Notes

AL Central Notes: Tigers, Morton, Lugo, Bergert, Wallner

By Mark Polishuk | September 20, 2025 at 8:55am CDT

A year after reaching the playoffs due to a late-season surge, the Tigers are now facing an opposite scenario in 2025. The scorching-hot Guardians are on an eight-game winning streak and have won 13 of their last 14 games, while Detroit has lost seven of its last eight games — including a three-game sweep at home against the Guards. The Tigers’ AL Central lead shrunk to just 2.5 games after a 10-1 loss to the Braves on Friday, as starter Charlie Morton was torched for six runs in just 1 1/3 innings.

Acquired from the Orioles at the trade deadline, Morton has an 11.65 ERA over his last five starts, and a 7.09 overall ERA across his 39 1/3 innings in a Detroit uniform. Speaking with the Detroit Free Press’ Evan Petzold and other reporters yesterday, Morton was at a loss to explain his sudden inability to throw strikes, and said “I’m personally really disappointed in myself.” Given these struggles, Morton is “not expecting anything” in terms of another turn in the rotation, and manager A.J. Hinch was also non-committal on the subject.

The problem with removing Morton from the rotation is that the Tigers don’t have a ready-made replacement. Chris Paddack was already moved to the bullpen due to his own struggles, Jose Uriquidy is pitching in relief after his long injury layoff, Troy Melton or Tyler Holton are more long men than true starters, and Sawyer Gipson-Long is on the 15-day injured list. The Tigers could use some combination of all the healthy pitchers in this season’s version of their “Pitching Chaos” tactic, yet there are no easy answers in what has suddenly become a very tense pennant race.

Tigers Notes: Skubal, Bullpen, Vierling

By Steve Adams | September 17, 2025 at 1:25pm CDT

Tigers ace Tarik Skubal gave the team a scare last week when he exited his start due to tightness in his left side. The obvious initial concern was that Skubal had suffered an oblique or intercostal strain that could necessitate a notable absence, but subsequent testing did not reveal a major injury. Several days of rest appear to have eased any discomfort the Cy Young front-runner was feeling. Skubal told the Tigers beat yesterday that he felt “100 percent” one day after a bullpen session.

“If anything, I probably worked a little bit harder just to make sure that I was good to go,” Skubal said of Monday’s bullpen session (via Evan Woodbery of MLive.com). “There was nothing there. It was all good.”

Skubal added that he fully anticipates making his next start tomorrow. He called last week’s early exit “one of those weird things” and wasn’t sure what had caused the discomfort, but for now, it seems the issue is largely behind him. For a Tigers club that’s already lost Reese Olson and Jackson Jobe for the season, Skubal’s ostensibly clean bill of health creates an even greater sigh of relief.

Outside of Skubal, Detroit’s rotation has been a mess since the trade deadline. Neither Charlie Morton nor Chris Paddack, the Tigers’ two rotation additions ahead of the deadline, has bolstered the staff. Morton sports a woeful 5.92 ERA in eight starts since coming to the Motor City, and Paddack has already been moved to the bullpen after posting a 6.38 ERA in five starts. Jack Flaherty (5.14 ERA in his past eight starts) and Casey Mize (4.85 ERA in his past eight starts) have also been limping to the finish line. Overall, the Tigers’ rotation has a 4.77 ERA dating back to Aug. 1 — and that number skyrockets to 5.40 when subtracting Skubal’s contributions.

The Tigers deployed their “pitching chaos” tactic to great effect late last season, using Skubal as their lone traditional starter and otherwise deploying an all-hands-on-deck approach. They haven’t reverted to that form just yet, and it’s worth noting that both Mize and Flaherty have had some strong starts in the past couple weeks. Presumably, Flaherty and Mize are the favorites for postseason starts behind Skubal right now, but last year’s approach showed that the Tigers aren’t beholden to conventional setups with their pitching staff.

Detroit is also hoping for some reinforcements in the bullpen sooner than later. Yesterday’s injury report from the club indicated that right-hander Kyle Finnegan tossed a bullpen session yesterday. He landed on the shelf earlier this month due to an adductor strain. Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press tweets that Finnegan, who tossed 14 1/3 shutout innings after being acquired from the Nationals in July, could embark on a rehab assignment in the near future.

