Category: MLB

Let’s start this by going back to what I said about the starting pitching coming into this season — particularly about Bryce Elder:

This is your reminder that Elder led the Braves in innings pitched last season and did so by just over 30 innings over Chris Sale. As I said to start this post, as long as that doesn’t repeat itself then the Braves should be fine and the Braves should be okay with Elder being a fifth starter for however long this may take.

Welp, here we are: It’s August 26 and Bryce Elder is once again leading the Braves in innings pitched. It’s not by as much as last season but he’s once again at the top of the proverbial Kennesaw Mountain when it comes to innings pitched for the Cobb County baseball club. And as we all predicted, the Braves are in the midst of another nightmare season where the Postseason seems out of reach and the Braves are scrambling for answ—

Oh wait, they’re in first place. Oh wait, the rotation has actually been fine, even as everybody (myself included) has suffered some varying level of crash-out about the lack of additions to the rotation. Oh wait, Bryce Elder has actually been perfectly fine this season, even with his now-trademark ups-and-downs that he’s privy to experience in any given season.

We got another example of that in Tuesday night’s season opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers, which is when Elder pitched another six strong innings and held LA to just three runs allowed and played a crucial role in keeping the Braves in it long enough to eventually make a breakthrough that led to a 4-3 victory. In fact, Elder has pitched 11.2 innings against the Dodgers across two starts this season and he’s struck out 13 Dodgers batters with just the nine hits and three runs allowed. That is a very nifty job against a team that Atlanta will likely have to go through (again) if they want to potentially lift the World Series trophy (again) in October and while the Postseason is a completely different beast, it’s surely a bit of a confidence-booster for Elder knowing that he’s capable of keeping this lineup from going wild.

When I asked him after Tuesday’s game about his performances against the Dodgers this season, Elder actually mentioned that he felt like his start against Los Angeles back in April was him at his peak. “I think those two starts against Seattle and the Dodgers [back in April] are the best that my stuff’s ever been,” stated Elder. He didn’t state that there was a common thread between the start he made back in April and the one he made on Tuesday but it’s still encouraging to hear that he felt like his best stuff came against a lineup of Los Angeles’ caliber.

It was also refreshingly candid to hear about Elder’s approach to Shohei Ohtani, who still has yet to pick up a hit againast him across those two starts. Elder was asked about a pitch in particular in the second at-bat, which is when he opened up the AB by throwing a fastball right down the middle. “I just figured that if something’s going to happen, let’s make it quick,” exclaimed Elder, which got a laugh out of the room. “The last thing I wanted to do is fall behind in that situation and give him a better chance. So I thought ‘Well, I’ll take a chance and see what happens’ and luckily he took it because it sure wasn’t supposed to be right down the middle!”

It really is kind of wild to think that Bryce Elder essentially got away with leaving a hanger to Shohei Ohtani because Ohtani probably wasn’t expecting it to come during the first pitch of the AB. That’s baseball for you and that’s an example of the chess match and guessing game that is always going on during any particular AB in any given game. Elder also came up big during his final inning, which is when he managed to avoid seeing Ohtani with the bases loaded by getting Hunter Feduccia to strike out swinging with two men on.

“Great job by Bryce getting through six,” stated Walt Weiss when he was asked about Elder’s performance on Tuesday night. “In that sixth inning, I had [Dylan] Dodd up [in the bullpen] but if bring in Dodd there, you’re going to see some pinch hitters — Teoscar [Hernández] is sitting over there and you got [Miguel] Rojas over there and they can both hit lefties really well, so I chose to let Bryce go after those guys. He did a great job getting those big outs in the sixth inning to put that inning down.”

I know that it’s still going to be pretty tough to trust Elder in the Postseason once he’s eventually called upon. You can also make the argument that the Dodgers are in a bit of a coasting mode at the moment before they turn things up in the Postseason (and their team wRC+ since the break has certainly been underwhelming) but at the same time, that still doesn’t take away from the fact that Elder has consistently gotten the job done against this Dodgers lineup so far in 2026.

It’s the type of effort that gives you hope that both Elder and the rest of the pitching staff could have what it takes to get it done in October. They’ve definitely been doing their best to keep things from going completely sideways over the past couple of weeks and now hopefully they’ll play a big role in helping to push the Braves towards a divisional title and a big run in October. We’ll see what happens.

Roman Anthony is just days away from returning to the Boston Red Sox.

“I’m hopeful to get back up there as fast as I can, so as long as everything goes well and it’s recovering well, I think I’m going to do everything I can to get back as fast as I can,” Anthony said prior to his first rehab game on Aug. 18, per MassLive’s Christopher Smith.

“I think last week was more of just kind of feeling it out, getting back to just playing baseball and getting the body in shape,” Anthony said following his first week back, per Alex Speier of The Boston Globe. “It’s to a point now where, week two, I’m looking forward to getting back into a big league game as soon as possible.”

Anthony’s most likely return date appears to be Friday, when he could make the short drive down to meet his teammates in The Bronx for a three-game series against the New York Yankees — one in which they could leap ahead in the standings and grab hold of home field advantage in the first round of the postseason against that very same team. If that is the case, he’ll almost certainly become an every day contributor in short order — which means that the organization will need to clear room at either left field or designated hitter.

If that’s the plan, there remains only one spot in the lineup for Jarren Duran or Mickey Gasper…

… and about that!

Chad Tracy has already strongly hinted it that it will be Gasper who gets the short end of the stick, with Duran playing left field and Anthony as the DH against righties and more of a rotation against lefties. This plan essentially leaves Gasper without a job.

