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Mets To Designate Paul Blackburn For Assignment

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The Mets are going to designate right-hander Paul Blackburn for assignment, reports Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. That will be the corresponding move for the promotion of Nolan McLean, a move that was previously reported.

Blackburn was acquired by the Mets at last year’s trade deadline. At the time, the Mets had lost both Kodai Senga and Christian Scott to the injured list and suddenly needed a bit of rotation depth. He made five starts for the Mets before he himself required a stint on the injured list. He hit the IL due to a right hand contusion. While on the IL, it was reported that he was dealing with a spinal fluid leak in his back. He didn’t make it back off the IL. He underwent a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak repair procedure in October.

Despite the rough landing in Queens, the Mets tendered him a contract for 2025, his final arb season before reaching free agency. The Mets seemed interested in stockpiling rotation depth. They signed Sean Manaea, Clay Holmes, Frankie Montas and Griffin Canning, adding to a rotation mix which already included Senga, David Peterson, Tylor Megill and Blackburn. The Mets and Blackburn avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $4.05MM salary for this year.

Unfortunately, it has turned into another season marred by injuries and the Mets seemingly never had much interest in putting him back into the rotation. He likely would have been off the roster long ago if not for other injuries, both to himself and others.

Blackburn started the season on the IL due to inflammation in his right knee. He was rehabbing throughout May, before being reinstated from the injured list in early June. By the middle of June, there was reporting that the Mets were fielding trade interest in Blackburn. At the time, they had a rotation of Senga, Peterson, Holmes, Canning and Megill, with both Montas and Manaea on rehab assignments. Blackburn appeared to be surplus to requirements. But moments after that report came out, Senga got injured and landed on the IL. Megill went on the shelf not long after.

That opened a window for Blackburn to stick around, but then he himself hit the IL again in early July due to a right shoulder impingement. He began a rehab assignment in the middle of July and got up to five innings by his second outing. But the Mets didn’t have a rotation spot for him behind Senga, Manaea, Holmes, Peterson and Montas. They let Blackburn throw a few more rehab starts, perhaps because they just wanted to keep him around in case someone else got injured.

In recent days, Montas was moved to the bullpen to open a rotation spot for McLean. Blackburn was reinstated from the IL and put in the bullpen as well. He tossed five innings of long relief on Wednesday after Peterson couldn’t get through the fourth inning. Now, he’s been bumped off the 40-man entirely.

This move ends a strange Mets tenure for Blackburn. He was technically with the club for over a year but only made 12 appearances in orange and blue. It often seemed like the Mets were on the verge of nudging him out the door before it finally happened.

He now heads into DFA limbo. With the trade deadline having passed, he will have to be placed on waivers. There is just under $1MM left to be paid out on his salary. His frequent injuries likely hurt his chances of being claimed, though he has had some decent results when healthy. With the Athletics in 2022 and 2023, he tossed a combined 215 innings with a 4.35 earned run average. His 20.7% strikeout rate, 7.8% walk rate and 44.5% ground ball rate were all fairly close to league averages.

Those cromulent results surely attracted the Mets in the first place but he wasn’t spared the injury bug even in those campaigns. Issues with his right middle finger prevented him from surpassing 115 innings in either of those seasons.

Still, decent starting pitching is hard to find after the deadline, so perhaps Blackburn will find some interest. If he clears waivers, the Mets will remain on the hook for the rest of his salary. At that point, another club could sign him and pay him the prorated portion of the league minimum salary for any time spent on the roster. That amount would be subtracted from what the Mets pay.

Photo courtesy of Jason Parkhurst, Imagn Images

Angels Re-Sign Shaun Anderson To Minor League Deal

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The Angels have re-signed right-hander Shaun Anderson to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. The veteran righty has been assigned to the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees.

Anderson, 30, has essentially been the 27th man on the Angels’ active roster all season long. This is the fourth minor league deal he has signed with the club in 2025. The first three were all selected to the big league roster. Since Anderson is out of options, he was eventually designated for assignment once he got squeezed off the roster. In each instance, he cleared waivers, elected free agency and re-signed via a new minor league deal.