Fellow deadline pickup Paul Sewald has already started his own rehab assignment as he works back from a July shoulder injury. He’s allowed one run and punched out four hitters in 4 2/3 innings of rehab work — most recently pitching two-thirds of an inning just last night. A return shouldn’t be too far off, barring any late setbacks.

While the updates on Skubal, Finnegan and Sewald are largely positive, the news regarding outfielder/third baseman Matt Vierling is far less rosy. Vierling, out since early August due to an oblique strain, began a minor league rehab assignment earlier this week. However, the Tigers announced in their latest injury report that Vierling has been pulled from that rehab stint after just one game due to continued soreness in his oblique region.

“I’m going to stop short of calling it a setback because I don’t know that yet,” manager AJ Hinch said last night (via Chris McCosky of the Detroit News). “But it’s clearly slowed down our plan with him. He’s pretty bummed out about it and he should be. We are, too. It’s just a matter of being re-evaluated and seeing what he can tolerate and what we can hope for.”

Hinch didn’t declare Vierling out for the season but conceded that the best he could answer regarding Vierling’s playoff availability was a simple, “I don’t know.” Presumably, Detroit will have more information on his status in the next few days.

It’s been a frustrating season for Vierling, who turned 29 the same day he had to be pulled from that rehab stint. He’s been limited to just 31 games and 100 plate appearances due to a pair of shoulder injuries and a pair of strains in his left oblique. When on the active roster, he’s turned in a tepid .239/.310/.307 batting line.

That pedestrian line is a far cry from Vierling’s quietly solid .257/.312/.423 performance during a 2024 season that saw him connect on a career-high 16 home runs. Vierling also set highwater marks in doubles (28), games played (144) and plate appearances (567). On the other side of the ball, he chipped in passable glovework at third base and above-average defense across all three outfield spots. It’s still possible he makes it back to the roster, particularly if the Tigers go on a deep run in October, but a return doesn’t appear to be on the immediate horizon.

Orioles Notes: Kantrovitz, Dubin, Ragsdale, Rutschman

By Mark Polishuk | September 14, 2025 at 10:07pm CDT

The Orioles reached out to Cubs VP of scouting Dan Kantrovitz about a possible interview for their general manager opening, according to 670 The Score’s Bruce Levine. However, it appears as though Kantrovitz declined the offer, as he isn’t looking to leave the Cubs organization.

Kantrovitz has over 21 years of baseball operations experience, split over stints with the Cardinals, Athletics, and Cubs. He has been in his current position since leaving Oakland for Wrigleyville in September 2019, and he received some interest from the Angels (in 2020) and Mets (in 2023) for higher-level front office positions. There wasn’t any indication that he actually interviewed for those jobs either, yet it isn’t surprising that clubs keep showing interest considering the Cubs’ strong prospect depth

Since Kantrovitz started overseeing Chicago’s drafts, the team has amassed a farm system that many pundits rank among the game’s best. Such homegrown names like Cade Horton and Matt Shaw are contributing to the Cubs’ success in 2025, and the club has also used its prospect depth to swing some prominent trades, such as last winter’s blockbuster with the Astros that saw 2024 first-rounder Cam Smith included as part of the package that landed Kyle Tucker.

There are some past ties between Kantrovitz and Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias, as the two worked together in the St. Louis front office from 2007-09. This naturally doesn’t mean that the O’s are looking just for candidates Elias is personally familiar with, but Kantrovitz’s amateur scouting background is perhaps a hint about what the Orioles are prioritizing in their GM search.

It was only earlier this week that we learned a GM search was even underway, when news broke about Elias’ promotion to PBO last offseason and the Orioles’ plan to hire a general manager to act as Elias’ chief lieutenant in baseball ops. Levine writes that Kantrovitz was a “short list” candidate for Baltimore, which indicates that the team might have moved beyond an initial stage of the process, even as they’re still rounding up interview candidates.

In other Orioles news, the club placed right-hander Shawn Dubin on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to September 13) due to right elbow discomfort. Interim manager Tony Mansolino told the Baltimore Sun’s Jacob Calvin Meyer and other reporters that Dubin will undergo an MRI, and there is “some concern there” over a possible serious injury.

