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Pirates Select Rafael Flores

By Darragh McDonald | September 16, 2025 at 1:20pm CDT

The Pirates announced that they have selected the contract of catcher/first baseman Rafael Flores. In a corresponding active roster move, infielder Liover Peguero has been optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis. The 40-man roster had a vacancy but is now full.

Flores, 24, was just acquired from the Yankees as part of the deadline deal sending David Bednar to the Bronx. He was going to be available in the upcoming Rule 5 draft if not added to Pittsburgh’s 40-man roster. They were surely planning to give him a roster spot in order to him from that draft. Doing so a few months early allows them to get a look at him in the big leagues before the offseason arrives.

The youngster took an unusual path to being a notable prospect. He attended Rio Honda, a community college outside Los Angeles, and was playing summer ball for the Alaska Goldpanners when the Yanks found him and signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2022. He was roughly league average at the plate in 2023 while playing at the High-A level.

Flores seemed to take a big step forward last year, both offensively and defensively. He stepped to the plate 506 times between High-A and Double-A, producing a combined .279/.379/.495 line and 152 wRC+. FanGraphs ranked him 34th in the system prior to that campaign, noting that his work behind the plate was improving. Baseball America ranked him tenth among New York farmhands heading into the current season.

The 2025 season has seen Flores boost his stock even further. The righty-swinging 24-year-old clobbered Double-A pitching at a .287/.346/.496 pace (145 wRC+) in 370 plate appearances and has hit .281/.363/.459 (119 wRC+) in 157 Triple-A plate appearances with the Pirates following the trade. He’s not great when it comes to controlling the running game, but Baseball Prospectus gives him above-average framing and blocking grades in the minors this year. At the very least, he has the makings of a bat-first option behind the plate — an area of dire need for the Pirates for the past several years.

Catcher has been a revolving door in Pittsburgh ever since the Bucs traded Jacob Stallings to the Marlins after the 2021 season. They’ve since used a combination of Henry Davis, Endy Rodriguez, Joey Bart, Jason Delay, Yasmani Grandal, Tyler Heineman, Austin Hedges, Michael Perez, Andrew Knapp and Roberto Perez — among others — and received disastrous results with the bat. Only the Guardians have received less offensive output from their catchers than Pittsburgh’s combined .208/.285/.314 since Opening Day 2022.

The hope moving forward will be that Flores can turn that tide — or at least play a meaningful role in a catching committee that begins to right the ship. The Pirates’ offense, in general, is among the most anemic in baseball on an annual basis. If Flores can provide even average offense (or slightly above), he ought to receive plenty of looks moving forward, given the difficulty the Bucs have had when it comes to scoring runs year over year.

MLBTR Chat Transcript

By Steve Adams | September 16, 2025 at 11:51am CDT

Steve Adams

Good afternoon! Sorry for the lack of advance notice. Schedule has been a bit wonky this week. We’ll go from noon CT until around 1:00 CT or so, however. I’ll give the queue a few minutes to start loading up here while I run and grab a snack, then we’ll get underway.
And we’re off

Harry the K

What kind of contract is Bader looking at? 2/30? He’s been amazing for the Phillies, offensively and defensively.

Steve Adams

I’d probably come in a touch lighter on the AAV but yeah, that general range doesn’t seem outlandish

Reds GM

You guys should publish an article about who could qualify for arbitration for the first time this fall! Also when will the offseason outlook posts begin?

Steve Adams

Our arbitration projections are in the works as we speak and will check that box for you. Offseason Outlooks probably will get underway late this month and run through the end of October (maybe into early November). We’ll be writing them while also prepping for our Top 50 Free Agent list/predictions and our top offseason trade candidate list, so a lot of balls in the air at once

David

I don’t think the Ricketts will pay for Tucker after this year.

Steve Adams

This has pretty steadily been my stance all season. The Cubs would need to exceed their franchise record contract by $200MM+ to re-sign Tucker. I just don’t see it.

Chaim Bloom

Is my payroll going to be below $100 million for 2026?

Steve Adams

The Cardinals only have $75MM on the books for 2026, and that’s including Nolan Arenado and Sonny Gray, both of whom will be trade candidates (although STL would have to eat a fair bit of money in either case — especially Arenado). Then you have arb raises for guys like JoJo Romero, Alec Burleson, Lars Nootbaar, Brendan Donovan, etc.Some of those guys could be traded, but the Cards will probably bring in some short-term free agent vets. I’d say over $100MM but not by a large margin.

Nick Kurtz

Do you believe service time manipulation has gotten better or worse under this CBA?

Steve Adams

It’s just changed. Bubba Chandler probably would’ve been up months sooner, for instance, whereas guys like Drake Baldwin, Cam Smith, Jacob Wilson etc. just landed in the majors from the jump. Teams are always going to game the agreed-upon rules to some extent in the name of good business.

