Braves Sign Charlie Morton
The Braves have reunited with old friend Charlie Morton. They signed him to a major league deal today. He had been designated for assignment by the Tigers but evidently cleared waivers and became a free agent. Atlanta optioned right-hander Jhancarlos Lara and designated righty Carson Ragsdale for assignment as corresponding moves. Manager Brian Snitker previously shared the news with Mark Bowman of MLB.com, Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and David O’Brien of The Athletic. Bowman suggests it’s possible the club has brought Morton aboard to retire as a Brave. It’s undetermined whether he will pitch for the club in the remainder of the season.
Morton, 41, hasn’t said that he is retiring but it wouldn’t be a shock if that was his plan. He has flirted with the possibility for years now. “It could be this year, next year, but I’m not going to keep playing for a long time,” he said way back in April of 2018. “I can promise you that. I’m not going to keep playing four, five, six, seven more years.”
Of course, that was over seven years ago now. Since then, Morton has seemingly made a conscious choice to not overly commit to anything. He has repeatedly signed a series of short-term deals, apparently content to keep playing as long as he stayed effective.
After a so-so 2024 season in which he posted a 4.19 earned run average, he decided to give it another go in 2025. He signed a one-year, $15MM deal with the Orioles. “I remember walking off the field and just this like sinking feeling in my stomach — it just didn’t feel right,” Morton said shortly after signing with the O’s. “I’m sure a lot of guys toward the end of their careers, they think about retiring, shutting it down, and you really want to walk off the field the last time and feel good about it. And a lot of guys don’t get that opportunity. I just didn’t feel good about it. I felt like I could have done better. I felt like I still had the tools to be a good pitcher in the big leagues.”
Unfortunately, this season has been even more challenging than the last one. He posted a 10.89 ERA through five starts and got moved to the bullpen before the end of April. He posted some decent results working in relief and got his rotation spot back, then performed pretty well in the summer. He had a 3.88 ERA in 11 starts from late May to the trade deadline, which gave him enough value for the Orioles to trade him and some cash to the Tigers for minor league lefty Micah Ashman.
His first four starts with Detroit were fine, as he put up a 3.63 ERA in those, but things took a disastrous turn from there. He didn’t go more than four innings in any of his final four outings as a Tiger. He seemed to completely lose the zone, walking 19.7% of batters faced in those four games with a 12.75 ERA in that span. In his final outing as a Tiger, he didn’t make it out of the second inning and was booed off the field by a frustrated fan base as the club’s recent skid has become disastrous. The Tigers, desperately trying to avoid a situation where they miss the playoffs, cut him loose.
Atlanta doesn’t have any use for Morton in a competitive sense. Their season was a lost cause long ago and they are officially eliminated from making the playoffs this year. Bringing Morton aboard is a sentimental choice, one that allows him to finish the season with a club that he had a lot of success with.
Morton was originally drafted by Atlanta back in 2002 and debuted for them in 2008. From there, he bounced around, spending many years with the Pirates, Astros and Rays. He returned to Atlanta in 2021 and stayed there through 2024. In those four recent seasons with Atlanta, he made at least 30 starts in each one. Overall, he gave the club 686 1/3 innings with a 3.87 ERA.
As mentioned, it’s unclear if Morton is actually retiring or if he will take the mound in the final week of the season. But it seems possible that he is planning on heading towards the sunset. If that’s the case and he wants to climb the hill one last time, perhaps he can engineer a better final act than his most recent appearance as a Tiger.
Ragsdale, 27, was just claimed off waivers from the Orioles a few days ago. He was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett and made one appearance for the Stripers. Since the trade deadline has long passed, he’ll be back on waivers in the coming days.
His minor league track record is still quite small, consisting of just one appearance for the O’s this year wherein he allowed eight earned runs in three innings. His minor league work also hasn’t been great this year, with a 5.22 ERA in 89 2/3 innings, but he was better a year ago. In 2024, he logged 120 2/3 innings on the farm with a 4.18 ERA, 29.1% strikeout rate and 11.3% walk rate.
