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Red Sox Move Walker Buehler To Bullpen

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August 22: Buehler is indeed headed to the bullpen, Cora told reporters (video provided by NESN). Monday’s start has yet to be determined.

August 21: A disappointing season for Red Sox’s righty Walker Buehler continued on Tuesday. He only completed four innings while allowing four hits and as many walks in a home loss to the Orioles. It was the fourth time in his past five outings that Buehler issued at least three free passes, and his season earned run average is up to 5.40 across 22 starts.

Asked this evening whether Buehler would make his scheduled start on Monday, manager Alex Cora said the team “(hasn’t) talked about it yet” (via Tim Healey of The Boston Globe). While Cora wasn’t interested in discussing the situation publicly, Chris Cotillo of MassLive reports that the Sox are having internal conversations about moving Buehler to the bullpen. It’s not out of the question that he pitches in relief at some point during this weekend’s series against the Yankees. That’d obviously rule him out of starting Monday in what would be a rematch against Baltimore.

Buehler hasn’t been anywhere near as effective as hoped. The Sox signed him to a one-year, $21.05MM free agent deal that matched the price of the qualifying offer that he didn’t receive from the Dodgers. Buehler had a very poor regular season in 2024 (5.38 ERA in 16 starts) but hit the market with positive buzz after closing out the World Series. That convinced the Sox he was a solid upside play, but Buehler’s numbers this year are even worse than those of the 2024 regular season.

The righty has a career-low 16.5% strikeout rate and has gotten whiffs on just 7.7% of his pitches. The recent command woes have pushed his walk rate north of 10% for the first time in his career (outside of a 2017 debut in which he pitched fewer than 10 innings). Buehler carried a 6.12 ERA into the All-Star Break. While he has managed a serviceable 3.66 mark in the second half, he has walked as many batters as he has struck out over his past six starts.

Boston recalled former fifth starter Richard Fitts from Triple-A Worcester this afternoon. Cora said that Fitts, who has started all 17 appearances between MLB and the upper minors, will be available out of the bullpen. Fitts averaged only four innings per start while posting a near-5.00 ERA in the big leagues. The Sox pushed him out of the rotation when they acquired Dustin May at the deadline. They could reverse course and have him start on Monday.

Boston could also use both Buehler and Fitts in relief and recall one of Kyle Harrison or Cooper Criswell to work as the fifth starter. Harrison has made 10 Triple-A starts since being acquired in the Rafael Devers deal. He has a solid 3.69 ERA but has walked 12% of batters faced while averaging fewer than five innings per start with Worcester. Criswell has a 3.70 mark in 65 2/3 frames over 16 Triple-A outings.

If the Sox do pull Buehler from the rotation, it’d impact him financially. He has already picked up $1MM in bonuses by reaching 20 and 22 starts. He’d unlock another $500K each at 24, 26, and 28 starts. He’ll be a free agent next offseason when the Sox decline their end of a mutual option in favor of a $3MM buyout.

Orioles Place Jordan Westburg On Injured List

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3:48pm: The Orioles announced Westburg’s IL placement and the selection of Machin’s contract. Catcher Gary Sanchez was transferred from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL to open a 40-man roster spot. He’s been out since early July due to a knee sprain.

3:35pm: The Orioles are placing infielder Jordan Westburg on the injured list and will select the contract of fellow infielder Vimael Machin to take his spot on the roster, interim manager Tony Mansolino announced to reporters (via Matt Weyrich of the Baltimore Sun). They’ll need to make a 40-man roster move before those transactions become official.

Westburg, 26, has been out of the lineup since being removed from Monday’s game after tweaking his ankle while rounding second base. This is the former No. 30 overall pick and top prospect’s second IL stint of the season. He missed more than a month early in the year due to a hamstring strain. He also missed nearly two months last summer due to a broken right hand.

