Bethancourt has hit .229/.259/.362 over 1301 plate appearances and 427 Major League games over parts of eight MLB seasons from 2013-24.  His lengthy career includes a four-year gap (2018-21) in between big league games due to the pandemic, a brief run in the KBO League, and several minor league stints without any call-ups.  Bethancourt’s most recent stay in the majors saw him play in 62 games for the Marlins and Cubs in 2024, and he has since toiled in the minors with the Blue Jays, Cubs, Yankees, and Pirates without another look in the Show.

After signing a minor league deal with the Cubs last winter, Bethancourt moved on to another minors contract with the Yankees in July.  Because he hadn’t spent any time on a 40-man roster this year, Bethancourt was eligible to be traded after the August 3 trade deadline, so New York sent him to Pittsburgh on August 19 when the Buccos were looking to add catching depth in the wake of Endy Rodriguez’s hip injury.  He technically made it back to the majors when the Pirates selected his contract when rosters expanded on September 1, but Bethancourt was designated for assignment earlier this week without getting into a game.

Bethancourt (who just turned 35 earlier this week) has been a member of 12 different MLB organizations during his long career, so he has no shortage of past connections to explore if he does opt for free agency.  The minor league regular season ends on September 15, which limits the catcher’s options for finding a minors deal on yet another deal.  It is possible Bethancourt might just opt to play out the year with Triple-A Indianapolis, and wait until the offseason for his latest foray into the open market.

SEPTEMBER 6: It has been over two months since Shohei Ohtani last threw a pitch in a big league game, and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts downplayed the idea that Ohtani would be able to return to the mound before 2026 is over, either in the regular season or postseason.  Roberts didn’t “officially” confirm Ohtani’s pitching shutdown when speaking with Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register and other reporters today, “but obviously, if you’re looking at the calendar, how much he’s thrown in the last week, I think we can all do the math.”

Ohtani hasn’t thrown since a bullpen session on August 28, which was reportedly going to be the final step before Ohtani started the Dodgers’ game with the Tigers last Sunday.  While that outing would’ve just been a one-inning assignment as an opener, the plan was for Ohtani to gradually rebuild his arm strength over increasingly long stints of game action, so Los Angeles could’ve at least had the option of using Ohtani as more or less a normal starter in the playoffs.

Those plans were scuttled, however, when Ohtani cut short that August 28 bullpen due to discomfort in his right knee specifically, and a sore right biceps.  The situation extended to Ohtani being held out of the Dodgers’ lineup entirely for the last four games, but Roberts feels Ohtani could be able to return to his regular DH duty on Monday since he was “feeling well” following a batting practice session on Saturday.

Ohtani’s two-way status complicated matters, as he has to be placed on the 15-day injured list for pitchers rather than the 10-day IL for position players.  If the 10-day IL option was available, it is entirely possible the Dodgers might’ve already retroactively put Ohtani on the 10-day.  Even that might have been overly cautious if Ohtani is indeed feeling good enough to play on Monday, and putting him on the 15-day would’ve (unnecessarily) put one of the game’s best hitters on the shelf for even more time.

It should be noted that Ohtani hasn’t been hitting like his usual self for a month now, as he has hit .200/.303/.400 with four home runs over his last 109 plate appearances.  This roughly coincides with the timing of when Ohtani restarted his throwing progression after some knee soreness led to a shutdown from throwing for a couple of weeks.  It could be that the stress of trying to rehab more of a so-called “moving target” of an injury (rather than the strict regimen of the UCL rehab process that Ohtani has followed twice in his career) while simultaneously regularly playing as a DH was too much for even a player as unique as the two-way superstar.

With the postseason looming, the Dodgers seem happy to sacrifice Ohtani’s contributions on the mound in order to get him right at the plate.  L.A. was able to win the 2024 World Series without Ohtani pitching at all, of course, and the Dodgers already have Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tarik Skubal, Blake Snell, and Tyler Glasnow as their projected top four for the upcoming postseason.  With this impressive rotation plus other arms like Roki Sasaki, Eric Lauer, Justin Wrobleski, and others capable of covering bulk innings, having Ohtani pitch would’ve almost been a luxury.

