Notes

Mets Notes: Senga, Taylor, Marte

By Steve Adams | September 3, 2025 at 10:44am CDT

The Mets’ rotation has gotten a huge helping hand from rookies Nolan McLean and Jonah Tong over the past few weeks, which has helped paper over a series of underwhelming performances from the veterans who were expected to hold down key roles. Frankie Montas pitched in only nine games and recorded a 6.28 ERA before going down with a UCL injury that will require surgery. Sean Manaea’s three-year, $75MM deal began with a lengthy IL stint for an oblique strain, and he’s now pitched in 10 games with a 5.60 ERA.

On the surface, it may seem odd to lump Kodai Senga and his excellent 3.02 ERA in with those other struggling veterans, but Senga has floundered through his past eight starts. The 32-year-old righty has totaled just 35 2/3 innings in that time while being tagged for a 6.56 earned run average. He’s walked 13% of his opponents in that stretch and surrendered a woeful 2.02 homers per nine innings pitched.

Senga’s struggles have been significant enough that the Mets have at least considered the possibility of sending him to the minors, Will Sammon of The Athletic reports. That’s not as straightforward of a decision as it would be with most pitchers; Senga’s five-year, $75MM contract stipulates that he cannot be optioned to the minor leagues without his consent. Sammon notes that Senga said Tuesday that he’s willing to do whatever is necessary to turn things around.

Still, it’d be a surprising development, given not only Senga’s prior runner-up finish in 2023 Rookie of the Year voting but also his general excellence to begin the season. Senga started 13 games before a hamstring strain sent him to the injured list on June 13. In those 13 games, he pitched 73 2/3 innings (5 2/3 innings per start) and recorded an immaculate 1.47 ERA. His rate stats didn’t support that level of dominance (23.9 K%, 10.6 BB%), but metrics like FIP (3.24) and SIERA (4.27) didn’t think he was due for the type of regression he’s since experienced.

Perhaps that hamstring strain led him to develop some bad mechanical habits, or perhaps he’s still feeling some discomfort. It’s also feasible that there could simply be some fatigue setting in after Senga missed nearly all of the 2024 season due to shoulder and calf injuries. Whatever the cause, this is the most sustained stretch of struggles that Senga has encountered since making the move from Nippon Professional Baseball to Major League Baseball. With the Mets overwhelmingly likely to reach the postseason, it’d make sense to take any measures necessary to get Senga back to form ahead of the playoffs.

Elsewhere on the roster, injuries continue to pile up. The Mets placed outfielder Tyrone Taylor on the 10-day IL due to a left hamstring strain yesterday, recalling Jared Young from Triple-A Syracuse in his place. The IL placement was backdated to Aug. 30. Manager Carlos Mendoza expressed optimism that Taylor wouldn’t require a long stint on the shelf but said the team felt it had little choice after Taylor was rested for three days but still unable to run close to full speed Monday (link via Steve Kornacki of MLB.com).

Taylor had struggled at the plate for most of the season but finally appeared to be turning a corner. He’d collected three multi-hit performances in his past seven games, going 10-for-21 with four doubles and three walks (.476/.542/.667). It’s a small sample, of course, and Taylor is still hitting just .218/.277/.315 overall, but getting his bat going in the season’s final month would’ve been a nice perk headed into postseason play. He’s provided outstanding defense throughout the year and also gone 11-for-13 on the basepaths.

With Taylor sidelined, it’s possible that Starling Marte could see some occasional reps in the outfield. He’s been a designated hitter 65 times this season, compared to just eight games in the field, but the 36-year-old has had a resurgent season at the plate. After hitting just .258/.314/.357 from 2023-24, Marte has turned back the clock with a .280/.358/.432 batting line in 272 plate appearances. This year’s eight home runs are already more than he hit in either 2023 or 2024 (despite considerably more plate appearances those seasons). His 18.4% strikeout rate is his lowest since 2020.

While Marte’s downturn in performance from 2023-24 might’ve led to some speculation about whether he’d continue playing after his four-year contract concludes at the end of the 2025 season, this year’s performance shows he still has something left in the tank. There may not be a great fit with the Mets — Brandon Nimmo and Juan Soto are in the outfield corners, and the Mets have several infield options to cycle through the DH spot — but Marte tells MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo that he plans to continue playing beyond the ’25 season.

Marte, 37 in October, isn’t going to find the same kind of lucrative multi-year deal in free agency that he did when he signed a four-year, $78MM contract with the Mets, but he’s hitting well enough that he should still command a major league contract. Marte’s once-plus speed has faded, and he’s now in just the 29th percentile of big leaguers for sprint speed, per Statcast, but his arm strength still grades out quite well. Another limited outfield role with frequent DH work would make sense for him moving forward, even if it’s with another team.

