Gose, 34, spent many years as a position player in the majors but didn’t find much success and converted to the mound. In that role, he has intrigued with some high velocity and strikeout potential but has also shown control issues.

He tossed 27 2/3 innings for the Guardians over 2021 and 2022, allowing 3.90 earned runs per nine. He averaged 97.6 miles per hour on his fastball and struck out 31.9% of batters faced but also gave out free passes at a 13.8% clip. Tommy John surgery wiped out his entire 2023 season. He returned to the mound in 2024 but only got into three big league games. He tossed 44 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level with a 3.22 ERA, 30.7% strikeout rate and 14.1% walk rate.

Gose is clearly a bit of a project, despite his age. He’s only really been pitching for a few years and the big surgery layoff put things on pause for a while. A 34-year-old with ongoing control problems might be considered a lost cause but Gose is perhaps a special case due to his unusual trajectory. If he can harness his stuff a bit better, there’s intriguing potential there. He has less than four years of service time and can be retained beyond 2025 if he has a roster spot at season’s end, though he is out of options.

Ortiz, 29, is not to be confused with the Luis Ortiz who was recently traded from the Pirates to the Guardians. This Ortiz has pitched for the Orioles and Giants before spending the past two years with the Phillies. He has tossed 34 innings over five different MLB seasons with a 4.76 ERA, 16.3% strikeout rate, 10.5% walk rate and 48.6% ground ball rate.

He only made one big league appearance in 2024 and only five in the minors. He missed time due to ankle and shoulder injuries before undergoing Tommy John surgery in July. He will therefore miss most or perhaps all of the 2025 campaign. From 2021 to 2023, he tossed 155 1/3 Triple-A innings with a 4.58 ERA, 24.4% strikeout rate and 6.5% walk rate. If he eventually gets a roster spot, he still has one option season and less than two years of service time.

Sweet had not been on Detroit’s 40-man roster. He was set to reach minor league free agency today. While Detroit evidently wasn’t going to select his contract, the Phils were intrigued enough to carry him on the roster. The 28-year-old righty posted big numbers for the Tigers’ top affiliate in Toledo. Sweet struck out almost 34% of Triple-A hitters and posted a 3.91 ERA through 76 innings. He has limited MLB experience, allowing 10 runs in 8 2/3 innings between two teams in 2023.

McMillon changes hands via waivers for the second time in a few months. Miami grabbed the 6’3″ righty from Kansas City in early August. McMillon pitched well over 10 appearances for the Fish but ended the year on the injured list with elbow tightness. The Texas Tech product has an earned run average approaching 5.00 over four seasons in the minors. He averages north of 95 MPH on his fastball, so it’s a low-risk flier on a pitcher with a decent arm and two minor league options remaining.

Rangel, 27, signed a minor league deal with Philadelphia in July. The Mexican-born righty tossed 29 1/3 innings of 4.30 ERA ball in a swing role in Triple-A. He didn’t miss many bats but showed solid control. Rangel, who has yet to make his big league debut, would have been eligible for minor league free agency again this winter.

Of the players coming off the roster, Allard and Marté had the biggest roles this year. The former worked as a depth starter and posted an even 5.00 earned run average through 27 innings. The latter was hit hard to the tune of a 6.92 ERA across 26 frames in a middle relief role. Ortiz made one appearance but missed the majority of the year to ankle and shoulder problems. Castro played in Triple-A, where he tore a thumb ligament in August. Tarnok didn’t pitch in the majors after the Phillies claimed him from the A’s in June.

Phillips, 26, has likely been selected to give the club some length out of the bullpen. He has made 15 starts in Triple-A this year, tossing 92 innings, allowing 4.89 earned runs per nine. His 19.8% strikeout rate is subpar but his 9.4% walk rate is fine and he’s been getting grounders at a strong 50.9% clip.

The Philly rotation took a couple of hits recently, with Taijuan Walker and Spencer Turnbull landing on the IL in fairly quick succession. They still have a strong front four consisting of Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suárez and Cristopher Sánchez, but the fifth spot is a bit shakier. Michael Mercado is in that spot for now but he has just six innings of major league experience to this point.