The right rib stress fracture that led to Judge’s long absence is thought to have been caused on April 26, as Judge said he was hurt after trying to make a diving catch in right field.  He continued to play through the discomfort for over a month, which likely explains the underwhelming .528 OPS Judge posted in the 57 plate appearances before his IL placement.  Judge’s last game was on May 31, and New York placed him on the 15-day IL three days later.

Initially projected for an absence of 4-6 weeks, Judge ended up missing over half the season due to lingering soreness that delayed his ability to begin full baseball activities.  The move to the 60-day IL on July 18 ensured that Judge wouldn’t be back until at least the start of August, yet it was still another month before the slugger was given the green light to return to the lineup.

The apparent final step came today, when Judge took part in a live batting-practice session at Yankee Stadium.  Judge has long downplayed the need for a minor league rehab assignment, so despite the extended layoff, he’ll head right into game action on Tuesday.

Some ease-in element is still in play, as manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner) over the weekend that Judge will likely not immediately be used in a full everyday capacity.  “Maybe it’s playing a game, having an off day.  Maybe it is playing 5, 6, 7 innings in a game and get him out.  Those things are on the table,” Boone said.

Ben Rice has been getting the majority of DH duty, with Luis Garcia Jr. playing first base exclusively all year with the Yankees and Nationals.  Since Garcia struggles against left-handed pitching, he could be benched when a southpaw is starting, which would allow Judge to be the DH and Rice the first baseman.  For games when a righty is on the mound, the Yankees could use Rice, Garcia, and Judge all in the same lineup, with Judge in his usual spot in right field.

With Trent Grisham on the injured list, New York’s first-choice outfield alignment is Judge in right field, Spencer Jones in center, and Cody Bellinger in left.  Jasson Dominguez, Heliot Ramos, and utilitymen Jose Caballero and Amed Rosario provide further outfield depth.  Since Giancarlo Stanton’s season could be over, the Yankees have some flexibility with the DH spot, though the Garcia/Rice combination has largely filled that hole.

The Yankees are four games behind the Rays for the AL East lead, with four more head-to-head games still remaining.  While the division title is still a possibility, New York is also trying to stay ahead of the Red Sox for the top AL wild card slot (and thus homefield advantage in the Wild Card Series).  Though the Yankees’ exact spot in the playoff bracket is still up in the air, New York is all but guaranteed a postseason berth, so the team’s priority in regards to Judge is simply making sure that the three-time AL MVP is fully healthy for October.

New York had a 36-23 record when Judge went on the injured list, and the team has gone 45-39 without its best player.  Much of the credit for this continued success goes to the Yankees’ excellent rotation and bullpen, as the team’s offense has almost vanished in the last three-plus months.  Since June 1, the Yankees have hit a collective .227/.295/.385, and only the Angels have a worse team wRC+ than the Yankees’ 90 wRC+ in that stretch.

While such notable bats as Stanton and Grisham remain on the IL, getting Judge back is far and away the most critical factor in New York’s ability to launch a serious World Series run.  The Yankees’ pitching has been so good that it’s not out of the question that the team could squeak out a lot of low-scoring games en route to a championship, but obviously having Judge in the lineup elevates the entire roster.

Hampton was a sixth-round pick for the Yankees in the 2022 draft, and he drew some notice on top-100 prospect lists prior to the 2024 season.  Injuries limited him to 18 2/3 minor league innings in 2024, and a Tommy John surgery in February 2025 then put Hampton’s career entirely on hold for an entire season.

Returning to game action in back in May, Hampton has struggled to regain any of his old form.  The right-hander has an 8.18 ERA over 55 combined innings at three different minor league levels, with 13 home runs allowed in that small sample size (plus a 12.9% walk rate and 21.3% strikeout rate).  He also spent much of August on the temporarily inactive list before returning to make two more starts for Double-A Somerset.

Hampton can’t reject an outright assignment if he clears waivers, but the DFA could indicate that the Yankees are simply ready to move on from the 25-year-old.  Whether Hampton becomes a free agent after his DFA period or at season’s end, it seems likely that the right-hander will land with another team on another minors deal as he looks for a fresh start to his career.

Since Anderson was acquired from the Rangers during the 2024-25 offseason, the righty has been a workhorse in Milwaukee’s bullpen, logging 128 2/3 innings over 118 appearances.  That includes 59 innings of 3.36 ball this year, as Anderson’s plus sweeper and sinker have helped him offset a pretty ordinary 93.3mph fastball.  His higher 4.03 SIERA reflects some uninspiring peripherals and a .232 BABIP, but Anderson’s ability to pitch beyond a single inning has made him a valued member of the Brewers’ pen.

