MLB Player News

Speas went unclaimed after being designated for assignment. The 26-year-old remains in the organization but will need to be added back to the 40-man roster in order to pitch in the majors.

That’s now back-to-back strong outings for Waldron since being sent back down to Triple-A at the beginning of the month. He walked three and struck out three on the day, so it wasn’t dominant, but we saw last season how impactful the 28-year-old can be when his knuckleball is dancing, so it might make sense for the Padres to give him another shot.

He struck out four and walked nobody while throwing 51 of his 76 pitches for strikes. He did allow two home runs, and the long ball has been an issue for him since arriving in Triple-A, but Painter will almost certainly make his MLB debut at some point in the second half.

The 23-year-old has eight home runs and 18 RBI in just 18 games at Triple-A Syracuse since his demotion. That comes with a .250/.333/.672 slash line. Perhaps more importantly, Alvarez’s pull rate is up 13 percent since being sent down, and he’s elevating the ball 20 percent more often. If he can get to his pullside power more often, Alvarez could be a real asset for the Mets down the stretch.

The former first-round pick is hitting .311/.405/.482 in 71 games at Triple-A this season with 10 home runs, 34 RBI, 52 runs, and 20 steals. Beavers has taken a more selective approach this season, chasing less outside of the zone but being far more aggressive inside of the zone. That has led to a huge jump in contact rate and a breakout for the 23-year-old. With trade rumors swirling around Ramon Laureano, Beavers may get a shot at MLB at-bats after the trade deadline. However, with the Orioles, you never really know how many at-bats that will be.

Both pitchers are coming off Tommy John surgery, but Brown seems more optimistic about Javier’s return in 2025. “He’s going to help us this year,” Brown said of Javier, who was up to 95 mph in his first rehab appearance over the weekend. Garcia was up to 94 mph on his fastball, but Brown said, “It’s probably going to take him a little bit longer.”

Contreras struck out three and walked two while throwing 51 of his 77 pitches for strikes. In 10 starts for Triple-A Norfolk, Contreras has a 2.59 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and 31/11 K/BB ratio in 41 2/3 innings. The strikeout upside is not immense, but Contreras has pitched well enough as a starter that he’s probably worthy of an opportunity over guys like Brandon Young. Contreras is still just 25 years old, so it might be a good idea for Baltimore to see if he could push for a spot in the starting rotation next season.

The left-hander also struck out three and didn’t walk anybody while throwing 23 of his 36 pitches for strikes. The command is the biggest thing here, and McClanahan seemed to be more than able to fill up the zone. His breaking pitches had plenty of movement and generated a handful of swings and misses, which is also nice to see. His fastball sat just 94 mph, but this was his first rehab appearance, so we assume that number will tick up as he continues to ramp up. We’d expect a few more starts for McClanahan at Triple-A, with an early August return looking likely. It’s probably time ot stash him in leagues where he was dropped.

Harrison needed 92 pitches to get 11 outs, throwing 54 of those pitches for strikes while allowing four hits. Harrison threw primarily fastballs and got eight of his nine whiffs on his four-seam. He also threw 22 curves and mixed in 15 of his new cutters. Patience is required when making changes to an approach and pitch mix. Given the Red Sox’s success with their pitchers at the minor league level, it’s reasonable to assume Harrison will work out the kinks. But with Tanner Houck also nearing a return from the IL, they may not need to rush Harrison up to the big leagues.

The 24-year-old is now hitting .362/.426/.776 in 14 games at Triple-A with seven home runs, 15 RBI, and six steals. He has some very loud raw tools that hint at stardom, but he also has 20 strikeouts in those 14 Triple-A games with just a 64 percent overall contact rate and a nearly 19 percent swinging strike rate. He had just a 58 percent contact rate and an 18.5 percent swinging strike rate at Double-A before his promotion. It’s rare for a player with such a poor contact profile to succeed at the big league level with any consistency.

McGee has made four appearances with the Brewers this season, posting a 3.00 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and a 5/3 K/BB ratio over six innings of work. No word yet on a corresponding move just yet, the Brewers will ride it out over the All-Star break before setting their roster before opening the second half of the season against the Dodgers in Los Angeles on Friday.