Diamondbacks Notes: Gurriel, Kelly, Gallen

By Steve Adams | September 2, 2025 at 2:12pm CDT

The D-backs may have lost one of their regulars last night. Outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. was carted off the field after a non-contact injury in left-center. Both he and Blaze Alexander — who was making his first career appearance in center field — were tracking a drive to the left-center gap off the bat of Rowdy Tellez. Alexander laid out to make an exceptional diving grab, but Gurriel only pulled up and pivoted in the final second or so before a potential collision. Though the two avoided impact, Gurriel dropped after pivoting and had to be helped to a cart (video link).

The team didn’t have an initial diagnosis on Gurriel last night. Manager Torey Lovullo told reporters after the game that they’d scheduled an MRI for today and would know more after the fact (link via Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic). Presumably, he’ll have an update before tonight’s game against the Rangers — assuming there’s a confirmed diagnosis after one wave of imaging, anyhow. We should know more about Gurriel’s status before too long, but there aren’t many instances where a player has to be carted off the field but returns to the lineup in short order.

With the D-backs 6.5 games out of a Wild Card spot and 11 back in the division, it’s likely they’ll proceed with caution if there’s an injury of even modest note. Arizona’s playoff odds are down around 1% at this point, and if Gurriel was fortunate enough to avoid any major damage, there’s little sense rushing back and risking something more severe by playing at less than 100%.

The 31-year-old Gurriel has had perhaps the least-productive season of his lengthy MLB tenure. He was well on his way to his fourth career 20-homer season, with 19 big flies under his belt already, but Gurriel’s .248/.295/.418 slash is about 6% worse than league average, by measure of wRC+. If last night’s incident led to an injury that cuts his season short, that would be the first below-average season of his career at the plate. Gurriel entered the season as a .279/.324/.461 hitter in 3009 big league plate appearances.

There are contractual aspects to consider as well. Gurriel is playing on a three-year, $42MM contract but has the right to opt out of his deal at the end of the current season. Given the slightly below-average rate stats, it seems unlikely he’d have walked away from the remaining year and $18MM ($13MM salary in 2026, plus a $5MM buyout on a $14MM club option for 2027).

However, Gurriel had been hitting quite well of late, with a .273/.315/.530 slash over the past three weeks. If he’d kept mashing like that in the final four weeks, he’d have pulled his season-long batting line back above average. That’s plausible, given his track record, and in that scenario he might’ve been tempted to return to the market and see what free agency had to offer ahead of his age-32 season.

Speaking of the D-backs and free agency, Arizona fans will be encouraged to hear now-former D-backs starter Merrill Kelly express a strong openness to re-signing in the offseason. Arizona traded Kelly to the Rangers prior to the trade deadline, netting three pitching prospects in return (Mitch Bratt, Kohl Drake, David Hagaman). With the Rangers visiting the D-backs at the moment, Kelly told Jake Garcia of 12 News that a return in free agency is something he’d absolutely consider (video link).

“I’ve voiced my love for this place,” Kelly said. “I’ve talked to the front office tirelessly about being a D-back for life. That was really my plan. That was real. That was genuine. … So it’s never off the table. Coming home is very attractive, not only for me but also for the family aspect of it. But at the same time, I’ve put myself in a position to have what I hope to be a decent market, so I’m going to have to make a hard decision, business-wise, but coming back and being a D-back is never off the table.”

Arizona is going to need arms for the upcoming season, so a return would make sense for both parties. Corbin Burnes will miss most or all of next year recovering from Tommy John surgery. Zac Gallen is a free agent. Left-handers Blake Walston (March) and Tommy Henry (June) also had Tommy John surgery this year. Prospects Yilber Diaz and Cristian Mena have both struggled and/or been injured. Next year’s rotation currently projects to include Eduardo Rodriguez, Brandon Pfaadt and Ryne Nelson, with little else in the way of certainty.

Bringing Kelly back would obviously go a long way toward stabilizing the group, and it could very likely be done without making a long-term commitment. He’ll turn 37 in October, so anything beyond two years would register as a surprise. As shown in MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, Max Scherzer (three years, $130MM in 2021) and Rich Hill (three years, $48MM in 2016) are the only free agent starting pitchers in the past decade to command a deal greater than two years at 37 or older.

As for Kelly’s longtime rotation-mate, Gallen, it remains to be seen how seriously the Snakes will pursue a reunion. However, Gallen is doing his best to flip the script on a disappointing season in the run-up to free agency. It’s too little, too late to salvage the team’s season in all likelihood, but Gallen fired six shutout innings with eight punchouts against the Dodgers in L.A. on Aug. 29 and, in doing so, dipped his ERA back under 5.00. A 4.94 earned run average still isn’t going to stand out, but Gallen has been pitching well for two months now.

Dating back to July 1, the former All-Star touts a 3.74 ERA, 22.9% strikeout rate and 5.3% walk rate in 65 innings. He was particularly sharp in August, with a 2.57 ERA in 35 innings. Gallen started six games last month and delivered five quality starts.