Nola and Suárez are scheduled to go the next two days with Mercado on Sunday. If there’s any need for someone to eat innings, that could perhaps be Phillips, since he’s been stretched out for a starting role in the minors.

If that comes to pass, Phillips will be making his major league debut, though he’s been on a 40-man roster before. He was originally drafted by the Rangers and that club added him to their 40-man roster back in November 2019, to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft. He had tossed 131 innings in the minors that year with a 3.71 ERA, getting heaps of ground balls.

The minors were canceled by the pandemic in 2020 and then Phillips struggled in 2021, going to the Phillies on a waiver claim. The Phils passed him through waivers shortly thereafter and the righty needed Tommy John surgery at the end of that season, missing all of 2022. Last year, he had a 4.92 ERA in 122 2/3 innings split between Double-A and Triple-A.

As for Ortiz, he started the year on the injured list due to a left ankle sprain. He started a rehab assignment but that was shut down and manager Rob Thomson said last week that the righty will be having Tommy John surgery on July 11, per Tim Kelly of Phillies Nation on X. He’ll miss the remainder of the season and a big portion of 2025 as well.

Beyond the immediate help that Luzardo will bring to Miami’s pitching staff, today’s start figures to reignite the trade rumors that have swirled around the left-hander for months.  If Luzardo recaptures his 2021-22 form, he would be a very hot commodity at the trade deadline, as he is arbitration-controlled through the 2026 season.  The Luis Arraez trade has already signaled that the Marlins are in sell mode, but while the team pulled the trigger early on that deal, Luzardo’s suitors will want to see a larger sample size of healthy and productive starts before moving what would have to be a very substantial trade package to pry him away from Miami.

Some more from around the NL East…

• Phillies reliever Luis Ortiz is set to restart his throwing program today after he was shut down due to right shoulder inflammation.  “We don’t think it’s anything, but we’re just taking it easy on him,” Phils manager Rob Thomson told MLB.com and other media.  A sprained ankle in his first game of the season sent Ortiz to the 15-day IL back on March 31, and he made Triple-A rehab appearances on both April 23 and 25 before his new shoulder issue popped up.  Ortiz had a 3.32 ERA in 19 relief innings for Philadelphia last season, amidst many shuttles up and down from the majors and Triple-A.
• Braves manager Brian Snitker told reporters (including Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution) that Pierce Johnson is “looking really good” as he works his way back from a bout of elbow inflammation.  Johnson was placed on the 15-day IL a week ago, but is already doing some low-intensity mound work, and appears to be on pace to miss only the minimum 15 days.  Johnson has emerged as a key piece of Atlanta’s bullpen after being acquired by the Rockies at the last trade deadline, and the Braves extended the right-hander on a two-year deal worth $14.25MM in guaranteed money back in October to keep Johnson off the free agent market.
• Nationals fans received positive updates regarding a pair of injured young righties recently. As relayed by MLB.com’s Injury Tracker, manager Dave Martinez told reporters that both Josiah Gray and Cade Cavalli threw off a mound in their rehab processes yesterday. Gray hit the shelf with a flexor strain just two starts into his 2024 campaign and reportedly looked good in his 35-pitch bullpen session, throwing 32 of the pitches for strikes. Cavalli, meanwhile, threw 45 pitches in 2 2/3 simulated innings as he works his way back from last year’s Tommy John surgery. Gray appears to be closer to a return to action than Cavalli, who Martinez indicated is on track for a return sometime next month. Washington has relied on left-hander Mitchell Parker, who has posted a strong 2.67 ERA in five starts this season, to round out the club’s rotation in Gray’s absence.

The injury compounded a tough day on the mound for Ortiz Saturday, as he was charged with two earned runs over two-third of an inning in Philadelphia’s 12-4 loss to the Braves.  Ortiz appeared to hurt his ankle while attempting a fielding play in the fifth inning, and though he returned to the mound in the top of the sixth, he was pulled after allowing singles to the first two batters faced.

