Central Notes: Swanson, Báez, Verlander, Larnach ...Middle East

The Cubs reinstated shortstop Dansby Swanson from the 10-day injured list before a 6-4 loss to the Reds on Friday. Swanson missed a little over a month with an oblique strain. Playing his first game since Aug. 16, Swanson went 1 for 3 with a walk. Aside from the injury, this has been a typical season for the 32-year-old, who has continued to blend high-grade defense with offense that hovers around league average. Swanson has accounted for 16 Outs Above Average, 11 Fielding Run Value and 5 Defensive Runs Saved in 118 games at short. On the offensive side, he has hit .217/.302/.404 (96 wRC+) with 18 home runs and 17 steals over 462 plate appearances. Swanson has accrued at least 3.0 fWAR (3.4) for the sixth straight year.

Here’s more from the game’s Central divisions…

Cardinals outfielder Joshua Báez went on the 10-day injured list with a left oblique strain on Friday, ending his season. Báez, a regular on top-100 prospect lists when the Cardinals promoted him, made a dazzling and historic debut on Aug. 15. In an 8-4 win over the Cubs, he became the first player to hit three home runs in his first game. Báez naturally cooled off from there, and though he posted subpar strikeout and walk numbers (30.6% K, 3.7% BB), his .230/.278/.510 line over 108 plate appearances amounted to an above-average wRC+ of 112. The 23-year-old swatted seven HRs in the bigs and 34 with Triple-A Memphis, giving him 41 for the season. “He’s going to hit a decent amount of homers up here,” manager Oliver Marmol said (via Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch). “He showed us obviously in that first game what he was capable of and that the ceiling is super-high.” Still aiming for a late-season return before he wraps up his Hall of Fame career, Tigers right-hander Justin Verlander successfully got through a 20-pitch live batting practice session Friday, Chris McCosky of the Detroit News reports. Verlander, whose lone appearance so far this season came on March 30, has dealt with hip and hamstring issues over the past six months. A Tiger for the first 11-plus years of his career, Verlander left in a stunning deal with the Astros at the August 2017 waiver trade deadline. Verlander went on to win two World Series and his third AL Cy Young Award during a long and successful run in Houston. After short stints with the Mets, Astros (again, from 2023-24) and Giants, the 43-year-old reunited with the Tigers on a deal worth $13MM last winter. Verlander announced in July that he is retiring after the season. Like Verlander, fellow Tigers righty Jack Flaherty is working to come off the IL before the season ends. Flaherty, out since July 21 with right flexor inflammation, will make a two- to three-inning rehab start with Triple-A Toledo on Saturday, per McCosky. Barring a setback, he should pitch for Detroit next weekend. Flaherty had a chance to leave Detroit in free agency last offseason, but he stuck around on a $20MM player option. The season hasn’t gone according to plan for the 30-year-old, who has recorded a lackluster 4.63 ERA and walked 4.38 hitters per nine in 86 1/3 frames. With his stock down, Flaherty will become a free agent at an inopportune time in the offseason. Twins outfielder Trevor Larnach landed on the 10-day IL with a left wrist sprain on Friday. The Twins made the move retroactive to Sept. 15, which gives Larnach room to return this year. It’s unclear if he will. If not, Larnach will end 2026 with a career-best 123 wRC+, a .269/.352/.436 line and 13 homers across 433 trips to the plate. The 29-year-old helped his cause by drawing walks at a solid 10.4% clip and notching a personal-best 18.2% strikeout rate. Minnesota nearly shipped Larnach to Houston for reliever Bryan Abreu before the Aug. 3 trade deadline, but Astros owner Jim Crane blocked the transaction. Larnach, who is on a $4.48MM salary this season, has one more year of arbitration eligibility remaining. He could be a name to watch on the offseason trade market.

Photo courtesy of Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images

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