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Cubs Release Josh Staumont

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The Cubs released reliever Josh Staumont from his minor league contract, tweets Tommy Birch of the Des Moines Register. It’s not clear if the right-hander triggered an opt-out or if the Cubs simply decided they weren’t going to call him up.

In either case, Staumont returns to the market just two weeks after signing with Chicago. The 30-year-old pitched twice for Chicago’s top affiliate in Iowa. He walked five batters while recording only three outs. Staumont had run a much more impressive 16:3 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 10 2/3 frames with the Twins’ top affiliate earlier in the season. He clearly did not have any kind of command in his very small sample in Iowa.

A former second-round pick of the Royals, Staumont pitched parts of five seasons with Kansas City. He posted an above-average 26.2% strikeout rate but walked more than 13% of batters faced through 168 1/3 innings. The Royals non-tendered him last winter. Staumont signed a big league deal with Minnesota that guaranteed him $950K. He made 25 appearances for the Twins, working to a 3.70 ERA over 24 1/3 innings. His walks remained high and his strikeout rate dropped sharply to 17.6%, so Minnesota cut him loose when they brought in Trevor Richards at the trade deadline.

Staumont’s camp can again look for minor league opportunities for the next few weeks. He’d need to sign with a team by September 1 to be eligible for postseason play with his new club, though that’s a secondary consideration to pitching his way back to the majors.

Nick Ahmed Elects Free Agency

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Nick Ahmed elected free agency after going unclaimed on outright waivers, per the transaction log at MLB.com. The Dodgers had designated the veteran shortstop for assignment on Monday.

Ahmed signed with the Dodgers a month ago. With Mookie Betts and Miguel Rojas out at the time, Los Angeles added Ahmed directly onto the major league roster. The defensive stalwart started 14 games at shortstop. He continued to provide defensive value but didn’t produce much offensively. While Ahmed hit a go-ahead home run to help beat the Giants (his former team) early in his Dodger tenure, he ultimately hit just .229/.245/.292 in 49 trips to the plate.

Between San Francisco and L.A., Ahmed carries a .232/.271/.300 batting line through 221 plate appearances. While he has never been a huge offensive threat, Ahmed has particularly struggled at the dish over the last two seasons. The two-time Gold Glove winner remains a strong defender, but the lack of firepower at the plate has squeezed him off a trio of rosters within the past two seasons. The Dodgers have welcomed Betts and Rojas back in recent weeks. Even with Betts returning to the outfield, they were comfortable enough with their infield depth to waive deadline pickup Amed Rosario after five games.

Ahmed is now free to look for a third team of the ’24 season. If he signs elsewhere before September 1, he’d be eligible for postseason play with another club.

Reds Designate Brooks Kriske For Assignment

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The Reds announced that they have signed first baseman Dominic Smith, a move that was previously reported. He takes the active roster spot of outfielder Jake Fraley, who has been placed on the 10-day injured list with a right knee sprain, retroactive to August 21. To open a 40-man spot for Smith, the Reds have designated right-hander Brooks Kriske for assignment.

Kriske, 30, signed a minor league deal with the Reds in the offseason. He was selected to the roster June 17 but wasn’t put into that day’s game and was optioned after it ended. That means he’s been stuck in Triple-A all year, where his numbers have been solid. He has tossed 49 1/3 innings, allowing 3.10 earned runs per nine. His 14.8% walk rate is quite high but he has also punched out 36.7% of batters faced.

That’s not totally out of character for him. He has 21 2/3 major league innings with an 11.22 ERA in that small sample, striking out 24.3% of batters faced while walking 16.5%. In 108 minor league innings dating back to the start of 2021, he has a 3.92 ERA, 13.2% walk rate and 36.8% strikeout rate.

With the trade deadline now in the rear-view mirror, the Reds will have to place him on waivers in the coming days. The lack of control is obviously a concern but the big strikeout numbers are enticing. If any club puts in a claim, Kriske has less than a year of service time. He is in his final option year and will be out of options as of next season.

Dodgers Designate Jason Heyward For Assignment

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The Dodgers announced that they have designated outfielder Jason Heyward for assignment. His roster spot will go to infielder/outfielder Chris Taylor, who has been activated from the injured list. Robert Murray of FanSided reported the Heyward DFA on X prior to the official announcement.

