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The Opener: Hoskins, King, MLBTR Chat

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

1. Hoskins to be activated:

The Brewers are expected to activate first baseman Rhys Hoskins from the injured list today, as relayed by Sophia Minnaert. Hoskins, 32, hasn’t appeared in a game since July 5 due to a thumb sprain. At the time of his injury, he was hitting fairly well with a .242/.340/.428 line. He’d connected on 12 homers and 12 doubles in 318 plate appearances with an 11.8% walk rate. Hoskins’ role is not quite certain as he returns to the team given the performance of Andrew Vaughn since he joined the club on July 7. The former No. 3 overall pick has slashed .308/.370/.503 with a strikeout rate of just 14.8% in 209 plate appearances following his change of scenery. Perhaps Hoskins could get some time in at DH, but Christian Yelich returned to the lineup at the position yesterday after nursing a day-to-day ailment. If Hoskins makes it into today’s lineup, he’ll face off against right-hander Jack Leiter (3.74 ERA) of the Rangers later this evening.

2. King to return:

The Padres are welcoming a notable veteran from the injured list: right-hander Michael King. King has made just 11 starts this year due to injuries but has been fantastic when healthy enough to take the mound, with a 2.81 ERA and a 27.5% strikeout rate in 57 2/3 innings of work. As the Padres look ahead to the postseason in October, King is sure to be one of their top starters and could even get the nod for Game 1 of a playoff series. First, of course, he’ll be getting back into a regular rhythm in the final weeks of the regular season. His first opponent will be the Reds, who are sending Zack Littell (3.81 ERA) to the mound against King at 6:40pm local time in San Diego.

3. MLBTR chat today:

We’re just a few short weeks away from the postseason, and the teams that remain in the race are engaged in a mad dash to finish the season strong, whether that’s for playoff seeding or the right to play in October at all. Whether you’re invested in these final weeks of the season or already are turning your attention towards the upcoming offseason and free agency, MLBTR’s Steve Adams has you covered in a live chat at 1pm CT later today. You can click here to ask a question in advance, join in live once the chat begins, or read the transcript once the chat is complete.

Padres Expected To Activate Michael King

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The Padres are expected to reinstate right-hander Michael King from the injured list to start tomorrow’s game versus the Reds, reports Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. He’s been out since early Aug. 9 due to knee troubles. That August start stands as King’s only appearance since mid-May, as he’d previously missed more than two months with a nerve issue in his right shoulder.

King hasn’t pitched in a minor league rehab game, though skipper Mike Shildt said in a radio appearance late last week that he’d tossed five innings in a scrimmage setting at the team’s Arizona Complex League facility. That put him on turn to take the ball Tuesday, which would’ve been Nestor Cortes’ spot in the rotation had he not gone down with a biceps strain this past Friday.

Those shoulder and knee injuries have limited King to just 11 starts this season, though he’s been every bit as excellent in that slate of appearances as he was with the Padres in 2024 and with the Yankees’ rotation late in 2023. King has pitched 57 2/3 frames on the season and carries a terrific 2.81 ERA with a 27.5% strikeout rate, an 8.1% walk rate, a 38.3% ground-ball rate and 0.94 homers per nine innings. Since moving into a starting role full-time, the former swingman has started 49 games and pitched to a 2.77 ERA. He’s punched out 28.2% of his opponents against an 8.2% walk rate.

King will step back into a San Diego rotation that’s been anchored by offseason signee Nick Pivetta, in terms of both workload and quality. Pivetta’s 164 1/3 innings lead the Friars, and his 2.85 ERA is tops among Padres starters (with the exception of King’s 2.81 in about one-third as many innings). The ultra-durable Dylan Cease has been healthy all season but has continued to struggle to strand runners, leaving him with a 4.71 ERA despite a premium 30% strikeout rate and passable (albeit somewhat elevated) 10% walk rate. Veteran righty Yu Darvish has a 5.75 ERA in his 11 starts, though he’s trimmed that considerably over his past seven trips to the bump (4.11 ERA). Randy Vasquez has kept his ERA under 4.00 despite walking a tightrope with nearly as many walks (9.7%) as strikeouts (12.3%). There’s likely some regression in store for him.

