Mining the News (8/28/25)

Allan Henry-Imagn Images

American League

Athletics

• Zack Gelof, Jacob Wilson윌슨, Darell Hernaiz, and Brett Harris with “shuffle” positions and starts.

On Monday, Gelof, Hernaiz and Harris were all in the A’s starting lineup, with Hernaiz manning third base and Harris at first base on a rare day of rest for Nick Kurtz. Those three will likely shuffle around the infield over the final month of the season as the A’s seek to get a closer evaluation of the trio of homegrown players.

“Wilson will also need some rest as we go,” Kotsay said. “There will be enough opportunity to utilize a rotation. It’s about performance, and we’ll also look for the best matchups for those opportunities as well.”

Blue Jays

• Nathan Lukes uses a new batting stance.

Caleb Joseph breaks down Nathan Lukes’ recent stance change at the plate, how a wider base helped him draw ‘effortless power’ over the last few games, and why he could be the hitter the Blue Jays have been searching for.

• Alek Manoah will remain a starter in AAA and not transition to the MLB bullpen.

The Jays have six capable starters at the big-league level, leaving Manoah’s path back to the rotation blocked barring multiple injuries. As the postseason draws closer, they could transition him into a short-burst relief option for October, but that’s not the plan. For now, the Jays will prioritize Manoah’s rehab and maintaining length at Triple A, Schneider said, even as the postseason draws near.

“I don’t really expect it to change,” Schneider said. “We want to keep him as a starter and keep him stretched out as a starter. That’s kind of what we view him as.”

• Joey Loperfido starts some games at first base in AAA.

[Loperfido] likely owns first dibs on the club’s September hitting call-up when rosters expand Sept. 1, even with the week of struggles. He owned a .358 average and .915 OPS in the big leagues before demotion.

The most interesting aspect of Loperfido’s recent Triple-A stint is his three games at first base. Loperfido regularly played first in college and played the position 68 times in five minor-league seasons. He’s yet to start a game at first in the big leagues, though.

Orioles

• The team will utilize a six-man rotation once rosters expand.

Interim manager Tony Mansolino said prior to Wednesday’s game vs. Boston at Camden Yards that Baltimore plans to utilize a six-man rotation for the last month of the campaign. The group will expand to include right-hander Tyler Wells, who made his sixth (and final) rehab start on Wednesday night for Triple-A Norfolk at Gwinnett.

Red Sox

• Kyle Harrison and Payton Tolle (edit: seems to be getting the call) are rotation options.

Harrison had been an option to make Monday’s start in Baltimore, having been scratched from his Triple-A start over the weekend, but the Red Sox opted to use an opener, followed by Fitts in a bulk role. Harrison pitched on Tuesday, but interestingly made an abbreviated start, pitching three innings and allowing one run on two hits, a walk and striking two.

Given that Harrison is on the 40-man roster and has big league experience, unlike Tolle, the Red Sox could be leaning toward him for Saturday.

“He’s been really good as of late,” pitching coach Andrew Bailey said. “Still with Kyle, he gets a lot of foul balls, works some deep at-bats. Getting efficient is huge for him, in terms of pitches per inning, but there’s ebbs and flows to that, of course.

• Walker Buehler will pitch in relief.

Cora said Buehler will continue to pitch in relief. Fitts was looked at as a possible replacement for Buehler. The big righty went four innings in bulk relief on Monday before suffering his injury.

Yankees

Anthony Volpe continues searching for his swing.

In his rookie season, Volpe showcased his pull-side power, but he didn’t make enough contact to his liking. That led Volpe to abandon his power approach for a flatter bat path and a more contact-oriented swing, leading to suboptimal results.

This year, Volpe’s been a mixture of the two seasons, oscillating between a power and contact approach that has led to inconsistent results. Rowson pushed back on the notion that Volpe’s behind-the-scenes work on his swing isn’t leading to results.
…
The only profile that has worked for Volpe on any level is the one he had in the minors, where he displayed his pull-side power. However, Volpe has gotten away from that over the past two years. This season, he ranks 217th out of 252 players in pull air percentage.

National League

Braves

• Spencer Strider is working hard to reshape his pitches.

To put this into context, when Strider set a franchise record with 281 strikeouts in 2023, the average induced vertical break of his four-seamer was 18.4 inches. He entered Monday with his 2025 average being 16.3 inches.

