The Phillies have signed right-hander Walker Buehler, The Athletic’s Matt Gelb reports. The deal will become official once Buehler passes a physical.
More to come…
Phillies Rumors
Phillies Claim Tim Mayza
3:51PM: The Phillies officially announced Mayza’s claim, and Wheeler was placed on the 60-day IL in the corresponding move.
12:32PM: The Phillies have claimed left-hander Tim Mayza off waivers from the Pirates, according to a press release from the Bucs’ Triple-A affiliate in Indianapolis (hat tip to MLB.com’s Alex Stumpf). Philadelphia will need to clear a 40-man roster spot before the transaction becomes official, although this can easily be done by transferring Zack Wheeler to the 60-day injured list.
Mayza himself has been on the 60-day IL for much of the season, as the veteran reliever hasn’t pitched in a big league game since April due to a lat strain and a teres major strain. Mayza did start a rehab assignment this month, and pitched in four games (two in A-ball, two in Indianapolis) while working his way up to full readiness.
It would seem like Mayza is getting pretty close to being ready for an activation, and he’ll get to make his return for a contending team in Philadelphia. There hasn’t been any public word that Mayza had designated for assignment or placed on outright waivers, though those moves aren’t always publicized, especially during August waiver claim season.
In adding Mayza prior to September 1, the Phillies ensure that Mayza is eligible for selection on a postseason roster. Between Jose Alvarado, Matt Strahm, and Tanner Banks, the Phils already have a good amount of left-handed bullpen depth, though it certainly doesn’t hurt to have another experienced arm on hand. Mayza has pitched in each of the last three postseasons, amassing a 2.08 ERA over 4 1/3 total playoff innings with the Blue Jays and Yankees.
Pittsburgh signed Mayza to a one-year, $1.15MM free agent deal back in February. The contract ended up being a wash for the team due to Mayza’s extended injury absence, though he did post a 2.89 ERA over his 9 1/3 innings in a Bucs uniform. The lefty was a pretty effective bullpen arm for most of his tenure in Toronto, but he struggled badly early in 2024 and was designated for assignment mid-season, with the Yankees putting in a claim. Mayza somewhat righted the ship with a 4.00 ERA over 18 innings for New York, but the Yankees still chose to non-tender him following the season.
With the Pirates well out of contention, the waiver claim will save Pittsburgh the approximately $190K remaining on Mayza’s 2025 salary. Since the Phillies are well over the highest tier of luxury tax penalization, Mayza’s price tag will cost them over $400K in both actual salary and additional tax money, though that isn’t exactly a big expenditure for a free-spending club intent on winning a championship.
MLBTR Podcast: A Conversation With Pirates GM Ben Cherington — Also The O’s, Zack Wheeler, And The Rangers
The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Pirates general manager Ben Cherington to discuss…
- What attracted Cherington to a smaller market like Pittsburgh (2:40)
- Why have the Pirates been so much better at developing pitching than hitting? (5:10)
- The choice of picking Paul Skenes first overall in 2023 (9:05)
- The Pirates not having signed a free agent to a multi-year deal in many years (13:45)
- Is there a sense of urgency for the Pirates to make something happen in the near future? (16:20)
- The balance of subtracting pitching to add hitting (18:45)
- What percentage of rumors that make it to the public are based in fact? (22:30)
Plus, Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors joins the show to discuss…
- The Orioles extending Samuel Basallo and losing Félix Bautista to shoulder surgery (23:45)
- Zack Wheeler of the Phillies facing a lengthy absence (43:35)
- The Rangers losing several players to the injured list as they hang in the back of the playoff race (57:00) (recorded prior to the Nathan Eovaldi news)
Check out our past episodes!
- The Pohlads Aren’t Selling The Twins, Nathaniel Lowe, And Service Time Manipulation – listen here
- Walk-Year Performances, Roman Anthony’s Extension, And More! – listen here
- Sifting Through The Trade Deadline Deals – listen here
The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!