Presumably, both sides are comfortable with the arrangement. The Angels have an extra arm they can call upon when the rest of the staff is gassed. Anderson, meanwhile, gets occasional spurts of big league pay and service time.

Around the transactions, he has thrown 11 1/3 innings over seven big league appearances. He has allowed 13 earned runs on 20 hits and three walks while striking out 11. He now has a 6.39 earned run average in 163 1/3 innings dating back to his 2019 debut. He has also thrown 81 Triple-A innings this year with a 6.44 ERA in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

Photo courtesy of Cary Edmondson, Imagn Images

Poll: Can The Padres Hold Onto The NL West?

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It’s been a big week for baseball in California. After the Padres swept the Giants and the Angels swept the Dodgers, a new leader stood atop the NL West. The Padres had claimed sole possession of first, while the Dodgers slipped into second, one game back of San Diego. The playoff odds will tell you that the Dodgers remain the favorites, but they’re losing momentum. According to FanGraphs, the Dodgers had an 83.8% chance to win their division on Opening Day, while the Padres’ odds were a mere 3.8%. As recently as three weeks ago, L.A.’s odds reached 96.6%, while San Diego’s sat at 1.5%. Yet, the Padres have since won 14 of their last 18 games, while the Dodgers are 8-10 in the same span. Accordingly, FanGraphs now has L.A.’s odds just below two-thirds (63.8%) and San Diego’s just above one-third (36.1%). You can think of it this way: These odds mean the Padres are now about as likely to win the NL West as the White Sox (.364 winning percentage) are to win on any given day. It’s still not likely, but it’s more than possible. The White Sox, as bad as they are, have still won 44 games.

This big week of California baseball will continue into the weekend, as the Dodgers host the Padres for a three-game set at Chavez Ravine. With a series win, the Dodgers would secure the season series tiebreaker, which could prove critical in a close division race. A sweep would give them sole possession of first place once again. Conversely, for the Padres, a series win would keep their chances of winning the tiebreaker alive, while a sweep would give them a four-game cushion over their rivals. With a four-game lead, the Padres would control their own destiny for the 38 games remaining in the regular season; they only have three more against the Dodgers after this weekend.

The Dodgers are lined up to send Clayton Kershaw, Blake Snell, and Tyler Glasnow to the mound. While the team continues to be plagued by injuries – most recently to Tanner Scott, Kirby Yates, Hyeseong Kim, Tommy Edman, and Brock Stewart – the starting rotation is much stronger with Kershaw, Snell, and Glasnow, as well as Emmet Sheehan and Shohei Ohtani, all healthy at the same time, alongside 2025 All-Star Yoshinobu Yamamoto. While the Dodgers have seen their playoff odds plummet over the past three weeks, their starting rotation leads the majors in strikeout rate and SIERA in that time. They also rank second in groundball rate and xERA and third in fWAR. All this to say, the Dodgers’ starters, should they stay healthy, will be a strength for this team down the stretch.

As for the Padres, their pitching plans for the weekend became more complicated when Michael King was scratched with knee inflammation, heading back to the IL after only one start. He had just returned from a thoracic nerve issue that kept him out for more than two months. San Diego’s rotation, now more than ever, has a lot of question marks behind Dylan Cease and Nick Pivetta. Yu Darvish has been inconsistent since he made his season debut in July; the former ace is almost 39, and he’s missed a lot of time with injuries in the past few years. Deadline acquisition Nestor Cortes has only made two starts since returning from a four-month IL stint, and he’s yet to make it out of the fifth inning. It’s hard to know what the Padres can expect from him as well. The recently recalled Randy Vásquez is a great backup plan for King – he’s a much more established sixth starter than most teams can boast – but his 5.98 xERA and 5.85 SIERA are huge red flags underlying his 3.93 ERA in 22 starts this season.