SFGigantes

Thoughts on Verlander getting another 1/15 from SFG for 2026?

Steve Adams

He’s been solid. It the two parties want to run it back, I think that deal would make sense

Still an A

When do you see the A’s as legit playoff contenders?

Steve Adams

I don’t think it’s out of the question that they could be in the Wild Card mix next year. I’d take 2027 as the safer bet, but I like a lot of their young hitters. If they can get a couple surprise rotation performances, be it via offseason additions or in-house strides from a Gage Jump, Braden Nett etc. — it’s not outrageous to me to think they could be a ’26 sleeper.

Yordan Ankle

Do you have an update on my ankle

Steve Adams

If I did, it’d be on the site!

Ellis

What do the White Sox do with Robert Jr. this off-season? Almost seems like it’s come full circle to keep him around with his diminished trade value in case this team takes big strides next year

Steve Adams

They’ll pick up his option and gauge trade interest again. I think they should’ve eaten all his remaining contract and moved him at the deadline, but they’re obviously comfortable gambling on the woeful health track record.

Mike Ellias

What does my promotion mean for the O’s off-season?

Steve Adams

Not much outside the fact that they’ll hire a GM, adding another high-profile voice to work under Elias, who’ll remain final say over all baseball ops matters

Joe Nuxhall

Reds need a thumper. What does Hunter Greene bring back ? I know people would say I’m crazy to trade Hunter but I think he brings back what we need.

Steve Adams

He’d bring back more than one premium bat, but that’s true of plenty within Cincinnati’s system. I’m not trading Greene or Chase Burns. You could get a quality bat for either Nick Lodolo or especially Andrew Abbott as well. I do think dealing from their pitching stash makes some sense, as I alluded to last week for subscribers:
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/09/reds-trade-rumors-offseason-nic…

Tal’s Hill

Do stros move Christian Walker in the offseason to open up a hole for Parades

Steve Adams

Darragh and I talked about this at length on the podcast this morning. (That episode will drop tomorrow)They’d have to eat some of the contract to facilitate a deal, but sure, it’s possible. They could also look to move Paredes, though I think his swing is more or less tailor-made for Daikin Park.
Less popular idea — let me duck/shield my self from Astros fans quick — would be to trade Jeremy Pena to help replenish what’s a pretty barren rotation. Two more years of team control, but he’s a Boras client who’s not likely to sign the type of extensions the Astros offer. Could go Correa at SS, Paredes at 3B, Walker 1B and Altuve/Brice Matthews at 2B.

Not saying they should/will do it — just that it’s something I can envision other teams inquiring about, and the Astros ought to at least hear them out to see what kind of arm is out there.

chaim boom

Are we heading towards a Nolan Arenado release this off season? Doesn’t seem like there is much trade value left.

Steve Adams

I’d be surprised if they straight up release him. The trade value’s in the tank, but if they pay him down to like $4-5MM per year, they could at least salvage some cash.

Nico Hoerner

Traded or extended by the Cubbies?

Steve Adams

If he’s open to it, extend him again. I don’t think they’ll trade him this winter, though with so few shortstop options out there, some team might try to get a bit creative and pry him away with a position change in mind.

walter alston

with the lack of good quality closers who do the dodgers go after for 2026

Steve Adams

They don’t generally chase the high-end closers in free agency anyhow. The only times in the past decade they’ve done so (as you can see in our handy Contract Tracker) were to re-sign Kenley Jansen (5 years, $80MM) and to sign Tanner Scott this past winter (4/72 with deferrals).Jansen was more of an ownership decision. Scott was breaking from the norm and it hasn’t really worked out.
I imagine the Dodgers will have interest in bounceback deals with Devin Williams and Ryan Helsley and Luke Weaver, and they’ll probably be open to paying up for some buzz relievers who’ve elevated their standing considerably this season (someone like Brad Keller)

But in general, I wouldn’t expect them to be on someone like Edwin Diaz or Robert Suarez (the top relievers this winter)

Brian Cashman

How much will it cost me to resign Cody Bellinger after he opts out?

Steve Adams

I apparently remain the eternal Bellinger optimist, but something like $120-140MM over five years (maybe six years if it trends closer to the larger end of that range)

John Means

Havent heard anything on him…is he with the Guards in 2026?

Steve Adams

He’s pitching on a rehab assignment and should be activated in the final couple weeks. They’ll probably get two starts to see how he looks. Zack Meisel with The Athletic opined recently that Means’ option would be picked up if he’s healthy. I’m a little more bearish on the idea if he looks so-so in his 2-3 MLB starts, but Meisel is super plugged in on the team.I touched on Means a bit in this post
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/09/9-contract-options-to-keep-an-e…

Woodruff

over/under 99.5mm?