Photo courtesy of Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images
Phillies Release Joe Ross, Place Jordan Romano On Injured List
The Phillies announced that they have recalled right-hander Daniel Robert and selected the contract of fellow righty Lou Trivino. In corresponding moves, righty Joe Ross has been released and Jordan Romano has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to right middle finger inflammation. Matt Gelb of The Athletic reported many of these details prior to the official announcement.
The Phils signed Ross to a one-year, $4MM deal in the offseason. He had missed the 2022 and 2023 seasons due to injuries but had bounced back with a solid 2024 campaign. He tossed 74 innings for the Brewers as a swingman with a 3.77 earned run average.
He has been in the Philadelphia bullpen all year, apart from a brief IL stint due to back spasms, often providing the club with more than a single frame. On the whole, he has thrown 51 innings over 37 appearances with a 5.12 ERA. His 7.9% walk rate and 45.5% ground ball rate are decent figures but his 17.1% strikeout rate has been subpar.
The length provided by Ross has occasionally been useful in sparing the rest of the bullpen from greater wear and tear but that should be less of a concern going forward. On September 1st, rosters expand from 26 to 28, which will allow teams to carry 14 pitchers instead of the usual maximum of 13.
By cutting Ross today, the Phils are giving him a chance to land somewhere else. Given his salary and unimpressive results this year, he will likely clear waivers, if he hasn’t already. That will leave the Phils on the hook for the majority of what is still to be paid out. Any other club could sign Ross and would only owe him the prorated portion of the league minimum salary for any time spent on the roster. If he signs somewhere else before September 1st, even on a minor league deal, he would be postseason eligible with that club.
Romano was also signed to a one-year deal this offseason, his coming with an $8.5MM guarantee. His results have been far worse than Ross’s, as he has an 8.23 ERA in 42 2/3 innings. That has many Philly fans clamoring for him to be cut but there’s more reason for optimism under the hood with Romano, despite the awful ERA.
His 25.1% strikeout rate this year isn’t as good as his previous benchmark but is still above average, while his 9.1% walk rate is near par. He’s been undercut by an extremely unfortunate 49% strand rate. ERA estimators such as his 3.62 SIERA suggest he has deserved far better than his ERA. Perhaps he will get a chance to course correct, depending on how long this finger issue lasts.
As part of these moves, Trivino gets back to the big leagues. He was released by the Dodgers about a month ago and then landed a minor league deal with the Phils. Since then, he has tossed seven scoreless Triple-A innings.
His big league work hasn’t been amazing this year. Between the Giants and Dodgers, he has thrown 38 2/3 innings with a 4.42 ERA, 17.2% strikeout rate, 7.7% walk rate and 35.6% ground ball rate. His larger body of work is better but he missed the 2023 and 2024 seasons due to injury and hasn’t fully bounced back. He came into this year with a 3.86 ERA, 24.5% strikeout rate, 10.6% walk rate and 47.4% ground ball rate in 284 2/3 career innings.
Photo courtesy of Brad Mills, Imagn Images
Zack Wheeler Recommended For Thoracic Outlet Syndrome Surgery
Phillies ace Zack Wheeler underwent surgery to remove a blood clot from his near his throwing shoulder earlier this week, but the right-hander is now facing another serious health setback. As per a team media release today, Wheeler has been “diagnosed with venous thoracic outlet syndrome and the recommendation is to undergo thoracic outlet decompression surgery in the coming weeks.” This naturally ends Wheeler’s 2025 season, and he’ll need roughly 6-8 months to recover from the surgery, according to the Phillies’ projected timeline.
The brutal news adds to a tumultuous week for Wheeler, as it was just seven days ago that he was placed on the 15-day IL due to the blood clot. The successful surgery on Monday at least alleviated the most serious health concerns and put the focus back on when Wheeler might be able to return to pitching, even if getting back to the mound in 2025 seemed unlikely. Details were kept relatively scarce about Wheeler’s status, yet speculation about thoracic outlet syndrome was raised just due to the co-relation between blood clots and the venous version of TOS.
