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Every Team’s Initial September Call-Ups

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Each season as the calendar flips to September, we see a flurry of transactions around Major League Baseball. Active roster sizes jump from 26 to 28 for the season’s final month, with teams permitted to bring up no more than one additional pitcher. We’ve already covered a host of transactions with 40-man roster implications throughout the day at MLBTR. Here’s a full round-up of teams’ initial September roster moves.

American League West

Houston Astros:

Los Angeles Angels:

Oakland Athletics

Seattle Mariners

  • Reinstated LHP Matthew Boyd from 60-day injured list
  • Recalled OF Taylor Trammell from Triple-A Tacoma
  • Corresponding moves: None required

Texas Rangers

  • Selected contract of RHP Jesus Tinoco from Triple-A Round Rock
  • Recalled OF Nick Solak from Triple-A Round Rock
  • Corresponding move: Transferred RHP Josh Sborz to 60-day injured list

American League Central

Chicago White Sox

  • Recalled OF Adam Haseley from Triple-A Charlotte
  • Recalled RHP Matt Foster from Triple-A Charlotte
  • Corresponding move: None required

Cleveland Guardians

Detroit Tigers

Kansas City Royals

  • Selected contract of RHP Daniel Mengden from Triple-A Omaha
  • Recalled OF Nate Eaton from Triple-A Omaha
  • Corresponding move: None required

Minnesota Twins

  • Added LHP Austin Davis (previously claimed off waivers from Red Sox) to active roster
  • Selected contract of OF Billy Hamilton from Triple-A St. Paul
  • Corresponding move: Transferred OF Trevor Larnach to 60-day injured list

American League East

Baltimore Orioles

  • Selected contract of 1B Jesus Aguilar from Triple-A Norfolk
  • Recalled LHP DL Hall from Triple-A Norfolk
  • Corresponding move: Designated INF Richie Martin for assignment

Boston Red Sox

New York Yankees

  • Recalled SS Oswald Peraza from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
  • Activated INF Marwin Gonzalez from paternity list
  • Corresponding moves: None required

Tampa Bay Rays

  • Reinstated RHP Matt Wisler from the 15-day injured list
  • Recalled INF Jonathan Aranda from Triple-A Durham
  • Corresponding moves: None required

Toronto Blue Jays

  • Recalled RHP Casey Lawrence from Triple-A Buffalo
  • Added OF Bradley Zimmer (claimed off waivers from Phillies this week) to active roster
  • Corresponding moves: None required

National League West

Arizona Diamondbacks

Colorado Rockies

  • Recalled INF Alan Trejo from Triple-A Albuquerque
  • Recalled RHP Chad Smith from Triple-A Albuquerque
  • Corresponding moves: None required

Los Angeles Dodgers

  • Reinstated LHP Clayton Kershaw from 15-day injured list
  • Recalled 3B Miguel Vargas from Triple-A Oklahoma City
  • Corresponding moves: None required

San Diego Padres

  • Recalled INF Matt Beaty from Triple-A El Paso
  • Recalled RHP Reiss Knehr from Triple-A El Paso
  • Corresponding moves: None required

San Francisco Giants

National League Central

Chicago Cubs

  • Selected contract of RHP Jeremiah Estrada from Triple-A Iowa
  • Recalled INF David Bote from Triple-A Iowa
  • Corresponding move: Transferred Wade Miley from 15-day injured list to 60-day injured list

Cincinnati Reds

Milwaukee Brewers

  • Recalled RHP Luis Perdomo from Triple-A Nashville
  • Recalled OF Esteury Ruiz from Triple-A Nashville
  • Corresponding moves: None required

Pittsburgh Pirates

  • Recalled RHP Johan Oviedo from Triple-A Indianapolis
  • Recalled OF Calvin Mitchell from Triple-A Indianapolis
  • Corresponding moves: None required

St. Louis Cardinals

  • Selected contract of OF Ben DeLuzio from Triple-A Memphis
  • Recalled RHP James Naile from Triple-A Memphis
  • Corresponding moves: None required

National League East

Atlanta Braves

  • Reinstated IF Orlando Arcia from 10-day injured list
  • Added recently-claimed RHP Jesse Chavez to active roster
  • Corresponding moves: None required

Miami Marlins*

New York Mets

Philadelphia Phillies

  • Selected contract of RHP Vinny Nittoli from Triple-A Lehigh Valley
  • Recalled C Donny Sands from Triple-A Lehigh Valley
  • Corresponding moves: None required

Washington Nationals

  • Recalled C Tres Barrera from Triple-A Rochester
  • Recalled RHP Mason Thompson from Triple-A Rochester
  • Corresponding moves: None required

*Marlins moves reported by Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link)

Injury Notes: Walker, Thompson, Garcia

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Mets’ starter Taijuan Walker will not make his scheduled start tomorrow, manager Buck Showalter tells Tim Healey of Newsday. The righty has been dealing with a bulging disc in his back, which could push him back to Tuesday. Although it’s good that the injury isn’t significant enough to send him to the injured list, it still creates a short-term problem for the Mets.

