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Braves Release Erick Fedde, Place Aaron Bummer On 15-Day IL

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The Braves announced that right-hander Erick Fedde has been released, and that left-hander Aaron Bummer was placed on the 15-day injured list due to inflammation in his throwing shoulder.  Right-handers Wander Suero and Hunter Stratton were called up from Triple-A in corresponding roster moves.

It was just under a month ago that Fedde came to Atlanta in a trade with the Cardinals, with St. Louis covering Fedde’s remaining salary (roughly $2.7MM) for the slight return of cash considerations or a player to be named later.  The Cards wanted to move an impending free agent in order to create more room in their rotation for younger pitchers, while the Braves just needed a fresh arm to cover innings in the wake of a swath of injuries to their starting pitching.

Unfortunately for Fedde and the Braves, the move didn’t work out.  Fedde posted an 8.10 ERA over 23 1/3 innings in Atlanta, with an equal number (13) of walks and strikeouts over his five appearances.  This gives Fedde a 5.76 ERA over 125 combined innings with St. Louis and Atlanta during the 2025 season, and a particularly glaring 10.32 ERA in his last 41 innings of work.

Cal Quantrill was claimed off waivers from the Marlins earlier this week in the Braves’ latest attempt at finding rotation help, which took Fedde out of a starting role.  Though Atlanta could have designated Fedde for assignment, the straight release probably just streamlines the process and allows Fedde to reach the open market in a bit quicker fashion.

As extreme as Fedde’s recent struggles have been, it is possible he lands elsewhere before the 2025 season is over just because teams are forever in need of pitching depth.  It was just a season ago, of course, that Fedde returned from a one-season sojourn in the KBO League to post a very solid 3.30 ERA over 177 1/3 innings with the White Sox and Cardinals in 2024.  Another team might be interested in seeing if Fedde can recapture any of that form, and Fedde would surely love to end his season on some kind of a high note.

The seriousness of Bummer’s shoulder issue isn’t known, but since the Braves are out of the race, it is possible the southpaw could be shut down for the remainder of the season.  Bummer has a 3.81 ERA, a solid 7.6% walk rate, and a below-average 21.6% strikeout rate over 54 1/3 relief innings for Atlanta this season, with that K% a marked step down from the 29.3% rate Bummer posted from 2020-24.  Bummer’s 53.9% groundball rate is also a career low but still elite in relation to the rest of the league, which speaks to the left-hander’s prominence as one of the baseball’s top grounder specialists.

Braves Designate Carlos Carrasco For Assignment

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The Braves announced Thursday that they’ve designated right-hander Carlos Carrasco for assignment. Right-handed reliever Hunter Stratton has been recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett to take Carrasco’s spot on the roster.

Atlanta picked up Carrasco in a cash swap with the Yankees prior to the trade deadline. The Braves were simply in need of arms to log innings with so many members of their rotation on the injured list, and Carrasco had been pitching well with New York’s Triple-A club in Scranton. Carrasco’s tenure with the Braves kicked off decently, as he tossed a quality start in a no-decision against the Reds on deadline day.

The next two outings for Carrasco, however, were brutal. The 38-year-old righty was tagged for six runs in 5 2/3 innings versus the Marlins on Aug. 7 and was torched for another six runs in only two innings against his former Mets club just yesterday. Overall, he’s pitched 13 2/3 innings with Atlanta and recorded a 9.88 ERA: 15 runs on 22 hits (three homers) and seven walks with only nine strikeouts.

Carrasco made 29 solid starts for the 2022 Mets (3.97 ERA, 152 innings) but has now struggled greatly in three consecutive major league seasons. He’s pitched 239 1/3 MLB frames dating back to 2023 but logged only a 6.36 earned run average as his velocity, strikeout rate, walk rate and home run rate have all trended in the wrong direction. The Braves are likely to place Carrasco on release waivers within the next couple days, and he’d become a free agent upon clearing.

