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The Opener: Slaten, Chapman, Pitchers’ Duel

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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.

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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What Kind Of Contract Can Framber Valdez Command?

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We're a little over two months from the opening of free agency. Framber Valdez has probably established himself as the #1 pitcher. That's in part due to Dylan Cease's inconsistency and Michael King missing almost three months to a nerve-related shoulder injury. It's also a testimony to Valdez's consistency and incredible run of durability. It's not common for the top pitcher in a free agent year to be one entering his age-32 season. That should be the case this winter.

How does Valdez stack up against the top starting pitchers in previous free agent classes? MLBTR's Contract Tracker, available to Front Office subscribers, allows for direct comparisons. That makes it possible to project what kind of deal his camp should seek as he approaches the biggest payday of his career.

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MLBTR Podcast: A Conversation With Pirates GM Ben Cherington — Also The O’s, Zack Wheeler, And The Rangers

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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 Pirates general manager Ben Cherington to discuss…

  • What attracted Cherington to a smaller market like Pittsburgh (2:40)
  • Why have the Pirates been so much better at developing pitching than hitting? (5:10)
  • The choice of picking Paul Skenes first overall in 2023 (9:05)
  • The Pirates not having signed a free agent to a multi-year deal in many years (13:45)
  • Is there a sense of urgency for the Pirates to make something happen in the near future? (16:20)
  • The balance of subtracting pitching to add hitting (18:45)
  • What percentage of rumors that make it to the public are based in fact? (22:30)

Plus, Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors joins the show to discuss…

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 Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images

MLB Mailbag: Kyle Tucker, Nick Lodolo, Bo Bichette, Rays, Mets

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This week's mailbag gets into the Cubs and Kyle Tucker, the Reds trading Nick Lodolo for a big bat this winter, Bo Bichette's contract, and offseason approaches for the Rays and Mets.

NE asks:

Do the Cubs and Kyle Tucker have any interest in an extension?

Tucker came out of the gates with a 157 wRC+ in 370 plate appearances through June.  That performance put him basically in a dead heat with fellow All-Star starter Pete Crow-Armstrong and Shohei Ohtani with 4 WAR, at which point all three players were in the NL MVP race.

Tucker jammed his right ring finger on a June 1st slide.  He continued to play well, but later revealed that "a week or two after that" x-rays found a hairline fracture.  The narrative around the injury remains confusing.

Tucker posted a 173 wRC+ in June, the best month of his season.  He homered on June 28th as part of a four-hit game.  Then he went on to hit just one home run over his next 172 PA.  So the idea is that Tucker played through this injury but it only began to sap his power four weeks later, perhaps due to some mechanical change to his swing.

By mid-August, Tucker was throwing his helmet, slamming his bat, failing to run out grounders, and getting booed by Cubs fans.  On August 18th, Cubs manager Craig Counsell announced the plan to give Tucker a mental reset on the bench.  The following day, Brewers manager Pat Murphy went on 670 The Score and said, "I think Tucker is hurt. I don't have any information, but Tucker's not the same. He's hurt, and he's playing through it. He's such a class kid that he probably doesn't mention it to anyone."

Murphy's comments caused the Cubs to fess up to Tucker playing through the hairline fracture.  It was just a very odd way for this to all go down: the injury that didn't manifest itself for four weeks, and the reveal coming from a rival team's manager who either made a really good guess or actually did have some information.

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Cubs To Place Jameson Taillon On Injured List

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The Cubs are placing Jameson Taillon back on the 15-day injured list, manager Craig Counsell tells reporters (including Maddie Lee of The Chicago Sun-Times). Taillon departed his most recent start with left groin tightness. Javier Assad will be recalled from Triple-A Iowa to take his spot on the active roster.

Taillon just returned from a nearly two-month absence due to a right calf strain. This isn’t expected to be anywhere near as serious. Counsell said the Cubs believe it’ll be close to a minimal stint. They can backdate the placement to August 25, meaning he’ll be eligible to return on September 9. He’ll miss at least two turns through the rotation but should be back in plenty of time to vie for a spot on Chicago’s postseason roster.