He doesn’t have three years of big league service time nor a previous career outright. That means he does not have the right to reject outright assignments in favor of electing free agency. He also doesn’t have seven years of minor league experience, meaning he shouldn’t be eligible for minor league free agency at season’s end either.
Photos courtesy of Jim Rassol, Dale Zanine, Imagn Images
Red Sox Re-Sign Hobie Harris To Minor League Deal
The Red Sox are in agreement with reliever Hobie Harris on a minor league contract for 2026, reports Ari Alexander. The Gaeta Sports Management client will be in Spring Training as a non-roster invitee.
Harris will return to Boston for a second consecutive season. The 32-year-old righty spent this season in the Sox organization. Harris signed a minor league deal with the Mets last November. The Red Sox selected him in the Triple-A phase of the Rule 5 draft less than a month later. Harris missed a couple weeks early on with shoulder inflammation. He has been healthy since June and turned in 39 innings of 4.15 ERA ball at Triple-A Worcester. He fanned a quarter of his opponents but allowed walks and home runs at higher than average rates.
A former Yankees draftee, Harris pitched in the big leagues with the Nationals two seasons ago. He made 16 appearances and allowed 12 runs (11 earned) across 19 1/3 innings. The Pittsburgh product only recorded nine strikeouts in his big league stint but has fanned a reasonable 24% of opponents over parts of five Triple-A seasons. Harris uses a three-pitch mix led by his mid-80s splitter. His four-seam fastball sits around 95 MPH and he throws an upper-80s cutter as his breaking pitch.
Orioles Outright Scott Blewett
The Orioles announced this afternoon that reliever Scott Blewett accepted an outright assignment to the team’s Florida complex. The righty went unclaimed on waivers after being designated for assignment last week. Baltimore also activated Adley Rutschman from the injured list. Infielder Luis Vázquez was optioned to the complex in a corresponding move.
Baltimore acquired Blewett in a cash trade with Atlanta in June. He went down with an elbow injury a few weeks later and has spent the past two months on the 60-day injured list. The O’s decided not to put him back on the MLB roster once he returned to health last week. Blewett is out of options, so the Orioles needed to send him through waivers at that point.
The 29-year-old Blewett has been outrighted a few times in his career. He had the right to elect free agency but evidently preferred to spend the season’s final week at the O’s complex. He’ll qualify for minor league free agency at the end of the season anyhow. Blewett has tossed a career-high 44 1/3 innings between three teams this season. He carries a 5.48 earned run average with an 18% strikeout rate. He’ll probably be looking at minor league offers this winter.
Marlins Designate Derek Hill For Assignment
The Marlins announced a big series of roster moves today. Right-hander Edward Cabrera has been reinstated from the 15-day day injured list and outfielder Griffin Conine from the 60-day IL. To open active roster spots, right-hander Adam Mazur and outfielder Joey Wiemer have each been optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville. To open a 40-man spot for Conine, outfielder Derek Hill has been returned from his rehab assignment, reinstated from the 10-day injured list and designated for assignment.
Hill, 29, was claimed off waivers from the Giants in August of last year. Since that claim, he has generally continued to have roughly the same level of production before he came to Miami. Though he can make some nice catches and steal a few bases, he has generally been a guy with subpar offense, thanks to poor strikeout and walk numbers.
He has made a few trips to the injured list this year, two due to a left wrist sprain, another due to a left middle finger sprain, and most recently a right hamstring strain. Around those IL trips, he has appeared in 53 games for the Marlins. In his 141 trips to the plate, just 6.4% of those have resulted in him taking a walk while 32.6% of them ended in strike three. His .213/.275/.331 batting line translates to a 68 wRC+.
Though he has seven stolen bases on the year and strong defensive grades, the bat was dragging him down. He is out of options and can’t be easily sent to the minors. He has crossed three years of big league service time this year, meaning he was going to qualify for arbitration this winter. It seems the Marlins weren’t planning to tender him a contract, so they have cut him early in order to open a roster spot for their other moves today.
