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Rangers To Place Adolis Garcia On Injured List

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The Rangers are placing Adolis García back on the 10-day injured list, manager Bruce Bochy tells reporters (including Jeff Wilson of DLLS Sports). García has been out for the past three days nursing a Grade 2 quad strain. Texas will backdate the placement to September 2, and Bochy suggested he could be back after one more week on the shelf.

Dustin Harris was selected onto the big league roster to backfill the outfield depth. Texas transferred Jon Gray from the 15-day to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man roster spot. Gray was already known to be out for the season after being diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome.

García suffered the injury while beating out a fielder’s choice on Monday. It didn’t seem especially likely that he’d be able to avoid the injured list. The Rangers preferred to play a man short for a couple games to see if García could at least factor in as a pinch-hitter for this weekend’s huge series against the Astros. That apparently wasn’t going to be on the table. García just returned from a sprained ankle and had hit .368 in his past nine games.

Harris is up to provide an extra man off the bench. The Rangers had outrighted him off the 40-man roster shortly after the trade deadline. Harris had a solid August while in Triple-A, batting .326/.379/.453 across 104 plate appearances. Texas has been forced to stretch their outfield depth with Evan Carter also injured.

29-year-old rookie Michael Helman has taken over center field and has played very well in a limited sample. Alejandro Osuna will get the majority of the right field playing time while García is out. The Rangers are going with Ezequiel Duran in right today because Houston called up rookie left-hander Colton Gordon to start the opener.

Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript

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Anthony Franco

  • Hey everyone, hope you've enjoyed your week!
  • Darragh's off today so I'll have to wrap this up right around 4:00 Central to move to news coverage. Let's get going

RAGBRAI

  • How do you see Brewers SP lining up in a five game series?
  • Does MeGill make it back to Milwaukee next week?

Anthony Franco

  • On the rotation: Peralta, Woodruff, Priester, Q with Misiorwoski available in relief (especially on Quintana's start when they'll have a really quick hook)
  • Pat Murphy said that Megill threw a bullpen yesterday. Believe Adam McCalvy reported that they're targeting the 16th (beginning of the Angels series) for his return

RoxTalks

  • Thoughts on the Valdez-Salazar situation?

Anthony Franco

  • I'm skeptical that Framber deliberately crossed up his own catcher so he could nail him in the chest, but not showing any level of concern after it happened because you're pissed you just gave up a grand slam is a bad look
  • Salazar did his best postgame to downplay it, as did Joe Espada. I don't think it matters much for the Astros' season but it doesn't reflect well on Valdez even if it is a one-off situation and I imagine he'll have to answer questions about it from some teams when he gets to free agency

?

  • How/why is Roki Sasaki so bad? I know he's hurt but he has been equally as awful in OKC

Anthony Franco

  • The command is not good and I think most people (myself included) under appreciated how much of a problem his fastball shape -- very low spin that leads it to play below its velocity at the top of the strike zone -- would be an issue. That's easier to get away with when he's pumping 98-101 as he was for most of his time in Japan than it is at 95-96
  • He's still talented and I think there's a chance he can succeed the way Hurston Waldrep is for Atlanta by leaning so heavily on the split, but he's more of a project than I expected. Obviously doesn't help that he's been working with diminished stuff while fighting shoulder problems the whole time

Safeco Field Redux

  • I'm curious: How often do you think game announcers err when thy call a pitch; that is, is what they identify as a slider actually a sweeper or even a curve? And while I'm here, does a knuckle curve act differently than a standard curve?

Anthony Franco

  • Yeah I think this happens all the time. Backup sliders can look like changeups, breaking pitches blend together so much that it's very difficult to differentiate slider vs. sweeper or curve unless the pitcher's throwing them at a 4-5 MPH velocity differential
  • A lot of times a pitcher will call a breaking ball something different than the pitch classification systems will. "Sweeper" vs. slider wasn't even really in the lexicon until a couple years ago when Statcast tried to get more granular in splitting the deGrom slider from the 81 MPH pitch that you'll get from a low-slot lefty specialist

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Diamondbacks Claim Elvin Rodriguez

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The D-backs have claimed righty Elvin Rodriguez off waivers from the Orioles, per announcements from both teams. Arizona transferred first baseman/designated hitter Pavin Smith to the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man roster. Smith was placed on the 10-day IL in late August, so the move to the 60-day injured list officially ends his season.

