Taylor landed on the IL (retroactive to Aug. 30) after missing the last few days with a left hamstring strain. In a corresponding move, infielder/DH Jared Young was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse.
New York had hoped that Taylor would be able to avoid the IL after he first experienced tightness on Friday, but that proved not to be the case after his workout on Monday didn't provide promising results.
“We didn’t want to push it, obviously, and put him at risk,” manager Carlos Mendoza said on Tuesday. “We just decided to kinda slow this thing down and put him on the IL. Hopefully, it’s not too long.”
Since the All-Star break, Taylor is batting .245 (12-for-49) with a .654 OPS in 23 games.
Young played in 18 games early this year for the Mets, last appearing in just one game in July, right before the break in Kansas City. He has seven hits in 41 at-bats (.171) with three home runs and a double for a .637 OPS on the year. In 66 games at Syracuse, he is batting .306 with 13 doubles and 15 home runs for a .964 OPS.
While Young is not a center fielder, after recalling Luisangel Acuña on Monday, the club has options to spell Cedric Mullins in center during Taylor's absence.
Herget last pitched for the Mets on Thursday, delivering 2.2 innings of scoreless relief with one hit and two strikeouts against Miami. The righty dealt 2.1 innings of scoreless ball with just two hits in his first appearance with the club on July 21 after he was signed to a minor league deal following his release by the Atlanta Braves.
Waddell pitched 4.1 innings of scoreless relief on Sunday against the Marlins, allowing just three hits and two walks while striking out four. Across 11 games (one start) for the Mets this year, the 31-year-old has pitched to a 3.45 ERA and 1.27 WHIP with 22 strikeouts to 11 walks.
We are officially in the fantasy baseball championship push.
Whether you’re trying to hold onto a top spot, pushing the leader, desperately trying to play catch up, or positioning yourself for playoff matchups, reinforcements and upside are vital this time of year.
Most waiver wires have been picked over though and it’s difficult to find impact players readily available in most leagues at this point in the season.
Fear not, because there are still a handful of available players that have the chance to be difference makers that help push us towards glory.
Out for more than a calendar year as he recovered from Tommy John surgery, Bradish has been better than expected upon returning. Through two starts, he’s struck out 15 batters and walked two in 10 innings and only allowed four earned runs (3.60 ERA).
Most of that production came in his first start off the injured list when he struck out 10 Red Sox over six innings and allowed two runs via two solo homers.
His slider and curveball were sharp and combined for 11 total swings-and-misses while his fastball and sinker each sat around 95 mph, exactly where they were pre-surgery. It was a very encouraging return.
He struggled a bit more with the Padres on Monday, where he only completed four innings and allowed six total base runners.
Yet, he was dealing with an erratic strike zone from home plate umpire Gabe Morales and didn’t allow much hard contact at all. If a 35-pitch second inning that spun off the rails went a bit different, we could’ve been looking at back-to-back excellent starts.
Apart from these great results and prominence of his breaking stuff, there’s been an interesting change to Bradish’s fastball shape over these two starts.
Over the last few seasons, he pushed his four-seam fastball mostly out of his repertoire to make room for more sinkers. That is, until these last two starts.
It makes sense why he would’ve: opposing hitters slugged over .500 against that fastball since he debuted in 2022 and it had an unspectacular movement profile without any ride and lots of cut to his glove-side.
Now, for the first time in his career, he’s getting some legitimate vertical action on that pitch. It's added over two inches of induced vertical break (IVB) over these two starts compared to before his surgery and is better than league average there for the first time in his career.
I still don’t know if that pitch can get whiffs, but simply not getting crushed could be a big deal as Bradish still has two elite breaking balls and a solid sinker that he can command beautifully. Just check out this sequence to Jarren Duran last week where he worked his slider, that new cut-ride fastball, and a gorgeous front-hip sinker for a strikeout.
Just a ridiculous sequence from Kyle Bradish:
- soft/tight spin inside ⤵️
- hard heat cut up and in⤵️
- front door heat with armside run
There was fair skepticism surrounding how effective Bradish could be after a nearly 15-month layoff and 6.06 ERA at Triple-A while he was rehabbing. He’s silenced that doubt though and looks like he could go on a tear over this final month of the season.
Payton Tolle, SP Red Sox
(31% Rostered on Yahoo)
Tolle joined Jonah Tong (48% rostered on Yahoo) last Friday as 22-year-olds to make their major league debuts.
Tong was drafted out of high school, spent the last few years developing in the Mets’ critically acclaimed pitching lab, and struck out nearly 40% of all the hitters he faced coming up through the minors. He had a quick rise to the majors, but it made sense given his fantastic stuff and results.
The speed of Tolle’s ascent was even more shocking.
Drafted in the second round of the 2024 draft out of TCU, he was a breakout star that season after transferring in from Wichita State. He didn’t pitch professionally after the draft and began this season at High-A.
