Guardians Outright Trevor Stephan
The Guardians passed right-handed reliever Trevor Stephan through outright waivers and assigned him to Triple-A Columbus, per Tim Stebbins of MLB.com. That removes him from the 40-man roster, but Stephan will remain with the organization.
While Stephan could have rejected the assignment, doing so would’ve meant forfeiting the remainder of this season’s $2.3MM salary, all of next year’s $3.5MM salary and the $1.25MM buyout on his 2027 club option. Stephan is about a month shy of reaching the necessary service time to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency but still retain his salary.
The now-29-year-old was a breakout reliever for the 2022 Guardians, tossing 63 2/3 innings with a 2.69 ERA, 30.7% strikeout rate, 6.7% walk rate and 19 holds. Cleveland signed him to a four-year, $10MM extension with a pair of club options prior to the 2023 season. He tallied 28 holds that year but saw his rate stats and velocity dip. In spring of 2024, Stephan was diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament and underwent Tommy John surgery. He’s yet to make it back to a major league mound.
Stephan has had his rehab assignment stopped and restarted a couple times this summer. Cleveland activated him from the 60-day IL in late July and optioned him to Columbus. He’s pitched 13 2/3 innings in the minors this year and been rocked for a 9.22 ERA, although nine of the runs against him came in a brutal pair of back-to-back outings around the All-Star break. Over his past five appearances, Stephan has looked more like himself. He’s tossed five shutout frames and fanned five opponents — albeit with four walks issued in that time as well.
Stephan’s outright is the latest in an overhaul of a Cleveland bullpen that looked almost unbeatable when he and Emmanuel Clase were regularly handling the eighth and ninth innings. Stephan’s future is at least somewhat up in the air, in light of his injuries and struggles during rehab work, while Clase’s outlook is even cloudier. He’s been on administrative leave since July 28 in connection with an MLB investigation into violations of the league’s sports-betting policy. Clase and teammate Luis Ortiz are on leave through Aug. 31, though if the investigation hasn’t concluded at that point, the leave can be extended even further.
Righties Cade Smith and Hunter Gaddis now stand as the top two leverage options in manager Stephen Vogt‘s bullpen.
Braves Activate Ronald Acuña Jr., Outright Sandy León
The Braves announced Friday that they’ve reinstated star outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. from the injured list. In order to open a roster spot, veteran catcher Sandy León was assigned outright to Triple-A Gwinnett after clearing waivers.
Acuña missed nearly three weeks with a Grade 1 strain in his right calf. It’s the second IL stint of the season for the five-time All-Star and former National League MVP. He opened the season on the shelf while finishing off the rehab from last year’s surgery to repair a torn left ACL.
Between those two IL stints, Acuña was in vintage form. He came to the plate 238 times and slashed a sensational .306/.429/.577 with 14 home runs, nine doubles, a triple and four stolen bases. Acuña walked in a massive 17.6% of his plate appearances, averaged 92.3 mph off the bat and logged a massive 53% hard-hit rate. By measure of wRC+, he was 78% better than the league-average hitter at the plate.
It’s a generally lost season for the Braves, but Acuña surely wants to get a healthy finish under his belt so he can feel good heading into next season. Injuries have hobbled him repeatedly in recent years. He averaged only 102 games per season from 2021-24.
As for the veteran León, he’s been on the roster since July 21 but appeared in only two games and took just one plate appearance. He’s been an emergency third catching option for manager Brian Snitker, but Atlanta has been plugging catchers Drake Baldwin and Sean Murphy into the lineup on a daily basis, rotating that pair between the catcher and designated hitter spot. That’s left minimal opportunity for the 36-year-old León, who hit .183/.250/.379 in 169 Triple-A plate appearances this season.
León is a veteran of 13 major league seasons. He’s rarely provided much help with the bat in that time — evidenced by a career .208/.276/.310 batting line in the majors — but has nonetheless carved out a lengthy career on the strength of his defensive acumen, game-calling skills and leadership. He has the right to reject his outright assignment if he chooses.
