As right-hander has undergone surgery to addre s a herniated disc in his lower back, according to the MLB.com . That obviously ends his season a month after he landed on the 15-day injured list. Estes had just been recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas a few days before suffering the injury. He to sed four scorele s innings out of the bullpen against the Mariners on August 24. Thatll go down as Estes only MLB appearance since April. The 23-year-old opened the season in Mark Kotsays rotation. Estes was tagged for six runs in each of his first two starts and immediately lost his active roster spot. The As optioned him and he spent the majority of the season in Vegas. Estes took the ball 17 times in the Pacific Coast League. He surrendered 5.51 earned runs per nine acro s 80 innings in that difficult setting. A 16th-round pick by the Braves in 2019, Estes signed for an overslot $500K out of high school. Atlanta traded him to the As as arguably the fourth piece of the return shortly after the 22 lockout. is the only player from that group who has panned out. and have been cut loose. Estes has occupied a 40-man roster spot since being called up at the tail end of 2023. He took the ball 25 times and logged 127 2/3 innings last year, but he posted an ERA above 5.00 with a modest 17% strikeout rate. Estes still has one minor league option year remaining. Hes not a lock to hold his 40-man spot throughout the winter. If he does, the As could send him back to Las Vegas as rotation depth. has a much better chance of securing an Opening Day rotation spot. The 27-year-old southpaw has had a solid first season in Sacramento. The As acquired Lopez as part of the offseason deal that sent hard-throwing righty to Tampa Bay. Lopez has fanned 28.3% of batters faced through 92 2/3 innings. While his 4.08 earned run average doesnt jump off the page, he carried a 3.28 mark into his most recent start on August 24. Lopez was blasted for nine runs in two innings that day and landed on the injured list with a flexor strain thereafter. It Roger Clemens Jersey s fair to conclude he wasnt pitching at anything close to full strength. Unlike Estes, Lopez may be able to get back on the mound before the end of the season. The injury tracker notes that the rookie lefty threw a bullpen se sion yesterday while traveling with the team to Boston. The As are keeping open the po sibility that Lopez makes an appearance during their final series against the Royals next weekend. Thatd probably be a relief outing or very abbreviated start but would allow Lopez to enter the offseason with some positive momentum rather than finishing the year with a season-ending forearm injury. The As are playing out their fourth consecutive losing season (barring a 9-0 finish to get to .500). Yet for the second straight year, theyve had an encouraging second half. The As have had a winning record in each of the past three months. Theyre 31-24 with a +66 run differential since the All-Star Break. Most of the credit goes to a talented offensive core. Thats not the entire explanation, as the As have quietly gotten excellent work out of a patchwork bullpen despite trading . Since the deadline, the As have an MLB-best 2.81 earned run average from their relief group. Theyre middle of the pack in strikeouts, walk rate, and whiffs. Theyve certainly benefited from an MLB-low .247 average on balls in play, but its still impre sive production from an inexperienced group. Only , a journeyman brought in from Boston in a late May DFA trade, has even two years of service time among As relievers. As wrote this week, the As have found that succe s without many set roles. They havent had a designated closer since the Miller trade. has picked up his first four career saves to lead the team over that stretch. Hes one of five relievers Newcomb, , and being the others to record at least one save. (Bidos was of the three-inning variety in a blowout victory.) Harris, a pure reliever this season for the first time in his career, has become Kotsays most trusted leverage arm. He carries a 3.30 ERA with a solid 23.3% strikeout rate acro s 60 innings. Harris command comes and goes, but he looks like a solid bullpen piece whom the As have under club control for another five seasons. Meanwhile, Newcomb has turned back the clock with his best season since at least 2019. The former first-round pick owns a 1.75 ERA while striking out a quarter of opponents over 51 1/3 innings since the As reacquired him. His 7% walk rate is the best of his career, and he has been lights out (0.96 ERA in 28 frames) in the second half. Newcomb will be a free agent and has certainly pitched his way to a major league deal after settling for a non-roster contract with the Red Sox last winter. Chase Anderson Jersey