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Ottoneu Hot Right Now: August 11, 2026

Jake Mailhot — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 19:30:05 +0000

Three relievers and a power-hitting first base prospect.

Angels Fire Mike Maddux, Darryl Scott, Dom Chiti

Steve Adams — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 18:40:53 +0000

The Angels are cleaning house on the pitching end of their coaching staff. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reports that the Halos have fired pitching coach Mike Maddux, assistant pitching coach Darryl Scott and bullpen coach Dom Chiti. The team announced the three dismissals shortly after the initial report. Double-A pitching coach Tim Leveque and assistant pitching coordinator Michael Wuertz will step into the roles of interim pitching coach and interim bullpen coach, respectively, according to the team. Interim GM John Mozeliak offered the following statement:

“After spending time discussing with [manager Kurt Suzuki] where we are as a coaching staff and where we want to go in the future, we felt it was best to make a change. With seven weeks remaining, we plan to use this time to evaluate what additional steps are needed to elevate our entire pitching program and best position us for success moving forward.”

More to come.

Marlins Place Kyle Stowers On Injured List

Mark Polishuk — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 18:38:53 +0000

August 11: The Marlins placed Stowers on the 10-day injured list today, retroactive to August 10, with a left hamstring strain. Infielder Graham Pauley has been recalled in a corresponding move.

August 9: First baseman Kyle Stowers made an early exit from the Marlins’ 12-3 win over the Angels today due to what the Marlins described as left hamstring discomfort. The injury occurred on Stowers’ two-run single in the sixth inning, as Stowers was openly grimacing after rounding first base and he limped off the field after being replaced by pinch-runner Leo Jimenez.

Tests will determine the extent of the hamstring issue, and the Marlins’ off-day on Monday gives Stowers some valuable healing time if he is only dealing with a day-to-day type of injury. Still, by the eye test alone, it certainly looks like a trip to the 10-day injured list might be required for the hot-hitting slugger.

A Grade 1 right hamstring strain suffered late in Spring Training sent Stowers to the IL at the start of the year, and he didn’t make his 2026 debut until April 19. Stowers hit only .213/.290/.366 in his first 184 plate appearances, but then caught fire with an OPS of over .890 in his next 215 trips to the dish. The hot hitting continued today with a 2-for-4 performance that also included a triple and a run scored.

Today’s victory over the Angels brought the 60-59 Marlins back up over the .500 mark, keeping the Fish on pace in the hunt for an NL wild card slot. Obviously losing Stowers for any amount of time would be a blow to Miami’s chances, especially after the Marlins chose to subtract from the lineup by moving Liam Hicks to the Rays at the trade deadline. While there isn’t any indication that this hamstring problem is nearly as serious, Miami fans will surely remember that it was almost exactly a year ago that Stowers sustained an oblique strain that cost him the remainder of the season — and possibly cost the Marlins a playoff berth, since the Fish finished four games behind the Reds for the last wild card berth.

Griffin Conine or Agustin Ramirez could see more time at first base if Stowers has to hit the IL, or Miami could call Deyvison De Los Santos or Graham Pauley up from Triple-A. The Marlins also just acquired a first base candidate in Jonathon Long (as part of the deadline trade that sent Braxton Garrett to the Cubs), though Long doesn’t have any big league experience.

Position Player Playing Time Changes: August 11, 2026

Jon Becker — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 18:30:38 +0000

A large collection of playing time swings after the trade deadline.

Source

Fantasy Baseball SP Roundup 8/10: Kremer The Crop

Nick Pollack — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 18:20:08 +0000

Nick Pollack reviews every starting pitcher performance from Monday.

The post Fantasy Baseball SP Roundup 8/10: Kremer The Crop appeared first on Pitcher List.

A’s Claim Drew Rom

Steve Adams — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 17:49:58 +0000

The Athletics have claimed left-hander Drew Rom off waivers from the Brewers, per a club announcement. The A’s already had an opening on the 40-man roster, so no corresponding 40-man move was necessary. Milwaukee had designated Rom for assignment over the weekend.

Rom, 26, was a 2018 fourth-rounder by the Orioles. Baltimore traded him to St. Louis in 2023’s Jack Flaherty swap, but the Cards only gave him eight big league appearances in ’23 and never took another look. Injuries played a significant role in that, as a biceps and shoulder issue eventually led to Rom undergoing surgery early in the 2024 campaign. He missed the entire season and only made it back to the mound for 23 1/3 minor league frames in 2025. The Cards removed Rom from the 40-man roster last November, and he signed a minor league deal with Milwaukee in December.

The Brewers selected Rom to the 40-man roster in early June. He’s been recalled and optioned a few times since, but Milwaukee’s deadline additions combined with an injury to shortstop Cooper Pratt to force Rom out of the picture.

Rom has previously worked primarily as a starter, but the Brewers put him in a bullpen role this season and he’s run with it. The lefty has pitched 41 innings in relief at the Triple-A level this season, logging a 2.20 ERA, 36.1% strikeout rate and 6.5% walk rate in that time. He’s also pitched 5 2/3 big league frames, allowing two runs on six hits and four walks with 11 strikeouts. Rom has never been a hard thrower, but his formerly 90-91 mph four-seamer is averaging 92.5 mph as a reliever this year.

Rom will finish the season with under two years of major league service time and with one minor league option year remaining. Between that club control, remaining option year and general Triple-A excellence, he seemed like he’d be scooped up quickly on waivers. It’s a bit surprising that both the Angels and Rockies passed, but the Athletics had the third priority when Rom hit the wire and will happily bring him into the fold.

The Athletics aren’t shy on left-handed bullpen depth. They have Hogan Harris, Brady Basso and veteran Jose Suarez all in their big league bullpen at the moment. Suarez has soaked up some innings in a long role but will be a non-tender candidate this winter. Harris has been working as manager Mark Kotsay’s closer recently. Basso only has 17 2/3 MLB frames on the season and was only recalled to the majors a month ago. Rom gives the A’s another option — one with plenty of club control and some particularly intriguing results following a move to short relief.

Using PLA to Evaluate Pitchers – Post Trade Deadline Checkup

Patrick Connors — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 17:30:46 +0000

How is PLA grading these pitchers following a trade at the deadline?

The post Using PLA to Evaluate Pitchers – Post Trade Deadline Checkup appeared first on Pitcher List.

Twins Pursued Detmers, Soriano Prior To Deadline

Steve Adams — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 17:05:14 +0000

The Twins added several veteran players at the deadline, picking up relievers A.J. Minter (Mets) and Jeff Hoffman (Jays) while also bringing starter Dean Kremer over from the Orioles. That trio, coupled with their mid-July pickup of Tommy Nance (also from Toronto), added some life to a pitching staff and marked a clear change in direction from their 2025 deadline.

It’s not the most aggressive slate of additions we saw this summer — far from it — but Minnesota did have eyes on some bigger fish. Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports that the Twins were among the many teams to reach out to the Angels about Reid Detmers. (The Twins also reportedly showed some interest in Angels shortstop Zach Neto.) Their interest in and José Soriano was already known, but it seems that interest was prominent enough that Minnesota didn’t call it quits when he went to Toronto. Reports on the day of the deadline indicated that the Blue Jays were getting calls on the right-hander, and in a separate piece, Hayes and colleague Mitch Bannon report that the Twins were among the teams who tried to pry Soriano loose from the Jays before he ever even made it to Toronto.

On the one hand, what’s done is done. The Twins didn’t put together a sufficient offer to make the Halos (or Jays) part with either Detmers or Soriano — both of whom are under club control via arbitration through the 2028 season. On the other, that pair of targets is illustrative of the team’s shift in mindset under new control person Tom Pohlad, who took over the top position in the ownership hierarchy during last December’s shuffle that saw three new minority stakeholders join the ownership group (and contributed to the eventual departure of longtime baseball operations president Derek Falvey).

Interest in names like Detmers, Soriano and Neto can also be instructive when looking ahead to the offseason. Detmers and Neto, in particular, will remain prominent trade targets for clubs looking to upgrade their rotation and infield for the next few years. Both remained with the Angels, who could well continue the sell-off that began last month under interim general manager John Mozeliak.

