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White Sox Claim Ben Cowles

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The White Sox announced Wednesday that they’ve claimed infielder Ben Cowles off waivers from the Cubs. He’s been optioned to Triple-A Charlotte. They already had multiple 40-man roster vacancies, so no corresponding transactions were needed. The White Sox’ 40-man roster is now up to 39 players.

Cowles, 25, has a good minor league track record overall but is having a down year. Drafted by the Yankees back in 2021, he went on to produce a combined .268/.365/.426 batting line across various minor league levels from 2021 to 2024. That production translated to a 124 wRC+, indicating he was 24% better than league average at the plate. His 25.9% strikeout rate was a bit high but he drew walks at an 11.5% pace. He also provided double-digit steals annually in the latter three of those years while bouncing between shortstop, third base and second base, plus two thirds of an inning in left field.

The Cubs acquired him in July 2024, one of two players they got when sending Mark Leiter Jr. to the Bronx. The Cubs added him to their 40-man roster in November to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. But as mentioned, his results haven’t been great this year. He has stepped to the plate 462 times at the Triple-A level. His 28.6% strikeout rate and 7.1% walk rate are subpar, both compared to league average and his previous production. His .238/.304/.382 batting line translates to a 74 wRC+.

That performance got him nudged off the Cubs’ roster but he’s a sensible flier for the White Sox. He can still be optioned for two more seasons after this one, so the Sox can send him to Charlotte and see if he gets back on track. Even with his down year at the plate, he has stolen 16 bases and provided his typical defensive versatility.

The Sox are currently getting breakout seasons from Colson Montgomery and Lenyn Sosa. Montgomery should be at shortstop for the foreseeable future while Sosa will likely be at second or first. The rest of their infield mix includes some intriguing but unproven players like Miguel Vargas, Chase Meidroth, Bryan Ramos and Curtis Mead. Cowles gives the Sox another guy to put in that group as they see who separates themselves from the pack.

Photo courtesy of Cody Scanlan, Imagn Images

Nationals Claim Sauryn Lao, Designate Darren Baker For Assignment

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The Nationals announced Wednesday that they’ve claimed right-handed reliever Sauryn Lao off waivers from the Mariners. He’s been optioned to Triple-A Rochester. Infielder/outfielder Darren Baker was designated for assignment in a corresponding roster move.

The 26-year-old Lao made his major league debut with Seattle this summer but has only pitched 3 1/3 innings in the bigs. He’s allowed three runs with a 4-to-1 K/BB ratio in that tiny sample of work but has otherwise spent the season in Triple-A Tacoma, where he’s pitched quite well. In 69 innings of relief with the Mariners’ top affiliate, Lao logged a 3.13 ERA with a hearty 25.9% strikeout rate against a 6.7% walk rate.

Originally signed by the Dodgers as an amateur, Lao is a former third baseman who’s still relatively new to pitching. He moved to the mound full-time in 2023 and has shown a quick aptitude for relief work. He’s posted a sub-4.00 ERA in each of his three minor league seasons since transitioning to the mound, and he hasn’t shown the type of command troubles that are common for former position players. To the contrary — he’s faced 748 hitters in his three minor league seasons and only walked 51 of them (6.8%).

Lao isn’t a flamethrower but sits at a roughly average 93.5 mph on his four-seamer. He pairs that pitch with a sinker that also sits 93 mph as well as a slider and changeup both in the mid-to-upper 80s. Since he was just selected to a 40-man roster for the first time this year, Lao is in his first minor league option season and will be optionable for two more years. If he can carve out a role for himself in D.C., the Nats can control him all the way through the 2031 season.

Baker, 26, is the son of Hall of Famer and former Nationals skipper Dusty Baker. He made his big league debut as a September call-up with Washington last year, going 7-for-14 with a pair of doubles. He’s spent the past three seasons in Triple-A with the Nats, regularly hitting for average but contributing virtually no power. Baker has only walked at a slightly above-average clip as well, leaving him with an overall .274/.345/.336 batting line in nearly 1300 Triple-A plate appearances. Baker runs well, evidenced by an 83-for-99 showing in stolen base attempts across 309 Triple-A contests.

Defensively, he’s spent the majority of his career at second base, with more than 2500 innings at the position. He’s also logged a bit more than 1000 innings in the outfield — 968 of them coming in left and 58 in center field. Washington selected him in the 10th round of the 2021 draft.

Now that Baker has been designated for assignment, he’ll head to outright waivers. He hasn’t cleared previously and doesn’t have the service time to reject a minor league assignment, so if he goes unclaimed he’ll stick with the Nats as a depth option.