Once the Diamondbacks opted not to trade Gallen, it seemed likely that they would make him a qualifying offer at season’s end — struggles notwithstanding. However, a prolonged stretch of quality results on the mound should only make that decision easier for the team. A big September performance will also make it easier for Gallen, who from 2019-24 logged a combined 3.29 ERA in 815 1/3 innings, to turn down a one-year offer in the $22MM range. His recent hot streak makes his results in the season’s final four weeks worth monitoring extra closely; Gallen will take the mound tomorrow against the Rangers and look for his eighth quality start in his last 12 trips to the mound.

Dodgers Notes: Stewart, Kopech, Hurt

By Nick Deeds | August 30, 2025 at 10:43pm CDT

The Dodgers lost right-hander Brock Stewart to the 15-day injured list earlier this month due to shoulder inflammation, and manager Dave Roberts revealed to reporters (including Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register) earlier today that Stewart actually suffered a setback not long after going on the shelf. Stewart initially received a cortisone injection and resumed playing catch last week, but felt continued discomfort when he started to ramp back up. That required another injection and a second shutdown from throwing, but Plunkett adds that Stewart has resumed playing catch at this point.

While it’s encouraging that Stewart is throwing once again, the news of a setback does raise questions over just how much Los Angeles can expect to get from the right-hander down the stretch and into the playoffs. Roberts suggested that the club is “hopeful” Stewart will be able to return at some point in September, but there’s no firm timeline for the righty at this point. He’s made just four appearances since serving as Los Angeles’s lone bullpen addition over the summer, and he pitched to a 4.91 ERA with a 3.94 FIP across those 3 2/3 innings of work prior to hitting the shelf.

With Tanner Scott and Blake Treinen serving as a strong one-two punch in the late innings, perhaps the Dodgers will be able to get on without Stewart providing much down the stretch. While L.A.’s relief corps has been slightly below average overall this year, they’ve actually been one of the best units in the sport since the All-Star break with a 3.18 ERA in their last 133 innings of work. It’s unclear if the Dodgers’ bullpen will be able to keep that up headed into the playoffs, but the good news is that they are getting reinforcements from the injured list in the form of Michael Kopech. Plunkett writes that the right-hander has finished his rehab assignment and has now joined the club ahead of his anticipated activation from the injured list this coming Tuesday.

After serving as one of the stars of the Dodgers bullpen down the stretch and into the postseason last year, Kopech has been limited to just eight appearances in 2025 by a handful of injuries. He’s expected to rejoin the roster in fairly short order, however, which is good news given that the seven innings of work he’s mustered this year have been nothing short of dominant. He’s not allowed a single run while striking out 27.6% of his opponents, though his 13.8% walk rate is high enough to raise some eyebrows. Regardless, it seems likely that Kopech will slide right back into his late-inning role with the Dodgers upon his return, joining Treinen and Scott at the back of the club’s bullpen ahead of the playoffs.

Kopech isn’t the only arm the Dodgers could get back in the near future. Plunkett also notes that southpaw Kyle Hurt, who’s been rehabbing from Tommy John surgery since July 2024, is finally nearing a return to the mound after throwing live batting practice to Tommy Edman, Justin Dean, and Dalton Rushing at Dodger Stadium today. The next step for Hurt, per Plunkett, is a two-inning appearance with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Tuesday. Hurt has just four big league appearances under his belt, and while he’s pitched to a 1.04 ERA in those 8 2/3 innings of work at the big league level it’s unclear if he’ll get back in time to make more MLB outings this year. Even if he doesn’t return to the majors, getting back on the mound this year at all should be valuable for Hurt headed into the offseason, when he’ll look ahead to competing for a roster spot during Spring Training.

Yankees Notes: Judge, Volpe, Cruz

By Nick Deeds | August 24, 2025 at 10:41pm CDT

Aaron Judge has been hampered by a flexor strain in recent weeks. He first spent a minimum stint on the injured list to rest his ailing elbow, and since returning he’s been limited to exclusively DH work. Earlier this week, some questions were raised about just what shape Judge will be able to get his throwing arm back into before the end of the year. Fortunately, any concerns over Judge’s ability to throw seem to be on hold for the time being as Judge started throwing to the bases from the outfield during pregame workouts today.

The reigning AL MVP told reporters (including MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch) today that was about “checking a box” in his rehab and that he’s sticking purely to what the team’s trainers tell him to do as he works his way back into condition to resume regular duties in the outfield. Manager Aaron Boone, meanwhile, told reporters (including The Athletic’s Brendan Kuty) that while Judge “looked good” throwing to second base today, there’s still no timetable for his return to the grass in a game setting. Boone emphasized that the club feels it’s important to take Judge’s recovery process slowly in order to avoid re-injury.