The interest in Soriano seems to have been particularly palpable. Hayes and Bannon report that the Twins were willing to include top shortstop prospect Kaelen Culpepper when they spoke to the Jays about Soriano. Culpepper, who has since been promoted to the big leagues (and homered in his debut game), is a comparably ranked prospect to infielder Arjun Nimmala, whom the Jays sent to the Angels to acquire Soriano in the first place. Presumably, the Twins discussed a similar arrangement with the Angels, but the Halos simply preferred Nimmala.

The package that landed Soriano in Toronto was top-heavy in nature. The Blue Jays didn’t give up any other ranked prospects from within their system, sending minor league outfielder Eddie Micheletti and minor league righty Angel Rivero back to the Angels as secondary pieces. Minnesota, it seems, was willing to discuss with the Jays a package headlined by Culpepper and more appealing secondary pieces, but Bannon and Hayes indicate that the Twins balked when the Jays set their sights on right-hander Riley Quick as the second piece in any discussion.

Quick, the No. 36 overall pick in the 2025 draft, has quickly shot up the Twins’ prospect rankings since being drafted. Each of Baseball America, FanGraphs and MLB.com rank him sixth among Twins farmhands; FanGraphs even lists him as the No. 91 prospect in the sport right now. He’s a 6’6″, 255-pound righty with an upper-90s heater and the potential for three better-than-average supporting pitches (slider, changeup, cutter). He’s already reached Double-A, and while he’s been dinged for seven runs in 8 2/3 frames there, Quick breezed through Low-A and High-A, striking out 36.1% of opponents along the way.

It’s understandable if Minnesota balked at including a pair of top-100 (or top-100-adjacent) prospects to pry Soriano loose, but their willingness to even discuss names from that range of the system underscores a departure from last summer’s mindset and is worth keeping in mind as they head into the offseason. Tom Pohlad has repeatedly spoken with some urgency when saying the Twins need to win back a jilted fan base that was let down when a 2023 playoff run was followed by payroll reductions and a 2025 deadline sell-off. Adding Minter, Hoffman and Kremer certainly isn’t going to do that on its own, but the Twins will still have work to do on the staff and at least seem open to taking a more aggressive approach to augmenting future rosters.

Heading into 2027, the Twins’ rotation locks are Joe Ryan and Taj Bradley. Perhaps they’ll listen on Ryan with only one year of club control remaining, but that would run counter to their more recent courses of action. Kremer and Bailey Ober are controlled through 2027 via arbitration. Pablo López will be back from internal brace surgery next spring. As with Ryan, Ober and Kremer, he’ll be a free agent following the 2027 season.

Former top prospects like Zebby Matthews and David Festa haven’t taken advantage of multiple rotation auditions. Lefty Connor Prielipp, another recent top-100 prospect, has held his own through his first 16 big league starts but has options remaining and certainly hasn’t dominated to the point that he’s a shoo-in. Young righty Mick Abel had a big spring and strung together a pair of dominant outings in April before an elbow issue ended his season. Young lefty Kendry Rojas has impressed at times and is also on the back end of FanGraphs’ top-100 list. This is a generally talented group, but the Twins are obviously lacking in established rotation options signed/controlled beyond 2027. That fact, coupled with their deadline targets, could set the stage for Minnesota again taking aim at some longer-term pitching help in the upcoming winter.

Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Roundup: 8/10

Rick Graham — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 16:48:55 +0000

A Review of Key Bullpen and Reliever Usage from Yesterday's Games

The post Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Roundup: 8/10 appeared first on Pitcher List.

PPP 824 – Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitchers To Add And Drop – 8-11-26

Nick Pollack — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 16:25:24 +0000

Nick Pollack's latest episode of his SP focused Plus Pitch Podcast.

The post PPP 824 – Fantasy Baseball Starting Pitchers To Add And Drop – 8-11-26 appeared first on Pitcher List.

Patience or Panic: Bryan Reynolds, Colson Montgomery, Heliot Ramos

Josh Shaw — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 15:00:00 +0000

From the Centrals to the AL East

The post Patience or Panic: Bryan Reynolds, Colson Montgomery, Heliot Ramos appeared first on Pitcher List.

Starting Pitcher Streamer Ranks Fantasy Baseball: 8/11 & 8/12 & 8/13

Nick Pollack — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 14:52:52 +0000

Best SP streamers and rankings for today & tomorrow & day after.

The post Starting Pitcher Streamer Ranks Fantasy Baseball: 8/11 & 8/12 & 8/13 appeared first on Pitcher List.

Yankees Release Rafael Montero

Steve Adams — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 14:50:30 +0000

The Yankees have released veteran right-handed reliever Rafael Montero, per an announcement from their Triple-A affiliate, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. He’d signed a minor league deal back in February.

Montero, 36 in October, hasn’t pitched in the majors yet this season. If he doesn’t latch on with another club and make it to the big leagues, it’d be the first season since 2018 he hasn’t logged a major league inning. Even that 2018 season was technically spent in the majors, however, as Montero was rehabbing from Tommy John surgery on the 60-day injured list. Including that year, he’s spent the past dozen seasons as a big leaguer.

Montero’s season was delayed due to visa issues that prevented him from getting to camp on time with the Yankees. Since he didn’t pitch at all during camp, he opened the season in extended spring as he built up toward joining the RailRiders in Scranton.

That delay pushed his season debut to the final few days of April. After missing a month of the year, he’s pitched 27 innings and logged an unsightly 5.67 ERA in that time. That earned run average is at least partly skewed by an enormous .385 average on balls in play, however. Montero has fanned a strong 25.8% of his opponents against a manageable 10.2% walk rate. He’s only plunked one batter, and opponents have only connected on three homers — exactly one round-tripper per nine frames. Montero’s 44.6% ground-ball rate, 34.1% opponents’ chase rate and 11.8% swinging-strike rate are all better-than-average marks.

Montero hasn’t been giving up too much hard contact; his opponents have averaged 89.5 mph off the bat with a 38% hard-hit rate. His velocity isn’t close to its peak, when he averaged 96.1 mph on his four-seamer with the 2023 Astros, but he’s sitting 93.9 mph on his four-seamer and 94.1 mph on his sinker, so he’s hardly a soft-tosser even as he settles into his mid-30s.

Clubs in search of bullpen help can now weigh a minor league look at the veteran Montero, whose most recent action in the big leagues saw him post a 4.48 ERA, 22.9% strikeout rate, 14.6% walk rate and 48.4% ground-ball rate in 60 1/3 innings between the Braves, Astros and Tigers last season. He finished out the ’25 season with Detroit, posting a 2.86 ERA (1.53 in his final 17 outings) through 22 frames.

Jung Hoo Lee Slugs Career-High 9th HR- Fantasy Hitting Recap 8/10/2026

Ryan Amore — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 14:00:02 +0000

Breaking down Monday's notable hitting performances.

The post Jung Hoo Lee Slugs Career-High 9th HR- Fantasy Hitting Recap 8/10/2026 appeared first on Pitcher List.

Relief Pitcher Streamer Rankings Fantasy Baseball: 8/11

Rick Graham — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 13:37:24 +0000

The Best Reliever Streamers for Today with Updated Bullpen Usage Charts

The post Relief Pitcher Streamer Rankings Fantasy Baseball: 8/11 appeared first on Pitcher List.

MLB News & Moments: Tarik Skubal makes home debut

Pablo Figueroa — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 13:30:32 +0000

The Dodgers avoid disaster.

The post MLB News & Moments: Tarik Skubal makes home debut appeared first on Pitcher List.

Are You For Real? Surprising Fantasy Baseball Pitcher Starts From Tyler Mahle, Andrew Alvarez, and Jackson Jobe

Elliott Baas — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 13:24:52 +0000

Welcome to the "Are You For Real?" series as we dive into Week 20 of the 2026 fantasy baseball season. For those unfamiliar, this is a weekly column where we examine starting pitchers who had surprisingly strong starts over the past week and put them under the microscope to determine whether they're legitimate or just […]

The Opener: Fourth Out Rule, Rutschman, Kremer, Senga

Charlie Wright — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 13:18:45 +0000

The rarely seen “fourth out” rule came into play last night in the Red Sox/Blue Jays game. With runners on the corners and one out, a Ceddanne Rafaela fly ball to center should’ve been a sac fly. Instead, both runners advanced, thinking there were two outs. Toronto easily doubled Nick Sogard off first, but the run counted because it scored before the out was recorded and the Blue Jays left the field before appealing at third base (video link via PitchingNinja on X). A successful appeal, resulting in a fourth out, would’ve nullified the run.