Mariners, Guillo Zuñiga Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Mariners have agreed to a minor league contract with right-hander Guillo Zuñiga, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. The former Cardinals and Angels reliever had been with the Phillies on a minor league deal but was granted his release earlier in the week.

Zuñiga, 26, has pitched in the majors in each of the past two seasons, totaling 19 2/3 frames between St. Louis and Anaheim. He’s allowed 11 earned runs (5.03 ERA) on 16 hits and eight walks with a dozen strikeouts. The big 6’5″, 230-pound righty has posted similar numbers in Triple-A Lehigh Valley in 2025, logging a 5.14 ERA, a 23.5% strikeout rate and a 10.9% walk rate in 42 innings of relief.

While Zuñiga has yet to find much success in the majors or even in Triple-A, he still has plenty of appealing traits. He’s averaging 96.9 mph on his four-seamer this season in Triple-A and is sporting a 12.3% swinging-strike rate that’s north of the major league average. He’s not inducing enough chases off the plate, but opponents have made contact at a well below average 73.7% clip overall — including a weak 79.5% on pitches within the strike zone.

Opponents also had a hard time making high-impact contact against Zuñiga, evidenced by a tepid 87.7 mph average exit velocity and 32.5% hard-hit rate. This year’s 46.9% grounder rate is a strong mark that’s notably higher than his recent seasons in the upper minors, perhaps due to throwing fewer fastballs and ramping up the usage of his slider and changeup.

The Mariners already have a strong back end of the bullpen. Closer Andrés Muñoz (1.69 ERA) and setup men Matt Brash (1.86), Gabe Speier (2.39), Eduard Bazardo (2.65) and Carlos Vargas (3.66) have all posted strong run-prevention numbers on the season. The other few spots in the ’pen are a bit in flux, however. Caleb Ferguson has struggled since coming over from the Pirates at the trade deadline. Tayler Saucedo has given up 11 runs in 10 1/3 innings this season. Starter-turned-reliever Emerson Hancock and veteran Luke Jackson were added to the mix when rosters expanded Monday.

Zuñiga won’t necessarily get a look in the majors, but if he impresses in his first few looks over in Tacoma, it’s feasible that he could pitch his way into a big league audition. He didn’t sign with the Mariners until Sept. 2, so he won’t be postseason-eligible even if he does push his way to the big leagues, but he’s a hard-throwing 26-year-old with a minor league option remaining and six additional seasons of club control, so he’s a sensible enough flier — especially for a team with a long track record of converting bargain-bin relief pickups into quality members of the major league bullpen.

Cubs Sign Austin Gomber To Minor League Deal

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The Cubs signed left-hander Austin Gomber to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Iowa. He’s on the mound tonight against Kansas City’s top affiliate in his organizational debut. The MLB.com transaction tracker indicates he signed the contract on August 26 even though it wasn’t announced until today.

That’s a relevant distinction because it keeps open the long shot possibility that Gomber could get a look in the postseason. He was in the organization before the beginning of September, so he’ll be eligible for the playoff roster even though he’s not currently on the 40-man roster. That obviously wouldn’t be Plan A for the team, but the southpaw provides rotation depth for a team that is without Michael Soroka and Jameson Taillon at the moment. The Cubs also brought in Joe Ross on a minor league deal.

Gomber was released by the Rockies last month. The soft-tossing southpaw missed the first couple months with shoulder discomfort. He was tattooed for a 7.49 earned run average in 12 starts since being activated from the injured list in the middle of June.  Gomber didn’t pitch well at home or on the road. He struggled to miss bats no matter the venue, posting a career-worst 12.5% strikeout rate across 57 2/3 innings. Gomber’s fastball averaged a little over 89 MPH, down a tick from last year and three miles per hour from the first few seasons of his career. He was a passable fifth starter last year, turning in a 4.75 ERA while making 30 starts.

The Rockies are on the hook for what remains of Gomber’s $6.35MM salary. The Cubs would owe him the prorated $760K league minimum for any time he spends in the big leagues. He’ll be a free agent again at the beginning of the offseason.

Orioles Designate Corbin Martin, Elvin Rodríguez For Assignment

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The Orioles announced that right-hander Tyler Wells and infielder/outfielder Jorge Mateo have been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. Catcher Maverick Handley has been optioned to Triple-A Norfolk in one corresponding active roster move. Right-hander Corbin Martin has been designated for assignment to open a second active roster spot and one 40-man spot. Righty Elvin Rodríguez, who was on optional assignment, has also been designated for assignment as the other corresponding 40-man move. The Wells activation was reported last week.