Rays Release Logan Driscoll
The Rays announced Friday that they’ve released catcher Logan Driscoll, who’d been on the 40-man roster in Triple-A. Driscoll suffered an ankle injury back in March and hasn’t played yet in 2025. Injured players can’t be placed on outright waivers, so the Rays — needing a roster spot for the selection of first baseman Bob Seymour — will cut Driscoll loose entirely. Seymour’s previously reported promotion has now been made official, and Tampa Bay optioned outfielder Tristan Peters to clear a spot on the 26-man roster.
Driscoll, 27, made his big league debut with Tampa Bay last September, appearing in 15 games and taking 37 plate appearances. He batted .171/.189/.257 in that tiny sample. The former No. 73 overall pick (Padres, 2019) was far better in the minors, hitting .292/.367/.473 with seven homers, 24 doubles and a triple in 294 Triple-A plate appearances.
Driscoll originally came to the Rays alongside Manuel Margot in the 2020 trade sending righty Emilio Pagan to San Diego. He’s a career .269/.348/.437 hitter in parts of five minor league seasons. Given that he hasn’t suited up for a game all season, it’s hard to imagine Driscoll getting onto the field in 2025, but his former draft status and solid minor league track record make him an interesting option for teams eyeing catching help in the 2026 season.
Cooper Hummel Elects Free Agency
Catcher/outfielder Cooper Hummel went unclaimed on waivers after being designated for assignment by the Astros and will reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency, reports Ari Alexander of KPRC-2.
Hummel, 30, has appeared in 37 games between the Astros and Orioles this season, taking 105 plate appearances and posting a combined .170/.298/.273 slash with three homers, a 13.3% walk rate and a problematic 29.5% strikeout rate. He’s been better in a small sample of 68 Triple-A plate appearances.
Part of the reason for that limited work is a dizzying sequence of transactions. Hummel has now been designated for assignment four times since the season began. He’s elected free agency each time and signed four minor league deals — two with the Orioles, one with the Astros and one with the Yankees.
Though Hummel has never hit much in the majors (.163/.268/.275 in 340 plate appearances), he’s an accomplished Triple-A hitter with uncommon defensive versatility. The former 18th-round pick is a .284/.418/.480 hitter in nearly 1500 trips to the plate at Triple-A in his decade-long pro career, and he’s experienced behind the plate, in the outfield corners and at first base.
It’s an understandably appealing skill set, but Hummel has frequently found himself as the effective 26th man on teams’ 26-man rosters, and his lack of minor league options has resulted in him changing hands more than most players. He’ll presumably sign a fifth minor league deal of the season in the days ahead. It seems likely that the Orioles and Astros, who’ve both acquired him multiple times over the past two calendar years, will show some level of interest, but he’ll have the chance to talk to all 30 teams once he’s formally elected free agency and returned to the open market.
Pirates Designate Ryan Borucki For Assignment
The Pirates have designated left-handed reliever Ryan Borucki for assignment, manager Don Kelly announced to reporters prior to this afternoon’s game (link via Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). Pittsburgh also recalled righty Colin Holderman and lefty Evan Sisk from Triple-A Indianapolis and optioned righty Cam Sanders.
The 31-year-old Borucki has had a second straight rough season with the Bucs. Back in 2023, he turned in a sharp 2.45 ERA with a 21.7% strikeout rate and superlative 2.6% walk rate through 40 1/3 frames. He’s since turned in successive ERAs of 7.36 and 5.28 over a combined 41 2/3 frames while navigating multiple injuries. Borucki was out for more than a month due to a lower back injury earlier this summer, and a triceps injury limited him to just 11 innings in 2024.
Even with that rough stretch, Borucki still carries a career 4.38 ERA in 252 big league innings. He’s set down 19.6% of his career opponents on strikes and walked 8.7% of them. Neither is a plus mark, but neither is too far from league average. Borucki’s career 48.3% ground-ball rate (55% in 2025) is several percentage points north of average.
Borucki’s minor league deal with the Pirates contained a $1.15MM base salary that locked in when he was added to the big league roster. Any team that claims him off waivers — he obviously cannot be traded now that the deadline has passed — would be responsible for the prorated remainder of that sum, about $272K through season’s end. Since Borucki has more than five years of big league service, it doesn’t make much of a difference whether he’s placed on outright waivers or release waivers. He has the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency and still retain the remainder of his guaranteed money.