But Gasper, as you all know, has been absolutely fantastic since being recalled on Aug. 17. The Red Sox quite literally have ridden his hot stretch to a five-game winning streak and watched him become the hottest hitter (highest OPS and fWAR) in all of baseball.

Mickey Gasper
8 Games – 29 PA
.476/.621/1.333
5 HR
3 2B
12 RBI
393 wRC+
1.0 fWAR

Duran has also been much better since someone forecasted his turnaround last month, becoming not the worst hitter in the sport.

Jarren Duran
30 Games – 118 PA
.273/.316/.464
5 HR
4 2B, 1 3B
14 RBI
110 wRC+
3/4 SB

Who stays? Who goes? Who gets his ass stapled to the bench?

The Red Sox have plenty of difficult decisions to make over the coming weeks. Anthony’s arrival not only brings about questions as to who sticks in the lineup but who sticks on the roster — Anthony, Duran, Wilyer Abreu, and Ceddanne Rafaela are locks, but can you also keep Jahmai Jones and Eli White? Trevor Story and Isiah Kiner-Falefa are on their way back, and even though at least one is willing to wait until rosters expand you’ll need to send down one of Nick Sogard, Andruw Monasterio, or Anthony Seigler. Curtis Mead might even be ready by the time the postseason starts, which means another one of those guys is gonzo.

HOW DO YOU MAKE THOSE DECISIONS?

It’s a good thing we don’t have to, that responsibility falls on the shoulders of chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and interim manager Chad Tracy.

As the New York Yankees start the week with a series against the Houston Astros, you probably noticed the continuation of a recent trend. That trend is that of four straight left-handed hitters at the top of the lineup: Trent Grisham, Ben Rice, Luis Garcia Jr., and Cody Bellinger. As much as the current numbers and the general lack of right-handed production tend to favor this choice, it is easy to become concerned with the problems such a setup raises.

At the bottom of the order, one might feel more at ease about sequencing several hitters in a row from one side of the plate due to the ability to pinch hit for some—especially true for a Yankee team with a right-handed specialists off the bench —but that opportunity isn’t there among for top hitters. It’s a paradoxical thing since you’d figure that your top hitters wouldn’t need to be pinch-hit for, but that’s not entirely true, at least not for Garcia.

The timing of this article isn’t ideal since it comes a day after Garcia had a big hit off a left-handed reliever in Steven Okert, even if it didn’t decide the game. Still, his season numbers indicate the rarity of that accomplishment, as Garcia entered the last game with a .581 OPS against southpaws in the middle of a career year. You still want and need a right-handed presence to balance the top of the order.

Once you stack the left-handed hitters like that, it becomes easy for an opposing manager to bring on a lefty specialist. As a group, this foursome has a reliable enough track record against southpaws to make this a swallowable pill, and it’s why they’re choosing this route in the first place, but it’s far from the ideal scenario. Rice has 10 homers and a 119 wRC+ against lefties this season, while Bellinger and Grisham sit at 110 and 104, respectively.

The problems with this choice are well-established; the Yankees know it, yet they’re risking it. They’re doing so not only because the track record of their lefty hitters allows for such, but primarily because the right-handed hitters on the active roster are forcing their hand. Deadline acquisition Helliot Ramos has played his way into a more limited role in less than a month, courtesy of not hitting water falling off a boat, and a little over a week ago we talked here about the dangers of asking too much out of George Lombard Jr., who already finds himself steadily higher up in the order, batting fifth in this series opener against the Astros. Beyond those two, you have no healthy choices under consideration to bat high in the lineup.

Sticking to a previously established belief should only make sense as long as the belief makes sense. In other words, if we’re to truly assume that Ramos is going to continue struggling in the way that he has, the Yankees may have to reassess this whole policy of easing in Lombard. In the end, there is what we would like in an ideal world, and there is the reality of adapting to your current situation. If we weren’t so concerned about how Lombard would handle such a task, the alternative would be rather clear.

The lack of a right-handed presence at the top is not only a problem but also a wasted opportunity—that hitter would clearly benefit from facing southpaws late in games as they enter to face the Yankees’ most dangerous hitters. Usually, we’re talking about the top lefties out of a given bullpen, but the matchup advantage might be there against more traditional specialists. It’s something that Lombard could, and Ramos definitely should, take advantage of. He was acquired in large part for this specific reason.

Hopefully, this temporary problem is fixed when Aaron Judge returns to anchor this lineup, but until then, the Yankees could run into some problems without any kind of right-handed presence near the top of the order to balance this lineup.

Detroit Tigers (62-70) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (78-54)

Time/Place: 1:10 p.m., Comerica Park
SB Nation Site:DRaysBay
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Pitching Matchup: RHP Troy Melton (7-2, 1.60 ERA) vs. RHP Freddy Peralta (5-11, 5.33 ERA)

After four months of underwhelming baseball, the Royals have inexplicably gone on a run, winning nine in a row. They’re just the fourth team in MLB history to be at least 24 games under .500 and go on a nine-game winning streak.

In other words, this is not normal. And tonight, the Royals have a chance to make it even stranger. They can extend the streak to double digits, something that has previously only been done five times in club history. Let’s take a look back at the longest winning streaks in club history.