The workload might’ve caught up to Anderson in back-to-back outings against the Reds over the weekend.  Anderson threw 17 pitches in an inning on Saturday, and then tossed 2 2/3 innings and 44 pitches (both season highs) in Sunday’s 12-8 loss to the Reds.

“We had to extend him yesterday more than he’s been and he was feeling it,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy told Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and other media.  “Hopefully it’s minimum.  There was no structural damage.  Nobody thought there was any alarms going off.  It was like, ‘Hey, this kid has got some pretty bad biceps tendinitis.’ ”

September 22 is the earliest Anderson can be activated, which would make him available for Milwaukee’s last six regular-season games and presumably the postseason.  Any lingering discomfort might put Anderson’s status for October in jeopardy, though Anderson and any other banged-up Brewers will get some extra rest time since Milwaukee (who has the best record in baseball at 89-56) will probably earn a first-round bye.

Today’s game was the Brewers’ 14th contest in as many days, and two more games with the Cubs await before Milwaukee finally gets an off-day on Thursday.  This tough stretch of the schedule and some recent struggles from the Brew Crew’s starters have taken a toll on the bullpen, so Sproat will operate in a new role as a reliever.

Sproat was a highly-touted pitching prospect who made his MLB debut in the form of four starts with the Mets in 2025.  Acquired as part of the Freddy Peralta trade package, the hope was that Sproat would step right into Peralta’s rotation spot and deliver at least solid results in his first full year in the bigs, but some rookie struggles have arisen.  Sproat has a 5.27 ERA, 11.6% walk rate, and 24.2% strikeout rate over 95 2/3 innings, and rival batters have taken Sproat yard 17 times.

Optioned to Nashville a month ago, Sproat has a 4.00 ERA in 18 Triple-A innings.  His strikeout rate has shot up to 34.6% strikeout rate, though his control (12.8BB%) remains an issue.  Sproat only worked as a reliever in his most recent outing, though he only once logged five full innings in his four prior starts.  It’s a tough ask for Sproat to fully replicate Anderson’s steady performance, but the 25-year-old will get an opportunity to show if he might be worthy of inclusion on Milwaukee’s postseason roster.

It’s unclear how serious Ribalta’s injury is. At this point of the calendar, any IL stint could be season-ending. The Nats also have motivation to be cautious. They flirted with contention in the summer but sold at the deadline and are now 9.5 games out of a playoff spot. It makes sense to prioritize the future since this isn’t going to be their year.

Ribalta has emerged as a viable big league reliever this year. He came into 2026 with 27 2/3 innings under his belt and an unimpressive 7.81 earned run average in those frames. This year, he has thrown 43 innings with a 3.77 ERA. His 23.6% strikeout rate is better than average, while his 10.6% walk rate and 39.3% ground ball rate are close to par.

He will finish this year just shy of two years of service time. That means he will still be pre-arbitration and can be controlled for another five seasons. He will also still have an option remaining. Ideally, he will take another step forward next season. If the Nats are still in evaluation mode in 2027, they would be in position to give him some runway.

For now, Cruz will step up and get some more big league time. Acquired from the Yankees in the Luis García Jr. trade, this is his debut season. Between the Yanks and Nats, Cruz has thrown 9 1/3 innings in the majors so far, allowing six earned runs. He has elite velocity, averaging 99.8 miles per hour on his fastball so far. Like many pitchers with that kind of gas, control is an issue, with Cruz posting a 14.2% walk rate in the minors dating back to the start of last season.

He could get some more major league chances before the winter comes. But he also has options and the Nats are going to do a bullpen game tomorrow, so he might get sent back to the farm if fresh arms are needed.

As for Connelly Early, he might get a chance to make his team debut before the season is out. He was acquired from the Red Sox earlier this year for Curtis Mead but was on the IL at the time due to left elbow inflammation. Per Spencer Nusbaum of The Athletic, Early will pitch in a Bridge League game tomorrow. With only three weeks left in the season, Early won’t have time to get fully stretched out but perhaps he can make a relief appearance or two before the offseason arrives, just so that he and the team can erase any lingering concerns about his arm.

