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

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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

Astros Select Tayler Scott, Designate Jordan Weems For Assignment

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The Astros have selected righty Tayler Scott to the roster, with fellow righty Jordan Weems designated for assignment. Matt Kawahara of The Houston Chronicle was among those to relay the moves.

Weems was just selected to Houston’s roster a few days ago. Since then, he has made two appearances for the club. The first one went fine, as he tossed a scoreless inning against the Orioles on Friday. The Astros put him back on the mound yesterday, which led to a far worse outing. They were already losing 7-0 to the O’s through seven innings when they sent Weems in there. He faced seven batters but only retired one of them, surrendering three walks and three hits. Five runs came around to score as the club eventually lost 12-0.

The Astros used six pitchers, plus a mop-up inning from Chas McCormick, by the time that game was done. They have brought up a fresh arm today and bumped out Weems. Since he is out of options, he’s been bumped off the 40-man entirely.

With the trade deadline having passed, Weems will have to be placed on waivers. He was sent through waivers unclaimed in July. His recent performance presumably didn’t raise his stock much, so he might do so again. The last time he cleared waivers, he elected free agency and re-signed with the Astros on a new minor league deal. It’s possible the same sequence of events plays out again in the coming days.

As for Scott, he is also out of options and has been a fringe bullpen arm this year. He opened the year with the Astros but struggled and lost his roster spot. He ended up with the Diamondbacks for a spell but lost his spot with that club as well. That led him back to the Astros on a minor league deal about six weeks ago. Since then, he has tossed 11 Triple-A innings with a 4.91 earned run average.

It hasn’t been amazing year overall for Scott, as he has a 6.66 ERA in his 25 2/3 major league innings. However, he was much better in 2024, with a 2.23 ERA. He got some help from a .230 batting average on balls in play and 84.9% strand rate but his 4.13 FIP and 4.80 SIERA were still better than what he’s managed to do here in 2025. Due to his aforementioned out-of-options status, his grip on a roster spot could be tenuous, but he’ll give Houston a fresh arm and try to make the most of the opportunity.

Photo courtesy of Thomas Shea, Imagn Images

Yordan Alvarez Set To Begin Minor League Rehab Assignment

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After more than three and a half months on the injured list, Yordan Alvarez looks to be approaching a return.  Astros manager Joe Espada told the Houston Chronicle’s Matt Kawahara and other reporters that Alvarez is slated to begin a rehab assignment at Double-A Corpus Christi on Tuesday.  GM Dana Brown gave a few more details during a pregame radio interview, saying that the plan is for Alvarez to play Tuesday and then again on Thursday and Friday after a rest and examination day on Wednesday.

August 26 is the most probable day for Alvarez’s activation from the IL, when the Astros begin a home series against the Rockies.  Brown suggested that if Alvarez is feeling good after his initial three Double-A games, the slugger could be activated on Saturday when the Astros are in Baltimore, but naturally the team will proceed with caution given how Alvarez’s recovery process has already been filled with stops and starts.

Hand problems have bothered Alvarez in the past, so there was some trepidation that his initial IL placement due to hand inflammation in early May might go well beyond the minimum 10 days.  While Alvarez had advanced to taking live batting practice by the end the month, the situation took another turn when he felt some more soreness in his right hand, and a follow-up MRI revealed a slight fracture in his right ring finger.  More soreness in early July necessitated a move to the 60-day IL, and Kawahara writes that Alvarez also received two injections to deal with the inflammation.

Alvarez was able to restart his hitting progression and Espada said the three-time All-Star faced live pitching yesterday at the Astros’ Spring Training complex.  This was enough for the club to finally greenlight a proper rehab assignment.

2025 has been something of a lost year entirely for Alvarez, as he was hitting only .210/.306/.340 over his first 121 plate appearances before heading to the IL.  Alvarez has a history of relatively slow starts, so while these numbers were well below his career .838 OPS in March and April, there wasn’t much doubt that he’d eventually get on track with his usual level of elite slugging.  The Astros can only hope that Alvarez is able to return without needing much time to round into form, as every game is critical in the playoff race.

