Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images

• Hiroto Saiki will NOT be posted after all.

RHP Hiroto Saiki is not expected to have his posting to MLB approved by the Hanshin Tigers following the team’s loss in the Japan Series.https://t.co/2yeooFhzSV

— Yakyu Cosmopolitan (@yakyucosmo) October 31, 2025

American League

Blue Jays

• Bo Bichette will not have offseason knee surgery.

Bo Bichette says he’s not anticipating needing off-season surgery on his knee.

— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) October 31, 2025

Guardians

Mariners

• Bryce Miller will not have surgery to remove a bone spur that bothered him last season.

Seattle right-hander Bryce Miller is not expected to need elbow surgery this offseason, reports Adam Jude of the Seattle Times. Miller had multiple stints on the injured list this past season due to elbow inflammation. He returned for the final six weeks of the regular season and made three starts in the playoffs. “I finished the year the best I felt all year — three good starts, I felt like,” Miller told Jude. “My body and my arm feel good, so just get better, get fully healthy and be ready to go from Day 1 next year.”

Miller was diagnosed with a bone spur in his elbow and received a PRP injection in early June. He relayed to Jude that he has an upcoming appointment to determine the next steps in treatment. Miller said the likely route is a gel cortisone injection early this offseason, and potentially another one at the start of spring training. “Now that we know how to deal with the bone spur, we can figure out what we need to do exactly with it and go from there,” Miller told Jude. He added that he’d be “surprised” if the appointment led to an invasive procedure.

Red Sox

• Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic thinks Connelly Early will be in the rotation before Payton Tolle.

That said, I think Early is a bit ahead of Tolle, both in development because he’s a year further along and in terms of his major league readiness. I could see a scenario where he’s the No. 5 starter on Opening Day, but of course, there are a lot of moving parts this winter. We’ve also seen that the rotation the team thinks it has at the start of spring inevitably gets shuffled because of a pitcher injury or setback in the spring.

Tigers

• Gleyber Torres had hernia surgery.

Torres’ representatives announced the successful surgery on social media Friday morning. He is expected to be healthy for the start of Spring Training in a few months.

• Top prospect, Max Anderson, is working on playing third base and hitting the ball in the air in the Arizona Fall League.

Anderson is seeking something similar. He made 21 appearances at the hot corner – a spot he had never appeared professionally – between Double-A Erie and Triple-A Toledo during the regular season, and he has made each of his first seven defensive starts there with Scottsdale.
…
Even beyond the raw statistics, there were things that Anderson would have to improve upon in his second full pro year – his 55.4 percent ground-ball rate at Double-A among them. He dropped that mark by more than 10 percent during his time with Erie in ‘25 (44.8 percent).

“As simple as it sounds, really just trying to hit the bottom of the ball,” said Anderson. “Nothing crazy, no swing changes or anything, just trying to get under it, as simple as it sounds – it’s almost more of a mentality than a swing change.”

White Sox

• Tim Elko just had knee surgery and expects to miss eight months.

1B Tim Elko
Injury: Torn ACL in right knee
Expected return: June-July 2026
Status: Elko underwent successful surgery to repair the torn ACL on Oct. 28, performed by Dr. Lyle Cain at the Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopedic Center in Birmingham, Ala. His estimated recovery time is eight months, per the team.

National League

Diamondbacks

• Jordan Lawlar is getting center field reps.

Los azules en La Romana para esta noche… 😎👑#ElgLorioso 💙 pic.twitter.com/hx7IXHTV63

— Tigres del Licey (@TigresdelLicey) October 28, 2025

Padres

• The team plans on Luis Campusano contributing next season.

The majority of the Padres’ arbitration-eligible players are expected back in 2026. Luis Campusano, who made $1 million in ‘25, is an interesting case, but Preller, speaking during his end-of-season press conference, noted that Campusano would be part of the team’s plans this winter.

Reds

• There are no plans to move Elly De La Cruz to the outfield.

As for the common question of whether De La Cruz should be moved off shortstop to center field to get more production from him offensively, that’s not in the club’s plans.

“As of right now, no,” Krall said.