Rodriguez signed a split major league deal with the Brewers over the winter after pitching well in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball from 2023-24. He pitched 18 2/3 innings with Milwaukee and just one inning with Baltimore, combining for an ugly 9.15 ERA between the two teams. He’s been far better in Triple-A, logging a combined 40 1/3 frames with a 4.46 ERA, 18.3% strikeout rate and 5.3% walk rate between Norfolk and Nashville.

The now-27-year-old Rodriguez made his MLB debut with the 2022 Tigers (29 2/3 innings) and pitched even more briefly with the 2023 Rays (3 1/3 innings). He’s allowed more than a run per inning in his 52 2/3 big league frames but has a decent track record in Triple-A and turned in a sparkling 1.80 ERA in 45 innings pitching in Japan. Rodriguez is in the second of three minor league option years. If the D-backs hold onto him into the 2026 season, he’d still have one option remaining, but given his rough performance in the majors this year, it’s far from a sure thing he’ll stick on the roster that long.

As for Smith, the quad injury will formally end a season that started in impressive fashion but faded as the year progressed. Smith hit .270/.348/.547 in 158 plate appearances last year and came roaring out of the gate with a .291/.347/.473 slash in 174 plate appearances through the end of May. He’s since cratered with a .208/.310/.375 batting line in 114 plate appearances and now won’t get a chance to pull himself out of that slump.

Even with the poor finish, Smith touts a .262/.357/.475 slash and 17 homers in 446 plate appearances dating back to last year. By measure of wRC+, he’s been 29% better than average in the batter’s box. The lefty-swinging Smith has the benefit of being platooned, and the D-backs will surely look to pair him up with a righty bat next year, but he’s emerged as a viable contributor on the strong side of a first base or DH platoon — a welcome development for a former top-10 pick who hit just .240/.319/.379 through his first 1094 MLB plate appearances from 2020-23.

Marlins Announce Several Roster Moves

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The Marlins have designated right-hander Luarbert Arias for assignment and selected the contract of infielder Jack Winkler from Triple-A Jacksonville, per a club announcement. They’ve also placed third baseman Connor Norby and outfielder Derek Hill on the 10-day injured list — the former due to a quad strain and the latter due to a hamstring strain. Lefty Josh Simpson and infielder Maximo Acosta have been recalled from Triple-A to take that pair of roster spots.

Arias, a 24-year-old righty, made his major league debut with Miami this season but was torched for 13 runs in 10 1/3 innings. He’s posted a 3.93 ERA in 18 1/3 innings in Triple-A but walked nearly twice as many batters (13) as he’s punched out (seven). The Marlins selected Arias, a former minor league Rule 5 pickup out of the Padres organization, back in November to protect him from being nabbed in the major league phase of the most recent Rule 5 draft.

At the time, it wasn’t hard to see why. Arias was coming off a strong year in Jacksonville, having totaled 68 innings with a 3.04 ERA, 25.8% strikeout rate and 9.3% walk rate. He’s taken notable steps back this season and has already been designated for assignment and passed through waivers once this summer. Because of that prior outright, he can reject a minor league assignment in favor of free agency if he once again goes unclaimed.

Winkler’s contract is being selected to the roster for the second time this season. The 26-year-old utilityman went 2-for-12 with a pair of singles in a very brief MLB look earlier this year but has since been designated for assignment and outrighted. He’s back in the majors now despite struggling through a 9-for-58 skid in Triple-A between big league stints. He’ll add a righty bat with some defensive versatility to the Marlins’ bench while Norby is out, but Winkler posted a lackluster .220/.291/.328 batting line in 261 plate appearances during his Triple-A debut this year, so fans shouldn’t expect much in the way of offensive contributions.

It’s the third IL stint of the season for both Norby and Hill. Given the minimal time left on the regular-season calendar, either injury could feasibly be season-ending, but there’s been no definitive word from the club on that front just yet.

Norby, acquired alongside Kyle Stowers in last summer’s Trevor Rogers trade with Baltimore, hasn’t hit nearly as well as hoped this year. The former top prospect has been sidelined by oblique and wrist injuries previously, batting .274/.298/.373 when healthy enough to take the field. Hill, 29, has played strong defense but hit just .213/.275/.331 in 141 plate appearances on the year. He’s previously missed time due to wrist and finger injuries.

