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Twins Designate Jose Urena For Assignment

By Mark Polishuk | August 23, 2025 at 10:51am CDT

10:51AM: Urena’s DFA and Abel’s call-up were both officially announced by the Twins.

7:09AM: The Twins designated right-hander Jose Urena for assignment yesterday, according to The Athletic’s Dan Hayes. Right-hander Mick Abel will be called up today in the corresponding move, and Abel will get the start in today’s game against the White Sox.

Urena was Thursday’s starter, and he was tagged for six earned runs over five innings in the Twins’ 8-3 loss to the Athletics. This boosted Urena’s ERA to 4.58 over 17 2/3 innings since Minnesota selected his contract on August 1, as one of many roster moves the Twins made the day after their major selloff at the trade deadline. Urena started three of his four appearances in a Twins uniform, and took a 2.13 ERA into Friday’s action, though neither his 12.8% strikeout rate or his 10.3% walk rate were anything impressive.

It was almost exactly two months ago that Urena signed a minor league contract with Minnesota, continuing a nomadic season that has seen the veteran log big league innings for four different teams. Urena has a 5.00 ERA over 36 combined innings with the Mets, Dodgers, Blue Jays, and Twins, with a 12.5% strikeout rate and 8.1BB%.

In all three of his previous stops, Urena was designated for assignment, outrighted off the 40-man roster, and he then elected free agency rather than accept that outright assignment to Triple-A. With more than eight full years of MLB service time, Urena has more than enough experience to allow him to turn down outright assignments in favor of return trips to the open market.

It seems probable that he’ll elect free agency again here in the likely event that he clears waivers, though Urena might prefer some stability after bouncing around the league in 2025, and his options are more limited given the lack of time remaining in the regular season. Another team in search of innings could also potentially just claim Urena off the waiver wire and insert him into their bullpen as a swingman, or into the rotation.

Abel made his Major League debut earlier this season in the form of six starts and 25 innings with the Phillies, posting a 5.04 ERA in his first taste of action against big league hitters. In perhaps the largest of Minnesota’s many deadline moves, Abel and Eduardo Tait were acquired from Philadelphia in exchange for Jhoan Duran, as the Twins opted to part ways with the closer in exchange for a top catching prospect in Tait and a big league-ready starter in Abel who is himself a former top-100 prospect.

Now in line to make his official Twins debut today, Abel has already shone in the minors, with a 1.76 ERA over three starts and 15 1/3 innings for Triple-A St. Paul. Minnesota president of baseball operations Derek Falvey told Hayes and other reporters earlier this month that the Twins wanted to deploy both Abel and fellow deadline pickup Taj Bradley at Triple-A to begin their tenure with the team, since “sometimes you need to get your legs under you in a new organization before you take that next step.” Bradley also figures to be called up relatively soon, with Hayes speculating that Bradley might also be promoted to start Sunday’s game in Chicago.

AL Central Notes: Tigers, Ragans, Lee

By Mark Polishuk | August 23, 2025 at 10:33am CDT

Some of baseball’s top prospects have made their MLB debuts within the last week, but don’t expect any of the Tigers’ top minor leaguers to be appearing in 2025. In an interview with MLB Network this past week (hat tip to Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press), Tigers GM Jon Greenberg said a call-up of shortstop prospect Kevin McGonigle is likely not “on the radar right now,” and Greenberg also downplayed the possibility of Max Clark or Josue Briceno arriving in the majors.

“They’ve only been in Double-A for a month. It’s been fewer than 30 games,” the GM said. “Really excited with what Kevin has done, really excited with what Max has done, and some of the other guys in our system. But right now, the focus is on their development and getting the reps to continue to take those steps forward.”