With Carrasco dropped from the staff, Atlanta will give starts to Spencer Strider, Erick Fedde, Bryce Elder, Joey Wentz and Hurston Waldrep. Reigning NL Cy Young winner Chris Sale is on the mend from the ribcage fracture that’s sidelined him for nearly two months and pitched two innings Tuesday in the first of what’ll be multiple minor league rehab starts.

Pirates Trade Hunter Stratton To Braves

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The Braves acquired right-handed reliever Hunter Stratton from the Pirates in exchange for minor league outfielder Titus Dumitru and cash, the teams announced Tuesday. Pittsburgh had designated Stratton for assignment last week. Atlanta transferred Chris Sale to the 60-day IL to open a 40-man roster spot for Stratton, who has been optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett.

Stratton, 28, has an unsightly 23.63 earned run average in the majors this year. However, that has come in a tiny sample of 2 2/3 innings. Over the 2023 and 2024 seasons, he had a combined 3.26 ERA in 49 2/3 innings. His 21% strikeout rate and 41% ground ball rate were both around average while his 4.9% walk rate was quite strong.

Though his major league ERA is through the roof this year, his minor league work has largely been in line with his pre-2025 results. In 24 2/3 Triple-A innings this year, he has a 3.65 ERA, 23.8% strikeout rate, 7.9% walk rate and 50% ground ball rate. He still has a full slate of options, though is burning through the first of those here in 2025.

For a pitcher with solid results and roster flexibility, it was a bit surprising that the Pirates gave up on him. But unsurprisingly, there has been enough interest that Atlanta has forfeited a prospect in order to skip the waiver line and add some bullpen depth.

Dumitru, 22, was selected by Atlanta in the 16th-round of last year’s draft. He played at the Single-A level last year and has been at High-A this year. Put together, he has played in 91 professional games with a .227/.314/.324 line and 97 wRC+.

Sale was placed on the 15-day IL a little over a week ago due to a rib cage fracture. The club didn’t provide many details about his expected absence at that time, but it seemed fair to expect he wouldn’t be back anytime soon. Today’s transfer confirms that the club doesn’t expect him back until mid-August at the earliest.

For now, Atlanta is operating with a rotation consisting of Spencer Strider, Spencer Schwellenbach, Grant Holmes, Bryce Elder and Didier Fuentes. Adding to that group would be a priority for the club if they plan on being deadline buyers. President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos is hoping to bolster the club rather than subtract from it but they are currently in a tough spot, 7.5 games back of a playoff spot. They have some time to climb but doing so without Sale, Reynaldo López and AJ Smith-Shawver will be a challenge. On the other hand, if they hang in there, it’s possible Sale and López could be back later in the year.

Photo courtesy of Michael McLoone, Imagn Images

Pirates Sign Génesis Cabrera, Designate Hunter Stratton For Assignment

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The Pirates announced that they have signed left-hander Génesis Cabrera to a major league contract. In corresponding moves, they have optioned right-hander Michael Darrell-Hicks and designated righty Hunter Stratton for assignment.

Cabrera, 28, has some major league success on his track record but has been inconsistent. Since he can’t be optioned to the minors, he has bounced around the league this year. He started the year with the Mets on a minor league deal. That club called him up and put him into six games before designating him for assignment. He cleared waivers, elected free agency and then signed with the Cubs. He made nine appearances for Chicago before the process repeated, with the southpaw again getting designated for assignment and electing free agency in recent days.

Between those two clubs, he has a 6.35 earned run average in 17 innings on the year. His 21.1% strikeout rate and 8.5% walk rate are both close to average but the home run has been a problem. He’s already allowed five, halfway to his personal high, a rate of 19.2% per fly ball.

Ultimately, it’s a small sample of work. As mentioned, he had good seasons in the past. In 2021, he tossed 70 innings for the Cardinals with a 3.73 ERA. His 12.2% walk rate was high but he struck out 26% of batters faced. In the years to come, his walk rate would stay a bit on the high side but the punchouts would oscillate. He only struck out 16.5% of batters faced in 2022, got that back up to 24.3% in 2023, but it dipped again to 18.5% last year.

