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Mets Claim Wander Suero

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The Mets have claimed right-hander Wander Suero off waivers from the Braves, according to announcements from both clubs. Atlanta had designated him for assignment earlier this week. The Mets had an open spot on the 40-man roster, though it is now full.

Suero, 33, signed a minor league deal with Atlanta in the offseason. That club selected him to their roster in July but he has mostly been kept on optional assignment since then. He has only thrown 6 1/3 innings in the big leagues this year, allowing eight earned runs on four walks and ten hits while striking out seven.

His work in the minors this year has been greater in quality and quantity. He has thrown 46 2/3 Triple-A innings with a 1.35 earned run average. His 31.2% strikeout rate and 6.9% walk rate are both strong figures. He has likely benefited from an 81.3% strand rate but his 2.63 FIP suggests he would still be putting up good numbers with more neutral sequencing luck.

The major league work this year has obviously not been good but in a very tiny sample. He has some past major league success, though he’s a few years removed from it now. Over the 2019 and 2020 seasons, he gave the Nationals 95 innings with a 4.36 ERA, 27.4% strikeout rate and 9% walk rate. But since then, he has a 7.11 ERA in 57 innings.

For the Mets, it’s a sensible claim. They have a number of pitchers on the injured list. They have had an open 40-man spot since José Castillo was designated for assignment last week. In the post-deadline part of the calendar, it’s more difficult to add talent. Suero has a major league track record and is pitching well in the minors this year.

He can still be optioned to the minors for the remainder of this season but it’s also possible he gets bumped off the 40-man soon. The Mets are reportedly going to promote prospect Brandon Sproat to start Sunday’s game, so they will need to open a 40-man spot for him in the coming days.

Photo courtesy of Brett Davis, Imagn Images

Braves Release Cal Quantrill, Designate Luke Williams

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The Braves announced Thursday that they’ve released right-hander Cal Quantrill and designated infielder/outfielder Luke Williams for assignment. That duo’s roster spots will go to outfielder Jurickson Profar, who’s returning from the paternity list, and righty Daysbel Hernandez, who has been recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett.

Quantrill’s time with Atlanta will last all of two weeks. The Braves claimed the righty off waivers from the Marlins on Aug. 21, absorbing the remaining $715K on his $3.5MM salary in the process. They’ll end up getting just two starts for that roll of the dice; Quantrill allowed three runs on five hits and five walks in 4 2/3 innings against the Mets on Aug. 23 before being shelled for nine runs in 3 1/3 innings against the Phillies five days later. His Atlanta stint concludes with a grisly 13.50 ERA in eight innings.

It’s been a rough year on the whole for the veteran Quantrill, whose Braves struggles pushed his ERA to 6.04 in 117 2/3 innings. That unsightly endpoint masks what was a decent run midseason. Quantrill struggled immensely in April but posted a 3.55 ERA, 21.3% strikeout rate and 5.6% walk rate in 14 starts from May 1 through the end of July.

A team in need of innings could sign Quantrill for the final three weeks of the regular season and would only owe him the prorated minimum, but there’s also a chance this will be the end of his season. He’ll be a free agent this winter regardless, but with a 5.39 ERA dating back to 2023, he’ll likely be limited to minor league offers in free agency.

Williams, 29, has been with the Braves since they claimed him off waivers in June 2023, but he’s spent the bulk of his time in Gwinnett. Atlanta has given Williams a total of 94 plate appearances in the majors, during which he’s slashed .153/.215/.212. (He’s also held opponents to four runs in 10 innings of mop-up relief.)

A third-round pick of the Phillies back in 2015, Williams has never hit much in the majors. He’s a career .213/.271/.281 batter in 348 turns at the plate but carries a steadier .259/.338/.406 slash in parts of five Triple-A seasons. Williams has primarily been a third baseman since turning pro but has more than 300 innings at each of the four infield positions and in both outfield corners.

Now that he’s been designated for assignment, Williams will head to outright waivers. Assuming he clears, he’ll be able to reject a minor league assignment in favor of free agency by virtue of the fact that he’s previously ben outrighted in his career.

Mets To Promote Brandon Sproat

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11:45am: The Mets will indeed call up Sproat for his major league debut this weekend, per Chase Ford of MiLB Central. He’ll make his big league debut on Sunday. The Mets will need to open spots on the active and 40-man rosters for Sproat.