Since the trade deadline has passed, he will be on waivers in the coming days. There wouldn’t be much short-term appeal for other clubs, since the season is almost over and he wouldn’t be postseason eligible for any claiming team. He can be controlled for three seasons after this one, but a club would only grab him if they thought he was worth an arbitration raise for 2026. If he clears waivers, he will have the right to elect free agency.
The returns of Cabrera and Conine are also potentially notable here, as the Marlins are clinging to a tiny hope of a miracle run to finish the season. They are four games back of the Reds and Mets with six games left to play. Both players were performing well earlier this year, so perhaps they can give Miami a boost for an incredible sprint to the finish line.
Cabrera’s return is also notable for the upcoming offseason. He has had something of a breakout here in 2025, as his results have kicked up a notch. He has always been able to get strikeouts and ground balls, but his stock has been held back by poor control and some injury concerns.
He has softened both of those worries a bit here in 2025. He came into this year with a 13.3% walk rate but has managed to limit the free passes to a 7.7% clip this season. He has also stayed healthy enough to log 128 2/3 innings. He had never before hit the century mark, so that’s easily a career high.
An elbow sprain did put him out of action at the start of this month, but he has managed to return three weeks later. If he can stay healthy and effective in the final week, that could give him and the Marlins some peace of mind about him going into 2026.
The Fish will are theoretical candidates to trade a starting pitcher this winter. Rumors surrounding Cabrera and Sandy Alcantara were common this summer but the Marlins held both beyond the trade deadline. Going into next season, their rotation mix includes those two as well as Eury Pérez, Ryan Weathers, Janson Junk, Braxton Garrett, Max Meyer, Ryan Gusto, Mazur, Dax Fulton and Freddy Tarnok, with prospects Thomas White and Robby Snelling currently lurking in Triple-A. It’s possible to imagine the Marlins revisiting the possibility of trading Alcantara or Cabrera this winter, which could give Cabrera’s return today a bit of extra intrigue.
Photo courtesy of Jonathan Hui, Imagn Images
Braves Claim Joel Payamps, Designate Connor Seabold For Assignment
The Braves have claimed right-hander Joel Payamps off waivers from the Brewers, according to announcements from both clubs. Milwaukee had designated him for assignment a few days ago. In a corresponding move, Atlanta has designated fellow righty Connor Seabold for assignment.
Payamps, now 31, had a strong run with the Brewers in the previous two seasons but has been struggling a bit more this year. He tossed 129 2/3 innings for Milwaukee over the 2023 and 2024 campaigns, allowing just 2.78 earned runs per nine. His 26.1% strikeout rate, 6.7% walk rate and 42.6% ground ball rate were all better than league average. He gave the Brewers nine saves and 48 holds over those two years.
But as mentioned, 2025 hasn’t been as smooth. His first 18 1/3 innings this year resulted in an ugly 8.35 ERA. Some of that was surely luck, as his .373 batting average on balls in play and 52.2% strand rate were both to the unfortunate side. But he also saw his strikeout rate drop to just 19% and his grounder rate to 29%. His 4.51 FIP and 4.40 SIERA weren’t nearly as bad as his ERA but still pointed to him being worse than previous seasons.
Payamps is out of options, so the Brewers designated him for assignment in late May. Given his previous success, he could have been grabbed by any club, but he passed through waivers unclaimed. Perhaps his $2.995MM salary this year played a role, as most of that was still to be paid out at the time.
Players with at least three years of service time can reject an outright assignment and elect free agency. However, those with less than five years of service have to forfeit their remaining salary commitments in order to exercise that right. Payamps is in that three-to-five window and therefore reported to Nashville.
He actually got back on track with the Sounds, tossing 26 2/3 innings. The 4.73 ERA wasn’t good but he got his strikeouts back up to a 27.3% clip and his grounders to a 38.9% rate. The ERA was seemingly spiked by a tiny 47.8% strand rate, which is why he had a 2.90 FIP for that Triple-A run.
