Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Red Sox Rumors

Poll: AL Cy Young Race Check-In

By | at

While a few of this season’s awards don’t appear to be terribly competitive headed into the final month of the season, one race that still appears to be wide open is that for the AL Cy Young award. MLBTR last checked in on the race back in June, at which point Tigers ace Tarik Skubal was viewed as the heavy favorite to capture his second consecutive Cy Young, with nearly 46% of the vote and nearly double second place finisher’s total.

Skubal is still a strong contender for the award, of course, and perhaps even the favorite. Through 26 starts this year, the southpaw has logged 166 innings of 2.28 ERA ball. He’s struck out 33.5% of his opponents with a phenomenal 3.9% walk rate, giving him the best K-BB% in baseball this year. That mix of strikeout stuff and pinpoint command is Skubal’s bread and butter, as his other metrics this year have been closer to average than exceptional. His ground ball rate is a cromulent 40.7% this year, and his 8.7% barrel rate ranks 15th among 30 qualified AL hurlers. Skubal’s last start was an unusual one, as he surrendered six runs in 6 2/3 innings of work but only one of those six runs was considered earned. Even with those five runs not countered against his ledger, he’s posted a 3.05 ERA and 3.55 FIP in the month of August. That performance is strong but not quite on the level of some other contenders.

While Skubal’s numbers haven’t changed too drastically since June, he’s found a rival for his position as the AL’s best lefty strikeout artist in the form of Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet. The 26-year-old has more or less matched Skubal in virtually every stat. He had 166 1/3 innings of work to Skubal’s aforementioned 166 through 26 starts, though Crochet’s six-innings of two-run ball against the Orioles yesterday pushed his total up to 172 1/3. His 2.40 ERA is within spitting distance of Skubal’s own figure, and his 31.1% strikeout rate is just a couple of points behind. Where he falls more significantly behind Skubal is his walk rate, as he’s allowed free passes at a 6.1% clip.

He makes up for the gap in K-BB% somewhat with stronger batted ball numbers, however. He’s generating grounders at a 48.5% clip, and his 7.2% barrel rate is the sixth-best figure in the AL. For those inclined towards more traditional metrics, Crochet also sports an AL-best 14 wins on his record. Crochet’s 3.19 ERA in August didn’t separate him from Skubal significantly, but his peripherals (including a 2.96 FIP) are significantly better over that span. If he can turn those peripherals into production in September, perhaps that will be enough to separate himself from Skubal.

Of course, Crochet and Skubal aren’t the only two options to consider. Astros right-hander Hunter Brown is in the midst of a breakout season that deserves serious consideration. Through 26 starts, Brown’s 155 2/3 innings of work lag behind the totals of the two lefties, but his numbers are undeniably impressive. He’s posted a 2.37 ERA with a 46.0% ground ball rate and a 29.1% strikeout rate. Brown’s 6.1% barrel rate is the second-best figure in the AL this year, though he’s held back somewhat by his 7.6% walk rate.

When looking at Brown’s recent work, it’s something of a mixed bag. His 1.71 ERA in August is obviously fantastic, but it comes with an asterisk after he allowed four unearned runs in his most recent start. His 22.2% strikeout rate is also far below his typical norms, but his 2.71 FIP is nothing short of excellent. Brown seems to be a step behind both Skubal and Crochet at this point, but it’s easy to imagine him pushing himself more firmly into the conversation with a strong September.

Brown, Skubal, and Crochet seem like the top three players in the race at this point, but there are some other arms who deserve acknowledgment as well. Nathan Eovaldi has a sensational 1.73 ERA in 22 starts this year, but with just 130 innings of work and a rotator cuff strain that’s likely season-ending, it would be a shock if he got more than down-ballot consideration for the award. Jacob deGrom’s first healthy season in half a decade has been extremely impressive with a 2.79 ERA, but the 37-year-old’s peripherals pale in comparison to the other top starters in the league. Max Fried’s season with the Yankees started out incredibly impressive, but his 5.33 ERA since the start of July has likely pushed him out of the conversation for the most part.

