Félix Bautista Undergoes Shoulder Surgery, Expected To Miss 12 Months
The Orioles announced today that right-hander Félix Bautista has undergone surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff and torn labrum in his right shoulder. He is expected to miss the next 12 months. Jake Rill of MLB.com was among those to relay the news.
The news is obviously brutal for the O’s and Bautista. He just missed the entire 2024 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. He got back on the mound this year and showed some flashes of his old self. However, he’s now going to miss the remainder of the 2025 season and a huge chunk of 2026 as well. Given the estimated timeline, any kind of setback could lead to him missing another entire season.
Prior to the injury setbacks, he had established himself as one of the most dominant relievers in the game. Over the 2022 and 2023 campaigns, he gave the O’s 126 2/3 innings with a tiny 1.85 earned run average. His 10% walk rate was a bit on the high side and his 39.9% ground ball rate wasn’t special but he punched out a massive 40.4% of batters faced.
As mentioned, he showed some hints of that form in 2025, though also with some rust. He logged 34 2/3 innings this year with a 2.60 ERA. His 35.2% strikeout rate was technically a drop-off but still a great figure. Meanwhile, his grounder rate jumped to 50.7%. On the worrying side, his walk rate spiked to 16.2%.
Perhaps he would have continued refining things as he got more innings and shook off the rust, but that won’t happen now. He landed on the 15-day IL in July due to shoulder discomfort. It was announced by the team in August that his injury was “significant” and that he wouldn’t be coming back this year. Today’s news provides more clarity on how dire the situation is. It’s possible that Bautista eventually throws less than 40 innings for the 2024-26 stretch. If he returns late next year, he could push a bit beyond that number, but likely not by much.
Bautista is controllable through 2027. He is making just $1MM this year. He will be due a raise in arbitration for 2026 and 2027 but the missed time cuts into his ability to substantially increase his salary. Given his ceiling, the O’s will surely tender him a contract with the hope of him contributing late in 2026 and/or for the entire 2027 campaign.
For the O’s, it’s the latest kick to the nuts in a season that has seen them pummeled by injuries. They came into the year knowing that Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells would be rehabbing from last year’s surgeries, but then they have also seen guys like Grayson Rodriguez, Zach Eflin, Andrew Kittredge, Albert Suárez and others miss significant time. On the position player side, Tyler O’Neill, Adley Rutschman, Colton Cowser, Ryan Mountcastle and others missed chunks of time.
Those injuries helped push the O’s down in the standings. Though they came into the year with clear postseason aspirations, they wound up deadline sellers. Cedric Mullins, Kittredge, Gregory Soto, Seranthony Domínguez, Bryan Baker, Charlie Morton, Ramón Urías, Ramón Laureano and Ryan O’Hearn were all flipped prior to the deadline.
The club is now playing out the string on the 2025 season, so the Bautista injury is fairly moot for the short term. But his extended timeline obviously hurts for 2026. As mentioned, the O’s already flipped four relievers last month, putting a big dent in the bullpen. Bautista is an even bigger loss.
Though they sold at the deadline, it’s assumed that the club intends to rebound and compete again in 2026, as they have a young and exciting core to build around. Presumably, the Orioles already planned on making a few bullpen moves in the coming offseason. This news should only enhance the need.
For Bautista personally, it’s another delay in him unlocking a notable paycheck. The late bloomer didn’t crack the big leagues until he was in his age-27 season. Despite his excellent results, he’s now 30 and hasn’t made more than $1MM in a season, which is barely above the league minimum. The two lengthy surgery absences will dampen his earning power in arbitration. He’s not slated to reach free agency until after his age-32 campaign. It’s possible he’s healthy by that point but the injury track record will be still be noted by clubs.
Photo courtesy of Jonathan Dyer, Imagn Images
Phillies Place Zack Wheeler On Injured List With Blood Clot
August 18: The Phils announced today that Wheeler “underwent a successful thrombolysis procedure to remove a blood clot in his right upper extremity this morning by Dr. Paul DiMuzio at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. Further treatment and a subsequent timeline of recovery for Wheeler is to be determined.”
August 16: The Phillies announced that Zack Wheeler has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a right upper extremity blood clot. According to Charlotte Varnes of The Athletic, the clot is near his throwing shoulder. The team has not announced a timetable for his return.