Steve Adams

Under, but I think he can get a pretty weighty three-year contract

Phanatic

will the Phillies lose Ranger for… nothing? Who replaces Realmuto if he signs somewhere else?

Steve Adams

Won’t be for nothing, since he’ll reject a qualifying offer, but the Phils are a tax payor so that reduces the compensation to a pick after the fourth round. Not great.There aren’t a lot of great options at catcher other than re-signing JTR. Could roll the dice on Victor Caratini or a second straight buy-low look for Danny Jansen.
If Realmuto goes elsewhere, the trade market probably makes more sense. Ryan Jeffers, Jake Rogers, Tyler Stephenson are among the guys I can see available this winter.

@tayyyburrr

Which current Padre gets the better contract- King or Cease?

Collins

Am I ROY for NL? And will I and MIL qualify for the CBA benefits of such if I am?

Steve Adams

He has a good chance at it, but he won’t get them a comp pick if he wins the award since he wasn’t a top prospect

Umbruflla

Did the Orioles find a couple gems in Jacksons that are not Holliday? Jeremiah Jackson and Alex Jackson seem to be keepers, or do the numbers under the hood tell a different tale?

Steve Adams

Alex Jackson is 30 in December and has K’ed in 40% of his MLB plate appearances in his career, including one-third of them this offseason. It’s been a nice 90 plate appearances, but this isn’t sustainable.Jeremiah, perhaps more so, but he doesn’t walk and is really only thriving because he’s hitting close to .360 on balls in play. I can still see him as a viable utility player, but I’m not really buying these ~150 plate appearances

Framber Valdez

Are teams gonna try and low ball me because of me crossing up/nailing my catcher?

Steve Adams

If they do, they just won’t get him.
Valdez is going to be paid handsomely, even with the late slide. I think the cross-up drama is overstated.

Bo Naylor

Do I stick with the Guards or am I moved with 1.5 years of a look in the show

Steve Adams

Could stick around as a glove-first backup, but the Guardians need to try to find more offense at multiple spots in 2025, with catcher near the top of the list.

Brewerfan

RE:Collins not being a top prospect. Isn’t that ridiculously arbitrary that you have to be a top-prospect when those ratings are incredibly subjective? I get the idea that they are the ones suffering most from service time manipulation, but the idea that teams should only benefit for not manipulating top prospect service time is silly.

Steve Adams

I agree, sure, but the rules are the rules.

Cade Horton

Legit chance to win Rookie of the year?

Steve Adams

Jake

What is your opinion on the Jose Barrios so far? Have Martin and Woods-Richardson impressed or disappointed?

Steve Adams

There’s no question they’ve disappointed relative to the expectations when the Twins traded Berrios to Toronto. But both are still controllable for several years, and SWR is having a particularly nice finish. In retrospect, they should’ve done better, but Martin was barely a year removed from being the No. 5 overall pick and Woods Richardson was a nearly MLB-ready pitching prospect who’d drawn some top-100 love. The package was fine at the time — good, even — but the results haven’t been there. In general, the Twins’ ability to finish off the development on well regarded position prospects has been lackluster.

Allen

Raleigh is the AL MVP right?

Steve Adams

If the season were to end today, he’d get my nonexistent vote. But it’s razor-thin between the two, and if Cal goes into the tank while Judge goes on a vintage Judge tear between now and season’s end, you could change my mind.

ROX

Moniak has had a nice little season.

Steve Adams

He’s hit decently, yeah, but I don’t understand how the defensive grades have tanked this hard. Still think the Rockies should’ve traded him at the deadline, but maybe the offers were just nothingburgers. I’d absolutely be listening on him this winter.

White Sox hopeful

What do you make of the early success of the White Sox rookie class this season? Montgomery, Teel, Quero and Miedroth seem to be on the right path.

Steve Adams

Montgomery either needs to find a way to improve his contact when he chases off the plate or just cut down on his chases in general. He’s making contact only one-third of the time he swings at a ball off the plate, per Statcast, which is awful. But the contact within the zone is passable (albeit a bit below-average), and the power is encouraging.Teel looks great. Quero … I don’t think he’s a catcher, and the bat hasn’t been good enough to justify playing at another position. But he’s still young, so we’ll see.
Meidroth seems fine, but there’s not a lot of ceiling with the lack of power.

Broadly speaking, it’s not a bad group. And I remain a weird Miguel Vargas truther who still thinks Vargas will be an above-average hitter.

Yankees

It is clear that the Yankees no longer know what they are doing. The handling of Volpe not only shows they don’t care about the development of their players but also that they can no longer see putting him on the IL for 10 days back in May would have been better for him and the team.

