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The Los Angeles Dodgers, deciding that Shohei Ohtani needs rest if he’s going to help them win their third consecutive World Series title in October, are placing the four-time MVP on the 15-day injured list for the first time since he joined the Dodgers.

“It’s the right thing to do,’’ Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday night after the Dodgers’ 14-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds, their season-high seventh consecutive victory. “We tried to kick the can as much as we could.’’

Ohtani, who will be eligible to return Sept. 23 with five regular-season games remaining, will be replaced on the roster by prized outfield prospect Josue De Paula, who will primarily be the DH, but also play in the outfield.

“Let’s get (Ohtani's) body feeling well and then slowly ramp back up because now we do have time,’’ Roberts said. “I think that if it were a postseason game tomorrow, he would be in the lineup. So now you’re talking about two weeks, 14 days. I feel that’s substantial, and (he) will be in a much better place than he was today.’’

Ohtani, a two-way player who hasn’t pitched since July 3, has been bothered by left knee soreness and a right biceps strain, which forced him out of the lineup six times in the last seven games.

“Is it going to be 100%?’’ Roberts said. “Probably not. But I do think that with this time that we’re taking now, he’ll be in an adequate spot for the rest of the season and beyond.’’

After two tense, well-fought games between these two teams, I fully expected a laugher tonight where one side or the other could fully relax and coast to a victory. It seemed like the natural baseball thing to do to balance out a pair of games decided by two runs or less with a game in which a position player had to pitch. Instead, and thankfully for the fans, we got the trilogy in the series with many of the same dynamics: relatively low-scoring, excellent defensive plays, and late-inning drama. Unfortunately for the D-Backs, they were on the wrong side of each of those phenomenon as the Royals rode one big blast from superstar Bobby Witt Jr to a victory and avoided the home sweep. That result combined with a San Diego sweep over Washington to run their win streak to four means that the D-Backs end the night on the outside looking in of the postseason picture and continue to jockey with Padres for that final Wild Card slot.

Frustratingly, the D-Backs were in the unenviable position of sending out starting pitchers coming off injuries on consecutive nights with the associated, necessary limitations on their range in the game. After Corbin Burnes’ (mostly) successful return to the mound last night, it was Zac Gallen’s turn tonight and it was much of the same as we saw earlier in the year. He was able to throw plenty of strikes (62% of his 68 pitches), but struggled to generate much swing-and-miss, allowed far too many baserunners, and failed to keep the ball in the yard. Altogether, it wasn’t a bad outing and he certainly gave the team a chance to compete – even with a short leash from Torey Lovullo and some poor defense behind him – but any semblance of hope that he would be able to regain the ace-like form he had early in his career can likely be put to bed once and for all. Interestingly, Gallen did display a radically different pitching arsenal by functionally ditching his four-seamer (13% compared to a 37% average on the year) to instead lean on his slider (37% and 22%) and knuckle curve (22% compared to 19%).

The Royals struck first on the backs of consecutive singles from John Rave and Kyle Isbel before a double steal and a poor throw from James McCann to third base allowed the former to score. They added another in the home half of the third when Carter Jensen destroyed a lifeless slider that hung right in the middle of the plate and deposited it into the Kaufmann fountains. After Derek Law continued his strong season in the desert with another scoreless outing, the D-Backs turned to yet another pitcher returning from injury in Michael Soroka for his first relief outing of the year. He successfully saved a desperately depleted bullpen, but made one crucial mistake that was absolutely punished. In his first inning of relief, he gave up a one-out single to Isaac Collins and then walked Jensen on just six pitches ahead of Witt Jr who promptly pounced on the very first pitch he saw and sent it deep into the Kansas City night to give the Royals the lead for good. He rebounded from that debacle of an inning to provide four innings of solid relief work ahead of a much-needed off day tomorrow.

For their part, the Arizona offense did create a few threats throughout the game, but failed to break through on any of their opportunities, including from the very beginning of the game when they put two runners in scoring position with one out but failed to score off an excellent play from third baseman Nick Loftin. Overall, they were a woeful 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and failed to take advantage of nearly any of the scoring chances they had off Royals’ starter David Lynch or the gaggle of relief pitchers that followed. The offense will need to rediscover the magic that led them to such a strong offense earlier in the season if they have any hopes of making the playoffs and then making any noise once there. Maybe a long flight and an off day will help to reset the team on their final homestand of the season.