For the Pirates, it’s an understandable decision to move on. Borucki allowed three runs in his most recent outing and has struggled for much of the season when healthy. He’d have been a free agent at season’s end, so they’ll instead give his innings to younger arms who can be controlled beyond the current season. If a team claims the remaining $272K that’s on his contract, it’s all the better, but either way his departure will allow the Pirates more opportunity to evaluate potential future pieces in the ‘pen.
Austin Nola Elects Free Agency
Aug. 15: Nola has indeed elected free agency, per the transaction log at MiLB.com.
Aug. 13: Nola has cleared waivers, and the Rockies have sent him outright to Triple-A Albuquerque, according to the transaction log on his MLB.com player page. He has the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency, but he can also choose to accept the assignment and rejoin the Isotopes. He is currently listed on their roster on MiLB.com.
Aug. 11: The Rockies announced Monday that they’ve designated catcher Austin Nola for assignment. His roster spot will go to righty Chase Dollander, who’s been recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque and will start tonight’s game versus the Cardinals in St. Louis.
Nola, 35, has spent the bulk of the season with Triple-A Albuquerque after signing a minor league contract over the winter but had his contract selected to the big league roster in early July. He’s gotten into 15 games for the Rox but turned in a lackluster .184/.225/.211 batting line in a small sample of 41 plate appearances. He was far better in 26 Triple-A games, slashing .347/.411/.474 in 106 trips to the plate.
The older brother of longtime Phillies starter Aaron Nola, Austin has appeared in parts of six big league seasons. He was excellent early on after breaking through with the Mariners as a 29-year-old rookie. The older Nola brother hit .280/.351/.476 in 377 plate appearances with the M’s in 2019-20, pairing that plus offensive output with the ability to play not only catcher but multiple infield and outfield spots.
The Padres coveted Nola’s production and versatility enough to surrender a package of prospects that included Andres Munoz, Ty France and Taylor Trammell to pry Nola and relievers Dan Altavilla and Austin Adams away from Seattle in 2020. Nola’s bat fell off to about league-average levels from 2020-22 following the trade before cratering in 2023. The Friars cut him loose after the ’23 season and he’s since bounced to the Brewers, Royals and now Rockies.
With the trade deadline behind us, the Rockies’ only course of action will be to place Nola on waivers. He’ll be made available to all 29 other teams, beginning with the worst record in the league and climbing through the best. Nola is out of minor league options, so any team that claims him would need to add him right to the big league roster. If he goes unclaimed, he’d have the right to reject an outright assignment to the minors in favor of free agency.
Yankees Re-Sign Andrew Velazquez
The Yankees have signed infielder Andrew Velazquez to a new minor league contract, according to his MLB.com profile page. Velazquez was released from his previous minors deal on August 3, and he’ll now return to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after testing the open market.
A veteran of six MLB seasons, Velazquez hit .189/.244/.293 over 624 plate appearances and 275 games with five different teams from 2018-23. Most of his playing time (179 games) came with the Angels during the 22-23 seasons, and Velazquez had close to a starting role as the Halos’ shortstop in the 2022 campaign. His time in Los Angeles ended when he was claimed off waivers by the Braves in September 2023, and Velazquez hasn’t been back to the majors since, playing with Atlanta’s Triple-A team in 2024 and then spending all of 2025 in SWB.
This latest contract represents the fourth time Velazquez has signed with the Yankees, and the Bronx native saw some big league action with his hometown team in the form of 28 games in the pinstripes in 2021. While the local flavor doesn’t hurt, Velasquez is a known quantity to the New York organization who can provide defensive versatility even if he doesn’t offer much at the plate. Velasquez has primarily played shortstop during his career, but he has a lot of experience at second base, third base, and all three outfield positions (primarily center). His work on the grass this year has been limited to a single appearance in center field, indicating that the Yankees view him as an emergency outfielder at best.
Rays To Promote Bob Seymour
The Rays are planning to call up first base prospect Bob Seymour from Triple-A Durham prior to Friday’s game, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. Since Seymour isn’t on the 40-man roster, Tampa Bay will have to make at least one corresponding move to create space on both the 40-man and 26-man rosters.