Then, was promoted to Double-A Greenville towards the end of June and only made nine appearances in the upper minors before reaching the bigs. He threw just 91 2/3 total innings in the minor leagues.
Through every level, he had a 3.04 ERA and struck out 133 batters with just 23 walks. That came out to a 36.5% strikeout rate and 6.3% walk rate, respectively.
Incredible results aside, a pitcher like Tolle needed to showcase MLB-caliber stuff to rise through a system that quickly and be expected to contribute to a playoff team. He has that stuff and then some.
His fastball sits at 96 mph from the left side with slightly above average ride from his three-quarters arm slot and 7.5 feet of extension. He relied on it for 60% of his total pitches in his debut and by all intents and purposes, it’s already one of the best fastballs by any lefty starter in the league. Check out how explosive it is.
Past that exceptional heater, he has a slew of secondaries that he mixed.
His cutter was the most thrown among them at 24% against an all right-handed Pirates lineup. It forced two swings-and-misses and sat at 90 mph with good bite. His changeup forced two whiffs, and that was only against three total swings. Lastly, his slider only forced one and it could’ve been the ugliest swing he got all night.
The command of those secondaries is certainly iffy and he’ll need to locate them better to get more chases. Plus, Fenway Park is a brutal place to pitch.
Still, that fastball is so good that you have to pick Tolle up now and figure out the rest later.
Sal Stewart, 2B/3B Reds
(9% Rostered on Yahoo)
Promoted without the same fanfare as Tolle or Tong, Stewart comes to the Reds as one of the most well-rounded hitting prospects from the upper minors this season.
Through 118 games at Double-A and Triple-A, he hit 20 homers and 34 doubles with a .309/.383/.524 slash line. That came with 17 stolen bases, a 15.6% strikeout rate, and 9.3% walk rate. Like I said, this is a rather complete skill set.
Those hard-hit numbers are gaudy and his 113.7 mph max exit velocity tells us that there’s enough raw power here to expect something like a 30 homer hitter. Also, he can pull the ball, lift the ball, and run a high contact rate given how often he swings.
At the end of the day, this is a hitter that can do serious damage in a park like Great American Ballpark with any level of consistent playing time.
Stewart’s problem has always been on the other side of the ball though as scouts have been critical of his defense. He spent nearly all of his time at the upper minors playing third base with some time at second base sprinkled in. Yet, he made his major league debut at first as Spencer Steer was out tending to a nagging leg injury.
The injury hasn’t been serious enough to put Steer on the IL though and it’s telling that Stewart was promoted as the rosters expanded on September 1st, rather than to replace an incumbent infielder.
Ke’Bryan Hayes has hit well since coming over from the Pirates and may be the best third base defender in the league. That spot is his for the time being.
Matt McLain has had a disappointing season at the plate and has lost some playing time over the last month to Santiago Espinal. Both are plus defenders, but neither can hit. McLain more so is stuck in a terrible season while Espinal has a career .666 OPS. Stewart would be an immediate upgrade over either at the plate.
Stewart can – and probably should – find at least a part-time role over the next few weeks between second and first given McLain and Steer’s struggles. His profile as a hitter makes him worth a flier in deeper leagues on the decent chance that he gets that shot.
Chaos erupted during the Giants’ game against the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday before an out even had been recorded at Coors Field.
San Francisco slugger Rafael Devers hit his third home run in as many games in the top of the first inning — a two-run shot that was followed by an exchange of words with Rockies pitcher Kyle Freeland, which then led to an all-out brawl between both teams.
Rafael Devers' massive homer leads to a benches-clearing brawl at Coors Field 😲 pic.twitter.com/3difBlh3tR
After things had cooled down, the umpire crew engaged in a lengthy delay while they decided who would be punished for the altercation, where some slapping and shoving took place. All in all, the game paused for about 13 minutes.
Giants third baseman Matt Chapman and shortstop Willy Adames — whose birthday is Tuesday — both were ejected from the game for their part in the fight, along with Freeland. And in the end, Devers got to finish his home run trot with San Francisco up 2-0.
On defense, Devers moved from first to third, Dominic Smith came in to play first base, Casey Schmitt came in to play second and Christian Koss moved from second to shortstop.
The Giants’ farm system has had an impressive 2025 season, making the largest jump of any organization in MLB.com’s August rankings.
This past week, two Giants prospects particularly showed out to earn recognition in Baseball America’s Hot Sheet, which highlights the 20 hottest players in the minor leagues.
The hype around Marco Luciano has faded after he was a mainstay among the MLB’s top 100 prospects for several years. But the 23-year-old slugger had a huge week with Triple-A Sacramento to earn the No. 20 spot on this list.
Now primarily playing in left field, Luciano went 9-for-22 with four extra-base hits and eight runs across five games. His massive home run to center field on Sunday only went 436 feet (not 508 feet as initially listed by Statcast) for his 23rd of the season.
