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Joe Musgrove To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

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Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove has suffered damage to the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow and will undergo Tommy John surgery, per general manager A.J. Preller. Alden González of ESPN was among those to relay the announcement on X. The club hasn’t provided a timeline but Musgrove is sure to miss the entire 2025 season, given that recovery from Tommy John surgery generally takes 14 months or longer.

The news isn’t totally surprising, as Musgrove has been battling elbow issues all year, but it’s still rough for the righty and the club. By the end of May he was already on the injured list for the second time this year, both of those stints due to right elbow inflammation. In early June, it was reported that he had a bone spur in that elbow, which eventually kept him out of action until August.

He had struggled earlier in the season but finished strong. By the time of that second IL stint, he had made ten starts but with a 5.66 earned run average in that time. After returning in August, he posted a 2.15 ERA in seven starts down the stretch. He struck out 29.1% of opponents and walked 4.1% in that stretch run.

It seemed he was in strong form and set to be a key part of the club’s postseason staff. After Michael King shoved in the first game of the club’s Wild Card series against Atlanta, Musgrove was given the ball for the second contest. He struck out four opponents without issuing a walk through 3 2/3 innings but then departed the game with members of the training staff, having thrown just 44 pitches. The Friars later announced his issue as elbow tightness.

The Padres managed to win that game and move on to face the Dodgers in the Division Series, but manager Mike Shildt announced earlier today that Musgrove wouldn’t be appearing in the series. Shildt stopped short of making any declarations beyond that, but it’s now clear that Musgrove’s injury will impact far more than just the NLDS.

In the short term, the Padres will try to navigate the postseason without Musgrove. They have King, Dylan Cease and Yu Darvish as their best rotation options, with Martín Pérez and Matt Waldron also possibilities to contribute.

They will also have to get through the entire 2025 season without Musgrove, which should make starting pitching an offseason priority again. Darvish is still under contract while both King and Cease can be retained via arbitration for one more season before they are slated to reach free agency after 2025. Pérez is an impending free agent but Waldron is still in his pre-arbitration years.

Cease, King, Darvish and Waldron is a decent foursome but the club will presumably look to bolster that group. A lack of starting pitching depth was a notable storyline going into last winter, which prompted the club to target that in the Juan Soto trade. When they flipped Soto to the Yankees, they brought back King, Jhony Brito, Randy Vásquez and Drew Thorpe, with Thorpe later flipped to the White Sox as part of the deal to get Cease.

Brito was mostly used in relief this year. Vásquez made 20 starts but with a 4.87 ERA and tepid 14.4% strikeout rate. He also struggled badly in the minors, posting an 8.21 ERA in Triple-A. Perhaps someone like Adrián Morejón could be stretched out after his solid year in the bullpen, but there would be risk with his notable injury history.

Budgetary concerns were a notable factor for the Padres last winter as well. The club’s streaming deal with Diamond Sports Group had collapsed in 2023, forcing MLB to take over the broadcast as the club received less revenue in that department. That led to the Padres dealing Soto and ducking under the competitive balance tax.

RosterResource pegs San Diego’s 2025 CBT number at $184MM, well south of next year’s $241MM base threshold. However, that number doesn’t account for contracts for arbitration-eligible players. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects San Diego’s eight-player class for a total of $46.7MM. A few non-tenders could drop that number but most of it is going to core players like King, Cease and Luis Arráez, so the Padres are probably more accurately slated to be in the $230MM range before making any offseason moves.

Preller will have to address the departures of impending free agents like Ha-Seong Kim, Jurickson Profar, Donovan Solano and Kyle Higashioka. If the budget is tight again, he might have to get creative in the winter, which wouldn’t be unusual for him. He is one of baseball’s most active decision makers and is seemingly always involved in all free agent and trade talks. With this news, he will have one more item on his to-do list. Musgrove is under contract through 2027 and is making $20MM annually as part of the five-year, $100MM extension he and the club signed in 2022.

