Cade Horton To Miss At Least One Playoff Series Due To Rib Fracture
The Cubs will be without one of their top starters for at least the first round of the playoffs, as Cade Horton has been placed on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to September 25) due to a non-displaced right rib fracture. Left-hander Jordan Wicks was called up to take Horton’s roster spot for the final two games of Chicago’s regular season.
Horton made an early exit from his last start on Tuesday due to back soreness, and a follow-up MRI revealed an unspecified issue in his ribcage, as manager Craig Counsell told reporters earlier this week. Horton threw in the outfield yesterday and was slated to throw a bullpen session today, yet those positive signs have now been abruptly overshadowed by the news of the IL placement.
In the best-case scenario, Horton is now out of action until at least Game 5 of the NLDS, should the Cubs make it that deep into the second playoff round. Given that narrow window for activation, it doesn’t seem likely that the Cubs would include him on an NLDS roster, so a more realistic scenario would see Horton return as part of the NLCS roster if he can get healthy.
Of course, Chicago’s chances at such a deep postseason run will be a lot more difficult without the rookie who has emerged as a key rotation piece. Horton figures to get plenty of NL Rookie of the Year votes in the wake of a debut season that has seen the right-hander post a 2.67 ERA over his first 118 innings in the bigs. A 4.26 SIERA reflects Horton’s underwhelming 20.4% strikeout rate and the good fortune he has enjoyed in the both of both a 78.3% strand rate and a .258 BABIP, but Horton’s 6.9% walk rate is very solid.
There’s also the fact that Horton (the seventh overall pick of the 2022 draft) was getting better as he gained more experience. He posted a 4.45 ERA across his first 56 2/3 innings, but then delivered just a 1.03 ERA over his next 12 starts and 61 1/3 frames. This was seemingly a good omen for Horton and the Cubs as the playoffs loomed, as the rookie had locked up a spot in Chicago’s postseason rotation.
The Cubs should have enough starting pitching options to get by, even if their depth chart has now been shortened. Shota Imanaga, Matthew Boyd, and either Colin Rea or Jameson Taillon will be the starters for the best-of-three Wild Card Series, and that quartet should line up as the rotation for the remainder of the postseason. Javier Assad is also in line to be at least a multi-inning reliever in October, and Counsell has indicated that he’ll use his entire pitching staff to navigate the playoffs, perhaps outside of traditional starter/reliever roles.
With two games left in the regular season, the Cubs are two games ahead of the Padres for the top NL wild card slot. Unless the Cubs go 0-2 and the Padres go 2-0 the rest of the way, their NLWCS will be played in Chicago, with Game 1 set for Tuesday.
MLB To Take Over Mariners’ Broadcasts In 2026
The Mariners are planning to shutter Root Sports at the end of 2025, with Major League Baseball to take over the club’s broadcasts in 2026. Details of the club announcement were relayed by Adam Jude and Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times.
“We continue to focus on finding new ways to bring our games in 2026 and beyond to our fans and we’ve determined joining with Major League Baseball is the best path,” reads a team statement, relayed by Divish. “Beginning in 2026 and moving forward, Major League Baseball will provide opportunities to bring new features and benefits to viewers of Mariners baseball. We are incredibly grateful for the dedication and excellence demonstrated by the Root Sports staff over the (nearly) four decades they have televised our games.” Jude relays that dozens of Root employees have been informed that they will be laid off on November 3rd but the broadcast team is expected to remain largely the same.
Regional sports networks (RSNs) have become an increasingly important part of baseball discussions in recent years. For a time, RSN deals were a reliable source of millions of dollars for teams. But cord cutting has led to a collapse of the RSN model, though not for all teams. Broadly speaking, the bigger teams like the Yankees and Dodgers are still in fine shape. Most large market clubs own their RSNs, in whole or in part, and still do quite well.
The Mariners tried to go down this road. In the 2023-2024 offseason, they took 100% control of Root Sports. They had previously owned 71% of the company but assumed the remaining 29% from Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel also carried the broadcasts of the NHL’s Seattle Kraken and the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers. They also carried the NBA’s Utah Jazz in some markets and some college basketball games involving schools in the Pacific Northwest.
Two years later, it seems the M’s have decided to go under the MLB umbrella. They won’t be the first. MLB took over the broadcasts of the Padres, Diamondbacks and Rockies in 2024 as those clubs saw their RSN deals collapse. The Twins and Guardians joined that list in 2025.
With those arrangements, fans who watched on traditional television setups were largely unaffected. The games are still on television with the personnel mostly unchanged. The setup also opened the possibility for fans to pay for a blackout-free streaming package, ordered directly from MLB.
For the club, it’s generally agreed that these arrangements are less lucrative than the previous RSN contracts. For the Mariners, they may be sacrificing some gross revenue but they are saving lots of money by getting rid of the costs of operating Root. It’s difficult to get a read on the full financial picture from the outside but the Mariners presumably feel this is a better arrangement for them. That may impact the club’s player payroll this winter, though further reporting should shed more light on that over time.