Heyward, 35, engineered a solid bounceback season with the Dodgers last year. After struggling with the Cubs for many years, he got into 124 contests with the Dodgers in 2023 and hit .269/.340/.473 for a wRC+ of 120. He also continued to get solid grades for his outfield glovework, mostly in right field but with some time in center as well.

He and the club reunited on a one-year, $9MM pact, though his results have tailed off a bit this season. He has had a couple of stints on the injured list, one due to lower back tightness and one due to a left knee bone bruise. Around those, he has hit .208/.289/.393 for a wRC+ of 91.

That is hardly disastrous production but the Dodger roster is strong enough that even decent players are getting squeezed off. The club acquired Amed Rosario at the deadline but he was nudged off the roster a couple of weeks later when Mookie Betts returned from his stint on the IL.

Speaking of Betts, his return to right field likely played a role in Heyward getting pushed out. Betts had started the year in the middle infield but it was decided to move him back to his customary right field position when he recently returned. The Dodgers acquired Kevin Kiermaier as a glove-first center fielder between the big bats of Betts and Teoscar Hernández in the corners.

The club has seemingly given a priority to flexibility in its bench spots. Guys like Taylor and Enrique Hernández aren’t having amazing seasons at the plate but are capable of playing all over the diamond. Tommy Edman, recently acquired from the Cardinals, has missed most of the season recovering from wrist surgery but can also bounce around to multiple different positions. Heyward can play a bit of center, as mentioned, but is mostly a corner guy with some lackluster results this year, so he is the odd one out.

With the trade deadline now passed, the Dodgers will have to put him on waivers in the coming days. Given his mediocre season and notable salary, it’s possible that he goes unclaimed. If that comes to pass, he has more than enough service time to reject an outright assignment while keeping all of that salary on the table. Perhaps that will see him on the free agent market in the coming days.

If that comes to pass, the Dodgers would remain on the hook for what’s left of his salary. Heyward would then be free to sign with any other club, with that team only responsible for paying him the prorated version of the $740K league minimum for any time Heyward spends on the roster, which would be subtracted from what the Dodgers pay.

Assuming he signs elsewhere before September 1, he would be postseason eligible with his new club. He is likely to garner interest given the low-cost investment that would be required and his competent play. His offense has a bit a bit below par this year but was quite strong as recently as last year and his glovework is still solid. He would likely appeal to a club that’s weak against right-handed pitching, given his notable platoon splits. He’s hit .265/.350/.432 against righties for a 114 wRC+ in his career, whereas he has a line of .231/.301/.344 and 78 wRC+ without the platoon advantage.

Reds To Sign Dominic Smith

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The Reds are signing first baseman Dominic Smith to a major league deal, per Jeff Passan of ESPN on X. He was released by the Red Sox earlier this week. Whenever the deal becomes official, the Reds will need to make a corresponding move or moves to get Smith onto their active and 40-man rosters.

Smith, 29, was signed by the Red Sox to replace an injured Triston Casas at first base. He was a solid but not outstanding fill-in for Boston. He got into 84 games and hit .237/.317/.390 for a wRC+ of 95. That indicates he was 5% worse than league average at the plate, hardly disastrous but also not great for a position that generally has high offensive expectations.

When Casas returned from the IL, the Sox designated him for assignment. As a veteran player, he had more than enough service time to reject an outright assignment, so the Sox skipped that formality and released him. He became a free agent, allowing him to now sign with the Reds.

The club in Cincinnati has been hovering around contention and clearly still considers themselves to be in it. Though they traded Frankie Montas to the Brewers at the deadline, among other moves, they also added first baseman Ty France from the Mariners. Since the deadline, they claimed infielder Amed Rosario off waivers from the Dodgers and have now brought Smith into the mix as well.

Adding France and now Smith is due to the first base spot taking a few hits this year. Jeimer Candelario recently landed on the injured list due to a toe fracture while Christian Encarnacion-Strand has been out for months due to wrist surgery. Spencer Steer can also play some first but he’s been in the outfield mix lately.

With France and Smith both on the roster, perhaps one will be at first base and the other in the designated hitter slot, but a platoon is also possible. Smith is a lefty and has a career .245/.311/.417 line and 98 wRC+ with the platoon advantage, along with a .254/.324/.367 line and 92 wRC+ without it. France is a righty with fairly neutral platoon splits in his career, though there’s a wider gap this year. He has slashed .244/.358/.389 against lefties in 2024 for a 122 wRC+, .221/.293/.362 against righties for a 90 wRC+.