While the severity of the sprain isn’t yet known, it isn’t a great sign that Ortiz is immediately heading to the IL, rather than the common practice of taking a day or two to monitor swelling.  It could be that the Phillies recognized that Ortiz would be delaying the inevitable in waiting to go on the injured list, and sidelining him now also allows the team to get a fresh arm into the bullpen.  The Phils’ relief corps has already seen a lot of work over a pair of lopsided losses to Atlanta in Philadelphia’s first two games.

Ortiz is in his second season with the Phillies, and posted a 3.32 ERA over 19 relief innings for the club in 2023 despite a lot of roster shuffling in the form of numerous trips back and forth from Triple-A.  Prior to last season, Ortiz had thrown only 14 1/3 total big league frames sprinkled across three seasons with the Orioles and Giants from 2018-22, and he didn’t pitch in the majors at all in 2020 or 2021.  The Rangers selected Ortiz 30th overall in the 2014 draft, and he drew some top-100 prospect attention during his time in the minors.

Plassmeyer, 25, made his MLB debut with the Phillies last year. The southpaw posted a 3.68 ERA and 3.38 FIP over two long relief appearances, racking up seven strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings of work. He’s been pitching at the minor league level for Philadelphia since then, and sports a 4.64 ERA in 75 2/3 innings of work across 19 appearances (17 starts) at the High-A and Triple-A levels. Plassmeyer figures to give the Phillies volume out of the bullpen for the second game of today’s doubleheader, should it be necessary.

To make room for Plassmeyer on the 40-man roster, the club recalled Uelmen to Triple-A before immediately placing him on the 60-day IL. Uelmen appeared in just one inning for the Phillies previously this season, allowing four runs on three hits and two walks while striking out just one. The righty posted a 4.08 ERA in 17 2/3 innings of work across three levels of the minor leagues this season, and made just three appearances June 4 due to injuries.

Meanwhile, the 28-year-old Ortiz makes room for Plassmeyer on the active roster. Ortiz was called up just earlier today for the first half of the doubleheader, during which he struck out two over a scoreless inning of work. Entering today, Ortiz owned a 3.50 ERA and 3.25 FIP in 18 innings of work with the Phillies since being claimed off waivers from the Giants this past offseason.

Covey is now ineligible to return until at least October 12, so he wouldn’t be available for a playoff roster unless the Phillies reached the NLCS.  Even in that best-case scenario, the Phillies might not prefer to activate a pitcher coming off an extended layoff, and Covey might have been something of a borderline candidate to make the postseason roster even if healthy.

Regardless of the unfortunate ending, 2023 has still been Covey’s most successful season in the big leagues.  He posted a 6.57 ERA over 264 1/3 innings with the White Sox and Red Sox from 2017-20 before heading to the Chinese Professional Baseball League for two seasons with the Rakuten Monkeys.  Covey pitched well enough to attract the attention of North America, and he inked a minor league deal with the Dodgers that resulted in a single MLB game in Dodger Blue.

Covey was designated for assignment after that lone game in May but quickly claimed off waivers by the Phillies.  Powered by a 54.3% grounder rate and a lot of soft contact, Covey has a 3.69 ERA over 39 innings with Philadelphia, posting some quality bottom-line results despite a very modest 15.7% strikeout rate.  Even his ERA is somewhat skewed by Covey’s lone start with the Phillies, as he lasted just two-thirds of an inning while allowing five earned runs.  In 42 1/3 other innings as a reliever in 2023, Covey’s ERA is 2.76.

The severity of Dominguez’s strain isn’t yet known, and both the Phillies and the right-hander can only hope that it isn’t the type of lingering oblique problem that can sideline a player for months.  Dominguez is unfortunately no stranger to long-term injuries, though an oblique strain is at least far less of a concern than the Tommy John surgery that cost him almost all of the 2020-21 seasons.

