Marlins Select Seth Martinez
The Marlins announced Wednesday that they’ve selected the contract of righty Seth Martinez from Triple-A Jacksonville and placed fellow righty Janson Junk on the 15-day injured list due to ulnar nerve irritation in his right arm. Miami also recalled right-hander Freddy Tarnok from Jacksonville and optioned lefty Josh Simpson to Triple-A in his place. The Fish already had an open spot on the 40-man roster, so a corresponding 40-man move for Martinez wasn’t necessary.
The call back to the big leagues is a nice early birthday present for Martinez, who’ll turn 31 on Friday. The Arizona State product has pitched in parts of four major league seasons, all with the Astros, for whom he suited up in 2021-24. Martinez has 137 1/3 innings at the big league level in his career, during which he’s produced a 3.93 ERA (4.24 FIP, 4.19 SIERA) with a 20.7% strikeout rate, a 9.2% walk rate and a 39.6% ground-ball rate.
Martinez came to the Marlins via waivers at the end of a tumultuous offseason. Houston placed him on waivers back in November, setting off a string of transactions that sent him from the D-backs, to the Marlins, to the Mariners and back to Miami over a span of four months. The Fish finally succeeded at passing Martinez through waivers at the end of spring training, and he’s spent the entire year with their top affiliate in Jacksonville, where he’s pitched well.
In 43 2/3 innings with the Jumbo Shrimp, Martinez has a 3.71 earned run average. He’s fanned a strong 28.9% of his opponents against a 9.6% walk rate that’s just barely north of the 9.3% MLB average for relievers. He’s sitting 89-90 mph with both his four-seamer and sinker, but Martinez is using his slider more than at any point in his career; his 46.7% usage rate actually makes the slider his primary offering. It’s worked well thus far, evidenced not only by the previously mentioned rate stats but also a sharp 13.1% swinging-strike rate and poor batted-ball metrics from his opponents (87.5 mph average exit velocity, 33.9% hard-hit rate).
This could prove to be little more than a cup of coffee for Martinez, but he’s pitched well enough in Triple-A and has enough track record that it wouldn’t be too surprising if he pitched his way into some staying power. Martinez is out of minor league options, so he can’t simply be sent back to Triple-A. He’d need to pass through waivers, and his prior outright assignment means he’d have the right to elect free agency even in that scenario. If he does stick around on Miami’s roster, he can be controlled for four additional seasons.
As for Junk, it’s an ill-timed injury for a journeyman righty who’d created some staying power of his own. Miami is Junk’s sixth organization since 2021, and he came to the Fish with a 6.75 ERA in 40 career big league innings. He’s unlocked something in South Florida, however, tossing 88 innings with a 4.09 ERA. Janson’s 17.2% strikeout rate could charitably be described as pedestrian, but he’s shown some of the best command in the majors this year, issuing a walk to only 2.8% of his opponents. The 29-year-old had solidified himself in the Marlins’ rotation with that performance.
Time will tell whether Junk makes it back to the mound this year, but with only a month left on the regular season calendar, even minor injuries can prove to be season enders. If his season is finished, it’ll easily be the most successful of his career. Miami can control Junk for another five seasons if they choose, and he won’t be eligible for arbitration until the 2027-28 offseason.
Twins Outright Erasmo Ramirez
Aug. 27: Ramírez has accepted his outright assignment to Triple-A, per Dan Hayes of The Athletic.
Aug. 26: The Twins have sent long reliever Erasmo Ramírez outright to Triple-A St. Paul, according to the MLB.com transaction log. Minnesota designated the veteran righty for assignment on Sunday when they called up Taj Bradley. Ramírez has more than enough service time to elect free agency but could prefer to accept the Triple-A stint as depth for a young Minnesota pitching staff.
Ramírez was called up at the beginning of August to backfill the bullpen after the Twins’ deadline sell-off. He pitched nine times, tossing 11 innings with three earned runs allowed. Ramírez only punched out five of 42 batters faced. He missed bats on 7% of his offerings while averaging 89 MPH on his cutter.
