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Cardinals Release Garrett Hampson

By Mark Polishuk | September 13, 2025 at 8:53am CDT

The Cardinals released Garrett Hampson, according to the utilityman’s MLB.com profile page.  Hampson was designated for assignment earlier this week, and while he had the option of declining an outright assignment in favor of free agency, it appears the Cards just streamlined by the process with a release as soon as Hampson cleared waivers.

It is possible Hampson could sign elsewhere before the 2025 season ends, should a team want some versatile depth in the minors or on a big league bench.  However, Hampson has rarely brought much with his bat during his eight Major League seasons, and his offense has sunk to a career-worst .143/.250/.169 over 91 plate appearances in 2025.

The nomadic nature of Hampton’s season didn’t help him get into any kind of groove at the dish.  Beginning the season on a minor league contract with the Diamondbacks, he was released for the first time this year in May after appearing in 18 MLB games for Arizona.  A stint in Cincinnati didn’t go any better, as the Reds designated Hampson for assignment after about a month, but St. Louis then claimed Hampson off waivers near the end of June.

The release officially ends Hampson’s Cards tenure at 35 games, and he has gotten into 62 contests as a whole this year spread over his three different teams.  This marks the least amount of action Hampson has received during a regulation-length MLB season since his 2018 rookie year, when he debuted with 24 games with the Rockies.  His ability to play all over the diamond should keep getting Hampson looks on minor league contracts, even if it may be hard for him to escape the proverbial “last man on the roster” status.

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St. Louis Cardinals Transactions Garrett Hampson

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Red Sox Place Brennan Bernardino On 15-Day Injured List

By Mark Polishuk | September 13, 2025 at 8:15am CDT

Prior to yesterday’s game, the Red Sox placed left-hander Brennan Bernardino on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to September 10) due to a left lat strain.  Southpaw Chris Murphy was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move, and Murphy tossed a scoreless inning in Friday’s 4-1 Sox loss to the Yankees.

Bernardino hasn’t pitched since September 6, but Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters (including MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith) that the injury only arose this past Wednesday in the final game of Boston’s series with the Athletics.  “Playing catch the last day in Sacramento, [he] felt something grab him below the shoulder, so he had an MRI yesterday,” Cora said.

The severity of the strain wasn’t specified, and it isn’t known if Bernardino will be able to make it back before the end of the regular season.  Given the backdated placement, the earliest the lefty could be activated is September 25, which would make him available for Boston’s final four games of the schedule.

The larger question, of course, is whether Bernardino’s status could be in question for a first-round playoff roster, should the Red Sox clinch at least a wild card berth.  While Bernardino hasn’t pitched many high-leverage innings this year, the Sox naturally want as many healthy arms as possible when deciding their optimal October roster.

Bernardino has a strong 3.14 ERA over 51 2/3 frames for the Sox in 2025, but a 4.50 SIERA indicates some red flags behind that excellent bottom-line result.  Between his .252 BABIP and his ability to induce soft contact, Bernardino’s ability to keep the ball on the ground (49.7% grounder rate) has again been his biggest strength.  However, Bernardino’s 19.2% strikeout rate is well below average, and his 11.6% walk rate is only in the sixth percentile of all pitchers.  The left-hander has battled control problems in the past, yet his strikeout rate has been steadily declining over his three full Major League seasons.

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Boston Red Sox Transactions Brennan Bernardino Chris Murphy

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Phillies Designate Matt Manning For Assignment

By Darragh McDonald | September 13, 2025 at 7:38am CDT

TODAY: Alvarado’s forearm strain will end his season, manager Rob Thomson told the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Scott Lauber and other media.  The injury is “mild” overall, Thomson said, and surgery isn’t a consideration.

SEPTEMBER 12: The Phillies announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Walker Buehler and placed left-hander Jose Alvarado on the 15-injured list, moves which were previously reported. Alvarado’s injury wasn’t specified in that earlier reporting but the Phils announced it as a left forearm strain, retroactive to September 11th. The severity is still unclear. To open a 40-man spot for Buehler, righty Matt Manning has been designated for assignment.

Manning, 27, has never thrown a pitch for the Phillies at the big league level. He was designated for assignment by the Tigers on the day of this summer’s trade deadline and quickly flipped to the Phils, with minor league outfielder Josueth Quinonez heading the other way. Manning didn’t pitch for a month after being acquired. It’s unclear if that was due to an injury or if his new team was having him work on some kind of mechanical adjustment.