The Reds are 5.5 games back of a Wild Card spot in the National League right now, but would have to leapfrog five different clubs to snag a spot. If they manage to succeed, Smith will be eligible for their postseason roster since he’s being signed prior to September 1.

Orioles Option Trevor Rogers, Designate Bruce Zimmermann

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The Orioles announced a series of roster moves today. Infielder Emmanuel Rivera, recently claimed off waivers, has been added to the roster. They also selected the contract of right-hander Matt Bowman and recalled lefty Nick Vespi. To open spots for those three, they optioned left-hander Trevor Rogers, right-hander Colin Selby and infielder Liván Soto to Triple-A Norfolk. To open a 40-man spot for Bowman, lefty Bruce Zimmermann has been designated for assignment.

Just over three weeks ago, the Orioles acquired Rogers from the Marlins in a pre-deadline trade, sending youngsters Connor Norby and Kyle Stowers to Miami. The O’s have been having a strong season overall but keeping the rotation intact has been a challenge. All three of Kyle Bradish, John Means and Tyler Wells required surgery to address their respective ulnar collateral ligaments in their elbows earlier this year. To bolster the group, they added both Zach Eflin and Rogers prior to the deadline.

It was a buy-low situation with Rogers, who had posted a 2.64 earned run average with the Marlins in 2021 but struggled since. He dealt with various injuries in 2022 and finished that year with a 5.47 ERA. In 2023, he was only able to make four starts due to a left biceps strain and a partial tear in his right lat.

Here in 2024, he was healthy enough to stay on the mound, making 21 starts for the Fish prior to the deal. His velocity was down but the results were passable, as he had a 4.53 ERA in those 21 outings. A few days after the deal, the lefty said he had already received more analytical information relating to his pitch mix and mechanics than during his entire time with the Marlins, per Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner on X. Perhaps the O’s felt there was a path to getting Rogers back to his 2021 form via those analytics, or simply him getting healthier as he moved further away from his injuries.

It has not gone to plan so far, as Rogers hasn’t fared well in his first four starts with the O’s. He has allowed 15 earned runs in 19 innings, leading to a 7.11 ERA. His 13.3% strikeout rate and 11.1% walk rate are both well below league average and nowhere near his previous work.

It seems the O’s have decided that a reset in Triple-A is in order. Perhaps that will give him a chance to work on their suggested tweaks in a lower-stakes environment. He can still be retained via arbitration for two more seasons after this one, so they have some time to figure out a path forward. This isn’t a service time manipulation situation, as he already crossed four years of service time earlier this year.

Still, it’s obviously less than ideal for the club to be subtracting one of its key deadline pickups in the middle of a playoff race. The O’s are still in comfortable position with a 74-54 record, just half a game behind the Yankees in the East and currently possessing the top Wild Card spot. But the Royals and Twins are just 2.5 games back and the Red Sox trail the O’s by only six games, so nothing is set in stone with more than a month left to play.

The rotation continues to be an issue as now both Eflin and Grayson Rodriguez are on the injured list, Eflin due to some shoulder discomfort and Rodriguez due to a lat strain. With Rogers now intentionally removed from the mix, the rotation is now down to Corbin Burnes, Dean Kremer, Albert Suárez, Cole Irvin and Cade Povich. Burnes is great but there are plenty of questions with the others. Kremer and Irvin are essentially back-end guys, with the latter having been passed through waivers a few weeks ago, recently being added back to the roster. Suárez keeps putting up good numbers but is a 34-year-old journeyman who is in the majors for the first time since 2017. Povich has just nine major league starts and a 5.77 ERA in those.

Ideally, the club will be hoping to get Rodriguez and Eflin back for the end of the regular season and then the playoffs as well, but they will have to try to get by with this group for now. Perhaps Rogers can also work his way back into the mix with some quick adjustments in the minors, but he can’t be recalled for the next 15 days unless replacing someone going on the injured list.

Bowman, 33, was signed to a minor league deal a week ago. That pact contained an upward mobility clause today and an opt-out next week. It seems the O’s didn’t want him to get away or simply wanted to add some a fresh arm to their bullpen, so he’s been added to their roster today.