Since they also sent Carlos Carrasco to the IL recently and are playing a doubleheader today, they will have to come up with some sort of solution to trudge through to their next off-day, which is on Wednesday. Max Scherzer can go on Monday. Jacob deGrom could start Tuesday but could also get some extra rest if Walker is ready to go. Chris Bassitt pitched last night and isn’t an option for a few days. David Peterson and Trevor Williams are scheduled to start today’s games, but Williams isn’t fully stretch out and was only able to throw four innings in the first game.

Jose Butto is the only starter on the 40-man roster that could be recalled, which seems to be in the cards since Healey relays that Butto is on the taxi squad. It would be a big jump for Butto if he is thrown into tomorrow’s game, since he’s been in Double-A all season and only got promoted to Triple-A on August 8. He has a 4.12 ERA on the year between the two levels.

Other injury tidbits from around the league…

  • The Cubs placed starter Keegan Thompson on the 15-day injured list today, tweets Jordan Bastian of MLB.com. Thompson is dealing with low-back tightness and will have to miss a few turns through the rotation. This will put at least a temporary hold on what has been a nice breakout season for the 27-year-old. Through 25 games this year, 17 starts, he has a 3.97 ERA, 20.5% strikeout rate, 8.3% walk rate and 40% ground ball rate. The Cubs have little reason to push Thompson if he’s not feeling 100%, given that they are well out of contention at this point in the season. They also have little certainty in their rotation going forward, with Marcus Stroman and Kyle Hendricks taking two spots next year, leaving plenty of room for less experienced pitchers like Thompson next year.
  • The Tigers have had nothing but miserable luck on the injury front this year, with just about every starting pitching option spending at least some time on the IL. Rony Garcia has made 16 appearances for the club this year, with eight of those being starts. However, he might not be able to add to that total, with manager A.J. Hinch telling Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic that Garcia is likely done for the year. He’s been on the IL since late July due to shoulder soreness, the second time this year a shoulder issue landed him on the shelf. It seems it’s lingering long enough that he might not make it back to the hill this year. If that’s indeed the case, he’ll finish the season with a 4.41 ERA over 51 innings.

Injury Notes: Alvarez, Reynolds, Garcia, Witt

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Yordan Alvarez wasn’t in today’s Astros lineup, as the slugger is still dealing with soreness in his right hand.  The same injury already sent Alvarez to the 10-day injured list for a minimum stay prior to the All-Star break, and medical tests during that IL stint didn’t reveal any structural damage.  Still, manager Dusty Baker told reporters (including Chandler Rome of The Houston Chronicle) that the Astros will be giving Alvarez some occasional time off due to this seemingly lingering injury.  “We knew we were going to have to give him a blow every now and then, but he was sore and we don’t want it to get more sore,” Baker said.

With two homers in 13 plate appearances in his four games since returning from the IL, Alvarez didn’t seem too hampered by this recurring hand problem, though some additional rest could certainly prevent a more severe injury.  The last thing Alvarez and the Astros would want is a lengthier IL trip interrupting both Alvarez’s spectacular season and his potential availability for the playoffs.  Alvarez is hitting a whopping .307/.407/.668 over 329 PA in 2022, leading the majors in both slugging percentage and OPS.

More injury updates from around baseball….

  • Bryan Reynolds told Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he is aiming to return from the 10-day injured list during the Pirates’ upcoming two-games series with the Cubs on Monday and Tuesday.  A left oblique strain sent Reynolds to the 10-day injured list on July 11, though it seems as though he has avoided the lengthy absence that can often come from oblique problems.  In fact, the IL stint may have prevented a longer-term issue, as Reynolds said the injury “had been bothering me for a few series before.  It got to the point where I needed to say something.  I didn’t want to make it worse.”  While his return prior to the trade deadline will inevitable spur on more rumors, there isn’t much expectation that the Pirates will actually deal Reynolds, unless another club meets Pittsburgh’s huge demands.
  • It looks as though Rony Garcia is heading back to the injured list, as Tigers manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including MLB.com’s Jason Beck) that Garcia felt bicep discomfort during today’s start.  Garcia was only just activated from a three-week IL stint (due to shoulder soreness) to pitch today, but the biceps issue forced Garcia from the game after only 2 2/3 innings.  Hinch said Garcia will be shut down for the time being, creating yet another vacancy in Detroit’s injury-riddled rotation.  Five other starters are already on the IL with temporary or season-ending injuries, plus Eduardo Rodriguez is still on the restricted list.  Today’s abbreviated outing pushed Garcia’s ERA to 4.59 over 51 innings for the Tigers this season.
  • Bobby Witt Jr. is day-to-day with right hamstring tightness, as the Royals made what the club described as a “precautionary” removal of the star rookie after the first inning of today’s game.  Tests didn’t reveal any significant damage, Witt told the Kansas City Star’s Lynn Worthy and other reporters, but it would seem likely that the Royals will give Witt a game or two off to heal up.  Heralded as one of baseball’s top prospects, Witt has hit .258/.301/.459 over his first 379 PA in the big leagues.