MLB Pipeline and Baseball America each rank McGonigle as the second-best prospect in baseball, Clark ninth, and Briceno also in a prominent top-100 spot (Pipeline has him 32nd, BA 54th). As Greenberg noted, none of the group has much experience even at the Double-A level, though McGonigle and Clark have both been on fire at the plate since their call-up. While it seems like a further promotion to Triple-A could be possible before the 2025 season is through, any of these top prospects would very likely have to further excel in Toledo, and then the Tigers would have to feel confident enough to install any of these rookies right into the extra pressure of a postseason push. There isn’t much urgency for Detroit to make such an aggressive prospect promotion, as the Tigers have a 10.5-game division lead and look to be cruising towards the AL Central crown.

Astros Outright Tayler Scott

By Darragh McDonald | August 23, 2025 at 9:35am CDT

TODAY: Scott has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A, according to Scott’s MLB.com profile page. There isn’t yet any indication if Scott will accept the assignment, or elect free agency.

AUGUST 19: The Astros have designated right-hander Tayler Scott for assignment, per Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle. Righty Logan VanWey has been recalled as the corresponding move. Houston’s 40-man roster count drops to 39.

Scott was only just selected to Houston’s roster yesterday and has now been quickly bumped off. That’s a reflection of the club getting trounced two games in a row. On Sunday, they lost 12-0 to the Orioles. Yesterday, it was a 10-0 defeat at the hand of the Tigers.

They used six pitchers in Sunday’s game, not including outfielder Chas McCormick coming in for some mop-up duty. Scott was added prior to last night’s game, to give them a fresh arm. Starter Spencer Arrighetti allowed five runs in five innings last night, putting the Astros in a hole. They put in Scott at that point but he couldn’t stop the bleeding. He allowed five more runs to score, recording five outs in the process.

He threw 42 pitches and likely wasn’t going to be available for a day or two, so the Astros have bumped him off the roster. Since he’s out of options, he had to be removed from the 40-man and sent into DFA limbo.

With the trade deadline having passed, Scott will be placed on waivers. He has cleared waivers a couple of times already this year, so it’s fair to expect that he will do so again. He was able to post a 2.23 earned run average last year but that has ballooned to 7.90 here in 2025. The other times he cleared waivers, he elected free agency and signed minor league deals, one with the Diamondbacks and one with the Astros. It wouldn’t be a shock to see him back with the Astros on a fresh minor league deal a few days from now.

Photo courtesy of Thomas Shea, Imagn Images

Mariners Sign Luke Jackson To Minors Contract

By Mark Polishuk | August 23, 2025 at 8:29am CDT

The Mariners signed Luke Jackson to a minor league deal on Thursday, as per the right-hander’s MLB.com profile page. Jackson (who turns 34 tomorrow) made his debut with Triple-A Tacoma last night, allowing two runs in an inning of relief work.

The Rangers signed Jackson to a one-year, $1.5MM free agent deal back in February, plus he added another $450K to his salary by reaching innings-based incentives thresholds. Jackson was designated for assignment and then released in late July, then quickly joined the Tigers on another guaranteed deal. This tenure in Motown lasted just three appearances and 4 1/3 innings before Jackson was DFA’ed again, and he elected to become a free agent rather than accept an outright assignment to the Tigers’ Triple-A affiliate.

Should the Mariners call Jackson up to the active roster, Seattle will owe him just a prorated minimum salary, which will be subtracted from what remains of his original salary. With Texas still responsible for the bulk of Jackson’s owed money, there’s no risk for the M’s in adding a veteran depth arm to the ranks.

As one might expect from the three-team tour, it hasn’t been a terribly productive year for Jackson on the mound. Jackson has a 4.54 ERA over 39 2/3 combined innings with Texas and Detroit, with almost as many walks (24) as strikeouts (28). The lack of results have come despite Jackson’s usual success at keeping the ball on the ground, as he has a 52.5% grounder rate and a favorable .267 BABIP.

It has now been more two years since Jackson’ last productive MLB season, as he also had a 5.09 ERA across 53 innings with the Giants and Braves in 2024. While walks have always been an issue for Jackson, he posted very strong numbers in both the 2021 and 2023 seasons, with the 2022 campaign a writeoff due to a Tommy John surgery. If he can recapture any of his old form, Jackson could bring some postseason experience to a Mariners team that has hopes of making some noise in October.

