Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Corey Seager To Undergo Appendectomy, Not Ruled Out For Season

By | at

Rangers shortstop Corey Seager has appendicitis and will undergo an appendectomy. President of baseball operations Chris Young relayed the news to reporters, including Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News, saying that Seager will be “out a period of time” but hasn’t been ruled out for the entire year. Per Jeff Wilson of DLLS Sports, infielder Dylan Moore will be added to the roster with outfielder Evan Carter moved to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man spot.

Though Seager isn’t completely ruled out for the season, it’s obviously a rough blow. Seager is the best player on the team. Despite missing some time due to hamstring strains and only playing in 102 games, he has produced four wins above replacement, in the eyes of FanGraphs. He has 21 home runs, a 13% walk rate, 19.6% strikeout rate, .271/.373/.487 batting line, 137 wRC+ and excellent grades for his shortstop defense.

No club ever wants to lose its best player to an injury but the Rangers are in an especially precarious spot. They have been hovering around .500 for most of the year, currently sporting a 68-67 record. That puts them 4.5 games back of a playoff spot with a month left to go.

They’re not totally knocked out but they’ve taken a few big punches lately. In the past month-plus, they have lost Seager, Carter, Marcus Semien, Nathan Eovaldi, Jake Burger, Sam Haggerty, Chris Martin, Jon Gray and Cole Winn to the injured list. Carter recently suffered a wrist fracture and this transfer means he’s ineligible to return before mid-October. Semien’s foot injury is going to cost him four to six weeks. Eovaldi’s rotator cuff strain is likely season-ending.

The club still has a chance to make a late charge for a postseason spot but doing so without so many key contributors will be tough. There’s also a ticking clock right now due to some granular MLB rules. The Rangers tried to avoid the competitive balance tax this year but reportedly went just over the line when making upgrades to the roster ahead of the trade deadline. They could sneak back under the tax line if a few players are claimed off waivers. However, a player would only be postseason eligible with a new club if claimed prior to September 1st. Since waivers are a 48-hour process, the Rangers would have to put guys on the wire in the next 24 hours or so, or else they would suddenly have significantly less appeal to other teams.

Merrill Kelly, Tyler Mahle, Danny Coulombe, Hoby Milner, Phil Maton, Shawn Armstrong and Patrick Corbin are all impending free agents. They therefore have no value for the Rangers beyond this year. If the club decides to punt on 2025, they could place some or all of them on waivers. It’s unlikely all of them would get claimed but Kelly definitely would and a few others probably would as well. Adolis García can be retained for 2026 but is a non-tender candidate and could make sense for the wire as well.

Time will tell if Seager’s injury pushes them to make that bold decision. For now, Josh Smith will likely step in for Seager at shortstop, per Wilson. That will leave playing time at second, which will be taken by some combination of Ezequiel Durán, Cody Freeman and Moore.

Moore and the Rangers just signed a minor league deal a few days ago after he had been released by the Mariners. He’s having an awful season, which prompted that release. He has a .193/.263/.359 batting line and 35.7% strikeout rate.

He has been better than that in the past. He came into the year with a career .206/.316/.384 line and 102 wRC+, despite striking out in 29.8% of his plate appearances. He had 104 stolen bases and had played every position except catcher.

Though he hasn’t been good this year, he’s essentially free for the Rangers. Since the Mariners released him, they remain on the hook for the majority of his salary. The Rangers only have to pay him the prorated portion of the league minimum salary for any time he spends on their roster. That amount will be subtracted from what the Mariners pay.

Photo courtesy of Kevin Jairaj, Imagn Images

Frankie Montas To Undergo UCL Surgery

By | at

Mets right-hander Frankie Montas has a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow and will require surgery, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. It seems unclear exactly what kind of surgery Montas will require but Heyman says it will “very likely” be a full Tommy John, which would wipe out his entire 2026 season. Even a lesser surgery such as an internal brace procedure would put him on the shelf for most of next season.

The news doesn’t come out of nowhere. Montas was placed on the 15-day injured list a few days ago with a UCL injury. Manager Carlos Mendoza described it as “pretty significant” and said Montas would not be returning in 2025. The news of the surgery has more of an impact on 2026, which could go down as a lost season for Montas. A full Tommy John surgery generally requires 14-plus months of rehab. The internal brace alternative can sometimes allow a player to come back around a year later, though even that is a rare outcome.

