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Orioles Claim Josh Walker

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The Orioles have claimed left-hander Josh Walker off waivers from the Phillies, according to announcements from both clubs. The O’s have optioned the southpaw to Triple-A Norfolk. They already had a 40-man vacancy from outrighting outfielder Jordyn Adams a few days ago, so no corresponding move was required. The Phils designated Walker for assignment earlier this week.

Walker, 30, has a limited amount of big league experience. He has thrown a combined 27 1/3 innings over the three most recent seasons. In that time, he has a 6.59 earned run average, which is obviously not strong. His 10.9% walk rate is also a bit high. However, his 24.2% strikeout rate is a good figure. His ERA has seemingly been inflated by a .380 batting average on balls in play and 59.4% strand rate. His 3.99 FIP and 2.70 SIERA paint a more optimistic portrait.

Ultimately, it’s a small sample of work and the O’s are probably putting more stock in his minor league numbers. From 2022 to the present, Walker has thrown 125 innings on the farm with a 3.96 ERA. His 12% walk rate is a bit high but his 30.6% strikeout rate is very intriguing.

For the O’s, they are playing out the string on a lost season, so they are making moves focused on the future. They sold at the deadline and have grabbed a number of players off waivers since then. Walker is in his final option season. That means he can be kept in the minors for the rest of this year but will be out of options going into 2026. He has less than a year of service time, so he is still a ways away from arbitration and even further away from free agency. If he can carve out a role in Baltimore’s bullpen, they can cheaply retain him well into the future. It also wouldn’t a surprise if they try to pass him through waivers at some point in order to keep him as non-roster depth.

Photo courtesy of Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images

Giants Select Joel Peguero

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The Giants announced a series of roster moves today, recalling outfielder Luis Matos and selecting right-hander Joel Peguero. In corresponding active roster moves, they have optioned outfielder Grant McCray and right-hander Kai-Wei Teng. Left-hander Erik Miller has been transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man spot.

Peguero, 28, makes it to the majors for the first time. It was a long journey. He originally signed with the Rays as an international amateur way back in 2016. Even then he was a bit on the old side, as most international amateurs sign when first eligible at 16 and have verbal deals well before that. That was Peguero’s age-19 season.

In the following decade, he spent many years with the Rays but eventually moved around to the Rockies, Nationals and Tigers without getting a major league call. He signed a minor league deal with the Giants coming into 2025.

He has thrown 42 1/3 Triple-A innings this year with a 5.10 earned run average. That’s obviously not a great number but it’s come in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League and Peguero has a .353 batting average on balls in play and 68.3% strand rate this year, both unfortunate numbers. He is averaging close to 100 miles per hour on his two fastballs while also throwing a cutter, slider and changeup around 90 mph. That arsenal has helped him strike out 24.1% of batters faced, though also with a 12% walk rate.

The Giants have fallen to 6.5 games back of a playoff spot, so they are surely leaning towards decisions that prioritize the future over this year. They sold at the deadline and can now use the remainder of the season to get looks at some other players. They can throw Peguero out there in front of big league hitters and see how they handle his fiery stuff. If he can get outs, perhaps he can earn a role on next year’s club.

Sending Teng down to the minors opens a job in the rotation. Manager Bob Melvin tells reporters, including Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle, that Carson Whisenhunt will be coming up to start tomorrow’s game. However, Landen Roupp is also going on the injured list. It was reported yesterday that Roupp has a left knee sprain and is going on the IL.

Justin Verlander is starting today’s game, with Logan Webb and Robbie Ray scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. The Giants are off on Monday, so it’s theoretically possible that they go back to Verlander on Tuesday. They will need another starter at some point, however, as Tuesday’s game will be the first of nine in a row. Carson Seymour and Tristan Beck are currently working long relief roles and one of them could make a spot start, though the club also has a number of pitchers on optional assignment who could be recalled.

As for Miller, he landed on the 15-day IL in early July due to a mild sprain of the ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow. He started a rehab assignment this month but the club informed reporters this week that a recent MRI showed more inflammation and that he’ll be shut down for another two weeks. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle was among those who relayed that update.