“With weeks like this, it’s easy to still hold out a flicker of hope for Luciano, the Giants’ former top prospect whose star has faded in recent years as he’s scuffled at Triple-A,” Baseball America’s Josh Norris wrote. “He hasn’t torn it up this year, but his last two months have provided reason for optimism. Since July 1, Luciano, who is days away from turning 24, has hit .252/.411/.585 with eight doubles, 11 home runs and nearly as many walks (34) as strikeouts (36).”
At No. 9 is a new face in the Giants’ organization, outfielder Parks Harber. The 23-year-old was acquired at the MLB trade deadline when San Francisco sent Camilo Doval to the New York Yankees.
Landing Parks Harber at the deadline from the Yankees looks like a good move by the Giants so far.
Playing with the Giants’ High-A affiliate in Eugene, Harber batted 9-for-24 with a whopping five home runs in just one week.
“Harber, acquired from the Yankees in the Camilo Doval trade, brings a power-first profile to the organization,” Jesús Cano detailed. “He launched 20 homers during his senior season at North Carolina, and that raw strength has continued to translate in pro ball. That power erupted this week with a five-homer outburst. If he can build on that momentum, Harber could become a slugging threat.”
Though Harber currently isn’t listed among the Giants’ top 30 prospects according to MLB Pipeline or Baseball America, the organization will hope he can continue this momentum through the rest of the season and beyond.
San Diego Padres pitcher Jason Adam ruptured a quad tendon while trying to field a comebacker against the Baltimore Orioles at Petco Park on Monday. (Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)
San Diego Padres pitcher Jason Adam is out for the season after he ruptured a quad tendon Monday when planting his left foot while trying to field a comebacker.
Now we know what can tilt a pennant race between two teams whose performance has been roughly even with a month to go before the playoffs.
An injury is never celebrated, but it can prompt a feeling of relief, which is probably the Dodgers' unspoken reaction.
Adam, you see, is untouchable when pitching against the Dodgers. He has never given up a run to them in 15 appearances dating back to 2019.
A 6-foot-3, right-handed reliever with a funky, short-armed delivery, Adam hasn't been scored on in six appearances against the Dodgers this season, five appearances last season — including three in the National League Division Series — two more in 2023 and two in 2019.
Dodgers hitters are seven for 51 (.137) with one double, two walks and 16 strikeouts in 15 1/3 innings against Adam, who usually pitches the seventh or eighth inning, although he does have 24 career saves.
Adam is tough for anyone to hit, despite being particularly dominant against Los Angeles. Acquired by the Padres from the Tampa Bay Rays at the 2024 trade deadline, he is 11-4 with a 1.37 earned-run average in 92 appearances since then.
Now, though, he is sidelined until 2026, and the Padres recognize that the loss is profound.
“When that happens, you focus on the big picture, his health, what it means to the team,” Padres outfielder Gavin Sheets told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “It definitely puts a dark cloud over the day for all of us.”
The Padres — like the Dodgers — have lost key players to injury. Shortstop Xander Bogaerts is on the injured list with a fracture in his left foot. All-Star right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. pulled his right hamstring Sunday and did not play Monday.
General manager A.J. Preller fortified the roster at the trading deadline, and Adam told him after the injury Monday that he was grateful for the addition of dynamic reliever Mason Miller.
"I told A.J., I’m really glad he went out and got Mason," Adam told reporters. "I’m excited to cheer those guys on.
"Knowing this group, the mental toughness they have, the skill, there is everything in this clubhouse to win the World Series. You want to be a part of that.... That’s the hardest part."
The Dodgers figured they had tilted the bullpen balance in their direction when they signed Padres closer Tanner Scott to a four-year, $72-million free-agent contract during the offseason.
But Scott has been disappointing, posting a 4.44 ERA with eight blown saves for the Dodgers, including giving up a three-run home run Sunday.
Miller, meanwhile, has a 1.64 ERA in 11 appearances with the Padres. All he could think about Monday was his teammate Adam.
"Really heartbreaking.... obviously, it sucks losing him, not only for what he does on the mound but the type of person he is," Miller said.
Though the Red Sox have thrived since trading away Rafael Devers in June, they haven’t had much to show for the deal in terms of the players they acquired making meaningful contributions in Boston.
The team is hoping that will change this week, as left-hander Kyle Harrison reportedly is due to make his Red Sox debut.
MLB.com’s Ian Browne further clarified that while the starting pitcher for Wednesday’s game has yet to be decided, Harrison projects to be pitching either as a starter or in relief in the series finale against the Guardians.
When rosters expanded on Monday, the Red Sox called up pitcher Zack Kelly and catcher Ali Sanchez. Kelly, who has a 5.56 ERA and 1.456 WHIP in 17 appearances for Boston this season, could be the choice to send back down to Worcester to make room for Harrison on Wednesday.