White Sox Select Dominic Fletcher

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The White Sox have selected the contract of outfielder Dominic Fletcher from Triple-A Charlotte and reinstated righty Dan Altavilla from the 15-day injured list, per a club announcement. Right-hander Jonathan Cannon and first baseman Tim Elko were optioned to Charlotte in a pair of corresponding transactions.

Fletcher, 28, was acquired from the D-backs in the 2023-24 offseason trade that sent pitching prospect Cristian Mena to Arizona. It hasn’t worked out particularly well for either team. Fletcher hit only .206/.252/.256 in 241 plate appearances with Chicago last year — a far cry from his strong .301/.350/.441 showing in 102 plate appearances during the 2023 season. The Sox designated him for assignment in spring training and passed him through waivers.

Fletcher has spent the entire 2025 season thus far in Triple-A, where he’s batted .260/.317/.453 with 17 home runs, 19 doubles, four triples and seven steals (in 11 attempts). He’s walked at just a 6.5% clip but also has a lower-than-average 19.5% strikeout rate.

Altavilla missed more than a month due to a lat strain but will return for the final few weeks of the season. He signed a big league deal with the ChiSox midseason after briefly opting out of a minor league deal with the club. In 26 2/3 innings, the 32-year-old righty (33 on Sunday) has posted a tidy 2.36 earned run average but with far less encouraging rate stats. He’s fanned only 15.5% of his opponents against a bloated 12.7% walk rate (leading to a 5.84 FIP and 5.08 SIERA).

Tigers Place Kyle Finnegan On Injured List, Activate Parker Meadows

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The Tigers announced Friday that right-hander Kyle Finnegan has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a right adductor strain. Finnegan felt tightness when warming up in the bullpen recently and was held back from entering that game. The team had hoped he’d avoid an IL trip, but Finnegan will now be down for at least the next couple weeks.

In more positive news, the corresponding move for placing Finnegan on the injured list is the reinstatement of outfielder Parker Meadows from the 10-day IL. He’s been out since late July due to a strained quadriceps but is in tonight’s lineup, hitting ninth and playing center field.

Detroit acquired the 32-year-old Finnegan from the Nationals at the deadline in exchange for pitching prospects Josh Randall and R.J. Sales. He’s been exceptional in his new surroundings, firing 14 1/3 shutout innings with a mammoth 38.8% strikeout rate against a sharp 6.1% walk rate. The Nats have more than doubled the usage rate on Finnegan’s splitter and have him throwing far fewer four-seamers, and he’s seen enormous jumps in both strikeout rate and swinging-strike rate (from 9.2% to 14.3%).

Finnegan has always had plus velocity but has generally posted strikeout rates around the league average despite that fact. He’s still sitting 96.3 mph on his four-seamer, per Statcast, but the Tigers have helped him unlock greater bat-missing ability, which should bode well for his return trip to free agency at season’s end. For the time being, the focus will be on getting him back to the field as quickly as possible. Finnegan has picked up four saves and a hold with Detroit, and since his acquisition, he’s been their No. 2 option in high-leverage situations behind Will Vest.

As for the 25-year-old Meadows, he’s had a season to forget, thanks in no small part to injuries. The 2018 second-rounder had a breakout performance in 2024 when he hit .244/.310/.433 with nine homers, nine steals and strong defense in 82 big league games. He missed the first two-plus months of the current season due to a nerve issue in his upper arm, however, and he strained his quad only seven weeks after returning. In the interim, he hit just .200/.270/.296 with a 29.2% strikeout rate that was up four percentage points over his 2024 level.

The Tigers have been using Wenceel Perez and Javier Baez in center field, but Perez’s glove doesn’t grade out particularly well there and Baez can now mix in at additional positions as he continues to embrace his super-utility role. Meadows will be flanked by Riley Greene and a combination of Perez, Baez, Justyn-Henry Malloy and Kerry Carpenter in the outfield.

Nationals Outright Darren Baker

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The Nationals announced Friday that infielder/outfielder Darren Baker, whom they had designated for assignment earlier in the week, went unclaimed on waivers and was assigned outright to Triple-A Rochester. He’ll remain with the organization but will no longer occupy a spot on the 40-man roster.