He recently returned to the mound in the minors. He made two starts for Double-A Reading in the past two weeks, logging five innings combined with six earned runs allowed. He struck out eight and allowed just three hits but gave out seven walks, hit one batter and also threw two wild pitches.

Since he’s been bumped off the 40-man roster after the trade deadline, he’ll be on the waiver wire in the coming days. If he garners any interest, it would be based on his past pedigree. The Tigers took him with the ninth overall pick in the 2016 draft. He was ranked as one of the top prospects in the league for several years after that but hasn’t been able to deliver on that potential. From 2021 to 2024, he tossed 254 innings for Detroit with a 4.43 ERA. His 7.8% walk rate was good but he only struck out 16.4% of batters faced.

The Tigers kept him in the minors this year. He tossed 50 2/3 innings on the farm with a 6.04 ERA. He struck out 22.4% of opponents but also gave out walks at a 15.9% clip. The Phils tried to buy low on him but that doesn’t seem to have worked out.

Manning is in his final option year and will therefore be out of options starting next year. That will make it harder for him to keep a roster spot going forward. Given his past status as a top prospect, perhaps some club grabs him off the wire now. If some team does take a flier on him and manages to keep him on the roster, Manning can be controlled for four seasons after this one.

Photo courtesy of Mike Watters, Imagn Images

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Philadelphia Phillies Transactions Jose Alvarado Matt Manning Walker Buehler

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White Sox Release Dan Altavilla

By Darragh McDonald | September 13, 2025 at 7:13am CDT

TODAY: The Sox announced that Altavilla has cleared waivers and been released.

SEPTEMBER 10: The White Sox announced today that right-hander Sean Burke has been recalled from Triple-A Charlotte. In a corresponding move, fellow righty Dan Altavilla has been designated for assignment.

It’s a bit of a rude belated birthday present for Altavilla, who just turned 33 on Monday. He signed a minor league deal with the Sox in the offseason. He opted out of that deal, re-signed and then opted out again, but was eventually put on the major league roster at the end of May.

His numbers on the season look good until you check under the hood. He has thrown 29 innings with a 2.48 earned run average. However, his 17.5% strikeout rate and 12.5% walk rate are both subpar figures. His 51.3% ground ball rate is pretty good but he has largely benefitted from a .197 batting average on balls in play and 89.5% strand rate. His 5.45 FIP and 4.78 SIERA suggest that good luck has kept his ERA down about two to three runs relative to where it should be.

For the Sox, they have little reason to wait for regression to kick in. As mentioned, Altavilla is now 33 years old. He can technically be retained for 2026 via arbitration but the Sox weren’t planning on doing that. For a rebuilding club playing out the string on another losing season, it makes more sense to give innings to younger guys who are hopefully developing into future contributors. Since Altavilla is out of options, he’s been bumped off the 40-man entirely.

With the trade deadline having passed, he’ll have to be placed on waivers. He won’t have too much appeal, given his underlying numbers. He also won’t be postseason eligible for any claiming club, since it’s now beyond the September 1st deadline. Though it is possible some team which has recently suffered a number of injuries needs a healthy and available arm for the short term.

If Altavilla clears waivers, he will have the right to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency. There won’t be a lot of opportunities at this stage of the calendar, so perhaps he would decide to report to Triple-A Charlotte, or he could just go into offseason mode a few weeks early.

Photo courtesy of Patrick Gorski, Imagn Images

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Chicago White Sox Transactions Dan Altavilla Sean Burke

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MLBTR Podcast: Talking Mariners With Jerry Dipoto

By Darragh McDonald | September 12, 2025 at 10:27pm CDT

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 Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto to discuss…

  • Seattle’s lack of spending on free agent position players (2:30)
  • The unique challenges of getting players to want to come to Seattle (4:40)
  • The club’s interest in re-signing Josh Naylor (8:15)
  • Do optics matter when making a move such as bringing back Eugenio Suárez or Jorge Polanco? (9:20)
  • The club’s ability to add talent at the deadline (13:25)
  • Does the expanded playoff field make it harder to trade prospects for major league talent? (16:30)

Plus, Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors joins the show to discuss…

  • Anthony Rizzo retiring with the Cubs (20:40)
  • Sean Murphy undergoing hip surgery and how the Braves look going into the offseason (24:45)
  • The Lourdes Gurriel Jr. injury and the outlook for the Diamondbacks prior to the winter (31:35)

And we answer your questions, including…

  • What would it look like if the White Sox locked up their young core by giving extensions to Colson Montgomery, Kyle Teel, Edgar Quero and Shane Smith? (42:25)
  • Which version of Pete Crow-Armstrong will the Cubs get going forward, his red-hot first half or recent struggles? (51:40)

Check out our past episodes!

