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Braves Recall Rolddy Muñoz For MLB Debut

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Before this afternoon’s game against the Cubs, the Braves called up relief pitcher Rolddy Muñoz. Atlanta also activated utility player Luke Williams from the 10-day injured list. Those accounted for Atlanta’s two expanded roster spots. Muñoz was added to the 40-man roster last offseason to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. This is his first big league call.

The 25-year-old righty now has a good shot to make his MLB debut in the next few days. Muñoz, the twin brother of former Brave farmhand and current Cardinals reliever Roddery Muñoz, was an amateur signee out of the Dominican Republic. Baseball America ranks him the #18 prospect in an admittedly thin Atlanta farm system. He’s a two-pitch reliever with an upper 90s sinker and a slider that BA rates as a 70-grade (plus-plus) offering. It’s the kind of raw stuff that could play at the back of a bullpen, but Muñoz’s below-average control probably pushes him more towards middle relief.

Muñoz has divided the season between Double-A Columbus and Triple-A Gwinnett. He has combined for 55 2/3 innings with a 2.75 earned run average. Muñoz has walked an alarming 13% of batters faced with a slightly below-average 21.4% strikeout rate. The shape on his fastball causes it to play more as a ground-ball pitch than a huge swing-and-miss offering despite its velocity. Muñoz has gotten grounders at a near-52% clip this season. The Braves will see how his stuff plays against big league opposition as the season winds down, probably with an eye towards letting him battle for an Opening Day bullpen spot next spring.

Royals Place Jonathan India On Injured List

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The Royals announced that second baseman Jonathan India has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to August 30, with a sprained left wrist. Kansas City activated Jac Caglianone from his own IL stint in a corresponding move. They also finalized the previously announced promotions of catching prospect Carter Jensen and reliever Luinder Avila with the roster expansion.

It’s not clear how long the Royals expect India to be sidelined. Kansas City acquired him from the Reds for Brady Singer over the offseason. They wanted India to play a multi-positional role while serving as a high-OBP bat at the top of the lineup. He hasn’t met either expectation. India struggled in an early-season utility capacity and has been exclusively at second base or designated hitter since the middle of May. He also hasn’t hit much, leading manager Matt Quatraro to drop him from the leadoff spot to sixth or seventh in the batting order this month.

India carries a .232/.324/.342 slash with eight home runs across 532 plate appearances. His plate discipline has been fine, but a career-low .274 average on balls in play hasn’t done him any favors. It’s trending to be the worst season of his five years in the big leagues. India isn’t a great defender, so the below-average offense has left him around replacement level overall. He’s trending towards a non-tender for what’d be his final year of arbitration.

Kansas City will have Adam Frazier and Michael Massey cover second base while India is sidelined. The righty-swinging Nick Loftin could also see some time there against left-handed pitching. Frazier has proven a nice deadline pickup, batting .307 in 33 games since the Royals acquired him from Pittsburgh. Massey and Loftin have had poor seasons. Massey has at least collected hits in five of six games since returning from an ankle sprain that cost him two months, so perhaps he’ll come closer to last year’s league average form in September.

The Royals are off today. They’ll open a three-game series against the Angels tomorrow. Kansas City is three games back of Seattle for the final American League Wild Card spot. They’ve also dropped half a game behind the Rangers, who have won five straight to pull within 2.5 games of the Mariners.

Jorge Alfaro Opts Out Of Brewers Deal

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Catcher Jorge Alfaro has opted out of his minor league deal with the Brewers, per a team announcement relayed by Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The backstop is now a free agent and free to sign with any club.

Alfaro, 32, has appeared in eight big league seasons. He has a well-established profile as a guy who can hit home runs but with subpar walk and strikeout numbers and poor defense. In 82 Triple-A games this year, he continued to perform in that manner. His 3.4% walk rate and 36.5% strikeout rate with Nashville were bad numbers but he did put the ball over the fence 15 times. That led to a .244/.285/.430 line and 87 wRC+.

His path to big league playing with the Brewers wasn’t great. They have one of the best everyday guys in the league in William Contreras. For much of the year, they’ve had Eric Haase as the backup. Ahead of the deadline, they acquired Danny Jansen from the Rays, which bumped Haase off the roster and down to Triple-A. They also have one of the top catching prospects in the league in Jeferson Quero, who is on the 40-man and playing for Nashville.