The Pirates have lost two lefty relievers to the injured list, with Ryan Borucki and Tim Mayza both currently on the shelf. Cabrera can slot in alongside Caleb Ferguson and give the Bucs a second southpaw in the relief corps.

Stratton, 28, started the year with the Bucs on a minor league deal but cracked the Opening Day roster. He has since been shuttled to Triple-A and back a few times. He’s only been put into three big league games, allowing seven earned runs in 2 2/3 innings for an unsightly 23.63 ERA.

His Triple-A work has been far better, with a 3.65 ERA in 24 2/3 innings this year. He struck out 23.8% of batters faced at that level, walked 7.9% and generated grounders on 50% of balls in play. That’s more in line with his previous big league work. With the Bucs over 2023 and 2024, he tossed 49 2/3 innings with a 3.26 ERA, 21% strikeout rate, 4.9% walk rate and 41% ground ball rate.

He now heads into DFA limbo, which can last as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Pirates could take as long as five days to talk explore trade talks. He has a full slate of options and his numbers have generally been good, so he could appeal to a club looking for extra relief depth. He has less than three years of service time and has not been previously outrighted in his career, so he would not have the right to elect free agency if he passes through outright waivers unclaimed in the next week.

Photo courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski, Imagn Images

Pirates Designate Joshua Palacios, Option Henry Davis

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The Pirates have announced a number of roster moves, which were first reported by Alex Stumpf of MLB.com. The club has selected the contract of right-hander Hunter Stratton, and in a corresponding move designated outfielder Joshua Palacios for assignment. The club has also optioned catcher Henry Davis, infielder Nick Yorke, and outfielder Billy Cook to Triple-A.

Stratton, 28, was non-tendered by the Pirates back in November but signed a minor league deal with the club not long afterwards. Now, he’s set to suit up for his third season in Pittsburgh after posting solid numbers with the club out of the bullpen last year. In 49 2/3 innings of work during his MLB career, Stratton has posted a 3.26 ERA with a 3.61 FIP, striking out 21% of his opponents while walking just 4.9%. That impressive command seems to have been enough to earn the right-hander a spot in the big league bullpen to open the 2025 season, though the righty does have options remaining so he could at least theoretically be squeezed off the roster and sent to Triple-A in favor of another arm.

Making room for Stratton on the 40-man is Palacios, a fourth-round pick by the Blue Jays back in 2016. He made his debut with Toronto in 2021 but made it into just 13 games with the club before being claimed off waivers by the Nationals the following year. He appeared in 29 games for D.C. but was eventually outrighted off the club’s 40-man roster only to be plucked out of the minor league phase of the Rule 5 Draft by the Pirates later that year. Making his Pirates debut in 2023, Palacios got his first significant big league opportunity but was unable to do much with it, hitting a lackluster .239/.279/.413 in 91 games for the Pirates where he split time between all three outfield spots.

Palacios ended up appearing in just 23 games for Pittsburgh last year, and though they carried him on their 40-man roster throughout the offseason he appears to have been squeezed off the club’s roster by Jack Suwinski. The Pirates will now have one week to either trade Palacios or place him on waivers, where he can be claimed by any club. As a career .230/.286/.364 (75 wRC+) hitter with no options remaining, it wouldn’t be a shock to see Palacios pass through waivers successfully. If he does so, he’ll have the opportunity to reject an outright assignment and test free agency.

As for the options, Davis is the most notable name. Things haven’t gone well for the 25-year-old since he was selected first overall in the 2021 draft, as to this point in his big league career he’s hit just .191/.283/.307 in 99 big league games while struggling defensively both in the outfield and behind the plate. For the time being the Pirates appear committed to Davis’s development as a catcher, and he’ll now continue to wait for an opportunity at Triple-A as the club relies on a tandem of Joey Bart and Endy Rodriguez at the dish to open the 2025 campaign.