Orioles Extend Samuel Basallo

By Nick Deeds | August 22, 2025 at 10:56pm CDT

The Orioles locked up a key piece of their future on Friday afternoon, signing rookie catcher Samuel Basallo to an eight-year extension. The deal, which covers the 2026-33 seasons and comes with a 2034 club option, reportedly guarantees the CAA Baseball client $67MM. Basallo, who celebrated his 21st birthday just nine days ago, receives a $5MM signing bonus and can max out the contract at $88.5MM via various escalators. Baltimore buys out at least two would-be free agent seasons with the option for a third.

The salary breaks down as follows:

$1MM annually between 2026-28
$4MM in 2029
$7MM in 2030
$11MM in 2031
$15MM annually between 2032-33
$18MM club option ($7MM buyout) for 2034

It’s a testament to Basallo’s status as one of the most impressive prospects in the entire league. He was a consensus top-15 prospect in the sport entering the 2025 season and has only improved his stock since then after slashing .270/.377/.589 (151 wRC+) in 76 games for Triple-A Norfolk this season with 23 homers and a 13.7% walk rate. He did all that while being the youngest qualified hitter in the International League this year. That sort of sensational production left nothing for Basallo to prove at Triple-A in terms of his bat, and while his time in the majors has barely begun he’s already gotten off to a hot start by going 3-for-10 with a double, a run scored, five RBI, a hit-by-pitch and just one strikeout across his first 11 plate appearances in the majors.

With that said, questions have been raised about his defensive ability behind the plate by outside prospect evaluation services. Even GM Mike Elias himself acknowledged that he felt Basallo’s skills behind the plate needed more work before he came to the majors back in June, though the fact that he’s not only been called up since then but has now inked a massive extension certainly suggests that Elias and the rest of the Orioles’ brass have liked what they’ve seen. Just yesterday, Adley Rutschman was placed on the injured list due to an oblique strain which figures to have the secondary effect of opening up plenty of playing time for Basallo behind the plate down the stretch. That should give the Orioles plenty of opportunity to see how he handles the rigors of the position at the big league level and make an informed decision about how he’ll be used in 2026.

Whether Basallo winds up behind the plate or at first base, however, the deal is a reasonable enough sum that the Orioles can feel comfortable with the investment. Basallo’s $67MM guarantee is seventh-highest figure among 12 hitters who have extended with their clubs after making their big league debut but prior to reaching one year of MLB service time, according to MLBTR’s Contract Tracker. Two such players have signed extensions this year: #1 overall prospect Roman Anthony, who had 38 days of MLB service time when the Red Sox locked him up on a $130MM guarantee over eight seasons, and Anthony’s teammate Kristian Campbell, who had just six days of MLB service time when he landed an eight-year, $60MM extension that guaranteed him $59.2MM over seven years in new money.

Basallo, who is also signing an extension less than a week after his major league debut, wound up receiving a contract that narrowly beats out Campbell’s in terms of total guarantee. Of course, it can be somewhat fairly argued that both Basallo and Campbell fit better with the group of six players who have signed pre-debut extensions in the past decade given how shortly after their MLB debuts both players signed an extension. After all, players like Julio Rodriguez and Ronald Acuna Jr. signed nine-figure deals during their rookie seasons, but only did so after they had already accumulated more than 100 days of MLB service time and put up performances that would go on to win them their league’s Rookie of the Year award. If compared to the pre-debut group, only Jackson Chourio’s $82MM guarantee from the Brewers prior to the 2024 season was higher, as Basallo eclipses both Campbell’s aforementioned deal and the $50MM pact Luis Robert Jr. landed with the White Sox.