Dubin has been with the O’s for less than three weeks, since he was claimed off waivers from the Astros. Now in his third MLB season, Dubin struggled to a 5.61 ERA over 25 2/3 innings with Houston this year, but he improved to a 3.38 ERA over eight innings and seven appearances since arriving in Baltimore. Dubin didn’t allow a run over his first six outings as an Oriole, but in his final appearance before his IL placement, he was charged with three runs in 1 2/3 innings against the Blue Jays on Friday.

Injuries have been the larger story of Dubin’s season. Shoulder problems and then a sprained ankle kept him sidelined through all of Spring Training and delayed his 2025 debut until May 11. He later missed about seven weeks due to a forearm strain, and the combination of that forearm issue plus this new elbow discomfort raises the ominous specter of UCL damage.

To fill Dubin’s spot on the active roster, Carson Ragsdale was called up from Triple-A Norfolk, and the righty made his Major League debut in today’s 11-2 loss to the Blue Jays. It was far from a dream debut for Ragsdale, as he allowed eight runs over three innings against the AL East leaders.

Ragsdale is another new arrival in the organization, as the Orioles claimed him off waivers from the Giants in early August. A fourth-round pick for the Phillies in 2020 draft, Ragsdale struggled with San Francisco’s Triple-A affiliate over the last two seasons, though his bottom-line numbers picked up in Norfolk. For the season as a whole, however, Ragsdale’s strikeout rate plummeted to 19.7% after posting K-rates of well over 30% in the lower minor league levels. His homer rate also spiked during his time with Triple-A Sacramento and the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, but he had better luck in keeping the ball in the park during his brief time in Norfolk.

Finally, it looks like Adley Rutschman is on pace to make it back to the Orioles’ lineup before the season is over. The catcher hasn’t played since August 17 due to a right oblique strain, but Mansolino said Rutschman is probably going to be starting a rehab assignment in the near future.

Though Baltimore is playing out the string, getting into a few more games will hopefully allow Rutschman to finish a tough year on some kind of high note. The former All-Star has hit just .227/.310/.373 over 348 plate appearances, while missing extended periods of time due strains of both his right and left oblique.

Phillies Notes: Wheeler, Romano, Turner, Bohm

By Nick Deeds | September 13, 2025 at 4:54pm CDT

The Phillies have been without ace right-hander Zack Wheeler in their rotation since August 15, and late last month it was announced that he had been recommended for surgery to correct thoracic outlet syndrome. Today, the Phillies revealed to reporters (including Charlotte Varnes of The Athletic) that Wheeler is set to go under the knife on September 23.

At the time of the club’s original announcement about Wheeler needing surgery, it was suggested that the procedure typically came with a 6-8 month recovery timeline. Assuming that holds true, Wheeler going under the knife later this month would mean that he could return to the Phillies’ rotation sometime in the first half of 2026. A best case scenario would seem to suggest that he’d miss the first few weeks of the regular season, with the longer end of that projected timeline getting Wheeler back on the mound a couple of weeks before the All-Star break. Of course, timelines like this are all largely hypothetical until the procedure actually occurs, and even afterwards there’s always the possibility of a setback or other developments changing the time table even further.

Still, the idea that Wheeler should be back on the mound at some point in the first half next year should surely be encouraging for fans in Philadelphia. The unquestioned ace of the club’s rotation, Wheeler has become more important to the team than ever as Ranger Suarez enters what could be the final weeks of his Phillies tenure with free agency coming up in November while Aaron Nola scuffles through a career-worst season. Cristopher Sanchez’s emergence as a legitimate front-of-the-rotation arm will go a long way to helping the team get by without Wheeler to take the lead, but it nonetheless goes without saying that the sooner the 35-year-old can return to the mound, the better off the organization will be.

The club’s news on injured right-hander Jordan Romano offers less reason for optimism. Romano has been on the shelf since August 26 due to finger inflammation, and today manager Rob Thomson provided the update to reporters (including Varnes) that Romano has been feeling numbness in his middle finger and stiffness in his neck. Thomson went on to suggest that it could be a “nerve thing” that Romano is dealing with, though he did not elaborate beyond that.

