Brewers Outright Bruce Zimmermann
Sept. 27: Zimmermann went unclaimed on waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A, per the transaction log at MLB.com. He can become a minor league free agent once the season is over.
Sept. 24: The Brewers have designated left-hander Bruce Zimmermann for assignment, per a team announcement. Righty Carlos Rodriguez has been recalled from Triple-A Nashville to take his spot on the active roster. Milwaukee’s 40-man roster is now at 39 players.
Zimmermann pitched in just one game for Milwaukee, giving the club six innings in a spot start against the Padres yesterday. The former Orioles southpaw was tagged for five earned runs on seven hits and a pair of walks with only one punchout, but he gave the Milwaukee bullpen a breather after a day in which they’d burned through six relievers in an 11-inning game against San Diego. Despite the rocky results, Zimmermann drew praise from manager Pat Murphy for pitching relatively deep into the game on a day when the team’s relief corps was a bit depleted (via Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel).
It was always likely to be a one-off appearance for Zimmermann. The lefty is out of minor league options and wouldn’t be available to pitch until the season finale at the earliest. The Brewers will shuffle him off the roster and bring up Rodriguez to provide some extra length in the ‘pen. It may sound cold or callous on the surface, but teams are generally upfront with this type of plan when bringing a journeyman pitcher like Zimmermann to the majors for a short period of time. He’ll get a few days of big league service time and salary for the effort. (Players receive MLB service time and pay even while they’re on outright waivers and/or in DFA limbo.)
This was Zimmermann’s first big league appearance since 2023. He’s pitched in parts of four other seasons, all with Baltimore from 2020-23. Zimmermann carries a career 5.64 ERA in 164 1/3 MLB frames, but he’s been far better in Triple-A — including this season. In 138 frames with the Brewers’ Nashville affiliate, the 30-year-old Zimmermann has pitched to a 4.11 ERA with an 18.8% strikeout rate and 5.2% walk rate.
Zimmermann will be available to all 29 other clubs on outright waivers. Assuming he clears, he’ll have the right to reject an outright assignment to the minor leagues in favor of free agency. Either way, he’ll be a minor league free agent at season’s end.
Astros Place Jake Meyers On Injured List, Designate Nick Hernandez
The Astros are placing center fielder Jake Meyers on the 10-day injured list, relays Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. Rookie infielder Brice Matthews was recalled to take his spot on the active roster. Meyers is dealing with right calf soreness. Houston also reinstated Lance McCullers Jr. from the 15-day IL and designated Nick Hernandez for assignment to open a spot in the bullpen.
Meyers’ injury is the latest hit to a Houston team whose playoff hopes are on life support. The Tigers beat the Red Sox this afternoon to clinch a playoff spot. The Astros are down to one path to October. They need to win their final two games in Anaheim and count on the Rangers to beat the Guardians twice in Cleveland. They may already know their fate by the time tonight’s game opens at 8:38 pm Central. Cleveland’s game is already underway, and they’re tied 2-2 in the bottom of the fifth at the time of this writing.
If the Astros find a way to sneak into the playoffs, they’d need to play at least the first round without their starting center fielder. Meyers wouldn’t be eligible to return until Game 2 of the Division Series. It’s the second calf-related IL stint of the season for the right-handed hitter. Meyers strained the same muscle before the All-Star Break and didn’t return to the big league club until September 6.
Meyers has had arguably the best season of his career when he’s been healthy. He’ll finish the regular season with a .292/.354/.373 batting line with three homers and 16 stolen bases in 104 games. Meyers has been a fantastic defensive outfielder throughout his career. He hadn’t been much of an offensive threat over his first three-plus seasons. This year’s average and on-base percentage are easily personal highs.
Houston has now lost three regulars within the past two weeks. Yordan Alvarez sprained his ankle and won’t be back this weekend. Jeremy Peña hasn’t played in a week due to an oblique strain. He’s out of the lineup again tonight. Zach Cole replaces Meyers in center field, drawing Taylor Trammell into the lineup in left. Mauricio Dubón is in at shortstop for Peña.