The 35-year-old Ramírez has carved out a lengthy career based on his plus control and ability to absorb plenty of innings out of the bullpen. He spent the first three months of this season on the minor league injured list. Ramírez surrendered 10 earned runs with 15 strikeouts and four walks in 15 Triple-A frames before being called up. If he accepts the outright, he’ll remain on hand in St. Paul for a month. He’ll be a free agent at the beginning of the offseason.
Guardians Place Carlos Santana On Outright Waivers
The Guardians have placed veteran first baseman Carlos Santana on outright waivers, Ken Rosenthal and Zack Meisel of The Athletic report. The 39-year-old switch-hitter is playing on a one-year, $12MM contract and still has about $2.13MM of that sum yet to be paid out.
Any team that claims Santana would need to take on the entirety of that remaining sum. Santana has not been designated for assignment, meaning he can continue to play while he is on waivers. If he goes unclaimed, the Guardians do not need to assign him to a minor league affiliate or remove him from the 40-man roster (though they could choose to do so). If he is claimed, the waivers are irrevocable, and Santana will head to the claiming club. In 455 plate appearances this season, Santana is hitting .225/.316/.333 with his typical brand of elite defense at first base.
Though his defense remains excellent and Santana is still drawing walks at a premium 11.4% rate, his overall offensive output has been about 14% worse than average, by measure of wRC+. This season’s 18.9% strikeout rate is the second-highest of his career and his worst since way back in 2011. Santana is averaging a career-low 87.5 mph off the bat and has struggled particularly from the left side of the plate, hitting just .220/.311/.325 against right-handed pitching.
The Guardians have fallen down the standings with a recent 1-9 skid. Cleveland now sits six games back in the American League Wild Card chase (plus an even more daunting 12.5 games out in the division).
With that swoon and the placement of Santana on waivers, they’ll turn the page on the 2025 season and give more playing time to younger, controllable first base/designated hitter options like Kyle Manzardo and recently promoted top prospect C.J. Kayfus. The 25-year-old Manzardo has popped 21 homers while hitting .231/.313/.453 in 415 plate appearances this season, while the 23-year-old Kayfus is hitting .220/.281/.424 in his first 63 turns at the plate as a big leaguer.
If another club does claim Santana and his remaining salary, he’d be postseason-eligible by virtue of that fact that he’s in his new organization prior to Sept. 1. If he goes unclaimed, Cleveland could release the well-respected veteran in hopes that he’ll catch on elsewhere and be able to participate in another postseason run.
Athletics Select Mason Barnett
The Athletics announced that left-hander Jacob Lopez has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a flexor strain in his left elbow, a move that was reported yesterday. Right-hander Mason Barnett has been selected in a corresponding move. The 40-man roster had a vacancy due to Luis Urías being designated for assignment earlier this week.
Barnett, 24, gets the call to the big leagues for the first time. A third-round pick of the Royals in 2022, he was one of three players who came to the A’s as part of last year’s deadline deal which sent Lucas Erceg to Kansas City.
The A’s have given Barnett his first taste of the Triple-A level this year, though the results haven’t been amazing. He has tossed 119 innings over 23 starts and two long relief appearances with a 6.13 earned run average. Part of that might be the hitter-friendly environment of the Pacific Coast League, as his 15.6% home run to fly ball rate is far higher than any other stop in his career. His 22.8% strikeout rate is close to average, though his 11.9% walk rate is a few ticks north of par.
Despite the uninspiring numbers, Baseball America still lists him as the #9 prospect in the system while MLB Pipeline has him in the #11 slot. Both outlets give him a shot at becoming a mid-rotation starter at some point, highlighting his pitch mix. His four-seamer sits in the mid-90s and he also throws a sweeper, curveball and changeup. He was going to be eligible for the Rule 5 draft this winter and would need a 40-man spot to be protected, so the A’s are giving it to him now.
