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Blue Jays Sign Buddy Kennedy, Rene Pinto To Minor League Deals

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The Blue Jays agreed to minor league contracts with infielder Buddy Kennedy and catcher René Pinto. Kennedy has already returned to Triple-A Buffalo and played there tonight. Pinto has yet to get into a game with the Bisons, but the MLB.com transaction tracker indicates he signed with Toronto on Monday.

Kennedy first signed a minor league deal with Toronto in July. The Jays called him in early August while Andrés Giménez was on the injured list. They kept him on the big league roster for a week and designated him for assignment when Giménez returned. The Dodgers were dealing with a few infield injuries and snagged him off waivers. Kennedy was on the L.A. roster for 10 days but lost his spot when Kiké Hernández came back from injury.

After clearing outright waivers, the former fifth-round pick elected free agency. He circles back to the Jays to serve as infield depth for the final few weeks of the regular season. Kennedy is a lifetime .178/.271/.274 hitter at the major league level. He owns a much more solid .278/.388/.429 line in parts of four Triple-A campaigns. Kennedy mostly plays third base but can factor in at both positions on the right side of the infield as well.

Pinto, 28, was granted his release from a minor league contract with Arizona last month. The Venezuelan backstop never played in the majors with the Diamondbacks. He appeared at the highest level with the Rays each season from 2022-24. Pinto hit .231/.263/.404 across 82 games. Tampa Bay gave him a brief look as their starting catcher early last year, but he struggled on both sides of the ball and spent the bulk of the season in Triple-A.

The right-handed hitting Pinto has shown some power in the minors. He has 57 career Triple-A home runs, slashing .256/.307/.493 in more than 1100 plate appearances at the level. That includes a .268/.324/.517 line with 11 homers in 54 games for Arizona’s affiliate. Toronto has Alejandro Kirk and Tyler Heineman as their only catchers on the 40-man roster. Their previous Triple-A catchers, Phil Clarke and Brandon Valenzuela, have no major league experience. If his deal was indeed signed on September 1, Pinto would not be eligible for the playoff roster but provides a more experienced depth option for the next few weeks in case Kirk or Heineman suffer an injury.

Cubs Outright Tom Cosgrove

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The Cubs sent lefty reliever Tom Cosgrove outright to Triple-A Iowa, according to the MLB.com transaction log. He cleared waivers after being designated for assignment on August 31. Cosgrove was the 40-man roster casualty when the Cubs claimed Aaron Civale off waivers from the White Sox.

Chicago acquired Cosgrove from the Padres in the middle of April. He has spent most of the season in the minor leagues. The 29-year-old has made two big league appearances, allowing one run in four innings. The Manhattan University product has a 4.71 ERA across 42 frames with Iowa. Cosgrove has fanned a quarter of opponents but walked too many hitters, issuing free passes at a 14% clip.

Cosgrove pitched 51 1/3 innings of 1.75 ERA ball for San Diego two years ago. He hasn’t gotten much major league work since then. His Triple-A production over the past couple seasons has been middling as he has struggled to throw strikes consistently. This is Cosgrove’s first career outright assignment. He doesn’t have the requisite service time to elect free agency, so he’ll stick with Iowa as non-roster bullpen depth for the rest of the season. Cosgrove will become a minor league free agent at year’s end if the Cubs don’t call him back up.

Astros Place Spencer Arrighetti On Injured List

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The Astros placed Spencer Arrighetti on the 15-day injured list shortly before tonight’s game against the Yankees. The placement, which is retroactive to August 31, is due to inflammation in his throwing elbow. Houston selected reliever Jayden Murray onto the MLB roster in his place. Lefty John Rooney has been moved from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list to create a 40-man roster spot. The Astros also activated Victor Caratini from the concussion list and optioned Chas McCormick to Triple-A Sugar Land this afternoon.

Arrighetti tossed 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball against the Angels on Saturday. He apparently came out of that appearance with elbow soreness. The Astros waited until just before game time tonight to put him on the shelf. Injured list placements can be backdated for up to three days. The Astros determined Arrighetti will need at least another 12 days before he’s ready to pitch.

Houston activated Luis Garcia from the injured list on Monday. They intended to go to a six-man rotation, ideally affording an extra day of rest for Garcia and Cristian Javier with both pitchers just back from elbow surgery. This will force a change of plans. They can drop back to a five-man starting staff with Javier and Garcia following Hunter Brown, Framber Valdez and Jason Alexander. If they want to keep a six-man rotation, they could reverse course on the plan to move Lance McCullers Jr. to the bullpen. Colton Gordon is in the Triple-A rotation, while rookie AJ Blubaugh could build back to rotation work after beginning his MLB career in the bullpen.