Nine in a row

• 1989 – The Royals were struggling to keep up with a juggernaut A’s team led by the “Bash Brothers” (Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire). But in August they made things interesting with a nine game winning streak that included six saves from Jeff Montgomery. It was part of a stretch where the team won 20 of 25 games and got within 1.5 games of first place Oakland by September, only to fade in the last few weeks
• 2002 – When people think of a Royals team having a winning streak when they are way out of it, 2002 comes to mind. The Royals were 33-54 a few games after the All-Star break, when they suddenly went on a nine-game winning streak under new manager Tony Pena that included two walk-off wins. The success would be short-lived. They would have two six-game losing streaks over the next few weeks and end up losing 100 games.
• 2003 – This is the famous 9-0 start to begin the year. It started with a crisp 3-0 win on Opening Day over the White Sox, leading to a perfect 5-0 homestand, a sweep of the awful Tigers, then two more wins in Cleveland. The hot start buoyed the team and kept them in first place for much of the summer. !Nosotros Creamos!
• 2013 – The decision to go all-in with a big trade of James Shields looked foolish when the Royals were 45-51 a week before the July trade deadline. But the young core began to gel and the team won nine in a row, part of a hot stretch where they won 17 of 20 and climbed their way back into the Wild Card race, only to fall just short.
• 2016 – The title defense was disappointing through July, with the team six games below .500 at the trade deadline. But the team began to recapture the magic thanks to a praying mantis they found in the dugout. The Royals won nine games in a row, pulling them to within four games of a Wild Card spot, but would end up with a losing record in September.
• 2017 – The Royals of this era were just a streaky bunch. Again, they had a losing record in mid-July, but were only a few games back of first place. They had a walk-off win over the Tigers, kicking off a nine-game winning streak that included two more walk-off wins. By the end of the streak, they were in the second Wild Card spot, and just two games out of first place, but an awful August would doom them.

Ten in a row

• 1977 – The Royals were fresh off their first division title, but started slowly and were under .500 as late as mid-June. A hot July got them to within a few games of first place Chicago by early August. They won two games in Cleveland, then swept the first place Red Sox at home. They followed that up with a walk-off win over the second-place Orioles, and a two-game sweep of Baltimore. They won a 15-inning affair in Milwaukee and eventually got the winning streak to ten games. They took over first place for good, but as hot as they were, they were about to get hotter.
• 1978 – A common theme with Royals winning streaks is they seem to coincide when the weather gets steamy in Kansas City. The 1978 Royals were 44-40 at the All-Star break in mid-July, and dropped their first second-half game. Rookie Rich Gale beat the Brewers for his tenth win, then the team swept the hated Yankees in New York. They had walk-off wins against the Rangers and Red Sox, and eventually extended their winning streak to ten before Ron Guidry shut them out in Kansas City. The streak catapulted the Royals into first place, and they would go on to win their third consecutive division title.
• 2014 – The offense was ice cold to start the year, leading to the reassignment of hitting coach Pedro Grifol in May. The team was 29-32 in early June, leading some to wonder if the Royals would have to end up trading ace James Shields at the deadline. The offense came alive in June with a ten-game winning streak that included a pair of 11-run outbursts against the division-rival Tigers. It vaulted the team into first place, but they immediately slumped again and fell under .500 in July before going on a late run that led to a pennant.

Fourteen in a row

The Royals have won 14 games in a row once in 1994. The franchise had been spinning their wheels for a few years, and a work stoppage loomed over the entire season. The Royals hovered a few games over .500 for most of the year, and by July 22 they were 9.5 games back of the White Sox, and 6.5 games back of the new “Wild Card” spot.

After two wins in Detroit, the Royals came home to face the mighty White Sox, led by “The Big Hurt”, Frank Thomas. Royals ace Kevin Appier coughed up a 3-2 lead in the eighth inning, and the White Sox seemed on their way to victory when they took a lead in the top of the twelfth. But rookie Bob “The Hammer” Hamelin cracked a three-run walk-off homer to win the game. The Royals would win all four games in the series, then sweep the Twins and A’s.

Some ceiling tiles at the Kingdome fell, so a series against the Mariners was moved to Kansas City. The Royals sold all seats at a discount and made the game general admission, and 25,000 raucous fans showed up, including two bikini-clad women that ran onto the field. Tom Gordon shut out the Mariners on August 5 for win #14, pulling the Royals to within one game of first (and the Wild Card – Cleveland had tied Chicago for first place).
“They talk about stadiums and ballparks,” said Royals Manager Hal McRae. “We had a ballpark tonight and they were jammed in and rarin’ to go.”

The streak was finally snapped after 14 games when the Royals lost a nationally-televised game. Six days later, MLB players went on strike. The season would never resume. The season ended with the Royals three games back of a playoff spot.

Sixteen in a row

The longest winning streak in club history is a 16-game stretch by the dominant 1977 club. That’s right, that team had TWO double-digit winning streaks. They were already riding high in late August, when Morganna the Kissing Bandit jumped on the field to give Royals star George Brett a kiss. Perhaps it was good luck, because the Royals won the next night, and wouldn’t lose again for weeks.

Paul Splittorff almost no-hit the Brewers. The Royals slugged five home runs in one game against the Mariners. In the middle of the streak, two games were rained out due to the heavy rains that flooded Brush Creek and cost 25 people their lives. Royals outfielder Amos Otis helped rescue eight children that were caught in the rains.

The rains couldn’t slow the Royals. They had back-to-back walk-off wins over the A’s to run their win streak to 16, the longest winning streak in baseball in 24 years. Their lead in the division had swelled to double digits. After one loss, they went on another eight-game winning streak. This was the peak of the Royals’ first great era, a team built around George Brett, Amos Otis, Hal McRae and a deep pitching staff. Unfortunately, their fate was the same as the 1977 club – an ALCS loss to the Yankees.