The 26-year-old Seymour will be making his MLB debut whenever he appears in his first game. A 13th-round pick for the Rays in the 2021 draft, Seymour has been productive at every level of the minor league ladder, including big numbers in Durham in each of the last two seasons. Seymour has hit .263/.327/.553 with 30 home runs over 443 PA at Triple-A this year, and his 30 homers lead the International League. Just this past Tuesday, Seymour highlighted his huge year with a three-homer game against Triple-A Nashville.
As evidenced by his 89 homers over 1736 career PA (and 410 games) in the minor leagues, there’s a lot of pop in Seymour’s bat. There was also a lot of swing-and-miss, though Seymour has significantly reduced his strikeout rate from 34.9% in 2024 (in 218 PA with Durham) to 25.7% over his 443 PA this season. He also enjoyed some inflated BABIPs in past seasons, yet a more neutral .292 BABIP in 2025 indicates that the first baseman isn’t just relying on a lot of good fortune.
Despite all this power, neither MLB.com or Baseball America list Seymour among the top 30 prospects in Tampa’s farm system. It seems as though Seymour is viewed in limited terms as a first base-only player who has only big power and hard-contact skills as calling cards, yet evaluators may doubt that those abilities can translate into production against Major League pitching.
Still, it’s hard to argue that Seymour’s big 2025 campaign hasn’t earned him at least a look in the Show. Seymour is a left-handed hitter who could replace Jonathan Aranda in the lineup to some extent, playing mostly as a designated hitter since Yandy Diaz is locked in at first base. Aranda is one of five Rays position players on the injured list, so with Tampa Bay a little thin on the bench, there are worse ideas than calling up a 30-homer slugger.
White Sox Outright Corey Julks
Outfielder Corey Julks has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Charlotte, reports Scott Merkin of MLB.com. The White Sox designated him for assignment earlier this week. Since this is his second career outright, he has the right to reject the assignment and elect free agency, though Merkin didn’t indicate he would do so.
Julks, 29, has put up plenty of intriguing numbers in the minors. That has led to a few limited looks in the big leagues, but he hasn’t been able to do much with those. He has a .236/.290/.340 line in 520 career plate appearances, which translates to a wRC+ of 76, indicating he’s been 24% worse than the league average hitter.
The minor league track record is greater in both quality and quantity. Dating back to the cancelled 2020 season, he has stepped to the plate 1,630 times on the farm with a .278/.361/.486 batting line and 120 wRC+. He’s also stolen 63 bases and lined up at all three outfield spots.
That minor league track record wasn’t enough for any club to give him a 40-man spot. He still has an option remaining and could have been stashed in the minors but all clubs passed on that chance. As mentioned, since he has been outrighted before, he could decide to head to the open market now. If he passes on that opportunity, he’ll qualify for minor league free agency at season’s end.
Photo courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski, Imagn Images
Shaun Anderson Elects Free Agency
The Angels announced that right-hander Shaun Anderson has cleared waivers and elected free agency. The Halos designated him for assignment earlier this week. He has the right to reject the outright assignment because he has a previous career outright.
Anderson, 30, has gone down this road before. The Angels signed him to a minor league deal in the winter. He was selected to the roster in May. He lasted about two weeks before getting bumped off the roster. Since he is out of options, he was designated for assignment. He cleared waivers and elected free agency but then re-signed with the Angels on a new minor league deal. The same sequence of events played out the next month, with Anderson on the roster for a few days in June.
The same script was followed this week, though at a quicker pace. Anderson was added to the roster on Monday. The Halos were leading the Dodgers 7-0 after seven innings. They put in Anderson to try to save their top bullpen arms, but it didn’t work out. Home runs by Shohei Ohtani and Max Muncy led to four runs going on the board, with Anderson only recording two outs.
The next day, he was designated for assignment for the third time this year. Like in the previous two instances, he has cleared waivers and exercised his right to test the open market. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he returns to the Angels on a new deal, as he has before. He has thrown 163 1/3 major league innings with a 6.39 earned run average. His minor league work has been better overall but he hasn’t been putting up great numbers this year. Pitching in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, he has a 6.44 ERA in 81 innings in 2025.
Photo courtesy of Cary Edmondson, Imagn Images