With just a month left to go in the season, who do you think will come out on top in the AL Cy Young race? Have your say in the poll below:

Red Sox To Promote Payton Tolle

By and | at

The Red Sox will call up pitching prospect Payton Tolle to make his big league debut tomorrow, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. It’ll be a fantastic pitching matchup, as he goes against Paul Skenes in a series opener at Fenway Park. Skenes will coincidentally be matched against a pitcher making his MLB debut for the second straight outing, as the Rockies tabbed McCade Brown as his opponent last weekend.

It’s the latest step in a breakout season for Tolle. Boston signed the 6’6″ southpaw to a $2MM bonus after drafting him in the second round out of TCU last summer. They kept him at their complex in his draft year rather than assigning him to a minor league affiliate. That allowed them to manage his innings going into this year.

The Sox certainly didn’t expect Tolle would be in the big leagues a year later. He began this season in High-A, striking out 38% of opponents over 11 appearances. That earned him a move to Double-A in June. Tolle pitched his way past that level within six weeks, recording a 1.67 ERA with 37 strikeouts in 27 innings. He has been at Triple-A Worcester for all of three weeks.

Tolle hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down at the top minor league level. He has fanned 17 hitters with a pair of walks in his first 15 Triple-A frames. Opponents have swung through 14% of his offerings in his three starts. Tolle’s fastball has sat in the 95-96 MPH range. He also uses a low-90s cutter, a slider, curveball and changeup among a deep arsenal.

Along the way, Tolle has vaulted towards the top of the organization’s prospect rankings. He’s second in the system at Baseball America behind Marcelo Mayer. Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs had him third among Sox prospects and 71st overall when he updated his Top 100 list shortly before the trade deadline. (Mayer had graduated from the FanGraphs list, where Tolle was behind Franklin Arias and Kyson Witherspoon.) Last week, Kiley McDaniel of ESPN ranked Tolle as a top 35 overall prospect and had him second after Arias in the system.

While the 22-year-old has certainly impressed evaluators, the aggressive promotion is also related to Boston’s rotation woes. Walker Buehler pitched his way out of the starting five and is locked into a bullpen role for the rest of the season. Richard Fitts appeared to get the first opportunity to replace Buehler, but he came out of Monday’s game with arm discomfort. He’s on the 15-day injured list with arm neuritis. Swingman Cooper Criswell landed on the minor league injured list last week.

The Sox needed to promote a fifth starter. The decision came down to Tolle versus Kyle Harrison. The latter is already on the 40-man roster and seemed to be the favorite for the job. Harrison has still yet to get a look from the Sox since they acquired him as the headliner of the Rafael Devers return. He has a solid 3.65 ERA in 11 Triple-A starts, but he’s walked nearly 12% of opposing hitters with a league average 21.5% strikeout rate. Boston evidently feels Tolle gives them a better shot to win.

Dustin May had been lined up for Friday’s turn through the rotation. He’ll move back a day and take the ball against Johan Oviedo on Saturday. Lucas Giolito will pitch the series finale with Brayan Bello and Garrett Crochet on turn for the first two games of next week’s series against the Guardians. Tolle would be lined up for the final game of that set if he gets a second start.

Boston will select his contract tomorrow. They can open a 40-man roster spot by moving Mayer to the 60-day injured list. He underwent season-ending wrist surgery earlier this month. They will need to make an active roster move involving a pitcher. Assuming they don’t want to designate Buehler for assignment, they’ll probably option southpaw Brennan Bernardino back to Triple-A. Teams will be able to carry a 14th pitcher beginning on September 1.

The Red Sox are now committed to carrying Tolle on the 40-man throughout the offseason. That’s the biggest roster consideration, as he would not have been eligible for the Rule 5 draft this winter. Tolle will not reach 45 days on an MLB roster this year. He’ll remain a rookie going into next season, keeping open the possibility of earning the Sox a future draft pick if they carry him for a full service year in 2026. Tolle will certainly meet the prospect criteria to be eligible for the Prospect Promotion Incentive.