Steve Adams

I think they’ve done plenty of things right this year, but I agree that the handling of Volpe is at or near the top of a notable list of head-scratchers. Beyond the on-field ramifications, why are you letting this kid get absolutely eviscerated by fans — both at the stadium and especially on social media — by keeping a notable injury like a torn labrum so hush-hush?It’s sort of like what the Astros did last summer, letting fans grow beyond frustrated with Kyle Tucker for missing so much time with a contusion/bone bruise … only to finally announce “Oh yeah, he’s had a fracture in his shin for like three months”
On the one hand, sure you can say these guys are professionals and they should be able to take the criticism. But on the other, it’s so unnecessary, and that seems particularly true with a young kid like Volpe. It’s just … weird. Be transparent.

Guest

Arenado and Gray have each been adamant about not waiving their no-trade privileges

Steve Adams

Arenado suggested just yesterday that he knows he’ll be a trade candidate this winter as the Cardinals move even more toward the young side of things.Gray didn’t waive his NTC last offseason, but he’s down to one year now and the Cardinals will revisit the idea. Contreras still seems to be holding firm on staying in STL though, at least based on reporting coming from the Cards’ beat.

sox

Why Raleigh for MVP? Judge has an OPS 200 points higher. It would be virtually unprecedented for someone to win an MVP with numbers that low relative to the runner-up.

Steve Adams

Because defense matters and because Raleigh has 30-40 more plate appearances, which isn’t a huge margin but when we’re talking about a narrow race, it can be a separator.

MLBTR Fan

Is 5/125 for Valdez pretty close you think?

Steve Adams

Light for me.

Bryce Eldridge

Bryce Eldridge hit one yesterday that would have been a HR in 23/30 ballparks. Unfortunately it was a flyout in AZ. With that said, who do you think ends up with the 3rd NL WC spot out of NYM, AZ, CIN, and SF? If you had to exclude the Mets, who do you think has the best chance to catch and surpass them out of those other teams?

Steve Adams

I’d still pick the Mets, but this is another topic we discussed a good bit on the podcast episode that’ll run tomorrow morning. I chose the Reds as my favorite to upset the field, if the Mets’ insane swoon persists.

Hot Corner

With the money ultimately thrown at Schwarber, what is the future for 3B for the Phillies? Bohm is likely on his way out

Steve Adams

I have long maintained that Bohm is better suited for a bench role. I agree he seems likely to be non-tendered or traded.Phillies will have steep competition for Schwarber, so I wouldn’t necessarily assume he’s back. I doubt they’d sign both, but if Schwarber leaves, I expect Bregman would be firmly in play.
Other possibilities: Eugenio Suarez, Jorge Polanco, Munetaka Murakami, Kazuma Okamoto or the trade market (Josh Jung, Isaac Paredes, Royce Lewis — to name a few)

sox

Does Raleigh’s defense make up a difference of 200 points in OPS? Judge is a pretty good defender too, although sure, not as valuable defensively as an elite catcher. fWAR and bWAR both have Judge leading Raleigh by a decent margin. Raleigh’s had a great season, and I’m no Yankee fan (quite the opposite), but seems like highway robbery for Judge not to win another one.

Steve Adams

FanGraphs has Judge up by 0.7 WAR. I don’t consider that a big margin. B-Ref has a 2-WAR gap, but that’s because of a weird drop in Raleigh’s Defensive Runs Saved grade, despite Statcast still grading him as a premium defender. I prefer Statcast for catcher defensive grades.Plus, while Judge is a good defender, he’s spent significant time playing at DH while he navigates this arm injury.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with preferring Judge, but I’m taking the guy who’s played more often and put up prodigious power output while playing the most physically demanding position on the field for over 1000 innings.

Billy

I’m smarter than you.

Steve Adams

Low bar to clear

Ebenezer_Batflip

Speaking of Breggy, what do you think he’s going to get? I figure he’s expecting 5 years minimum, and at least beating the 28.3m AAV over 6/170 Detroit offered him last year. You think he can get 6/200 after this year, even in spite of his hammy injury?

Steve Adams

Yeah I have him in the $175-200MM range

MLBTR Fan

Have MLB execs ever reached out to you guys regarding your opinions or anything on the site etc?

Steve Adams

I don’t think they care too much about our opinions, but they certainly read the site and would let us know if we botched something particularly egregious regarding their organization. Thankfully that doesn’t happen much. They’re generally more complimentary, though I know there are a handful of teams that don’t especially care for MLBTR haha. Or rather, there have been some teams in the past who did not under since-dismissed bb ops leaders. I’ll leave it at that and let you speculate wildly the rest of the way, haha.

Rangers fan

Would you keep burger around? He’s cheap but he has no value.

Steve Adams

Burger is the type of low-OBP, power-over-hit skill set that doesn’t really do a ton for me. That’s not to say he doesn’t have any value when he’s at his best, but the floor on that skill set is pretty low. I didn’t love the Rangers’ trade for him (or the Marlins’ prior trade for him — but hard to say that one didn’t work out well)

woodruff

does he stay or leave milwaukee?