McCullers is back from a minimal IL stay related to hand soreness. The former All-Star starter has been relegated to the bullpen and owns a 6.71 ERA over 52 1/3 innings around a trio of injured list stints. His return comes at Hernandez’s expense. Houston did not need to create a 40-man roster spot but had already optioned Hernandez five times over the course of the season. That’s the maximum under the terms of the 2022 collective bargaining agreement, so the Astros will need to run him through waivers to send him down again.
Houston acquired Hernandez in a minor league trade with the Padres last June. They called him up a day later and have used him as an up-and-down reliever since then. The 30-year-old righty has pitched 10 times this season. He has allowed six runs in 10 2/3 innings, striking out 11 while issuing eight walks. He pitched well during his various Triple-A stints, turning in a 2.12 earned run average while striking out a third of opponents across 46 2/3 innings.
Hernandez has below-average velocity. His fastball averages around 91 MPH and he leans equally heavily on a low-80s slider. It’s not eye-popping stuff, but he has gotten swinging strikes on more than 13% of his offerings at the big league level. Triple-A hitters whiffed more than 16% of the time. That could be enough for a team to grab him off waivers. While Houston maxed out their five options within a season, Hernandez has one option year remaining after this one. A claiming team could send him back to Triple-A next season if they’re willing to keep him on the 40-man roster all winter.
Dodgers Select Andrew Heaney
The Dodgers added a multi-inning arm to the pitching staff, selecting veteran lefty Andrew Heaney onto the major league roster. Righty Will Klein was optioned after he threw 30 pitches last night, which presumably took him out of the mix for the final two games of the regular season. The Dodgers opened a 40-man roster spot by recalling righty Nick Frasso and placing him on the major league 60-day injured list. Frasso’s injury is unknown; he’ll collect a little over $8K and pick up his first two days of service time for a weekend on the MLB roster.
Heaney signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers a couple days after he was released by the Pirates. They got that across the finish line just before the noon Eastern deadline on September 1 for players to be eligible for postseason play. Heaney would be available for L.A. in October, though it’s likelier they’re bringing him up to eat some low-leverage innings against the Mariners tonight or tomorrow.
The Dodgers are already locked into the #3 seed in the National League. They’ll host the Mets or Reds in a Wild Card Series that begins on Tuesday. The final two regular season games are irrelevant for playoff seeding. (Seattle is guaranteed to be the #2 seed in the American League, so this doesn’t mean much to them either.) The focus is on arranging their pitching staff to be in the best shape possible for next week.
They limited Emmet Sheehan to one inning in last night’s start. Sheehan will move to the bullpen in the postseason and could be the best right-hander in a spotty relief corps. Tyler Glasnow starts tonight. He’s their presumed Game 3 starter behind Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Blake Snell. Glasnow would be on regular rest for that contest, which would be played on Thursday if they split the first two of that three-game set. Still, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they lift Glasnow after an abbreviated start tonight to make sure he’s fresh for that outing. Clayton Kershaw is listed as tomorrow’s starter. He might be in the playoff bullpen, so that appearance may last only an inning or two as well.
Heaney logged 120 1/3 innings over 26 appearances (23 starts) with Pittsburgh. He posted a 2.50 ERA through the end of April but saw his numbers regress with each month. Heaney allowed at least 4.74 earned runs per nine in each of the following four months. That included 15 earned across 13 1/3 frames in August that led Pittsburgh to move on. He was much better with Triple-A Oklahoma City after signing with the Dodgers. The 34-year-old tossed 10 innings of one-run ball with 13 strikeouts and two walks.
Rangers Claim Dom Hamel
The Rangers have claimed right-hander Dom Hamel off waivers from the Orioles, as per announcements from both teams. Hamel has been optioned to the Rangers’ Arizona Complex League team, and second baseman Marcus Semien was moved to the Texas 60-day injured list to make space for Hamel on the 40-man roster.
