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Astros Reinstate Spencer Arrighetti, Transfer Isaac Paredes To 60-Day IL

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The Astros announced today that right-hander Spencer Arrighetti has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. Righty AJ Blubaugh has been optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land as the corresponding active roster move. To open a 40-man spot, infielder Isaac Paredes has been transferred to the 60-day IL.

Arrighetti had a decent debut with the Astros last year, tossing 145 innings with a 4.53 earned run average. His 10.3% walk rate was a bit high but he punched out 27.1% of batters faced. Ideally, he would have built on that foundation in 2025 but a freak injury got in the way. He was throwing on the field during pregame batting practice when an errant ball struck him and broke his thumb. He had made just two starts before landing on the IL and has been out of action until today.

That was one of many rotation injuries suffered by the Astros this year. Ronel Blanco and Hayden Wesneski required Tommy John surgery. Luis Garcia, Cristian Javier and J.P. France are still trying to get healthy after surgeries in previous years. Brandon Walter is on the IL due to elbow inflammation while Lance McCullers Jr. is sidelined by a blister.

Despite all that, the Astros are having a great year, currently atop the American League West. That’s thanks in large part to huge contributions from Hunter Brown and Framber Valdez. Arrighetti can now join those two in the rotation, alongside Colton Gordon and Jason Alexander. Each of Javier, Garcia and France have begun rehab assignments, so they could be factors in the coming weeks.

As for Paredes, he landed on the 10-day IL on July 20th due to a right hamstring strain. All the reporting out of Houston has indicated the strain is significant and could perhaps end his season. Per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com, surgery was a possibility, though that would have come with a six-month recovery period. Paredes is instead trying the rest-and-rehab approach, which gives him a chance to return late in the season.

Though it’s possible Paredes could be back, the Astros aren’t relying on it. They acquired old friend Carlos Correa from the Twins ahead of the trade deadline to take over for Paredes at third base. Today’s transfer indicates they don’t expect Paredes to be back before the middle of September, as the 60-day count is retroactive to his initial IL placement. If he is able to come back, it’s unclear where he will play, but the club’s designated hitter spot is open for now with Yordan Alvarez also on the IL. Paredes could also perhaps slide over to second or first base, though it’s also possible future injuries will open playing time between now and the end of the season.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” general manager Dana Brown said, per McTaggart. “We have multiple infielders who can play multiple positions, and that’s very helpful. That would be a good decision to have to make.”

Photo courtesy of Jordan Johnson, Imagn Images

Vince Velasquez To Sign With KBO’s Lotte Giants

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The Guardians announced this morning that right-hander Vince Velasquez will sign with the Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball Organization for the remainder of the season. Velasquez has been pitching with Cleveland’s Triple-A affiliate. His contract is being sold to the Giants, who’ll send cash back to Cleveland. Velasquez and his agents at CAA have surely negotiated a deal with the Giants that’ll pay the right-hander more than he’d have received by playing out the remainder of his minor league deal with the Guardians.

Velasquez, 33, hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2023. The Guardians selected his contract to the big league roster back in late April, but he was designated for assignment a few days later before ever getting into a game. He could’ve rejected the subsequent outright assignment after he cleared waivers, but he opted to remain with the organization.

In 81 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level this year, Velasquez has pitched to a 3.42 ERA with a strong 26.8% strikeout rate but an ugly 14.1% walk rate. Velasquez has averaged fewer than 4 2/3 innings per start, though some of that workload was limited by design. The right-hander had elbow surgery back in June 2023 and missed all of the 2024 season as a result. Cleveland didn’t push him past 4 1/3 innings in an outing until late May. Velasquez still isn’t regularly working deep into games, but he’s pitched into the sixth inning in seven of his past 12 starts and averaged five frames per start along the way.

Selected by the Astros with the 58th overall draft pick back in 2010, Velasquez has pitched in parts of nine major league seasons. He’s totaled 763 2/3 innings with a 4.88 earned run average, 24.9% strikeout rate and 9.3% walk rate in that time.

In 2025, Velasquez has gotten stronger as the season has worn on (3.17 ERA over his past 12 starts). He’s sitting 92.5 mph with his fastball — down a couple miles from his peak levels — and complementing that four-seamer with a slider, knuckle curve, changeup and sinker (in order of usage rate).

To make room for Velasquez, the Giants are slated to waive left-hander Tucker Davidson, per a report from the Chosun Ilbo (a South Korean news outlet). Davidson has pitched to a 3.65 ERA on the season, including six innings of one-run ball last night in his tenth win of the season. The team had concerns about Davidson’s lack of consistency, per the report, and opted to make a change before the KBO’s Aug. 15 postseason eligibility deadline for foreign signees (hat tip to Dan Kurtz of MyKBO).