Steve Adams

He’ll decline the mutual option and get a larger deal than the Brewers will offer elsewhere.

Little Johnny

Does Trout actually get to 400 homers this year? He went 130 at bats without a homer so it is hardly a foregone conclusion..

Steve Adams

Probably? He had a long slump, sure, but he has 21 bombs on the season and the power is obviously still present. It’s not some foregone conclusion or anything, but if you made me guess whether Trout hits a HR in the next 12-13 games or gets skunked, I’d take the homer.

4 Finger Charlie

Which do we see first? An 80 home run season, 300 hit season, or a .400 batting avg season by a player?

Steve Adams

None of the above? But 80 homers feels more doable than 300 hits or a .400 average. Today’s pitching and defense is too good to get 300 hits or a .400 average ever again. But I’d say 80 homers is only slightly more plausible (again, because pitching is just so good now)

Brewerfan

% chance Peralta is dealt in the offseason? how would you see the package comparing to the Burnes trade?

Steve Adams

Certainly feels possible now that he’s down to one year. I think the package would be comparable to that of Burnes, despite the latter having more name value. Peralta will be earning around half what Burnes had coming in arbitration, and his rate stats/velo aren’t really trending down the way Burnes had been.

Alex Anthopoulus

Which problem do the Braves need to address more urgently? At #3 starter or a capable 4th outfielder that would allow a rotating DH?

Steve Adams

Pitching

free agency will be boring

This free agency is boring bc Bregman, Schwarber, and Bichette are likely to re-sign with their current teams and Tucker is likely going to LA

Steve Adams

I don’t agree on Bregman or Tucker.

MoonbeamMcSwine

Guardians middle infield question: They have Arias with limited range, a big gun & inconsistent bat playing SS, Rocchio doing all things well.. and Travis Bazzana in AAA… Are you inclined to make this a three headed monster w/ Baz as the primary 2B? or does he get moved to an OF spot? He has the wheels for it…

Steve Adams

Bazzana at 2B. I don’t think either Arias or Rocchio is the long-term answer at shortstop.
I don’t think either is a big league caliber hitter, for that matter.

Danny Jansen

Let it be known, I will rise from obscurity and become a hero this postseason. You heard it here first!

Steve Adams

Noted, Danny
I’ll be rooting for you

M’s Fan

Who wins the AL West?

Steve Adams

Mariners for me

The savage

What do the jays do now? Demote a starter to the bullpen?

Steve Adams

Gausman/Bieber in the front two SP spots in the postseason, then see how Yesavage and the rest look down the stretch. I think it comes down to him versus Scherzer for the final rotation spot in the playoffs, and if Trey doesn’t get the nod, he’ll be waiting as either a piggyback/long-relief option or a potential late-inning monster. Good problem to have.

Logan Gilbert

What would an extension for me this offseason look like (two more years of club control for the M’s): 5/120 with options on both sides get two-way conversations going?

Steve Adams

I think he’s too good to take that. He’s already earning $7.365MM. You can conservatively say he’ll make something like $27-30MM total over his final two arb years, so you’re pitching around three years and $90MM for his first three free-agent seasons.Garrett Crochet is in the same service bracket and just got 6/170 from the Red Sox with about 15% the career innings of Gilbert.
I think Boston went a little wild with that deal, but regardless, 5/120 doesn’t feel strong enough to get Gilbert to sign.
I’ve got to call it for the week. Tim’s mailbag will run tomorrow, and Anthony will have a subscriber chat on Friday. I’m on X @Adams_Steve and Bluesky @adams-steve.bsky.social.If you want more opinions from the MLBTR team, you can learn about our Front Office subscription package and sign up here. In addition to ad-free viewing on the site and in the app, you’ll get weekly analysis/opinion columns from Anthony Franco and myself, a weekly mailbag column from Tim Dierkes, weekly fantasy baseball chats and columns with Nicklaus Gaut, weekly subscriber-only chats with Anthony and with me (where your odds of getting a question answered are much, much higher), extra insight from Darragh McDonald, access to our Contract Tracker (a vital offseason resource) our Agency Database, our GM Tracker, our Offseason Outlook series and more. Thanks everyone, and enjoy your week!

Royals To Activate Cole Ragans On Wednesday

By Steve Adams | September 16, 2025 at 11:06am CDT

The Royals will reinstate left-hander Cole Ragans from the 60-day injured list tomorrow, per Anne Rogers of MLB.com. Kansas City already has an open 40-man roster spot, so unless there are other 40-man moves coming in conjunction with Ragans’ return, they’ll only need to clear a spot on the active roster.