All of that makes getting King back into the mix all the more critical. The Padres added lefties Cortes and JP Sears at the deadline but didn’t deepen their staff overall, given that they sent out starters Ryan Bergert and Stephen Kolek in the trade that brought catcher Freddy Fermin to Petco Park. Getting King back could be pivotal, particularly since it’ll give him three to four starts to ramp up and get back into form ahead of the Padres’ looming postseason berth.

It’ll also give him a bit more time to build up his case ahead of what’ll be his first trip to the free-agent market. A swift return to form would bode well for the talented righty’s earning power on the open market. If healthy, King should be among the more coveted starting pitchers in free agency this offseason.

King’s return is likely an unwelcome development for the Reds and their fans. Cincinnati sits four games behind the Mets in the National League Wild Card race, tied with the Giants in that regard. A series loss or a sweep at the hands of the Padres could be a backbreaker for their season. From the Padres’ vantage point, winning even two of three would further pad their standing in the Wild Card mix. And, with just a one-game deficit standing between the Friars and the division-leading archrival Dodgers, King could be a pivotal part of a late push for the division.

Tylor Megill Headed For Imaging With Renewed Elbow Tightness

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Mets righty Tylor Megill suffered a setback in his rehab from elbow inflammation. Manager Carlos Mendoza tells reporters (including Anthony DiComo of MLB.com) that Megill felt elbow tightness when he tried to throw his breaking stuff on a rehab start with Triple-A Syracuse yesterday. The Mets sent him back to New York for imaging to determine whether there’s any structural damage.

Megill has been out since the middle of June. There’s a decent chance the setback will prevent him from contributing to the Mets’ hopeful playoff push. “We’re running out of time, especially now with him complaining about the same thing that he went down with earlier in the year,” Mendoza admitted. “I don’t want to speculate here, but the fact that he’s getting another MRI and where we’re at, it feels like we’re running out of time.”

The 30-year-old Megill opened the season in New York’s rotation. He started 14 times and managed a solid 3.95 earned run average across 68 1/3 frames. Megill struck out more than 29% of opponents, and while he didn’t often work deep into games, he was typically good for five solid innings in his starts. Megill probably wouldn’t have secured a spot in the Mets’ playoff rotation coming off an elbow injury that cost him most of the second half. He could have been a valuable multi-inning arm out of the bullpen, though.

That no longer seems likely. The Mets haven’t firmly closed the door on a return, but any kind of structural issue would certainly do so. Even if the imaging only reveals inflammation, it’s tough to see him returning before the end of the regular season on September 28. Playing deep into the postseason would give him a little more runway from a recovery perspective but also make it riskier for the Mets to shake up their October pitching staff.

Megill is playing on a $1.975MM salary in his first trip through arbitration. He crossed the four-year service threshold and will earn a slight raise for next season. The Mets control him through 2027.

Marlins To Activate Ryan Weathers On Thursday

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Ryan Weathers is listed as the Marlins’ probable starter for Thursday’s game against the Nationals. He’ll be activated from the 60-day injured list and take the ball for the first time in three months. Miami will need to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

Weathers has struggled through a second straight injury-riddled year. An index finger strain on his throwing hand cost him most of the second half of 2024. This year saw him miss the first six weeks after he suffered a Spring Training forearm strain. Weathers returned and took five starts over three weeks before he sustained the lat injury.

The health problems have interrupted a potential breakout. The former seventh overall pick turned in a 3.63 ERA with solid strikeout and walk numbers across 16 starts a year ago. He has worked 24 2/3 frames of 3.28 ERA ball while punching out 22.5% of opponents this year. Weathers has pushed his average fastball velocity above 97 MPH. His changeup and breaking ball have each gotten strong results. Weathers has also shown far better command over his two seasons in Miami than he did early in his career with the Padres. He has the ability to be a mid-rotation starter if his arm holds up.

Weathers has crossed the three-year service threshold and will reach arbitration for the first time in the offseason. His limited body of work will keep his salary affordable, and he’s under team control for three years. He’s part of a talented but volatile collection of starting pitchers in Miami.