The 26-year-old Baker made his major league debut with Washington last September and went 7-for-14 with two doubles and five singles. The son of Hall of Famer and former Nats manager Dusty Baker, Darren has spent the bulk of the past three seasons in Rochester, hitting for solid batting averages that have helped fuel a solid on-base percentage. He has bottom-of-the-scale power, however, resulting in an ultimate .274/.345/.336 batting line in just shy of 1300 plate appearances. Baker runs well and has collected 83 steals in 99 attempts in his 309 games at the Triple-A level.

Baker has spent the majority of his professional career playing second base but has more than 900 innings in left field as well. He hasn’t been outrighted previously in his career and doesn’t have three years of big league service, so he doesn’t have the option to reject this assignment in favor of free agency. He’ll stick around as a depth option and hope to play his way back into another look at the big league level.

Twins Outright Noah Davis

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The Twins announced Friday that they’ve passed right-hander Noah Davis through waivers and assigned him outright to Triple-A St. Paul. That’ll be the corresponding roster move for Pablo Lopez’s previously reported reinstatement from the 60-day injured list, which is now official.

Davis landed in Minnesota back in July, coming over from the Dodgers in a cash swap after he’d been designated for assignment. The 2018 eleventh-rounder made four short relief appearances for the Twins and allowed multiple runs in all of them. He’s been tagged for 22 runs in 11 innings between Minnesota and L.A. this season, further inflating the already unsightly 7.71 ERA he logged in parts of three seasons with the Rockies (51 1/3 innings).

Though Davis has been hit exceptionally hard in the majors, he has a more encouraging track record in the upper minors. He’s pitched 176 2/3 innings in Triple-A, logging a 4.79 ERA despite most of his time being spent in an exorbitantly hitter-friendly setting (Colorado’s Albuquerque club in the Pacific Coast League). Davis has pitched 43 1/3 innings between the Triple-A clubs for the Dodgers and Twins this year and turned in a solid 3.95 ERA with a strong 26.1% strikeout rate.

This is the second career outright for Davis — the Rockies outrighted him last September — which gives him the right to reject the assignment to Triple-A in favor of free agency, should he prefer to seek a change of scenery.

Poll: Who Will Round Out The AL Playoff Field?

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While most of the league’s postseason races are more or less wrapped up at this point, one highly competitive race remains: that for the final AL Wild Card spot. The Yankees and Red Sox have commanding leads for the first two spots that have pushed their playoff odds (per FanGraphs) to 99.7% and 97.4% respectively, but the rest of the field remains fairly open. Three clubs are within two games of the final spot. Who will make it to October among that group? A look at each of those teams:

Seattle Mariners (73-67)

The Mariners are currently in control of the final AL Wild Card spot. Cal Raleigh is in the midst of an MVP-caliber season behind the plate, and he’s been supported by Julio Rodriguez and Randy Arozarena in the middle of the lineup. Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suarez were added at the trade deadline to help further bolster the offense. Suarez slumped for his first two-plus weeks back in Seattle but is back to form, hitting .265/.345/.592 over his past 14 games.

The rotation that was widely expected to be the club’s strength, however, has looked fairly pedestrian. Only Bryan Woo has stood out from the crowd as George Kirby, Luis Castillo, and Logan Gilbert have all been closer to average starters than ace-caliber arms. Bryce Miller was injured for much of the year and has struggled when healthy. Still, the bullpen remains elite, and the club is in solid position in the standings even after this week’s sweep at the hands of the Rays. They have an outside shot at winning the AL West, sitting 3.5 games out with a three-game set against the Astros later this month. They’ll need to fend off the Royals in Kansas City for three games as well.

Texas Rangers (72-69)

Sitting just 1.5 games back of the Mariners, Texas is in position to pounce if Seattle falters. A schedule that gives them six games against Houston as they sit five games back in the AL West leaves a small chance at capturing the division or perhaps pushing the Astros far enough down the standings that the Mariners claim the West while the Rangers take the Wild Card for themselves.

Even with the advantage of controlling their own destiny, actually making good on that will be difficult for Texas. Key players like Nathan Eovaldi, Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Tyler Mahle and Evan Carter are all on the injured list. Wyatt Langford will be leaned on heavily to help carry the offense. A resurgent Jacob deGrom and deadline acquisition Merrill Kelly are still on hand to lead the rotation, and former No. 2 pick Jack Leiter has been excellent over his past 12 starts (2.89 ERA, 28.2 K%). Will the remaining pieces of the team be enough to push them into the playoffs?