It was reported last month that ESPN had struck a deal with MLB, acquiring various elements for 2026 and beyond, including the in-market rights of the five clubs currently handled by MLB. It’s unclear how that will change things going forward. ESPN is launching a streaming service, so fans in those markets may have to deal with that company instead of MLB. With the MLB now taking on Seattle’s rights, it’s unclear if MLB will pivot and include them in that ESPN deal.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred is hoping to acquire the rights to all 30 clubs by the end of the 2028 season. MLB’s various national deals with companies like Fox and Turner all expire after that season. The same is true of other pacts with companies like Netflix and NBC/Peacock. Going into 2029, it’s theoretically possible that Manfred could market almost all MLB broadcast rights in one mega package, or split them up into smaller packages to be sold to multiple companies. Whether he can pull that off remains to be seen but this news pries loose one more club.
Photo courtesy of John Froschauer, Imagn Images
Nolan Arenado More Open To Waiving No-Trade Clause As Cardinals Plan To Rebuild
Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado is becoming more open to the possibility of waiving his no-trade clause. “I think I have to be,” Arenado said to Katie Woo of The Athletic. “That’s something I’ll discuss with my agent and my family.” Right-hander Sonny Gray made similar comments to the media this week.
The signs coming out of St. Louis indicate that major changes are on the horizon. Woo reported last week that many within the organization have been told to expect the club to embark on a multi-year rebuild with significant roster turnover.
It was around this time a year ago that the first signs of a major shift came to light. In late September of last year, the Cards announced that president of baseball operations John Mozeliak would be stepping down after the 2025 season. He would be replaced by Chaim Bloom, though Bloom would spend the 2025 season overhauling the club’s player development systems.
The Cards planned to cut payroll coming into this season but found that hard to do. Players like Gray and Willson Contreras were unwilling to waive their no-trade clauses and be sent out of St. Louis. Arenado was a bit more open to the possibility but gave the Cards a list of five clubs he would approve a trade to: the Dodgers, Yankees, Padres, Red Sox and Astros.
The Cards and Astros did line up on a deal at one point but Arenado used his no-trade clause to block it. At the time, the Astros had just traded Kyle Tucker to the Cubs. Arenado said he was open to joining the Astros but wanted more clarity on their post-Tucker plans. No deal eventually came together and he stayed a Cardinal.
The 2025 season opened with the Cards having done very little in the winter. The lack of trades was also accompanied by a lack of free agent activity. Their only big league deal was a $2MM guarantee for reliever Phil Maton.
They used the campaign to evaluate younger players without finding much success. Iván Herrera hit well but some injuries and shaky defense led to him spending most of the year as a designated hitter. Jordan Walker got almost everyday playing time but struck out in 31.9% of his plate appearances and slashed .215/.275/.299 for a 63 wRC+. Nolan Gorman also got lots of playing time but found similar results, with a 33.1% strikeout rate, .204/.297/.372 line and 88 wRC+. Victor Scott II can run and play the field but provided subpar offense. Masyn Winn‘s offense declined, though that may have been related to his knee injury.
There were disappointments on the pitching side as well. Matthew Liberatore got 29 starts with pedestrian results, including a 4.21 earned run average and 18.8% strikeout rate. Andre Pallante had a passable first half with a 4.49 ERA but has a 6.64 ERA in the second half. Michael McGreevy‘s 91 innings resulted in a 4.35 ERA. With those underwhelming performances and others, the club has produced a middling 78-81 record thus far.
While the Cards ended up largely standing pat last winter, it now appears they are firmly picking the rebuild lane. Woo says many in the organization expect the rebuild to take at least two to three years. As such, it’s understandable that players like Gray and Arenado would be more open to getting out of the way. Gray is about to turn 36 years old and has just one guaranteed year left on his deal. Though he may not want to uproot his family, from an on-field perspective, it would surely be preferable to go to a club planning to win.
Along similar lines, Arenado will be turning 35 in April and is only signed through 2027. “I think the discussion I’ll have with my agent for sure is that the list will be different,” Arenado said this week, referring back to last year’s five-team list. “I would really like this not to go the way it did last year,” Arenado said. “At some point, I’ll talk to Chaim, and then we’ll hopefully have a good plan on how we need to approach it. I’ll be very open about it, and I know he will too.”
What’s unclear is how much interest other clubs will actually have in Arenado. His fielding is still graded as solid but he’s coming off his worst full-season offensive performance since he was a 22-year-old rookie. He slashed .236/.289/.371 this year for a wRC+ of 82, indicating he was 18% below average at the plate.
“The way I played this year, it looks old and washed,” Arenado said. “But I don’t feel that way. My defense is still there. I’m seeing the ball fine. There are some things where my body isn’t in the right spot, and I need to get it there because I still feel like I can be a really impactful player.”