A 24-year-old lefty, Harrison does have big league experience, having made 39 appearances (35 starts) with San Francisco since 2023. He’s just 9-9 with a 4.59 ERA and 1.297 WHIP in those outings. Since joining the Red Sox organization, he’s pitched for Triple-A Worcester, going 4-2 with a 3.65 ERA and 1.561 WHIP in his 11 starts.
Walks have been an issue, with Harrison issuing 26 free passes in his 49.1 innings of work, limiting him to a 1.85 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He also hasn’t been able to go too deep into games, averaging just over 4.1 innings per start.
Yet Harrison has been solid for Worcester after a shaky adjustment period, when he allowed 11 earned runs over 13 innings (7.62 ERA) in his first three starts. Since then, he’s allowed just nine earned runs over 36.1 innings (2.23 ERA) over his last nine starts.
Alex Cora and the Red Sox have been monitoring that progress, with the manager telling the media in mid-August that Harrison was part of the team’s potential solutions to issues with the rotation.
Given his ample major league experience, Harrison does not qualify as a prospect. Nevertheless, the Red Sox are hoping for another positive injection of youth to the rotation as they continue their push toward a postseason berth.
As for the rest of the return for Devers, Jordan Hicks has a 6.38 ERA and 1.800 WHIP in 20 relief appearances. The Red Sox traded the outfielder acquired in the Devers trade (James Tibbs III) as part of the package to acquire Dustin May (1-4, 5.68 ERA in five starts), while 20-year-old Jose Bello has been pitching for Single-A Salem since being acquired.
When Harrison joins the Red Sox, he’ll do so in the midst of a heated playoff race in the AL East. Boston enters Tuesday tied with the Yankees for the top wild-card spot in the American League, while both teams also sit just 2.5 games behind Toronto in the AL East.
While facing a big-league team is never “easy,” Harrison shouldn’t have the roughest welcome back to the majors against the Guardians, who own an MLB-worst .223 team batting average and 29th-ranked .660 team OPS. Those numbers are even worse against lefties, with the team batting just .219 with a .631 against southpaws.
In nine starts this season, Manaea -- who has a 5.60 ERA and 1.24 WHIP -- has pitched into the sixth inning just once. And he has failed to complete five innings in three of his last six outings.
Pitching the day before Manaea, Kodai Sengaallowed five runs on seven hits in 4.2 innings against a bad Marlins team.
It's been a tale of two seasons for Senga, who has a 5.90 ERA (5.75 FIP) in 39.2 innings over nine starts since returning from his hamstring injury -- and who has been trying to get his mechanics right for quite some time.
Against the backdrop of Manaea and Senga struggling (while often putting the team behind the eight ball and taxing the bullpen) is the Mets' new six-man rotation, which also features David Peterson, Clay Holmes, and rookies Nolan McLean and Jonah Tong.
What that means specifically is anyone's guess. Perhaps one of them will have a start skipped. Maybe one or both will be used in a piggyback situation.
What doesn't seem to be happening is either one landing on the IL.
Sep 1, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Sean Manaea (59) throws a pitch against the Detroit Tigers in the first inning at Comerica Park. / Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images
Manaea, who is pitching with loose bodies in his left elbow, says he's fine. And there is seemingly nothing physical ailing Senga.
No matter how the Mets attempt to get Senga and Manaea back on the right track, though, it's time to add the flamethrowing Triple-A Syracuse right-handerBrandon Sproatto the rotation situation.
Sproat, who watched both McLean and Tong reach the majors before him (with Tong needing just two Triple-A starts before being deemed ready), made an emphatic statement in his latest start following a blip last week when he was used in relief.
While firing 7.0 shutout innings on Saturday, Sproat allowed just three hits while walking two and striking out nine.
Since making a change ahead of his start on June 28 -- basically deciding to be more aggressive and let it fly -- Sproat has a 2.44 ERA in 59.0 innings.
He's also been missing bats at a higher clip, racking up eight or more strikeouts on five occasions since then after not doing so at all over his first 15 games of the season.
There are two big questions regarding Sproat.
The first is when to possibly insert him into the rotation, while the second obviously revolves around how he'll perform in the majors.
With New York in the heat of a pennant race and facing the Tigers, Reds, and Phillies during a current 10-game road trip, there really isn't a safe landing spot to toss Sproat into the mix.
But that should not be a deterrent for a team that has watched Senga and Manaea struggle, has seen Peterson wobble a bit lately, and is smartly treading carefully with Holmes as he continues to add more innings to a season total that is already more than 70 past his prior career-high.
As far as how Sproat will fare if given the chance, there's only one way to find out.
McLean has been dominant since being called up and Tong showed moxie in his strong debut, but -- as Mendoza explained last week before Tong's debut when he was trying to smack down any Tong/McLean comparisons -- these prospects should not be compared to one another.
