Astros Select Tayler Scott, Designate Jordan Weems For Assignment
The Astros have selected righty Tayler Scott to the roster, with fellow righty Jordan Weems designated for assignment. Matt Kawahara of The Houston Chronicle was among those to relay the moves.
Weems was just selected to Houston’s roster a few days ago. Since then, he has made two appearances for the club. The first one went fine, as he tossed a scoreless inning against the Orioles on Friday. The Astros put him back on the mound yesterday, which led to a far worse outing. They were already losing 7-0 to the O’s through seven innings when they sent Weems in there. He faced seven batters but only retired one of them, surrendering three walks and three hits. Five runs came around to score as the club eventually lost 12-0.
The Astros used six pitchers, plus a mop-up inning from Chas McCormick, by the time that game was done. They have brought up a fresh arm today and bumped out Weems. Since he is out of options, he’s been bumped off the 40-man entirely.
With the trade deadline having passed, Weems will have to be placed on waivers. He was sent through waivers unclaimed in July. His recent performance presumably didn’t raise his stock much, so he might do so again. The last time he cleared waivers, he elected free agency and re-signed with the Astros on a new minor league deal. It’s possible the same sequence of events plays out again in the coming days.
As for Scott, he is also out of options and has been a fringe bullpen arm this year. He opened the year with the Astros but struggled and lost his roster spot. He ended up with the Diamondbacks for a spell but lost his spot with that club as well. That led him back to the Astros on a minor league deal about six weeks ago. Since then, he has tossed 11 Triple-A innings with a 4.91 earned run average.
It hasn’t been amazing year overall for Scott, as he has a 6.66 ERA in his 25 2/3 major league innings. However, he was much better in 2024, with a 2.23 ERA. He got some help from a .230 batting average on balls in play and 84.9% strand rate but his 4.13 FIP and 4.80 SIERA were still better than what he’s managed to do here in 2025. Due to his aforementioned out-of-options status, his grip on a roster spot could be tenuous, but he’ll give Houston a fresh arm and try to make the most of the opportunity.
Photo courtesy of Thomas Shea, Imagn Images
Phillies Place Zack Wheeler On Injured List With Blood Clot
August 18: The Phils announced today that Wheeler “underwent a successful thrombolysis procedure to remove a blood clot in his right upper extremity this morning by Dr. Paul DiMuzio at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. Further treatment and a subsequent timeline of recovery for Wheeler is to be determined.”
August 16: The Phillies announced that Zack Wheeler has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a right upper extremity blood clot. According to Charlotte Varnes of The Athletic, the clot is near his throwing shoulder. The team has not announced a timetable for his return.
Philadelphia will activate Aaron Nola from the 60-day IL tomorrow. He’s listed as the probable starter for their series finale in Washington. They initially intended to go with a six-man rotation. Instead, Nola will take Wheeler’s spot in a five-man staff that also includes Cristopher Sánchez, Ranger Suárez, Jesús Luzardo and Taijuan Walker. They’ll still need to open a 40-man roster spot for Nola and make an active roster transaction to clear space for Alec Bohm, who is expected back from a 10-day IL stint tomorrow.
The immediate roster considerations take a back seat to concern about Wheeler’s future. The Phils should be able to withstand a short-term absence, at least with regard to the division. They’ve built a five-game lead over the Mets in the NL East. Their hold on the #2 seed in the National League and the associated first-round bye is tenuous. They’re only half a game up on the Dodgers and Padres, who enter play Saturday night tied for the NL West lead. (San Diego and L.A. are playing one another, so one of them will tie Philly this evening.) The scorching hot Brewers have pulled well ahead of the pack for the NL’s top seed.