Davidson, 29, has pitched in parts of five major league seasons between the Braves, Angels and Orioles. The lefty once ranked as one of the more promising arms in Atlanta’s system but has totaled 129 2/3 innings with a rocky 5.76 ERA in the majors.

The Opener: Arrighetti, Cavalli, Red Sox

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

1. Arrighetti to return:

The Astros have been without Spencer Arrighetti since April due to a thumb fracture, but the right-hander is finally ready to return to action. He’s listed as the club’s probable starter for today’s game against the Marlins, which will pit him against right-hander Janson Junk (3.86 ERA in 13 appearances). Arrighetti made just two starts before getting shelved earlier this year but posted a 4.53 ERA and 4.18 FIP in 145 innings of work during his rookie campaign last year. The 25-year-old’s return should help offer some certainty to a rotation that has largely lacked it this season outside of Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown. Corresponding moves will be necessary to clear both 40-man and active roster space for Arrighetti.

2. Cavalli returns to the majors:

Former Nationals top prospect Cade Cavalli made his MLB debut back in 2022. He surrendered seven runs on six hits, two walks, and three hit batters over 4 1/3 innings of work while striking out six opponents, and he hasn’t pitched in the majors since. That’s not because of his poor performance in his debut, but because he missed the entire 2023 and ’24 seasons while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. Cavalli has now made 15 starts at Triple-A but has struggled badly in his last six starts, leaving him with a 6.01 ERA despite solid peripheral numbers. Despite those recent struggles, he’ll now get the opportunity to pitch in the majors for the first time in three years. He’ll take the mound in front of the home crowd in D.C. opposite Athletics lefty Jeffrey Springs, who has a 4.00 ERA in 23 appearances this year.

3. Red Sox streaking ahead of May’s team debut:

The Red Sox have been surging in recent days, with wins in each of their last seven games. They’ll now look to keep the good times rolling as deadline addition Dustin May makes his Red Sox debut at Fenway Park this evening in a game against the Royals scheduled for 7:10pm local time. May’s 104 innings of work this year for the Dodgers are already a career high, but he’s posted a middling 4.85 ERA with a 4.72 FIP. He’ll look to put up stronger numbers in Boston, starting tonight against Michael Wacha (3.38 ERA in 22 starts). If May can help lead the Red Sox to a win, the club’s eight-game win streak would be their second streak of that length after they won ten straight earlier this year. Only the Brewers have two win streaks of eight games or longer this season.

Padres Option JP Sears

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The Padres announced they’ve optioned JP Sears to Triple-A El Paso. They recalled reliever Sean Reynolds and will go with a nine-man bullpen in the short term. Sears will spend at least 15 days in the minors unless he’s brought up to replace a player going on the injured list.

San Diego acquired Sears alongside Mason Miller in last week’s massive deadline deal. The 29-year-old southpaw made his team debut last night. He allowed five runs in as many innings on 10 hits and a walk against the Diamondbacks. Sears took the loss in a 6-2 defeat. He’d carried a 4.95 earned run average over 22 starts with the A’s. Yesterday pushed his ERA to 5.12 across 116 innings. It’s a bottom 10 mark among pitchers to log at least 100 frames. Sears had the highest home run rate among that group, offsetting his nearly league average 20.3% strikeout rate and solid 6% walk percentage.

This is the first time in two and a half years that Sears heads to the minors. He broke camp with the A’s in 2023 and has been in the majors since then. Sears has also avoided the injured list for that entire time. As a result, he’s tied for fifth in MLB with 87 starts since the beginning of the ’23 season. The durability is the big selling point, as his production (4.62 ERA/4.56 SIERA) over that stretch is that of a fifth or sixth starter.

The demotion shouldn’t have any impact on Sears’ service trajectory. He has already surpassed the three-year mark and will qualify for arbitration next winter. He’s under team control for three seasons beyond this one. While he’ll probably be back up at some point this year, it may require an injury elsewhere in the rotation.

San Diego optioned Randy Vásquez over the weekend. They currently have a four-man rotation of Dylan Cease, Nick Pivetta, Yu Darvish and deadline acquisition Nestor Cortes. Darvish and Cortes will get the ball for the next two outings. San Diego is off Thursday and could turn back to Pivetta and Cease on extra rest for their first two games of the weekend series against the Red Sox.

That’d point to the series finale on August 10 as Michael King’s return date. King threw 61 pitches in what is expected to be his final rehab start on Sunday (via the MLB.com injury tracker). He’d be on six days rest for his first MLB appearance since he went on the injured list in late May with a nerve problem in his throwing shoulder.