That, of course, makes sense given how important Judge’s 196 wRC+ bat is to the lineup. Judge’s .218/.386/.418 (126 wRC+) slash line since returning from the IL on August 5 isn’t quite as robust as his usual otherworldly numbers, but it’s still well above average production that virtually any other hitter in the sport would be happy with. In the meantime, Giancarlo Stanton has begun playing in right field as a temporary solution to get his bat in the lineup while Judge occupies the DH slot.

Stanton’s return to the outfield isn’t the only shakeup of the Yankees lineup from the past few days. Shortstop Anthony Volpe has had a rough year on both sides of the ball, and today Boone made the decision to leave him out of the club’s starting lineup with deadline addition Jose Caballero starting at shortstop in his stead. Boone was non-committal before the game (as noted by Greg Joyce of the New York Post) about when Volpe would return to the starting lineup, but he was used as a defensive replacement in tonight’s game against the Red Sox. After a four-hit performance on August 1, Volpe has hit a paltry .121/.171/.242 in his last 19 games and was charged with an error in last night’s contest. That was enough for the Yankees to decide mix things up for at least a little while, but Volpe suggested after the game to reporters (including Kuty) that he’ll be back in the lineup for Tuesday’s game against the Nationals after sitting out tomorrow as well.

For now, it seems like this time out of the lineup is just an opportunity for Volpe to reset amid a tough stretch both at the plate and in the field. With that said, it’s at least possible that the Yankees could be looking to get Caballero a bit more playing time. Since coming over from the Rays at this year’s trade deadline, Caballero has slashed .320/.433/.600 in 31 plate appearances across 14 games with the organization. While Caballero is generally regarded as a below-average hitter overall, that recent hot streak in conjunction with his fairly well-regarded glove and impressive speed on the basepaths could be enough to earn the soon to be 29-year-old infielder some more playing time down the stretch, particularly if Volpe’s struggles continue.

On the pitching side of things, Hoch reports that the Yankees are poised to get some reinforcements tomorrow when right-hander Fernando Cruz is activated from the injured list. Cruz has been sidelined due to an oblique strain for nearly two months, but the 35-year-old had looked nothing short of excellent over the season’s first half with a 3.00 ERA, 2.48 FIP, and an eye-popping 41.2% strikeout rate in 33 innings of work prior to the injury. If Cruz looks anything like that upon his return, he should be a massive asset to a Yankees bullpen that has struggled somewhat despite the aggressive addition of reinforcements at this summer’s trade deadline. David Bednar, Devin Williams, Luke Weaver, and Camilo Doval have all taken turns in save situations but each has looked shaky of late, leaving plenty of opportunity for Cruz to fashion a key role for himself upon his return.

Orioles Notes: Bradish, Wells, Mateo

By Nick Deeds | August 24, 2025 at 7:58pm CDT

While the 60-70 Orioles are nine games back of a Wild Card spot and would need nothing short of a miracle to make it into the postseason at this point, that isn’t stopping them from doing what they can to best set themselves up for 2026. So far, that’s meant offering ample playing time to young players like Coby Mayo, Dylan Beavers, and the recently-extended Samuel Basallo. One other way to set the roster up for 2026, however, is to get reps in for players who are working their way back from injury.

Three such players are nearing returns from the injured list for Baltimore. Danielle Allentuck of the Baltimore Banner was among those to relay that Kyle Bradish is likely to be activated from the injured list to start Tuesday’s game for the Orioles, while Rich Dubroff of Baltimore Baseball was among those to note that both Tyler Wells and Jorge Mateo figure to be activated from the injured list when rosters expand on September 1. All three players are currently on the 60-day injured list and will need to be added to the 40-man roster when activated.

For Bradish, Tuesday’s expected start will mark his first time on a big league mound since he was sidelined last June due to Tommy John surgery. He’s been on the mend ever since, and has made six rehab starts in the minor leagues as he prepares for his return to the majors. Getting Bradish into a good place to help front the Orioles’ rotation in 2026 figures to be a top priority for Baltimore over the next few weeks. The righty was emerging as an ace before he went under the knife last year, as he followed up a fourth-place finish in 2023 AL Cy Young award voting with a 2.75 ERA and 2.50 FIP and a 32.5% strikeout rate in eight starts last season.

If Bradish can be counted on for anything like his numbers over the last two years, where he pitched to a 2.81 ERA and 3.12 FIP in 38 starts, that would be a massively encouraging turn of events for the Orioles as they look to get back on track next year. Starting pitching was undeniably Baltimore’s Achilles heel this year, as short-term fliers on players like Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano were unable to compensate for the loss of Bradish due to injury and Corbin Burnes due to him signing with the Diamondbacks in free agency last winter. Burnes went on to have a difficult season of his own in Arizona that ultimately ended in Tommy John surgery, but his absence at the top of the Orioles’ rotation has nonetheless been felt as Baltimore starters have combined for a 4.76 ERA this year that stands as the worst mark in the American League.

