Mining the News (9/2/26)

Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images

Note: Any noted rostership rates come from the NFBC RotoWire Online Championship, the same rates we use on the FanGraphs Player Rater. For reference, these leagues are 12-team Roto leagues with 30-man rosters (2 C, 1B, 2B, SS, 3B, MI, CI, 5 OF, UT, 9 P) and weekly add/drops. This rate can be compared to other rostership rates found in this article.

American League

Guardians

• Slade Cecconi seems to be building up as a reliever during his rehab assignment.

RHP Slade Cecconi
Injury: Right arm fatigue
IL date: Aug. 7 (15-day IL)
Expected return: September
Status: Set for second rehab appearance with Triple-A Columbus on Aug. 30. Threw 26 pitches over one scoreless inning in first outing on Aug. 25, followed by 10 pitches in bullpen.

Both of his appearances are out of the bullpen, but he has thrown 3.2 IP. Multi-inning reliever in the making.

Orioles

• Félix Bautista is nearing a return from IL.

RHP Félix Bautista
Injury: Right shoulder surgery
IL date: Feb. 20 (60-day IL)
Expected return: September
Status: Made third rehab appearance (and second for Triple-A Norfolk) on Aug. 30, tossing a scoreless inning for the second straight time out.

His addition will split Saves for an already crowded bullpen where three different pitchers got Saves this week (Kittredge x2, Cano, Hoppe).

Red Sox

• Willson Contreras has been dealing with a hamstring issue for weeks.

1B Willson Contreras
Injury: Left hamstring strain
IL date: Aug. 31 (10-day IL)
Expected return: Sept. 10 at earliest
Status: Injury has nagged him for weeks, but could miss just the minimum 10 days.

August was his worst month with a .715 OPS, with April being the next lowest(.861 OPS).

• If Garrett Crochet returns, he’ll be a reliever.

LHP Garrett Crochet
Injury: Left shoulder inflammation
IL date: April 29 (retroactive to April 26, 60-day IL)
Expected return: Late season at best
Status: Trying to make it back for final stretch as short-inning reliever. He is currently playing catch off the mound to reacclimate to the slope.

Currently, he’s 52% rostered. That should be lower, but there may be too many dead teams to get it even close to zero.

Tigers

• Jackson Jobe is making a ton of changes (note: I left information out that I would normally include. I feel I copied too much of the article already. The article goes into more detail on each of the changes).

Hence all the adjustments Jobe has been making recently. He toyed with his curveball grip before his last outing, moved his spiked finger up on the baseball and watched as the pitch’s velocity jumped and hitters seemed flummoxed.
…
Jobe has been tinkering with his changeup — often his best swing-and-miss pitch in the minor leagues — trying to recapture the feel he lost after more than a year on the shelf. Jobe is throwing his changeup only 11 percent of the time so far in 2026, down from 16.9 percent last season.
…
Jobe’s four-seam currently has a Stuff+ grade of only 99. But the velocity is real. The vertical ride on the pitch is slightly above average. Although Jobe does not get much extension coming down the mound, he is intentionally throwing from a lower arm slot this year, down to 38 degrees compared to 43 last season.
…
Those results and that context are large reasons Jobe has featured his sinker more prominently in his past two outings. He threw it 20 times and went to the pitch against both righties and lefties in his latest start.
…
Even with all that still a work in progress, he’s already contemplating whether a cutter would help tie his arsenal together — though he’s not ready to add it just yet.

To summarize, he is:

• Working on his curve and change.
• Throwing his four-seamer from a new arm slot.
• Throwing his sinker more.
• Might add a cutter.

National League

Braves

• Reynaldo López is returning to be a starter.

RHP Reynaldo López
Injury: Left knee inflammation
IL date: Aug. 2 (15-day IL, retroactive to July 30)
Expected return: TBD
Status: Has allowed four runs in nine innings through two rehab starts. He’ll make at least one more rehab start. The Braves want to keep him stretched out to serve as an insurance option for their rotation.

López could easily take AJ Smith-Shawver’s rotation spot, but there aren’t any other obvious rotation needs.

Cubs

• Edward Cabrera (26% rostered) and Justin Steele will return from the IL and head into the bullpen.