That performance doesn’t pair well with his contract. He is going to make $27MM next year. The Rockies are covering $5MM of that and there are deferrals, but it’s still a hefty commitment. He’ll then make $15MM in 2027 as well.
Even putting aside the complication of Arenado’s no-trade, the Cardinals would surely have to eat a decent chunk of that money to facilitate a deal. It’s unclear if they would prefer to simply jettison as much of the commitment as possible or if they would rather eat even more in order to secure a notable prospect return.
There are potential ramifications elsewhere on the roster as well. In Woo’s reporting from last week, she brings up the possibility of players like Lars Nootbaar or Brendan Donovan being available in trades this winter. Both players are can be controlled via arbitration through the 2027 season. If the Cards are indeed embarking on a multi-year rebuild, it makes sense to listen on players who are only controlled for two more seasons.
Nootbaar is wrapping up a down year at the plate. The outfielder came into 2025 with a career .246/.348/.425 batting line and 116 wRC+. This year, he has a .237/.326/.366 line and 97 wRC+. That obviously cuts into his appeal but presumably there are clubs who would bet on a bounceback. He is making $2.95MM this year and will get a bump in the next two years.
Donovan’s production has been more steady. He has a career .282/.361/.411 line and 119 wRC+. This year’s .287/.353/.422 line and 118 wRC+ are right around his normal range. He also provides defensive versatility, with experience at all four infield spots as well as the outfield corners. He is making $2.85MM this year. The affordability and positional flexibility make him a fit on almost any club.
Other trade possibilities could arise this winter as well. As mentioned, Contreras didn’t want to waive his no-trade clause last offseason, but perhaps he will follow the path of Gray and Arenado in becoming more open to it. He’s been moved off the catcher position but can still hit. Alec Burleson is controlled for three more seasons, slightly longer than Donovan and Nootbaar, but is coming off a nice breakout campaign which could allow the Cards to sell high. Herrera is still controlled for four more seasons but the questions about his catching ability perhaps make him a better fit elsewhere. Reliever JoJo Romero is only controlled through 2026.
The details will surely become more clear in the coming weeks and months but it appears the main path has been selected. The rebuilding road will be a new one for the Cards. In the earlier parts of this century, they were on the cutting edge of player development, which allowed them to be consistently competitive. They’ve only had two losing seasons since 1999, though this year may be a third. They believe they have fallen a bit behind in those development areas and need to reset.
Bloom will be in charge of hitting that reset button. His previous tenure with the Red Sox saw the club amass an impressive collection of young talent, including guys like Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell, Marcelo Mayer, Wilyer Abreu, Connelly Early and others. Bloom was fired before most of those guys reached the majors but they are now helping the Red Sox re-emerge as a contender. The hope will be for the Cards to follow a similar script, though it’s possible the next few years could be painful for the big league team.
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images
Sonny Gray Will Consider Waiving No-Trade Clause This Offseason
As the Cardinals embarked on a self-proclaimed youth movement that commenced last offseason, veterans like Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras and Nolan Arenado had control over their futures by virtue of their contracts’ no-trade provisions. Arenado ultimately wound up considering trade possibilities anyhow, but Gray and Contreras quickly made their intentions to remain in St. Louis clear to the club. That won’t be the case for Gray in the coming offseason, however. Asked following last night’s game whether he feels he has to consider greenlighting a trade this winter, the former All-Star was candid in acknowledging a change in tune (link via Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch):
“I think I do, just to be frank and to be honest. I definitely think I do. Whether I do decide that I want to go somewhere – whether that actually happens – I don’t have complete control of that. Obviously, I have control of where I can’t go or don’t go. I’m going to be 36. It’s going to be my 14th season. Last year of my contract for this. I don’t know what the future holds for me.”
Gray, 36 in November, has enjoyed another solid season in 2025, pitching to a 4.28 ERA with a 26.7% strikeout rate, a 5% walk rate and a 43.9% ground-ball rate in 180 2/3 innings. Metrics like FIP (3.39) and SIERA (3.29) feel he’s been far better than that more rudimentary earned run average would indicate. Since signing with the Cards in the 2023-24 offseason, Gray has made 60 starts and turned in a 4.07 ERA (3.27 FIP, 3.16 SIERA) in 347 innings.
On the surface, that performance and Gray’s broader track record would seem to create plenty of trade value — but the right-hander’s contract complicates matters. Even beyond the full no-trade protection, the backloaded nature of the contract will make it difficult for new president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom (who was announced as current president John Mozeliak’s successor last October) to extract real value in return for the former Cy Young runner-up.
Gray is entering the final season of a three-year, $75MM contract. However, he earned just $10MM of that sum in year one of the contract and $25MM in 2025. He’s owed a massive $35MM salary for the 2026 season and at least a $5MM buyout on a $30MM club option for the 2027 season. The 2022-26 CBA stipulates that for traded players, their luxury tax hit is recalculated to match the remainder of their contract. As such, Gray comes with a $40MM CBT number. To a team that isn’t paying the luxury tax, that’s perhaps not a dealbreaker. But for third-time payors in the top penalty tier (e.g. Dodgers, Mets, Phillies, Yankees), Gray would come with a 110% tax; he’d effectively cost them a staggering $84MM.