A third-round pick for the Mets in the 2021 draft, Hamel made his MLB debut in the form of one scoreless inning in New York’s 7-4 loss to San Diego on September 17. That first game kicked off a busy 11-day stretch for Hamel, who has now changed teams twice via the waiver wire. The Mets designated Hamel for assignment the day after his debut, and the Orioles claimed him off waivers, only to DFA Hamel again on Thursday.
The right-hander now heads to the Rangers and a familiar locale, as Hamel played his college ball at Dallas Baptist University. Hamel has all three minor league options remaining, which could help his chances of remaining on the 40-man roster throughout the offseason and making it to Spring Training to compete for a bullpen job.
Over 192 1/3 career Triple-A innings, Hamel has a 6.27 ERA. He has had trouble keeping the ball in the park at the top minor league level, but he has decent strikeout numbers and his walk rate improved greatly in 2025. Hamel also started working as a reliever more often this year, so a long relief or swingman role might be in the cards as the righty looks to carve out a niche as a big leaguer.
Semien hasn’t played since August 21, due to a Lisfranc sprain and a fractured third metatarsal bone in his left foot. The move from the 10-day IL to the 60-day is just a paper transaction as Semien wasn’t going to play again anyway in 2025, especially now that Texas has been eliminated from the playoff race.
Mets Place Brett Baty On 10-Day Injured List
The Mets placed infielder Brett Baty on the 10-day injured list due to a right oblique strain. Outfielder Jared Young was called up from Triple-A Syracuse in the corresponding move. New York also announced that outfielder Jose Siri and left-hander Richard Lovelady each cleared waivers and were outrighted to Syracuse.
Baty was removed in the second inning of Friday’s 6-2 loss to the Marlins with what was described initially as side tightness. The severity of the strain isn’t yet known, but at the very least, Baty will miss the Mets’ last two regular-season games and wouldn’t be available until partway through the NLDS, should the Mets both reach the playoffs in the first place and then advance beyond the wild card round. Anything beyond a minimal strain will probably end Baty’s season entirely, given how most oblique injuries require at least 3-4 weeks of recovery time.
New York faces an uphill battle to make it to October, since the Reds hold the tiebreaker advantage over the Mets. Both teams are 82-78, so if the Reds win out (or the Mets lose one and the Reds win one), Cincinnati will clinch the final NL playoff berth.
This difficult path to the postseason will be even trickier without Baty, who has hit .312/.368/.512 with seven home runs over his last 136 plate appearances. This hot streak over the last six weeks has raised Baty’s season-long slash line to .254/.313/.435 over 432 PA, and his wRC+ is now 111. Since Baty had only a 71 wRC+ in 602 big league plate appearances prior to 2025, this season has been a welcome step forward for a player who was once the top prospect in New York’s farm system. Beyond his improved hitting, Baty has also been providing pretty steady glovework at both second and third base, and his work at the keystone represents Baty’s first time playing second base at the MLB level.
Baty has mostly stuck to third base over the last few weeks, and any of Mark Vientos, Luisangel Acuna, or Ronny Mauricio (who is at the hot corner in today’s lineup) could handle the position this weekend and potentially into the playoffs. Young’s return to the active roster gives the Mets enough outfield depth to keep McNeil more or less locked at second base.
Siri and Lovelady were each designated for assignment earlier this week. Both players have the right to reject the outright assignment in favor of free agency — Siri because he has more than three years of MLB service time, and Lovelady because he has previously been outrighted in his career. Electing free agency would cost Siri what little remains of his $2.4MM salary for 2025, and he might prefer to stick with the Mets just in case they make the playoffs and injuries open a roster spot. Lovelady is a longer shot to make any postseason roster, so the southpaw may prefer to become a free agent and get an early start on the offseason market.