As soon as he gets into a game for the O’s, it will be his fourth club of the year, as he’s already suited up for the Twins, Diamondbacks and Mariners. Since he’s out of options, he’s continually been squeezed out of his opportunities. Whenever he has cleared waivers, he has elected free agency and signed a new deal with fresh opt-outs, seemingly having a strong preference for flexibility.

While bouncing around, he has thrown 15 major league innings with a 5.40 ERA, 15.2% strikeout rate, 10.6% walk rate and 46.8% ground ball rate. But he’s also thrown 33 2/3 Triple-A innings with a 1.87 ERA, 31.3% strikeout rate, 6.9% walk rate and grounders on more than half of the balls in play he’s allowed.

That minor league performance has seemingly led to plenty of interest around the league, with Baltimore being his latest stop. If he can perform like that at the major league level, he could be a nice asset for a Baltimore bullpen that hasn’t been strong this year. Their relief corps has a collective 4.18 ERA, putting them in the bottom third of the league. If things click, he can be retained beyond this season via arbitration, but based on the way his year has gone, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him bouncing around again soon.

Zimmermann, 29, has been in the Orioles’ organization for more than six years now. He came over from Atlanta in the July 2018 trade that sent Kevin Gausman and Darren O’Day the other way. He appeared in 38 games over the 2020-23 seasons, logging 158 1/3 innings with a 5.57 ERA, 18.1% strikeout rate, 5.2% walk rate and 41.1% ground ball rate.

He’s been on optional assignment for all of 2024 so far, having tossed 69 1/3 innings in the minors with a 4.41 ERA, 21.7% strikeout rate and 8.6% walk rate. With the trade deadline now passed, the O’s will have to put Zimmermann on waivers in the coming days.

This is his final option year, so he’ll be out of options next year. A claiming club could potentially stash him in the minors for the rest of this season but he would need an active roster spot by next year. He has less than two years of service time, so any claiming club could control him for five seasons beyond this one. If he were to pass through outright waivers unclaimed, he would stick with the O’s in a non-roster capacity.

Astros To Sign Héctor Neris

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The Astros are signing right-hander Héctor Neris, reports Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 on X. The righty was released by the Cubs earlier this week. Assuming it’s a major league deal, the Astros will need to make corresponding moves to get the righty onto their active and 40-man rosters once the deal is made official.

Neris, 35, returns to an organization that he has had success with. After many successful years with the Phillies, Neris joined the Astros going into 2022. He signed a two-year, $17MM deal with a club option for 2024, though he could vest that into a player option based on the number of appearances he made for the club during the life of the contract.

Over those two years in Houston, Neris got into 141 regular season contests, allowing 2.69 earned runs per nine. He struck out 29.1% of batters faced and gave out walks at a 9% clip. He earned five saves and 56 holds in that time. He also made 15 postseason appearances over those two years, including eight in 2022 with a 1.50 ERA, helping Houston win its second World Series title.

By July of 2023, he had made his 110th regular-season appearance with the club, thus converting the club option into a player option. He eventually decided to turn that down, taking the $1MM buyout and returning to free agency, rather than agreeing to the $8.5MM salary.

He eventually signed with the Cubs for the 2024 season, a one-year, $9MM guarantee. Again, there was a club/player option provision, this time with a $9MM salary on the table for 2025. It would begin as a club option that could become a player option with 60 appearances or 45 games finished in 2024.

His time as a Cub was mixed. He made 46 appearances for them this year with a 3.89 ERA that doesn’t look too bad at first blush. However, his 23.5% strikeout rate and 13.3% walk rate were both significant drop-offs from his previous work. He managed to dance around those free passes a bit with a 76.9% strand rate that’s on the lucky side, perhaps why his 4.09 FIP and 4.36 SIERA were a bit worse than his ERA.

The Cubs decided to set him loose, releasing him earlier this week. That was likely a reflection of his diminished performance but also the Cubs not wanting him to unlock that player option. Since Neris was released and no club grabbed him off waivers, that option is now dead and won’t carry over to any new deal he signs.

Though he hasn’t been as crisp this year, it’s a sensible pickup for the Astros. For one thing, there’s no real financial cost. Because they released him, the Cubs are on the hook for the majority of his 2024 salary that is still to be paid out. The Astros only have to pay him the prorated version of the $740K league minimum salary for any time Neris spends on the roster, with that amount subtracted from what the Cubs pay.