The Dodgers offense reawakened in a big way on Wednesday, as they completed a three-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds with a 14-1 victory, extending their winning streak to a season-high seven games.

Both Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Rhett Lowder were able to work around a single baserunner in the first inning, with Yamamoto in particular picking off Sal Stewart after reaching on a two-out single. The Dodgers got two consecutive singles from Teoscar Hernández and Kyle Tucker to begin the bottom of the second before Hunter Feduccia reached on a fielder’s choice to load the bases with no outs. The Reds turned a 4-6-3 double play on a ground ball from Alex Freeland, but Hernández scored on the play giving the Dodgers the first lead of the night.

Will Smith doubled against Lowder in the bottom of the third and Mookie Betts extended the lead to three with his third home run of the homestand.

Yamamoto had faced the minimum over his through his first 10 hitters faced with six strikeouts, as the Stewart single was the only blemish on his night up to that point. Then he ran into the red-hot Elly De La Cruz with one out in the top of the fourth inning, who tattooed a home run for a fifth consecutive game, giving him a career-high 26 home runs and putting Cincinnati on the board.

The Dodgers wasted no time getting that run back, as after Tucker and Feduccia led off the bottom of the fourth, Freeland brought home his first run since being called back up with an RBI double to left-center field. Kiké Hernández swatted the third double of the inning to left-center field, bringing home two, extending the lead to five and knocking Lowder out of the game after just 3 1/3 innings.

A wild pitch from reliever Luis Mey brought home Hernández, and the Dodgers would make it a six-run inning with a two-run single from Teoscar Hernández, making it an eight-run lead. The Reds had to face 10 hitters in the inning before getting their next shot against Yamamoto.

After failing to cash in any runs in the fifth inning, the Dodgers made it a 10-run lead with a two-run home run from Max Muncy, giving the Dodgers their first double-digit lead since the All-Star break. 11 runs were the most runs scored in a home game since the Dodgers scored 12 against the San Diego Padres on July 2.

As for Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the mound, he finished his night with his first quality start of the month of September, finishing with seven innings across 90 pitches, with his three hits being the fewest in any start since allowing just three hits against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Aug. 8. Yamamoto now has five consecutive starts with at least eight strikeouts, racking up 44 over his last 32 2/3 innings, with his 10 strikeouts tying a career-high. With a winning decision on Wednesday, Yamamoto has now set a new career-high in wins with 13.

The Dodgers kept pouring it on Cincinnati against Tony Santillan in the bottom of the seventh inning, as Kiké Hernández blasted a two-run home run to give the Dodgers a 12-run lead. It was Hernández’s first home run since August 19, and it was his first home run of the year against a pitcher not named Kyle Freeland.

Mookie Betts finished Wednesday with a 3-5 performance, and on the nine-game homestand, Betts hit .375 with three home runs and 13 RBI, raising his season OPS from .698 at the start of September all the way to 742. Betts also extended his on-base streak to 18 games.

Teoscar Hernández added a pair of hits in what has been a torrid 10-game hitting streak. Hernández in those 10 games is now hitting .514 with two home runs and 14 RBI, raising his season OPS from .692 entering the final game of August to .761.

Kyle Tucker finished Wednesday with his first multi-hit game since Aug. 19, collecting a double, a single and a home run in the bottom of the eighth to make it a 13-run lead. It’s the first time all season that Tucker has collected multiple home runs in a single homestand.

With their seventh straight win, the Dodgers are now four full games over the Atlanta Braves for the second seed in the National League, still trailing the Milwaukee Brewers by 1 1/2 games for the top spot.

Game particulars

• Home runs— Mookie Betts (19), Max Muncy (27), Kiké Hernández (3), Kyle Tucker (13); Elly De La Cruz (26)
• WP— Yoshinobu Yamamoto (13-8): 7 IP, 3 hits, 1 earned run, 1 walk, 10 strikeouts
• LP— Rhett Lowder (6-10): 3 1/3 IP, 7 hits, 7 earned runs, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts

Up next

The Dodgers are off on Thursday as they venture on a seven-game road trip beginning Friday in Miami against the Marlins (4:10 p.m. PT, SportsNet LA). Starters for both teams have yet to be announced.

Top Mets pitching prospect Jonathan Santucci had another strong start for Syracuse, another sign that the young left-hander could be figuring it out in Triple-A.