Ragans, 28 this offseason, has been out more than three months due to a strained rotator cuff in his left shoulder. His absence has been a major reason for Kansas City’s slide in the standings and the team’s all but certain elimination from playoff contention, although Ragans certainly hasn’t been the only rotation member to run into health woes this year.

Kris Bubic’s own rotator cuff strain ended his season in late July. Seth Lugo has had IL stints due to both finger and lower back injuries. Michael Lorenzen missed more than a month with an oblique strain. Michael Wacha has been on the concussion list for the past week but is expected to return for tonight’s game. Alec Marsh hasn’t pitched all season due to a shoulder impingement. It’s a far cry from the 2024 season, when the Royals improbably had four pitchers make at least 29 starts (and five make at least 25 starts).

Still, the loss of Ragans has arguably been the most damaging. The southpaw was sitting on an ugly 5.18 ERA in ten starts when healthy, although much of the damage against him came in his final three starts before landing on the IL with this shoulder issue. Ragans carried a 3.79 ERA into mid-May and reached double-digit strikeout figures in four of his first seven starts of the season. And, of course, the lefty’s 2024 breakout was one of the driving forces behind the Royals’ return to the postseason. Ragans pitched 186 1/3 innings with a 3.14 ERA, 29.3% strikeout rate and 8.8% walk rate across 32 starts last year, garnering an All-Star nod and fourth-place finish in Cy Young voting for his efforts.

At 75-75, the Royals haven’t been mathematically eliminated from the postseason just yet, but they’re 6.5 games out in the AL Wild Card chase with 12 games left to play. It’d take a borderline miracle for them to sneak into the field. Even with little to play for in terms of 2025 results, however, Ragans’ return gives him the chance to head into the offseason feeling that his shoulder troubles are behind him. If he looks sharp in two starts between now and season’s end, Kansas City would surely feel a bit better about its staff heading into next year. Ragans posted a 4.35 ERA and punched out 20 of the 43 hitters he faced (46.5%) across three minor league starts while rehabbing in recent weeks.

Braves Select Jose Suarez

By Anthony Franco | September 16, 2025 at 9:23am CDT

The Braves announced Tuesday that they’ve selected the contract of lefty José Suarez from Triple-A Gwinnett. Catcher Sean Murphy, who underwent season-ending hip surgery recently, was moved to the 60-day IL to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Atlanta also recalled righty Nathan Wiles from Gwinnett and optioned righties Connor Seabold and Alexis Díaz to Triple-A in a series of corresponding moves.

Suarez will make a spot start in Game 1 of today’s doubleheader in Washington. He’ll be opposed by Nationals righty Jake Irvin, who has struggled to a 5.70 ERA over 30 starts. There’s a much more exciting pitching matchup with Chris Sale and MacKenzie Gore squaring off in the nightcap.

Atlanta acquired Suarez from the Angels in a swap for Ian Anderson at the end of Spring Training. The 27-year-old southpaw began the season in Brian Snitker’s bullpen. He tossed 7 1/3 innings over three appearances, allowing three runs (two earned) with seven walks and five strikeouts. Atlanta designated him for assignment and ran him through outright waivers at the end of April.

Suarez has spent most of the season on the minor league injured list. He has been limited to nine appearances (eight starts) with Gwinnett, where he has pitched to a 3.53 ERA over 43 1/3 frames. Suarez has punched out 28% of opponents with a sub-5% walk rate. That earns him at least his first MLB start of the season, and it’s possible he’ll stick on the big league roster in long relief for the last two weeks. Suarez will be controllable through arbitration if he finishes the season on the 40-man roster, though he’d likely be non-tendered.

The Opener: Alvarez, Doubleheader, Pitchers’ Duel

By Nick Deeds | September 16, 2025 at 8:47am CDT

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

1. Alvarez to undergo MRI:

The Astros were dealt a brutal blow yesterday when slugger Yordan Alvarez went down with an apparent ankle injury in the first inning. Alvarez is scheduled to get an MRI to determine the severity of the issue, though the star DH was already seen on crutches and in a walking boot in the clubhouse following last night’s game. Even a minimum ten-day stint on the IL would push Alvarez’s return right up against the end of the regular season, and the start of the Wild Card series is just two weeks from today.

If Alvarez does find himself sidelined into the postseason, perhaps the open DH slot in the lineup would make a return for injured infielder Isaac Paredes more likely. Paredes is rehabbing a significant hamstring injury in hopes of joining the team before their season comes to a close, and perhaps he could return sooner if at-bats at DH are available that wouldn’t require him to be healthy enough to get work in on defense.

