full seasons of club control, could step in and lock down the third or fourth spot in a new-look rotation. He’s a former well-over-slot 11th-round pick who ranked as one of the more promising arms in Pittsburgh’s system for years and was coming off a strong rookie season. In 23 games (19 starts) with the Bucs last year, Burrows pitched to a 3.94 ERA with a 24.1% strikeout rate, a 7.7% walk rate and a 41.8% ground-ball rate.
All those rate stats are right in line with or slightly better than the league average. He’d finished the season on a fairly high note, notching a 3.27 ERA in 55 innings after the All-Star break. Burrows still had an option year remaining — he’ll burn that option now if he spends more than 20 days in Triple-A — but the expectation was that he’d step right into the Houston staff.
That’s precisely what’s happened, but the results haven’t been at all what the Astros envisioned. Burrows has been one of the most homer-prone and least-effective pitchers in baseball. He’s pitched 94 2/3 innings and been shelled for a 5.99 ERA, thanks primarily to a staggering average of exactly two homers allowed per every nine innings pitched. Burrows ranks 62nd among 63rd qualified starters, leading only Arizona’s Zac Gallen (6.36).
Burrows’ swinging-strike rate has dropped from 12% last year to 10.1% this year. He’s not missing any bats in the zone; opponents are making contact on just shy of 88% of their swings on balls over the plate. Last year, Burrows was at 82.4% in that regard. He’s lost a half mile off his four-seamer and more than a mile off his seldom-used sinker. Burrows’ strikeout rate has slipped from last year’s 24.1% to a 17.7% clip that’s about four percentage points shy of average.
This most recent outing against the Nationals ostensibly forced the team’s hand. Burrows pitched 4 1/3 innings and surrendered a season-high 10 runs, albeit three of them being unearned. It was his third start of the season with seven or more earned runs and pushed his ERA over his past 10 appearances (50 innings) all the way to 6.84. He’ll head to Sugar Land and try to get back on track.
In the meantime, Houston’s rotation will now include Hunter Brown, Peter Lambert, Spencer Arrighetti and Tatsuya Imai. They’re hoping to get Ronel Blanco and Hayden Wesneski back from the injured list in the second half, and Houston figures to be in the market for rotation help over the next four weeks, too. That’s especially true given Imai’s struggles. Brown (in only six starts), Lambert and Arrighetti all have ERAs well under 4.00. Imai has struggled even more than Burrows, however, pitching to a 6.12 ERA in a smaller sample of 48 1/3 MLB frames.
Burrows’ struggles put the Astros in a tough spot. As noted, he won’t burn his final minor league option if he’s recalled in fewer than 20 days. However, that doesn’t give him much time to get back on track in Triple-A. But if the ‘Stros opt to keep Burrows in Triple-A for a lengthier stint, they’ll have to carry him on the roster early next season, regardless of results, or else designate him for assignment less than 18 months after acquiring him.