Wednesday against St. Paul, Santucci allowed one run on five hits (no walks) while striking out six batters across five innings. Santucci struck out two batters in the first before eliminating a runner with an inning-ending double play in the second. The third inning saw Santucci strike out one in a 1-2-3 frame before stranding a runner in the fourth, picking up two more strikeouts in the process.

Santucci's final inning saw his one mistake. After getting the first batter out, Santucci allowed a solo shot to Cody Morissette on a 2-2 slider way up in the zone. After Santucci struck out the next batter, he allowed back-to-back singles but bounced back by getting Emmanuel Rodriguez to ground out to end the threat.

Wednesday's game was the third straight start where Santucci went at least five innings and struck out six batters. It's also the third straight start where Santucci allowed two or fewer runs, bringing his Triple-A ERA to 5.28 after it was a season-high 7.71. 

Santucci started his 2026 season in Double-A Binghamton and saw a lot of success. In 19 starts, he pitched to a 3.57 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. He also struck out 120 batters across 90.2 innings. His performance the first few months of the season led to a promotion in late July. But the southpaw struggled to adjust to the new level, especially finding the strike zone. Santucci walked at least three batters in each of his first four starts with Syracuse and allowed 14 runs (12 earned) across 14.0 innings in that span.

After his performance Wednesday, Santucci's overall 2026 ERA is now 3.99 and he has struck out 157 batters across 119.2 innings.

Though the Dodgers did not call up an outfielder when active roster limits expanded on September 1, they have decided to call up Josue De Paula, their top prospect, directly from Double-A, per Alden González of ESPN, Fabian Ardaya and Katie Woo of The Athletic, Jack Harris of the California Post, and Maddie Lee of the Los Angeles Times.

De Paula, who was rated the No. 4 prospect in baseball by Baseball America in early August, is hitting .303/.401/.547 this season for Tulsa, with 27 home runs, 37 doubles, and 31 stolen bases this season, and almost as many walks (81) as strikeouts (87). He homered and doubled for Tulsa on Wednesday.

The bat for the 21-year-old De Paula has never been in question, but the issue is whether he’s playablein the outfield. But with news on Wednesday that Shohei Ohtani’s right biceps injury, which kept him out of a sixth game out of the last seven, and is headed for the injured list.

Designated hitter is open for De Paula, and a way for regular playing time. He’ll start at DH on Friday in Miami, manager Dave Roberts told reporters Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium.

But sorting out where De Paula plays is a future puzzle to solve for Dave Roberts. For now, just know the Dodgers are taking a chance on their top prospect being ready for the big leagues, and their most anticipated call-up since Cody Bellinger in 2017.

De Paula, signed as an amateur in 2022, would have been eligible for the Rule 5 Draft this winter, and the Dodgers were going to add him to the 40-man roster in November anyway. This just accelerates the timetable.

Atlanta lost to the Rays again and while they remain in a strong position moving into the playoffs, the offense has been too bad for too long to feel good about this club going into October, especially with the questions that exist around the pitching staff.

Braves News

The Braves shuffled the back of their pitching staff, as Bryce Elder hits the IL.

Atlanta lost again to the Rays, as the offense continues to disappoint.

MLB News

The Giants claimed Duncan Davitt off waivers from Atlanta.

The Yankees are set to put Jazz Chisholm on the IL, bringing up Anthony Volpe in his place.

The Orioles placed Blaze Alexander on the IL, as he has had a solid year in Baltimore.

The Diamondbacks activated pitchers Zac Gallen and Michael Soroka off the 60-day and 15-day ILs, respectively.

Star NFL cornerback Denzel Ward purchased a minority share in the Cleveland Guardians.

Wednesday's game against the Marlins was a back-and-forth, topsy-turvy contest that saw the Mets blow a big lead, grab a big lead again and hold on for the 15-14 win.

But if you ask interim manager Andy Green, the Mets don't win that contest -- and complete the three-game sweep -- without Christopher Morel. And it's hard to argue.

After Brett Baty got the start at first base, the utility player had to exit the game with knee pain in the second inning. Morel came in and provided an offensive spark, going 3-for-4 with three RBI. 

When he pinch-ran for Baty, he scored from first on a Luis Torrens double to put the Mets up 4-0. Then after the six-run second inning, Morel blasted his first homer as a Met, a two-run shot, to give New York a commanding 8-0 lead. 

Then, after the Marlins tied it at 8-8 and A.J. Ewing broke the tie with an RBI single in the seventh, Morel followed with an RBI single of his own. 