2. Doubleheader today in D.C.:

The Braves and Nats are set to play a doubleheader to make up for a game that was rained out back in May. As noted by Paige Leckie of MLB.com, ticket holders for the originally scheduled game will be able to use those tickets to attend game 1 of today’s doubleheader, which is scheduled for 1pm local time. An as of yet unannounced Braves starter will take on Nats righty Jake Irvin (5.70 ERA), while Game 2 will feature lefties Chris Sale (2.52 ERA in 18 starts) and MacKenzie Gore (4.14 ERA) with first pitch scheduled for 6:45pm local time this evening.

3. Young arms duel in the NL Central:

The Cubs are in Pittsburgh, and the front-runner for the NL Cy Young Award is scheduled to take on a hurler who has emerged as a potential favorite for the NL Rookie of the Year Award. Paul Skenes is on the shortlist for the very best pitchers in baseball less than two years into his MLB career, and this year he’s dazzled with a 1.92 ERA across 30 starts. He’ll take on Cubs rookie Cade Horton, who debuted back in May and carries a 2.70 ERA in 21 appearances. Those season-long numbers are impressive enough as is, but Horton has found another gear since the All-Star break with a dazzling 0.84 ERA in his last ten starts. Tonight’s game is scheduled to start at 6:40pm local time.

Matt Strahm Triggers Vesting Option

By Anthony Franco | September 15, 2025 at 11:41pm CDT

Phillies reliever Matt Strahm completed a perfect eighth inning for a hold tonight against the Dodgers. In the process, he crossed the 60-inning threshold and vested a $7.5MM option for the 2026 season. The southpaw will still need to pass a postseason physical for the option to go into effect.

Strahm initially joined the Phils on a two-year, $15MM free agent contract during the 2022-23 offseason. That has turned into an excellent value for Dave Dombrowski’s front office. Strahm turned in a 3.29 ERA across 87 2/3 innings during his first season with the club. Philadelphia signed him to a one-year extension for the 2025 season before the ’24 campaign even got underway.

The 33-year-old Strahm has responded with arguably the best two years of his career. He worked to a 1.87 ERA over 66 appearances a year ago and holds a 2.83 mark in 60 1/3 frames this season. His velocity has ticked down, but he’s still punching out 28% of batters faced against an 8% walk rate. He carried a solid 11.7% swinging strike percentage into tonight’s performance.

Philly has increasingly leaned on Strahm as one of their top bullpen weapons. He has a career-best 21 holds. In the second half, only closer Jhoan Duran has entered in higher-leverage situations on average. Strahm is alongside David Robertson and Orion Kerkering as the Phils’ top setup arms going into the playoffs. José Alvarado is ineligible for the postseason because of his failed performance-enhancing drug test. Strahm and Tanner Banks will go into October as manager Rob Thomson’s top two southpaws, while waiver pickup Tim Mayza looks like a borderline candidate to make the playoff roster.

The Phillies would very likely have exercised Strahm’s option even if he had fallen shy of the 60-inning mark. Philadelphia will be happy to retain him on an affordable salary for a leverage reliever. Duran will be back in the ninth inning, while Kerkering and Banks remain under control for multiple seasons. The Phils hold a $9MM option on Alvarado, whose season ended last week when he was diagnosed with a forearm strain.

Nationals’ Prospect Jarlin Susana Undergoes Lat Surgery

By Anthony Franco | September 15, 2025 at 11:17pm CDT

Nationals pitching prospect Jarlin Susana underwent lat surgery last week, the team informed reporters (including Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com). It concludes an injury-plagued season for the 21-year-old righty, who was limited to 14 starts and 56 1/3 innings in the minors.

Susana missed two and a half months between May and July nursing a UCL sprain in his elbow. He returned to make eight starts between High-A and Double-A before suffering the lat (shoulder) injury that ended his season. Susana pitched to a 3.51 ERA with a massive 39% strikeout rate. The 6’6″ righty was acquired from San Diego as the furthest off piece of the Juan Soto return at the 2022 deadline. Susana has developed into one of the game’s top pitching prospects, routinely pushing his fastball into triple digits with a wipeout slider.

There’s no question about the quality of the stuff. Susana’s arm health and the development of his command will be the biggest factors in whether he sticks as a starting pitcher long term. He walked 14% of his opponents this season, issuing multiple free passes in 12 of his 14 appearances. Susana never went beyond five innings but recorded double digit strikeouts on three occasions, including consecutive starts against Detroit’s Double-A affiliate on August 19 and 24.

The Nationals don’t need to add Susana to the 40-man roster until the 2026-27 offseason. The injury will certainly impact his offseason and could affect his availability for Spring Training. It’s likely that he’ll begin next year back with Double-A Harrisburg once he’s healthy.

Nationals Have Interviewed Guardians’ AGM Matt Forman

By Anthony Franco | September 15, 2025 at 7:48pm CDT

Guardians executive vice president and assistant general manager Matt Forman has interviewed for the Nationals’ GM vacancy, reports Andrew Golden of The Washington Post. It’s not clear when the interview occurred or whether Forman has advanced beyond the initial stage.