Thankfully for the Padres, they have the best bullpen in the league backing up their starting staff. President of baseball operations A.J. Preller bolstered a group that already included Robert Suarez, Adrian Morejon, Jason Adam, and Jeremiah Estrada with flamethrower Mason Miller in a blockbuster deadline trade. The Padres’ bullpen leads the majors with 37 wins, 40 saves, a 2.97 ERA, and 6.7 fWAR, and keep in mind, Miller has only been a part of it for a couple of weeks. As for the Dodgers, they might have a great bullpen if it weren’t missing Scott, Yates, Stewart, Evan Phillips, Michael Kopech, and Brusdar Graterol. It would be an exaggeration to call their arm barn a weakness, but one has to imagine that Dave Roberts is a lot less confident than Mike Shildt when it comes time to take his starter out of a game.

It should also be said that Miller and Cortes were far from Preller’s only trade deadline pickups. While Andrew Friedman and the Dodgers didn’t add much – Stewart and outfielder Alex Call were their biggest acquisitions – Preller may have won the deadline. At the very least, he won the deadline in the NL West, according to two-thirds of respondents in a recent MLBTR poll. At 5:01 PM CT on July 31, the newest Padres included Miller, Cortes, Ryan O’Hearn, Ramon Laureano, JP Sears, Freddy Fermin, and Will Wagner. The Dodgers were still three games up on the Padres at that point, but the Padres were a whole new team, with a deeper bullpen, a stronger rotation, a better catcher, and a more powerful offense against righties and lefties alike. Equally important was their decision to hold onto all of their key contributors who had come up in pre-deadline trade rumors, including Cease and Suarez.

The Dodgers have the better odds, according to both FanGraphs and PECOTA. They also have the better run differential, the higher FanGraphs WAR, and the reputation as the team to beat. After all, they’re the reigning World Series champions. They’ve won the NL West 11 times in the past 12 seasons. Meanwhile, the Padres haven’t won the West in almost 20 years. They haven’t won a pennant since the ’90s. They’ve never won it all. Yet, they’re playing like the better team right now, and they have the one-game lead to prove it. The question is: Can they hold on?

Will the Padres finally usurp the Dodgers in the NL West? Will the Dodgers’ dynasty live on another year? Or could a dark horse in the division pull off a remarkable comeback? Have your say in the poll below!

Diamondbacks Teammates Reportedly Frustrated With Ketel Marte

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It appears there’s some behind-the-scenes drama in Arizona. Per a report from Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, some players on the Diamondbacks are frustrated with second baseman Ketel Marte for his tendency to miss games. Most often, that appears to be due to health, though a situation around the All-Star break where Marte was absent from the club was also seemingly a source of discontent.

Marte is clearly an asset to the Diamondbacks when on the field. He has been a very productive player for the Snakes for several years now. That has not stopped as he has pushed into his early 30s. In fact, he’s arguably been at his best lately. Last year, he hit 36 home runs, drew walks in 11.1% of his plate appearances and limited his strikeouts to an 18.2% clip. He slashed .292/.372/.560 for a 151 wRC+. He stole seven bases and got strong grades for his glovework. FanGraphs credited him with 6.3 wins above replacement, tying his personal best mark in that category. Only nine position players bested him there.

This year, his production has been similar. He has slashed .296/.398/.557 for a 162 wRC+ and has been credited with 4.2 fWAR, in 47 fewer games than last year. Both Tuesday and Wednesday in Arlington, he hit go-ahead home runs in the ninth inning which ultimately proved to be game-winners.

The issue is more about him deciding not to take the field. Marte does have a notable injury history. In 2021, he was limited to just 90 games by strains of both hamstrings. Since then, smaller absences have limited him to the range of 135-150 games per year. Per Piecoro, Marte asked for a day off in the final week of the 2024 season, which “irked” teammates. This year, he “raised eyebrows” when he asked to not play the final game before the break, but then participated in the All-Star game itself. Piecoro contrasts this type of behavior with that of Corbin Carroll, who has been playing through a broken bone in his hand because he feels he owes it to the team.