Rockies

• Kris Bryant’s back is all jacked up and getting worse.

Kris Bryant has played in only 170 games over his four seasons with the Rockies, and the 2025 campaign saw Bryant appear in just 10 games before his recurring back issues brought his season to an early close. Lumbar degenerative disc disease has left Bryant feeling pain while performing basically every baseball activity not related to swinging, and the former NL MVP told the Denver Post’s Patrick Saunders, and this discomfort has now extended to his day-to-day life.

“It’s exhausting for me waking up and hoping to feel [better],” Bryant said. “I can’t tell you the last time I woke up feeling I’m in a good spot….If you asked me two or three months ago, I would say [my back pain] was not affecting my everyday life. But now it is, which is really annoying to me because usually when you kind of just rest, it’s supposed to get better. So maybe I’m at a point where I should just do a bunch of stuff to see if that helps me.”

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

• Anthony Kay will return to the majors after pitching in Japan

Lefty Anthony Kay, the Mets' 2016 first-round pick, is expected to return to MLB after two years in Japan. He led NPB this year in groundball rate (57.8%) while setting Yokohama's single season ERA record (1.74) and pitching 155 innings. His fastball averaged 94.6 MPH.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) October 22, 2025

Here are the MLB results for his comps. His 7.6 K/9 with a “high” 2.4 BB/9 limits his upside.

• And now Kazuma Okamoto will be posted at some point.

The Yomiuri Giants will allow Kazuma Okamoto to move to MLB via the posting system. https://t.co/BG3jqp7LHY

— Jason Coskrey (@JCoskrey) October 22, 2025

American League

Red Sox

• Kristian Campbell plans on “adding weight and gaining strength”.

Campbell is expected to head to Fort Myers, Fla. soon. The Red Sox are hosting their offseason training program there for minor leaguers, which began in early October and runs through mid November. Once there he’ll get back into baseball activities, but the main goals there will be on adding weight and gaining strength.

“A big focus for him this offseason, he lost some weight during the year, adding some of that weight back and it’ll be getting back the strength that allowed him to impact the baseball the way he could,” Abraham said. “That allowed him to have the range in both the infield and outfield and that will be a focus.”
…
But a lack of strength and mass likely led to Campbell’s dip in exit velocity and his ability to impact the ball. His ferocious swing and hard-hit rates had been his calling card. In the spring, he made it to the final four of a hitting tournament the team held for its minor leaguers. That hard-hit ability was part of the reason he was added to the team at the start of the season.

Here are his 2025 MLB avgEV per month and his AAA average.

Month: avgEV
Apr: 89.5
May: 89.0
Jun: 85.9
MiLB: 84.0

He suffered a rib injury May 1st, but his exit velocities stayed up in May, but everything else fell apart. He posted a .902 OPS in April and just a .355 OPS in May (.799 OPS in AAA).

Tigers

• According to his manager, Troy Melton will be a starter.

Melton will not have to handle another move next year. And as the Tigers revisit questions about their rotation for next season, Melton — who totaled 129 1/3 innings in the Minors, regular season and playoffs — is a potentially big part.

“He’s a starter,” Hinch said.

• The team expects to have some help from players in AA …

“I expect the players that posted dominant years in Double-A to factor into our big league team next year,” Harris said. “They’ve earned it. They posted incredible years as 20-year-olds, very young for the level. I expect their progress to continue, and I expect them to be in Detroit at some point next year.”

… and here are the players listed on options.

Kevin McGonigle, IF (Tigers No. 1, MLB No. 2)
…
Max Clark, CF (Tigers No. 2, MLB No. 8)
…
Max Anderson, IF (Tigers No. 9)
…
Josue Briceño, C/1B (Tigers No. 3, MLB No. 33)

Yankees

• Ben Rice started the 2025 season with a new batting stance and added weight.

So Rice spent last offseason teaching himself to begin with his right foot nearly at the edge of the batter’s box — or in an open stance. It made all the difference. With a new stance — and with approximately 10 pounds of added strength — Rice turned in a stellar second big-league season at the plate, hitting .255 with 26 home runs, 65 RBIs and an .836 OPS. His 131 OPS+ meant that he produced at a rate 31 percent better than the league-average hitter.