The Brewers called him back up in early September, selecting him to the roster when Shelby Miller landed on the injured list. Since then, he has had decent numbers in a small sample, pitching 5 1/3 innings with a 3.38 ERA, 25% strikeout rate and 46.2% ground ball rate, though a high walk rate of 12.5%. Though the recent trends were somewhat encouraging, he was designated for assignment again recently when the Brewers called up Bruce Zimmermann.
With just a week left in the season, the vast majority of Payamps’ salary has now been paid out. That makes it relatively inexpensive for Atlanta to claim him today. They can now get a close-up look at him and decide if they want to tender him a contract for 2026. Since his big league results this year have been lacking, he shouldn’t be able to push his salary up much beyond the $3MM range he was in this year. His service time is still shy of five years, so he could also be controlled for 2027 via arbitration if Atlanta tenders him a contract for next year and things go well.
Atlanta is playing out the string on a season that has been a lost cause for a long time. The club has therefore been making moves focused on improving the 2026 club. They acquired Tyler Kinley from the Rockies at the deadline. They have also claimed players making notable salaries like Jake Fraley and Ha-Seong Kim off waivers, with Payamps now added to the list.
When teams are faced with a losing season like this, they usually find ways to save some money, but Atlanta has taken the opposite approach. Back in February, chairman Terry McGuirk said the club had “dry powder” to make deadline additions. Instead, president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos has used that powder to make that aforementioned moves. Kinley is making a $3MM salary this year, Fraley $3.125MM and Kim $13MM. As mentioned, Payamps is making $2.995MM.
Atlanta only took on a portion of those salaries, given that each player was acquired later in the year. But in each case, the hope was seemingly that the investment would allow them to bring in a current player who could help in 2026. In most of those cases, they didn’t really commit themselves to anything for next year. Kinley has a $5MM club option for next year but also a $750K buyout. Fraley and Payamps are both arbitration eligible, meaning Atlanta will still have a chance to non-tender them this offseason if they so choose. With Kim, they have less flexibility, as he has a $16MM player option for next year. They were seemingly happy to pay that out but he has been playing well lately and seems to be trending towards a return to free agency.
Seabold was also a waiver claimee this year but a more conventional one as he is still in his pre-arbitration years and isn’t making a notable salary. Since being claimed from the Rays in August, he has mostly been on optional assignment, only making four big league appearance for Atlanta.
Between those two clubs, he has thrown 69 2/3 Triple-A innings this year with a 6.07 ERA, 20.7% strikeout rate, 9.4% walk rate and 36% ground ball rate. His major league career now consists of 119 innings spread across four different clubs and four different seasons. In that time, he has a 7.79 ERA, 17% strikeout rate, 7.8% walk rate and 33% ground ball rate.
Since the trade deadline has passed, he’ll be on waivers in the coming days. He doesn’t have a previous career outright nor three years of service time. If he is passed through waivers unclaimed, he would not have the right to reject an outright assignment. However, he has appeared in at least seven different minor league seasons, meaning he would qualify for minor league free agency at season’s end if he’s still not on the 40-man at that time.
Photo courtesy of Joe Camporeale, Imagn Images
Brewers Place Brandon Woodruff On 15-Day Injured List
The Brewers announced today that they’ve placed right-hander Brandon Woodruff on the 15-day injured list with a right lat strain. Woodruff’s IL placement is retroactive to September 18. Left-hander Robert Gasser was recalled from Triple-A in a corresponding move and is slated to start today’s game for Milwaukee.
Woodruff’s retroactive placement on the shelf means that he’ll be eligible to return in time for the start of the NLDS on October 4. Of course, that would require Woodruff to be shelved for only a minimum stint on the IL, which is far from guaranteed. According to Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Woodruff is suffering from a “moderate” lat strain in the words of manager Pat Murphy, and it is too early to tell how Woodruff’s playoff availability may be impacted by the injury. MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy reports that Woodruff is seeing a doctor in St. Louis today in order to get his injury assessed after the strain occurred during the righty’s bullpen session on Saturday.