Miller’s 60-day count is retroactive to his initial IL placement, so he’ll be eligible for reinstatement in early September. However, based on the most recent information, it seems like he’ll just be finishing his shutdown period at that time. Even if he’s declared healthy at that point, he would likely need a bit of time to ramp up and go on another rehab assignment.

Photo courtesy of Rick Scuteri, Imagn Images

Astros Outright Jordan Weems

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The Astros have assigned right-hander Jordan Weems outright to Triple-A Sugar Land, according to the transactions tracker on Weems’s MLB.com profile page. Weems was designated for assignment earlier this week to make room for Tayler Scott on the club’s active roster.

The 32-year-old righty has pitched in parts of six MLB seasons at this point in his career. A third-round pick by the Red Sox back in 2011, Weems actually began his pro career as a catcher before converting to the mound in 2016. He reached Triple-A as a pitcher in 2019 with the Red Sox but struggled badly in eight appearances before electing minor league free agency and joining the A’s organization. He made his big league debut during the shortened 2020 campaign with Oakland and pitched quite well in nine appearances with a 3.21 ERA and a 31.0% strikeout rate in 14 innings of work.

That strong performance during the 60-game campaign was cause for optimism about Weems’s future, but he’s mostly been relegated to an up-and-down role in the years since then. He posted a 6.55 ERA across the next two seasons with Oakland, Arizona, and Washington but settled in with D.C. and stuck around there for the 2023 campaign. That turned out to be a career year for Weems, as he posted a 3.62 ERA in 51 middle relief appearances for the Nationals with a solid 25.9% strikeout rate. He was held back by a lackluster 12.1% walk rate, however, and underlying metrics like FIP (4.90) were far less impressed with his performance.

Weems stuck around with the Nats for the 2024 campaign, but it didn’t go nearly as well as the year prior. The right-hander was torched to the tune of a 6.70 ERA in 41 appearances. His strikeout rate plummeted to just 17.9% while his 12.2% walk rate actually ticked up slightly from the year prior. That brutal season left Weems to sign with Atlanta on a minor league deal this past offseason, but he posted a 5.09 ERA in 17 2/3 innings of work for the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Gwinnett before being released back in May. He’s been in the Astros organization ever since and has made two brief cameos on the major league roster where he’s surrendered seven runs on nine hits and three walks without recording a strikeout in 4 1/3 innings of work.

Brutal as those brief cups of coffee in the majors have been, Weems has actually looked quite good while pitching for Sugar Land. He’s posted a 3.06 ERA in 17 2/3 innings of work with a solid 24.3% strikeout rate and a more manageable 9.5% walk rate. While work at Triple-A only goes so far for a 32-year-old journeyman, the fact that he’s done all of this while pitching in the inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League does lend further legitimacy to his strong performance. Now that Weems has been outrighted to Triple-A, he’ll likely continue serving as a depth option for the Astros who can be called upon when there’s a gap in the roster, as was the case in each of his two call-ups to Houston this year.

The Opener: Waivers, Red Sox, Yankees, Kim

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Here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Players on Waivers:

The trade deadline has come and gone, and the most significant way for clubs to improve their roster or add depth has come off the table. There are still some ways to acquire players after the trade deadline, however, and one in particular appears to be in full swing at this point: the waiver wire. Players must be part of an organization prior to September 1 in order to be eligible to play in the postseason, and in recent years that’s led non-contending clubs to place a number of their players on waivers during the final weeks of August in order to make them available to contenders in exchange for salary relief.

Currently, Rockies southpaw Austin Gomber and Marlins righty Cal Quantrill are both known to be on waivers. Perhaps a contender in need of starting depth will take on the remainder of one of those salaries in order to bring either Gomber or Quantrill into their organization, though it’s also possible they go through waivers unclaimed and simply remain with their current clubs. Over the coming days, it’s likely that teams will put a number of other veterans on expiring contracts through the waiver process. In an original piece for Front Office subscribers yesterday, MLBTR’s Anthony Franco discussed 17 players across seven different organizations who could be placed on waivers before the end of the month.