In any event, it could make sense for the Mets to have Sproat start Friday's series-opener against the Reds in Cincinnati, use Tong on Saturday, have Peterson go on Sunday, and skip Senga's turn to allow him time to work on some things.
In order to fit Sproat on the 28-man roster, the Mets could conceivably choose one of Brandon Waddell or Justin Hagenman to be sent back to Triple-A.
As far as how to fit Sproat in for the remaining three weeks or so of regular season games, that might be a bit of a juggling act. But it's an act worth doing as the Mets attempt to secure a postseason berth. They cannot simply keep trotting Senga and Manaea out there every sixth day and hope for different results.
Rafael Devers earned his first accolade in a Giants uniform.
San Francisco’s slugging first baseman was named the National League Co-Player of the Week with Philadelphia Phillies star Kyle Schwarber, MLB announced Tuesday.
Devers, over his last seven games, batted .481/.563/1.000 with four home runs, 11 RBI and five walks. Schwarber, over his last seven games, batted .207/.281/.690 with four home runs, nine RBI and three walks.
While those seven-game numbers certainly are lopsided in Devers’ favor, Schwarber had a historic day at the plate in Philadelphia’s 19-4 win over the Atlanta Braves on Thursday, blasting four home runs and driving in nine runs in one game.
If it were not for that one game, though, there is no question who would win the award outright.
Here's what to know about the game and how to watch...
Mets Notes
Juan Soto is hitting .294/.460/.706 with 11 home runs, 27 RBI, 27 runs scored, and nine stolen bases in 113 plate appearances over his last 24 games dating back to Aug. 6
Ryne Stanekhas tossed three consecutive scoreless outings
Nolan McLean has a 0.89 ERA and 0.68 WHIP in 20.1 innings over his first three big league starts
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Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw throws during the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds last Tuesday at Dodger Stadium. Kershaw went five innings against the Reds to pick up his fifth victory in August. (Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
Eric Yavarone knew where the question was going, before it was even fully asked.
When stopped by a reporter near the dugout recently, in the midst of hauling an assortment of training equipment back to the clubhouse at the end of a Dodgers pregame workout, the team’s athletic development coordinator began to be queried on the evolution of Clayton Kershaw’s training routine — and how, at age 37, it has helped the future Hall of Famer manufacture a renaissance performance in his 18th MLB season.
For the uninitiated, the “bowl” is essentially a player’s hip/pelvis/lower-back area. It is not an official medical term. You won’t find it in any anatomy or biology textbooks. Yavarone can’t even remember exactly when, or how, he first coined the phrase.
But when it came to working with Kershaw, the idea of the “bowl” helped trigger a profound physical breakthrough.
For a player long reluctant to changing his old vigorous training routine, it provided a different way to think about maintaining his body.
“The bowl is like your hip, this stuff right here,” Kershaw said recently, while circling his hands around his hips and midsection. “[The training staff told me], ‘Your bowl doesn’t move the way it should.’ And they were like, ‘Hey, we can fix that.’”
After years of back problems, then surgeries the last two offseasons on his shoulder, foot and knee, Kershaw has produced a resurgent 2025 season — thanks in no small part to how well his “bowl” is now moving.
He might not throw as hard as he once did, barely hitting 90 mph with his fastball even on his best days. He doesn’t overpower opponents the way he could in his prime, relying more on consistent command, pitch sequencing and veteran guile to post a 9-2 record and 3.06 ERA in 17 starts this year.
What is different now, however, is how much better his body feels on a daily basis, and how open he has become to new ways of maintaining it.
“I’ve changed a lot over the years, and our guys have really helped me see what I need to work on and get better at,” Kershaw said at this year’s All-Star Game, when he was the most senior selection to the Midsummer Classic. “My hips and my back have never felt better … That’s a credit to our guys. They’ve really helped me with that.”
Once upon a time, Kershaw adhered to a strict routine in the weight room. It revolved around rudimentary weightlifting; first and foremost, sets of back squats the day after he took the mound. It was predicated on high intensity, unwavering regimentation and, above all else, strenuously heavy reps.
“You always lift heavy,” Kershaw said, recounting his longtime approach to off-the-field training. “You always put weight on your back. You always move it, no matter how you feel.”
In his prime, that system served Kershaw well. It helped build his internal “engine,” in the words of Brandon McDaniel, the club’s former head strength coach and current major-league development integration coach. It honed the lower body and core strength that drove his powerful delivery — a behind-the-scenes bedrock in his rise to becoming a three-time Cy Young Award winner and generationally dominant left-handed star.
“Back-squatting gives you a certain feel,” McDaniel said. “It makes you feel your butt, it makes you feel your core, it makes you feel like you can push on the ground and do a lot of really good things.”
But as Kershaw got older, his routine also came with increasingly damaging physical side effects.