That essentially put Alfaro fifth on the depth chart, so he’ll use the clause in his contract to look for a better situation. For his career, he has 48 home runs in 1,710 plate appearances, a 4.2% walk rate, 34% strikeout rate, .253/.302/.393 line and 86 wRC+.

Photo courtesy of Rick Scuteri, Imagn Images

Cody Poteet Elects Free Agency

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The Orioles announced that right-hander Cody Poteet, who was outrighted off the roster a couple of days ago, has elected free agency instead of accepting the assignment. He has that right since he has been previously outrighted in his career. Also, the O’s recalled catcher Maverick Handley and reinstated Albert Suárez from the 60-day injured list as their September call-up moves. The 40-man roster had a vacancy but Suárez returning now make it full again.

Poteet’s 2025 has mostly been lost to injuries. He landed on the IL on April 21st due to shoulder inflammation. He began a rehab assignment August 23rd, over four months later. After a couple of rehab outings, the O’s put him on waivers instead of reinstating him from the injured list. Around the injury, he has only made one big league appearances for the O’s.

As a free agent, he’ll be marketing his pre-2025 track record. He came into the year with 83 big league innings under his belt and a 3.80 earned run average in that time. His 20.2% strikeout rate and 10.2% walk rate were both a bit shy of league average, while his 42.1% ground ball rate was right around par. He has also shown a bit more potential in the minors. Last year, he tossed 53 innings over 13 starts in the Yankees’ system with a 3.40 ERA, 28% strikeout rate, 7.5% walk rate and 43.7% ground ball rate.

It’s also been an injury-marred season for Suárez. After many years pitching in Asia, he had a strong campaign for the O’s in 2024. Working in a swing role, he threw 133 2/3 innings with a 3.70 ERA, 19.1% strikeout rate and 7.6% walk rate. This year, shoulder inflammation sent him to the IL after just one appearance and he’s been there until today.

Photo courtesy of Daniel Kucin Jr., Imagn Images

Poll: Will Anyone Get To 60 Home Runs This Year?

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It’s been a great year for power hitters in MLB, as five different players slugged their 40th home run of the season before the end of August. It’s not often that so many hitters enter September with a realistic shot at the lofty threshold of 60 home runs in a season. It’s a feat that’s only been accomplished nine times, and the combination of Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire account for five of those nine 60-homer seasons. Of course, it’s an incredibly rare feat for a reason, and many promising campaigns fall short in the season’s final month. 12 seasons with between 56 and 59 home runs have been logged throughout MLB history, after all.

Will this year’s biggest power threats join that club of also-ran seasons, or will we see the tenth 60-homer season in MLB history come to fruition this year? Here’s a look at each of the top home run hitters from this season and their chances of reaching that illustrious 60-homer plateau, in order of their current home run totals for 2025:

Cal Raleigh

While everyone else on this list hit their 40th homer of the season in August, Raleigh’s 40th home run was actually slugged on July 26. The Mariners’ catcher has had a historic season this year, setting the all-time single season home run record for a catcher while sitting just four behind Mickey Mantle for the all-time single season record for home runs by a switch hitter. With 50 homers tallied so far this year, it’s hard not to see why Raleigh could have a very real shot at hitting 60 home runs this season. He’s hit at least ten homers in three of the season’s five months so far, and has never hit less than eight in a month this year. With that being said, it’s also worth noting that Raleigh has slowed down a bit in the second half of the season. In 40 games since the All-Star break, Raleigh has posted just a 112 wRC+ with 12 home runs. With just 25 games left to play on the Mariners’ schedule, he’ll need to pick up the pace if he’s going to reach 60 homers this year.