Red Sox Reinstate Justin Slaten From 60-Day IL

By | at

The Red Sox made a series of roster moves Thursday morning, most notably reinstating right-handed reliever Justin Slaten from the 60-day IL. That move brings Boston’s 40-man roster to capacity. They’d previously had a vacancy after outrighting infielder Abraham Toro. The Red Sox also activated outfielder Rob Refsnyder from the 10-day injured list. To open active roster spots for Slaten and Refsnyder, they optioned southpaw Jovani Moran to Triple-A Worcester and placed first baseman Nathaniel Lowe on the paternity list (where he can spend up to three days).

Slaten, 27, is in his second season with the Red Sox after coming to Boston via the Rule 5 Draft in 2023. He was outstanding as a rookie in 2024, tossing 55 1/3 innings with a 2.93 ERA, a 25.9% strikeout rate, a tiny 4% walk rate and a strong 50% ground-ball rate. He’s had good results in 2025 as well, logging a 3.47 ERA in 23 1/3 frames, albeit with lesser rate stats. He’s been on the injured list since late May due to shoulder inflammation.

Slaten’s strikeout rate dipped to 17.8%, perhaps in part due to a significant drop in his slider usage. He threw nearly 25% sliders in ’24 but is down to 8% in ’25, instead favoring his curveball far more heavily (8.4% in ’24, 21.6% in ’25). Slaten’s walk rate has nearly doubled, up to 7.8%, but that’s still comfortably better than average. Sustaining a 4% walk rate was always going to be tough — it would be for any pitcher — particularly considering Slaten’s 8.5% walk rate in his final minor league season.

Even with some modest steps back this year, Slaten is a big arm who’ll provide a notable boost to Alex Cora’s bullpen. He’s been effective since day one in the majors, quickly pitching his way into a high-leverage role last year, and actually saw a bump in velocity prior to his IL placement, with his average four-seamer rising from 96.4 mph last year to 97 mph in 2025. He’ll join Garrett Whitlock, Justin Wilson and Greg Weissert as one of the primary setup options to closer Aroldis Chapman, who is enjoying perhaps the most dominant season of his 16-year major league career.

Latest On Red Sox’s Rotation

By | at

The Red Sox placed Richard Fitts on the 15-day injured list on Tuesday afternoon. The righty is dealing with arm neuritis. Fitts had stepped into a bulk role out of the bullpen on Monday. The Sox needed to replace Walker Buehler in the rotation after moving him to relief last week.

Fitts’ injury again leaves that spot in question. Manager Alex Cora confirmed they’re not going to reverse course on Buehler’s move to relief (link via Tim Healey of The Boston Globe). That means they’ll need to bring someone up for Saturday’s start against the Pirates. Cooper Criswell went on the minor league injured list last week. That leaves Kyle Harrison as the only healthy depth starter on the 40-man roster.

Harrison started tonight’s game with Triple-A Worcester. However, the Sox removed him after three innings and 38 pitches. That’d appear to tip their hand that they’re viewing Harrison as the choice for Saturday. He’d be on three days rest but that should be sufficient recovery time after today’s abbreviated outing.

The southpaw has been on optional assignment since the Sox acquired him as the centerpiece of the Rafael Devers return. He has a 3.65 ERA in 11 starts for Worcester, though he’s averaging less than five innings per appearance. Tonight’s deliberately brief outing is part of that, but Harrison has continued to struggle with pitch efficiency. That has been the question with Harrison, who has above-average stuff and strikeout potential while issuing a lot of free passes. The 24-year-old had started four of eight MLB appearances with San Francisco earlier this year, allowing a 4.56 ERA through 23 2/3 frames.

The most exciting alternative would be to turn to the organization’s top pitching prospect, Payton Tolle. Asked about a potential Tolle promotion, Cora said the Sox “haven’t talked about that” to this point (relayed by Christopher Smith of MassLive). Tolle is scheduled to start for Worcester on Thursday, so Boston would need to scratch him from that appearance to bring him up.

It’d be an aggressive promotion, as the 22-year-old was bumped up from Double-A less than three weeks ago. Tolle has recorded 17 strikeouts against two walks while allowing six earned runs across 15 innings through a trio of Triple-A starts. He has a cumulative 3.04 ERA while punching out nearly 37% of batters faced between three levels this year.