"The hardest part was the leap, first to home straight off the bench, that he didn’t pop two hamstrings right there was a minor miracle in itself," Green said sarcastically after the win. "Then he pops a homer the next time, then a double and single. You’re looking up and he has a shot at the cycle after coming off the bench. That stuff doesn’t happen.

"Credit to him. We don’t win that baseball game without him coming in and playing like that."

Morel began the season with the Marlins after spending the first four years of his career with the Cubs and Rays. The Marlins DFA'd Morel and the 27-year-old signed a minor league contract with the Mets in early July and was recalled a little over a month later.

“You need to be ready for whatever the team needs. I was prepared for when the team needed me," Morel told SNY's Steve Gelbs on the field after the game. "I gave my best and God helped me there to give something to the team." 

Since his call-up, Morel has provided an offensive spark off the bench. In 10 games, he's slashed .300/.364/.500 with an OPS of .864. 

With Baty's status unknown and Jared Young's sore foot, Morel could see some more playing time down the stretch. If Wednesday's game is any indicator, he'll be ready for when the Mets need him. 

The bats have vanished at the worst possible moment.

Chicago squandered scoring opportunities in consecutive innings, went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and fell to the Pirates, 4-2, on Wednesday night. Pittsburgh takes the series, but at least the Guardians did us a favor by losing to Baltimore, so the AL Central gap holds at two.

It didn’t look good out of the gate when Davis Martin labored through a 16-pitch first inning, walking the first two batters he faced. Pitching coach Zach Bove visited the mound after the second free pass, and whatever he said appeared to work. Martin regrouped to retire Bryan Reynolds on a fly ball before inducing an inning-ending double play from Nick Gonzales.

The Sox teased Martin with a shot at a lead after Benintendi ripped a one-out double in the first. Naturally, he never left second base.

Martin received a generous offering from the baseball luck gods in the second. Oneil Cruz led off with a single, but Esmerlyn Valdez followed with a .960 xBA liner directly to Sam Antonacci at second. Antonacci doubled Cruz off first, quickly erasing the threat.

Chicago pieced together another two-out chance in the bottom half. Braden Montgomery worked a walk, and Tristan Peters stayed hot and dumped a curve into right. Enter old pal Brandon Eisert, who promptly fanned Teel and left both runners stranded.

Martin settled in from there, retiring the Pirates in order on nine pitches in the third. Brandon Lowe opened the fourth with a single and advanced to second on Reynolds’ fly out, but Martin stranded him by retiring the next two hitters.

The Pirates finally cracked Martin in the fifth when Valdez launched a leadoff solo homer. Jacob Gonzalez added a two-out single, but Martin held it down and completed five innings.

Martin’s final line — one run on four hits and two walks with one strikeout — gave the White Sox every opportunity to win. That generally requires scoring, however, and Chicago’s bats had no answers for Eisert or anyone else Pittsburgh sent to the mound.

Sean Newcomb replaced Martin in the sixth and escaped immediate trouble with some help from another double play. He surrendered a leadoff single and another one-out knock before getting Cruz to ground into an inning-ending twin killing.

The White Sox put two aboard with two outs in the bottom half after a pitch hit Munetaka Murakami and Randal Grichuk singled. Murakami’s plate appearance at least ended his run of eight consecutive at-bats with a K. Colson Montgomery, however, followed with a punchout to extinguish another threat.

Newcomb’s luck ran out in the seventh. He walked Valdez before a swinging bunt, and another single produced Pittsburgh’s second run. After a stolen base, Konnor Griffin drove in two more with a single, stretching the Pirates’ advantage to 4-0.

Chris Murphy entered and stopped the bleeding by striking out Lowe and retiring Reynolds on a grounder, but it was too late as the damage had been done.

The Good Guys finally scratched out a run in the bottom of the seventh. Braden walked, Chase Meidroth won a 10-pitch battle with an infield single and Teel drew a six-pitch walk to pack the sacks with one out.

Antonacci then hit a 103 mph grounder to first baseman Spencer Horwitz. Pitcher Camilo Doval failed to cover first, allowing Antonacci to reach and Braden to score while keeping the bases loaded. The mental mistake cracked the door open, but Miguel Vargas promptly slammed it shut by hitting into an inning-ending double play.

Tempers flared between innings when Antonacci seemed to stick out an elbow sliding into second. Lowe barked, benches and bullpens spilled out, but nothing came of it. Credit to Antonacci: With the bats offering no spark, the kid tried to create one himself.