Given how Houston has been without Alvarez for most of the season and has dealt with a wealth of other injuries to multiple key players, it is somewhat remarkable that the Astros are still 69-55 and in first place in the AL West.  A once-sizable division lead has dwindled to just a single game, however, since the Mariners are surging and the Astros are only 14-20 in their last 34 games.

Josh Hader Diagnosed With Shoulder Capsule Sprain, Hopes To Return In Playoffs

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TODAY: Hader spoke with MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart and other reporters today, and essentially ruled out a regular-season return given the amount of time it would take him to rebuild arm strength after a three-week shutdown.  The closer is hopeful of being ready to pitch by the postseason.

AUGUST 15: The Astros announced that closer Josh Hader has been diagnosed with a capsule sprain in his left shoulder. He won’t throw for three weeks, and next steps for the star left-hander will be determined at that time. Houston placed Hader on the 15-day injured list earlier this week, though manager Joe Espada had already acknowledged prior to today’s announcement that his closer would miss more than two weeks.

Hader’s IL placement was the first injury of his big league career — and it’s a significant one. The ’Stros haven’t said whether surgery will be a consideration, but capsule repair procedures tend to come with considerable layoffs. Brewers righty Brandon Woodruff recently missed more than a year due to surgery to repair a capsule tear. Hader’s teammate, J.P. France, underwent capsule surgery early last July and only began a minor league rehab assignment on July 21 — more than a year later. He still hasn’t returned to a big league mound. On the other side of the coin, Michael Conforto suffered a capsule tear with the Mets late in the 2017 season and was back in the field the following April. That, however, was in his non-throwing shoulder — and the rehab process for an outfielder versus a pitcher will vary with any arm injury.

Obviously, every injury is different. Diagnoses and treatment plans are handled on a case-by-case basis. It’s not clear yet whether the damage in Hader’s shoulder is as significant as it was for Woodruff, France or any of the numerous pitchers who’ve previously undergone capsule procedures — nor is it even clear whether Hader will require surgical intervention at all. The Astros haven’t said one way or another and probably won’t do so until that reevaluation at the three-week checkpoint. Regardless of whether surgery is deemed necessary, Hader seems ticketed for a notable absence.

Right-hander Bryan Abreu got the first save opportunity in Hader’s absence, though Espada has suggested that he’ll take a committee approach to the ninth inning and make his decisions based on matchups rather than set roles. Lefties Steven Okert, Bennett Sousa and Bryan King could all factor into the ninth inning as well, depending on where the Astros are in the opposing lineup.

Even if Hader manages to avoid surgery, losing him for three weeks — likely a bit longer, if he needs a rehab assignment — is a critical blow at a time when the American League West race has tightened considerably. Houston’s once formidable lead has largely evaporated. The red-hot Mariners recently won seven straight games and have picked up a victory in eight of their past ten contests. That, coupled with a recent 2-8 stretch for Houston, has pulled Seattle within a game and a half of first place.

Notably, the two teams still have a series against one another left on the schedule: a three-game set in Houston from Sept. 19-21. The Astros will obviously hope Hader can somehow be ready to contribute at that point, but that feels optimistic based on the initial diagnosis.

Hader is being paid $19MM in the second season of a five-year, $95MM contract. He’s been exceptional this year, saving 28 games and pitching to a pristine 2.05 ERA with a 36.9% strikeout rate and 7.6% walk rate in 52 2/3 innings.

Hector Neris Elects Free Agency

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Veteran reliever Hector Neris has elected to become a free agent rather than accept an outright assignment to the Astros’ Triple-A affiliate, as per the team.  Houston designated Neris for assignment earlier this week, and after he cleared waivers and was outrighted off the 40-man roster, Neris’ nine-plus years of MLB service time allowed him the right to opt for free agency rather than remain in the Astros’ organization.

There wasn’t much surprise in Neris’ decision, and the 36-year-old will now seek out another new landing spot in what has been a nomadic season for the right-hander.  Neris has already suited up with the Astros, Angels, and Braves in 2025, signing a guaranteed deal with Houston in July following minor league contracts with Los Angeles and Atlanta.  Neris also opted into free agency after being outrighted off the Braves’ roster in early April, and after another DFA in late June, the Angels just released Neris rather than go through the motions of an outright.