1. Rutschman poised to return

Unsurprisingly, most of the postgame discussion with Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy focused on the fourth-out ruling. But he also mentioned to reporters that catcher Adley Rutschman is expected to join the team on Tuesday (h/t Tim Healey of the Boston Globe). Rutschman has been sidelined since mid-July with wrist inflammation. He played in a pair of rehab games with Triple-A Worcester. The three-time All-Star was among the biggest names moved at the trade deadline, coming over from the Orioles for a haul that included prospects Anthony Eyanson, Enddy Azocar, and Kyson Witherspoon.

2. Kremer gets revenge

In other former Oriole news, Twins right-hander Dean Kremer put together one of the best starts of his career against his old squad. Kremer cruised through seven innings of one-run ball to earn his first win with Minnesota. The righty allowed just one hit while striking out seven. Kremer scuffled to a 6.50 ERA in seven starts with Baltimore this year. He was sent to the Twins a few days before the trade deadline for prospect Jhomnardo Reyes. Kremer has permitted just a pair of runs across two starts with Minnesota.

3. Senga secures first save

The Mets placed closer Devin Williams on the injured list with a right shoulder strain ahead of Tuesday’s matchup against the Braves. With Luke Weaver and Huascar Brazoban shipped out at the trade deadline, New York didn’t have a clear candidate to assume the closer role. Interim manager Andy Green was immediately faced with a save situation in the first game without Williams. He tabbed former starter Kodai Senga to protect a three-run lead in the bottom of the ninth inning. Senga navigated the middle of Atlanta’s lineup without much trouble, striking out two and walking one for his first MLB save. He hit 99 mph a couple of times and punched out both Matt Olson and Michael Harris II with his nasty splitter. Senga could hold onto the role for the rest of the season if his stuff continues to play up in relief.

Photo courtesy of Daniel Kucin Jr., Imagn Images

Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: 8/11/26

Ryan Amore — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 13:00:22 +0000

Royce Lewis is red-hot.

The post Fantasy Baseball Waiver Wire: 8/11/26 appeared first on Pitcher List.

Starts and Sits - All Starting Pitcher Matchups for Fantasy Baseball (August 10 - August 16)

Nick Mariano — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 11:52:10 +0000

Welcome back RotoBallers to another edition of our Starting Pitcher Starts and Sits column for the week ahead - Monday August 10 through Sunday August 16. As you've come to expect, this article will cover who is pitching, their opponent, and a confidence/startability score based on our tools. This supplies you with a useful start/sit […]

Roto Riteup: August 11, 2026

Justin Mason — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 11:15:47 +0000

News, notes and streaming pitchers to start your day off Rite!

Source

Daily Fantasy Baseball News and Notes | First Pitch 8/11/26

Jake Crumpler — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 11:09:07 +0000

Everything you need to know to win your fantasy baseball league, daily

The post Daily Fantasy Baseball News and Notes | First Pitch 8/11/26 appeared first on Pitcher List.

MLB Mailbag: White Sox, Cubs, Mets, Skubal, Free Agency

Steve Adams — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 04:59:39 +0000

The latest MLBTR Mailbag will look at whether the White Sox were too passive at the deadline, the Cubs’ slate of deadline additions, some non-trades from the Mets, the Tarik Skubal deal, the upcoming class of free agents and more. (Note: as always, some questions are lightly edited for clarity and/or brevity.)

Let’s dive in!

Brandon asks:

I feel the White Sox could’ve done more and should’ve done more at the deadline. I’m not saying give up any their top 3 prospects in a mega deal but there were guys we could’ve had that would’ve made more of an impact. For instance, a second starter like Kevin Gausman. Also, had they been more proactive on Tyler Stephenson before the Adley deal made him unattainable- would that have worked out? Then to just DFA Austin Hays and Everson Pereira after getting Brenton Doyle (I liked that move) and choosing to keep Drew Romo up over Edgar Quero after settling on less than mediocre Joey Bart… well… that’s just frustrating all around.

It was nice to be buyers but I feel like Getz was being too conservative with a lockout looming and our first legitimate shot at a little postseason run in decades (2020 was a fluke). I give their deadline a C+ and I really don’t think it is unfair to have expected a B/B+ out of them. The team still has some glaring issues and Davis Martin can’t be expected to carry a staff on his back when he himself is just mediocre. Expecting Drew Thorpe to come back/up or Hagen Smith to come up and be thrust into this with high expectations seems a little unfair and high pressure. The AL Central is only going to get stronger IMO and we should strike when we have a chance.

I think a deal could’ve been worked out for Reid Detmers or José Soriano (who could easily be a 3-5 guy for a few years) around Billy Carlson and another (Tanner MacDougal?). Billy is pretty much blocked right now anyway and wouldn’t be coming up (therefore impactful)for years for us either. This would have given us a safety net and a respectable and competitive rotation. Am I being a dreamer?

There are some fair criticisms here. I do feel there were opportunities for the Sox to do a bit more. Bringing in Stephenson behind the plate, as you suggested, wouldn’t (or shouldn’t) have cost this team much and would’ve put them in a better spot than Bart. (That was true even before Bart suffering a near-immediate injury that sent the Sox back to square one.) The price the Cubs paid to acquire Gausman was pretty minimal, and the White Sox could have easily topped it — but they’re also on Gausman’s no-trade list. We don’t know if that came into play, but it’s certainly possible it was an obstacle.

The ChiSox added a respectable veteran arm who’s signed through 2027 and has pitched mostly well after a poor six weeks to begin the season (Luis Castillo), a righty-hitting outfielder who can play good defense (Doyle), a fringe-y backup catcher (Bart) and a useful middle reliever (Huascar Brazoban). They also took a flier on a depth arm (Jose Urquidy) who has never thrown hard but is averaging a career-low 91.9 mph on his heater in Triple-A right now.

It’s a fine enough slate of upgrades, but nothing seismic. Accordingly, the White Sox didn’t give up any prospects of note. Right-hander Mason Adams, who went to the Rockies in the Doyle swap, is probably the best prospect they surrendered. He’s a 40 FV guy who Baseball America had pegged 18th in their system.

Could they have done more? Absolutely. Should they have? Everything depends on asking price, but I do feel they were in a position to push in a bit more. The American League is weak. The Central is very much there for the taking this season. They may win it even without any major moves, but they’d have felt more like a viable postseason club with another big arm on the staff.

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Starting Pitcher Chart – August 11th, 2026

Paul Sporer — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 04:47:06 +0000

Several aces headline Tuesday's board, plus some interesting streamer options with juicy matchups

Source

Bryse Wilson Elects Free Agency

Anthony Franco — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 04:16:32 +0000

Right-hander Bryse Wilson elected free agency after being outrighted by the Brewers, relays Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. Milwaukee designated him for assignment on Saturday.

Wilson has bounced around this season. He had very brief big league stints with the Phillies and Cubs before signing with Milwaukee shortly before the All-Star Break. Wilson made six appearances for the Brewers, working 13 2/3 innings of four-run ball. He struck out 10 without issuing a walk and only allowed one home run. Wilson had one ugly outing in San Francisco but was otherwise solid in low-leverage work for skipper Pat Murphy.

Milwaukee turned to Wilson for three innings on Friday, which likely would’ve ruled him out for the weekend. That often leads to a DFA when a mop-up pitcher can’t be optioned to Triple-A. Wilson has done the best work of his career in Milwaukee, as he also had decent numbers for the Brewers between 2023-24. He has a 3.37 ERA across 93 appearances with the Brewers but has an ERA above 5.00 for every other for which he’s pitched (excluding his one-off appearance with Philadelphia).