Merrill Kelly is the best-known example of a pitcher who underwent a venous TOS procedure, and Kelly is also the best-case scenario for what Wheeler can hope to achieve in the aftermath of his upcoming surgery. Kelly underwent his surgery in September 2020, was ready to go for the start of the 2021 season, and essentially didn’t miss a beat in the aftermath as the right-hander continued to post solid numbers for the Diamondbacks and Rangers from 2021-25.
This return to form was helped by the fact that a venous or vascular TOS surgery (related to blood clots) is the slightly less serious version of thoracic outlet syndrome, at least in regards to pitching. Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post wrote a piece a little over two years ago detailing some differences between venous TOS and neurogenic TOS — the latter is the nerve-related version that essentially ended Stephen Strasburg’s career.
“If you had to pick, you’re not really sure which one you’d rather have [between venous and neurogenic TOS],” Kelly told Dougherty. “The blood clot was not fun. They are life-threatening. But for pitchers, TOS surgery to address a blood clot is much more straightforward than nerve issues. The diagnosis is more straightforward. The recovery is more straightforward. I was lucky in that way.”
This provides a bit of a silver lining to Wheeler’s situation, though naturally every person’s body responds to surgery in different ways. Only time will tell if Wheeler’s recovery can be as thorough as Kelly’s, or if Wheeler’s rehab period will extend into the 2026 season.
Losing Wheeler for 2025, of course, is bad enough for a Phillies team that has designs on winning the World Series. Wheeler was in the midst of another excellent season, posting a 2.71 ERA and elite secondary metrics across the board over 24 starts and 149 2/3 innings. Even in his age-35 season, the righty was continuing to add to a resume that will garner some attention from Cooperstown voters when he eventually retires. Since the start of the 2018 season, Wheeler leads all pitchers in fWAR (37.5) and has a 3.11 ERA over 1356 2/3 innings with the Mets and Phillies.
Wheeler has been the anchor of Philadelphia’s rotation since signing a five-year, $118MM free agent deal prior to the 2020 season, and then a three-year, $126MM extension for 2025-27 that was inked in March 2024. While losing Wheeler is a major blow, the Phils at least have a deeper rotation than most, and can still roll out Cristopher Sanchez, Ranger Suarez, Jesus Luzardo, Aaron Nola, and Taijuan Walker as the starting five. There’s extra pressure on the staff now that Wheeler is unavailable, and his sterling 2.18 career postseason ERA will be missed as the Phils try to capture that elusive championship ring.
Looking ahead to 2026, Suarez is a free agent this winter but the other four pitchers will return, plus top prospect Andrew Painter is expected to be ready for his first full Major League season. This gives the Phillies some cover if Wheeler’s recovery does stretch beyond Opening Day, yet adding a depth arm might now be part of Philadelphia’s offseason plans based on Wheeler’s progress.
Orioles Claim Josh Walker
The Orioles have claimed left-hander Josh Walker off waivers from the Phillies, according to announcements from both clubs. The O’s have optioned the southpaw to Triple-A Norfolk. They already had a 40-man vacancy from outrighting outfielder Jordyn Adams a few days ago, so no corresponding move was required. The Phils designated Walker for assignment earlier this week.
Walker, 30, has a limited amount of big league experience. He has thrown a combined 27 1/3 innings over the three most recent seasons. In that time, he has a 6.59 earned run average, which is obviously not strong. His 10.9% walk rate is also a bit high. However, his 24.2% strikeout rate is a good figure. His ERA has seemingly been inflated by a .380 batting average on balls in play and 59.4% strand rate. His 3.99 FIP and 2.70 SIERA paint a more optimistic portrait.
Ultimately, it’s a small sample of work and the O’s are probably putting more stock in his minor league numbers. From 2022 to the present, Walker has thrown 125 innings on the farm with a 3.96 ERA. His 12% walk rate is a bit high but his 30.6% strikeout rate is very intriguing.