If this requires a longer-term absence, it’d obviously be a massive blow. Wheeler remains on the short list for the title of MLB’s best pitcher. He has a 2.71 earned run average and leads the majors with 195 strikeouts. He’s averaging more than six innings per start. This will probably be Wheeler’s second consecutive sub-3.00 ERA showing and his fifth time allowing fewer than three earned runs per nine over his six seasons in Philadelphia. Wheeler has been exceptionally durable. This is just his second IL stint as a Phillie, with the other being a month-long absence due to forearm tendinitis in 2022.
A healthy Wheeler would be Philadelphia’s Game 1 starter. There’s no indication that the team is concerned about his playoff availability, but a blood clot comes with a level of uncertainty. The Phillies will presumably provide more specifics in the next few days.
Red Sox Designate Ali Sánchez For Assignment
1:57pm: The Sox have now officially signed Lowe and designated Sanchez for assignment. They also placed outfielder Rob Refsnyder on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to August 15th, due to a left oblique strain and recalled infielder/outfielder Nate Eaton.
1:26pm: The Red Sox will designate catcher Ali Sánchez for assignment today, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com. The team has yet to announce the move, but they’ll need roster space for their reported agreement with veteran first baseman Nathaniel Lowe.
Sánchez, 28, appeared in only one game with the Red Sox and was hitless in his lone plate appearance. He was 5-for-21 with a couple doubles as a member of the Blue Jays before landing in Boston via waivers after being designated for assignment. Sánchez has appeared in parts of four major league seasons and suited up for five teams but has just 132 plate appearances in 47 games overall. He’s a .185/.222/.235 hitter in that tiny sample of scattershot playing time.
Unsurprisingly, Sánchez’s work in the upper minors has been far better. He’s played in parts of six Triple-A seasons and carries a .269/.340/.399 slash in 1266 trips to the plate. He’s a better-than-average defender who excels at blocking balls in the dirt and boasts a superlative 39% caught-stealing rate in his 12-year professional career.
Sánchez is out of minor league options, so any team that claims him off waivers will have to plug him right onto the big league roster. Waivers are the Red Sox’ only possible course of action with Sánchez, now that the trade deadline has passed. He’ll be placed on outright or release waivers within the next five days (very likely the former). He’s been outrighted multiple times in his career, so if Sánchez clears waivers, he’d be able to reject a minor league assignment in favor of free agency
Phillies Recall Nolan Hoffman For MLB Debut
The Phillies announced that right-hander Max Lazar has been optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Fellow righty Nolan Hoffman has been recalled to take his roster spot. Hoffman will be making his major league debut as soon as he gets into a game.
Hoffman, 28, was acquired from the Rangers in mid-June. The Phils sent cash to Texas to get him. The Phillies added Hoffman to their 40-man roster but optioned him to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. It’s likely that Hoffman had some kind of opt-out or upward mobility clause in his deal with the Rangers. The Phils were willing to give him a 40-man spot but didn’t call him up to the active roster until today.
Since coming over in that trade, the submariner has been posting decent numbers. He often gets strikeouts and grounders but also gives out walks, which has been the case since joining the Phils. In 19 Triple-A innings since the trade, he has a 3.32 earned run average. His 31.8% strikeout rate and 51.1% ground ball are strong but he’s also given out free passes to 12.9% of batters faced. Last year, he was in the Orioles’ system and tossed 58 Triple-A innings with a 3.88 ERA, 28.2% strikeout rate, 52% grounder rate and 13.6% walk rate.
It’s possible that Hoffman will be quickly optioned back to the IronPigs. As noted by Paul Casella of MLB.com, lefty José Alvarado will be able to return from his 80-game PED suspension tomorrow. Perhaps that means Hoffman is just up to provide a fresh arm for tonight’s game.
The Phils used five relievers last night. One of them was Lazar, who pitched two nights in a row. It’s possible that Lazar was going to be the corresponding move for Alvarado tomorrow, but since he tossed a combined 40 pitches over the past two games and might have needed a night off anyway, he’s been sent out today. Time will tell if it’s actually just a one-day stint for Hoffman or not. Either way, he’s up in the show for the first time. The Phils will also need to open a 40-man roster spot for Alvarado’s activation.