National League

Brewers

• William Contreras may have surgery on his finger and Caleb Durbin did have elbow surgery.

End of season injury news from the Brewers:

– William Contreras will see a hand specialist next week for a “potential correction” of his fractured left middle finger.

– Caleb Durbin will have arthroscopic elbow surgery on Oct. 30. Expected healthy in time for ‘26.

— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) October 23, 2025

• Sal Frelick will not have surgery on his bothersome knee.

Frelick battled knee soreness over the final months of the regular season. He missed a handful of games in early August, but never went to the IL. Offseason imaging on the knee came back clean, with the team describing the findings as “unremarkable.” Frelick is expected to have a normal offseason.

Cardinals

• There is a chance Lars Nootbaar misses the start of the season.

This morning during “Sports on a Sunday Morning” on @KMOXSports, #STLCards POBO Chaim Bloom told me that Opening Day is not off-the-table but not guaranteed for Lars Nootbaar following his heel surgery. They will not hurry the rehab process but if he does miss time at the start…

— Matt Pauley 🎙️ (@MattPauleyOnAir) October 26, 2025

Dodgers

• Tommy Edman might need offseason surgery on his ankle.

However, while Edman stated before Game Two that his ankle is “healthy,” he said that potential offseason surgery could be an option.

“Ankle’s feeling really good,” Edman said. “I haven’t really talked that through with Doc. I think the plan is just second base for now. Maybe that will be a conversation. I’m not really sure. But for now, just second base.”

Edman was unable to give a clear answer when asked if he would need surgery on his right ankle during the offseason.

Mets

• Francisco Lindor had minor surgery on his elbow.

Francisco Lindor underwent a right elbow operation after the completion of the 2025 regular season, the Mets announced Wednesday, but the shortstop is expected to make a full recovery before the start of Spring Training.

The surgery, a right elbow debridement, came two years after Lindor underwent a procedure to remove bone spurs from the same elbow.

• Christian Scott expects to be a “full participant in spring training” …

With the season over, however, Scott said the plan is to move on to a “de-load” period before ramping things back up in January. The Mets’ top pitching prospect in 2024, according to The Athletic’s Keith Law, Scott hopes to be a full participant in spring training.

“It’s going really smoothly,” Scott said over the phone from Port St. Lucie, Fla., which he has essentially called home since Jan. 4. “I haven’t really had any setbacks or had anything that’s really come up at all. I’ve looked back at the nine games I’ve pitched in the big leagues and I know what I’ve needed to work on to improve my game.

… with a new changeup and similar fastball velocity.

Notably, Scott has tinkered with his changeup, a pitch he hopes can help him against left-handed batters (Scott held right-handed batters to a .532 OPS, but lefties produced a .942 OPS against him). Previously, Scott utilized more of a split-finger grip with his changeup. Now, he is using more of a traditional grip, he said.

“The in-zone percentage just wasn’t good enough with the split-finger before I got hurt,” Scott said. “Just being able to have a pitch that’s in the zone a little bit more and also moves a little bit better, in theory, is going to help me get more outs against left-handed hitters.

During his bullpen sessions, Scott’s fastball velocity has checked in around 94 mph, his average speed in 2024. At times, he said, he has recently flashed 96 mph.

Phillies

• Zack Wheeler could be rotation ready by Opening Day.

Philadelphia Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said on Foul Territory on Thursday that right-hander Zack Wheeler (shoulder) could have a chance to be ready for Opening Day in 2026, and that they aren’t expecting Wheeler to have any setbacks during his recovery this offseason from thoracic outlet surgery. “We’re hopeful it’ll [his return] be on the front end, which would even get him ready for Opening Day, but right now he’s doing very good,” Dombrowski said.

Brett Davis-Imagn Images

• After releasing my comps for players hoping to move from a foreign league to the MLB, here are two more guys looking to make the move. The first is Foster Griffin (link) …

… and the other is Sung-moon Song 송성문 (link).