No team is going to that length for one year of Gray, Plus, the Cards can’t even pitch the ’27 club option as a potential benefit. Gray’s contract stipulates that if his 2027 option is exercised, he can simply void the option and elect free agency. If Gray pitches well enough next year to merit a $30MM salary in 2027, he’ll probably just opt out once that option is exercised. That’d spare the new team $5MM in guaranteed money (plus any associated taxes), but that’s not really a selling point for the Cardinals when negotiating.
While we’ve seen a select few pitchers secure an annual value exceeding the effective one year and $40MM remaining on Gray’s contract, MLBTR’s Contract Tracker shows that it’s been reserved only for clear Cy Young-caliber arms coming off peak seasons. Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer both secured $43.333MM annual values when they were even older than Gray, but Verlander was coming off an AL Cy Young win in 2022 and Scherzer had just posted a 2.46 ERA and finished third in NL Cy Young balloting the year prior. Zack Wheeler‘s three-year extension with the Phillies pays him $42MM annually but was signed when Wheeler was a year younger and had turned in a combined 3.06 ERA in his previous 629 1/3 innings.
Gray, of course, is a decorated pitcher himself — a former first-round pick and three-time All-Star who has twice finished in the top-three of American Cy Young voting. That includes a second-place Cy Young finish with Minnesota as recently as 2023. His work with the Cardinals has been a few steps below those other $40MM-per-year aces, however.
There’s little doubt that Gray would be an in-demand commodity, in a vacuum. He’s 13th among all major league pitchers in terms of innings pitched since the 2019 season and carries a strong 3.51 ERA in that time. He misses bats, boasts plus command and keeps the ball on the ground at a slightly above-average clip. If Gray were a free agent and were to declare that he would only sign a one-year deal, it’s feasible that he could command close to $30MM, or perhaps even a slight bit more. Teams — especially big-market, high-payroll clubs — are often willing to pay a premium in terms of AAV to limit the long-term risk on free-agent contracts.
Even if there are teams who value him in that range though, the Cardinals would need to eat around $10MM just to pay Gray down to market value. If they wanted to actually create the type of surplus value that would net them a notable return in terms of prospects, they’d probably need to eat closer to $20-25MM of the contract. That probably wouldn’t net them a premium prospect, but at that price point they could justify asking for a solid minor leaguer or two to add to the middle tiers of their farm system.
It’s not yet clear how comfortable Cards ownership will be with paying substantial money to net a prospect return. If simply clearing salary is the goal, the Cards could probably eat $8-10MM and find a taker with little to no return — similar to the Cubs’ trade of Cody Bellinger to the Yankees last winter. The strength of any potential return will be contingent upon how much of the contract the DeWitt family is willing to pay down. Those are conversations that Bloom and ownership will have in the weeks ahead.
What’s clear at this point is both Gray’s intention to consider the possibility of waiving that full no-trade clause and the type of offseason that looms on the horizon for the Cardinals.
“I know the deal,” Gray last night said after noting that he and Bloom have spoken at length about the upcoming offseason. “I know the direction. …I came here to win. I signed here two years ago with the expectation of winning and trying to win, and that hasn’t played out that way. I want to win. I want to win, and I expect to win.”
Based on everything Gray said last night, there’s a very real chance that yesterday’s outing — six innings, two runs, seven hits, two walks, seven strikeouts — represents the final appearance of his Cardinals tenure.
Nationals To Hire Paul Toboni As President Of Baseball Operations
The Nationals are finalizing a deal with Red Sox assistant general manager Paul Toboni as the new head of their baseball operations department, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. Toboni will be Washington’s president of baseball operations, reports Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic, and will hire a general manager to be his second-in-command.
The Nats’ front office had been run by Mike Rizzo for many years. He first became the general manager in 2009 and later got a title bump to president of baseball operations. The club had a lot of success during his tenure, as they were perennial contenders in the previous decade and won the 2019 World Series.
But since winning that title, they entered a protracted rebuild that they have struggled to get out of. The current campaign will be their sixth straight with a losing record. Rizzo was fired in July, along with manager Dave Martinez, as the club looked to shake things up. Assistant general manager Mike DeBartolo was made the interim general manager at that point.
Toboni is only 35 years old and appears to be a rising star in the baseball world. The Sox fired chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom in 2023 and Toboni generated some interest for that job, even though he would have been only 33 years old at that time, when he was Boston’s vice-president of amateur scouting and player development.
The Sox eventually hired Craig Breslow to replace Bloom. Shortly thereafter, Toboni was promoted to assistant general manager, going into the 2024 campaign. In recent weeks, it has been reported that Breslow plans to hire/promote a general manager to work under him, with Toboni a strong candidate for that position.