Cade Horton To Miss At Least One Playoff Series Due To Rib Fracture
The Cubs will be without one of their top starters for at least the first round of the playoffs, as Cade Horton has been placed on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to September 25) due to a non-displaced right rib fracture. Left-hander Jordan Wicks was called up to take Horton’s roster spot for the final two games of Chicago’s regular season.
Horton made an early exit from his last start on Tuesday due to back soreness, and a follow-up MRI revealed an unspecified issue in his ribcage, as manager Craig Counsell told reporters earlier this week. Horton threw in the outfield yesterday and was slated to throw a bullpen session today, yet those positive signs have now been abruptly overshadowed by the news of the IL placement.
In the best-case scenario, Horton is now out of action until at least Game 5 of the NLDS, should the Cubs make it that deep into the second playoff round. Given that narrow window for activation, it doesn’t seem likely that the Cubs would include him on an NLDS roster, so a more realistic scenario would see Horton return as part of the NLCS roster if he can get healthy.
Of course, Chicago’s chances at such a deep postseason run will be a lot more difficult without the rookie who has emerged as a key rotation piece. Horton figures to get plenty of NL Rookie of the Year votes in the wake of a debut season that has seen the right-hander post a 2.67 ERA over his first 118 innings in the bigs. A 4.26 SIERA reflects Horton’s underwhelming 20.4% strikeout rate and the good fortune he has enjoyed in the both of both a 78.3% strand rate and a .258 BABIP, but Horton’s 6.9% walk rate is very solid.
There’s also the fact that Horton (the seventh overall pick of the 2022 draft) was getting better as he gained more experience. He posted a 4.45 ERA across his first 56 2/3 innings, but then delivered just a 1.03 ERA over his next 12 starts and 61 1/3 frames. This was seemingly a good omen for Horton and the Cubs as the playoffs loomed, as the rookie had locked up a spot in Chicago’s postseason rotation.
The Cubs should have enough starting pitching options to get by, even if their depth chart has now been shortened. Shota Imanaga, Matthew Boyd, and either Colin Rea or Jameson Taillon will be the starters for the best-of-three Wild Card Series, and that quartet should line up as the rotation for the remainder of the postseason. Javier Assad is also in line to be at least a multi-inning reliever in October, and Counsell has indicated that he’ll use his entire pitching staff to navigate the playoffs, perhaps outside of traditional starter/reliever roles.
With two games left in the regular season, the Cubs are two games ahead of the Padres for the top NL wild card slot. Unless the Cubs go 0-2 and the Padres go 2-0 the rest of the way, their NLWCS will be played in Chicago, with Game 1 set for Tuesday.
Mets Designate Kevin Herget For Assignment
The Mets announced that right-hander Kevin Herget has been designated for assignment. This move opens up space on the 28-man and 40-man rosters for Dylan Ross, whose contract has now been officially selected from Triple-A. (Ross’ promotion was reported yesterday.)
This is the third time Herget has been designated during a season that has seen the reliever go from the Mets to the Braves and then back to New York. These transactions came on the heels of several other DFAs when Herget pitched with the Rays, Reds, and Brewers from 2022-24, and since Herget has been outrighted in the past, he can elect free agency if he clears waivers here and is outrighted off the Mets’ 40-man roster. While a team could make a claim on Herget just to control his rights heading into the offseason, the likelier scenario is that the 34-year-old will clear waivers and then get released to give him a jump start on free agency.
Now a veteran of five different teams over his four MLB seasons, Herget has a 4.20 ERA over 55 1/3 career innings. He received his most playing time (24 1/3 IP over 14 appearances) with Cincinnati in 2023, and the 2025 campaign has seen Herget post a 2.77 ERA over 13 combined innings with New York and Atlanta.
Herget didn’t make his big league debut until he was 31 years old, finally breaking through with the Rays in September 2022. A 39th-round pick for the Cardinals in the 2013 draft, Herget spent most of his career in the St. Louis organization before his carousel of moves over the last five years, beginning with a stint in Cleveland’s farm system in 2021 and two stints in independent ball. He has a career 3.97 ERA over 522 innings in Triple-A, with good control and a respectable strikeout rate to show for his work as a multi-inning reliever and swingman.