9:15am: The Mets have already called up two of the organization’s top three pitching prospects. Nolan McLean has taken the National League by storm, and Jonah Tong looked sharp in his MLB debut last week. The third member of their touted Triple-A trio could soon join them in the majors. SNY’s Andy Martino reports that righty Brandon Sproat is receiving “strong consideration” to make a start for the big league club in the near future.

A possible promotion for Sproat comes at the same time the Mets have been mulling a minor league stint for struggling righty Kodai Senga, who has a 6.56 ERA over his past eight starts (averaging just 4 1/3 innings per outing in that time).

That’s not as straightforward a decision as it might seem. The five-year, $75MM contract Senga signed when he came to MLB from Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball stipulates that he cannot be optioned to the minors without his consent. It’s not expressly clear that the Mets have asked him about to accept an optional assignment, though Mike Puma of the New York Post implied as much yesterday when writing that the organization expects to know whether Senga would approve the move by this weekend. Puma added that one way or another, the organization expects Sproat to make his big league debut before season’s end.

Sproat, 24, was the Mets’ second-round pick in 2023. The former Florida Gators standout has had an up-and-down year in Triple-A. He struggled to an ERA north of 6.00 in April/May before dominating with a combined 2.22 ERA in June and July. Sproat alternated between quality starts and clunkers throughout August. He’s sitting on a 4.24 ERA overall, and he’s punched out 22.1% of his opponents against a 10.6% walk rate. Those numbers look far better if you toss out the first two months of the season; Sproat has a 3.13 ERA, 25.7% strikeout rate and 10.1% walk rate in his past 14 starts. He tossed seven scoreless frames against the Yankees’ top affiliate his last time out, fanning nine hitters against only two walks along the way.

The uneven nature of Sproat’s season, coupled with the influx of talent from this year’s draft, has dropped him down — or even entirely off — most top-100 lists around the industry. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel still lists him 83rd in the game, and Baseball America has Sproat at No. 98. Baseball America notes that his turnaround in Syracuse coincided with increased usage of his curveball, changeup and two-seamer, helping to diversify his repertoire and make him less predictable, as opponents had become too keyed-in on his four-seamer. The 6’3″, 215-pound Sproat is sitting 96.4 mph on that four-seamer this season, and both his changeup and slider draw above-average to plus grades from scouts.

While Sproat’s seemingly inevitable addition to the 40-man roster and his MLB debut will come after Sept. 1, he’ll still be eligible for postseason play. Any player in an organization prior to September is eligible for postseason rosters. Technically, the Mets would need to petition for him to be an injury replacement, but teams make this move every year. At times, we’ve even seen top prospects who weren’t on the 40-man roster at the beginning of September get selected to the roster in October make their MLB debuts in the playoffs (e.g. Shane McClanahan, Adalberto Mondesi, Alex Kirilloff).

Red Sox To Place Jordan Hicks On Injured List

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The Red Sox are placing right-hander Jordan Hicks on the 15-day IL due to a shoulder injury, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports. Southpaw Chris Murphy will be recalled from Triple-A Worcester to take Hicks’ spot in Boston’s bullpen.

Hicks came to the Red Sox alongside Kyle Harrison, Jose Bello and the since-traded (for Dustin May) James Tibbs III in the June blockbuster sending Rafael Devers to the Giants. The veteran righty is in the second season of a four-year, $44MM deal signed with San Francisco in the 2023-24 offseason. The Giants tried Hicks as a starter both last year and this season, but he hasn’t held up in that role. The Sox have been using him in the bullpen, and the results through his first two-plus months have been nightmarish.

In 18 2/3 innings with the Red Sox, Hicks has been crushed for 17 runs (8.20 ERA) on 25 hits and a dozen walks. He’s also plunked four batters and tossed six wild pitches — all while striking out a career-worst 15.5% of his opponents. Manager Alex Cora has still used Hicks in plenty of leverage spots, and the organization was surely hopeful that he could return to his prior standing as a coveted, flamethrowing setup man.

Perhaps that’ll still be the case down the road. The Red Sox have Hicks signed through 2027, and he’ll earn $12MM in each of the next two seasons. It’s important for them to try to get the righty sorted out, but for the time being, he’ll be down for the next two weeks at the very least. This will be the eighth IL stint for Hicks since he landed on the IL in 2019 for a UCL tear and required Tommy John surgery — and the third shoulder-related IL stint dating back to Aug. 2024.