The Fish have Sandy Alcantara signed for $17MM next season. Weathers, Edward Cabrera, Braxton Garrett and Max Meyer are all eligible for arbitration. They’ve all shown flashes of promise but haven’t proven they can stay healthy. Eury Pérez is still in his pre-arbitration years. Janson Junk and Ryan Gusto could compete for spots at the back end. That’s before accounting for a minor league pipeline that features Thomas White, Robby Snelling and Noble Meyer. Alcantara will probably be on the trade block during the winter. Much of the Marlins’ short-term future will hinge on the health and development of their collection of younger arms.

Cabrera may be the biggest x-factor. He has had a career season, working to a 3.57 earned run average over a personal-high 24 starts. He has performed at a top-of-the-rotation level going back to the beginning of May: 110 innings of 2.95 ERA ball with a 26.5% strikeout rate. The run was halted when an elbow sprain sent him to the injured list last week. Cabrera also has a history of shoulder problems and hadn’t reached 100 MLB innings in a season until this year.

The Marlins shut the righty down for a week after the diagnosis. Manager Clayton McCullough said this afternoon that Cabrera will now ramp up a throwing program that gives him a chance to return this season (link via Christina De Nicola of MLB.com). McCullough unsurprisingly suggested the team would quickly shut things down if Cabrera’s elbow doesn’t respond well but indicated the pitcher and team both want to see how he feels as he throws with more intensity. Even if Miami isn’t playing for anything in the standings, Cabrera would surely feel a lot better about his offseason if he’s able to get back on the mound for an appearance or two before the year closes.

Stu Sternberg Will Retain Minority Share For A Time Following Rays Sale

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In the middle of July, Stu Sternberg agreed to a sale of the Rays to Jacksonville-based real estate developer Patrick Zalupski for around a $1.7 billion purchase price. Sternberg won’t immediately leave the organization completely, however.

Evan Drellich and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic report that Sternberg and other current partners will retain an approximate 10% stake in the franchise in the short term. Sternberg is still expected to eventually depart the organization entirely, but that won’t happen concurrent with this month’s sale.

The transaction has been expected to be finalized in September. That timeline is still in place. Drellich and Rosenthal write that the sale should be complete around the end of the regular season. Zalupski’s group is expected to keep the franchise in the Tampa area, preferably with a new stadium to be built in Hillsborough County. (Tropicana Field, located in St. Petersburg, is in Pinellas County.) Nina Moske of The Tampa Bay Times wrote this afternoon that one site under consideration is at Hillsborough College.

The Rays’ previous stadium deal with Pinellas County collapsed after the team sought additional funding following delays after last fall’s hurricanes. That proved an impetus for Sternberg to turn to selling his majority share. The club’s lease at Tropicana Field runs for three seasons from whenever The Trop becomes playable — hopefully by the beginning of next season.

Angels Select Sebastian Rivero, Transfer Jorge Soler To 60-Day Injured List

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6:17pm: Rather than shutting Anderson down, the Halos moved Jorge Soler from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list as the corresponding move. The designated hitter/corner outfielder has been out since July 24 with lower back issues. The transfer backdates to his initial IL placement, so Soler could theoretically return for the last week of the season. He hasn’t begun a rehab assignment, though, and it seems there’s a good chance he doesn’t make it back this year.

4:35pm: The Angels selected catcher Sebastián Rivero onto the big league roster, notes Jeff Fletcher of The Orange County Register. Rivero is starting tonight and hitting eighth against Twins righty Simeon Woods Richardson. Logan O’Hoppe heads to the seven-day concussion injured list after being hit on a backswing by A’s infielder Jacob Wilson yesterday.

Rivero was not on the 40-man roster, so the Halos will need to announce another move before game time. Tyler Anderson recently suffered what is expected to be a season-ending oblique strain and could be moved to the 60-day injured list if the Halos officially rule him out for the year.

O’Hoppe and Travis d’Arnaud have divided the work behind the plate all season. The Angels had gotten away with carrying only two catchers on the 40-man roster as a result. O’Hoppe’s injury forces them to tap into their non-roster depth with a few weeks remaining in the season. The 26-year-old Rivero signed an offseason minor league contract and has been at Triple-A Salt Lake all year. He’s hitting .264/.309/.429 with nine homers, below-average production in a hitter-friendly league.