But Toboni was also one of many candidates to run the Washington front office. Other reported candidates included Eddie Romero, another Boston assistant general manager, as well as Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins, Guardians assistant GM Matt Forman, Dodgers senior vice president Josh Byrnes, Royals assistant general manager Scott Sharp and D-Backs AGM Amiel Sawdaye. Instead of settling for the #2 job in Boston, Toboni gets the #1 spot in Washington.
As Passan points out, Toboni has been running Boston’s draft in recent years as the club has stockpiled an impressive collection of young talent. That includes players who have already risen to the major league ranks, with Passan listing Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell, Payton Tolle, Connelly Early and those who were included in the Garrett Crochet trade. Boston sent Kyle Teel, Braden Montgomery, Chase Meidroth and Wikelman González to the White Sox in that swap.
That is presumably of interest to the Nationals, who have struggled to develop their own draftees and signees in recent years. There is some young talent on the current big league roster but the top guys all came over in the 2023 deal sending Juan Soto to the Padres. The Nats were able to get CJ Abrams, James Wood, MacKenzie Gore, Robert Hassell III and Jarlin Susana in that pact. Hassell hasn’t yet provided anything in the big leagues but Abrams, Wood and Gore have all had success. Susana hasn’t yet reached Triple-A and just underwent lat surgery but he is considered one of the top pitching prospects in the league.
By contrast, a lot of the players that the Nats drafted or signed have not panned out as expected. Over the past decade, they have used first-round picks on Carter Kieboom, Dane Dunning, Seth Romero, Mason Denaburg, Jackson Rutledge, Cade Cavalli, Brady House, Elijah Green, Dylan Crews, Seaver King and Eli Willits. Some of those players are still young and with the Nats but the club probably doesn’t feel great about that group overall.
Ideally, Toboni can help the Nats have better results going forward. Even if he can do that, it probably won’t happen overnight. It was recently reported that the franchise is dealing with some concerning systemic issues. The club has seen a few notable staff departures recently. Per Andrew Golden of The Washington Post, scouting director Danny Haas jumped ship to the Orioles a few weeks ago. Just this week, TalkNats reported that senior director of amateur scouting Brad Ciolek is leaving to join the Tigers.
Toboni’s first priority will probably to focus on behind-the-scenes details like that, before he can even turn his attention to the roster. He will also have to conduct a search for a new manager to replace Martinez, unless he wants to just keep interim skipper Miguel Cairo around for next year.
There will surely be more clarity on the details in the coming weeks. It’s unclear what’s next for DeBartolo, who was a candidate for this job but was passed over. It’s also possible this news alters the next steps for the Red Sox, who were presumably hoping to retain Toboni.
For the Nats, it’s clear that 2025 is a pivot point for them. It will be impossible to evaluate the transition for years to come but they are hoping it’s a move away from their dreary present and towards a brighter future.
Photo courtesy of Brad Mills, Imagn Images
Astros’ Luis Garcia Will Miss 2026 Season Due To Elbow Surgery
Astros right-hander Luis Garcia will have some sort of elbow surgery and miss the entire 2026 season. Manager Joe Espada relayed the info to reporters, including Chandler Rome of The Athletic.
It’s a devastating blow for Garcia, who has already had a rough go of it in recent years. He has hardly pitched at all since the 2022 season. He made just six starts in 2023 before requiring Tommy John surgery. His attempts to return to the mound in 2024 repeatedly hit setbacks and he ended up missing that entire season.
He still wasn’t healthy to begin 2025 and he repeatedly hit more setbacks. He finally made it off the injured list in September. His first big league start in over two years went quite well, as he allowed three runs over six innings against the Angels. But in his second start, he didn’t make it out of the second frame. Facing the Blue Jays in Toronto, he called for the trainers and quickly departed. He was then placed on the 15-day IL due to elbow discomfort. He was transferred to the 60-day IL a few days later.
Given all the stops and starts of the past few years, it’s not especially surprising that something is amiss. Espada didn’t provide any specifics about what kind of surgery Garcia will require, but the fact that the procedure will wipe out his 2026 points to another ulnar collateral ligament operation. More details will likely be revealed after the procedure takes place.
The big question now is what’s over the horizon. By the time the 2026 campaign is done, Garcia will have essentially missed four seasons. Even if he does eventually get back to something resembling full health, there will be natural workload concerns after so much missed time.
Garcia is currently in his second arbitration season. He made $1.875MM both last year and this year. He can be retained via arbitration for 2026 but he’ll be non-tendered now that he’s going to miss the entire season.
Once he becomes a free agent, it’s possible that some club will sign him to a two-year deal. Such pacts are common for players rehabbing from notable surgeries. With such arrangements, the player get to bank some money while rehabbing. The signing team knows it won’t get anything in the first year of the deal but hopes that the investment pays off in the second season. Garcia does have a decent track record in the big leagues, with a 3.60 earned run average in 359 2/3 innings, but the exhausting extent of his recent time in the wilderness will surely make clubs hesitant to put money on him.