Looking beyond Davis, Nick Yorke has remained in camp as a possible alternative to Nick Gonzales at second base, though Gonzales has always appeared to be the favorite for the job after the former seventh-overall pick’s solid .270/.311/.398 showing in 94 games for the Pirates last year. Cook, meanwhile was in the competition to fill in for Spencer Horwitz at first base while Horwitz rehabs wrist surgery he underwent last month, though that job now appears likely to go to non-roster invitee DJ Stewart after the 31-year-old slashed a solid .270/.357/.486 in 17 games this spring.

Pirates Sign Tanner Rainey, Hunter Stratton To Minor League Contracts

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The Pirates have signed right-handers Tanner Rainey and Hunter Stratton to minors deals, as respectively reported by Just Baseball’s Aram Leighton (X link) and Stratton’s MLB.com profile page.  Rainey’s contract contains an invitation to the Pirates’ big league spring camp, and it can be assumed that Stratton’s deal also has an invite, though Stratton’s uncertain health situation in the wake of knee surgery could limit his participation in Spring Training.

Rainey heads to Pittsburgh after a topsy-turvy six-year run with the Nationals, highlighted by a World Series ring in his first year with the club.  Rainey delivered a 3.91 ERA and 34.6% strikeout rate in 48 1/3 relief innings for that 2019 championship team, but also had an ugly 17.8% walk rate.  These control issues plagued Rainey for most of his time in Washington, and he also missed virtually all of the 2023 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery.

After Rainey posted a 4.76 ERA, 19% strikeout rate, and 12.6% walk rate over 51 innings in 2024, the Nationals unsurprisingly decided to non-tender the righty, even though Rainey was projected for a modest $1.9MM arbitration salary.  Now entering his age-32 season, Rainey will look to rebuild himself in the Bucs’ spring camp, and hopefully regain some of the form and velocity that made him a valuable bullpen asset for the Nats in 2020 and 2022.

Stratton was also non-tendered by the Pirates in November, but there was an expectation that Pittsburgh would (just as they did last offseason) re-sign the righty to a new minor league deal.  Stratton has an impressive 3.26 ERA and 4.9% walk rate across 49 2/3 career Major League innings, all with Pittsburgh over the last two seasons.  Despite a lack of big strikeout totals, Stratton’s ability to induce soft contact has made him an interesting relief option out of the Pirates’ bullpen.

Unfortunately for Stratton, his 2024 season was cut short by a flukish injury on August 24 that left him with a ruptured patellar tendon.  Stratton was behind home plate at PNC Park and pursuing a loose ball when he stumbled into the stone wall, causing the injury and putting his career on hold for an estimated 7-10 months.  This fluid timeline means that Stratton would return anywhere from Opening Day to late June, but the minor league contract gives him plenty of time to fully get himself right during Spring Training or in the Pirates’ farm system.

Free Agent Notes: Stratton, Martin, Hill, De Jesus

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The Pirates have non-tendered Hunter Stratton in each of the last two offseasons, and after re-signing him to a minor league contract last winter, a team source tells Justin Guerriero of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that the Bucs want to do the same this time around.  Stratton suffered a ruptured patellar tendon in late August after a freak injury that saw the right-hander stumble into the stone wall behind home plate at PNC Park while pursuing a loose ball.

A subsequent knee surgery ended Stratton’s season, and he was given a recovery timeline of 7-10 months.  In the very best-case scenario, Stratton would be able to return on Opening Day, but the longer end of that timeline would keep him out until the end of June.  A clearer return date might emerge once Stratton gets deeper into his rehab, which also might impact when the Pirates or any other team might ink him to a new contract.  Stratton has a 3.26 ERA over 49 2/3 career bullpen innings over the last two seasons with Pittsburgh, with an impressive 4.9% walk rate and excellent soft-contact numbers.

More notes on some other players on the open market….