• There is a chance Kazuma Okamoto will not get posted after all.

Several industry sources believe that the Yomiuri Giants will not post 3B/1B Kazuma Okamoto after the season.

Okamoto, 29, is one of the best hitters in Japanese baseball, with 248 career home runs.

— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) October 20, 2025

• And finally, our boy Lance Brozdowski created his own projections for some of the players making the move. He’s even more dismissive of anyone making a major impact.

American League

Rays

• The team thinks Jake Mangum and Chandler Simpson can “co-exist,” but believe Jonny DeLuca will play centerfield.

Jake Mangum and Chandler Simpson are coming off impressive rookie seasons. They’re similar players, built to thrive with contact and speed, with Simpson stealing more bases (44 in 109 games) and Mangum the more polished defender. But Neander said they can co-exist in the same lineup, and he noted that moving from George M. Steinbrenner Field back to Tropicana Field could help both, as their skill sets make them “built for bigger parks.”
…
“Having a lockdown defender in center field is probably as much as our identity that we’ve had as a team for as long as I’ve been here,” Neander said. “[DeLuca’s] greatest strength was to be that type of defender in center field, and not having him, we felt it.

“A healthy Jonny DeLuca will be a huge add to wherever we come out going into camp.”

I think some team will trade for one of these three centerfielders.

Royals

• Bobby Witt Jr. saw a drop in stolen bases because of a lower on-base rate and injuries.

There’s so much that goes into baserunning that it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what went wrong. Witt stole more bases this year, but he still felt like he could have had more and pointed to several reasons why he didn’t, including that his on-base percentage dipped (.389 last year to .351 this year) and that he was limited by injuries at times.

I looked into the injury angle. At RotoWire, they marked three instances of a Witt getting hurt (no IL stint):

Injury date (location)

• July 23rd (knee)
• Aug 11th (back)
• Sept 5th (back)

Before the first injury, he was 27 for 34 in stolen base attempts over 102 games. An attempt once every 3.0 games. After the first injury, he was 11 for 13 in stolen base attempts over 55 games, or an attempt once every 4.2 games. A change, but not a major one.

He started running fewer times before the first reported injury. Here are his Stolen Base attempts by month.

Month: SB Attempts

• Apr: 13
• May: 12
• Jun: 2
• Jul: 8
• Aug: 6
• Sep: 6

He was on pace for 70 SB, but then June hit, and he slowed down to 33 SB pace. I could not find a reason for the June decline.

Tigers

• Kevin McGonigle, who only played shortstop this minor-league season, is working at third base in the Arizona Fall League.

And with McGonigle, Clark and Josue Briceño (Tigers’ No. 3 prospect, No. 33 overall) likely knocking on Detroit’s door next year, Monday was no different. McGonigle is working at third base in the Arizona Fall League precisely to help his fit for a Detroit debut next season.

“I expect the players that posted dominant years in Double-A to factor into our big league team next year. They’ve earned it,” Harris said. “They posted incredible years as 20-year-olds, very young for the level. I expect their progress to continue, and I expect them to be in Detroit at some point next year.

Twins

• Top prospect, Kaelen Culpepper, added about 3 mph of bat speed.

Following his professional debut in 2024, Culpepper set out to get better. He worked to add bat speed, and according to a club official, he did just that — ticking his swing speed up by about three miles per hour. Then he maintained that throughout the season, and it showed in his results.

National League

Brewers

• Garrett Mitchell expects a normal Spring Training.

OF Garrett Mitchell
Injury: Left oblique, left shoulder
IL date: April 26 (transferred to 60-day IL on July 6)
Expected return: 2026
Status: Underwent surgery on July 1 and expects a relatively normal ramp-up to the start of Spring Training.

• Shelby Miller will miss all of the 2026 season.

RHP Shelby Miller
Injury: Right UCL sprain
IL date: Sept. 3 (60-day IL; retroactive to Sept. 2)
Expected return: Late 2026 or start of ’27
Status: Underwent surgery to repair the UCL and flexor tendon on Oct. 13 with Dr. Keith Meister and is likely to miss most or all of 2026. Will be a free agent after the World Series.