After posting a 3.00 ERA over 51 regular-season innings and then an outstanding 1.69 ERA over 10 2/3 postseason frames in 2022, Dominguez hasn’t been quite as effective this year.  The righty has a 4.33 ERA in 27 innings out of the Philly bullpen, with a 22.2% strikeout rate that is well below his 29.9% average from his first four MLB seasons.  On the plus side, Dominguez’s 8.7% walk rate is a career low (albeit still under the league average) and he does have a .350 BABIP.  It is also worth noting that Dominguez’s numbers look a lot better when you subtract his first appearance of the season, a disastrous outing against the Rangers that saw Dominguez allow four earned runs without recording a single out.

Sanchez will start today’s game against the A’s, marking the left-hander’s second start and appearance of the 2023 season.  A triceps injury during Spring Training sent Sanchez to the injured list at the start of the season, and might have cost him an opportunity to win a job in Philadelphia’s rotation.  That door is still open for Sanchez, as the Phillies are still looking for any kind of stability with their fifth starter role.

Left forearm tightness prematurely ended Suarez’s work with Venezuela during the World Baseball Classic, and the southpaw ended up starting the season on the 15-day IL due to what was described as an elbow strain.  While missing almost a month and a half of action is no small matter, it is at least good news that Suarez avoided any of the more serious and longer-term injuries that can arise from forearm and elbow issues.  Suarez looked pretty sharp over three minor league rehab outings, allowing just one earned run over nine total innings pitched at Double-A and Triple-A.

After beginning his first three big league seasons as a reliever, Suarez had a breakout 2021 season while working out of both the rotation and the bullpen, posting a 1.36 ERA over 106 innings.  Given a full-time role in Philadelphia’s rotation in 2022, Suarez posted a 3.65 ERA over 155 1/3 frames, capitalizing on a 55.4% grounder rate and some solid hard-contact numbers despite below-average strikeout and walk rates.  Suarez then took things up another level during the Phillies’ playoff run, delivering an excellent 1.23 ERA over 14 2/3 postseason innings.

Technically, the Phillies didn’t miss much from Suarez’s absence, since Matt Strahm pitched well in fill-in capacity in the rotation.  However, Strahm was moved back to the bullpen in advance of Suarez’s return, as the Phils have opted to continue using Bailey Falter as a starting pitcher.  Falter has only a 5.75 ERA over 36 innings and seven starts this season, though he isn’t alone in struggling, as Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, and Taijuan Walker have all gotten off to varying degrees of slow starts.

Ortiz, 27, spent a few years with the Orioles but signed a minor league deal with the Giants for 2022. A highly-touted prospect from his time with the O’s, he’s dealt with some injuries and been pushed from starting to relieving as time has gone on. He spent most of 2022 in Triple-A, throwing 67 1/3 innings with a 4.54 ERA in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. His peripherals were quite strong, as he struck out 25.4% of batters faced, walking just 4.6% of them and getting grounders on 42.4% of balls in play. He also got 8 2/3 innings of MLB action, with a 1.04 ERA in that small sample. He still has options remaining, meaning the Phillies will have the ability to keep him in the minors as a depth arm.

Vasquez set a career high with 10 MLB games this year, splitting that time between the Blue Jays and Giants. He allowed six runs in 8 2/3 innings but he posted a 2.23 ERA over 32 1/3 Triple-A innings. The southpaw struck out almost 35% of opponents at the minors’ highest level, making him of appeal to a number of teams on the waiver wire.

Appel made his big league debut almost a decade after being selected first overall in the 2013 draft. He worked 10 1/3 innings over six relief appearances but ended the year on the injured list with elbow inflammation. Crouse was a former highly-regarded pitching prospect who came over from the Rangers in the Kyle Gibson/Spencer Howard trade. He debuted with two appearances last year but only pitched five times in Triple-A in 2022.

Jones is a former 18th-rounder who has five appearances in the last two years. Emanuel joined the organization off waivers from the Astros last winter but never pitched with Philadelphia. Munoz played in 29 games this year, hitting .221/.250/.404.

Munoz, Emanuel and Appel can become minor league free agents. Crouse and Jones will remain in the system without occupying a 40-man roster spot.