Time will tell what 2026 has in store for Montas. Either way, his signing is officially a regrettable one for the Mets. Coming into 2025, they gave him a two-year, $34MM guarantee with $17MM salaries in each year and an opt-out after the first season. He suffered a lat strain in February and didn’t make it back to a big league mound until late June. He posted a 6.68 earned run average in seven starts and got moved to the bullpen. After two relief outings, he landed on the IL.

Montas will certainly forego his opt-out chance and keep that $17MM salary on the Mets’ books for next year. For their $34MM investment, they have so far received 38 2/3 innings with a 6.28 ERA. There’s a chance he returns late in 2026 but only for a few outings even in a best-case scenario.

The news doesn’t impact 2025. As mentioned, Montas had already been bumped to the bullpen even before being ruled out for the rest of the year. This means the club won’t be planning on him contributing in 2026 either. Thankfully, next year’s on-paper rotation looks a lot like the current group. Kodai Senga, Sean Manaea, Clay Holmes and David Peterson will all be back next year. Senga’s deal has a post-2025 opt-out but it’s conditional on him pitching 400 innings over the 2023-25 seasons. Since he missed most of last year, he’s only at 280 1/3 and won’t vest that opt-out.

In addition to those four, the Mets are turning to prospects Nolan McLean and Jonah Tong late this year. Either or both could be candidates for next year’s rotation. The same is true of Brandon Sproat, who is in Triple-A. Tylor Megill is currently on the IL but can be retained for 2026 via arbitration. Christian Scott has UCL surgery late in 2024 and could be back in the mix next year.

While it’s not ideal for the Mets to be paying $17MM plus taxes to a pitcher who is out of action, he had seemingly fallen out of their plans regardless. They have plenty of other pitchers and one of the top payrolls in the league, so they can absorb this hit better than most.

For Montas personally, he will eventually return to the open market ahead of the 2027 season, which will be his age-34 campaign. He missed most of 2023 recovering from shoulder surgery, so he won’t have a lot of momentum going into that return to free agency. He will be coming off a four-year stretch from 2023 to 2026 where he was only healthy in 2024 and had a 4.84 ERA that year.

Photo courtesy of Brad Penner, Imagn Images

Francisco Alvarez Suffers Finger Fracture, Still Hopes To Return This Year

By | at

Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez was hit by a pitch on his left pinky finger last night. Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports that the backstop suffered a break in that finger but still hopes to be able to play in the majors later this year.

Alvarez was already in a challenging situation. He suffered a sprain of his right thumb a little over a week ago. Shortly after suffering that injury, it was reported that he will need surgery to correct it at some point. However, the recovery time from that surgery is six to seven weeks, which would carry well into October if he had it now. Alvarez and the Mets decided to delay the procedure until the offseason as he attempts to rest it enough to play through it.

He began that experiment by starting a rehab assignment last night. He doubled in his first plate appearance, grounded out in the second and then was hit by a pitch in the third. He was removed for a pinch runner and it now appears that he suffered a fracture.

Despite the break, Alvarez evidently feels he can get back on the field. Perhaps that is possible but it’s anyone’s guess what kind of production he can muster with a sprained thumb on his right hand and a fractured pinky on the other hand. He could perhaps heal up a bit but there’s only a month left in the regular season.

It perhaps helps that the club has cracked off three straight victories while the Reds have lost three in a row. That gives the Mets a cushion of 4.5 games and greatly increases their chances of making the playoffs. Instead of rushing Alvarez back for a playoff chase, perhaps they can pump the brakes a bit and focus on getting him healthy for the playoffs.

It’s a tough spot but it’s understandable why the Mets and Alvarez are taking this path. He has a .265/.349/.438 batting line and 125 wRC+ this year, despite an early-season slump which got him sent down to the minors for a little while. With him on the shelf, the Mets are left with Luis Torrens and Hayden Senger as their healthy catchers. Torrens is hitting .218/.282/.320 this year while Senger’s line is .180/.227/.197.

The glovework can be debated but Alvarez clearly has the greatest ability to make a difference with his bat. Perhaps the injuries will be too much of an impediment for him to make a short-term impact but there’s little harm in trying. Even if he doesn’t have the thumb surgery until the season is done, he could still be recovered in time to have a normal spring training in preparation for 2026.

