Oregon Professional Athletes

Oregon Alumni Report | MLB | Aug. 16–22, 2026

DeLuca and Cleavinger Keep Tampa Bay on Top

The Tampa Bay Rays entered the final week of August in first place, and two Oregon Ducks are helping them stay there.

Jonny DeLuca was the hero in Monday's 7-6 comeback win over Baltimore, delivering a go-ahead two-run single in the seventh inning — the decisive blow in a rally that erased a two-run deficit with a sweep on the line. The right fielder followed Jonathan Aranda's RBI single to swing the lead, finishing the game 1-for-3 with two RBIs. It was the kind of clutch, situational hit that defines contender DNA.

DeLuca didn't stop there. He went 2-for-something Saturday to lift his average to .268 on the season, adding to a week in which he collected hits in four of five games with appearances. He's been one of the more consistent pieces in a Rays outfield that has weathered significant roster churn throughout 2026.

Garrett Cleavinger, meanwhile, has quietly become a trusted piece of Tampa Bay's bullpen. The left-hander worked 1.1 innings Saturday, striking out two and lowering his ERA to 3.72 — strong by any measure for a relief pitcher in the thick of a pennant race. He also logged a clean inning Friday. Sunday's outing (Aug. 16) was the one blemish of the week, as he allowed a run in a third of an inning, but his overall numbers reflect a reliever who has found his footing at the big-league level. Two former Ducks in the same bullpen corridor, both contributing to a first-place club — it's a good week to be in Eugene.

Peterson Rejoins the Cubs' Rotation

Across the league, David Peterson is getting another shot at starting for the Chicago Cubs. After an Aug. 18 appearance in relief against the White Sox — 1.1 innings, one strikeout — Peterson transitioned back into a starting role, taking the ball Saturday against Seattle. He went six innings, struck out eight, and allowed two earned runs, a line that puts his ERA at 5.17 but signals the kind of performance that could cement his place in Chicago's rotation down the stretch.

Cubs fans appear to be on board: a SB Nation Reacts poll backed Peterson's return to the starting staff, and Saturday's outing gave the organization something to work with. For a left-hander trying to stick as a starter in the major leagues, six innings and eight punchouts is the right kind of audition.

Elsewhere in the Brief

Cole Irvin continued to put up eye-catching numbers for the Dodgers' Triple-A affiliate in Oklahoma City, notching his Pacific Coast League-leading 11th win of the season Saturday with 6.2 innings of work. Irvin hasn't cracked the Dodgers' big-league roster yet, but with that kind of sustained production, the conversation isn't going away.

Robby Ahlstrom made two appearances out of the Rangers' bullpen this week, logging a strikeout in each outing. His ERA sits at 4.97 — a work in progress, but he's getting big-league reps.

Four Oregon alumni. Two playoff-race contributors. One rotation reclamation story. The Ducks' MLB footprint is real, and in August, it's showing up when it counts.

Jonny DeLuca Is Raking

The quiet story of Oregon's week in MLB belongs to Jonny DeLuca, and it's getting loud. The Rays outfielder put together back-to-back 3-hit games on Tuesday and Wednesday against the Athletics — going 3-for-something with two runs scored Tuesday in Tampa's 10-6 win, then adding another 3-hit performance Wednesday with one run scored — pushing his batting average from .258 on Sunday all the way to .273 by midweek. He cooled slightly by Saturday, sitting at .266, but the burst was enough to establish DeLuca as one of the more productive bats on a Rays roster that's been scrambling for offensive consistency. He's not just keeping a roster spot warm — he's making a case.

Teammate Garrett Cleavinger, also a Duck, had a tougher stretch. The left-handed reliever allowed two earned runs in just a third of an inning Friday against Baltimore, bumping his ERA to 3.75. He had also surrendered a run on Sunday in a 3-2 Tampa win over Seattle. A serviceable season overall, but two rough outings in a week sting.