Kyle Schwarber

Schwarber is just one homer back of Raleigh in the race for the MLB home run lead after an incredible four-home run performance on August 28. Schwarber has long been one of the game’s premiere power threats and, like Raleigh, has hit at least 10 homers in three of this season’s five months so far. He’ll need to hit 11 in 25 September games in order to reach 60 homers, but one thing working in his favor is that he’s saved most of his power for the second half this year. He’s hit 12 home runs in both July and August, so if he can put up just one more month like the last two, he’ll get there. Of course, a player slugging .655 over his past 52 games also runs the risk of getting pitched around, which could damage Schwarber’s chances of making it to 60. One thing that could work in Schwarber’s favor is his home ballpark, as Statcast considers Citizens Bank Park to be the fifth-most homer friendly stadium in the majors this year.

Shohei Ohtani

With three MVP awards in the past four years, no one should put anything past baseball’s two-way superstar. Ohtani became the first player to go 50-50 last season, and with 54 homers tied with Mantle (and seven other seasons) at 22nd on the single-season home run leaderboard. With 45 home runs headed into September, he has an outside shot at not only breaking that personal record, but getting a coveted 60-homer season. 15 home runs in a single month is a tall order for any player, but Ohtani did exactly that back in May when he crushed 15 long balls in 27 games. The Dodgers have two fewer games than that in September, but Ohtani will benefit from playing his home games at Dodger Stadium, which is far and away the most homer-friendly ballpark in the majors this year per Statcast.

Aaron Judge

Aaron Judge hit his 43rd home run of the season yesterday, and that makes it a tall order for him to reach 60 homers this season. With that being said, onlookers around the game should know better than to doubt the hulking slugger’s offensive abilities at this point, with MVP wins in two of the last three seasons and a completely absurd 202 wRC+ since the start of the 2022 season. Judge is also, of course, the only active player who’s already a member of the 60 home run club after bashing 62 long balls to take the AL home run record from Roger Maris during his 2022 AL MVP campaign. Judge finished just short with 58 home runs last year, but perhaps this year will be different. In order to reach 60 on the season, Judge will need to make a different kind of history: as noted by Thomas Harrigan of MLB.com last year, the record for home runs hit in September (and October, in seasons where it hosts regular season games) belongs jointly to Albert Belle and Babe Ruth. Judge would need to at least tie that duo’s 17 homers in the final month of the year in order to crack 60 long balls this year.

What do MLBTR readers think? Will the league enjoy a 60-homer campaign for the second time in four years this season? And if so, who is most likely to pull it off? Have your say in the polls below:

Cubs Designate Ben Cowles For Assignment

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The Cubs announced that infielder Ben Cowles has been designated for assignment. That opens a 40-man spot for the signing of first baseman Carlos Santana, a move that was previously reported. Bruce Levine of WSCR-AM was among those to relay the news.

Cowles, 25, was acquired from the Yankees in last summer’s deadline deal which sent Mark Leiter Jr. to the Bronx. The Cubs then added him to their 40-man roster in November, to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft.

Unfortunately, he’s not having a great year in Triple-A. His 7.1% walk rate and 28.6% strikeout rate are both subpar figures. His .238/.304/.382 batting line translates to a wRC+ of 74, despite a strong .325 batting average on balls in play. He does have 16 stolen bases but has also been caught six times.

That performance has nudged him off the 40-man roster. With the trade deadline having passed, he’ll have to be placed on waivers in the coming days. It’s possible a club is interested based on his past performance. From 2021 to 2024, he slashed .268/.365/.426 across various minor league levels for a 124 wRC+. He regularly posts double-digit steal totals and can bounce around between shortstop, second base and third base.

Though his 2025 season isn’t going well, the overall track record is better and he has a full slate of options. Perhaps that will inspire some club with an open roster spot to put in a claim and stash him in the minors as a depth piece.

Photo courtesy of Cody Scanlan, Imagn Images

Giants Select JT Brubaker

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With rosters expanding from 26 to 28 today, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports that the Giants are recalling outfielder Grant McCray and selecting right-hander JT Brubaker. Fellow righty Randy Rodríguez has been transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man spot for Brubaker, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Rodríguez will likely be undergoing Tommy John surgery, which means he may not pitch again until 2027.

Brubaker, 31, just signed a minor league deal with the Giants a few weeks back after being released by the Yankees. He has had some decent years in the majors but has largely been held back by injuries lately. From 2020 to 2022, he tossed 315 2/3 innings for the Pirates with a 4.99 earned run average, 23.3% strikeout rate, 7.8% walk rate and 44% ground ball rate.