2. Series Preview: Red Sox @ Yankees

One of baseball’s oldest rivalries is gearing up for a four-game set this weekend as the Red Sox head to the Bronx. The Yankees have been on a roll lately with five consecutive wins, while Boston’s scuffled lately with three straight losses and and a 3-7 record in their last ten games. The Red Sox have plenty of motivation to try and turn things around while they’re at Yankee Stadium, however, as the two clubs are rivals not only in the AL East (where both teams trail the Blue Jays by a significant margin) but also in terms of Wild Card positioning. While the Yankees are currently in the top Wild Card spot, the Red Sox are in a more precarious situation with just a half-game lead over the Mariners for the second of three Wild Card spots and just a three-game buffer between themselves and the Royals.

Game 1 of the set will begin tonight with Lucas Giolito (3.63 ERA in 19 starts) on the mound for Boston opposite reigning AL Rookie of the Year Luis Gil (5.14 ERA in three starts). Game 2 of the series pits Yankees ace Max Fried (3.26 ERA) against Boston youngster Brayan Bello (3.23 ERA), while Game 3 will see Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet (2.43 ERA) square off against Yankees rookie Will Warren (4.25 ERA). Boston has not announced their starter for Sunday’s series finale, but that pitcher will face veteran lefty Carlos Rodon (3.25 ERA).

3. Kim day-to-day:

As noted by Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, Rays shortstop Ha-Seong Kim was scratched from yesterday’s game due to low back tightness. Kim made a name for himself with the Padres thanks to Gold Glove caliber defense all over the infield that he combined with average to slightly above average offense and impressive stolen base totals. That led the infielder to sign a two-year, $29MM deal with the Rays this past offseason that affords him the opportunity to opt out following the 2025 campaign, but he’s made it into just 23 games due to rehab from offseason shoulder surgery and back issues.

It’s unclear if Kim will require a stint on the injured list due to this latest ailment, but with no additional infielders on the 40-man roster besides those already on the active roster the club will likely need to select someone from the minors if Kim does head to the injured list. Topkin suggests that utility infielder Coco Montes is perhaps the most likely replacement for Kim in that case, though top prospect Carson Williams would be a far more exciting possibility.

Fantasy Baseball Subscriber Chat With Nicklaus Gaut

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Nicklaus Gaut will be talking fantasy baseball with Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers today at 11 am Central time. Get your question in early or participate in the live event at the link below!

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Kyle Tucker Was Diagnosed With Hairline Hand Fracture In June

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Cubs star Kyle Tucker suffered a hairline fracture in his right hand back in June, reports Jesse Rogers of ESPN. Tucker jammed his right hand diving into second base on a stolen base attempt in a game against the Reds on June 1. Manager Craig Counsell subsequently confirmed the June fracture but says Tucker is now healthy (via Rogers).

Initial x-rays came back negative. However, Rogers writes that follow-up testing revealed a small fracture at the top of his hand between his ring finger and pinky. The Cubs did not announce the diagnosis at the time, and Tucker has not spent any time on the injured list. The four-time All-Star preferred to play through the injury.

In retrospect, it’s fair to question whether that was prudent. Tucker had been one of the best hitters in MLB for the season’s first two months. He owned a .284/.395/.524 slash with 12 homers across 269 plate appearances through June 1. Since then, he’s batting .236/.352/.368 in almost the exact same amount of playing time. Tucker has connected on six longballs over the past two and a half months.

While the injury certainly seems to be having an impact, it’s worth noting that Tucker actually continued to play well in the immediate aftermath. He hit .311 with five homers in June. It wasn’t until July that things went completely off the rails. He’s batting .189/.325/.235 with one homer in his past 38 games.

Tucker’s plate discipline remains strong — he has actually walked more often than he has struck out during that stretch — but his power has completely evaporated. His rate of hard contact (batted balls with an exit velocity of at least 95 MPH) was between 44-50% in each of the first two months. It remained solid at 42.9% in June but has plummeted below 30% in each of the past two months.