The veteran righty has made 19 starts. Taillon carries a 4.15 ERA with a below-average 18.8% strikeout rate. He’s throwing plenty of strikes but has allowed home runs at a career-worst clip. This is is the fourth straight season in which Taillon has struggled to miss bats, and his velocity has trended down over the course of his four-year free agent deal.

Taillon looks like a fifth starter at this stage of his career. The Cubs will head into October with questions about their pitching depth. Cade Horton, Shota Imanaga and Matthew Boyd project as their top three arms for the playoff rotation as long as the Cubs don’t collapse in September. Assuming Michael Soroka will be limited to relief work if he’s able to make it back from a shoulder strain, Taillon and Colin Rea are the top options for a potential Game 4 postseason start.

Assad has lost most of the season to an oblique strain. He’s made three MLB starts since returning, allowing six runs across 14 innings. The Cubs have optioned him twice but recalled him shortly after on both occasions. Pitchers typically must spend 15 days on an optional assignment, but an exception is made if they’re replacing someone who goes on the injured list.

The Cubs have Horton and Imanaga to start the next two games. Assad will take the ball on Saturday at Coors Field. He’ll step into Taillon’s rotation spot for the time being. He’s a long shot to get much consideration for Chicago’s playoff roster — either in the rotation or long relief — but he should get at least two starts to try to make his case.

Orioles To Move To Six-Man Rotation

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The Orioles will go to a six-man rotation next week, interim manager Tony Mansolino tells reporters (including Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun). Tyler Wells made his final rehab start tonight to complete his return from May 2024 elbow surgery. Wells threw 6 1/3 frames of two-run ball on 90 pitches for Triple-A Norfolk.

Baltimore will reinstate Wells from the 60-day injured list next week. Active rosters expand on September 1, so the O’s can stick with an eight-man bullpen while running a six-man rotation. It’ll buy an extra day of rest for each of Trevor Rogers, Kyle Bradish, Tomoyuki Sugano, Cade Povich and Dean Kremer. Bradish just returned from his own elbow procedure last night.

Wells, 31, flashed back-of-the-rotation ability before his injury. He had his best season in 2023. The righty turned in a career-low 3.64 earned run average across 118 2/3 innings. Wells fanned a quarter of opponents with a solid 7.2% walk rate. He surrendered almost two home runs per nine frames, however, and was the beneficiary of a depressed .200 batting average on balls in play.

It was a good enough showing for Wells to open the ’24 season in the rotation. He only made it through three starts before suffering the elbow injury that required UCL surgery. It wound up costing him the better part of two seasons. Wells will probably make four starts to finish the season. That should position him for a normal offseason as he prepares to battle for a rotation spot next spring. Wells is making $2.075MM this season; he’ll be paid a similar amount next year in his second trip through arbitration. He’s controllable through 2027.

Rockies Move Antonio Senzatela To Bullpen

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The Rockies are moving righty Antonio Senzatela to the bullpen, general manager Bill Schmidt tells reporters (including Patrick Saunders of The Denver Post). Colorado will activate Germán Márquez from the 15-day injured list to start Friday against the Cubs. To make room, Senzatela loses his rotation spot for the final month of a dismal season.

Senzatela has taken the ball 24 times. He has averaged fewer than five innings per start and been tattooed for a 7.15 earned run average. Senzatela has completed six innings just three times and has only two quality starts. His ERA is nearly a full run higher than Jack Kochanowicz’s 6.19 mark (entering play tonight), the second worst for a pitcher with 100+ innings. His 11.3% strikeout rate is also worst among that group of 106 hurlers. Senzatela hasn’t pitched well at any point of games, but he’s been particularly poor out of the gate. His first inning ERA is a staggering 11.51, with opponents hitting .443 against him.