He admittedly lacked great form at the squat rack, which put his back under constant stress. And when he’d pitch, all the force his internal strength created would be absorbed by the same part of the body. Without knowing it, he was suffering from a bad “bowl” that was compounded by his annually heavy innings workload. Eventually, the toll of it all caught up with him.
“That’s one of my biggest regrets in life,” Kershaw told author Andy McCullough in his biography, "The Last of His Kind," “that I back-squatted for as long as I did.”
Starting in 2016, Kershaw’s back issues began keeping him off the mound.
That season, he missed more than two months with a herniated disc, one that nearly required a major back surgery. Over the next six years, he endured five more injured list stints for back-related ailments.
Even when he was “healthy” over that span, Kershaw would often wake up in the morning with a stiff back or aching hips. Pushing through the persistent pain only caused him more mental exhaustion.
“When you don’t feel good, that’s all you think about,” Kershaw said. “That type of mental energy — like, ‘Oh gosh, am I gonna feel good?’ — it’s not conducive to pitching well.”
Over the years, Dodgers trainers had tried to help Kershaw adapt. When he was still strength coach, McDaniel preached the importance of supplementary traits, such as hip mobility and core stabilization.
“Kersh has always been open to the next thing or the new thing,” McDaniel said.
Changes, however, came slowly. Alter his routine too much, Kershaw worried, and his pitching might suffer.
“I was just stubborn,” Kershaw said. “It was just the routine of it.”
This is where the “bowl” comes in.
Fans get a glimpse of Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw warming up in the outfield before the game against the Chicago White Sox in which he recorded his 3,000th career strikeout on July 3. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
After re-signing with the Dodgers following MLB’s 2022 lockout, Kershaw reported to Dodgers camp as an “open book” to training staff, current major league strength coach Travis Smith recalled.
Yavarone remembered one conversation with Kershaw specifically.
“People have told me to do this before,” the pitcher told him. “So I probably need to.”
Thus, the Dodgers staff brainstormed ways to get their message across, and have the steadfast Kershaw to buy-in to their suggested changes.
From that process, Yavarone came up with the “bowl” as an analogy — providing Kershaw a more tangible way to understand how all the smaller muscles in his midsection interacted, and how a more holistic training program could pay dividends to his health and his pitching.
“It was giving him more of the ‘why,’ showing him the anatomy part of it,” Yavarone said. “I think with him, if he feels you believe in what you want him to do, if you’re convicted when you tell him what you got for him, I think he likes that.”
The first modifications were small, right down to new breathing patterns for Kershaw to try during his core work.
“He would get a little frustrated in the beginning, trying to figure out how to do it,” Yavarone said with a laugh. “But even if he gets frustrated, or can’t figure it out at first, he’s like, ‘It’s all right. Let’s come back the next day and do it.’”
As the days started stacking up, so did the new techniques that the Dodgers’ staff introduced.
Kershaw would still lift heavy, and push the intensity in his gym work. But now, it was paired with other tactics too: Isometric holds in the middle of reps, as a more static way to build muscle strength. Mobility drills between his most strenuous exercises, which increased his core stability and the range of motion in his hips. They even incorporated alternative training equipment into his workouts, using water-bags and 3D straps as less taxing complements for barbells and heavy weights.
“I think with injury comes wisdom,” Smith said. “He’s able to see, ‘Man, I continue to get injured. What is it that I can do differently?’”
Slowly but surely, Kershaw's back started feeling looser. His hips started feeling freer. And his “bowl,” Yavarone now proudly declares, is moving the way they long envisioned.
“You don’t have to go in [the weight room] and kill yourself, but you gotta go in there and reposition your body in a way that you feel good the next day,” Kershaw explained. “I don’t know what the answer is, but our guys do. And I just listen to them.”
It took a while for Kershaw to reap the benefits of such changes.
Just as his back began to improve, he suffered a shoulder injury in the second half of the 2023 season that led to his first-ever surgery that winter. After spending the first half of 2024 rehabbing from that, he returned for seven starts last year before again being shelved by a long bothersome toe injury, leading to another offseason procedure.
At either point, he could have called it a career, and not subjected himself to the long road of getting back in pitching shape.
But all along, he felt he still had something in the tank. Which is why, as soon as he could this winter, he was back in the gym at a training center near his home in Dallas, doubling down on the workout alterations that, like the Dodgers, his personal offseason trainers had also been urging him to make.
“He’s done a great job of allowing us to, not forcefully push him into that, but say, ‘Dude, you don’t have to squat. You don’t have to deadlift all this weight. You don’t have to do these things,’” said Jason Kharman, who has worked with Kershaw since 2017 as the co-founder of Corpus Performance in Dallas. “As he got older, he just realized, ‘Yeah, I don’t need to do this heavy stuff anymore. I know how to pitch. I know how to handle everything on the mound. I just need to be healthy.’ And you see that this year.”