Mateo has been out since June due to a hamstring injury. The speedy utilityman hit just .180/231/.279 with a homer and 14 steals in 65 plate appearances prior to going on the injured list. The 30-year-old has never provided much in the way of offense, but even by his modest standards, that was well shy of the norm. In 1300 plate appearances from 2021-24, Mateo slashed .225/.271/.371 (79 wRC+) with 29 homers and 90 stolen bases. Mateo has long provided quality glovework at shortstop, though, and he can capably handle second, third or center field — all while providing elite speed on the bases.

This is the final guaranteed season the Orioles have with Mateo, though they can retain him via a club option for next season. They’d need to bring him back at a $5.5MM price point, however, which feels steep given the season he’s had and his prior lack of offensive production. There’s no buyout on the option, making it all the more likely that the O’s will turn it down, though there’s always a chance they’d try to bring him back at a lower rate.

Martin, 29, has been on and off Baltimore’s roster a few times this year. Around the transactions, he has tossed 18 innings, allowing 12 earned runs for an ERA of 6.00. He likely deserved better. His 10.1% walk rate was high but his 25.8% strikeout rate and 44.2% ground ball rate were solid figures. A .353 batting average on balls in play and 65.7% strand rate seemingly pushed some extra runs across. His 3.57 SIERA pointed to better run prevention going forward.

Regardless, the O’s have decided to move on again. Martin doesn’t have options and therefore can’t be easily sent back to the minors. With the trade deadline having passed, he’s destined for the waiver wire. If some club claims him, he can be controlled for four seasons after this one. He cleared waivers back in July, so it’s possible he’ll do so again. Last time he cleared, he exercised his right to elect free agency, which is another thing that could happen again in the coming days.

Rodríguez, 27, signed with the Brewers in January on the heels of some good results in Japan. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to have success in North America this year. The Brewers designated him for assignment in July, at which point the Orioles claimed him.

Between those two clubs, he has a 9.15 ERA in 19 2/3 major league innings. He has also tossed 40 1/3 Triple-A innings with a 4.46 ERA, 18.3% strikeout rate and 5.3% walk rate. Though the results haven’t been great, he does still have options, so perhaps he will appeal to a club looking for some extra depth in the minors.

Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron, Imagn Images

Diamondbacks Outright Tristin English

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Infielder/outfielder Tristin English has been sent outright to Triple-A Reno, according to his transaction tracker at MLB.com. He played for the Aces on Sunday. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment by the Diamondbacks last week.

English, 28, was just selected to the big league roster in July. That was his first call to the show. This is his first career outright and he is well short of three years of big league service time. That means he didn’t have the right to reject this assignment.

While his stint on the roster was fairly brief and he spent notable time on optional assignment, he did get to make his debut. He got just two hits in 23 plate appearances, not a great showing but at least he can say he has a few big league knocks.

He’ll stick with the Diamondbacks as a non-roster depth piece capable of playing the four corner positions. His minor league track record is naturally greater in terms of quantity and quality. This year, he has a .322/.368/.522 slash and 109 wRC+ in 349 Triple-A plate appearances.

Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images

Blue Jays Select Ryan Borucki

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The Blue Jays announced that they have selected left-hander Ryan Borucki to the roster. Fellow lefty Easton Lucas has been optioned to Triple-A Buffalo in a corresponding active roster move. To open a 40-man spot, righty Robinson Piña has been recalled and placed on the 60-day injured list due to a sprain of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.

Borucki, now 31, began his career with the Jays many years ago. He showed some promise as a potential starter but some injuries eventually got him moved to a relief role. As a reliever, he has bounced around to the Mariners and Pirates with some occasional success. From 2020 to the present, he has thrown 147 2/3 innings with a 4.39 earned run average. His 22.3% strikeout rate and 8.8% walk rate in that time are close to average, while his 50.1% ground ball rate is quite strong.

This year hasn’t been his best. After an injury-marred 2024 season, he had to settle for a minor league deal with the Pirates. He cracked Pittsburgh’s Opening Day rotation and stuck on the roster through mid-August, with an IL stint of over a month due to back inflammation mixed in. He had a 5.28 ERA over 30 2/3 innings when they designated him for assignment a few weeks back. He had a 21.4% strikeout rate, 9.5% walk rate and 55% ground ball rate.

After he was released, the Jays scooped him up on a minor league deal. Toronto has had Brendon Little as the primary lefty in their bullpen this year. Guys like Mason Fluharty and Justin Bruihl have also factored in but both of those guys were optioned to the minors in recent days. A pitcher optioned to the minors can’t be recalled for 15 days, unless someone else is going on the injured list.