Nine straight is already bizarre enough. Can this year’s Royals keep winning and move up this list?

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The Houston Astros and New York Yankees meet at Yankee Stadium tonight with the Bronx Bombers being a -124 favorite.

Elmer Rodriguez makes a spot start with 17 career big-league innings behind him, while Peter Lambert counters with a 3.68 ERA and a 3.44 xERA across 122.1 frames.

My Astros vs. Yankees predictions back the road dog and a total the market has priced for a normal starter. Read my MLB picks for Wednesday, Aug. 26.

Who will win Astros vs Yankees today: Astros (+109)

The New York Yankees offense has become a little more all-or-nothing over the last month, which fits pretty well with their batting profile in the wake of multiple injuries, most notably Aaron Judge.

That looms fairly large here and is why I'm playing the Houston Astros down to +105.

New York has the lowest BaBIP in MLB at .273 and the third-worst contact rate at 72.2%, and Astros arm Peter Lambert takes away the one path they have.

He grades in the 62nd percentile in barrel rate and the 64th percentile in hard-hit rate; metrics that have improved recently.

Give me Houston.

COVERS INTEL:Elmer Rodriguez has not been able to finish anyone off, posting a 12.0% strikeout rate against a 27.0% whiff rate, which means hitters are missing early and still putting the ball in play late.

Astros vs Yankees Over/Under pick: Over 8.5 (-120)

Astros vs Yankees home run prediction: Yordan Alvarez (+296)

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here and view our best betting sites or check out our top sportsbook promos.

The Dodgers look to even up the series in Atlanta against the Braves, a series that could be key to which team owns one of the top two spots in the NL, which would give them that ever-so-important bye in the first round.

Currently, the Dodgers are one game behind the Milwaukee Brewers in wins, as the New York Mets came back in extras to also hand the Brewers a loss. Atlanta is three games behind L.A. with 77 wins.

The bottom of the lineup was key in the three runs scored in Tuesday night’s game, and the top of the order needs to join in if the Dodgers wish to unleash more offense. The team will face AJ Smith-Shawver, a young righty who has only appeared in two games so far this season. He just returned after spending 14 months healing from Tommy John surgery and has joined the Braves rotation to give them a six-man staff to save some arm usage for the playoffs. In those two games this season he went 4.1 innings both times, allowing two earned runs in the first outing and four runs in the second outing. He has only seven strikeouts across those 8.2 innings.

Smith-Shawver leans on a curveball that breaks into lefty barrels, and the Dodgers could stack up to seven lefties against him. He lacks a reliable fading changeup that could potentially keep those lefties off balance.

The Dodgers did little to make the Braves bullpen work in Tuesday game and all arms should be available. The Dodgers could work to break the game open and get into the bullpen early, but bullpen usage may not matter as Chris Sale looms on Thursday.

Roki Sasaki will take the mound for the Dodgers. He hasn’t earned the wins in any of his last three games, but he has looked much more solid, allowing only two runs in each of his last three outings, one of which was in Denver. Coming into last night’s game, the Braves had only been averaging 1.3 earned runs against righties in their last 10 started by righties. After getting ahead of Glasnow in the first with three runs, Glasnow was able to shut them down pretty solidly the rest of the way. He ended up striking out seven, and Sasaki could rack up some K’s himself.

Wednesday game info

• Teams: Dodgers at Braves
• Ballpark: Truist Park, Atlanta
• Start time: 4:15 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA, MLB Network (out of market)
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

Diamondbacks News

Ryan Waldschmidt Walks Off Cubs in Stunning, Injury Scare Filled Comeback
The Chicago Cubs managed to hang four runs on Brandon Pfaadt, who had yet another strong outing, despite not getting the quality start. The Diamondbacks had injury scares in the outfield with Vargas and Carroll colliding before Jordan Lawlar (is he the most injury-cursed Diamondback ever?) took a pitch to the helmet that chipped a piece of the protective headgear off. The Snakes managed no runs and only two hits through 7.2 innings. Then, Gabriel Moreno check-swinged a double that started foul and ended fair to get a rally going. Finally, Ryan Waldschmidt was called upon in the bottom of the ninth to pinch-hit with one on. The rookie outfielder deposited a pitch deep in the left field bleachers to walk off the Cubs, giving Arizona a boost in the Wild Card standings.

Lovullo Gives Jordan Lawlar Update
After Jordan LAwlar took a fastball to the dome on Tuesday and was forced to exit the game, Torey Lovullo provided some much-needed good news after the game. It seems Jordan Lawlar, who appeared to possibly be headed back to the IL under concussion protocol, has avoided such a fate. The young utility prospect needs to find some consistent playing time, free of injury, to complete this season before he has three lost seasons in a row.

Torey Lovullo Apologizes Over Sign-Stealing Hoopla
After some testy back-and-forth regarding the Cubs potentially stealing signs on Monday, Torey Lovullo and the Cubs made nice on Tuesday.

What is Next for Corbin Burnes, Ketel Marte?
Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.

Diamondbacks Catching Prospect Unexpectedly Retires
In something of a surprise, 26-year-old backstop Jeremiah Boyd, who was originally drafted by the Boston Red Sox back in 2018 before he signed as a minor league free agent with the Diamondbacks in 2023, has elected to retire. While Boyd was likely organizational filler, he did make it as far as Reno, so he was theorhetically only one major injury from a call-up. Instead, Boyd will now be taking up a position as an assistant coach at Vanderbilt.

