MLB Player News

Paddack (forearm) threw a live batting practice session Monday, Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com reports.

Paddack is slated to throw again Thursday before the Twins make a decision on whether to activate him from the 15-day injured list. He's been sidelined since late July with a right forearm strain and would surely return as a reliever, if he does make it back later this week or during the postseason.

Skubal (18-4) earned the win Tuesday over Tampa Bay, allowing two hits and one walk over seven scoreless innings. He struck out seven.

Skubal's now earned wins in six of his last nine outings -- he's only allowed more than two earned runs once in that span while posting a 1.94 ERA across 55.2 innings. Skubal, the current Cy Young frontrunner in the American League, will carry a 2.39 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 228:35 K:BB into his final regular-season start, likely to come this weekend at home against the White Sox.

Zobac notched a 3.25 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 65:14 K:BB in 55.1 innings across 11 appearances for Double-A Northwest Arkansas.

Zobac was effective earlier in the year with High-A Quad Cities (3.95 ERA, 1.15 WHIP) but his strikeout rate jumped from 20 percent to 28.6 percent after his July 9 promotion to Double-A. While the 23-year-old righty may not have a true plus pitch, he has never logged a walk rate higher than 7.1 percent and built up to 126 innings this year. Zobac projects to be a No. 4 or No. 5 starter, but he could exceed that projection if his changeup improves or if he adds a tick to his low-90s fastball that already has good movement.

Sandlin logged a 5.61 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and 32 strikeouts in 25.2 innings across eight starts for Double-A Portland.

Sandlin struck out 82 batters over 57.1 innings while splitting the season between High-A and Double-A. Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs reports that Sandlin was limited by a forearm issue this season, and indeed, he didn't pitch between May 4 and June 15. Sandlin can touch 100 mph with his fastball and has a wicked slider, but he only logged five innings in a start once this year and will turn 24 in February.

Bratt logged a 5.45 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and 33:12 K:BB in 33 innings over seven appearances for Double-A Frisco.

He wasn't as bad as his ERA, as 54.2 percent of his baserunners scored, but Bratt's walk rate jumped from 5.3 percent at High-A to 8.2 percent at Double-A while his strikeout rate dipped from 27.8 percent to 22.4 percent. Bratt's 22.5 K-BB% was the ninth-best mark among High-A pitchers who threw at least 70 innings, leading to his promotion to Double-A at the end of July. Bratt lacks high-end stuff, so he needs to be commanding his pitches to have success. Youth is working in his favor, however, as Bratt was the seventh-youngest pitcher with at least 30 innings at Double-A this year.

Batista had a 1.04 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and 29:6 K:BB in 26 innings over five starts with High-A Winston-Salem.

Acquired from the Dodgers in August 2023 in exchange for international slot money, Batista posted a 3.51 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 87 strikeouts in 84.2 innings across 17 starts for Single-A Kannapolis before getting promoted to Winston-Salem on Aug. 6. Batista is a slender 6-foot-2 righty who operates with a low-to-mid-90s fastball and a pair of decent secondary offerings. He built up to a career-best 110.2 innings this year and should spend a good chunk of 2025 in the upper levels of the minors.

Suarez logged a 4.11 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 115:21 K:BB in 111.2 innings across 23 starts for Single-A Charleston.

Throw out Suarez's ERA, as his 3.51 FIP and 2.97 xFIP paint a more accurate picture of his performance. Suarez's 4.7 percent walk rate was the best mark among all qualified full-season pitchers who are 20 and under. His pinpoint control and ability to handle a starter's workload are encouraging traits, although Suarez's pure stuff is more in line with a future mid-rotation starter than a front-line starter. The Rays have several exciting pitching prospects coming off breakout seasons, but Suarez's floor (assuming reasonable health) is as high as any other arm in the system.

Raya threw five scoreless innings with four strikeouts and no walks in his first start with Triple-A St. Paul on Friday. He was promoted for the final weekend of the season after posting a 4.06 ERA with a 9.4 K/9 at Double-A Wichita.

Raya wasn't overly impressive at Double-A with a 4.3 BB/9, as walks have been a concern the last two seasons (4.3 BB/9 at Double-A in 2023 as well). Raya also didn't go more than five innings in any outing after being limited to three-inning appearances most of 2023 as he worked his way back from shoulder issues. It's not clear if his future is as a reliever or starter, but he could contend for a major-league job next spring.

Bassitt (10-14) took the loss Monday, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits and seven walks over 4.1 innings against the Red Sox. He struck out two.

Bassitt walked a career-high seven batters and failed to complete five innings for the second consecutive start, allowing single runs in the second, third and fourth innings prior to being pulled with one out and two men on in the fifth. The 35-year-old righty holds a 4.16 ERA and 1.46 WHIP, the first time his ERA has moved above four and his WHIP above 1.24 since 2016. Bassitt is in line to make one more start on the final day of the regular season against the Marlins.

Houck (9-10) earned the win Monday, allowing one hit and one walk across five scoreless innings against the Blue Jays. He did not record a strikeout.

Houck was efficient Monday, needing just 57 pitches to complete five frames while allowing only two Blue Jays to reach base. It was the first performance this season where Houck, who came into the game recording a career-low 8.0 K/9, did not record a strikeout. The Red Sox have been careful with Houck, who has been held to 60 and 57 pitches over his last two starts since missing two weeks with shoulder fatigue. The righty has performed as Boston's best starter this season, posting a 3.12 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 154 strikeouts across 178.2 innings and 30 starts. He is in line to make one more turn in the rotation this season at home against Tampa, assuming the Red Sox don't elect to end his campaign a bit early.