  • Aroldis Chapman, And Offseason Possibilities For The Braves, Rangers, Pirates And Marlins – listen here
  • A Conversation With Pirates GM Ben Cherington — Also The O’s, Zack Wheeler, And The Rangers – listen here
  • The Pohlads Aren’t Selling The Twins, Nathaniel Lowe, And Service Time Manipulation – listen here

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

Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images

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Arizona Diamondbacks Atlanta Braves Chicago Cubs Chicago White Sox MLB Trade Rumors Podcast Seattle Mariners Anthony Rizzo Jerry Dipoto Josh Naylor Lourdes Gurriel Jr. Sean Murphy

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Angels Designate Niko Kavadas For Assignment In Series Of Moves

By Tim Dierkes | September 12, 2025 at 9:03pm CDT

The Angels announced a series of moves prior to their game at T-Mobile Park this evening.  The club has designated infielder Niko Kavadas for assignment and transferred reliever Reid Detmers to the 60-day IL, allowing them to select the contracts of catcher Chad Wallach and reliever Connor Brogdon.  Additionally, veteran backstop Travis d’Arnaud is headed to the 7-day concussion IL, while southpaw reliever Andrew Chafin was placed on the 15-day IL retroactive to yesterday for triceps inflammation.

Kavadas, 27 next month, was drafted by the Red Sox in the 11th round out of Notre Dame back in 2021.  He was draft-eligible in 2020, but that one only went five rounds.  As Alex Speier of the Boston Globe put it when Kavadas signed with Boston the following year, “The Red Sox considered his power potential too great to ignore.”

Prior to the 2023 season, Kavadas cracked Baseball America’s top 30 prospects for the Red Sox, with a 45/high risk grade.  He was described as “unabashed about his desire to hit a homer every time he bats,” but BA noted he didn’t have much of a hit tool or a defensive home.  He reached Triple-A that year and conquered it in ’24 with 17 home runs and a 153 wRC+ in 335 plate appearances prior to being traded, but he also whiffed a third of a time.

At least year’s trade deadline, Kavadas was part of a four-player package of minor leaguers sent to the Halos by Boston for veteran reliever Luis Garcia.  The Angels selected Kavadas’ contract a few weeks later, giving the righty slugger some run as a DH/first baseman against right-handed pitching.

Kavadas wasn’t able to do much with his limited opportunity in late ’24, and failed to make the Angels out of Spring Training.  This year, he had a brief May call-up that lasted all of one pinch-hit plate appearance.  He got another brief bump to the bigs in early August and didn’t get any playing time at all.  Kavadas made it up once again on August 12th, failing to get into a game until the 20th.  He only managed seven starts before the Angels demoted him again on September 4th.

Now, the Angels have seven days to trade Kavadas or place him on outright or unconditional release waivers. Though the trade path isn’t currently an option since the deadline has passed. He spent most of this year in Triple-A, slumping to a 101 wRC+ with a strikeout rate near 31%.

Detmers, who has been throwing 96 out of the bullpen this year with a 30.1% strikeout rate, hit the 15-day IL yesterday with elbow inflammation.  He was out for the season regardless, according to the Orange County Register’s Jeff Fletcher, who notes that the Angels “still don’t have any news to report on the results of Detmers’ MRI.” Yesterday, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com wrote that the Angels “remain optimistic it isn’t a major injury.”  Detmers’ comments indicated the same.

Detmers will receive a raise on this year’s $1.825MM salary for 2026 due to his second trip through the arbitration process.  He’s under team control through 2028.

Angels catcher Logan O’Hoppe hit the 7-day IL as a victim of a Jacob Wilson backswing earlier this week, and now d’Arnaud joins him after being struck by a Julio Rodriguez swing yesterday.  Those two swings have moved Sebastian Rivero and now Wallach into the Angels’ Major League catching slots.  O’Hoppe should be back Tuesday, according to Fletcher.

Wallach was a fifth round pick by the Marlins out of Cal State Fullerton back in 2013.  He hasn’t quite matched his dad Tim’s career, as the longtime Expo and Dodger smacked 260 home runs , made five All-Star teams, and snagged three Gold Gloves at the hot corner.