Philadelphia will activate Aaron Nola from the 60-day IL tomorrow. He’s listed as the probable starter for their series finale in Washington. They initially intended to go with a six-man rotation. Instead, Nola will take Wheeler’s spot in a five-man staff that also includes Cristopher Sánchez, Ranger Suárez, Jesús Luzardo and Taijuan Walker. They’ll still need to open a 40-man roster spot for Nola and make an active roster transaction to clear space for Alec Bohm, who is expected back from a 10-day IL stint tomorrow.
The immediate roster considerations take a back seat to concern about Wheeler’s future. The Phils should be able to withstand a short-term absence, at least with regard to the division. They’ve built a five-game lead over the Mets in the NL East. Their hold on the #2 seed in the National League and the associated first-round bye is tenuous. They’re only half a game up on the Dodgers and Padres, who enter play Saturday night tied for the NL West lead. (San Diego and L.A. are playing one another, so one of them will tie Philly this evening.) The scorching hot Brewers have pulled well ahead of the pack for the NL’s top seed.
If this requires a longer-term absence, it’d obviously be a massive blow. Wheeler remains on the short list for the title of MLB’s best pitcher. He has a 2.71 earned run average and leads the majors with 195 strikeouts. He’s averaging more than six innings per start. This will probably be Wheeler’s second consecutive sub-3.00 ERA showing and his fifth time allowing fewer than three earned runs per nine over his six seasons in Philadelphia. Wheeler has been exceptionally durable. This is just his second IL stint as a Phillie, with the other being a month-long absence due to forearm tendinitis in 2022.
A healthy Wheeler would be Philadelphia’s Game 1 starter. There’s no indication that the team is concerned about his playoff availability, but a blood clot comes with a level of uncertainty. The Phillies will presumably provide more specifics in the next few days.
Red Sox Finalizing Deal With Nathaniel Lowe
The Red Sox and first baseman Nathaniel Lowe are in the final stages of a contract, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. MassLive’s Chris Cotillo reported earlier that Lowe and the Sox were in discussions and were “working on getting it done.” Lowe is represented by SportsMeter.
The signing comes at little surprise, as reports linking the Sox to Lowe have been swirling since May, soon after Triston Casas was lost to what is likely to be a season-ending knee surgery. Boston continued to show interest in Lowe prior to the trade deadline but no deal was reached with the Nationals. After the Nats designated Lowe for assignment and placed him on waivers yesterday, Cotillo reported that the Sox were likely to make a play for the former Gold Glover, so it would appear that Lowe is now officially a free agent after clearing waivers.
Casas’ injury sparked quite a chain reaction in Boston’s season, as Rafael Devers‘ subsequent refusal to play first base was one of the factors that led to Devers being traded to the Giants in June. While the Sox looked around the market at Lowe and other trade options, the fill-in platoon of Abraham Toro and Romy Gonzalez performed respectably well, with Gonzalez in particular crushing left-handed pitching. Since Lowe is a left-handed hitter, it stands to reason that Gonzalez will still get his share of at-bats when a southpaw is on the mound, and Toro could be the odd man out of the playing time equation.
The question now facing the Sox is what version of Lowe are they getting — the solid veteran who was a fixture as the Rangers’ first baseman from 2021-24, or the much-less productive Lowe who hit only .216/.292/.373 over 490 plate appearances with Washington. These underwhelming numbers included a decent but uninspiring .235/.312/.421 slash line in 337 PA against right-handed pitching.
Even those splits represent an upgrade over Toro, plus there is more potential upside if the change of scenery returns Lowe to his past Rangers form. The Red Sox are one of baseball’s better-hitting teams overall, though the club is more productive against left-handed pitching. Boston’s collective 102 wRC+ against right-handers is tied for 15th among the 30 teams.
There is no financial risk for the Red Sox in adding Lowe since they’ll only be owing him the prorated portion of the MLB minimum salary. That total will be subtracted from the roughly $2.33MM remaining on Lowe’s $10.3MM salary for the 2025 season, with the Nationals covering the remainder. Lowe also has one final year of arbitration control remaining, but unless he goes on an absolute tear in Boston over the remainder of the season, the Sox are likely to non-tender him this winter rather than give him a raise on that $10.3MM figure.