Arrighetti has spent most of the season on the IL after breaking his thumb on a fluke injury when he was hit by a ball during batting practice in April. The second-year righty has been limited to seven starts and carries a 5.35 ERA across 35 1/3 innings. He took the ball 29 times a year ago, pitching to a 4.53 mark over 145 frames in his rookie season.

Murray gets his first major league opportunity at age 28. The 6’1″ righty has thrown 64 innings of 4.64 ERA ball over 50 appearances with Sugar Land. Murray has fanned 24% of opponents while issuing walks to nearly 11% of batters faced. He has pitched well of late, allowing only six earned runs in 23 innings going back to the beginning of July. A former Tampa Bay draftee, Murray was traded to the Astros while he was pitching in Double-A as part of the three-team Trey Mancini/Jose Siri deal in 2022.

Rooney, also 28, was acquired from Miami last month. He made his MLB debut on August 24 against Baltimore, giving up one run while recording four outs. Houston placed him on the injured list with elbow inflammation after that appearance, and he’s now out for the season. The Astros will need to reinstate him onto the 40-man roster or put him on waivers at the beginning of the offseason.

On the position player side, Caratini returns to split time behind the dish with Yainer Diaz. The Astros will keep third catcher César Salazar on the active roster as well. That means the first minor league stint of the season for McCormick, who is batting .210/.279/.290 across 116 plate appearances. McCormick was a valuable and underrated outfield piece over his first three seasons, but he’s amidst his second straight very poor year. He’s a long shot to make Houston’s playoff roster (if they qualify) and will be a non-tender candidate this winter.

MLB Issues One-Game Suspension To Matt Chapman

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MLB has issued a one-game suspension to Giants third baseman Matt Chapman for “pushing” Kyle Freeland during last night’s game. Chapman and Freeland were each handed undisclosed fines, as were Willy Adames and Rafael Devers. Chapman appealed the suspension and is in the lineup tonight at third base against Germán Márquez.

The discipline stems from last night’s bench-clearing incident at Coors Field. Devers hit a sky high home run off Freeland in the top of the first inning. The Colorado pitcher took exception to Devers taking his time admiring the shot. They got into a shouting match by the time Devers reached first base and the benches emptied.

Chapman was one of the first players out of the San Francisco dugout and appeared to shove Freeland when he got to the mound. Adames, who was on deck for the Devers homer, was also in the mix. He and Freeland each swiped at one another and exchanged words, though the situation remained relatively innocuous. The benches and bullpens emptied, but it never really escalated into a brawl. Chapman, Adames and Freeland were all thrown out of the game. Devers was not ejected and completed his home run trot a few minutes later while Antonio Senzatela was warming up to replace Freeland.

The suspension isn’t of huge significance, though the Giants have won nine of their last 10 games to pull back into the periphery of the Wild Card race. Unless the ban is reversed on appeal, San Francisco will need to play a man short for whatever game Chapman sits out. Christian Koss would likely draw in at second base, moving Casey Schmitt to the hot corner.

Sung-Mun Song Hoping To Be Posted For MLB Teams

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KBO infielder Sung-Mun Song could be available for MLB teams this winter. A few weeks ago, he told Jee-ho Yoo of Yonhap News Agency that he will ask the Kiwoom Heroes to post him after the current season. Yoo notes that MLB teams began scouting him last year. Yoo also published another piece for Yonhap this week wherein Mark Pieper of ISE Baseball, Song’s agency, spoke about the player’s desire to make the move this winter.

Song, 29, is characterized by Yoo as a late bloomer. It’s noted that he didn’t become an everyday player until 2019. He then had his career sidetracked by his military service, which led to him missing the entire 2020 season and part of 2021 as well.

He has since seen a huge uptick in his performance in recent years. Over the 2022 and 2023 seasons, he had a combined .253/.311/.366 line and a 85 wRC+. Since the start of 2024, he has a .330/.402/.528 batting line, production which translates to a 146 wRC+. He hit 19 home runs last year and is already up to 24 this season. He also stole 22 bases last year and is at 21 so far in 2025. Defensively, he is primarily a third baseman but has also spend significant time at second and first base.