Photo courtesy of Joe Camporeale, Imagn Images
Marlins Promote Max Acosta, Place Graham Pauley On Injured List
Aug. 18: The Marlins announced that Acosta has indeed been recalled for his MLB debut. Pauley will head to the 10-day injured list, as the side discomfort that kept him out of yesterday’s game was due to what’s now been diagnosed as a strained oblique.
Aug. 17: The Marlins are calling up middle infield prospect Max Acosta from Triple-A Jacksonville, El Extra Base’s Daniel Alvarez-Montes reports. Only a 26-man roster will need to be made prior to tomorrow’s game between the Cardinals and Marlins, since the 22-year-old Acosta is already on Miami’s 40-man roster.
Acosta will be making his MLB debut whenever he makes his first appearance with the Fish. Playing almost exclusively as the everyday shortstop in Jacksonville, Acosta has hit .232/.319/.376 over 430 plate appearances in his first taste of Triple-A ball, while stealing 28 bases in 35 attempts. It took him some time to adjust to the higher level, as Acosta’s season is split between a .215/.316/.269 slash line over his first 215 plate appearances, and a much improved .247/.321/479 slash line in his last 215 PA.
This power boost over the last two and a half months provides some answer to evaluators’ doubts about his ability to hit at the big league level, though it runs counter to MLB Pipeline’s scouting report, which felt Acosta’s ability to hit for average could be his offensive calling card rather than his modest power. His speed is fairly average but he is an effective base stealer, and Acosta provides at least average defense at shortstop and second base (the other position he has played during his pro career). Pipeline ranks Acosta as the 25th-best prospect in Miami’s farm system, while Baseball America has the infielder 28th.
An international signing for the Rangers in 2019, Acosta was added to Texas’ 40-man roster for the first time last November in advance of the Rule 5 draft. The Rangers then dealt Acosta and two other prospects to the Marlins in December in the trade that brought Jake Burger to Arlington.
Otto Lopez has been struggling badly at the plate since the start of July, and while Lopez remains an excellent defensive shortstop, the Marlins might want to give him a bit more time in the outfield or at third base while seeing what they have in Acosta. MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola reports that Graham Pauley didn’t play today due to side tightness, so if Pauley needs to go on the injured list, that opens up third base for Lopez to share time with Eric Wagaman.
Mets Place Paul Blackburn On Release Waivers
The Mets have requested unconditional release waivers on right-hander Paul Blackburn, according to Mike Puma of The New York Post. Blackburn was designated for assignment on Saturday when the Mets called up Nolan McLean.
A release was a likely outcome once Blackburn was bumped from the 40-man roster. With the deadline having passed, a trade was not a possibility. The Mets could have opted for outright waivers but Blackburn has five-plus years of service time, meaning he has the right to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency while retaining his remaining salary commitments. The Mets have skipped that formality and put Blackburn on release waivers instead.
It doesn’t seem especially likely that any club would claim him. Blackburn is making $4.05MM this year, which leaves about $900K still to be paid out. That’s not a massive sum relative to season-long MLB payrolls but would be a decent amount for just a few weeks of work. Blackburn has spent most of this season on the injured list and has a 6.85 earned run average in the seven appearances he has made, which should tamp down the interest.
If he clears waivers, the Mets will remain on the hook for the money. Any other club could sign Blackburn and would only have to pay him the prorated version of the $760K league minimum salary. That would be about $150K or so if Blackburn gets a spot somewhere quick and holds it for the rest of the year, far less than the amount required to claim him off waivers. Any amount paid by another club would be subtracted from what the Mets pay.
As mentioned, Blackburn has been injured and not terribly effective this year, but the sample size is small. Injury absences are nothing new for him, as he’s actually never even thrown 112 innings in a big league season. However, the results have occasionally been decent. From 2022 to 2024, he tossed a combined 290 1/3 innings with a 4.43 ERA, 20.2% strikeout rate, 7.5% walk rate and 44.8% ground ball rate.