Joe Musgrove Won’t Pitch In NLDS

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Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove exited his start in the Wild Card series due to tightness in his pitching elbow. Manager Mike Shildt informed reporters today that Musgrove won’t be on the club’s NLDS roster and won’t pitch in the series, though the skipper stopped short of speculating about the righty’s availability after this series. AJ Cassavell of MLB.com was among those to relay the news on X.

It’s an unfortunate development for the Padres, as they are hoping to take down the Dodgers in the series that kicks off tomorrow. Musgrove has had his challenges this year but is one of the club’s best pitchers and was in a groove towards the end of the regular season.

The righty had a 5.66 earned run average through the end of May. He had already missed a few weeks earlier that month due to elbow inflammation and he was diagnosed with a bone spur in his elbow in early June. He was transferred to the 60-day injured list and wasn’t able to return until the middle of August.

He was able to finish the season on a strong note, making nine starts down the stretch with a 2.15 ERA, 29.1% strikeout rate and 4.1% walk rate. He took the ball in the second game of the Wild Card round against Atlanta and the results were good. He tossed 3 2/3 innings with four strikeouts and no walks, allowing one earned run. But his velocity was down and he was removed after just 44 pitches. The club later announced it as elbow tightness.

Given that Musgrove has been battling elbow issues all year, it’s fair to wonder if there’s a long-term issue that will need to be addressed. Shildt being tight-lipped about it for now, so the full ramifications may not be immediately known. If any kind of significant surgery is required, that could have a notable impact on the club into next year.

In the short term, the Padres will be trying to survive without Musgrove. Dylan Cease and Yu Darvish are scheduled to start the first two games of the series against the Dodgers. Michael King tossed the first game against Atlanta, striking out 12 over seven shutout innings, and will likely get the ball in the third contest on Tuesday. In the fourth game, they would likely be choosing between Cease starting on short rest versus using someone like Martín Pérez or Matt Waldron. Full roster announcements will be made Saturday morning.

Ha-Seong Kim Switches Agencies, Hires Boras Corporation

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Infielder Ha-Seong Kim has switched his representation, according to a report from Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Kim will now be represented by the Boras Corporation going forward.

Kim, 29 later this month, is seemingly poised to enter free agency this November. The infielder’s current contract with the Padres includes a mutual option for the 2025 season but Kim is widely expected to decline that $8MM option in favor of a $2MM buyout and test the open market. It will be Kim’s first unencumbered trip through free agency after signing with San Diego on a $28MM guarantee prior to the 2021 season after being posted to MLB by the Kiwoom Heroes of South Korea’s KBO. While Kim was eligible to sign with any of the league’s 30 clubs for any amount of money, the posting system comes with a few caveats that don’t exist for a typical free agent such as the posting fee that must be paid to the player’s former club and specific windows during which negotiations must take place.

Without those restrictions, Kim is likely to enjoy a different experience in his second time through MLB’s free agent process. That’s also due to his performance on the field, of course, as Kim has emerged as one of the top infield options in this winter’s class thanks to the average offense and excellent defense he flashed during his time in San Diego. Since becoming an everyday player with the Padres in 2022, Kim has slashed a solid .250/.336/.385 that’s good for a 106 wRC+, 6% better than the league average hitter. He also flashed the best plate discipline of his career this season with a 12.3% walk rate against an excellent 16.4% strikeout rate, and has chipped in 60 stolen bases in 74 attempts over the past two years.

While Kim’s offensive development since coming to stateside ball has been impressive, the main selling point of the infielder’s profile remains his strong defense. Kim ranks 17th among all infielders over the last three years in Outs Above Average with a +21 figure and is the 11th-best infielder over that same timeframe by DRS with a +30 that is only bested by Taylor Walls, Miguel Rojas, and Dansby Swanson among shortstops during that time. Kim’s defensive value is further enhanced by his versatility, as he has shown himself to be a quality defender at both second and third base in addition to shortstop.