Red Sox Outright Abraham Toro

By | at

TODAY: Toro cleared waivers and was outrighted off Boston’s 40-man roster, according to multiple members of the Red Sox beat.  Toro has accepted the assignment, as per MassLive.com’s Sean McAdam.

AUGUST 21, 2:44pm: The Sox have now officially announced Toro’s DFA and Hamilton’s recall.

10:10am: The Red Sox are going to designate infielder Abraham Toro for assignment, reports Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic. Fellow infielder David Hamilton will be recalled as the corresponding move. The Sox have not yet announced the moves.

Toro, 28, signed a minor league deal with the Sox in the offseason. He was selected to the big league roster in early May after first baseman Triston Casas suffered a season-ending knee injury. For a long time, the Sox replaced Casas with a platoon of Romy González and Toro. González, who swings right-handed, has more than held up his end of the bargain. He has a .340/.389/.641 line against lefties this year, which translates to a massive 176 wRC+.

For a while, the switch-hitting Toro was playing his part as well, but he couldn’t keep it going. He was able to put up a strong .296/.296/.537 line in May but that dropped to .279/.354/.407 in June, .221/.295/.279 in July and .137/.151/.255 in August. His wRC+ was 123 in May but then slid to 110, 56 and -1 in the subsequent months.

The Sox recently added the lefty-swinging Nathaniel Lowe to the roster after he was released by the Nationals, effectively replacing Toro in that first base platoon. They could have kept Toro around as a multi-positional bench bat but it seems they prefer to have Hamilton take that role, with González and Nate Eaton also able to bounce around a bit.

Toro is out of options, so removing him from the active roster meant having to remove him from the 40-man. Now that he’s been designated for assignment after the trade deadline, he’ll have to be placed on waivers.

He is making a $1MM salary this year, a bit above the $760K league minimum. His declining offense this year will likely scare off other teams from claiming him and taking on that contract, though he does at least provide some versatility. He has big league experience at all the non-shortstop infield positions as well as the outfield corners. His career .223/.285/.356 batting line translates to a wRC+ of 81, so his true offensive talent level likely lies somewhere between this year’s hot start and more recent cold stretch.

If he clears waivers, he will have the right to elect free agency but probably won’t exercise it. Players with at least three years of service can reject an outright assignment in favor of the open market but need at least five years of service to both head to free agency and keep their salary commitments intact. Toro is in that three-to-five window and is still owed about $200K of his $1MM salary. Assuming he wants that money, he would report to Worcester and give the Sox some non-roster depth.

Photo courtesy of Brian Fluharty, Imagn Images

Red Sox Move Walker Buehler To Bullpen

By | at

August 22: Buehler is indeed headed to the bullpen, Cora told reporters (video provided by NESN). Monday’s start has yet to be determined.

August 21: A disappointing season for Red Sox’s righty Walker Buehler continued on Tuesday. He only completed four innings while allowing four hits and as many walks in a home loss to the Orioles. It was the fourth time in his past five outings that Buehler issued at least three free passes, and his season earned run average is up to 5.40 across 22 starts.

Asked this evening whether Buehler would make his scheduled start on Monday, manager Alex Cora said the team “(hasn’t) talked about it yet” (via Tim Healey of The Boston Globe). While Cora wasn’t interested in discussing the situation publicly, Chris Cotillo of MassLive reports that the Sox are having internal conversations about moving Buehler to the bullpen. It’s not out of the question that he pitches in relief at some point during this weekend’s series against the Yankees. That’d obviously rule him out of starting Monday in what would be a rematch against Baltimore.

Buehler hasn’t been anywhere near as effective as hoped. The Sox signed him to a one-year, $21.05MM free agent deal that matched the price of the qualifying offer that he didn’t receive from the Dodgers. Buehler had a very poor regular season in 2024 (5.38 ERA in 16 starts) but hit the market with positive buzz after closing out the World Series. That convinced the Sox he was a solid upside play, but Buehler’s numbers this year are even worse than those of the 2024 regular season.

The righty has a career-low 16.5% strikeout rate and has gotten whiffs on just 7.7% of his pitches. The recent command woes have pushed his walk rate north of 10% for the first time in his career (outside of a 2017 debut in which he pitched fewer than 10 innings). Buehler carried a 6.12 ERA into the All-Star Break. While he has managed a serviceable 3.66 mark in the second half, he has walked as many batters as he has struck out over his past six starts.