At various points in his career, Hicks has looked the part of a quality late-inning option with a chance to step up as one of the game’s elite relievers. He’s averaged better than 100 mph on his sinker in three different seasons and from 2018-21 logged a massive 63% ground-ball rate. Hicks has never missed bats as often as one would expect for someone with this type of velocity, but he’s had three seasons with an ERA in the low-to-mid 3.00s and looked to have turned a corner in 2023. That season, he logged a 3.29 ERA with a career-best 28.4% strikeout rate and an 11.2% walk rate which, at the time, was also a career-best mark for a full season.

Hicks parlayed that impressive year and his uncommon youth in free agency (27 years old) into his current four-year contract. He’ll have another two years to get back on track at Fenway Park, and he’ll still be headed into just his age-31 season when he reaches free agency for a second time after the 2027 campaign.

The Opener: Dodgers, Pitchers’ Duel, Rays, Guardians

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Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day:

1. Dodgers roster move incoming?

The Dodgers had an injury scare yesterday when star catcher Will Smith took a foul ball off of his throwing hand and exited the game. MLB.com’s Sonja Chen writes that x-rays on Smith’s hand came back negative, but given the importance of having multiple catchers available at all times, it wouldn’t be a shock if Los Angeles made a roster move to shore up their catching depth in the event that Smith is even day-to-day. Ben Rortvedt seems like the most likely choice to join the Dodgers’ roster in the event a third catcher is needed, but Chuckie Robinson and Chris Okey are also available at Triple-A. None of those players are on the 40-man roster, meaning they would need their contract to be selected before being brought up to the majors.

2. Pitchers’ duel in Pittsburgh:

Speaking of the Dodgers, they’re in Pittsburgh for a series against the Pirates. Today’s game will feature a particularly exciting pitching matchup, as the Dodgers will send two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell (2.41 ERA) to the mound for his eighth start of the season opposite likely NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes, who has a 2.05 ERA across 28 starts and has struck out 28.6% of his opponents. While Snell has missed most of the 2025 campaign due to injury, the lefty sports a 31.7% strikeout rate with a 2.78 ERA since the start of the 2022 season. The two aces will face off at 6:40pm local time in Pittsburgh this evening.

3. Series Preview: Guardians @ Rays

Despite both clubs entering deadline season as sellers, the Guardians and Rays have managed to hang around the periphery of the AL Wild Card race into September. Cleveland is just three games back of the Mariners as they head to Tampa for a four-game set this weekend. The Rays are even closer at just 2.5 games back. That makes this upcoming series one that could have massive implications on the outlooks of both franchises. Things will kick off later today with Logan Allen (4.42 ERA) on the mound for Cleveland opposite Ryan Pepiot (3.70 ERA). On Friday, Guardians righty Gavin Williams (3.26 ERA) will take on Rays rookie Ian Seymour, who has a 2.97 ERA in 33 1/3 innings. Tanner Bibee (4.77 ERA) and Shane Baz (4.98 ERA) will face off on Saturday as they both try to finish strong amid disappointing seasons. The series will wrap on Sunday with Guardians rookie Parker Messick (2.08 ERA in three starts) taking on Rays righty Drew Rasmussen (2.74 ERA).

Read The Transcript Of Nicklaus Gaut’s Fantasy Baseball Chat

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Nicklaus Gaut will be talking fantasy baseball with Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers today at 11 am Central time. Get your question in early or participate in the live event at the link below!

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MLB Mailbag: Tucker, Bellinger, Grisham, Cardinals, Royals, Angels, Twins

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This week's mailbag looks at potential Kyle Tucker suitors, the chances of the Yankees retaining Cody Bellinger and Trent Grisham, the Angels' history in free agency, extension ideas for the Royals and Cardinals, and what the future holds for the Twins.

Colin asks:

Where are some realistic landing spots for Kyle Tucker this offseason?

Why not just assess the viability of Tucker for all 30 teams?  I'm sure Tucker's agents at Excel Sports Management already have.