Despite the injury troubles over the past calendar year, Westburg has emerged as a clear piece of the Baltimore core. He’s played in 180 games and taken 751 plate appearances since Opening Day 2024 and slashed .269/.317/.478 (123 wRC+) with 33 homers, 35 doubles, six triples, seven steals and a 21.7% walk rate. The free-swinging Westburg has only walked in 4.9% of his trips to the plate during that time, but he’s made enough contact and hit for enough power to keep his on-base percentage close to the league average.

The O’s haven’t provided a timetable for Westburg’s return yet. He’ll be out at least a week — the IL stint will be backdated to this past Tuesday, the maximum three days allowed — and there are only about five weeks left on the regular season calendar.

In place of Westburg, the O’s will promote the journeyman Machin, who signed a minor league deal over the winter. Machin has played in 107 games and tallied 443 plate appearances with a strong .285/.344/.470 batting line with Triple-A Norfolk this season. He’s popped 15 homers and swiped 13 bases in that time, drawing walks at an 8.4% clip against a 16.7% strikeout rate that’s considerably lower than league average.

This will be Machin’s first major league action since the 2022 season. The former Cubs farmhand was a Rule 5 pick by the A’s prior to the 2020 season and spent parts of three seasons with the now-former Oakland club. He hit just .208/.290/.261 in 361 plate appearances from 2020-22, but Machin is an accomplished Triple-A hitter, evidenced by a .289/.371/.449 slash in nearly 1400 plate appearances at the top minor league level.

Guardians Outright Carlos Hernández

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Aug. 22: Hernández went unclaimed on waivers and indeed accepted an outright to Triple-A Columbus, per Tim Stebbins of MLB.com.

Aug. 20: The Guardians announced that right-hander Carlos Hernández has been designated for assignment. That’s the corresponding move to select left-hander Parker Messick, a move which was previously reported.

Hernández, 28, was claimed off waivers from the Tigers three weeks ago. Since then, he has tossed seven innings for the Guards, allowing three earned runs but with three walks and just three strikeouts.

The righty has some intriguing attributes but he has struggled lately and is out of options. That has pushed him into fringe roster territory. Dating back to March, he has gone from the Royals to the Phillies, Tigers and Guardians via waiver claims. Now that he’s been designated for assignment and the trade deadline has passed, he will be available on waivers again in the coming days.

Hernández averages in the upper 90s with both his fastball and sinker, in addition to throwing a splitter, slider and knuckle curve. He has occasionally used that arsenal to post some interesting numbers. In 2023, for instance, he logged 70 innings for the Royals. His 5.27 earned run average obviously wasn’t great but he struck out 25.7% of batters faced, a strong figure. His 10.3% walk rate was a tad high but close to normal for a power reliever. In 2024, he dropped his ERA to 3.30, though his strikeout rate fell to 20.9% as his walk rate ticked up to 12.4%.

This year, as he has bounced around the league, he has posted a 6.23 ERA in 43 1/3 innings. His strikeout rate has dropped again, sitting at 19.2% so far. As mentioned, those results and his out-of-options status have led to him continually getting bounced to the waiver wire.

It’s still possible another club out there sees some upside. As mentioned, the pitch mix is enticing. Hernández is also theoretically controllable via arbitration for another two seasons after this one. For a rebuilding club, there would be an argument for taking a flier. However, he is already making $1.16MM this year and would be due a nominal raise for 2026, so it also wouldn’t be a shock if teams find it hard to roster him.

If this is the time he clears waivers, he would have the right to elect free agency but likely wouldn’t do so. Players with at least three years of service time have the right to reject outright assignments but need five years of service to exercise that right and keep their remaining salary commitments. Hernández is between three and five years, meaning he would have to walk away from about $245K to head to the open market. He will likely stay and collect that money but then would be able to elect free agency at season’s end if not added back to the roster beforehand.

Photo courtesy of Ken Blaze, Imagn Images

Tigers Designate Ryan Kreidler For Assignment

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The Tigers announced Friday that they’ve designated utilityman Ryan Kreidler for assignment. His spot on the roster goes to lefty Drew Sommers, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Toledo. Detroit optioned righty Alex Lange to clear an active roster spot for Sommers, whose promotion was first reported yesterday.