Song and his representatives feel he is ready for a move to North America. The Heroes don’t have to post him and have actually signed him to a six-year extension, but Yoo notes they have also said they will support him if he wants to make the move to Major League Baseball. Assuming they do eventually post him at some point this winter, that will open up a 30-day posting window where Song can negotiate will all 30 MLB clubs.

If he signs with one of them, the Heroes will be entitled to a posting fee, the size of which would depend upon the specifics of his MLB deal. The fee will be calculated as 20% of the contract’s first $25MM, plus 17.5% of the next $25MM and 15% of any dollars thereafter. Additional earnings, such as performance bonuses/incentives or salaries on option years fall under that purview once they are unlocked or exercised.

His market will naturally be dependent on whether or not clubs think he can have success in North American ball. His most recent results are impressive but the track record of success is still fairly short. As a point of comparison, Ha-Seong Kim hit 19 home runs in 2019 and then 30 in 2020, his final two KBO seasons. He had a combined .307/.393/.507 line and 142 wRC+ over those two seasons. That’s fairly similar to Song’s two recent campaigns but Kim also slashed .290/.364/.488 for a 112 wRC+ over the 2015-2018 campaigns. He therefore had a longer track record of decent production and also provided more defensive value as a plus shortstop. Yoo notes that Kim, who also played for the Heroes, had a conversation with Song and convinced him to try the leap to MLB.

Kim secured a four-year, $28MM deal from the Padres ahead of the 2021 season. Arguably, he was a better player at that time compared to Song now, though a few years of inflation could work in Song’s favor. This winter’s third base market will likely be headlined by Alex Bregman, assuming he opts out of his deal with the Red Sox, and Eugenio Suárez. At second, Gleyber Torres should be the main attraction. Teams looking for help at first base will likely be looking at Pete Alonso, who can opt out of his Mets deal, as well as Luis Arráez, Josh Naylor, Rhys Hoskins, Ryan O’Hearn and others.

Song will be more affordable than many of the guys in that group, even with the posting fee, though he will also come with the natural uncertainty surrounding a player with no previous major league experience.

Photo courtesy of Evan Habeeb, Imagn Images

Poll: Can The Astros Hold On To Win The AL West?

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Fangraphs gives each current division leader at least a 60% chance of maintaining that lead through the end of the regular season, per their latest playoff odds. Not all of those chances are equal, however, and two division leaders are far less likely to hold onto their title than the rest.

One is the Blue Jays, who around 45% of MLBTR readers view as likely to hold onto the division as of yesterday’s poll. The other is the Astros, who took control of the division off the back of a dominant 19-7 month of June but since then have struggled to keep pace. They’re 26-29 since the start of July and 16-21 since July 24. Houston’s managed to fend off the Mariners and Rangers in the AL West until now, however, and actually has a larger lead (three games) over Seattle now than they did in mid-August, when they were briefly tied for the division lead at one point.

That rebound in recent weeks has helped them stay afloat, but there’s still cause for concern. What was once a dominant front two in the rotation has now dropped to one; while Hunter Brown is still excelling amid a campaign that’s likely to earn him legitimate consideration for the Cy Young award, Framber Valdez is struggling badly of late with an ERA north of 6.00 since the start of August. The bullpen took a major hit when Josh Hader was sidelined by a sprained shoulder, and the lineup simply isn’t scoring enough runs. The Astros are 29th in the majors since the start of August when it comes to runs scored, and 21st since the start of July. Cam Smith hasn’t sustained his strong start to the year, Isaac Paredes and Jake Meyers are on the injured list, and Jeremy Pena is no longer hitting like a potential MVP candidate.

All of those flaws in the roster have left Houston vulnerable, and their +14 run differential is not just lower than those of the Mariners and Rangers, it’s the lowest of any team currently in playoff position. With six games against Texas and three more against Seattle still on the schedule for September, they’ll need to duke it out with those teams outright in order to hold onto the division. That provides an opportunity for those clubs to make up a lot of ground in a relatively short amount of time. And with the toughest strength of schedule remaining in the division, Houston can’t necessarily bank on cleaning up against weaker teams in their other games.