For the O’s, they are playing out the string on a lost season, so they are making moves focused on the future. They sold at the deadline and have grabbed a number of players off waivers since then. Walker is in his final option season. That means he can be kept in the minors for the rest of this year but will be out of options going into 2026. He has less than a year of service time, so he is still a ways away from arbitration and even further away from free agency. If he can carve out a role in Baltimore’s bullpen, they can cheaply retain him well into the future. It also wouldn’t a surprise if they try to pass him through waivers at some point in order to keep him as non-roster depth.
Photo courtesy of Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images
MLBTR Podcast: The Pohlads Aren’t Selling The Twins, Nathaniel Lowe, And Service Time Manipulation
The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…
- The Pohlad family taking the Twins off the market and what that could mean for the club’s future (2:10)
- Nathaniel Lowe getting released by the Nationals and signing with the Red Sox (18:35)
- The Astros losing Josh Hader due to a shoulder capsule sprain (29:25)
- The Phillies losing Zack Wheeler due to a blood clot (32:20)
- Why late August/September is prospect promotion season (36:00)
Plus, we answer your questions, including…
- Are there some notable relievers who could be on waivers this month? Also, what happens to a player when he is on waivers? (44:55)
- If I told you that the Dodgers signed Kyle Tucker, would you believe me? (52:40)
- What’s the craziest out-of-nowhere team to make the playoffs and could a team do it this year? (56:35)
Check out our past episodes!
- Walk-Year Performances, Roman Anthony’s Extension, And More! – listen here
- Sifting Through The Trade Deadline Deals – listen here
- Megapod Trade Deadline Preview – listen here
The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!
Photo courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn, Imagn Images
Phillies Designate Josh Walker For Assignment, Activate José Alvarado
The Phillies announced that left-hander José Alvarado has been reinstated from the restricted list. That move was expected as he had served his 80-game PED suspension. To make make room for him, the Phils optioned right-hander Nolan Hoffman to Triple-A Lehigh Valley and designated left-hander Josh Walker for assignment.
Walker, 30, was acquired from the Jays in exchange for cash back in May. He pitched five innings with Toronto but hasn’t appeared in the majors with Philadelphia. Rather, he’s spent his entire time with the Phillies organization in Triple-A Lehigh Valley, where he’s logged 26 innings with a 4.50 ERA, 19.8% strikeout rate and 10.8% walk rate.
A towering 6’6″ left-hander, Walker has appeared in parts of three big league seasons — two with the Mets and earlier this year with the Jays. He’s pitched only 27 1/3 MLB frames, however, and sports a rocky 6.59 ERA in that limited sample of work. He’s fanned nearly one quarter of his opponents and has a sharp 12.4% swinging-strike rate, but command has been a struggle for him both in the majors and in the upper minors. That said, Walker does have a more palatable 4.46 ERA and 26% strikeout rate in 167 2/3 innings of Triple-A work.
Alvarado has been out since May 16 after receiving an 80-game ban following a positive PED test. His absence subtracted one of the Phillies’ top relief arms, and he’ll return to a new-look bullpen that suddenly looks like a powerhouse. In Alvarado’s absence, the Phillies acquired Jhoan Duran from the Twins and signed free agent David Robertson. That pair, combined with Matt Strahm, Orion Kerkering, Tanner Banks and the returning Alvarado, makes the Phillies’ relief corps both exceptionally deep and dangerous for opposing lineups.
In 20 innings prior to his suspension, Alvarado pitched to a 2.70 ERA with a 29.8% strikeout rate and just a 4.8% walk rate. While he had some struggles last year (4.09 ERA), Alvarado has generally been a high-impact bullpen weapon for skipper Rob Thomson for the past several seasons. Dating back to 2022, he’s pitched 174 major league innings and logged a 3.10 ERA, 32% strikeout rate, 10.2% walk rate and 50.5% grounder rate.
Despite being on the restricted list, Alvarado was allowed to pitch in a minor league rehab stint as a tune-up to return to the Philadelphia bullpen. He tossed five shutout innings, albeit with as many walks as strikeouts. Alvarado recorded a huge 62.9% ground-ball rate in that time. His average sinker dipped from 99.3 mph to 98 mph, though that’s not exactly a surprise given the lengthy layoff.