Three Potential Ketel Marte Trade Packages
If or when it comes to moving Ketel Marte this winter, the Diamondbacks will first need to convince Marte to move. One that is done, there are some intriguing packages that could be had for him. Here are three speculative ones.

Other Baseball News

Breaking Down the AL West, AL Wild Card Races
It is getting to that point of the season where teams all around the league begin scoreboard watching. Here’s how the tumultuous AL currently sits. Of particular note, the AL West is led by the Houston Astros, who just squeaked up to a .500 record last night.

Buss Sports Capital Joins Padres Ownership Group
Joey and Jesse announced they will be on the new ownership group’s advisory board and apply their experience with player development, payroll management and roster construction to support this new era in Padres franchise history.

Get Ready for Some Historically Bad Postseason Offense
This year, it isn’t just the Cleveland Guardians who are surprisingly in a playoff race despite no meaningful offense.

One Player Every Team Is Counting On for the Run-in
I sincerely doubt that Arizona is internally relying on Zac Gallen for anything at this point. That said, if Gallen returns healthy and finds anything close to his old form, it will indeed be a massive boost for the Diamondbacks and their injury-ravaged rotation.

Overlooked Silver Slugger Contenders
Gabriel Moreno is a fine addition to this list.

Cubs Set Club Record with 30th Unanswered Run in Three Games
Thankfully the streak ended before the Diamondbacks reached their final out, allowing the Snakes to steal a vital victory over the Cubs on Tuesday night.

Will Smith began his rehab assignment with a bang on Tuesday night, hitting a home run for Triple-A Oklahoma City while catching five innings. It was the first game action in 81 days for the Dodgers catcher, who has missed nearly three months with neck inflammation.

Blake Treinen has also been sidelined since June, and is four appearances and nearly two weeks into his own rehab assignment. If we see Treinen pitch in back-to-back games this week, that might be a sign he’ll rejoin the Dodgers bullpen soon.

Smith and Treinen are both on the 60-day injured list, and will require a corresponding roster move to make room on the 40-man roster once they are ready. But they aren’t the only roster decisions coming for the Dodgers in the next 10 days.

Three other injured Dodgers pitchers have already started rehab assignments, and all are with Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Ben Casparius, out since April with shoulder inflammation, began his rehab assignment on July 25. He’s struggled mightily with more walks (14) than strikeouts (10) with a 7.27 ERA in 10 games, though a lot of those struggles were early, and four of his last five outings were scoreless.

Pitchers are allowed up to 30 days on a single rehab assignment, which meant a Casparius decision should have happened by Monday. But Major League rule 6(g) allows for flexibility if the player suffers a new or recurring injury:

If the player sustains a new injury or a reoccurrence of an injury while on a rehabilitation assignment, separate written consent from the player and approval from the Commissioner’s Office is required for a subsequent rehabilitation assignment. The Office of the Commissioner will carefully scrutinize any claim by a Club that a new rehabilitation assignment period is warranted if the player has not been returned from the original rehabilitation assignment for at least five days for a position player and seven days for a pitcher. A Club that decides to return a player from an injury assignment should notify the Commissioner’s Office at the time a decision is made to end the rehabilitation assignment. If it was determined that a new injury or reoccurrence of the player’s original injury occurred, the player’s five or seven day “down” period would begin on the date the Commissioner’s Office was originally notified. The player would then be eligible for a new 20 or 30 days rehabilitation assignment, pending the completion of the five- or seven-day period and the completion of a new SFD. If it was determined that there was no new injury or reoccurrence of the player’s original injury, then the player would return on rehabilitation assignment without any interruption.

SFD in this case is standard form of diagnosis. Casparius last pitched on August 19, a week ago, so it’s very possible he’s in a review period at the moment and might remain on the injured list for a while longer.

Bobby Miller and Gavin Stone are both coming off shoulder injuries, and started rehab assignments on August 5 and August 6, respectively, with means decisions will need to be made by September 4 for Miller and September 5 for Stone.

Stone, who last pitched for the Dodgers in August 2024, has been dominant thus far, striking out 13 of 28 batters faced while allowing two runs on three hits with only one walk in 7 2/3 innings. He’s set to start on Wednesday night for Oklahoma City against El Paso.

“Gavin, given where we’re at, what he’s done, I think it’s more potentially out of the ’pen, a spot start if he builds up,” manager Dave Roberts said two weeks ago. “Obviously between now until the end of September, roles can change, but for now it’s just let’s get him built up, let’s sustain health. That’s something we haven’t been able to do the last couple of years with Gavin.”

The Dodgers have eight total players on the 60-day injured list. Brusdar Graterolhad back surgery in May and isn’t expected back this year. Kris Bubic was on the 60-day injured list when the Dodgers got him at the trade deadline, working his way back from shoulder soreness suffered while on the injured list with elbow soreness. Jake Cousins had Tommy John surgery last June and was at Dodger Stadium last weekend pitching a simulated game, putting him ahead of this group of three in terms of readiness.

Putting Casparius aside for the moment, the Dodgers will likely end the 60-day injured list stints of Smith, Treinen, Stone, and Miller within the next 10 days, which will require corresponding roster moves to create space on the 40-man roster.

Let’s look at those candidates.