Tigers Place Michael Pineda On 15-Day Injured List

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The Tigers announced a number of roster moves this morning. Namely, last night’s starter, Michael Pineda, who left the game after just three innings, has been placed on the 15-day injured list with tricep tightness, per the team. Righty Angel De Jesus has been recalled from Triple-A to claim Pineda’s roster spot. Right-hander Rony Garcia was also reinstated from the injured list, while infielder Zack Short was optioned to Triple-A.

Pineda’s injury is another in a long line of ailments that have beset the Tigers’ pitching staff this season. Pineda himself has made just 10 starts, posting a 5.27 ERA/5.81 FIP in 42 2/3 innings of work.

Garcia can step right into Pineda’s rotation spot in the short term. The 24-year-old has made seven starts this season with eight relief outings summing to 48 1/3 innings with a 4.28 ERA/4.42 FIP. Garcia was a starter for the Tigers throughout June, and it’s likely that he steps back into that role. Tyler Alexander will also step back into the rotation in the short term, per Evan Woodbery of the MLive Media Group (via Twitter).

De Jesus will move into the bullpen, from which he has made two appearances for Detroit this season. The 25-year-old has a 5.40 ERA across 27 outings in Triple-A totaling 28 1/3 innings of work. He takes Short’s roster spot. Short has been called up to the active roster a few times this season, though he has yet to carve out a significant role.

Tigers’ Alex Faedo, Kyle Funkhouser Won’t Pitch Again In 2022

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The Tigers have been plagued by pitching injuries, and manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including Chris McCosky of The Detroit News) that the 2022 season is over for two of the club’s hurlers.  Right-handers Alex Faedo and Kyle Funkhouser are both considering surgery — Faedo for a nagging hip problem, and Funkhouser for the shoulder strain that has kept him from pitching all season.

Faedo was one of several younger pitchers called up to help the rotation weather the injury storm, and he delivered a 5.53 ERA over his first 53 2/3 innings of Major League action.  With a 2.92 ERA over the first 37 of those frames, it looked like Faedo was making a rookie breakout before the league started to get a book on him, and also before his hip injury began to impact his performance.  The bad hip forced Faedo out of a July 4 start after only 3 2/3 innings, and he has been tagged for seven runs over his last two starts and 5 1/3 innings of action.

The 18th overall pick of the 2017 draft, Faedo was himself making a comeback from injury, as a forearm strain in 2020 resulted in Tommy John surgery at the end of that year that sidelined him for all of 2021.  Unfortunately, he’ll now face another significant absence even if he ultimately decides against hip surgery, and if he does opt to go under the knife, the rehab process could impact Faedo’s readiness for Spring Training or Opening Day 2023.

Funkhouser is also facing an uncertain timeline, as a shoulder surgery could potentially threaten his entire 2023 campaign, depending on the severity of his injury and the specific nature of the procedure.  He was initially set back by lat soreness during Spring Training, and will now miss a chance to follow up on a promising 2021 season.

Making his big league debut in 2020, Funkhouser posted a 7.27 ERA over his first 17 1/3 frames in the Show, but he had decidedly better results last year.  Despite a mediocre 12.8% walk rate and a below-average 21.1% strikeout rate, Funkhouser rode a 53.2% grounder rate and a lot of soft contact to a 3.42 ERA over 68 1/3 innings.  The Tigers frequently used Funkhouser for more than one inning, and he also made two “starts” (in opener fashion) in bullpen games.

Faedo and Funkhouser join Casey Mize (Tommy John surgery) as the Detroit pitchers whose injuries were season-ending, but the large majority of the pitching staff has spent time on the injured list with some type of issue.  Just in today’s game, Michael Pineda had to leave early due to right tricep tightness, creating another possible hole in the rotation.  Righty Rony Garcia was expected to be activated from the 15-day IL in time to start tomorrow’s game.