Photo courtesy of Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images

Latest On Astros’ Rotation

By | at

The Astros are apparently trying to shake things up in their rotation. Manager Joe Espada tells reporters, including Chandler Rome of The Athletic, that Lance McCullers Jr. will be moving to the bullpen. The skipper emphasized that it would be a “short-term” move in order to “just change things up.”

McCullers has returned to the big leagues this year after two completely lost seasons. He didn’t pitch at all in 2023 or 2024 due to issues with his throwing arm. In 2023, he had surgery to repair his flexor tendon and remove bone spurs from his elbow. The recovery period dragged on longer than expected, preventing him from pitching in 2024. Since a forearm injury limited him to just eight starts in 2022, he had thrown very little over the previous three years.

His return in 2025 has not been triumphant. Since being reinstated from the injured list in early May, he has twice gone back on the IL, once due to a right foot sprain and once due to a blister. Around those IL trips, he has a 6.89 ERA over 12 starts. He has walked 14.3% of batters faced this year. He returned from the blister issue last week and made one start, walking five batters in four innings.

Despite the challenges the Astros have faced with their pitching this year, they are atop the American League West. However, their lead over the Mariners is just a game and a half. If the Mariners catch up, the Astros are only 4.5 games ahead of the Royals, the top American League team not in playoff position. Though the Astros are in a decent spot, they still have to win games for another month to crack the postseason.

It seems they have decided that McCullers needs a shift. He has plenty of good numbers on his track record but hasn’t gotten into a good groove this year. He has also thrown 48 1/3 major league innings this year, surpassing his total for the previous three years combined. Getting him a reset in the bullpen will naturally put a check on his workload.

Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown give the Astros a strong one-two in the rotation, though the remaining spots are more in flux. Cristian Javier has a strong track record but also just returned from a lengthy injury layoff. His first three starts since coming back have resulted in a 5.40 ERA and a 13% walk rate. Spencer Arrighetti has also been limited by injury, having made just six starts with a 6.21 ERA, 17.6% strikeout rate and 11.5% walk rate. Jason Alexander has a 2.91 ERA over his past six starts but his larger track record is that of a journeyman depth swingman.

The struggles from the rotation also have domino effects for the relievers. The bullpen has recently lost Josh Hader, Bennett Sousa and John Rooney to the injured list. With the relief corps weakened, it’s obviously not ideal for the rotation to be struggling at the same time.

There could be another X-factor over the horizon. In another piece at The Athletic, Rome notes that Luis Garcia could be reinstated from the injured list soon. Garcia is in a somewhat similar position to McCullers. He had Tommy John surgery back in May of 2023. He was expected to rejoin the club last year but renewed elbow soreness has repeatedly set him back, so that it’s now been well over two years since his last major league game.

Rome provides some details on the setbacks, noting that Garcia shortened his arm slot in an attempt to work around the soreness. However, that new motion prevented from getting back his previous velocity. Eventually, in time, he has been successfully able to return to his previous arm slot as he has become healthier and gotten farther away from his surgery.

He has pitched 30 innings across nine rehab outings in recent weeks. He has a 3.30 ERA, 31.1% strikeout rate and 5.7% walk rate in those. In his last outing, he tossed six Triple-A innings, allowing one run while striking out five opponents.

He has only averaged 91.4 miles per hour at the Triple-A level this year. In his previous big league work, he was mostly in the 93-94 mph range. That’s a bit concerning but both Garcia and pitching coach Josh Miller expressed confidence that he would continue to push that up over time.

Garcia seems likely to be reinstated soon. His first rehab outing was on July 7th. A rehab assignment for a pitcher normally has a 30-day maximum but exceptions can be made for one coming back from UCL surgery. A ten-day extension can be granted as many as three times, leading to a total rehab span of 60 days.

Even with that wider window, Garcia would need to be reinstated in early September. Rosters expand September 1st and the Astros don’t have a starter listed for that date. Alexander started today with Javier, Arrighetti and Brown scheduled for the next three games. They could have Valdez pitch on the 1st on regular rest, though Rome notes that McCullers and Garcia are both options for that start. McCullers taking the ball that day would naturally depend upon if he is used as a reliever in the prior days.