Braves Claim Alek Manoah
The Braves have claimed right-hander Alek Manoah off waivers from the Blue Jays, according to announcements from both clubs. Toronto designated him for assignment earlier this week. To open a 40-man spot for Manoah, Atlanta transferred infielder Ozzie Albies to the 60-day injured list.
Manoah, 27, has been trending down for a few years but is a former Cy Young contender. In 2022, he made 31 starts for the Blue Jays, tossing 196 2/3 innings with a 2.24 earned run average. That ERA was probably a bit misleading. Manoah’s 6.5% walk rate was good but his 22.9% strikeout rate was only about average and his 37.5% ground ball rate was subpar. He benefited from a .244 batting average on balls in play and 82.6% strand rate. Adjusted metrics like his 3.35 FIP and his 3.85 SIERA thought he was more good than great. Regardless, Manoah finished third in American League Cy Young voting, behind Justin Verlander and Dylan Cease.
A major correction came in the following season. Manoah was optioned to the minors in early June of 2023 after posting a 6.36 ERA in his first 13 starts. His strikeout rate had dropped to 17% while his walked rate had climbed to 14.9%. He came back up to make a few more starts in the second half but finished the year with a 5.87 ERA over 19 starts.
Going into 2024, there were some trade rumors surrounding Manoah but he ended up staying with the Jays. He missed the start of the season due to some shoulder soreness. He was able to come off the IL in May and made five decent starts, with a 3.70 ERA, 25.2% strikeout rate and 7.8% walk rate. However, he then required Tommy John surgery, putting him out of action for the rest of the year.
Here in 2025, Manoah has been working to get back on track but it hasn’t been an encouraging return. He has thrown 38 2/3 innings in the minors this year, mostly on rehab but the Jays also eventually reinstated him from the IL and optioned him. His 3.96 ERA in those minor league innings isn’t bad but his 19.6% strikeout rate and 12.8% walk rate are both poor. He has only been averaging 91 miles per hour on his fastball, whereas he was around 94 mph in that great 2022 season.
This was Manoah’s first of three arbitration seasons and he is making $2.2MM. Since he hasn’t pitched in the big leagues this year, he should be in line to make the same salary next year. The Jays recently needed a 40-man spot to reinstate Anthony Santander from the 60-day IL and they bumped Manoah off. That seems to suggest they weren’t planning to tender Manoah a contract and keep him around for next year.
He’s a sensible flier for another club to take. A salary between $2MM and $3MM is tiny by modern starting pitching standards. Soft-tossing veterans like Kyle Hendricks and Wade Miley each signed for $2.5MM last offseason. If Manoah can regain some of his lost velocity next year, there would be the added upside of him being controllable in 2027 as well. He also still has options, meaning he could be stashed in Triple-A as depth if he still isn’t back on track by March of next year.
That makes it somewhat surprising that a few clubs passed on Manoah. Waivers go in reverse order of the standings and are not league specific. With Atlanta winning the claim, it can be concluded that the Rockies, White Sox, Nationals, Twins, Pirates and Angels all passed. Some of those clubs have decent pitching, despite their poor records. But a few of those teams are desperate for arms, particularly the Rockies, who have a 6.02 ERA this season. Given their difficulties in convincing free agents to pitch at Coors Field, it’s a bit startling to see them shrug here.
Atlanta came into 2025 with championship aspirations but it turned into a Murphy’s law season. A mountain of injuries, some poor performances and a PED suspension for Jurickson Profar all combined to produce a dreadful campaign. As they have been playing out the string, president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos has been trying to take advantage of any opportunity to grab players who might help the club bounce back next year.