• The Pirates placed right-hander JT Brubaker on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to September 16.  Right-hander Luis Ortiz was called up to take Brubaker’s spot on the active roster.  Brubaker was officially listed as sidelined due to right arm inflammation, though lat soreness was given as the reason for his early exit from Thursday’s game, when he lasted just three innings.  Over 141 1/3 innings and 27 starts for the Bucs this season, Brubaker has a 4.58 ERA and some unimpressive Statcast numbers, though his SIERA is a more favorable 3.95.  His ability to eat innings could put him in the conversation for a spot in Pittsburgh’s rotation next season, even if he doesn’t make it back for one more start in 2022.
• The Diamondbacks placed right-hander Keynan Middleton on the 15-day IL due to a sprained left big toe.  Righty Luis Frias was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move.  The toe sprain will likely end what has been an injury-plagued season for Middleton, who missed a couple of months due to elbow inflammation and a right ankle sprain.  Between the injuries and time in the minor leagues, Middleton was limited to 17 innings in 18 appearances with the D’Backs, and he posted a 5.29 ERA over that rather small sample size.  Now in his sixth MLB season, Middleton has yet to regain the early promise of his first two seasons with the Angels, before Tommy John surgery sidelined him in 2018.  He inked a minors deal with the D’Backs last winter and probably seems likely to be back on the open market this offseason in search of another non-guaranteed deal.

Madris, 26, was a ninth-round selection of the Pirates in 2017. Though he was never atop any prospect lists, he still posted solid results as he worked his way up the minor league ladder. Last year, he split his time between Double-A and Triple-A and registered a solid 11.2% walk rate along with an 18.2% strikeout rate. That helped him produce a batting line of .267/.353/.417 in 114 games, good enough for a wRC+ of 108.

This year, he got out to a hot start in Triple-A and got selected to the big league roster in June. He hasn’t been able to produce much at the big league level just yet, hitting .177/.244/.265, though that’s in a small sample of just 123 plate appearances. He’s spent more time this year with Indianapolis, hitting .294/.366/.482 over 288 trips to the plate. That amounts to a 125 wRC+, or production 25% above league average.

Since Madris was first selected to an MLB roster just this year, that means he has a full slate of options and limited service time. With the trade deadline long gone, the Pirates will have to place him on waivers in the coming days. Any team intrigued by his ability to get on base could put in a claim and keep him around as an optionable depth option with years of club control. If he were to clear waivers, the Pirates could keep him in the organization with him occupying a roster spot.

Ortiz, 26, has some MLB experience, although a very small amount. In 2018, he made two appearances for the Orioles, followed by one more in 2019. He has a 12.71 ERA in a tiny sample of 5 2/3 innings over those three games. Prior to that, Ortiz was a highly-touted prospect with the Rangers, cracking Baseball America’s top 100 list in 2016 and 2017. He got traded to the Brewers and then to the Orioles, though his prospect stock faded as injuries limited his output. Despite being a starting pitcher in his early career, he only cracked the 100-inning plateau once, which was the 102 frames he logged over three levels in 2018.

He’s moved into more relief work over the past couple of seasons and seems to have taken a step forward here in 2022. Signed by the Giants to a minor league deal in the offseason, he’s spent this entire season with the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats. His 4.66 ERA might not jump out and grab you, but it’s not as bad as it seems since the River Cats play in the notoriously hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. Ortiz has a strong 25.7% strikeout rate for the season, along with a miniscule 4.5% walk rate and average-ish 42% groundball rate. It’s also worth noting that he’s gotten into an excellent groove after a rough start. Through June 28, his ERA was way up at 7.30, but he’s thrown 23 scoreless innings since then to cut almost three full runs off that number.

Ortiz will provide a fresh arm to a Giants bullpen that’s in the midst of a stretch where they play 20 games in 19 days thanks to tomorrow’s doubleheader in Milwaukee. He still has two options and just 29 days of service time, meaning the Giants could potentially keep him around for a while if he continues throwing well.