Photo courtesy of Kelley L Cox, Imagn Images

This has been Garcia’s most challenging season to date. From 2023 to 2025, split between the Nationals and Rangers, he logged 155 2/3 innings with a 3.58 earned run average. His 27.2% strikeout rate, 7.7% walk rate and 43.5% ground ball rate were all above-average figures.

This year, he tossed eight innings early on but clearly wasn’t right. He walked seven of the 34 batters he faced, an awful 20.6% clip. He only struck out six. He hit the 15-day IL in April due to shoulder inflammation and was later transferred to the 60-day IL.

Now that he’s back, he can ideally finish the season on a strong note and help the Rangers in the playoff race. They are currently two games back of the Astros in the West division and a game and a half behind the Guardians for the final Wild Card spot. The bullpen hasn’t been a strength for Texas this year, as their relievers have a collective 4.45 ERA, putting them in the bottom third of MLB teams. Garcia will qualify for arbitration for the first time after this season but his injury absence will limit how much of a raise he can earn.

With Garcia being added and a righty optioned, the Rangers are going with a 6/3 split in terms of lefties to righties. Garcia joins Jacob Latz, Tyler Alexander, Adam Macko, Robby Ahlstrom and Jordan Montgomery as the southpaw contingent. Jakob Junis, Chase Silseth and Trevor Williams are the righties. They open a series against a lefty-heavy Mariners lineup tomorrow.

Photo courtesy of Dennis Lee, Imagn Images

It was reported last month that Greenberg was a candidate to switch sports. That move was believable because Greenberg has some hockey experience. Not only did he play hockey in high school and college, he moved there in his professional life as well. After getting some work in baseball for the Pirates, Diamondbacks and Cubs, he got a job as assistant general manager with the Blackhawks in the NHL in 2022.

But in 2023, Scott Harris got the job as president of baseball operations for the Tigers in MLB. He and Greenberg had previously worked together with the Cubs. Harris lured Greenberg back to baseball by giving him the general manager job with the Tigers.

In addition to his hockey experience, Greenberg might have been open to a fairly non-disruptive job switch. An executive seeking a new opportunity often has to switch cities but that wouldn’t be the case here. The Tigers and Red Wings are both owned by the Ilitch family via their company Ilitch Holdings. If Greenberg had pursued and then landed the new gig, he wouldn’t have to move city and maybe could have kept using some of the same amenities or facilities.

It’s unknown how much thought Greenberg gave to switching back to hockey again. Per Woodbery, Greenberg says he admires the Red Wings and was honored to be considered for the job but is committed to the Tigers. For the baseball club, they are not having their best season but are presumably happy to keep their front office together, as the alternative might have required changing things up by giving Greenberg’s duties to someone else in the front office or perhaps making an external hire.

Photo courtesy of Junfu Han, Imagn Images

Hunt, 27, began the season with the Padres on a minor league deal. He was added to the big league roster in June when Freddy Fermin landed on the injured list. Luis Campusano was already on the IL at the time, so Hunt and Rodolfo Durán made up San Diego’s catching duo for a bit. Later that month, when Fermin came off the IL, Hunt was optioned to the minors. He got to make a brief major league debut while in the bigs but Hunt only made three plate appearances across two games, striking out in all three of those trips.

Since then, Hunt has been pushed even further down the catching depth chart. By the middle of July, both Fermin and Campusano were off the IL, which got Durán optioned to the minors alongside Hunt. When rosters expanded from 26 to 28 at the start of September, prospect Ethan Salas got called up. With three catchers in the big leagues and two on optional assignment in El Paso, the Padres evidently decided Hunt was surplus to requirements.

Since the trade deadline has passed, Hunt will be placed on waivers. As mentioned, his major league track record is very limited and unimpressive, consisting of just three strikeouts and nine innings behind the plate. As one would expect, his minor league résumé is greater in both quality and quantity. Dating back to the start of 2023, he has taken 1,005 trips to the plate and produced a .259/.339/.467 line. That translates to a 101 wRC+. That includes a .301/.381/.617 line and 131 wRC+ at Triple-A this year. He has a solid reputation for his defensive work on the farm as well.