  • Chris Martin has suggested that 2025 will almost certainly be the final season of his career, and MassLive.com’s Sean McAdam believes Martin “likely looking to pitch closer to his Texas home.”  The 38-year-old Martin has spoken about his desire to spend more time with his growing family, so this could factor more into his decision-making process than necessarily chasing the biggest offers available.  Martin was born in Arlington and already pitched with his hometown Rangers during the 2017-18 seasons, and naturally the Astros would also be a logical destination if geography is Martin’s chief concern.  Martin figures to draw a lot of attention from teams all over the map, as he posted a 3.45 ERA and an elite 1.7% walk rate in 44 1/3 innings for the Red Sox in 2024.
  • Speaking of pitching close to home, Rich Hill told MLB Network’s Jon Morosi (X link) that he is open to pitching anywhere as he weighs whether or not to return for a 21st Major League season.  Hill lives in the greater Boston area and he pitched for the Red Sox in 2024, though the locale didn’t directly factor into Hill’s decision to join the Sox for the fourth different time in his career.  Hill’s desire to coach his son’s Little League team did impact his strategy of waiting until the second half of the 2024 season to sign, as he only landed a minors deal with the Sox in August.  When discussing his future plans earlier this month, Hill hinted that he would likely pursue a full-season schedule this time, though he hadn’t yet decided if he was going to pitch into his age-45 campaign.
  • Also from Morosi in another X entry, left-hander Enmanuel De Jesus is drawing interest from two unnamed Major League teams.  De Jesus posted a 3.68 ERA, 24.45% strikeout rate, and 6.04% walk rate over 171 1/3 innings with the KBO League’s Kiwoom Heroes in 2024, but the Heroes won’t be offering him a new contract for the coming KBO season.  The southpaw has a 4.01 ERA across 749 1/3 career innings and nine seasons in the affiliated minors, mostly with the Red Sox before pitching in the Giants organization in 2022 and the Marlins organization in 2023.  De Jesus’ only MLB experience came with Miami during that 2023 season, as he pitched 6 1/3 innings over two appearances and was hit hard for an 11.57 ERA.  While De Jesus worked more as a swingman in 2021-22, he has largely pitched as a starter throughout his career, including starting all 30 of his games with the Heroes.  A return to the KBO League with another team might be in the cards if De Jesus strictly wanted to start, or he could be open to a variety of roles if he is pursuing a path back to North American baseball.

National League Non-Tenders: 11/22/24

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The deadline to tender a contract to arbitration-eligible players is tonight at 7pm CT. Here’s a rundown of the players on National League teams that have been non-tendered today. This post will be updated as more decisions are revealed. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected salaries for all players eligible for arbitration last month. All players who are non-tendered before this evening’s deadline go directly into free agency, where they’re eligible to sign with any of MLB’s 30 clubs.