The White Sox showed another glimpse of life in the eighth when Mune led off with a solo homer, cutting the deficit to 4-2. Grichuk followed with a single, and Braden doubled after Colson struck out, putting two runners in scoring position.

Peters followed by wearing one to load the bases for Meidroth, who smoked a 100.2 mph liner ( .800 xBA). Unfortunately for the White Sox, it went directly to the third baseman, who stepped on the bag for an unassisted double play. Of course.

Trevor Richards pitched two scoreless innings to keep Chicago within striking distance, but the Sox went quietly in the ninth.

Martin gutted out five solid innings and gave his team a chance. The bullpen kept the game manageable outside Newcomb’s meltdown. Even some of the White Sox’s contact deserved a better fate. None of that matters much, though, when an offense repeatedly fails to deliver with runners on.

The South Siders will have one more chance to salvage a game from Pittsburgh tomorrow night. Same time, same place — and, one would hope, a few more clutch hits.

MVP
Davis Martin: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, K, L

Runners-Up
Munetaka Murakami: 1-for-3, R, RBI, HR, 2 K
Trevor Richards: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
Chris Murphy: 2/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, K
Sam Antonacci: 1-for-5, RBI, K
Braden Montgomery: 1-for-2, R, 2 BB, 2B

Cold Cat
Sean Newcomb: 1 1/3 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 BB

Runners-Up
Colson Montgomery: 0-for-4, 3 K
Miguel Vargas: 0-for-3, 2 K

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Brewers fans and fans across the country.

Welcome back to another edition of our Brewers Reacts Survey! In this week’s poll, we’re asking which area of the team fans are most worried about for the postseason: the offense, the starting rotation, or the bullpen.

While the Brewers boast the best record in baseball at 91-56 with just 15 games to go, there are still a few areas of concern in each facet of the game.

On offense, while the Brewers rank fourth in team OPS and third in runs scored, they still rank dead last in homers, meaning “the big hit” may be hard to come by in key situations this postseason (Jackson Chourio’s game-tying homer on Tuesday night notwithstanding).

For the starting rotation, after it looked like Milwaukee had a solid combination with Jacob Misiorowski, Logan Henderson, Kyle Harrison, and some combination of Dustin May, Shane Drohan, and Robert Gasser, it suddenly looks more like Miz and Henderson are the 1-2 punch, but the rest of a potential playoff rotation is unknown. Harrison has struggled mightily over his last few outings (particularly on the road), while May hasn’t found much consistency, and Drohan and Gasser, while holding their own, are nothing flashy.

For the bullpen, it’s the middle-relief options. While the team has Abner Uribe and Trevor Megill to close things out (though Megill is also coming off a rough series against the Cubs), the guys who bridge from the rotation to them are a bit less clear. Aaron Ashby and Chad Patrick have both been solid but also had their share of struggles, as have deadline acquisitions JoJo Romero and Antonio Senzatela. DL Hall has also shown flashes of his potential. But still, plenty of question marks.

What worries you most as we head into the last few weeks of the regular season and into the playoffs? Weigh in below and stay tuned for results later this week!

At one time, Leo De Vries was on such a fast track that it seemed inevitable that he would be a big factor by the 2027 season. One torn labrum later (shoulder surgery scheduled this weekend) and he won’t even be back on a minor league field until mid-May.

So the presumptive starters along side Nick Kurtz become Zack Gelof, Jacob Wilson, and Joshua Kuroda-Grauer, the latter two coming off of season ending surgeries. And where does the depth chart go from there?

Jeff McNeil

3 months ago, McNeil was a 2027 after thought who appeared, after a solid April, to have fallen off a cliff on his way to age-related obscurity. But the Squirrely one has rebounded in a big way, batting .335/.361/.484, 130 wRC+ since the All-Star break while providing valued veteran leadership in the clubhouse and on the field.

The A’s won’t exercise his $15.5M club option but they could decline it and then negotiate a one-year deal to bring him back. Would he be a good choice for a key bench piece in the infield mix at a modest salary? And will McNeil have superior offers that tempt him away or might he be interested in a one year deal worth around half of his club option?

Donovan Walton

After a career of consistently hitting terribly every season, something clicked with Walton. He was terrific with the Angels (.319/.354/.505, 141 wRC+), but they’re the Angels so naturally they let him go. With the A’s he’s put together some of the team’s best plate appearances, producing the rare profile of a batter who walks more than he strikes out (20 BB, 17 K).