That doesn’t mean the quality of Kershaw’s stuff on the bump is back where he wants it. In the wake of his shoulder, foot and knee surgeries, syncing up his mechanics has been more of a challenge.
“I used to be able to just throw a ball perfectly every time, and not even think about it. Just perfect backspin. Just roll out of bed and do that,” Kershaw said. “Now, I’m kind of searching for that a little bit. I can still do it. It’s just not as consistent. So it takes a lot more focus to throw a baseball.”
But now, that focus isn’t being sidetracked by worries about his body, or limitations to his “bowl.”
On multiple occasions this season, he has noted how fresh he physically feels.
“You can tell, when he's more approachable, when he's not as edgy, he's in a better spot physically,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Obviously, when he pitches, he has that edge still. But yeah, I haven't heard boo about anything as far as any physical kind of thing, outside of just the grind of the season.”
The grind, of course, is what Kershaw enjoys most. And this season, he has gotten better the more he has pitched.
In August, he posted a 5-0 record with a 1.88 ERA that ranked third among National League starters for the month. In his last start, a five-inning, one-run victory over the Cincinnati Reds last week, he recorded his second-most strikeouts this season (six) even after moving up in the team’s rotation to pitch on four days’ rest (something he has done three times this year, more than any other Dodgers starter).
“I’m in awe, to be honest,” McDaniel said. “Every time he gets done, I just want to walk up and thank him. I know he would find that extremely odd. But I’m extremely grateful and blessed just to get to watch him. And I know all of our guys feel the same way.”
Amid it all, Kershaw and Yavarone have also struck up an inside joke. Whenever they’re together on the field or in the gym, Kershaw will often inquire about the “bowl” of other players.
“He’ll be like, ‘How’s this guy’s bowl? How’s that guy’s bowl?’” Yavarone said with a chuckle. “Or if he sees any of us doing some hip mobility stuff, or some core breathing stuff [with someone else], he’ll be like, ‘Bad bowl?’ It’s kinda created a little bit of its own thing.”
It’s yet another small reflection of Kershaw’s newfound perspective on training, physical maintenance and how — even deep into his 30s — he has changed his once-staunch outlook on how to care for his body.
“It takes the right kind of people to get through to me, because I’m stubborn, and I’ve done it — or did it — one way for a long time,” Kershaw said. “But the group that we have here is special … They know how to get through to you. They know how to talk. They’re just smart, and they’re good at what they do. So it gives me buy-in, because they’re so bought in.”
SAN DIEGO (AP) Dylan Beavers singled home the go-ahead run with two outs in the seventh inning, two batters after All-Star reliever Jason Adam collapsed in pain on the mound, and the Baltimore Orioles beat the San Diego Padres 4-3 on Monday.
San Diego has lost six of eight and dropped 2 1/2 games behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West.
Adam was carted off the field after rupturing a left quadriceps tendon when he tried to turn toward Gunnar Henderson’s chopper that went off the mound for an infield single. The right-hander immediately signaled for an athletic trainer and grabbed his left knee. He could be seen saying he “felt something pop.”
After receiving attention from Padres trainers, Adam (8-4) was helped to his feet and into a cart, with his left leg propped up on the seat. He said he expects to miss the rest of the season.
Fellow All-Star Robert Suarez came on and struck out pinch-hitter Colton Cowser but then allowed Beavers' hit to right field that brought in Jeremiah Jackson, who had singled ahead of Henderson.
Padres starter Dylan Cease retired his first four batters before allowing a single and a walk with one out in the second, followed by Samuel Basallo's two-run double.
San Diego tied it when Kyle Bradish walked Gavin Sheets and Jake Cronenworth to open the bottom half and then allowed a one-out RBI single by Bryce Johnson and a two-out RBI single by Luis Arraez.
Jackson homered off All-Star reliever Adrián Morejón in the fifth to regain the lead for Baltimore before Ramón Laureano hit an RBI single with two outs in the bottom half against his former team.
Keegan Akin struck out Luis Arraez with a runner on first to earn his fourth save. Dietrich Enns (2-2) got the win.
Arraez singled in the seventh for his 1,000th career hit and third of the day.
Orioles RHP Tyler Wells makes his season debut Tuesday night after rehabbing from elbow surgery in 2024. The Padres will counter with RHP Yu Darvish (3-4, 5.66 ERA).
Manaea gave up a home run on his first pitch of the game and went on to allow a total of five runs over 3.2 IP. It's his third straight game without making it through the fifth inning as he's gone 0-1 with a 6.89 ERA over his last seven starts.
With the Mets in a tight playoff race, the team can't afford any more bad outings by starting pitchers.
And it's not just Manaea who's been struggling, following Kodai Senga's disappointing outing on Sunday to the Miami Marlins,manager Carlos Mendoza hinted at a possible change in the rotation. When asked if he views Manaea's spot in the rotation similarly up for discussion as Senga's, Mendoza said both are still part of it.