It stands to reason the Brewers would have interest in bringing Wilson back on a minor league deal, but he’ll have a chance to explore the market and see if another team is willing to plug him directly onto the MLB roster. Wilson has a 4.24 ERA across 23 1/3 MLB frames this year, albeit with a below-average 18% strikeout rate. He punched out 23.5% of batters faced but allowed more than six earned runs per nine with the Phillies’ Triple-A affiliate earlier in the year. Wilson worked as a starter in the minors but has mostly pitched in long relief as a big leaguer.

Rays, Jake Woodford Agree To Minor League Deal

Anthony Franco — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 01:54:20 +0000

The Rays are signing right-hander Jake Woodford to a minor league contract, reports Marc Topkin of The Tampa Bay Times. He elected free agency after being waived by the Cubs last week.

Woodford has some familiarity with the Rays’ coaching staff. He was with the team in Spring Training after signing an offseason minor league deal. Woodford failed to break camp with Tampa Bay but leveraged an upward mobility clause into an MLB roster spot with Milwaukee. He has spent the regular season in a low-leverage role between the Brewers and Cubs.

The 29-year-old has combined for 26 1/3 innings of 7.18 ERA ball over 18 appearances. He has finished 16 of those contests, as Woodford essentially only sees action as a long man in a blowout. Chicago pushed him off the roster by acquiring multiple pitchers on deadline day.

Tampa Bay can keep Woodford stretched out in a multi-inning role at Triple-A Durham. They recently placed Griffin Jax on the injured list and may need to rely on a few bullpen games to navigate one of their rotation spots.

D-Backs To Use Zack Littell In Relief

Anthony Franco — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 01:22:47 +0000

Zack Littell was activated by the Diamondbacks this afternoon after signing a major league contract over the weekend. The veteran righty told the Arizona beat the team informed him he’ll be working out of the bullpen, at least to begin his tenure (video provided by Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports).

The Snakes activated Michael Soroka from a six-week injured list stint due to a left glute strain. He’s going tonight against the Rockies, who are countering with rookie righty Gabriel Hughes. The Snakes aren’t making any other changes to the starting staff. Eduardo Rodriguez, Merrill Kelly, Brandon Pfaadt and rookie Mitch Bratt will continue as starters. Bratt and Kelly are lined up for the final two games of the Colorado series.

Littell has been a starter for the last three and a half seasons. The Rays built him up midway through the ’23 campaign after he’d pitched in relief to that point as a big leaguer. Littell found some success as a back-end starter with Tampa Bay and Cincinnati. He never missed many bats but was among the game’s stingiest pitchers at avoiding walks.

The production fell off after Littell joined the Nats on a $7MM free agent deal last offseason. Washington essentially used him as a starter all year, though they quickly took to pitching an opener in front of Littell and Miles Mikolas in a lot of their respective turns. Littell took the ball 23 times and posted an ERA just under 5.00 across 112 1/3 innings. He struck out a career-low 14.6% of opposing hitters and allowed 25 home runs, fifth most in the majors.

There’s not much downside for the Snakes in stashing Littell in a low-leverage relief role. He’s playing on a league minimum salary, with Washington paying the rest after him releasing him last week. The D-Backs mostly have journeymen types in middle relief and didn’t make any pitching acquisitions before the trade deadline. Littell figures to stay stretched out in a multi-inning role in case any injuries necessitate using him as a starter.

Giants Select Zach Morgan

Anthony Franco — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 00:47:44 +0000

The Giants selected catcher Zach Morgan onto the major league roster for tonight’s game against Houston. Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle first reported this evening that Morgan was joining the club. The Giants already had an opening on the 40-man roster and will place Daniel Susac on the 10-day injured list (left patella fracture) to open an active roster spot.

Morgan gets the first big league call of his career. The Giants added him to the system in 2022, selecting him in the seventh round out of Fresno State. Morgan has never gotten much prospect attention but was viewed as a solid organizational depth type as one of the top senior signees of his draft year. He’s a right-handed hitter who has mostly put the ball in play with minimal impact in his minor league career. Morgan owns a .237/.337/.349 line with an 18% strikeout rate in a little over 1000 professional plate appearances.

That includes a .269/.369/.370 slash with a pair of home runs across 131 trips between the top two minor league levels this season. Morgan is 2-16 in throwing out attempted basestealers and has committed one passed ball in 165 innings in Triple-A. He’ll back up Drew Cavanaugh for at least tonight.

It might be a short big league stint. Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports that the Giants are looking to add a more experienced backup option for the stretch run. Cavanaugh is expected to get the majority of the playing time the rest of the way.

Former Giants Chadwick Tromp and Andrew Knizner are free agents. San Francisco could try to claim Willie MacIver when the Blue Jays place him on waivers this week after designating him for assignment this afternoon. They’ll have the fifth-highest priority on the waiver wire. They can also look to the trade market for a player who hasn’t been on a 40-man roster this season (e.g. Washington’s Riley Adams, White Sox’s Korey Lee).

Giants’ Daniel Susac Diagnosed With Patellar Fracture

Anthony Franco — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 23:42:46 +0000

The Giants announced that rookie catcher Daniel Susac has a fractured patella (kneecap) in his left knee. He’ll meet with doctors this evening to determine a treatment plan.

San Francisco will obviously place Susac on the 10-day injured list shortly. They’re going to need a new catcher to pair with Drew Cavanaugh. With Jesus Rodriguez already on the IL due to right elbow neuritis, they’ll need to select someone else onto the 40-man roster before tonight’s game against the Astros. The Giants already have a vacancy on the 40-man, so there won’t need to be any further moves beyond Susac’s IL placement.

They may wind up making multiple roster moves to address the backup catcher role. No other catcher currently in the organization has any major league experience. Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports that the Giants will use Cavanaugh as the starter.

According to Pavlovic, the Giants will select a short-term backup tonight but are exploring the market for a more experienced option for the remainder of the season. Former Giants Chadwick Tromp and Andrew Knizner recently hit free agency, as a couple speculative options. Another possibility would be to try to grab Willie MacIver (designated for assignment by Toronto this afternoon) off waivers.

In the short term, they’ll likely need to call upon an organizational depth type from Triple-A Sacramento. Zach Morgan and Adrián Sugastey are the catchers on the River Cats’ roster. The 23-year-old Sugastey has spent more time this year in Double-A and was only bumped up coming out of the All-Star Break. Morgan, 26, is a former seventh-round pick who’s hitting .231/.323/.325 in 28 games this year. Susan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle reports that he’s meeting the big league club in San Francisco, though it’s not clear if he’ll formally be called up or join the taxi squad.

Susac took over as San Francisco’s starting catcher. His hot start as a Rule 5 pick played at least some role in the Giants’ willingness to trade Patrick Bailey to Cleveland in early May. Susac hasn’t hit nearly as well since coming back from elbow neuritis that shelved him a few weeks into the season. He also missed a couple weeks with a lower back strain leading up to the All-Star Break. He’s hitting .243/.289/.375 with a trio of home runs across his first 161 big league plate appearances. Susac has graded very highly defensively, though, throwing out a third of baserunners with good framing numbers.

Cavanaugh was called up in late June when Susac went down with the back issue. He has appeared in 26 games and stepped to the plate 73 times. He’s batting .241 with a .362 on-base percentage thanks to 11 walks but has only managed one extra-base hit (a double). Cavanaugh’s defense has been an issue, as he has committed four passed balls and three throwing errors in fewer than 200 innings. He has thrown out five of 26 baserunners.

Dodgers Select Charlie Barnes

Anthony Franco — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 23:27:58 +0000

The Dodgers reselected left-hander Charlie Barnes onto their major league roster. They also recalled righty reliever Seth Halvorsen for what’ll be his team debut. L.A. optioned Kyle Hurt to Triple-A Oklahoma City and designated righty Jonathan Hernández for assignment in corresponding moves.

More to come.

Angels Select Sammy Peralta

Darragh McDonald — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 23:00:43 +0000

The Angels announced that they have selected the contract of left-hander Sammy Peralta. The 40-man roster had a couple of vacancies, so he can slot into one of those. To open an active roster spot, right-hander Shaun Anderson has been placed on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation. Prior to the official announcement, Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com noted that Peralta had a locker in the clubhouse.

Peralta, 28, signed a minor league deal with the Halos in June. He had just elected free agency after being outrighted by the Rockies. Since then, he has thrown 16 1/3 innings for Triple-A Salt Lake, allowing 17 earned runs.