Boston recalled former fifth starter Richard Fitts from Triple-A Worcester this afternoon. Cora said that Fitts, who has started all 17 appearances between MLB and the upper minors, will be available out of the bullpen. Fitts averaged only four innings per start while posting a near-5.00 ERA in the big leagues. The Sox pushed him out of the rotation when they acquired Dustin May at the deadline. They could reverse course and have him start on Monday.

Boston could also use both Buehler and Fitts in relief and recall one of Kyle Harrison or Cooper Criswell to work as the fifth starter. Harrison has made 10 Triple-A starts since being acquired in the Rafael Devers deal. He has a solid 3.69 ERA but has walked 12% of batters faced while averaging fewer than five innings per start with Worcester. Criswell has a 3.70 mark in 65 2/3 frames over 16 Triple-A outings.

If the Sox do pull Buehler from the rotation, it’d impact him financially. He has already picked up $1MM in bonuses by reaching 20 and 22 starts. He’d unlock another $500K each at 24, 26, and 28 starts. He’ll be a free agent next offseason when the Sox decline their end of a mutual option in favor of a $3MM buyout.

Red Sox Outright Ali Sanchez

By | at

The Red Sox have assigned catcher Ali Sanchez outright to Triple-A Worcester, according to the transactions tracker on Sanchez’s MLB.com profile page. Sanchez had previously been designated for assignment by the Red Sox earlier this week to make room for first baseman Nathaniel Lowe on the active roster after he recently signed with the club following his release by the Nationals.

Sanchez, 28, signed with the Mets out of Venezuela as an amateur and made his pro debut prior to the 2014 season. He made it to the majors during the shortened 2020 season and has played in parts of four MLB seasons since then but has just 47 MLB games under his belt in that time as he’s served mostly as a depth catcher while bouncing between Queens, St. Louis, Miami, Toronto, and Boston at the big league level to go along with stints in the minor league systems of the Tigers, Cubs, and Diamondbacks.

While Sanchez is viewed as an excellent defender, he’s held back by lackluster offense at the dish. In 132 big league plate appearances, he’s hit just .185/.222/.235 with just five walks and only two extra-base hits. That’s a small sample split up over many years, of course, but even with that context Sanchez isn’t an impressive hitter. With 334 career games at the Triple-A level, he’s mustered a career slash line of just .269/.340/.399 at the level with with less than 100 total extra-base hits. That lack of substantial power even at the minor league level will hold him back as a hitter enough that it’s unclear if he’ll ever get a look as more than a depth option in the majors, though his defensive skills are strong enough to make him rather coveted for that minor league depth role.

Perhaps that unlikelihood of greener pastures elsewhere is what led Sanchez to accept an outright assignment despite the fact that he’s been outrighted multiple times before in his career and therefore had the opportunity to elect free agency. The Red Sox don’t have much depth behind the dish and currently occupy a playoff spot, so by sticking around at Worcester Sanchez could force his way back onto the roster during the stretch run or perhaps even for the playoffs if an injury creates an opening in the club’s catching tandem. That tandem is currently occupied by Carlos Narvaez and Connor Wong, with Narvaez receiving the lion’s share of playing time amid a standout rookie campaign.

Red Sox To Promote Jhostynxon Garcia, Place Wilyer Abreu On IL

By | at

Enter the Password. The Red Sox are promoting outfield prospect Jhostynxon Garcia to the majors. Katie Morrison-O’Day of MassLive reported the news. Outfielder Wilyer Abreu is going on the injured list, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive. Abreu has been battling some calf tightness in recent days.

Garcia, 22, was an international signing out of Venezuela back in 2019. His professional debut was delayed by the minors being canceled in 2020. Since then, he has climbed the minor league ladder, posting gaudy offensive numbers. Though he sometimes has received more attention for his unique name, which led to his delightful “Password” nickname, he has been creeping up prospect lists.