Onto the transactions…

  • The Braves non-tendered outfielder Ramón Laureano, left-hander Ray Kerr, as well as right-handers Griffin Canning, Huascar Ynoa and Royber Salinas, which you can read more about here.
  • The Brewers parted ways with lefty reliever Hoby Milner, who’d been projected at $2.7MM for his final arbitration season. The typically reliable southpaw was tagged for a 4.73 ERA in 64 2/3 innings this year.
  • The Cardinals have non-tendered right-hander Adam Kloffenstein, per Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat (Bluesky link). The righty only just made his major league debut in 2024 and was not yet arb-eligible. He immediately becomes a free agent without being exposed to waivers.
  • The Cubs have non-tendered infielder Nick Madrigal, per Jesse Rogers of ESPN (X link). Madrigal has hit .251/.304/.312 for a 76 wRC+ over the last three seasons with the Cubs and was projected for a $1.9MM salary next year. Chicago also announced they non-tendered outfielder Mike Tauchman, which comes as a bit of a surprise after he reached base at a .357 clip this year. Patrick Wisdom, Adbert Alzolay, Brennen Davis and Trey Wingenter — all of whom were designated for assignment earlier this week — were also dropped.
  • The Diamondbacks non-tendered lefty reliever Brandon Hughes, per a club announcement. The 28-year-old southpaw allowed 16 runs over 17 2/3 big league innings this year. He wasn’t eligible for arbitration but would’ve occupied a 40-man roster spot if offered a contract.
  • The Dodgers are non-tendering right-hander Brent Honeywell Jr. and left-hander Zach Logue, per Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times (X link). Both pitchers are still in their pre-arbitration years, so this was more about the Dodgers sending them to free agency without exposing them to waivers, as opposed to cost cutting. Perhaps the club will look to re-sign them on minor league deals.
  • The Giants only made two non-tenders, parting with lefty Ethan Small and righty Kai-Wei Teng. Teng had been designated for assignment earlier in the week. Small, who was in his pre-arbitration years, spent the season in the minors or on the injured list.
  • The Marlins had zero non-tenders. They offered contracts to everyone on the 40-man roster.
  • The Mets dropped a trio of players from the 40-man roster: relievers Grant Hartwig and Alex Young and outfield prospect Alex Ramirez. Young was the only member of that group who’d been eligible for arbitration. The southpaw pitched well in a depth role, but the Mets didn’t want to keep him around at a $1.4MM projection. Hartwig made four appearances this year, while the 21-year-old Ramirez (a former top prospect) had a .210/.291/.299 showing in Double-A.
  • The Nationals announced that they have non-tendered right-hander Kyle Finnegan and Tanner Rainey, which you can read more about here.
  • The Padres dropped four players from the roster: righties Luis Patino and Logan Gillaspie, outfielder Bryce Johnson and infielder Mason McCoy. Patino, who underwent Tommy John surgery last summer, was the only member of the group who’d been eligible for arbitration. The other three cuts are simply about roster maintenance. The Padres could try to bring anyone from that group back on minor league deals.
  • The Phillies will not be tendering a contract to outfielder Austin Hays, which MLBTR covered earlier today.
  • The Pirates are expected to non-tender first baseman/outfielder Connor Joe and outfielder Bryan De La Cruz, per Alex Stumpf of MLB.com (Bluesky link). They are also non-tendering right-hander Hunter Stratton, per Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (X link). Joe was projected for a salary of $3.2MM next year and De La Cruz $4MM. Stratton had not yet qualified for arbitration. Joe has been around league average at the plate in his career but doing more damage against lefties. De La Cruz has hit .253/.297/.407 in his career for a wRC+ of 90. Startton had a 3.58 ERA this year but his season was ended by knee surgery, giving him an uncertain path forward.
  • The Reds have non-tendered right-hander Ian Gibaut, per Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer (Bluesky link). The righty was projected for a salary of $800K. He spent the vast majority of 2024 on the injured list due to arm trouble and only made two appearances on the season.
  • The Rockies moved on from starter Cal Quantrill and second baseman Brendan Rodgers, which MLBTR covered here.

Marco Gonzales To Undergo Flexor Surgery; Hunter Stratton Undergoes Knee Surgery

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Pirates lefty Marco Gonzales will undergo surgery to repair the flexor tendon in his left elbow, the team announced to reporters Wednesday (X link via Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). Additionally, right-hander Hunter Stratton already underwent knee surgery to repair the ruptured patellar tendon he recently suffered. Gonzales’ procedure will be performed in early September and comes with a recovery timetable of nine months to a year, while Stratton’s procedure was completed today. He’s projected to need seven to ten months to be ready for a return to a big league mound.

Pittsburgh acquired Gonzales in a trade with the Braves this offseason, taking on $3MM of the veteran lefty’s $12MM salary in the process. (Atlanta had taken on Gonzales’ contract as part of their deal to acquire Jarred Kelenic from the Mariners.) A pair of forearm injuries will ultimately limit Gonzales to only seven starts for the Bucs — the first five of which were quite effective. The 32-year-old notched a 2.70 ERA over 26 2/3 frames in that stretch, fanning 17.3% of his opponents against a 5.5% walk rate. In his final two starts with the Pirates, however, Gonzales yielded nine runs on 15 hits and five walks in only seven innings.