That gives him an ugly 9.37 earned run average for the Bees, but that’s a small sample of work and masks how well he has pitched. His 22.9% strikeout rate in that time is around average but his 4.8% walk rate and 48.2% ground ball rate are both good figures. A massive .491 batting average on balls in play and a small 50.6% strand rate have contributed a lot to that ERA.

Peralta has 32 big league games under his belt already, including five with the Halos last year, with a 5.40 ERA. His 17.9% strikeout rate, 11.4% walk rate and 39.6% ground ball rate are all subpar figures. Anderson’s injury will give Peralta a chance to improve upon those numbers. Peralta still has an option remaining, so he could be sent right back to Triple-A if things don’t work out or the club just needs a fresh arm.

Photo courtesy of William Liang, Imagn Images

Rangers Place Nathan Eovaldi On IL With Elbow Inflammation

Darragh McDonald — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 22:45:09 +0000

The Rangers announced that right-hander Nathan Eovaldi has been placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to August 9, due to right posterior elbow inflammation. Fellow righty Ben Peoples has been recalled in a corresponding move.

Details on Eovaldi’s situation are still not clear. He started on Friday and went 5 1/3 innings. His velocity was down, but just a bit. He averaged 92.9 miles per hour on his four-seamer during that outing, after being at 93.6 mph in his previous start. There wasn’t any indication that he had suffered an injury but it appears some inflammation popped up, either during that game or perhaps during a between-starts bullpen session.

More details will surely be forthcoming in time. Regardless, it’s a notable loss for the Rangers. Eovaldi is 36 years old but continues to post solid numbers in the big leagues. He has thrown 132 2/3 innings this year with a 4.21 earned run average. His 24.7% strikeout rate, 5.8% walk rate and 48.8% ground ball rate are all better than average. He has struggled with the home run ball this year, as he has already allowed a career-high 24. SIERA, an ERA estimator that expects home run rates to even out in large samples, has Eovaldi at 3.45 this year.

Ideally, it will be a brief absence for Eovaldi and he can jump right back into the Texas rotation, though it’s worth noting his track record. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2007 and 2016. Since then, he has stayed fairly healthy but it’s normal for him to miss at least some time. This is his sixth straight season making at least 20 starts but he only got to 30 in one of those.

Time will tell if Eovaldi is slated for a long or a short absence. In the meantime, Texas will have a rotation spot to fill. Jacob deGrom, MacKenzie Gore, Kumar Rocker and Cody Bradford currently have four spots. Jack Leiter isn’t eligible to come off the 60-day IL until later this month and he hasn’t yet begun a rehab assignment regardless.

Jordan Montgomery and Cal Quantrill are both in the bullpen but could be candidates to step up for a rotation role until Eovaldi or Leiter come back. Quantrill had a rotation spot from late June to late July but Bradford’s return from the IL got him pushed to the bullpen in recent days. Montgomery was just activated from the 60-day IL recently after working his way back from last year’s Tommy John surgery. He got stretched out during his rehab and just tossed four innings of long relief yesterday.

The Rangers are in a tight playoff race at the moment. They have a 59-59 record, which puts them half a game back of the Astros in the American League West. Texas is currently holding the final A.L. Wild Card spot but they are only a game ahead of the Tigers, with several other teams also in the mix. Losing Eovaldi, even if it’s for a short amount of time, doesn’t help them in that regard.

If this turns out to be any kind of long-term issue, it would obviously be much more notable for the Rangers. 2027 is the last year of Eovaldi’s deal and the final guaranteed season of the deGrom pact. Gore is also slated for free agency after next season. It is potentially a pivot year for the club’s starting group, so it would be quite a noteworthy blow if Eovaldi is slated for any kind of recovery timeline that extends into next year.

Photo courtesy of Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images

Fantasy Baseball SP Roundup 8/9: The Sean Mustard

Nick Pollack — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 22:21:21 +0000

Nick Pollack reviews every starting pitcher performance from Sunday.

The post Fantasy Baseball SP Roundup 8/9: The Sean Mustard appeared first on Pitcher List.

Braves Release Jorge Mateo

Darragh McDonald — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 21:46:42 +0000

The Braves have released infielder/outfielder Jorge Mateo, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He had been designated for assignment by the club last week. He is now free to sign with any team.

Mateo, 31, signed with Atlanta in January on a one-year deal with a $1MM guarantee. It probably wasn’t a coincidence that the Mateo signing broke one day after the news that Ha-Seong Kim had fallen on some ice and suffered a torn tendon in his right middle finger. He required surgery and was set for a timeline of four to five months, meaning he would be on the injured list well into the season.

It was hoped that Kim would take over as the club’s everyday shortstop but that was no longer going to be possible, at least to start the year. Mateo was brought in to shore up the position alongside Mauricio Dubón.

Mateo has generally been a light-hitting guy whose main contributions are in the speed and defense departments. That was how things played out with Atlanta. He hit .240/.285/.380 for a wRC+ of 80, with all of those numbers being roughly in line with his career marks. He stole ten bases and got solid grades for his shortstop defense while also occasionally chipping in at second base and in left field.

Kim came off the IL in May and Mateo hung around in a bench role. Continued issues in his finger put Kim back on the IL in July. During that second IL stint, Jim Jarvis seemingly leapfrogged Mateo on the depth chart. Jarvis got more playing time than Mateo throughout July. When Kim returned from the IL last week, Mateo got bumped off the roster.

Once he was designated for assignment, a release was the most likely outcome for Mateo. He was designated for assignment after the deadline, so a trade wasn’t possible. He has enough service time to reject an outright assignment while also keeping his salary obligations in place. Atlanta skipped that formality and simply released him.

The club remains on the hook for the remainder of his salary. Another team could sign him and would only have to pay him the prorated league minimum salary for any time spent on the roster. That amount would be subtracted from what Atlanta pays. As mentioned, Mateo has generally been a light hitter throughout his career but has wheels and also has experience at every position on the diamond except for first base and catcher, so he’s a fine bench player.

Photo courtesy of Joe Puetz, Imagn Images

Athletics Designate Jonathan Ornelas For Assignment

Darragh McDonald — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 21:40:52 +0000

The Athletics announced that infielder/outfielder Zack Gelof has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list. In a corresponding move, infielder/outfielder Jonathan Ornelas has been designated for assignment.

Ornelas, 26, opted out of a minor league deal with the Yankees in July. He quickly landed a new minor league deal with the A’s and got added to the big league roster on the last day of the month. He got into six games for the A’s and stepped to the plate 13 times. He got two hits, both singles, and drew a walk but struck out seven times. He is out of options, so he has been bumped off the roster.

Since the trade deadline has passed, he will be on waivers in the coming days. His big league track record, which is limited, is that of a light-hitting utility guy. He has just 71 major league plate appearances, with a .200/.257/.231 line in those. But he had spent a bit of time at shortstop, second base, third base, left field and center field.

He has never really hit much in the minors either but has shown improvement this year. From 2023 to 2025, he made 1,339 plate appearances at the Triple-A level with 21 home runs, a .233/.331/.331 line and 75 wRC+. This year, between the Yanks and the A’s, he has 308 Triple-A plate appearances with a .310/.378/.505 line and 127 wRC+. His .381 batting average on balls in play is helping him a lot but he also hit 11 home runs in that time, a much better clip for him.

With his defensive versatility, he could be a useful bench piece with even semi-reasonable offense. He hasn’t done that yet but perhaps some club out there is intrigued by his numbers this year. If he clears waivers, he has a previous career outright and would therefore have the right to elect free agency.

Photo courtesy of Darren Yamashita, Imagn Images

Diamondbacks Designate Paul Sewald For Assignment

Steve Adams — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 21:20:44 +0000

4:20pm: The Snakes have now made it official. They designated Sewald for assignment and optioned righty Kade Strowd. Those moves open spots for righty Michael Soroka to be reinstated from the injured list and righty Zack Littell to be added to the active roster. It was reported yesterday that Arizona would be signing Littell.