Kreidler, has seen big league time in parts of four major league seasons, including 2025. He’s played five different positions — second base, shortstop, third base, left field, center field — for Detroit dating back to 2022 but has never hit enough to play his way into a prominent role. He’s a lifetime .138/.208/.176 hitter in the majors, though that anemic slash line has come with scattershot playing time and in a sample of only 211 plate appearances.

Kreidler would’ve been out of minor league options in 2026, so an eventual removal from the 40-man roster felt inevitable, whether it be during the season or early in the winter. He’s been a much better hitter in Triple-A, where he’s spent parts of five seasons and turned in a .239./360/.421 batting line in 1165 plate appearances. Kreidler has been better than average in four of his five Triple-A seasons, but he struggled considerably there in 201 plate appearances last year, which has weighed down his rate stats in the upper minors a bit.

The Tigers can place Kreidler on waivers at any point in the next five days now that he’s been designated for assignment. He’ll be available to the league’s other 29 teams, with waiver priority based on the reverse standings (worst record to best record). He hasn’t been outrighted in the past and doesn’t have three years of MLB service, so if he goes unclaimed he’ll stick with the Tigers and head to Triple-A as a depth option.

Orioles Select Matt Bowman

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The Orioles selected the contract of right-handed reliever Matt Bowman and placed righty Brandon Young on the 15-day injured list due to a strained left hamstring, the team announced. Right-hander Felix Bautista, who recently underwent shoulder surgery, was moved from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

It’s the third big league stint of the season with the Orioles for Bowman. The 34-year-old journeyman has previously pitched 23 1/3 innings with Baltimore in 2025, recording a 5.79 earned run average while striking out 15.7% of his opponents against a 5.6% walk rate. The O’s have designated him for assignment multiple times this season, but he’s accepted outright assignments to Triple-A Norfolk after clearing waivers despite having the right to reject in favor of free agency.

Bowman has been solid in Norfolk, tossing 26 1/3 innings for the Tides and posting a 4.10 ERA. He’s set down 21.8% of his opponents there on strikes and notched a 5.5% walk rate that mirrors his strong mark in the majors. The former 13th-rounder has now pitched in parts of seven big league seasons with seven different teams and worked to a 4.32 ERA in 239 1/3 innings.

It’s not yet clear whether Young, a 27-year-old rookie, will make it back to the big leagues this season. With only five weeks left on the schedule, virtually any injury has the possibility of ending a player’s season. He’s pitched to a 6.24 ERA in his first 57 2/3 innings as a big leaguer. As for Bautista, his move to the 60-day IL is a pure formality. The shoulder procedure comes with an estimated 12-month recovery, so he was always going to be moved to the 60-day IL the first time the O’s needed to open up a 40-man spot.

Blue Jays Activate Shane Bieber

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Aug. 22: The Blue Jays announced that Bieber has been reinstated from the 60-day IL, as planned. He’ll start tonight’s game.

Aug. 18: Right-hander Shane Bieber will start for the Blue Jays on Friday. Manager John Schneider gave the news to reporters, including Mitch Bannon of The Athletic, prior to today’s game. Bieber is currently on the 60-day injured list and will need to be added to the roster before that start. The 40-man roster currently has a vacancy. If that is not filled before Friday, then only a corresponding active roster move will be required.

Bieber will be making his anticipated team debut in Miami as the Jays face the Marlins. The Jays just acquired Bieber at the deadline, even though he had not yet finished his recovery from 2024 Tommy John surgery.

The Jays are hoping that Bieber was their best bet for upgrading their playoff rotation. Their rotation otherwise features a group of solid mid-rotation type of guys. Max Scherzer has been an ace in the past but is now 41 years old and has been working around an ongoing thumb problem. Eric Lauer has an excellent 2.76 earned run average this year but he has middling velocity and he hardly pitched in the majors over the previous two years. Kevin Gausman, José Berríos and Chris Bassitt are reliable veterans but few would consider them to be aces.