At the very least, the news brings Woodruff’s regular season to an abrupt end. Woodruff will end the regular season with 12 starts under his belt, and a 3.20 ERA/3.18 FIP in 64 2/3 innings of work with a sensational 32.3% strikeout rate. Woodruff made just 11 starts in 2023 due to shoulder issues and ultimately went under the knife in October of that year. That caused him to miss the entire 2024 season, and an ankle injury during his rehab this season delayed his return to the big league mound until early July. He immediately slotted back into the top of Milwaukee’s rotation upon his return, and helped to sustain the hot streak that thrust the Brewers to the best record in all of baseball.
The timing of this latest ailment is surely frustrating for both the Brewers and Woodruff himself, given its proximity to the playoffs. Woodruff acknowledged as much himself in comments made to reporters (including McCalvy) this morning. Woodruff noted that he “wasn’t surprised” by the injury and noted he’s been managing his shoulder for some time, adding that a setback could have occurred in June or July and that it’s just “crappy timing” that this happened to come up right before the postseason.
With Woodruff sidelined, the Brewers’ potential postseason rotation is in flux. Freddy Peralta and Quinn Priester appear to be locks to start playoff games, but there’s little certainty outside of that. Woodruff would obviously get starts if and when he returns, and Jose Quintana could find himself in the conversation as well depending on his own recovery from injury. While those two are shelved, however, they’ll likely be forced to choose between struggling rookie Jacob Misiorowski and fellow rookie right-hander Chad Patrick to round out the rotation. Perhaps Gasser can put himself into the discussion with a strong outing today, but the southpaw has not yet pitched in the majors this year after undergoing elbow surgery last year and has just 38 innings of work in the minors under his belt this season.
Cubs Designate Nate Pearson For Assignment
The Cubs designated Nate Pearson for assignment, according to the right-hander’s official MLB.com profile page. The move clears a 40-man roster spot for right-hander Eli Morgan, who was activated from the 60-day injured list and optioned to Triple-A Iowa.
Pearson first joined the Cubs in a trade from the Blue Jays at the 2024 deadline, and he seemed to benefit from the change of scenery. After posting a 5.63 ERA in 40 innings for Toronto prior to the deal, Pearson stabilized things and posted a 2.73 ERA across 26 1/3 innings for the Cubs. Even though the secondary metrics had a less-favorable view of Pearson’s performance, it looked like he had earned himself a spot in Chicago’s bullpen picture for 2025.
However, Pearson got off to a rocky start and found himself optioned back to Triple-A by the middle of April. He has been recalled and optioned down a couple of more times since, with the end result of an ugly 9.20 ERA and more walks (10) than strikeouts (seven) over 14 2/3 innings in the Show. Pearson’s numbers in Iowa have been considerably better, yet even his 2.22 ERA and 30.6% strikeout rate over 44 2/3 Triple-A frames have come with the red flag of a 12.9% walk rate.
Walks have been a persistent issue throughout Pearson’s career, and his seemingly improved control in 2024 may have proven to be a mirage based on his 2025 numbers. He has also had a lot of trouble keeping the ball in the yard, as Pearson has allowed 28 home runs over his 156 2/3 career innings in the majors. Formerly one of baseball’s top pitching prospects during his time in the Jays’ farm system, Pearson battled injuries while in the minors, and a move to relief pitching still hasn’t allowed him to find a niche on a Major League roster.
Pearson has two years of arbitration eligibility remaining, so between that team control and his past prospect pedigree, there is a chance he might get claimed as a reclamation project. Since the 29-year-old has more than three years of MLB service time, he has the right to elect free agency rather than accept an outright assignment to Triple-A, assuming he clears waivers. It seems probable that the Cubs might just release Pearson if he clears waivers — since he is a clear non-tender candidate anyway, an early release would give Pearson an early jump on the offseason free agent market.
Morgan posted a 12.27 ERA over 7 1/3 innings before his season was all but erased by an inflamed ulnar nerve in his throwing arm. The righty’s last MLB appearance was on April 14, and a setback during a minor league rehab assignment in June pushed his clock back even further.