Another arm who could help right the ship in terms of starting pitching is the right-handed Wells. Wells underwent an internal brace procedure on his UCL just a few days after Bradish’s own surgery, and while his contributions in 2024 were limited to just three starts where he surrendered 11 runs (ten earned) in 15 1/3 innings of work, he was a useful back-of-the-rotation starter and swing man for the Orioles prior to that year with a 3.96 ERA and 4.53 FIP across 43 starts and 49 relief appearances from 2021 to 2023. If Wells can get back to being that sort of dependable, league-average piece, that would go a long way to raising the floor for the Orioles next year. It’s not entirely clear whether Wells will be able to squeeze into Baltimore’s rotation upon returning given the presence of Sugano, Dean Kremer, Cade Povich, and Trevor Rogers (not to mention Bradish), but it’s not impossible that the club could at least consider a six-man rotation down the stretch.

On the position player side of things, the Orioles also figure to welcome Mateo from the injured list. Mateo, 30, is a pending free agent after this year who has been limited to just 32 games due to a number of injuries this season. After undergoing elbow surgery last August and beginning the season on the injured list, Mateo was sidelined by inflammation in that same elbow back in June. He suffered a hamstring strain about a month after that, which was severe enough to sideline him for what at the time was expected to be between 8 and 12 weeks.

His return will be on the shorter end of that timeframe, as he’s expected to return just under eight weeks after sustaining that injury. Mateo will look to finish the season strong ahead of free agency after struggling to a .180/.231/.279 (41 wRC+) line in 32 games for the Orioles this year, though that body of work includes just 65 trips to the plate. Typically, he’s been a below average but decent enough hitter for a bench role, and hit .225/.271/.371 (78 wRC+) in 423 games from 2022 to 2024.

Mets Notes: Tong, Duran, Siri

By Mark Polishuk | August 24, 2025 at 1:32pm CDT

There is some feeling within the Mets organization that right-handed pitching prospect Jonah Tong could make his MLB debut before the 2025 season is up, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports. Tong only just made his debut with Triple-A Syracuse on August 16 and hadn’t been projected as “a consideration for the Major League roster this year,” Puma writes, but “that stance has changed in recent days.”

The shift is due to both the Mets’ rotation needs, and Tong’s continued excellence in his third pro season. A seventh-round pick for New York in the 2022 draft, Tong has emerged as a top-100 prospect — Baseball America has the right-hander 42nd on their midseason top 100 list, and MLB Pipeline has Tong in their 44nd spot. It is easy to see why, as Tong has an absurd 1.43 ERA and 40.5% strikeout rate over 113 2/3 combined innings at the Double-A and Triple-A levels in 2025. That includes 11 2/3 scoreless innings during his brief time in Syracuse.

Naturally there’s some risk in bringing the 22-year-old up to the Show in such relatively rapid fashion, and Tong’s 10.6% walk rate stands out as a potential weakness to be exploited by big league hitters. That said, Tong’s unusual delivery could also leave some hitters baffled, not to mention his plus fastball that has a ton of break if relatively little velocity (in the 91-94mph range).

Promoting Tong doesn’t necessarily mean he’d be in the majors for the rest of the season, of course, as the Mets could potentially use him for a spot start during a crowded stretch of the schedule. New York is six games into a stretch of 26 games in 27 days, with September 4 as the only off-day during that stretch. This puts even more pressure on a rotation that hasn’t provided much in the way of length or results lately, and the Mets already turned to another rookie in Nolan McLean to take Frankie Montas’ rotation spot earlier this month.

At this point it wouldn’t be a shock to see McLean, Tong, and another top prospect in Brandon Sproat all get onto the mound before the Mets’ season is over. This need for help from the farm (in addition to any club’s natural reticence about moving top prospects) may have been a reason why the Amazins didn’t make much progress in trade talks with the Twins about Jhoan Duran.

The Mets were loosely linked to Duran’s market just prior to the trade deadline, and the New York Post’s Jon Heyman reported that the Mets weren’t willing to move any of McLean, Tong, Sproat, Jett Williams, or Carson Benge. This quintet are the consensus top prospects within New York’s farm system, and Baseball America has all five players within their league-wide top-100 prospects list. Minnesota was known to be seeking at least one top-100 type for Duran’s services, and found such an offer from another NL East club in the Phillies, who landed Duran for Eduardo Tait and Mick Abel.

Duran has looked excellent in Philadelphia, while the Mets have gotten mixed result from their deadline bullpen acquisitions. Tyler Rogers and Gregory Soto have both pitched well since coming to Queens, but Ryan Helsley has struggled badly. Shaky pitching on both the bullpen and rotation has contributed to the Mets’ 7-13 record in August, and the Phillies have pulled out to a six-game lead over New York in the NL East.