Because Basallo’s extension came after his MLB debut, he’s eligible to earn a draft pick for the organization via the Prospect Promotion Incentive. Because Basallo debuted too late in the 2025 season to exhaust his rookie eligibility, if he earns a full year of service time in 2026 the Orioles could stand to gain a PPI pick in the event that he wins the 2026 AL Rookie of the Year award or is a finalist for the AL MVP award in the years before he would become arbitration-eligible. Players who sign pre-debut extensions like Chourio are not eligible for the PPI, but that’s not the case for players who sign extensions following their MLB debut. Bobby Witt Jr. and Corbin Carroll have both netted their teams PPI draft picks even after signing extensions, for example. It’s at least plausible that those rules regarding PPI picks contributed to Baltimore’s decision to wait until after Basallo’s big league debut to finalize their extension with the youngster.

While Basallo’s guarantee is hardly onerous even for a low-spending club like the Orioles, the deal is surely both exciting and encouraging for fans in Baltimore. Previous star prospects produced by the farm system like Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson have developed into star players ticketed for large paydays without signing an extension, and the lack of extensions for that first wave of youngsters has led to pessimism in some circles about the possibility of extending up-and-coming prospects from the next wave like Jackson Holliday and Coby Mayo. Considering that Basallo’s deal is the first long-term extension for an Orioles player since they locked up Adam Jones all the way back in 2012, it serves as much-needed assurance for fans that the organization is willing to commit to its homegrown talent long-term.

Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Banner first reported that the Orioles and Basallo were nearing an eight-year, $67MM deal with a club option and a max value of $88.5MM. Noah Trister of The Associated Press reported the specific salary structure.

Marlins’ Jesus Tinoco To Undergo Flexor Surgery

By Anthony Franco | August 22, 2025 at 10:26pm CDT

Marlins reliever Jesús Tinoco will undergo flexor surgery next month, reports Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase. It’ll cost him most or all of the 2026 season. Tinoco is already on Miami’s 60-day injured list and will remain there until the beginning of the offseason.

The Fish claimed Tinoco off waivers from the Cubs last July. The journeyman righty impressed down the stretch, turning in 26 2/3 innings of 2.03 ERA ball behind a 30.6% strikeout rate. It was the best two-month stretch of his career and secured his spot on the roster last offseason.

Tinoco opened the season on the shelf with a minor back injury. He returned in mid-April and struggled over the next six weeks. His velocity was down nearly two ticks relative to the end of last season, and he allowed more than five earned runs per nine with a massively reduced 12.5% strikeout rate. A forearm strain sent him back to the IL in early June. He evidently had a setback in recent weeks and will be unable to avoid surgery.

The 30-year-old will collect the $760K minimum salary for the season. He surpassed the two-year service threshold, but that’s not of huge significance as he faces the extended rehab process. Miami will almost certainly run him through outright waivers at year’s end rather than putting him back on the 40-man roster. The injured list goes away over the offseason, and Tinoco would’ve been a fringe roster player even if healthy. He’ll become a minor league free agent and could look for a two-year minor league contract. He owns a 3.98 ERA in 100 career big league appearances.

A’s Activate Jacob Wilson From Injured List

By Anthony Franco | August 22, 2025 at 8:24pm CDT

Jacob Wilson returns to action nearly a month after suffering a forearm fracture. The A’s activated the rookie shortstop from the 10-day injured list. He’s hitting fifth against Seattle starter Bryan Woo. The A’s optioned Max Schuemann to Triple-A Las Vegas in a corresponding move. They also made a couple changes on the pitching staff. Eduarniel Núñez and Joey Estes are up from Triple-A as Ben Bowden (lat strain) and Jack Perkins (shoulder strain) land on the 15-day injured list.

Wilson’s return is the most significant of those moves. The 2023 sixth overall pick had an outstanding first half. He’s hitting .312/.354/.439 with 10 longballs and 17 doubles. Wilson had struggled a bit in July but hit .323 or better in each of the season’s first three months. His return won’t mean much in the standings with the A’s sitting 11 games below .500, but they’re obviously a much better team when he’s in the lineup.

At the time of his injury, Wilson was the frontrunner for American League Rookie of the Year. Teammate Nick Kurtz has mashed his way to that spot and probably has the award all but secure at this point. Wilson still easily leads MLB rookies with 115 hits. He has a shot to finish in second for the award, though Boston’s Roman Anthony and the Yankees’ Will Warren are among those who also have reasonable arguments for that spot.