Diamondbacks

• Tyler Locklear will need surgery and will miss part of the 2026 season.

Locklear needs elbow and shoulder surgery this offseason after a collision at first base in September, and his recovery will likely force him to miss the start of next season.

Marlins

• Joe Mack made it to AAA and will be added to the 40-man roster this offseason.

Mack, who turns 23 on Dec. 27, appears to be the catcher-in-waiting.

In 2025, Mack received an early-season promotion to Triple-A Jacksonville and helped the Jumbo Shrimp to their first national championship. In 99 games, he slashed .250/.320/.459 with 18 doubles, two triples, 18 homers and 53 RBIs.
…
Mack will need to be added to the 40-man roster this offseason to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft. As a result, he will receive an automatic invitation to big league camp this spring — his second straight appearance there. This time around, Mack should receive more reps than he got this year.

Nationals

• Josiah Gray will be healthy and ready for a full Spring Training after recovering from Tommy John surgery.

The Nationals decided to end Josiah Gray’s rehab and shut him down for the remainder of the season. The right-hander recovering from last year’s Tommy John surgery will now begin his offseason program in preparation for next season instead of making one major league start before the season ends Sunday.

“I think the decision was made because he did his rehab, he was in good spirits, he was feeling good, he’s healthy. And now we want him to go home, relax and start (getting) ready for next season,” Cairo said. “Finally, he’s going to have a whole winter working to be prepared to show that he can pitch in the big leagues, that he can be with us. But he’s going to have a whole winter working out to get stronger and be healthy.”

In three rehab starts across three levels of the minor leagues, Gray allowed no runs over 6 ⅔ innings, with four hits, five walks and five strikeouts. He threw 45 pitches over 2⅔ scoreless and hitless innings while walking three and striking out two in his last start Friday night for Triple-A Rochester.

During Gray’s rehab process, the Nats were more focused on him staying healthy than his mechanics and results.

Hopefully, he found a way to throw strikes (career 4.3 BB/9 and 1.42 WHIP).

Padres

• The team may consider stretching out Adrian Morejon and Mason Miller as starters.

Preller didn’t commit to roles for either pitcher but left open the possibility of stretching one or both back out. “We’ll definitely get Mason’s thoughts and hear what he thinks is best. We’ll see how the offseason plays out, roster-wise. Then we’ll have some clear direction for him of what that looks like,” he said regarding Miller. Preller expressed a similar sentiment on Morejon. “(He’s) a lefty that’s throwing three plus pitches with command and the ability to use him in different places in the game. I think that’ll be a conversation as we get into it, similar to Mason, about what that looks like here for next year.”

Pirates

• MLB.com’s Alex Stumpf thinks Konnor Griffin will start the 2026 season in AAA and quickly work his way to the majors.

Based on conversations I had at the end of the season, I will hazard a guess that Griffin will start next year with Triple-A Indianapolis. If he performs well there, I don’t know how long he can be kept from Pittsburgh. The left side of the infield needs an upgrade. If the Pirates pick up a third baseman and have Jared Triolo start the year as the shortstop, there would be a very clear path for Griffin to reach the Majors.

Reds

• Late in the season was the first time Matt McLain started feeling 100% after having shoulder surgery.

McLain, 26, batted .220 with a .643 OPS in 147 games. He was often dropped to ninth in the lineup by the second half after opening the season batting second.

“Sometimes with shoulders and a year of development [lost], it’s just not as easy as you want,” Francona said.
….
“I do believe he’s just now starting to feel and be 100 percent. I think it’s a year-and-a-half-plus surgery to get back to full strength,” general manager Brad Meador said. “But he should have a full offseason. He should be able to have a good offseason. He knows he needs to have a good offseason. I think he’ll bounce back in a good way next year.”

First off, shoulder injuries can put a damper on a player’s season. Also, McLain didn’t show much improvement with a 76 wRC+ in the first half and 79 wRC+ in the second half. His power metric stayed the same from the first half to the second, while his contact rate dropped. I don’t buy that McLain is back in any way.

Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

American League

Angels

Astros

• The team signed Nate Pearson:

Nate Pearson to sign a 1-year deal with the Astros, per Chandler Rome.The team plans to use him as a starter.

— MLB Daily News (@fantasymlbnews.bsky.social) 2025-10-17T19:47:15.600Z

Read the rest of this entry »

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

American League

Angels

• Logan O’Hoppe is going to be the team’s main catcher after struggling in 2025.

To this day, the Angels view O’Hoppe as their guy, said Angels GM Perry Minasian. When he comes into spring training next season, he won’t need to earn the job.

“Logan had a tough year, there’s no sugarcoating that,” Minasian said. “But yes, we believe Logan can catch. It’s a really tough position. To break in a young catcher takes time. I’m expecting a better Logan O’Hoppe.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Erik Williams-Imagn Images

Note: There was so many “season in review” pieces that came out I’m still working through them. I’ve got at least one more Mining the News from end-of-season comments.

• NBP’s Takahiro Norimoto could sign with an MLB team.

Rakuten Eagles RHP Takahiro Norimoto will exercise his international FA rights and wants to talk to both NPB and MLB teams.

Norimoto, 34, was a 5x PL strikeout title winner from 2014-2018. He moved to the pen in 2023 and only had a 17.3 K% this season.

https://t.co/ZxIDaytXcd

— Yakyu Cosmopolitan (@yakyucosmo) October 6, 2025

Read the rest of this entry »

Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

Other

• Batters rarely add power once in the majors and start declining due to better early-career training.

Position players are not becoming stronger in their late 20s, as conventional wisdom suggests. Bat speed and exit velocity are not immune to aging like so many other movement- and speed-based skills in the sport (like pitching velocity).

When players arrive in the major leagues, many of their underlying skills are nearly as good as they will ever be – at least since we’ve had the ability to measure them in the Statcast era.

Driveline director of hitting Tanner Stokey noted that those skills’ aging curves might have been different years ago – perhaps more players did grow into strength and bat speed – but it is a different game in the modern era.

“You just assume players are the most physically gifted they’ve been – they have all the resources in the weight room, the nutrition side, the sleep, recovery side, right? It’s very different than it was back in the day,” Stokey noted. “That stuff is pretty optimized compared to where it was 20, 30, 40 years ago.

Read the rest of this entry »

Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Note: Teams out of the playoffs are starting to drop end-of-season reports. I’m going to be behind for a couple of weeks catching up.

American League

Athletics

• Zack Gelof had surgery on his shoulder.

Athletics second baseman Zack Gelof had successful surgery on his left shoulder to address an injury sustained earlier last week, the team announced Wednesday.

Dr. Neal ElAttrache performed an anterior labral-capsule repair in Los Angeles to address instability after Gelof’s injury in Pittsburgh on Sept. 19.

Read the rest of this entry »

Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

American League

Astros

• The team doesn’t want AJ Blubaugh to face a lineup a second time and his injury history make keep him in the bullpen.

Blubaugh’s truncated outing aligned with a pregame plan concocted by Espada and pitching coach Josh Miller. Team officials are still wary of Blubaugh’s ability to navigate a lineup more than once. Having him available as a reliever during the upcoming series against the Seattle Mariners mattered, too. Limiting him to 50 pitches made that possible.
…
Injuries have forced Blubaugh into the big-league bullpen after starting his entire professional career. Whether that is his long-term home is a matter of debate. His stuff has played up so well out of the bullpen that some team officials believe he is best suited for relief. Blubaugh has bumped 98 mph with his four-seam fastball when asked to pitch one inning. On Tuesday, it touched 96.6 mph, but averaged 94.1.

“It’s a tough one. He can start. He can come out of the (bullpen) — his stuff plays up out of the ’pen,” Espada said last week. “He’s not afraid to come after hitters … It’s tough because he can do a lot of things for a club.”

Blue Jays

• The starters aren’t going to go deep into games to rest their arms for the postseason.