Manager Torey Lovullo addressed the situation, after Piecoro’s article came out, with MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM and The Burns & Gambo Show on Arizona Sports. Generally, Lovullo defended Marte on the topic of knowing his own body and when it needs a break. “Ketel Marte has a massive heart. He is extremely emotional. He loves to play. He wants to be in the middle of everything with his teammates every single day. The body doesn’t always function the right way. And sometimes we got to listen to what he says and do what’s best for him which, in turn, will give us the best results for his production.”

One incident in particular seems to go beyond health, however. Marte was placed on the restricted list on July 18th, the first day after the All-Star break, as the Snakes were set to play the Cardinals. It was reported around that time that Marte was away from the club due to a recent break-in at his Arizona home, though Piecoro now notes that Marte was in the Dominican Republic for most of the break. Per John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports, Marte was supposed to travel with Carroll and Eugenio Suárez back from the All-Star game but decided to take a vacation in the D.R. “knowing he would miss a game or two,” in Gambadoro’s words. His teammates didn’t know about his planned absence and he didn’t find out about the burglary until he was in the D.R.

It’s possible Marte’s head was elsewhere, even before the break-in. There was a much-publicized incident in late June, just a few weeks before the All-Star break, wherein he was visibly brought to tears during a game against the White Sox in Chicago. Marte later told members of the media, including the Associated Press, that a fan was heckling him about his late mother. Marte’s mother passed away in a car accident in 2017. “A fan was up on the dugout shouting things about my mother,” Marte said. “He was like, ‘Last night I sent a message to your mother.’” Marte said he had been in Chicago to play the Cubs when his mother died, which gave the situation extra resonance. The fan was given an indefinite ban from all major league parks.

Lovullo was also asked about the All-Star break incident on The Burns & Gambo Show, linked above. “I was unaware of the break-in,” Lovullo said. “I was unaware of the timing of the break-in. I was unaware of what the intentions were, what plane he was on. I just became aware of him not being ready to play a baseball game on the day, on the morning, afternoon of our first baseball game.”

At that time, the Diamondbacks were still fighting to stay in contention. By the middle of July, it still wasn’t clear whether they would go into the deadline as buyers or sellers. Marte reported to the team and was reinstated from the restricted list on July 20th, missing two games. The Snakes won those two games, incidentally, but it’s understandable that his teammates would get upset about him missing key games with the season on the line. From there, the club slumped a bit and ended up selling. They traded away Josh Naylor, Merrill Kelly, Suárez, Shelby Miller and Randal Grichuk ahead of the deadline.

It’s certainly an awkward spot for the skipper. It would be fair to criticize him for not being more insistent with Marte about getting into the lineup more often, especially if it’s rankling other teammates. Oddly, Lovullo said “I don’t know what’s happening inside of our clubhouse” when discussing the situation to MLB Network Radio. On the other hand, Piecoro relays that some feel he could push Marte too hard and risk Marte “sulking or shutting down,” in Piecoro’s words.

The question now is what comes next. Piecoro and Gambadoro both float the idea of a trade but also downplay the possibility. That’s a natural speculation when rumors of discord come out of a clubhouse. The baseball world just saw plenty of ink spilled about disagreements between Rafael Devers and the Red Sox. Though he was once seemingly entrenched as a franchise player on a long-term deal, he was flipped to the Giants in the wake of those stories.

On the other hand, scuffles like this quickly blow over sometimes. Francisco Lindor and Jeff McNeil of the Mets got into a fight during a game in 2021 but they put that behind them and have been teammates for many years since then.

Marte is signed through the 2031 season. He is owed $102.5MM after this year. That includes an $11.5MM player option for 2031. Given his talents, plenty of clubs would be interested in acquiring him at that price point. However, it’s also possible teams may wonder if they would be acquiring a somewhat injury-prone player who is moving towards his mid-30s and who may not have 100% commitment to the game. Marte’s deal does not have no-trade protection but he will have 10-and-5 rights a few days into the 2026 campaign.

Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron, Imagn Images

Dodgers To Place Max Muncy On IL With Oblique Strain, Claim Buddy Kennedy

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The Dodgers have claimed infielder Buddy Kennedy off waivers from the Blue Jays, per Dodger Blue. Right-hander Julian Fernández has been designated for assignment as the corresponding 40-man move. Toronto designated Kennedy for assignment last week. Manager Dave Roberts says that Kennedy will jump right onto the active roster as third baseman Max Muncy goes on the 10-day injured list due to a grade 1 oblique strain, per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.

Muncy was scratched from Wednesday’s lineup due to right side soreness. The club was off yesterday and it seems further testing has determined that he needs at least a bit of a breather. It’s not clear exactly how long that breather will be. “I don’t think anybody expects it to be season-ending, but hopefully it’s sooner rather than later,” Roberts said, per Alden González of ESPN.

It’s an unfortunate development for the Dodgers. It’s been a real up-and-down season for Muncy but he’s been in good form lately. He started the year ice cold, slashing .190/.313/.286 through May 12th. Since then, he’s been red hot, hitting .314/.447/.660. That heater was interrupted by a monthlong stint on the IL due to a bone bruise in his left knee but that didn’t slow down his production. He came off the IL a little over a week ago and produced a .348/.531/.870 line in eight games between IL stints.

Despite Muncy’s production, the Dodgers have been in a bit of a skid lately. They went 10-14 in July and are 5-7 so far in August. Meanwhile, the Padres have gone on a tear and have taken over the lead in the American League West. The two clubs start a series against each other in Los Angeles tonight. Losing one of their hottest hitters is obviously less than ideal for the Dodgers as they move into the stretch run. Ideally, Muncy can return fairly quickly but oblique injuries are notoriously difficult.

It’s also not great when considering the club’s larger infield picture. Enrique Hernández, Tommy Edman and Hyeseong Kim are also on the IL, leaving the club a bit thin in that department. Alex Freeland will likely step in as the regular third baseman with Miguel Rojas taking over the keystone. The only healthy position player on the 40-man roster who is on optional assignment is outfielder Esteury Ruiz.

Claiming Kennedy gives the Dodgers a bench infielder, something they would have otherwise lacked. The 26-year-old has plenty of intriguing numbers in the minors but hasn’t yet clicked in the majors. That has led to him exhausting his options, which has pushed him into journeyman territory. Over the past few years, he has suited up for the Diamondbacks, Tigers, Phillies and Blue Jays. He has stepped to the plate 163 times scattered over the four most recent seasons but with just a .193/.288/.300 line to show for it.

As mentioned, his minor league work has been better. Dating back to the start of 2023, he has 1,262 Triple-A plate appearances. His 13.9% walk rate and 17.1% strikeout rate in that time are both solid figures. He produced a combined .284/.395/.443 line and 116 wRC+ over that span while playing all four infield spots and a bit of left field as well. Since he’s out of options, he may only hold his roster spot for as long as it takes for someone else to come off the IL. But he was out there on the wire when they needed an infielder, so he’ll get a shot with the Dodgers now.

Fernández, 29, signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers in the offseason. He was selected to the 40-man roster on July 7th. He pitched two innings that day, allowing two earned runs, and was optioned back down to Triple-A the next day.

His major league track record is still limited, as he had just six appearances prior to his one with the Dodgers this year, but he’s been in good form in Triple-A this season. He has tossed 41 1/3 innings with the Oklahoma City Comets, pitching in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, with a 3.05 earned run average, 8.8% walk rate and 28.7% strikeout rate.

With the trade deadline having passed, Fernández will end up on waivers. He can still be optioned for the rest of this year and one additional season. Given his numbers this year and the fact that he can be stashed in the minors, it’s possible he gets claimed in the coming week by a club in search of extra bullpen depth.

Photo courtesy of Kirby Lee, Imagn Images

Padres Place Michael King On Injured List

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August 15: King spoke to reporters, including AJ Cassavell of MLB.com, about his injury today. He says an MRI showed no structural damage and he hopes to return when first eligible.