Remember when the Marlins were doing things like giving Giancarlo Stanton a record extension, locking up Christian Yelich, and adding Dee Gordon via trade?  In that same active winter, they shipped Wallach to the Reds along with Anthony DeSclafani for Mat Latos.  Latos was only 27 at the time, and most observers were unaware he was nearing the end of his career as a useful Major Leaguer.  Wallach was still a 45 grade/high risk catching prospect at the time of the trade.

Wallach failed to establish himself with the Reds, allowing Marlins GM Michael Hill to simply swipe him back off waivers three years later.  Wallach caught 72 games for the 2018-21 Marlins before being claimed off waivers by the Dodgers.  He never appeared with the club, as the Angels grabbed him a week later.  Wallach played in a career-high 65 games in 2023 as a 31-year-old.  He joined the Rangers on a minor league deal in January this year but found his way back home to the Angels organization in June.  If the 33-year-old gets into a game for the Angels, it’ll be his first time in the Show in nearly two years.

With the veteran lefty Chafin out with triceps inflammation, Brogdon joins the Angels’ bullpen.  The 30-year-old righty signed a minor league deal with the Angels in January, saw his contract selected in May, elected free agency after rejecting an outright assignment in August, re-signed with the club, and now has returned to the 40-man and active rosters.

Brodgon is hardly the best big league pitcher to ever come out of Idaho’s Lewis-Clark State College – that honor clearly goes to Keith Foulke – but he put himself in the top ten with some credible work out of the Phillies’ bullpen a few years ago.  Though Brogdon has struggled in his 37 1/3 scattered relief innings for the Angels this year, he did at least restore two miles per hour on his fastball to reach 95.5 miles per hour.  That’s still a bit shy of his Phillies’ heyday, but it’s a start.

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Los Angeles Angels Transactions Andrew Chafin Chad Wallach Connor Brogdon Niko Kavadas Reid Detmers Travis D'Arnaud

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Fantasy Baseball: Streaming for Championships (Bullpen)

By Nicklaus Gaut | September 12, 2025 at 8:55pm CDT

Hello, friends.

Hopefully, September continues to treat you well as we keep cruising in our fantasy stretch run. We're looking to help you out with all of your streaming needs for a championship run, as categorical specificity may start driving your decisions even more. Translation? You gotta do what you gotta do to squeak out any extra points you can in different categories.

With that in mind, we're going to continue looking at late-season options if you're hunting specific gains. Last week, we went over some hitting options, so naturally, it's time for some arm loving, starting with everyone's favorite fantasy Rubik's Cube to crack -- the bullpen!

First, a couple of notes. We're going to look at players who are currently rostered <40% on Yahoo and will look heavily at numbers from the last 30 days, noting numbers, as well as usage. We'll look more specifically at saves, strikeouts, and holds, but for there is plenty of information included for those mostly looking to amp up their ratios.

Okay, no more preamble. Let's...bullpen!

Saves

We won't bother burying the lede -- there are only a few weeks left, and scrounging a handful of Saves might be the difference in whether you end 2025 as a champion or just a second-place jobber without a belt. The landscape for finding Saves on the wire is as bleak as you might expect around this time of year, but when you need 'em, you need 'em. So pinch your noses, everyone, it's time to seduce the foulest fantasy mistress of them all...

*insert dramatic "dun-dun du-uuuun"*

September Saves!

Shawn Armstrong, TEX (Yahoo: 21%)

Phil Maton might have gotten Texas's last opportunity, but it's Armstrong who has five saves in the last 30 days (two in the last five games). He seems to still be the lead dog among their strong trio of options, along with Robert Garcia and Maton, even if the latter got a chance after Armstrong had picked up the previous two.

However, I would still exercise caution, as danger lurks below his peripheries. As in, a regressional reckoning might still be on his September horizon.

Armstrong's numbers over the last month have been pristine, posting a 1.42 ERA and 0.71 WHIP, but a .152 BABIP and 93% LOB% don't tend to be sustainable over long stretches. Add that to a strikeout rate that has ticked down to a 20% K%, after running a 26% K% previously, and you're left feeling less comfortable.

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Front Office Fantasy Front Office Originals

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Dipoto: Mariners Interested In Re-Signing Josh Naylor

By Anthony Franco | September 12, 2025 at 7:45pm CDT

The Mariners are riding a six-game win streak that has pulled them into a tie with Houston for the top spot in the AL West. Josh Naylor has eight hits, including a trio of home runs, over that stretch. He’s batting .260/.306/.460 with eight home runs in 41 games since being acquired from Arizona at the deadline. He’s also incredibly 16-16 in stolen base attempts, ranking third in MLB behind Juan Soto and Jazz Chisholm Jr. in steals since he was traded. Unsurprisingly, the Mariners would like to keep the impending free agent in the Pacific Northwest.