Reds, Charlie Barnes Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Reds are in agreement with left-hander Charlie Barnes on a minor league contract, reports Jon Morosi of MLB Network. Barnes has spent the past few seasons with the Lotte Giants in Korea. He was released in May after suffering a shoulder injury that came with a two-month recovery timetable (link via Jee-ho Yoo of Yonhap News).

Barnes has a bit of big league experience. He made nine appearances with the Twins in 2021, allowing a 5.92 ERA across 38 innings. Minnesota waived him at the end of that season, and Barnes embarked on his new career path in Korea. He spent parts of four seasons with Lotte. The Clemson product was effective for the first three years, surpassing 150 innings with an ERA of 3.62 or better in each.

The 29-year-old had a tougher go this season. Opponents tagged Barnes for 5.32 earned runs per nine across eight starts before Lotte shut him down with the injury. He will presumably report to Triple-A Louisville to serve as rotation or long relief depth and try to earn a late-season look with the big league club.

Royals Sign Jonathan Heasley To Minor League Deal

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The Royals signed right-hander Jonathan Heasley to a minor league contract. The 28-year-old has not pitched in a game since being released by the White Sox at the end of March.

Heasley returns to his original organization. K.C. selected him in the 13th round of the 2018 draft. The Oklahoma State product debuted three years later and pitched with the Royals between 2021-23. He combined for a 5.45 ERA in 36 appearances. Heasley started 21 games in 2022 and moved mostly to the bullpen a year later. Kansas City traded him to Baltimore during the 2023-24 offseason.

With the Orioles, Heasley made four MLB appearances and pitched 10 times in Triple-A. He was released in July after suffering a season-ending shoulder injury while in the minors. Heasley was able to get back on the mound for three appearances with the White Sox during Spring Training. Chicago initially assigned him to their Arizona complex but released him a few days into the regular season.

Heasley owns a 5.89 ERA in 139 big league innings. He has also struggled at the Triple-A level (5.47 ERA across 164 2/3 frames) but is a familiar face for the Royals and can provide long relief depth once he’s ready to report to Triple-A Omaha.

Reds Place Nick Lodolo On Injured List With Blister

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The Reds placed starter Nick Lodolo on the 15-day injured list with a blister on his left index finger. Reliever Yosver Zulueta is up from Triple-A Louisville to fill the active roster spot.

Lodolo left last night’s start at Wrigley Field in the second inning. He has dealt with blister issues in the past, including one on his index finger that cost him a couple weeks last season. Manager Terry Francona indicated the history played a role in the team’s decision to put him on the shelf (ESPN link). There’s no indication he’ll be out beyond the minimum stint.

Aside from a three-day stay on the paternity list, this is Lodolo’s first absence of the season. The 27-year-old southpaw has a 3.05 ERA across 23 starts. He has recorded a solid 23.6% strikeout rate against a tidy 4.6% walk percentage while logging a career-high 129 2/3 innings. This has easily been the best season for the former seventh overall pick. Lodolo has pitched at a top-of-the-rotation level of late, turning in a sub-2.00 ERA while striking out 27% of opponents over his past nine starts.

Cincinnati will need to skip at least two of Lodolo’s turns through the rotation. They’re not going to replace his recent production but are well equipped to withstand a brief absence. The Zack Littell trade was going to push Nick Martinez to the bullpen. The veteran swingman can stick in the rotation for another turn. Hunter Greene could be back after that, but he’ll need at least one more rehab start with Louisville this week. Greene has been out since the beginning of June with a groin strain.

Padres Outright Trenton Brooks

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The Padres have sent first baseman/left fielder Trenton Brooks outright to Triple-A El Paso, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week. He has the right to elect free agency though the log doesn’t indicate if he has done so.

Brooks, 30, signed a minor league deal with the Friars in the offseason. He was selected to the big league roster in the middle of June and held a spot for about six weeks but without playing much. He stepped to the plate 43 times with 13 strikeouts and two walks, leading to a .146/.186/.268 line.

The Padres made a number of notable upgrades ahead of the deadline, adding Ramón Laureano, Ryan O’Hearn, Freddy Fermin and Will Wagner to the position player mix. Those moves bumped Brooks off the roster and onto the waiver wire, with no club claiming him. He was also outrighted by the Giants last year, which is why he has the right to elect free agency this time.

If he accepts his outright assignment, he could perhaps get more playing time in Triple-A but he wouldn’t have a great path back to the majors now that the San Diego roster has been bolstered. If he were to elect free agency, perhaps he could find interest from a club with more theoretical playing time available. His major league track record isn’t good but he has always hit in the minors. From the start of 2022 to the present day, he has a 14.5% walk rate, 15.3% strikeout rate, .292/.397/.501 line and 126 wRC+ in 1,540 Triple-A plate appearances.