All of that may make it seem as though the Astros have their work cut out for them if they want to hold onto their lead in the AL West. While that could certainly be true, it’s not as if they don’t also have significant advantages working in their favor. For one thing, much of that rough injury luck has been balanced out by other players returning. Yordan Alvarez and Cristian Javier, in particular, figure to be impactful pieces for Houston down the stretch. And while players like Smith and Pena have cooled off to varying degrees, Jose Altuve and Christian Walker have turned back the clock in the second half after tough starts to the season. Carlos Correa is already hitting better now that he’s back in Houston than he had been in Minnesota, and perhaps a veteran core of Altuve, Walker, Correa, and Alvarez will be able to turn things around for the offense over the season’s final month.

The other thing working in Houston’s favor is the reality that Seattle and Texas aren’t exactly behemoths, either. While the Mariners lineup has put up respectable numbers led by Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodriguez, and Randy Arozarena, their vaunted starting rotation has looked much more vulnerable this season than in previous years. They’ll get help from a flimsy schedule that pits them against the likes of St. Louis, Colorado, and Atlanta over the season’s final weeks, but without George Kirby and Logan Gilbert posting better numbers than their league-average season figures, that might not be enough. As for the Rangers, injuries to Nathan Eovaldi, Marcus Semien, and Corey Seager have dismantled the team’s veteran core for the foreseeable future. The losses of Semien and Seager, in particular, are forcing them to rely on a far less reliable group of position players for the stretch run as they look to take advantage of their aforementioned six games against the Astros this month.

How do MLBTR readers view Houston’s odds of making it to October with the AL West crown in hand? Will their veteran core be able to score enough runs going forward, or will the Mariners or perhaps even the Rangers sneak in to take over? Have your say in the poll below:

Shelby Miller Likely Headed For Tommy John Surgery

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3:00pm: Miller spoke with the Brewers beat in the dugout today and suggested that a second Tommy John procedure is likely (video link via Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel). The veteran righty effused praise for the Brewers organization and said he’d be on hand to support the club however he can. Asked about the possibility of this being a potential career-ending injury, Miller said there’s “no doubt” in his mind that he can come back — likely in 2027 — and continue to pitch effectively, but that’ll be a conversation he has with his family when he’s further down the road.

Notably, the right-hander acknowledged that surgery was mentioned as a possibility when he was on the injured list with the D-backs. That would have been an internal brace and flexor repair, but a full UCL replacement now seems like it could be on the table. The Brewers surely knew of that possibility at the time of the swap (hence the purely financial cost of acquisition), but that doesn’t make his loss any less impactful.

Fans will want to check out Rosiak’s full five-minute video clip, as Miller provides a wealth of candid quotes on his career, his current mindset, his injury, his time with the Brewers and more.

2:12pm: The Brewers announced Wednesday that they’ve placed right-hander Shelby Miller on the 60-day injured list due to a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. The 34-year-old exited a game earlier this week after telling manager Pat Murphy that he’d felt a “pop” in his elbow, and it seems he’s encountered a worst-case scenario. Milwaukee has selected the contract of righty Joel Payamps to take Miller’s spot on the 40-man roster and in the big league bullpen.

The Brewers haven’t specified whether Miller will undergo Tommy John surgery or an internal brace procedure, but surgery is the most common outcome when pitchers suffer UCL sprains. If Miller does require Tommy John surgery, it’d be the second time in his career. He also underwent Tommy John surgery back in 2017 while pitching with the Diamondbacks.

Losing Miller is another notable blow for a Milwaukee bullpen that is also without closer Trevor Megill (flexor strain), lefty DL Hall (oblique strain) and righty Grant Anderson (ankle tendinitis). The Brewers acquired Miller at the trade deadline, knowing there were some health risks. He was on the injured list with a forearm strain at the time. Perhaps in a reflection of that uncertainty, Milwaukee effectively purchased Miller rather than sending any prospects to the D-backs; they took on the remainder of Miller’s deal and $2MM of the roughly $7MM still owed to injured starter Jordan Montgomery — a free agent at season’s end.

Miller has pitched 9 2/3 innings with the Brewers and sports an unsightly 5.59 ERA, though that’s a bit misleading. Prior to the outing when he felt that “pop,” he’d pitched in 10 games with the Brewers and held opponents scoreless in eight of them. The main blemish was a three-run hiccup against the Bucs on Aug. 13, but generally, Miller had been strong: a 3.72 ERA with a 14-to-4 K/BB ratio in those 9 2/3 frames. He was tagged for two runs without recording an out in what will go down as his final appearance of the season, however, and he’ll close out the 2025 campaign with a 2.74 ERA, 10 saves and nine holds in 46 innings.