Kansas City Royals (71-69)

Like the Rangers, the Royals have managed to hang around the Wild Card race despite significant injuries. Kris Bubic and Cole Ragans have missed much of the year, and Seth Lugo has now joined them on the shelf. That leaves Michael Wacha and rookie Noah Cameron as the team’s most likely starters for the Wild Card series if they can make it into the postseason.

The good news is that the addition of Mike Yastrzemski has been a game-changer for the lineup. He’s belted seven homers in 107 plate appearances and batted .242/.327/.560 overall in Kansas City, joining Vinnie Pasquantino, Maikel Garcia, and Bobby Witt Jr. to form an impressive top four. Carlos Estevez and Lucas Erceg are a quality duo at the back-end of the bullpen, and three home games against the Mariners give them plenty of control over their fate.

Tampa Bay Rays (71-69)

Baseball’s hottest team has won seven games in a row, including a sweep of the Mariners in Seattle and a Thursday victory over the Guardians that pushed Cleveland 3.5 games out in the Wild Card chase. Junior Caminero is the envy of the league at third base, Yandy Diaz and Brandon Lowe are as impressive as ever in the middle of the lineup, and Drew Rasmussen (2.66 ERA over his past 10 starts) looks capable of going head-to-head with just about any pitcher as a Game One starter. Thirteen games against the Red Sox, Blue Jays, and Cubs over the course of the rest of the season leave the Rays with plenty of adversity, but perhaps their young talent can stay hot and push them to October.

Which of these teams will come out on top and join the Blue Jays, Tigers, Yankees, Red Sox, and Astros in the postseason? Will the Mariners be able to hold on? Will the Royals or Rangers overcome their injury woes to force their way in? Or can the Rays stay hot through the end of the year? Have your say in the poll below:

The Opener: Sproat, Brewers, Jays, Yankees

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Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world headed into the weekend:

1. Sproat to debut:

The Mets are expected to bring right-hander Brandon Sproat to the big leagues this Sunday. He’s ticketed to start Sunday afternoon’s game against the Reds in Cincinnati. A second-rounder in the 2023 draft, Sproat made it all the way to Triple-A during his first pro season last year and this year has spent the entire season at the level. In 26 appearances (25 starts) with Syracuse this year, he’s posted a 4.24 ERA with a 22.1% strikeout rate across 121 innings of work. Sproat joins Nolan McLean and Jonah Tong as pitching prospects who have come up to help impact the club down the stretch. The Mets already have six pitchers in their rotation, but it appears that the club may be considering asking veteran righty Kodai Senga to accept being optioned to Triple-A. That would open up a spot in the rotation for Sproat, but it’s also possible that Senga refuses to be optioned. Regardless of what happens regarding Senga, a 40-man roster move will be needed to accommodate Sproat’s promotion.

2. Brewers IL move coming?

The Brewers are set to place one of their relief pitchers on the injured list, according to a report from MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy. Manager Pat Murphy declined to say who that was they’d be placing on the shelf, but he did describe him as a “significant” reliever. McCalvy went on to note that both Abner Uribe and Jared Koenig warmed up during yesterday’s loss to the Phillies, which would suggest that neither of them is currently injured. That would seem to indicate that the injured player is Nick Mears, who has a 3.42 ERA in 59 appearances with Milwaukee this year. The specifics of the situation will become more clear later today when the club makes a roster move prior to today’s game against the Pirates. Robert Gasser and Chad Patrick are among the more interesting names who could join the club’s pitching staff to fill the vacated roster spot.

3. Series Preview: Blue Jays @ Yankees

A series with major consequences for the AL East is set to start later today as the Blue Jays head to the Bronx for a three-game set against the Yankees. Toronto currently has a three-game lead over New York, meaning that a sweep by the Yanks would bring them into a tie for control of the AL East. Veteran right-hander Kevin Gausman (3.75 ERA) will take on rookie Cam Schlittler (2.61 ERA in nine starts) in game one later today, followed by a match-up between Luis Gil (3.68 ERA in six starts) and Max Scherzer (4.11 ERA in 13 starts) on Saturday. The series will wrap up Sunday with Chris Bassitt (4.10 ERA) on the mound opposite southpaw Max Fried (2.98 ERA). It’s a series that could also have big implications for the Red Sox, who will be in Arizona facing the Diamondbacks this weekend and could gain ground in the standings if they manage to pull off a sweep while their two divisional opponents split the series.

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