The Astros have also taken a few hits in their bullpen. Kendall Graveman, Penn Murfee, Oliver Ortega and Bennett Sousa are all currently on the 60-day injured list, with each of them undergoing a significant surgery earlier this year. Righty Ryan Pressly also landed on the 15-day IL a few days ago due to a low back strain. There’s nothing to suggest Pressly is slated for a lengthy absence, but it’s another gap in the relief corps until he comes back.

Perhaps a return to a familiar environment can get Neris back on track after some wobbles this year. Even if that doesn’t quite come to pass, it’s a low-cost signing that lengthens the club’s depth for the stretch run and postseason.

Pirates Outright Ryder Ryan

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August 21: Ryan cleared waivers and was outrighted back to Triple-A Indianapolis, per the transaction log at MLB.com. It’s not clear whether he has elected free agency.

August 19: The Pirates announced a series of roster moves today, including the selection of outfielder Billy McKinney, which was previously reported. They also recalled right-hander Hunter Stratton. To make room for those two, the club placed third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes on the 10-day injured list with low back inflammation and designated righty Ryder Ryan for assignment.

It doesn’t come as a huge surprise that Hayes has landed on the IL with this back issue, as it’s been a recurring theme in his career so far. He landed on the shelf due to a back injury in 2022, twice in 2023 and now this is his second stint of the 2024 season. Yesterday, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote about how Hayes has a disc problem in his back that requires him to play through pain, with no obvious treatment apart from rest.

“Someone who has what I have, you want to stay away from turning,” Hayes said to Mackey. “But that’s what I have to do every day. It’s been frustrating, for sure, just knowing that I’m a lot better than what I’m showcasing. I want to be out there every day, but it’s just … hard.”

The third baseman then got more into the weeds in discussing his injury. “My whole issue is the disc has lost its jelly stuff,” Hayes said. “When we look at the MRIs, [the discs are] just kind of compressing. I don’t know that it’s rubbing, but it’s definitely a little collapsed to where there’s pressure, inflammation builds up, and muscles want to try to protect.”

The Pirates have hovered around the playoff race this year but have hit a bad skid lately, going 3-13 in their past 16 games. They are still within 7.5 games of a Wild Card spot in the National League but would have to leapfrog six different teams in order to get into playoff positions. The Playoff Odds at FanGraphs give them just a 0.5% chance of making the postseason now, while the PECOTA Standings at Baseball Prospectus are slightly lower at 0.4%.

Perhaps the Bucs have accepted that this isn’t their year and will now get Hayes some rest as opposed to pushing him to play through his injury. Whether he will come back or simply be shut down perhaps depends on how he feels in the coming weeks.

Though the back issue isn’t new, it’s possible it’s impacting him more than in previous years. He came into this season with a .264/.320/.409 batting line and 98 wRC+ as well as 65 Defensive Runs Saved and 51 Outs Above Average at third base. This year, he’s hitting .233/.283/.290 for a wRC+ of 60 and his defensive grades are down a bit, though still strong, at 9 DRS and 5 OAA.

Finding a solution will obviously be a priority for the Bucs, as they gave Hayes an eight-year, $70MM extension in 2022. That deal runs through 2029 and has a club option for 2030, a significant commitment for a low-spending club like the Pirates. With Hayes out of action, the Bucs will likely give more infield time to guys like Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Jared Triolo and Alika Williams, with that group also covering second base alongside shortstop Oneil Cruz.

Ryan, 29, signed a minor league deal with the Pirates in the offseason and has been on and off their roster this year. He made the Opening Day roster and spent the first half of the season as a frequently-optioned depth arm. As of 2022, players can only be optioned five times per season and the Pirates had already optioned Ryan five times by the middle of July. He was then designated for assignment at the end of July and accepted an outright assignment. He was added back to the roster a week ago but now gets the DFA treatment again.

Around those transactions, he has thrown 20 2/3 innings at the major league level with a 5.66 earned run average, combining an 18.3% strikeout rate with a 9.7% walk rate and 37.1% ground ball rate. He has also thrown 28 1/3 Triple-A innings with a 4.45 ERA, 16% strikeout rate, 8.4% walk rate and 50% ground ball rate.

With the trade deadline now passed, the Bucs will have to place him on waivers in the coming days. He has one more option year remaining but can no longer be optioned here in 2024. Since he passed through waivers a few weeks ago and accepted an outright assignment, it’s possible that the same sequence of events takes place in the next few days.