60-day injured list

Will Klein (placed on IL August 1) has loose bodies on his right elbow, and while he told Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic last Friday that he’s symptom free, Klein still could miss some time. Catcher Dalton Rushing (August 3) has a partially-torn UCL, and whether he will be able to catch this season is up in the air. Rushing still could be added as an extra left-handed bat.

A 60-day IL transfer would mean Klein (September 29) and/or Rushing (October 1) wouldn’t be available until the postseason if at all, but that might align with their timeline anyway.

DFA candidates

The Dodgers have five catchers on the 40-man roster, and getting Smith back solidifies the depth chart, making it exceedingly likely at least one catcher will be on the outs. Eliezer Alfonzo is currently on optional assignment in Triple-A. One of Ben Rortvedt and Hunter Feduccia would likely be headed to the minors anyway with Smith back, unless the Dodgers decide to carry three catchers during expanded September rosters. Rortvedt is out of options, but the Dodgers are familiar withthe DFA dance with him to try to keep him around as depth. Feduccia has an option season remaining, but sending him down for at least 20 days means he’d be out of options next year. Keeping him around now as the backup, allows them to have an optionable third catcher on the 40-man roster in 2027.

Landon Knack is using his third option season already this year, and will be out of options in 2027. That puts his long-term status on the roster in jeopardy anyway, making it likely his streak of one save per season won’t continue with the Dodgers next year.

Ronan Kopp was added to the 40-man roster last November, but has pitched this season like someone who won’t be there much longer. The hard-throwing left-hander has a 7.78 ERA and 6.23 xERA with more walks (41) than strikeouts (40) in 39 1/3 innings, with a 21-percent walk rate.

Ryan Ward has been perpetually an extra player who the Dodgers don’t have much use for, but at least he got to make his major league debut this year. His best shot at playing time in the big leagues is going elsewhere.

Hyeseong Kim hasn’t done much at all Triple-A, hitting .259/.327/342 with an 84 wRC+. He has one year and $3.75 million guaranteed remaining on his contract, plus a $10 million club option for 2028-29 combined with a $1.5 million buyout. Cutting bait now would mean eating $5.25 million

"We endorse that position because moving to a massive club like Rangers is a big step with concomitant risk."

A famous line from a Rangers statement in December 2017 which was in response to Derek McInnes' decision to remain as Aberdeen manager after weeks of fevered speculation he would make the switch to Ibrox.

The statement went on: "We will only appoint someone in whom we have full confidence and who feels he is ready for the job."

Then Dons chairman Stewart Milne was the happiest man in the country as his opposite number in Govan, Dave King, tried to fend off the flak that came with the snub with a thinly-veiled, withering jibe.

Close to a decade on, McInnes will this weekend take Rangers to Pittodrie for Sunday's high noon shootout in the Granite City.

Many Dons fans were left scarred by the episode given their manager had been given time off to weigh up the move as the players got ready for a big league game at Dundee without him.

The back pages were dominated by the story for weeks and it came to a head as the two clubs clashed in back-to-back matches in the space of a few days.

Rangers won both games.

Since McInnes left, the Dons' record in league games against Rangers has been poor with just three wins in 19 attempts, as Stephen Robinson tries to get the better of McInnes having done so a couple of times last season when the pair were at St Mirren and Hearts respectively.

Pittodrie won't be the place for those looking for a relaxing Sunday afternoon, with the former Dons boss unlikely to be given a warm welcome, but for the visitor it is a return to where that concomitant risk all began.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers (-130) are favored against the Atlanta Braves in Game 2 of their series Wednesday night.

Roki Sasaki is pitching much better than earlier in the season and now faces an offense struggling mightily against right-handed pitching.

That sets up well for a win, making Los Angeles an appealing buy with my Dodgers vs. Braves predictions and MLB picks.

Who will win Dodgers vs Braves today: Dodgers moneyline (-130)

Roki Sasaki has posted an xFIP of 3.95 or lower in six of his last seven starts, only suffering a hiccup against the league-leading Brewers.

His strong process has led to results. Sasaki allowed two runs or fewer six times — something he did in only six of his first 18 starts.

The Atlanta Bravessit dead last in wOBA vs. righties the past two weeks, making them an unlikely candidate to knock Sasaki off track.

The Los Angeles Dodgers slot sixth in xwOBA during the same stretch, and should provide Sasaki the support he needs.

Back L.A. to -145.

COVERS INTEL: AJ Smith-Shawyer has allowed a 1.62 WHIP since returning. That does not bode well for him against a Dodgers squad sitting third in OBP.

Dodgers vs Braves Over/Under pick: Under 8.5 (+100)

Sasaki has allowed just a .219 average over his past six starts while ranking in the 86th percentile in barrel rate. That ability to limit elite contact will serve him well against a powerful Braves offense.

AJ Smith-Shawyer is still trying to find his groove after recovering from Tommy John surgery. The good news for him is the Dodgers have struggled with the fastball-splitter combination, hitting .225 against those two pitches with a .139 ISO over the past 30 days.

I project a 5-3 type of game, and see value in playing the Under to -115.

Dodgers vs Braves home run prediction: Freddie Freeman (+450)

Freddie Freeman is one guy who will benefit from seeing a lot of fastballs and splitters. He has feasted on those two pitches, hitting .374 against righties with a .228 ISO and .602 SLG.

The Braves bullpen has also given up a lot of power in August. Only one team has given up barrels at a higher clip so it’s not as if Freeman’s home run chances will tank when Smith-Shawyer exits the game.

Play this to +430. 