Eric Lauer is now in the bullpen, per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet, but he’ll likely be deployed more as a long man. Lucas is also more of a long relief guy, so the Jays are swapping him out for Borucki.

For his career, Borucki has held lefties to a .185/.268/.265 line, whereas righties have hit .280/.347/.494 off him. That split has been even more extreme this year, as he has held opposing lefties to a .132/.217/.170 line but righties have lit him up for a .333/.400/.649 slash. The Jays will probably try to target Borucki against lefties in the other team’s lineup, though the three-batter minimum makes that a challenge. Little has pitched in the past two games and three of the past four, so it’s possible he’s not available tonight.

Pina, 26, was acquired from the Marlins in a June trade. He has largely been on optional assignment since then. His health status is unclear but he hasn’t pitched in an official game since August 1st. The Jays putting him on the 60-day IL suggests they don’t expect him to pitch again this season. If his UCL sprain requires surgery, then he’s obviously slated to be out even longer. There’s no 60-day IL between five days after the World Series and the start of spring training. The Jays will therefore have to add him back to the 40-man roster in November or remove him somehow.

Photo courtesy of Rick Osentoski, Imagn Images

Reds Designate Joe La Sorsa For Assignment

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The Reds announced Tuesday that they’ve designated left-hander Joe La Sorsa for assignment and selected the contract of fellow southpaw Reiver Sanmartin from Triple-A Louisville. Cincinnati also optioned lefty Sam Moll to Louisville. Additionally, outfielder/first baseman Connor Joe has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A after clearing waivers, per C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic.

La Sorsa, 27, has pitched just 6 2/3 innings with the Reds this year after signing a minor league deal in the offseason. He’s been tagged for eight earned runs on 13 hits (four homers) and a pair of walks with two strikeouts in that small sample. That’s clearly not an exciting line for any pitcher, but the lefty has been far better in Triple-A, where he’s pitched 44 2/3 frames with a 2.82 earned run average. La Sorsa’s 21.1% strikeout rate and 13.4% walk rate in Louisville both leave something to be desired, however.

This year’s brief look with the Reds brought La Sorsa’s career totals in the majors to 57 innings with a 5.21 ERA, a 17.5% strikeout rate and a 6.3% walk rate. He’s previously suited up for the Rays and Nationals. While the big league track record is limited, La Sorsa has a 2.88 ERA in three Triple-A seasons (134 1/3 innings). He sits 91-92 mph with his sinker and complements that pitch with an upper-70s slider and a seldom-used changeup in the mid-80s. Now that he’s been designated for assignment, La Sorsa will head to waivers and be available to all 29 other teams. He’ll have a minor league option remaining next season.

Sanmartin, 29, is a familiar face for Cincinnati fans. He spent considerable time with the Reds in the majors from 2021-23, picking up 82 2/3 innings out of the bullpen. Sanmartin was hit hard in the majors, yielding a 5.77 ERA and a .289/.366/.450 batting line to his opponents across those three seasons. He’s posted a 4.27 ERA with a strikeout per inning in parts of three Triple-A campaigns, although this year’s 15 runs in 18 1/3 innings (7.36 ERA) don’t exactly portend a breakout.

The Reds cycled through four relievers yesterday and have had both Emilio Pagan and Tony Santillan work on back-to-back days already. Starter Nick Lodolo was scratched from today’s start due to illness, the team announced earlier in the day, leaving reliever Scott Barlow to start what will be a bullpen game. With that in mind, it’s not surprising to see them bring up a fresh arm — particularly one who’s stretched out for multi-inning work. Each of Sanmartin’s past four relief appearances has been for two or more innings, and he last pitched two frames on Aug. 29. He should be fresh for the day and could give the Reds two to three innings in relief of Barlow at some point.

As for Joe, he’s been with the Reds since early May. Originally signed by the Padres to a one-year, $1MM contract over the winter, the veteran 33-year-old has struggled to a .186/.263/.243 slash in 80 plate appearances between the two teams this season. The Reds have only used Joe sparingly, giving him 70 big league plate appearances since his May 9 acquisition. He’s struggled with similar rate stats in a similar sample of Triple-A at-bats this season.

Given this year’s poor performance in the upper minors and in the majors, it’s not surprising that no team placed a claim on Joe. It’s also unsurprising that he accepted the outright assignment. Joe has the three years of service needed to reject an outright assignment but does not have the five years required to reject an outright assignment and retain the remainder of his guaranteed money. Rejecting the assignment would’ve meant forfeiting the remaining $150K or so on his contract, so he’ll stick with the Reds for the rest of the year. As a player with more than three years of service who’s been removed from the 40-man roster, he’ll have the right to become a free agent at season’s end (unless he’s added back to the 40-man roster in the interim).