Catching depth is usually in demand, so perhaps Hunt will draw interest on the waiver wire, despite his lack of major league success. He is still optionable for the rest of this season, though he will be out of options in 2027.

Photo courtesy of Raymond Carlin III, Imagn Images

Bender hit the 15-day injured list on June 30 with a stress reaction in that shin. That interrupted a really strong season for him. Prior to hitting the IL, he tossed 34 1/3 innings with a 2.62 earned run average. That ERA was slightly higher than last year’s 2.16 mark but this year’s results were on a stronger foundation.

Last year, his 20.6% strikeout rate and 10.3% walk rate were subpar. The low ERA was mostly due to a lucky .213 batting average on balls in play and 82.7% strand rate. This year’s BABIP and strand rate have regressed closer to average while Bender improved his walk rate to 8.6% and shot his strikeout rate all the way up to 29.3%.

The loss of Bender has seemingly been felt in Miami. Though the end of June, the team’s relievers had a collective 3.38 ERA, fifth best in the majors. Since then, the bullpen has a combined 5.03 ERA, fifth worst in the majors. Getting Bender back before the end of the season would be nice but it may be less possible now. He has been out for more than 60 days at this point and could be in line for a move to the 60-day IL, though the Marlins already have an open 40-man spot at the moment.

On the other hand, it does seem like Pete Fairbanks is on the verge of rejoining the club. Per the report linked above, he recently threw live batting practice and a “bullpen-like” session and is now expected to be reinstated from the IL on Wednesday.

Fairbanks has not been having his best season, currently sitting on a 6.02 ERA. However, a lot of that is due to a very unlucky 58% strand rate and he was trending in a good direction before hitting the IL. He posted a 1.80 ERA with a huge 42.1% strikeout rate in his 11 most recent appearances. Unfortunately, that’s when right median nerve irritation put him on the shelf, an issue he has dealt with in the past. He is now set to return after just a minimal stint and will hopefully be able to pick up right where he left off.

Turning to the rotation, right-hander Max Meyer has finally resumed throwing. He landed on the IL on July 19 due to a neck strain, so he’s been out of action for over seven weeks now. It’s encouraging that he has resumed throwing but he doesn’t have a lot of time left to build up after that long layoff. Even if he is able to rejoin the Marlins before the season is done, he surely won’t be stretched out. The Fish have a rotation consisting of Sandy Alcantara, Eury Pérez, Janson Junk, Tyler Phillips and Ryan Gusto and will probably stick with that group for the stretch run.

Meyer has shown the capacity to be a starter in terms of his results but is still looking to make gains in terms of workload. Back in 2021, he got to 111 innings in the minors. In 2022, Tommy John surgery limited him to 66 frames, majors and minors combined. He missed all of 2023. He got up to 115 frames in 2024, majors and minors combined, but hip surgery capped him at 64 2/3 frames last year. This year, he has thrown 111 innings so far, easily the highest total of his big league career but a range he’s been in before when factoring in his minor league work.

Photo courtesy of John Jones, Imagn Images

9:18am: Kyle Harrison didn’t make it out of the fourth inning of today’s 12-8 Brewers loss to the Reds, as Cincinnati’s lineup tallied nine hits, four walks, and six runs (four earned) in 3 2/3 innings against the left-hander.  It marks the second ugly outing in a row for Harrison, who was torched for nine earned runs in another 3 2/3-inning start against the Cubs on August 31.

The consecutive rough starts have boosted Harrison’s ERA from 2.79 to 3.66, and Harrison’s spot in the Brewers’ rotation may now be in question.  “I’m sure it will lean to some type of adjustment in terms of maybe he won’t start,” manager Pat Murphy told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Curt Hogg and other reporters after today’s game.  “Maybe he’ll end up being in the middle of the game….He might start the game and go shorter, that type of thing, once we get those off days and we can get some health.”

Murphy was referencing the Brewers’ current stretch of 16 games in 16 days, which ends with an off-day this coming Thursday.  The break will provide some relief to the Brew Crew’s entire pitching staff, though Harrison has already been getting at least five full days of rest in between his starts since the lefty was activated from the 15-day injured list on August 5.