Dodgers vs Braves weather

Temperatures in the low 80s with slight winds blowing in. Neutral impact on offenses.

Dodgers vs Braves odds

• Moneyline: Dodgers -130 | Braves +110
• Run line: Dodgers -1.5 (+125) | Braves +1.5 (-145)
• Over/Under: Over 9 (+100) | Under 9 (-120)

Dodgers vs Braves trend

The Braves have cashed their team total Under in 21 of their last 30 games for +10.65 units and a 29% ROI. Find more MLB betting trends for Dodgers vs. Braves.

How to watch Dodgers vs Braves and game info

Dodgers vs Braves latest injuries

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In the process of writing about every player who received votes in our biannual Purple Row Prospects (PuRPs) list — this edition it was 68 players across 29 qualifying ballots — I learned a bit about trends and system strengths and weaknesses. So for anyone who missed a few write-ups or even who has a more casual relationship with the farm system, I wanted to synthesize some of those thoughts into a bigger picture than any individual prospect. Even with a baseball operations regime that looks outward more often than we’re used to as Rockies fans, the players on this list are likely going to play a big role in the next 5-7 Colorado Rockies teams.

Here are the big picture items I took away after my review of Colorado’s top prospects as 2026 winds down:

The system has rebounded in a big way since the pre-season thanks to a strong draft class and some key breakouts

At the beginning of the year, the Rockies’ minor league system was perceived to be firmly in the bottom third of MLB. However, only two PuRPs lost eligibility between pre-season and the trade deadline, the Rockies were sellers at said deadline and received some potential impact players, and Colorado took advantage of a large draft pool to select and sign a well regarded draft class. Beyond that, a couple less-heralded players before the season in Roldy Brito and Cristian Arguelles launched themselves into top 100 prospect territory. The result is that the Rockies have moved firmly up into the middle third of MLB farm systems.

FanGraphs, which uses a system that ranks farm systems according the expected Major League value of their prospects based on historical outcomes by scouting grade, ranked the Rockies 24th ($137 million) in their late 2025 rankings. These days, the Rockies rank 13th in MLB for FanGraphs with 49 ranked players (11th in MLB) and five in the top 100. The net is a total system value of $450 million, though that inflation is more due to FanGraphs updating their prospect valuation methodology recently, which roughly doubled their estimate of Colorado’s farm system on its own.

MLB Pipeline, who ranked the Rockies 27th in MLB before the season, placed the Rockies 16th recently with four players in the top 100:

There’s an optimistic vibe with this system right now, even with the injury (foot stress fracture) that ended Holliday’s first full season early. Condon has started to show the power output the Rockies thought they were getting when they took him No. 3 overall in 2024, Brito has reached High-A as a teenager and they added Bell via the first round of this year’s Draft. Beyond the Top 100, this system has produced some big-time big league contributors like Cole Carrigg and Gabriel Hughes, who has joined Jackson Cox in making a very strong return from Tommy John surgery to bolster the organization.

The new baseball ops team has brought a more conventional, open approach to the roster, trades, and the draft. That appears to be helping, but so too is the development of players who were already on board entering the season.

2027 PuRPs Impact

Here are some details about the players who could be impacting the Rockies by this time next year.

Already made their MLB debuts (6):

• Zac Veen (No. 6 PuRP): former first-round outfielder who made a dramatic change to his body this off-season and has recently made a successful re-entry to the big leagues
• Gabriel Hughes (7): first-round polished righty starter who is now two-plus years out from Tommy John surgery and who has seemingly secured his position in the rotation for the near future, has exhausted his rookie eligibility already
• Sterlin Thompson (16): former comp round A pick whose refined hit tool stands out in the system, though he’s limited defensively even in left field, struggled in initial big league look but is raking in Triple-A
• Mason Adams (17): righty starter who was part of the return in the Brenton Doyle trade with the White Sox a few weeks ago, has good command and polish with a high floor albeit lower ceiling
• McCade Brown (18): key rotation depth with potential to earn a full-time rotation slot provided his shoulder inflammation injury recovery goes well
• Sean Sullivan (21): command lefty starter who gets lots of strikeouts despite sitting in the mid-80s on his fastball thanks to excellent deception and extension
• Welinton Herrera (27): lefty reliever who can touch 100 but tore his UCL and could be out for a while

Likely starting in Double-A, Triple-A, or MLB next year (9):

• Charlie Condon (2): 2024 first rounder who is near MLB and could be an impact corner bat
• Jared Thomas (8): talented hitter with utility at all three outfield positions and first base (where he played in college), was delayed by hand injuries this year but is on track to impact next year’s squad
• Jackson Cox (11): righty starter who has recovered well from 2023 Tommy John surgery, known for his high spin rate curveball
• Roc Riggio (13): second baseman acquired from the Yankees at last year’s trade deadline as part of the Jake Bird deal, short of stature but does a lot of things well (include getting his raw power into games) and is now at Triple-A
• Jack Mahoney (15): polished right-handed starter who relies on a heavy sinker/slider combo and who really pitched well in Double-A this year
• Andy Perez (25): athletic up-the-middle player with decent speed and good contact ability in a large frame (likely 6’4”, 210 pounds) whose production has yet to match his potential
• Konner Eaton (28): lefty starter who rose all the way to Double-A in his first full professional season
• Roynier Hernandez (29): good fielder with an excellent approach at the place but mostly lacking in power

Of the players who haven’t made their MLB debut, I’d expect Condon and Cox to lead WAR production for the Rockies in 2027.