Tommy John surgery wiped out his 2023 campaign. He was on his way back to the mound in 2024, after having been traded to the Yankees, but an oblique strain set him back. Coming into 2025, he was hit by a comebacker and fractured three ribs, putting him on the shelf yet again.

He did eventually get to don the pinstripes and tossed 16 innings for the Yankees with a 3.38 ERA, working as a long reliever. That’s likely the role the Giants have in mind for him as well. He can soak up some innings out of the pen as needed. The Yankees are on the hook for the majority of his $1.82MM salary this year since they released him. The Giants will only have to pay him the prorated portion of the league minimum for any time he spends on the roster. He has at least five years of service time and therefore can’t be optioned to the minors without his consent.

Photo courtesy of Brad Penner, Imagn Images

Angels Select Scott Kingery, Mitch Farris, Option Christian Moore

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The Angels announced that they have selected the contracts of infielder Scott Kingery and left-hander Mitch Farris with rosters expanding from 26 to 28 today. Additionally, infielder/outfielder Chris Taylor has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list and infielder Christian Moore has been optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake. To open 40-man spots for Kingery and Farris, outfielder Gustavo Campero and right-hander Carson Fulmer have been transferred to the 60-day IL.

Kingery, 31, has bounced on and off the roster this year. That seems to be by design. He agreed to a $770K salary to avoid arbitration. His service time count is between three and five years, meaning he can reject outright assignments but has to forfeit his remaining salary commitments in order to exercise that right. That’s effectively given the Angels an extra infielder, as Kingery has twice been outrighted to Triple-A, then has been selected back to the roster whenever they need a fresh body.

Around the transactions, he has stepped to the plate 27 times at the big league level but with a .160/.222/.200 line. His Triple-A work has been better but still subpar. His .229/.288/.400 line down there translates to a wRC+ of 62. While he may not provide much with the bat, he does give the Angels defensive versatility, as he has experience at every position except catcher and first base.

Farris, 24, gets to the big leagues for the first time. A 14th-round pick of Atlanta in 2023, he was flipped to the Angels in December for Davis Daniel. He has spent this year in the Double-A rotation, having thrown 116 innings with a 4.27 earned run average, 28% strikeout rate, 10.8% walk rate and 44.5% ground ball rate.

The Angels recently optioned Jack Kochanowicz and then lost Tyler Anderson to the injured list due to an oblique strain. That has dropped their rotation to Yusei Kikuchi, José Soriano and Kyle Hendricks. They don’t have starters listed for Tuesday or Wednesday. It’s possible that Farris could soak up some innings, alongside someone like José Ureña, who was signed yesterday.

Moore was just drafted last year. The Angels, as is their wont, aggressively promoted him to the majors. He was up in the show in June of 2025, less than a year after being drafted. However, his first taste of the major leagues hasn’t gone as hoped. He has slashed .195/.287/.336 in his first 130 plate appearances while striking out at a 31.5% clip.

It’s not uncommon for a prospect to struggle when first called up, especially in an extreme situation such as this. Moore could still be a very important part of the club’s future but he’ll try to get back on track in the minors for now.

Campero was carted off the field with an obvious injury a couple of weeks ago and was later diagnosed with a high ankle sprain. Today’s transfer indicates the Halos don’t expect him back this season. Fulmer landed on the 15-day IL a week ago due to inflammation in his throwing elbow. His exact status isn’t clear but he’s also done for the year, based on this move.

Photo courtesy of David Richard, Imagn Images

Marlins Place Edward Cabrera On IL With Right Elbow Sprain

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With rosters expanding from 26 to 28 today, the Marlins announced a series of roster moves. They have selected catcher Brian Navarreto and right-hander Luarbert Árias to the roster, in addition to recalling righty Michael Petersen. To open a third roster spot, righty Edward Cabrera has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a right elbow sprain. To open 40-man spots for Navarreto and Arias, righties Anthony Bender and Tyler Zuber have been transferred to the 60-day IL. Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reported many of these moves prior to the official announcement.

