MLB Player News

Tuesday is the deadline to add players to the 40-man roster or risk losing them to the Rule 5 draft, and the Rays won’t take the chance. Mangum performed well in his first year in the Tampa Bay system with an .800 OPS, 20 stolen bases and .317 average with Durham in 2024 over 104 games.

Will there be a fourth? Yesavage had a 4.50 ERA and a 46/11 K/BB in 30 innings over eight outings for Double-A New Hampshire. He has a 3.01 ERA and a 134/30 K/BB over 80 2/3 innings overall this year. The Blue Jays don’t seem likely to need him as a starter while already possessing five reliable options and having Shane Bieber set to debut later this month. Still, injuries could strike, or the Jays could decide to see what Yesavage could offer out of the pen in September.

Buxton missed 15 days with rib-cage inflammation. It’s best to activate him immediately in fantasy leagues, but he probably will get more off days than usual down the stretch, what with the Twins simply playing out the string. Carson McCusker was demoted, and Austin Martin and Alan Roden could see less playing time with Buxton back. It’s also possible one of those two could head back to Triple-A once Matt Wallner returns from the paternity list.

McCusker went 1-for-3 as a DH in his only appearance during his two days with the Twins.

Nick Burdi is being DFA’d to open up a spot on the 40-man. It’s unclear who is getting taken off the active roster, but Isaiah Campbell might be the choice after throwing 23 pitches on Sunday.

Tidwell followed Landen Roupp (elbow), who threw only three innings in his rehab start. Tidwell then delivered a strong performance that saw him post a superb 43 percent whiff rate and 36 percent CSW. His sinker was just 91.8 mph in this one, which is down three mph from what we’ve seen this season, but you have to wonder if that could be some statcast misreadings given how well he pitched. His slider and sweeper combined for 17 whiffs on 16 swings, and the Giants really have to think about having his next performance come at the big league level.

The home run was an impressive at-bat in which Eldridge was initially called out on strikes after an 0-2 changeup. However, he challenged the pitch, which was revealed to be a ball, then walked the count full before hitting a 374-foot shot for his 12th home run at Triple-A. He has some swing-and-miss concerns, but he’s knocking on the door of MLB at-bats as the Giants’ offense continues to falter.

He also walked four and struck out five while throwing 47 of his 83 pitches for strikes. Abel seemed to break out a sweeper in this start that was three mph slower than his regular slider and with 10 inches more horizontal movement. He threw only seven of them, and one for a strike, so the Twins are clearly still tweaking some things with his pitch mix, but he posted a solid 23 percent whiff rate and 27 percent CSW on the day.

Wicks didn’t walk a batter and struck out four while throwing 41 of his 59 pitches for strikes. Since being sent back to Triple-A, the left-hander has allowed three earned runs on eight hits in 13 innings while striking out 14 and walking four. He might still be a better bet in the Cubs’ rotation than Ben Brown.

Despite being suspended for breaking MLB rules, Alvarado gets to play in professional games while still serving his suspension. He sat 97.7 mph on his sinker, which was down almost two mph from where he was before being suspended. He has until August 19th to get that velocity back since that’s the date he is eligible to return to the Phillies’ bullpen.

He also struck out twice, so it was a bit of a complete Spencer Jones game. The 24-year-old has cooled off after his hot stretch to begin his Triple-A career and is just 5-for-38 (.132) in August with one home run, seven steals, and a 13/6 K/BB ratio. The power and speed will never go away, but he’s going to need to make more consistent contact before an MLB call-up.