It’s unclear if the A’s plan on dropping Barnett right into the rotation or perhaps having him begin his career in a long relief role. The Lopez injury does open up a rotation job but the club is off on Thursday and doesn’t play more than six games in a row for the rest of the season. They could run with a four-man rotation of Jeffrey Springs, J.T. Ginn, Osvaldo Bido and Luis Morales along with occasional bullpen games. Guys like Barnett, Joey Estes and Eduarniel Núñez could take on bulk roles. The A’s could also recall arms such as Ken Waldichuk or Mitch Spence with rosters expanding in September.
Photo courtesy of Rick Scuteri, Imagn Images
Orioles To Select Roansy Contreras
The Orioles will select the contract of right-hander Roansy Contreras prior to tomorrow’s game, interim skipper Tony Mansolino told the team’s beat today (link via Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com). Baltimore hasn’t yet decided whether Contreras will start the game or pitch in a bulk role following an opener, but Mansolino indicated that Contreras will pitch “a good amount” of tomorrow’s game.
Contreras, 25, was a well-regarded prospect in both the Yankees and Pirates systems, going from New York to Pittsburgh as part of the Bucs’ return in the Jameson Taillon swap. He enjoyed a nice debut campaign in 2022, pitching 95 innings of 3.79 ERA ball with a 21.1% strikeout rate and 9.6% walk rate for Pittsburgh, but Contreras has yet to replicate that success. In 136 2/3 innings from 2023-24, he logged a combined 5.47 earned run average with just an 18.5% strikeout rate and a 10.5% walk rate.
The Pirates jettisoned Contreras from the 40-man roster last May, and he’s bounced around the league in journeyman fashion since. The Angels acquired him for cash following that DFA, but Contreras went to the Rangers via waivers at the beginning of the offseason. That set the stage for a tumultuous winter. Contreras was waived five times last winter and went from Texas, to Cincinnati, to Baltimore, back to the Bronx and back to the Orioles before finally clearing waivers at the end of spring training.
That marked Contreras’ first time clearing waivers, which meant the O’s were able to stash him as a minor league depth piece. He’s spent all season in Triple-A, where he’s pitched 91 2/3 innings of 3.73 ERA ball with a 17.8% strikeout rate and 8.4% walk rate. Contreras is out of minor league options, so if this proves to be just a one-off appearance, the Orioles will need to designate him for assignment yet again. If he passes through waivers unclaimed this time around, Contreras would be able to reject an outright assignment to the minor leagues in favor of free agency.
Astros Reinstate Yordan Alvarez From Injured List
Air Yordan is back. The Astros announced today that outfielder/designated hitter Yordan Alvarez has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. They had an open 40-man roster spot due to right-hander Shawn Dubin getting designated for assignment earlier this week. The Astros optioned infielder Brice Matthews to Triple-A to open an active roster spot.
The return of Alvarez is potentially a huge boost for the Astros down the stretch, as he is one of the most potent hitters in baseball when he’s at his best. He came into this year with 164 home runs and a .298/.390/.583 slash line, which translates to a 166 wRC+.
He has not been that guy in 2025. He hit .210/.306/.340 through 121 plate appearances before landing on the 15-day IL in early May. The club listed his injury as right hand inflammation. Later that month, it was thought that he was nearing a return but then the club found a fracture in the ring finger of that right hand.
Setbacks with that hand issue prevented him from starting a rehab assignment until a few days ago. He recently played in four Double-A games, stepping to the plate 17 times with no home runs but a huge .467/.529/.733 slash line.
That rehab performance is obviously encouraging but Alvarez will likely remain something of a wild card until he gets back on track at the big league level. Getting peak Alvarez back would obviously be tremendous for the Astros but it’s unclear if that’s possible. Houston is trying to hold off Seattle in the West, currently holding to a lead of 1.5 games, and will obviously welcome all the help it can get.