For the Astros, they already knew they weren’t getting anything out of Garcia this year, given that he was quickly put on the 60-day IL a few weeks ago. They probably didn’t have too much hope for him in 2026 but he’s now officially ruled out of next year’s plans as well.
They are about to lose Framber Valdez to free agency, so their on-paper 2026 rotation consists of Hunter Brown and Cristian Javier, with guys like Jason Alexander, Colton Gordon, AJ Blubaugh, J.P. France and others potentially in the mix. Spencer Arrighetti should have a spot if he’s healthy, though he is currently gathering opinions on his elbow. Ronel Blanco, Hayden Wesneski and Brandon Walter each required Tommy John surgery and will be sidelined into next year.
Photo courtesy of Erik Williams, Imagn Images
Cubs Hoping To Reinstate Kyle Tucker On Friday; Daniel Palencia Reinstated Today
The Cubs are hoping to have outfielder Kyle Tucker back in the lineup on Friday. “I think we’re trending towards that,” manager Craig Counsell said today, per Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times. Tucker is on the 10-day injured list and would need to be officially reinstated, which would require a corresponding active roster move.
Tucker is one of the better players in the league, when healthy. That qualifier has become more significant in recent years. He hardly missed any time from 2020 through 2023. Last year, a fractured shin limited him to just 78 games.
Here in 2025, he has played far more, though it appears some minor injuries have been impacting his production. He was diagnosed with a hairline fracture in his right hand in June, though that issue didn’t become publicly known until August. He had a huge .284/.395/.524 slash line through June 1st when he jammed his finger sliding into a base. His production continued to be strong in the initial wake of that injury, as he hit .311/.404/.578 in June. But it seemed to catch up to him in July, as he hit .218/.380/.295 that month and .244/.346/.389 in August.
After appearing in just two September games, a left calf strain put him out of action. He wasn’t immediately placed on the IL, as the club seemingly held out hope of him quickly bouncing back. That didn’t come to pass, so he hit the shelf September 9th, retroactive to September 6th. It was hoped that he could make a fairly quick return but that also hasn’t come to pass, as the issue has now lingered for about three weeks in total.
The Cubs have already clinched a playoff spot but won’t be able to secure a first-round bye since the Brewers have the Central sewn up. That means the Cubs will be playing in the Wild Card round, which begins on Tuesday. Ideally, Tucker can indeed be activated on Friday, which would give him three contests to get reacquainted with major league game speed before the playoffs begin.
Given his talents, Tucker’s return will be very important for the Cubs as they look to engineer a deep playoff run. It’s also incredibly important for him personally, since he’s an impending free agent. From 2020 through 2023, he slashed .277/.350/.516 for a 136 wRC+ with 77 stolen bases and strong outfield grades. Last year, even though he missed time with the shin fracture, he had an even better .289/.408/.585 line and 179 wRC+.
He seemed to be trending towards a massive contract this winter, with some even suggesting he could top $500MM on a deal of a decade or longer. This year’s nagging injuries have cut into his momentum. His season-long line of .270/.381/.472 still translates to a strong 139 wRC+ but, as mentioned earlier, he was better before getting banged up. Quickly getting back on track and cranking out a few timely hits under the bright lights of the postseason would surely help ease any sudden doubts that teams may have about making a long commitment to him.
Elsewhere on the Cubs’ roster, the pitching staff is getting a boost. Right-hander Daniel Palencia has been reinstated from the IL today, per Jordan Bastian of MLB.com, with left-hander Jordan Wicks optioned out in a corresponding move.
Palencia hit the IL a couple of weeks back due to a shoulder strain. Prior to that, he was having a breakout season and took over the closer’s role in the process. He currently has 51 innings pitched on the year with a flat earned run average of 3.00. He has struck out 28.1% of batters faced while giving out walks at a 7.6% clip, recording 22 saves in the process.
Getting him back just before the playoffs is a nice bump for the playoffs but the pitching staff could also lose a notable member. Righty Cade Horton, who departed his most recent start due to back tightness, is set to undergo an MRI. Counsell relayed that update on 670 The Score, per Bruce Levine.
Horton has had an excellent debut this year with a 2.67 ERA, 20.4% strikeout rate, 6.9% walk rate and 42.3% ground ball rate. If healthy, he would be in the mix for playoff starts alongside Shota Imanaga and Matthew Boyd. A notable injury would obviously take that off the table and lead to Jameson Taillon, Javier Assad and Colin Rea jumping up the depth chart.
Photo courtesy of Jonathan Hui, Imagn Images
Mets Designate Jose Siri for Assignment
The Mets announced today that outfielder Tyrone Taylor has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list. In a corresponding move, fellow outfielder Jose Siri has been designated for assignment. Will Sammon of The Athletic reported Siri’s DFA prior to the official announcement.