With that being said, Kim’s outlook in free agency grew quite a bit murkier last week when it was announced that the infielder is set to undergo shoulder surgery this offseason. With so much of Kim’s value tied to his defensive value, the prospect of a major procedure on his throwing shoulder could worry some potential suitors this winter and may complicate a free agency that otherwise appeared to leave Kim in position to secure a strong multi-year guarantee. It’s a somewhat unusual situation that Kim will now turn to the Boras Corporation, the agency run by high-profile agent Scott Boras, to navigate.

Kim joins other high-profile free agents in the upcoming class such as Corbin Burnes, Blake Snell, and Pete Alonso in being represented by Boras, who drew plenty of attention last winter as the free agencies of a handful of his top clients dragged into Spring Training. Each of the so-called “Boras Four,” comprised of Snell, Matt Chapman, Cody Bellinger, and Jordan Montgomery, wound up taking short-term deals that generally met expectations in terms of average annual value but fell well short in overall guarantee. It’s an approach that’s drawn mixed reviews, with Montgomery switching his representation amid a career-worst season with the Diamondbacks while Snell praised Boras and now appears likely to head into free agency under his guidance for the second time in as many seasons. Chapman signed a hefty extension with the Giants last month in lieu of returning to the open market this winter while Bellinger’s upcoming decision on his player option remains up in the air.

Should Kim’s foray into free agency not yield the strong payday that was expected prior to the announcement of his impending shoulder surgery, it wouldn’t necessarily be a surprise to see Kim opt for a shorter-term, option-laden deal with a high average annual value similar to the ones signed by each of those aforementioned players this winter. After all, it’s a strategy that worked out quite well for Chapman, Snell, and even Boras clients from before last winter such as Carlos Correa and Max Scherzer.

Ha-Seong Kim To Undergo Season-Ending Shoulder Surgery

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Padres manager Mike Shildt told reporters (including AJ Cassavell of MLB.com) this evening that shortstop Ha-Seong Kim’s season is over. Kim later told reporters (including Cassavell) that he’s undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery. The shortstop has been on the IL for over a month due to inflammation in his shoulder, and Shildt revealed yesterday that Kim might ultimately need to go under the knife to repair the labrum in his shoulder.

It’s a huge blow for a Padres club that has leaned heavily on the 28-year-old since he enjoyed a breakout season back in 2022. That year, Kim stepped in to replace troubled star Fernando Tatis Jr. at shortstop amid a lost season caused by off-the-field injuries and a PED suspension. He excelled in the role, hitting an above-average .251/.325/.383 (105 wRC+) in 150 games while playing strong defense at shortstop. Kim was pushed back to second base by the addition of Xander Bogaerts last year but took yet another step forward with the bat while playing slick defense across not only the keystone but also shortstop and third base as needed.

Last year, Kim slashed .260/.351/.398 with a wRC+ of 110 while swiping 38 bags in 47 attempts. That overall package was enough to earn Kim his first career Gold Glove award and even some downballot MVP votes. Coming off that strong season and a lackluster season defensively from Bogaerts, the Padres elected to switch the two entering this year to return Kim to shortstop. That seemingly set him up for what could be his third straight career year, but things didn’t play out quite that way as the infielder took a slight step back at the plate. In 121 games for the Padres this year, Kim posted a wRC+ of 101 while stealing 22 bases in 27 attempts. That down season has been further exacerbated by his shoulder woes, which have kept him from participating in the stretch run and now will remove him from San Diego’s postseason plans entirely.

Looking ahead for the Padres, it seems likely that the club will now stick with Bogaerts at shortstop headed into the postseason, as they’ve done since moving him back to the position earlier this month in response to Kim’s injury. It’s been a down season for Bogaerts overall as he’s been limited to just 110 games so far by injuries while posting a 94 wRC+ that’s his worst since 2014, but he’s managed to turn things around since returning from the injured list back in July with a solid .295/.336/.430 slash line across 259 plate appearances that’s good for a 116 wRC+. That’s opened second base up for regular starts from Jake Cronenworth, leaving first base available for a timeshare between Donovan Solano and Luis Arraez, the latter of whom also factors into the club’s DH mix alongside David Peralta on days he isn’t playing first base.