Prior to his surgery, Garcia tossed 352 big league innings with a 3.61 ERA, 25.3% strikeout rate and 7.8% walk rate. Getting that kind of production in the rotation would obviously be great but the struggles of McCullers and Javier show that it’s not always easy to just come back and succeed after a lengthy rehab period.

Further down the line, assuming the Astros make the playoffs, they will have to decide on who makes playoff starts for them. Brown and Valdez are obviously the first two guys but picking a third or a fourth starter out of this group will likely come down to who pitches the best in the next few weeks.

Photo courtesy of Troy Taormina, Imagn Images

Poll: NL Rookie Of The Year Check-In

By | at

Within the last few years, the Rookie of the Year award has grown to have more meaning than it had in the past. Changes in the most recent collective bargaining agreement allow the award to bestow a full year of MLB service time on the top two finishers, even if they would have otherwise entered the offseason with less than that. Beyond that, any player who was a top-100 prospect on a pair of prominent preseason lists (Baseball America, MLB.com, ESPN) can net his club an extra pick by winning the award if he breaks camp with his club or was called up less than two weeks into the season. That’s raised the stakes on the two Rookie of the Year races, but who will ultimately come out on top?

Here’s a look at this year’s candidates in the National League, listen in alphabetical order by last name:

Drake Baldwin, C, Braves

The 24-year-old Baldwin is having a banner rookie season for Atlanta after an injury suffered by Sean Murphy during Spring Training opened up the Opening Day catcher job. Baldwin took the reins and never looked back. Through 96 games, he’s hitting .276/.347/.454 with a wRC+ of 126. He’s smacked 14 homers in 337 plate appearances, but more impressive is Baldwin’s plate discipline. The youngster is striking out just 16% of the time while walking at a solid 8.9% clip. That production has been enough to get the lion’s share of time behind the plate in spite of Murphy’s status as a former All-Star and Gold Glove award winner on a hefty contract. If there’s an issue with Baldwin’s profile, it’s that he’s a merely pedestrian defender behind the plate. Scouts expected him to be no more than average behind the plate, and so far the metrics have played that out as he has -1 Catching Runs this year according to Statcast. Baldwin and Murphy are now splitting the workload between catcher and DH, so Baldwin should see regular at-bats down the stretch. If he wins the award, he’ll net the Braves a PPI pick.

Isaac Collins, OF, Brewers

Collins celebrated his 28th birthday last month, making him by far the oldest player on this list. He’s been a game changer for an excellent Brewers club in left field, however, with a .270/.368/.421 (125 wRC+) slash line in 109 games. Collins has chipped in 28 extra-base hits and 15 steals and drawn walks at an excellent 12.3% clip. That penchant for drawing walks fuels an on-base percentage that sits just barely outside the top 20 among hitters with at least 300 plate appearances this year. Collins’ age and lack of a premium defensive position could hold him back in the eyes of some voters, but the switch-hitter does have one big thing going for him: he’s doing his best work now. Since the All-Star break, Collins has hit .288/.377/.475 with a wRC+ of 139.

Cade Horton, RHP, Cubs

The Cubs’ first rounder in the 2022 draft, Horton came up to fill out the rotation in a pinch back in May and has generally looked the part of a quality big league starter. He’s pitched to a 2.88 ERA and 3.71 FIP in 93 2/3 innings of work. That’s by far the best ERA among all rookie pitchers with at least 80 innings, and he’s been on the shortlist for the best pitcher in baseball since the All-Star break with a microscopic 0.49 ERA, a 2.61 FIP, and 24.8% strikeout rate. Horton’s season-long strikeout rate of just 20.1% isn’t all that impressive, and his relatively limited innings may hurt him with some voters. Even so, the 24-year-old should get plenty of attention with the way he’s pitched in the second half so far, and a big final month could further cement his case. Horton was a consensus top-100 prospect prior to the season but wasn’t called up early enough to net the Cubs a pick based on this year’s Rookie of the Year voting (though he could still garner them a pick with a top-3 Cy Young finish before reaching arbitration).