Strider’s improvement could be attributed to last week’s trip to Maven, a baseball lab located about seven miles south of Truist Park. The lab, which is used by many players during the offseason, has technology that the Braves hurler knew would benefit him.

“Trying to understand how to move in an optimal way in the short term between starts is tough, but it’s something I have to do,” Strider said. “If I can’t throw my fastball in the strike zone, that’s a problem. [With the late life], I can turn some of those fastballs in the zone, even if I miss location, into foul balls, like they had been previously in my career.”

Dodgers

• Roki Sasaki’s fastball averaged 96 mph in his last rehab start.

Sasaki averaged 96.4 mph and topped out at 98.8 on his four-seamer, an uptick from his previous start last Wednesday. The 23-year-old struck out four, walked two and allowed three earned runs on five hits across 3 2/3 innings against the Memphis Redbirds (Cardinals’ affiliate). He threw 75 pitches (47 strikes).

Earlier in the week, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the goal had been to get Sasaki through four innings and possibly into the fifth. Sasaki is expected to need at least one additional rehab start before he can be an option to return to the big league club.

Before going on the IL, he averaged 96 mph.

• Tanner Scott’s slider is up 2 mph.

He’s come back, seemingly with a harder slider. The 298 sliders Scott threw before his injury averaged 88.2 mph. The 10 he’s thrown in two outings since his return have averaged 90.2 mph.

So what gives?

“My slider’s always been like 88 to 91,” Scott said. “But now that I have my delivery back, it’s easier to throw it that hard again.”

The pause on Scott’s season allowed the Dodgers’ staff a chance to find a way to get Scott back to his 2024 form. With it, they noticed Scott had been opening up his hips too quickly before driving down the mound, making him force the power behind his pitch rather than let it happen naturally. That, in part, can explain why his fastball velocity has been 96.4 mph this season compared with 97.0 mph a year ago. It can also explain why a tight, firm slider from a year ago was producing worse results.

I’m not sure the faster slider is helping him. When averaging over 89 mph on the slider, the pitch has a 10% SwStr%. When under 89 mph, a 21% SwStr%.

• Freddie Freeman has a recurring nerve issue in his neck.

All-Star Freddie Freeman was out of the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup on Wednesday because of a nerve issue in his neck.

Manager Dave Roberts said Freeman had a “stinger,” which typically affects a network of nerves extending from the neck into the shoulder and arm.

“It’s something that is recurring, but it’s been kind of showing itself a little bit the last couple days,” Roberts said. “I think that just giving him a couple days, with the off day tomorrow, he’ll be back on Friday.”

Mets

• Tylor Megill gets another rehab start.

Megill, who’s recovering from a right elbow sprain, could have been an option to give the Mets a spot start this weekend, but team officials want to see him make another Minor League rehab outing first. While Megill could still play a role for the Mets in September, he won’t move into the rotation this homestand.

Phillies

• The team doesn’t plan on using a six-man rotation because none of the bullpen arms have minor league options.

Asked if the team had alternate plans for a six-man rotation in Wheeler’s absence, Thomson said it would be difficult at the current time because of the lack of flexibility in the bullpen. Basically, none of the team’s current low-leverage relievers have any Minor League options remaining, meaning the Phillies would need to DFA someone to call up a sixth starter.

Reds

• This quote on Elly De La Cruz not being 100% caught me by surprise …

There’s no question that De La Cruz hasn’t been at 100 percent for much of the season, but there are at least signs he’s getting closer.

… so I found he’s been dealing with a quad issue …

According to Charlie Goldsmith of Fox 19 Now Cincinnati, De La Cruz has been managing a quadriceps injury, which could explain his relative lack of activity as a baserunner in recent weeks. De La Cruz is expected to keep playing on an everyday basis as the Reds battle for a wild-card spot heading into September, and while he may continue to be selective with his steal attempts, fantasy managers should eventually expect some improvement with his production as a hitter.

… since late May.

As for that hamstring, the durable shortstop said it was “fine” and not a problem, even after about a half-hour of treatment following the game.

It’s got a good chance of staying that way if he has many more nights like this one.

Before the injury, he had 17 steals in 22 attempts. Since then, it has been 15 steals and 16 attempts.