As for Kim himself, the shortstop will now head into free agency facing a new layer of uncertainty. While he’s still all but certain to decline his $8MM mutual option for next season in favor of a $2MM buyout, it’s possible that teams could be more hesitant to offer the versatile infielder a sizable multi-year deal this winter due to concerns about how his shoulder issues could impact him on both sides of the ball going forward. Kim appeared likely to be a consensus top infield option in free agency this winter behind Alex Bregman and Willy Adames, making it easy to imagine him landing a significant contract. Between his down 2024 season at the plate and now his impending surgery, however, Kim’s future seems a bit murkier than it did even a few days ago.

Ha-Seong Kim Not Close To Return, May Require Offseason Labrum Surgery

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The Padres have had to lock down a Wild Card spot without Ha-Seong Kim. The shortstop jammed his right shoulder diving into first base on a pickoff attempt on August 18. The Padres placed him on the injured list a couple days later with a diagnosis of shoulder inflammation.

San Diego initially expressed optimism it would be a short-term absence. Kim has instead been out for more than five weeks and is not on the verge of a return. Manager Mike Shildt provided a disappointing update on the Gwynn & Chris show on 97.3 The Fan in San Diego tonight (X link).

“He just hasn’t been able to get over that hump with his throwing,” Shildt said. “The hitting’s not a problem, that part’s good, but he hasn’t been able to consistently throw with anything behind it. … We’re still weighing what’s taking place, but right now, he’s not in a spot where we can count on him in the very near future.” In response to a follow-up question as to whether there’s a date at which the window for Kim to return this season officially closes, Shildt replied “there is, and we may be getting there.”

Making matters worse, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reports (on X) that Kim could require an offseason labrum repair. That’d be a brutal blow as he returns to free agency. The guaranteed portion of his four-year deal is coming to a close. As is the case with most players signing out of Korea or Japan, he’s eligible for free agency despite having less than six years of MLB service. Kim will decline his end of an $8MM mutual option for next season. He’ll collect a $2MM buyout and return to the market.

If healthy, he has a case for a strong four-year deal. Kim’s ability to play plus defense throughout the infield has been incredibly valuable. He stole 38 bases a season ago and has gone 22-27 on the basepaths this season. Kim doesn’t have overwhelming power, but he has gotten into double-digit home run territory in three straight years. He draws plenty of walks and rarely strikes out.

Kim hit .233/.330/.370 over 470 plate appearances during the regular season. He carries a .250/.336/.385 slash since the start of 2022. As of a couple months ago, Kim’s durability had ironically been one of his biggest selling points. This is the first time in his four MLB campaigns that he has landed on the injured list.

It’ll take at least a few more weeks to learn the impact of the injury on Kim’s free agent stock. The more immediate focus for the Padres is on their playoff infield. San Diego has kicked Xander Bogaerts back to the left side of the dirt. Jake Cronenworth has moved over to second base. That opens first base playing time for Donovan Solano and some defensive reps for primary DH Luis Arraez, with David Peralta drawing into the lineup at designated hitter while Arraez is in the field. The Padres called up Nick Ahmed last weekend to work as a defensive specialist behind Bogaerts.

Padres Select Nick Ahmed

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The Padres announced this afternoon that they’ve selected the contract of shortstop Nick Ahmed. To accommodate the addition of Ahmed to the club’s active and 40-man rosters, infielder Mason McCoy was placed on the 10-day injured list due to back inflammation while right-hander Jhony Brito was recalled to the majors before being placed on the 60-day IL due to a right elbow strain.

Ahmed, 34, was a second-round pick by the Braves back in 2011 but spent his entire big league career as a member of the Diamondbacks until this year. Ahmed spent parts of ten seasons in the desert, slashing a relatively lackluster .234/.288/.376 (73 wRC+) during that time. He still proved to be an incredibly valuable asset to the Snakes thanks to his elite glovework at shortstop, however, as evidenced by his +80 Defensive Runs Saved and +110 Outs Above Average at the position during his time with Arizona.