Romano has had a tough season with the Phillies after signing a one-year deal this winter. He’s pitched to a brutal 8.23 ERA in 42 2/3 innings of work this year despite solid peripherals (including a 3.65 SIERA) thanks in large part to an unbelievably low 49.0% strand rate after entering the season with a career 81.3% figure. While it’s not impossible to imagine Romano righting the ship if he can only come back healthy, the possibility of a lingering nerve problem being the cause of his inflammation would seemingly create pessimism about his ability to return this season and help the Phillies out during the postseason before he returns to free agency in November.

There’s more optimistic news to be had on the positional side of things, at least, as both Alec Bohm and Trea Turner are both making progress as they look to return from the injured list. Both players were placed on the shelf on September 8. Bohm was dealing with shoulder soreness, while Turner had been diagnosed with a grade 1 hamstring strain. With the Phillies in the thick of the playoff race and in position to claim a bye through the Wild Card round of the postseason, getting the left side of the club’s infield back in action as soon as possible would be a massive boost. Fortunately, Varnes relays that Turner did some running and played catch today with an eye towards swinging a bat later this week, while Bohm is already set to hit off a tee today.

Guardians Notes: Brito, Bazzana, Thomas

By Mark Polishuk | September 13, 2025 at 10:26am CDT

Juan Brito’s injury-ravaged season has come to an early end, as the Guardians announced yesterday that the infield prospect would be undergoing surgery to fix his damaged left hamstring. The procedure has a recovery timeline of 8-12 weeks, so Brito should be ready for the start of Spring Training.

This marks the second major surgery of Brito’s 2025 campaign, as he missed close to two months recovering from thumb surgery. Returning to action with Triple-A Columbus near the end of June, he appeared in just eight more games with the Clippers before being sidelined again by a left hamstring strain. Brito had resumed baseball activities a few weeks ago, but seemingly with little progress, so the decision was made to fully address the injury with surgery.

Brito will conclude his season with just 31 games played — 24 in Triple-A ball, and seven on a rehab assignment with the Guardians’ rookie league affiliate. He still hit well (.256/.357/.463) over his 99 plate appearances in Columbus, yet that isn’t much consolation given that Brito posted similar numbers over a full Triple-A season in 2024, and looked set to make his big league debut this year.

There was even some chatter last spring about Brito potentially breaking camp with the Guardians and earning at least a platoon role at second base. Cleveland instead optioned him to Triple-A before Opening Day, and while Brito’s injuries perhaps made the team’s decision a moot point, the keystone has been a weak spot for the Guardians. The team’s second basemen (Daniel Schneemann, Brayan Rocchio, Angel Martinez, Gabriel Arias, and Will Wilson) have combined for 0.6 bWAR, ranking the Guards 23rd of 30 teams in second base bWAR.

Going into 2026, the hope is that Brito (who turns 24 later this month) will be healthy and ready to rebound after his lost year. Acquired from the Rockies in the Nolan Jones trade three years ago, Brito has posted good offensive numbers during his rise up the ranks of Cleveland’s farm system. Evaluators aren’t sure if his glove necessarily plays anywhere, but even a bat-first type of infielder might help a Guardians team still struggling for consistent offense.

Brito has already exhausted his number of minor league option years, so for now, he’ll be officially out of options heading into 2026. Since the league can grant a fourth option year to players whose careers have been stalled by injury, however, it seems quite likely that Brito will get that bonus option given how little he played in 2025.

Turning to the top name in the Guards’ minor league system, Travis Bazzana may be facing another oblique issue. Bazzana was removed from Thursday’s Triple-A game due to left oblique soreness, and there hasn’t yet been an update on his status. This injury comes on the heels of a right oblique strain in May that ended up costing Bazzana a little over two months of the Double-A season.

The first overall pick of the 2024 draft has started his pro career in impressive fashion, already advancing to Triple-A ball and hitting .225/.420/.438 over his first 120 PA with Columbus. As much as some Cleveland fans were hoping Bazzana might provide the big league team with a boost during the playoff push, there probably wasn’t much chance the Guardians were going to call Bazzana up even before Thursday’s injury scare. That said, Bazzana’s quick rise through the minors has certainly put him on the radar for 2026, and he might now be the second base prospect under consideration for an Opening Day assignment.