Chad Patrick, RHP, Brewers

Patrick might be overlooked by some voters who could be attracted to the strong second half numbers of Collins and Horton. Even so, he’s a legitimate contender for the award. Patrick’s 105 innings across 21 appearances (20 starts) lead NL rookies. He’s posted a 3.60 ERA with a nearly identical 3.68 FIP while striking out 23.9% of his opponents. Perhaps the biggest flaw in Patrick’s case is that the Brewers optioned him to Triple-A for just over a month. He didn’t pitch in the majors between July 5 and Aug. 19. He’s also worn down as the season has gone on, with a 5.09 ERA and 4.45 FIP in his last seven starts. Patrick will need to turn things around in September if he’s going to make a play for the award, but a strong start to his big league career in April and May could be enough to keep him in the conversation.

Other Options

That aforementioned quartet appear to be the likeliest candidates for the award, but they aren’t the only names to consider. Playing time will be a factor for Miami’s Jakob Marsee, but if the 24-year-old can keep hitting the way he has in 26 games since his Aug. 1 recall (.356/.422/.667, 195 wRC+), his otherworldly performance will get some attention anyway. Teammate Agustin Ramirez leads NL rookies in home runs (18) and plate appearances (463), but he’s posted awful defensive marks behind the plate and is sitting on a .287 on-base percentage (.228/.287/.424 overall). Brewers righty Jacob Misiorowski was the talk of the game after his first few starts, but he spent two weeks on the injured list after being clipped by a comebacker and has been tagged for 13 earned runs in his past 14 1/3 innings (four starts). He’s only at 43 2/3 innings on the season, too, which hurts his candidacy.

Hyeseong Kim has been an above-average hitter for the Dodgers and contributed defensive versatility, but he’s been on the injured list for a month and is unlikely to get enough playing time to merit consideration. Nationals righty Brad Lord is in the midst of a solid season as a swingman, but a 5.47 ERA in August does him no favors. Third basemen Caleb Durbin and Matt Shaw have both had decent enough years but are sure to be overshadowed by their teammates when it comes to balloting.

Who do MLBTR readers think will ultimately come out on top in the NL’s Rookie of the Year balloting? Have your say in the poll below:

Guardians Release Carlos Santana

By | at

The Guardians have released first baseman Carlos Santana, per a team announcement. He’d been placed on outright waivers earlier in the week and clearly went unclaimed. Infielder Daniel Schneemann has been reinstated from the paternity list and will take Santana’s spot on the active roster. Santana is now a free agent and can sign with any team for the prorated league minimum for the remainder of the season. So long as he signs prior to Sept. 1, he would be postseason-eligible with a new team.

Santana’s third stint in Cleveland will conclude with a lackluster .225/.316/.333 batting line and 11 home runs in 455 plate appearances. The 39-year-old remains an elite defender at first base, but his bat has wilted from both sides of the plate. The veteran switch-hitter is slashing just .220/.311/.325 against right-handed pitching and .235/.328/.353 versus lefties. That said, Santana was a thunderous force against left-handed pitching as recently as last season, when he raked at a .286/.356/.578 pace in 163 chances from the right-handed batter’s box.

Through the trade deadline, Santana’s bat was at least within arm’s reach of league average, but virtually all of his production this year came in a torrid month of May. He’s been below average at the plate in every other month and has cratered in August, hitting .186/.271/.233 through 48 plate appearances.

His recent poor play, coupled with the presence of young Kyle Manzardo and the recent promotion of top prospect C.J. Kayfus, left Santana without a clear role on a Guardians club that has fallen out of postseason contention. Cleveland will take the final month of the season to get regular reps for the 25-year-old Manzardo and the 23-year-old Kayfus. They’d surely hoped that another club would claim Santana and take on the remainder of his $12MM salary, but that was always a long shot. The Guards will remain on the hook for what’s left of that sum (minus the prorated minimum for any time he spends on another club’s major league roster).

Giants Unlikely To Call Up Bryce Eldridge This Year

By | at

Giants fans have spent much of the season wondering whether slugging top prospect Bryce Eldridge might make his MLB debut at some point this summer. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote earlier in the week that it’s “more likely” the 20-year-old will finish out the season in Triple-A and hope for his first call to the majors in 2026. President of baseball operations Buster Posey removed further doubt the following day when telling John Shea of the San Francisco Standard that his team would “most likely not” promote Eldridge for his big league debut before season’s end.