The peak version of Bieber would jump to the front of the group, which is why the Jays were willing to give up prospect Khal Stephen to get him. Bieber won a Cy Young award back in 2020. He had a 1.63 ERA in that shortened season, striking out 41.1% of batters faced. No one would have expected him to maintain that level of production forever. His 2021 season was a drop from those heights but still very good. He had a 3.17 ERA and 31.1% strikeout rate, though a subscapularis strain knocked him out of action for about three months.

In 2022, he logged 200 innings with a 2.88 ERA but his strikeout rate dropped further to 25%. The following year, he only struck out 20.1% of batters faced as his ERA climbed to 3.80. The first warning signs of elbow trouble appeared that year, as inflammation put him on the IL for about two months. He began 2024 healthy but made just two starts before getting knocked to the surgeon’s table.

What version of Bieber shows up now is anyone’s guess. For what it’s worth, he has thrown 29 minor league innings this year while rehabbing with a 1.86 ERA and 34.6% strikeout rate. Though only the most recent three outings have been at the Triple-A level, with a 24.6% strikeout rate in those. He has been averaging 92.8 miles per hour on his fastball. He was at 94.1 mph back in 2020 but dropped to 92.7 in 2021 and then was in the 91-92 range after that.

The Jays don’t necessarily need Bieber to immediately be perfect right away. They are basically assured a playoff spot now and will likely be more concerned by what they can get out of Bieber in October. That gives them a bit more than a month to assess his stuff and results. The fact that his velo has come back in Triple-A is nice but that’s not going to be enough. Sandy Alcantara has basically got his velo to pre-surgery levels this year but has posted a 6.31 ERA on the season.

It’s unclear if the Jays will go with a six-man rotation or bump someone to a long relief role. They Jays start a series against the Pirates in Pittsburgh tonight, with Gausman, Scherzer and Bassitt the scheduled starters. They are off on Thursday. Schneider said today, per Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet, that Saturday’s and Sunday’s starters are to be determined.

While the coming weeks are obviously important for the Blue Jays, they will be huge for Bieber personally as well. At season’s end, he will be choosing between a $16MM player option for 2026 and a $4MM buyout. If healthy and in good form, he should have an easy choice to take the buyout. Though if he struggles or gets hurt again, the choice will get tougher.

Photo courtesy of Nick Turchiaro, Imagn Images

White Sox Designate Josh Rojas For Assignment

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The White Sox have designated infielder Josh Rojas for assignment and recalled catcher Korey Lee from Triple-A Charlotte, per a team announcement. Chicago’s 40-man roster is now down to 38 players.

Rojas, 31, signed a one-year, $3.5MM contract in free agency this past offseason. The Sox and Rojas were hoping for a bounceback to the veteran infielder’s 2021-22 levels at the plate after a paid of underwhelming seasons with the bat (but solid defensive performances) in 2023-24. Instead, Rojas has missed considerable time due to a fracture in his foot and has struggled when on the field.

In 211 plate appearances with the South Siders, Rojas has turned in a bleak .180/.252/.259 slash. Rojas batted .266/.345/.401 with the D-backs in 2021-22 but has now turned in three straight sub-par years as a hitter, combining for a .223/.293/.321 output over his past 1037 plate appearances. He’s typically graded as a sound defender at both second base and third base, but in the wake of that fracture earlier this season, he’s drawn negative reviews at both positions in the estimation of metrics like Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average. His average sprint speed, as measured by Statcast, fell from 27 feet per second last year to 26.2 ft/sec in 2025.

None of that is especially surprising for a player who’s entering his early 30s and is coming off a notable foot/toe injury, but it’s obviously not the season either party envisioned in free agency this past winter. The trade deadline is behind us, so the White Sox’ only course of action will be to place Rojas on outright waivers or release waivers. He’ll surely clear, as no team is going to take on the remainder of his guaranteed salary when he’s struggled this much since returning from the injured list. Rojas should draw interest on a minor league deal, whether for the remainder of the current season or in the winter with an eye toward another rebound effort in 2026.