1:31pm: The Diamondbacks will designate right-hander Paul Sewald for assignment, reports John Gambadoro of 98.7 FM Arizona Sports. Sewald returned to the Snakes on a one-year deal in free agency this past offseason and has spent the bulk of the season as Arizona’s closer. He started strong but hit a wall in late June and hasn’t been able to recover.

For the season’s first three months or so, Sewald was genuinely excellent. He piled up 18 saves by June 19 and did so while holding opponents to just 10 earned runs on 13 hits and eight walks with 32 punchouts in 28 1/3 innings. The resulting 3.18 ERA, 29.9% strikeout rate and 7.5% walk rate all stood as strong marks.

There were, however, some red flags. Sewald gave up hard contact at worse-than-average levels. That’s not a glaring problem in and of itself, but the veteran righty posted only a 13.8% ground-ball rate in that run of three months. Just over 10% of that mountain of fly-balls he surrendered turned into home runs. That’s a slightly better than average percentage, but Sewald was keeping the bases empty in part due to a tiny .131 average on balls in play that no one can sustain.

As more hitters began to reach base, Sewald’s home run woes were exacerbated. He was rocked for seven homers in his final 10 2/3 innings, which played a major role in 17 runs crossing the plate during that time. Sewald has given up runs in seven of his past 14 outings — two or more runs in five of them. He has a 14.34 ERA dating back to June 23 and now sits with an ugly 6.23 mark on the season as he heads to DFA limbo.

Sewald’s one-year deal to return to the D-backs contained only a $1.5MM base. MLBTR contributor Ethan Hullihen notes that he’s already picked up an additional $350K worth of incentives on the season by virtue of bonuses unlocked for his 25th, 35th and 45th appearances as well as 20, 25 and 35 games finished. Arizona’s tab for their four-month (and change) reunion with Sewald will close at $1.85MM.

Since the trade deadline has come and gone, the only move the D-backs can make with Sewald is to place him on waivers. He’s very likely to clear release waivers and become a free agent. A contending club could then add him on a minor league deal and stash him as a depth option in Triple-A while they try to get him back on track.

Mariners Claim Nolan Kingham

Darragh McDonald — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 21:15:43 +0000

The Mariners have claimed right-hander Nolan Kingham off waivers from the Rangers, according to announcements from both clubs. Texas had designated him for assignment last week. Seattle had multiple 40-man vacancies and have sent Kingham to Triple-A Tacoma, so no corresponding move was required.

Kingham, 29, just got his first major league call-up. Not so long ago, he was in the Mexican League. Drafted by Atlanta in 2018, he was released in March of 2024 and headed south of the border to pitch for Sultanes de Monterrey. He was still with that club at the start of the 2026 season. He posted a 1.82 earned run average in six starts to begin this year, which was enough for the Rangers to bring him aboard on a minor league deal.

He then reported to Triple-A Round Rock and threw 46 1/3 innings over 11 appearances. His 6.99 ERA in that time obviously doesn’t look great but that came in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. His 21.5% strikeout rate, 8.3% walk rate and 41.7% ground ball rate were all average-ish figures. The era was inflated by a .344 batting average on balls in play and 62.3% strand rate. The Rangers called him up at the start of this month. He was able to make one big league appearance, allowing one run in one inning.

For the Mariners, there’s little harm in a claim. As mentioned, they had multiple roster spots available. They just subtracted from their rotation by trading out Luis Castillo. They still have a strong quintet of Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Bryan Woo, Bryce Miller and Emerson Hancock. They also have prospects Kade Anderson and Ryan Sloan waiting in the wings. But if they want someone for a spot start or a long relief role, Casey Lawrence just opted out of his minor league deal. Kingham has a full slate of options and can be stashed in Tacoma well into the future if he keeps hanging onto his 40-man spot.

Photo courtesy of Andrew Dieb, Imagn Images

Astros Claim Nelson Velázquez, Designate Shay Whitcomb For Assignment

Darragh McDonald — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 21:00:03 +0000

The Astros announced they have claimed outfielder Nelson Velázquez off waivers from the Cardinals. St. Louis had designated him for assignment a few days ago. Infielder/outfielder Shay Whitcomb has been designated for assignment by Houston as the corresponding move.

Velázquez, 27, started the season with the Cardinals on a minor league deal. He was called up in late May and spent a little over two months on the roster. He got squeezed off when the Cards claimed Everson Pereira recently.

In his time on the roster, Velázquez struck out at a 30.1% clip but also hit four home runs, leading to a .216/.289/.432 slash line. Velázquez is considered a poor defender, so he really needs to hit to provide value. His offense this year led to a 98 wRC+, indicating he was 2% below league average. That’s not disastrous in a vacuum but less than ideal for a bat-first guy. Since he’s out of options, he got nudged to the waiver wire.

The Astros are presumably interested because Velázquez hits from the right side. It was reported a few days ago that Houston was looking for a righty complement to the lefty bats in their outfield, with Daulton Varsho, Taylor Trammell and LaMonte Wade Jr. all hitting from the left side.

Against southpaws this year, Velázquez has a .200/.286/.473 line. That doesn’t look too impressive at first blush but it’s held down by a .212 batting average on balls in play. All four of this year’s homers have come against lefties. He has still struck out at a high 30.2% pace in the split but has also drawn walks 9.5% of the time.

After the trade deadline, Houston’s choices are limited. They were connected to Rob Refsnyder and Austin Hays in the reporting about their search for a righty, but Hays has since signed with the Padres. Refsnyder is still out there but the Astros will take a shot on Velázquez for now.

Picking up Velázquez will cost Whitcomb his roster spot. A fifth-round pick of the Astros in 2020, Whitcomb has been on the roster for almost two years now, as he was first called up August 16 of 2024. He got that promotion after putting up a huge .293/.378/.530 line in Triple-A that year.

His production hasn’t been as impressive since. He has only been allowed to make 102 plate appearances in the big leagues with a .167/.216/.292 line. His offense has also tailed off in Triple-A. He hit 25 home runs in 2024 and 2025 but is only at nine so far this year. His 8.4% walk rate is also a notable drop, as he was at 11.1% over 2024 and 2025. This year’s .274/.338/.420 line and 97 wRC+ aren’t disastrous figures but he’s getting help from a .357 BABIP and still coming out below par.

His down season has nudged him off the roster. Since the trade deadline has passed, he’ll be on waivers in the near future. Despite his numbers this year, he should garner interest. He’s generally good for 20 to 30 steals per year in the minors, with 23 so far this season. He has enough defensive versatility to play anywhere on the diamond outside of the battery. He is still optionable for the rest of this year and one additional season. Some other club should give him a roster spot and keep him at Triple-A while seeing if the offense turns around.

Photo courtesy of Jeff Curry, Imagn Images

Marlins Claim Wikelman González

Darragh McDonald — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 20:30:11 +0000

The Marlins announced that they have claimed right-hander Wikelman González off waivers from the White Sox an optioned him to Triple-A Jacksonville. Miami had a 40-man vacancy, so González fills that spot without a corresponding move. Chicago had designated González for assignment a couple of days ago.

González, 24, was sent from the Red Sox to the White Sox as part of the Garrett Crochet trade in 2024. He made his major league debut last year, throwing 20 1/3 innings out of the Chicago bullpen, allowing 2.66 earned runs per nine. His 13.8% walk rate was too high but he struck out 28.7% of batters faced.

The Sox have kept him mostly at Triple-A this year, where he has thrown 24 2/3 innings with a 6.57 ERA. That’s obviously a poor number but things under the hood look fairly similar to last year. His 12.6% walk rate is again on the high side but his 28.6% strikeout rate is still quite strong. The ERA has been pushed up by a .387 batting average on balls in play and 65.4% strand rate.

Though he got squeezed off the Chicago roster, it’s an understandable claim from Miami’s perspective. They had an open 40-man spot to work with. González will be out of options next year but can still be sent to Triple-A this year. If he can rein in the control a bit, perhaps there’s a path to him becoming a viable big league reliever in the future. He has less than a year of service time and can be cheaply controlled for years to come if things click, though it’s also possible he will be pushed into fringe roster territory once his final option season is done.