August 14: The Padres announced that right-hander Michael King has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to left knee inflammation, retroactive to August 11th. Right-hander Randy Vásquez has been recalled in the corresponding move.

The Friars haven’t yet provided any information about King’s injury or how long they expect him to be out of action. His IL placement is a notable development regardless. The Padres just passed the Dodgers to take a one-game lead in the National League West. The two clubs open a three-game series against each other in Los Angeles tomorrow with the division lead on the line. King was scheduled to take the ball in the first game but that will no longer be the case. Perhaps Vásquez will take the ball instead. Dylan Cease, scheduled to start Saturday, could start Friday instead and still be on regular rest.

For King, it continues what has already been an injury-marred season. He landed on the IL in late May due to shoulder inflammation. That injury once seemed fairly innocuous, as King woke up feeling some discomfort after sleeping on his shoulder awkwardly. It was later revealed that he was battling an issue with his thoracic nerve. It took him over two months to return to the big league club.

Once he was healthy enough to get back on the mound, his return to the majors was swift. He made just one rehab start, which was on August 3rd. He tossed 61 pitches over 3 1/3 innings for Triple-A El Paso, allowing six earned runs. The Padres nonetheless activated him from the IL to start Saturday’s big league game. It took him 57 pitches to get through two innings against the Red Sox, allowing two earned runs in the process.

Evidently, some knee inflammation popped up between that start and today. There’s nothing to indicate King is in for an extended absence but it’s still not a great development for the club. King had a tremendous breakout with San Diego last year. He tossed 173 2/3 innings with a 2.95 earned run average, 27.7% strikeout rate and 8.7% walk rate. His rate stats were fairly similar this year before landing on the IL.

Ideally, the Padres would have that kind of production in their rotation, not only in the regular season but also in the playoffs. Perhaps King can get back on track in a few weeks but this is surely a setback they didn’t want.

They now go into the next few weeks with a rotation consisting of Cease, Yu Darvish, Nestor Cortes, Nick Pivetta and perhaps Vásquez. Guys like JP Sears, Matt Waldron and Kyle Hart are on optional assignment. Pivetta’s having a great year but Cease has a 4.86 ERA over his past ten starts. Darvish and Cortes have both been on the IL for most of the season. Having King back to his 2024 self would have made the group much stronger but he’s back on the shelf. Tomorrow’s game in Los Angeles is the first of 13 in a row without an off-day.

It’s also not a good development for King personally, as he’s an impending free agent. After his tremendous 2024 campaign and in the early parts of this year, he was trending towards being one of the top free agent starters of the 2025-26 offseason, with a good shot at a nine-figure deal. His monthslong summer absence put a cloud of uncertainty around him and put a big dent in his earning power.

Getting back to the majors could have been the first step towards putting him back on track. Almost two months of solid regular season work followed by a few good postseason starts could have erased the memory of that shoulder injury. That could still happen to some degree, but the window is now narrower.

Photo courtesy of Wendell Cruz, Imagn Images

The Braves’ Bleak Middle Infield Outlook

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Not long ago, everything seemed to be working for the Braves. They were a player development factory not only churning out quality big leaguer after quality big leaguer -- but frequently signing those players to long-term extensions. As recently as 2022, Atlanta had nearly an entirely homegrown roster full of stars who'd penned long-term deals. Michael Harris II and Spencer Strider burst onto the scene in '22, and Atlanta had Austin Riley, Ozzie Albies, Matt Olson, Ronald Acuña Jr. all signed long-term. Harris and Strider joined the group midway through their rookie seasons.

There were some exceptions. Freddie Freeman had walked in free agency. By the end of the 2022 season, it increasingly seemed as though Swanson and Max Fried would follow suit. They eventually did, but with young infielders like Vaughn Grissom and Nacho Alvarez Jr. impressing in the minors, there was some hope on the horizon.