That kind of play from a hitter of Tucker’s caliber has naturally led to speculation about his health. Pat Murphy, manager of the Milwaukee team that is playing the Cubs this week, opined that the outfielder was playing through an injury. “I think Tucker’s hurt. I don’t have any information, but Tucker’s not the same,” Murphy said on 670 The Score.

Tucker himself has maintained that he’s physically ok. However, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer conceded to Rogers “that when you look at his numbers, it’s had an impact on him, for sure. That’s the nature sometimes of these small injuries. They can do that.” Counsell has kept Tucker out of the lineup for the past three games — two days, including a doubleheader on Tuesday. Chicago won all three games over the MLB-best Brewers with Owen Caissie playing right field. Counsell hasn’t committed to Tucker’s status for tomorrow’s series finale.

The Cubs remain six games back of Milwaukee in the NL Central. They’re comfortably in Wild Card position, which gives them the flexibility to mix in more off days for Tucker if necessary. They’ll need to find a way to get him back to being productive if they hope to make a deep playoff run. The injury and slump obviously come at an inopportune time for Tucker personally, as he’s a couple months from free agency. He’s the clear #1 player in the class and generally expected to command $400MM+ as he enters his age-29 season.

Tigers Hoping For Alex Cobb To Return In Relief

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The Tigers plan to use Alex Cobb in a multi-inning relief role if he’s able to make it back from the injured list, manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (link via Chris McCosky of The Detroit News). Cobb signed a one-year deal to work as a starter but has missed the entire season due to left hip issues.

“We shrunk down the expectations internally on how long he can go in a game,” Hinch told McCosky and others. “We’re trying to see how the two- and three-inning stints go and how he bounces back from that.”

It has long since passed the point for the Tigers to get the return they expected on a $15MM free agent investment. At this point, they’d welcome any contributions from the 37-year-old. Cobb has been on a rehab assignment at Triple-A Toledo for the past week. He has worked between two and three innings in each of his first two appearances. He’s expected to make his next appearance this weekend.

Rehab assignments for pitchers can last up to 30 days. Using Cobb in a relief role could get him back before the end of that window. Speculatively speaking, the Tigers could view September 1 as a target for his reinstatement. That’s when active rosters expand from 26 to 28 and teams are permitted to carry a 14th pitcher.

That’d at least give Cobb a few weeks to audition for a spot on the playoff roster. Detroit’s bullpen remains arguably its biggest weakness. They’ve gotten excellent work out of deadline pickup Kyle Finnegan, while righty Will Vest has been very good all season. Tyler Holton is established as their best option from the left side.

The middle relief group remains very much in flux. Cobb and deadline acquisition Paul Sewald could each return late in the regular season. One of Jack Flaherty or Chris Paddack could move to the bullpen once the postseason begins and teams shrink their rotations in short series. The club also hasn’t closed the door on Reese Olson pitching in October, but that’s a long shot after he sustained a significant shoulder strain at the end of July.

Cobb missed almost all of last season because of issues in his right hip. He began the year with the Giants and was on the injured list through the trade deadline. The Guardians acquired him while he was rehabbing. He made three regular season starts and pitched twice in the postseason with Cleveland. A lower back injury knocked him out of the playoffs during the AL Championship Series.

MLB Mailbag: Konnor Griffin, Extension Candidates, Realignment, Ketel Marte, Detmers

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This week's mailbag gets into extension possibilities, realignment problems, whether a Ketel Marte trade makes sense, Reid Detmers' future, and much more.

Greg asks:

With a good spring is there a possibility of the Pirates signing Konnor Griffin long-term and starting him on Day 1?

In Baseball America's August update, shortstop Konnor Griffin was ranked as the top prospect in all of baseball.  BA wrote, "Griffin has taken off like a meteor this season and his penchant for impact hasn’t slowed down even despite a promotion to High-A. The 19-year-old has made significant strides in allaying concerns about his hit tool and approach, and the rest of his overall game has evaluators buzzing as they envision how his plus power, speed and at least above-average defense at two different positions could come together."

Griffin has mostly played shortstop this year, with the occasional start in center field.  He posted a 156 wRC+ in A ball and got even better in High-A with a 169 mark.  Though he doesn't turn 20 until next April, Griffin got another promotion to Double-A this past weekend.