Anthony would earn a full year of service if he manages a top two finish. While he already signed a long-term extension with the Red Sox, that’d be important for his earning power considering his deal has significant escalators dependent on his Rookie of the Year placement. The ROY finish is less meaningful for Wilson. He has been on the MLB roster since Opening Day and will get a full service year either way. He cannot earn the A’s an extra draft choice by winning the award, however, because he entered this year with more than 60 days of service. Wilson spent five weeks on the MLB injured list late last season with a hamstring strain, which is why he had that much service time while remaining Rookie of the Year eligible.

Darell Hernaiz was called up when Wilson went on the shelf. The 24-year-old has turned in a solid .261/.337/.420 slash in 20 games. That’s enough to hold his roster spot. Hernaiz had played shortstop while Wilson was down but moves to second base tonight. He’ll probably get everyday run there, kicking impending free agent Luis Urías to the bench.

Angels Activate Robert Stephenson

By Anthony Franco | August 22, 2025 at 6:33pm CDT

The Angels announced they’ve reinstated reliever Robert Stephenson from the 60-day injured list. They optioned righty Chase Silseth in a corresponding move. Los Angeles already had a couple openings on the 40-man roster after recently designating Connor Brogdon and Shaun Anderson for assignment.

Stephenson returns after losing almost three months to a biceps injury. He’d missed all of last season rehabbing elbow surgery. That carried over into late May this year. Stephenson has spent a total of three days on the Angels’ active roster. He tossed a perfect inning with two strikeouts in his team debut on May 28. Two days later, the biceps injury knocked him out of action before he finished an at-bat.

The Halos signed Stephenson to a three-year, $33MM free agent deal going into 2024. While the elbow injury wiped out the entire first season, it triggered a conditional $2.5MM club option for 2027. Stephenson was dominant down the stretch two seasons back, striking out 43% of opponents with a 2.35 ERA in 42 appearances for the Rays. His arm hasn’t given him a chance to repeat that performance.

The Halos have dropped five games under .500 and are very likely going to miss the playoffs. They’ll hope Stephenson looks like his old self in the final five weeks of the regular season. That’d at least allow them to pencil him in as a high-leverage arm as they construct their 2026 bullpen.

Kenley Jansen is an impending free agent. Ben Joyce will be working back from shoulder surgery. Reid Detmers is a quality reliever but might get a chance to compete for a rotation spot next spring. Ryan Zeferjahn has strikeout stuff with wildly inconsistent command. Stephenson and Brock Burke may be the only locks for next year’s season-opening bullpen right now, and that’s obviously conditional on the former staying healthy after two injury-wrecked years.

Rays Option Joe Boyle, Recall Brian Van Belle For Potential MLB Debut

By Anthony Franco | August 22, 2025 at 6:05pm CDT

The Rays optioned Joe Boyle to Triple-A Durham this afternoon. They recalled swingman Brian Van Belle in a corresponding move, setting the 28-year-old up to make his MLB debut.

Boyle has held a spot in Kevin Cash’s rotation for the past month. Tampa Bay optioned and eventually traded Taj Bradley in part because they felt Boyle deserved a starting look. The hard-throwing righty had brilliant numbers out of the rotation in the minors (1.85 ERA with a 33% strikeout rate in 15 appearances) and looked similarly sharp in relief against big league opposition. His rotation audition hasn’t been as smooth.

Four of Boyle’s five recent starts have been underwhelming. While he fired five scoreless innings against the Dodgers on August 3, he gave up at least four earned runs in every other outing. That includes each of his past three. The Cardinals put up six runs (five earned) on nine hits and a trio of walks in four innings yesterday.

The Rays haven’t named a replacement in the rotation. Rookie lefty Ian Seymour seems the likeliest option. He turned in a 2.62 ERA with a 29% strikeout rate in 16 appearances out of Durham’s rotation. Seymour’s first 12 MLB outings have come in relief. He carries a 3.86 earned run average while fanning 27% of opponents.