In other Mets news, manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters (including MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo) on Wednesday that Jose Siri is expected to start a minor league rehab assignment this week. Siri fractured his left tibia after fouling a ball off his leg back in April, and what was expected to be an absence of 8-10 weeks has now lasted well over four months. Since he played in only 10 games with the Mets before the injury, Siri figures to need at least a week of minor league action to get fully ramped up for a return to the active roster.

This makes him a candidate for an IL activation once rosters expand on September 1, though Siri will be returning to a more crowded outfield picture. New York went into the season planning to use Siri and Tyrone Taylor in a center field timeshare, but the deadline acquisition of Cedric Mullins has now created a more traditional lefty-righty platoon up the middle with Taylor. A player with Siri’s elite glove always has value on a roster, of course, so the Mets could use him as something of a defensive specialist if nothing else.

Rubenstein: Orioles Hoping For More Extensions With Young Players

By Mark Polishuk | August 24, 2025 at 11:37am CDT

The Orioles officially announced Samuel Basallo’s contract extension at a press conference yesterday, with several players in attendance along with Basallo, GM Mike Elias, and team chairman/CEO David Rubenstein. Among the many topics addressed was Rubenstein’s desire to make such events a fairly regular occurrence, as the owner showed interest in extending more members of the Orioles’ young core.

“The Orioles’ ownership group is really well capitalized and we have the resources to do these kind of deals,” Rubenstein told Steve Melewski and other reporters. “It takes two to do deals, but we thought this was a perfect one, for the first one of this type….We have a lot of other talented people on the team who we hope will ultimately want to spend their entire career here or want to spend long-term arrangements with us. We’re committed to doing more of these as soon as we can.”

Basallo’s deal represents an intriguing turning point for an organization that more or less eschewed long-term extensions for years under previous owner Peter Angelos. As MLBTR’s Contract Tracker indicates, Adam Jones’ six-year extension from May 2012 was the last long-term extension signed by the Orioles. Other multi-year deals within the last 13 years were short-term pacts to cover arbitration years, plus there was the unusual circumstance of the three-year extension signed by J.J. Hardy just a few weeks before he was set to hit free agency in the 2014-15 offseason.

Even as the Orioles amassed a wealth of young talent in their recent rebuild, extensions didn’t follow. This naturally could’ve been a product of the ownership turmoil the organization was going through for much of that period, and Rubenstein’s group only bought the team in early 2024. It should also be noted that such O’s building blocks as Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg, and Jackson Holliday are all represented by Scott Boras, whose clients have traditionally passed on signing early-career extensions.

Still, it was noteworthy that the Orioles didn’t lock up even any of the non-Boras clients until Basallo (who is repped by CAA) this week. The fact that the O’s didn’t spend much overall during the first full offseason of Rubenstein’s tenure also created concern amongst Baltimore fans that things weren’t going to change under the new regime, and the discontent only grew when the Orioles stumbled to a losing record after two seasons in the playoffs.

Management can now point to Basallo’s extension as proof that the club is willing to both keep its cornerstone players in place, and to spend the money necessary to make those deals happen. The catcher’s deal is also an example of how quickly contract talks can escalate, as Elias said negotiations began exactly a week ago, on the same day Basallo was called up from Triple-A to make his MLB debut.

Could more extensions be coming soon? Henderson didn’t comment on whether or not his camp had already had any talks with the O’s, but expressed a willingness to consider any offer and stated that “the No. 1 thing for me is being on winning teams.”

Henderson’s price tag is about to jump considerably, as the shortstop will enter the first of three arbitration years this coming offseason. His pro career has already seen Henderson bank a little over $8MM, counting his MLB minimum salaries, his $2.3MM signing bonus from the draft, and roughly $3.4MM from the pre-arbitration bonus pool. Between this bit of financial security already and escalating arb salaries, Henderson may have already made enough to feel comfortable in betting on himself all the way to free agency, like so many Boras clients. While the three years of remaining control mean that the Orioles aren’t exactly under the gun to extend Henderson, he’ll only get more expensive the closer he gets to the open market.

Adley Rutschman also declined to comment on any extension talks between his reps at Wasserman and the Orioles, simply telling the Baltimore Banner’s Danielle Allentuck and other reporters today that he was happy to see Basallo rewarded. The fact that the O’s made such a hefty commitment to a young catcher like Basallo naturally led to speculation about Rutschman’s future, and whether or not Basallo has now supplanted Rutschman as the team’s long-term choice behind the plate.

As one might expect, right now the Orioles believe there’s plenty of room for Rutschman and Basallo to operate in tandem. Yesterday, interim manager Tony Mansolino told reporters (including Matt Weyrich of the Baltimore Sun) that the O’s could have both players in the lineup in a catcher/DH capacity, or Basallo could play first base. “The fact that Sammy is so versatile, that’s going to help that a lot…Any time you have two guys that can catch at a high level, on a big league team, you have a massive advantage over teams that don’t,” Mansolino noted.