That may be disappointing for San Francisco fans who’ve been hoping that an Eldridge promotion would give them extra incentive to stay tuned in to a season that has largely slipped away. There are justifiable reasons to hold off, however. The Giants have been breaking June acquisition Rafael Devers in at first base, and Eldridge has been slumping recently in Sacramento.

Eldridge, a 2023 first-rounder, is widely regarded as one of the sport’s top 25 or so prospects. He hit .280/.350/.512 with seven homers in 140 Double-A plate appearances but has cooled after a hot start in Triple-A. He’s still slashing a respectable .241/.311/.513 with 15 homers in 219 plate appearances since moving to the top minor league level, but Eldridge is hitting .203/.280/.419 over the past three weeks. He’s also struck out in 32% of his Triple-A plate appearances.

Beyond Devers’ transition to first base and Eldridge’s recent struggles, there are other elements to consider. The Giants aren’t contending for a postseason spot at this point — barring a miracle Wild Card run — and Eldridge wouldn’t be eligible to be poached by another club in the Rule 5 Draft until 2027. He’ll be added well before then — early next year, in all likelihood — but delaying his promotion until 2026 effectively gives the Giants an extra 40-man roster spot they can utilize in the offseason. He can then be selected to the roster next year when the Giants have the 60-day IL available to open roster space, whether that be in spring training or early in the year. (There’s no 60-day injured list in the offseason.)

The Devers acquisition and his subsequent move to first base clearly placed a roadblock to Eldridge eventually becoming the everyday first baseman at Oracle Park. However, Eldridge told Slusser that vice president of player development Randy Winn called him quickly after the trade to reassure him that he’s still a big part of the team’s long-term plans.

“Natural human instinct is going to be, ‘Well, that’s my position,’ but they’re paying that guy a lot of money,” Eldridge said. “But Randy reassured me that they like me and they like the progress I’ve made, they see me in their plans, playing first or DH, wherever it may be. It doesn’t necessarily matter to me too much where I’m at, I just want to be a part of helping that team win.”

Red Sox Reinstate Justin Slaten From 60-Day IL

By | at

The Red Sox made a series of roster moves Thursday morning, most notably reinstating right-handed reliever Justin Slaten from the 60-day IL. That move brings Boston’s 40-man roster to capacity. They’d previously had a vacancy after outrighting infielder Abraham Toro. The Red Sox also activated outfielder Rob Refsnyder from the 10-day injured list. To open active roster spots for Slaten and Refsnyder, they optioned southpaw Jovani Moran to Triple-A Worcester and placed first baseman Nathaniel Lowe on the paternity list (where he can spend up to three days).

Slaten, 27, is in his second season with the Red Sox after coming to Boston via the Rule 5 Draft in 2023. He was outstanding as a rookie in 2024, tossing 55 1/3 innings with a 2.93 ERA, a 25.9% strikeout rate, a tiny 4% walk rate and a strong 50% ground-ball rate. He’s had good results in 2025 as well, logging a 3.47 ERA in 23 1/3 frames, albeit with lesser rate stats. He’s been on the injured list since late May due to shoulder inflammation.

Slaten’s strikeout rate dipped to 17.8%, perhaps in part due to a significant drop in his slider usage. He threw nearly 25% sliders in ’24 but is down to 8% in ’25, instead favoring his curveball far more heavily (8.4% in ’24, 21.6% in ’25). Slaten’s walk rate has nearly doubled, up to 7.8%, but that’s still comfortably better than average. Sustaining a 4% walk rate was always going to be tough — it would be for any pitcher — particularly considering Slaten’s 8.5% walk rate in his final minor league season.

Even with some modest steps back this year, Slaten is a big arm who’ll provide a notable boost to Alex Cora’s bullpen. He’s been effective since day one in the majors, quickly pitching his way into a high-leverage role last year, and actually saw a bump in velocity prior to his IL placement, with his average four-seamer rising from 96.4 mph last year to 97 mph in 2025. He’ll join Garrett Whitlock, Justin Wilson and Greg Weissert as one of the primary setup options to closer Aroldis Chapman, who is enjoying perhaps the most dominant season of his 16-year major league career.

Orioles Designate Roansy Contreras For Assignment

By | at

The Orioles announced Thursday morning that right-hander Roansy Contreras has been designated for assignment. His spot on the roster goes to righty Shawn Dubin, who has now been added to the roster after being claimed off waivers out of the Astros organization.