He is in tonight’s lineup and playing left field, alongside center fielder Jacob Melton and right fielder Jesús Sánchez. Lately, Jose Altuve has been seeing a lot of time in the designated hitter slot and is in there again tonight. It’s possible that guys like Cam Smith, Chas McCormick and Mauricio Dubón see a bit less playing time now. Dubon can also play second and is at the keystone tonight, though Ramón Urías is also a factor there, as well as Altuve.
Photo courtesy of Troy Taormina, Imagn Images
Rangers, Dylan Moore Agree To Minor League Deal
The Rangers have agreed to a minor league contract with utilityman Dylan Moore, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Moore, a client of Klutch Sports, was recently released by the division-rival Mariners.
Moore now returns to the organization that drafted him a decade ago. Texas selected him in the seventh round in 2015 out of the University of Central Florida. He didn’t advance beyond High-A before being traded to Atlanta a year later. Moore spent time in the Braves’ and Brewers’ systems until finally getting an MLB opportunity in Seattle as a minor league free agent.
It proved to be an adept pickup for the M’s front office. Moore played parts of seven seasons in Seattle and was a capable role player for most of that time. He won a Gold Glove in a utility capacity just last year. Moore bounced around the diamond while generally hitting for power against left-handed pitching. He has never been a high average hitter but showed enough of a well-rounded skillset that Seattle signed him to a three-year, $8.875MM extension in Spring Training 2023.
The first two seasons of that deal went well enough. Moore’s bat has absolutely cratered this year, as he’s hitting .193/.263/.359 across 213 plate appearances. He’s batting .149 with 44 strikeouts in 109 plate appearances with the platoon advantage and has gone a staggering 3-63 (.048) with 36 strikeouts in 41 games since the start of June. Seattle could no longer live with that kind of production, even in a bench capacity, while they fight for a playoff spot.
There’s neither much risk nor a huge ceiling on the deal for Texas. Seattle is on the hook for the rest of Moore’s $3.575MM salary. Texas would only pay him the prorated $760K league minimum for time he spends on the MLB roster. Moore will be a free agent at season’s end. He’ll provide an alternative to Ezequiel Duran and Josh Jung for infield playing time if he gets called up. Texas just lost Marcus Semien to what appears to be a season-ending foot fracture. Moore would be playoff eligible if Texas makes a surprise September run.
Phillies Release Joe Ross, Place Jordan Romano On Injured List
The Phillies announced that they have recalled right-hander Daniel Robert and selected the contract of fellow righty Lou Trivino. In corresponding moves, righty Joe Ross has been released and Jordan Romano has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to right middle finger inflammation. Matt Gelb of The Athletic reported many of these details prior to the official announcement.
The Phils signed Ross to a one-year, $4MM deal in the offseason. He had missed the 2022 and 2023 seasons due to injuries but had bounced back with a solid 2024 campaign. He tossed 74 innings for the Brewers as a swingman with a 3.77 earned run average.
He has been in the Philadelphia bullpen all year, apart from a brief IL stint due to back spasms, often providing the club with more than a single frame. On the whole, he has thrown 51 innings over 37 appearances with a 5.12 ERA. His 7.9% walk rate and 45.5% ground ball rate are decent figures but his 17.1% strikeout rate has been subpar.
The length provided by Ross has occasionally been useful in sparing the rest of the bullpen from greater wear and tear but that should be less of a concern going forward. On September 1st, rosters expand from 26 to 28, which will allow teams to carry 14 pitchers instead of the usual maximum of 13.
By cutting Ross today, the Phils are giving him a chance to land somewhere else. Given his salary and unimpressive results this year, he will likely clear waivers, if he hasn’t already. That will leave the Phils on the hook for the majority of what is still to be paid out. Any other club could sign Ross and would only owe him the prorated portion of the league minimum salary for any time spent on the roster. If he signs somewhere else before September 1st, even on a minor league deal, he would be postseason eligible with that club.