While he battled injuries throughout his time with the club that kept him from starting even 100 games more than four times, Ahmed nonetheless took home two Gold Glove awards and was among the better all-around shortstops in the game from 2018 to 2019 as he posted an 88 wRC+ and 7.4 fWAR in 311 games during that two-year stretch. Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse starting in 2021, as he Ahmed would appear in just 218 games over the next three years while slashing a paltry .219/.272/.336 at the plate while his defense regressed in the field. Between Ahmed’s steady decline and the emergence of Geraldo Perdomo in Arizona, Ahmed headed into free agency following the 2023 season in search of a new home.

In doing so, he’s coincidentally begun something of a tour of the other clubs in the AL West. Ahmed started the 2024 campaign with the Giants after signing with the club on a minor league deal over the offseason. He appeared in 52 games with the club but slashed just .232/.278/.303 in that time before being released back in July when San Francisco decided to turn towards Tyler Fitzgerald at shortstop down the stretch. It wasn’t long before Ahmed found a new team, however, and he signed a big league deal with the Dodgers shortly before the trade deadline to offer the club some depth at shortstop amid injuries to Mookie Betts and Miguel Rojas. Ahmed remained with the club for just under a month, hitting .229/.245/.292 in 17 games before eventually being designated for assignment and electing free agency.

After signing a minor league deal with the Padres just prior to the deadline for postseason eligibility on September 1, Ahmed is now set to join his third NL West club of the season and fourth of his career. With shortstop Ha-Seong Kim currently on the IL due inflammation in his right shoulder and no return in sight, Ahmed can provide the club with additional depth at shortstop behind Xander Bogaerts as the club gears up for the playoffs. Bogaerts was moved off shortstop over the offseason due to Kim’s status as a superior defender and struggled badly early in the year, but since returning from the injured list in mid-July has turned things around with a solid .296/.338/.436 slash line over his last 58 games.

While the club’s infield currently appears to be full with some combination of Luis Arraez, Donovan Solano, and Jake Cronenworth handling first base, second base, and DH on most days, Ahmed could push Bogaerts to second base on occasion against left-handed pitching to give Cronenworth or Arraez a day off in a tough match-up or late in games as a defensive replacement. Ahmed joins Tyler Wade, David Peralta, and Elias Diaz among the likely bench options for the club headed into the postseason.

As for Brito, the right-hander last appeared in a game at the major or minor league level over a month ago, so it’s hardly a surprise that he’s been nursing an injury. The righty’s first season with the Padres comes to a close with a 4.12 ERA and 3.72 FIP in 43 2/3 innings of work as an optionable multi-inning relief option for the club out of the bullpen, and the 26-year-old appears likely to enter 2025 poised to fill a similar role with the club going forward.

The Juan Soto Blockbuster Has Been Even Better Than Expected

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Last winter's Juan Soto trade was the biggest in a long while -- probably the most significant since the previous Soto deal. The Padres were slashing payroll and didn't want to accommodate a salary north of $30MM for his final year of arbitration. Extension talks never got off the ground. The Padres were about to lose four potential starting pitchers to free agency, leaving them with Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, and a bunch of questions.

San Diego determined to build their return for Soto around MLB-ready starting pitching. They'd not only shed payroll but directly address the biggest need on the roster. It's impossible to trade Juan Soto and not deal a huge hit to the lineup, but the Padres could mitigate some of that loss by bringing back rotation help. Even the San Diego front office probably didn't envision it turning around the staff to this extent.

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Padres Option Luis Campusano

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The Padres made a few moves before tonight’s matchup with the Mariners. Most notably, San Diego optioned catcher Luis Campusano to Triple-A El Paso. The Friars also placed Martín Pérez on the paternity list while recalling outfielder Brandon Lockridge and lefty reliever Tom Cosgrove.