Speaking of injury-marred seasons, Lane Thomas has played in only 39 games for the Guardians due to three different IL stints. The first IL trip was due to a bone bruise in his right wrist, and the latter two have been as a result of Thomas’ ongoing battle with plantar fasciitis in his right foot. The outfielder has been on the 10-day injured list since early July, and he played in three rehab games with Double-A Akron earlier in September before he was sidelined again with more foot soreness.

The next step might be surgery, as Thomas told The Athletic’s Zack Meisel and other reporters that he will speak with a foot specialist this coming week to decide on how to best treat the injury. Should Thomas go under the knife, he’d need a three-month recovery period. This timeline would leave him ready to go for the start of spring camp, yet a surgery would add another complication to what will already be a tricky ride through the free agent market for the 30-year-old.

It was less than two years ago that Thomas hit 28 homers as the everyday right fielder for the 2023 Nationals, but his production has dropped sharply since that career year. His bat particularly cooled off after he was dealt to the Guards at last year’s trade deadline, and his nightmare of a 2025 season has seen Thomas hit just .160/.246/.272 over 142 PA.

Teams will want to ensure Thomas is healthy before signing him to any sort of contract, so he’ll probably have to complete his rehab before his market gathers any kind of momentum. At best he’ll receive a one-year deal with a modest guaranteed salary, and it is certainly possible Thomas may have to settle for a minor league deal. Thomas told Meisel and company that he would welcome a return to Cleveland, and since the Guardians will be looking for outfield help anyway, the team might be open to bringing Thomas back on a low-cost deal.

Marlins Notes: Stowers, Norby, Pauley, Myers

By Nick Deeds | September 10, 2025 at 11:25pm CDT

It’s been nearly a month since Marlins outfielder Kyle Stowers was sidelined by side strain, and he actually began a rehab assignment on September 5 at the Triple-A level. Unfortunately, that September 5 game remains his most recent appearance after he was sidelined by a right oblique strain. According to Kevin Barral of Fish On First, manager Clayton McCullough relayed to reporters yesterday that he isn’t “exactly sure” how long Stowers will be shut down for, and that a clear timetable might not be available until after Stowers has had a few more days of downtime.

With so few days left in the regular season and the Marlins an insurmountable nine games back in the Wild Card race, there appears to be a real chance that Stowers’s 2025 season has come to a close. McCullough acknowledged as much yesterday, telling reporters (including Barral) that “we know where we’re at in the calendar.” If Stowers’s first full season as a Marlin is in fact over, it’s still hard to call it anything other than a massive success. The 27-year-old emerged as a core piece for Miami this year as he slashed .288/.368/.544 with 25 homers, 21 doubles, and 3 triples across 117 games. It was enough to earn Stowers an All-Star nod, and he’s sure to be a fixture of the club’s outfield mix next year as well.

Turning away from Stowers, the Marlins provided plenty of updates (as relayed by MLB.com) about other injured hitters today. Infielder Graham Pauley began a rehab assignment at Triple-A today as he recovers from an oblique strain suffered last month. Tomorrow, meanwhile, will see both infielder Connor Norby and outfielder Dane Myers begin rehab assignments. Norby was sidelined by a quad strain just a few days ago, while Myers has been out of commission since late August due to an oblique strain of his own.

Of that trio, Pauley is having the best season at the plate. That’s not saying very much, as the left-handed utility man is slashing .229/.310/.371 in 159 plate appearances across 54 games for the big league Marlins this year. Norby, meanwhile, has posted only slightly weaker numbers in more of a regular role. He’s slashed .247/.298/.373 in 295 trips to the plate this year while battling injuries, including a hamate fracture that required surgery back in July. He had looked a lot better after returning from that surgery, but his burgeoning hot streak was cut short at just five games by his aforementioned quad ailment. As for Myers, the 29-year-old has hit just .233/.292/.325 in 99 games this year, but he has swiped 17 bases and played strong defense in center field.

Assuming none of them face setbacks like Stowers has, all three should be expected to return before the end of the year. Maximo Acosta, Xavier Edwards, and Javier Sanoja have mixed and matched at second and third base while Pauley and Norby have been out, with Otto Lopez at shortstop. That quartet will likely be forced to get the majority of their playing time up the middle as Pauley and Norby seem poised to reclaim their timeshare at the hot corner. Myers, meanwhile, has been overtaken on the depth chart by Jakob Marsee in center field but could still see some use off the bench or in the outfield corners.