Rutschman has two arbitration years remaining before he is scheduled to hit free agency following the 2027 season. As Weyrich notes, extending a player who has had some Major League success is much trickier than extending a player like Basallo right at the start of his career, so locking up Rutschman would represent another spending frontier for the Rubenstein ownership group. There’s also the question of whether or not the Orioles still view Rutschman as worthy of a long-term investment, considering how his numbers have declined at the plate over the last two seasons.

AL Central Notes: Tigers, Ragans, Lee

By Mark Polishuk | August 23, 2025 at 10:33am CDT

Some of baseball’s top prospects have made their MLB debuts within the last week, but don’t expect any of the Tigers’ top minor leaguers to be appearing in 2025. In an interview with MLB Network this past week (hat tip to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press), Tigers GM Jon Greenberg said a call-up of shortstop prospect Kevin McGonigle is likely not “on the radar right now,” and Greenberg also downplayed the possibility of Max Clark or Josue Briceno arriving in the majors.

“They’ve only been in Double-A for a month. It’s been fewer than 30 games,” the GM said. “Really excited with what Kevin has done, really excited with what Max has done, and some of the other guys in our system. But right now, the focus is on their development and getting the reps to continue to take those steps forward.”

MLB Pipeline and Baseball America each rank McGonigle as the second-best prospect in baseball, Clark ninth, and Briceno also in a prominent top-100 spot (Pipeline has him 32nd, BA 54th). As Greenberg noted, none of the group has much experience even at the Double-A level, though McGonigle and Clark have both been on fire at the plate since their call-up. While it seems like a further promotion to Triple-A could be possible before the 2025 season is through, any of these top prospects would very likely have to further excel in Toledo, and then the Tigers would have to feel confident enough to install any of these rookies right into the extra pressure of a postseason push. There isn’t much urgency for Detroit to make such an aggressive prospect promotion, as the Tigers have a 10.5-game division lead and look to be cruising towards the AL Central crown.

Red Sox Notes: Abreu, Eaton, Giolito

By Mark Polishuk | August 17, 2025 at 11:33pm CDT

The Red Sox held a 3-1 lead through seven innings against the Marlins today, but a bullpen meltdown resulted in a 5-3 loss. Beyond the setback in the standings, the Sox also had an injury scare when Wilyer Abreu had to leave the game prior to the top of the eighth inning due to what the club described as right calf tightness.

Speaking with MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith and other reporters postgame, Abreu called his injury “a little cramp” that he picked up while running the bases in the bottom of the seventh. He didn’t feel a trip to the injured list was necessary, though Abreu speculated that he might miss Boston’s upcoming two-game series with the Orioles before returning Wednesday for the start of a series with the Yankees.

In a related move, the Red Sox are calling Nate Eaton up from Triple-A, as initially reported by Nate Parker of Beyond The Monster. Eaton is a third baseman/outfielder who has appeared in 14 games for the Red Sox this season, and he can fill in as a depth option in the outfield either in the short term for the Baltimore series or perhaps for a longer stint if Abreu ends up on the IL.

To include Eaton on the active roster immediately, the Sox are playing with three catchers on the active roster, so Ali Sanchez could be designated for assignment. Boston’s seemingly impending contract with Nathaniel Lowe is another factor in roster decisions, as the Red Sox would then have to make space for both Lowe and Eaton if the signing is completed by Monday. It is possible Eaton could just stick around on the taxi squad rather than being actually added to the 26-man roster, until the team knows more about Abreu’s status.

Abreu hit his 22nd homer today, and is batting .253/.325/.486 over 395 plate appearances this season. The large majority of Abreu’s playing time has come against right-handed pitching, though his .721 OPS in 64 PA against southpaws this season is a big improvement over his numbers against lefties in his previous two big league seasons. Boston’s outfield picture has been crowded enough that Abreu has almost been forced to the bench when a left-handed pitcher is on the mound, yet it bodes well for his future as an everyday player if he can hit well against all pitchers and continue his elite glovework in right field.

In other Red Sox news, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow spoke with MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo and other media on Saturday, and implied that after the season, “we’ll have those conversations” with Lucas Giolito about a potential contract extension. Giolito has a 3.63 ERA over 106 2/3 innings in 2025, overcoming a hamstring injury and some early-season struggles to post a 2.34 ERA over his last 73 innings.

Perhaps the key stat is the 106 2/3 innings, as reaching the 140-inning threshold would give Giolito control over his status for 2026. The righty signed a two-year, $38.5MM deal during the 2023-24 offseason that consisted of an $18MM salary in 2024, a $19MM player option for 2025 that Giolito exercised, and then a $14MM club option for 2026 that came into play when Giolito didn’t opt out last winter. If Giolito pitches at least 140 innings this season, the club option becomes a $19MM mutual option with a $1.5MM buyout attached, and mutual options are virtually never exercised by both sides.

