Six Starters Set To Return From IL To Help Make a Playoff Push
The returns of Bieber, Greene, Nola, Gil, King, and Garcia from the IL could reshape the playoff race in the season’s final weeks.
With under two months left in the 2025 MLB season, there’s little margin for error for teams hanging onto, or chasing, a playoff spot. Some front offices addressed their needs at the trade deadline, while others are banking on a different kind of acquisition: the long-awaited return of injured arms.
For contending clubs, getting back an established starter in mid-August can be as impactful as a blockbuster trade, without giving up a single prospect. Here are six pitchers set to return from the injured list in the coming days who could swing the playoff race in their team’s favor.
Stats and standings updated prior to games on August 8.
Hunter Greene: Cincinnati Reds
Team record: 60–56, 3rd in NL Central (11 GB), 3.5 GB of final Wild Card spot
The Reds’ ace hasn’t pitched since June 3 due to a groin injury, but his numbers before hitting the IL tell you exactly why Cincinnati has been counting the days. Through 11 starts, Greene went 4–3 with a 2.72 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, and 2.4 bWAR, striking out 73 while walking just 14 in 59.2 innings. His 3.43 FIP is also well below the 2025 MLB average of 4.26.
In April and May alone, Greene posted a 2.53 ERA over nine starts, sparking early Cy Young chatter before the hiatus took him out of the running.
His 99.3 mph average fastball velocity is elite, and his breaking ball grades near the top of the league on Baseball Savant. Yes, his split-finger is one of the worst offspeed pitches in baseball, and he doesn’t induce groundballs, but his chase and whiff rates make him a nightmare to face.
Greene is scheduled to return Wednesday, August 13, slotting back into a rotation that already boasts rookie flamethrower Chase Burns, lefty Andrew Abbott (2.34 ERA), and Nick Lodolo (3.05 ERA in 23 starts before his own IL stint).
If the Reds get everyone in this group healthy at the same time, they could boast one of baseball’s most intimidating rotations and give Elly De La Cruz and an otherwise quiet offense the runway they need for a Wild Card push.
Luis Gil: New York Yankees
Team record: 61–54, 3rd in AL East (6.5 GB), 1.5-game lead for final Wild Card spot
The Yankees opened 2025 without Gerrit Cole and Luis Gil, and while Cole isn’t coming back this year, they just got Gil back.
The 27-year-old righty is coming off an AL Rookie of the Year campaign in 2024, in which he started hot (1.84 ERA through June 4) and finished with a 3.50 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 3.1 bWAR, and 171 strikeouts in 151.2 innings. His slider graded as elite last season, pairing well with his high-90s fastball to produce swings and misses and plenty of chase, even if groundballs were scarce.
Gil made his 2025 debut on Sunday, August 3 in Miami, giving up five earned in just 3.1 innings. It wasn’t pretty, but after a five-month layoff, rust is expected. He immediately gives New York a trusted No. 3 starter behind Carlos Rodón and Max Fried, which is huge for a team that’s had to turn to rookies in high-leverage games lately.
The Yankees are clinging to a playoff spot, and while their offense has been inconsistent, a healthy Gil could be the stability they need in the rotation to hold off Cleveland and Texas.
Aaron Nola: Philadelphia Phillies
Team record: 65–49, 1st in NL East, 2.5-game lead
Aaron Nola’s first two months of 2025 were, by any pitcher’s standards, ugly. Through his first nine starts (up to May 14), the Phillies’ longest-tenured player went 1–7 with a 6.16 ERA and 1.51 WHIP, surrendering 11 home runs in just 49.2 innings. His 5.04 FIP told the same story: He wasn’t fooling anyone.
But this is Aaron Nola. The 32-year-old has been the definition of durability, making 32+ starts in six straight seasons from 2018–2024 (excluding the COVID year) and amassing 1,671 career innings with a 3.78 ERA. His October resume is also solid: a 4.02 ERA in 53.2 playoff innings.
Just last year, he posted a 3.57 ERA in 199.1 IP. In 2022, he was a 6-WAR pitcher with a 3.25 ERA and 0.96 WHIP over 205 innings.
Now set to return Monday, August 11, Nola will rejoin a rotation that’s already dominant: Zack Wheeler (2.64 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 5.0 WAR), Christopher Sánchez (2.40 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 5.7 WAR), Ranger Suárez (sub-3 ERA), Taijuan Walker (3.50 ERA), and Jesús Luzardo (4.32 ERA, 147 K in 127 IP).
If Nola finds his form, the Phillies might just lock up the division early.
Michael King: San Diego Padres
Team record: 64–51, 2 GB in NL West, 2nd Wild Card spot
The Padres have been making a serious push in late July and early August, closing the gap on the Dodgers without their most reliable starter. That changes tomorrow.
Michael King, who came to San Diego in the Juan Soto trade, will make his return Saturday, August 9 at home against Boston. Before going down, King went 4–2 with a 2.59 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, and 3.24 FIP in 10 starts, striking out 64 in 55.2 innings.
King made the full transition to starting last year, going 13–9 with a 2.95 ERA over 30 starts and 173.2 innings, with a strong 3.33 FIP. He handled the Dodgers well in the regular season (3.10 ERA in three starts), though LA got to him in the postseason.
With San Diego just two games back in the division, King’s return gives them a legitimate shot at overtaking the defending champs, and a playoff rotation that can match up with anyone.
Luis Garcia: Houston Astros
Team record: 64–51, 1st in AL West, 1.5-game lead
The Astros have held first place in the AL West thanks to All-Star seasons and steady dominance from Hunter Brown and Framber Valdez. Now, they’re about to add a long-missing piece back into the mix.
Luis Garcia hasn’t pitched since May 2023, when Tommy John surgery ended his season after just six starts. He was shut down again five months ago with elbow soreness, but is now set to return Wednesday, August 13.
Garcia’s peak years in 2021–22 were incredibly valuable:
- 2021: 28 starts, 11–8, 3.30 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 2.6 bWAR
- 2022: 28 starts, 15–8, 3.72 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 1.4 bWAR
He’s never been a true ace, but as a No. 3 or No. 4 starter, Garcia offers strike-throwing and length to help keep Houston’s bullpen fresh. If he’s even 80% of his pre-injury self, the Astros’ rotation suddenly becomes much harder to game-plan against in October.
Shane Bieber: Toronto Blue Jays
Team record: 68–48, 1st in AL East, 4 games up on the Boston Red Sox in the division
This last injured starter really was a trade deadline acquisition, and a big one at that. Following Tommy John surgery, Shane Bieber hasn’t pitched since April of 2024 with the Cleveland Guardians. Yet, the 2020 Cy Young winner and now 30-year-old right-hander is expected to return in mid-to-late August – he is currently making rehab starts in the minor leagues.
When healthy, Bieber has proved to be one of baseball’s best arms since breaking into the majors in 2018. He has a career 3.22 ERA, a 1.12 WHIP, an elite 3.09 FIP, and 958 strikeouts in 843 innings.
Toronto’s rotation is already a stable of gritty veterans: Kevin Gausman, Max Scherzer, José Berríos, Chris Bassitt, and Eric Lauer. All five of those guys have been reliable leaders who have helped vault this Blue Jays team to the best record in the American League, despite underwhelming expectations and early-season uncertainty.
Having five trusted arms to call teammates, Bieber will not have to bear pressure to be dominant upon his return. If he can ease back into form in time for October, the Blue Jays will have plenty of exciting rotation options to play with, making game-planning against them in the postseason a nightmare for the opposition.
Written by