It is safe to assume that the Red Sox probably just view Lowe as a stopgap for 2025, with Casas on the horizon for a return in 2026 and perhaps more of Boston’s up-and-coming prospects (i.e. Kristian Campbell, Jhostynxon Garcia) perhaps being viewed as first base candidates down the road. Signing Lowe addresses one of the few weak links on a roster that shares the top AL wild card slot with the Mariners, and sits five games back of the Blue Jays for first place in the AL East.
Marcelo Mayer To Undergo Season-Ending Wrist Surgery
Marcelo Mayer‘s rookie season is over. The youngster has been on the shelf due to a wrist sprain since late July, and now manager Alex Cora has told reporters (including Christopher Smith of MassLive) that the infielder will undergo season-ending surgery on his ailing wrist. The surgery comes with a three-month recovery period, so he’s expected to be ready for Spring Training 2026.
Mayer, 22, entered the season as a consensus top-20 prospect in the sport. Selected fourth-overall by the Red Sox back in 2021, Mayer’s climb up the minor league ladder was stymied by injuries at times but he made both his Triple-A and big league debuts this year in spite of those obstacles. He hit a solid .271/.247/.472 in 43 games with Worcester this year but scuffled a bit in the majors, with a below-average .228/.272/.402 (79 wRC+) slash line and a 30.1% strikeout rate. He posted those numbers while splitting time between second and third base as well as shortstop at the big league level, with most of his work coming at the hot corner while Alex Bregman was on the injured list earlier this year.
Now that Mayer’s own 2025 campaign has come to an abrupt close due to his ailing wrist, it’s safe to say that the youngster didn’t have the rookie campaign he and the Red Sox were surely hoping for. That’s hardly a surprise, of course. While some top talents (such as teammate Roman Anthony) immediately take to the big leagues, it’s become increasingly common for even the very best prospects in the game to struggle mightily early in their careers due to the growing skill gap between Triple-A and the majors. For Mayer, getting some of those growing pains out of the way this year can only be a good thing, and will hopefully leave him better equipped to impact the big league club in 2026.
Fortunately for the Red Sox, they’ve been able to do just fine without Mayer producing at a high level. Bregman (156 wRC+) earned his third career All-Star nod and has been a game changer for Boston’s lineup at third base, while Trevor Story has bounced back from years of injury-marred campaigns to be a roughly average (98 wRC+) everyday shortstop. That’s solidified the left side of the club’s infield, and while the struggles of both Mayer and Kristian Campbell have made second base into a bit of a question mark, super utility man Ceddanne Rafaela has settled in at the keystone admirably amid a decent offensive season of his own (97 wRC+). Fellow youngster Kristian Campbell is also available to help chip in at second base, though he’s struggled after a hot start to the year and is currently getting regular reps at Triple-A.
Looking ahead to next year, the Red Sox figure to have an embarrassment of riches on the positional side of things. Bregman seems increasingly likely to opt out of his contract and return to free agency, but even setting him aside the returns of Mayer and Triston Casas should give the team a full lineup on paper with both Campbell and Rafaela capable of moving between the infield and outfield as needed. Should Bregman opt into his deal or wind up getting re-signed or replaced in free agency, the Red Sox figure to have more players than positions to play them at between their solid regulars and unproven young players like Mayer and Campbell. Players like Jarren Duran and Masataka Yoshida have frequently been the subject of trade rumors over the years due to this impending logjam, and while no deals have come together to this point that figures to remain a storyline surrounding the club headed into the offseason.
Orioles Promote Samuel Basallo
The Orioles announced a flurry of roster moves this morning, highlighted by the club’s decision to select the contract of top prospect Samuel Basallo. Basallo will take the 40-man roster spot of right-hander Zach Eflin, who was transferred to the 60-day injured list and was already known to be done for the 2025 season. In addition, Baltimore activated outfielder Colton Cowser from the 7-day concussion-related injured list. Ryan Noda and Daniel Johnson were optioned to the minor leagues to make room for Basallo and Cowser on the active roster.