In theory, the Sox could maintain their club option by purposefully keeping Giolito under that 140-inning mark, whether by skipping a start or limiting his in-game workload. However, Breslow stated that “all of the decisions that we’re going to make are going to be driven by what gives us the best chance of winning games, getting into the postseason and making a deep postseason run,” rather than worrying about contracts.

“You hope that these situations are clear. When you’re pushing for a playoff spot, they are,” Breslow said. “We’re all incentivized to do whatever we can to win games. The most important thing after that is actually just making sure he’s healthy and recovering and that we’re monitoring the workload so that he’s in a position to help us every five days.”

Naturally, no executive would ever publicly admit to limiting a player’s playing time for contractual reasons, yet Breslow’s stance carries a lot of common sense. Giolito has been one of the better pitchers in all of baseball over the last 10 weeks, so it only helps the Red Sox to have him on the mound as often as possible. If Giolito did hit the 140-inning mark and take the obvious route to free agency, he has pitched well enough that a qualifying offer could be a possibility, which would allow the Sox to recoup a compensatory draft pick if Giolito signed elsewhere.

Phillies Notes: Duran, Bohm, Nola

By Mark Polishuk | August 16, 2025 at 2:23pm CDT

It seems like Jhoan Duran and the Phillies have dodged a major bullet after the closer had to be carted off the field during Friday’s game. Duran was hit on the right ankle by a Paul DeJong comebacker in the ninth inning of yesterday’s 6-2 win over the Nationals, leaving the reliever in some obvious discomfort as he briefly tried to walk off the pain. The cart was summoned as a precautionary measure, and Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote last night that Duran was able to freely walk through the clubhouse en route to the trainer’s room.

The Phillies revealed that Duran’s x-rays were negative, and the closer himself delivered another positive update to Lauber today, saying he felt “100 percent.” Lauber noted that Duran wasn’t even walking with a limp. It doesn’t seem like an IL stint will be required, and the right-hander may not need more than a day or two (if that) before he’s able to get back onto the mound.

Acquired from the Twins at the trade deadline, Duran came at a high price, as the Phillies had to give up big league-ready starter Mick Abel and top catching prospect Eduardo Tait. The Phils felt the cost was worth it to land a controllable (though 2027) closer, and the early returns have been stellar — Duran is a perfect 4-for-4 in save chances since joining the Phillies, and he has allowed only two hits over four scoreless innings of work. For the 2025 season as a whole, Duran has a 1.86 ERA, 25.5% strikeout rate, and 8.2% walk rate across 53 1/3 combined innings with Minnesota and Philadelphia.

If Duran has indeed avoided the injury bug, it sets the stage for (knock on wood) a healthy weekend for the Phillies as two prominent players are set to be activated from the injured list on Sunday. Manager Rob Thomson said earlier this week that Aaron Nola would be return from the 60-day IL to start Sunday’s game, and the skipper told The Athletic’s Charlotte Varnes and other reporters today that Alec Bohm would also be activated from the 10-day IL to face Washington tomorrow.

Bohm has missed four weeks dealing with a fractured left rib. The injury was suffered a week prior to Bohm’s IL placement when he was hit by a pitch, and after using the All-Star break to try and heal up, Bohm reaggravated his rib problem in the first game of the second half. He started a Triple-A rehab assignment last Sunday, and served as both a third baseman and DH over five games with Lehigh Valley.

Bohm has a 98 wRC+ and a modest .278/.324/.391 slash line over 383 plate appearances in 2025, as he is still trying to fully shake off a brutal start to his season. After posting a .513 OPS in his first 126 PA, Bohm hit a much more palatable .309/.362/.455 over his next 257 PA before hitting the injured list. He’ll return to his usual third base position for the Phillies, which should push Edmundo Sosa and Otto Kemp back to their utility roles.

Nola will be making his first start in over three months, as he was initially sidelined by a sprained ankle back in mid-May. However, it was revealed in June that Nola was also dealing with a stress reaction in his right rib cage, which soon led to a move to the 60-day IL. This was only Nola’s third IL stint of the last nine seasons, and his prior two IL stints lasted only around seven weeks combined, speaking to Nola’s durability.

Trying to pitch through his ankle injury proved problematic for Nola, who allowed 13 earned runs over his last 8 2/3 innings and two starts before he succumbed to the injured list. This boosted his ERA up to 6.16 over 49 2/3 frames, and the hope is that the long layoff can allow Nola to look more like his old self down the stretch run.

The right-hander’s return also has a larger impact on the Phillies’ rotation as a whole. Thomson said the team will operate with a six-man rotation for at least one week, as the rest of the pitching staff (Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sanchez, Ranger Suarez, Jesus Luzardo, and Taijuan Walker) has pitched so well that nobody deserves a demotion to the bullpen. While someone will have to be moved to relief work eventually, the Phillies will try to get creative in keeping their starters’ arms fresh for the playoffs, whether that means extra rest, skipped starts, or using two starters at once in a piggyback fashion.

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