Harrison missed four weeks dealing with forearm tightness, and while he had a 1.83 ERA over the four starts and 19 2/3 innings immediately after his IL activation, some warning signs were apparent behind the strong bottom-line results.  As Hogg notes, Harrison’s fastball has lost 1.7 mph since the IL stint, and batters are swinging and missing at the heater at a much lower rate while gaining over 100 points of batting average (.201 to .305).  Since Harrison throws his fastball 57.5% of the time and his slurve 31.3% of the time, a decline in effectiveness in a primary pitch is particularly damaging for a pitcher with such a limited repertoire.

The slump has thrown a wrench into what seemed like a breakout season for the former top prospect in his first season in Milwaukee.  Harrison’s strikeout, walk, and hard-hit ball rates are all still well above average, and it is possible these two starts might just be a blip on the radar.  Innings-wise, Harrison has tossed 116 1/3 innings in the majors and minors this year, so he’s still under his career high of 124 1/3 frames from 2024 and fatigue theoretically shouldn’t be an issue.

Fixing Harrison is of particular import since the left-hander projects to be part of the playoff rotation.  Jacob Misiorowski will be the ace of the staff and Logan Henderson has made a strong bid to be the number two starter.  Trade deadline acquisition Dustin May has struggled, so the Brewers may end up using some combination of May, Harrison, Shane Drohan, and Robert Gasser (plus maybe Brandon Woodruff in a long-shot scenario) as either starters or bulk pitchers for the remainder of Milwaukee’s playoff games.  A lack of rotation stability has seemingly become an annual storyline for the Brewers’ playoff trips, and one of the reasons why the club hasn’t yet converted its regular-season success into a National League pennant.

Ryan earned the second All-Star selection of his career this season, but struggled mightily after the break. He was tagged for 16 earned runs over a three-start stretch before heading to the injured list. Ryan’s fastball velocity was down more than 1 mph in his final appearance.

The 30-year-old Ryan has tended to miss time over the years, but he’s always avoided major injuries. He was fully healthy in 2025, posting career highs in starts (30) and innings (171). Ryan has had multiple health scares this season. He was sidelined with back discomfort in the spring, but returned in time for Opening Day. The righty left a start in early May with elbow pain. He recovered quickly and made his next start. Ryan was scratched with “arm fatigue” near the end of July, but again, didn’t miss any time.

Ryan tossed three innings in his lone rehab outing. He got up to 42 pitches with Triple-A St. Paul on September 1. He’s likely looking at 50-60 pitches in his return today. Connor Prielipp is a logical candidate to follow Ryan. He cruised through five innings as a bulk reliever in his last appearance, which also came on September 1. The southpaw would make for a nice complement to Ryan against a lefty-heavy Tigers lineup.

The Twins have lost four of their last five series. The club has faded to the edge of the AL Wild Card race, currently sitting four and a half games behind the Guardians. Three other teams stand between Minnesota and Cleveland. The Twins will have three chances to gain ground on the Guardians when they face off later this week.

Acton was knocked around for four earned runs in Sunday’s 10-1 loss to the White Sox. He joined the club when rosters expanded in September. The righty made a handful of appearances with Minnesota in April, but missed a big chunk of the season with a shoulder strain. He has a 5.73 ERA in seven games with the Twins this year.

Minnesota acquired Acton from Miami after he was designated for assignment shortly after Opening Day. He’s posted a strong 31.3% strikeout rate in 18 minor league games split between the Marlins and Twins organizations. The reliever has kept up the solid punchout numbers in the majors, notching a 27.5% strikeout rate over 11 innings in Minnesota.

Photo courtesy of Jesse Johnson, Imagn Images

1. Cleveland does it again

Guardians utilityman Daniel Schneemann came through with a walk-off single in the 10th inning on Sunday against the Tigers. It marked Cleveland’s third walk-off win of the four-game series. As Jason Beck of MLB.com points out, Detroit did not throw a pitch while trailing in the series, yet dropped three of four. With the Blue Jays losing, the Guardians moved back into sole possession of the final AL Wild Card spot. They’ll embark on another critical series Monday in Baltimore. The Orioles have lost six straight and are fading out of the playoff race, but they’re only four games back of Cleveland.