Given that Griffin has played one game in Double-A and the Altoona Curve only have 23 more on the schedule, putting him on the Pirates' Opening Day roster next year at age 19 would be aggressive, perhaps to the point of being detrimental.  Even Jackson Chourio played 122 games at Double-A and had a brief taste of Triple-A.  But let's explore the likelihood of an extension.

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Giants To Place Landen Roupp On Injured List With Knee Sprain

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The Giants are placing starter Landen Roupp on the 15-day injured list with a left knee sprain, manager Bob Melvin informed reporters (including Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area). The right-hander is flying back to San Francisco for an MRI that’ll provide a more specific diagnosis.

Roupp suffered the injury in the third inning of tonight’s start in San Diego (video via SF Giants on NBCS). Ramón Laureano hit a comeback line drive that struck Roupp in the right thigh. While the ball itself didn’t cause an injury, the pitcher slipped on the mound as he tried to avoid it, tweaking his knee in the process. Trainers called for a cart to take him off the field.

With five weeks remaining in the regular season, it seems unlikely Roupp will make it back this year. The Giants have fallen five games under .500 and firmly out of contention. They’ll hope that testing doesn’t reveal any significant ligament damage that’d impact his offseason or threaten his availability for the early portion of next season.

Roupp, 27 next month, has had a solid first full season as a big league starter. He has taken the ball 22 times and worked to a 3.80 ERA over 106 2/3 innings. He has recorded a 21.4% strikeout rate while getting ground-balls at a league average 45.3% clip. He has looked the part of a capable mid-rotation arm until battling injuries over the past couple weeks. A minor bout of elbow inflammation sent him to the IL shortly before the trade deadline. Tonight’s start was his second since that three-week absence.

Justin Verlander pitches the finale in San Diego tomorrow. The Giants would have Logan Webb, Robbie Ray and Kai-Wei Teng lined up for their weekend set in Milwaukee. An off day on Monday could allow them to skip Roupp’s turn in the rotation one time, but they might prefer to add a fifth starter to take the ball next Tuesday against the Cubs and give their rotation an extra day of rest. They’ll need another starter by the end of next week at the latest.

Unfortunately, one of their most intriguing depth arms won’t be a factor. Blade Tidwell, one of three players acquired from the Mets for Tyler Rogers, has begun his organizational tenure with 16 innings of three-run ball in Triple-A. Tidwell seemed to be on the verge of a call-up but reported shoulder discomfort yesterday (relayed by John Shea of The San Francisco Standard). He’s headed for an MRI of his own and won’t be an option for a big league call in the short term.

Rockies Reportedly Place Austin Gomber On Waivers

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The Rockies have placed scuffling starting pitcher Austin Gomber on outright waivers, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Gomber has not been designated for assignment and remains with the Rockies while the waiver process is pending. Outright waivers are irrevocable, so he’d change teams within the next 48 hours if another team places a claim.

That said, it’s frankly difficult to imagine another club picking Gomber up. A claiming team would pay the approximate $1.33MM remaining on the lefty-hander’s $6.35MM salary. Gomber is an impending free agent, so it’d make no sense for a non-contending club to do that. Contenders would have a difficult time finding a roster spot for a pitcher who has been shelled for a 7.49 earned run average in 57 2/3 innings.

Gomber missed the first two and a half months battling shoulder discomfort. He has been in Warren Schaeffer’s rotation since June 15 but hasn’t managed a single quality start in 12 appearances. Gomber did get through five innings while allowing two or fewer runs in three of his first four appearances. Opponents have tagged him for 36 earned runs across 38 innings during his past eight times out.

The 31-year-old Gomber has never thrown hard. His fastball sat in the 91-92 MPH range earlier in his career but is down to 89-90 this season. It’s possible that’s related to the shoulder discomfort, but it surely contributes to career-worst strikeout and home run rates. Nevertheless, there’s no real harm for the Rox in putting Gomber on waivers. If he clears, they can keep him on the roster. They could also decide to simply release him rather than waiting for him to hit the market in two months.

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