RHP Edward Cabrera
Injury: Right middle finger (blister)
IL date: Aug. 17 (15-day IL)
Expected return: September
Status: Threw bullpen session on Aug. 25 and live BP on Aug. 28. Scheduled to begin a rehab stint with Triple-A Iowa during week of Sept. 1. Will return for shorter stints, likely as a reliever.
…
LHP Justin Steele
Injury: Left elbow flexor strain
IL date: March 25 (60-day IL)
Expected return: Late in 2026 season
Status: Threw two innings of live BP on Aug. 25 and was scheduled to pitch in a “bridge game” in Arizona on Aug. 29, per manager Craig Counsell. If Steele returns to Cubs this year, it will likely be in a relief role.

Diamondbacks

• Corbin Burnes’s next start could be in the majors.

RHP Corbin Burnes
Injury: Tommy John surgery/Teres major strain
IL date: March 25 (60-day IL, retroactive to March 22)
Expected return: September
Status: Began throwing program on July 10. Pitched for Triple-A Reno on Aug. 29. Team still deciding where and when his next outing will be, but could be in big leagues.

I’m not too excited about Burnes with his average fastball velocity down 1.5 mph from last season and 2.5 mph from two seasons ago. He has no strikeouts yet in 2 IP.

Dodgers

• Justin Wrobleski (31% rostered) is about to come off the IL.

LHP Justin Wrobleski
Injury: Left forearm inflammation
IL date: Aug. 16 (15-day IL)
Expected return: Early September
Status: Tossed 1 1/3 innings in a rehab outing with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Aug. 29. He could join the Dodgers’ bullpen soon.

With Eric Lauer struggling (8.41 ERA 5.51 xFIP) over his last five starts and Shohei Ohtani still hurt, he could be a rotation option.

Padres

• Nick Pivettta (30% rostered) is nearing the completion of his minor league rehab.

RHP Nick Pivetta
Injury: Right elbow inflammation
IL date: April 14 (retroactive to April 13; transferred to 60-day IL on June 2)
Expected return: September
Status: Pitched 4 1/3 innings in a rehab start with Triple-A El Paso on Aug. 30, his second rehab outing after an early-August setback.

In his rehab games, his average fastball velocity is down 1.6 mph to 92.6 mph. Even with the diminished velocity, his numbers look good (12.4 K/9, 2.3 BB/9).

Phillies

• Zack Wheeler’s recent struggles (8.51 ERA, 4.50 xFIP, 5.9 BB/9 in six starts before his last one) might be from his glove placement.

“When I feel off, or stuff’s going wrong,” Wheeler said, “I really like looking at the biomechanics stuff because you can see a lot of different stuff, compared to the old-school video, that you might not see. They have the balls on your joints where you can see the smallest little difference.”

So, in the four days between one of the worst starts of his career and a much-improved outing Sunday in a 5-2 Philadelphia Phillies win over the Los Angeles Angels, Wheeler leaned on a trusted tool. An analyst, who was not a Phillies employee at the beginning of August, showed Wheeler a graph.

The ace was holding his glove 2 inches lower whenever he came set during his eight-run start against the Seattle Mariners. It had been trending downward all season. His posture was askew. It messed with his mechanics. He could not throw the baseball where he intended.

Reds

• Chase Burns (76% started) will form a pitching tandem with Brandon Williamson (6.11 ERA, 6.46 xFIP, 6.43 BB/9, 1.64 WHIP).

Burns, who earned his 15th win during Sunday’s 7-5 Reds victory over the Cubs, will get a full week off before his next scheduled start. He is currently scheduled to open next Monday’s series opener vs. the Dodgers in Los Angeles. But going forward, left-hander Brandon Williamson will follow him in games.

“[Williamson] will slot in behind him at some point,” Francona said. “That’s to be determined. It’s a Major League game and we’re trying to win. I don’t think you just tell the other team what you’re going to do. I don’t think we actually know. We’re trying to use good judgement.”

Williamson, who has been on the 60-day injured list with left shoulder fatigue, will be activated on Wednesday and make a start vs. the Padres, before returning Monday after Burns on normal rest.

Williamson had no fantasy value, and now Burns’s is dead, especially in shallow leagues. If Burns makes it five innings to qualify for a Win, Williamson isn’t going to hold the lead.

Rockies

• Kyle Karros is about to begin his rehab assignment.

3B Kyle Karros
Injury: Concussion symptoms
IL date: Aug. 23 (7-day)
Expected return: Early September
Status: Played five innings in field and had five plate appearances in simulated game in Scottsdale, Ariz., and is expected to be cleared Sept. 1 to appear in an Arizona Bridge League game. Likely will have a rehab assignment at Double-A Hartford.

Just keep track of Karros with three of four series at home to end the season.