The careful management extends to an aging rotation, too. Excluding Yesavage, the average Blue Jays starter is over 34 years old. Shane Bieber is the youthful presence at 30. To prepare for a potentially deep run, the Jays are utilizing shorter outings for the eldest starters and extra rest for the entire group.

José Berríos’ last two starts came on nine and seven days of rest, respectively. Bassitt has thrown 80 or fewer pitches in his last two starts. He “wasn’t feeling great” in his last outing, Bassitt said, and agreed with Schneider’s early pull. Max Scherzer hasn’t pushed deeper than five innings in his last three outings while recovering from back pain. The 41-year-old and Toronto’s coaches planned on a shorter start ahead of Scherzer’s Saturday outing. It’s all with the future in mind.

Guardians

• John Means will not be activated and continue rehabbing in AAA.

While Allen is expected to pitch in Minneapolis, lefty John Means does not appear to be an option to come off the injured list to make his Guardians debut.

Vogt noted that Means (who is recovering from June 2024 Tommy John surgery) came out of his Sunday rehab start with Triple-A Columbus feeling good physically. But the lefty “more than likely” will make a seventh rehab start on Friday with Columbus.

• Lane Thomas is considering off-season foot surgery.

During the home opener, Thomas was struck on the wrist by a pitch. He missed a week, came back for a few days, and then missed a month. He played in four games, and then his foot started barking, thanks to a case of plantar fasciitis. He missed two weeks. He returned for three and a half weeks. Then, he went back on the shelf. He ramped up, then stopped. He rehabbed, then stopped. He received a cortisone shot at one point, a different injection at another point, and another cortisone shot when he returned to action earlier this month. He would play an inning, and then could barely walk.

Thomas will enter free agency as a 30-year-old outfielder two seasons removed from a 28 home run, 20 stolen base season. (Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)
The foot issues actually trace back to last season. He developed a bone bruise in his heel as the year progressed, and it flared up when he started training for the new season. He tolerated it through the spring, but it ultimately forced him out of the lineup. Thomas said he’s spoken with a few other players who have dealt with similar maladies, including Carlos Correa and Harrison Bader.

Rays

• Joe Boyle didn’t walk anyone. He didn’t rework his mechanics, but his catcher did move the target glove.

Perhaps the most telling statistic, considering the control issues that have held [Joe Boyle] back at times, is this: It was his first big league start without a walk and only his second walk-free MLB appearance.

With a fastball that averaged 98.2 mph, a nasty slider and a wipeout splitter, Boyle has the stuff to dominate opposing lineups if he is in the strike zone enough to get ahead in counts. He lived in the zone against the Blue Jays, throwing 53 of his 78 pitches for strikes while throwing only three pitches in a three-ball count.
…
Boyle said he didn’t overhaul his mechanics, but he did note that he “found some fire” and “found some passion for the game” after being sent back to the Minors. That energy was reflected in his performance on the mound.
…
Catcher Nick Fortes pointed to one adjustment the Rays made to help Boyle: They tweaked his target behind the plate, trying to mitigate his usual arm-side misses by setting up more on his glove side. Boyle threw 60 percent of his pitches in the strike zone against the Jays, according to Statcast, with his slider a particularly effective weapon in the zone.

“I think it really, really helped tonight. He was able to keep all three of his pitches in the zone for the most part and gain count leverage,” Fortes said. “And he’s got amazing stuff, so that’s just what it’s all about with him.”

Twins

• According to his manager, James Outman is a horse.

The more Outman produces, the more chances he’s likely to get.

“I think he’s making good adjustments at the plate,” Baldelli said. “I think his swing feels good. He’s getting some fairly regular playing time out there and some at-bats, and he’s taking advantage of it. He’s a thoroughbred-type athlete, big, strong young man that can do a lot, and we talk about it. When he barrels the ball up, watch that ball go.”

National League

Braves

• Some team officials believe Ozzie Albies’s struggles are from the wrist he fractured last season.

Some Braves officials believe his struggles in the first half, from both sides, not just vs. lefties, could be due in part to weakness in the wrist he fractured in July 2024, which sidelined him for two months. That might have been a season-ending injury if Albies had not pushed hard to get back for a late-September playoff drive.