Rays Notes: Ownership, Pepiot, Aranda

By Nick Deeds | September 10, 2025 at 10:01pm CDT

The Rays are set to change hands any day now, as current owner Stuart Sternberg has agreed to a sell the franchise to a group led by Patrick Zalupski in a deal that’s expected to be finalized at some point this month. Since the announcement of that deal back in July, additional details about the deal have trickled out. One such detail is that Sternberg and other current members of his ownership group will retain a stake in the Rays for the time being after the sale.

Another emerged today when Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reported that Rick Workman has joined Zalupski’s prospective ownership group. Topkin writes that Workman’s move to purchase a stake in the Rays is both a significant shock and a major blow to the Orlando Dreamers group, which is committed to luring an expansion franchise to Orlando. Topkin suggests that Workman was viewed as an “anchor” investor for the group’s efforts to bring MLB to the city who would have been a candidate to serve as the controlling partner of a hypothetical Orlando MLB franchise. John Morgan, the group’s second-largest investor, has also departed the effort now that it appears likely that the Rays will remain in Tampa.

According to a statement from MLB Hall of Famer Barry Larkin, who serves as an MLB ambassador for the Dreamers, the organization was “surprised” when Workman conveyed that he plans to invest in the Rays, but emphasized that Workman “did not in any way suggest concerns” regarding the Dreamers initiative. Dreamers co-founder Jim Schnorf goes on to suggest that the 70-year-old Workman may have had a change of heart about waiting for the lengthy process of getting a team to Orlando, which would likely take years now that the Rays figure to stay in Tampa, and instead chose the more immediate option of joining Zalupski’s group.

Between the loss of multiple major investors and the likelihood that the Rays remain in Tampa, it’s becoming harder to imagine a team coming to Orlando any time soon. With that said, Schnorf noted that there are “multiple” other candidates to serve as control person of a hypothetical Dreamers franchise and that the initiative has no shortage of funding.

“No competing city can come close to matching our attributes in regards to stadium location, market size, population growth, tourism numbers, tourist development taxes, and strength and growth of the local economy,” Schnorf said. “Orlando remains the only fully-ready solution for any MLB situation in need, whether via relocation of an existing franchise, or one of the planned expansion slots.”

Turning to on-the-field news, Rays right-hander Ryan Pepiot was scratched from his scheduled start today with what the club referred to as “general fatigue.” Pepiot, 28, has thrown 163 innings across 29 starts this year. That’s roughly 30 innings more than his previous career high, which was set last year and was itself 30 innings more than his career high before that. With the righty in uncharted territory innings-wise and Tampa’s playoff hopes all but scuttled, it might seem reasonable to expect Pepiot to sit the rest of the season out. That’s not necessarily the case, however, as MLB.com’s Joey Pollizze relays that Pepiot told reporters he expects to pitch again this year. The Rays went with a bullpen game to fill Pepiot’s spot in the rotation today, with Ian Seymour, Shane Baz, Drew Rasmussen, and Adrian Houser set to go the next four days, so the club won’t have to make a decision on Pepiot until their September 15 game against Toronto.

Turning to the lineup, Topkin relays that (according to manager Kevin Cash) first baseman Jonathan Aranda went for a checkup today as he nurses the fractured wrist that sent him to the injured list on August 1. Aranda is progressing well, according to Cash, and has already begun hitting off a tee and playing catch as he starts to rehab his ailing wrist. It’s still not clear if Aranda will have time to return before the end of the season, but the update is nonetheless encouraging about his ability to put together a normal offseason and enter Spring Training in a strong position for 2026. The 27-year-old Aranda enjoyed a breakout season at this dish this year and slashed .316/.394/.478 across 103 games while splitting time between first base and DH. It was a strong enough performance to earn Aranda the first All-Star nod of his career, and he figures to be a major contributor to the Rays for years to come given that he won’t be eligible for arbitration until the 2027 season.