Athletics Sign Austin Pruitt To Minor League Deal

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The Athletics have signed right-hander Austin Pruitt to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He has been assigned to Triple-A Las Vegas and will provide the A’s with some non-roster depth.

The A’s are plenty familiar with Pruitt, as he spent the 2022 and 2023 seasons with them. He tossed 103 2/3 innings for Oakland over those two campaigns, allowing 3.65 earned runs per nine. His 16.2% strikeout rate in that time was subpar but he demonstrated good control by limiting walks to a 5% clip and his 41.2% ground ball rate was close to league average.

That’s generally been the recipe over Pruitt’s career overall. He’s also spent some time with the Rays, Astros, Marlins and Rangers, with 315 major league innings, a 4.54 ERA, 16.6% strikeout rate, 5.6% walk rate and 45.7% ground ball rate.

At the end of last year, he was outrighted off Oakland’s roster and signed a minor league deal with Texas in the offseason. He was selected to the roster in mid-April but made just four appearances before landing on the injured list with a right knee medial meniscus injury. He began a rehab assignment at the end of June but the Rangers released him at the end of July rather than add him back onto the roster.

After about three weeks on the open market, he’s landed in a familiar spot by signing with the A’s. Oakland has a few veterans on the injured list, with Austin Adams, Scott Alexander, Alex Wood and Trevor Gott all on the shelf. Of the pitchers currently on the active roster, Ross Stripling and T.J. McFarland are the only ones with more than three years of major league service time. If the A’s need a fresh arm at some point, Pruitt could be called upon as someone with experience.

Angels Select Johnny Cueto

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August 21: The Angels have now made it official, selecting Cueto to the roster. Righty Hans Crouse was optioned in a corresponding move. The club also announced that José Cisnero, who was designated for assignment on the weekend, has been released.

August 20: The Angels are set to select the contract of right-hander Johnny Cueto from Triple-A Salt Lake, reports Hector Gomez of Z101 Deportes in the Dominican Republic. The Halos don’t have a starter announced for tomorrow’s game, so it seems the plan will be for the veteran Cueto to come up and take the ball. He’s not on the 40-man roster, but the Angels have a vacancy there after releasing veteran infielder Luis Guillorme over the weekend.

Cueto, 38, has pitched in Triple-A with the Rangers and Angels this season, finding a good bit more success with the latter than with the former. He’s made four starts in Salt Lake and held opponents to eight earned runs on 27 hits and five walks with 15 strikeouts through 23 1/3 frames. That comes out to a 3.09 ERA and sharp 5% walk rate — albeit against a sub-par 14.9% strikeout rate. When including his minor league work with Texas this season, Cueto has a 4.76 ERA in 64 1/3 innings. He’ll be on six days rest for tomorrow’s game, with his most recent outing having come on Aug. 14.

Assuming Cueto indeed gets the nod for the Angels, this will be the 17th consecutive season in which the two-time All-Star and 2015 World Series champion has pitched in the majors. He spent the 2023 campaign with the Marlins but struggled to a 6.02 ERA through 10 starts in a season that was wrecked by a biceps injury. As recently as 2022, the right-hander pitched 158 1/3 innings of 3.35 ERA ball with the White Sox, showing similar K-BB rates (15.7% and 5.1%) to the ones he’s logged in Triple-A this year.

Overall, Cueto has piled up 2245 big league innings and recorded a tidy 3.50 ERA along the way. He’s won 144 games against 111 losses, punched out 1851 big league opponents and appeared in a total of 368 major league games. Cueto is currently tied with Floyd Bannister and Doc White for 196th in games started at the MLB level, and he’ll jump into a tie with Ron Darling, Scott Erickson and Vern Law for 193rd if and when he takes the ball tomorrow.

The Angels recently placed Jose Soriano on the injured list due to arm fatigue and lost Patrick Sandoval to UCL surgery earlier this season. They’ve been using journeyman Carson Fulmer and rookie Jack Kochanowicz in the rotation alongside Tyler Anderson and Griffin Canning recently. Cueto will give them a veteran option to join that group, though it’s possible the Angels will want to take a look at homegrown arms like Reid Detmers or Sam Bachman down the stretch. Both have had their struggles since being optioned to Triple-A, but both pitchers also pitched excellently in their most recent outings.

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