It’s the first optional assignment for Campusano in two years. He has played briefly in the minors on injury rehab assignments but hadn’t been demoted since 2022. It looked last season as if Campusano had broken out as San Diego’s answer behind the dish. While a thumb injury cost him the bulk of the year, he raked at a .319/.356/.491 clip over 49 games. The Friars felt comfortable letting Gary Sánchez walk and turning to Campusano as their season-opening starter.

The 25-year-old has appeared in a career-high 91 games. He hasn’t produced on either side of the ball, leading both FanGraphs and Baseball Reference to rate his play as slightly below replacement level. Campusano has stumbled to a .227/.281/.361 batting line through 299 plate appearances. While that might be tolerable if he were playing well behind the plate, his defensive grades have been very poor.

Campusano has logged 670 2/3 innings behind the dish. Defensive Runs Saved has him 15 runs below average, the worst mark among catchers. Statcast has graded him harshly for each of his pitch framing, blocking and throwing. Campusano is tied for the fifth-most passed balls (six) and has been behind the plate for 36 wild pitches.

Only Shea Langeliers, Will Smith and Logan O’Hoppe have been behind the plate for more wild pitches — and they’ve all logged upwards of 900 innings. That’s not entirely on Campusano, of course, but it doesn’t reflect especially well on his work blocking pitches in the dirt. Campusano has also thrown out just eight of 49 attempted base stealers, a 16.3% clip that is about five points below league average.

Those struggles have naturally opened up playing time for backup catcher Kyle Higashioka. Acquired from the Yankees as the fifth piece in the Juan Soto blockbuster, Higashioka has had the best season of his career. The veteran has drilled 16 homers in only 228 plate appearances. Despite a .225 average and a dismal .269 on-base mark, the power has made him a productive hitter. Higashioka has a league average caught stealing rate, although he’s also had a rough time as a receiver. He’s tied for the MLB lead with nine passed balls in only 575 2/3 innings.

San Diego had rolled with a Campusano-Higashioka pairing for most of the season. They added 2023 All-Star MVP Elias Díaz late last month after he was released by the Rockies. Díaz will back up Higashioka for the time being. That seems like skipper Mike Shildt’s preferred duo as the Friars try to secure a Wild Card berth.

Higashioka and Díaz are both impending free agents. Aside from Campusano, the only other catcher on the 40-man roster is Brett Sullivan, who projects as a depth player. While the Friars surely hope for top prospect Ethan Salas to eventually seize the position, they can’t count on the 18-year-old for at least a few seasons. That points towards Campusano competing with an outside acquisition — potentially a re-signed Higashioka or Díaz — for the job next year.

The timing of the demotion, presumably not coincidentally, provides the Padres with some flexibility in that regard. Campusano has one minor league option remaining. A player uses an option year when he spends 20 days on an optional assignment during a season. Rehab stints do not count towards that time. There are 19 days left in the regular season, so Campusano will still have an option remaining going into 2025. That means the Padres would be able to keep him in El Paso for another year without exposing him to waivers.

Campusano is on track to reach arbitration for the first time in his career. He entered the season with one year and 144 days of service. He’ll earn a full service year this season despite being sent down. Evan Drellich of the Athletic reported in 2022 that players who are optioned more than three days after Labor Day continue to receive service time during that assignment. That easily positions Campusano to qualify for early arbitration as a Super Two player, although his salary will be modest enough that he shouldn’t be in danger of getting non-tendered. He’s controllable for another four seasons after this one.

As for Lockridge, he gets his first big league opportunity. San Diego added him to the 40-man roster at the start of September but had kept him on optional assignment with El Paso. Acquired from the Yankees at the deadline in the Enyel De Los Santos deal, Lockridge has hit .306/.410/.397 over 402 plate appearances at the top minor league level. The speedster has stolen 46 bases and been thrown out just six times. He’ll likely work as a pinch-runner and defensive specialist in his first MLB action.