Siri was acquired from the Rays in the offseason, with the Mets sending right-hander Eric Orze to Tampa in exchange. That deal has clearly been a bust for the Mets. Siri has spent most of the 2025 season on the injured list. When healthy, he hasn’t performed well.
Taylor’s return squeezes him off the roster. Siri is out of options and can’t be easily sent back down to the minors. He is making $2.4MM this year and would have been due a raise in arbitration going into next year. The Mets were probably planning to non-tender him this winter anyway, so he gets cut today instead.
The Mets surely knew they were getting a flawed player, but also one with clear attributes. In 2023, Siri hi 25 home runs for the Rays, stole 12 bases and provided strong center field defense. His 35.7% strikeout rate and 5.5% walk rate were both awful figures but the power still helped him produce a .222/.267/.494 line and 106 wRC+. When combined with his speed and defense, he was worth 2.6 wins above replacement, in the eyes of FanGraphs.
His performance backed up a bit last year. He increased his walk rate slightly to 6.9%, though his strikeout rate also ticked up to 37.9%. His home run tally dropped to 18, in a larger sample of plate appearances. His .187/.255/.366 batting line and 78 wRC+ showed clear regression at the plate, but he still put up 1.8 fWAR thanks to his speed and defense.
But as mentioned, his 2025 season has not looked like that at all. He fouled a ball off himself in April and suffered a fractured left tibia. He was expected to miss eight to ten weeks but he ended up missing about five months, getting reinstated from the injured list earlier in September. When not on the IL, his performance has been decidedly lacking. It has only been 36 plate appearances but Siri struck out in 47.2% of those and has produced a .063/.167/.125 line.
Taylor hasn’t been great this year, but his tepid .218/.277/.315 line is still well beyond Siri’s production. The Mets acquired Cedric Mullins at the deadline to try to fortify the center field position. That hasn’t really worked out either, as Mullins is hitting .188/.287/.291 since joining the Mets, but that’s also a notch above Siri’s performance this year and Mullins has a greater track record as well. Brandon Nimmo started a game in center this week as well, though he’s back in left today with Taylor taking over up the middle.
Time will tell how the Mets fill the position going forward but they have decided there was no room for Siri. With the trade deadline having passed long ago, the only choice will be to put Siri on waivers. He would have no appeal to other clubs in the short term. As mentioned, he’s been in poor form. He also wouldn’t be postseason eligible with any claiming team. He can be controlled via arbitration for two more seasons, so it’s theoretically possible for another club to have interest in claiming him with an eye on next year.
If he passes through waivers unclaimed, he would have the right to reject an outright assignment, as a player with at least three years of big league service time. It’s possible he would decide to accept such an assignment, however. If the Mets make the playoffs and someone gets injured, he could be added back to the roster and perhaps play a role in the postseason.
There would also be a small financial consideration, as he has less than five years of service time. That means he would have to forfeit his remaining salary commitments in order to elect free agency. At this late stage of the campaign, that would be just a few thousand dollars, but the combination of that cash and the possibility of factoring into the playoffs could be enough for him to accept. In that scenario, he would have another chance to elect free agency at season’s end.
Photo courtesy of Troy Taormina, Imagn Images
Blue Jays Designate Alek Manoah For Assignment, Activate Anthony Santander
The Blue Jays have designated former Cy Young finalist Alek Manoah for assignment. That clears a 40-man roster spot for Anthony Santander, who returns from the 60-day injured list. Toronto placed Ty France on the 10-day IL with oblique inflammation to clear space on the active roster.
It’s an abrupt end to Manoah’s time in Toronto. The Jays selected the big right-hander with the 11th overall pick in the 2019 draft. The West Virginia product reached the big leagues two seasons later. He fired 20 starts with a 3.22 earned run average to finish eighth in AL Rookie of the Year balloting. Manoah built off that promising debut with a fantastic first full season in the big leagues. He threw just under 200 innings with a 2.24 ERA across 31 starts.
Among qualified American League pitchers, only Justin Verlander and Dylan Cease had a lower earned run average that year. Manoah landed behind that duo with a third-place finish in Cy Young balloting. He earned an All-Star nod and received down ballot MVP votes. Even if Manoah’s underlying marks weren’t quite so dominant, he was one of the most promising young pitchers in the game.
At the time, it would’ve been impossible to imagine the Jays cutting him loose less than three years later. Manoah’s stock has tumbled since the end of 2022. He allowed almost six earned runs per nine across 19 big league starts the following year. His strikeout rate dropped nearly four percentage points while his walks doubled. The Jays optioned him to the minors twice as he fell out of favor with the team competing for a playoff spot.
Manoah was slated to return to the rotation to open the ’24 campaign. He battled shoulder soreness during Spring Training and was forced to begin the season on the injured list. The Jays activated him in May. Manoah pitched well over five starts, turning in a 3.70 ERA with much better command than he’d had in the preceding season. His elbow gave out in early June, however, sending him for season-ending UCL surgery.