Cubs GM Carter Hawkins reportedly interviewed for the position two weeks back. The Nats also reached out to Dodgers executive vice president Josh Byrnes and Diamondbacks AGM Amiel Sawdaye. Over the weekend, Tim Healey of The Boston Globe reported that Red Sox’s assistant GM Paul Toboni was also on Washington’s radar. Whether any of those executives formally interviewed is not known. Barry Svrluga of The Washington Post suggested last week that the Nats hoped to have a new front office leader in place by the end of the season.

Forman, a Northwestern product, entered professional baseball with Cleveland in 2013. Forman started as an amateur scouting intern and had worked his way to assistant general manager within four years. A former staffer at Baseball America, Forman received another promotion in January 2022 when the Guardians added the executive VP role to his title. That essentially places him third on Cleveland’s front office hierarchy behind baseball operations president Chris Antonetti and general manager Mike Chernoff. Sky Andrecheck, Eric Binder and James Harris also hold an AGM title with the Guards.

The Nationals fired former GM Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez in July. Mike DeBartolo has led the front office on an interim basis for the past two months and could also get consideration for the full-time position.

Giants Designate Brett Wisely For Assignment

By Anthony Franco | September 15, 2025 at 5:54pm CDT

The Giants officially announced the previously reported promotion of top first base prospect Bryce Eldridge. San Francisco optioned outfielder Luis Matos to clear a spot on the big league roster. They designated utility infielder Brett Wisely for assignment to open the necessary 40-man roster spot.

Eldridge, who is still a month away from his 21st birthday, steps right into the fire in a pennant race. He’s batting fifth and serving as the designated hitter against Zac Gallen (relayed by Justice delos Santos of The Mercury News). The Giants are keeping Rafael Devers at first base tonight. San Francisco is half a game ahead of the Diamondbacks and trails the Mets by a game and a half for the National League’s last Wild Card spot.

Wisely has been on San Francisco’s 40-man roster for the past three seasons. Farhan Zaidi was running baseball operations when the Giants acquired him from the Rays early in the 2022-23 offseason. Wisely would have qualified for the Rule 5 draft, but San Francisco selected his contract to ensure they retained his rights. The former 15th-round pick has been up and down between Oracle Park and Triple-A for the last three seasons.

The lefty-hitting Wisely hasn’t produced much against big league pitching. He owns a .217/.263/.324 line with seven home runs across 457 plate appearances. He hit very well in Triple-A between 2023-24, but his minor league numbers this year have also been underwhelming. Wisely carries a .253/.332/.387 line with seven longballs and 12 steals in 80 games at Triple-A Sacramento this season. He has only appeared in 22 MLB contests as a result, hitting .208 with one homer in 54 trips to the plate.

While this hasn’t been a good season, Wisely has some positive attributes that could get interest on the waiver wire. He grades as a solid defender at second base and has experience at every position aside from catcher. He’s never going to hit for much power, but he has shown solid on-base skills in the minors. He owns a .274/.371/.433 line in nearly 200 career Triple-A games across four seasons.

San Francisco will place Wisely on outright waivers within the next few days. He’s in his last minor league option year. Another team may put in a claim and stash him in Triple-A for the rest of the season. He’ll be out of options next year. If he sticks on a 40-man roster into Spring Training, he’d need to break camp and remain in the majors or again be designated for assignment.

Phillies Outright Matt Manning

By Anthony Franco | September 15, 2025 at 5:24pm CDT

The Phillies announced that Matt Manning has been outrighted to Double-A Reading. He cleared waivers after being designated for assignment on Saturday as the corresponding move for Walker Buehler’s promotion.

It’s the first career outright assignment for Manning, the ninth overall pick in 2016. The Tigers draftee was part of a touted contingent of pitching prospects that also included Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize. Manning hasn’t had anywhere near the same level of success as Mize, much less approached Skubal’s ace form. The lanky right-hander started 50 games for Detroit between 2021-24. He pitched to a 4.43 earned run average with a well below-average 16.4% strikeout rate across 254 innings.

Manning has not spent any time in the majors this season. Detroit optioned him fairly early in Spring Training. They’d used him mostly out of the bullpen in Triple-A, but that didn’t spur much success. He was carrying a 6.04 ERA over 31 appearances when the Tigers designated him for assignment at the trade deadline. They flipped him to Philly for a low minors outfielder (Josueth Quinonez). The Phils sent Manning back to Double-A, where he walked seven batters and allowed six runs in five innings over a pair of starts.

The 27-year-old Manning will finish the season in the Phils organization. He’ll become a minor league free agent at the end of the season unless Philadelphia adds him back to the 40-man roster within the next few weeks. He should be able to find a minor league contract somewhere over the winter.

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