In place of Miller, the Brewers will take another look at the veteran Payamps. The 31-year-old righty was a rock-solid bullpen arm for the Brew Crew in 2023-24, pitching a combined 129 2/3 innings with a 2.78 ERA, a 26.1% strikeout rate, a 6.7% walk rate, a 42.6% ground-ball rate and just 1.04 HR/9. He saved nine games along the way and piled up 48 holds between those two excellent seasons.

Payamps got out to a miserable start in 2025, however, allowing 17 runs in his first 18 1/3 innings of work. The Brewers designated him for assignment and placed him on waivers. His $2.995MM salary made it easy to pass him through outright waivers, and Payamps has shown signs of righting the ship with Milwaukee’s top affiliate in Nashville. His numbers are somewhat skewed thanks to a six-run meltdown in his third-most-recent appearance, on Aug. 23, but Payamps carried a tidy 3.04 ERA into that outing and has bounced back with a pair of perfect frames during which he punched out five of his six opponents.

Overall, Payamps has a 4.73 ERA in 26 2/3 innings, with a disproportionate amount of the damage against him coming in that Aug. 23 hiccup. He’s posted a sharp 30-to-6 K/BB ratio with Nashville and allowed only two home runs. If he’s back to his 2023-24 form, or even 80-90% of the way there, Payamps could be an impactful bullpen addition for the final few weeks of the regular season — and perhaps even into the postseason if he shows well enough.

Mariners Claim José Castillo, Designate Joe Jacques For Assignment

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The Mariners announced that they have claimed left-hander José Castillo off waivers from the Mets. The latter club designated him for assignment a few days ago. To open a 40-man roster spot, fellow lefty Joe Jacques has been designated for assignment. Castillo is out of options, so the M’s will need to make a corresponding active roster move once he reports to the team. Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reported the claim prior to the official announcement.

Castillo, 29, has logged 21 2/3 innings this year between the Diamondbacks and Mets. He has allowed 4.98 earned runs per nine but with better underlying metrics. His 21% strikeout rate and 8.6% walk rate are both close to average, while his 52.9% ground ball rate is quite strong.

That performance hasn’t been enough to keep him in the majors for an extended stretch. Since he is out of options, he has been designated for assignment multiple times this year. Arizona gave him his first DFA of the season in May and then flipped him to the Mets for cash. Since then, the Mets have given him the DFA treatment three times. The first two resulted in him clearing waivers and sticking with the Mets, later getting selected back to the roster. Around the transactions, he also tossed 16 Triple-A innings with a 1.69 ERA, 35.9% strikeout rate, 9.4% walk rate and 50% ground ball rate.

On this third Mets DFA, the Mariners have swooped in to grab him. They already have three lefties in their bullpen, with Gabe Speier, Caleb Ferguson and Tayler Saucedo back there, but adding Castillo will give them even more balance in their relief corps. He has between four and five years of big league service time, so they can retain him for 2026 via arbitration if he still has a roster spot at season’s end.

Jacques, 30, signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers in the offseason. He was traded to the Mariners in early July. The M’s added him to their 40-man roster and then immediately optioned him to Triple-A. It’s likely that his deal with the Dodgers had some sort of opt-out or upward mobility clause. The Dodgers evidently weren’t willing to give him a 40-man spot but the M’s were.

In the minors this year, he has posted poor surface-level results with better underlying numbers. He has thrown 47 innings in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League with a 6.51 ERA. His 23.6% strikeout rate and 9.8% walk rate are close to par while his 59.7% ground ball rate has been quite good. He has seemingly been undone by a .393 batting average on balls in play and 57.7% strand rate, which are both on the unlucky side. His 4.61 FIP this year is far more optimistic than his ERA.

Despite the positive indicators, the M’s are moving on. Jacques is in his final option year and will therefore be out of options going into 2026. That would have made it harder for them to roster him going forward, so they are cutting him loose now.

Since the trade deadline has passed, he’ll be on waivers in the coming days. It some team believes he can post better numbers going forward, perhaps away from the PCL, then they could put in a claim. He can still be stashed in the minors for the rest of this year. He has less than a year of service time and theoretically has years of control, though as mentioned, he’ll be out of options next year. He has 29 2/3 major league innings with a 5.46 ERA, 15.9% strikeout rate, 8% walk rate and 61.9% ground ball rate.