As is the case with most third catchers, Rivero isn’t going to provide much offensively. He’ll look to offer capable defense while backing up d’Arnaud for at least a week. Tonight will mark his first MLB action in three years. He has 34 career games under his belt, all of which came with the Royals between 2021-22. The righty hitter batted .167 with a .234 on-base percentage over 73 trips to the plate.

Randy Rodriguez To Undergo Tommy John Surgery In Late September

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Giants closer Randy Rodríguez will undergo Tommy John surgery at the end of September, the team informed reporters (including Shayna Rubin of The San Francisco Chronicle). The club announced in late August that doctors had recommended he undergo surgery. This finalizes those plans and all but officially rules the right-hander out for the 2026 season.

Rodríguez had taken over the ninth inning after San Francisco traded Camilo Doval to the Yankees at the deadline. He would’ve been the favorite for the closer role going into next year. The 25-year-old turned in a 1.78 earned run average while striking out more than a third of opponents over 50 appearances. He collected his first four career saves and picked up 13 holds.

Elbow injuries have been the only real concern over his first two big league seasons. Rodríguez missed six weeks in the second half of the ’24 campaign to elbow inflammation. He avoided surgery at the time, and his 97-98 MPH fastball and wipeout slider carried him through the first five months of this season. An elbow sprain sent him back to the injured list last month, and it seems the ligament damage was severe enough that he’ll need to go under the knife.

Rodríguez entered this season with 148 days of service time. He picked up a full service year in 2025 and will do the same in ’26. He’ll qualify for arbitration for the first of four times as a Super Two player during the 2026-27 offseason. The Giants will need to carry him on the 40-man roster over the offseason but can place him on the 60-day injured list at the beginning of Spring Training.

Mariners’ Ryan Bliss Undergoes Season-Ending Meniscus Surgery

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Mariners infielder Ryan Bliss recently sustained a meniscus tear in his right knee, general manager Justin Hollander tells reporters (including Tim Booth of The Seattle Times). He underwent season-ending surgery today.

Bliss is already on the 60-day injured list. Seattle’s Opening Day second baseman suffered a biceps rupture on a swing in the middle of April. He underwent surgery that came with a 4-5 month recovery timeline. Bliss had seemingly made good progress and was healthy enough to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Tacoma on August 28. He was hitting .385 over six games there before suffering the meniscus tear.

The 25-year-old Bliss had a slow start to the season. He was batting .200 with a .282 on-base percentage across 11 games. Bliss hasn’t hit much in limited big league playing time, but he had a .269/.377/.456 slash with 50 stolen bases in Tacoma a year ago. The M’s promoted more highly regarded prospect Cole Young to take over second base at the end of May. Young has been mired in a brutal slump since the All-Star Break (.174/.319/.283 in 114 plate appearances). Skipper Dan Wilson has had the 22-year-old on the bench for the past four games. Bliss might’ve been a few days away from retaking the starting second base job.

Instead, the Mariners will continue dividing the playing time primarily between Jorge Polanco and recent call-up Leo Rivas. Polanco is in the lineup every day, but the M’s are reluctant to overwork him on defense as he plays through knee soreness. He’s getting plenty of DH at-bats. The switch-hitting Rivas is in the starting lineup for the third time in four games tonight against St. Louis righty Miles Mikolas. Young remains on the active roster but is out of the lineup for the fifth consecutive game.

The M’s took the final two of a three-game set in Atlanta over the weekend. They’re 1.5 games up on the Rangers for the last Wild Card spot. The Royals and Guardians are also within three games. Seattle trails the Astros by 2.5 games in the AL West picture. They’re back home (where they’ve been far better than on the road over the past two months) for this week’s series against the Cardinals and Angels.

Cubs Place Daniel Palencia On Injured List

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September 8: Palencia has been placed on the 15-day injured list, according to multiple media personnel (including Marquee’s Taylor McGregor). Ethan Roberts has been recalled from Triple-A Iowa to take the open bullpen spot. Bruce Levine of 670 The Score suggests that Keller is likely to step into the ninth inning while Palencia is on the shelf.

September 7: The Cubs may be looking at going into the postseason without their closer. Daniel Palencia entered the ninth inning of Chicago’s game against the Nationals earlier today, but surrendered five runs and was pulled without recording an out. The team termed Palencia’s ailment “shoulder tightness” at the time of his removal, but manager Craig Counsell told reporters (including Bruce Levine of 670 The Score) following the game that, more specifically, Palencia was suffering from a posterior capsule strain in his right shoulder.