That’ll very likely turn out to be his last MLB work in a Jays uniform. Manoah finished last season on the 60-day injured list. He’d been on the IL for most of this season completing his rehab. The Jays activated him a couple weeks ago but didn’t have room for him on the MLB pitching staff. They kept him at Triple-A Buffalo on optional assignment.
Manoah managed a 2.97 ERA across seven Triple-A starts, but that came in spite of an unimpressive set of underlying numbers. His strikeout (20.4%), walk (12.2%) and home run (1.62 per nine innings) marks were all worse than average. Perhaps even more concerning is that his fastball was sitting 91 MPH. His heater had been around 94 during his excellent first two seasons and was above 93 before his elbow surgery last year.
The Jays are evidently pessimistic about his chance of recapturing his pre-injury form. Manoah certainly wasn’t going to be in the mix for a spot on this year’s playoff roster. Keeping him would have been about the next two seasons. Manoah is under arbitration control through the end of 2027. He made $2.2MM this season and will be in line for a matching rate next year if he’s tendered a contract. Toronto’s front office decided they weren’t going to take that roll of the dice.
Manoah will be placed on waivers this week. That’s in reverse order of the standings and is not league specific. The Rockies will have the first opportunity to decide whether to take a flier. They’ll be followed by the White Sox, Nationals, Pirates, Twins and so on. There’s a good chance someone will place a claim and hope that a healthy offseason allows Manoah to rebuild arm strength.
He’d remain controllable for another two seasons with a new club and still has two minor league options, so a claiming team could have him begin next season in Triple-A. If he clears waivers, Manoah would likely accept an outright assignment and remain with the Jays for the remainder of the season, but he’d qualify for minor league free agency at the start of the offseason.
In the short term, the bigger news for Toronto is Santander’s return. Their big-ticket offseason signee has been out of action since the end of May with a left shoulder injury. Toronto has been the top team in the American League despite getting virtually nothing out of the switch-hitting slugger. Santander hit just six homers while batting .179/.273/.304 through 209 trips to the plate.
Santander is one season removed from hitting 44 home runs with the Orioles. He might head into the postseason as a high-upside bench bat. The Jays kept him mostly at designated hitter on his rehab assignment. He started seven games as a DH and played twice in left field. George Springer is having a huge year as the primary DH. Even if the Jays were comfortable using him as an everyday right fielder in the playoffs, it’s not clear if they’d have DH at-bats available for Santander. Bo Bichette is aiming for a postseason return from his sprained PCL, but he may not be ready to play shortstop. That’d force the Jays to play Bichette at DH with Springer in right.
Davis Schneider and Nathan Lukes have divided the corner outfield playing time. They’ve each had decent seasons overall but haven’t hit this month. Santander could push one of them out of the lineup if the Jays are comfortable with his arm. He’d otherwise be left to operate in a bench role, especially if Bichette returns as a DH for the start of the playoffs. Lukes and Schneider got the nod between left and right field tonight against Boston and Lucas Giolito.
MLB Competition Committee Approves Automated Ball-Strike System For 2026 Season
7:33pm: Major League Baseball’s Joint Competition Committee voted 9-2 to approve the ABS challenge system, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports. All six owners and three of the four players voted in favor of the change. One of the players and the lone umpire on the committee voted against.
12:52pm: As expected, the ABS challenge system has been approved, per an MLB announcement.
11:50am: Major League Baseball’s Joint Competition Committee will meet today to vote on the implementation of the Automated Ball-Strike system for the 2026 season, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports. The 11-person committee — comprised of six owners, four players and one umpire — is expected to approve the ABS system for next year.
It’ll be a radical shift to the game’s identity — one that many fans feel is overdue but many others oppose with fervor. The strike zone will not be fully automated if and when the ABS system is approved. Rather, the challenge system that has been used in the minor leagues, during spring training and during this year’s All-Star Game will be in place.
Under the incoming ABS system, any pitcher, catcher or hitter will be able to tap his helmet or cap to signify his desire to challenge a ball or strike call from the home plate umpire. Teams are afforded two challenges per game but are only docked a challenge if it is unsuccessful. Once a team has two unsuccessful challenges, they’ll be out of challenges for the remainder of the game. In theory, there’s no limit to the number of successful challenges a team could go through in a game. Challenges must come immediately after a ball/strike call is made; the dugout cannot have the team’s replay coordinator review the pitch and call for a challenge 10 to 15 seconds after the pitch was delivered, for instance. The challenge result will be shown on the on the scoreboard immediately after a challenge is granted.
For many players, this system will be second-nature. The ABS system was first implemented in the low minors back in 2021. It’s been standard at the Triple-A level since 2022. More veteran players got their first taste of it during spring training 2025 and will have all of the 2026 spring schedule to acclimate to the changes. As with any notable change, there will be some hurdles and probably some hiccups in the adoption, but the league’s hope is surely that — much like the pitch clock and, to a lesser extent, instant replay — it will quickly become a fairly seamless integration.