Basallo, who celebrated his 21st birthday just last week, entered the year as a consensus top-15 prospect in baseball and has more than proved himself worthy of that status with his work at Triple-A this year. The Santo Domingo native was signed as an international amateur by the Orioles back in 2021 and, after struggling in his first taste of Triple-A late last year, has slashed an incredible .270/.377/.589 (151 wRC+) in 76 games for the club’s Norfolk affiliate this year. He’s crushed 23 homers in that time, and while his 23.7% strikeout rate is the highest he’s posted in a full season so far that’s more than made up for by his aforementioned power and a strong 13.7% walk rate.
Those numbers would be impressive for any player, but they become all the more incredible with the context that Basallo is a catcher in the midst of his age-20 campaign. Basallo’s aforementioned 151 wRC+ is the fourth-highest figure in Triple-A’s International League this year, and he’s done that despite being the youngest qualified hitters at the level. Just ten hitters in their age-22 season or younger have qualified, and among them only four others (Justin Crawford of the Phillies as well as Owen Caissie, Moises Ballesteros, and Kevin Alcantara of the Cubs) have posted above-average numbers. All four of those youngsters are top-100 prospects in their own right, and only Caissie’s 142 wRC+ comes within spitting distance of Basallo’s elite numbers.
All of that is to say that Basallo has absolutely nothing left to do offensively at Triple-A. The youngster’s defense behind the plate has been the subject of some questions both from outside evaluators and even from the brass within his own organization, however. GM Mike Elias suggested back in June that Basallo’s defense needed some work before he could be called up to the majors, but it appears the youngster has either assuaged those concerns about his glove or simply done so much with the bat that the Orioles can’t justify holding him back for the sake of his glove any longer.
It will be worth watching how the Orioles use Basallo in the coming weeks. He’s only played catcher, first base, and DH in the minor leagues. That should leave him limited to those three positions at the big league level as well, but the O’s already have starters at all three positions at the moment. Adley Rutschman is back in the lineup behind the plate after missing some time earlier this year and figures to remain the primary option at the position for now even in the midst of a middling season. Youngster Coby Mayo is in the midst of his own long-awaited tryout at first base, and it makes little sense for the Orioles to limit the 23-year-old’s playing time as they look to decide if he can serve as their first baseman of the future headed into 2026. That’s left Ryan Mountcastle to shift off first base and take the lion’s share of playing time at DH in recent days. The 28-year-old has struggled to a .250/.285/.373 (81 wRC+) this year, but spent most of the season on the injured list due to a hamstring strain and has slashed an excellent .276/.333/.517 with two homers, two steals, and a double in eight games since being activated.
Perhaps everyone in that quartet will be able to start four or five games a week with pinch-hitting opportunities on days they aren’t starting. It’s also possible that Mayo could get some occasional looks at third base (currently held down by Jordan Westburg) to help create more vacancies at first base. Mountcastle even has some experience in the outfield, although he hasn’t played on the grass since 2021 so it’s unclear if he’s still capable of handling the position. If making an occasional appearance in left wouldn’t be an injury risk for Mountcastle, it would be fair to say that his bat could make up for whatever defensive miscues he might be vulnerable to after a long layoff at the position.
Now that Cowser is back from the injured list, Jacob Calvin Meyer of the Baltimore Sun notes that (according to interim manager Tony Mansolino) the 25-year-old will slide into center field upon his return. Cowser’s been entrenched as the club’s regular left fielder since his excellent rookie campaign last year, and while injuries and ineffectiveness have limited him to an 89 wRC+ in 56 games he’ll still be a substantial offensive upgrade over the players tasked with holding down the position since Cedric Mullins was traded to the Mets last month like Johnson and Greg Allen.
That leaves two outfield spots for the taking. One figures to be left to Dylan Beavers, another one of the club’s top prospects who made his big league debut just yesterday and went 1-for-5 with a double and two strikeouts. Like Basallo, he clearly has nothing left to prove in the minors after hitting .304/.420/.515 (152 wRC+) at the level with a 16.3% walk rate, 23 steals, and 18 home runs in 94 games this year. Beavers should get regular playing time in one corner going forward, but the short-term solutions at the other corner don’t inspire confidence.
