PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia's Luis Arraez, who has a narrow lead in his quest for a fourth straight battling title, will not be in the starting lineup when the Phillies take on Tampa Bay Friday night because of a sprained left ankle.
Bryson Stott replaced Arraez at second base in the opener of a three-game series with the Phillies still needing to clinch their fifth straight playoff berth.
Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly said ahead of the game that Arraez woke up feeling sore and there was no timetable for his return.
“Luis is a guy that can really, really hit,” Mattingly said. “It's a blow to your offense. He's a guy that came in, get his hits. He's been kind of a stabilizer and kind of mixes our lineup a little bit. A different kind of guy.”
Arraez is a three-time batting champion and leads the National League this season with a .310 batting average, just ahead of Arizona’s Gabriel Moreno at .308.
Arraez was injured after he tried to avoid a tag at first base in the Phillies' loss to Milwaukee on Thursday night.
Obtained from San Francisco at the trade deadline, Arraez stayed down for a while as trainers tended to him. He eventually hobbled off the field with assistance.
Philadelphia leads Arizona by two games with three to play. The Diamondbacks finish the season at San Diego and own the tiebreaker over the Phillies.
The Phillies could clinch Friday with a win against the Rays and an Arizona loss to San Diego.
If the Phillies avoid a collapse that would place them alongside the 1964 team in franchise infamy, Arraez would have four days to heal before their NL Wild Card Series starts Tuesday.
“You don't feel great about it because he was so sore this morning," Mattingly said. “We'll see in a couple of days. You feel a lot better. You wrap it, you see what happens.”
Stott was the starting second baseman for the bulk of his career since his 2022 rookie season and was moved to third after the Arraez trade. Edmundo Sosa started at third base against the Rays.
Philadelphia sends Cristopher Sánchez (18-6, 2.93 ERA) to the mound Friday against the AL East champion Rays, needing its ace left-hander to calm the nerves inside the clubhouse — and silence the fans who booed the team off the field after its latest loss. The Phillies have lost 12 of 20 headed into Friday's game.
“These guys have been through it,” Mattingly said. “I feel OK. If we've got to tell guys at this point that it's urgent that we win games, then we're in trouble.”
Mattingly also said All-Star left-hander Jesús Luzardo bounced back fine from his bullpen session on Thursday as he tries to return from left shoulder inflammation ahead of a potential playoff series. Luzardo was placed on the 15-day injured list on Sept. 15, three days after he was scratched from a start at Atlanta because of the shoulder the issue.
“I think he's going to play catch, and we'll see where it goes,” Mattingly said.
See AP’s full MLB coverage here
Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper runs towards home to score on a double by Luis Arraez during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Philadelphia Phillies' Luis Arraez rects to an injury after being thrown out at first base during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Philadelphia Phillies' Luis Arraez (4) is helped off the field after being injured during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Iran has offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume talks on its nuclear program in seven days if the United States lifts its naval blockade of Iranian ports, waives sanctions on Iranian oil sales and observes a ceasefire that would include Lebanon.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi detailed the proposal to reporters outside the U.N. Security Council on Friday, saying it would also restart stalled talks with the U.S. on Iran's nuclear program.
“The seven-day timeline will start as soon as the United States accepts this plan,” he said.
Araghchi said initial steps would take about four to five days to complete and the strait would be open on the sixth day. “And on day seven, the talks with the U.S. will be started for the final deal on mutually agreed subjects,” he said, referring to the nuclear program.
Iran's disruption of the strait — through which a fifth of the world's traded oil and gas transited before the war — has emerged as its main point of leverage. The effects have been felt far beyond the Middle East.
The White House said only that U.S. officials are having positive and constructive conversations with mediators on the Iran war. In response to questions from The Associated Press, it said the U.S. is facilitating significant oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz.
There was no immediate comment from Gulf Arab nations, although a person familiar with the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations, told The Associated Press that Saudi Arabia was skeptical of the latest push for a deal.
The proposal, conveyed to the U.S. by mediators and in public by Araghchi strongly resembles the so-called Memorandum of Understanding reached in June, but with an accelerated timetable. The earlier agreement, which called for a 60-day interim period, quickly collapsed as Iran resumed attacks on shipping in the strait.
Trump has said he is in no rush to reach a deal, even as high oil prices fuel inflation. On the Iranian side, there are questions as to whether the hard-liners who dominate the security forces would accept compromises championed by moderates like President Masoud Pezeshkian.