Photo courtesy of Rick Osentoski, Imagn Images

Blue Jays Select Simeon Woods Richardson

Darragh McDonald — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 20:15:25 +0000

The Blue Jays announced that they have selected right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson to the roster. Right-hander Lazaro Estrada has been optioned to Triple-A Buffalo in a corresponding active roster move. Catcher Willie MacIver has been designated for assignment to open up a 40-man spot. The Jays also made a swap on the position player side, optioning infielder/outfielder Davis Schneider for infielder/outfielder Charles McAdoo. Additionally, outfielder Rudy Martin Jr. has been outrighted to Triple-A after being designated for assignment last week.

The pitching moves are surely related to the club’s recent on-field results. The Jays have gone to extra innings in four of the past five contests, forcing them to lean hard on their bullpen. They went to 12 innings against the Phils yesterday, which meant Estrada had to pitch for a third day in a row. With the group fairly gassed overall and Estrada probably unavailable for a bit, he has understandably been subbed out for a fresh arm.

The Jays have guys like Chad Dallas, CJ Van Eyk, John Klein and Ricky Tiedemann on the 40-man roster but couldn’t really go to anyone in that quartet. Tiedemann has been on and off the injured list for years and is currently only throwing single innings, so he’s not an option for long relief. Both Dallas and Van Eyk were optioned in the past 15 days and therefore couldn’t be recalled unless someone was going on the IL. Klein just started for Triple-A Buffalo on Saturday.

Instead, the Jays have added Woods Richardson back onto the roster. He was just outrighted at the end of June but has been in decent form in Triple-A since then. He has thrown 24 1/3 Triple-A innings over six appearances with a 4.07 earned run average. However, while his 8.7% walk rate is around average, his 19.4% strikeout rate is subpar.

Once upon a time, Woods Richardson seemed to be a budding rotation building block in Minnesota. He logged 245 innings with Minnesota over the 2024 and 2025 seasons with a 4.11 ERA, 21.5% strikeout rate and 9% walk rate. But here in 2026, he struggled and got put on waivers in May, which is when the Jays got him. Toronto later passed him through unclaimed. Between the two clubs, he has a 6.40 ERA in the big leagues this year, along with rough strikeout and walk rates of 11.7% and 12.1%, respectively.

As mentioned, Woods Richardson has been a bit better than that since being outrighted but still not quite up to his 2024-25 levels. Still, he may have been the best option for the Jays for tonight. Their bullpen has been used heavily and they have Jameson Taillon starting tonight. Depending on how things go, Woods Richardson could potentially eat multiple innings and spare the other arms. In the future, if the Jays want to get another fresh arm in the mix, Woods Richardson is out of options.

To add Woods Richardson onto the 40-man, the Jays have had to squeeze off MacIver, who was acquired from the Rangers in a cash trade in April. Since that deal, MacIver has been kept in Triple-A and has hit .270/.344/.459 for a 110 wRC+. That’s nice production, especially from a catcher, but there are some asterisks. MacIver struck out in 28.1% of his plate appearances in that span and his offense was inflated by a .358 batting average on balls in play.

MacIver’s big league track record is small, as he got into 33 games with the Athletics last year and hit just .186/.252/.324. But he has always hit the minors, which is enough for him to interest other clubs. The Rangers claimed him off waivers in November and then the Jays didn’t even let him hit the wire earlier this year. With the trade deadline now in the past, he’ll be on waivers again shortly. Since he’s still optionable and has decent minor league numbers, he will likely end up claimed.

The Jays will probably be hoping for him to clear. With this move, they are now down to just Alejandro Kirk and Brandon Valenzuela as the only catchers on the 40-man roster. If they lose MacIver via waivers, their top depth options will be CJ Stubbs and Will Simoneit. Stubbs has one major league game under his belt, Simoneit none.

Martin, 30, is still looking to make his major league debut. He began this season with the Royals on a minor league deal. He triggered an upward mobility clause in that deal and got flipped to the Orioles, getting a roster spot for the first time in his career.. Baltimore sent him to the minors and tried passing him through waivers a few days later but the Jays claimed him. Now that he has cleared waivers, he is back in non-roster mode. Since this is his first outright and he has less than three years of service time, he has to accept the outright.

He will provide the Jays with a speedy depth outfielder. He has been good for double-digits steals throughout his career and is at 39 already this season. His offense has been more up-and-down but he has a strong .280/.408/.415 line this year.

Photo courtesy of John E. Sokolowski, Imagn Images

Royals Sign Craig Kimbrel

Mark Polishuk — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 20:05:41 +0000

August 10: The Royals have now officially announced their Kimbrel signing. Right-hander Easton McGee was optioned to Triple-A Omaha in a corresponding active roster move. The 40-man had a vacancy, so no further moves were required.

August 9: The Royals have signed veteran right-hander Craig Kimbrel to a Major League contract, the New York Post’s Jon Heyman reports. Kimbrel is represented by SportsMeter.

Once Kimbrel appears in a game, Kansas City will become the 12th team the reliever has officially played with during his 17 MLB seasons. The Royals will be the third team on the list just this year, as Kimbrel has a 4.81 ERA over 33 2/3 combined innings with the Mets and Rays. After signing a minor league deal with New York this winter, Kimbrel’s contract was selected in April but he was then designated for assignment in May. He elected free agency over an outright assignment and quickly caught on with Tampa, but the DFA/outright/free agency cycle repeated itself when Kimbrel was designated last weekend.

Kimbrel was an All-Star as recently as 2023, but he has a 4.78 ERA over 98 innings since Opening Day 2024. That includes a 4.81 ERA in his 33 2/3 frames this year, and the righty also has an 11.1% walk rate and 22.2% strikeout rate over his time with the Rays and Mets. That K% is on pace to be easily the lowest mark of Kimbrel’s 17 seasons.

Selecting Kimbrel’s contract locked in a $2.5MM salary for the 2026 season that is still mostly the Mets’ responsibility. The Rays and now the Royals have paid only a prorated portion of a MLB minimum salary for Kimbrel’s time in the big leagues.

From Kansas City’s perspective, there’s little cost in seeing if the 38-year-old can harness any of his old magic. K.C. has one of baseball’s worst bullpens, and there isn’t much to lose bringing Kimbrel in to cover some innings or get some leverage work. Kimbrel has 440 career saves, the fifth-highest total in big league history.

Trade Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat, Today 3pm CT

Steve Adams — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 19:55:29 +0000

MLBTR’s Steve Adams is hosting a live chat today at 3pm CT, exclusively for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers.

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Trade Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript

Steve Adams — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 19:55:29 +0000

Steve Adams

Good afternoon! Plenty to talk after last week’s deadline chaos. We’ll get going at 3pm CT, but feel free to start sending in questions anytime.
Greetings — shall we begin?

Anthopolous

Did I just forget we might have to play the Dodgers in the postseason at the deadline?

Steve Adams

I don’t really understand the Braves’ deadline. This team so badly needed a starting pitcher and their big addition was Tyler Mahle. If it was Mahle as the secondary arm to stabilize the rotation, I guess that’s fine, but as their standalone upgrade, it’s just bizarre.The Lane Thomas addition made sense, and I get that there weren’t a lot of viable shortstop upgrades to consider, but the market was stuffed with arms and Atlanta’s preference apparently was to add a fifth starter and hope they can get something resembling playoff-caliber innings from some of the many rehabbing arms they have.
It’s a big ask, especially since it requires banking on Chris Sale remaining healthy, which is far from a given. I can’t really explain it. If I were a big ATL fan, I’d be immensely disappointed that this was the response to so spectacularly defying everyone’s expectations for the first few months amid all those injuries.

RoxTalks

Is Freddy Peralta trending towards something like 3 year, $75 million with opt outs of years 1 and 2, or do you think he’d be better off taking a one year prove-it deal/QO (ignoring the lockout)?

Steve Adams

Well he can’t get the QO after being traded, so it won’t be that.It’ll come down to how he finishes, of course. If he can finish anywhere close to his career levels — or even how he pitched through mid-June or so — I think a short-term deal with opt-outs will be in play, just based on the track record. If he keeps up this disaster pace, it’s going to be one year.
Freddy was mostly fine through June 3. Not as good as usual, but still an above-average starter. He’s been one of the worst pitchers in the sport since. I’d have wondered about some kind of physical issue, but he was traded at the deadline, so the Rays saw his medical reports and felt comfortable bringing him aboard. Just a really surprising stretch for someone who’s been consistent in recent years.