Tigers Select Garrett Hill

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The Tigers announced that they have selected the contract of right-handed pitcher Garrett Hill. He will take the active roster spot of fellow righty Rony Garcia, who has been placed on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder soreness, retroactive to June 30. To create space on the 40-man roster, Matt Manning has been transferred to the 60-day IL.

Hill, 26, was selected by the Tigers in the 26th round of the 2018 draft. Since then, he’s climbed the rungs of the minor league ladder, racking up strikeouts at each level along the way. He started this year at Double-A and made seven starts for the SeaWolves. In that time, he struck out 40.9% of the batters he faced, walking 7.9% of them and getting grounders at a 33.3% clip.

Based on those strong results, he was moved up to Triple-A and made eight starts for the Mud Hens. The higher level of competition naturally resulted in lesser results, though Hill still fared well. His Triple-A ERA is 4.06, along with a 28.7% strikeout rate, 9.4% walk rate and 32.6% ground ball rate. Baseball America ranked him the #21 prospect in the system as part of a recent update. The Tigers’ plan is for Hill to start one of the games in tomorrow’s doubleheader against the Guardians, which will be his MLB debut.

Detroit was supposed to have their rotation as a strength this year but have seen a litany of injuries derail that plan. Casey Mize underwent Tommy John surgery and is out for the rest of the year, joining Spencer Turnbull, who underwent the procedure last year. Matt Manning has only made two starts due to shoulder issues. Eduardo Rodriguez made eight starts before landing on the IL and then the restricted list due to a personal matter. Michael Pineda spent about six weeks on the IL as well, but has since returned. Now Rony Garcia is the latest starter to land on the shelf.

Due to all of that, the Tigers have leaned hard on their starting depth this year, giving MLB debuts to pitchers such as Beau Brieske, Alex Faedo, Elvin Rodriguez and Joey Wentz, with Hill now stepping up as the next rookie to get a shot.

The move for Manning is strictly procedural as he’s been on the IL for over 60 days already. He will be eligible to return as soon as his health allows, though he will need to be added back onto the 40-man roster at that time. He is close to starting a rehab assignment but will need some time to build back up into game shape.

Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reported Hill’s promotion before the official announcement.

Tigers Option Akil Baddoo To Triple-A, Recall Rony Garcia

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The Tigers optioned struggling outfielder Akil Baddoo to Triple-A today, the team announced. In a corresponding move, they recalled RHP Rony Garcia to take his spot on the roster.

While the demotion hardly writes the 23-year-old Baddoo out of GM Al Avila’s long-term plans, it does speak to the marked contrast between the outfielder’s start to the 2022 season, in which he’s slashed a meager .140/.218/.220, and the hot start to his 2021 rookie campaign, during which he logged a .271/.352/.462 triple-slash before fading down the stretch. Advanced statistics do suggest there’s at least some bad luck involved in his slow start, though that likely isn’t the whole picture. Baddoo has seen only a minor increase in his strikeout rate (from 26.5% in 2021 to 27.3 % in 2022) and a minor dip in his walk rate (from 9.8% to 9.1%), but his BABIP has fallen from .335 (against an MLB average of .290) to a mere .176. While some of this variance can likely be explained by his hard-hit rate (the percentage of balls in play with an exit velocity of 95 mph or higher) falling from 32.3% to 22.9%, he’s also probably fallen victim to some poor batted-ball luck this year — and was perhaps the beneficiary of some good luck last year.

2014 first-rounder Derek Hill, who’s slashed .250/.273/.281 this year in limited action, is the likeliest candidate to take Baddoo’s spot in center, at least in the short term. Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic notes that utility-man Willi Castro is also likely to see time there, though he’s only logged a handful of big-league innings as an outfielder — and all of them in left.

Though Baddoo is hardly the only culprit, he and second baseman Jonathan Schoop have been particularly unproductive for a Detroit squad that’s clearly underperforming expectations. After doling out $238MM in guaranteed money in free agency (to shortstop Javier Baez, starters Eduardo Rodriguez and Michael Pineda, and reliever Andrew Chafin) and acquiring catcher Tucker Barnhart and outfielder Austin Meadows via trade (from the Reds and Rays, respectively), the Tigers have limped along to a collective 80 wRC+ (ahead of only the Royals, Red Sox, A’s, and Reds) that’s seen them fall nine games off the pace in AL Central.