A 6.75 ERA over 26 2/3 combined innings in 2025 underlines why Neris has had trouble sticking on a roster.  On the plus side, Neris has a strong 28.2% strikeout rate, and his 3.85 SIERA reflects how some bad luck (.348 BABIP, 55.9% strand rate) has inflated his real-world ERA.  However, Neris hasn’t helped his cause by allowing six homers within his small sample size of work, and his 12.9% walk rate is the highest of his 12-year Major League career.

Despite these numbers and a shaky 2024 season with the Cubs and Astros, Neris has enough of a career track record that he’ll surely catch on somewhere, likely on another minors contract.  Teams in need of bullpen help may well focus more on the strikeout rate than Neris’ control issues, and hope that a change of scenery can help him finally get his wayward year on track.  Signing with a new team before September 1 would also make Neris eligible for postseason play, though naturally he’ll need to perform a lot better than he has in order to receive consideration for a playoff roster.

Cooper Hummel Elects Free Agency

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Catcher/outfielder Cooper Hummel went unclaimed on waivers after being designated for assignment by the Astros and will reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency, reports Ari Alexander of KPRC-2.

Hummel, 30, has appeared in 37 games between the Astros and Orioles this season, taking 105 plate appearances and posting a combined .170/.298/.273 slash with three homers, a 13.3% walk rate and a problematic 29.5% strikeout rate. He’s been better in a small sample of 68 Triple-A plate appearances.

Part of the reason for that limited work is a dizzying sequence of transactions. Hummel has now been designated for assignment four times since the season began. He’s elected free agency each time and signed four minor league deals — two with the Orioles, one with the Astros and one with the Yankees.

Though Hummel has never hit much in the majors (.163/.268/.275 in 340 plate appearances), he’s an accomplished Triple-A hitter with uncommon defensive versatility. The former 18th-round pick is a .284/.418/.480 hitter in nearly 1500 trips to the plate at Triple-A in his decade-long pro career, and he’s experienced behind the plate, in the outfield corners and at first base.

It’s an understandably appealing skill set, but Hummel has frequently found himself as the effective 26th man on teams’ 26-man rosters, and his lack of minor league options has resulted in him changing hands more than most players. He’ll presumably sign a fifth minor league deal of the season in the days ahead. It seems likely that the Orioles and Astros, who’ve both acquired him multiple times over the past two calendar years, will show some level of interest, but he’ll have the chance to talk to all 30 teams once he’s formally elected free agency and returned to the open market.

Astros Place Josh Hader On Injured List Due To Shoulder Strain

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August 13: Espada provided a vague yet ominous update today. Hader is seeking a second opinion on his shoulder and will be on the IL beyond the minimal stint. “This is going to take a little bit longer than the two weeks,” he said, per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.

August 12, 11:59 pm: Espada says he won’t name a new closer in Hader’s place, suggesting he will instead take a mix-and-match approach to filling the late innings (per Kawahara).

4:14 pm: Espada tells the Astros beat that Hader will receive additional testing (link via Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle). The team has not yet ascertained the severity of the strain and thus do not have a firm timeline on his potential return.

3:15 pm: The Astros announced that closer Josh Hader has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a left shoulder strain. An immediate timetable for his return was not revealed. Houston recalled lefty Colton Gordon from Triple-A in a corresponding roster move. The Astros also reinstated righty Shawn Dubin from the injured list and opened a roster spot by designating veteran reliever Hector Neris for assignment.

Remarkably, this is the first time Hader has ever been placed on the major league injured list (excepting a brief 2021 placement on the Covid-related IL). He’s not only been one of the sport’s most dominant relievers but also its most durable reliever. Dating back to Hader’s midseason debut in 2017, only Raisel Iglesias (who spent the entire ’17 season in the majors) has more innings pitched. (Somewhat ironically, Neris ranks third among all relievers in innings pitched during that time.) From 2018-25, only two innings separate Iglesias (466 2/3) and Hader (464 2/3) for the MLB lead.

After an up-and-down first year with Houston in 2024, Hader has been back to his typically dominant self in 2025. He’s totaled 52 2/3 innings and worked to a 2.05 earned run average while piling up 28 saves and punching out an outstanding 36.9% of his opponents against a quality 7.6% walk rate. Hader’s sinker is averaging 95.5 mph, down about a half-mile from last season, and he’s throwing his slider more than ever before — at a 41.4% clip. His colossal 21.1% swinging-strike rate is tied with Mason Miller for tops among all big league pitchers — starters and relievers alike — with at least 10 innings pitched this season.