The top ten of the PuRPs ranking remains flush with outfielders, the bottom half with pitching

Five of the top eight PuRPs have a likely or potential big league fit as outfielders, including three who will start 2027 in Double-A or higher. Only Veen from that group is in MLB already, but there will undoubtedly be a spirited competition this spring for a big league role among the group. Meanwhile, there were six players on the list who took meaningful reps at shortstop this season, making a conflict for reps at the position inevitable especially in the upper minors.

You can never have too much pitching at Coors Field, so it’s no surprise the Rockies have historically prioritized pitching in the draft and in trades. The pre-season PuRPs list contains 13 pitchers, but only two of them are in the top 10. One of those guys (Hughes) has just graduated from rookie status while the other (Logan Reddemann) was just drafted this year and has yet to throw a professional pitch.

As I do each PuRPs cycle, I’m going to look at the current system and project which players could be on the 40-man roster in the lead-up to the Rule 5 draft this off-season. The upcoming Rule 5 Draft will see players who were signed either in 2022 (if they were 18 or younger at signing) or 2023 (signed at 19+ years old) become eligible for the first time.

When I did this exercise in March, I listed 43 players who would be under contract, on the 60-day IL, had a likely team option, or were prospects that were very likely to be added before the Rule 5 draft. Today, nine of them are off the 40-man roster or the 60-day IL, including three traded players in Brenton Doyle, Seth Halvorsen, and Victor Vodnik plus Michael Lorenzen and Carson Palmquist.

The new regime has been more willing to move on from players than in the past and I would expect the pace to continue during their first full off-season in charge. With that in mind, let’s take stock of the 40-man roster moves which could occur between now and the end of the year.

Sure things (current)

These players are on the current 40-man roster, have already seen major-league action, and will still be on the roster after the Rule 5 draft barring trades (which is a condition that applies to every category). Players with multi-year guaranteed deals are generally ranked higher than arbitration-eligible and pre-arb players:

1. Ezequiel Tovar
2. Mickey Moniak
3. Hunter Goodman
4. Chase Dollander (60-day IL)
5. Kyle Karros
6. Cole Carrigg
7. Gabriel Hughes
8. TJ Rumfield
9. Jake McCarthy
10. Zac Veen

Likely (current)

These players have major-league experience, are currently on the 40-man, and will likely be on the post Rule 5 draft 40-man roster — but under-performance could cause them to lose their spot to a DFA or non-tender — or they could retire. I also consider players with a likely to be picked up player or club option in this category. Presented roughly in my order of confidence:

11. Willi Castro

12. Kris Bryant (60 Day IL, possible “retirement” in which he’s still collecting checks a la Prince Fielder)

13. Brennan Bernardino

14. Juan Mejia

15. Mason Adams

16. Connor Norby

17. Ryan Feltner

18. McCade Brown (60-day IL)

Likely (future)

These players haven’t yet seen MLB action but are in good shape to retain their 40-man roster spot or get added to the 40-man roster in advance of the Rule 5 draft. Players who don’t need to be Rule 5 protected after the season (most notably Condon) aren’t listed, though a couple of them could also squeeze their way onto the roster. Again, presented in order of confidence:

19. Jackson Cox

20. Roc Riggio

Under contract but at risk

These players are on the 40-man or 60-day IL now but are serious candidates for a DFA or non-tender during or after the 2026 season (I also consider players with a possible player or club option in this category as well as those signed as minor league free agents who won’t have the service time for major league free agency) — presented from most safe to least:

21. Sterlin Thompson

22. Sean Sullivan

23. Welinton Herrera (60-day IL)

24. Nick Frasso

25. Jaden Hill

26. Ryan Ritter

27. Tanner Gordon

28. Mark Manfredi

29. Zach Agnos

30. Jimmy Herget

31. Jordan Beck

32. Adael Amador

33. Braxton Fulford

34. Tyler Freeman

35. Troy Johnston

36. Eiberson Castellano

37. Brett Sullivan

38. Blas Castano

39. Pierson Ohl (60-day IL)

40. RJ Petit (60-day IL, Rule 5)

41. Jeff Criswell

42. TJ Shook

43. Chad Stevens

44. Blake Adams

I wouldn’t be surprised if any of the above players were not in the organization after 2026, but in particular anyone Herget and below should consider their 40-man roster slot vulnerable. That gets us to 44 players (including two new prospects and the 60-day IL), so we’ve already got a full house.

Remember though that the Rockies will probably re-sign some free agents and/or exercise options, which also will take up spots (at the expense of some of the more vulnerable players above, some of whom could be designated for assignment or non-tendered).

Here’s how I would rank other players (among those with no non-IL MLB service time) in terms of getting a 40-man spot after 2026:

1. Angel Jimenez
2. Jack Mahoney
3. Andy Perez
4. Roynier Hernandez
5. Luichi Casilla
6. Braylen Wimmer
7. Jordy Vargas
8. Bryant Betancourt
9. Jake Brooks
10. Michael Prosecky
11. Yujanyer Herrera
12. Derek Bernard
13. Ben Shields
14. Cade Denton
15. Kelvin Hidalgo

I would guess the top three guys may be protected. I listed 15 players here and still somebody from off this list could make a surprise appearance, as I think the bottom 10-12 slots on the 40-man are quite fluid. With the 40-man roster, change is always the expectation.

Hopefully that summary of the system and the 40-man roster was helpful, I’d love to read your own projections and opinions in the comments. Until next time!

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