While specifics beyond that diagnosis were few and far between in Counsell’s description of the situation, it seems all but certain that Palencia will require a trip to the injured list and be out for quite a while. Strains can naturally vary in severity substantially, but one relatively recent example of a pitcher dealing with a posterior capsule strain is Mets right-hander Kodai Senga, who was shut down due to a moderate strain in February of 2024. That kicked off what was more or less a lost season for Senga due to multiple injuries, but the initial diagnosis for that strain was expected to shut him down from throwing for three weeks.

A similar timeline would knock Palencia out for, at minimum, the remainder of the regular season and would likely result in him returning this year only if the Cubs make a relatively deep run into the postseason. Of course, it’s possible that Palencia’s capsule strain proves to be a relatively mild one that requires less time off, and it’s not impossible to imagine that he could be back on the big league mound for in time for the tail end of the regular season; a 15-day stint on the injured list, at this point, would allow Palencia to return to action during the club’s final two series of the regular season against the Mets and Cardinals.

However long Palencia ultimately ends up being sidelined, the news is a brutal blow to Chicago. Acquired from the A’s in exchange for Andrew Chafin at the 2021 trade deadline, Palencia made his big league debut in 2023 but has rounded into form as a dominant closer this year. Entering play today, the 25-year-old had posted a 2.12 ERA with a 2.59 FIP and 28.8% strikeout rate in 51 innings of work for the Cubs this year. He’s walked just 7.8% of his opponents faced and picked up 22 saves in 24 opportunities this year to go with six holds. That dominant production convinced the Cubs to back off the from the high leverage relief market. They targeted Andrew Kittredge and Taylor Rogers to bolster their bullpen rather than landing a more surefire closer like David Bednar or Jhoan Duran.

With Palencia seemingly out of commission for the time being, manager Craig Counsell will now have to reconfigure his bullpen for the stretch run. Rogers has struggled since joining the Cubs, but Kittredge figures to be part of the late-inning mix for the Cubs alongside Brad Keller, Caleb Thielbar, and perhaps Drew Pomeranz. Keller and Thielbar in particular appear likely to be in the conversation for save opportunities given their dominant seasons with the Cubs this year. Keller has a 2.20 ERA and 2.99 FIP in 59 appearances, while Thielbar sports a 2.15 ERA and 2.68 FIP in 58 outings.

Palencia’s injury is the latest frustrating development for a Cubs team that already had both Pete Crow-Armstrong and Kyle Tucker miss todays game due to injuries. Fortunately, Counsell provided a positive update to reporters (including Levine) regarding the status of both hitters. Counsell indicated that Crow-Armstrong, who exited yesterday’s game after fouling a ball off of his shin, could be back in the lineup as soon as tomorrow for the start of the club’s series in Atlanta. As for Tucker, the All-Star hasn’t played since exiting Tuesday’s game against the Braves and Levine notes that he’s unlikely to be back in the lineup tomorrow. Even so, Counsell suggested that his running improved today and that he’s trending in the right direction towards a return to action in the near future.

Trade Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript

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Steve Adams

  • Good afternoon! Hope everyone enjoyed the weekend. I'll get going at 3pm CT, but as always, feel free to send in some questions ahead of time.
  • Hey all! Sorry for the delay
  • Lot of news happening right now as well.

Tony

  • If Sonny Gray agreed to waive his NTC, what could the Cardinals expect to get in return?  How underwater is his contract?  Thanks!

Steve Adams

  • I don't really think there's any surplus value there. You can say there's no such thing as a bad one-year deal, but Gray is being paid $35MM next year and has a $5MM buyout on a 2027 option. Is he getting $40MM if he goes to the open market and says he'll only sign a one-year deal? I doubt that. Even if you think it's not that much of an overpay, there's no excess value. I think they'd probably have to cover part of the salary to get anything of real note.

thebeatlesshow

  • OK, Steve, you're the Astros.  Next year, do you put Issac Parades at 2nd and move Altuve to Left Field?  Move Parades to left field?  Move Parades to DH and play Yordan to left...or just trade Parades?  What would you do?

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