Romano was also signed to a one-year deal this offseason, his coming with an $8.5MM guarantee. His results have been far worse than Ross’s, as he has an 8.23 ERA in 42 2/3 innings. That has many Philly fans clamoring for him to be cut but there’s more reason for optimism under the hood with Romano, despite the awful ERA.
His 25.1% strikeout rate this year isn’t as good as his previous benchmark but is still above average, while his 9.1% walk rate is near par. He’s been undercut by an extremely unfortunate 49% strand rate. ERA estimators such as his 3.62 SIERA suggest he has deserved far better than his ERA. Perhaps he will get a chance to course correct, depending on how long this finger issue lasts.
As part of these moves, Trivino gets back to the big leagues. He was released by the Dodgers about a month ago and then landed a minor league deal with the Phils. Since then, he has tossed seven scoreless Triple-A innings.
His big league work hasn’t been amazing this year. Between the Giants and Dodgers, he has thrown 38 2/3 innings with a 4.42 ERA, 17.2% strikeout rate, 7.7% walk rate and 35.6% ground ball rate. His larger body of work is better but he missed the 2023 and 2024 seasons due to injury and hasn’t fully bounced back. He came into this year with a 3.86 ERA, 24.5% strikeout rate, 10.6% walk rate and 47.4% ground ball rate in 284 2/3 career innings.
Photo courtesy of Brad Mills, Imagn Images
Mets To Promote Jonah Tong
3:03pm: Mets manager Carlos Mendoza confirmed that Tong will be promoted and make his major league debut against the Marlins this Friday, per ESPN’s Jorge Castillo.
2:46pm: The Mets are set to promote top pitching prospect Jonah Tong for his major league debut, reports Will Sammon of The Athletic. They’ll need to clear space on both the 40-man and 26-man rosters in order to formally select his contract from Triple-A Syracuse. Tong will be used as a starter, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
Tong, 22, has been one of the best pitchers in all of Minor League Baseball in 2025. His stock has soared accordingly, and he’s leapfrogged Syracuse teammate Brandon Sproat as the top yet-to-debut pitching prospect in the Mets organization. He’ll join another ballyhooed young righty, Nolan McLean, in what amounts to a late-season youth movement for a Mets club that has seen veteran starters like Sean Manaea, Frankie Montas, Tylor Megill, Paul Blackburn and Griffin Canning struggle and/or miss significant time due to injury.
A seventh-round pick back in 2022, Tong opened the current season in Double-A and posted a video-game-esque 1.59 ERA and 40.8% strikeout rate in 102 innings there. That earned him a bump to Triple-A, where he’s some improved. Tong has tossed 11 2/3 scoreless innings with the Mets’ top affiliate, allowing only eight hits and three walks (6.7%) while punching out 17 of 45 opponents (37.8%).
Tong’s dominant season has catapulted him toward the top of the Mets’ prospect rankings and into the elite tier of leaguewide prospects. Baseball America ranks the 6’1″, 180-pound righty as the sport’s No. 42 overall prospect, and Tong sits 44th at MLB.com. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel has Tong up at No. 21 on the updated top-100 list he released earlier this week.
That slight frame, Tong’s arm slot and his usage of a plus changeup invoke some comparisons to former Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum, though his overall delivery isn’t nearly as violent. Scouting reports on Tong typically cite him sitting 92-94 mph with elite induced vertical break, but he’s averaged 95.7 mph in his pair of Triple-A outings thus far. That previously mentioned changeup, which sits in the mid-80s, has been Tong’s go-to secondary offering and misses bats in droves. He also mixes in a curveball in the upper 70s and a slider that sits 87 mph.