  • White Sox: In their June statement, the team said that Justin Ishbia "will make capital infusions into the White Sox as a limited partner in 2025 and 2026 that will be used to pay down existing debt and support ongoing team operations."  The team's long-term books are already clean.  Could Ishbia announce his presence by signing Tucker to a contract worth perhaps more than six times the team's current record deal of $75MM? Chalk it up as highly unlikely, yet still more likely than it's been in a long time.
  • Guardians: No chance.
  • Tigers: The club's dalliance with Alex Bregman last winter was notable, but that still wouldn't have been a top-three free agent deal.  Tucker is highly unlikely here based on how the Tigers have operated since Mike Ilitch passed away in 2017.
  • Royals: No chance.
  • Twins: No chance.
  • Orioles: Payroll-wise, the Orioles could manage this, but we've been saying that sort of thing for a while now.  We've only seen one offseason under David Rubenstein, and it topped out with Tyler O'Neill's $49.5MM deal, but he could theoretically surprise us.
  • Red Sox: On a team with Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela, Roman Anthony, and Wilyer Abreu, signing Tucker doesn't seem to make sense.  The Red Sox were in on Juan Soto last winter, and Duran or Abreu could be traded, so we won't rule it out quite yet.
  • Yankees: With Trent Grisham and Cody Bellinger up for free agency and Jasson Dominguez failing to assert himself, there is a reasonable case to be made here for Tucker.  There's enough payroll space to make it work as well.
  • Rays: I was going to write "no chance" and move on, but Tucker is from Tampa and Patrick Zalupski should assume ownership of the Rays before the outfielder signs.  Given that Zalupski can't magically change the Rays' market size, he doesn't have a plan for a new stadium in place, and he doesn't have Steve Cohen type net worth, this is still pretty close to "no chance."
  • Blue Jays: Nathan Lukes, Daulton Varsho, and Addison Barger make up a typical Jays outfield right now, with George Springer, Myles Straw, and Davis Schneider also drawing some starts and Anthony Santander on the IL.  Re-signing Bo Bichette or adding starting pitching would seem more urgent, but there's no particular impediment to the Blue Jays pursuing Tucker.  Plus, Excel did the Springer deal with the Blue Jays.
  • Athletics: The A's made their statement last winter with a trio of $60-something million contracts (Luis Severino, Lawrence Butler, and Brent Rooker).  That's still a very far cry from Tucker's stratosphere, and he's not going to elect to make Sutter Health Park his new home for the next few years.
  • Astros: There's no evidence the Astros got anywhere with extension talks when they had Tucker, and no reason to think Jim Crane will break precedent and give him a huge contract on the open market.
  • Angels: With Anthony Rendon's contract almost off the books, could the Angels try for a major free agent once again?  There's no compelling reason to think so, but Arte Moreno is at least capable of swimming in these waters.
  • Mariners: The Robinson Cano deal happened nearly 12 years ago; the Mariners would likely have to similarly bowl over the competition to convince Tucker to come there.  Consider it unlikely, but not absurd.
  • Rangers: The Rangers are on track to stay under the CBT and thus reset their payor status.  Adding a fourth huge contract running into a player's late 30s might not be the best long-term move, and starting pitching seems more urgent, but a pursuit of Tucker can't be ruled out.

Moving on to the National League:

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MLBTR Podcast: Aroldis Chapman, And Offseason Possibilities For The Braves, Rangers, Pirates And Marlins

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • What will the Braves do this winter after claiming Ha-Seong Kim? (10:10)
  • What can the Rangers do this winter? (22:05)
  • What can the Pirates do for left field next year? (31:30)
  • Who will the Marlins make available in trades this offseason or at next year’s deadline? (36:40)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of James A. Pittman, Imagn Images

Trevor Rogers’ Reemergence

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At the 2024 trade deadline, the Orioles traded upper minors hitters Kyle Stowers and Connor Norby to the Marlins for reclamation starter Trevor Rogers. Many perceived it as an overpay, and the deal immediately went south. Rogers, who was carrying a 4.53 ERA for Miami, allowed 16 runs in 19 innings over his first four starts with the Orioles. Baltimore optioned him to Triple-A within three weeks and he was a non-factor for a postseason bound club.

This season didn't start out any better. Rogers began the year on the injured list with a right knee subluxation. Baltimore optioned him back to Triple-A when he was healthy. Outside of one strong spot start on May 24, the 6'5" lefty wasn't on the radar into the middle of June. Baltimore's big league rotation -- which was without Grayson Rodriguez, Kyle Bradish and Zach Eflin -- pitched so poorly that their season was more or less finished by the time they recalled Rogers on June 18.

Stowers added insult to injury by carrying Miami's lineup with a pair of power barrages in April and July. He's streaky but now looks like the Marlins' best position player. Even if Norby doesn't work out, Miami is thrilled with their end of the deal. As recently as the middle of June, it looked like a complete bust for Baltimore. It wasn't a lock they'd even tender Rogers a contract for his final season of arbitration.

Two months later, Rogers is the favorite to be on the Camden Yards mound for Opening Day 2026. He had a rocky first start after being recalled, giving up three runs without escaping the third inning against Tampa Bay. He has taken the ball 12 times since then and been the best pitcher in baseball.

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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.

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