While Alvarado will provide a major boost to the Phillies down the stretch, he’ll be a non-factor when the postseason rolls around. Players who are suspended for PED usage are ruled ineligible for the playoffs during the year in which they served their suspension. Thomson will have Alvarado at his disposal for the next six weeks, but in October, it’ll be Duran, Robertson, Strahm, Banks and Kerkering anchoring the bullpen — perhaps alongside one of the current rotation members, depending on the health and performance of the group between now and late September.
Vesting Options Update: Giolito, Polanco, Strahm
The upcoming free agent class doesn’t feature a ton of players whose contracts contain vesting options. Marcus Stroman’s deal with the Yankees would’ve contained an $18MM player option had he reached 140 innings, but an early-season knee injury made that impossible. The Yanks released him earlier this month anyhow.
While Stroman’s option was a non-factor, a trio of players are closing in on their own vesting provisions.
- Lucas Giolito, Red Sox RHP ($14MM club option converts to $19MM mutual option at 140 innings; $1.5MM buyout in either case)
Giolito is up to 106 2/3 innings across 19 starts. He needs another 33 1/3 frames to convert next season’s $14MM team option into a $19MM mutual provision. That’d allow him to decline his end and retest free agency as he heads into his age-31 campaign. He’d very likely do so and could command a three-plus year contract.
The righty’s season numbers aren’t exceptional. Giolito carries a 3.63 earned run average with a 19.6% strikeout percentage that is his lowest since his terrible 2018 campaign. He had a trio of blowups in his first seven appearances after missing all of last season to an internal brace surgery. He has been locked in over the past two-plus months. In his last 12 starts, Giolito carries a 2.34 ERA while averaging over six innings per appearance. His 20.4% strikeout rate still isn’t great, and he has benefitted from a .229 opponents average on balls in play, but he at least looks the part of a durable mid-rotation arm again.
Giolito has a good shot to reach 140 innings. He’d need to average a little under six innings per start over his next six appearances. If he stays healthy, he should take the ball at least seven times — which would give him leeway in case he has one bad outing in which he’s knocked out after two or three frames. Even a minimal injured list stint would take it off the table, though.
Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said over the weekend that the Sox had no intention of changing Giolito’s workload to keep him from vesting the option. No front office executive would publicly admit otherwise, of course, but there’s no reason to doubt Breslow in this case. The Red Sox are trying to secure a postseason berth. Even if they were out of contention, limiting a player’s workload so they could exercise an option to keep that player at a below-market rate wouldn’t make for an especially good relationship. If he gets to free agency, Giolito could take aim at something like the three-year deals secured by Luis Severino ($67MM with an opt-out after the second season) and Sean Manaea ($75MM with deferrals).
- Jorge Polanco, Mariners DH/2B ($8MM mutual option converts to $6MM player option at 450 plate appearances, escalates to $8MM player option at 550 plate appearances; $750K buyout in either case)*
Polanco re-signed with Seattle last offseason on a somewhat complicated deal that reflected his health uncertainty coming off left knee surgery. The deal contains an $8MM mutual option which would vest into a $6MM player provision if Polanco reaches 450 plate appearances. Polanco has taken 395 trips to the dish. He’s 55 plate appearances from reaching the vesting mark, and he’d escalate the player option price back to $8MM if he tallies another 155 trips before season’s end.
Initially, the Mariners looked to have struck gold with that surprise re-signing. Polanco blasted nine home runs while hitting .384 through the end of April. Even with knee and side discomfort limiting him to early-season DH work, he looked rejuvenated. Polanco’s production completely tanked over the next two months, however. He had a huge July but is back to a .213/.275/.298 showing in 14 games this month.