Hader is in the second season of a five-year, $95MM contract he signed as a free agent in the 2023-24 offseason. It’s the second-largest contract ever for a reliever, both in terms of total guarantee and average annual value, trailing only Edwin Diaz (in both regards). That contract pays him an evenly distributed $19MM annually from 2024-28.

As for the 36-year-old Neris, he’s pitched for the Astros, Angels and Braves this year but struggled with all three. The right-hander has pitched a combined 26 2/3 innings with just a 6.75 ERA to show for it. Much of the damage against him came early in the season with Atlanta, but Neris posted a 5.14 with the Angels and is at 5.40 in 11 2/3 frames during what’s been his third stint as a member of the Houston bullpen.

While Neris has never exactly been a flamethrower, this year’s 92.4 mph average four-seamer is a career-low, falling shy of last year’s career-low 93 mph average. The 92.6 mph he’s averaging on his sinker is also a career-low. Neris is generating fewer whiffs, chases and grounders than ever before on his go-to splitter as well.

Since the trade deadline has passed, the Astros’ only course of action with Neris will be to place him on outright waivers or release waivers. They’re effectively the same thing for a player in Neris’ situation at this point, as he has the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency anyhow and is quite likely to do so. If another club can get the veteran righty back on track, he’d be postseason-eligible with that new team so long as he was signed prior to Sept. 1.

With Hader on the shelf and Neris off the roster, the Houston bullpen will now look to righty Bryan Abreu as its anchor. He’s the immediate favorite to pick up saves in Hader’s place. Lefties Bryan King, Bennett Sousa and Steven Okert all have a 3.10 ERA or better on the season and figure to collect the majority of setup opportunities while Hader is out.

Since the Astros don’t have another shutdown righty beyond Abreu, it’s at least possible that Abreu could see work in the eighth inning if the Astros’ opponent has a run of tough righties, which would thus leave the ninth inning for one of that trio of lefties. That said, both King and Okert have been terrific against both righties and lefties. That gives manager Joe Espada plenty of options late in the game, but the loss of Hader is nonetheless a crucial blow as Houston tries to fend off a surging Mariners club that has rattled off seven straight wins to pull within one game of the AL West lead.

Astros Select Jordan Weems

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The Astros announced Wednesday that they’ve selected the contract of right-handed reliever Jordan Weems from Triple-A Sugar Land. Left-hander Colton Gordon was optioned to Triple-A in a corresponding move. Houston had an open 40-man spot.

It’s Weems’ second Astros stint of the season. He was up briefly from late June into early July, tossing three innings and allowing a pair of runs on five hits and no walks without a strikeout. Weems had opened the season in the Braves organization after signing a minor league deal but opted out of that contract and landed with Houston instead. He’s pitched well for their Triple-A club, logging 17 2/3 innings with a 3.06 ERA, 24.3% strikeout rate and 9.5% walk rate.

Weems, 32, has now pitched in parts of six major league seasons. He’s previously suited up for the A’s, D-backs and Nationals. Add in his brief stint with the ’Stros earlier in the summer, and the 6’4″ righty has totaled 158 2/3 big league frames with a 5.28 ERA, 23.2% strikeout rate, 11.1% walk rate and 37% ground-ball rate. He’s not far removed from posting a 3.62 ERA in a career-high 54 2/3 innings with the 2023 Nats, though that production came in spite of an ugly 12.1% walk rate and 1.48 HR/9. Some regression seemed inevitable, and Weems indeed struggled mightily with the ’24 Nats.

The call to the majors for Weems comes just one day after Houston placed star closer Josh Hader on the injured list with a shoulder strain. It’s still not clear how long Hader will be sidelined. Obviously, Weems isn’t going to be viewed as any kind of replacement. The Astros will mix and match in the ninth inning, giving save opportunities to righty Bryan Abreu and lefties Bryan King, Bennett Sousa and Steven Okert. Weems adds some depth to backfill the bullpen, though it’s also possible that he’s just being called up as a fresh arm and is in for another short stint on the roster. Houston was shellacked 14-1 at the hands of the Red Sox yesterday and used three relievers before turning things over to outfielder Chas McCormick to pitch the final two frames of mop-up work.