Schmidt was blunt in his summary of Senzatela’s season. “The bottom line is that he was not helping the club. He was hurting the club, especially early in the game,” the GM said. “Same thing with (Austin Gomber). They were putting the team in a hole early, and they were putting our young relievers in a hole, too.”

Colorado released Gomber last week. The southpaw was an impending free agent whom the Rox weren’t going to re-sign coming off a 7.49 ERA showing. Releasing Senzatela would’ve required eating a lot of dead money. He’s signed for another season at $12MM. There’s also a $14MM club option (no buyout) for 2027 that stands virtually no chance of being picked up. Colorado could consider pulling the plug over the offseason but evidently want to first see if he can find some success in relief. Pitching coach Darryl Scott tells Saunders that the Rox aren’t ruling out the possibility of Senzatela returning to the rotation to begin the ’26 season.

Márquez returns after a month-long absence due to biceps tendinitis. He’ll hopefully take five turns through the rotation to close the year. Márquez is an impending free agent who’ll be a rebound target for other clubs this offseason. He has struggled to a 5.67 ERA across 20 starts but has a 95 MPH fastball and still misses bats with his knuckle-curve.

Colorado called up McCade Brown to replace Gomber. He’s their third rookie in the rotation, joining Chase Dollander and Tanner Gordon. Márquez and Kyle Freeland round out the group. None of Colorado’s starters have had sustained success this year. Gordon projects as a depth arm, while Brown might end up in relief. There’s little reason for the Rox to continue trotting Senzatela out as a starter at the expense of reps for their younger arms, though.

Royals Sign Geoff Hartlieb To Minor League Deal

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The Royals signed reliever Geoff Hartlieb to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Omaha. The move was announced by the Triple-A affiliate this evening.

Hartlieb was granted his release from a non-roster deal with the Tigers last week. He’s now on his third organization of the season. Hartlieb has made very brief appearances with the Yankees and Detroit. Opponents blasted him for eight runs in 3 1/3 MLB frames. The 31-year-old righty has had a much better season in Triple-A. He carries a 3.57 ERA with a near-28% strikeout rate in 45 1/3 innings at the top minor league level.

A former Pittsburgh draftee, Hartlieb has made 68 big league appearances. He has allowed nearly eight earned runs per nine over 82 2/3 career innings. He has a reasonable 4.18 ERA in parts of six Triple-A campaigns. Hartlieb leans most heavily on his mid 80s slider and has a 94-95 MPH fastball.

Hartlieb will head to Omaha as non-roster relief depth. He’ll try to pitch his way into a middle relief spot before the end of the year. He would return to minor league free agency at the beginning of the offseason if the Royals don’t call him up.

Nationals To Select CJ Stubbs

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The Nationals are going to select catcher CJ Stubbs to the roster, reports Andrew Golden of The Washington Post. He will take the active roster spot of fellow backstop Drew Millas, who suffered a finger fracture earlier today. The Nationals already have two vacancies on the 40-man roster, so no corresponding move will be required in that department.

Stubbs, 28, gets the call to the big leagues for the first time. The younger brother of Phillies catcher Garrett Stubbs, CJ spent most of his career in the Astros’ minor league system. He was released in May of 2024 and then landed a minor league deal with the Nationals.

He has been a decent hitter in the minors at times but isn’t having a great season. From 2022 to 2024, he had a combined .202/.323/.404 slash line and 98 wRC+. But this year, between Double-A and Triple-A, he has a .148/.279/.240 line and 57 wRC+. His 11.6% walk rate is good but he’s also been striking out 37.3% of the time. Baseball Prospectus gives him strong grades for his framing on the farm.

The Nationals currently have three catchers on their 40-man roster. Keibert Ruiz has been on the concussion injured list for over a month and doesn’t appear close to a return. That left Millas and Riley Adams as the two active catchers. With Millas getting injured today, Adams was the only healthy backstop on the roster. Stubbs will step in, presumably in a backup role, and will make his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game.

Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images

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