Last year, he split his time between Single-A, High-A and Double-A. He got into 107 games overall, hitting 23 home runs and slashing .286/.356/.536 for a wRC+ of 149. The Sox added him to their 40-man roster in November, to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. He has continued hitting this year. He has appeared in 99 games between Double-A and Triple-A with 20 homers, a .289/.363/.512 line and 133 wRC+.

Despite the strong production, the Sox haven’t really had a place for him. Their outfield picture has been cluttered all year, which also kept Roman Anthony down on the farm for a while. Anthony eventually got called up and joined a group that includes Jarren Duran and Abreu. Masataka Yoshida is often in the designated hitter spot but jogs out to the outfield on occasion. Ceddanne Rafaela had been the club’s regular center fielder but he has been spending a lot of time at second base to help the Sox clear the outfield logjam.

That crowding also seemed to push Garcia onto the trading block. His name reportedly came up in talks as the Sox tried to get Joe Ryan from the Twins ahead of the deadline, but nothing got done there. Ryan stayed in Minnesota and Garcia stayed with the Sox. The Sox also gave Garcia some first base reps to expand his versatility but he still only has eight innings of actual game time there. Abreu’s injury has finally opened a path for Garcia to get to the big leagues.

It’s unclear if Garcia is up for good or if it will be a short spell. Abreu’s injury has been lingering for the past few days. Since he wasn’t immediately placed on the IL, that suggests it’s fairly minor. Presumably, the Sox will backdate his IL placement by three days, meaning he could be back in a week. That could squeezed Garcia back down to the minors, though rosters also expand from 26 to 28 on September 1st, which could help him stay.

At this point in the calendar, he likely won’t be able to exhaust rookie eligibility. It’s too late for him to get 45 days of big league service time. He also probably won’t be able to get 130 at-bats. That means he’s likely going to still be a prospect going into 2026, which could be relevant for the prospect promotion incentive.

If Garcia is on two of the three prospect lists between Baseball America, ESPN and MLB Pipeline, then he could be PPI eligible. The Sox would need to call him up early enough in the 2026 season to earn a full year of service. If they did so, Garcia would earn them an extra draft pick by winning Rookie of the Year or by finishing top three in MVP voting during his pre-arbitration years. Garcia is already ranked the #78 prospect in the league by Baseball America and #77 at MLB Pipeline, though he didn’t crack the most recent ESPN update.

That will be a matter for the future. The logjam will still be present going into next season, unless the Sox make an offseason trade sending out someone like Duran or Yoshida. For now, the Sox are in a tight postseason race. They are 68-59, currently in possession of the second Wild Card spot in the American League. The top spot is held by the Yankees. The Sox are a game and a half back and the two sides kick off a four-game series in the Bronx tonight. Garcia will jump right into the middle of all of that and will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game.

Photos courtesy of Rick Cinclair, Imagn Images

MLBTR Podcast: The Pohlads Aren’t Selling The Twins, Nathaniel Lowe, And Service Time Manipulation

By | at

The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • Are there some notable relievers who could be on waivers this month? Also, what happens to a player when he is on waivers? (44:55)
  • If I told you that the Dodgers signed Kyle Tucker, would you believe me? (52:40)
  • What’s the craziest out-of-nowhere team to make the playoffs and could a team do it this year? (56:35)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn, Imagn Images

Vesting Options Update: Giolito, Polanco, Strahm

By | at

The upcoming free agent class doesn’t feature a ton of players whose contracts contain vesting options. Marcus Stroman’s deal with the Yankees would’ve contained an $18MM player option had he reached 140 innings, but an early-season knee injury made that impossible. The Yanks released him earlier this month anyhow.

While Stroman’s option was a non-factor, a trio of players are closing in on their own vesting provisions.

  • Lucas Giolito, Red Sox RHP ($14MM club option converts to $19MM mutual option at 140 innings; $1.5MM buyout in either case)

Giolito is up to 106 2/3 innings across 19 starts. He needs another 33 1/3 frames to convert next season’s $14MM team option into a $19MM mutual provision. That’d allow him to decline his end and retest free agency as he heads into his age-31 campaign. He’d very likely do so and could command a three-plus year contract.