“Yeah I think we would (like to retain him),” M’s president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto told MLBTR’s Darragh McDonald on this week’s edition of the podcast. “That remains to be seen how Josh feels about the matter. It’s never easy when you’re in a playoff race to open discussions like that. I know that there is interest on our end, and I believe that there is interest on Josh’s end.”

Naylor hasn’t suffered from Seattle’s home park, which grades as MLB’s most difficult for hitters. He’s batting .338 with five home runs in 19 games at T-Mobile Park since the trade. That’s an extremely small sample, but Naylor also had success against Seattle pitching as a visiting player. He’s a career .283/.319/.535 hitter over 140 plate appearances at T-Mobile Park.

“He’s actually as good as anybody that’s played in the last handful of years at hitting in this ballpark. It doesn’t seem to bother him much. We’ll see if there’s an interest in sticking around as a Mariner,” Dipoto noted. Naylor echoed those sentiments when speaking with the M’s beat earlier this week (link via Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times).

“Every time I was an opponent, this is like the first place I couldn’t wait to come to,” the lefty hitter said. “I feel comfortable everywhere, to be honest, but I just really enjoyed playing here coming here as an opponent. I thought it was a super cool stadium. The fans were always electric. I think you see the ball well here, personally. I like the open roof. When the roof is closed, it’s cool. But I love the feeling of the roof open.”

The Mariners are going to look beyond 36 games of park-specific data when deciding how seriously to pursue a long-term deal with Naylor. His success there provides some comfort on both sides, though. The Mariners haven’t been big spenders on free agent hitters throughout Dipoto’s decade-long tenure atop baseball operations. As shown on MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, Mitch Garver is the only free agent position player to sign for multiple guaranteed seasons in that time. Beyond Garver’s $24MM guarantee, last offseason’s one-year, $7.75MM agreement to bring back Jorge Polanco is their second largest deal for a free agent hitter.

Naylor is headed into his age-29 season. He won’t be attached to draft pick compensation because the midseason trade rendered him ineligible to receive a qualifying offer. He should easily surpass the Garver contract and has a chance to secure a four-year deal despite teams’ general reluctance to sign first basemen to long-term contracts. Naylor carries a .271/.333/.462 slash in more than 2000 plate appearances over the past four seasons. His plus contact skills give him a solid offensive floor and he’s a reasonable bet for 20+ home runs annually. His glove rates around league average, and while he’s one of the sport’s slowest players, this year’s stolen base proficiency demonstrates better baserunning instincts than one would expect based on his physique.

Dipoto spoke generally (not regarding Naylor individually) about the organization’s lack of free agent activity on the offensive side. “I don’t necessarily think it’s a personal plan and certainly not something we discuss here internally. … We just haven’t been able to attract the right player that we feel great about investing more than 2/24 in. We’ve tried and we’ve come up short on a number of occasions in trying to recruit those free agents,” he told MLBTR. “We’re also entering a stage in our development where we’re pretty confident in our system and the ability to start churning position players in a way that we were churning out starting pitchers a handful of years ago.”

Seattle’s farm system indeed has a forthcoming influx of young talent. The M’s already graduated rookie second baseman Cole Young, who showed flashes early before hitting a second half slump. They have five additional position players on Baseball America’s most recent Top 100 prospects. None of those players are first basemen, though, and the M’s dealt Tyler Locklear to the Diamondbacks in the separate deadline trade for Eugenio Suárez. Turning the position back over to Luke Raley, who has battled injuries amid a down year, isn’t ideal.

The M’s pushed their payroll to roughly $166MM with this summer’s additions, as calculated by RosterResource. They have around $77MM committed to next season. An arbitration class featuring Randy Arozarena, Logan Gilbert, George Kirby and Bryce Miller will cost roughly $35-40MM. Seattle also has a $6MM option on Andrés Muñoz which they’ll certainly exercise. Polanco will be able to return on a contract option that could reach $8MM, though he’s likely to decline that after one of the best offensive showings of his career.