Van Belle could also be a consideration, though it seems likelier he’ll pitch out of the bullpen. The former undrafted free agent has combined for a 3.17 ERA in 105 Triple-A frames divided between three organizations. The Rays acquired him from Cincinnati at the deadline as an ancillary piece of the Zack Littell trade.

A Miami product, Van Belle is approaching his 29th birthday and sits around 90 MPH with his fastball. He’s not really a prospect, but his plus changeup and elite control have fooled Triple-A hitters. Van Belle spent two days in the majors with the Red Sox in early June but didn’t make it into a game. He’ll hope to achieve that milestone with Tampa Bay and should be available in long relief behind scheduled starters Adrian Houser and Ryan Pepiot this weekend.

Astros Sign Craig Kimbrel

By Anthony Franco | August 22, 2025 at 5:38pm CDT

August 22: Houston finalized their one-year deal with Kimbrel this afternoon. They also activated Lance McCullers Jr. from the 15-day injured list to start tonight’s game in Baltimore. They cleared active roster space by optioning rookie Logan VanWey to Triple-A and placing southpaw Bennett Sousa on the 15-day injured list. Brandon Walter, who has been out for a month with elbow inflammation, was moved to the 60-day IL in the necessary 40-man move.

Sousa is dealing with elbow inflammation himself. Manager Joe Espada said Sousa reported discomfort after Tuesday’s appearance and has not progressed as hoped. He’s flying back to Houston for further evaluation while the team continues its road trip (link via Chandler Rome of The Athletic).

August 21: The Astros are in agreement with Craig Kimbrel on a major league contract, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. The SportsMeter client was just granted his release from a minor league deal with Texas, per Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News. Houston will need to create space on both the active and 40-man rosters.

Kimbrel spent a little more than two months in Triple-A with Texas. He signed in June one day after electing free agency from the Braves. That followed a bizarre sequence in which Kimbrel’s initial team called him up for one day. The nine-time All-Star labored through a scoreless inning in his lone appearance. That remains his only MLB outing this season. Kimbrel has otherwise divided the year between the upper minors affiliates of Atlanta and Texas.

Between the two organizations, Kimbrel carries a flat 3.00 earned run average in 39 minor league innings. He has recorded an excellent 31.5% strikeout percentage but has walked nearly 13% of batters faced. It’s a similar profile as Kimbrel has shown in the big leagues in recent seasons. He had a strikeout rate in the 31-34% range while issuing free passes between 10-13% of the time in both 2023 and ’24. Kimbrel remained effective with the Orioles in the first half of the ’24 season, but he melted down after the All-Star Break (20 earned runs in 17 innings) and has barely gotten an MLB look since then.

While the Triple-A results are solid, Kimbrel’s raw stuff hasn’t been as sharp this year. His fastball has been in the 92-93 MPH range in Triple-A; he averaged less than 92 on the heater in his only big league outing. He’d sat closer to 94 last year and was up to 96 as recently as 2023. He missed enough bats against minor league hitters to intrigue the Astros, whose bullpen has struggled of late.

Only the Rockies, Blue Jays and Nationals have a higher bullpen ERA than Houston does over the past month. The Astros lost Josh Hader for at least the remainder of the regular season to a capsule strain in his shoulder. Bryan Abreu is an elite back-end arm in his own right, and they have a strong left-handed trio of Steven Okert, Bryan King and Bennett Sousa. Abreu is essentially their only reliable righty reliever. Kimbrel’s command makes him a volatile bullpen piece as well, but he has more swing-and-miss upside than Enyel De Los Santos or Shawn Dubin provide in the middle innings.

The signing is expected to become official on Friday. Getting the deal done before September 1 means Kimbrel will be eligible for postseason play if the Astros qualify. He’ll have a little over five weeks of regular season action to convince the front office and coaching staff he’s worth carrying in October. Houston leads the Mariners by 1.5 games in the AL West. They’re 3.5 games clear of the Royals, the top team that is not currently in playoff position.

Image courtesy of Robert Edwards, Imagn Images.

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