Eddiek957

I don’t understand the Reds deadline action. Trading Ferguson seems ok but not trading Singer and Stephenson when they gave away Lowe seems kind of weird
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FAAB Frenzy and Waivers Wild: Week 21

Vlad Sedler — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 19:50:07 +0000

The big three rookie shortstops and a review of an exciting weekend of FAAB

Source

Mets Place Devin Williams On Injured List Due To Shoulder Strain

Steve Adams — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 19:45:26 +0000

The Mets announced Monday that closer Devin Williams is going on the 15-day injured list due to a right shoulder strain. Fellow righty Jonathan Pintaro is up from Triple-A Syracuse in his place.

More to come.

Phillies Place Caleb Kilian On Injured List

Steve Adams — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 19:36:38 +0000

The Phillies announced Monday that one of their deadline additions is headed to the injured list. Righty Caleb Kilian has been diagnosed with a strained left oblique and is now on the 15-day injured list. Right-hander Chase Shugart is up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to take his spot on the active roster.

Kilian, 29, came to Philadelphia alongside infielder Luis Arraez in a deal headlined by pitching prospect Ramon Marquez. He’s made four appearances with his new club, with one particularly brutal outing skewing his short time there. Kilian was rocked for four earned runs in just one-third of an inning against the Nationals on Aug. 5. That ugly outing ballooned his season ERA to 4.91 in 47 2/3 frames.

In many ways, that’s a microcosm of Kilian’s whole season. More than half of the 30 runs he’s yielded this season (16) have come in just four outings. He’s been solid more often than not, but Kilian’s bad appearances this season have had a habit of snowballing on him.

This year’s 47 2/3 innings are a career-high for Kilian, a 2019 eighth-rounder whom the Giants traded to the Cubs for Kris Bryant and then reacquired as a minor league free agent in the winter. He’s fanned 26.8% of his opponents this year — backed by a strong 12.3% swinging-strike rate — but issued walks at a 10.5% clip as well. That walk rate isn’t so egregious that Kilian can’t make it work with strong strikeout and grounder numbers, but he’s struggled mightily with men on base, as evidenced by a 62.5% strand rate that’s about 10 percentage points worse than league average.

The Phils haven’t said how long Kilian will miss, but even Grade 1 oblique strains can sideline players for around a month. The Phillies are now down one of two deadline additions to the bullpen. The other, Brooks Raley, hasn’t had the smoothest start with his new club but has a strong track record in Queens.

MLB Series Preview: A Good Interleague Duel Between the Brewers and Padres

Justin Alston — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 18:34:54 +0000

Interleague battle between San Diego and Milwaukee gets the top spot.

The post MLB Series Preview: A Good Interleague Duel Between the Brewers and Padres appeared first on Pitcher List.

Diamondbacks To Designate Paul Sewald For Assignment

Steve Adams — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 18:31:44 +0000

The Diamondbacks will designate right-hander Paul Sewald for assignment, reports John Gambadoro of 98.7 FM Arizona Sports. Sewald returned to the Snakes on a one-year deal in free agency this past offseason and has spent the bulk of the season as Arizona’s closer. He started strong but hit a wall in late June and hasn’t been able to recover.

Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Roundup: 8/9

Rick Graham — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 18:23:43 +0000

A Review of Key Bullpen and Reliever Usage from Yesterday's Games

The post Fantasy Baseball Relief Pitcher Roundup: 8/9 appeared first on Pitcher List.

Tim Anderson Announces Retirement

Darragh McDonald — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 18:05:53 +0000

Former All-Star and batting champion Tim Anderson spoke to reporters via Zoom today regarding the fifth anniversary of the Field of Dreams game. During that call, Anderson revealed that he is retiring from baseball, per James Fegan of Sox Machine.

Anderson was born in 1993 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and was raised there as well. After graduating high school, he attended East Central Community College in Decatur, Mississippi. He had played both baseball and basketball in high school but decided he was too short for the the latter and focused on baseball in college. He impressed enough there to be a first-round pick in the 2013 draft. The White Sox took him 17th overall and lured him away from a commitment to the University of Alabama at Birmingham with a signing bonus of $2.16MM.

As a professional, Anderson quickly flashed some strong tools and put himself on the prospect map. His natural athleticism led to him being quickly recognized as a potential long-term shortstop with the wheels to steal bases. His bat was a bit more questionable but it was felt that he still had lots of room for improvement since he was still getting adjusted to the sport after pivoting from basketball somewhat recently. Baseball America ranked him a top 100 prospect in 2015 and 2016.

He made it to the big leagues in the latter of those two years. During his first few big league seasons, he was a toolsy shortstop for the Sox. He stole lots of bases and generally covered shortstop well. He hit a few homers but his overall offense was held down by a lack of walks, which led to low on-base marks.

By the end of 2018, Anderson had appeared in 398 games and stepped to the plate 1,643 times. His 3.4% walk rate was one of the lowest in the big leagues. Among guys with at least 700 plate appearances in that span, Dee Strange-Gordon was the only guy lower, at 3.2%. Anderson’s 26% strikeout rate was also worse than average. Despite 46 home runs, he had a .258/.286/.411 line and 86 wRC+ in that span. Regardless, FanGraphs credited him with 5.8 wins above replacement thanks to his speed and defense.

Despite his flaws, the Sox believed in Anderson. In the midst of that early-career stretch, in March of 2017, he and the club signed a six-year, $25MM extension. That bought out his remaining arbitration years and also came with two club options for 2023 and 2024, potentially giving the Sox two extra years of affordable control over Anderson.

Anderson eventually found a new gear. He still didn’t walk much but cut the strikeouts way down, meaning he put the ball in play quite a bit. From 2019 to 2021, his 3.6% walk rate was still quite low but he was only punching out in 21.6% of his plate appearances. That helped him hit .322/.349/.495 for a 126 wRC+ over those three seasons. That was propped up by a .385 batting average on balls in play but nonetheless helped him produce 11.1 fWAR in that span of three seasons, one of which was shortened to just 60 games. He was the American League batting champion in 2019 and then was selected to All-Star games in both 2021 and 2022.

In that 2022 season, second All-Star selection notwithstanding, it was a challenging year. He had multiple stints on the injured list and only got into 79 games. His six home runs represented a dip for him, as he had mostly been in the 20 range in previous campaigns. He did cut his strikeout rate even further, however, getting it to 15.7%. Even with the missed time and the power outage, he hit .301/.339/.395 for a 110 wRC and was worth 2.2 fWAR. The Sox made the easy call to pick up his $12.5MM club option for 2023.

Unfortunately, in hindsight, it now appears that was the beginning of the end for Anderson’s production. Early in 2023, a left knee sprain sent him to the IL. He only missed a few weeks but never got back on track. He finished the year with just one home runs in 524 plate appearances and slashed .245/.286/.296. The Sox turned down Anderson’s $14MM club option for 2024, which once looked like a real bargain, opting instead for the $1MM buyout.

A free agent for the first time, Anderson signed a one-year, $5MM deal with the Marlins for 2024 but wasn’t able to bounce back. He hit .214/.237/.226 over 65 games before being released in July. He signed a minor league deal with the Angels going into 2025 and cracked the Opening Day roster but hit .205/.258/.241 before being cut loose at the end of May.

Anderson’s career sloped off more aggressively than anyone could have anticipated but he had a strong peak. As mentioned, he won a batting title and made a couple of All-Star teams. He appeared in 991 games and stepped to the plate 4,139 times. He racked up 1,088 hits, including 98 home runs. He scored 552 runs, drove in 250 and stole 122 bases. He had a .276/.307/.407 line and 93 wRC+, though those numbers were dragged down by his rough performance in his final years. The same goes for his career tallies of 17.6 fWAR and 15.4 bWAR, as he was below replacement level in his later campaigns. Baseball Reference pegs his career earnings at $43.75MM.

We at MLB Trade Rumors salute Anderson on a fine playing career and wish him the best with whatever comes next.

Photos courtesy of Mike Dinovo, Mark J. Rebilas, Wendell Cruz, Imagn Images