Seattle isn’t likely to be huge players in free agency, but there appears to be room for an offseason built around re-signing Naylor and making a few supplementary additions. It’s also possible they shop Luis Castillo, who’ll make $22.75MM annually for two more seasons. Castillo, who was the subject of some trade chatter last winter, has generally been a reliable mid-rotation presence but has struggled in the second half.

Naylor’s impending free agency was one of myriad topics that MLBTR and Dipoto discussed this week. Seattle’s baseball ops president also spoke with Darragh about the volume of trades for which he’s gained the “Trader Jerry” nickname, reuniting with Suárez after trading him away two seasons ago, re-signing Polanco despite his injury-plagued first season with the club, and the increasing difficulty of trading prospects for major league talent with fewer teams embarking on five-plus year rebuilds than there were a few seasons ago.

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MLBTR Originals Newsstand Seattle Mariners Josh Naylor

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Twins Outright Brooks Kriske

By Darragh McDonald | September 12, 2025 at 6:50pm CDT

Right-hander Brooks Kriske has been sent outright to Triple-A St. Paul, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment earlier this week. Since he has a previous career outright, he has the right to elect free agency, though the log doesn’t indicate he will exercise that right.

Kriske, 31, was claimed off waivers from the Cubs in early August. The Twins had just traded away Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, Louis Varland, Brock Stewart and Danny Coulombe at the deadline and needed some extra arms.

Between that claim and being designated for assignment, Kriske threw 12 innings for the Twins, allowing 15 earned runs. He has a 7.50 earned run average on the year, between his time with the Cubs and Twins. That makes it fairly unsurprising that no one claimed him this time.

Though he made his major league debut back in 2020, his big league track record is still fairly small, with a 9.53 ERA in 39 2/3 innings. He had some decent results in Japan in 2022 and 2023, tossing 35 innings with a 2.31 ERA. He has also generally had decent results in Triple-A, with a 3.81 ERA, 36.3% strikeout rate and 12.1% walk rate in 148 2/3 innings dating back to 2021.

If he accepts the assignment, he can make a few more Triple-A appearances before the winter and then could elect free agency at season’s end. Though he could also exercise his right to elect free agency now and start the offseason early if he so chooses.

Photo courtesy of John E. Sokolowski, Imagn Images

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Minnesota Twins Transactions Brooks Kriske

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Mariners Designate José Castillo For Assignment

By Darragh McDonald | September 12, 2025 at 5:55pm CDT

The Mariners announced today that they have recalled right-hander Casey Legumina from Triple-A Tacoma. In a corresponding move, left-hander José Castillo has been designated for assignment. The club’s 40-man roster count drops to 39.

Castillo, 29, was just claimed off waivers from the Mets earlier this month. Since that claim, he has given the Mariners three scoreless innings. This move is likely more a result of circumstances than his performance. The Mariners are seven games into a stretch of ten in a row. The bullpen has been leaned on heavily in recent days. Five different relievers pitched on Tuesday. Then on Wednesday, six relievers were used in a game which went to 13 innings. Three of those six pitchers tossed more than an inning. Last night, the club had another long one, using six relievers in a 12-inning game.

Every reliever in the bullpen pitched at least twice in that three-day span except for Emerson Hancock, who logged two innings on Wednesday. Castillo himself pitched in each of the last two games and has seemingly been nudged out to get a fresh arm into the bullpen.

It’s been that kind of year for Castillo, who has generally pitched well. But since he’s out of options, he has been forced into DFA limbo numerous times. He started the year with the Diamondbacks on a minor league deal. He was added to the big league roster at the start of May. Less than two weeks later, he was designated for assignment and traded to the Mets. The latter club designated him for assignment three times. The first two resulted in him clearing waivers and later getting added back to the roster, but the M’s claimed him on the third.

He’s now back in DFA limbo yet again. Since the trade deadline has passed, he’ll be back on waivers in the coming days. Around all the transactions, he has tossed 24 2/3 innings with a 4.38 earned run average, 19.5% strikeout rate, 9.3% walk rate and 55.7% ground ball rate. He has also thrown 16 Triple-A innings this year with a 1.69 ERA, 35.9% strikeout rate, 9.4% walk rate and 50% grounder rate.

At this time of year, he wouldn’t be postseason eligible with any claiming club, though perhaps some team is in need of a fresh arm for the stretch run. As mentioned, Castillo just appeared in the past two games but will have a chance to rest for a few days while on waivers. He could also be retained for next year via arbitration if he’s on a roster somewhere at the end of the season.

Photo courtesy of Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images

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Seattle Mariners Transactions Casey Legumina Jose Castillo

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