Both righties have a bit of big league experience, with Ortiz’s 2019 showing in Baltimore standing as the most recent. He’s tallied just 5 2/3 innings in the big leagues, all with the Orioles, and yielded eight runs on 11 hits and eight walks in that time. It’s not an especially impressive showing, but it’s a tiny sample of work for Ortiz, who notably ranked among the game’s top 100 prospects from 2016-17 in the estimation of Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus and MLB.com. He’s the second former top prospect added by the Giants in recent weeks, joining righty Jorge Guzman in that regard.

A former Rangers farmhand, Ortiz has been involved in a pair of notable trades — going from Texas to Milwaukee in the Jonathan Lucroy/Jeremy Jeffress deal before being flipped from Milwaukee to Baltimore as part of the return for Jonathan Schoop. At his prospect peak, Ortiz was praised for a mid-90s fastball, a plus slider and strong command, all of which gave him the upside of a mid-rotation starter.

Ortiz dealt with elbow and forearm troubles early in his pro career, however, and he’s only reached 100 innings in a single season (when he threw 102 between Double-A, Triple-A and Baltimore). He returned to the Rangers on a minor league deal for the 2021 season and worked primarily out of the bullpen in Triple-A Round Rock, where he posted a 4.60 ERA, a 23.4% strikeout rate and a 9.0% walk rate in 43 innings. Ortiz is still just 26 and has had solid results up through the Double-A level, but it’s been a rough go of it for him both in Triple-A and in the Majors.

Huang, 28, reached the bigs with Texas back in 2018 — albeit only for a brief 5 2/3-inning look. He held opponents to a pair of earned runs but also surrendered eight hits and five walks during that short-lived stint. Wang wasn’t with a Major League player pool in 2020, when there was no minor league season, and he didn’t pitch in affiliated ball last year either. However, he’s rattled off three perfect innings in the Dominican Winter League this year, fanning five hitters along the way. He’ll join the Giants org with a career 3.37 minor league ERA in addition to a strong 28.2% strikeout rate and an 8.7% walk rate.

Latest Moves

• The Rays have signed catcher Joe Odom to a minors pact, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. A 13th-round pick of Atlanta in 2013, Odom stuck with the Braves organization through 2017 before joining the Mariners in the ensuing winter’s Rule 5 Draft. Odom did make it to the majors for the first time last season with Seattle, collecting 44 plate appearances, but the 28-year-old batted a meek .128/.209/.128 with no extra-base hits and 20 strikeouts. The Mariners outrighted him after that.

Earlier Today

• The Rangers signed right-hander Luis Ortiz to a minors contract, the team announced.  Ortiz has a 12.71 ERA over career 5 2/3 innings in the majors (with the Orioles in 2018-19), and is making his return to Texas after being drafted 30th overall by the Rangers in 2014.  He has been part of two notable deadline trades, included as part of the trade package sent to Milwaukee for Jonathan Lucroy in 2016, and then the Brewers shipped him to the Orioles in July 2018 as part of the Jonathan Villar/Jonathan Schoop swap.
• The Brewers signed outfielder/first baseman Dustin Peterson to a minor league deal, as originally reported by Ana Soriano of RIDA Sports (Twitter link).  Originally a second-round pick for the Padres in the 2013 draft, Peterson has a .262/.316/.382 slash line over 2918 career minor league plate appearances in the Padres, Braves, and Tigers farm systems.  At the big league level, Peterson has a .570 OPS over 49 PA with Atlanta and Detroit over the 2018-19 seasons.  Most recently, Peterson posted big numbers for the independent Sugar Land Skeeters in 2020 and is currently tearing it up in the Mexican Pacific Winter League.
• Catcher Tim Federowicz has signed with the Dodgers, as Federowicz revealed himself on Twitter.  This will be the veteran’s second stint in Los Angeles, as he spent his first four MLB seasons (2011-14) with the Dodgers.  It’s probably safe to assume that it is a minor league contract, as the Dodgers have Will Smith and Austin Barnes in the majors and top prospect Keibert Ruiz in the wings after his Major League debut last season.  Appearing in parts of eight seasons with six different teams, Federowicz has a .568 OPS over 443 career plate appearances and 163 games at the big league level.  He didn’t see any MLB action in 2020 after signing a minors deal with the Rangers last offseason.