Rockies Claim Roansy Contreras

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The Rockies have claimed right-hander Roansy Contreras off waivers from the Orioles, according to announcements from both clubs. The O’s designated him for assignment last week. The Rockies had an open 40-man spot after they optioned righty Nick Anderson and he exercised his right to elect free agency. Contreras is out of options, so the Rockies will need to open an active roster spot for him once he reports to the team.

Contreras, 25, has been in an awkward position for a while now. He exhausted his final option season with the Pirates in 2023 and was therefore out of options going into 2024. He has shown enough potential to draw plenty of interest from other clubs but often just enough to be the last guy on the roster.

The Pirates designated him for assignment in May of last year, which kicked off a rampage through the transaction logs. Over the next few months, via small trades or waiver claims, he went to the Angels, Rangers, Reds, Orioles, Yankees and Orioles again.

The O’s finally passed him through waivers unclaimed around Opening Day 2025, allowing them to keep him as non-roster depth. He tossed 91 2/3 innings for Triple-A Norfolk over 14 starts and 14 relief appearances. In that time, he had a 3.73 earned run average. His 8.4% walk rate and 40.9% ground ball rate were close to average but his 17.8% strikeout rate was subpar. The O’s called him up for one long relief appearance in the majors, in which he tossed 4 1/3 scoreless innings, but then sent him back into DFA limbo.

His previous big league work largely aligns with that recent Triple-A showing. He has thrown 239 major league innings with a 4.63 ERA, 19.6% strikeout rate, 10% walk rate and 39.3% ground ball rate.

He’s a sensible pickup for the Rockies, who almost always need more pitching. That’s certainly true this year, as their collective 6.01 ERA is easily the worst in the majors. The Nationals are second-last on that list but almost a full run better that Colorado at 5.33. They are about to lose Germán Márquez to free agency and released Austin Gomber not long ago.

Contreras is out of options but has just over two years of service time, meaning he can be retained for four seasons beyond this one. The Rockies can get a close-up look at him down the stretch here in 2025 and decide if they want to work him into their plans for 2026 and beyond. He has experience working both from the rotation and the bullpen and could potentially take either role with the Rockies.

Photo courtesy of James A. Pittman, Imagn Images

Nationals Sign Jorge Alfaro

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2:00pm: The Nationals have announced the signing. Alfaro jumps right onto the big league roster, and Stubbs has been optioned to Triple-A Rochester to create a 26-man roster spot. Millas was transferred to the 60-day IL to clear a 40-man roster spot. Unsurprisingly, that indicates that the fractured finger Millas suffered last week will end his season.

12:45pm: The Nationals have agreed to a major league deal with veteran catcher Jorge Alfaro, reports Andrew Golden of the Washington Post. The CAA client had been playing with the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate but opted out of his minor league contract yesterday to become a free agent.

The 32-year-old Alfaro hasn’t appeared in the majors since 2023. He appeared in 82 games and tallied 326 plate appearances with the Brewers’ Nashville affiliate in 2025, hitting .244/.285/.430 with 15 home runs and a dozen steals. Alfaro walked in only 3.4% of his plate appearances with Milwaukee’s Triple-A club and also fanned at an alarming 36.5% clip.

Despite those troubling rate stats, Alfaro will get the opportunity to return to the big leagues with the Nats. Washington has lost both Keibert Ruiz (concussion) and Drew Millas (fractured finger) to the injured list in recent weeks. Riley Adams and CJ Stubbs are currently handling catching duty in D.C.

In parts of eight major league seasons, Alfaro is a .253/.302/.393 hitter (86 wRC+) through 1710 trips to the plate. He’s drawn negative framing and blocking grades in that time but has controlled the running game well, as evidenced by a career 27.5% caught-stealing rate.

Alfaro has spent most of his big league time with the Marlins, who acquired him alongside Sixto Sanchez in the trade sending J.T. Realmuto to the division-rival Phillies. Miami hoped that in Alfaro — a consensus top-100 prospect at the time of the swap — they’d secured a long-term answer behind the plate. He was indeed a regular in Miami for three seasons, but Alfaro’s bat never lived up to his prospect billing, and he’s since bounced around the league on a series of minor league contracts.

There’s little enough time left in the current season that Alfaro, who has 5.133 years of major league service, can’t reach six years before the calendar runs out. As such, he’ll technically remain controllable into 2026 via arbitration, although barring an unexpectedly productive September, it seems likelier that he’ll be outrighted at season’s end and again become a minor league free agent.

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