Finally returning to the mound in August, Morgan has looked quite sharp in posting a 1.69 ERA over 10 2/3 innings with the Cubs’ high-A and Triple-A affiliates. With his 30-day rehab window over, he is now back on the 40-man roster and continuing his rehab work in Iowa, and it is unclear if he might get another look in the majors before 2025 is over. Given his long layoff, it seems unlikely that Morgan would factor into Chicago’s playoff roster plans unless other pitchers get hurt.
Red Sox Activate Wilyer Abreu From IL, Designate Ali Sanchez
The Red Sox announced that outfielder Wilyer Abreu has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list. Catcher Ali Sanchez was designated for assignment in the corresponding roster move.
Abreu returns after missing a little over a month due to calf tightness. As of two weeks ago, Sox manager Alex Cora didn’t have a set timeline for Abreu’s return, so it’s good news that Abreu has been able to make it back with a week to spare in the regular season, let alone before the playoffs begin. Abreu is in the lineup as the designated hitter tonight, which could be a sign that his calf isn’t quite 100 percent, or the Red Sox might simply just be easing him back into action.
Assuming his calf is generally okay, Abreu should step right back into his normal strong-side platoon role as Boston’s everyday right fielder against right-handed pitching. One of the sport’s best defensive outfielders, Abreu won the right field Gold Glove in 2024 and he is a strong candidate for a repeat, with +15 Defensive Runs Saved and +8 Outs Above Average to his ledger in 2025. Between his superb glovework and solid bat (.253/.325/.486 with 22 homers in 395 plate appearances), Abreu has quickly become a major all-around piece of the Red Sox roster.
Sanchez’s 2025 began on a minor league contract with the Blue Jays, and he was claimed off waivers by the Red Sox in early August. The Sox DFA’ed him 10 days after that claim, and after rejecting an outright assignment, Sanchez landed with the Mets on another minors deal. He then found himself on the way back to Boston in a trade on September 1, as the Red Sox wanted some additional depth behind the Carlos Narvaez/Connor Wong catching combo. Over 12 big league games in 2025, Sanchez has a .522 OPS over 23 plate appearances (all but two of them with Toronto).
Sanchez has a career slash line of .183/.220/.283 over 133 career PA in parts of four different MLB seasons, as his bat hasn’t been productive enough to hold down a regular role even if his well-regarded glove keeps getting him looks. Sanchez is out of minor league options, which is part of the reason why he has been such a regular on the waiver wire. Because he has been previously outrighted, Sanchez has the ability to elect free agency if he clears waivers and is assigned to Triple-A, though he is probably more likely to just accept the assignment and stay in the organization as depth.
Ivan Herrera To Undergo Elbow Surgery, Return To Catching After 2025 Season
Ivan Herrera is expected to undergo surgery to remove loose bodies from his throwing elbow after the 2025 season comes to a close, as first reported by Jim Hayes of FanDuel Sports Network. Jeff Jones of the Belleville News-Democrat adds that Herrera is expected to be “full-go” by the time Spring Training roles around in February. The surgery is aiming to help correct his struggles with throwing behind the plate, which led the Cardinals to move him off catcher into a full-time DH role in July.
That should help facilitate a return to catching in 2026, and Jones wrote for MLB.com yesterday that Herrera has spoken with manager Oli Marmol and incoming president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom to work out a plan for an offseason program designed to get him ready to return to catching next year. Jones adds that the club’s plan for Herrera’s offseason was created with the knowledge of the youngster’s impending surgery and with plans on how to incorporate his rehab into his winter assignments.
Being able to rely on Herrera has a regular part of the club’s catching corps next year would be a game changer for the Cardinals. The 25-year-old has enjoyed a major breakout with the bat this year, as he entered today slashing .279/.366/.447 across 100 games this year before clubbing his 17th home run of the season in today’s game against the Brewers to push his wRC+ up to 134 on the season. That’s a top-25 figure in baseball among players with at least 400 plate appearances, tied with star outfielders Bryce Harper and Byron Buxton. In other words, Herrera’s 2025 season has placed him in the upper echelon of hitters across the league regardless of position.