Rockies Release Austin Gomber

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The Rockies have released veteran lefty Austin Gomber, per a team announcement. (Thomas Harding of MLB.com reported the move just minutes prior to its announcement.) He was reportedly placed on outright waivers earlier this week. Given that he’s now being released, it’s clear he wasn’t claimed. Colorado will give his 40-man spot to lefty reliever Lucas Gilbreath, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Albuquerque. The Rox also placed righty Dugan Darnell on the 15-day injured list due to inflammation in his left hip and recalled righty Angel Chivilli from Triple-A.

Gomber, 31, was the lone remaining player from the Rockies’ return in their trade of Nolan Arenado to the Cardinals. He was only a few weeks from reaching free agency anyhow, as he crossed six years of major league service earlier in the season, but he’ll now head to the open market a bit earlier than previously scheduled.

A shoulder injury kept Gomber on the injured list from Opening Day into mid-June. He’s since made 12 starts and struggled more than he has at any point in his career. Gomber has been a fifth starter over his time with the Rockies, pitching to a middling 5.08 ERA in 544 innings from 2021-24, but he’s been tattooed for a 7.49 earned run average in 57 2/3 innings with the Rockies in 2025.

Though he’s never thrown hard, Gomber’s average fastball this year is sitting at a career-low 89.5 mph. That’s down one mile from last year and down a bit more than two miles per hour over his first season with Colorado back in 2021. His already low strikeout rate has bottomed out at a career-worst 12.5%, and his 7.2% swinging-strike rate is tied (with teammate Antonio Senzatela) for ninth-worst among the 257 pitchers who’ve tossed at least 50 innings in 2025.

Despite Gomber’s sub-par results through his four seasons in Denver, the Rockies opted to tender him a contract this past offseason. He’s being paid $6.35MM this season, with about $1.26MM of that sum yet to be paid out over the final month-plus of the year. The Rockies will remain on the hook for the entirety of that amount, minus the prorated league minimum for any time Gomber may spend on another team’s big league roster.

Gilbreath, 29, posted solid numbers with Colorado in his first two seasons from 2021-22: 85 2/3 innings pitched, 16 holds, one save, 3.78 ERA, 25% strikeout rate (albeit with an ugly 13.2% walk rate). He looked like he’d carved out a role in the Rockies’ bullpen, but a UCL tear during spring training in 2023 wiped out his entire season and limited him to just one big league inning in 2024. The Rockies passed him through waivers earlier this season, and he’s now back in the majors for the first time this year and will look to get back into just his second MLB game since the conclusion of the 2022 campaign.

It’s been a tough year for Gilbreath in Albuquerque. Granted, that’s an extremely hitter-friendly setting, but a 6.21 ERA, 11.8% walk rate and 1.91 HR/9 rate can’t solely be blamed on league environment. He’s been a bit better of late (5.29 ERA in his past 17 innings), but the results still aren’t all that encouraging — nor is the fact that a heater that averaged 93.8 mph in 2022 is now sitting 89.8 mph three years and one major surgery later. Be that as it may, he’ll be summoned to the majors to give the Rockies a fresh arm and perhaps to audition for a 2026 spot in the season’s final few weeks.

Diamondbacks Designate Jose Herrera For Assignment

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The D-backs have designated catcher Jose Herrera for assignment, reports Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. His spot on the roster will go to fellow catcher Gabriel Moreno, who is being reinstated from the injured list.

Herrera, 28, has been a backup behind the plate for the Snakes dating back to 2022. He’s never provided much with the bat, hitting only .200/.280/.259 (53 wRC+) in 562 plate appearances over the course of 190 big league games. He was outstanding at thwarting opposing runners on the basepaths in his first two seasons but has slipped in that regard over the past two years and now has a league-average 21.8% caught-stealing rate in his career. Herrera typically hasn’t drawn plus framing grades but does have solid blocking skills, per Statcast.

This year’s 204 plate appearances are a career-high at the MLB level for Herrera — due primarily to the aforementioned Moreno injury. Moreno, the 2023 NL Gold Glove winner, suffered a broken finger earlier this summer and has been out for more than two months. He’s hitting .187/.285/.259 in that time with a pair of home runs (the only multi-homer season of his big league career thus far).