Royals To Sign Nick Robertson To Minor League Deal

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The Royals have agreed to a minor league contract with Nick Robertson, reports Ari Alexander of KPRC 2. The right-hander had spent most of the season in the Astros organization, but he was released today, according to the transaction log on his MLB.com player page.

Robertson, who recently turned 27, appeared in the majors for the Dodgers, Red Sox, Cardinals, and Blue Jays from 2023-24, pitching a total of 35 2/3 innings over 27 games. He struck out 40 while issuing just nine unintentional walks, but a high opponents’ batting average and six home runs led to a 5.30 ERA.

The Blue Jays held on to Robertson over the 2024-25 offseason but designated him for assignment on Opening Day. They then traded him to the Astros, and while he never earned a promotion to Houston, he stuck on the 40-man roster for the first four months of the year. Eventually, however, Robertson was DFA’d in the days leading up to the trade deadline, but he passed through waivers unclaimed, and the Astros sent him outright back to Triple-A Sugar Land.

Robertson has a 4.25 ERA but a 5.12 FIP in 36 Triple-A innings this year. Control has been an issue, as his 16.6% walk rate is the highest mark he’s posted at any level in any single season of his career. Yet, the Royals must have seen something they liked; perhaps it’s his 47.8% groundball rate, which has helped him limit his opponents to just three home runs in 157 trips to the plate. Indeed, Robertson has always done quite a good job of limiting home runs at Triple-A. In 127 innings dating back to 2022, he has only given up 12 long balls, a rate of one every 46.25 batters faced. While he hasn’t earned much MLB playing time, several organizations have been intrigued by his profile over the past two years. The Dodgers included him in their trade for Enrique Hernández at the 2023 deadline, and the Red Sox flipped him to the Cardinals the following winter as part of the return for Tyler O’Neill. The Angels, Blue Jays, and Astros have since acquired him, and now the Royals are the latest club interested in seeing what he has to offer.

Josh Hader Undergoing Tests For Shoulder Discomfort

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The Astros used Enyel De Los Santos and Bennett Sousa in the ninth inning of tonight’s 7-6 win over the Red Sox, which immediately raised eyebrows since closer Josh Hader hadn’t pitched since Friday and was seemingly fresh.  After the game, manager Joe Espada told reporters (including Matt Kawahawa of the Houston Chronicle) that Hader was unavailable due to what Espada described as “discomfort” in Hader’s left shoulder.

Hader was undergoing testing on his shoulder and more will be known once the results of those scans are in, but for now, the Astros and their fans can only hope that the closer has avoided a significant injury.  Losing Hader would be a massive hit to an Astros team trying to stay ahead of the surging Mariners in the AL West race.

Now in his second season of a five-year, $95MM free agent contract, Hader wasn’t quite as dominant as usual in 2024, as a spike in home runs and hard-hit ball rate led to a 3.80 ERA over 71 innings.  Things have been more normal this year, as Hader has a 2.05 ERA over 52 2/3 innings, and posted a set of impressive Statcast metrics to go along with his sparkling ERA.  Hader’s 7.8% walk rate is noteworthy, as it represents his first above-average number in that category since the 2019 season.  As always, Hader is generating a ridiculous amount of swing-and-miss, sitting in the 99th percentile of all pitchers in strikeout, whiff, and chase rates.

In his previous game on Friday, Hader threw a season-high 36 pitches over two innings of work, getting the win in the Astros’ ten-inning 5-3 result over the Yankees.  He has topped the 30-pitch threshold just four times in 48 games this season, and only seven times pitched more than a single inning.  With this in mind, it could be that Hader is just a little sore in the aftermath of that longer outing in New York, and needs a bit more recovery time.

Houston’s pen is deep enough in quality arms that the club should be able to withstand a brief absence for Hader, as any of Sousa, Steven Okert, Bryan King, or Bryan Abreu could step into the closer’s role.  The Astros have had one of the best bullpens in baseball this year, though obviously Hader has been a big factor in the relief corps’ excellence.

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