Polanco has hit .209/.283/.344 across 315 plate appearances since the beginning of May. His season batting line (.245/.310/.439) is still above-average, but there have been significant peaks and valleys. Cole Young has taken over at second base. While Eugenio Suárez’s impending free agency leaves an opening at third base, Polanco hasn’t shown he’s healthy enough to play there regularly. There’s a good chance the Mariners would buy out their end of the option if it remains a mutual provision. Polanco only needs to start another 13 or 14 games to give himself more security.
That shouldn’t be a problem with 36 games remaining on the schedule. The M’s have sat him in each of their past two games against left-handed opponents, but he continues to play regularly versus righties. He’s highly unlikely to get all the way to 550 PA’s to push the player option to $8MM, but he should easily unlock the $6MM player option that’ll give him the unilateral decision whether to return to free agency.
* The vesting provision also requires that Polanco hasn’t suffered a lower body injury that’d prevent him from being ready for Opening Day 2026.
- Matt Strahm, Phillies LHP ($5.5MM team option becomes guaranteed at $7.5MM at 60 innings)*
Strahm’s extension with the Phillies contained a $4.5MM club option for the 2026 season. The southpaw has already pushed that to $5.5MM and will escalate it to $6.5MM when he records two more outs. He’s 10 2/3 innings away from hitting the 60-inning threshold, at which point the price jumps to $7.5MM and becomes guaranteed.
In his case, it’s probably immaterial. Even if Strahm suffers a minor injury that keeps him from getting to 60 frames, the Phillies would probably exercise the option. Strahm is having another impressive season, working to a 3.10 ERA with six saves and 14 holds. His velocity has dropped a tick and he has lost a few points on his strikeout rate, but he has still punched out an above-average 27.7% of opponents. Strahm is one of Rob Thomson’s more trusted setup arms.
* The vesting provision also requires that Strahm pass a postseason physical.
Phillies Place Zack Wheeler On Injured List With Blood Clot
August 18: The Phils announced today that Wheeler “underwent a successful thrombolysis procedure to remove a blood clot in his right upper extremity this morning by Dr. Paul DiMuzio at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. Further treatment and a subsequent timeline of recovery for Wheeler is to be determined.”
August 16: The Phillies announced that Zack Wheeler has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a right upper extremity blood clot. According to Charlotte Varnes of The Athletic, the clot is near his throwing shoulder. The team has not announced a timetable for his return.
Philadelphia will activate Aaron Nola from the 60-day IL tomorrow. He’s listed as the probable starter for their series finale in Washington. They initially intended to go with a six-man rotation. Instead, Nola will take Wheeler’s spot in a five-man staff that also includes Cristopher Sánchez, Ranger Suárez, Jesús Luzardo and Taijuan Walker. They’ll still need to open a 40-man roster spot for Nola and make an active roster transaction to clear space for Alec Bohm, who is expected back from a 10-day IL stint tomorrow.
The immediate roster considerations take a back seat to concern about Wheeler’s future. The Phils should be able to withstand a short-term absence, at least with regard to the division. They’ve built a five-game lead over the Mets in the NL East. Their hold on the #2 seed in the National League and the associated first-round bye is tenuous. They’re only half a game up on the Dodgers and Padres, who enter play Saturday night tied for the NL West lead. (San Diego and L.A. are playing one another, so one of them will tie Philly this evening.) The scorching hot Brewers have pulled well ahead of the pack for the NL’s top seed.
If this requires a longer-term absence, it’d obviously be a massive blow. Wheeler remains on the short list for the title of MLB’s best pitcher. He has a 2.71 earned run average and leads the majors with 195 strikeouts. He’s averaging more than six innings per start. This will probably be Wheeler’s second consecutive sub-3.00 ERA showing and his fifth time allowing fewer than three earned runs per nine over his six seasons in Philadelphia. Wheeler has been exceptionally durable. This is just his second IL stint as a Phillie, with the other being a month-long absence due to forearm tendinitis in 2022.
A healthy Wheeler would be Philadelphia’s Game 1 starter. There’s no indication that the team is concerned about his playoff availability, but a blood clot comes with a level of uncertainty. The Phillies will presumably provide more specifics in the next few days.