Shortly after Moreno hit the injured list, the D-backs signed veteran catcher James McCann, who’d been on a minor league deal with the Braves. McCann has hit the ground running with the Diamondbacks, hitting .247/.337/.403 with three home runs. That performance has been enough to earn him the backup job to Moreno for the remainder of the season, it seems. McCann will be a free agent at the end of the year, so he’s not a long-term backup partner unless the D-backs choose to re-sign him, but he’s clearly leapfrogged Herrera on the depth chart at this point.

Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript

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Anthony Franco

  • Hey everyone, hope you've enjoyed your week!
  • Have a bunch going on today so I need to keep this one at an hour

Olereb

  • Who do you see the Braves targeting to upgrade at ss, also do you see the Braves trying to rid themselves of Justin Profar?

Anthony Franco

  • Bichette would be uncharacteristic for them but they've got Iglesias and Ozuna coming off the books short term and there's a case they need to move off their usual operating procedure of prioritizing trades/extensions based on how poorly they've played this year
  • Albies doesn't look like a core piece anymore, so they'd be able to slide Bo over to second in a couple years if he can't stick at SS long term. Trade market at the position has been bad for a while. Sox would probably move Story to make room for Marcelo Mayer (eh), could try to get the Royals to give up Maikel Garcia but it'd take a lot
  • Profar's mashing since he's been back. They'd need a new left fielder if they trade him. I'm sure they're not happy with how things went down, but keeping him at 2/30 seems fine to me

Sam

  • What's the Twins' offseason ahead look like? Will it be frugal once again due to the Pohlads retaining ownership of the team, or will they decide to start spending again (a la Correa) to try to get back into contention?

Anthony Franco

  • I have a hard time seeing them kick up spending dramatically. Teams almost never follow up a massive teardown by throwing a bunch of money at it and trying again
  • I expect Ryan and Jeffers to go at least. Feels like they could hold Pablo into next season because of the injury impacting his trade value. Then backfill with a bunch of smaller deals in the bullpen (similar to last winter's Rangers approach) at catcher, and for a right-handed outfield bat
  • They brought back enough upper level talent, particularly in the rotation, that I could see a path to contention in 2027. Much harder for me to envision it next season

Brian

  • with Samuel Basallo now locked up long term, what are chances the O's trade Adley this offseason?

Anthony Franco

  • I don't think the Basallo extension moves the odds much. They had him under team control for six seasons and knew how good he was already
  • They can coexist with the DH but Rutschman's offensive decline has made it feel for a while that he's running out of time there. Guess I'd put the odds of an offseason trade at 55%? Feels like at least 75% chance he's dealt by the 2026-27 offseason

The best evah

  • Can you explain what makes Mackenzie Gore so attractive to MLB teams? Despite a higher K/9 this year compared to previous years (10.7), he has a career 4.01 ERA and (as far as I can tell) striking out half a batter more per nine seems to be the only thing he's improved in his game this year. To throw out another data point, Will Warren is a year younger and sporting a HR9/BB9/K9 of  1.0/3.9/10.1, compared to Gore's 1.2/3.4/10.7. Is Warren half a strikeout per nine away from being seen in a similar light to Gore?

Anthony Franco

  • I'm sure there are plenty of teams that really like Warren but Gore throws two MPH harder from the left side, and there's a huge gap in swinging strikes on a per-pitch basis. Gore's eighth among pitchers with 100+ IP with a 13.4% swinging strike rate. Warren is 69th at 9.5%
  • Warren gets a ton of called strikes, so they're pretty close in overall strikeout rate, but that's a little tougher to bank on year over year. Gore getting tons of whiffs with plus stuff from the left side feels like a higher upside play
  • Also feels like Gore's results are weighed down a little bit pitching in front of a Nationals infield that is by far the worst in MLB. It's a good shout though. Warren's good, just a tier down below Gore for me

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