Much of that core remains in place, but there are far more questions on the roster now. There's no area where that's more true than in the middle infield. With the Braves seemingly facing a budget crunch this past offseason, they made a low-cost addition of defensive standout Nick Allen to hold things down at shortstop while hoping for a rebound from Albies after a pedestrian 2024 showing. It hasn't worked out all that well, particularly at second base, where Albies' struggles have mounted to the point that many fans would prefer to move on entirely -- despite what once appeared a pair of extraordinarily affordable $7MM club options on Albies' 2026 and 2027 seasons.

How will the Braves handle their middle infield situation moving forward? Let's look ahead to the offseason.

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Fantasy Baseball: The Lefties – Targeted Streaming For A Championship Run

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Hello, friends.

We're halfway through August, and championship races are getting tight. But unfortunately, there is only so much you can control when coming down the stretch. The team you have is mostly the one you're stuck with, however, the most hay to be made is in your pitching decisions.

Last week, we did our final update on which teams you should be attacking and avoiding with your right-handed pitchers. This week, it's obviously time to switch over to the wronghanders.

Unlock Subscriber-Exclusive Articles Like This One With a Trade Rumors Front Office Subscription

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  • Join exclusive weekly live chats with Anthony.
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  • Access GM-caliber tools like our MLB Contract Tracker

Latest On Twins’ Ownership

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The Pohlad family’s stunning about-face on a potential sale of the Twins earlier this week sent shockwaves throughout the fanbase in Minnesota. Executive chair Joe Pohlad announced Wednesday that his family would continue on as the principal owners of the Twins and welcome two new limited partners into the ownership group instead of selling a majority stake in the team.

Additional details have since surfaced. Dan Hayes and Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic report that the new incoming minority owners purchased a combined stake that constitutes more than 20% of the franchise. However, there’s no agreed-upon path for the new partners to grow their stake in the team, as we’ve seen in recent ownership shifts with the White Sox and Guardians, where Justin Ishbia and David Blitzer will reportedly increase their stake annually with an eye toward eventually becoming the majority owners. Hayes further reports that the roughly 20% stake of the Twins was sold at a valuation that exceeds Sportico’s recent $1.7 billion valuation of the franchise.

In the aftermath of his announcement, Joe Pohlad sat down with Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star Tribune to discuss the change in direction. “I don’t think we could have imagined a better outcome than where we landed,” he told Miller. That comment (unsurprisingly) has been near-universally panned by a fanbase that has been desperate for new ownership for decades, dating back to the late Carl Pohlad’s efforts to sell the team to a group that would’ve moved the Twins to North Carolina and his subsequent efforts to allow his team to be contracted.

The reported $425MM of debt the Twins had accrued has been said to have served as a major impediment in the Pohlads’ exploration of a sale, though Joe Pohlad pushed back on that notion in his chat with Miller, telling him: “As far as I’m aware, that debt was not a hindrance in this process.”

It’s a fairly remarkable claim to make with a straight face, given that the $425MM figure represents one-quarter of the franchise’s estimated $1.7 billion value. The notion that such a substantial figure did not adversely impact the sale process or dissuade potential buyers is difficult to believe. Regardless, Pohlad added that with the influx of the new minority partners, the Twins are “paying that debt down.” Whether that refers to a portion or the total sum isn’t clear.

Pohlad’s additional comment that his front office’s trade deadline fire sale were “truly primarily baseball decisions” has been met with further incredulity. The general expectation for the Twins in the run-up to the deadline was that Minnesota would sell off rental pieces like Chris Paddack, Willi Castro, Harrison Bader, Danny Coulombe and Ty France.

That quintet was indeed traded, but president of baseball operations Derek Falvey also shipped out controllable relievers Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, Louis Varland and Brock Stewart. Most notably, the Twins dumped $70.5MM of the remaining $103.5MM of their franchise-record deal with Carlos Correa on his old Astros club — and did so for virtually no return. Left-hander Matt Mikulski, the pitcher they received from the Astros, was a second-round pick by the Giants in 2021 but is now 26 years old and still in High-A, where he has an 8.00 ERA with more walks than strikeouts. The Giants released Mikulski at the end of spring training this year, and he signed a minor league deal with Houston just two months before he was traded to Minnesota.