Mets Claim José Azocar

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The Mets announced that they have claimed outfielder José Azocar off waivers from the Padres and optioned him to Triple-A. The Friars had designated him for assignment in recent days. Right-hander Sean Reid-Foley has been transferred to the 60-day injured list to open up a 40-man roster spot.

Azocar, 28, has been with on the Padres’ roster for most of the past three years, serving as a frequently-optioned speed-and-defense depth outfielder. His contract was selected in April of 2022 and he has since been put into 214 games, though only sent to the plate 397 times.

Offensively, Azocar doesn’t bring too much to the table. He has hit .243/.287/.322 in those plate appearances at the major league level, with that production translating to a 74 wRC+. It’s a fairly similar story in the minors, as he has taken 438 trips to the plate at the Triple-A level since the start of 2023 with a line of .276/.309/.402. In the inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League, that leads to a wRC+ of just 70.

But he can provide value elsewhere. He has just over 1,000 innings in the outfield in his major league career, playing all three slots on the grass. He is just a bit above average in the eyes of Defensive Runs Saved, coming in at +2, but Outs Above Average gives him a stronger grade of +8. OAA is particularly fond of his center field work, with a +5 mark up the middle.

Azocar is in his final option season, meaning he will have less roster flexibility next year. The Padres nudged him off their 40-man when Fernando Tatis Jr. came off the 60-day IL, but the Mets will stash him at Syracuse for the time being. They currently have an outfield mix of Brandon Nimmo, Harrison Bader, Jesse Winker, Starling Marte and Tyrone Taylor, with J.D. Martinez in the designated hitter slot.

Some of the guys in that group have notable injury histories, so Azocar can give the club some glove-first depth for the rest of the year. He has less than two years of service time and can therefore be controlled well into the future, but clinging to his roster spot will become more challenging in the long run.

As for Reid-Foley, he has spent most of this season on the IL due to right shoulder issues. He landed on the shelf on Opening Day due to a right shoulder impingement and was activated in late April. He was on the active roster for two months before going back on the IL, again due to a shoulder impingement. This transfer to the 60-day IL is a formality since he has already been out for longer than that, meaning he can be reinstated whenever he’s healthy. Earlier this week, he wasn’t sure if he would be able to return before the end of the season, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com on X.

Marlins Claim Lake Bachar

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The Marlins have claimed right-hander Lake Bachar from the Padres, per Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union Tribune on X. The Friars had designated him for assignment on the weekend. The Fish will need to make a corresponding move to open a 40-man roster spot for this claim.

Bachar, 29, has not yet made his major league debut but got a roster spot from the Padres based on his intriguing minor league work in recent years. He had to endure a lengthy absence, as the pandemic wiped out the minors in 2020 and then Bachar missed 2021 while recovering from Tommy John surgery.

He showed a bit of rust in 2022, posting a 6.15 earned run average at the Double-A level. Per an article from Sanders at Baseball America, a splitter camp run by Hideo Nomo in the spring of 2023 helped Bachar find a new gear. The righty went on to throw 60 1/3 innings at the Double-A level that year with a much-improved 2.69 ERA. He struck out 27.5% of batters faced and gave out walks at a 10% clip.

He qualified for minor league free agency after 2023 and re-signed with the Padres on a minor league deal. That deal contained an opt-out at the start of August, so the Padres added him to their 40-man at that time to prevent him from getting away, but they kept him on optional assignment. He was briefly recalled about a week ago but didn’t get into a game and was optioned right back down.

Bachar was squeezed off the 40-man roster when the Padres bolstered their roster for September with catcher Elias Díaz and outfielder Brandon Lockridge. That’s despite him having another strong season in the minors. He has thrown 71 2/3 innings over 46 appearances at the Triple-A level with a 3.89 ERA in the hitter-friendly environment of the Pacific Coast League. He has a 27.4% strikeout rate and 10.3% walk rate.

Though he got nudged off the roster by the Padres, the Marlins are intrigued enough by his results to grab him. Bachar has almost zero service time and will still have two option years after this one, so he could be a long-term piece for them if he can hang onto his 40-man roster spot.

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