The Bucs technically hold a 2025 option on Gonzales, but that’s priced at $15MM and comes with no buyout if the team opts to decline it. Given Gonzales’ recent injury troubles and the now lengthy rehab period he’ll face following surgery, it’s a foregone conclusion that the team will decline the option and make Gonzales a free agent. He’ll likely be ticketed for a minor league deal in free agency.

Injuries have held Gonzales to only 17 starts and 83 2/3 innings over the past two seasons, but prior to that the lefty was a fixture in the Mariners’ rotation. Seattle acquired him from the Cardinals in a straight-up swap for then-prospect Tyler O’Neill, and Gonzales quickly cemented himself in Seattle’s rotation thereafter. From 2018-22, Gonzales started 131 games for the Mariners, tallying 765 2/3 innings of 3.94 ERA ball with a 17.6% strikeout rate and 6% walk rate.

While Gonzales’ injury likely ends his tenure with Pittsburgh, that’s decidedly not the case for Stratton. The 27-year-old will finish the current season with just over one year of big league service time, meaning he’s controllable for five seasons beyond the current campaign. Given the solid nature of his results in 2024, Stratton has likely pitched his way into a future role with the team, so long as he can make a full recovery from his knee injury.

Dating back to last year’s MLB debut, Stratton has pitched 49 2/3 innings for the Pirates, during which he’s turned in a 3.26 ERA with a 21% strikeout rate, 4.9% walk rate and 41% ground-ball rate. He’s averaged 95.6 mph on his heater, done a nice job at dodging hard contact and recorded a hearty 12.6% swinging-strike rate that suggests some growth in his strikeout rate remains possible.

If Stratton is able to return on the short end of the team’s provided timetable, he’d be ready for game action near the end of spring training next year. That might ticket him for an early stint on the injured list, but a return in April would be feasible. If he skews closer to the lengthier end, a summer return would still be in the cards.

Pirates Place Hunter Stratton 60-Day IL After Patella Tendon Rupture

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11:03AM: Stratton’s season is officially over, as the Pirates placed him on the 60-day injured list.

7:38AM: Pirates right-hander Hunter Stratton suffered a left knee patella tendon rupture during the fourth inning of the Bucs’ 10-2 loss to the Reds on Saturday.  Stratton had just entered the game in relief of Jake Woodford, and his fourth pitch of the appearance was a wild pitch that evaded catcher Joey Bart.  As Jonathan India raced home to score from third base, Bart’s toss to Stratton (covering home plate) bounced off Stratton’s glove and rolled to the backstop.  While in pursuit of the loose ball, Stratton stumbled and jammed his left leg into the stone wall behind the plate.

Stratton was down for several minutes in the aftermath of the play, and had to leave the field on a cart.  Post-game, manager Derek Shelton told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Justin Guerriero and other reporters that Stratton was receiving an MRI and that the situation “did not look good.  I would say this is going to be significant time [out].”

Official word on Stratton’s status should come today when he is inevitably placed on the injured list, but between the nature of the knee injury and the late date on the baseball calendar, it would certainly seem like Stratton’s 2024 season is over.  The question now is how much time the 27-year-old will need to recover, and how much of his 2025 campaign could be impacted.

A 16th-round selection for the Pirates in the 2017 draft, Stratton didn’t make his MLB debut until 2023, when he had a 2.25 ERA over 12 innings as a September call-up.  Pittsburgh non-tendered Stratton following the season but then re-signed him to a new minor league contract, and he was part of the club’s Opening Day roster this year.  The righty’s first full Major League season has included a six-week stint on the IL due to a triceps strain, and now this flukish patella tendon rupture that will bring his year to a close.

When healthy, Stratton has pitched respectably well, posting a 3.58 ERA over 37 2/3 relief innings.  While his strikeout rate is a modest 20.9%, Stratton has done an excellent job of inducing soft contact, and he has avoided free passes to the tune of a 4.4% walk rate.  The latter stat is the most significant part of Stratton’s development into a big leaguer, as he had a 12.98% walk rate across his 392 career innings in the Pirates’ farm system.

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