His 2025 hasn’t been at that level but team may overlook that. Adding to a roster is tough now that the trade deadline has passed, yet teams always need arms as injuries pop up. Blackburn has some decent results on his track record and will be essentially free.
Photo courtesy of Jason Parkhurst, Imagn Images
White Sox Outright Jacob Amaya
Aug. 18: Amaya went unclaimed on waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Charlotte, per James Fegan of Sox Machine.
Aug. 15: The White Sox announced Friday that they’ve designated infielder Jacob Amaya for assignment. His spot on the roster goes to fellow infielder Chase Meidroth, who has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list.
Amaya, 26, has appeared in 37 games for the South Siders this season. He’s played decent middle infield defense, primarily at shortstop, but has mustered an anemic .106/.139/.121 batting line in 73 trips to the plate. He’s out of minor league options, so the Sox didn’t have the ability to simply send him to the minors without first passing him through waivers.
This is the second DFA of the season for Amaya and his third DFA of the calendar year. The Sox passed him through waivers back in May, outrighted him to Triple-A, and then selected him back to the big league roster earlier this month. Amaya has seen time in parts of three big league seasons but struggled at the plate with the Marlins, Astros and ChiSox. He’s a career .147/.183/.161 hitter in 154 major league plate appearances but carries a more respectable .250/.348/.388 line in 1351 Triple-A plate appearances.
The White Sox will place Amaya on waivers within the next five days. If he goes unclaimed, he’ll have the right to reject an outright assignment to Triple-A in favor of free agency.
Athletics Release Gio Urshela
The A’s have released veteran infielder Gio Urshela, whom they designated for assignment on Friday, per the transaction log at MLB.com. He’ll be able to sign with any team once he clears release waivers.
Urshela, 33, signed a one-year, $2.15MM contract in free agency this past offseason. He missed close to a month earlier this season due to a hamstring strain and struggled at the plate both before and after that IL stint. He batted .238/.287/.326 with no home runs, 14 doubles and a triple in 197 turns at the plate. His 20.3% strikeout rate was his highest (by a wide margin) since 2021.
It’s been a tough few years for Urshela, who experienced an out-of-the-blue breakout with the Yankees in his age-27 season back in 2019 and played well up through a strong 2022 showing with the Twins. For four seasons between the Bronx and Minneapolis, he posted a combined .290/.336/.463 batting line (118 wRC+) with 54 home runs, 90 doubles and five triples in 1643 plate appearances.
Urshela was traded from the Twins to the Angels following the 2022 season. He suffered a fractured pelvis a couple months into his Angels tenure, and he hasn’t looked the same since. While he was batting .299/.329/.374 at the time of the injury, he’s taken 658 major league plate appearances between the Tigers, Braves and A’s since returning and has mustered only a .246/.287/.351 slash (77 wRC+). His defensive grades at the hot corner have seen a downturn as well — particularly in 2025. Both Defensive Runs Saved (-6) and Outs Above Average (-2) feel he’s been well below average in just 421 innings of work.
Once Urshela clears release waivers, any team that signs him would only need to pay him the prorated league minimum for any time spent on the big league roster. That sum would be subtracted from what the A’s owe him, but they’ll remain on the hook for the vast majority of what’s left on this year’s salary.
Braves Re-Sign Carlos Carrasco To Minor League Deal
The Braves re-signed veteran righty Carlos Carrasco to a minor league contract after designating him for assignment last week, as first indicated on the transaction log at MiLB.com. Carrasco cleared waivers, briefly elected free agency, and now returns on a new minor league where he’ll serve as a depth arm for an injury-plagued Braves staff. Carrasco will head to Triple-A Gwinnett for the time being.