With a nifty .400 OBP for the A’s, a 128 wRC+, and even improved defense on this home stand, Walton has shown considerable value and he is a LH batter opposite the Gelof-Wilson-JKG triumvirate. He’s also pre-arbritration and thus considerably cheaper than McNeil. Would he be the right complement to the regular starting infield?

Alika Williams

The slickest fielder of the bunch, Williams feels like the closest to a “sure thing” these days, but because he bats RH and doesn’t hit enough to start every day, it’s not necessarily clear how well he fits with the starting trio. If the A’s carry both a LH and RH infielder on the bench, Williams should have a place on the team.

But which is the real Alika Williams? The .262/.299/.421, 92 wRC+ hitter overall…or the guy who has hit all of .220/.270/.317, 64wRC+on the road?

Honorable Mention

Then there’s Max Muncy, who had half the A’s hits today and homered twice in Seattle, but can’t field worth a lick. And Darell Hernaiz, who unfortunately seems to be getting worse — and he couldn’t hit RHP to begin with.

How would you like to see the A’s set up their infield for 2027? There are many options, even absent De Vries for a while, but are any of them good enough? Or do the A’s need to set their sights on some new blood this off-season?

RHP Randy Vásquez seems to be working toward becoming the San Diego Padres’ Swiss Army knife in their pitching staff. Acquired from the New York Yankees, along with Michael King, as part of the Juan Soto trade, Vasquez came to the team as a starting pitcher. 

That role was the only one he had with the Yankees. Debuting at the age of 24, Vásquez started five games for New York, pitching 37.2 innings with a 2.87 ERA. After being traded to the Padres before the 2024 season, the righty started 20 games for the Friars and pitched 98 innings. He had a 4.87 ERA as a back-of-the-rotation arm, with 62 strikeouts to 29 walks. The command of his stuff was not great, and he worked around a lot of traffic on the bases due to walks.

In the 2025 season, Vásquez threw 133.2 innings in 28 appearances and 26 starts. His ERA of 3.84 was significantly improved, with 78 strikeouts to 52 walks. He became known by the Strandy Vasquez nickname with his penchant for walks and skill at working to get outs with multiple runners on base.

Vásquez featured seven pitches during that season, relying mostly on his cutter/four-seam combination for 46% of his pitches. He threw his sinker 19% of the time and his sweeper 13%. His curve, changeup, and slider were all less than 15% usage.

Going into this year, Vásquez reported a change in his preparation for the season with weight training and working on his mental approach. He has had a mentor/mentee relationship with RHP Yu Darvish since joining the organization, and he credits Darvish with helping him in his preparation for games and his mental work.

Now in his age 27 season, Vásquez has shown significant growth as a starter. He can still lapse into the command issues seen earlier in his career. He had a stretch in July, after coming back from the injured list, when he looked a bit like the 2025 Vasquez.

Other than those 14 innings in July, Vasquez has a sub-4.00 ERA every other month of the season and has a 2.60 ERA in 45 innings pitched post All-Star break.

Besides his increased physical strength and increased focus and preparation, the player and his coaches have reworked his pitch usage this year.

Now, he throws his four-seam 31% of the time and it averages 95 mph, up from the 93 mph of last year. His cutter is now used 24% of the time, and his sinker at 16%.  His changeup, curveball, slider, and sweeper are all now less than 10% usage. He walks hitters much less than in previous seasons. In 129 innings pitched, Vásquez has 81 strikeouts to 35 walks. That gives him a 6.5% walk rate versus a 9.1% from 2025.

His stats as a reliever are not as reassuring for this year. In 18 innings over six appearances, Vasquez has a 5.00 ERA versus his 3.81 ERA in 111 innings over 22 starts. 

With the addition of Nick Pivetta back into the starting rotation, the Padres have put Vásquez into the bullpen, allowing the overworked relievers to get a little help. In his first relief outing since the change, Vasquez pitched 1.1 innings against the Nationals with one hit. Unfortunately, that was a double that allowed the two runners on base to score. Starter Casey Mize was charged with three earned runs because of that hit.

It appears this will be his role going forward. Vásquez will try to be a high-value reliever out of the bullpen and can pitch in length as well as piggyback a starter who is having a rough day. His acceptance of his role is not an issue, as he has stated on multiple occasions his willingness to do anything to help the team win.

His new focus and effectiveness should serve him well in his new role.