Jeremiah Jackson and Dylan Carlson are the options available on the roster at present now that Noda and Johnson are ticketed for Triple-A, but both come with questions. Carlson has a meager 56 wRC+ this year and hasn’t been an above-average player since 2021. Jackson, meanwhile, is a 25-year-old who only just reached the Triple-A level earlier this year and was promoted primarily due to a scorching hot stretch of 40 games at the level where he bashed 11 homers and hit .377. That sort of performance is surely unsustainable at the big league level, and while his 107 wRC+ at the big league level so far is decent, a .435 BABIP and a 31.4% strikeout rate don’t appear likely to be sustainable.
That could leave room for Mountcastle to pick up occasional reps in left field, health permitting. Even if he can patrol left without risk of re-injuring his balky hamstring, however, it’s worth noting that would surely be a temporary solution to the logjam Basallo’s promotion creates given that the Orioles have two options for regular at-bats in left field on the injured list at present. Tyler O’Neill has been sidelined by wrist inflammation in recent weeks but should be a fixture of the club’s lineup once he returns. The 30-year-old has the opportunity to opt out of the final two years of his contract with Baltimore but seems unlikely to exercise that option after appearing in just 43 games and posting a pedestrian 98 wRC+ when on the field.
Heston Kjerstad is another option to get reps in the outfield at some point, but seems less certainty to be called upon than O’Neill. Kjerstad was placed on the minor league injured list due to what was described at the time as fatigue in late July and hasn’t appeared in a game since, but the former top prospect has struggled badly this year with a .192/.240/.327 (56 wRC+) slash line. Even in spite of those brutal numbers, however, the club’s commitment to playing youngsters like Basallo, Beavers, and Mayo down the stretch could suggest that they’ll try to get Kjerstad another look in the majors during these final weeks of a lost 2025 season.
Josh Hader Diagnosed With Shoulder Capsule Sprain, Hopes To Return In Playoffs
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.
Nationals Request Unconditional Release Waivers On Nathaniel Lowe
TODAY: The Nationals announced that they have requested unconditional release waivers on Lowe.
AUGUST 14: The Nationals announced Thursday that they’ve designated first baseman Nathaniel Lowe for assignment. He’ll be the corresponding move to open an active roster spot for Dylan Crews, whose previously reported reinstatement from the 60-day injured list is now official.
It’s an unexpected end to what’ll go down as a lackluster tenure with the Nats for Lowe, whom Washington acquired from the Rangers over the winter. The Nats sent lefty Robert Garcia to Texas in hopes that Lowe, who came to D.C. with two years of club control remaining, could be a multi-year option providing middle-of-the-order punch to a young lineup. It hasn’t gone as hoped, to say the least.
Lowe, 30, was a steady source of production with the Rangers from 2021-24, hitting .274/.359/.432 (124 wRC+) with 78 home runs — including a career-high 27 round-trippers back in 2022. He hasn’t come anywhere near that level of production with the Nationals. In 490 plate appearances, he’s batted just .216/.292/.373 with a 26.5% strikeout rate that stands as the highest of his career in a full season. Lowe’s 9.6% walk rate is better than average but still the second-lowest of his career and a ways shy of the 11.3% clip he recorded during that four-year peak with the Rangers.
Lowe hit a grand slam yesterday, his first homer since July 19, but that was just his third hit in the month of August despite regular playing time. He hasn’t had a multi-hit game since July 18 and is batting only .167/.271/.294 in his past 36 games (144 plate appearances). The home run yesterday was a big hit but not enough for Lowe to save his job with the Nats.
The Nationals likely explored potential deals for Lowe prior to the trade deadline, but his ongoing slump and fairly hefty $10.3MM salary would’ve served as significant impediments to finding a deal. With the deadline now behind them, the Nats will have no recourse other than to place Lowe on outright waivers or release waivers. At this point, that’s little more than a paper distinction. Lowe crossed five years of major league service time less than a month into the season, meaning he can reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency and still retain the remainder of that guarantee as he heads to the open market.
All 29 other teams will have the opportunity to claim Lowe, but in light of his immense struggles, it’s hard to see another team claiming the remaining $2.49MM on his contract. If Lowe passes through waivers unclaimed, he’ll become a free agent who can sign with any team. A new team would only owe him the prorated portion of the league minimum for any time spent on the big league roster. The Nationals will remain on the hook for the rest of his salary.