It’s unclear how serious Cabrera’s injury is but it’s an ominous development. An issue with a pitcher’s throwing elbow is always somewhat worrisome and Cabrera has a notable injury history. Shoulder problems kept him under 100 innings in both 2023 and 2024. He had a minor elbow issue in July of this year but managed to avoid the IL at that time.

On the whole, it’s been an exciting breakout season for Cabrera. He has always had the stuff to get strikeouts and ground balls but control has been a problem and the aforementioned injuries also prevented him from building to a full starter’s workload. He came into 2025 with 294 career innings, a 4.32 earned run average, 26% strikeout rate, 48.6% ground ball rate but a 13.3% walk rate. Here in 2025, he has tossed 128 2/3 innings while reducing his walk rate all the way to 7.7%. His strikeout and ground ball rates have stayed strong at 25.8% and 46.4%, respectively. Put it all together and his ERA has come in at 3.57.

Cabrera is still controlled for three seasons beyond this one and has established himself as a legit big league starter. That’s huge for the Marlins though the elbow injury could obviously put a damper on that if it’s serious.

Navarreto, 30, gets back to the big leagues for the first time in years. His major league track record consists of just two games back in 2020. He has been with the Marlins this year on a minor league deal and has slashed .229/.301/.392 in Triple-A. The Fish have Agustín Ramírez and Liam Hicks on the roster but Ramírez will occasionally serve as the designated hitter and Hicks plays a bit of first base. Navarreto can give the club a bit of cover at the catcher position, allowing them to put both Ramírez and Hicks in the lineup while still having a safety net.

Árias, 24, got to make his major league debut with the Marlins earlier this year. He was added to the 40-man roster in November to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. However, he has struggled badly this year, with a 11 earned runs allowed in his first nine big league innings. He also hasn’t been great in the minors, with a 4.74 ERA, 11.5% strikeout rate and 15% walk rate.

The Marlins were able to pass him through waivers in June but have added him back to the roster today. He still has a full slate of options and doesn’t need to stick on the active roster. Last year, he tossed 68 Triple-A innings with a 3.04 ERA, 25.8% strikeout rate and 9.3% walk rate. The Marlins would obviously love to figure out a way to get him back to that kind of performance.

Bender was already reported to have suffered a season-ending leg injury, so his transfer to the 60-day IL is no surprise. As for Zuber, he landed on the 15-day IL a couple of days ago due to a lat strain. His current status is unclear but this transfer indicates the Marlins don’t expect him back this season.

Photo courtesy of Jim Rassol, Imagn Images

Athletics Select Scott McGough

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With rosters expanding from 26 to 28 today, the Athletics made a number of moves. They activated right-hander Luis Severino from the 15-day injured list, recalled infielder/outfielder Max Schuemann and selected right-hander Scott McGough. Right-hander Eduarniel Núñez was optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas to open up an extra active roster spot. Left-hander Ben Bowden has been transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man spot for McGough.

McGough, 35, signed a minor league deal with the A’s in June after being cut loose by the Diamondbacks. Since signing that pact, he has tossed 24 Triple-A innings with a 3.38 earned run average. His 18.4% strikeout rate in that time wasn’t great but his 7.8% walk rate and 48.6% ground ball rate were solid figures.

After a solid run in Japan from 2019 to 2022, McGough returned to North America by signing with the Diamondbacks for 2023. He gave Arizona 70 1/3 innings with a 4.73 ERA, 28.6% strikeout rate, 10% walk rate and 48.6% ground ball rate that year. His results have backed up since then, however. Between last year and this year, he tossed 39 2/3 innings with a 7.26 ERA, 16.2% strikeout rate, 14.6% walk rate and 38.9% ground ball rate. He has seemingly righted the ship somewhat lately, so the A’s will bring him back to the majors.

As for Bowden, he was placed on the 15-day IL just over a week ago due to a lat strain. His current health status is unclear but this move indicates the A’s don’t expect him back this season. He’ll stay on the 60-day IL for the remainder of the campaign. There’s no IL in the offseason, so he’ll need to be reinstated or removed from the 40-man within five days of the conclusion of the World Series.

Photo courtesy of Matt Kartozian, Imagn Images

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