It’s true that the Twins did get some quality returns for the players they shipped out. Duran brought lauded catching prospect Eduardo Tait and MLB-ready right-hander Mick Abel. Jax netted Taj Bradley, who isn’t far removed from being one of the game’s top pitching prospects and still has four additional years of club control. Varland netted a big-league-ready outfielder (Alan Roden) and an arrow-up pitching prospect (Kendry Rojas). Following the Twins’ slate of deadline deals, their farm system ranks second in the game at MLB.com and fourth at Baseball America. FanGraphs’ Eric Longenhagen ranked all 97 prospects traded at this year’s deadline, and the Twins collected four of the top 11 names.

That focus on bolstering the farm and slashing payroll only raises questions about the offseason direction, however. In theory, the Twins could turn around, reinvest a significant amount of the payroll they just shed, and aim for a swift return to contention. What seems far likelier is that the teardown will continue, with catcher Ryan Jeffers and right-handers Joe Ryan, Pablo Lopez and Bailey Ober among the most logical names to hit the trade market in the offseason. Pohlad declined to give any sort of indication as to what lies ahead in terms of roster construction, telling Miller only that he’ll sit down with Falvey, GM Jeremy Zoll and others once the current season ends to plot that course.

Athletics Designate Gio Urshela For Assignment, Claim Jared Shuster

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The Athletics announced that they have claimed left-hander Jared Shuster off waivers from the White Sox and sent him to Triple-A Las Vegas.. The latter club designated him for assignment earlier this week. To open a 40-man spot, the A’s designated infielder Gio Urshela for assignment. Infielder Brett Harris has been recalled to take Urshela’s active roster spot.

Shuster, 27, was once a notable prospect in Atlanta’s system. He hasn’t yet delivered at the major league level, with a 5.27 earned run average in 141 2/3 innings. His minor league track record has been better overall but has been trending in the wrong direction lately. He tossed 212 1/3 minor league innings over 2021 and 2022 with a 3.69 ERA, 27.4% strikeout rate and 6.8% walk rate. But since then, he has 114 innings with a 5.37 ERA, 18.1% strikeout rate and 10.6% walk rate.

For the A’s, it’s understandable they’d grab him off waivers. They’re out of contention here in 2025 and can prioritize the long term. Shuster is in his final option year. He’ll be out of options next year but he can be stashed in Triple-A for now. The A’s can get a close-up look at him and see if he can get back on track in the next few weeks. If not, they can perhaps run him through waivers in the offseason and keep him as non-roster depth next year.

One way or another, if he clicks while in the system, there would be long-term benefits. He has just over two years of service time, meaning he hasn’t yet qualified for arbitration and could theoretically be controlled for four seasons after this one.

Urshela, on the other hand, doesn’t have any long-term benefit to the A’s. His 34th birthday is just over the horizon. He was signed in the offseason to a one-year deal with a $2.15MM guarantee to provide a stable veteran presence in an infield with a lot of youth and uncertainty. Unfortunately, he has hit just .238/.287/.326 this season. His wRC+ has dropped for a third consecutive year and is now down to 68. His previously-excellent defensive metrics have slid below the mean.

By claiming Shuster and bumping out Urshela, the A’s add a younger pitcher who could potentially help them in the future. Meanwhile, Urshela’s playing time at third base can go to younger guys like Harris or Max Schuemann.

With the trade deadline having passed, Urshela will end up on waivers in the coming days. Given his performance this year and his salary, he’s sure to clear. He has enough service time to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency while still collecting the remainder of that salary. The A’s might skip that formality and release him. Once on the open market, they will still be on the hook for that money. If Urshela ends up on another big league roster, the signing club would only owe him the prorated portion of the league minimum salary for any time spent on the roster, with that amount subtracted from what the A’s pay.

Photo courtesy of Daniel Kucin Jr., Imagn Images

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