Since he was called up after Aug. 15, Tong cannot accrue 45 days of service time this year and will thus retain his rookie eligibility heading into the 2026 campaign. That will qualify him for MLB’s Prospect Promotion Incentive program, meaning he could net the Mets a compensatory pick if he breaks camp with next year’s team and wins NL Rookie of the Year — or if he finishes top-three in Cy Young or MVP voting in any of his first three full MLB seasons. In terms of club control, the Mets can keep Tong all the way through the 2031 season, and he wouldn’t qualify for arbitration until the 2028-29 offseason.
While Tong is very arguably already one of the best 13 pitchers in the Mets system and thus deserving of a chance to help the team push into the postseason, the late promotion also offers Mets faithful a glimpse at the future. Tong and McLean will have the opportunity to join Kodai Senga, David Peterson, Clay Holmes and Manaea as rotation arms moving forward. Sproat and former top prospect Christian Scott, who’s on the mend from last summer’s Tommy John surgery, only further add to that impressive crop of pitching.
It’s not yet clear exactly how New York will work all of those arms onto the staff, but that’s an issue for a future day. For the time being, the focus will be on Tong stepping into the heat of a playoff race, looking to continue his meteoric ascent and, ideally, impressing enough to position himself as a core piece in Queens.
Orioles Claim Shawn Dubin, Designate Matt Bowman For Assignment
The Orioles announced that they have claimed right-hander Shawn Dubin off waivers. The Astros designated him for assignment earlier this week. The O’s also announced that righty Kyle Bradish has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list, a move which was previously reported. To open 40-man spots for those two, the O’s transferred righty Scott Blewett to the 60-day injured list and designated righty Matt Bowman for assignment. Bowman’s DFA opens an active roster spot for Bradish. Dubin is out of options and will also need an active roster spot once he reports to the club.
Dubin, 29, isn’t having his best season but has shown promise in the past. He came into the year with 54 1/3 big league innings and a 4.64 earned run average. His 11.6% walk rate was a bit high but he had struck out 24.1% of batters faced and kept balls in play on the ground at a 45.5% clip.
Here in 2025, he has spent time on the IL due to shoulder inflammation and a forearm strain. Around those IL stints, he tossed 25 2/3 innings for the Astros with a 5.61 ERA. His 46.9% ground ball rate was still good and he dropped his walk rate to 7.2% but his strikeout rate also fell to 18.9%. Since he is out of options, he got nudged off Houston’s roster and onto the waiver wire.
He’s a sensible flier for the O’s. They are playing out the string on a lost season. Their bullpen has been stripped down a lot this year. They traded Seranthony Domínguez, Gregory Soto and Andrew Kittredge ahead of the deadline. Closer Félix Bautista recently underwent shoulder surgery and will be out of action well into 2026. That gives them a lot of roles to fill on the 2026 team.
They can use the remainder of this season to take chances on guys like Dubin to see what happens. He is out of options but could be a long-term piece if he bounces back. His service time is between one and two years, meaning he could be controlled for five seasons beyond this one if he continues to hold onto a roster spot. It’s also possible the O’s try to run him through waivers in the future in order to keep him as a non-roster depth piece.
As for Blewett, he was acquired from Atlanta in a June cash deal. He was placed on the 15-day IL July 13th due to elbow discomfort. This transfer is backdated to that initial IL placement, so he’ll be eligible for reinstatement in a couple of weeks. That gives him a window to pitch again this season but it’s unclear if that’s possible from a health perspective.
This was Bowman’s fourth stint of the season with the Orioles. He appeared in one game, pitching 1 1/3 innings but allowing a pair of runs. That ballooned his season-long earned run average to an ugly 6.20. Bowman has been solid in Triple-A Norfolk, tossing 26 1/3 innings for the Tides and posting a 4.10 ERA. He’s set down 21.8% of his opponents there on strikes and notched a 5.5% walk rate.
Bowman will be placed on outright waivers or release waivers within the next few days. He’s cleared waivers at multiple points this season and accepted an outright assignment to Norfolk each time, so it seems there’s a strong chance the O’s will hang onto him as a depth arm for the final month or so of the regular season.