2. Dodgers win late, Ohtani nearing return

The Nationals were four outs away from avoiding a sweep in Los Angeles. A two-out Alex Call single and a Tommy Edman walk brought Mookie Betts to the plate, and the shortstop crushed a go-ahead home run in the bottom of the eighth inning. Washington has now blown 37 saves, tying the all-time record. Shohei Ohtani was looming to pinch-hit for Call, but manager Dave Roberts ultimately stuck with the right-handed bat against lefty Will Dion. Ohtani has missed four straight games. He could return Monday. “My expectation is that he’ll be in the lineup tomorrow,” Roberts told reporters (h/t Dylan Hernandez of the California Post).

3. Pivetta back on Monday

Padres righty Nick Pivetta is expected to come off the 60-day IL to start today against the Nationals. He’s been out since April with a flexor strain. Pivetta’s elbow flared up again after his first rehab outing in early August. He recovered after a few weeks and made two more minor league appearances. Pivetta got up to 64 pitches with Triple-A El Paso on August 30. He’ll likely have workload limitations in his first few MLB outings. Randy Vasquez will be bumped to the bullpen. He’s a candidate to cover innings behind Pivetta.

Photo courtesy of William Navarro, Imagn Images

Toronto signed Corbin as an extra arm during what has ended up being a season-long plague of pitching injuries, as nine hurlers are still on the Jays’ IL.  Trey Yesavage has progressed to throwing bullpen sessions as he recovers from meniscus surgery, while Shane Bieber is about 10-11 days behind Yesavage’s progress, in Schneider’s view.  As the skipper put it, “a perfect world” scenario would see Bieber (teres major inflammation) will start throwing off a mound this week.  It’s going to be touch-and-go for Bieber to return before the regular season is over, but Yesavage seems to be on pace to be part of the Jays’ stretch drive.

More from both the AL and NL East…

• Garrett Crochet has resumed throwing bullpens, and The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey writes that the Red Sox southpaw’s latest session is planned for Tuesday.  The plan is for Crochet to work as a reliever if he is able to make it back this season, as there isn’t enough time remaining for Crochet to fully rebuild his arm strength for a starter’s workload.  Crochet hasn’t pitched since April 26 due to a capsule sprain in his shoulder, and then a lat strain that delayed his rehab process.
• Tanner Houck and Johan Oviedo are two other injured Red Sox pitchers who might yet have roles to play in the 2026 campaign, as McCaffrey said the duo are expected to begin minor league rehab assignments before the end of next week.  Houck underwent Tommy John surgery in August 2025, while Oviedo pitched in one game in March before a flexor strain sent him to the 60-day injured list.
• Nate Lavender received plenty of trade interest during the left-hander’s time in the Mets farm system, the New York Post’s Joel Sherman writes.  While he did leave the organization for most of 2025 after being taken by the Rays in the Rule 5 Draft, Lavender spent the whole season recovering from a UCL surgery and was returned to the Mets last November.  Returning to action this year in the minors and then making his MLB debut in August, Lavender is off to a great start, as he has yet to allow a run over his first 13 big league innings.  The left-hander is making a strong case for himself as a member of the 2027 bullpen, and a pitcher to watch as the Mets try to get their team back on track.
• Nationals catcher Drew Millas is likely facing another surgery on his left index finger, according to The Athletic’s Spencer Nusbaum.  It was a little over a year ago that Millas’ finger was fractured by a wayward Austin Wells swing, which led to a surgery soon afterwards.  Millas hasn’t played since July 11 due to another fracture and another surgery, but things apparently still aren’t right with his troublesome digit.  Millas has hit .231/.308/.330 over 302 career plate appearances, all in a part-time/backup catching role with Washington since his Major League debut in 2023.

SEPTEMBER 5: The Yankees announced that center fielder Trent Grisham has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to a right hamstring strain.  Outfielder Jasson Dominguez was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move.

The IL placement comes as no surprise after Grisham was forced out of yesterday’s game (a 3-2 Yankees loss to the Padres) in the third inning.  Grisham told MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch and other reporters that he started feeling some discomfort in his hamstring during a stolen base attempt in the top of the second, and in the bottom of the frame, Grisham was moving slowly while approaching a Xander Bogaerts fly ball that fell into shallow center field for an RBI single.  He was replaced in the field prior to the bottom of the third inning, with Spencer Jones moving from right field to center and Heliot Ramos taking over in right field.