If Lowe can catch on elsewhere and return to form, he’d technically remain under club control with that new team through 2026. However, he’d be due a (small) raise on that $10.3MM salary, so he’d need to make quite the impression in the final few weeks of the season in order to convince a new club that he’s worthy of an $11MM+ expenditure. The Nationals were clearly going to non-tender him — they wouldn’t have made this move if not — and in all likelihood Lowe will be a free agent in search of rebound opportunities this winter.
The Nats have up to five days to place Lowe on waivers. If they wait the maximum amount of time, that guaranteed salary will drop slightly, to about $2.2MM, but it’s still unlikely that another club would claim that sum.
With Lowe out the door in D.C., the Nats can give increased first base reps to a resurgent Josh Bell, which would free up the DH spot to rotate several young players. Alternative options at first bae in the upper minors include Juan Yepez, Yohandy Morales and Trey Lipscomb, though of that trio only Lipscomb is on the 40-man roster — and both Yepez and Morales have struggled in Triple-A.
Cubs To Promote Owen Caissie For MLB Debut
The Cubs are planning to promote top prospect Owen Caissie, as reported by Kiley McDaniel and Jesse Rogers of ESPN. The young outfielder is already on the 40-man, and he will presumably take Miguel Amaya‘s spot on the active roster. Amaya sprained his ankle tonight and will require an IL stint. As for Caissie, the Ontario native is expected to make his MLB debut tomorrow against the Blue Jays.
The Padres selected Caissie in the second round of the 2020 draft, and they flipped him to the Cubs that winter as part of the trade package that brought Yu Darvish to San Diego. He has since worked his way up Chicago’s minor league system, turning into one of the team’s most promising prospects. Baseball America ranked him 21st in the organization in 2021, eighth in 2022, 13th in 2023, fifth in 2024, and second in 2025. He has also ranked among BA’s overall top 100 prospects in each of the past three years. Not every source was quite as high on Caissie entering the 2025 campaign; FanGraphs dropped him off their top 100 list after ranking him 65th in 2024, while The Athletic’s Keith Law has never included Caissie among his top 100 prospects. Yet, none ever doubted Caissie’s huge raw power – the question was whether he could translate that power into success at the highest level.
That question loomed larger than ever after Caissie slashed .278/.375/.472 with a .195 isolated power and a 115 wRC+ in his season at Triple-A in 2024. Those are solid but hardly earth-shattering numbers, especially not for a bat-first corner outfielder. However, the lefty slugger has taken a massive step forward this year, with 22 home runs and 50 extra-base hits in 92 games for the Iowa Cubs. His .281 ISO and 145 wRC+ both rank fifth among qualified hitters in the International League. His strikeout rate is still high – that has always and probably will always be an issue – but a 28.0% K-rate certainly isn’t fatal, at least not if he keeps drawing his walks and crushing home runs.
None of this is to say that Caissie is a sure-thing, middle-of-the-order jolt for the Cubs’ lineup. He’s still just a 23-year-old prospect who has to prove his swing-and-miss issues won’t sink him against MLB pitching and, in particular, left-handed MLB pitching. Still, it’s exciting that he’s joining the team for the stretch run as they look to hold on to the NL’s top Wild Card spot and try to challenge the seemingly unstoppable Brewers for the NL Central crown. Any offensive boost he can provide will be much appreciated. The Cubs rank among the league’s best offensive teams on the season, but they’ve struggled as of late, scoring just 34 runs in 11 games since the trade deadline.
With that said, it’s worth wondering where Caissie would fit into Chicago’s lineup. He can play the corner outfield or DH, and the Cubs are set at those positions with Kyle Tucker, Ian Happ, and Seiya Suzuki. Tucker bats lefty like Caissie, while Happ is a switch-hitter with stronger splits against righty pitching. Suzuki bats right-handed, but he doesn’t have any trouble facing same-handed pitching. Ultimately, as the cliché goes, this is the best kind of problem for manager Craig Counsell to have. He can take advantage of Caissie’s presence on the roster to give his veterans a bit more rest, particularly the slumping Tucker. As long as Caissie hits, it will work out quite nicely. On the other hand, this means there’s quite a bit of pressure on the youngster to perform right away. The Cubs are as competitive as they’ve been in several years, and they can’t afford to take away reps from Tucker, Suzuki, and Happ if Caissie isn’t producing.