In the past two months, Atlanta has claimed Ha-Seong Kim, Jake Fraley, Joey Wentz, Vidal Bruján, Brett Wisely, Joel Payamps, Chuckie Robinson, Alexis Díaz and now Manoah off waivers. Presumably, the club is comfortable tendering Manoah a contract for next year, though they don’t have to decide on that today. Perhaps they will have Manoah report to one of their facilities to throw some bullpens as they take a close-up look at him. If they want to, they could always walk away before the deadline to tender contracts to arbitration-eligible players, which is usually in late November.
Going into 2026, Atlanta’s rotation projects to potentially include Chris Sale, Hurston Waldrep, Spencer Strider, Reynaldo López, Spencer Schwellenbach, Grant Holmes, Bryce Elder and others. That’s a lot of names but there are lots of question marks in there. Sale has had plenty of injuries over the years and turns 37 in March. Waldrep may be having a nice breakout but still has less than 70 big league innings pitched. Strider returned from his own surgery absence this year and hasn’t been his usual self. López missed almost this entire season due to a shoulder injury. Schwellenbach has been out almost three months due to an elbow fracture. Holmes probably needs UCL surgery but is trying non-surgical rehab for now. Elder has an unimpressive 5.30 ERA this year.
Assuming Manoah is tendered a contract, he cheaply adds another name into that mix and gives the club some more rotation depth. As mentioned, he has options and can be sent to Triple-A Gwinnett if he doesn’t earn a rotation job out of camp. If he is able to return to form, Atlanta could control him for the 2027 season as well.
It’s also possible they tender him a contract and then try to pass him through waivers later. Manoah will finish this year between four and five years of major league service time. That means he has the right to reject outright assignments but has to walk away from his remaining salary commitments in exercising that right. Players in that spot sometimes find themselves making a few million, which decreases the chances of them being claimed, allowing the club to stash them as non-roster depth.
As for Albies, he suffered a hamate fracture a few days ago and was going to miss the remainder of the season. He’ll spend the rest of the campaign on the 60-day IL but will need to be reinstated for the offseason, as the IL goes away five days after the World Series and doesn’t come back until pitchers and catchers report to spring training.
Photo courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski, Imagn Images
Mets To Select Dylan Ross
10:21pm: New York is indeed calling Ross up, reports Will Sammon of The Athletic. They already have three open spots on the 40-man but will need to make an active roster move. Huascar Brazobán and Kevin Herget are the two pitchers in the MLB bullpen who have options remaining. They each pitched an inning of mop-up work in tonight’s 6-2 loss in Miami, so one of them will probably be sent out.
11:43am: The Mets are mulling a promotion for pitching prospect Dylan Ross and could bring him up for his big league debut as soon as tomorrow, Mika Puma of the New York Post reports. SNY’s Andy Martino reported last week that Ross was in consideration for a big league look before season’s end.
The 25-year-old Ross was New York’s 13th-round pick in 2022. He’s elevated his prospect status considerably in 2025 with a dominant showing out of the bullpen across three minor league levels. The former Georgia Bulldog has tossed a combined 54 innings with a 2.17 ERA — including a 1.69 mark in 32 frames at the Triple-A level. Ross has fanned just under 36% of his opponents this season and kept nearly 55% of the batted balls against him on the ground. Command, or lack thereof, is his most notable flaw. He’s walked an ugly 14.7% of his opponents (17.3% in Triple-A).
Listed at 6’5″ and 251 pounds, Ross is a prototypical flamethrowing reliever. He’s averaged 96.8 mph on his four-seamer this season and can run the pitch up into triple digits. He complements that fiery heater with a splitter and cutter that both sit just under 90 mph, a slider that sits 87.5 mph and a seldom-used curveball in the low-80s. MLB.com ranks Ross 20th among Mets farmhands.
Ross underwent Tommy John surgery during his draft season at Georgia and needed a revision of that procedure in 2023. He only pitched one inning in the minors in 2024 and has all of 55 professional innings under his belt to date. However, due to his status as a college draftee who’s now been in professional ball for three full seasons, he’d be eligible for selection in the Rule 5 Draft this winter. Given his outstanding season in the minors and the power nature of his repertoire, it’s likely the Mets would add him to the 40-man roster in November to protect him from being selected anyhow — which only strengthens his case for a call to the majors late in the season.