"They're part of the rotation," Mendoza said. "Our job is to try and find a way to help them. And that's what we'll do and then we'll go from there."
Mendoza added that the Mets need to keep working on helping them return to form, while noting that Manaea's issues are related to him not getting the right amount of elevation his fastball.
"I think the discussion is, 'How are we going to help these guys?,' because they've been right there for us when we need them," Mendoza said. "Manaea was one of them. Senga was obviously down last year but at the beginning of the year. Our job is to continue to go back and look for ways to help these guys.
"Right now, the biggest thing for Sean is he's not elevating the fastball. He's getting hit with it. And obviously not able to use the changeup and sweeper the way he wants to, but it starts with him elevating that fastball -- what makes effective last year. And right now he's having a hard time doing that. Our job, either it's him, Senga, and all of those guys, is to continue to support him and try to find a way to help him. Obviously they're frustrated and they know they're better. It's our job to help them."
Manaea was asked about the problems getting his fastball up in the zone, but is still searching for the answers.
"I have no idea," Manaea said. "I don't know, I have no idea. I feel like I'm doing all the right things, but just not working out right now."
He added on the pitch's importance: "It's a big part of a my game, I get a lot of swing and miss up there. When it's a couple of inches below, it gets hit or it's not setting anything else up. So yeah it's pretty huge."
The left-hander has taken a step backwards this season after pitching like an ace down the stretch in 2024. After missing the beginning of the 2025 season due to injury, Manaea returned on July 13 and has gone 1-2 with a 5.60 ERA and 59 strikeouts over nine starts (10 games) and 45.0 IP. Last year, he pitched to a 3.47 ERA and 12-6 record over 32 starts, recording 184 strikeouts over 181.2 IP.
He acknowledged that it's been a disappointing season for him, unable to take his game to the next level, but will continue to work on finding a way to fix it.
"Very, I have high expectations of myself, I know this organization does," Manaea said. "Everyone's pulling their weight, everyone's doing their thing, and then I'm just not. It's very, very frustrating. Wish I had an answer for it, but I don't. I'll figure it out, just don't know when."
He added: "Just stay the course, feel like I have the right routines going. Just trying to control the things that I can control. At the end of the day I just got to execute, just be better."
Mendoza briefly discussed the team's plan for a six-man rotation moving forward earlier Monday, saying David Peterson will start on Friday against the Reds after the team's off day. He did not add any more specifics, but said they could get "creative."
Whether that means something different for Manaea or Senga remains up in the air.
Ryan Helsley had another up-and-down outing on Monday as he works to fix his pitch tipping.
The Mets' hard-throwing right-hander entered trying to protect four run lead in the bottom of the seventh.
He was immediately thrown into danger, though, as Tigers All-Star outfielder Riley Greene led off the inning with a double off the right field fence.
Helsley was able to retire the next two batters easily, but he allowed Detroit to creep closer as Zach McKinstry lifted an RBI single to right.
Carlos Mendoza then pulled him for Brooks Raley, who ended the frame.
Helsley’s ERA is now up to an ugly 9.31 mark in 13 outings since being acquired from the Cardinals.
He’s allowed a baserunner in 11 of those appearances, and he's given up at least one run in six of them.
Despite another shaky showing, Mendoza actually liked what he saw from Helsley on Monday.
“I honestly thought he was better,” the skipper said. “They came out aggressive, a lot of first-pitch swinging. The groundball gets through and then the soft line drive, but he attacked and threw strikes, they just came out swinging and got him for a run.
“The fact that he threw strikes and was attacking hitters is a positive.”
For the Mets to make some noise down the stretch, they’ll need Helsley to get back to being the dominant late-inning arm he was for St. Louis.
CHICAGO — The Atlanta Braves claimed infielder Ha-Seong Kim off waivers from the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday.
Atlanta also activated shortstop Luke Williams from the 10-day injured list before its series opener against the Chicago Cubs. Right-hander Rolddy Muñoz was recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett, and infielder Austin Riley was transferred to the 60-day injured list.
Active major league rosters expanded from 26 to 28 players on Monday.
The 29-year-old Kim, who can play shortstop, second base and third, is expected to join the Braves on Tuesday. He has been on the IL with lower back inflammation since Aug. 21.
He signed a two-year, $29 million contract with Tampa Bay in February that includes a $16 million player option for next year.
Kim has been limited to 24 games this year. He is batting .214 with two homers and five RBIs.
Kim made his big league debut with San Diego in 2021. He hit .242 with 47 homers, 200 RBIs and 78 stolen bases in 540 games over four seasons with the Padres.
Williams, 29, had been sidelined by a left oblique strain. Riley, 28, had season-ending core surgery last month.
Matthew Pouliot