Given the lack of outfield depth in Detroit — and particularly the shortage of options in center — it’s unlikely Baddoo will remain in the minors for long if he can regain his stroke in Toledo. Should he fail to find his form, however, he does run the risk of being overtaken by consensus top-ten prospect Riley Greene, who’s been sidelined by a fractured right foot but is expected to return to action around the end of May — and could well prove himself ready for the majors not long thereafter.

In what will be his second stint with the club this season, Garcia, owner of a career 6.39 ERA (6.42 FIP) across 31 big-league innings, will slot in at the back end of the Detroit bullpen. The righty was effective in limited action before he was optioned to Triple-A ahead of the late-April return of Chafin from injury, notching 6 1/3 innings of 2.84 ERA ball.

Tigers Select Elvin Rodriguez

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The Detroit Tigers have announced that they have selected right-handed pitcher Elvin Rodriguez to their 40-man roster. Additionally, Tucker Barnhart, recently acquired in a trade with the Reds, had his club option for 2022 selected. Three players were also reinstated from the 60-day IL: catcher Jake Rogers and righties Rony Garcia and Spencer Turnbull.

Rodriguez was originally brought over to the organization as the player to be named later in the trade that sent Justin Upton to the Angels. At the time of the trade, he was only 19 and pitching in A-ball. Since that time, he has climbed through the Tigers’ system, reaching Triple-A this year. Baseball America ranked him as the #18 prospect in the organization in 2020, but he didn’t crack the 2021 list. FanGraphs ranked him at #30 in the Tigers’ system last year and #35 this year.

The righty, who turns 24 in March, made 18 starts at the Double-A level this year, logging 75 2/3 innings. His 5.83 ERA certainly doesn’t seem impressive, but it came with a solid 24.2% strikeout rate and average-ish 8.8% walk rate. After his season in Double-A, he was promoted to Triple-A for a single two-inning appearance in October. The club has a solid core of young hurlers in their rotation, with Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal and Matt Manning being the headline names. Rodriguez will likely start the year in Triple-A and try to force his way into the big league picture as the season goes on.

The other transactions were mere formalities. There is no IL in the offseason, meaning all players on the 60-day IL have to be reinstated and retake their roster spots, with today being the deadline to do so. Barnhart was just acquired in a trade a few days ago, making it a lock that his option would be exercised by the club.

Tigers Designate Christin Stewart For Assignment

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The Tigers announced Thursday morning that they’ve designated outfielder Christin Stewart for assignment in order to open a spot on the 40-man roster for lefty Derek Holland, whose contract has been formally selected. Detroit also placed right-hander Rony Garcia on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to March 29, with an abdominal strain.

Stewart, 27, was the No. 34 overall pick in the 2015 draft and was considered one of Detroit’s most promising farmhands for the first few years of his pro career. He mashed his way through the team’s minor league system and at one point carried the potential to be a bat-first option in left field, but his big league production simply hasn’t lined up with his minor league numbers. Stewart has appeared in 157 games for the Tigers over the past three seasons but posted a combined .225/.300/.376 batting line in 586 plate appearances.

Despite having huge raw power, Stewart’s exit velocities (career 86.7 mph) and hard-hit rates (32.2 percent) have never been particularly impressive. He’s probably been a bit less strikeout-prone than some feared when he punched out in 26 percent of his Double-A plate appearances, striking out at a 24.9 percent clip in the big leagues against an 8.3 percent walk rate.

Stewart still has three minor league options remaining, so it seems as though he ultimately just fell out of favor with the club’s decision-makers after his lack of production since his 2018 debut. The Tigers inked Robbie Grossman (two years, $10MM) and Nomar Mazara (one year, $1.75MM) over the winter and took an intriguing outfielder, Akil Baddoo, from the division-rival Twins in the Rule 5 Draft. Baddoo had a monster Spring Training showing, and Detroit also has JaCoby Jones and Victor Reyes (another former Rule 5 pick) ticketed for the Opening Day roster. Meanwhile, Daz Cameron and Derek Hill, another pair of former top picks with better defensive skill sets, will open the year at the team’s alternate site.

The Tigers have a week to trade Stewart or attempt to pass him through outright waivers. His raw power and trio of minor league options could pique the interest of another club with a need for some outfield depth. Stewart’s glove has long been considered to be poor, but he carries a career .264/.366/.501 batting line and 98 home runs in just over 2000 minor league plate appearances.

As for the veteran Holland, it was announced earlier in the week that he’d made team’s Opening Day roster. Those who didn’t track the lefty’s Spring Training may be surprised due to Holland’s struggles in 2019-20, but there was no way the Tigers were leaving him off the roster after he tossed 9 1/3 shutout innings with just six hits and one walk against a whopping 16 strikeouts during camp.

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