• Reynaldo López feels healthy for the first time in years …

Lòpez threw a bullpen session Friday, his second time throwing off the mound since surgery. The right-hander, a 2024 All-Star in his first season with Atlanta, said his shoulder feels better than it has in several years.

“Throwing without pain, it feels good,” López said. “I’ve been feeling that (discomfort) for four or five years. It was, like, getting worse. So this year at spring training, that’s when I felt it the most.”

López said the plan is to travel to the Braves’ training site at North Port, Fla., on Saturday and throw five more bullpen sessions there before facing hitters on Sept. 30. He said he would probably throw live batting practice twice before going home for the offseason, aiming to be fully recovered and without any limits when spring training begins.

… and will be considered a rotation option according to the team.

General manager Alex Anthopoulos said the plan is to keep López in a starting role, with the caveat that things could change depending on how personnel moves shake out this winter.

López said Friday that he prefers to stay in a starting role and thinks he has a better chance of staying healthy with the routine of a starter. However, he also said he’s open to being a reliever again if the Braves prefer that.

Dodgers

• Roki Sasaki added a sinker and changed his sweeper.

Sasaki also started throwing a sinker 18% to right-handed hitters at Triple-A. It has posted a better zone, swinging-strike, and ground-ball rate than his four-seamer in a smaller sample of usage. The Dodgers flipped the sweeper he was throwing in the majors to more of a true bullet slider.

Giants

• Justin Verlander plans on pitching next season.

After the 42-year-old built on his strong second half on Wednesday with seven shutout innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the future Hall of Famer said that he plans on returning for a 21st season.

“I would hope that somebody would offer me a contract now,” Verlander said following the San Francisco Giants’ 5-1 win. “Kind of showing that I can turn it around and still pitch at a high level.”

Phillies

• Zach Wheeler should have a shorter recovery because of the nature of his thoracic outlet syndrome.

Dr. Dean Donahue, director of Massachusetts General Hospital’s thoracic outlet syndrome program, said patients with vascular cases tend to rehab more quickly because “nerves recover very slowly in general.” Donahue, who is not Wheeler’s doctor and has not reviewed his medical records, said the expectation for any athlete with venous thoracic outlet syndrome is full recovery.

“That’s just the expectation for all of us that take care of this,” Donahue said. “It doesn’t mean it will happen. Obviously, it’s surgery and the human body, and people don’t always recover in a predictable manner. But, by far, the expectation is to be able to return to full function.”

I’m planning to find all the correct comps to start this offseason and get a good idea of how to value Wheeler going into the 2026 season.

• The team is setting up their playoff rotation with Taijuan Walker and Walker Buehler piggybacking this Friday’s start.

In the meantime, setting up starting pitching to be ready for the playoffs is at the front of Thomson’s mind. Tuesday, Thomson said that Cristopher Sánchez will be his Game 1 pitcher. Wednesday, before his team tried for a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Thomson revealed his other plans. Those will begin the next series against the Diamondbacks, beginning Thursday in Arizona.

“Friday, we’re going to piggyback,” the manager said. “Taijuan (Walker) will start and (Walker) Buehler will piggyback. So, it will be a Walker Buehler piggyback.”

Laughter erupted in the Phillies dugout as the manager gave himself a chuckle with his word play. “I’ve been thinking about it for weeks. (Aaron) Nola Saturday, Ranger (Suárez) Sunday.”

Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

American League

Angels

• Mike Trout has been dealing with knee pain
…

[Trout] also hasn’t played defense since April, due to lingering soreness after tweaking his surgically repaired left meniscus.

… and might rework his swing to cut down on his strikeouts.

The Angels have approached Trout about making swing changes surrounding his leg kick and hip placement, and while he has been open to them, he’s yet to actually implement those changes.

He’s described his mechanical issue as his back side collapsing. This, Trout said, causes his head to move back, which makes pitch recognition more difficult, and creates an “uphill” swing. Hence, copious strikeouts and a lack of hard contact.

It’s a problem he’s dealt with for years, he said, and acknowledged “I don’t know” when asked if it’s a product of aging.

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