Braves Notes: Murphy, Kim, Snitker

By Steve Adams | September 9, 2025 at 12:19pm CDT

Catcher Sean Murphy has been playing through hip discomfort for the past three years, president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos told the Braves beat last night (link via Mark Bowman of MLB.com). While Murphy had been playing through pain that “would come and go,” per Anthopoulos, the issue reached a tipping point recently and prompted an MRI to take a look at how severe the issue had become. That revealed a torn labrum in Murphy’s hip, which will require season-ending surgery. The procedure will be performed Thursday.

“…in talking to [Dr. Thomas Byrd, who’ll perform the surgery] today, he was stunned [Murphy] had been playing the last three years with a significant tear,” said Anthopoulos.

Murphy hit .233/.332/.491 (126 wRC+) with 16 homers and a dozen doubles in 271 plate appearances through the end of July this season, but his offensive production cratered beginning in August. From Aug. 1 through what’ll now go down as his final plate appearance of the season on Saturday, he went 4-for-59 with a 34.8% strikeout rate. The resulting .068/.167/.085 batting line served as a screaming indicator that something clearly wasn’t right with Murphy.

Anthopoulos also touched on the topic of recently claimed shortstop Ha-Seong Kim, who has a $16MM player option for the 2026 season (link via David O’Brien of The Athletic). Atlanta’s longtime president of baseball ops acknowledged talking with the Rays about Kim at the deadline as well, and while no deal came together, the organization is glad to have nabbed Kim off waivers and hopes the 29-year-old (30 next month) will opt into the second season of his contract.

“[G]etting him in our clubhouse, him getting to know us, us getting to know him — whether he doesn’t opt out or does, we’re both in a better position,” Anthopoulos said of Kim. “We know more about each other. Had he been in Tampa and opted out (of the option), and now we’re coming to the table to talk to him, I can’t tell you we separate ourselves from any other team that he hasn’t played for.”

It’s been a lost season overall for Kim. The former Padres standout had shoulder surgery last October and inked a two-year, $29MM deal with Tampa Bay — the second season of which is a player option. Kim returned in early July but has twice been on the injured list since that time due to lower back troubles. Kim is hitting just .231/.302/.346 overall this season (81 wRC+), but he’s been good in six games with Atlanta: 6-for-20 with a home run, a walk and only three strikeouts in 23 plate appearances.

At his best, Kim is a plus defensive shortstop and plus runner with nearly average power. He’ll draw walks at an above-average clip and put the ball in play more often than the standard big leaguer. He hasn’t been at his best in 2025, but given the thin market for free-agent shortstops and the lack of in-house alternatives to defensive standout but light-hitting Nick Allen, it makes sense that Atlanta proactively jumped to bring Kim into the fold. There’s no firm guarantee he’ll pick up his $16MM player option, but his struggles this year make that a real possibility, at which point the Braves are effectively bringing him into the ’26 fold on a one-year pillow contract.

Of course, one of the biggest questions on the minds of Braves fans is who’ll manage the club next season. Brian Snitker just notched his 800th managerial win this week, but the 69-year-old Braves lifer was noncommittal when asked about continuing on beyond the current season when asked back in March.

Asked about his manager’s future, Anthopoulos said (via O’Brien) that Snitker would be “in this organization forever” but declined to discuss whether that means Snitker will continue managing the team. Anthopoulos did reveal that the team has “absolutely not” begun doing background work on a potential replacement, adding that it would be “completely disrespectful” to Snitker to do so.

Snitker, second to only Bobby Cox in Braves managerial wins, has been in the organization for nearly 50 years — the past nine as the major league manager. He’s previously managed at nearly every minor league level in the system, spent more than a decade on the major league coaching staff (bullpen coach, third base coach) and has worked in a variety of instructional capacities in the Braves’ minor league ranks.

Fans — Braves fans in particular — will want to check out O’Brien’s piece for a full slate of quotes on Murphy, Kim, Snitker, Drake Baldwin’s Rookie of the Year candidacy, the struggles (and recent turnarounds) from Ozzie Albies and Michael Harris II, and a good bit more.

AL East Notes: Abreu, Kremer, Sugano, Goldschmidt

By Mark Polishuk | September 7, 2025 at 2:19pm CDT

Wilyer Abreu was (retroactively) placed on the 10-day injured list on August 18 due to a right calf strain, and some eyebrows were raised last Sunday when both Abreu and Red Sox manager Alex Cora didn’t have any sort of timeline in place for the outfielder’s return, other than Abreu stressing that he wanted to “be ready for the playoffs.” Some literal steps in the right direction were taken this weekend when Cora told MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo and other reporters that Abreu took part in running activities on both Friday and Saturday.