Wyatt Mills Finds a New Home

The roster carousel kept spinning for Wyatt Mills. The right-hander was designated for assignment by the Los Angeles Dodgers early in the week — caught in the 40-man roster crunch that followed a flurry of trade deadline deals — and was subsequently claimed off waivers by the Washington Nationals. Mills, a former Duck closer, gets a fresh opportunity with a rebuilding club that has more room to let arms work through things. For now, he avoids the outright assignment and stays on a major league roster.

Around the Rotation

David Peterson made a midweek start for the Cubs against the Nationals on Wednesday, logging five innings, striking out six, and allowing three earned runs. His ERA sits at 5.35 — not ideal, but the outing showed enough competitiveness to suggest he's holding his rotation spot for now.

Robby Ahlstrom had a mixed week out of the Rangers bullpen. He turned in a clean inning with two strikeouts on Saturday, but sandwiched around that was a disastrous third of an inning Thursday in which he allowed three earned runs against the Angels, spiking his ERA before he stabilized it back to 4.94 by the weekend. The inconsistency has been the story of Ahlstrom's season.

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Five Ducks saw MLB action between August 9–15, a reminder of just how deep Oregon's pipeline into professional baseball runs. DeLuca is the one to watch right now — if he can sustain that .270-range average into September, his long-term future in Tampa looks considerably brighter than it did a month ago.

Oregon's MLB alumni delivered a week of contrasting headlines — one Duck going deep in Tampa while another handed opponents a free run in Chicago.

DeLuca Powers Up in Tampa

Jonny DeLuca gave Rays fans something to cheer about Saturday, going yard against the Mariners in a performance that had him finishing the week batting .259. The right fielder also collected a hit earlier in the week against the White Sox, keeping his average consistent through a stretch when Tampa needed offense. Rays reliever Garrett Cleavinger — another Oregon product — logged appearances in back-to-back series against the Rockies and Mariners, carrying a tidy 3.09 ERA into the weekend. Between DeLuca's bat and Cleavinger's bullpen work, the Duck contingent in Tampa had reasons to feel good about August.

Peterson's Pickoff Blunder Steals the Spotlight

David Peterson's week was more complicated. Against the Blue Jays on Thursday, the Cubs lefty ran afoul of a rule most fans rarely see enforced: he disengaged from the pitching rubber to attempt a pickoff at first base three times against George Springer — one too many under MLB rules — gifting Toronto a run before the inning could even develop naturally. Peterson allowed one earned run across five innings, finishing with three strikeouts and an ERA sitting at 5.35 on the season.

The blunder was the kind of moment that ends up on a league highlight reel for the wrong reasons. But Peterson at least salvaged some credibility later in the week, picking up a win against the Yankees — pitching into the seventh inning and striking out eight in a 5-2 Cubs victory. That performance earned him a spot in Chicago's weekend rotation review as a positive note, with the Cubs' pitching staff otherwise going .500 across their starters. Peterson now figures into what could be a formidable Cubs rotation, with Chicago having landed Kevin Gausman to slot at the top alongside Shota Imanaga, Matthew Boyd, and Peterson.

Ahlstrom Grinds Through the Rangers Bullpen

Robby Ahlstrom made three appearances out of the Texas bullpen during the week — against the Astros, Giants, and Orioles — logging a combined 2.2 innings. His ERA moved from 4.57 down to 4.01 across the stretch, a sign he's trending in the right direction even if the workload remained modest. He punched out a batter against the Giants in two separate outings in that series.

Around the League

Cole Irvin's week ended on a sour note entirely unrelated to his performance: the Dodgers designated the Oregon southpaw for assignment Saturday, calling up Kyle Hurt in a roster move that pushes Irvin's MLB future in Los Angeles into question.

It was a week that captured Oregon's MLB moment in full — flashes of power and promise punctuated by the kind of mistake that makes for appointment television. DeLuca's home run and Peterson's pickoff gaffe will both live rent-free in Duck fans' memories from this stretch.