If Herrera can make the shift back to catcher without missing a beat with the bat, he would go from being a valuable middle-of-the-order hitter to a player with legitimate star potential. Only Cal Raleigh and Will Smith have hit better than Herrera while serving as primary catcher this year, and only five other catchers even have a wRC+ of 120 or higher on the year. That’s especially valuable for a club like St. Louis that simply hasn’t gotten much offensive production from the catcher position this year. Willson Contreras remains a quality bat, but was pushed into an everyday first base role over the offseason with no signs that he could return to the club’s catching mix any time soon. That’s left the lion’s share of playing time behind the plate for Pedro Pages, who has hit just .233/.276/.368 in 109 games for the Cards this season.
Herrera would constitute a massive upgrade over Pages offensively for St. Louis, and Marmol told reporters (including Jones) yesterday that the youngster is “committed” to putting in the work necessary to enter Spring Training as part of the catching mix for 2026. Assuming that offseason program goes well, it wouldn’t be hard to imagine Herrera entering Spring Training as the favorite to start the majority of games behind the plate for the Cardinals, with Pages and Yohel Pozo in the mix for either the job backing up Herrera or to step in as the club’s catching tandem in the event that Herrera isn’t able to hack it defensively at the position even after surgery.
If Herrera is able to get most of his reps behind the dish, that would create flexibility for other position players on the club to get reps at DH and create more playing time for the rest of the club’s large positional group. Players like Alec Burleson, Nolan Gorman, and Thomas Saggese have no settled position with the Cardinals and could benefit from the flexibility created by Herrera moving to catcher and opening up more DH at-bats.
Braves Claim Chuckie Robinson
The Braves have claimed Chuckie Robinson off waivers from the Dodgers, according to a report from David O’Brien of The Athletic. Robinson was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett rather than added to the active roster, and right-hander Daysbel Herandnez was transferred to the 60-day injured list to make room for Robinson on the 40-man roster.
Robinson, 30, has just 52 games in the majors under his belt since he made his big league debut with the Reds back in 2022. It’s not hard to see why he hasn’t gotten much playing time in the majors to this point, as he’s a career .131/.161/.192 hitter in the big leagues across 138 plate appearances. That performance leaves him with a wRC+ of -4, meaning that he’s been 104% worse than a league average hitter at the plate. While the standards for offensive contributions from catchers are less rigorous than they are for other positions on the diamond, Robinsion is a non-factor at the plate even by the standards set by pitchers in the years prior to the NL adopting the DH rule.
Given his lackluster offensive abilities, it might seem like a shock that Robinson would get any sort of attention at the big league level at all. He carves out a niche for himself by being an extremely well-regarded defender behind the plate. He’s considered a strong game caller and even was heralded by Baseball America as a top defensive catcher back in 2020. That elite glove has been enough to make Robinson a fairly attractive candidate to be a fill-in depth catcher behind a given club’s regular tandem. This year, Robinson broke into the majors with the Dodgers because Will Smith and Dalton Rushing were both injured, leaving Robinson to join Ben Rortvedt in the club’s catching tandem for a time. He similarly helped to fill in for injured starting catcher Tyler Stephenson with the Reds during his debut season of 2022.
Now that Robinson is in Atlanta, it seems likely he’ll be tasked with helping to back up Drake Baldwin and Sandy Leon for the last few weeks of the season. The Braves have one of the best catching tandems in baseball when healthy, with Baldwin and Sean Murphy sharing time behind the plate, but Murphy recently underwent surgery that left the club without a third-string catcher behind Leon on the 40-man roster. Had Leon or Baldwin suffered an injury, the Braves would’ve been forced to turn to Jason Delay (who is not currently on the 40-man roster) or find an option outside the organization. It’s unclear if the Braves have interest in keeping Robinson in the fold in some capacity headed into the offseason or if he’s simply a fill-in depth piece brought in to help shore up the catcher position while Murphy is rehabbing. Even if that ends up being the case, Robinson’s strong defensive reputation should make it fairly easy to find a minor league deal with one organization or another.