Photo courtesy of Denis Poroy, Imagn Images

Terrin Vavra Accepts Outright Assignment With Orioles

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The Orioles announced that infielder/outfielder Terrin Vavra has cleared waivers and been assigned to Triple-A Norfolk. He has the right to reject this assignment and elect free agency but the O’s say he has accepted and will report to the Tides.

Vavra, 28, signed a minor league deal with the O’s in the offseason. He has seemingly been the club’s “break glass in case of emergency” player. He was selected to the big league roster in May when Ramón Laureano hit the injured list. The next day, the O’s signed Cooper Hummel. Vavra did not appear in a game before being designated for assignment, clearing waivers and accepting an outright assignment.

Ahead of the deadline, the O’s traded Laureano, Ryan O’Hearn, Cedric Mullins and Ramón Urías, opening up a lot of playing time on the position player side of things. Vavra got selected back to the roster on Friday. He got put into Saturday’s game as a pinch hitter, lining out in his one plate appearance. He was designated for assignment again on Sunday when the O’s grabbed Ryan Noda off waivers.

He’ll now return to his role as a non-roster depth player. He brings a bit of experience to the table, as he has appeared in 68 big league contests, though his recent lineout is his only action since 2023. He has a .252/.329/.302 batting line and 84 wRC+ in the big leagues.

He put up some strong numbers earlier in his minor league career but hasn’t been as impressive lately. He underwent shoulder surgery in 2023 and has a .241/.343/.342 line and 91 wRC+ on the farm since then. He has at least some experience at every position on the diamond, including one inning of Triple-A mop-up work on the mound.

Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron, Imagn Images

Blue Jays Designate Ali Sánchez For Assignment, Select Buddy Kennedy

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The Blue Jays announced that they have selected the contract of infielder Buddy Kennedy. In a corresponding move, catcher Ali Sánchez has been designated for assignment. The 40-man roster remains full.

Sánchez was selected to the roster a little over a week ago when Alejandro Kirk landed on the seven-day concussion-related injured list. Kirk was reinstated on Sunday but Tyler Heineman had been removed from Saturday’s contest after being struck by a foul ball. The Jays decided to keep all three catchers for a few days to buy some time as they evaluated Heineman.

In order to keep that catching depth, they had to cut into their infield group, as Leo Jiménez was optioned down to Triple-A Buffalo move as the corresponding move for Kirk’s activation. It now appears the club is satisfied with Heineman’s health enough to restore the previous balance, so they have swapped out a catcher for an infielder. Since Sánchez is out of options, he had to be removed from the 40-man roster. Since the trade deadline has passed, the Jays will have to place him on waivers.

It’s the second time this year that Sánchez has gotten a brief stint on the roster as an injury replacement. He was called up in May when Heineman was on the concussion IL. Sánchez was designated for assignment just over a week later when Heineman was reinstated. He cleared waivers, elected free agency and re-signed on a new minor league deal, which allowed him to get back to the big leagues again when Kirk got hurt. It’s possible the same sequence of events plays out in the coming days.

Around the transactions, Sánchez has hit .238/.238/.333 in 21 big league plate appearances. He has a strong .279/.347/.419 line and 107 wRC+ in 199 Triple-A plate appearances this year. The Jays added some catching depth ahead of the deadline by sending Will Wagner to the Padres for Brandon Valenzuela, but Valenzuela has no big league experience and even limited time at Triple-A. The Jays would presumably be open to bringing Sánchez back in a non-roster capacity so he could again be the first man up if one of the big league catchers gets hurt.

Simply recalling Jiménez to retake his roster spot wasn’t a possibility since the ten-day minimum stint for an optional assignment hadn’t yet elapsed, so the Jays have tapped Kennedy instead. Kennedy signed a minor league deal with the Jays a few weeks ago after being cut loose by the Phillies. He has since played 16 games for the Bisons with a dismal .207/.309/.259 line.

That’s not too far off from the .193/.287/.296 line he has in his major league career, but his larger body of work at the Triple-A level is better. Dating back to the start of 2022, he has a .268/.372/.408 line and 111 wRC+ at the top minor league level. He has big league experience at the non-shortstop infield positions.

Kennedy is out of options and may have a tenuous grip on a roster spot. Per Keegan Matheson of MLB.com, both Andrés Giménez and George Springer are beginning rehab assignments this week, so the Jays will need to open some more roster spots soon.

Photo courtesy of Kevin Jairaj, Imagn Images

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