The righty’s season numbers aren’t exceptional. Giolito carries a 3.63 earned run average with a 19.6% strikeout percentage that is his lowest since his terrible 2018 campaign. He had a trio of blowups in his first seven appearances after missing all of last season to an internal brace surgery. He has been locked in over the past two-plus months. In his last 12 starts, Giolito carries a 2.34 ERA while averaging over six innings per appearance. His 20.4% strikeout rate still isn’t great, and he has benefitted from a .229 opponents average on balls in play, but he at least looks the part of a durable mid-rotation arm again.

Giolito has a good shot to reach 140 innings. He’d need to average a little under six innings per start over his next six appearances. If he stays healthy, he should take the ball at least seven times — which would give him leeway in case he has one bad outing in which he’s knocked out after two or three frames. Even a minimal injured list stint would take it off the table, though.

Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said over the weekend that the Sox had no intention of changing Giolito’s workload to keep him from vesting the option. No front office executive would publicly admit otherwise, of course, but there’s no reason to doubt Breslow in this case. The Red Sox are trying to secure a postseason berth. Even if they were out of contention, limiting a player’s workload so they could exercise an option to keep that player at a below-market rate wouldn’t make for an especially good relationship. If he gets to free agency, Giolito could take aim at something like the three-year deals secured by Luis Severino ($67MM with an opt-out after the second season) and Sean Manaea ($75MM with deferrals).

  • Jorge Polanco, Mariners DH/2B ($8MM mutual option converts to $6MM player option at 450 plate appearances, escalates to $8MM player option at 550 plate appearances; $750K buyout in either case)*

Polanco re-signed with Seattle last offseason on a somewhat complicated deal that reflected his health uncertainty coming off left knee surgery. The deal contains an $8MM mutual option which would vest into a $6MM player provision if Polanco reaches 450 plate appearances. Polanco has taken 395 trips to the dish. He’s 55 plate appearances from reaching the vesting mark, and he’d escalate the player option price back to $8MM if he tallies another 155 trips before season’s end.

Initially, the Mariners looked to have struck gold with that surprise re-signing. Polanco blasted nine home runs while hitting .384 through the end of April. Even with knee and side discomfort limiting him to early-season DH work, he looked rejuvenated. Polanco’s production completely tanked over the next two months, however. He had a huge July but is back to a .213/.275/.298 showing in 14 games this month.

Polanco has hit .209/.283/.344 across 315 plate appearances since the beginning of May. His season batting line (.245/.310/.439) is still above-average, but there have been significant peaks and valleys. Cole Young has taken over at second base. While Eugenio Suárez’s impending free agency leaves an opening at third base, Polanco hasn’t shown he’s healthy enough to play there regularly. There’s a good chance the Mariners would buy out their end of the option if it remains a mutual provision. Polanco only needs to start another 13 or 14 games to give himself more security.

That shouldn’t be a problem with 36 games remaining on the schedule. The M’s have sat him in each of their past two games against left-handed opponents, but he continues to play regularly versus righties. He’s highly unlikely to get all the way to 550 PA’s to push the player option to $8MM, but he should easily unlock the $6MM player option that’ll give him the unilateral decision whether to return to free agency.

* The vesting provision also requires that Polanco hasn’t suffered a lower body injury that’d prevent him from being ready for Opening Day 2026.

  • Matt Strahm, Phillies LHP ($5.5MM team option becomes guaranteed at $7.5MM at 60 innings)*

Strahm’s extension with the Phillies contained a $4.5MM club option for the 2026 season. The southpaw has already pushed that to $5.5MM and will escalate it to $6.5MM when he records two more outs. He’s 10 2/3 innings away from hitting the 60-inning threshold, at which point the price jumps to $7.5MM and becomes guaranteed.

In his case, it’s probably immaterial. Even if Strahm suffers a minor injury that keeps him from getting to 60 frames, the Phillies would probably exercise the option. Strahm is having another impressive season, working to a 3.10 ERA with six saves and 14 holds. His velocity has dropped a tick and he has lost a few points on his strikeout rate, but he has still punched out an above-average 27.7% of opponents. Strahm is one of Rob Thomson’s more trusted setup arms.

* The vesting provision also requires that Strahm pass a postseason physical.

Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top