It’ll be a one-and-done stop on the big league roster for Contreras, a former top prospect with the Yankees and Pirates who landed in Baltimore by way of the waiver wire this past offseason. He’s pitched well in Triple-A this season and gave the O’s 4 1/3 innings of scoreless long relief yesterday in his team debut. That lengthy appearance obviously renders him unavailable for the next few days, however, and Contreras is out of minor league options and thus couldn’t be sent down without first passing through waivers.

Some fans will bristle at the notion of a pitcher being called up, pitching as well as Contreras did, and then being removed from the 40-man roster. This type of transaction is common among today’s baseball operations departments, however, and Contreras’ camp likely knew it’d be a one-off appearance due to his lack of minor league options. The O’s could have subtracted Dietrich Enns instead, as he’s also out of options and unavailable for a few days after tossing 34 pitches yesterday, but Enns has pitched well overall in nine total outings with strong rate stats.

Designating Contreras leaves the Orioles with a mostly full slate of relief options, and based on his minimal MLB track record, there’s a good chance he’ll clear waivers and could thus stick around as a depth option despite the DFA. Contreras, after all, was on waivers five times this past offseason before the Orioles succeeded in passing him through at the end of spring training.

In 239 big league innings, Contreras has a 4.63 earned run average. He’s fanned 19.6% of his opponents against a 10% walk rate. He was effective in Triple-A Norfolk this year, tossing 91 2/3 innings of 3.73 ERA ball with a sub-par 17.8% strikeout rate but a solid 8.4% walk rate. That generally aligns with his career numbers in Triple-A (3.83 ERA in parts of four seasons). The O’s can hope to pass Contreras through waivers within the next couple of days, though he’ll be available to the other 29 teams and would have the right to reject an outright assignment even if he does clear.

The Opener: Slaten, Chapman, Pitchers’ Duel

By | at

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

1. Slaten to return:

The Red Sox are set to welcome right-hander Justin Slaten back from the injured list today. Slaten went down with shoulder inflammation back in May and has been sidelined ever since. Slaten made his big league debut with Boston in 2024 after being plucked from the Rangers in the 2023 Rule 5 draft and has been excellent. The 27-year-old touts a 3.09 ERA and 2.78 FIP in 78 2/3 big league innings. This year, Slaten pitched in 24 games with a 3.47 ERA and 3.09 FIP. While those numbers are a bit higher than last year, he should still be an asset to the Red Sox bullpen down the stretch. Slaten is on the 60-day injured list, but no 40-man roster move will need to be made to accommodate him after Abraham Toro’s recent DFA opened up a 40-man spot.

2. Chapman’s no-hit streak:

Sticking with the Boston bullpen, closer Aroldis Chapman is arguably having the best season of his 16-year MLB career — despite this being his age-37 campaign. He’s striking out 38.7% of his opponents with a sensational 1.04 ERA and 1.83 FIP across 52 innings of work and has picked up 26 saves. His 7.3% walk rate is considerably better than average for a reliever, and that’s the only way opposing hitters have been able to get on base of late. As noted by Tim Healey of the Boston Globe, Chapman has recorded 35 consecutive outs without allowing a hit. It’s an incredible stretch that dates all the way back to July 26. The Red Sox face the Orioles in the final game of a four-game series today. Chapman has already faced Baltimore three times during this no-hit stretch, including twice during this series.

3. Pitchers’ duel in San Francisco:

The Cubs and Giants are wrapping up a three-game set at Oracle Park later today, and it’ll end with an impressive pitching matchup. Right-hander Logan Webb is set to take the mound for the home team in the midst of an excellent season where he’s pitched to a 3.13 ERA with a spectacular 2.60 FIP. His 166 2/3 innings pitched lead the majors, and he’s striking out a strong 26% of batters faced while issuing walks at just a 5.4% clip. Webb’s opponent will be southpaw Shota Imanaga, who has a sterling 3.03 ERA in 19 starts this season. His 4.33 FIP leaves much to be desired, but he’s looked more like himself in August: 2.33 ERA, 3.01 FIP, 28.1% strikeout rate in his past four starts. This afternoon’s game is scheduled to begin at 12:45pm local time.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

hide arrows scroll to top