Carrasco opened the season with the Yankees after signing a minor league deal in the winter. He was roughed up for a 5.91 ERA in eight games (six starts) before being removed from the Yankees’ 40-man roster. He stuck around with their Triple-A club until an Atlanta team that was desperate for innings after a series of rotation injuries acquired Carrasco for cash prior to the trade deadline.
The 38-year-old Carrasco tossed a quality start against the Reds on deadline day but was tagged for six runs in 5 2/3 frames his next time out and six more runs in just two innings in his third start with the Braves. He wound up pitching 13 2/3 innings overall and logging a 9.88 ERA during his brief run with Atlanta. Combined with his earlier Yankees struggles, Carrasco has limped to a 7.09 ERA in 45 2/3 innings this season.
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 Atlanta rotation currently includes Spencer Strider, Erick Fedde, Bryce Elder, Hurston Waldrep and Joey Wentz, although Chris Sale is on the mend and expected to return soon. Sale tossed 56 pitches over four innings of one-run ball in his second Triple-A rehab start yesterday. He’s been out since mid-June due to fractures in his ribcage.
Red Sox Finalizing Deal With Nathaniel Lowe
The Red Sox and first baseman Nathaniel Lowe are in the final stages of a contract, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. MassLive’s Chris Cotillo reported earlier that Lowe and the Sox were in discussions and were “working on getting it done.” Lowe is represented by SportsMeter.
The signing comes at little surprise, as reports linking the Sox to Lowe have been swirling since May, soon after Triston Casas was lost to what is likely to be a season-ending knee surgery. Boston continued to show interest in Lowe prior to the trade deadline but no deal was reached with the Nationals. After the Nats designated Lowe for assignment and placed him on waivers yesterday, Cotillo reported that the Sox were likely to make a play for the former Gold Glover, so it would appear that Lowe is now officially a free agent after clearing waivers.
Casas’ injury sparked quite a chain reaction in Boston’s season, as Rafael Devers‘ subsequent refusal to play first base was one of the factors that led to Devers being traded to the Giants in June. While the Sox looked around the market at Lowe and other trade options, the fill-in platoon of Abraham Toro and Romy Gonzalez performed respectably well, with Gonzalez in particular crushing left-handed pitching. Since Lowe is a left-handed hitter, it stands to reason that Gonzalez will still get his share of at-bats when a southpaw is on the mound, and Toro could be the odd man out of the playing time equation.
The question now facing the Sox is what version of Lowe are they getting — the solid veteran who was a fixture as the Rangers’ first baseman from 2021-24, or the much-less productive Lowe who hit only .216/.292/.373 over 490 plate appearances with Washington. These underwhelming numbers included a decent but uninspiring .235/.312/.421 slash line in 337 PA against right-handed pitching.
Even those splits represent an upgrade over Toro, plus there is more potential upside if the change of scenery returns Lowe to his past Rangers form. The Red Sox are one of baseball’s better-hitting teams overall, though the club is more productive against left-handed pitching. Boston’s collective 102 wRC+ against right-handers is tied for 15th among the 30 teams.
There is no financial risk for the Red Sox in adding Lowe since they’ll only be owing him the prorated portion of the MLB minimum salary. That total will be subtracted from the roughly $2.33MM remaining on Lowe’s $10.3MM salary for the 2025 season, with the Nationals covering the remainder. Lowe also has one final year of arbitration control remaining, but unless he goes on an absolute tear in Boston over the remainder of the season, the Sox are likely to non-tender him this winter rather than give him a raise on that $10.3MM figure.
It is safe to assume that the Red Sox probably just view Lowe as a stopgap for 2025, with Casas on the horizon for a return in 2026 and perhaps more of Boston’s up-and-coming prospects (i.e. Kristian Campbell, Jhostynxon Garcia) perhaps being viewed as first base candidates down the road. Signing Lowe addresses one of the few weak links on a roster that shares the top AL wild card slot with the Mariners, and sits five games back of the Blue Jays for first place in the AL East.