Jones and Cody Bellinger figure to get most of the center field playing time while Grisham is sidelined, though Bellinger has played only left field since he returned from his own month-long IL stint due to a hamstring strain.  That could make Jones the top option up the middle, though the rookie has been passable (-1 Outs Above Average, -1 Defensive Runs Saved) over 152 1/3 innings in center this season.

Aaron Judge took batting practice yesterday, and though the superstar will still need to face live pitching in some form before being activated from the 60-day IL, it looks as though Judge might be back in New York’s lineup before the week is over.  Judge’s seemingly impending return will lessen the impact of Grisham’s injury, even if Judge will probably get a few more DH days than usual instead of a full-time assignment in right field.  The group of Judge, Bellinger, Jones, Ramos, Dominguez, and utilitymen Jose Caballero and Amed Rosario still provides the Yankees with plenty of outfield depth.

The severity of Grisham’s strain isn’t yet known, though he missed about three weeks due to another strain to that same right hamstring in June and early July.  A recurring injury could mean that Grisham misses a bit more time now, which would put his availability in question for the start of the playoffs.

The hamstring problems have added to an all-around difficult year for Grisham, who is hitting .211/.308/.395 with 18 home runs over 484 plate appearances.  His once-elite center field glove has now been drastically subpar for the second straight year, so while Jones isn’t exactly a premium defender, he’ll still be an upgrade over Grisham in center field.

Grisham’s 98 wRC+ this year is pretty much in line with his 101 wRC+ career average, but more was expected after Grisham broke out for 34 homers during a 128 wRC+ season for the Yankees in 2025.  These numbers led the Yankees to issue Grisham a $22.025MM qualifying offer last fall as he entered free agency, and Grisham chose to take the QO rather than test the open market.  With at least 10 more days lost on the IL, Grisham will have even less time to mount a late-season surge, so he is probably looking at another one-year contract (at a much lesser salary than $22.025MM) as a free agent this winter.

Mark P

• It’s the first Weekend Chat of September, let’s go! We’ll start once a few questions pile up in the queue…

Joe

• More likely to have an impact down the stretch-Justin Steele or Shelby Miller?

Mark P

• Interesting question.  I lean towards Miller just because he’s more used to bullpen work, and because his injury layoff hasn’t been as long.

$$

• What does Atlanta do with SS for next year? Dubon and fill his utility role with an addition and concentrate on rotation?

Mark P

• The pickings are slim in free agency, so trading for a shortstop is far likelier than a signing in terms of truly upgrading the position.  Re-signing Dubon can be part of the answer but only in a platoon sense, and Atlanta might prefer to have Dubon strictly in a utility role rather than relying on him for a share of everyday duties.

Ohtani

• Why not put him on the IR now for 15 days is three retroactive days?   They’ve shown they can win a few games without him.  Let hm heal a bit for the post season.

Mark P

• This might ultimately be what the team does, and letting multiple players get some partial rest days as a DH might help the roster as a whole in advance of the October grind.But, obviously a team would prefer to have Ohtani available in its lineup if at all possible.  I wonder if Ohtani might’ve already been on the IL if he was eligible to be placed on the 10-day, but because it has to be a 15-day IL placement, that’s a good deal more time of an elite hitter on the sidelines.

Cygnus God of Balance

• Now that the Rays and A’s stadium situations have been resolved, how soon until we see expansion? Perhaps 2028 after the lockout?

Mark P

• Among the many, many things to be covered in the new CBA, it’s likely some path to expansion will be addressed.  It’ll take a while for the bids to be collected and awarded and then a couple of years before a team can be launched, so the expansion clubs might not arrive until something like 2032…which would be after the next CBA expires, assuming the two sides agree to another five-year pact

Delauter

• Cleveland should be aggressive and extend Delauter asap. Agree or disagree? I think they should while his value is down because of injuries. Cleveland hasn’t had an offense for a long time. Delauter looks like their best hitting prospect in a long time. I’d take 100 games of Delauter vs 162 games out of most Cleveland hitters the last eight years.

Mark P

• The Guards may have enough lingering questions about his health that they might hold off on an extension for another year or so. But in general, you’re probably right that a long-term deal is more likely now that Cleveland has some idea of what CDL can do at the big league level.

Aroldis Chapman

• 400th career save today. I’m a hall of famer, right? Who’s hat am I wearing?

Mark P

• “Hold up, what’s all this about a hat?!” — Doug Eddings

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