New York’s bullpen has slipped over the past couple months. Mets relievers have a combined 4.18 ERA since the trade deadline, ranking 18th in the majors. Edwin Diaz, Tyler Rogers and Brooks Raley have all been excellent, but the acquisition of Ryan Helsley (7.58 ERA as a Met) has backfired and Ryne Stanek (7.50 ERA since Aug. 1) has struggled considerably. The Mets lost lefties A.J. Minter and Danny Young to lat surgery and Tommy John surgery, respectively, back in May. Setup man Reed Garrett was recommended for Tommy John surgery earlier this month.
That string of struggles and injuries has created plenty of uncertainty in the bullpen. There’d obviously be risk in carrying a 25-year-old rookie with subpar command on the team’s postseason roster — should they qualify — but the many of the more veteran options currently in the mix don’t exactly ooze confidence at the moment themselves.
Rangers Promote Jose Corniell
The Rangers made a few moves going into their final series in Cleveland. Texas selected infielder Donovan Solano onto the major league roster. He takes the spot of utilityman Josh Smith, who goes to the paternity list. Texas also shut down relievers Chris Martin (thoracic outlet syndrome) and Cole Winn (rotator cuff strain) for the season. Luis Curvelo and Jose Corniell were recalled to fill the two open spots on the pitching staff.
Solano signed a minor league deal with the Rangers three weeks ago. He’d been released by the Mariners after hitting .252/.295/.344 with three homers through 176 plate appearances. He hit .212 in 10 games with Triple-A Round Rock. The veteran infielder will return to free agency at the end of the season. He’ll provide a right-handed bat off Bruce Bochy’s bench against the Guardians in the interim.
It’s a more meaningful call for the 22-year-old Corniell. The Dominican-born righty reaches the big leagues for the first time. The move is technically a recall because Corniell has occupied a spot on the 40-man roster since the 2023-24 offseason.
Initially a Mariners signee, Corniell was traded to Texas for reliever Rafael Montero before the ’21 season. The 6’3″ righty had never thrown a minor league pitch. He’d signed with Seattle during the 2019-20 international period, then saw his first professional season canceled by the pandemic. Corniell struggled over the next two seasons but had a breakout year in the low minors in 2023. Texas put him on the 40-man roster to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft.
Corniell blew out early last season. He underwent UCL surgery in June and was on the injured list until shortly after this year’s All-Star Break. He made six abbreviated starts at Double-A and dominated. Cornell turned in 20 innings of two-run ball (one earned) with 20 punchouts and one walk. Texas bumped him to Triple-A, where he recorded 12 1/3 frames with five runs allowed. He fanned 14 while issuing six free passes.
Jack Leiter is on the mound for tonight’s series opener. Texas hasn’t announced its starters for the final two games. They’d have Merrill Kelly and Patrick Corbin on their usual schedules. The Rangers aren’t playing for anything, but Cleveland is battling for a playoff spot and the AL Central title. It’d be a surprise if the Rangers scratched one of their veteran arms to give Corniell the ball in that context. He could get a chance to make his debut as a long reliever if one of the games is a blowout.
Martin’s season concludes with a thoracic outlet syndrome diagnosis. The 39-year-old from Arlington signed a one-year free agent deal to rejoin his hometown team last winter. He pitched well when healthy, working to a 2.98 ERA through 42 1/3 innings. This is his third injured list stint of the season. He missed time earlier in the year with shoulder fatigue and lost all of August to a calf strain.
The Rangers haven’t provided any specifics on the severity of the injury. Martin said last September that he expected 2025 to be his final season. If this is the end, he’ll finish his career with a 3.33 earned run average across 10 seasons in the big leagues. The highly respected righty recorded the 400th strikeout of his career last night, fanning Minnesota’s Austin Martin.