Cora described the drills as “the start of the progression,” and noted that Abreu “wasn’t at full speed.” The skipper didn’t have any more details about when Abreu could be tapped for a minor league rehab assignment or an activation from the IL. While naturally the Red Sox won’t rush Abreu for fear of re-aggravating his injury, there is some increased urgency to bolster the outfield now that Roman Anthony’s regular season has possibly been ended by an oblique strain. What was once an overcrowded outfield picture in Boston has been thinned out by the loss of two regulars, leaving the Sox with a Rob Refsnyder/Nate Eaton timeshare in right field since Anthony’s IL placement.

Cubs Notes: Tucker, Crow-Armstrong, Caissie

By Nick Deeds | September 6, 2025 at 8:03pm CDT

The Cubs have been without Kyle Tucker since he exited Tuesday’s game against the Braves due to a calf issue, and it’s unclear when he’ll be returning to the lineup. Yesterday, manager Craig Counsell told reporters (as relayed by Marquee Sports Network on social media) that Tucker “didn’t really make progress” during Thursday’s day off, and would be out of the lineup for another day before adding that today would be a “big day” in terms of deciding how to proceed.

That language seemed to suggest that an injured list stint was in the cards for Tucker if he wasn’t healthy enough to return to the lineup today, and Jesse Rogers of ESPN reported that outfield prospect Owen Caissie was scratched from Triple-A Iowa’s lineup and brought to Chicago in case a roster move was necessary. Ultimately, however, Tucker remains day-to-day and out of the lineup without a roster move. Counsell told reporters (as noted by Marquee) today that the club thinks that they “have time to let this heal” without an IL stint, seemingly indicating that he’ll be back in the lineup within the next few days.

Injured list stints can be backdated a maximum of three days, meaning that if Tucker had gone on the shelf today he’d be eligible to return for next weekend’s series against the Rays. In that time, Caissie could have joined with fellow top prospect Kevin Alcantara to form a platoon in right field, with Pete Crow-Armstrong in center and Ian Happ in right while utility man Willi Castro and DH Seiya Suzuki serve as backup options in the outfield. Instead, the Cubs have opted to keep Tucker on the roster, with Suzuki and Castro splitting time in right field while Carlos Santana fills in at DH on days where Suzuki is in the outfield.

A roster move to bolster the outfield mix may yet be necessary, however. Crow-Armstrong exited today’s loss against the Nationals due to a knee contusion after fouling a ball off of his knee. As he told reporters (including Bruce Levine of 670 The Score) after the game, the incident has caused “a whole different kind of pain” than he’s used to. Crow-Armstrong went on to indicate that a decision on his status going forward won’t be made clear until tomorrow, but it seems feasible he might be ticketed for either an injured list stint or at least a few days off due to the injury. Having both Tucker and Crow-Armstrong unavailable on the bench would stretch the Cubs rather thin, given that both Justin Turner and Carlos Santana are limited to first base and DH duties only. Those two could handle DH while Suzuki, Castro, and Alcantara mix and match between right and center field, but that’s a less than ideal solution and simply placing one of their two ailing outfielders on the shelf to make room for Caissie may wind up being preferable.

The Cubs have the good fortune of having relatively little to play for over the final few weeks of the regular season. Fangraphs gives the club a 99.8% chance to secure a playoff spot this season, while their odds of surpassing the surging Brewers in the NL Central sit at a paltry 3.1%. With a Wild Card berth more or less guaranteed, Chicago could surely afford to place either Tucker or Crow-Armstrong (or, perhaps, both) on the injured list and fill out their roster with prospects at Triple-A already on the 40-man roster like Caissie and Moises Ballesteros if they think resting their stars could put them in a better position to win in October. Of course, with Crow-Armstrong slumping badly in recent weeks (.178/.225/.243 since August 1) and Tucker having recently broken out of his own slump, it’s also possible that they would benefit from getting as many reps as possible in order to get back on track before the playoffs.

« Previous Page

Load More Posts

Show all

Headlines

Notes

Navigation

MLBTR INFO

Connect