The roster fit isn’t perfect, but the Cubs only had four healthy minor leaguers on the 40-man roster to choose from, and it’s hard to argue that Caissie didn’t earn this opportunity over fellow top prospects Kevin Alcántara and Moisés Ballesteros, or the less-heralded Ben Cowles.
Image in post courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, USA TODAY Sports.
Astros Place Josh Hader On Injured List Due To Shoulder Strain
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.
Mets To Promote Nolan McLean
The Mets will call up top pitching prospect Nolan McLean to make his MLB debut this Saturday, reports SNY’s Andy Martino. He’ll step into the rotation spot vacated by Frankie Montas‘ move to the bullpen. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported earlier this morning that righty Paul Blackburn was also headed to the bullpen when he’s ready to be reinstated from the injured list, setting the stage for either McLean or fellow prospect Brandon Sproat to make his debut.
As we noted yesterday when the Mets moved Montas to the ‘pen, the Saturday start aligns far better with McLean’s turn in the Triple-A rotation than with that of Sproat. McLean has also simply outpitched Sproat this season, though both well-regarded prospects have excelled recently.
The timing of the move likely isn’t a coincidence. Saturday marks the first day on the calendar where there’s not enough time remaining for players to accrue enough service to exhaust their rookie eligibility. By waiting until Saturday to promote McLean, the Mets have ensured that he’ll still qualify as a rookie next season and therefore still be able to earn the Mets potential future draft picks via the league’s Prospect Promotion Incentive (PPI) program. In all likelihood, McLean is just one of several top prospects around the league who’ll be promoted after Aug. 15.
McLean, 24, was the Mets’ third-round pick in 2023. He’s rated as one of the system’s more promising young arms since that selection, but his stock has exploded in 2025 as he’s ripped through Double-A and Triple-A lineups. McLean has pitched a combined 113 2/3 innings between those two levels and compiled a tidy 2.45 ERA while punching out 27.2% of his opponents. His 10.7% walk rate is still too high, but his huge 54.7% ground-ball rate can help to erase a few of those free passes by way of the double-play ball.
This year’s terrific run has not only vaulted McLean toward the top of the Mets’ in-house prospect lists — it’s made him a consensus top-100 prospect in the sport. He sits 37th among all big league prospects at MLB.com, 40th at Baseball America and 53rd at FanGraphs on each outlet’s post-deadline reranking of the sport’s top young talents.
The 6’2″, 215-pound McLean is an Oklahoma State product whose athleticism draws plenty of praise. He was a two-sport star in high school, playing both baseball and football, and he was a two-way player at OSU, where he was a third baseman and outfielder in addition to his work on the mound. He’s since dialed in only on pitching and experienced an uptick in velocity, now sitting 95 mph with a four-seamer that can climb to 98 mph when he needs to reach back for a bit extra. MLB.com’s report on McLean calls his sweeper a “monster” of a pitch with “elite” spin rate. He’s sitting 85.5 mph with that pitch and also mixing in a sinker, cutter and seldom-used changeup.
Because McLean will retain rookie eligibility going into next year, he could earn the Mets a draft pick down the line. If McLean were to win National League Rookie of the Year or finish top-three in NL MVP voting next season, the Mets would gain that pick. Even if McLean doesn’t hit either of those goals, the fact that he’ll be a top-100 prospect who accrued a full year of service as a rookie opens a three-year window for him to net the Mets a compensatory pick based on award voting. If McLean were to land any top-three finish in Cy Young or MVP voting before reaching arbitration, the Mets would still gain a pick. Players can only net their team one pick under the league’s PPI program, but the timing of his promotion means McLean could do so at any point from 2026-28.
Setting aside the PPI aspect of the promotion, McLean’s promotion comes at a time when he cannot accrue a year of service this season. He’ll be controllable for at least six full years beyond the current campaign — potentially more than that, depending on whether he’s optioned at any point in the future. The earliest he could become a free agent would be after the 2031 season, and the earliest McLean could qualify for arbitration would be following the 2028 season.