“If Trump calculates this arrangement is worthwhile and can bring political benefit before the midterms and reduce gas prices, perhaps we'll see flexibility not seen in previous weeks,” Parsi said. But he noted “deep suspicion,” especially around the prospect of Iran merely buying time to ship out more of its oil and ease its economic pain.
In the latest sign of diplomatic movement, Pezeshkian hosted the prime minister of Qatar early Friday. Qatar has been a key mediator, including during hours of indirect Iran-U.S. talks at the U.N. this week.
It was not clear how long Pezeshkian and Araghchi would stay in the U.S. after Pezeshkian addressed the annual U.N. gathering of world leaders on Wednesday, ending his speech by saying Iran remained open to diplomacy.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on the same day, said “if there’s an opportunity to exchange ideas and messages, we will.”
After multiple failed attempts at a deal, however, suspicion is high on both sides. The U.S. and Israel have attacked Iran twice while it was engaged in nuclear talks, and the U.S. and Iran accuse each other of having swiftly violated the June agreement.
“The Iranians already know that the chances of this not being accepted by Trump are much higher than the opposite,” Hamidreza Azizi, senior Iran analyst at the International Crisis Group think tank, wrote on X.
“They want to show that they were ready for diplomacy and that it was the United States that, for the third time, decided to attack in the middle of a diplomatic track — something that people within (Iran’s) strategic community have been anticipating over the past few days.”
The proposal would include Lebanon, where Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah have been mostly observing a ceasefire. It's not clear, however, if it would include the revived conflict between Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels and Saudi Arabia, which has put even more pressure on global markets.
Iran appears to think the Houthis' newly enhanced ability to threaten the Bab el-Mandeb strait on the Red Sea — another trade chokepoint on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula — could push Trump to make a deal.
Maj. Gen. Yahya Rahim Safavi, a military adviser to Iran's new supreme leader, told state television that the Americans “face a new problem called the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.”
He added: “I think the process that is unfolding is in our favor, and the Americans will be forced to accept Iran’s conditions.”
With the Houthis' latest surge in attacks, Saudi Arabia was skeptical of Araghchi’s latest push for a deal with the U.S., according to the person familiar with the matter.
The kingdom, along with other Gulf states, had advocated over the summer for a return to negotiations, saying they could live with an agreement that gave Iran a temporary role in managing the Strait of Hormuz, the person said.
But the Saudi calculations changed as the Houthis seized Yemen’s strategic Red Sea coast from pro-government forces and a vital Saudi pipeline came under attack.
Earlier this month, Gulf leaders planned to gather in Oman to discuss an emerging agreement between Oman and Iran on the Strait of Hormuz, which runs between the two countries. But the meeting was canceled after Saudi Arabia called for amendments, only some of which were accepted by Iran, the person said.
Iran's leaders have sought to project unity, but some hard-liners want to continue or escalate the war to secure bigger U.S. concessions and have criticized Pezeshkian and Araghchi's diplomatic steps this week.
Firebrand lawmaker Ebrahim Rezaei wrote on X that merely meeting with “the aggressor enemy” showed weakness. Iran’s Assembly of Experts, a panel of Shiite clerics who appoint the supreme leader, said “there is no path other than resistance.”
The head of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard, Brig. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi, highlighted the U.N. speech by “the esteemed president” while focusing on Pezeshkian’s comments that Iran doesn’t fear war.
Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, who served as chief negotiator in earlier talks with the United States, provided a rare public acknowledgment of the internal divide.
“There is a view that speaks of war but offers no prospect or mechanism for bringing it to a powerful conclusion,” he wrote on social media. “At the opposite end is a current that makes the error of underestimating national capabilities.”
He added: “The first error keeps the country in a state of permanent crisis, while the second hands national resources and dignity over to the enemy.”
Associated Press reporters Josh Boak and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed.
Motorcyclists ride during a state-organized motorcycle parade called "Janfada," meaning "Sacrifice for Iran,", in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Firefighters ride motorcycles during a state-organized motorcycle parade called "Janfada," meaning "Sacrifice for Iran,", in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A woman chants slogan as she holds an Iranian flag while motorcyclists ride during a state-organized motorcycle parade called "Janfada," meaning "Sacrifice for Iran,", in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A family ride on a motorcycle during a state-organized motorcycle parade called "Janfada," meaning "Sacrifice for Iran,", in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrives ahead of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
