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Royals To Activate Cole Ragans On Wednesday

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

Diamondbacks Designate Anthony DeSclafani For Assignment

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The Diamondbacks announced that veteran righty Anthony DeSclafani has been designated for assignment. His spot in the bullpen goes to hard-throwing righty Juan Morillo, who has been recalled from Triple-A Reno. Arizona’s 40-man roster count drops to 39.

DeSclafani was pitching in Triple-A with the Yankees when Arizona signed him to a big league contract in the middle of June. He initially worked out of long relief and was promoted to the rotation when the Snakes traded Merrill Kelly at the deadline. That lasted only three starts, as DeSclafani suffered a thumb injury in the middle of August and was sent to the injured list. He missed a month and has been pushed back to the bullpen since returning. Nabil Crismatt has stepped into the fifth starter job.

The 35-year-old DeSclafani has pitched twice since coming back from injury. He has given up five home runs (six runs overall) in 5 2/3 frames over those two outings. He carries a 5.12 ERA across 38 2/3 innings on the season overall. While his strikeout and walk numbers are serviceable, the recent home run barrage led the Snakes to make a change. DeSclafani will very likely be released this week.

Morillo also represents a fresher arm for Torey Lovullo’s bullpen. He hasn’t pitched since Thursday. DeSclafani tossed 2 2/3 frames and threw 59 pitches yesterday. He would not have been available for at least the first two games of what is probably a must-win series if Arizona is to snag a surprise playoff berth. The D-Backs host the Giants for a three-game set. They’re half a game behind San Francisco and two games back of the reeling Mets for the National League’s last Wild Card spot.

Blue Jays Designate Ryan Borucki For Assignment

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4:43pm: Manager John Schneider says Borucki informed the Jays he hopes to stay in the organization for the rest of the season (relayed by Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet). There’s a good chance he clears waivers as an impending free agent, and it seems he intends to accept an outright assignment and report to Triple-A Buffalo if that proves to be the case.

3:33pm: The Blue Jays announced Monday that left-handed reliever Ryan Borucki has been designated for assignment. His spot on the roster will go to top prospect Trey Yesavage, whose previously reported promotion is now official.

Yesavage will make his major league debut tonight in Tampa Bay. He’ll start opposite hard-throwing Rays righty Joe Boyle. Yesavage, last year’s first-round pick out of East Carolina, made a quick ascent through the minors. He didn’t pitch at all in his draft year and began this season in Low-A. He pitched his way through each full season minor league level and now gets a couple weeks to make a case for inclusion on Toronto’s playoff rosters.

That decision probably ends Borucki’s second stint with the Blue Jays. Toronto signed him to a minor league contract late last month after he was released by the Pirates. The Jays selected his contract a little over a week later. Borucki managed 4 1/3 scoreless frames across four appearances, though he walked four of the 19 hitters he faced. The southpaw tossed 30 2/3 innings for the Bucs earlier in the season, working to a 5.28 earned run average. He had middling strikeout and walk numbers but got ground-balls at a 55% clip.

The Jays are familiar with Borucki, whom they drafted out of high school more than a decade ago. That came under a previous front office, but he spent his first four and a half MLB seasons with Toronto under the current regime. They evidently weren’t planning to carry him as a situational grounder specialist in the postseason. They’ll place him back on waivers within the next few days, and he could get a head start on the offseason by electing free agency if he goes unclaimed. Borucki would be a free agent this offseason either way, and he would not be playoff eligible if another team were to claim him.

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