Photo courtesy of Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images

Angels Claim Logan Davidson

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The Angels announced that they have claimed infielder Logan Davidson off waivers from the Astros. The latter club designated him for assignment earlier this week. In a corresponding 40-man move, the Angels have transferred right-hander Víctor Mederos to the 60-day injured list.

Davidson, 27, was a first-round pick of the Athletics back in 2019. He was initially one of that club’s top prospects but his stock faded. Even back in his college days, his power came with concerns about his penchant for strikeouts. Those concerns popped up again in affiliated ball. From 2021 to 2023, he stepped to the plate 1,437 times in the minors with an 11% walk rate but a 27.6% strikeout rate. He produced a combined line of .246/.332/.379 in that span, leading to a wRC+ of 85.

Going into 2024, he had largely fallen off prospect lists, but he ended up having a decent season. He still struck out in 31.1% of his Triple-A plate appearances but he managed to produce a .300/.366/.535 line and 111 wRC+ anyway. Given his ability to play every position outside of the battery, it was possible to imagine him serving as a useful utility guy.

Here in 2025, he had a strong .303/.452/.428 line in mid-May, again with a strikeout rate over 30%. The A’s then gave him his first big-league call but it didn’t last long. He hit .150/.261/.200 in his first 24 plate appearances and was quickly optioned back down to the minors. He was designated for assignment in July and was claimed by the Astros. They kept him in Triple-A but he hit .207/.290/.390 there and got the DFA treatment again.

This claim makes it three American League West clubs in a span of a few months for Davidson. For the Halos, they are about to lose Yoán Moncada, Chris Taylor and Luis Rengifo to free agency, cutting into their position player depth. They could get Anthony Rendon back next year but surely don’t want to be relying on him for anything since he has missed so much time, including all of the 2025 season due to hip surgery.

Going into 2026, they should have Zach Neto at shortstop and Nolan Schanuel at first base, but openings at second and third base. Prospect Christian Moore got a shot to take over at the keystone but just got optioned after struggling in his initial major league action. Guys like Scott Kingery, Oswald Peraza, Chad Stevens and Kyren Paris are on the roster. The Halos will likely make some offseason moves to address their infield but Davidson gives them another depth option for now. He has just a few days of service time and will still have two option years remaining after this one.

Mederos, 24, landed on the 15-day IL a little over a week ago due to shoulder inflammation. His current status is unclear but this move indicates the Halos don’t expect him back this season. He’ll be on the 60-day IL for the rest of the year, though there’s no IL in the offseason.

Photo courtesy of Dennis Lee, Imagn Images

White Sox Claim Ben Cowles

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The White Sox announced Wednesday that they’ve claimed infielder Ben Cowles off waivers from the Cubs. He’s been optioned to Triple-A Charlotte. They already had multiple 40-man roster vacancies, so no corresponding transactions were needed. The White Sox’ 40-man roster is now up to 39 players.

Cowles, 25, has a good minor league track record overall but is having a down year. Drafted by the Yankees back in 2021, he went on to produce a combined .268/.365/.426 batting line across various minor league levels from 2021 to 2024. That production translated to a 124 wRC+, indicating he was 24% better than league average at the plate. His 25.9% strikeout rate was a bit high but he drew walks at an 11.5% pace. He also provided double-digit steals annually in the latter three of those years while bouncing between shortstop, third base and second base, plus two thirds of an inning in left field.

The Cubs acquired him in July 2024, one of two players they got when sending Mark Leiter Jr. to the Bronx. The Cubs added him to their 40-man roster in November to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. But as mentioned, his results haven’t been great this year. He has stepped to the plate 462 times at the Triple-A level. His 28.6% strikeout rate and 7.1% walk rate are subpar, both compared to league average and his previous production. His .238/.304/.382 batting line translates to a 74 wRC+.

That performance got him nudged off the Cubs’ roster but he’s a sensible flier for the White Sox. He can still be optioned for two more seasons after this one, so the Sox can send him to Charlotte and see if he gets back on track. Even with his down year at the plate, he has stolen 16 bases and provided his typical defensive versatility.

The Sox are currently getting breakout seasons from Colson Montgomery and Lenyn Sosa. Montgomery should be at shortstop for the foreseeable future while Sosa will likely be at second or first. The rest of their infield mix includes some intriguing but unproven players like Miguel Vargas, Chase Meidroth, Bryan Ramos and Curtis Mead. Cowles gives the Sox another guy to put in that group as they see who separates themselves from the pack.

Photo courtesy of Cody Scanlan, Imagn Images

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